//------------------------------//
// 30 
// Story: Wayward Courier 
// by Speven Dillberg 
//------------------------------//

	“Hit me.”
“You’re at eighteen. Now remember what I told you?”
“There’s only three cards that will help, high risk, high reward. Usually, it’s not worth it unless you’re cheating.”
“Right, and any casino will throw you out if they catch you.” Thomas flipped his cards over. “I have a ten and a three.” He pulled a card from the deck and revealed it. “A two.” He revealed another. “An ace.” He flipped a third card and swore. “And a Jack. I’m bust.”
Firebolt scooped the small pile of bits and pulled them closer with a smirk. Shadow Dancer threw her hand down in disgust. “How is he so good at this?’
Frost Lance sighed as he rubbed at his brow. “No idea, Shadow.”
Three days had passed since the incursion into the Changeling Hive, and Firebolt’s recovery was going well. Despite the initial concerns presented by the damaged horn, he had been told that he was looking at only three weeks before he regained full control of his magic. He still had several bald spots among his red coat, evidence of where the melted-on armour had to be pulled off. 
To make his stay in the guard’s infirmary more tolerable, Thomas had offered to show him how to gamble like a professional. The other Knights had caught wind of this and, with the help of a translation spell, had spent most of the last two days playing blackjack, poker, bridge and craps. Much to their chagrin, the bed-bound pony had managed to win most of their money.
“Are you gambling?” The four turned to see Shining Armor standing there, not looking amused. His leg had been heavily bandaged where the bullet had gone through.
“Sir, it’s not as if we’re on duty,” Firebolt answered.
“That’s not really the point, corporal.”
“So, captain, any reason you’re interrupting our fun, or are you just that much of a stick-in-the-mud?” Frost asked, looking at his latest hand.
“Actually, I need to talk to the Courier.” Thomas sighed wearily and stood up.
“Sorry, gonna have to cut it short. I might come back later.” Firebolt let out a groan while Frost Lance sighed in relief. He had virtually no hope of winning with a ten and a six.
“At least I’ll be able to keep all my bits,” Shadow grumbled.
“Now I want to go to Las Pegasus,” Firebolt said happily as he counted out his winnings.
“Las - you’re shitting me. There’s a casino town?” Thomas threw his arms up. “Well fuck! Why did none of you tell me?”
“You never asked,” Shining retorted with a smile as he led the grumbling man outside.
“So, what are we talking about?” Thomas asked.
“Well, I never really got to thank you.”
“For crippling you?” Despite how simple it would have been to heal his leg, the captain was walking with a limp. It was better to let the flesh heal on its own, rather than force anything.
“For stopping me.” Shining Armor let out a sigh. “I... I was blinded, you were right. Killing her wouldn’t have done anything to make me feel better.”
“Look, you’re doing great.” Shining looked up at him, clearly confused. “You’ve got the letting go down, all you need to do is - ”
“Begin again,” the stallion finished. “How? I’ve been suspended from service, Twilight keeps looking at me like she can’t believe it’s me, and Cadance...” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “I... I honestly have no idea how she feels.”
“If this is issues with women, then I should let you know that I’m useless,” Thomas said, raising his hands defensively. “I’d rather walk into a Legion camp in my underwear singing Jingle Jangle Jingle than try to figure out just how women work.” 
“Not even the fearless Courier can understand females?” Shining asked, his good mood returning momentarily. “What hope do we mere mortals have?” He laughed, though it didn’t last long. “Still... What am I going to do about Cadance?”
“I don’t know much about women, but I reckon you should give her some space. Don’t try and force anything, that never ends well,” Thomas said, sounding as though he had first-hand experience. “At the same time, don’t be too distant, and don’t push her away.”
“I thought you said you had no experience with mares?” the stallion asked as they entered the castle proper.
“Oh, I’ve got experience, only it’s always been... physical.” The man began to chuckle. “I’ve just realised, we’ve both slept with princesses.”





He was really depressed after that. I guess I would be, yeah, but...
Anyway, wasn’t long after that that I ran into Princess Luna. Well, technically, she tried to corner me.





“Ah, Thomas.”
Thomas looked up from what he was doing at the small table in his room and saw who had spoken to him. “Oh hello, Luna.”
“What are you doing?” she asked, looking over his shoulders.
“Putting this thing back together.” He gestured at the Transportalponder, one of the panels on the handle off to the side. Within the handle was a small fission battery. “The battery came loose. The whole time, all I had to do was re-attach it.” He chuckled. “At least I don’t need a new circuit board, that’d be a nightmare.”
“All it needed was a power supply?” Luna tilted her head, watching as he replaced the cover.
“Yeah. Let’s see if it works.” He flipped the trigger’s cover up and the glass tube filled with crackling electricity. “Hahaha, perfect.”
“So you will be leaving?” Luna asked, sounding a little downcast.
“Yeah, as crazy as it sounds, I miss Vegas.”
“Of course you would miss Vegas, is it not your home?”
“Well, yeah, but...” Thomas sighed and went over to the balcony, looking at the starry sky. “This place is so nice, so happy. Yes, you have the occasional fight, but every day in Freeside there are drug addicts killing each other, raiders attacking caravans, wild animal attacks...” He sighed. “Hell, I’m not even from the Mojave, it’s just where I live now. But, after I did so much for the place, I can’t just abandon it.”
“Your sense of duty is admirable, Courier,” Luna said, smiling slightly. “A shame that many of our guard do not have the same mindset.”
“Really?” Thomas asked, turning back. “Doesn’t seem that way.”
“How many soldiers, even the most diligent and well-trained, truly fight for anything other than their pay?” That made him think. So many of the troopers he had met in Vegas had said something along the lines of just wanting to get back home, to see their wives and children, or wanting to gamble more. The few who were in it for the Republic were some of the Rangers and officers, and even then he didn’t know if he was right. “To many, it’s little more than a job, one they take without thinking of the consequences.” She let out a sigh. “Makes it that much sadder when they fall in the line of duty.”
“I guess it would. Everyone I’ve travelled with had some sense of duty. Even if it was just to themselves, they had something to fight for.” Thomas sighed as well. “Well, maybe not Lily, but that was complicated. So complicated.”
“Speaking of complicated, Thomas,” Luna said, segueing to what she had come here to talk about, “what of us?”
“Us?” he asked, confused. “What do you mean by - ohhhh. That.” He checked his pockets and his holster.
“What are you doing?” the princess asked, completely perplexed by his behaviour.
“Making sure I have everything,” he answered, checking one of the inner pockets. “Don’t want to leave anything behind.”
“Leave anything be - what?” she squawked rather inelegantly. “But - but - ”
Thomas gripped the Transportalponder, flashed a smile at the princess and winked. “I must go now. My people need me.” With a flash of blue light, he disappeared, taking some of the balcony with him.
Luna gawked at the spot the man had just vacated. She opened and closed her mouth several words, trying to find words. Eventually, she settled on one.
The human expletive, bellowed by the Bringer of Night, was heard across all of Canterlot.





“Well, what do you think?” Thomas asked his audience, lone a ghoul.
The ghoul, wearing a strange combination of combat armour and T-45d power armour, stared at him blankly. “That was a fucking load of complete shit,” she (for it was indeed a she) answered as bluntly as humanly possible.
“So you don’t believe a word I said - ” the Courier began, only to be cut off by the ghoul.
“Of course I didn’t believe a word. Talking magical ponies and shapeshifters? Seriously, it’s like something from a pre-War kid’s show.” She pushed some of her scraggly red hair our of her face and smiled. “Not to say it was a bad story, but there is no way any of it happened.”
“I guess I can’t make you believe it.” Thomas reached into his duster, and pulled out a Transportalponder. It was different to the one used to travel to and from the Big Empty. The tube that contained the crackling energy was a vibrant green, and the trigger’s cover was a deep blue. Most prominent, though, was the crescent moon on the handle. “But I can show you,” he said, a glint in his eyes as he raised it.





Author’s Notes:
And yes, EPIC troll move by Thomas there.
This is the end. For now.