Return to Sender

by Chemtest

Redemption

He stumbles onto the street, his body summoning the combined strength within it.

John glares at the Spirit, and the Courier steadies his stance, “I’m going to give you one last chance.”

The Spirit wheels around, it’s glowing eyes widening as it sees him standing there, “That was supposed to kill you.”

They don’t move an inch, and speak once more, “One chance. Surrender, and return to your forest!”

The Spirit growls, and charges.

One hand moves to the right pocket as John whispers a final prayer, and another moves to the left as the Courier stares down the danger.

He pulls the pin on the grenade. And raises it into the air.

He pulls the mini nuke out of his pocket, and raises it into the air.

“Not another town.”

“Never another Bear.”

The Holy Hand Grenade counts down, until the mini nuke finally meets it.

The Spirit dives in for a bite, only to be caught by the blast. An explosion powerful enough to topple the Lucky 38.

John closes his eye, ready to meet Scarlet and Platinum again.

The Courier closes the other eye, content with dying in a giant explosion.

They both end up looking at each other in a black void, their mind.

The Courier nods, “So, nice to actually remember my past. Kinda glad I didn’t, else we’d be a lot more dangerous. Probably would’ve dropped some nukes on some raiders as well. Man, you were angry.”

John looks at him, “That’s it? You don’t have any regrets with dying so early?”

The Courier shrugs, “I mean, I killed millions in the NCR. I really shouldn’t have done that. If I were to live longer, then I would try to make it up. But, I can live with only one act of redemption. Or, can’t live, I suppose.”

John motions, “Veronica? Boone? Arcade?”

The Courier cracks his neck, “They are all very strong, and can live without me. Sure, they might be lost for a tiny bit, but they will find themselves. I know they will. They are my betters in every way, and if I could help them, then they can help them.”

John sighs, “And you never really had a home either.”

“The Mojave.”

John looks back at him, “A community with families that you know and help every day.”

The Courier nods, “Yeah, the Mojave. Sure, there may be cliques here and there, but it’s ultimately one big community. Sunny, Trudy, Doc Mitchell, every citizen of Goodsprings. The Khans, the Powder Gangers, the Strip, Boomers, Brotherhood, Enclave, Jacobstown, Utobitha, Novac, the Kings. You may say they aren’t the same, but the truth is that they are. The Kings are the exact same as the Jacksons. Hell, the raiders and Fiends seem more like squabbling children sometimes. You give them something they enjoy, and they help. With Platinum and Toby it was candy and suger for them to do homework. With Moter Runner and the other Fiends it’s Jet and Psycho for peacekeeping duties and following the laws. You supported the Jacksons when they had a spat with the Andersons. And I supported the Powder Gangers when they had a spat with the NCR. The Mojave is my home, John. Same as Lucky Springs is for you. And everything I did, I did it for my community. I did everything for the Mojave.”

John slightly nods, “The nukes?”

The Courier nods back, “An overreaction, yes, but taking out the Long 15 would give us time to build up and find internal peace before the NCR would eventually try and annex us. The extra nukes were an overreaction. But they threatened my people, my family. Every father has overacted in order to protect his children.”

John sighs, “You don’t think it was wrong?”

The Courier thinks for a bit, “Wrong, yes, definitely. The act was evil and atrocious, but the act was only one part of it. Look at it from the outside, John.” The Courier holds out a holotape, “It was the final message from Ulysses that finally made me realize why I did it. Revenge was a small part, a convenient excuse as I sorted out the true reason in my head.”

John stems forward, picking up the holotape, “And what was it?”

The Courier takes a step forward as well, “War never changes. And if war never changes, then men must. War is a tool, it’s always been. Just like a wrench, it never truly changes. Sure, the edges and corners might be padded out a bit, but a wrench is still a wrench, and war is still war. A man who makes an outdated product with a wrench must eventually be out of business. And a nation who forces outdated ideology with war must be defeated. Men must progress, even if they use a wrench, or use war, they must make something that works. A man who uses his wrench to build a MP40 will be beat by the man using it to make a plasma pistol. And a nation who uses war to push democracy will be beat by the man using war to make an egalitarian dictatorship. The NCR held to democracy like a buoy after the Titanic, yet they did not realize that the buoy was sinking, and had already sunk before.”

John nods, “So, you are saying that they refused to change, so it was inevitable?”

The Courier nods back, “Exactly. I am a man making change, I am a man who has changed. If they were to take over then the Great War would only begin again. Democracy failed, monarchy failed, every government of the last failed. They refused to see a simple truth. The only true power exists in the people who are willing to change, and those willing to follow those who change. Democracy said it helped the people, yet it is no secret that racism caused a large portion of the people to be oppressed and pushed down. Monarchs like Ceaser show no care for their people, and even force those who disagree into slavery or death. The NCR pays off politicians and businesses so that only the elite few get what they want and are free to push down the people. Yet the Mojave is different. I listen to the people, I make sure even the poorest man can live in safety and comfort, and I can change. Nearly a century, John, when our great grandfather found Shady Sands. The mutants, who’s leader he killed, they managed to forge many societies and change in so many ways. The NCR has had nothing but stability as our grandfathers protected them, and they did not change. They saw the Enclave when our grandfather destroyed them, and they didn’t change from taking the same exact path.”

John nods, “And?”

The Courier takes a breath and calms down, “The sins of our past, John, they caused the world to be destroyed. Of men unwilling to change, and symbols being ripped apart. What I am doing... it’s to restart. The atrocities committed by scientists hidden away in the Think Tank will not happen again. Those atrocities have left a bad taste on humanity’s tongue, and I plan to get it back to good. And yes, some bad things have to happen in order to reach that point. The bombs dropped, the old world is gone. Humanity needs to learn, and not repeat.” He sighs, “I can’t believe I’m quoting the Sierra Madre, but humanity needs to begin again. I need to begin again, and I need to bring around some change to men.”

John takes a second to breathe. He thinks over all of what the Courier said.

He reaches up, and takes the hat off his head. The badge on it seems to glow a blinding red, until it returns back to normal.

Yet the entire hat seems to glow with a golden aura still.

John tosses it over to the Courier, “You can fight. I ain’t cut out for a world without Platinum or Scarlet, so I’m leaving it to you.” He smiles, “You’ve just gone from Deputy up to Sheriff Courier.”

———

The Courier opens his eyes, and sees the explosion going off right in his face. Yet, a strange golden aura creates a bubble around him, and in a five meter space containing the Spirit.

The Holy Hand Grenade and mini nuke go off, yet the golden aura protects the Courier from all damage. And it seems like the bubble around them is to contain the explosion.

Within a second, it’s over, and the Spirit of the Everfree is nothing but ash in the wind.

The Courier looks at the animals of the Everfree, and some unknown knowledge fills in his head, “I am the Courier, Element of Redemption, and I command you to leave this town and never return!”

The animals all flee, almost scrambling over each other to get out of there.

Then the knowledge leaves the Courier, and his adrenaline cuts off.

He falls to the ground, feeling all the pain of a building collapsing on him.

Two ponies come rushing out of the clocktower. Igneous runs side by side with Time Turner. Time Turner stops in front of the Courier, and smiles, “You were right, I was wrong.”

Igneous smiles as well, “We have... cleared things up.”

The Courier groans, “I don’t fucking care, now get me to a hospital!”

The two get on each side of him, and start to drag him towards the hospital.

Captain Sharp Spear rushes towards him as well, with a griffoness following right behind him. They help Turner and Igneous, speeding up the process immensely.

More and more ponies rush to help the one who just saved them.

The man on his path to redemption.

A man who was broken, on the path to being fixed.

‘Ponyville: Idolized.

You saved them from the Everfree Spiritand her animals. You also rescued the three most influential foals, and managed to sweet talk your way into favor with the three most popular mares. Ponies will help you for almost no cost, and are more open to being your companion.

Canterlot: Mixed.

Your past escape hasn’t left their minds, but with the news from Ponyville, they are content to watch this play out without interfering.

Changeling Hives: Idolized.

Green, Red, Brown, Blue, all have heard tales of the Courier and how he managed to find a murderer and then defeat a powerful Spirit all in the same day. You’ve helped all their agents, and they wish to return the favor.’

A man floats in the air, wearing purple robes that blow in the wind. He watches the Courier, “Wrenches. Very unique.”

He takes out a wrench, yet also teleports away at the same time.

He takes out a set of blueprints, and places them on a dirty table with a wrench on top of it. He nods, “They require a smart man to be used, and they can set many things into motion.” He disappears, yet leaves a message in the Courier’s head, “Be ready, because there are no second chances.”

A man walks into his house, his brain too busy to handle emotions.

The Courier, killed in a nuclear blast? The same Courier who punches people with miniature versions of the same thing? The same Courier who managed to take an entire Ranger squad’s ammo supply to the chest? Preposterous. Julia and Yes Man might believe it, but they haven’t seen what he can do.

Arcade Gannon looks to his workbench, only to see a set of blueprints with a wrench on top of it.

He looks over the blueprints. A teleporter. Where one can put in a strand of D.N.A and trace them anywhere across the universe.

Arcade looks over to another table, where the Courier’s old duster sits. Full of skin cells, blood, and lost hair.

He looks back to the blueprints.

He picks up the wrench, and smiles.

Comments

[Dashie04]

I do disagree with the fact that democracy isn’t good in war.

The Cold War was won by Democracy, and the Civli War was, too.

But this is probably the best chapter in this story otherwise.

[Chemtest]

9779493
Well, here’s the thing, in this universe, the Cold War never really ended.

[Chemtest]

9779493
Oh, and to add on to my previous comment.

The Courier didn’t mean that democracy was bad in war, because that could be disproven by fact the NCR are the most powerful nation in the world. What he ment was that they could fight, but they weren’t making anything new.

His wrench comparison for example. The man who makes the MP40 uses the wrench just fine, it’s just that the goal being reached for is outdated.

The Courier knows that the US were a democracy, and he saw them fall in the Great War. He knows the Enclave were a democracy, and they fell when his grandfather destroyed them. In his mind, that shows that democracy has failed to prove it’s worth as a new ideology. Democracy caused the world to end, and for atrocities to take place. He argues that if the NCR continues, then they would’ve eventually done the same because they are using an outdated idea. That’s why he is a egalitarian dictator, because it hasn’t had it’s test, and it is new. The egalitarian dictatorship is the plasma pistol to democracy’s MP40.

[Beanygrow15237]

So can we expect a sequel to this