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"Not bad" Kes thought to himself, ears still ringing a bit from the sound of the explosion. So the convicts were not very skilled? Good. That made things easier.

Kes motioned for Lighting to follow him and gave Trails a nod. He figured the stallion would understand, Kes was a distance fighter, and his rifle could do more damage from up here. He began moving down the hill towards a small rocky outcropping just after that, setting himself up into a nice firing position when he got there, already scanning for more targets.

His cross hairs fell upon one of the Convicts that had taken up residence in one of the massive guard towers at the corners of the Yard. He was an ugly old stallion, eyes set off into the distance as he scanned for the source of the loud explosion that had just rocked the area.

Motioning to the other tower with his talons Kes took aim at the bucks head and squeezed off another round, aiming to take the convicts head off his shoulders. His rifle barking and bucking against him with a familiar pressure as it fired. Hopefully Lightning would get the message to take out the other tower.


(Gun 100. Firing 1 round at a convict in a tower, Headshot.)

Lightning lowered the rifle with a bit of a surprised look on his face. He haven't had much training in sniping but he did take some practice shots back in Stableton when he left the stable. And while he always felt prefered aerial combat, he was beginning to think otherwise. Slowing down and doing this sniping stuff isn't as bad as it looks.

Once the dynamite exploded in front of the convict he shot, he couldn't help but snicker a little. But he quickly brought himself back to the mission at hand. Lightning would see Kes motion him to follow and he immediately followed orders. The pegasus watched as Kes set himself in a shooting position and he mimicked him exactly. Lightning peaked over at the griffon and saw him aiming toward one of the ponies in the tower. Aiming for the other pony's head, he relaxed his body and pulled the trigger, letting the bullet fly.

(Shooting the pony in the other tower, head. One shot. Guns 65)

Trails ran down the hill and to the door of the visitors center. Kes and Lightning had better weapons for handling the cons in the towers, he'd leave that to them. He kicked in the door to the center and found a squad of NLR troopers firing at five of the rioters from behind a desk. Without thinking Trails leveled his revolver at the first con he saw and fired off two shot's to the buck's chest and one to his head.

(Guns 59)

Kes continued to show his terrifying affinity for sniping by cleanly blowing the head off of his target. Lightning meanwhile showed that he still had a lot to learn by hitting the post on the next to his. Trails' training proved, while effective, unnecessary as the first shot killed his target, the second one missing as the pony dropped and the third drilling a hole into the buck's skull. The NLR troopers kept up the fire, ignoring their newfound ally. Each fired at the gangers, but only two found their mark.

Kes swivled around again scanning for more targets. As he did he checked the other tower, the guard ther was now looking around wildly for the shot that had nearly hit him.

"Aim for th' chest." Kes advised. It was far simpler to hit the chest at a distance, it was only with lots of practic that one became skilled at hitting heads. Practice Lightning didn't have. Still Kes would give him one last shot before he intervened.

His advice given Kes turned his scope down towards the building, then the yard. He was looking for targets of oppertunity now. Idiots to pick off when they presented themselves. He found one such target in the form of some unknown convict standing near the entrence to what was probably a cell block.

Kes relaxed his body and took a breath. Inhale. Exhale...CRACK. the rpund was aimed at the bucks torso. If it hit, he would be dead before he heard the shot.

(Guns 100. Torso shot on a random convict in the Yard)

Lightning winced as his shot missed and hit a post nearby. The pegasus took another deep breath and listened to the griffon's advice. "Alright..." he said in response. Aiming again at the guard who was now alert and spinning around wildly, he lowered his gun slightly, aiming now for the guard's chest. He closed his eyes for a brief second and gave a silent prayer to Celestia and Luna that his bullet would hit it's mark this time.

Calmly, he reopened his eyes and took in a breath, released it, and...pulled the trigger.

(Torso shot on the guard in the tower. Guns 65)

Trails swapped to his repeater,not having the patience to reload. He fell into a rythm now. Aim, breath, shoot, rinse, repeat. He fired at three of the cons, each shot aimed at their chest. With the final shot he rolled behind the counter, joining the NLR Troopers. He thankful that the cons were smart enough not to try and toss a stick of dynamite in here, he didn't much want to be a red paste.

(Guns 59 3 shots)

Kes' shot of opportunity proved fruitful as the bullet tore through the chest of the con, leaving a hole the size of a grapefruit in the center. Lightning took the lesson well and hit his target in the heart, second times a charm. Trails' frantic fire however broke the streak of perfection and went wild. The buck missed his first two targets, but he made up for it by knocking the last one flat on it's ass. The NLR Troopers finished the skirmish with one final volley that tore through the still standing gangers' with little room for error.

Trails reloaded his repeater and revolver, holstering both before turning to the NLR troopers. The five NLR looked ragged and were all nursing wounds of some sort. A quick analysis revealed there was little doubt how fucked the situation was. Every muscle in Trails' body want to keep up the fight, push the cons back and win the prison. Thankfully he was smarter than that, and so were it seemed the NLR as they started running out the door.

Trails grabbed one with a foreleg and shook him, "What the hell happened?"

"They fucking blew us up." shouted Corporal Pot Pie. His nerves were frayed and he was at the end of his rope. "They squirreled away some dynamite and attacked as soon as we started morning rotation. Before the rest of us could get out a barracks they had taken the armory and were charging the office. It only took em about twenty minutes to push us back to this building." Pot gave his men a tired look and let out a sigh. "We need to fall back to Primm and call in reinforcements, this battle's lost."

Trails let the buck go and nodded, the corporal was right. "Alright, you get your men out. I'll make sure nopony follows you." Trails pulled out his repeater. The battle was lost but the cons seemed the type to shoot a retreating force. Hell Trails was the type who would, why wouldn't the cons? He set up behind the counter and waited.

Lightning let out a breath of relief as his shot finally hit the guard this time. The blue pegasus would turn his attention to the next tower, aiming at one of the two ponies inside. They too were swirling their heads around in panic, searching for the snipers picking them off.

Aiming for the torso again, Lightning slowed down his breathing and gently pulled the trigger.

(One shot at pony in the next tower. Aiming for the torso. Guns 65.)

Pot nodded and grinned at the cowpony who took up their six. The Stallion seemed to be of a rare cut in the wasteland, the kind that gives as good as they get and keeps on giving without complaint. Pot took point and led his men out of the Visitor's Office. He ducked behind a cart when he heard the crack of a rifle. Celestia fuck me sideways.

When he peeked up he saw the fire was coming from a blue pegasus up on the hill, and to add to it the shot was aimed at one of the gangers in a guard tower. The shot was low, missed by several feet, but it was still a good sign. Pot then saw the scariest looking griffon he'd ever laid eyes on walking down the entrance way. He didn't show the fear that was rising up in him though, he'd had enough of being freaked out and surprised for today. He figured the pegasus and griffon must've been that cowpony's friends. The pegasus seemed out of his element but Pot was certain that the griffon wasn't, so he continued towards Primm, knowing he wasn't going to get shot in the back.

Kes watched his target fall, eyes wide in shock as his chest was blown open. He had felt nothing, just a nervous response. The sight of a pony dying in such a way had no effect on Kestrel, he just blinked and moved along, already scanning for his next target.

His search led him to spotting the NLR troops running away, he tracked them for a bit and checked the road ahead of them. It was all clear and at the speed they were moving they would no doubt be out of the fire soon enough.

Kes turned his attentions back to the Yard, specifically the area near the visitors center. He noticed a small group of convicts rapidly approaching it from the out side; five in total, each packing dynamite and other small arms. Damn, that could be problematic.

Kes patted Lighting on the shoulder and pointed down at the visitors center. He was ordering the young buck to get down there and provide some back up to stallion. Kes knew he could handle himself, but against a group of five? He wasn't going to take that chance.

His orders given Kes took aim at one of the convicts about to charge into the door, putting his cross hairs on the bucks chest. He had three rounds left, he was going to make this magazine count before he reloaded. Inhale....Exhale. CRACK.

(Guns 100. Firing once at a convict Aiming for the torso.)

Trails heard the clamoring of convicts on the other side of the far door. He took aim at roughly head level, waiting. He Heard a crack and tensed. The door swung open, there were four ponies behind it that he could see. Trails fell into a zen and fired without hesitation or a breath. Four loud bangs later he ducked behind the bar, ready for the hell that would surely follow.

Kes continued his flawless streak, putting the stallion down with a single shot. Trails' rapid fire, while impressive and frightening, was inaccurate. He ended up only putting down two more of the convicts. The remaining two tossed dynamite at the bar, hoping to blast the buck to kingdom come. Trails thought he was lucky when the first stick went out in mid air, but was sadly mistaken. The second stick landed directly next to him, going off before the stallion could do anything. The blast crippled his head, left fore and rear leg, and torso.

Lightning frowned as his shot at the guard in the tower missed wildly. He definitely needed more training in how to snipe. He was sadly very inexperienced in all this. The pegasus debated asking for more tips from the griffon next to him but he knew that Kes wasn't fond of talking and he probably would just ignore him anyways.

He saw the NLR ponies run out of the prison and after watching them for a little while, he turned his attention back to the prison. Feeling a pat on his shoulder, Light looked up to see the griffon motion him down to the visitor center. The pegasus gave him a nod before laying Kes' rifle down on the ground next to him and pulling out his SMG. Leaping off the mountain, he unfolded his wings in mid-air and quickly soared off down to the prison. He knew Kes would cover his back so he didn't worry about making any evasive maneuvers...yet.

As Lightning neared the visitor center, he saw one convict fall from Kes' shot and two more fall from Trail's bullets. Two more were still up and both of them tossed their explosives at the stallion he was trying to cover. The loud explosion was so strong, he could feel it even in the air. Swooping in fast, Lightning put down a line of gunfire at the ponies standing in the doorway, hoping to hit both with one clip.

(Shooting both ponies. Guns 65. Flight 60)

While Trails, Kestrel, and Lightning helped the NLR soldiers escape the Powder Gangers, a certain filly sneakily followed them, now taking refuge in the ventilation system, watching, waiting. She considered jumping into action when Trails entered the visitor center, which she was now in, but the gangers inside were taken out too quickly for any real action to be taken. So, she was content to sit back,watch, and wait. Until Trails got crippled by a stick of dynamite. Then she was less content to wait for the right opportunity.

Moving towards the ventilation shaft that went above the doorway, Violet’s eyes started to glow as she peered through the building’s ceiling and walls to get a look at the gangers. She wasn’t skilled enough yet to snap their necks or do anything like that from this distance, so she settled for the next best thing. She telekinetically grabbed them by their rear ankles and pulled, hoping to pull them off their hooves, before grabbing a match (or whatever they were using to light the dynamite) and lighting one of the sticks of dynamite they carried, hoping to blow them sky-high before they noticed. To be safe, she quickly backed away from the doorway to prevent getting hit by shrapnel.

(Magic 50 for tripping the gangers and lighting the dynamite.)

Kes packed up both of his rifles and started moving downhill at the sound of explosion. That couldn't have been good. It didnt take long before Kes reached his target, bursting through the door his .44 raised and at the ready.

If Lightnings burst had failed to take out anypony Kes would quickly follow up with a shot to the torso for whoever was standing. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Trails busted up form on the floor. Kes had a few things with him that might help him, but this room needed to be cleared first. Then Kestrel could work on saving Trails.

The the group needed to get the hell out of this place, and move on to Primm; where the rest of the group and possibly a doctor was. The convicts wanted this place so bad they could have it.

(Gun 100. Firing a shot at whoever is left if necessary, aiming for chest. Revolver has a scope on it.)

Trails gagged and coughed up a mixture of dust and blood on the floor. Well that wasn't much fun now was it? He tried to get up but there was nothing for it. The ringing in his head became deafening and he threw up on himself as a reward for the effort. He felt a sharp pain start in his rear left hoof and go up the entire side of his body like a lightning bolt. Speaking of lightning he heard a burst from the pony's SMG. Good I wont get desecrated when I die Trails smiled from his own joke.

Flash's aerial acrobatics, while flashy, were fruitless. The two bursts served only to kick up dust behind the gangers. Well it did serve as a distraction. A distraction which violet capitalized on by tripping one of the two gangers, making him flail about and yell. Kes came in and made it a perfect game for himself. Walking and shooting calmly, ending both gangers with a single shot to the head.

Lightning swooped past the two convicts with a sigh of frustration. Why can't he hit anything today?! He knew that back when he shot things for fun, he could hit them, even flying. Today just wasn't his day. Of course, Trails and Kes would simply think he was inexperienced and most likely not depend on him as much after this. But damn it, he knew he could do better.

Spinning in the air around, he would come to a landing in front of the two dead bodies that he failed to shoot and that Kes came and finished the job and run into the room. The pegasus saw the griffon standing near the side of the room. Looking around, he saw the destroyed bar and Trails laying there. "Damn it!" Lightning ran over quickly, looking over him with a look of panic and confusion. 'What to do, what to do?!' he yelled at himself mentally. "Don't worry, Trails, we're going to get you out of here even if it kills me."

Trails spat blood on the ground and grinned toothily at the young buck that stood over him. "Don't say that kid, wasteland has a funny sense of humor. I'll be fine soon enough no doubt, just hurts like a bitch. I've had worse." He laughed loudly, then winced from the pain in his ribs it cause. "I remember one time in Stalliongrad there was this landmine that I had words with, hah, after you drink two pints of your own blood on accident everything tastes like iron for a week. Oh Vi, would you be a dear and come on out, doubt we've got much more on the way." Trails called out to the young filly more than a little certain that she had disobeyed him and followed.

Kestrel holstered his .44, the hand cannon having done its job with brutal efficiency. He would reload it later, right now he had a priority in the form of getting Trails up on his hooves again.

The witty little remark about Stalliongrad triggered a momentary flashback to a similar occurrence that Kestrel himself had had a few weeks ago. Some...thing had attacked him, nearly cleaving his body in two. From his back left hip to his front right shoulder the gryphon had 5 new scars, still red and angry in appearance; hidden only by his armor. The attack and actually cleaved his wings off, luckily he had a skilled medic there to reattach them before he lost them forever. The scars where the wings were reattached were a little more obvious, you had to get close though; real close.

Ignoring the comment about Violet Kes walked over and sat down next to Trails, giving him a quick run over with his sharp, cold gaze. He was no doctor, he couldn't fix everything that was wrong but he did have a certain little item that would get the buck perked up a bit; at least restore some of his mangled limbs condition. It wasn't going to be pleasant though.

Wordlessly Kes reached into a saddlebag and pulled out a small pouch of some sort, inside a potent healing poultice powder. Next he grabbed one of his canteens and poured the powder into it, a quick shake to mix the brew and it was ready.

"Look for potions." Kes ordered towards Lightning, motioning to the counter near the exit. There could be a medical box there, and a health potion would do in seconds what Kestrel's poultice would do in minutes.

That done, Kestrel looked back down at Trails holding his canteen up so as to give the stallion an idea of what he wanted him to do. A few seconds later the canteen was pressed to the stallions lips and turned up.

Trails would need to chug a good portion of the poultice laden water to get its full effects. It would be a bitter drink, leaving a rather unpleasant aftertaste as it washed down, but it would help stabilize the buck until everyone favorite little filly could get down here and actually do some work. She was much better with all this medical stuff than Kestrel was.

(Will edit if necessary)

Despite seeing Trails in such a bad shape, the way he just smiled it off and laughed just made him smile a little back at him. "Just hang in there. We'll fix you up soon enough." Hearing the stallion call for Violet, the pegasus shook his head and chuckled a little, not extremely surprised that the young mare might have and most likely have followed them.

On Kes' order to find some potions, Lightning was about to go running to the counter before remembering about his one health potion in his bag. Slapping himself with his hoof for not remembering earlier, he would say, "Why didn't I remember this before?! Here. I got a health potion right here. Took me a while to save up for it but I think it's best used now." He pulled the potion out of his bag and held it in front of Trails, waiting for the pony to finish drinking the poultice.