“Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it and I'm afraid of ponies who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work - and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't.”

The loud squelch of old metal hit my ears. I knew this sound well from when I stayed at the Garage before. Harmony was changing the battery on the generator again. I loved this place, and it was something akin to a second home to me. Though, I distinctly remember that I was just outside… and cold. I opened my eyes slowly with a groan.

“Sorry, ya’ll. Didn’t mean ta wake ya.” Harmony whispered before she disappeared down into the generator room.

“It’s fine.” I whined as I stretched. I shuttered as something tickled my side when I did. Sitting up, I found Shadow sleeping next to me. He’d draped his wing over me and kept me warm. Slowly, I slid away from him off of Pallet’s couch. I could feel myself blushing as I took a step away. I nearly tripped over my gear as I did. He must have removed it sometime last night. Oh Celestia, I don’t want to think about him stripping me! I needed a distraction, anything at all. I perked my ear and listened.

The sizzling of meat upstairs in the kitchen was perfect. With a loud grumble, my stomach agreed that we should go find something to eat. I turned around slowly, keeping my eyes on the slumbering pegasus. Maybe I can sneak…

“Hmm,” He whined and yawned. Slowly he opened his eyes and groggily smiled at me. “Hey, sleep well?”

“Yeah, um…” I pointed my hoof to the kitchen. “Gonna...something…” That was all I said before my legs pulled me across the garage floor seemingly on their own. I knew I wasn’t the most eloquent mare, but I had no experience with a stallion like him. Normally I’d just give them a good kick in the family gems, but that was because they didn’t care what I thought. How am I supposed to deal with a stallion who genuinely wants me to be safe?

Each step creaked as I stepped on it. It was as loud as a symphony to my ears. As I finally opened the door, I was glad to at least see Predious’ smiling face. He was focused on making radhog bacon and some fried hay from a can. He was humming to himself as he did. Part of me wondered what he’d been like before the world went to shit. I walked into the kitchen and walked over to the table. Short Staff’s bed was empty, but that isn’t a surprise seeing as his vehicle is gone as well.

“Morning!” Predious said in a sing-songy voice. It was really odd to see him in this good of a mood. I wondered why exactly that was. Then again, I didn’t need to bother him with it. If he felt good, why should I question it?

Then again, if being warm last night felt so good, why should I feel weird? Shadow isn’t that bad looking of a stallion. He also so far didn’t seem to be any threat. I still couldn’t figure out exactly why he wanted to be so close to me though. I get that I saved him, but why didn’t he seem to care for Harmony? Or from what Sky had told me about the world above the clouds, why didn’t he like Short Staff?

“Somethin’ weighin’ on ya mind, sugar?” Harmony said in amusement. She took a seat and stared at me. I wasn’t sure why she’d asked. She gave me a sly look and glanced down my face. It was only then did I realize the warm blush I’d worn on my cheeks.

“Just,” Shit, think of something! “Feeling a little under the weather.” I gave out a few forced coughs and hoped that she’d just drop the subject.

“Sick, eh?” She said as she raised her hoof up. She pressed it against my forehead and waited for a moment. “Nope, I reckon yer as fit as a whip!” She smirked and sat back. “Well, ya know, besides all the bruises and such. But ya’ll seem ta get a new one each day, so tain’t nuthin’.”

I flopped forward and planted my face onto the table.

“Please, just drop it.” I mumbled and lay my muzzle flat on the table. I looked up to Harmony with the best pleading eyes I could muster up. “I’ve already got too much to worry about right now.” Now that I thought about it, I did. That necromancing asshole was still ahead of us, and we needed to get going if we had any hope of catching him.

“Bacon’s up!” Predious chimed in as he turned from the stove. He levitated both the pan and a stack of plates over to us. He set one down on my head and another in front of Harmony. “Will your suitor be joining us?” He playfully jested. At least, I hoped it was a playful jest.

“If you’ve got enough.” Shadow spoke up as he slowly hovered up into the kitchen. To avoid his gaze, I pulled my plate down over my eyes. “Hey, are you alright there, Storm?”

“Yea, I dunno.” Harmony spoke up. “I reckon ya’ll better…” That was as far as she got before I pulled the plate up just enough to see where to shove my hoof. She bit down on it as I stuck it in her muzzle, but I just took the pain in stride. After the last few days, it was a minor inconvenience on the scale of pain endurance.

“What?” Shadow looked over to me in concern. “So you aren’t feeling well?’ He looked over to me, then to Predious. I gave him my best death glare and for once, he seemed to not want to piss me off. He simply looked over to shadow and shook his head with a shrug.

“I’m fine.” I grunted. “Just hungry.”

“Oh, well, me too!” He smiled and dropped his hooves onto the floor. Then he looked around for a moment in confusion. “Wasn’t there one other who showed up?” I was reminded that I did come into Sunshine City with Gauge, and I completely lost her on the way over here. I’d have to apologize for that. Meanwhile, Harmony popped my hoof out of her muzzle.

“She an’ Short Staff went are at Pender’s bar. They’re here in town somewhere.” She didn’t sound too amused by that. Then again, she didn’t have the best opinion on steel rangers these last few months.

“Oh, Storm?” Predious spoke up as he dived out the bacon. “Tasteless and Ficha went on ahead to Tenpony. Ficha said something or other about somepony. I don’t know, I can’t stand the stallion.” He sighed and levitated the now empty pan back over to the sink. “Tasteless however just wanted to make fun of the ‘fancy fuckers’ who ‘cower in fear’ there.” He looked a bit more amused at that comment. “No doubt they’ll both be in lock up by the time we get there.”

“Good to know.” I rolled my eyes. With another grumble, my stomach reminded me that I came up here to eat. The radhog meat on my plate was heavenly, and I dare say it smelled better than the breakfast that ghoul had made for us. We were all about to chow down on the bacon when we found our plates pulled away in his magic.

“Uh uh.” He waged his hoof. “Not until everypony has both items I’ve made.” He was back to his sing-songy voice as the sound of sizzling peaked behind him. With a fluid motion, he levitated the hay pot over to and around the table. With the lightest touch, he laid a lump of fried hay one each of our plates. With a horrendous clang, he then unceremoniously tossed the pot into the sink. The three of us at the table cringed and sat in silent confusion as he sat down. Once he was comfortable, he folded his hooves on the table and looked around at us.

“What are you all waiting for? Eat up.” He looked offended. “It’ll get cold if you let it sit.”

With a collective groan, we all dove in to the best breakfast we’d had in quite a while.

After the most awkward breakfast in Equestrian history, Harmony told me that her mother might have a way to get us out to the storm the necromancer spoke of. Given that we
were already headed for Tenpony to beg for help, this was the best news I’d had in weeks. I went back down into the garage to gather my things. We were still trying to catch up to the Necromancer, but if we could get a boat that would survive the storm, we’d have the advantage.

“Are you sure this is such a good idea?” Predious asked as he lazed about. “If it’s a war he wants, what makes you think you can stop him?”

“Somepony has to try.” I muttered and stuffed an old scarf into my saddlebags. I looked over to him and sighed. “If you’re better off staying here where it’s safe, no pony said you have to go.”

“I never said I was afraid to go.” Predious smirked. “I merely asked why you thought that you needed to.” He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to me. “For a pre-war mare, you certainly put a lot of this burden on your shoulders.”

“And why shouldn’t I?” I snorted and did my best to ignore him.

“Because it ain’t yah fault.” Harmony called out from behind me.

“Precisely.” Predious retorted with an air of pretentiousness. “I think that now the Necromancer see’s you as a threat, he’ll use anything he can against you at every chance he can get.” He put his hoof on my shoulder. “The most logical choice would be to not give him that chance.”

“I can’t stay here. This is my fight.” I shrugged his hoof off and closed up my saddlebags. With the fact that anything could be inside that tempest, I needed to bring something for every contingency. Most of the supplies would have to be gotten at Tenpony, if we could even get them. Extra medical supplies, extra ammo, extreme weather gear would all have to be traded for. About the only thing I wasn’t planning on bringing with us was an extra weapon. “If you can give me one good reason that I shouldn’t be out there fighting, I’ll stay.”

“Why are you so apt to get yourself killed?” Predious said sharply. I didn’t like where this was going, and I didn’t need my friends ganging up on me.

“Because.” Pai said as she popped up into my vision. “It’s who she was made to be.” She was right. I can’t explain my drive other than it just needs to be me who fights. I may not have been born like any normal pony, and I may be over a century too late to save equestria from the zebra conflict, but that’s no excuse to stop fighting now.

“She’s a beacon of hope.” Skyline called out from the top of the stairs. She had Aunt Carlotta's old battle saddle strapped to her sides, and the look of youth in her eyes. “The ponies that cower in fear are no less brave for doing so, because for them, hiding is still surviving and fighting for what they believe is right.” She walked down the stairs slowly, stretching out her wings as she did. “But fighting isn’t the same as winning.” She shook her head. “Winning has a risk, and there are only a few ponies in any given fight who can accept and own that risk.”

“Sky, yah can’t seriously think ya’ll are comin’ with us.” Harmony waved her hooves at her. “If anythin’ happened…” She was Silenced as Skyline kicked the reload lever on her saddle. The two large battle rifles at her side gave loud ‘clacks’ as they were loaded.

“My daughter is dead at the hooves of a deranged maniac.” She glared at Harmony. “I have no family left to lose, so you are damn right that I’m not going to waste the chance to take him down.” She looked back over to me as her glare softened. “I know that where you are going might be too tough to fight alone. Believe me, I’ve been in fights like this. Just, let me have a chance to help out one last time.”

“Listen, I won’t ask you to go with me.” I looked at each of them. “But this is a fight bigger than all of us.” I looked back to Skyline. “You’re right, I don’t know what lies ahead, and it’s guaranteed to be tough. But don’t you think for a goddess damned minute that this is a suicide run.” I looked to the top of the stairs into the kitchen to see Shadow standing up there in his armor. He no longer had his helmet, but for some reason, I think he looked better without it. “The necromancer is just one stallion. Once we stop him, we’re all coming back from this.” I sighed. “Is that clear?”

“Yes ma’am!” Pai raised her hoof and saluted me in my pipvision.

“You know,” Predious put his hoof on my shoulder again. “You would have made a pretty good officer back in the war.” He offered me a genuine smile. “Squad’s with ponies like you were the ones who came back as heroes after their battles.”

“Thanks.” I muttered as everypony dispersed to get their own things packed. “I just hope I’m good enough to get us through this war.”

Once we’d all gotten refocused, it hadn’t taken us all that long to get our things together and go. With such a large group getting ready to head out, we got plenty of looks from the refugees. Harmony had said that Short Staff had planned to meet us outside the gates. He was bringing his wagon, so he could transport more supplies for the refugees back here from Tenpony once we were done there. As we walked, I couldn’t help but remember the filly who I’d seen in the snow.

“There you all are!” Gauge shouted and pushed through the crowd toward us. “Way to leave me behind, yesterday.”

“I’m sorry.” I sighed and hung my head. I didn’t want to think about anything else from the last few days. “We’re headed out to Tenpony. I think it’s best that you turn around and head back home now.”

“That’s what we’ve been trying to tell her.” A stallion in a red cloak spoke up from behind her. He pushed it back to show himself to us. His coat was a bright neon green that clashed heavily with his short but bright red mane. “My daughter is as stubborn as her mother.”

“Fruit Cup?” Skyline smiled and laughed. “It’s been years since I’ve seen you.” She walked up and hugged the strange stallion.

A mare in a red cloak walked up beside Fruit Cup and pushed her hood down. She was a bright blue, with a frizzy white and pink striped mane. She had the widest smile I’d seen in weeks. “We were just on our way to go have a talk with Longbow.” She glared at the young unicorn. “While I thank you for keeping her safe, her being here and not with her brother, where she is supposed to be, is a serious violation of ranger protocol, I might remind her.”

“Well Ah’ll be. Ya’ll can come along with us if yah’d like.” Harmony smiled and pointed toward the town gates. “With all tha raider attacks along tha route, there ain’t any other way ta find safety than in numbers.” She looked over their robes. “That is, if Ya’ll are at least armed.”

“Don’t you worry about us, dear.” Frosty smiled and lifted her robe to show off a short barreled grenade launcher. “So long as the springs in Fruit’s prosthetic don’t go out, the two of us can handle anything that comes our way.” She looked over to Fruit Cup and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush as brightly as his mane. “Isn’t that right, sweetiekins?”

“Yes, dear.” He smiled and strode forward. “We’re ready whenever you are.”

“Then it’s best we don’t waste any time.” Predious said as he trotted ahead. “Come, Storm! Your destiny awaits!” His cheery attitude was already eroding what little confidence I had left. Then again, Pred had lived through a lot of things. Maybe for once I shouldn’t be so cynical and just believe that we can make it to Tenpony without hitting any trouble.

“Hey look!” Frosty said from the intersection up ahead. I was worried that she was leading to far in front of us, and an intersection was a perfect place for an ambush. She leaned down and hoofed at the muddy dirt and snow. “A half buried toaster!”

With her head down, a rocket whizzed overhead, missing her by maybe a foot. It flew into a ruined cafe that sat on the corner and exploded. The building on the corner shuttered with the cacophonous sound of it’s supports giving out. Frosty turned back to us and bolted out of the way as the whole building dropped down into the street and filled the air with smoke and dust.

“Frosty?” Fruit Called out. I’d be surprised if she was, but I had to give it to her. She was pretty Spry for an older mare. Both Skyline and Shadow took to the air and zipped through the rising plume of dust. I unslung my weapon and trotted over with Fruit Cup.

“I’m okay!” She called back, coughing and hacking in the dust. “Though, I didn’t get the toaster.”

“Fuck the toaster!” Gauge yelled as she pushed past me and stormed up to her mother. “Do you have any idea how lucky you are?” She angrily growled and hit her mother in the shoulder. “Goddesses, Mom. You could have died!” She pulled her cyberhoof up and hit some buttons. “Just stay back while I get Grumpy to find out who shot at you.”

“Honey, I love you, but don’t you ever raise your voice at me again.” She glared down at Gauge. “Besides, they’re just raiders. They couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn.”

Another rocket shot whizzed through the air. it struck the rubble pile, and we all dropped to the dirt. I could have sworn that I watched a chunk of brick fly past my muzzle, barely missing me. I was getting sick of close calls, and I was getting sick of never getting a break.

“Mom?” Gauge cried out. As I shook myself off, I looked over to see that Frosty was face down in the dirt with blood streaming down the back of her head. Fruit scrambled over and tapped her cheek a few times.

“No, no no.” He whined. Quickly, he put his ear down to her head and breathed a small sigh. “It’s shallow, but she’s still breathing.” Scattered shots filled the air from just up the road. Skyline and Shadow must have spotted them, but they were close.

“Get her back to the cart, now.” I snapped at Fruit Cup. I looked over to Gauge and found her staring wide eyed down at her mother. She was in shock, and while understandable, it wasn’t what I needed right now. With a heafty grunt, Fruit Cup lifted Frosty and carried her back through the dust to the cart. “Hey, she’ll be fine.” I said to Gauge. “Right now, I need you with me, alright?” I wasn’t sure if I was getting through to her at all. “Gauge, I need Grumpy here, right now.”

“What?” Gauge mumbled before she finally looked up to me. “Yeah, Grumpy, sure.” She lifted her hoof and tapped at her pipbuck. The hearty whine of a levitation talisman preempted the cloud beside us shifting. Three red orbs floated past us toward the rubble.

I broke off from Gauge and followed it up. I wasn’t sure if it had it’s own EFS, but I figured that being a machine, it could at the very least see better through this dust than I could. Rifle in hoof, we came ever closer to the raging firefight that was brewing down the street. Red markers popped up all over my pipbuck augmented vision, and I got the gut feeling that this wasn’t going to be an easy fight.

Grumpy veered off towards one of the larger clumps of red, while I separated from him and headed to the other side of the street. The further I moved, the more the dust in front of me cleared. If I wasn’t careful, I’d step right out into plane sight and be shot in an instant. Thankfully, the first group of ponies were in a building still inside the cloud.

I pushed the door to the ruined apartment complex open. Almost immediately, I noticed that the walls down here had been torn out, and that I could see one of the Raiders propped up against the windowsill, ready to fire. Funny thing about there not being walls, is that spotting somepony worked both ways.

Before he could react, I found myself slipped into sats. My vision shifted to pink as I did, and Pai’s smiling face stared up at me as the targeting overlay came up. She was a lifesaver, and I owed her more than one for this. Two shots to the head at an eighty percent chance should do it. I confirmed the order and watched as S.A.T.S. did it’s thing. My hooves brought the rifle up and fired.

The first shot whizzed past his head, narrowly missing him. Eighty percent chance, my fat flank. My hoof worked the action and fired again just as the bolt closed. The shot punched through the raider’s eye and splattered his brains across the old brick wall behind him. S.A.T.S. dropped and started it’s recharge cycle without a hitch. Raiders weren’t anything to be worried about.

The blast of a shotgun going off from upstairs tried to prove me wrong. The brick next to my head erupted into a cone of dust and bits. I backed up and squinted as it got in my eyes. I worked the action and swung my rifle over to the stairs. The earth pony raider was lining up another shot, but I got mine off first.

My round punched a hole clear through the side of his neck. The shock made the raider stumble and fall down the rest of the steps. In my EFS, I could see another pair of targets left in the building with me, and I moved up to the stairs. As I tried to step past the raider I’d just hit, he hooked his hoof around my leg. I shook him off easily and looked back with a glare. I brought my rifle up and chambered another round, looking to put him out of his misery. To bad that the time it took me to even do that, he’d bled out already.

The loud chatter of a submachine gun rang out from the second floor as I climbed up. Just as the first floor was, the second floor was nothing but skeletal wall frames barely holding this place up. This time however, the raider in the window was too busy paying attention to Grumpy to pay me any mind. I took a look around to try to find the last raider. I heard a snicker from the other side of the room and turned to find him looking right at me.

He hefted the breach of his rocket launcher closed and gave me a sickening yellow toothed grin. If he fired that, he’d bring this whole place down around him. Then again, what did he care? Logic didn’t matter to raiders. In a last ditch effort to move, I threw myself down the stairs as he fired.

The rocket hissed for a moment as it fired. It slammed into the second floor landing and exploded with an ear shattering boom. With my push already propelling me through the air, the blast wave hit me hard and sent me straight through the open front door. I curled myself up and held my limbs as close to myself as I could as I flew. I hit hard, and something snapped inside my chest as I rolled and skid across the pavement.’

With a rumble, the raider building shuddered and collapsed in on itself. With a pained gasp, I found it hurt to breathe. I saw stars in my vision, but I also saw more red markers shifting about. With a grunt, I pulled myself to my hooves again. I realized that I didn’t have my rifle, and I looked around for it. My hearing was slow to recover from the dull ringing it had become, but I didn’t think It’d be the least of my problem without a weapon I knew I could hit with. Between the pain, the dust, and the fact that there was still a firefight going on, it was hard to focus.

I kicked something metallic and looked down. It was a blood covered submachine gun. I didn’t know if it was the same one the pony in the other building was using, but it would have to do for now. I hoofed the foul tasting gun into my muzzle and carried on. The new dust cloud pushed forward and enveloped even more ground. I found what I thought to be a solo red marker in the dust and wandered towards it.

The quick flashes from above, and the screams of ponies across the street told me that my companions were still in the fight. It was good news, seeing as I didn’t need anymore ponies dying on me this week. Or this month for a better goal. With a wince, I reached up and patted my head as I felt like it was wet. I pulled my hoof back when it was tender to the touch, but there wasn’t much blood. My guess was it was just a cut.

The sharp reports and flashes of a pony in front of me gave away the sole red marker I’d hunted down. It was a ratty looking raider mare with a combat pistol. She hid behind an old city mailbox taking pot shots at Sky and Shadow as they flew over. I wondered how she could see them through all this smoke, but figured it didn’t matter anyway. She turned to look at me as I approached. She stepped sideways out from her cover with a growl. On her right fore hoof, was a very beat up looking pipbuck.

A raider with a pipbuck. Now there’s something you didn’t see everyday.

She fired a pair of pistol shots at me faster than a normal pony could. One of them missed, but the second one found a home in my forehoof. I let loose a short chatter from the submachine gun I’d picked up. The few shots that came out before the gun jammed on me missed her completely. She hadn’t even flinched at them. She smiled and hoofed back into her saddlebags.

As great as pipbuck’s were, most of the time you still needed to reload your gun yourself. With a grunt, I tossed the submachine gun and looked down at my only real option. I bit down onto the chocolate scented grip of Bon Appetit and drew it from it’s holster. Pai drew me into S.A.T.S. again now that it had recharged, and just like that, I had the upper hoof.

The targeting overlay gave me a one hundred percent chance to hit her in the head. As tempting as that was, I was fairly pissed that she’d gotten a shot off at me. I toggled the first shot at her forehoof and the second at her chest. She didn’t get to go down easy for the pain her and her friends had caused.

The first shot fired in sats felt so much different than outside of it. Even for as slow as time felt, the round zipped through the air at her. It punched straight through her leg without even slowing down, striking the dirt under her before ricocheting up and hitting her back leg as well. The force of the shot to her foreleg left an expanding hole that grew until the entire hoof was severed from her.

I didn’t even have time to contemplate the fact that had even happened before S.A.T.S. realigned my head. I pulled the trigger again and watched as the second shot pierced her chest. It wasn’t as spectacular to watch as my first shot, but as blood seeped from her chest, she went ridged. Her eyes glazed over, and I knew she was done for good.

Real time returned with a buck to my side. The whiplash of time spells didn’t do wonders on my broken side. I looked back with a whine and found that my jacket jutted out wetly from my side. Shakely, I pulled my jacket back and found that I had two ribs jutting through my skin.

There was a short burst of fire from above as Skyline flew overhead. The last red dot disappeared from my vision, and the street fell into an eerie silence. The fighting was over for now, and I could stand to relax. With a sigh, I reholstered Bon Appetit. Carefully, I sat down and gave my hooves a break. As I did, a small white square caught my attention in a pocket of the dead raider mare.

“Storm, are you alright?” Shadow said as he dropped out of the sky. I didn’t know if his fancy enclave armor had a pipbuck in it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s how he’d found me. I reached over to the dead mare and grabbed the pack of cigarettes from her pocket. I hadn’t had a smoke in what, a week or so? I fucking needed this. “You know,” He spoke up. “Smoking is bad for your health.”

I popped one of the cancer sticks into my muzzle and just looked at him with an unamused stare. I patted myself down as I looked for my lighter, and found it in my jacket pocket. With a flick, I opened and used it to light up. With a rasping and whining deep breath, I took in the sweet flavor I’d missed all these days. Just yesterday I’d been content with never heading back out into the wasteland. We couldn’t even make it half a day before shit hit the fan again, but I didn’t care.

At least no pony who meant something died today.