And here we go. I can almost guarantee you all that this chapter won't be anywhere NEAR as long as the last chapter... 6,297 words at last count. Fuck a duck... ANYWAYS! This chapter we'll be getting one of the favorite characters of the original story. You guys might hate me for having brought him in this late, but hey, I have plans peoples. Don't judge me, just tell me if you think it works. And always keep in mind... Kkat wrote the original. This is an AU story that has nothing to do with Kkat's work besides sharing characters. ALSO, one more thing before I get started... I've noticed that I have fallen into the trap of a lot of authors... "Third Person writing is easier". When I am done with this story, hopefully not TOO soon, I will be trying to get back into the first person writing thing, since that was my preferred method for a while. I could actually get into the character and attempt to view things through his eyes. Anyways, on with the story.

Chapter 6: The Steel Rangers

Artemis woke slowly, his head throbbing and his wings sore and stiff until he realized something specific. "I shouldn't be awake. I should be dead. By all accounts, Pip and I are dead. Must be in the Next World. Hmmm... if this is the Next World, why do I still hurt... OH, yeah... that's definitely pain... Must be Tartaros then..." He thought to himself until he went to get up. Putting his hand down, he felt something soft and plush under his palm. Looking down, he saw that Pip was laying beside him, fast asleep, breathing softly. "Not dead then... Tartaros would have separated us and Next World would have put her with her ancestors." He said as he looked around. Cave walls surrounded him on all sides, leaving no apparent opening for them to escape out of or explaining how they got in. Turning to her, he shook her lightly, trying to wake her gently so she wouldn't alert whatever might have been in the cave with them. "C'mon Pip... Wake up. I know you're only sleeping." He said as he slapped her cheek lightly. "Hm... no go there..." He said as he stood up and winced when his wings fluttered, painfully, against his back, the bones slowly healing back into place.

"You are awake then little one?" a voice asked and he spun around, holding his hands up to ward off a blow and return one only to freeze. Against the back wall, nearly invisible, though becoming more so as her scales returned to their usual bright red coloring, was one of Artemis' best friends. One of his father's summon creatures that had been with him in Canterlot when the Pink Cloud went off. Amber Clad Skylark, called Sky for short by everyone that had become her friend and since she'd been released from her card for good. There were two ways to release a summon creature from their cards, destroying the card or the controller dying. Artemis had been there when his dad had burned Skylark's card. She was still bright red, but there was a slight glow to her scales and her eyes. Finally tuning into the sounds around him, Artemis noticed that his Pipbuck was firing off in rapid fire clicks. She was radioactive in a big way.

"Sky. You're alive." He said and she nodded.

"Yes. And a radiation hazard to you and your friend. I have been feeding the two of you packets of stuff called Rad-Away to alleviate the effects to the two of you, but it seems to have a positive effect on your arm." She said and he looked down at his right arm. Though his arm absorbed magic and generated magic of its own, it also seemed to have adapted to absorb radiation. The glow coming off of it was nearly blinding, and the spikes along his forearm had lengthened to be just above his elbow. He could tell just by looking at it that he had at least three shots of Big Bang stored. "I assume that is a good thing?" She asked and he nodded then shrugged.

"Good but could be potentially dangerous. How's Pip?" He asked as he walked back over to her.

"She is well. Asleep, as she has been for the last seven hours. It is nearly daylight so she should awaken soon." The radioactive dragon said as she padded around to the other side of the cave, keeping herself distant from them. She had several bits and other pieces of gold, silver, and various precious gems in a large pile on the side of the cave she was heading to, as well as a set of guns in a crate. The crate had the entire side torn off of it, and the guns looked as though they'd be worth acquiring. Artemis just didn't want to fight his friend for them, and with how heavily radiated she was, he knew she'd lose even if he purged the radiation from her fire as it hit him. On top of all that, he didn't want to endanger Pip.

"Where are we?" He heard her laugh as she curled up on top of her hoard.

"You are gathering information. That is wise. Had you not known me, you could have easily assumed I was hostile and had stolen the two of you away for a late night snack. Or, had you woken while I was away or asleep, you would have tried to discover a way out only to find the fastest way to escape from here would be to jump from the cliff outside or to scale the walls to the opening at the top of my cavern and to jump from the top of the mountain. A not wise decision with your wings in such poor repair." She said and he looked up, noticing the light from the wastelands morning flooding in through a gigantic hole in the top of the cave. To his right there was a tunnel that surely lead to the cliff she had mentioned, which from what she'd said, both would lead to a several hundred foot drop. With his skill as a fighter, he'd know to drop and roll at the bottom, but carrying Pip down would make that impossible without hurting her, and just bending at the knees upon landing would still break both of his legs. Being crippled in the Wasteland was a death sentence, being crippled at the base of a cliff would mean death for both of them.

"Yep. So, we're in a cave at the top of a mountain." She nodded and her jaws settled into a smile. "From the look of that hole up there, this is a dead volcano, so you've made your home in Fire Top." She nodded. "Alright, so... since we're in Fire Top now and not in Fillydelphia, the reason we're here and not there. When we dove out of the tower to avoid getting filled with bullet holes, my wings were shredded. So there goes that explanation. Meaning either Pip teleported us to somewhere she saw in the distance, hoping it would be a soft landing." Sky shook her head but instead of interrupting, let him continue. "Or, you caught us and flew us here to tend our wounds." She nodded and he shrugged.

"I suppose that works. But, one problem, if you were seen flying over Equestria from Fillydelphia to here, someone was bound to see you. It may have been Enclave who are notorious dragon killers. Or Steel Rangers who hoard technology. For all they know you might have some technological marvel from before the war stashed away up here. Or it could have been any of Red-Eyes forces and he's got Alicorns. Well... false alicorns."

"The Alicorns are no threat. They will not approach here. Their goddess fears Fire Top is still active. As for Enclave and Steel Rangers, the Enclave fear me due to my excess of radiation and the Steel Rangers are crunchy and good with ketchup." Artemis chuckled at that and she smiled softly. "How have you fared, little one?" she asked and he looked up at her.

"I've been good. The Wasteland has wreaked havoc on Equestria, what's left of it anyway, but I've developed a spell to help me purify water for drinking and purge the radiation from food for eating. I can even purify the air around me temporarily. The biggest development has been Pip and Homage. We'd heard a rumor that Starburst had been spotted around Tenpony Tower and were heading there to investigate when the news that she'd been gunned down by raiders reached us. We went to Tenpony Tower anyway to meet with DJ Pon3 to see if there was anything we could do to help and discovered a little secret. Needless to say, Homage, DJ Pon3's assistant dragged Pip and myself to her room and the three of us slept together." She waggled her eye ridges at him and he waved her off with a smile. "DJ Pon3 asked if we could help him be heard over the rest of Equestria by giving him access to the broadcast tower at Fillydelphia. A tower Red-Eye was using as a base. We got the job done, but before all of us could bug out, a rocket hit the wall outside the room we were in. The blast shredded my wings and spooked Melody into teleporting back to Tenpony without us. One thing lead to another and we had to jump. It was either jump and pray we didn't splatter or not jump and get splattered all over the console."

"You chose the right choice then. I saw the two of you falling from a distance away and flew to intercept your landing. It is good for you that I made it in time." She said and he nodded and sat down next to Pip, who was finally starting to slowly wake up. Sky made herself look like more of the pile she was laying on, a trick she didn't know before the bombs, as Pip's eyes fluttered open.

"Morning sleepy head. Don't worry, we're safe. A friend of mine caught us." He said and she looked around.

"It looks like we're back in my stable, just not inside the stable..." she said and Artemis chuckled a little.

"That is to be expected. There was to be a stable built inside this mountain as it was already hollowed out by centuries of volcanic activity." Sky said as she slowly became visible, starting with the biggest part of her, her body. Pip watched in near awe as Sky became visible, the glow from her scales lighting the cavern they were in. "The construction of Stable 140 stopped, however, due to a resurgence of nuclear activity during the height of the Great War. All that was built was the door which, had the two of you been conscious when we flew here, you would have seen is now at the base of the mountain." Pip nodded slowly before turning to Artemis.

"That's a dragon." He nodded. "A fully grown, glowing, really scary dragon..."

"She's harmless. To us at least." He said and she watched him as he stood up and walked as near to the dragon as the clicking of his pipbuck would allow. "She's an old friend of mine. Amber Clad Skylark."

"She doesn't look like any lark I've ever seen. And that's only in books."

"No, her name is Skylark. I call her Sky." She looked up at the dragon and nodded.

"N-nice to meet you... Sky."

"And you little one. I imagine that now that you are awake, you would like to return to Tenpony Tower?" She asked and when the two of them nodded, she stood and walked around them to the opposite side of the cave and disappeared down a tunnel before poking her head back into the cavern. "Follow me." Pip scrambled to her feet as Artemis started down the tunnel after sky. A few minutes later, she noticed he'd disappeared.

"Artemis?" Pip asked as she looked back down the tunnel. A moment later, he came running back with a smile on his face.

"Hey Sky, you weren't holding those guns for anything were you?" He asked and when the dragon shook her head, he smiled. "Good. Cause I availed myself of their... availability." She chuckled back at him until she disappeared around another corner that was suddenly flooded with light. Blinking several times as they went to adjust their eyes to the sun again, they found that she'd lead them to the cliff edge and it was in fact one hundred feet up. "Huh... with my wings I could make that landing easily. Without them? Not so much. But... we... might have a problem." He said as he peered over the edge. Standing at the base of the mountain, their guns aiming up at them, were a group of Steel Rangers.

"Send down any technology you may have hoarded up there beast!" one of them shouted, her voice deepened by her helmet's speaker. Artemis looked down at them and sighed. They were the Fillydelphia faction of the Steel Rangers. They had one famous ranger among them, though he couldn't see him at this point, known as the Great Alicorn Hunter. Artemis knew him by two other names, Steelhooves and Applesnack. He'd been Applejack's buckfriend before the war and her right hand enforcer during the war.

"We would if we could, Ranger, but sadly our only method of transportation seems to think you and yours taste good dipped in ketchup!" He shouted down and all of the rangers turned to look at him. "And, sadly, my wings aren't cut out for a jump from this height at the moment. If you would be so kind as to set up some sort of cushioning for my friend and myself for us to land on, I'd be happy to jump down their myself and bring you what tech we have that can be transported." he said and the ranger in charge looked to her subordinates and appeared to give out orders. A moment later, half of the rangers galloped back in the direction of Fillydelphia.

"If you are willing to wait a moment, my men will return with a cushion for you to land on. In the meantime, tell us your name civilian." She said up to him and he smirked and looked at Sky.

"Should I tell them my real name or drop my stage name to them?" He asked and she grinned over at him. "Stage name it is." Looking back over the cliff he stared down at them. "Name's Radiant Echo, Ranger. Just traversing the wasteland spouting out good tunes." He said to them and two of the rangers looked at each other and he could almost hear the fan squeal from his position. "Oh great... they've heard my stuff..." He sighed as the rangers that had left returned shortly with what appeared to be a Zebra tank covered in layer upon layer of ratty old mattress, the barrel of it removed. "That's... still gonna hurt. Hooo boy... Alright, I'll try and land on my butt." He said as he picked up Pip. "Thanks Sky. And don't worry, we don't have any tech they could want anyways. Except maybe my Pipbuck but they're not getting that off me." Pip squeaked as he leapt over the edge of the cliff, her hands clenching in his shirt as they fell like a rock, him angling and putting his right arm down first.

"That landing is going to hurt!" The ranger shouted at him.

"Yeah, especially if you guys are close and there's anyone in that tank with ammuntion!" He shouted and every single steel ranger bolted, two of them scrambling out of the tank a second before he engulfed it in a barrier and slammed his palm into it, the barrier releasing an EMP burst that shut down their pipbucks and set off every explosive in the tank, blowing it to smithereens inside the barrier. The impact, however, still jolted him sideways as his arm rammed back up against his side, one of the spikes digging into his hip before Pip rolled off of the tank into the waiting arms of one of the Steel Rangers. Artemis rolled off himself and patted the dust off of his pants only to look up directly into the twin barrels of two 120mm anti-dragon cannons. Those guns could blow holes in the side of the castle back in Ponyville, even if those holes would just repair themselves. Possibly the most powerful guns in the wasteland at the moment, staring at them had Artemis nearly salivating.

"That was Steel Ranger hardware that you just destroyed." The ranger said and Artemis looked up passed the guns into the visor of her helmet. "State your business with the beast at the top of this mountain."

"I will if you'll give me your name and rank." He said, standing up and she leveled the cannons strapped to the sides of her armor at his chest.

"Paladin Wild Wind Stronghoof."

"Oh Celestia... a Stronghoof. Great. My life is officially complete... I have that doof's great grandchild pointing a gun at me... Bulk Biceps would be proud..." He said as he turned around and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Wait... Bulk Biceps? You knew my great grandfather?" She asked and he nodded.

"Course I did. I'm amazed you don't have a poster or something of me at your headquarters... Are you all blind? Do you not recognize a prince when you see him?" Artemis asked them, rounding on them and pointing at the gem embedded in his forehead with his left arm, also showing off his Beta Pipbuck. When several heavy machine guns started spooling up to fire, he looked at his pipbuck and quickly hid his arm behind him. "Um... heh... oops." He grinned as she aimed her cannons at his chest again.

"By command of the Steel Rangers in accordance with our oath, I order you to hand over that pipbuck immediately." She said and he stared directly into her visor and shook his head.

"Sorry, no can do. The beta models can be removed with a latch on the side, but I'm not taking this off. It's got more features than your armor does." He said and every steel ranger aimed their weapons at him.

"Hold fire!" boomed a deep voice and Artemis turned around and saw two machine grenade launchers being shifted into idle strapped to the sides of the steel ranger approaching them.

"Star Paladin Steelhooves. This civilian is in possession of a Beta Model Pipbuck, probably the most advanced bit of technology from before the war the Wasteland will ever see. It is our duty to relieve him of it and take it to our home base to have it cataloged." Paladin Stronghoof said and Steelhooves strode forward and looked Artemis in the eye.

"So, you're not just some Ranger using his name to give yourself more reputation. You really are Steelhooves." Artemis said and the star Paladin nodded.

"It's good to see you again, your majesty." Steelhooves said, bowing his head slightly. Artemis nodded and clapped his right arm on Steelhooves' shoulder.

"Um... Artemis... little help?" Pip asked, still wriggling in the grasp of one of the rangers. Artemis sighed and, without looking, drew a pistol Pip had never seen before from his bag and aimed it at the head of the Steel Ranger holding her.

"Knight Raiment, I suggest you let the girl go." Steelhooves said and Pip rushed to Artemis' side the second the Steel Ranger released her. Looking at the pistol, Pip saw that it wasn't a standard 10mm pistol. She also couldn't see where the cartridge would go for the ammo. It was more streamlined than anything she'd ever seen, with a slightly blue glow at the back of it and what appeared to be a beam focuser as the barrel. "That pistol could punch through our armor like it was butter, I didn't think it was still around after the bombs fell."

"Oh yeah. I never use it, but it never leaves my side. Can't be detected by detection spells, holds forty-eight rounds of heavy armor piercing magic bullets, designed for the nobility of Equestria before the bombs fell as Stable-Tec's contribution to the war. Only three were ever finished. This one is the only one left. Only two rounds have been fired out of it, ever. To destroy the other two pistols." He said as he turned to them. "Now you see why I was confident enough to stare you down while you had those pointing at me." Gesturing to Paladin Stronghoof's cannons, Artemis slipped the gun back into his bag. "The forty-four calibur anti-dragon pistol known as Harbinger."

"A powerful weapon indeed. Now, from the looks of it, you need assistance getting somewhere." Steelhooves said and Artemis nodded.

"Back to Tenpony Tower please." Steelhooves nodded and gestured for them to follow him. Falling into step behind him, Pip and Artemis looked over their shoulder. The other rangers weren't following them anymore, but he was sure he hadn't seen the last of Wild Wind Stronghoof.

Eh... don't hate me... I told you guys at the outset this chapter would be shorter than the last one. Kinda new it would be. Anyways, now we have Steelhooves in the group and we've met one of the "antagonists". Now, anyone who's read Project Horizons will know that Paladin Stronghoof in that story is a bit of a goof but a good guy, kinda reminds everyone of Major Alexander Luis Armstrong from Full Metal Alchemist. This Paladin Stronghoof that I'm using is completely different from her big brother. Devoted to the "True Oath" of the Steel Rangers, she hoards every bit of tech they can find. She's going to be an antagonist because, as Artemis explained, his Beta Pipbuck has more features to it than their armor. Better SATS, better EFS, better everything, including the capability to hack any terminal as long as it's a Stable-Tec design. She'd also be after him because of Harbinger, the most powerful gun Artemis owns. I know, a .44 caliber pistol doesn't sound like it could punch through a dragon's hide, but take into consideration the "...forty-eight rounds of heavy armor piercing magic bullets." Those forty-eight rounds are enchanted to hit with the impact force of Stronghoof's 120mm anti-dragon cannons. One bullet from his pistol packs the same punch as one shot from her cannons.

Also, I'm sure you all noticed the hint of humor I threw in. "Crunchy and good with ketchup" is my favorite meme on T-Shirts featuring dragons and I figured I could use it here somehow. Anyways, R&R and I'll have the next chapter up soon, maybe. YAY REUNIONS!

Perk Added: Iron Constitution. Not only are you fearless in the face of overwhelming odds, but you are 20% more resistant to radiation poisoning from food and drink.