//------------------------------// // Friendship is misery // Story: Fallout Equestria: Dashed Hopes // by Ironwolves21 //------------------------------//   Alright, I’ve got to apologize for the horrible delay on this chapter, I had some problems with my editors, so now I’ll be editing everything myself. So any problems or spelling errors that you find, please tell me right away. Again I apologize for the delay, It’s completely my fault for trusting others to do my work.                                      Dashed Hopes Chapter 4 “Eyes burn with sting and sweat, seems like every path leads me to no where.”         My hooves impacted the broken concrete in heavy hoof falls, my breath ragged and uneven in my chest. Bullets whizzed and snapped past us in terrifying volleys, Riot yelled something at us as he dived into cover behind a broken vehicle, but all attempts at communications were cut off as I felt a hunk of lead slam into my leg. I fell forwards into a shallow puddle of rainbow coloured water. I hate you. You're all a bunch of assholes and jerks. The bark of Riots rifles filled the broken street, they were followed by the yelp of a smaller calibre rifle, carried by Buzzsaw. I felt now familiar magic wrap around me and drag me up and over the truck carcass. I'm sure I looked displeased. “It's just a graze lass, nothing serious, now start firing!”     Riot passed me my laser pistol that had Once AGAIN tumbled out of my reach when I had fallen. I picked the pistol up in my mouth and popped up over the hood of the vehicle. I sighted one of our attackers, a sickly green buck; hesitating, I-I couldn't push the trigger. A nanosecond later he spun around, the high velocity round rending his shoulder to pieces. The attackers were starting to back off, it was obvious they hadn't expected so much resistance from a small group. A pink mare lifted her head to fire a pistol at us, only to have her eye socket blow out by Buzzsaw, but one of her fellows fired a short burst from some kind of machine pistol. The low calibre rounds stitched down the hood of the truck, shrapnel and a single stray shot hitting Saw. “Saw!! Are you alright?” My voice cracked as I saw the blood leaking from Saws chest “I'll be fine Sparky, cover Riot!”  Saw had broken out healing bandages, and was already wrapping his wounds. “No need, their routing!” Riot had jumped onto the hood of the vehicle, despite the rounds still being fired in our direction. Riot fired another round at the fleeing group, sending a buck cartwheeling to the ground before the others could effectively escape. “That was close!” I actually sounded happy, much to my own surprise. Riot shot me a side-long grin. “That was nothin' lass, they didn't have anything above five point five twos.” “We should leave! As in now!”  I looked at Saw, who had an uncharacteristic look of fear plastered across his muzzle. Just past him, I saw slow shambling movement in the building behind him. Riot yelled at us, which seemed to spur the ponies inside the building. “GHOULS!! TAKE TO THE SKIES, I'LL LOSE THEM!!” I looked over, not realizing the mortal danger we were in. Dozens of rotten, burned and boiled parodies of ponies came shambling out of the buildings. I felt bile well up in the back of my throat, but all actions came to a crashing halt as they began to howl, charging our position. I was pulled out of my shock by an inhaler being pushed into my mouth and its contents flooded my lungs. Everything ground to a stand-still as I watched Saw leap into the air, Riot turned from me, still motioning upwards; firing his rifles into the slow writhing masses. I felt... energized, like I had licked a lightning rod. My entire body wanted to move, wanted to FLY. I saw Saw floating above me, harried by boiled fliers. My lightning fast brain came to the conclusion that; They want to race me? Oh it is so on!!” I shot off the pavement and into the skies, giggling as I zipped past Saw and his rivals. Looking back I saw that two of them had broken off to race me personally! Grinning like a mad mare I accelerated up the side of a broken building, levelling off just so I could plunge back down into a narrow alley. I looked back to see one of my attackers slam into a brick wall, his neck snapping in multiple places. But the other buck was right on my tail! I floored it, firing down another back alleyway, the pale red buck flew right on my tail, nipping and biting, trying to find purchase on my body. Not today you ugly bastard, THIS IS MY BODY!! I had a sudden flash through my mind, that the buck trying to kill me; was none other than Black Rain. Anger and fury boiled over as I brought my hind legs in, and flared my wings into a full stop. I loosed the kick just as he was in range, his forward momentum sent vibrations through my hyper active body as my hind legs pulverized his face and neck. I watched as the pulped 'Rain' effigy plummeted to the earth, landing with a dull thump. I felt... GOOD, I had just killed the bastard responsible for making my life a living hell, the fucker responsible for leaving me with night terrors, the cock-sucker- Wait, wheres Riot and Saw? My eyes shot open as I watched Saw fight in a desperate aerial hoof to hoof battle with one of the zombie things, only to be taken by surprise by another jumping from a building; landing on top of him. I focused and shot forward, knocking the shredded mare from Saw; who fired a rifle round through the other zombies head. It was only then that I looked down. My gaze was met with the bodies of dozens of zombies, a grenades dull Crump killed few, while short rifle bursts mowed through the writhing mass like a scythe through cloud wheat. Saw waved a hoof in front of me, bringing my eyes back up from the death being wrought. “We need to swoop in and pick him up! There's another group blocking his exit!” I nodded, looking down, Riot had clambered on to the roof of a large van, the zombie ponies had already surrounded him on all sides. I watched as he shoved his knife through the skull of one of the zombies, but failed to pull it out in time as the zombies body was tramped by the masses. Riot reached out with his magic, pulling a tin can from his saddle bags. We swooped down, grabbing him by his fore-hooves. I watched as Riot pulled the pin on the can, letting it spiral down into the cab of the van. We had barely gone a block when the shock-wave buffeted us harshly. Looking back, the mass of zombie ponies were gone, in their place, a fading blue and green mushroom cloud that bathed the entire area with crackling motes of light. “What the hell was that!!?” Riot let out a short; laboured laugh, shaking his head. 'That, that was a Sparkle grenade!” I was appalled, what the hell was in that thing?! “You just carry those around!?” Riot hung by his hooves high above the ground, obviously not liking the situation he was in. “It worked didn't it?” “Well yes but-” “But nothing, put me down.” “But-” “PUT. ME. DOWN.” The anger in his voice shocked me, have I done something wrong? Is he angry at me? We touched down five blocks from the explosion, I could see the city limits coming up. We were in the suburbs now. “I HATE flying, bugs the fuck outa me.” Riot paced back and forth, I stared at my hooves, I felt like a scolded foal. “I didn't know-” “Don't worry about it lass.” Riot turned to face myself and Saw, he wore a small smile on his muzzle. “You did well, and thanks for the assist; both of you.” He looked at Saw and me, the smile slipping from his expression. “Now lets get the fuck out of Hoofington.” We were huddled under the bowing arch of a decrepit gas-station, a small fire crackling between us. Riot was lying against his bags, and had his hat pulled over his face. His pip-buck was playing music as Saw tried to un-jam his recently acquired rifle. “Gooood evening ponies! This is DJ PON3, BROADCASTING LIVE ACROSS THE WASTELAND! Looks like the intrepid Vault Dweller has come through again! Turns out that Arbu, the settlement the Dweller razed, was FILLED with cannibals! Shocking, Right? Anyways, I've got some new music for all my friends out there, where-ever they are! A low acoustic line filled the area, and was soon followed by a low, sad bucks voice. I can be your liar I can be your bearer of bad news Sick and uninspired by the diamonds in your fire Burning like a flame inside of you Is this just desire or the truth So shame on me for the ruse Shame on me for the blues Another one returned that I'll never use I won't go getting tired of you I won't go getting tired of you I'm not getting tired I won't go getting tired of you I won't go getting tired of you I'm not getting tired Hanging on this wire Waiting for the day where I'll have to choose Cursed by love so dire One more colt for hire One more colt to lend a hand to you Is this just desire or the truth So shame on me for the ruse Shame on me for the blues Another one returned that I'll never use I won't go getting tired of you I won't go getting tired of you I'm not getting tired I won't go getting tired of you I won't go getting tired of you I'm not getting tired of you I can be your liar I can be your bearer of bad news Sick and uninspired by the diamonds in your fire Burning like a flame inside of you Is this just desire or the truth So shame on me for the ruse Shame on me for the blues Another one returned that I'll never use I won't go getting tired of you I won't go getting tired of you I'm not getting tired I won't go getting tired of you I won't go getting tired of you I'm not getting tired of you   The DJ came back on with gusto, reading through events that I had no interest in. I directed my eyes down towards the two hundred year old snack cake cradled in my lap. In all honesty, the thing tasted better than it should have, all things considered. I glanced over at Saw, who had broken out his tools and was working ferociously away at the rifle. Riot grumbled something in his sleep, drawing my attention. He had shed his jacket and riot armour, leaving himself a pair of cargo pants and a rolled up grey undershirt bearing  a series of numbers and his name. I must have been drooling or something equally embarrassing, because Saw threw a small rusted nut at me; booting me out of my admiration. 'What?”  Saw scowled at me “You know what, now stop it!” Saw almost hissed at me trying to keep his voice low. 'No! I'm having fun and you cant stop me!” I kept my voice low as well, not wanting to wake up our team-mate. “You never learn do you?” Saw shook his head, looking back down at the rifle. “Nope!” Riot shifted over, giving me- Whoa, those are some big scars!  The scars ran parallel across Riots neck and towards his chest. What ever did THAT, must have been mean! I sent another critical look over Riots form, only just finding deep scars and wounds that I hadn't seen prior to now. “Sent through a blender?” I sent a hoof over my mouth in surprise of my tongues betrayal, Saw sent me a strange look. “Fuck you Slug, you don't look any better..” Both myself and Saw looked over to Riots shifting form. “We're in this together... I know,I want to go home as well...” “Uh Riot?” He didn't stir, I scooped up the nut in my wing that had been thrown at me earlier and tossed it at him. “NUHH!” Riot bolted upwards, I yelped in surprise, he pulled the hat down from his eyes. “What? What's going on?” Riot blinked sleep from his eyes, he started to stare at me, expecting answers. “Uh, nothing, it's just uhmm-” “Y'all were talkin' in your sleep Iron.” Riot closed his eyes for a few seconds, only to open them and nod towards Saw. “Sorry about that, it happens every now and then.”  I sat there, a scared look on my face. Riot stood back up and stretched his back, which gave an odd series of metallic pops. 'You might as well get some sleep, I'll handle next watch.” I could only nod as I lay down on my borrowed bedding. My eyes began to shut and I felt the darkness of sleep sprinkling down on me.                                                      OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO “Twoohart why can't I come wis you?” I put on my best pout, hoping she would break down and agree, letting me go with her to the show. “Sorry squirt, but this shows for big girls... Maybe, if your good for dad, I'll take you for flying lessons when I get back!” My eyes and mouth shot open like a laser shot, a shrill little gasp escaping my mouth. “Weally Twoohawt? You the best sister evah!” I scampered over to my big sister and hugged her red leg. I heard my dad laughing in the background, saying something I couldn't quite hear through my sisters coat. “I'll be back by the end of the week Dad, and yes, I'll be careful.” “Of course little one, but you know I worry.” My dad looked sad, I didn't want him to be sad! “Don't be sad daddy!” My dad laughed, messing my mane with his hoof. I stuck my tongue out at him, then squealed in delight as I skipped out of his reach.                                                        OoOoOoOoOoOoO         Weak light streamed in through my eyelids, and the sounds of the wastes filtered into my ears. “That would explain your knowledge of caps and the like; Saw. Heh, I always figured you for the adventurous type.” “Eeyup, I worked with them for almost ten years before the incident.” At least they're getting along, but what are they talking about? Now- wait, whats that smell? I picked my head up off the makeshift pillow, eyes still practically glued shut with crusty sleep gunk. “Was' that smell? Smell's good.” As I gradually regained my sense of being, I could hear the crackle of a small fire, partnered with a popping sizzle. I cracked open one of my eyes, but everything was still blurry. Riots accent reverberated off of my sleep addled mind, helping shake the cob-webs from my conscious.   “Well, I'm just cooking some breakfast, we'll need the energy to cross over the plains.” “Why would you need to cook breakfast? Their isn't much around that needs cooking...” I could hear Saw groaning in anguish, but I ignored him as Riot came into my view. “You don't eat meat uncooked, it could kill you or cripple you for days.” My brain still hadn't started properly, I just nodded and lulled into a sitting position. Yet something that Riot had said didn't want to leave my mind. Uncooked meat.... meat... meat? Ponies don't eat meat unless they're can- OH SHIT. My eyes bolted open as my brain sputtered to life. I starred at Riot; who had a stick levitating over a small fire. My eyes followed the stick upwards, stopping at the small dark brown lump skewered at the end of the stick, its juices dribbling into a small pot nestled at the edge of the fire. “Why. Are. You. Eating. Meat?!” I balked in horror as he brought the stick up from the fire; and started cutting it apart with a scrap of metal. “Ponies can eat meat Dew, It's full of vitamins and the like.” I was backed up against the wall, eyes wide in terror. Riot passed a small hunk to Saw. “Don't eat it Saw!!! It's pony meat!!” I had managed to cram myself so far into the corner, I thought I would push through the wall at any moment to escape my ex-friends turned cannibals. Riot and Saw both looked at my terrified posture; and started to laugh! Oh goddess their going to eat me next!! Riot got up and trotted over to me as I managed to cower even further. I jumped at the hoof contacting my shoulder softly, letting out a surprised squeak. Riot stifled another chuckle as he patted my shoulder. I could here Saw munching in  the background. “Dew... That's rad-hog meat. Not pony.” I looked up at the grey buck, scepticism written all over my muzzle. “Not- Not pony? I don't understand, doesn't eating meat make you a cannibal?” Riot sat down next to me, pointing a hoof over just past where I had slept the night before. “You see that little gulley over there?” His hoof waved over a rather large ditch past the rest-stop. “In that gulley sat one mean mother fucker Rad-Hog, who; if I hadn't killed and cooked him, would have been eating YOU right about now.”         My eyes flitted over the gulley, then the cooking fire. My fervent gaze finally fell over the gutted corpse of a massive grotesque creature . It had massive teeth that looked like they could bite a pony almost in two, their ferocity compounded onto the razor sharp claws that adorned its little legs.         I wasn't so easily convinced! I'd seen the holo-vids in Thunderhead! Granted; they were ones that were only watched by fillies during a late-night slumber party. BUT! They did teach me that cannibal ponies only lived off meat, killing ponies and others to satisfy their unholy cravings! “I don't trust you! You're going to eat me! You're a cannibal!!” My body quaked as I spoke the last word. I would have figured I'd be killed in a dark basement, not a well-lit rest stop.         Riot stepped back, a small laugh spilling from his muzzle. “Oh by the goddess lass, I'm not a cannibal, and neither is Saw. Cannibals only eat ponies. A pony who eats non-pony meats; and produce, is called an omnivore.” I sat there, a sceptical look on my face as I remained huddled in the corner. Riot shrugged, moving back to his breakfast. “If you're dead set against it, I've got some fancy buck snack cakes you can eat. Make it quick though, we're gone in ten.”         The cloud layer spread for miles, blocking out all but the most determined rays of sunlight. Despite this; the entire area was hot and muggy. Sweat clung to my slender frame as I trudged along the broken pavement with my companions. Heat literally irradiated off the concrete , distorting everything in the distance and made walking very unpleasant. Riot had curled up his coat, but still wore his battered armour. Saw had done the same with his tattered red sweater, leaving only a light black undershirt on. I needed something to keep my mind occupied; lest I stop and melt into the broken highway. “Are we there yet?” Riot barely glanced back, only a short shake registered that I had even spoken. “No. Forty clicks to go.” Fuck this, I'm going to fly.         My wings stretched out; flapping as I lifted into the air and off the roasted pavement. Hot air buffeted my cheeks as I circled my friends. I felt... Alive again, I felt like everything was right as I passed over broken motor vehicles. The skeletal highway snaked on for miles, desolate in every direction. I felt desperately alone, despite the fact I knew my friends were below me; the entire wasteland seemed like a direct strike against my sanity. I looped around, bringing the two trotting bucks into my scope of view, they were moving with purpose, finding cover. I could hear yelling but- PRAK The high calibre round whizzed past my ear, sending my entire body and mind into a frantic scramble as a yellow pegasus streaked from cover, and bolted straight for me!         My laser pistol came out of its holster, I clamped down hard on the bit piece as I rocketed away from the incoming pegasus. The yellow buck fire a volley of sub machine gun rounds in  my direction, but I had slipped from his scope. I trailed the ground at high speeds, circling around to try and get the enemy in my sights, He was right on my tail!         I jinked away as another volley shredded the air I had just previously occupied, the other pegasus was good, but not good enough. Old  Blitzkrieg always though I never paid any attention, he was wrong. I always trained for things like this. Pulling a high G turn, the other pegasus over shot by a small amount; it was just enough for me. Viffing backwards I cut in behind the enemy, lining up a perfect laser shot. All I had to do was pull the trigg- SHIT!!         The buck flared his wings to a full stop. Not seeing this until it was to late, we became a tangled mess of yellow and orange feathers. The laser pistol was still clamped down in my jaws, but i couldn't get a solid line drawn, he was too close! A sharp barbed knife flicked past my face, I could feel the blood flowing from my chest as he made a solid second pass.         Eyes verging on tears from the pain, I could only do one thing to survive. I brought my head back, then slammed it forward, right between his eyes and muzzle. The buck yelped and span away, only to take a shot to the wing from the ground. Through tears and blood I watched him spiral down, impaling himself on an over-turned semi's twisted smokestack.         Shot were still being fired, some at me! I blinked the gunk out of my eyes, and shot down into a low passing run. The bandits were hiding behind a clump of broken vehicles, firing ineffective waves of rounds into Saw's cover. I couldn’t spot Riot, but I assumed that he was moving to do damage. I spiralled down, delivering a solid kick to one of the flanking bandits jaw. My entire hoof vibrated from the impact, which sent the buck sailing to the ground, wailing in pain. Spotting a group that had broken from cover, I fired three shots into the group, which only managed to scare them back into cover.         I was forced to stay low as the large bandit group started to pour lead into the sky, I could only answer with my few semi-well placed shots. Another bandit showed up, packing a large weapon, it purred before it began spewing more rounds into my mentors cover. Saw popped up, firing another shot from his rifle. The shot struck true, braining one of the attackers. I quickly landed next to Saw, adding my shots to his. It was only then that I realized that we were almost surrounded. “Where's Riot!?” I flinched as another volley  cracked and whizzed past and into the burned out sedan. “Beats me! He said he was taking care of the reinforcements!” Shit, we're on our own. As my mind bleated out that thought, there was a resounding explosion, followed by a low rumble that continued to grow louder and louder as It drew near.         The bandits moved away as the armoured buggy rolled over the ditch and into firing position behind them. The gunner smiled maniacally, even as a high calibre 30-06 round ripped his skull into shards. There was a shimmer as Riot materialized on the turret, firing down into the cab of the buggy. The other bandits didn't quite realize their folly; not until Riot slipped into the dead bucks turret, and turned their own guns against them. The machine guns ripped to life, sounding more like a rabid auto-axe than a fire-arm of any kind. Spent shell casing cascaded down across the buggies armour plating. The bandits screamed and hollered as they tried to get their weapons trained on the death machine, but were cut down mercilessly by Riots fusillade, as well as My own shots and that of Saw.         In a matter of seconds, the battle was over, the dead and their pieces lay splayed out across the hot tarmac, one of the cars had exploded, detonating the fuel inside that had roasted the last surviving bandits. Riot clambered down from the smoking guns and towards a sputtering mare who dragged her thrashed legs behind her. As she reached for a pistol, Riot loosed a viscous kick into her side that sent her sprawling away from her target. The mare glared fiery daggers into Riots eyes. “You- fucking piece of shit!” The mare coughed and spewed blood “Kerosine will fuck you like the bitch you fucking ARE!!” The mare squealed in pain as Riot pressed a hoof down on her mangled hind leg. “Not the words I want to hear from  somepony begging to not be left for the scorpions.” Riots gaze was level and cold. He scares me sometimes with looks like that. The mare spat at him, but lacked the power to fight as she lay bleeding out. “Fu...Fuck... You. Kerosine will-” “Fuck me like a rented step-foal, yea I got that part.” The pistol snuggled up against the mares tear streaked chin, its hammer clicking back. “Please don-” BLAM. The miles flew past along with the scenery, all I cared for was the low animalistic rumble of the buggies engine as we ripped across the open wastes. I could see the township of New Neighcarrion squatting low in the distance. Even from the distance we were at though, I could tell it was a lively place compared to the sprawling carcass of Hoofington. The town grew and grew as we drew closer, I could see the guard towers and the main gate; which sat in between two thick metal walls. We passed under a large ab-hoc sign that cheerily said  'Welcome to New Neighcarrion!' As we rolled closer to the main gate, I thought I could hear yelling behind the walls, but looking up I found myself starring down an uncomfortable amount of gun barrels. Riot honked the buggies horn twice, then poked his head out past the mesh window. “So you gonna open the door or what?” The inside of New Neighcarrion was quite the site to see, wall to wall homes and businesses, with snaking alleyways and various other amenities. Ponies of all shapes and colours trotted around as Riot wheeled the buggy through; towards an open space to park. It had only taken a few words and a quick simple check to see that we weren’t raiders or bandits. Upon seeing this, the guards lowered their weapons and opened the gate. “Alright, We won't be able to use the buggy from here on, so I'm going to sell it so we can get enough gear and supplies to survive the trip to Stalliongrad. Here, take these.” Riot then levitated over a small pouch of caps to me and Saw. “Try and get your selves extra ammo and better armour. I'll find you soon enough” I climbed out of the buggy, stretching my legs. Saw soon followed me over towards the market stalls, hoping to find something worth buying. I was starring down at an old pair of armoured stocking that went with an equally old and battered suit of light security armour. It was beaten and old, but it was better than my skin at stopping bullets and the like, but on top of it all; it was light and it had wing holes. “Two hundred caps little missy!” My eyes went wide with shock at the price. “Two hundred!? This craps barely with metal used to make the caps!” I was no expert at wasteland bartering, but I knew damn well when I was getting screwed! The stall owner buck gave me a withering glare, bu then broke down to a small smile that he failed to hide. “Alright, alright, one hundred and...” The buck looked back up at me, a dark mischievous look on his face. “A little something extra.” My flanks clenched as he damn near licked his chops. No way was I selling my ass for some broken garbage! “Go to hell creep!” I moved to walk away from the nasty fucker, but a light blue hoof dragged me back to the stall. The light blue hoof belonged to a mare, who was in the process of tearing the merchant a new hole. “Just look at yourself Toaster! Trying to oversell you cheap shit to some unassuming young mare! You should be beside yourself in happiness that she even THOUGHT of buying your junk!” The buck stammered, but was cut off again. “You were betting on the fact she was new, and didn't know that you remove the armour plates from your stuff! You fucking shyster!!” A small crowd had gathered at the disturbance, and I could hear agreement being murmured out from the group. The shop keep laughed nervously, shuffling his hooves. “Well how bout this little missy! I'll sell-” The blue mare cut him off again. “SELL!? You're still trying to sell this shit? I should roast you where you stand!” The buck cringed as the ingniter at the end of her battle saddle lit up. “Ok!! Ok. Fuck matchstick, I need to make a living somehow!” The blue mare was opening up for another attack, but I saw the guards homing in on the disturbance “I'll give you forty for the whole set, plus plates.” They both turned their head to me, surprise evident on only one face. “Deal! Now get the fuck away from my shop!” Just as the guards were closing in, I began to turn away with my purchase. I was halted again by the blue hoof being wrapped around my shoulder. “We should get drinks to celebrate! Come on, I know the perfect place!” My mind scrambled to try and answer but it was obvious that I didn't have much choice in the matter. “Alright, lead the way.” Matchstick grabbed my hoof with hers, and began to weave us through the crowds. We turned down a small alley, then another; I could already tell that I was damn lost. “Where are we going?” The blue mare flashed me a grin. “The Spike Pit!” Wonderful. Just Wonderful. We sat in a dingy corner booth in The Spike Pit, I starred down at my 'Drink' with a look of pity and confusion. The blue mare laughed at my confusion, slamming hers back in one fell swoop. She had undone her battle saddle and leaned it against the booth. She put her glass back done and looked at me. “So, whats you're story?” The mare wore a grey and yellow uniform, which was tattered and patched in several places. There were multiple thick metal plates on the opposite side of where her weapon would sit. She had a pair of dark goggles resting on her forehead, which, along with her face; were stained with soot and smoke. “Well, go on! I'm interested in you!” What does she mean by interested and why is she smiling like that? “Well, uh, my name is Dew Cloud; and I'm a pegasus.” The mare snickered at that, the alcohol was obviously doing the trick. “Well Dew Cloud, it's nice to meet you! Names Matchstick, but you can call me Match!” The mare let out a short laugh, signalling me to continue. “Well Match, what do you want to know?” The mare looked at me with curious eyes. “What brings you here? Pegasi don't leave home that often, not without power armour and heavy weapons.” I swallowed slightly, thinking of the many reasons to leave; as well as the one that forced my hoof. “I'm looking for somepony special.” The mare giggled, signalling the bartender for another round of drinks. I was half way done mine. “Aren't we all?” I smirked at that, continuing my condensed story. “And that was when Riot stepped in, killing the raiders.” I took another sip off the brew, it was starting to grow on me in a strange, bad tasting way. But the shocked expression from Match drew my attention away from my bitter drink. She lunged out at me, grabbing my face and pulling me closer, inadvertently squishing my cheeks and lips together. She starred down into my eyes as she spoke. “Riot? As in Stalliongrad Ranger Riot?” Her eyes almost pleaded me to say yes. “He said his full name was Iron Ven-” The mare let out a little squeak. She dragged me in and kissed me on the lips. My eyes shot open at the contact, but she had already broken the kiss off. I sat there; wide eyed and stunned as the mare belted off a line of words I would never understand. She finally calmed herself enough to make sense after another little * Squee.* “Is he here? I need to see him!” Alright, she's pissing me off! I saw him first! I snorted at her, lowering my eyes to a glare. “Why are you so interested?” Match barely skipped a beat, going right over my hostility. “Have you ever seen him kill someone? It's fucking glorious! Such grace, such power, such Stable tech ingenuity!!”  her answer caught me off guard; she wasn't attracted to him? She enjoyed watching him... kill? What the fuck, seriously, that’s fucked up. “How... Do you know Riot? It sounds like you knew him well.” I was genuinely curious, despite the possible gruesome reasoning. It was probably the alcohol that made me ask. The mares smile dropped, as did her eyes. She sat back down on in her booth; starring down into the depths of her mug. “I'd be dead or worse if he hadn't saved me.” Should I even be surprised that I'm not the first mare he's saved? No? Probably not. “What happened?” I pushed the foul drink away as Matchstick put her head down on her fore-hooves, looking dejected. “I was a nopony in my stable, a fry cook. I was working when the door hit its automatic opening sequence, but a lot of ponies weren't so lucky. You see, the way my stable was made, the door opened straight into the atrium, not a maintenance area. On the other side of the door was a massive cave system and an equally large raider camp.” The mare took a moment to compose herself. “They were... in the middle of a hoofball game when the raiders rushed in. They didn't leave many survivors. I could- could hear the screams and gun-fire before they reached me, but I didn't know what to do, so I hid. I hid like a goddess damn coward as they roasted, raped and tortured  my friends and family.” I was taken aback, how could this bouncy high strung mare be like this after something like that? “How did you-” “One of the higher ups found me, in the diner. He had a heavy flamer, but he was more interested in shoving his little raider up my ass than cooking me. Figure he was the first buck to find me attractive enough to fuck.” I was appalled, turns out I wasn't the only mare who had unwanted rough sexual encounters. “Did he.. do it?” Matchstick laughed, shaking her head. “No, no. I crushed his skull with a frying pan after I tagged him with boiling fryer oil.” I blinked, not expecting that out come. “Then I took his flamethrower, torched my way out of the Stable. Until I ran out of fuel half way through the caves that is.” I motioned for her to continue. “They had me cornered, no less than ten of them, fully armed and really wanting serious revenge for their dead friends. I could practically taste my short life coming to an end. I actually hoped they would just shoot me dead, I'd seen what they'd done to my mare friends. I didn't want that fate.” Matchstick slugged back the rest of her drink, then reached over for my discarded stein. “I closed my eyes, hoping that the fumes in  my tanks were enough to kill some of them. They cocked their weapons, I was seconds from death. Then BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!” Matchstick ended each Boom with a hoof slamming into the table, causing me to jump. “ I opened my eyes.... All the raiders were dead, these huge fuckin' holes in their heads. Then this big mother fucker walks in from the shadows, has a night vision goggles and a pip-buck. One buck carved through an entire raider camp, didn't even know about the stable.” Matchstick giggled at the memory, she obviously had a good buzz going. I could tell that much, even in the dingy darkness. “He offered to lead me out, make sure I was safe. I'm alive and kicking because of him, but I never got to know him. Wanted to thank him personally; properly.” She started to lurch to her hooves, grasping for purchase on the booths high back. I stood up to join her, letting her brace against me for support. “We need to find my friends, they'll be looking for me by now.” We neared the door, but before we let, Matchstick tossed a small bag towards the bartender, who caught it in a field of magic. As we walked out, I spotted Saw at the far end of the alley, I guided the tipsy mare towards him. We were in a small motel room, It had grown dark outside, so I had decided to bunker down for the night. Matchstick was laid out on one of the beds, she had tripped and knocked herself out shortly after meeting Saw. “So, Dew; you said you picked up some barding?” Riot was sitting at the table, magically cleaning his rifles. His pouches bulged with additional magazines of ammunition, many of which were wrapped with coloured bands of paint. I smiled over at him, hoofing my bag. “I'll show you!” I fought the urge to skip as I picked up the bag the armour had come in, and trotted happily into the bathroom. The armour was tight in some places, but it was comfortable; and it didn't smell. Those stocking really define my flanks... Hah, maybe now they won't get shot off! I opened the bathroom door and stepped out. Matchstick was coming to, her nose wrapped in bandages. Riot looked up at my now armoured form, cracking a smile he nodded his head in approval. “Those will do nicely Dew. Funny how Saw is the only one not wearing something made by stable-tec.” His comment piqued my interest. “Say, Riot; where did you get your armour? I didn't see anything like it in the market.” Riot went back to working on his rifles, I figured I wouldn't be getting an answer for that question. “It's  pretty unique to my stable. Composite Riot barding, course' this sets been modified by yours truly. Had to reinforce the plates, padding and joints. I pulled the plates out of a heavier set, nasty little fuckers they are. I lost my helmet somewhere in Stalliongrad, along with what was in the band of said helmet.” “Wow, that would explain how you can take that much flak and still walk around!” I was pleased with the answer I had gotten, not expecting anymore. “Yea. That's how I do it.” Something in Riots voice sent up a red flag in my head, but before I could ask, Matchstick woke up. “RIOT! It's me, Matchstick!” She was perched on the end of the bed, managing to balance at an almost impossible angle with a disturbingly wide smile. Riot sat across from her, still facing his rifles, but with a look of sheer terror on his muzzle. He slowly began turning around, I swear I could actually see the sweat forming on his brow. “You look super duper Riot! Sure is good to see you again!” Matchstick had backed up from her perch on the bed, but everything seemed off. Riots eyes flicked over to me, pleading for answers. “Oh, hey Sticks, thought I recognized you when I was patching up your head.” Matchstick quickly nodded her head up and down fervously, the smile never leaving her lips. “How are-” “Oh Riot I never got to thank you properly for saving me and giving me a real life!” “You don't-” The blue mare launched off the bed, hooves stretched out wide. She impacted Riots from the side, catching him off guard, which resulted in Riots eyes widened in terror as he loosing a pained yelp. She hung on till his chair capsized under the weight, sending them into a tangled pile on the floor. “Goddess! Match what the fu-” Saw walked into the room from outside, his fur slicked from rain. He stopped dead at the strange sight. “I'm just giving you a patented Matchstick super duper hug!!” The mare squeezed him in closer, causing his face to contort. I couldn't help myself, I started laughing my ass off! Whipping my eyes as the buck untangled himself from the smiling mare, I was still giggling slightly at the absurdity of the situation. Matchstick was sitting against the foot of the bed, still sporting an ear to ear grin. Even Saw had broken into a wary smile as he trotted over with his small bag of supplies. “So THAT'S what you meant by proper thanks!!” I was leaning against the wall for support, my eyes still blurry. Riots eyes snapped over to me, anger apparent in them. “YOU KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN!!?” I hit the floor laughing. Footnote :Level Up!  Level 5 reached New perk: Friends like these: You got some nice friends there, shame if something happened to them... Whenever you’re within sight range of your companions, you gain a 7% damage bonus. For every level of this perk, gain an additional 7% Skill milestone: Barter 45                 Science 35                     Energy 53