//------------------------------// // Which Way Did He Go? Pt 1 // Story: Fallout: Equestria - Lovely New Pegasus // by No one is home //------------------------------// Which Way Did They Go?  Part 1. -=-=-=-=- “Doc, I cannot repay you enough,”  I am NOT crying like a little filly. I am expressing gratitude in a totally dignified manner.  The Doc is taking it professionally.  “I may not have any idea who I am.  I have no idea at all why I was shot.  And now I gotta go kill a guy in a really snazzy suit.  But I’m here to do that!” “Now, I just did my job with a scalpel.”  The doc’s laugh is just so damn sincere.  Maybe it’s just the brain damage.  It’s like hearing something the way you would have heard it as a child, but with all the connections of an adult.  “I reckon the one you really need to thank is Ol’ Jackie.  She’s sorta the town robot.  She saw what happened, and she’s the one that dug you outta that grave and brought you to me.” The Doc shows me to the door and Luna’s narrow flank but the sun is bright.  Which makes sense.  I grew up in a dessert.  The sun is bright.  My eyes have been closed for… I dunno days?  And I’m still all head-shootty, but the sun is still bright and I was alway just the squintiest colt in the settlement.  I’ve totally got this. The sun is bright, just squint. “Howdy Pardner!”  Celestia’s unmentionable sex reference!  It’s a motocycle-centaur-robot with a teevee head!  I do not got this!  “I’m just pleased as punch to see you on your hooves again.  You gave me a terrible fright getting bushwhacked like that by them scallywags!” “GWYAA!!!”  That might not have been exact words, but I definitely did NOT just squeal like a little filly.  “Sorry… I am so sorry.  It’s bright out, and I had to squint, and then you were right there. And that was a very stallion-y and dignified expression of surprise.” “Well shucks!  I didn’t mean to give a fright pardner.”  The robot's voice is feminine and carries an honestly affected accent.  Like you just know she was manufactured back east, and just likes talking like that.  As I squint back the glare, I can make out a flickery still-picture on the cathode ray screen that serves as her head.  A freckled mare with a cowboy hat and an honest smile.  “I’m just so darned happy to see you up and about.  When I dug you outa that hole them pole cats dumped you in, I figured I was collectin’ evidence for the sheriff up in Prim!  Now look at you, all up and walkin’ around, squinting at things.  I’m Jack-E-OH-6 by the way.  Most everyone around here just calls me Jackie, though, which is fine by me, I ain’t big on formalities.” “So yer the one what dug me up and brought me to the doc, huh?”  I smile my prettiest smile, and to Jackie’s credit she lacks the facial expressions to wince.  “I prolly owe you enough, already, but did you see what happened?  My memories are still fuzzy… about a lot of things.” “Well, I reckon I done saw the whole thing pardner.” Jackie nods her big, honkin’ cathode ray noggin, as she makes centaur arm gestures that communicate… something?  Maybe?  Is she even programmed in biped arm gestures?  I have my doubts.  “Ya see, I was near the end of my patrol and report subroutine.  That’s up by the old old bone garden.  And I saw you all tied up, with that no good feller in the checkered suit and his two tribal ‘body guards’ standing over you.  I wanted to do something, honest apple, but with my weapons systems offline I’m pretty much just an ‘observe and report’ kinda mare.  So I laid low and gathered evidence to report to the sherriff in Prim.  Which I did.  Turns out one piece of evidence was still breathin’!  So I took you straight to Doc Hitch All.” “Thankya kindly Miss Jack-E.” If I had a hat I’d tip it.  I make a note to myself to get a hat.  “If’n ya don’t mind me askin’, you look to be a Securitron model.  What brings you around to a little waterin’ hole town like Good Springs?  Usually only see y'all in bigger settlements, or outright cities.  You know, doin’ security…” “Heck, I never would have guessed you for a robotics enthusiast. Mr. Courier.”  Jack-E has a real disarming chuckle.  She rolls into what I assume is a “relax” position and releases her rear kick stand before continuing.  “I reckon you ain’t wrong most of the time, but us Securitrons are way more versatile than ponies think.  We got these arms and grasper-doo-hickies.  Our spell matrix was top of the line before the war, and we got more computational power than an Assaultron and a Miss Nanny combined.  Heck, I reckon the only this with more processin’ processing power out there is a crusader mainframe.  And good luck getting one of those in a robot.” “Huh.”  I smile and nod respectfully.  “I ain’t rightly thought about it that way.  Damned if you ain’t right.  You got a versatile chassis and one of them fancy ‘organic learnin’’ AIs.  I guess there ain’t no reason you cain’t do anything you set out to do.  That still don’t answer the question though.  What brings you out to Goodsprings of all places?” “Well truth be told pardner, I don’t rightly know.”  Jack-E responds sadly the way only a sad robot can respond.  “I used t’ live in this big fancy hotel with my friends.  Then one day, about seven years ago I ended up out here.  Not really sure how I got here, or who my friends actually were.  Or why I got a horticulture subroutine.  I reckon I know a thing or two about having your memory wiped.  But this ain’t a bad place to be.  Nice little town.  But all that’s neither here nor there.  You wanna know more about them rascals what shot you?  You need to talk to Appleine up at the Thirtsy Devil.  She has a real stick up her flank about robots, but she’s a good pony and pays close attention to passers through.”