//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Transversale // Story: Fallout Equestria: Devil's Luck // by Chokfi //------------------------------// Chapter 1: Transversale "Life is like playing russian roulette with a loaded rifle, it doesn't matter what you do, you always get the bullet." As I walked down the path I switched on the radio to see if anything interesting was on. It seemed I was catching the last of a radio message. “The reports have been verified that a huge explosion reminiscent of a Balefire bomb has gone off in the heart of Equestria. What's more, the elusive Enclave have been seen outside of their clouds for the first time... ever. What this means for Dise, and our very own Enclave Remnants here in Dise remains to be seen. We'll be reporting back with more news, as it becomes available,” Bull, as always, of course. Not much was realy useful in these broadcasts, not anything I could use. I let it run into music as I continued to walk, a long and horrible walk. It took me half a day to get there, and something was odd about the town. The last time I'd passed through timber there had been an NCA presence, now there was... nothing? "Hey, who's in charge here?" I asked, walking into the saloon. "It seems that in the last week or two you've gotten yourself new management." I stared around the place. There seemed to be less ponies here as well, but that was to be expected if the NCA protections had gone down... and I could smell blood on the air, old blood, but blood none the less. "Yeah, we're under new management. The Sharif is grimy over there, if you care to talk to him." The bartender pointed across from herself to a pony in the corner. So I simply walked over and pulled up a chair to his table. Without a word I slipped the letter across to him. Pulling it open he read it, then stared back at me. "how did this come so quickly?" he asked, a warble in his voice. "I've only been Shariff here for a week at most." "Not sure. What's it say?" I asked, not realy caring. I wondered if this town had a casino to use. "I'm not allowed to peak at the letters, company policy you know." "Never you mind child, I think I'll have a response for you to return to sender. Just give me a day or two." He thought for a second. "You know, you might be able to help me out. You see, there's an infestation in old timber. NCA didn't think it was worth their time." "What's it to me? I'm not the extermination type." I said, picking dirt from my hood with my magic. To be honest, I was tempted. No matter how dangerous the outside world was, there simply wasn't anything like gambling against the celestial dealer. Especially not when you knew how often you'd win, like I did. "What kind of infestation." "Raiders." He sad nonchalantly "They were some of the ones who used to trade, took over the town in the last couple of days said they were the last people with some reason to own those things. Frankly, I just don't like them staring at my town, and it makes the towns-ponies nervous." "And how much is the contract?" I asked, still not convinced. I loved a good fight, but I wasn't exactly strong enough to do much. I usualy didn't really care to fight living breathing ponies, even ghouls occasionally gave me the willies. But it wasn't a moral thing, I was willing to put a bullet in the head of anyone given the right odds and reward. "Hmm... 100 caps and you get to keep all the loot you find. Some of those places are full of stuff, they used to be owned by traders who traded with raiders. The rest, well... They were where these ghouls originated from." He smiled a wan grin and Continued his way. "Fine, but only after I spend some time gambling at your local casino." I wasn't going to get my suit dirty before THAT. He nodded and I walked out of the room, grinning. Deciding to test my luck. Quest Complete --- As I walked into the casino I was blocked by some NCA officers, or... were they? Their uniforms were unkempt, and some of them seemed to have tried to rip off their patches or remove everything but their hats. Deserters. "Well, hello there friends..." I said, calm as ever as I watched their eyes and mannerisms. "What can I do for you?" "This is our casino now, and we're enacting a tax." their leader said, the only remnant of her uniform being a green beret leaning off to one side. "Fifty caps." She seemed serious, and her unicorn magic was clearly wrapped around the baton that was strapped to her waist. However, I couldn't just let them here. "Alright, two options." I said, staring into their eyes as I did my best to glare. I wasn't that intimidating, with my small frame, but my crimson eyes seemed to embolden my claims if I stared them right in the eyes. "Either I take out my peice, and shoot you all dead." I lifted my gun out slightly to prove a point. "Or you take one hundred fifty caps, and leave this town forever. Your choice." Of course, it wasn't that much of a choice, and given how much I had rigged the odds, of course they took my offer. As they left, a stallion came from the back of the casino and grinned at me, holding out a hoof. "Glad you could drive those fuckers out." He said, letting me take his hoof and shake it. "We can actually open up for business. I took over this old building just a few days ago, and set up all the games, but those ponies decided to drive their way in and threatened me. I never got the time to talk to the sheriff about it, and those ponies did provide business, but maybe now I can have real customers. Why don't you go and get yourself some chips and sit down, I'll give you a drink on the house. I accepted the drink, a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass, as well as the idea of getting some chips to gamble with. I slipped the last of my caps, just about three or four hundred, and got all the chips I needed. Soon I started winning, uninterruptedly, at the easiest game. Blackjack always turned out right for me, no matter how bad I got at it, so I kept on going and winning, doubling down every time I hit under 14. It wasn't long before a crowd formed around me, as the establishment keeping an eye on my magic to make sure I didn't do any cheating. After I got a good hand, and went from 450 to 650 they pulled me away from my game. Sure, it was to give me a gift of 20 chips, but it was to throw off my game. And lowe, lady luck saw fit to take those away from me immediately, along with another 150 or so chips. After that I decided to move to the roulet table for a bit, something that they wouldn't accuse me of cheating because I didn't need to use my horn for anything during the spin. I didn't win as often as I did at blackjack, but I still did win. In fact, I won enough to get to another major milestone of chips, doubling what I had at the beginning until I had 1300 chips. Again they pulled me away from my game, but this time to give me something MUCH more appreciated. A stealth boy, something that I often needed. Finally I moved to the slot machines, the one place that no one could think I was cheating, because there were anti-magic wards cast upon the things. Still it was far too slow going, and it took me nearly as long as the last couple things had to just get another couple hundred scraped by, when they gave me a set of leather armor... a useless gift. However, I was able to figure out the heat was no longer on me, so I went back to the blackjack tables. I won and lost 200 chips at a time. I continued to have a fairly consistent win to loose ratio, leaving me on the win side. But it wasn't until I got a wonderful win of 400 chips, which ended me up at 2800 chips, a grinning fool. But still, I felt a hoof on my shoulder. Looking behind me there they were, a large pony with an indeterminate sex, who's coat matched the sand that littered the assault outside. "OK high roller, that's it. You've been cut off by the casino's gambling rules, you can drink but you can't bet any more, have a good day." I sighed and nodded, taking my winnings to the counter and trading them in for caps. That included the armor, no thank you, but I certainly was happy to keep the stealth boy. With a grin I took my stealthboy and left. This was all I really needed, and I loved it. Level Up! New Perk: Rapid Reload: Your Reload time is 25% faster, and 20% cooler.