Fallout Equestria: Viva Las Pegasus -- Tails of New Pegasus
Chapter Ten: Sleeping on the Job
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CLING!
“Morning, Xarin,” I sleepily greet as I walk into the cream colored building of the Kubwa Kahawa once more, as per tradition. “I’ll have the usual.”
“Oh, hello there my friend!” The zebra gave me one of his trademark warm smiles, motioning for me to take a seat in the usual stool. “One Luna Special in a minute,” he announced as if the house was full, turning towards his workstation to prepare my order.
I could barely stifle a yawn as I sit on the old, metal stool and I took out my pocket watch. “Dammit, it’s already 7:00, where is that flankface?” I mutter to myself, struggling to stay awake. Can’t believe I woke up this early when that colt would be late. Ugh, this is unbelievable. I need a coffee.
“Xarin, how long till that Luna’s out?” I impatiently ask, tapping my hoof on the bar counter.
“Right… about… now!” he reaches out a cup of hot, steaming coffee, frothing with flavour, smelling of coffee, milk, sugar and cinnamon in a perfect blend. Yum. I take a whiff of the drink to savour it before gulping it down. Nothing like starting a morning of violence and chaos like a Luna Special.
“So, how’d it go yesterday?” Xarin took a relaxed position at the other side of the bar across me, leaning forward and looking me in the eye. “You an unemployed pony yet? I could use somepony to mop the floors in the morning,” he chuckled.
“No, like I said, we had other responsibilities. As a matter of fact, we’re in charge of Miss Desert Rose’s safety.”
“Oh?” Xarin slightly lowered his shades and shot me an interested look, “the spokespony? Be sure to drum up some business for me,” he gave a sly smile, followed by a hearty laugh. “But in all seriousness, it looks like Old Bouldy’s moving up in the world, yet he is still guarding a powerful mare and passing by my place for coffee.”
“Yeah, it’s a bit… ironic, ain’t it? Times changed, but in the end, we’re still doing the same things,” I said.
“You are telling me, but I would rather be serving coffee from behind this counter than in front of that street cart again.”
“Yeah, I guess. But admit it, Freedom Fields was much more fun.”
“I did not drum up as much business there. Apparently, sparkling shards were the best way to start the morning for most junkies in that backwater town,” he grumbled bitterly.
“Didn’t you like Stringer business? I mean, come on, everypony who went to the Music School saw your stall on their way there,” I reasoned.
“Boulder, you were the only pony who actually went there regularly, most just phase away.”
“Huh. Even more reason to keep my job, unless you wanna lose the shop and end up getting your plot pounded against for a pay check by the Buckmares?” I chuckled.
CLING!
“Shut up- oh by the spirits, it’s you!” Xarin exclaimed, grinning with eyes staring past me and towards his door. “Long time no see, young one.”
“Good morning Mister Xarin,” I hear Sundown greeted politely from the door. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Good to see you too, young one, please have a seat,” the zebra pointed his hoof towards an empty stool next to me. “I’ll get you a drink.”
“No, no, it’s alright,” Sundown told the zebra, albeit it was in vain, as he already began to mix up a Luna Special for the colt. With a sigh, he sat down beside me, dressed in his sharp, blue, business suit, looking like a big shot pony around town, with his mane combed neatly. You’d think he was either a rich gambler or a city hall pony unless you noticed the dark brown of his armoured leather underneath his jacket. That and the rifle that he keeps hoisted around his back. Aside from that, he also smelled of…
“Seriously? Again?” I scoffed. “Dammit, Sundown, what did I say about growing a pair?”
“What is your problem with being presentable?”
“No, I have no problem with looking like some colt I raised smelling like a mare!”
“Boulder, just because you don’t take baths, doesn’t mean I also need to be filthy,” he joked.
“I mean, lavender coat wash? You might as well put lipstick on, boy!”
“You know we won’t go anywhere with this,” he rolled his eyes.
“Well, for one, you could be more of a stallion,” I sighed.
“Go easy on the colt, hygiene is important,” Xarin cut in, approaching the counter. “One Luna Special,” he placed a white mug on the counter in front of Sundown’s stool, giving him an inviting smile. Sundown was never one for coffee, but the cup in front of him was steaming and the scent of cinnamon took over the air around the coffee shop. Slowly, the orange pony grabbed the cup with both hooves, and took a big gulp of it.
“That’s pretty good,” he grinned. “I see why Boulder comes here.”
“I am glad you like it,” Xarin said, “Anyway, you two have business to attend to, and I shall leave you to it.” Oh, right, I thought, we should get going right now.
“So, you wanna get to Miss Rose’s place right now?” I turn to the orange pony, awaiting his decision.
“The earlier, the better,” he said, standing up from the stool, putting his front left hoof to his back just to touch his lucky rifle. “I say we get going.”
“Somepony’s eager to see his little fillyfriend,” I tease as I get up from my stool as well. “Let’s roll out.”
-----
Once again, we were standing in front of City Hall, which seemed extra busy today. High-class ponies were walking in and out, some secretaries would rush in holding a stack of papers in their mouths, other ponies would be escorted by a bunch of bodyguards inside, but nonetheless, they all seemed to be doing something important. A rowdy looking old pony clad in black hardened leather hardly looked like he would fit in, but my young companion really rocked the look with his suit.
“Come on, let’s head inside,” Sundown finally said, trotting up the white steps of the grand building.
“OOF!”
I turn to see who I bumped, which turned out to be a light-green mare that was picking up papers that undoubtedly scattered across the floor when I bumped her. “Watch where you’re going there, missy,” I tell her. She seemed offended by my tone, and she looked at Sundown.
“Sir, can you teach your bodyguard some respect? By Celestia, these lackeys get worse and worse,” she muttered.
I was about to object, but Sundown quickly took advantage of the opportunity, “Yes, I’m terribly sorry, I’ll make sure to keep him on tighter leash,” he chuckled, as he gave me a wink.
I’ll get you back for this, I glare at him.
Totally worth it, he smirks back as we pass the doorway leading into the grand lobby of the City Hall, where ponies left and right flooded the scene, the only beacon of clarity being the semicircular table in the center of the room, where a bunch of mares were busy filling out paperwork or entertaining the questions of some random political pony. We walk up to the table, approaching a mare who was so immersed in the documents she was reading, I almost doubted she noticed us. “Miss, we’re-“
“Miss Rose’s office is down the central hallway, second to the right,” she automatically, not even looking up from her table.
“AIrighty, ma’am,” I say, quickly hurrying past the table towards the hallway with Sundown following behind.
We stop in front of the door to Miss Rose’s office, which was a simple, chestnut brown with the top half being a tinted window with the seal of the New Pegasus painted in gray on it.
“Is this the office?” I ask, just to be sure.
“Is it?” Sundown echoed, reflecting my doubt. “Just knock.”
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
“Come in!” we hear a familiar shrill voice call from inside. Oh, dear Celestia, I hope it’s not her.
We walk into the pistachio green room, which was simple yet stylish. The door we entered from was in the rightmost of the room, then in the center was a brown fur rug and a small, glass coffee table. Across the table, backed up to the left wall of the room was a red, velvet couch. Over at the left corner of the room, there was another door, which I presumed to lead into the spokespony’s workplace, with a desk by the side of the door, with an old, pale blue mare who was all too familiar to us, whose voice shrieked with disapproval and disdain at most of our actions. “Is that...” I trail off, hoping it’s not really who I think it is.
“Hello, Quillheart,” Sundown greeted the old mare, who looked rather surprised to see us.
“Oh dear, they sent you two?” she shuddered a bit, still staring at us, trying to register in her head that we were there again. “Why you two?”
“Great to see you too, Quillheart,” I rolled my eyes. She could at least act like she didn’t despise our very presence.
“Well, we’re assigned to be Miss Rose’s guard. Deal with it.” I grumbled, because as much as she hated it, I hated it even more, because instead of only having to deal with her a few days a week, I’ll have to see her everyday.
“I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it, so I assume the quicker I brief you, the sooner you leave, so basically, your job is to accompany Miss Rose. You meet up with her here in the morning, but you are not dismissed at any set time, only dismissed by her. In addition, it is your duty to oblige her requests that may extend outside standard bodyguard duties.”
“Oh, are we going to wash her clothes and cook breakfast for her?” I sarcastically murmured before Sundown hoofed me in my stomach.
“You’ll know what I mean when the time comes. Now take a seat, shut up, and wait for Miss Rose,” Quillheart commands us as she gets back to her desk, “I have paperwork to catch up on.”
“She’s hospitable,” I mutter as I take a seat on the red couch.
“Come on, you can’t blame her, you are kind of a psychopath,” Sundown tried to reason with me, laughing a bit.
“I can’t blame you for being in a good mood,” I respond, laughing at my companion’s reddening in his cheeks.
“Yeah, I guess so,” he looked away as he scratched the back of his head.
“Yeah, well, if you need me,” I yawned, laying my head on one end of the couch, “I’ll be catching a few winks...”
-----
“So, what exactly are we doing here?” the purple pony asked, killing another cigarette. “I don’t suppose we’re here for a friendly visit.”
“Yeah, no shit, Sunbeam Tree,” I respond sarcastically, taking a sip from my canteen of whiskey. “This ain’t no home visit,” I say, staring at the alleyway where our target just entered. “Dee wants us to see if the rumours are true.”
“And if they are?” the maroon earth pony next to me inquired, rubbing his hooves on his tommy gun, anxiously awaiting his first bite of action. “We report back?”
“We should,” I say, “Or you know, we could go in guns blazing, and say we were doing it in self-defense.”
“That seems... wrong,” Misfire replied about it, staring down into the street from the second floor of the abandoned building we were using to stake out. “We could risk the life of those foals...”
He was quite right, but then as time has taught me, sometimes, the kind way doesn’t compare to cutting the head of the threat then beating the shit out of the threat with its own head. And to be frank, in my eyes, both ways would give the same result, but the violent way was more fun.
“Shhh!!! Somepony’s coming,” Sunbeam Tree hushed us, peeking outside the blinds of the window towards the alley.
“Lemme see,” I push the mare out of the way and look outside the window. A pony clad in a trench coat with a hood over his face was cautiously looking around, before entering the dark alley. “He’s entering the alleyway,” I quietly announce to the group.
“Something’s up there,” Misfire concludes, as he walks over to the table in the center of the room with a map on top of it. “Hmmm... that alley doesn’t lead to any other exits, so there’s something going on in one of the buildings there.”
I’m pretty sure Misfire was about to say something else, but I couldn’t hear it while I was going down the stairs and towards the alley. Last thing I heard was the whispery-shouty voice of the Sunbeam yelling “Boulder! Get back here!”
The alleyway was surprisingly dark, given that I was in broad daylight. I figured the buildings around the area did a very good job of keeping the place shrouded. This screamed shady dealings and using foal factory workers for manufacturing drugs. Or you know, it could’ve just meant the placing didn’t go great with sunlight. I liked the first one better. I unholstered my shotgun from my back and slowly proceeded into the wrecked alleyway. It was disgusting, smelling of rancid radroach and what I hoped was the shit of the shit of a skunk. No, not the shit of a skunk, but the shit of the shit of a skunk. “Ugh,” I gagged, “it smells like the shit of the shit of a skunk.”
“You said it,” a gruff voice grumbled from behind the dumpster, startling me to the point where I dropped my shotgun.
“Son of a bitch!” I cried, quickly picking up my shotgun and pointing it to the other side of the dumpster as I walked briskly to the source of the sound.
“Son of a bitch!” an old, bearded pony in ruined clothes echoed as the orange glow of my shotgun grip illuminated his face. His mane and beard were all frizzy and unkempt and his coat all dirty and ragged. In one hoof, he had a cup with coins in it, and tied to his neck was a string which kept a cardboard with the words ‘spare change’ with the ‘e’s written backwards hanging by his chest. I figured he was just some bum hanging around the alley since he had no place to live in, like many others here in Freedom Fields.
“Have you seen anypony come by recently?” I interrogated him, pressing my shotgun closer to his face, and in response, he backed up to the dumpster, pointing his hoof deeper into the alley, to a red door at the end of the line. “You sure?” I asked, to which the bum quickly nodded. I smile at him and mocking said “Thank you for your cooperation sir,” as I trotted over to the red door, gun ready for action.
Suddenly, I feel the world start to shake.
GET UP.
GET UP.
GET UP!!!
-----
“HOLY SHIT!” I jump to a start.
“ACK!” CRASH!
Next thing I know, Sundown’s lying in a ruined coffee table, eyes dazed while a pale blue mare from behind a desk shrieked and a pink mare with a red mane striped white in a spring dress stood close by, mouth agape. On Sundown’s belly were two distinct hoof marks. My hoofmarks. It didn’t take me long to realize what had happened.
“Oh, Sundown, you clumsy colt,” I chuckled, looking at the two mares, “He has a habit of tripping. He really needs to pay more attention.”
“Ughhh...” the orange unicorn groaned in pain, probably not hearing what I just said.
“Shouldn’t we get him some help?” the pink mare asked me with concern, eyeing the stream of blood dripping off his mouth. “He looks kind of hurt.”
“Nah, he’s been through worse,” I laughed, but then I realized, “Oh, dear me, where are my manners?” I put on a very bad Trottingham accent just to seem fancy, “I am Sir Brawny Boulder, pleased to make your acquaintance, but please, call me Boulder,” I bowed, “My partner Desert Sundown and I have been assigned as your security detail.”
“Ah, I see,” she nodded, yet it was obvious she was still kind of disturbed by me bucking my partner into broken glass and chuckling about it. “Mr. Badge told me about you coming.”
“Yes ma’am,” I politely said, “we’re here to keep you safe from any threat, and apparently, we have secondary duties to help you around the household.”
“You’re kidding, right?” she shot me a quizzical look.
“Well, I think so. But only if you ask. But, dear Celestia, please don’t ask. And apparently, once we meet up with you in the office, we’re totally under your command, so we can only be dismissed or take breaks when you tell us we can. So, if it’s not too much to ask...” I jokingly look down to the ground and kick the ground, like how a schoolfoal would do before asking a teacher a question, then I asked as politely as I could, “could we have a break now?”
“But we haven’t even left,” she responded, rolling her eyes, but still smiling. “I don’t think breaks work that way...”
“Yeah, but...” I point my hoof towards the coffee table were Sundown still lay out cold, head slacked against the ruins of the frame. When Miss Rose was reminded, her eyes opened wide in alert, and she literally jumped a bit.
“We need to get him to a doctor!” she exclaimed, already by his side trying to get him to stand up.
“I was thinking we should get him to a bar and just let him drink the pain away,” I joked.
“Mr. Boulder! This is serious!” she replied, obviously not amused by my antics. “It’s basically your fault he’s in a bad state, you know.”
“That’s debateable,” I grumbled, but nonetheless, I opened the door and levitated Sundown and lay him on my back, some blood dripping down his mouth soaking my neck. “Ugh, gross.”
“Come on, follow me, we can take him to the Guild,” Miss Rose told me, then she turned her attention to her secretary. “Quillheart, please put all my appointments on hold.”
“But ma’am,” she was about to object, but we left the room too quick to hear her bitch about whatever it was.
-----
“You know,” I told Miss Rose, “you’re not like most other political ponies...”
“Why is that?” she asked.
“Don't worry, that was a compliment. Unlike most of the high and mighty folk, you put all of your business on hold for some random pony you just met today.”
“It’s good to help somepony who needs it,” she said, “wait a minute,
“We used to guard the archives. You’d visit there every once in a while.”
“I know, it’s under my department, but... I thought the archives hold nothing but old, boring files?” the pink pony wondered, looking at the direction where the archive was, a few blocks away from the city hall. “That’s why I usually send Quillheart to check it instead.”
“And now you understand why I already love this job compared to my last one,” I told her, before almost tripping, “Son of a bitch!” I cried, trying to land on my belly so that Sundown’s limp figure doesn’t get a scratch treatment from the cement, but as I braced myself for the fall, it never came. Instead, I opened my eyes and saw that both Sundown and I were surrounded in a pink aura. I turned my head and saw that our boss had the same pink aura coming out of her horn, yet she was still smiling, as if she was barely exerting any effort.
“Need help?” she asked.
“Hmmm, nah, I think I’d be fine if you dropped us and I slammed on the cold, hard ground.” I rolled my eyes, making sure every word was soaking with sarcasm.
“Okay.”
“Wha-“ THUD! “Ouch.” From the cold hard cement, I turned back and saw Miss Rose giggling a bit, with Sundown still floating over her in pink aura. “Well,” I rolled my eyes, “I guess I kind of deserve this for being a smart ass, I s’pose,” I chuckled as well. I could appreciate a boss with a sense of humour.
“Come on, the fort’s not far now. Don’t worry, it doesn’t look to serious.”
“Did I look worried?”
“That’s why I’m even more worried,” she half-joked, but she stumbled as Sundown’s body jerked alive above her, her horn’s light flickering weakly.
“Wha- AGH!” he cried as he took a 3 meter belly flop into the pavement. PAK! “Oh shit...” he groaned.
“Are you alright?” Miss Rose quickly rushed to his aid, helping him get up back on his hooves. “I’m so sorry, I lost my focus.”
“No, no, it’s alright,” Sundown smiled at the spokespony, who was still apologizing. “It’s my fault for getting bucked by Boulder. Besides, it’s just a little scratch,” he looked at his back, which had glass shards still sticking out of it, but he simply shrugged it off. Good ol’ Sundown, just like I taught him.
“Don’t be like that, it’s no problem to me, come on, let’s get you looked at,” she insisted, grabbing Sundown’s hoof, causing the orange pony’s cheek to redden. “Hurry, we don’t want those wounds to get infected,” she said sweetly, as if she didn’t imply horrible pain would be a consequence if they didn’t hurry. The more I thought about it, the creepier it sounded.
-----
“Well, the lad’s alright,” the ghoul in the white labcoat smiled as he exited the tent, “but he’ll need a few hours of bedrest to get rid of the concussion,” he informed us in a heavy, raspy, Trottingham accent.
“Thanks for the help,” Miss Rose politely thanked the ghoul, who laughed in response.
“Relax, Rose, these two have been through worse,” he chuckled.
“Oh?” she shot a look of interest towards me. “Do I want to know?”
“I’m not familiar enough with you to judge, but most ponies would rather not hear the tales.” I looked around the fort. Inside the dull yellow brick walls, a couple of white tents surrounded the center, which held a large, wooden picnic table where doctors, patients and Follower guards, and right in front of it, the butterfly flag of the Healer's Guild flew proudly. This place has seen worse days, I reminisced, thinking back on the old Follower leader Goldie and how she would bark at us for being “brutes, barbarians” and whatever the fuck she’d say... And of course, there was the attack on Dee’s wedding.
“You know, this place used to be really corrupt until Mixer took over,” Miss Rose absentmindedly stated, seated beside me in the bench outside the tent Sundown was being kept in, as if she knew what I was thinking.
“Yeah, did you hear about the attack on the wedding?”
“I was there, you know. I was a flower girl,” she chuckled, but as quick as the smile came, a grim expression fell over her face. She probably remembered something about the wedding that she didn’t want to.
“Oh, was that you?” I quickly said, changing the route of the conversation. “That little filly in the blue beret? I didn’t know you were military.” Though I was smiling at her, I tensed up the magic in my horn, ready to blow her head off any second. The NER aren’t really on my good side right now.
“You were there?” she looked at me with wondering eyes. “How’d it go for you?”
I sighed, leaned back on the bench for a more relaxed position, “Well, I used to be an enforcer for the Stringers, so it was a rather busy day for me. I don’t think you noticed me back there anyway.”
“We’ve got time until your friend wakes up. I always like hearing what old people have to say, I mean, what... experienced, not old people have to say!” she goofily grinned, since I shot her an annoyed look after she said old.
She looked so innocent and curious, so I couldn’t resist her cute little puppy dog eyes. “Alright, that morning was a normal morning for me...” I trailed of, thinking back to the morning of the wedding a few year back...