Queen Of The Wasteland

by Jest

I Fought The Law

Twilight shot her companion a smug look as the pile of weapons slowly grew, and the hallway filled with terrified raiders. Janey merely looked on in confusion, a baffled expression fixing itself to her face so firmly that Twilight thought it may become permanent. All while the raiders continued to silently file in one at a time until all twenty of them were disarmed and accounted for.

“There. Now get on with it already,” a slightly older, more grizzled raider announced.

Twilight cocked her head to the side.

“I said get on with it,” the man growled. “Kill us already.”

“Why would we do that?” Twilight questioned, tapping out her question on the floor.

“The punishment for getting caught raiding a second time is death. I don't care where you do me, just get it over with. I ain't a patient man,” the raider continued.

“If you insist,” Janey remarked, her hand going to her holster.

Twilight’s growl cut her off, and the courier raised her hands.

“Only joking. Bullets cost money and I ain't wasting a cap on these losers,” Janey announced.

Twilight turned to the man, jabbing a claw at his chest. “The fact that you turned yourselves in will do much to sway the judge, I’m sure.”

The raider blinked, and exchanged a glance with several of his fellows before erupting with laughter. “Is this thing for real? I mean how naive do you gotta be to actually believe that crock of shit?” he exclaimed.

Janey chuckled. “Hey there, you can't insult her. She's royalty ya know. A true blue princess at that.”

“For real?” a disfigured female raider whispered.

“Straight from Equestria. I bet her word would carry a whole ton of weight in the courts,” Janey added.

Twilight snorted, and stomped her foot, a light blush crossing her cheeks. “Escort them to the sheriff's house. We need to get them sorted quickly.”

“Yeah sure. Whatever you say princess,” Janey muttered, pulling her pistol from its holster. “Alright scum. This is what's going to happen. I’ll lead you to the holding cell while princess here brings up the rear.”

“Then what?” asked one of the raiders.

“Then, probably tomorrow, we will get in contact with the NCR and see if they’ll take ya. If not we’ll find a nice shallow ditch for y'all to take a nice long dirt nap in. Got it?” Janey barked.

People nodded, some muttered agreement while most merely remained silent, observing their captors closely.

“Good, now princess here likely won't eatcha if you step out of line, but I sure as shit wont hesitate to put a new hole in your head,” Janey finished, the courier turning and walking towards the exit.

The raiders dutifully assembled into a long line, with their leader being the first to follow after the departing courier. As they passed Twilight by, the deathclaw noted that most didn't look at her fearfully anymore, or at least not quite as much fear anyway. It was a nice change, though that feeling of joy was slightly marred by the realization that those negative emotions werent gone completely.

Rather they were largely moved from her, to Janey, who seemed to be the object of their ire given the glares leveled the courier’s way. Thankfully no one tried to run, and soon Twilight fell in behind the line, plodding slowly after the skinny raider from earlier. Twilight did her best to give the human a bit of space, but quickly thought better of it when she realized doing so may grant his friends a chance to escape.

Together they made their way down the stairs, and back out onto the streets of Primm, where several confused residents were waiting. All of whom were armed, and were watching as the strange procession made their way to the sheriff's shack.

“There ain't enough room for y'all in that tiny jail so this is what's going to happen next. I’ll go inside and clear the place out. Then that whole damn house is going to be your cell,” Janey shouted, pointing to one of the residents. “Get over here and lend me a hand wouldja?”

The man blinked once before nodding, and hastily ran after the courier, leaving Twilight and a few of Primm’s residents alone with the small army of unarmed raiders.

“So uh. You got them to surrender did ya?” muttered a baffled, and slightly irritated woman. “Don't suppose your leaving town with them tonight, eh?”

Twilight thought about it for a second before shaking her head.

“Damn. I’d sure sleep better knowing this lot was either dead or gone,” remarked the resident in a low tone.

Twilight rolled her eyes and continued to observe the raiders as they stood in a small awkward group. The deathclaw could tell that more than a few of them were tempted to run, but with Twilight’s presence they dared not move. Thankfully they didn't have to wait long, as Janey emerged from the shack only a few minutes later, hauling a heavy backpack along with her.

“There,” Janey declared, stopping next to Twilight. “Now there ain't nothin that can be used as a weapon, or nothin. Go ahead and toss' em in there.”

“Hold a minute,” interrupted the raider leader. “How long do you plan on keeping up us cooped up in this tiny thing?”

“Not long,” Janey replied. “I just need a bit of shut eye before I can drag yer sorry carcasses to the NCR.”

Twilight touched the courier’s shoulder, and snorted, hoping to get her companion to elaborate.

“I don't know about you but I need to sleep somethin fierce,” Janey explained. “Before we can do that I gotta let the old man know what's happening.”

Twilight grunted, merely accepting the fact that she was once more being left in charge of the situation. She glanced at her prisoners, and then pointed to the door, punctuated her command with a low growl. Sure enough, the raiders all swiftly made their way into the shack, though none looked happy about this development.

When Twilight turned around she was surprised to find that there were even more Primm residents standing nearby. All of whom were armed with some kind of weapon, though most brandished bats or other simple implements of violence. Twilight glanced to the door, and then back to the humans, who seemed to be waiting for something.

Watch all sides of the shack. Keep them contained, and safe while I figure this out. Twilight scratched out on the dirt.

“What does… huh. Well uh… you heard her boys,” muttered a rather surprised middle aged male.

Twilight nodded, and watched as the group quickly organized themselves before three of them moved to surround the shack. The others remained near the entrance, though they seemed more intent on watching Twilight than their captives. The deathclaw snorted, and pointed from her eyes, to them and back before walking away.

A gentle push allowed the deathclaw to enter the Vicky and Vance, where she quickly noticed Janey speaking to the older dark skinned human Twilight saw earlier.

“So you really don't know who set up that whole crooked job then?” Janey whispered.

Nash sighed, and stood a little straighter, crossing his arms over his chest. “Its like I told ya. The whole thing didn't make a lick of sense, and it was all done through proxies. I didn't see noone’s face, nor did they mention anything that didn't have to do with the job. Now would you quit badgering me about it? I told you all I know.”

“Sorry,” Janey muttered. “This whole thing has been…”

She trailed off, her gaze settling on Twilight, who slowly tromped up to the pair and offered Nash a nod in greeting.

“I hear ya did us all a favor,” Nash began. “Not sure if I’d have the strength to do what you did, but either way I’ll be pleased as punch when they’re gone.”

“Do you have a space where we could rest?” Twilight asked, tapping out her response on the ground.

“Err right, about that…” Nash muttered.

“He cleaned out one of the back rooms for us. It ain't pretty. Used to be a bathroom, but it will do,” Janey offered.

Nash sighed, and ran a hand over his sunburnt head. “Sorry we can't do much better, but everyone is hunkered down in what few rooms that haven't collapsed.”

Twilight sighed, and shrugged her shoulders.

“See? She don't mind, and neither do I frankly. At this point I’m about ready to pass out in the Bison Steve,” Janey exclaimed.

The man chuckled. “Well you can at least lay your head somewhere safe. Though we can't offer you much more than that.”

“Scuse me,” Beagle interrupted, the ex deputy walking up to them. “I couldn't help but remember that we didn't quite finish our conversation before.”

“I thought I was pretty clear that it ain't our business,” Janey retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

“And I distinctly remember princess here saying that she would handle it,” Beagle retorted.

“My name is not…” Twilight sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. “It doesn't matter. Yes we’ll handle it, and before you interrupt me again, Janey give me two minutes here.”

“Fine,” Janey muttered bitterly.

Twilight turned to Beagle, and placed a clawed hand on his shoulder. “Like it or not Beagle, you are in charge of this town. Without any other decent candidate you must take up the mantle of leadership.”

“I err…” Beagle trailed off, unable to find the proper words.

Whether that was due to the misplaced fear that Twilight would crush his head like a grape, or inspiration, the deathclaw wasn't sure. Either way she pressed on, tapping out her short speech on a nearby slot machine.

“I know you said that it had to be the NCR or that convict but that just isn't possible,” Twilight continued. “The NCR have orders not to bother themselves with Primm, and you should know by now that the convicts are bad news.”

“I suppose at least one of those things is true,” Beagle muttered.

Twilight nodded. “You know, deep in your heart that what I’m saying is right, and that now you must step up in order to defend your home and the homes of your fellow residents.”

“But I still need a deputy, and there ain't nobody around here who would volunteer, not after what happened,” Beagle retorted.

Twilight smiled, and turned to Janey.

“Oh no. There is no way I’m being this weiner’s deputy,” Janey exclaimed.

Twilight sighed. “That was not what I was going to say. Rather I was going to suggest that we use your scrap, and knowledge of robotics to turn this one into an adept helper.”

Janey followed Twilight’s claw to the cowboy hatted protectron standing idly nearby.

“Howdy pardners! Welcome to the Vikki and Vance casino, and-” the robot began, only to be quickly ignored.

“Why would I do that? I need that scrap. Besides, I don't even know if it has those kinds of subroutines already programmed and I sure as shit ain't sitting around here for the next week writing them,” Janey retorted.

“Can you at least look?” Twilight pressed.

Janey sighed. “Fine, but this is coming out of your portion of the loot.”

Twilight merely shook her head as she took a step back from Beagle, her gaze falling back on the former deputy. “With this metal creature as your loyal assistant. You would make for a fine protector of this town,” Twilight continued.

“I uh, suppose if old Primm Slim here could help me out then it wouldn't be so bad. What do you think, mister Nash?” Beagle asked.

The older human merely shrugged. “I don't rightly care what you do with that thing. Most folk consider it more of an annoyance so you’d probably be doing me a bit of good by getting it out of the casino.”

“It’s not like it wouldn't be put to better use,” Twilight offered.

“True,” Nash admitted.

“Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. It does have a set of law enforcement protocols,” Janey exclaimed, the human peering intently at the inner workings of the protectron. “It will need to be rewired though, and a few systems will need to be reinforced.”

“So will you do it?” Twilight asked, peering intently down on the former deputy.

Beagle sighed. “Look I appreciate yall putting such faith in me, but I just don't think it's a good idea. I only got a few months experience, and I ain't the type to bark orders ya know?”

“I know exactly how you feel right now. The butterflies in your stomach, the heavy beat of your heart and the slight queasiness that makes you wanna throw up. I’ve been there before, and I know that you just have to push past it. Soon it will fade, and you will realize that this was what you were meant to do. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but eventually you’ll come to this realization. Trust me,” Twilight exclaimed.

Beagle nodded slowly. “You know what? Ya, I think your right, miss Sparkle.”

“That isn't my last… it doesn't matter,” Twilight tried to reply, but quickly gave up.

“Great well it's mostly done. Just gotta power him back up and then sometime in the next week you’ll have to finish rewiring the rest of it,” Janey remarked, slamming the access panel shut on the protectron.

“Alright let's see what he can do,” Johnson Nash proclaimed.

With the flick of a lever, Primm Slim shuddered to life, his electronic head lighting up as various components began to whir softly.

“Bzzzt... Law enforcement protocols reinstated. Deputy subroutines running, pardner. Initializing use of force authorization... authorization found. Yee-haw!” shouted the robot in its usual mechanical tone. “Please designate a sheriff.”

“That would be me,” Beagle declared.

The protectron trundled up to the man and looked him up and down. “Biometrics catalogued. What is your name, sir?”

“Beagle,” replied the man, who stood a little straighter.

“Registration complete. What are your orders, pardner?” asked the robot.

“Patrol the streets of Primm, but don't go too far from the casino,” Beagle exclaimed. “I gotta catch a few winks if I’m going to be of much use to anyone.”

“Yes sir. Patrol route set,” Primm Slim announced before turning and trundling away.

Beagle cleared his throat and turned to Johnson Nash. “Don't you worry. I may have messed up once before but I swear on my very life that it won't happen again.”

“That's good son, now you better get some rest. You look like your ready to fall over at a moment’s notice,” Nash awkwardly replied, patting the other man on the shoulder.

“You’re probably right. Those damn raiders didn't let me get a wink of shut eye the whole damn time they had me tied up,” Beagle replied before slipping away.

Janey sighed. “And I really wanted to get that eyebot up and running too.”

“I’m sure you can come back for it,” Twilight replied.

“I guess,” Janey admitted. “Now if that's all the catastrophes for the moment. I need to gather some loot before I hit the hay.”

“I was gonna mention that we can't feed all those raiders you captured but if you’re bringing them away in the morning it don't matter much,” Johnson Nash exclaimed. “Come on princess. I’ll show you to your accommodations.”

Twilight nodded, and extended a hand invitingly.

The male quickly took the lead, maneuvering his way around the central area and towards the back of the casino. A few of the other residents glanced Twilight’s way though most didn't even bother to look. Evidently they had gotten used to her presence enough to no longer be bothered by the towering death lizard passing them by.

As they walked, Twilight couldn't help but yawn, the former pony quickly realizing just how exhausted she truly was. The entire debacle hadn't taken very long, but between her little episode, and all the fighting that had happened, Twilight’s strength was sapped. She could barely even keep her eyes open as she trudged after the human at a slow, sedentary pace.

“Here we are,” Nash offered, pushing open a door that branched off of the backroom of the casino. “I know it ain't much but we piled a few mattresses together in case ya decided to stay the night.”

Twilight smiled faintly as she observed the rather unpleasant room before her. Sure enough, it had indeed once served as a bathroom, though the majority of the stalls had been altered to create two separate spaces. One within the stalls which had their dividers removed, and a larger area near the sinks where Twilight’s mattresses had been piled.

Twilight gave the male a quick thumbs up.

“If ya need anything just holler. Err…” the man scratched his head. “Just find me and I’ll get ya some water or something.”

The deathclaw made a shooing motion with her hands.

“Right. I’ll give ya some privacy. The one on the end still works in case ya need to, well… you know,” Nash exclaimed before walking awkwardly away.

Twilight wished she could thank the man for his hospitality, but merely made a note to do so when she woke up. In the meantime she desperately needed to collapse into bed, lest she fall asleep standing in the doorway.

Collapsing into the small mound of musty mattresses, Twilight wished she had a blanket or something, before quickly pushing that thought aside. She was plenty warm, and plenty tired, she just missed the comfortable feeling of something cozy wrapped around her shoulders. Her old covers from back home had a small weighted enchantment on them that always helped to ease her anxiety.

Without such a luxury Twilight was left to consider her problems, as she lay there on her side. She wondered if she had been too quick to trust Janey, and if she should even remain at the courier’s side. She brushed aside those thoughts rather quickly though, reasoning that it was only through her that Twilight could even communicate.

I just need to find some other way to talk to people. Then maybe I can consider parting ways. Twilight thought to herself, the deathclaw’s body relaxing now that she had a plan in mind.

With such concerns no longer plaguing her, Twilight quickly fell asleep, unaware of the nightmares that were awaiting her.

Author's Note:

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Comments

[Anon E Moose]

I bet ED-E could translate for Twilight

“That isn't my last… it doesn't matter,” Twilight tried to reply, but quickly gave up.

But it is? Is Twilight forgetting herself already?

[Jest]

10892977
Sparkle isnt her last name. Twilight has a compound first name of two words. Twilight, and Sparkle. Like Rainbow Dash.

[Starlight Jimmer]

I am so happy to see this story updated! I absolutely love it!

[PonyofEntropy]

Love this story. Great update.

[Ulrezaj]

So, if Twilights skin/scales are black, would that make her a matriarch?

[proverbs]

Achievement Unlocked
75G - Large And In Charge

Bring the Law back to Primm

[44burn]

“Straight from Equestria. I bet her word would carry a whole ton of weight in the courts,” Janey added.

glad to see that Janey is enjoying this

...And in the end, Beagle proved to be a terrible Sheriff. His Robo deputy was without heart and arrested everyone for the pettiest of transgressions, shooting all who resisted

10893016
We've heard plenty of "Miss Dash" canonically