My Little Fallout: New Vegas

by Sepulcher

Chapter Four: Gun Diplomacy

My Little Fallout: New Vegas

Chapter Four: Gun Diplomacy

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*BOOM*

With the Powder Ganger's brain now exposed to the dust of the Mojave, I went back to check on Twilight. I hoped that our first ambush wouldn't reduce her to a trembling wreck like so many others.

"Twilight?" I asked. She didn't respond, as she was staring at the mangled remains of the Power Ganger's hand.

"Twilight?!" I asked again, this time snapping my fingers in front of her face. Getting no response whatsoever from her, I decided to try a little more forcefully. I gave her a gentle slap across the muzzle, hoping to break her out of her reverie. It did.

"Ow! What the hay was that for?!" yelled Twilight, who was now paying full attention to me.

"Good. I couldn't have you staring slack-jawed like that. We need to keep moving before anyone else shows up. Gunfire attracts attention," I stated calmly and clearly.

The tears on Twilight's face continued to fall. "I-I did that," she stammered, pointing at the Powder Ganger's stump. "H-He was going to t-throw that red thing a-and I p-put a shield around his hand and h-he was s-screaming and—" continued Twilight, only to be cut off by me.

"Look at me," I said as I crouched down in front of the purple pony. She avoided my gaze, opting instead to stare at the ground. "Look at me!" I ordered forcefully. She met my gaze, her eyes shining from the tears that collected there.

"Listen to me, Twilight Sparkle. If you didn't do that—" I motioned towards the dynamite-wielding Powder Ganger, "—we'd both be dead. You hear me? Dead. Gone. Deceased." She shivered. "It was either them, or us. I don't know about you, but us living sounds a lot better."

"B-But," stuttered Twilight. "They're p-people, just like you..."

"I am not," I enunciated precisely, "like them. When you choose the life of a Raider... you aren't a person anymore. They aren't people: they're monsters that need to be put down..."

I realized that I was visibly shaking with anger. Taking several deep breaths to calm myself, I continued. "You saved my life, Twilight. You acted instinctively, conjuring up that shield around his hand. Besides, you didn't kill him. I did. His death shouldn't be on your conscience."

"B-But—" Twilight started to say, but stopped herself. "Y—You're right. They tried to hurt us and we acted in self-defence."

I nodded. "Exactly." Sighing, I looked around at the three fresh corpses that I had made. "Alright. You keep watch for anyone else while I search their bodies."

"What?! You're going to... but they're dead! It's practically grave robbing!" exclaimed Twilight.

"Survival, Twilight. It's disgusting, but it's necessary. Personally, I don't want to touch these grimy fucks—" I kicked the rifle-wielding one in the side of the head, "—but if we want to survive in the Mojave, squeamishness is no longer an option."

Twilight gulped and turned away from me. "Just... hurry up. I don't want to be here..."

Tell me about it, I thought offhandedly as I looked over the rifle. Five point five six calibre. Shoddy as hell. I'll stick with the ammo, thanks.

Along with a handful of 5.56 rounds, I found a syringe of Med-X and a small bag of RadAway on the Powder Ganger. I moved on to the knife thrower, whose brain was currently decorating a truck door. I only found a small collection of throwing knives on his person. I decided to keep them, thinking that I might as well have them and not need them rather than need them and not have them.

I made my way towards the final Powder Ganger, the one that I assumed was the leader. I carefully avoided the remains of his right hand while I searched the pockets on his coat. I found another stick of dynamite, along with a small bag of caps, an inhaler of jet, and a note.

I squinted my eyes and read the note:

"Not many patrols out here lately, which means not much loot. Our crew is thinking we should make a move soon. Follow the tracks up north; head towards the Strip. You in? Ain't on the chain gang anymore, but we still gotta stick together."

I folded up the note and stuck it in the pocket of my jumpsuit. Seems like there was a rift in the leadership and they split apart from the main group. Maybe the next group will be feeling diplomatic.

I couldn't help but laugh at my thoughts. [i/Yeah, diplomacy. That'll be the day.

"Alright, Twilight. We're done here," I said as I stood up.

"Good," said Twilight as she ran over to me. "I—I'm sorry for acting like that. I've never... I've never..."

I waved her apology away. "Don't worry about it. You're doing pretty damn good for someone who's new to the Mojave Wasteland." I shielded my eyes from the Sun and looked down the road. In the far distance, I could see a small town. That must be Primm.

"We're burning daylight. Let's go."

\\\\\

Damn. Just when I thought we were in the clear, I thought as we continued to walk towards Primm. Someone wearing light brown army fatigues had appeared from one of the barricades surrounding the town. They were holding a rifle.

I leaned down and whispered to Twilight. "Don't say anything. These guys can and will shoot anything that isn't wearing their armour."

She nodded back, already adhering to the no speaking rule.

We walked for a little while longer before the soldier spoke up. "Come any closer and I'll blow your head off!" he yelled across at us.

I raised my hands to show that I was unarmed. "We're just passing through, trying to get to Primm. Could I—"

"Primm's gone to hell," interrupted the trooper. "I don't know what you want in Primm, but it'd be best if you turned around and walked away. Besides, how am I supposed to know if you're a Powder Ganger or not?"

"Because I just killed three of them not half an hour ago," I stated. "I also have a note here that may prove invaluable to you."

The trooper was silent for a few moments. "Alright, fine. Approach slowly and don't make any sudden movements. Oh, and tell your dog to heel or I'll blow it's brains out."

I looked over to Twilight who had a frown across her face. She looked like she was going to say something, but thought better of it. I wish I could hold my pride like that.

We did as we were told, slowly walking across the open expanse of the crumbling freeway towards the entrance of a bombed out town. When we were twenty paces away, the soldier pointed at me and said, "You. Tell me why I shouldn't shoot you."

I swallowed nervously. He had a Service Rifle, an automatic machine rifle. I wasn't sure that I could get a shot off before him if we came to a disagreement. "I found a note on one of the Powder Gangers that I killed. I have it here in my pocket," I said, my hands still empty.

The trooper seemed to weigh the decision. After a pause, he said, "Alright. Slowly reach into your pocket. Any sudden movements and your brain gets to feel the Mojave air."

Obeying, I slowly grabbed the note and made to hand it over to the soldier. He laughed when I tried to hand it to him.

"Oh no you don't. I'm not taking my hands off of my gun. Read it out loud."

Asshole, I thought as I brought the note into my vision and cleared my throat. "It says: Not many patrols out here lately, which means not much loot. Our crew is thinking we should make a move soon. Follow the tracks up north; head towards the Strip. You in? Ain't on the chain gang anymore, but we still gotta stick together."

The trooper was silent for a few moments, his gaze looking past me. "They aren't as unified as we thought," he muttered under his breath. Blinking, he refocused on me and lowered his gun. "That's the best news I've heard in a week. As long as you don't go stealing our shit, you're welcome to—"

He stopped midsentence when Twilight peeked her head around my leg. "What a sec, that's not a fucking dog! What the fuck is that?!" he yelled as he shouldered his rifle again.

"Easy! Calm down! She's not dangerous!" I said, trying to convince the trooper. It didn't work.

"Why the fuck is there a mutant following you?! What the fuck is that thing?!"

"I am not a thing!" yelled Twilight, startling both the trooper and I. "I am a unicorn! And my name is Twilight Sparkle!"

Shit.

The trooper alternated pointing the gun at Twilight and myself, unable to decide which was the bigger threat. "I don't know what the fuck is going on, but you are going to come with me," stated the trooper, his voice cracking.

"How about we just turn around and forget that—"

I stopped when I saw the glare that the soldier was giving me. "You're acting like you have a choice. You don't! Start fucking walking!"

\\\\

The trooper held us at gunpoint, forcing us to walk through the bombed out town to the command tent. The trooper walked ten paces behind us, leaving me no chance to disable him before he could shoot me. We walked in sullen silence through the destroyed street all the way to the tent. When we got there, the trooper called, "Lieutenant! I've got something that you may want to see!"

The tent flap opened and a trooper wearing the standard issue armour and a beret stepped out. "What is it this time, Edw—" the lieutenant started to say, but stopped when his gaze went over Twilight. He stared dumbly at her for a couple of seconds before asking, "What is that and why is it here?"

I could hear the trooper behind me shrug, the metal plates in his armour clinking. "The purple thing seems to be the scavenger's pet. Oh, and it talks."

The lieutenant raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" he asked, obviously not believing the trooper.

"I'm not fuckin' lying! It fucking talks!" He pointed at me and said, "Make it talk again!"

"First off, her name is Twilight Sparkle. Second, I can't make her talk. She's a friend, not a pet. Why don't you ask her yourself? Oh, and ask politely. She's new here," I said while staring at the trooper.

Grumbling something about 'typical wasteland', the trooper looked at Twilight and asked, "You can talk, right? This isn't some elaborate scheme or some shit?"

Twilight looked at me, as if asking if she could speak. "You already broke the rule. There's no sense in pretending now," I whispered to her.

She cleared her throat and said, "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'm a unicorn."

I heard a sigh of relief come from the trooper behind us after Twilight finished speaking, while the lieutenant had a slack jawed expression. "How... who... what... why are you here?" he finally managed to ask.

"That's the thing; we don't know," I responded. "We both have memory loss, me from being shot in the head and buried alive, and her for some reason that we haven't deciphered yet. Apparently, she appeared next to my grave."

The lieutenant shook his head. "That's the most outlandish story I've ever heard," he stated. "Although, given the fact that you have a large scar on your head and that there is a purple... unicorn standing there, I'm inclined to believe you."

I sighed in relief. "That's good, because—" I started to say, but stopped when the lieutenant raised a hand.

"Private Edwards, put your gun down," said the lieutenant. I glanced behind me to see the trooper reluctantly holster the Service Rifle across his back. Turning his attention back to me, the lieutenant asked, "Anything else I should know?"

"Actually, yes," I said as I grabbed the note once again from my pocket. "I found this on the leader of a band of Powder Gangers that jumped us on the interstate. From what I've heard, it's good news for you guys," I finished as I handed the note over to the lieutenant.

He read the note, his eyes devouring the information on the ragged piece of paper. "This is good news. In fact, it might be just what we need to convince the pencil pushers at McCarran to finally sweep up those ex-convicts so we can deal with the situation here."

"What is the situation here?" I asked.

The lieutenant took off his beret and ran a hand through his hair. "The NCR gave a bunch of convicts dynamite and blasting charges to mine from the Quarry. Long story short, giving dynamite to convicts isn't very smart. They revolted and started a chain gang called the 'Powder Gangers' that use explosives. They've been causing havoc for months, so we were sent to protect the town of Primm from the Powder Gangers. Unfortunately, we're stuck guarding against them while other convicts run free in Primm and due to our orders, we can't move to assist the town."

I shook my headBureaucrats. "Great. I guess that means we'll have to sneak our way to the Mojave Express, won't we Twilight?" The purple unicorn nodded shyly.

"Sneak where? I never said you had permission to go anywhere," said the lieutenant as he motioned for the trooper behind us to hold us at gunpoint. "In fact, I think that your little purple friend here will be just the thing to get us promoted out of this dump."

You fucking assholes, I thought angrily. "I wouldn't try anything if I were you."

The trooper behind us laughed. "Get your ass to the tent, scavenger. We'll deal with this thing."

I glanced down at Twilight and whispered, "Can you make another shield?" Twilight nodded quickly. "When I say 'go', make a shield around the two of us, okay?" Another nod.

"What're you two whispering about? Move!"

"Go!" I yelled as I drew my 9mm pistol from its holster in one fluid motion. As I turned around, a large, purple sphere engulfed me and Twilight, causing everything outside of the shield to be blurred. I heard a bunch of gunshots being fired by the trooper behind us, followed by grunts of pain. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed the trooper behind us fall to the ground.

I turned my attention to the human shaped blob that was still standing. "On three, deactivate the shield," I said to the pony on my right as I aimed my pistol at the lieutenant.

"Okay," said Twilight, who had her eyes closed while violet light glowed from her horn.

"One... two... three!" As I said 'three', the shield abruptly faded from view, leaving me with a clear shot on the lieutenant, who was struggling to draw his own sidearm. I had an easy target right in front of me. I didn't miss.

As the echo of my two shots died down, the lieutenant fell backwards onto the street, blood trickling out from the hole in his chest and blood gushing from where his right eye used to be. I didn't spare him a second glance, as I was already turning around once again to check on the trooper that was behind us. I froze as I saw him, as he was propped up on his left elbow, holding the service rifle with one hand. It was pointed at me.

"Fancy trick, kid. Glad I wore my combat armour today," said the trooper before pulling the trigger. The click that followed eerily echoed across the empty expanse.

"Ah, crap—" he said as I shot him between the eyes.

As I holstered my pistol, the Pip-Boy on my arm giving off a beeping sound. I ignored it, deciding to fiddle with it later. I didn't notice the text that scrolled across the amber-lit screen.

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"Perk Gained! You may not be the most outstanding orator or a silver-tongued devil, but your quick-thinking is second to none! Quick Reflexes perk acquired!

Effect: You gain a 25% increase of speed while enemies are nearby! This speed increase affects the following: movement, weapon equipping, and reloading!"

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"Companion Trait Gained! Due to Twilight Sparkle being from another Universe entirely, she has been awarded the Element of Magic trait!

Effects: Twilight has the ability to cast numerous forms of magic, along with being able to see much better than any other person due to her oversized eyes! However, she is very easy to spot, giving both you and her a -25% decrease to Sneak.

Bonus Effect: Additional dialogue options are available with everybody in the Mojave Wasteland!"

Comments

[U7VK7VOVV7V]

Oh, forgot about those little perk tidbits at the ends of some chapters. Now that I think about it, reminds me of Fallout: Equestria.

Well. so much for diplomacy.

NCR: Shunned
You've left a bad impression on the community and may be shunned as a result.

[1st Lieutenant Dave]

fair enough the pip boy would have options for twilight

[AtTheCrimsonFckr]

Maybe you should fine a pip-boy for Twilight.

[M-Tails-P]

You flanderized an NPC with a grand total of TWO lines of dialogue? Wow, that takes skill.

Also, how the hell does finding a mutant earns you a promotion? This is NCR, not Mutant Hunting Association!