The wind bit at our exposed coats the next morning as we stepped out of the hotel. The servos in Scouring’s armor whirred as we walked along, our hooves making soft prints in the thick layer of snow that covered the ground, frigid and faintly reminding me of back home. We trotted towards the shed at the far side of the yard, the train yard full of ponies heading about their daily errands. Stopping momentarily in front of a set of tracks, a large team of stallions could be seen tugging a boxcar along behind them, a pair of fillies looking out of a window cut into the side as their house clacked along the metal rails. Stepping over the train tracks, we soon made our way towards the tank garage, the door creaking as it swung open. Rangefinder stood looking over the treads of her tank, fiddling with something on the wheels it ran on. She glanced over her shoulder as we entered, grinning and tossing an oily rag up onto the metal front track cover. “Heya, guys! Heading back out already? Mad Jack’d probably want to say goodbye too, but I think he got a little too excited with his winnings last night.” She nodded over towards said ghoul’s tank, where snoring could be heard even through the thick metal plating.

Night Strike nodded as Aerith headed over to the mini-tank, hopping in and giving her guns an inspection. “Yeah, setting off for the east, I think if Static stays in one place for too long he gets cranky.” I rolled my eyes as Rangefinder shrugged, hoisting herself up onto the front of her tank and picking the rag back up. She began to polish the long barrel sticking from the turret, Night Strike trotting around to get a better look at it. As she did, her ears perked up slightly. “Oh, hey, would you happen to know anything about Stable… shoot, what was it, Static?” Night Strike asked, turning to me. I tossed her the pamphlet and the riffled through it quickly. “Oh, yeah, a Stable 117? Apparently it was built in the mountain range to the southeast of here, somewhere near the Basin Overlook mines it looks like, but we haven't heard anypony talk about it.”

Rangefinder scratched at her chin, squinting a little as she thought. “Hm… no, not that I’ve ever heard of. Though I really don’t know much about Stables in this area either, I was down by Baltimare when the bombs hit and came across Fyre a little while after that, eventually wandered up to here. Didn't bother to go anywhere besides places where ponies lived.” The ghoulified pegasus gave a shrug, as I hopped into the driver’s seat of the small half-track, flicking on the engine. The motor behind me began to rumble as I turned the tank around to face the large garage doors, the wheels of the wagon squeaking as they rolled along behind. Night Strike passed on a shrug to Rangefinder, climbing onto the back as the others boarded as well.

“Huh, ah well. Thanks anyways.” The two pegasi passed on waves to each other as I headed out of the main doors, driving along the rows of boxcars towards the edge of town. We passed underneath a pre-war crane, where a guard could be seen sitting in the small operating box, the barrel of a hunting rifle leaned up against the frame of an open window. The train yard soon disappeared behind us, a lone set of tracks heading eastward towards the mountains barely visible through the snow. I followed the tracks for a while, having no road to drive along as we powered onwards through the bare fields, looking towards the tree-covered mountains.

The mini-tank chugged as the ground began to slope upwards, the tracks turning south and following a ridge that grew steadily taller as we followed them. I slowed a little to better wend my way through the fallen boulders that blocked the roads along the line, occasionally having to drive on the tracks themselves. Yeesh, whose idea was it to build a railroad so close to these cliffs, anyways? The mini-tank bounced up as the wheel rolled over the tracks again, myself letting off a cloudy sigh and eventually just driving between the rails - not like we have to worry about trains or anything. The ground to our right fell away sharply, leaving us slowly trundling up the tracks along the side of the mountain. Scouring looked over the edge nervously, before leaning back to the side of the trailer away from the drop-off.

The tracks leveled off slightly, leading to a small switchback. I carefully maneuvered the tank around the loop, my heart jumping to my throat as a few rocks tumbled down the side of the cliff. “Eheheh, y'sure you don’t see some other way up 'round here? One hell of a drop, inn't it?..." I only gulped, keeping the mini-tank rolling carefully along the track heading upwards. The outcrop of the cliff steadily inclined, twisting its way around the mountain. Higher and higher we climbed, the top of the mountain never seeming to draw any nearer as we followed the tracks. To my relief, however, the ground finally began to level out slightly again as we crested one of the smaller mountains in the range. Looking down, the tracks ran through a small town, before continuing eastward.

I slowed the tank as we passed down the smaller slope on the other side of the first mountain, stopping in front of a small station on the side of the track. “I… uh… I think I need a bit of a break after that cliff… guh, at least there’s less of a chance of rockslide here.” My hooves shook a little as I climbed out of the mini-tank, still shaking as I landed on the frigid snow that had piled on the platform. Scouring climbed out of the trailer, looking equally shaken, even through his power armor. Aerith looked over to Night Strike, shrugging as Scouring and I stepped into the station, myself catching my breath. The station had a few benches sitting in a small waiting room, the old ticket booth gated off. I wandered over to the door of the ticket booth, finding it locked as the others stepped into the station behind me.

Aerith wandered over to a shelf full of old magazines, flipping through a couple as I pulled the ax out from under the strap of my saddlebags. I carefully placed the blade above the knob of the door, biting down on the handle. A crack filled the air as I swung down rapidly, the rotting wood easily snapping away, the rusty knob breaking apart as the door swung open. Stowing the ax, I stepped into the cashier’s room, punching one of the keys down on the cash register. The drawer popped open with a ding, revealing a few stacks of pre-war bits. I scooped them up into my saddlebags before trotting back into the main room of the station - well, if nothing else, at least we got a few caps back out of this... guh, earth ponies and heights just don't mix.

Crash Dive pushed open a door into a small side room where a skeleton lay in a cramped jail cell, its hoof reaching out of the bars towards a discarded bottle of water. Eesh, at least the guards got the quick death of megaspell blast. Night Strike stepped over the skeleton’s hoof, digging around inside a desk. She tossed aside a few pencils before coming across a deck of cards, which she promptly slipped into the pocket of her jacket. Well, it's something, I suppose...

Having nothing else to do, we headed back outside, looking over the town that lay before us... though calling it a 'town' was probably being quite generous. Other than the station, there was only a general store and a small inn that looked barely big enough for three rooms that made up the stop. “Jeez, I know some places are small, but this is pretty ridiculous.” Night Strike said as we trotted between the two buildings, the ground cold and hard beneath our hooves.

“Think it’s jus' supposed to be a rest stop. Y’know, some place the ponies workin' the railroad could stop between distant stations... actually…” Scouring trailed off, turning and trotting to look around the store, looking towards the mountain range as it continued to the east. “Huh, think that might be Mountain Springs, out that way.” He pointed off in the distance. I squinted, shielding my eyes from the sun with my hoof. “Nae, no, more left, there!” He tried to direct my gaze, but I couldn’t spot anything in the underlying ground except a small ravine carved into the rocky terrain. Scouring waved his hoof, giving an exasperated sigh. “Ah, forget it. Not like we’d be going there anyway, I doubt the Elder’d be happy if I turned up without my company, especially after sendin' us out on a wild goose chase anyways.”

We made our way back towards the mini-tank, and I hopped into the driver’s seat, the others taking their usual positions as I started up the engine once more. I was able to drive away from the railroad tracks a bit as we headed further eastward, deeper into the snowy mountains. As we drove along, Night Strike pulled out the deck of cards she’d found, carefully laying it on the back of the tank. “Anyone up for blackjack?” I hit a rock on the ground, the cards scattering out into an uneven pile that only barely all stayed on the back. “Or, um… go fish?”

---

“Got any… queens?” Night Strike asked, looking over to Aerith. The alicorn shook her head, and Night Strike drew from the now small pile lying before her. Scouring leaned up against the front of the trailer, looking down at the cards held in his magic. The railway had turned south long ago, leaving us driving across the rocky ground of the mountains with no guide besides the compass on our Pip-Bucks. The ground dipped slightly as we drove closer to the second line of mountains on the ridge, crumbling away into a dried riverbed. A thin stream of water flowed through the bottom of the chasm, tumbling over the large rocks that the fast spring stream would have easily shifted.

I scanned the riverbed, my brow furrowing a little as I tried to spot someplace we’d be able to cross. The ground before us was starting to slope up once again, quickly growing steeper as the ravine turned into a large pothole, the stream of water cascading down the side of the mountain into the pool of the ravine. I brought the mini-tank to a stop on the edge of the riverbed, looking out across the low water. “Uhh… anypony have any idea how we’re supposed to get across this? I don’t think I’m going to be able to drive this thing up that mountain ridge.” The others looked up from their game, glancing around to see the canyon.

Crash Dive lowered her hand of cards, flicking her headlamp on to get a better view in the dimming light. “You sure we didn’t pass a bridge? I can’t see a good way to get this thing across.” I shook my head, Aerith’s horn lighting up as she conjured up a sign.

‘Scouring and I might be able to levitate the tank and the trailer over one at a time, it’s not too wide. Unless you want to head all the way back to the tracks and see if there’s a bridge crossing there, I think that’s our best bet.’ I tilted my head, not really liking either scenario. Night Strike bent down and snatched up a rock from the ground as we thought. She tossed it in her hoof before taking careful aim and chucking it towards the edge of the ravine. The stone landed with a crack against a large rock embedded into the wall of the riverbed. The rock shifted before tumbling down, sending up a cloud of dust as it knocked more stones loose on its way to the bottom of the ravine. Night Strike and Scouring looked at each other, a little grin crossing Night Strike’s face. Oh, I really don’t like that kind of grin...

Scouring began to pick out a few bricks of C4 from the trailer, passing them over to Night Strike. She took the explosives, her wings flaring out as she took to the air, flapping over to the other side of the ravine. Carefully digging away at the side of the dusty cliff, she squeezed two of the bricks into the newly formed hole before returning to our side to do the same. Flying back up to the mini-tank, she gave Scouring a nod, who promptly presented his detonator and pressed the trigger. The explosion echoed through the canyon, rocks tumbling away as a dense fog of dust and dirt was kicked up into the air. I covered my mouth, coughing a bit as my goggles thankfully shielded my eyes from the debris.

As the sound of tumbling rocks subsided, I looked over to see a newly created bridge of dust and stone, the river splashing up against the makeshift dam. “There we go, made a bridge. Only took ten seconds, eleven, tops. I’d hurry up if I were you, who knows how long until the river shakes the rocks loose again.” Night Strike said, wearing a smirk. I shook my head, turning the tank around to face the pile of rubble. Jeez, why can’t there just be a problem we can’t solve with explosives for once? I drove down the blown apart section of the wall, the treads knocking a few stones down into the riverbed as it trundled along the path. Water splashed up against the wall of rocks, a little bit trickling out the other end to continue flowing down the path. The tank strained a little as it reached the other end, the ramp of dirt still a little steep for it. I twisted the throttle, the engine roaring as the treads spun in the mud, eventually catching and dragging us forward up onto level ground again.

“I really don’t think that should have worked.” I said, picking up the speed as we headed south along the side of the cliffs. Night Strike waved a hoof dismissively, leaning back up against Boomer as she glanced back down at her cards. As we continued southwards, I spotted a large collection of buildings in the distance. As we approached, I could spot a large Ferris wheel standing over the buildings, along with an old rollercoaster running around the perimeter of the park. A high fence ran around the buildings, forcing me to drive alongside it towards what looked like the entry gate.

“Six games in a row? I’m starting to think you’re cheating.” Night Strike said as Aerith beamed, gathering up the cards to slip them back into her pocket. She turned to face the front as I drove around the corner of the fence, pulling up beside the front gate. Another set of train tracks ran by a small platform near the gate before turning to head down the side of the mountain, back towards the lakes in the large basin below. Lettering across the gate read ‘Vanhoover Mt. Fairgrounds’, the pegasus behind me scratching at her head. “Huh, what’s a fair doing all the way up here? Seems pretty far from any towns to get much business.”

I shrugged in response, pulling up closer to the entrance. “Cheap land, probably. Not to mention they could pretty much expand however they’d want up here, so long as they had access to the railway.” Night Strike hopped off of the back of the tank, heading towards the narrow gaps of the ticket booth. I turned off the engine and climbed out after her, the others following suit. The sun was dipping low over the far mountains to the west, the long shadows cast by them giving us only barely enough light to properly navigate the pathway. Scouring slipped on his helmet and switched on his own headlamp as Night Strike and I turned on our Pip-Buck lights to better see in the dark, Crash Dive's visor glowing that eerie red.

“Hopefully they have some trailers parked around here somewhere to sleep in. Kind of doubt we'll be reaching the next town on the way tonight.” Crash Dive said, the beam of her headlamp sweeping across the various food stands stationed near the entrance. Ooh, caramel apples, cotton candy, cheese curds, funnel cake… my stomach growled loudly, causing me to blush and reach into my saddlebags for one of the few remaining cans of Cram we’d swiped from the military base. Crash Dive looked over to see my scarf down some of the low grade hay before looking forward and shaking her head. “Hmh, maybe you -would- have fit better in the Enclave, if you can eat that stuff so easily. Or maybe earth ponies are just able to stomach flavored preservatives...” I only scooped out some more, swallowing the first bite. Hay is hay, who cares what’s in it?

Tossing the empty tin into a trashcan as we passed by, I glanced around, looking for someplace we’d be able to stop for the night. We passed by a large animal barn, the sound of buckets suddenly clattering to the floor filling the air. We all stopped in place, turning to look at the barn door, keeping quiet. The power armored unicorn trotted up to it, Night Strike pulling out Thumper as he did. The door creaked as it swing open, Scouring and Crash Dive’s lights cutting through the inky blackness. We couldn’t spot anything in the barn, and Scouring simply backed up, leaving the door ajar. “Prob’ly just a rat or somethin'.” He muttered before we continued through the park.

The air seemed unnaturally quiet after the noise of the buckets falling, all of us a little on edge. We came up to a large barn, a sign beside the doors reading ‘Expo center’. We ducked inside, the door closing behind us with a thud. My hoof ran along the wall, looking for a switch as Night Strike wandered down one of the rows of tables. Finding something, I pressed the switch and lights began to flicker on. Almost immediately after the hall fully illuminated, I heard Night Strike scream, followed by an explosion and several gunshots as she fired off Thumper and War Crime wildly. “AAAaaaah, killitkillitkillitkillitkillitkiiiilliiiiiit!” She cried, stumbling backwards. I rushed over, whipping out my umbrella only to find Night Strike emptying her weapons haphazardly at a display where a large animatronic manticore stood, grinning widely, one of its paws curled into a thumbs up. Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me...

“Really, Night Strike?” I passed on a glare as the pegasus sat herself up, having fallen onto her back from the panic. She simply loaded another grenade into Thumper as War Crime sat empty beside her, but I snatched the rifle from her before she could do anything further with it. “For Celestia’s sake, it’s a robot without power, what’s it going to-“ I was cut off as Thumper suddenly fired as the breech snapped shut, the grenade flying off into a display of a taffy stretching machine and the grenade rifle flying out of my hoof and bouncing off the ground. I shook my head, Night Strike getting back to her hooves and glaring at me.

“Hey, they're creepy as hell, alright? Now gimmie Thumper back so I can send this thing back to the depths of Tartarus where it belongs...” I rolled my eyes as she snatched up the grenade rifle and War Crime, myself trotting back to the rest of the group with Night Strike eventually following. Let’s just hope whatever it was that knocked down the buckets decided to walk away from the explosions instead of investigating... Night Strike slung her prized grenade rifle over her back and put her automatic sniper rifle into her duffel bag, before hopping into the wagon and turning to Scouring. “Come on, help me set up some more bricks of C4 around this building. We’re not leaving until that thing’s a pile of fine dust.” I sighed, following her back outside as Scouring let of a weak chuckle, Crash Dive sharing in my annoyance. It's just a flipping animatronic...

As we approached the gate, I spotted a trio of ponies looking over the trailer, all talking quietly amongst themselves. I picked up my pace, drawing my umbrella, the end buzzing with some electricity. “Hey, back off!” I shouted through the handle, charging forwards with Night Strike flying beside. One of the ponies looked up and gave a small shout of surprise, before the others ducked down behind the trailer. Aerith drew her tommy gun as we approached, Crash Dive’s light illuminating the mini-tank. A grenade arced into the air from the mini-tank, Aerith quickly letting loose a spray of bullets towards it, the grenade exploding mid-air.

Scouring pulled out Sunburst, the rocket launcher extending out as he jumped out around the trailer. Before he could react, though, one of the ponies leapt out and pinned him to the ground, myself feeling the heavy thud from a few meters away - sheesh, what kind of pony was that heavy!? Scouring struggled for a moment before he suddenly stopped, staring up at the pony, who I could now see was in Steel Rangers power armor. “Scourin'? The hell’re you doing here?” The pony quickly stepped off of Scouring, helping him back up to his hooves.

“Me? What about you, why're you all wanderin' around in the middle of nowhere? Thought you guys were heading back to Vanhoover t' get drunk.” I lowered my umbrella, thoroughly confused. Aerith’s magic faded as she holstered her gun, walking up beside Scouring. Crash Dive hung back, no doubt skeptical as Night Strike trotted up with me.

“Aw, well... Okay, ya got us, we kinda got bored, and Crimson over here said we ought'a think about headin' back to base. We, uh, just kinda got sidetracked... apparently there's a great golf course right down on the northeast side of the reservior though, heh.” The earth pony stallion, who wore a grey-green hat over his brown mane, turned to face us as two others stood up behind the trailer. “And, uh, who’re these guys?” Scouring gave a bit of a nervous chuckle, looking back and forth between everypony.

“Ah, right... ahm, guys, like you t' meet my old squadron, B Company.”

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