//------------------------------// // Chapter 33 // Story: Fallout New Vegas: Unexpected Friends // by Sleepyted //------------------------------// “How did you get here?” Twilight asked, slightly put off by the sudden appearance of the cowboy robot, now understanding why Anne didn’t trust it that much. “Just rolling along on my spurs, looks like I might make it to New Vegas after all.” He said, swaying slightly on his single large wheel. “You see what happened in there before we came?” Anne asked. “Yup, guess it’s just down to you and fancy-pants. I wouldn’t worry about him, he looks all hat and no cattle if you ask me.” Anne sighed, she definitely knew that the ‘friendly’ Victor was following them, seeming to be one step ahead of them constantly. “Well. It’s good to see you again Victor.” “Yup, but this is getting mighty embarrassing, people are going to start to talk.” He said followed by the creepiest chuckle Twilight thought she had ever heard, sounding as if it bounced around inside him before coming out as a tiny giggle. “Well… We’re heading off now, see you later.” Anne said with a smile, knowing that they would see the cowboy again if they liked it or not. “Look me up when you’re in New Vegas, I’ll buy the first round.” The robot said before spinning around and raced down the dusty road, kicking up a small cloud of light brown dust behind his wheel. After a moment to look at each other in confusion they saw Victor make his way over a small hill and out of view. “Can you see why I don’t think he just ‘bumps’ into us, he’s watching us for something.” Anne stated looking down at Twilight. “I guess I see that now… should we be worried?” The pony Princess asked. “Nope, if he wanted us dead he would have just shot at us or left me to die at Goodsprings, he wanted me alive for something.” She stated. “From what I’ve heard Mister House controls all of the securitrons.” Boone stated. “Mister House?” “He’s the man who runs Vegas, all of it.” The man said. “Let’s put on some tunes, it’ll be a while till we reach New Vegas.” Anne said, lifting her arms and fiddling with the Pipboy on it, a crackle coming from it before soft guitar playing came from her arm. They continued to walk, listening to the music and after a few the music faded and the smooth voice of Mister New Vegas could be heard. "And we're back. This is Mr. New Vegas, and I feel something magic in the air tonight, and I'm not just talking about the gamma radiation.” He started. "You know, they say that 'No news is good news,' but I think my program would be awfully dull if that were the case."” "Several unidentified aircraft were spotted flying over the REPCONN Test Site by a local crackpot. He spoke to a toy bear near one of our microphones.” He said before it went from his voice to said crazy old man’s "It's ghouls, I tell you. Religious ghouls in rockets, looking for a land to call their own. Don't you laugh at me! I know a spell that'll make you show your true form! A cave rat taught it to me." Anne let out a chuckle. “Well then, it looks like we’re on the radio again, you happy about that Boone?” “No.” “Well I am, what about you Princess?” Anne said looking at Twilight. “I don’t know what to think to be honest, it isn’t that big because back home I’ve been on the front of newspapers all the time since I became a princess.” The pony said sheepishly. “Wow, being rather humble aren’t you?” Anne joked with another chuckle and before anyone could say any more Mister New Vegas started to talk again. "The preceding segment was sponsored by the Silver Rush. Silver Rush: feel the rush of a warm laser in your hand." He said. "In New Vegas, we know the pain that numbers can bring us. Well so does Guy Mitchell, who's got Heartaches by the Number." He finished up before music started to play, talking about a man who gets heart pains a little too often to be healthy in Twilight’s eyes. ___________________________ Soon an old train track alongside the road, only hills, mountains, and HELIOS behind them able to be seen but soon, after rounding a bend from behind a large rock they saw something in the distance. “Well would you look at that.” Anne said taking off her helmet, holding it under her arm. “Is that New Vegas?” Twilight asked in wonder. “Yes, that’s the Lucky Thirty Eight, it’s where Mister House is and the heart of Vegas.” Boone said not taken aback by the sight. Up ahead was a massive tower, even from the large distance they were at it was big. It was a large pillar with a circular platform on top, but they couldn’t see the details from that far away. Closer up, just a little further on the road was what looked like a small camp set up in old trucks and busses, on top of an overpass. Walking into the set up they saw a NCR flag, a two headed bear, flapping about in the wind. There were quite a few people around, a few NCR troopers, normal looking Wastelanders, but two stood out. One was a woman, dressed in a worn green cloths and a large green hood. But what made her really stand out was unlike her clothes which looked very cheap and low quality, but on her arm was something that was far from it. It was a tad bigger than Anne’s Pipboy and on the right arm. It had pistons on it along with a bunch of parts that could move. It was a Powerfist, a machine used to add more force behind a punch by the use of the pistons, a normally weak person could punch someone’s head off if it were in good enough condition. The other was a small boy wearing some sort of headgear, an old American flag with the 13 stars arranged in a circle with a big one in the middle and the red stripes. Around him were things like old paintings, a pram, even a garden gnome. He seemed to just be sitting by his things and that drew the attention of Twilight who up to that point hadn’t seen a human child. Approaching the boy Twilight smiled softly. “Hello there young one.” She said kindly. “Hello ma’am, I hope you’re doing fine today.” He replied with a smile, Anne and Boone going around to different people. Boone to vender to buy more ammunition for his rifle and Anne to a makeshift bar made from an overturned bus missing everything but a wall and the roof. “Where are your parents? Are you here all alone?” Twilight asked concerned, sitting down. “I don’t have a mama or papa anymore. I see them sometimes when I take off my medicine. But they can’t stay, I’m pretty used to being on my own.” He said, making Twilight hang her head slightly upon hearing that the child was an orphan. Twilight felt bad about bringing it up and with all the things behind him, along with a few books she decided to see if she could buy any of them to give the child some of her caps. “So are you selling any of those?” She asked softly. “Oh I don’t sell things ma’am, I sell thoughts.” He said. The princess looked slightly confused at the child. “You sell ‘thoughts’?” Twilight asked hesitantly. “I can take off my medicine and do some thinking, people say it’s really interesting. I don’t know because I never hear it. Some people say it’s a gift. Other people say it’s the kind of thinking anyone could do if they watched enough more than they talked. I don’t know which is true. I see a lot, I think a lot. There’s a lot to hear through the one eighty eight too, that and maybe that accounts for the thinking.” He explained. Twilight sighed, she decided to give this kid some caps just so he could have a little bit of money, not really thinking he would say anything that really mattered. “I’ll play you a hundred caps to hear your thoughts.” She offered. He smiled. “Great! What do you want me to think about? I can think about you, here… or everywhere, what do you want?” He asked. Twilight used her magic to float over a hundred caps to the boy. “I wouldn’t mind hearing about me.” She said with a smile. “Okay, let me take off my medicine.” He stated, taking off his head gear and closing his eyes. After a few moments he started to talk. “One of four, yet one of six. The four more powerful than the six but no conflict. Asked by one of the four to travel, but your way was lost, changed to where you didn’t want. Worried for the four and six but now worried for a new one, recently found and not wanting to lose.” He said, chilling Twilight to the bone. She knew who he was talking about, the four being the other princesses of Equestria and the six being her friends. “Forecast, an unexpected storm.” He finished before putting his head gear back on. “Woah…” Twilight said, landing on her rump in surprise, jaw hanging open. “What is it?” Anne asked, approaching the two, a bottle of whiskey in her hand which had a little bit taken away from it. “He knows about me without meeting me yet.” Twilight said still shocked. “I bet he just listened to the radio.” The woman said before looking at the boy. “Tell about me then, I’ll pay you if I have to.” She stated. The boy sighed, taking his head gear back off and closing his eyes. “Your face does the thinking, two to the skull, yet one gets up. Odds are against you but they’re just numbers after the two-to-one. You’re playing the hand you’ve been dealt but you don’t let it rest. You shuffle and stack, and a gamble. A gamble that may pay off? But how?” He said. “Forecast, rapidly changing conditions.” He finished, putting his head gear back on and leaving Anne slack jawed like her pony friend. “A lot of thinking, most of it in your face, it’s almost shouting at me, sorry if I said anything weird.” “Fucking hell…” Anne said, dropping a hundred caps in front of the boy before slowly walking away. “B-bye…” Twilight said softly to the boy as she followed after Anne. “See you.” He said. “Anne, wait up.” Twilight said, following after her friend as she went back to the bar. “What did he mean when talking about you? Two to the head? As in two punches?” She asked confused. “No.” Anne answered flatly, popping the top off her amber filled bottle before taking a large gulp from it. “I’d rather not talk about it…” “Come on Anne, I’m your friend and I’m here to listen to you.” Twilight said, sitting on the stood next to her friend. “You listen to me.” Anne took one more large gulp from her drink before sighing. “Buy me another drink and I’ll tell you.” She grumbled, the bottle not empty yet. Twilight gave her friend a blank look before sighing. Gesturing for the bartender she bought another bottle of whiskey for thirty caps which she found to be a bit much but she needed to buy it so her friend would talk. Sliding the bottle over to Anne it bumped against her metal clad arm with a clink sound, drawing her attention to the new bottle. “Oh… I didn’t think you would get it...” The human admitted. “Well I did, now you need to tell me what the colt meant.” Twilight said firmly. “Fine.” Anne said, taking off her bag, dropping it to the ground next to her stool. “We’re staying the night, it’s already late in the day and I’m not traveling around the Mojave drunk.” She said dumping her metal helmet onto the bag. “Fine but just tell me already.” “Well. It’s the reason I want Benny. As you know I was one a courier, I delivered packages around and one day as I was taking a package of one oversized platinum poker chip I was ambushed by Benny and our Khan friends back in Boulder City.” She stated before reaching down to the pony’s fore hoof and pulling out her 9mm pistol. “Tell me Princess, from what you’ve seen what would you say would happen if I were to shoot someone in the head with this thing?” Twilight watched her friend uncertainly. “Well… they’d be dead, the bullets would destroy their brain, that would kill them instantly.” “Yes, it would, the bullet goes right through the brain and in many cases it shatters on the skull and acts a bit like a shotgun inside their head.” Anne said, pulling back the slide twice and holding up the two bullets that fell out. “Benny wanted to make sure news of the robbery didn’t spread too fast, so as the boy said, he gave me two to the head.” Anne stated, pointing to the scar above her eye and lifting up her hair a bit to show another one a few inches away from it. Twilight’s eyes widened. “You were shot in the head? Twice?!” She asked in shock, her friend taking another gulp of her drink. “Yes, and I take that kind of thing personally. Benny won’t survive long once I find him.” She growled. Twilight looked at her friend in shock, now fully understanding why her friend was going through such lengths trying to find this man. “Oh…” “Yes, the bullets didn’t just leave me with two new scars, but all but wiped my memory. I don’t remember anything about myself, my family if I had one, Anne was just a name I came up with, it could be Susan and I have no clue. All I remember is how to survive, the face of the man that shot me, and that I need to kill that son of a bitch.” She said getting angrier and angrier. “Anne, you might want to take a few breaths, no use to getting mad right now.” Twilight said resting a hoof on the woman’s back. Anne sighed, rubbing her temple before reaching down into her bag and pulling out a cigarette and putting it to her mouth. Pulling Benny’s shiny lighter she flicked it open and clicked on the flame, bringing it to the end of the cigarette and once lit closing the lid and taking a long drag. “I’m heading to bed, there are some in the busses around, tell Boone we’re staying.” Anne said standing up, grabbing her two bottles and her bag, starting to wonder off with a slight sway in her step from the alcohol in her blood. Twilight sighed sadly, resting her head on the bar top. “Need another drink?” The bartender asked. “Sure… why not?”