When Twilight and spike are sent into a world far darker than their own they will be forced to live through things that will haunt them for there long lives.
Twilight Sparkle: Humble librarian and scholar turned Princess of Friendship and tutor to a washed up stage magician.
Spike: Number one assistant, loyal friend to Twilight Sparkle and acting brother to a certain white coated, pink haired filly.
Sent by discord to save a life, These two will soon be thrust into a world of death and war, forced to learn things no living creature should and be put though situations that will change them, whether for better or for worse is yet to be known, But they will be challenged to survive in one of the most dangerous places on planet earth in the year 2283.
Because Mojave, mo' Problems.
Fallout: New Vegas / My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Crossover
Story may contain scenes that are unsettling to some.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright of Hasbro Fallout: New Vegas is copyright of Bethesda Softworks
09/08/2016: I've put this story on hiatus so people know what they're getting into when they begin reading. I've lost a lot of my drive with this story and I can't find it in me to continue, this may change but until it does this story is on hiatus.
Darkness, that was all that could be seen when she woke up from her unfortunate kip. It was a known fact that this wasn't what she expected to see when her eyes opened, and when she attempted to move she found her arms bound and her legs tied in tight knots that rubbed against her limbs painfully. Her wings were in a similar state as well with rope binding them also in an awkward position that made it painful to even wriggle slightly. This was not what Dissonance expected to wake up to when she decided to take a nap when her big brother was dealing with some annoying harmony followers. He had told her that she should have rested and kept absorbing the chaos energy so that she could become as strong as him. She had just dozed of when he had gone and just as she felt her eyes close she saw a blinding light and now found herself here. The most worrying thing she noticed though by far, was the fact that her claws were being held apart which meant she couldn't just snap them and leave this dark place.
Suddenly she heard something moving closer to her with large clanking sounds and heavy thuds. Perking up her ears she tried to listen more intently to her, what she assumed, captor as they finally stopped a few feet away.
"It seems that you are awake" it spoke in a deep hoarse voice that sent shivers down her from the pure malice that emanated from it. "Legionary!" it shouted, "Get me the man who brought this 'thing' in."
Dissonance felt fear brew in her gut as this being clomped over to her and roughly lifted her up by the scruff of her neck. It then suddenly, bearing the force of a bull, punched her straight in the middle with a fist of cold metal covered in sharp points, causing her to start coughing and trying to throw up her empty stomach. another couple of punches were launched into her and she felt her eyes water.
As tears started to build up in her eyes she heard another set of lighter steps move closer and enter whatever room she was being held in and stop a metre or two in front of her.
"It's awake" the gruff being stated in a low monotone voice as it proceeded to lift the dark object that was obstructing her vision off of her head. The change in lighting blinded her at first causing her eyes to blink and squint. When they finally adjusted enough to see there were some things that she immediately noticed.
The room she was in had cloth walls of some sort, with light filtering in from the edges closest to the floor which probably meant that this was actually a tent. There were banners of red cloth that seemed to show a golden animal with horns charging at something. The next thing that she noticed was the thing holding her by her neck. It was huge, towering over even while being held at arms length by it's golden arms that matched the rest of it which seemed to be made of metal and red cloth that gave it the look of a statue. It's head seemed to be shaped to look like a bearded face with stern features and black hollow sockets where eyes would be causing her to realise that it was, hopefully, wearing some kind of armour. It was bipedal and standing with a straight back which showed signs of strict discipline and power. It's gaze seemed to be focused on something else at the current time. Following where it was looking she saw another bipedal creature that was far less intimidating than her armour clad captor.
This other creature was not as tall nor as strong looking as it's friend but it appeared to carry an element of superiority wherever it stood. It had no fur on its face or hands and was wringing it's thin, smooth claws together in a creepy way. it had a Dark brown mane that was combed up and back over it's head and held by some kind of substance that had a sheen to it that made Dissonance cringe internally. It had small dark brown eyes that held a sharp edge as cold as the winter nights and as cunning as a fox. It wore a suit with a black and white checked pattern that was slightly dirtied at the trim. In it's mouth was a small white cylindrical object with a lit end that created a thin wisp of white smoke and a small orange glow. It Inhaled slowly through the object held it's breath for a short while before blowing the smoke held in it's lungs into Dissonances face causing her to start cough more through her bruised ribs and stomach.
"Ring-A-Ding baby, that's what I'm talking about." It spoke with a suave edge that hid his less than savoury intentions. "This little baby will get you your fight and me, my old life back in one easy package."
"I Don't see how this creature will help me destroy the west" The tall creature stated with a hint of impatience in it's voice.
"Relax, you gotta' be patient Double L, this baby will get us the strip and beyond with it's freaky powers." The suave one stated in a placating manner.
"My name is Lanius, and I rule Caesars legion you snivelling wretch, if you weren't important I would have you crucified for that insult to my name and the legion." The creature named Lanius almost growled out. "These powers had better be useful or I will personally mount your head on my spear as I kill everyone you ever loved."
Dissonance would have expected a show of fear from the suave one but he still looked as confident as when she first saw him.
"You ain't gonna' be killing many people with that head-spear-thing then cause I don't have no loved ones." He said with a smirk. "and anyway, this is in the bag. This little cutie will get us what we want and we will win this because..." As he was speaking he slowly leaned down to Dissonance with a smile that scared the feathers off her wings and said, in a dark tone that showed no remorse.
The sun was shining down on the innocent dwellers of Ponyville that morning as they left their homes to start the daily rut of work and some-such. The sound of small conversations and whining foals being taken to school was permeating from the streets in a pleasant manner to many of the villages inhabitants that spoke volumes of how they enjoyed their peaceful monotony. If you knew what made Ponyville special though then you would understand why this was what they enjoyed; whether if was the fact that the village was nestled right next to the dark and mysterious Everfree, with it's fierce monsters or twisting trees; or the fact that the village was populated by some of the strangest ponies living currently; but many thought that the cause of most of their strange lives was the fact that 6 individuals lived in this very village that had saved the world more than a few times and caused just as many problems as well.
One such individual was probably the most peculiar of them all, because while a certain pink mare broke the laws of physics, she had lived in Ponyville for over a decade and already become a normal sight for the town. No, this mare was a certain scholar with a lavender complexion, a dark dull blue mane and tail with purple and pink highlights flowing down the length, and a starburst cutie mark. Her name was Twilight Sparkle and she was the recently crowned princess of '-insert title here-'. She had started her time in Ponyville as the town librarian and local 'smart pony' and had ended up as an Alicorn and saviour of the world many times over. Her time in ponyville was spent helping ponies and hindering ponies (although she didn't like talking about that one time).
Currently she was tutoring a certain previously homeless stage magician with an superiority complex and a penchant for speaking in the third person. When the stage magician had first come town she had been given a mixed reception, with some of the adult ponies and a majority of the foals loving her, while a portion of the adults disliking her for her boasting and proclamations of being the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria. After a couple of ignorant foals decided to bring a Ursa Minor into town so that the magician could vanquish it, was it revealed that her skills were far more lacklustre than she had stated and the Ursa decided to destroy her home and ruin her career. Twilight, being the caring mare she was, decided to help the mare in need by offering her a place to stay while she could get a new cart and finding a job. This was met not only with objections from the town but the mare herself, but Twilight insisted and the Light blue ex-magician relented.
After a few weeks of no luck, Twilight had offered the light blue mare, named Trixie, magic lessons so that she could try to get her magic career back on track instead of finding a different job. These magic lessons had gone on for a few months before twilight offered to be Trixie's full time tutor which she agreed to after a bit of thinking. Two years later they were still learning new magic, but at this point they were learning about new magic's at the same time which lead them to end the tutorship and instead become study partners, unravelling the mysteries of science, one study binge at a time.
"Okay Trixie let's get going and test this spell out!" Twilight shouted up to the second floor with barely contained excitement. Her and Trixie had recently found out how to teleport other living beings without the caster having to teleport at the same time.
"Did you remember everything Twi?" the voice of a young purple drake said from atop Twilights back. Spike the Dragon was Twilight's helper and 'sort-of-son' who she had lived with for most of her life. He was not very big or very smart, but he made up for that in his heart which was argued to be the biggest of all of Ponyville because of how he was willing to do anything for his friends and 'sort-of-mom'. "I've got to meet up with Sweetiebelle and the others later on and I would like to get this out of the way so that I'm not late."
"Don't worry spike. From what Rarity told me, Sweetiebelle is at the park where we will be doing the experiment right now." Twilight said with a small giggle as spike's face lit up at the news that Sweetiebelle would be there. Many ponies outside the cutie mark crusaders assumed that spike and Sweetiebelle had crushes on each other, but the reality was that they had more of a brother sister relationship since an incident in the Everfree that they refused to tell anyone the details about.
Just as Twilight was about to call for Trixie, hoof falls could be heard coming down the stairs.
"Trixie is coming, don't worry." Came the call from behind them as Trixie descended the stairs and into the main hall of the library.
"Trixie, your speaking in third person again." Twilight said.
"Oops, sorry." Trixie replied.
"You got everything you need then Trixie." Twilight asked the blue unicorn.
"Of course, let us be off then." Trixie said as she, Twilight and Spike left the library for the park.
"Is the spell matrix ready Trixie?" Twilight called over from the centre of the rune circle. The spell required runic preparation to work at the current time to guide the teleport from point A to point B. Normally when a teleport is cast it teleports the caster and whatever they want as well, this worked because the caster would be there to give the spell guidance to where they wanted it to go. Without the spellcaster being inside the teleport, it didn't have that guide so they had to use runes to fill in that gap.
"It is now Sparkle, I am ready to cast the spell when you are." Trixie called from her power rune. The rune she was standing on was used to connect the two teleport points together so that they wouldn't teleport to any other teleport runes in the area (Even though there where no other teleport runes in the area.).
"Let's do this" Twilight said in a confident voice that hid the small amount of fear building in her gut. Trixie's horn then started to glow and twilight felt the runes activate and then- *SMACK*
Twilight fell flat on her face as the teleport runes sent her to it's sister rune a few metres away.
"Ooww" She moaned as she started to climb up from her heap on the ground. She shook her head and tried to orientate herself but before she could regain her composure she was tackled by a light blue unicorn and landed in another pile outside the circle.
"IT WORKED!" An exited Trixie shouted with glee as she hugged Twilight with strength to match Pinkie's hugs.
It took Twilight to realise what was going on, but when she realised what had happened she threw her hooves around Trixie and started shouting as well.
"WE DID IT!" She shouted "WE COMPLETED A SPELL THAT NOT EVEN TODAYS RUNIC MASTERS COULD COMPLETE!" The thing about the spell they had completed was that it had stumped scientific minds for decades. The Theory was sound and the spell had worked with inanimate objects, but whenever it had been tried with a living creature it always backfired and the creature would be teleported to somewhere random nearby. The Reason that Trixie's and Twilight's version had worked was because the runes didn't compensate for the soul in the previous iterations which caused the magical energy to go haywire because of the creatures wants and desires. In their version they had added a rune of soul restriction that stopped the soul from influencing the spell and allowing it to be cast without issue.
After hugging for a few more seconds they realised what they were doing and ended the hug quickly and started to scramble out of the tangled mess they found themselves in. They both stood up, blushing and stayed silent for a few more seconds before Twilight spoke up.
"W-we did it, we finally got the spell sorted out. Now all we need to do is to write up the discoveries, test it out more and finally send it off to the scientific communities and hope they approve." Twilight said with growing confidence as each word left her mouth.
"Ooh ooh, can you do me now." called spike from his game with the cutie mark crusaders. He ran over to Twilight and grabbed onto her leg and looked up at her with pleading eyes.
Letting out a soft giggle Twilight said. "Fine, you can have a go. I need to try casting anyway." As spike ran over to the first rune pad, Sweetiebelle trotted up to Twilight.
"Will Spike be okay Twilight?" she asked with a hint of worry in her voice. "I don't want anything to happen to him."
Placing a hoof on Sweeties head softly, Twilight said " Don't you worry about a thing. Spike will be absolutely fine and will be back to playing with you fillies in a bit." Twilight then turned to spike who had gotten into the centre of the rune and was waiting patiently for her to start.
"Ready to go twilight" he called giving her a thumbs up signifying he was all set.
Charging her horn she linked her magical signature to the rune under her feet and started powering it up. When it reached full power she guided it into the first rune. Almost immediately she felt something wrong, it felt as if a foreign magic was interfering with the runes causing them to alter the destination and even going as far to alter the rune she was standing on to teleport her as well. She tried to shut down the spell but felt the foreign signature powering it instead and just as she felt the rune beneath her transform fully she and Spike were gone.
Twilight tumbled onto the hard surface that met her when she landed, after her failed teleport. Lifting her head up she only got a quick glimpse of where she was before something small and heavy hit her head, causing her head to give the ground another kiss. A small groan echoed from the small object making her realise that it was probably spike that had hit her and that he had ended up in the same location as her.
"Twilight? where are you" She heard Spike say in a quiet voice.
"Dwn hr" Came her muffled reply causing spike to yelp and quickly scramble off her head and allowing her to lift her face off the ground. "Where are we?" she asked to the air, not expecting a reply. Which caused her to jump when she got one.
"My realm Twilight" Came a voice that she groaned at when she realised who had messed with her teleport spell and dumped her there.
"What do you want that was so important to mess up one of my greatest spells to date, Discord" Twilight said as she got up to her hooves and turned to face him.
"Something that means far more to me than that spell does to you." He said in a surprisingly sombre tone, which surprised Twilight considering she had never heard Discord genuinely upset about something. "and I believe that you will agree that it is more important than that spell when I explain what I brought you here for."
"Then what is it that you brought us here for?" Twilight asked with a slight hint of impatience creeping into her voice. Despite the emotion that Discord was showing she had no reason to believe it considering what he was like. "The spell I was working will revolutionise the way ponykind will get places because of the fact tha-"
"SILENCE YOU INSIGNIFICANT FOAL, YOU THINK YOUR PROBLEMS WILL EVER MATCH UP TO THE STRIFE THAT I HAVE GONE THROUGH. I FINALLY HAVE A CHANCE OF SEEING HER AGAIN AND I WILL NOT LET ANYTHING GET IN MY WAY, NOT YOUR SPELL, NOT YOUR FRIENDS AND NOT EVEN FAUSTDAMN CELESTIA!" Discord roared with rage that shook Twilight to her core and made her cower, and made Spike hide behind her. While he was shouting his form had changed to a far more wild version that sent chills down Twilights spine. Discord then proceeded to take deep breaths and slowly revert back to his normal form as his rage died down and was replaced by sorrow and regret.
"D-discord?" Twilight stuttered quietly.
"I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that." Discord said "That anger isn't for you, it's for Celestia."
"What did Celestia do that she deserves that much anger." Spike asked from behind Twilights legs.
Both Spike and Twilight flinched when it looked like Discord was about to shout again, but he managed to rein himself in before he could burst. "Chaotic beings are born in times of chaos and survive off of it as well." He stated in way that made Twilight want to start taking notes. "When we are born we need chaos to be able to grow into a being that can survive without chaos for a certain amount of time. I was born in the pre-unification Era and I managed to grow to the point of which I could survive without constant chaos before the three tribes unified under the banner of Equestria. another being was born though shortly before that though and she couldn't survive after the Unification." Twilight gasped as that piece of news hit her. She was about to offer condolences but discord cut her off. "Which is why I started the era of chaos. As much as I enjoy chaos, she needed it so I gave it to her in excess so that she could survive. The time was about to come where she could survive but I had to attend to the two royal pains before hand." His head sunk down and he held it in his mismatched paw and talon. " I got overconfident, I was imprisoned in my stone prison. I used the last of my chaos magic to send her into the space between spaces so that her soul could locate a suitable universe to continue growing. It had been searching for the last fifteen hundred years and it had finally found a location with enough chaos that she could finish growing."
"Why haven't you gone to get her then?" Spike asked as he stepped out from behind Twilight with a curious expression on his face.
Discord then looked up with a face of despair and said "I have tried, I have tried every conceivable way over the last year over and over again, but I am attached to this universe's chaotic signature just as Celestia is to the sun. Which is why-"
"You want us to go and get her" Twilight finished. Discord silently nodded his head with a sad look in his eyes. "We will do it." she said resolutely. She looked down at Spike and he had a look of determination on his face and nodded to Discord.
"It's not that simple I'm afraid." He spoke apologetically. "This world has horrors that will try to kill you, and that is just the animals. The People are far worse, Heck even the world itself will try to kill you." He then looked her straight in the eye and spoke in a tone that lost all it's emotion. "I would rather be stuck in my stone prison again than go there. Which is why I give you my word that if you do decide to go, that when you get back, if you deem it bad enough, I will willingly go back to Canterlot gardens as an ornament."
This comment made Twilight falter. Discord? willing to go back into his stone prison, this meant more to him than his own freedom, but that didn't dissuade Twilight from the task. if anything it made her want to do it more.
"I'll do it" She said with confidence that would put a minotaur to shame. Spike gave a similar reply as well causing Discord to barrel towards them and wrap them both in a tight hug while quiet sobs wracked his body.
"Thank you" He said in a barely audible whisper.
"No problem Discord. What are friends for right?" Twilight said with a kind smile on her face. As Discord released her and Spike from his hug she decided to question Discord on something's. "I need some facts about this place were going though Discord."
"Okay, I'll tell you the essentials." He said quickly "The location I am sending you two is called the Mojave wasteland. It is a war ravaged land and still bears the scars of said war over two hundred years later. It only has one sentient species which goes by the name of humans, and they are a tool using race, similar to the minotaurs and by the fact that they are also bipedal. There worlds magic field is barely tapped into and will be far weaker than Equestria's, but it is still there so your magic, though weaker, will still be usable. I would recommend looking for a human by the name of The Courier, they should be willing to help you out." Twilight had made a mental list by the time Discord had finished speaking.
"Anything else?" She asked as she placed spike on her back.
"One more thing" Discord said as he opened up a portal. "This portal will take you to the Mojave, but it will also give you both a device that will prove invaluable while you are there."
"Okay then" Twilight said as she squared her shoulders "Let's go"
And with that she leapt into the portal with spike holding onto her back, but things were not going to easy like all her other adventures she had been on. No, this one would be harder than anything she had ever done by far.
The clouds drifted through the sky at a slow pace, obstructing any form of light that would illuminate the pitch black streets, the moon was hidden out of sight nor could any star be seen. This night was like many others in the Mojave, dark and foreboding, with a slight chance of unexpected death around every corner. The crumbling buildings of the south Vegas ruins were barely illuminated by the odd fire or gunshots. This night was calmer than most though; there were no loud shouts from fiends attacking settlements; no barking of their dogs as they tore flesh from bone; and not even the sounds of light chatter that they tend to find themselves committing to. No, this night was different.
As the portal opened up, Twilight and Spike exited out and into the streets of south Vegas. When Twilight had got her bearings she looked around at her surroundings and took in the sights. She noticed that it was night almost immediately, thanks to the fact that she couldn't really see anything at the moment. As her eyes adjusted she noted that the outlines she had noticed against the night sky were destroyed and ruined buildings that looked as if they had met the oncoming force of a buffalo stampede made of steel.
"Whoa" Came the response from spike when he looked up and saw where they were. "This place is a mess"
"Yes, it is." Twilight said in return. "We had better find someplace warm, it's cold out here."
Twilight then proceeded to lift Spike onto her back and trot over to where she saw a faint light behind a few of the dilapidated structures. While she was trotting through the streets she saw that the destruction went on for a long ways down the roads, she even went as far as to say that it went on for miles. They reached the object that was producing light and found it to be a metal cylindrical object with flames protruding from the top. Around it were slabs of concrete that had been pushed there to form seats of a kind. She cantered over to them and clambered up so that she could warm her and Spike up.
“Okay then” Said Twilight “Lets figure out what we’re doing then.” She then proceeded to place spike down in front of her and scoot closer to the light. At this point they both noticed the strange devices that were wrapped around their wrist and lower left Fetlock. It was a dark brownish device with a screen that was black with white lines and writing on it. Below the screen where three buttons that said, Stats, Items and Data. To the left of the screen was a small wheel like part that when she pushed it, it scrolled the screen up and down. Further along was a knob that had five settings. Each of these five settings seemed to correspond with the five tabs at the bottom of the screen. There was a small cursor as well that seemed to follow her eyes as she moved them over the main panel.
“I’ve never seen anything like this.” Twilight said with wide eyes and sense of awe. “And I’m not even getting any magical readings from it. This is all technology that runs without magic.”
Twilight started to flick through the different tabs and buttons until she found a screen on the Data section that read Misc. She flicked onto that screen and saw that there was a highlighted message that read ‘Guide – From Discord’
“Discord seems to have left us a guide of some sort on here.” She told Spike as she clicked onto the message. The message appeared on the right hand side of the screen and it said.
A Guide to the Pip-Boy 3000
Dear Twilight and Spike
This is Discord here and I’m going to explain the main properties of the Pipboy 3000. The next section of writing is from the Company that created this marvellous device.
The RobCo Pip-Boy (Personal Information Processor) is an electronic device manufactured by RobCo Industries. It uses ultra-modern super-deluxe resolution graphics, which coupled with its capability to store large amounts of information and transfer data to and from holodisks and from data tubes make it the obvious choice for the wandering explorer, the out-on-his-own newbie or the all-around survivalist expert.
The Data Function, as you can see, will help you manage everything you will learn or find out thanks to its neural link that allows it to know what you have done and where you have been. It also has two map functions: A world map that will show you the cartographic information of the state/city/province you are currently in, And a Local map that will show you a 100 by 100 meter square radius map of the local area. It also has the function of being able to pick up radio signals, record important information and jobs you pick up and noting locations of interest on your map.
The next section is the Stats Function which will show you your overall bodily health and your carrying capacity. The First Tab is the Status Tab which will show the condition of each of your Limbs and main body. It will also display your Radiation levels, your hunger levels, your thirst levels, your sleep levels and any effects that you have on your body from an outside or unnatural source. I have modified each of your Pipboys to display a generic member of each of your races at the same age as each of you for ease of utility. The S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Tab will show you the Pipboys interpretation of what general attributes you possess and in what amount you have them. The Skills Tab will show you what related skills you possess that you will make use of during your travels. These skills are directly related to your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Attributes and what traits you possess. The Perks Tab will show you what traits you possess at the start, and later on what perks you gain while on your travels. Lastly is the General Tab which will display your current reputation with some of the local factions that inhabit your area. This tab also has a second variant of itself that will show you your generic statistics on what you have done while wearing the Pipboy.
The third function on your Pipboy is the Items Function which uses the neural link to display all your current gear that you possess. The first tab is the Weapons Tab which displays all your current weaponry that you have on you. It will defer whether or not an item is a weapon on whether or not you consider it one. It will also display the condition of these weapons and will show you what you can repair it with. The next tab is the Apparel Tab which will display all your current clothing and armour that you are carrying. This tab will also display the condition of your apparel and what you can fix it with. The third tab is the Aid Tab which will show you all of your items that you find will be useful and/or of use. This will most likely show you your medical supplies, your food and water, your drugs and your reading material. The next tab is the Misc Tab which will show you all the junk that you decide to randomly carry with you. The last tab, the Ammo Tab, will display your ammo count for all the weapons that you may find.
That is a brief rundown of what the Pipboy will do and how it will assist you. I would recommend listening to the Radio New Vegas for information on current news as it will help you find The Courier.
Good Luck
Discord.
As Twilight finished reading the note Spike decided to put on the Radio New Vegas station and listen in to whatever it played, and he was met with was the end of a song that sounded rather happy. When the song had finished the voice of suave old man came on.
“Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. This is Mr. New Vegas. Thank you very, very much for listening. It's just about time to get you some news. Reports have lead us to believe that Fiend forces have managed to become far more organised thanks to their now boss, Rampant. To anyone in the South Vegas area, I would recommend leaving their as fast as your legs will carry you. That's the news. This is Mr New Vegas, Filling in for...Mr. New Vegas. Got some Dean Martin coming up talking about the greatest feeling in the world: love. Ain't That a Kick in the Head? It sure is, Dino, it sure is.” After he had finished talking a song started playing that for some reason gave Twilight the chills.
Twilight turned to Spike and said “Let’s go Spike we don’t want to stick around for too long, there might be something dangerous out he-“
*THWACK*
Twilight felt a massive jolt of pain emanating from the back of her head as she fell to the ground. Through her swirling vision she could see two bipedal creatures wearing armour made of straps and spikes with what looked like goat skulls hanging off of them. One of them grabbed spike by the mouth with a piece of cloth and held it there until he drifted into unconsciousness, and then proceeded to sling him over his shoulder. The second one knelt down in front of Twilight and smiled down at her with a sadistic smile and said.
“A talking animal? The boss will love you for his fun time.” He then reached out from his belt and un-holstered a small device that looked like a small version of the ruined carriages strapped to the end if a wooden board. He then started to search around his body for something. When he found what he was looking for he loaded it onto the small device and aimed it at Twilight. He fired the device and Twilight felt a burning pain enter her horn as the dart leaked its poison into it.
“You hit its horn you moron.” The one carrying spike said as he walked over. “I’ll do it you fool.” He then walked over to Twilight and looked down on her and lifted foot up. Before he booted her in the face though, he said seven words.
Twilight groaned as she woke up from her slumber and slowly opened her eyes. She could see that she was still outside but in a far more built up area to the one she and Spike had previously inhabited. When she tried to speak she realised that her mouth was gagged and her limbs were tied. Her horn was still in immense pain because of the dart that was still stuck in it, sending poison into it. Thankfully her horn was cut off from any form of circulation thanks to the way it worked, so she wasn’t in any risk of dying from the poison. She tilted her head around in an attempt to get a view of her surroundings and if she could see Spike.
The area around her was more brightly lit thanks to the many campfires that littered the area. Around each campfire where more of the creatures that were kidnapping her and Spike. They chatted about menial things, ate food and seemed to be taking vast amounts of syringes, inhalers and tablets. When she looked in the other direction she could see the one that had knocked out Spike, and the fact that he was carrying Spike on his shoulder gave her some semblance of hope that they fight survive this ordeal.
“So, why are we bringing these two things to the boss?” The one that was carrying Spike asked with confusion in its voice.
“The boss ‘likes’ cute animals and these two fit the bill perfectly.” The one that was carrying her said.
“Okay that makes sense.” The other said back. After another few seconds he turned back to his compatriot. “Hey Dan, why do these two things have those little Pipboys on their arms?”
The being she now identified as Dan Turned to his friend and said “I don’t know, but I think the weirder thing was the fact that they were both talking when we decided to follow them.” He then gave is friend an annoyed look “Oh, And Lloyd.”
“Yeah?” Lloyd responded.
“Stop asking questions, it’s getting on my nerves.” Dan then turned back to facing forward and stopped suddenly. Twilight could hear a few clicking and whirring noises and then an almighty screeching sound that hurt her ears. After about half a minute Dan and Lloyd continued walking and entered some form of building. Twilight could in fact see that the noises had come from a massive cog shaped door that had the number three printed on it. The door started to close again when another of them pushed a lever on a small stand creating another painful racket. She looked up at Spike to see if the noise had woke him, and felt a small smile slip onto her face when she noticed that it hadn’t.
A few minutes of being dragged through the corridors and rooms of this place that she assumed was a bunker because of the metal walls and excess of downward travel and lack of upward. They finally stopped after a good five minutes and Twilight saw Dan knock on a metal door that was blocking their path.
“Hey boss! We found some ‘Pals’ that you might like to see.” Dan shouted loudly through the door. Twilight could hear the faint sounds of footsteps drawing closer until the stopped and the door slid open to reveal another of the creatures. He wore a far more covered up version of the clothing she had seen the others wear. He wasn’t wearing a helmet like the others but instead had a beret that was covered in small rectangles of metal with writing on them, other than that he also wore a pair of very dark sunglasses that blocked all view of his eyes. His face was far cleaner than that of all the other creatures she had seen on her ‘trip’ through the bunker, and he stood a good few inches taller than her kidnappers.
“Damn it, if this is another gecko I will gut yo-. “ His tirade was cut short when he caught sight of what Dan and Lloyd had brought in. “Holy Fuck, where in god’s name did you find these two beauties?” His voice was slightly deeper than Dan’s but higher than Lloyds, it also carried an edge of sophistication to it unlike the others.
“We found them out in the ruins a good hour or so ago. The purple furry one had the small one on its back and they sat down by a fire barrel.” Lloyd said with a small hint of pride in his voice.
“They have Pipboys on their arms and the fact that they know how to use them is weird on its own, but the weirdest by far is the fact that they talk.” Dan said with a bit of disbelief at his own words entering his voice. When the boss gave him a look of annoyance, Dan held up an arm and said in a hurried voice. “I shit you not, I have not had any chems since yesterday so that we could get more stuff done. These two fuckers speak grade-A English.”
Though he still held a look of doubt, the boss gestured the two to enter the room and bring the two with them. As he stepped out of the way he said “Well let’s see if they do talk then, place the small sleeping one in the cage on the shelf and place the furry one in the centre of the room.”
As Lloyd placed Spike in a cage that sat on a large shelf at the side of the room, Dan placed twilight down in the centre of the room and pointed a small L-shaped device at her head. Twilight, sensing that this device was a weapon, just whimpered as the boss knelt down in front of her. He removed the tape that had been placed over her mouth and looked at her intently.
“Well if you can talk I would do it fast before I make you talk.” The boss said in an impatient voice. Twilight could tell that he was serious and thought that she might be able to learn what they were and why she had been taken.
“H-hello, I’m T-twilight Sparkle.” Twilight said in a shaky voice, causing the boss’s eyes to shoot wide and his jaw to drop. “W-why did yo-“ Twilight was cut off when the boss quickly placed a finger over mouth and quickly stood up. He turned to Dan and Lloyd, who were standing off to the side with triumphant smiles on their faces.
“You two will be rewarded for this.” The boss said to them “Go to the chem cupboard with these two passes and you can take a bucket full of whatever chems you want.” He then passed them two slips of paper. Both Dan and Lloyds faces lit up with massive smiles as they took the pieces of paper and turned to leave. “Oh, and boys.”
Dan and Lloyd turned back to the boss. “Yeah?” they said in unison.
“I’m not to be disturbed until I leave the room, Understood?” The boss said to the two, to which they both nodded their heads.
When Dan and Lloyd had left the boss turned back to Twilight and walked over to sit in front of her. His legs were folded and his arms were resting in his lap. He stared at Twilight for a good few minutes before Twilight decided to speak.
“Um… who are you?” This question seemed to jolt the boss from his trance causing him to sit up a bit straighter.
“You can call me Rampant, and I am the current leader of the Fiends.” He said with a hint of pride in his voice. “You are currently within Vault 3, our current home base.”
“What are you?” Twilight asked Rampant once he had finished his sentence. He was slightly caught off guard by this question until a look of realisation crossed his face and he smiled slightly.
“I am a member of the species Human.” He said which caused Twilight to remember what Discord had told her and Spike about humans. She remembered that they had no use of magic and relied heavily on tools to get tasks done. She also remembered that Discord had told her that this world was recovering from a war that happened over two hundred years ago.
“Where are we, other than inside this… vault?” Twilight asked.
“The vault itself is underneath an old destroyed warehouse within the South Vegas Ruins. The South Vegas Ruins is the most devastated area of Vegas and used to be home to many wild animals, until the first groups of Fiends arrived.” While he spoke, Rampant got up and walked around, gesturing his arms wildly like some sort of mad-man.
“Who are these Fiends that you keep mentioning?” This question seemed to placate Rampant as he suddenly stopped waving his arms around. He slowly walked back over to Twilight and sat down in front of her.
“The Fiends are large group of raiders that are mostly hopped up on chems and drugs, which causes the other factions to label us as nothing more than savages.” He stated in a monotone voice, Twilight was about to say something else but was interrupted by Rampant. “Which I suppose is true. The Fiends tend to be quite savage and do tend to act like mad-men from time to time, but that is why I am here. I’m trying to get them organised and into a far more orderly society, so that people won’t just see us as savages.” He ended his speech with a little flourish.
“That’s very noble of you Mr Rampant.” Twilight said with a small smile as she looked up at him.
“Noble? It’s hardly noble to turn a bunch of savages into an organised Force. When I’m done with the fiends, they will strike terror into the hearts of anyone they face, we will take Vegas and kill anyone who stands in our way. After that? We will take the whole of the Mojave for ourselves.” After he had finished his tirade, he started to laugh maniacally. Twilight just stared up at him with a face of horror as her mind registered what he had just said.
“W-Why? Why do you need to do that?” Twilight asked fearfully.
“Why?” He said, leaning down so that his face was almost touching hers. “Because I can.” With that he backhanded Twilight across the face, sending her crashing back down to the floor from her seated position. As Twilight tried to sit up again, she noticed that Rampant was standing over by the shelf that had the cage that Spike was in. He looked over his shoulder and asked, “So, who is this little guy then.” He spoke as if nothing had happened and the fact that he looked like a tourist asking a zookeeper about the animal they were looking at made Twilight wonder if even he realised what had happened.
“His name is Spike, he is my son.” At Rampant’s confused expression she continued. “He is a Dragon that was given to me as a test to see my magical power, I managed to hatch him and he has been with me ever since. I was only a little filly at the time so I was too young to treat him like my own child, but as I grew older I began to see him more than a brother and more as my own son. I fully made it legal six months ago.”
“I see.” Rampant said. “I noticed you said something about magic, what is that.” He asked with curious expression on his face.
“Magic is something that allows us unicorns to manipulate objects and the laws of physics. It also allows Pegasus to fly and earth ponies to manipulate nature so well.” Twilight then gained a look of concentration for a few seconds, causing her horn to spark slightly, before suddenly panting and looking as if she was in pain. “I would demonstrate but this dart seems to be stopping from even doing the most basic form of magic, Telekinesis is normally easy.”
“Let me have a look” With that, Rampant made his way over to Twilight and examined the dart embedded into her horn. “Huh, it seems the guys are starting to take my advice. This dart is filled with Phenobarbital, it causes a stunning effect on whoever is injected with it.”
“Can you please remove it so that I can get my magic back?” Twilight asked kindly. To which Rampant replied with by taking out then quickly jamming back in harder. This caused Twilight to scream in agony as the Dart embedded into one of her nerve endings in her horn. She felt tears stream down her face as the pain started to ebb away. She looked up at Rampant and he was standing over by a small counter with a box of what looked like medication in his hands. He opened the box and took one pill out. He then sat down, leaning against the counter and took the pill and swallowed it, after which he braced himself against the counter and floor. After a few seconds his entire body locked up and he remained motionless sitting there for about 15 seconds, before gasping for breath and slowly standing up.
“I hate having to do that.” He said as he placed the box back on the counter and slowly sat at the edge of his bed.
“What was that?” Twilight asked after the tears had finally stopped running down her face. He looked up at her when he heard her voice and looked confused for a few seconds before suddenly gaining a look of realization.
“Sorry, forgot you were there for a few seconds. That was Thorazine. It is an antipsychotic sedative with a slight paralytic effect. I need it so that I don’t go bat shit insane like a lot of Fiends do.” He then got up and walked back over to spike and picked up a small bottle that was sitting next to the cage and opened the lid. Placing a cloth over the top, he tipped the bottle upside down quickly then back upright. He then held his nose and walked over to Spikes cage and placed the cloth by the side of the cage. The Results were almost immediate, Spike shot up and started coughing and gagging from the smell with wide eyes.
“Wher- *cough* Where am I?” Spike looked around until he saw Twilight on the floor in rope. “Twilight!” he shouted loudly, rushing to the edge of the cage and gripping the wire which caused it the shake precariously close to the edge of the shelf.
“Whoa there little guy, careful with what you do or you might end up falling off the edge.” Rampant stated with a tinge of humour entering his voice.
“Who are you?” Spike asked.
“You can call me Rampant, and I am the one who is going to be hosting you until I see fit.” Rampant stated smugly.
“What do you want with us?” Twilight asked angrily, scowling at Rampant causing him to bend over laughing. He then suddenly grabbed Spikes cage, pulled out a knife and held it up against Spikes throat. This act caused Twilight to gasp fearfully and shout. “No! Please don’t!”
“I see that you care for Spike here don’t you?” Rampant said with a vile grin on his face. “How much would you be willing to do in exchange for his continued living?” He asked
“Anything! I’ll do anything!” Twilight desperately shouted. As soon as she had said this Rampant’s Vile grin became ten times worse and he placed Spike back on the shelf and sheathed the knife.
“Then let’s start with a little fun then shall we?” He then slowly sauntered over to Twilight and lifted her up be the scruff of her neck and tossed her onto the bed.
“W-what are you going to do?” Twilight asked, terrified of the prospects of what might be to come. Rampant only grinned in response as he slowly took of the top half of his armour. Realising what he intended, Twilight tried desperately to scoot away from him, but only managed to wriggle on the spot frantically. “No, Please, not that anything but that.”
“Then perhaps, Spike might prefer having fun with me tonight.” Rampant said with a sickly sweet tone that faked innocence. Just that thought alone almost made Twilight want to cry. The choice became a no-brainer after that. A sick and painful no-brainer, but a choice that was so easy and yet so hard.
As salty tears ran freely from her eyes, she turned to Spike and said some of the most painful words she had ever spoken.
“Spike? I need you to do something for me okay?” She said as calmly and as kindly as a mother asking their child to by some milk. “I need you to close your eyes and cover your ears.”
“Spike, look at me.” She said, causing Spike to look her in the eyes. “Everything will be okay, I just need you to close your eyes, cover your ears and ignore anything you hear, okay? Can you do that for me?” Tears were pouring from her face at this point, and even though Spike didn’t know what was about to happen, He was on the verge of tears himself. “Can you do this for me?” Twilight asked quietly.
“Twilight, what’s happeni-. “ Spike was about to ask.
“Please Spike, Just… Please” Twilight sobbed. Seeing his mother in such a state made Spike want to cry, but he needed to be strong for Twilight so he nodded his head. “Thank you Spike, Don’t worry I’ll be fine.”
As Spike closed his eyes and placed his claws over his ears Twilight turned to Rampant to see him looming over her with a predatory smile. He placed the palm of his hand over his heart and said, “That was really touching, but now it’s time to get started.” He then pulled down the bottom half of his armour and lined himself up. Then with an almighty push, he stole the innocence that Twilight had wanted keep until she was ready.
“Where is she!?” shouted a certain cyan Pegasus. “She said that she was practising egghead stuff with you, and now she ain’t here. So Where is she?” Rainbow was leaning over Trixie as she lay curled up on the floor with her head in her hooves
“I don’t know!” Came the response of Trixie as her interrogators continued to bombard her with questions of Twilights location. After the spell had gone wrong and Twilight had vanished along with Spike, Trixie had tried every spell she knew to try and locate them but they had all failed. Sweetiebelle had then ran off to find Rarity and that had led to the entirety of Twilights friends finding out about her disappearance, it had all gone downhill from there.
“Ah’ don’t rightly know what you were doin’ with them spells, but Twilights gone and you were the last pony to see her.” Applejack said, tilting her hat so that she could glare at Trixie. “Twilight may’ve took pity on ya’, but ah’ never did trust ya’.”
“Please, I don’t know where she is. The spell wasn’t supposed to teleport the caster.” Trixie cried as Rainbow dash lifted her up and plonked her down in a chair and tied her up.
“Um, girls? Maybe we should stop. She sounds like she is telling the truth.” Came the meek voice of Fluttershy, to which no one seemed to notice.
“Sweetiebelle came running to me in tears over how Twilight and Spike were gone after she had been told that they would be okay. The only other pony in the area was you Trixie, so you must know something.” Rarity said as she pressed a hoof on the backrest of the chair that Trixie was tied to.
“Why won’t you believe me?!” Trixie shouted fearfully. “I haven’t done anything wrong, why would I want to hurt Twilight?!”
“Because you still want to be the best unicorn around, and Twilight was in the way of that goal.” Rainbow spat, “You are still just an egotistical braggart who wants nothing more than to be on the top.”
“Girls, please stop. This isn’t right.” Fluttershy said, slightly louder than before but still not loud enough to be heard.
“How will I be able to make a party for Twilights birthday if Twilights not there? HOW!?!” came the hysteric wails of Pinkie as she cried literal waterfalls of tears.
“Please stop. I don’t know where twilight is.” Trixie said with tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. “I’m not a braggart anymore, and I don’t care about being at the top.” She said sadly but she suddenly gained a look of anger and looked straight at Rainbow. “Hey! And isn’t that hypocritical coming from Ponyville’s most ‘awesome’ mare?”
This comment sent Rainbow over the edge. She flared out her wings and dived at Trixie at full speed. Trixie managed to lift her rear legs up in time to block Rainbows assault, but ended being flung back anyway. Trixie and her chair then hit one of the bookshelves hard causing the chair to break apart and bounce her forward a couple of feet. The impact of the chair had caused more than a bit of pain for Trixie though, as could be seen by the fact that the bookshelf was starting to teeter over. Trixie managed to look up in time to see the bookshelf failing onto her back end with a sickening crunch. Trixie stared at the bookshelf that had landed on her for a few seconds until the pain finally registered.
“AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” Trixie screamed at the top of her lungs, almost shattering the windows of the library. The others stood there in shock of what had just taken place, apart from Rainbow who was slowly getting up from her meeting with Trixie’s hooves. Rainbow was only a foot or so away from Trixie when she finally got up she saw what Trixie had been screaming about and almost threw up. Blood could be seen leaking from underneath the bookshelf where Trixie’s bottom half was. Fluttershy was the first to break out of her shock and quickly flew over to Rainbow Dash.
“Rainbow, you need to get the doctors here as fast as you can.” she said in a tone that broke no argument. Rainbow silently nodded her head and flew straight towards the hospital. “Rarity, I need you to fetch me some clean cloth and then get me some warm water.” Being talked to managed to snap Rarity out of her shocked state and she quickly galloped off to find sheets. “Applejack, I need you to get me as some antiseptics and painkillers from Twilights medicine cupboard. They should be upstairs in her bathroom.” Applejack tipped her hat and headed towards the stairs. “Pinkie, I need you to come over here and help me get this cupboard off of her legs.” Pinkie hurried over to Fluttershys side and turned to look at her in rapt attention. “Okay Trixie, we’re going to lift this bookshelf off you now.” Fluttershy then grabbed her saddlebags and pulled out a small hat which she proceeded to hold in front of Trixie’s mouth. “I want you to bite down on this hat as we lift the cupboard, okay?” Once Trixie had bit down on the hat, Fluttershy and Pinkie started to lift the bookshelf off of Trixie, causing her to scream in pain through the hat. They managed to get the bookshelf off of Trixie and Pinkie used some furniture to hold it up.
“I’ve got some cloth for you darling, where do you want them?” Rarity said as she came back into the room. She trotted over and almost fainted at the state of Trixie’s rear end. Her legs had multiple pieces of bone sticking out of them and you could tell that her pelvis had been shattered from the impact. It didn’t look like the spine had been broken but Rarity couldn’t really tell considering she was running back into the kitchen to throw up.
“Pinkie, can you get me a sheet of cloth please to help clean up this blood?” Fluttershy asked while continuing to assess Trixie’s wounds.
“Oh my goddesses!” Came a male voice from the doorway, Fluttershy turned to see Dr Care and Nurse Redheart standing just inside the library. The doctor quickly rushed over to Fluttershys side and opened up his doctor’s bag, taking out a pair of glasses.
“Ah’ got the antiseptics and painkillers Shy!” Applejack shouted as she descended the stairs. Once she reached the Doctor and Fluttershy, she place down the Painkillers and the Antiseptic next to them.
“Okay everyone out, I need as little distraction as possible.” The Doctor said in a loud voice, he then turned to Fluttershy “Miss Shy, you can stay. We might need your help with this one.”
As Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity were leaving, they saw rainbow sitting on her haunches outside, with her back to the library. Her head was in her hooves and her wings lay limp by her side.
“Why did I do that?” Rainbow asked as the others joined her. “We didn’t even know if it was her fault, and I go and tackle her over a comeback that I deserved. Twilight would be so disappointed.” Rarity put one of her hooves over Rainbow’s shoulder.
“We were all a little bit out of sorts at the time… well maybe not Fluttershy. Anyway, the point is that you made a mistake, and you were a little bit hysterical at the time. I think twilight would forgive you.” Rarity said reassuringly.
“But I didn’t hurt Twilight, I hurt Trixie. All she ever did to us was beat us at a magic show, and we go and label her as the main suspect immediately. I wouldn’t blame her if she decided to sue us, the law would certainly agree.” Rainbow said dejectedly.
They sat there in silence for a about ten minutes until they heard the door behind them open, when they turned around they saw Nurse Redheart and Fluttershy standing there.
“We’ve done all we can for her with what we have and the chariot that will take her to the hospital is on its way.” Nurse Redheart said while taking off her surgical mask. “She had a fractured pelvis, three breaks in her left rear leg and two in the other, all of which were compound. There was no spinal damage so she will recover and be able walk again, it will just take time.”
“Do you know how long it will take?” Rainbow asked hopefully.
“About a month at least, although we can’t be too sure.” Redheart replied. She then waved over to somepony behind the mares. They turned around to see a white and red chariot pull up being pulled by orderlies from the hospital. Two of them unhitched themselves from the chariot and trotted in with a stretcher between them. About a minute later they trotted out with a sleeping Trixie on the stretcher, followed shortly by the Doctor. After exchanging thanks, Doctor Care and Nurse Redheart climbed onto the back of the Chariot with Trixie and rode off to the Hospital.
Meanwhile: Utah, Zion National Park
Four figures stood by the southern passage leading back to the Mojave. Three of them were facing the last and talking to each other happily. The one facing the three was a man covered from head to toe in bandages and wore a Kevlar vest with the letters SLCPD on each side of his chest. The second person was wearing a suit of well-crafted armour made of leather and reinforced with thick pads. He had blond hair and wore a pair of reading glasses. The Third person was a woman who wore a black shiny trench coat, light brown trouser, black boots and a blue and white scarf. Her hair was also blond and she wore a pair of completely black Sunglasses that covered her eyes completely. The last person was the most noticeable of them though, for one she stood over them by at least a foot. She had a dark brown hat with a red ring slightly above the brim with sunglasses neatly tucked over the brim, resting on top of her head. She wore a sleeveless duster that fell down to just below her knees, it also had the picture of an ace with the number 21 imprinted on the back. On her face was a metal device that covered her mouth and nose, attached to the device were two tubes that bent round into a small yellow canister behind her head.
“Thank you again Joshua” The tallest one said to the bandaged one. “This info will be very useful when we get back to Vegas.”
“It is my solemn duty to try and correct my mistakes, and any information that hinders the legion takes me one step closer to that goal.” Joshua said, bowing his head as he did so. “I hope you use this information well Courier.”
“I will, don’t worry.” The tall one turned to the person her left. “Arcade, you got everything you brought with you?”
“Yes, I’m not a child.” Arcade said back.
The Courier then turned to her companion on the right and asked “You ready to go Willow?”
“Yep, I’m all ready to get back home.” Willow responded with a mock salute and a small giggle.
They then turned and left through the southern passage and started the two week journey back to the Mojave. Although a certain Purple Alicorn would say that it was two weeks too long.
Two weeks, two weeks of torture, rape and sadness. Twilight had been put through most of her worst nightmares in two weeks, a majority of them even in the first day. The first thing she woke up to after the first night was a chain round her neck and a small metal ring around her horn that held little canisters of what she could only assume was that Phenobarbital stuff that caused her magic not to work. The chain was tied to the post of the bed and was about two and a half meters long, allowing her to walk around a majority of the room but not exit it. For hours she had cried, curled up in a ball as far away from the bed as she could get without throttling herself. At about midday, if the clock on the wall was accurate, Rampant came into the room carrying a tray with lots of assorted items. Among these items was: An assortment of plants, a few small boxes with writing on them, a few small plastic bottles with what looked like water in, some cooked meat on sticks and what appeared to be blood packs. He then walked over to the center of the room, sat down and placed the tray in front of himself. He then gestured Twilight to move over to him and sit in front of him, causing Twilight to flinch and try and get further away. He then pulled out another of those L shaped devices and pointed it at a sleeping spike and then gestured for Twilight to sit in front of him again.
“Sit down here or Spike ends up with a hole through his head.” Rampant said harshly, making Twilight hurry to get up and trot over to him and sit down facing him and the tray. “Good, now I want to know what your race can eat and what his can as well” he said while holstering the weapon.
“Um, we are an omnivorous race but we really don’t like meat, so can you please not give me meat.” Twilight said quietly, she then turned to Spike. “He can eat anything as well but has less of an aversion to meat considering his race usually doesn’t care for the sentience of other creatures.”
Rampant had written all this down and looked like he was trying to work something out. He then wrote another few things down quickly and placed down his clipboard.
“Okay Twilight, I need you healthy so that you don’t end up dying until I decide that you have filled your purpose.” When he said that it made Twilight want to cry, but she stopped herself. “Which is why I need you to have a balanced diet, I can get you your vitamins and carbs easily from the old world foods and plants we can find around the ruins, but the Protein is going to be a bit difficult. Since Spike doesn’t have an aversion to meat he can have that, but you will have to drink this.” He then lifted up the blood pack and held it in front of Twilight. This caused her to almost throw up at the fact that she had to drink blood like some kind of vampony to survive.
“That’s horrible!” Twilight shouted with a disgusted face, causing Rampant to scowl and point at her with his free hand.
“You don’t have a say in the matter, so you better drink these or I’ll gut Spike and wear him as a jacket, you understand?” Rampant said seriously, making Twilight nod her head feverishly. “Good” With that he placed all the items on the tray onto the floor and took the tray with him out the door.
“Twilight?” Came the small voice of spike as his head raised up from inside his cage. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah… yeah I’m fine.” Twilight said tiredly. “We have food, so let me just bring the cage down to floor level” She then got up and trotted over to the shelf and grabbed the cage that Spike was in and pulled it down off of the shelf and dragged it over to the center of the room. After the cage was placed close enough to the food for Spike to grab through the bars, she sat on her haunches and picked up a piece of the plant that Rampant had brought in. It looked fairly like and Agave fruit, which Twilight had never tried but had read a bit on it. Apparently it was inedible to most mammals but was found to be edible to a majority of the equine family, which was why it was widely grown in Zebrica and in the hot areas like Dodge Junction. Twilight hesitantly bit into the Agave and found it to be rather tough but also quite sweet.
Spike was in similar situation with the meat in front of him. Twilight had given him meat from time to time as it was still necessary for his diet, but he had never eaten meat cooked like this. Most of the time Twilight had stewed it with vegetables and spices so that it would last a long time in the fridge and so that she wouldn’t have to cook it too often. He picked up the small thin stick with his claws and pulled it through the bars, where he could sit comfortably. Slowly, he brought the meat up to his mouth and took a small bite out of it, chewing it slowly as if to test to see if it was edible. He found that it wasn’t as tasty as flavorful as when he had eaten meat in the stews, but it still had its benefits. For one thing, it had a slight charred taste which reminded Spike of fire rubies, as well as that though it also had a different flavor to it which spike had never tasted before. All together Spike found it rather enjoyable to eat, along with a small bottle of water to wash it down, he was rather satisfied with his meal if nothing else.
Twilight was having less luck with her meal, and while the Agave had been nice, and the small dry cake from one of the boxes was okay when washed down with water, it was the last thing she needed to have that was causing her unrest. When Spike looked over at Twilight he saw her holding a bag of what appeared to be blood in her hooves with a straw like tube leading out of it.
“What’s that for?” Spike asked curiously. Having been asleep when Rampant had brought it in, he didn’t realize what it was for. “What did Rampant want you to do with a bag of blood?”
“He wants me to drink it.” Responded Twilight as she pushed it around in her hooves. “He says that there is no other source of protein around unless I decide to eat meat instead.” Twilight then turned to Spike who was wearing an expression of confusion on his face.
“It sounds like he wants you to be healthy. Why?” Spike questioned. This made Twilight take on a panicked expression for a bit before giving Spike a Strained smile.
“It’s probably nothing to worry about, maybe he doesn’t want to be a bad host.” Twilight offered weakly. Spike was obviously not buying it but relented anyway.
“If he wanted to be a good host he wouldn’t keep me in a cage.” Spike said with a huff, folding his arms and scowling.
“Yeah” Twilight said before sighing and leaning against the bed post and looking up at the ceiling. Twilight then lowered her head and looked at the blood bag in front of her and pulled it into her hooves. She then rotated it until the straw was facing her mouth. “Well, bottoms up.” Twilight said with a smile that carried no happiness. She then scrunched her eyes shut and placed the straw in her mouth and sucked, waiting to get and onslaught of horrible tastes that would make her… Twilight opened her eyes as the red liquid entered her mouth. Swirling the liquid round her mouth for a few seconds before swallowing, she let he straw fall out of her mouth and looked at Spike was was staring with an expectant face.
“So how is it?” Spike asked with a wave of his claw, gesturing for Twilight to respond.
“It’s not that bad actually, tastes like holding her door handle in your mouth.” Twilight said with a hint of surprise in her mouth. “If this is a blood pack from the humans then they must have high iron content in their blood.” Twilight then put the straw back in her mouth and continued to drink more of it.
The days in the vault were spent in mostly boredom for Twilight and Spike for the first few days. Rampant had brought one or two books and magazines for them at their request, in return for any scientific knowledge that Twilight could give. The nights, though, were nightmarish for both Twilight and Spike. They were horrible for Twilight because of Rampant’s brutal rape and abuse of her small body. For Spike it was because of the fact that even with his eyes closed and his claws over his ears he could still hear Twilights cries of agony.
After the first three nights, Twilight had begged Spike to be placed in another room during her nightly torment. Rampant had compromised by placing Spike in the adjoined bathroom while it happened, though in return he got more violent with his efforts of pleasure for himself and pain for Twilight.
After a particularly brutal night, Twilight pleaded for some way to help alleviate the pain that Rampant had caused. Rampant had then left the room and came back a few minutes later with a box of small needles and said that these would alleviate the pain but that they caused addiction. When Twilight read the box she saw that it was morphine which she knew was a powerful painkiller and thanked Rampant, to which he only shrugged saying that he wanted her to be healthy and not feeling as if she was at deaths door.
The days turned to weeks and the treatment of Twilight only got worse and worse. Her treatment during the day had stayed roughly the same, but it was the nights that got far worse has they days went by. She had become addicted to the Morphine, constantly needing it’s affects to keep the pain at bay and to keep her sanity. She had also developed a craving for the blood bags that she was provided with at meal times. The only time she ever was happy was when she was talking with Spike, and even though she had to put on a brave face for him, it was his continued safety that kept her going and not just deciding to end it all.
During the days Twilight had been reading the books and magazines the she had been given from cover to cover, over and over again until she had knowledge of how almost everything in this worked at a basic level. She learnt that the weapon that Rampant often used to threaten either Twilight or Spike was called a pistol and it was a form of gun that was handheld. The model that Rampant used was a highly modified 223. Pistol with an extended barrel, laser sight and a small scope. She had also played around with her Pipboy and discovered what her Stats were. Her S.P.E.C.I.A.L.’s were as follows:
And while she was a little disappointed with her strength and endurance, she could hardly doubt that the luck Statistic was correct considering her luck. After checking her S.P.E.C.I.A.L.’s she checked her skills to see what she had. They were as follows:
Thanks to the books she had read and the tags that the Pipboy had prompted her to choose (which were guns, science and speech) she had a few fairly high Skills and a majority of them 15 or above. She then chose two traits that embodied her well. She chose the Good Natured trait and the Small Frame trait which both changed her Skills and also changing her S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats, and while these traits had their pros they also had cons. The Good Natured trait added +5 to her Barter, Medicine, Repair, Science and Speech skills, while also taking -5 to her Energy Weapons, Explosives, Guns, Melee Weapons, and Unarmed skills.
Twilight had mostly kept her knowledge of magic to herself since Rampant couldn’t use magic, and if he did, he could find a way to Equestria which was not good. The ring on her horn was still holding back her magic because of the poison it held. Twilight could tell that if she exerted enough magical force hen she could probably break the ring and force the poison out of her horn, but that would require huge amounts of magic which would probably end up with her unconscious, and that meant putting her and Spike at risk. So she submitted to her treatment in hopes of another opportunity presenting itself, and allowing her and Spike to leave this wretched place.
It had been sixteen days since Twilight and Spike had been brought to Vault 3, and Twilight was close to breaking point. Her treatment was horrifying at this point, her days had not changed much but her nights became waking nightmares. She was usually up all night due to either Rampant himself or because of the pain and damage that he had done. It got to the point that even the morphine she was taking was having trouble dulling the pain, and the only two things that ever brought her happiness were Spike and the blood bags, which had sort of become a luxury of sort for her. She had eventually stopped holding up her strong façade for Spike and had broken down while hugging herself as close to the cage that he resided in as possible. He had just softly rubbed his claws over her fur over and over, saying that everything would be okay and other hollow, yet reassuring statements.
Twilight was leaning against the wall next to Spike when Rampant came rushing into the room with Dan, Lloyd and a few other Fiends. He rushed over to his bed and pushed it aside to reveal a large safe built into the floor, which he opened after inserting a key, and pulled out a bag of his pills and a few boxes of ammo for his gun. He also reached down into the bottom of the safe and Twilight heard a clicking sound, causing a panel in the wall to open up revealing a cave-like tunnel.
“Dan and Lloyd, you’re with me.” Rampant said with an authoritative tone. “Scarlet, you and Mark will grab as much supplies from my room and the supply closet, then joining us.” The two Fiends nodded their heads, grabbed the two sacks that Rampant was holding out for them and dashed out the room. Rampant then turned to the last Fiend. “Cray, you stay here and keep an eye on these two until Scarlet and Mark get back, at which point kill the furry one then the small one and follow after us.” Rampant then left with Dan and Lloyd in tow through the tunnel.
Twilight sat there with a wide eyed expression as the Fiend called Cray sat in front of them on the edge of the bed. Pointing his 10mm at Twilights head.
“Yur a cutie” He said, his tone carrying no kindness and only malice and lust. Twilight audible gulped once he had said that. “Ah’ think the boss was being selfish, keepin’ you all to imself an’ all.” He then got up, skulked over to Twilight, grabbed her by the chain round her neck and threw her onto the bed forcefully. “I think it’s only fair that ah’ get a turn wid’ ya.” Holding Twilight down, he proceeded to get undressed and force himself onto her viciously. While Rampant had been brutal in his onslaughts, he had never been this bad and he had always given Twilight a full 16 or so hours to try and recover. Cray was not as forgiving as that though. He had pulled out a knife and was making small cuts all over Twilight as he raped her, hitting her ferociously as well.
Unlike all the other times, Spike had not seen what had happened during the nights. He had heard it all right but he never knew what exactly was going on and seeing is mother being brutally abused like this made rage boil inside of him. He charged at the side of his cage forcefully causing it to tumble off of the shelf and fall to the floor. The impact caused the bars on the cage to bend slightly and one or two of them fall out of position. Using these bent and broken bars, Spike managed to force himself out of his miniature prison and force himself up onto his hind legs. Turning towards Cray, he charged at him as fast as he could and leaped up onto the dresser that sat on the end of the bed then onto Cray’s back, latching on with his claws causing Cray to yell in pain. As Cray tried to get spike off of his back he fell off of the bed, allowing Twilight a short respite. When he had finally managed to get Spike off of his back he threw him savagely against the wall, causing Spike to yelp in pain.
Twilight snapped. All the anger, hate, torment, sorrow and pain that had built up over the last two and-a-bit weeks finally boiled over at the sight of her injured son. Her horn glowed bright white as pure magic coursed through it, sending the metal ring everywhere in the form of molten slag. She then grabbed Cray in her telekinetic field and slammed him against the wall, causing him to hack up blood. As he fell to the floor, Twilight teleported in front of him and delivered two powerful blows to his knees, shattering them immediately and causing Cray to scream in pain. Pinning him against the wall, she then grabbed the knife that he had used on her and started hacking away at his arms and legs messily, blood splattering against her enraged face. Twilight then pulled out his 10mm pistol and unloaded all of its shot into his lower body and slowly snaking its way up his body. Finally after she had unloaded the entire clip of bullets, she grabbed cray’s head in her telekinetic grip and ripped it in two.
Twilight’s glowing eyes slowly reverted back to normal and her mane drifted down lazily. Just as she was about to pass out she turned to her right to see a tall figure standing in the doorway, They wore a sleeveless duster with Kevlar armour underneath, a dark brown leather hat with a red ring just above the brim and a metal mask over there mouth and nose. Their eyes were wide in shock as they stared at a blood covered Twilight. Just as Twilight’s eyes started to close and she collapsed on the floor she heard one young male voice shout.
Vegas had been a beacon for many years, even before the war. In the old world it was a beacon of desire, tempting all those who heard it’s call into spending excessive amounts of money and losing most of it to rigged gambling tables. After the war it became a home for many tribes and groups that found its protected walls perfect for life. Later on it became not only a sophisticated place like it had before the war, but also a strategic landmark targeted by not only NCR but Legion as well. But it took on a new meaning after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. Where it had once been a place of the elite and lucky few who could pay for entry, it now stood as something new and different. After Mr. House, sole proprietor of the establishment seven years running, was replaced by a new owner, the stage was set for one of the most devious and cunning plans ever to grace the earth. The plan was to gain complete independence from all major factions in the new world, meaning no NCR and no Legion. The new owner of the Lucky 38, also known as The Courier, had already earned the favour of the NCR and had made themselves completely vilified by Caesars Legion, going even as far to kill Caesar herself. The Courier had done many things for the NCR, including saving their President, but she was only doing it to bring them up so that they could fall all that more further. Along the way she had also dealt with a large amount of problems in the wastes.
She had managed to; Create a mass exodus of one of the wests longest running factions with zero casualties; Diffused a plot to destroy the Strip and cause mass chaos; Convinced a group of isolate, trigger happy, artillery loving gun nuts to open their gates more and trade with the wasteland; Killed four of the most dangerous raiders in the Mojave; ended a cannibalistic plot right under the noses of the entire Strip; Become a member of one of the most selective organizations currently active while also persuading an old member to quit because of clashing ideals; ease tensions between two of the most pig-headed groups in the town of Freeside; remove a criminal organisation from the wasteland both peacefully and violently; brought law to a lawless town with the aid of a trigger happy sheriff; bring five members of one of the fiercest factions to ever walk the wastes back for one last coup de grace; made an old man, who believed fully in the defeat of the NCR at Hoover Dam, retire from his job and save lives in the process; help a troubled man with a troubled past seek solace for his past deeds; fixed the brain of a loyal companion, saving him from a death that would not have fitted the life that it had lead; helped a doctor find a cure for the nightkin schizophrenia that had plagued them for much of their lives; taught a young man that the legacy of his elders should be remembered but not forced onto us by nothing but whispers of the past; helped a down-trodden woman unravel a secret plan that would have crushed all competition of two corrupt trading groups; helped an old ghoul decide that his time wandering the wastes was coming to end and that settling down didn’t sound so bad; and give an old ball of scrap a new lick of paint and In the process lend hand to a group of kind hearted souls, who wanted nothing more than to help the needy.
But their last plan had been yet to be carried out, and after much preparation and much deliberation, the plan was carried out. The courier had the aid of a large group of friends and loyal companions: A lost young lady who had become more than a friend, an old member of the 1st recon, a member of The followers of the Apocalypse with ties to the Enclave, a brotherhood of steel scribe turned aid worker, a 234 year old ghoul with a skill in repairing items with his ‘invisible toolbox that he carries around everywhere’, a woman who loves whiskey far too much for it to be considered healthy, deadly assassin that talks far too much about her grandkids, a woman all the way from DC with a heart problem, a pet Yao Guai named teddy that she picked up from a national park, two cyber dogs, one who had brain problems and the other who had only recently been made, and an old enclave eyebot. With the help of all these people, the courier wiped out the Legion forces at Hoover Dam, but even with all of the violence the Courier preferred a less violent route, the retreat of the Legion. She managed to convince one of the most deadly men in America to leave the Dam without any more bloodshed, and then convinced another man to leave the Mojave peacefully despite the forces he commanded.
Over the two years that had passed since then, the Mojave wasteland had grown stronger and stronger in its independence and many things had changed. But one thing remained a constant in all the chaos and change, was The Courier. When a new or old threat rose up, The Courier was always there to take it down. When someone called on the Lucky 38’s front door for help, The Courier answered. But she wasn’t as infallible as many had made her out to be, as had been proven by many mistakes she had made.
Through all the turmoil though, Vegas had remained a beacon. What that beacon had meant had changed over the years, but as it stood in the year 2283, it was the brightest that it had ever been. But it was far from calm in New Vegas as the main area of Vegas was as busy as ever.
The Strip, as it was referred to, was a very noisy place. The speakers all around it kept played music throughout the day and night, repeating the same old songs. People walked through its streets constantly, talking about this, that and the other. But in the strip there was one building that remained quiet and calm.
The Lucky 38 was not a place for the average bystander, or anyone else that wanted to enter. To enter the Lucky 38 you had to have been invited by whoever ran the casino at the time. For over 200 years no one had entered its big red and black doors, and no one had come out of the building either. When New Vegas’s change in management occurred it was still not open to public view, but you could be accepted to enter if the owner allowed it.
There was a group of people though, who could enter and leave as they please without constant stops from the securitrons that guarded it. They were a rag-tag group of people that came from many different walks of life, all of whom, it was assumed, lived within the building. The daily lives of these people tended not to interfere with anyone else on the strip as they mostly just went about minding their own business. These people could often be seen leaving and returning to the casino with the boss of The Strip, The Courier. They would go out with her and return, anywhere from a day to weeks later and Mr New Vegas would tell everyone about what they had done.
So when The Courier was seen with some of her companions, sprinting through The Strip carrying, what looked like, a small purple animal in her arms, no one seemed to bat an eyelid. But this situation was far from normal for anyone among that group.
A dull pain emanating from her entire body met Twilight as she roused from her sleep, her head pounding and bruises aching all over her. Soft covers over a majority of her body, a soft pillow underneath her head and a springy mattress beneath. As she started to open her eyes, they were met by an onslaught of light, forcing her to snap them shut and place a hoof in front of her face to obscure any light that caused her discomfort. Twilight was cautiously opening her eyes when she noticed as slight weight on her body. Looking up, she saw that it was a small blob of purple and green that was curled up close to her head. It was Spike, and he looked to be sleeping quietly with soft snores and the odd scratch of his claws against the bed covers and the small blanket that covered his lower half.
Twilight moved her eyes from the sleeping Spike and moved her eyes to looking around the room she found herself in. The most noticeable thing about her room was the great big window that was adjacent to her bed and made up one of the three surfaces of the room, stretching along the entire curved wall and out of the opening that lead out of it. The walls of her room were a light red, but not quite pink and they made up the last two walls of the bedroom. There were quite a few cupboards and dressers around the bed, along with a carpet that was dark red with lighter red rings within each square of it. The source of light that had blinded Twilight before was actually the sunlight pouring in through the large window.
Slowly, as to not disturb Spike, Twilight started to climb out of the bed and finding the process rather hard because of her shaky legs. She sat at the edge of the bed and slowly lowered herself onto the floor, her weak legs trying valiantly to keep her from falling over and ending up in a heap on the floor. Once she was confident that her legs could hold her weight, Twilight started to take tentative steps towards the window, barely lifting her hooves of the ground as to keep as much balance as possible. When she reached the window she gasped at the sight before her. There was a huge ruin of a city that was directly visible from where she looked, with many husks of buildings and dilapidated streets. Looking down Twilight could see a less ruined section of city that was bustling with people and strange boxy looking metal machines.
“I never get tired of looking out these windows.” Said a feminine voice to Twilights right, causing her almost jump out of her fur. Turning towards the new voice, Twilight saw a tall bipedal figure standing there with a smirk on its face. “I see you’ve finally woken up after your little nap. You had us worried for a second when you stayed in a coma even after we fixed you up.” It said in a tone that indicated that it had actually been worried about her safety. “The little guy was worried sick about you the whole time you were out, which was for about two days I might add.” It said gesturing to Spike who was still asleep on the bed.
“Who are you?” Twilight asked tentatively “And where am I?”
“You are in the Lucky 38 presidential suite, and my name is Rosaline.” She said with a sweep of her arms which ended with one folded in front of her and one behind. “Though many call me by my Title, The Courier.” She said with a bow. “I know who you are thanks to Spike so don’t worry about introducing yourself.”
This caused Twilight to close her mouth and sheepishly turn her head away, rubbing her hoof behind her head. Movement on the bed caught Twilights attention as she saw Spike start to rouse from his sleep. He sat up from his curled position and stretched his arms with a silent yawn, blearily blinking his eyes as he became aware of his surroundings. When Spike had finally gained awareness of his location he whisked his head over to the pillow he expected Twilight to be lying on, which he saw was not the case. Quickly darting his head around, he spotted Twilight standing staring at him with a smile on her face.
“Morning sleepyhe- OOOF!” Twilight started to say before Spike latched onto her barrel and hugged her as tight. Twilight lifted one of her hooves and wrapped it around Spikes back and sat down on her haunches. While the hug continued, she noticed that her fur was wet around her neck which caused her to realise that Spike was crying. Wondering why Spike was crying the events of the last couple of weeks came back to her, making her instinctively move her rear legs together and scrunch her eyes shut as the full brunt of what she and Spike had gone through caused tears to flow freely. The Courier had the decency to remain quiet for the minutes that the two spent sobbing into each other’s embrace. After a bit more time was spent enjoying the presence of each other, Twilight and Spike finally ended their hug and wiped their eyes of tears.
“I’m sorry to break up the reunion but I need a word with Twilight, Spike why don’t you see if you can find arcade somewhere.” The Courier said with a kind voice. Spike was reluctant to leave, but a nod from Twilight made him sigh and start toward the door. “Thanks little guy, we won’t be long.”
“So why do you want to talk with me?” Twilight asked curiously.
“I’m not sure what you remember of your time spent with the Fiends but I need to make sure of some things.” The Courier asked sadly. “I know this might not be something you want to dwell on but I need all the information I can get on Rampant and his activities. Any information you give will help me track down the bastard and put a bullet between his eyes.”
Twilight sighed and started to recall her stay with Rampant and anything she thought might be of use, which The Courier jotted down on a notepad silently, When Twilight reached the last day of her capture she found that it was kind of hard to remember anything that had happened. She looked up at The Courier and said, “I can’t seem to remember anything about the last day me and Spike were there.” This caused The Courier to gain a guilty look and look to her left, out the window. She stood up and gestured Twilight to follow her. As they walked up a couple of stairs they walked up to a door which she opened. Twilight saw inside and realised that it was a bathroom that she had been brought to. “Why are we here?” She asked.
“When I found you, you were about to pass out and covered in blood. While some of it was yours, I saw that it most likely wasn’t all yours. Your horn was glowing and there was something else glowing that lead me to that conclusion.” The Courier said with little emotion in her voice.
“What else was in my magical field?” Twilight asked worriedly.
“The split head of a fiend.” The Courier said seriously
As soon as this piece of information sank in, Twilight remembered the last day she was held captive with the fiends. Rampant leaving, the Fiend named Cray and his brutal abuse, how he attacked Spike and lastly, how Twilight Violently killed him. At the realisation of what she had done, Twilight quickly located the toilet and vacated the contents of her stomach into it. The Courier stood by the doorway with a sad expression on her face, head bowed and fists clenched. After she had thrown up what little was in her stomach, Twilight turned around and slumped down against the wall next to the toilet and stared up at the ceiling with a horrified expression on her face.
“I-I killed someone. I ended another living creature’s life with my own hooves and horn.” She then slowly turned towards the Courier with wide eyes and a fearful expression and asked,,
“Then why don’t I fell guilty?”
Chapter VI: Who you are comes from the choices you make when life gets tough
The bathroom in the Presidential suite of the Lucky 38 was filled with quiet sobbing and the slight smell of vomit. Inside was the curled up form of one Twilight Sparkle and, holding her, was the tall body of The Courier, rocking the sobbing equine in her arms against her bosom. The dull light of the room casting a sombre tone over both of them. Once Twilight had settled down into just the odd sniff, The Courier placed her down on the floor and sat up straight looking at the purple unicorn with a serious expression on her face.
“Now, this may sound harsh but you are going to have to get used to death in the Mojave.” She said with a tone that spoke of experience, far too much experience. “This place is unforgiving and will likely kill you if you don’t fight back with the intent to kill.” Her expression changed to that of sorrow, “It took death of a lot of people I knew to wake me up to the harshness of this place, and this was when I was just a child. I would rather no one had to go through that so I’m going to tell it straight.” She then looked Twilight straight in the eyes. Twilight felt miniscule in comparison to the towering figure in front of her, those strangely mechanical eyes boring into her very soul and setting it all out on display. “That Fiend, the one you killed? He. Deserved. To. Die. Simple as that.”
“W-what?” Twilight sputtered out. “No one has the right to take another living beings life. I’s a crime!”
“Not here it ain’t honey.” The Courier stated with a snort
“That doesn’t change the fact that it’s just not right!” Twilight shouted back, glaring at the tall figure.
“Tell that to about 90% of the population in this ruined society. It ain’t a good thing that we have to kill to survive but that’s the way it is.” The Courier stated with a shrug.
“How can you have so few morals?!” Twilight almost screeched back. This comment made The Courier pause and suddenly grow very still. Slowly, her head lowered towards Twilights, causing said alicorn to start backing away until she hit the wall behind her. When The Couriers face was only a foot away, only then did she stop.
“Don’t you dare say I don’t have morals. I have had to make some of the hardest choices any person will have to make. I have had to sacrifice so much of myself to help the people who would rather let me and many others die to save their own skin. I never, Never! Will kill an innocent person unless the lives of many rest on that decision, and if I do I will make everyone who made me make that decision pay in their own blood.” She then leaned back away from Twilight and sat up straight, staring down at the cowering pony with a stern gaze. “Would you kill a rapist in exchange for the safety of an innocent?”
“I- uh, bu,” Twilight sputtered hurriedly, eyes darting around the room.
“Would you do it for someone you knew?” The Courier Asked.
“I-“
“Would you do it for Spike?!” She shouted.
“YES!” Twilight yelled back leaping onto her hooves. A furious expression plastered on her face “I would do anything to protect Spike! I would march through the gates of Tartarus! Even if my chances of survival were 100 to 1, I would do it to keep him safe!” Twilight was panting after her little tirade, and The Courier just sat there with a smug yet kind smile on her face.
“Then you are strong and can survive this world.” The Courier smiled happily down at Twilight, her smile then grew mischievous. “With my help of course.” She then hopped up onto her feet and gestured for Twilight to follow. “Come on, let’s get you something to eat and drink, you must be famished.” A grumble from Twilights stomach punctuated the statement perfectly.
As they left the bathroom, Twilight looked up at The Courier curiously. “What should I call you then? I don’t think I know your full name.”
“My full name is Rosaline Thana Red, I prefer just Red though.” She said casually.
“Okay then, where are we going anyway?” Twilight asked as they got to the door leading out of the bedroom. Red then opened the door and stepped through, and to say that Twilight was impressed would be an understatement. The main room was massive, even being large enough to hold a swimming pool and large pillars reaching up to the high ceiling. The black and white marble floor was polished to the point that she could see her own face easily in it. Large Green drapes hung over the huge curved window and sections of the wall, the wall itself being a similar shade of red as the bedroom but slightly darker on the floor below them. The bedroom itself was on a level above the bottom floor of the suite, meaning that stairs were an obstacle that Twilight had to face, her legs still being too weak for her to do it on her own.
“You need a hand?” Red asked kindly, kneeling down and offering Twilight her hand.
“Um… Please” Twilight asked while blushing bright red. Softly chuckling, Red picked Twilight up and held Twilight over her shoulder as she descended the stairs. Once they had reached the bottom, she placed Twilight back on her own hooves and started to walk towards a door at the end of the room, where faint chatter, laughter and music could be heard emanating from. Once they had reached the door, Red opened it revealing a dining room with a long wooden table which travelled down almost the entire length of the room and ending at the kitchen. Seated at the table was Spike and two other people. One of them was a blonde female wearing a light grey vest and black sports bra underneath. The second person was a gruff looking male with scars on his face who wore a red beret and a leather jacket over light coloured body armour, he was reading what looked like a newspaper. Twilight also noticed a blonde haired man with glasses in the kitchen itself doing what looked like cooking.
“What’s cooking Arcade?” Red asked the man in the kitchen, now identified as Arcade.
“We’ve got Brahmin steak and Wasteland salad.” Arcade said back, glancing over his shoulder to see Red moving to sit next to the blonde woman. “Nice to see you finally decided to wake up.” He said cheekily, smirking at the Blushing Twilight.
“Don’t tease her Arcade, shit happens.” Red said back in an annoyed tone. “I need a drink, you want something to drink Twilight?” Twilight nodded a confirmation. The tall woman then got up and walked over to a fridge and opened the door up, she then peered inside and started reading off the contents. “We’ve got Sunset Sarsaparilla, Nuka Cola Original, Quartz and Victory, Alcohol, Bitter Drink or Blood.” Red peered over her shoulder and looked at Twilight expectantly.
“Um, would it be alright if I had a glass of blood please?” Twilight said timidly in a voice that would have made Fluttershy proud.
“One glass of blood coming right up.” She pulled out a blood pack and a Nuka Cola walked over to one of the overhead cabinets. She set the Cola down on the counter and pulled out two glasses, placed them next to the Cola and got out a pair of scissors from the drawer underneath. Holding the blood bag upright, she cut away a corner of it and started to pour it into the cup until the cup was full. She then placed her nail under the cap of her Nuka Cola and flicked it up, causing the cap to fly up into the air which she caught swiftly and placed into her pocket. She placed the half empty blood bag back in the fridge and walked over to the table carrying Twilights glass, an empty one and the Cola.
“Thank you.” Twilight said, accepting the glass from Reds hand with her hooves and then lifting it towards her mouth and taking a small sip. It tasted great, the slight metallic tang to the sweet yet salty beverage making her sigh in content.
“Spike told us about some of your new habits you picked up in Vault 3, for example your addiction to morphine.” Red said calmly. Twilight hung her head in shame at the realisation that they knew about that, but she felt a hand on her back and looked up to see Red looking down at her sympathetically. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I was addicted to a chem before you know. Thankfully Willow managed to get me to see help at the Mormon Fort in Freeside.” She said wistfully.
“Yeah she was quite bad. I had to knock her out and drag her there myself.” The blonde woman said with a small mischievous smile. “I’m Willow by the way.” she said extending out her arm which Twilight shook in return.
“Willow, please don’t tell everyone we meet about the embarrassing parts of my life.” Red asked with her head in her hands causing both Twilight and Willow to giggle lightly.
“Hey Spike, could you lend a hand over here.” Arcade called over from where he was cooking.
“Sure thing.” Spike said as he hopped off of the table and walked over to the counter which he managed to clamber up to.
The friendly talking that was going on in the room reminded Twilight of her friends and how much she missed all of them. The comradery that all these people seemed to share was quite calming to Twilight though, as it reminded her that the magic of friendship was everywhere, even in the harshest of places. While thinking about that though, Twilight remembered that the ring that was sending poison into her horn was no longer there and that the poison had been ejected from it when she surged. Tentatively, she tried to lift up a fork that was in front of her. As the magic started to build up in her horn, the fork started to lift of the ground and she managed to gain control over the movements of it. It was much harder than it was back in Equestria, but Twilight understood that this was most likely due to the fact that the magic field was far weaker in this world than in Equestria. Her musings were cut short by the sound of Arcades voice.
“Okay everyone, Lunch is served.” He said as he walked over to the table carrying two plates on each arm and Spike, on his shoulder, carrying the other two. He placed a plate of steak and salad in font of each of the table’s occupants. Twilight looked uneasily at the meal in front of her and looked up at Red with a hesitant expression.
“Oh yeah, I forgot that you don’t like the idea of eating animals. If it makes you feel any better, the animals aren’t sentient.” Red offered helpfully.
“Okay” twilight said sceptically, while what Red had said helped ease her worries a bit, she was still cautious of eating the meat. The inner scholar inside her decided to try it, if only so that she could document its taste and the effects it had on her when she got back. Her knife then joined the fork in her Telekinesis, she cut a small piece of the meat off of the corner of the steak and slowly lifted it towards her mouth. Quickly she placed it in her mouth and started to chew. After a few seconds she started to chew more eagerly and a smile grew on her face.
“Enjoying your first taste of meat Twilight?” Spike asked from the seat next to her. He was a lot further through his steak than Twilight and had also eaten a bit of his salad, which Twilight noted looked delicious. Deciding that she had chewed long enough, Twilight swallowed her mouthful and decided to tuck into her lunch.
After the meal had been finished, everyone seemed to separate into their own conversations. Arcade and the gruff man, she had learned was named Boone, were having a debate over independence and something called the NCR, and Red and Willow were chatting about something to do with planning. Twilight decided to ask Spike about his Pipboy.
“So, what are your S.P.E.C.I.A.L.’s then Spike?” Twilight asked as she lifted his claw over and had a look. Spikes Specials were as follows.
“Wow, get a look at mister suave over here.” Twilight said jokingly, making Spike pull his Pipboy away and frown.
“Hey, I didn’t choose what it gave me.” He said grumpily, folding his arms and pouting. Twilight had to hold back a giggle with her forehoof at his reaction.
“Can I please see your skills?” Twilight asked, causing Spike to sigh and lift his arm to where she could see it. The skills read out,
“I chose energy weapons because from what I read, fire counts in that department. I chose explosives because I like the idea of blowing stuff up. Lastly, I chose unarmed because my claws are naturally good at attacking while up close.” Spike explained as Twilight read through his skills. “I decided on the Fast Shot and Heavy Handed traits because it helped in most of my skills.”
“That’s very smart of you Spike.” Twilight said, ruffling his frills with her hoof. The then picked up her glass and downed the last of her blood beverage. A cough from Red brought everyone’s attention back to her.
“Okay people I think it would be best if we head out to meet Veronica and Vanessa back in Novac, so grab your gear and be ready by 2 o’clock.” Arcade, Boone and Willow got up from their chairs and started to head to get prepared. Twilight sat there awkwardly as they all left expect her, Spike and Red. The tall woman then turned to her, “Right, let’s see what we can fit you two up with. Follow me.” She then got up and started to walk towards the door, causing Twilight and Spike to hurry over to her.
Twilight looked up at Red curiously and asked, “Where are we going?” Red then looked down at Twilight and smiled mischievously.
Twilight had a fairly basic knowledge of guns and all other related weapons thanks to the books that she had read during her stay in Vault 3, but even she knew when someone had too many guns. The room that she was now in was lined with weapons on each wall, hung up on large boards that had hooks to carry the weapons. Against another wall was a series of lockers with labels reading the different types of apparel that were held within them. Twilight then turned to her side as Red moved past her to get to the rack that had the word ‘Rifles’ written above it, after which she turned back to Twilight and Spike who were staring around the room in awe.
“Let me take a look at your Pipboys to see what will suit you guy’s best.” She requested, snapping the two gawkers out of their trance. They walked up to Red and she took a look at their skills, humming to herself as she did so. “Okay, Spike follow me.” She led Spike over to a rack that said ‘Energy, One Handed’. “I think you would be good with a Plasma Defender little guy. This one has been modified with an external heatsink and an inline magnetic accelerator.” Red then pulled the weapon off of the rack and handed it to spike. “Do you know how to operate one of these things?” She asked, prompting Spike to nod his head and give her a salute.
“I read a book about Energy Weapons and I know where everything is, including the safety.” Which he promptly pointed to.
“That’s good. Twilight, you need a rifle.” Red then said as she walked back over to Twilight who was still standing by the ‘Rifles’ rack. “I think you would be fine with a Marksman Carbine, it looks like it would suit you. This one has improved rifling, and I use extended magazines with it.” She picked the rifle off of the rack and handed it to Twilight who took it in her magic and examined it. The main Receiver of the rifle was black, along with the stock and the barrel shroud. The magazines that Red handed to her were a dull silverfish grey and about 5cms longer than the other magazines that it fitted that Twilight could see in the ammo container.
“Thank you. I also know where everything is on here.” After saying that, Twilight realised that she had nowhere to holster her weapon.
“Here, let me find you something.” Red said once she had realised Twilights problem. She started fishing around inside a small metal box for something. After a while she pulled out a leather belt, walked back over and strapped it around Twilights midsection.
“What are you doing?” Twilight asked while Red strapped the belt around her.
“This should help you holster your weapon.” Red said as she stepped away from Twilight.
“Okay, thanks.” Twilight said sceptically. She then tried fitting the rifle through a loop in the belt that Red had made and, surprisingly, the rifle fit snugly inside. Twilight had the courtesy to look abashed at her doubt in Reds skills, which said human smiled smugly at. Red then proceeded to do a similar holster for Spike and pick up her own weapons of choice, a custom scoped hunting rifle and a set of spiked knuckle dusters with the words ‘Love’ and ‘Hate’ embossed on each one respectively.
“Right then, everyone else should be ready by now.” Red said as she gestured for Twilight and Spike to follow. They walked out of the armoury and stood by the elevator where the others were waiting in their fully decked out gear. Willow was wearing a pitch black leather duster with a blue checker scarf and was carrying a lever action rifle that had the word ‘Beauty’ scratched onto the stock. Arcade was wearing some leather armour that was heavily reinforced with pads and seams of metal. He had a black plasma rifle slung over his back that looked heavily modified and far more deadly. Boone was without his leather jacket and was now wearing a set of brown armour and bandoliers. He had a large anti-material rifle in its holster on his back that looked as if it was barely affecting him.
“We’re all ready hon’.” Willow said as she re-distributed the weight of her backpack.
“Okay let’s get going.” Red said as they all stepped into the spacious elevator and she pressed the button for the ground floor.
“So, where are we going?” Twilight asked as the doors closed.
“We are heading to a small town called Novac, I’ll mark it on your map.” Red answered, bending her knees to get on the same level as Twilight and inputting the location on her world map.
“That’s miles away” Twilight said with a tinge of apprehension in her voice. The elevator doors then slid open revealing an old unused casino floor with many broken slot machines.
“That’s why we’re going to be taking the truck to get there.” Red said as they continued walking to the exit at the other end of the casino. She stopped in front of a large heavy door and pulled it open easily with both hands, showing Twilight just how strong she really was. They all then stepped out of the casino and into the bright early afternoon sun, making Twilight squint at the bright light. Once her eyes had adjusted she noticed that the others were walking ahead of her, making her quickly scramble to catch up. After making their way through the streets they reached a large metal gate with two large concrete watchtowers on either side, guarded by large boxy metal machines with the faces of grizzly soldiers.
“Have a good day boss.” One of them said in a metallic voice, moving out of the way to let the group pass.
“What are they?” Twilight asked as the large gate started to open up, hurting her ears as the sound of metal grating against metal reached them.
“You sure ask a lot of questions don’t you?” Red said with a smirk as she looked over her shoulder at the currently blushing alicorn. She chuckled at Twilights expression and turned back to the gate as it opened fully. “They are called securitrons and they are my main fighting force.”
Once they had walked through the gate, Twilight spotted what she assumed was the truck. It looked a lot like some of the new automobiles that were being introduced in places like Manehattan and Fillydelphia back in Equestria, except for the fact that the entire back end of it was made up of a large metal crate. The paint on the front end of the truck was rusted and flaking off, but Twilight could tell that the metal underneath was far from weak. The two front doors looked as if they had been welded shut and the chassis had sheets of corrugated iron bent round it, adding to the armour that the truck possessed. Underneath the body of the truck were four large thick wheels that looked like they could traverse any terrain.
“Okay everyone, let’s get going.” Red said as she moved around to the back of the truck and opened up the door. Arcade, Boone and Willow entered first, followed by Twilight and Spike and then lastly Red.
Twilight was surprised with how much space there was and how efficiently packed everything was, with the entire right side lined with lockers, racks, worktables and containers. The left side was for more living purposes as she could see the small kitchenette that was directly to her right, and the small seats and table. Through the front of the interior Twilight could see the cab of the Truck with willow sitting in the passenger seat, sifting through the small glove compartment. Boone was folding down what Twilight assumed was a green mattress that hung over the small seats and table that Arcade was sitting at with his back to the cab. Boone then climbed up onto the mattress and laid down for what appeared to be a nap, with Arcade looking up with an annoyed expression on his face. Red then walked past Twilight after she had shut the door and sat down in the driver’s seat of the cab, turned on a small screen, and turned over her shoulder to look back at the passengers.
“I would take a seat if I were you Twilight.” Red said as she looked back through the interior at said purple alicorn. “We will be driving for about an hour and a half, and the road can get a bit bumpy at times.” She then turned back around and started the truck up. Twilight quickly trotted over to the seat that was opposite Arcade and set Spike down next to her.
“We’re all set back here.” Arcade said, banging his fist against the wall behind him.
“You do realise that banging on the wall echoes in the cab right?” Red asked wile rubbing her ears with an annoyed expression on her face.
“Yep” Arcade replied with a cheeky smile on his face.
“Jackass. Alright people let’s get going then.” Red then switched off the handbrake, shifted into first gear and pressed her foot on the accelerator, Setting the truck in motion down the road towards a small settlement called Novac.
The periodic bump and the constant rumbling of the truck kept Twilight from getting any rest. Although Spike didn’t suffer the same problem as her considering he was lightly snoring next to her, with his head resting against her side. She had already took in the full sight of the truck, with its many storage containers lining the adjacent wall, the small bathroom that sat in the far corner and the small kitchenette that was behind her. The whole place had a homey feel to it, all the rusty surfaces only adding to its charm and lived in feel. She could also hear the sound of idle chatter provided by Red and Willow coming from the front of the vehicle, muffled by the small metal door that had been pulled across after about 15 minutes. They had been Traveling for about half an hour or so, Twilight only knew this thanks to the small clock on the wall above the door to the cab.
“So, what do you make of the boss?” Came the sudden voice of Arcade, jumping Twilight out of her idle thoughts.
“Sorry, what?” Twilight asked confusedly.
“I asked you what you thought of Red.” Arcade said with a slight smirk. He was currently cleaning his plasma rifle with a small cloth and a flask of turpentine.
“She seems… nice?” Twilight replied with a small shrug. “I haven’t really seen much of her to make an accurate judgement.”
“Fair point.” Arcade said, nodding slightly as he looked back down at his gun and pulled out a few of the coils to clean them. “I didn’t know very much about her when I first met her either. She had made a name for herself before that of course, but it wasn’t the type that you would expect from someone who wanted to join the world of politics.” He chuckled lightly.
“What was she known for?” Twilight asked, leaning onto the table eagerly.
“Well as you know from her title she used to be a courier, worked for the Mojave Express for about 10 years before delivering her last package.” Arcade said as he set his plasma rifle aside. “She got shot in the head twice on her last delivery which I think was the last straw with a long line of injuries with the Mojave Express. After recovering at a Doctors in Goodsprings she left to go find the guy who shot her, but got side-tracked when she met a man named Randall.”
“Who was this man?” Twilight asked, making Arcade shake his head with a smile. “What?” She asked confusedly.
“Red was right when she said that you ask a lot of questions.” He said, pulling a fresh apple out of his backpack and taking a bite. He then looked up and saw Twilight staring at his apple with a longing look in her eyes. “You want one?” He asked, to which he got a fast nod from the hungry Alicorn. Arcade opened up his bag and tossed an apple over to Twilight, which she caught in her magic and chomped into.
“Thankyou” Twilight muffled out, the apple piece taking up most of the space in her mouth.
“Okay, back to the story.” He leaned back against the side wall and lifted his feet onto the table. “Randall ran a business called Randall and Associates which dealt with bounties and bounty hunters. Red found the place and decided to sign up for a few bounties to make a quick cap and a name for herself. Turns out she was very good at it, although I’m not surprised considering the level of skill she possesses. She dealt with some of the most dangerous criminals in the Mojave within a few days and managed to shut down another bounty hunting business after they ‘allegedly’ killed Randall. I know that she knows something that no one else does about that though.”
“So if Randall was ‘supposedly’ dead, what did she do after that?” Twilight pressed, her inner scholar shining through at the opportunity to learn something new.
“She started to work for the Boulder City jail after that, collecting Bounties for the man who ran the jail.” Arcade responded. “She managed to take down even more high profile criminals and their organisations. But at this point she also took in a lot of people without killing them though, one of which was the most wanted man in the Mojave and probably the most dangerous. How she did it, I’ll never know. After that though she quit the business and finally decided to deal with the man who shot her, and along the way she met her little motley crew.” Arcade said with a smile.
“So she was a courier, then a bounty hunter and then whatever you guys call yourselves. That leads me to wonder how many of you guys are there and how she met you all.” Twilight said while finishing off her apple. “By the way, how can you get fresh apples out here without any apple trees?”
“To answer your second question, I don’t know. She never told us where she gets the fresh fruit and vegetables that aren’t found out in the wastes.” Arcade said with a scowl followed by a noncommittal shrug. “Tastes nice so I don’t really care.” He then gained a thoughtful expression. “To answer your first question, there are eight of us that are human… mostly, and there are seven that are not. So that’s a total of fifteen of us that work with Red.” After saying that though he looked as if he suddenly remembered something. “Wait, there was another, but she left after a while to travel into the mountains.” He said with a nod.
“Who was the person who left?” Twilight asked.
“Her name was Lily, she was a supermutant.” Arcade said, climbing up out of his seat and walking over to one of the cupboards that sat above the kitchenette. He opened up the far right one and pulled out a large portfolio that seemed to be chock full of pictures and other such mementos. Twilight watched as he walked back over to the table and sat back down in front of her, placing the portfolio on the table as he did so.
“What’s that?” Twilight asked, peering over the table to try and get a better view of what resided within the pages.
“This is our memory book, we use it to keep memories alive.” He said with a small smile, flicking through the pages carefully. “Here’s a good picture of us all together before Lily left.” He rotated the folder around so that it faced Twilight so that she could see the photo.
“Wow, you had a lot of friends.” Twilight said with a wide smile on her face, and while the photo itself was a bit worn it still filled its purpose. “Lily’s the tall blue one wearing the overalls and straw hat.” Arcade said as he pointed his finger at the photo. “She’s at the far right of the group.”
“What’s that big scary thing on the far left?” Twilight said uneasily.
“Oh that’s Thanatos, he is the only friendly deathclaw I think you’ll ever meet in the wasteland.” He said with a laugh. “He was Red’s first friend since she met him before she even came to the Mojave.”
“Who is-“
“How about I just tell who each of them is?” Arcade said with a lopsided grin.
“Thanks.” Twilight said as Arcade moved the portfolio so that it leaned up against the wall, allowing them both to see the photo inside.
“I’ll go from right to left. The supermutant on the far right, as you know, is Lily. Next is Doc Friday, the boss met him during her job as a bounty hunter and decided to take him up on his offer of working together after she had kicked House out of the Lucky 38 with us.” Arcade was about to continue before Twilight interrupted him.
“What is Doc Friday and the other one next to him, they look like zombies.” Twilight said nervously.
“I wouldn’t let them hear you say that, that term is often considered offensive by ghouls.” Arcade with a slight frown.
“G-Ghouls?” Twilight stuttered.
“People who have been exposed to too much radiation and not had the luck of dying.” Arcade said with a wave of his hand.
“Oh, so not undead.” Twilight asked with a sigh.
“No.” Arcade said as he got back to listing the group. “Next to the Doc is Raul. We met him up on Black Mountain being held captive by another supermutant by the name of Tabitha. We got him out of there and he decided to join us until about a year ago when he set up a mechanics business in the old H&H Tool Factory and helps us with the trucks repairs whenever we need them. After Raul is Boone. The Boss met Boone in Novac as a guard and spotter, I won’t tell you any more considering he doesn’t like many people knowing about his past.”
“Thankyou.” Came the voice of Boone above them in the bed, startling both Arcade and Twilight.
“I thought you were asleep.” Arcade said, prodding the mattress above in annoyance.
“I’m an extremely light sleeper.” He replied as he shuffled in the bed.
“Asshole.” Muttered Arcade.
“I heard that.” Boone said back, making Arcade roll his eyes.
“And I don’t care, let’s get back to the picture.” He then turned back to face Twilight who had her hoof over her mouth, trying to stifle the giggles. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.”
“Sorry, it’s just I miss this sort of thing.” Twilight said after she had gained control of her faculties.
“Right, shall we continue then?” Arcade asked, to which he got a nod from Twilight. “Above Boone is ED-E. The Boss found and repaired him in the Primm Mojave Express office after He had travelled all the way from the east coast. Next is me. I was working at the old Mormon Fort in Freeside as a scientific member of the Followers of the Apocalypse when Red found me and managed to convince me to join her on her travels. After me is the Boss herself, but I already explained a bit about her. Below the Boss is Rex, Roxie and their Puppies: White and Black. Red met Rex in Freeside with his previous owner, The King, and decided to get him fixed up.”
“Why do they have their brains in jars on their heads?” Twilight asked.
“They’re cyberdogs.” Arcade responded as if that explained it all. Twilight waited to see if he was going to explain more, and sighed when she realised that he wasn’t. “Red met Roxie in The Big MT and decided to bring her to the Mojave, which is where the two dogs met and had the puppies.” Arcade then got up and walked around the table and over to the fridge. He opened up the door and bent his knees to get a better look at the contents, making a small “Aha” as he spotted what he was looking for, two Sunset Sarsaparillas. He brought one of them to Twilight and then sat down again, opening up his bottle and taking a large gulp. Twilight did the same with her bottle and found that drinking the beverage to be an overall pleasant experience. It had a sweet yet bitter taste to it, with hints of vanilla, liquorice and caramel as well as a slight medicinal taste.
“This drink's nice.” Twilight said with a nod after taking another gulp.
“Yeah it is.” Arcade said, accentuating his point with a large gulp and a satisfied sigh. “Okay, back to the crew. After Red is Willow who she met in an abandoned tent between Primm and the Mojave Outpost. Red and Willow had been travelling together throughout the Bounty Hunter phase and had started dating by the end of it which has continued through to this day.”
“Oh, there going out with each other?” Twilight asked with a small smile.
“Well technically they are engaged, but the wedding is not for another month or so.” Arcade said with a shrug and another gulp of his sarsaparilla.
“Aw, that’s wonderful!” Twilight said with a small, girlish squeal, making Arcade laugh and almost choke on his drink at her reaction.
“Right *cough* let’s get back to the group.” Arcade placed his bottle back down on the counter with and pointed at the next person, a hooded woman. “That’s Veronica, she used to be a member of a group called the Brotherhood of Steel but left when she felt that they were going to die out and that they had their priorities wrong. She then tried to join the Followers of the Apocalypse but that did not go as planned, as a group of brotherhood Paladins came and slaughtered all the members of the small outpost.”
“That’s Horrible!” Twilight gasped, shocked by the barbarity of those people.
“Red thought that as well, she tore them to shreds with only a pair of knuckle dusters and her bare hands. You wouldn’t be able to recognise them as people by the time she was finished. It was the first time I ever saw her do something like that, and it was not the last.” Arcade then pulled off his glasses and pinched his nose and rubbed his eyes. “I can feel a headache coming along, let’s see if there’s any ibuprofen in the cabinet.”
He turned around and opened up the small medical cabinet. Pulling out a box of tablets, he placed two in his mouth and washed them down with a swig of his sarsaparilla. During this though, Twilight had looked inside the medical cabinet and saw some needles of morphine. She felt an urge take over as she felt the need to take some of it and make a strange pain she hadn’t noticed before go away. She tried to ignore it at first, but it proved too much and she used her magic to pull out a syringe of morphine and inject herself with it. Once she pressed the plunger she felt a wave of relief and bliss wash over her as the chemicals flowed through her bloodstream, causing her to close her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.
“Morphine addiction I see.” Arcade said sadly, snapping Twilight out of her thoughts and making her sputter.
“I-I’m sorry, I can’t help it, I needed it. Oh Celestia, what will everyone think, they will be so disappointed *sniff*” Twilight was starting to have trouble thinking clearly as the guilt finally washed over and she started to sniff and hiccup. Arcade got up and walked around to sit next to Twilight and placed an arm around her and hold her while she let out all the stress. After a good few minutes of Twilight rambling about how everyone will be so disappointed in her, she finally managed to calm down and lean out of Arcades hold. “I’m sorry about that. That was silly of me to make you see that.”
“Nonsense. Even if my job in the Followers was as a researcher, I’ve seen enough drug addicts to know that you are far from the worst.” Arcade said as he got up and moved back to the opposite side of the table. “You can’t be held responsible to what happened at that vault, especially with Rampant keeping you captive. I swear that monster is not only the sanest fiend I’ve ever had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting, but also the craziest.” He then opened up his bag again and rummaged around for a bit. “Where is it, I could of sworn I packed some. Ah, here we go.” He then pulled out a small blue container that had the word ‘Fixer’ painted on it. “This will help if you ever get the feeling that you need more morphine.” Twilight took it in her magic and read the description of it.
It read, “Fixer, for when you need to stop the cravings of addiction.”
“Thank you for this.” Twilight said with a smile as she wiped her nose with a small handkerchief that she Arcade handed her.
“Let’s get back to listing off the people in the photo.” He took another swig of his drink and cleared his throat. “After Veronica we have Vanessa. The Boss met her in the Prospector Saloon in Goodsprings after she arrived from DC about 3 weeks after the Boss had woken up. Vanessa tried to get in Reds pants but she said no to it because of Willow.” He then smiled slightly. “She and Veronica are now dating, which I think is good. Veronica deserves some happiness after all the disappointment she has been through.”
“So from what I can tell, your race is fine with same sex relationships?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Is that a problem?” Arcade asked with a frown, affronted by Twilights question.
“Hardly. I think it’s great that your race is accepting of that, unlike some of the upper crust of our race who are still clinging onto some laws that stop same sex couples from marrying.” She said with a huff, folding her hooves and looking off to the side. “Those morons are standing in the way of all that Equestria stands for. It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack if you’re looking for an accepting pony in Canterlots noble households.”
“Sounds like they deserve a beating and have their ranks stripped. Fucking bastards they sound like.” Arcade said, scowling and cracking his knuckles. This made Twilight both smile and shift uneasily, as this angry side of Arcade was new to her. He then noticed her uneasy smile and relaxed. “Sorry about that, it is one of the only subjects other than tyrants that can truly get me angry.”
“I’m similar, it’s just that I am not used to language like that being used.” Twilight said while rubbing the back of her head with a hoof.
“Well I’d get used to it if I were you. Swearing is hardly a rare sight in our crew.” He said gulping down the last of his beverage and throwing it in the trash can. “Let’s finally finish this photo then shall we.”
“Sorry for interrupting so much.” Twilight said with a sheepish smile.
“Intermissio conteram normalitatem, et normalitatem eius taediosus.” Arcade said with a wave of his hand. “The last human we have is Cass. Red met Cass at the Mojave outpost while she was doing jobs for the NCR stationed there. She found Cass drinking in the bar alone and asked her why she was there, to which Cass replied that her caravan company had been attacked by raiders and she had nothing left. After that, Red decided to help her and went to work for the Crimson Caravan at Cass’s suggestion which lead her to asking Cass to join us.” Arcade then pulled out a cloth and started to clean his glasses. “Lastly we have the two beasts you see there, Teddy and Thanatos. I’ve already explained Thanatos so I’ll tell you about Teddy. We met Teddy while leaving the Zion National Park after helping one tribe living there escape from another tribe of warriors. When we first met her she was a cub and required lots of food to grow up. At this point now she is a full grown Yao Guai and is currently taking residence in Goodsprings with Cass at the old Schoolhouse we fixed up because she would get a large supply of gecko meat.” He then let out an exaggerated sigh and lay back in his seat. “Finally it’s over.”
“Thank you for telling me about the members of your group.” Twilight said with a smile. Truthfully she was also relieved that it was over but she was happy to have listened to it all. “There were a couple of things I didn’t get though.” She said after a few seconds.
“And what are they?” arcade asked, sitting back up again.
“What did you say before you told me about Cass? I didn’t understand it.” Twilight asked.
“Oh, that was Latin for ‘Interruptions break normality, and normality is boring.’ I have learnt over the years to speak Latin. Don’t know why, I just did.” He said with a shrug.
“What’s Latin?” Twilight asked.
“It is an ancient language that barely anyone speaks, especially these days.” Twilight nodded her head in understanding at this.
“Lastly, what are all those creatures and names that you used, I didn’t understand what they meant.” This caused Arcade to frown and gain a thoughtful expression for a bit before suddenly realising something and tapping on the door to the front of the truck. The door slid open and Willow poked her head through.
“What is it Arcade?” She asked with a small smile.
“Do you still have your copies of the Wasteland Survival Guide: West Coast Edition?” Arcade questioned. Willow then opened up her bag and pulled out a large book with the picture of a skull on the front.
“Sure, what do you need it for?” Willow asked as she handed it over to Arcade.
“Twilight needs to know what the local Wildlife and factions are, as well as the basics of surviving here.” He said, making the blonde woman nod with a look of understanding. She then nodded to them both and slid the door shut, leaving them both to their own devices. “This should help you to understand the Mojave and the rest of the West coast’s inhabitants.” He said as he passed the book over to Twilight who, distracted by the prospect of reading a new book, uttered a quick thanks as she took it from him and started to read it.
Twilight had been reading the Guide for a good half an hour and had learned a good amount about everything to do with the West Coast of America in its current state, when a muffled curse could be heard coming from the front of the Truck. Twilight could feel the vehicle swerve and come to a sudden stop as the door to the front slid open to reveal an annoyed Red.
“We got Vipers up ahead and they don’t look like they want to chat.” She said loudly, causing both Boone and Arcade to grab their weapons and gear. She then got up herself and walked over to one of the gun racks inside of the van and picked up the rifle she got from the armoury back in the suite, loading in a magazine while pulling on her sleeveless jacket over her shirt.
“What’s happening?” Twilight asked as she roused Spike from his sleep.
“We got a group of bandits from the Vipers gang up ahead and they are looking for a fight.” Willow said as she inserted some hollow point rounds into her rifle.
“What do we do?” Spike asked as he rubbed his eyes.
“You and Twilight need to get geared up and ready.” Red said as they all stood by the door to the van. “It’s time for your first firefight.” She said with a grin as she opened the door, and all hell broke loose.
The winds of the Mojave often carried more than just dust and sand in the times of the apocalypse. Whether it was blood or the scents of prey, there was always some form of death floating around in the air, inhaled by all beings that wandered the desolate wastes. One such being was the currently terrified Twilight Sparkle, Alicorn and all round adorkable pony. Said pony was currently hiding behind a large rock, clutching a marksman rifle with a frightened expression on her face as bullets whizzed past and impacted on her makeshift hiding spot.
“THIS IS INSANE!” She shouted at the top of her lungs as hot lead and plasma fire drowned out most of her voice.
“You’ll get used to it!” Arcade yelled from next to her, occasionally popping up and launching a few streaks of plasma at the opposition. “Try popping up and firing a few shots off, you might just hit something.” He said with a smirk, reloading his plasma rifle as he did so.
“Are you Crazy!?” She cried. Another bullet whizzed past her head and smashed into a rock she was facing, causing it to explode into a shower of debris
“No, Red’s the crazy one.” He said, pointing his finger towards said woman. Twilight was shocked to say the least when she spotted Red Standing on top of the boulder she had previously been behind, pointing her rifle towards the vipers as she unloaded round after round into each of them, heads splattering after every shot. Once she had emptied her magazine she quickly holstered it and drew out a long, sleek and gunmetal grey Remington Model 1858 Percussion Revolver from its holster on her waist.
“I Am The Law!” She shouted in a deep gravelly voice as she unloaded each six shots into another six vipers craniums. Twilight watched this all happen with a slack jaw and wide eyes, not quite comprehending what she just saw.
“I get it!” Came the excited response of Willow as she threw a grenade at a group of vipers, killing them all.
“Hey Twilight!” Red shouted after she had ducked back behind her rock to reload. “Shoot at them!” She yelled.
“I am not sticking my head up while they are shooting at me!” Twilight yelled back after she had finally regained control of her jaw muscles.
“Fine, I’ll draw their fire then you use VATS and deal with them!” Red called. This caused Twilight to remember something she had found out about her Pipboy during her stay in Vault 3. She had learned that it had a function called Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System that allowed her to line up actions before doing them with a probability of success.
Twilight hooked up to the Pipboys ocular interface and got ready to initiate VATS. She looked over to Red and nodded her head nervously, giving her the sign that she was ready to go.
“Have at thee foul brigands!” Red shouted loudly as she jumped out from behind her cover and unloaded the shots from her rifle at the vipers, making them turn and all open fire at her.
This gave Twilight all the time she needed to pop up from behind her cover and activate VATS, slowing everything to a complete standstill.
*right, okay, let’s see what I can do* she thought to herself as she flicked between each of her targets. She stopped at a viper who currently had his head popped up from behind the concrete barrier he was using as cover, about to fire at Red. *I don’t want to kill him so I think an arm shot will be fine* Twilight set her shot to fire at the vipers left arm, hopefully disabling him and making him drop his weapon. She then felt herself losing control of her body and it making movements on its own, aiming her rifle and pulling the trigger. The bullet soared through the air and hit the vipers’ upper left arm obliterating the entire limb, killing him almost instantly.
“Nice shot!” Arcade shouted from beside her. Twilight didn’t share his enthusiasm, staring shakily down at the rifle in her hoofs with a blank, wide eyed expression.
“I… I only meant to make him d-drop his gun.” She said quietly, she looked up and saw Spike staring in the direction of the dead viper with his jaw dropped. Twilight realised that she had just killed something right in front of her young son and tried to stutter out a response. “Spike I-“ She started to say before Spike looked over at her and started to speak.
“That…” He started to say, causing Twilight to try and utter out an apology, “That was… AWESOME!” he yelled with a wide grin and excited eyes, catching Twilight completely off guard.
“But I just killed someone!” She protested hysterically.
“It was so cool though, the way his arm blew up and how you just aimed and fired almost perfectly, it was badass!” Spike ranted as he waved his claws around, accentuating his description with wild movements.
“But I killed him!” Twilight yelled, shocked by Spikes lack of care for heinous act.
Spike then realised why Twilight was acting this way and walked up to her and placed a claw on her withers. “Twilight, you need to remember three important things.” He said, holding up three claws. “One, they started attacking first with the intention to kill, which means that even by Equestrian law you are allowed to kill him.” Twilight tried to protest but spike held up his claw to stop her as he continued. “Two, these people have killed, hurt and sold other living beings, all for just some measly money. And three, If we weren’t killing them, they would be killing us, which includes me and all the others.”
All of the things that Spike had said made sense in a crazy way. Equestrian law did allow killing in self-defence or the in the defence of others. It was also true that these people were monsters and deserved to face punishment for their crimes. The last point though made Twilight pause, that was a very manipulative way of making twilight feel far less guilty about doing these things. “How come you don’t care?” Twilight asked confusedly after she had thought about the last point for a bit, causing Spike to shuffle awkwardly on his feet.
“When I told Red about our world she said that I may need to persuade you about killing and that it is not as bad as it is in this world as it is in Equestria.” He looked sheepish for a second but his expression soon became resolute. “It is either kill or be killed in this world Twilight, and no matter how wrong it is to do so, you must do it to survive. If you won’t do it for yourself then do it for me or the girls.” He then gained a mischievous glint in his eyes and smirked. “Or you could do it for Trixie, I’m sure that she would be horribly heartbroken if she found out that you weren’t coming home.” This made Twilight blush as red as a tomato.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Twilight stuttered as she flicked her head from side to side nervously.
“It’s pretty obvious that you like her and she likes you, it’s just that you two can’t see it in each other.” Spike said.
“She likes me too?” Twilight asked with a hopeful smile.
“Blatantly” Spike said with a sharp nod.
This made Twilights heart flutter at the prospect of her crush liking her as well, bringing her to also think about everyone that she loves and how they would feel if she didn’t come home. She also remembered how much Discord was relying on her to bring back his little sister, and if she meant as much to Discord as Spike did to her then she needed to bring her home.
With a firm nod of her head, Twilight got up from her haunches and pulled up her rifle in her magic and started to move out from behind her cover. Only to immediately duck back behind it as a barrage of hot lead soured through the air and peppered the area in small holes.
“Horseapples!” She shouted as she clutched her weapon in her hooves from behind her cover. “How am I going to get a shot off?” She said to herself. She then turned and saw Spike looking at her with one raised eyebrow. “What?”
“They are extremely in accurate Twilight, all of those bullets would have missed.” He said with a deadpan expression.
“Oh. Well then, let’s try that again then.” She said blankly, shifting back towards the edge of the rock and quickly peaking round. A hail of bullets flew in her direction, making her flinch, but after not feeling any pain she opened her eyes to see all the vipers reloading their weapons. Taking the opportunity and starting up VATS, she lined up multiple shots at each of their heads.
*I may not like the fact that I have to kill them, but if I have to then I can at least make it quick* She thought to herself as she ended VATS and let it take control of her movements. Out of the five shots that she had lined up, two of them had missed, two more had made contact and had killed their targets, the last one had caused the vipers head to explode in a shower of blood and gore.
“Good hits!” Red shouted from where she was taking cover. “But can you do this?” She then jumped up and pulled back her left hand and then quickly shot it forward, producing a large ball of fire as she did so that flew towards the Vipers and exploded as it hit one of them in the head. Both Twilight and Spike had a hard time picking their jaws off of the ground after that display.
“What?!?” They both shouted, equally shocked at what Red had just done.
“Bionic Augments are so awesome.” Red said as she used her other arm to whip out her revolver and unload each of its six shots into a particularly armoured viper, tearing off both of his arms and his head. Twilight noticed that her left hand was split open and had shifted into a strange looking mechanical device that was streaming with smoke, and that her left arm had a slight metallic sheen to it that she had noticed. Her mind slowed down to a standstill as it tried to process what she had just seen, flicking through her entire memory to try and find where she might get information on what Reds arm was. Twilight found that she knew nothing about these ‘Bionic Augmentations’ that the redhead human mentioned, meaning that she needed to know about them.
“What are they, where do they come from, how do they work, what powers them, TELL ME!” The frenzied Alicorn yelled, strands of hair popping out at her apparent neurotic state.
“I’ll tell you after the fight if you want.” Red said with a cheeky grin and a fold of her arms.
With the state she was in, Twilight was not nearly as worried about killing the vipers as she was about finding out what these augments were, meaning she was totally fine with killing the vipers if it meant information. To that end, she leaped out from behind her cover and started VATS back up again and lined up as many shots a she could into each of the vipers, some were aimed at heads and others at torsos. When Twilight exited VATS she unleashed a steady stream of rounds into each of her targets, all of which hitting their desired area and killing their target.
“Whoa” Spike said as he watched the vipers start to flee, running in all directions after the battle had been clearly lost. Twilight was just standing on her hooves breathing quickly in and out with pinprick irises within twitching eyes.
“So are you gonna tell me now, are you?” Twilight asked quickly looking at Red with a manic grin.
“I’ll tell once we get back in the truck, okay?” Red said as she holstered her weapons and her left hand shifted back into its normal state. She then turned to Willow and asked, “Can you drive the rest of the way while I talk to miss crazy over here?”
“Sure.” Willow responded as they all got back into the truck and took their seats within.
Arcade, Twilight and Spike took the same seats as they did before, with Boone sitting in the passenger seat of the front with Willow. Red was leaning against the worktable that was adjacent to the seats as she pulled out a small black carton and plucked a cigarette out and lit it using her left hand, her thumb emitting a red glow as she pressed the end of the cancer stick to it. She then lifted it up and took a long drag, inhaling it into her lungs and exhaling it into a small jar.
“So, you want to know about Bionic Augments?” She asked Twilight, the purple alicorn frowning at her use of tobacco but nodding none-the-less. She had calmed down by this point and was under control of her mental state thanks to the help of Cadences breathing techniques.
“Please, it sounds so amazing that all of this is done without magic.” She said with barely contained excitement, shuffling closer to Red and leaning in.
“If we want to start with the basics then I will start by saying that the Augmentation that you saw was the result of the work of a Doctor X, who works in the clinic north east of New Vegas in a partitioned off area. He used reverse engineering to create the Augments that I have off of strange Androids that he had me locate and ‘decommission’ out in the wastes.” Red took another puff of her cigarette and blew it into the same jar as before. “The Augment that you saw me using just then was called fireball and it allows me to shoot out balls of napalm at my targets. I had just lost my arm in a particularly violent fight when I came to the clinic and they directed me to the good doctor for help.”
(Flashback)
“Thank you, that will be 100 caps please.” A young voice said from behind a counter in a dingy but lit room. The owner of the voice was a youthful Asian woman with black ponytail and a kind smile. The name on her badge read Usanagi and she wore the trademark emblem of the Followers of the Apocalypse on her doctor’s coat. After her latest charge had left through the door she let out a long sigh and slumped her shoulders, bringing a hand up to massage her head thanks to a brewing headache.
“Slow day huh Doc.” Came the voice of one of the bodyguards stationed at the clinic, leaning against the wall with a sympathetic smile.
“It’s not that Laurence, it’s just that we only get addicts or people with minor injuries.” She said with a frown, “I mean, I love helping people and it is the right thing to do, but I trained for more than this.” She placed her elbows on the counter and rested her head in her hands. She slowly lifted herself off of the counter when the door started to open and light poured into the room. “I just wish something interesting would happen.” She said quietly to herself.
“You might get your wish Doc.” Came the voice of the woman that had opened the door. Surprised by the fact that this person had heard her, Dr Usanagi shifted her position to get a better look at whoever had entered, and nearly did a double take at what she saw standing in the doorway. An extremely tall woman with red hair was leaning against the right side of the door, clutching her left shoulder with her right arm. Another, shorter woman was holding onto the taller one with a worried expression upon her face.
“Holy shit.” Laurence voiced quietly as he saw the state of the woman, and Dr Usanagi saw why when she stepped further into the room. Her entire left arm was missing and she was covered in huge cuts as well as missing both of her eyes, with a large gash over the front of her face displaying how it happened. The lower half of her left leg was also a mess, barely holding itself together. She was completely soaked in blood from head to toe to the point that there was probably more blood on her than was inside her at the current moment. Through all this though the woman kept a strained smile on her face, shrugging off the help of Laurence as he ran over to help her.
“I’m fine, just direct me to the front desk please.” She said as she hobbled over to Dr Usanagi, leaving a trail of blood on the floor as she went. When she was about a metre away from the counter Dr Usanagi shook herself from her stupor and quickly ran over to help the woman.
“Laurence! Tell Doctor X to prepare his table for a massive surgery.” She yelled as she placed her arm around her patients back. Once she was sure that the guard was getting the doctor prepared, she turned to her patient and asked her an important question. “How in god’s name did this happen!?”
“Decide to fight an alpha deathclaw.” The red haired woman responded with a slight shuffle which Usanagi assumed was a shrug.
“With what, a sword?!” Dr Usanagi was downright shocked by the response from her patient. Instead of the red head answering this question though, it was the blonde haired woman who answered it.
“No, she fought it with a pair of knuckle dusters… idiot.” She said shaking her head.
“He got it worse than me though, you’ve got to admit.” Her friend said.
“Damn it Red, that’s not the point!” The blonde shouted back.
“Sorry Willow.” Red said apologetically, “But he was about to attack a group of nightstalkers and you know how much I love those things.” She pouted at Willow and attempted to do puppy dog eyes.
“Red, I love you, but don’t do puppy dog eyes with no eyes. It is downright creepy.” Willow said with a shudder. Laurence made this an opportune time to burst through the door, interrupting the scarily casual conversation between these two people.
“He’s asking if she can pay for the treatment.” He said with a worried expression on his face.
This pushed the good doctor over the edge. “WHAT?! How can he be so-“
“How much?” Red calmly asked, shocking Dr Usanagi with how little she cared. Laurence leaned back into the room and could be heard talking with someone, after which he leant back in to the room with distressed expression.
“5’000 caps for treating the injuries, 30’000 for getting working replacements and 50’000 for some added functions.” He listed off as he drummed his fingers on the side of the door.
“50’000 it is then.” Red said without hesitation. She then turned to the small flying robot that seemed to almost appear out of nowhere. “ED-E could you go back to the van and grab 50’000 caps and bring them to the good doctor please.” She said kindly, to which she got a few determined beeps.
“You can pay for that?” Usanagi said with a raised eyebrow.
“Don’t let the doc hear this because he will probably charge me more for it, but that is barely anything for me.” Red whispered, holding her right arm up to her face. She quickly brought it back down though when she realised that she needed that arm to stop the blood flow.
When they got through the door to Doctor X’s half of the clinic, they were forced to stop by a force field that was blocking their way.
“Is this really necessary?” Willow asked, looking around the small space with a critical eye as the scanner moved down the room.
“Can’t be too careful in this wasteland.” Came a raspy voice from the intercom to their right. “Jesus Laurence wasn’t kidding when he said you were a mess. Alright get in here quick and set her down on the table.” The voice said as the force field dropped.
“So, you want 50’000 for this then?” Red said as she was lead into the operating room.
“If you can pay for it, then yes.” Doctor X said as he stepped into view of the others. He was wearing a rebreather and a white lab coat, though the most striking thing about him was his eyes. They had White irises that were brightly glowing, causing Willow to squint when he looked at her. “Let’s get you up on the counter then shall we.” He said as he moved out of the way to let the others pass.
“Will you need my help?” Dr Usanagi asked as helped Red up onto the slab.
“Yes actually, I will need your help on doing the surgery on the brain to get her some new eyes. You have knowledge on how to install implants from that NEVADA group right?” X asked, pulling on a pair of rubber gloves and pulling over a canister of knockout gas.
“That was one of my main study points back in the Boneyard yes.” Usanagi replied, pulling on her own set of rubber gloves and a doctor’s mask.
“Okay then, I’m going to have to ask everyone not necessary in this procedure to leave the room now.” X said as he placed the mace mask for the knockout gas over Reds face. He then looked down at Red as she slowly faded into unconsciousness and asked, “How did this happen then?”
“Fist fight with a Deathclaw alpha.” She mumbled with a stupid grin. As she finally lost consciousness she could have sworn she heard the doctor call her a moron.
(End of Flashback)
“Are you serious?” Twilight said with a deadpan stare, Spike mimicking it as well.
“Yep, both my left arm, lower half of both legs and both my eyes are cybernetic and bionic.” Red said with an oblivious smile.
“I was talking about the- *sigh* you know what never mind.” Twilight said as she facehoofed. “What were the upgrades that he gave you for the extra caps?” She asked after she had let the frustration out of her system by vaporising the cigarette butt that Red was about to through in the trash.
“For the arm, he gave me the fireball, the ability to create a kinetic barrier that stops incoming damage, a sort of grapple like energy blast that pulls my targets towards me and a sonic push that flings my enemies away.” She said as she held out her arm and it shifted between each of the different forms for each ability as she listed them off. “For the eyes, I got an AR scanner and enhanced visuals that allow me to scan my targets and view infra-red, night vision and thermal vision.” Twilight watched with awe as Red’s eyes glowed briefly in different colours, expanding and contracting her pupils on a whim. “They doctor threw in another half of a leg for free so that I wouldn’t be walking awkwardly. Those allow me to run a lot faster, create different types of blast waves by stomping a different leg and they also allow me to carry a lot more.”
Twilight was staring at the part-person-part-machine in front of her with a raised eyebrow. “How much of you is actually human?” She asked.
“The doc also had to replace some of my organs as well, meaning I can now breathe under water and my bod heals itself a lot faster. So to answer your question, I don’t really know.” Red answered with a shrug, causing Twilight to grumble. Just as soon as they had finished their conversation though Willow opened up the hatch to the front o f the truck and leaned through.
“We’re here.” She said as she and Boone climbed out.
“Okay then, it’s time for you two to meat Veronica and Vanessa.” Red said as she lead Twilight and Spike out the back of the truck, into the open street, and right into the foot of a giant lizard.
Twilight stood stock still as her mind processed the sight before her, slowly trying to comprehend it. Barely four feet from her was an extremely tall, bleached green lizard, standing at about 20 metres tall holding a large lit up thermometer. She could tell that it was not real by the fact that it was covered in flaking paint and the wooden boarding that could be seen beneath, slightly rotting from exposure to the elements. Inside the mouth of the model lizard was a man clad in red and black clothing with a red beret that was exactly the same as Boones.
“Welcome to Novac, home of Dinky the Dinosaur and pretty much nothing else.” Red shouted, spreading her arms wide and sticking her chest out as if to display the less than impressive settlement for more than it actually was, a less than impressive settlement.
“This place is… rustic?” Twilight said hesitantly, causing Red to drop her arms and slump her shoulders with disappointment.
“I like the big lizard thing.” Spike said with slightly more enthusiasm than Twilight. "It looks a bit like me… if I was a rotting corpse, but looks like me none-the-less.” Red had a face mixed between happiness and discomfort at Spikes comment on Dinky.
“I like him.” Willow said with a wide smile as she started to walk towards a sign that had the word Novac in big bold letters on it.
“Let’s head to the bungalow then.” Red said as she followed her fiancé and gestured for the others to do the same. After they had walked through a metal gate and into a large courtyard they spotted a short, red haired woman wearing a leather jacket and jeans who was sitting on a bench outside the furthest bungalow. When she looked down and spotted Red and the others walking towards her she quickly jumped up and started to walk towards them at a brisk pace. Red opened her arms as if to expect a hug and was surprised when instead she got a fist to the face from the small angry woman.
“You go on a journey to Zion, and you don’t invite me?!” She shouted as she started to kick Reds shins as the woman recovered from the shock of being punched, not at all affected by the actual impact of the punch itself.
“But I thought Veronica had something planned for you two?” Red said as the assault on her shins continued. This question caused the shin kicking to stop and the small lady to look sheepish for a second, turning her head to the side and placing her hands behind her back.
“She did but it got cancelled because the Followers were in urgent need of someone who knew stuff about technology.” She said with a sigh, hanging her head and scuffing the floor. “We had I bit of a fight over her priorities and know I’m sleeping in the apartment instead of the bungalow.”
“Vanessa, you know Veronica values everything she has and finds it exceptionally hard to let go of a good thing.” Red said with a face that was mixed between sympathy and a frown.
“I know, it’s just I love to travel and go places but Veronica wants to stay in one place and never leave.” Vanessa said sadly, she then looked up and saw Twilight and Spike staring at her. “Um… who are these two?”
“My name’s Twilight Sparkle and this is my son Spike.” Twilight said as she indicated to herself and Spike.
Vanessa just stared for a few seconds with a blank expression before she looked up at Red and said, “You meet some strange companions don’t you?” She then turned back to Twilight and extended her hand out. “I’m Vanessa, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Twilight said as she gave Vanessa a hoof/handshake.
“Are you going to stay out here when we go in to talk to Veronica?” Red asked as she turned to face Vanessa, a look of concern gracing her face.
“That’s probably for the best, I need to go grab some food and other supplies from Cliff anyway.” Vanessa said with a sad smile and a point of her thumb towards Dinky. “Goodbye.” She then started to walk towards the Dinky Dinosaur.
“That was odd, why did she say goodbye? Let’s talk to Veronica and then we’ll go see if we can find out what the problem is.” Red said as she walked up to the door and gave it a few knocks. Heavy footsteps could be heard through the door as the occupant came and opened it.
“Vanessa, I told you I don’t want to- Oh hey guys!” Veronica stopped her tirade when she realised that it wasn’t Vanessa at the door and was instead her other friends. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Two reasons actually, the first being I wanted to introduce you to Twilight and Spike.” Red said as she stepped aside to allow Veronica to see the purple alicorn and small drake. This also allowed Twilight to get a good look at the woman who was standing in the doorway. She had relatively short brown hair that was pulled back into a bun behind her head and a smile that held far too much potential sarcasm for her own good. She was wearing a white jacket and purple shirt with white trousers and tall black boots that ended with purple socks.
“Hi, I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight said with a smile.
“I’m Spike.” Spike said as well, waving his claw at Veronica.
“Well hello to you too, my name is Veronica Renata Sant’Angelo but you can just call me Veronica.” She said cheerfully, offering her hand for a handshake that Twilight returned. She then turned back to the others, “Hey Arcade, how’s the hunt for a partner going?”
“Fuck you Veronica.” Arcade said with a deadpan expression, flipping her off with his left hand.
“Love you too.” Veronica responded cheekily. “You doing good Boone?” She asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Boone replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “Not much really new except these two.” He said, indicating to Spike and Twilight.
“Let’s talk about the second reason for coming here.” Red said seriously, garnering everyone’s attention. “We should probably head inside for this though.” She said as she showed everyone into the house.
The inside of the bungalow was rather spacious and very open plan, with the living room, kitchen and bedroom all being the same space. It was a bit dark in most areas apart from the living room which was lit up substantially more, Twilight noticed all these thing as she walked inside with Spike and the others. Everyone took a seat at different areas of the room, Red, Willow and Arcade sitting on the sofa that faced the fireplace, Boone pulling up the dining table chair and facing it towards the others, Veronica leaning against the fireplace and Twilight and Spike sitting on two cushions on the floor.
“So what’s the big news then?” Veronica asked impatiently, hopping up and down on her feet in anticipation.
“If you would just calm down I’ll tell you.” Red said with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk, causing Veronica to blush and stop moving. “The news isn’t necessarily good news or bad news, so take it how you will.” She then pulled out a poster that looked surprisingly new and handed it to Veronica “For a while there were rumours that people had found the Sierra Madre, and this poster just cements those rumours as fact. I’ve been to that hell hole, and this picture is what it looks like.”
“It looks like a real shithole.” Veronica said as she looked over the poster and then handed it to Twilight.
“Wow, you’ve been there?” Spike asked as he peeked over twilights shoulder to get a peek. “It looks like a real crap-hole.”
“SPIKE!? What is with this language?” Twilight shouted, aghast at his choice in words.
“Arcade said that swearing wasn’t really something to worry about in this world.” He said with a nervous shrug.
“You and I are going to have words.” Twilight said with a scowl as she looked at the nervous dragon. She then turned to look at Red who was trying to look anywhere but at Twilight. “We are also going to have a little chat later.”
“So what does this mean for the Mojave then?” Veronica asked, saving Red from Twilights glare.
“This could mean good or bad depending on what happens, if the ‘safety measures’ are still in place then a lot of travellers will be dissuaded from going there. If those don’t stop people then it might not be inherently bad, but it will more than likely end in someone gaining too much power and going mad, like a certain individual I met there.” The mention of this person brought a sad look to Veronica, who knew all too well who this person was.
“So what are we going to do about it then?” Arcade asked as he got up and walked to the kitchen and started to make coffee.
“Hopefully we don’t have to do anything, but if worst comes to worst then we pay a visit to the Sierra Madre ourselves.” Red said, walking over to Veronica and patting her on the shoulder. “Can I talk to you a sec please?” She asked quietly.
“Sure.” Veronica said sadly, following Red to the guest bunkroom and closing the door after her. “What is it that you wanted to talk about?”
“I heard Vanessa’s side of it but I want to know your side of the argument as well.” Red asked with a stern but caring look.
“She wanted us to leave, and I don’t just mean go travelling for a bit. She wanted the two of us to go all the way over to the east and stay there.” Veronica sighed and slumped against the wall.
“Why does she suddenly want to do that?” Red asked, surprised by what Vanessa wanted to do.
“it’s not a new thing, she’s been wanting to do this for the better part of a year but this time she was really trying to get me to go. I just kept telling her no and this time she finally snapped and said that it was either you guys or her.” As veronica had gone on she had slowly started to sniffle and by the end she was in tears. As Red comforted the distraught woman she slowly started to put the pieces together.
*Vanessa wasn’t acting normal when we met her outside, which could just be the fact that they had an argument but it’s not like her to react that way.* Then something clicked and she paled at the thought, *No, no no no please no.* Red quickly dashed out of the bunkroom, ran to the kitchen and opened up all the cupboards and fridge, all of which were completely full. As Veronica came back in with a confused expression she looked up with a fearful expression on her face. “Veronica, where do you keep the keys for the motorbike.” She asked in a panicked voice.
“I keep them in the vase on the shelf next to my old power glove, why?” she said wiping the drying tears from her eyes. After hearing this, Red quickly ran to the vase and checked inside and froze, slumped to the floor and let her arms go limp at her sides. Twilight, who had been listening on the conversation between Red and Veronica, turned to Arcade.
“What is a motorbike?” She asked.
“Do you have bicycles in your world?” Arcade inquired, to which he got a nod from Twilight. “A motorbike is a bicycle with a motor built into it, meaning that you don’t have to peddle.”
Twilight thought this through and blanched as she put the pieces together like Red had. “Oh no.” she said quietly. It was then that they heard the tell-tale rumble of an engine, causing Red to jump up and run to the door and fling it open. Veronica went through the same motions as Twilight and Red and barged past Red to the outside, in time to see Vanessa look back at her with a sad look.
“Why?” Was all Veronica could croak out, barely able to stand.
“Because Travelling is in my blood and I need to travel.” Vanessa said sadly, “Even though I was out of line with the words I used, the meaning is still the same, either me or them. I realised that you were never going to leave all this behind and that me thinking that you would was foolish. I also realised that if I expected you to do so for me then I was just being selfish, but I will ask you one more time.” She held out her hand and gained a desperate look on her face. “Will you travel with me?”
Veronica was on her knees now with tears cascading down her face and arms limp at her sides. “I- I can’t leave this be-behind, plea-*hic*-please don’t do this *sniff*.” She pleaded.
Vanessa was crying at this point as her offer was rejected, although she was far less expressive about it, it hurt. “I really hope that you find someone better than me, I didn’t deserve you for the time that I had you.” She then wiped the tears from her eyes and revved the bike. “Goodbye Veronica Sant’Angelo. I really wish I wasn’t so self-centred but I can’t change who I am, so for what it’s worth, I truly am, from the deepest part of my heart, Sorry for the pain I am about to cause.” With that last statement and a sniff, she pressed down on the accelerator and sped off out of the motel park and down the road towards the dam.
Arcade quickly ran out so that he could get a view on Vanessa and pulled out his plasma rifle. “I will skin her alive!” He shouted with fire burning in his eyes, only to be stopped by Red, who lowered his weapon and gestured to the weeping form of Veronica who was hunched over herself with Twilight and Spike consoling her. He sighed, holstered his rifle, walked over and crouched down next to her, only to be engulfed in a desperate hug.
“Why can’t they ever stay-ay-ay!?” She bawled, clinging to Arcade as if her life depended on it. “First Christine and now her-er-er!” The name caused Reds eyes to widen and her mouth to drop.
“No way, how could I not see that?” She asked herself quietly, the only one hearing her being Twilight.
“What could you not see?” Twilight asked as she looked up at Red, confusion written on her face.
“Something that I should have seen a long time ago.” She then gained a determined look. “We are going to the Sierra Madre as soon as possible, we have something important to do there.”
“What is it?” The purple alicorn questioned.
“We’ve got a couple to reunite.” She said with a sad, but determined look at Veronica.
The deluxe bungalow of the Dino Dee-lite motel was quiet, with only the sounds of muffled sniffs passing through the walls being the only sign of its occupants. Within the old building were a group of varied individuals, 5 humans, one dragon and an alicorn, all of whom were offering different forms of support to the one who was upset.
Arcade was being used as a makeshift pillow/sponge for Veronica, who was still clinging on to him. Willow was sitting behind her redoing her hair as it had become dishevelled over the last hour of tears. Red sat in front of Veronica, looking through the photo album that held all of their good memories. Boone and Spike, with their lack of comforting skills, were both in the kitchen making drinks and snacks for everyone to drink. This left Twilight, who was feeling woefully out of place in this current situation. None of her friends had ever gone through with this sort of thing before with the closest being Rarity and Blueblood, and even that was mostly trying to calm down an angry Rarity instead of a distraught one.
“I remember the time that you punched Watkins in the face for talking shit about your hair when we finally managed to get you to take off the hood.” Red said with a laugh, getting one from her audience as well. She was about to continue when Boone and Spike brought over the drinks and snacks they had prepared. “Thanks guys.” She said, grabbing her mug of hot cocoa and sipping it. She then continued to recount the tales of their adventures over the last two years.
“What’s bothering you Twilight?” Spike asked as he sat down on the same pillow as his mother, leaning his back against her side as he took a small gulp of his cocoa. Twilight, who had been caught up in her own thoughts, sighed and drooped her head slightly.
“I just feel like there isn’t anything I can do to help here.” She said despondently. “I’ve never been in a situation like this, and even if I had, I don’t know Veronica well enough to do anything.” Spike wasn’t sure if it would help, but he placed his claw on Twilights withers to try and reassure her.
“I don’t know if you can help in this situation, but I know your heart is in the right place.” Spike said kindly. “I think you need some fresh air, let’s head outside.” He then got up and walked over to Arcade and whispered in his ear, to which he got a nod and a smile.
After Spike and Twilight had left the bungalow, they had made their way to the base of the Dinky statue. Twilight gestured to Spike for him to get on her back and with a few powerful flaps they were both seated on the top of the dinosaurs head.
“I miss our friends Spike.” Twilight said, her head resting on her hoofs as she lay on her belly. “They are probably all worried sick, and we didn’t even leave a note or tell them where we were going.” She then made her front hooves fall lax and let her head slump down until her chin was resting on the top of one of Dinky’s spines.
“I’m sure they are all okay mom. I know they are probably very worried, but you’ve got to have more faith in them than that.” Spike said as he moved his claws through his mother’s mane, effectively combing it into place.
“How long have we been here Spike?” Twilight said quietly, her voice slightly strained because of the way she was lying.
“I think we have been here for close to three weeks now, why do you ask?”
“I hoped that this would all be finished in less than a week, I had plans set.” Twilight muttered, “I was going to take you and, if you wanted, Sweetiebelle to the Museum of Draconic History. I was also planning on getting the spell for the mass-teleport platform finalised and then sending it to the Scientific Bureau in Canterlot.” She then added another point quietly. “I was also hoping to ask Trixie out on a date.” Twilights face started to blush after she mentioned that and Spike raised an eyebrow at her comment.
“Finally worked up enough courage to do that huh?” He asked with a slight smirk plastering his face. “I know my crush on Rarity used to be as visible as a firefly at midnight, but yours was five notches higher on the obvious-o-metre.” He finished with a chuckle and got a huff from Twilight in response.
“You better have not have started a betting pool mister or there will be words.” Twilight said harshly, though her comment was not as well received as she would have hoped with the beet red colour of her face and the laughing Spike on her back.
“I didn’t start the betting pool mom, that would be Rainbow Dash.” He said cheekily. “And anyway, it was obvious that you were going to get together in the end, it was just who would ask who out, and under what circumstances. I personally was expecting Trixie to ask you out when you two would be watching the comet pass in a month.”
“Wait, you mean that you thought that Trixie was going to ask me out?” Twilight asked, taken aback by that and turning her head to look at Spike. “She has a crush on me?!” She asked with a squeak.
“You really are oblivious aren’t you?” Spike shook his head with a smile. “Of course she fancied you, it was almost as evident as your crush on her.”
This made Twilight pause and think back on the times she had spent with Trixie and she suddenly realised, not only how obvious her affections to the light blue unicorn were, but also how glaring said unicorn’s were as well.
“Wow, I feel really stupid right now.” Twilight said with wide eyes. “How could I not see that?”
“Love clouds your mind and makes the truth harder to find.” Spike said sagely.
“Zecora told you that didn’t she” Twilight said, smirking and raising an eyebrow at the currently sheepish dragon. “But you are right none the less.” She then closed her eyes and lay her head on her forelegs, sighing and started to contemplate all that she had been through here.
Her mind wandered to back when Discord asked her if she wanted to do this and how she had barely thought twice about saying yes. *Gosh I was naïve back then wasn’t I? If I knew what would happen I would have said no.* She then thought back to Discord himself. *He said that he would take whatever punishment I wanted to give him after I got back with his sister, even after all me and Spike have been through I don’t think I could put him back in stone just after he had been reunited.* He mind wandered to her experience in Vault 3 and she shuddered as she remembered Rampant and all that he had done, the torturous nights, the painful days and knowing that Spike had to sit and do nothing while he knew his mother was in hurting.
“Are you okay mom?” Spike asked from the side of his mother. “You’re crying.” Twilight didn’t know when the tears had started, but it seemed to have been for a while if the dampness of her cheeks was anything to go by.
“I’m fi… I…“ Twilight hesitated in answering the question, was she fine? Had she managed to make it through all of it and remain fine? “No… no I’m not okay.” She sighed. “I don’t think I’ll ever be okay again, I’m sorry.”
“I guess all we can do is hope that it will get better.” Spike said as he hugged Twilight round her barrel. “Just think of doing it for Discord and his sister.”
“It’s not that I’m having trouble finding a reason for doing it, I don’t think I can be the same Twilight Sparkle as everyone back home knows me as, whether it be physically or mentally.” Twilight said as she returned the hug with a hoof, after which Spike lifted himself out of and looked seriously at her.
“Then be the best Twilight Sparkle you can still be.” Spike said resolutely, looking Twilight straight in the eyes. “And if they can’t stay your friends after that, well, they’re bad examples of friends.” He huffed, folding his arms with a scowl.
“Thank you Spike, you fantastic dragon you.” Twilight snickered and wiped the drying tears from her cheeks. “You are the best son and assistant that a mother could ask for.” Spike puffed up his chest with pride at the complement.
The two of them lay on top of the dilapidated dinosaur for a good hour, just enjoying the sunset as it basked them in its warm glow. Throughout the hour they chatted idly about things and they finished their mugs of cocoa.
“Hey! Are you two coming down for bed?” Came a shout, startling the duo. They looked down and saw that Red was standing there with one arm on her hip. “It’s getting rather late and I know you should get more rest Twilight.” She admonished.
“Sorry, we’ll be right down!” Twilight shouted back, opening her wings and gliding down to the ground beside Red.
“How do your wings work if your body mass ratio is disproportionate to the air resistance your wings provide?” Red asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Magic.” Twilight said with a smirk, knowing that Red had barely any understanding of the concept.
“Well fuck you too.” Red said, frowning and huffing, causing Twilight and Spike to laugh at her expense which she eventually joined in on.
“Where will we be sleeping for the night?” Twilight asked after they had finished laughing.
“Well, Veronica wanted to sleep in the same room as the others so she is sleeping in the bunkroom with Arcade and Boone. While me and Willow will be sleeping on the double bed in the main room, leaving the couch or a bed in the bunkroom.” Red listed off, holding out her fingers to accentuate her point. “Oh and there is also the option of sleeping in the truck, which I will be moving up to the front of the bungalow, if you’d rather have the privacy.”
Twilight thought about the best option and decided that the couch would be for the best, mainly because she didn’t feel comfortable sleeping in a bunkroom with people she barely knew and because the truck would probably be a bit cold for her liking.
“We’ll take the couch.” She said with a nod of her head.
“Okay, you two head on inside then while I move the truck.” Red said as she flicked her thumb behind her and walked off. Twilight then trotted into the bungalow with Spike still on her back, opening the door with her magic and coming to stop at the sight that greeted her; Veronica was wearing a purple rocket ship nightie that was a bit small on her but it fit anyway; Arcade was dressed in a dark grey onesie with a wolf tail and a wolf ear hood hanging behind his neck; Willow had donned a dressing gown and was at the kitchen making herself a glass of milk; but the weirdest sight by far was Boone who was wearing baby blue Pyjamas with a nightcap on his head and a teddy bear under his arm.
“Hey Twilight, you taking the couch?” Arcade asked as he walked over and sat at one of the dining table chairs.
“Yeah… what am I looking at?” Twilight asked, unable to take her eyes off the scene.
“Well, everyone here wears what they want for bed. I found this onesie in a Freeside shop and bought it because I thought it looked okay.” Arcade said with a shrug.
“I can understand that bit, but I have a few questions.” Twilight mused.
“Shoot.”
“Why isn’t Veronica wearing something a bit bigger?” She questioned.
“She found that nightie at the old REPCONN test site while she was still with the brotherhood and wouldn’t leave it behind… She likes rockets.” Arcade recounted.
“Second question: why is Willow wearing a dressing gown? You tend not to wear dressing gowns when you are actually about to go to sleep and more when you’ve woken up.”
“Willow and Red both sleep nude, Red being far more blasé about it and Willow having the courtesy to put on a dressing gown while other people are in the room. I may be gay, but Red walking around with her jugs and ass out in plain sight is severely uncomfortable even to me… or anyone with a shred of decency for that matter.” Arcade shuddered, Twilight feeling very uncomfortable as well.
“And… uh… A-hem, my last question is: Why is Boone wearing those pyjamas?”
“I think that is one of the secrets that he will take to his grave, he won’t even act like he is wearing them if you talk to him about them.” Arcade stated ominously, holding his hand to the side of his face and darting his eyes left and right in an over-exaggerated fashion. He then sat back up and cast an annoyed look towards said pyjama clad sniper. “Seriously though, he will not talk to us about it.”
“Well then, I guess that answers my questions, even if it did lead to more.” Twilight said with a sigh, watching as the others went about their business. The door then swung open and Red walked in, pulling off her duster almost immediately and flinging it onto a coat rack.
“Well then I think it’s my time to leave the room before things degenerate even faster.” Arcade said hurriedly as he got up from his chair and almost ran to the bunkroom followed by Boone and a blushing Veronica who was taking her sweet time to leave the room, glancing back at the rapidly undressing Red. She was eventually yanked into the room by a scowling Arcade. “Stop gawking and get in here so I can close the door.” Just before he closed the door he looked towards a blushing Twilight and mouthed ‘good luck’ which only got a confused look from the alicorn before the door was slammed shut.
“Spike, go and get comfy on the couch for me.” Twilight said with a gesture of her hoof, her eyes not once leaving the sight of an almost nude Red. After she was sure that Spike was out of viewing range Red, she gave her a more in-depth look over. Red, for lack of better words, was scarily beautiful in her appearance, and while she didn’t have the muscles of an athlete, you could tell that she could fight a buffalo bare handed and win. Her body was adorned with scars of all shapes and sizes, varying from the small, but plentiful, bullet sized scars all over her, to the larger scars such as burns and huge gashes. Even though she was riddled with scars she still had amazing skin, pale with barely any pigmentation blemishes or marks. Twilight could almost feel how soft it was just by looking at it.
“Like what you see?” Red asked with a sultry smile as she struck a pose that did not hide and inch of her naked body. Twilight could only gawk at the woman, her body the picture of perfection, with its perfect breasts and splendid ass.
“Uhhh…” was all the stunned alicorn could mutter, stunned at the sight before her.
“What’s taking you so lo-.“ Spike said as he walked up to the rigid form of Twilight, stopping when he saw what Twilight was looking at. His face turned into a huge blush and he quickly hid his eyes in his claws.
“Stop showing off and come to bed.” Came the voice of Willow, who had poked her head round the dividing wall that stopped the bed from being seen in the living room. She was not wearing her dressing gown as was visible by the fact that her shoulders were visible, but she was far more modest. “Sorry about her Twilight, we’ll just let you get back to bed.” She then grabbed Red by the arm and pulled her behind the dividing wall, out of view from the two flushed guests.
“Can I move my claws yet?” Spike asked timidly after a few seconds.
“Y-yeah, yeah you can.” Twilight said, still frozen in place from the show she just receive. “Let’s just head to bed now okay?” She said as she cast a light freeze spell over herself to calm her body down, climbing onto the couch and under the blankets with Spike.
Twilight had managed to go to sleep after about half an hour of staring at the ceiling with open eyes and a mind trying incredibly hard not to think about what she saw. It was about 1:30 when she awoke to strange sounds emanating from somewhere inside the room. Swivelling her ears to try and pinpoint the noise, she sat up on the couch and blinked her eyes to try and let them adjust to the dark. When Twilight finally managed to find out where the sounds were coming from it took her about 1 second to figure out what was going on, which caused all the blood in her body to rise to her face.
“W-what’s going on?” Whispered a now awake Spike, rubbing his eyes and yawning silently. When he took a look at his mom and saw her facial expression and figured out what the sound was he too blushed. “Are they doing what I think they’re doing?”
“Yep.” Twilight squeaked, her Fluttershy impressions far surpassing any that had been ever attempted before.
Although they had been quiet, Twilight and Spike had been noticed by one of the two lovers and Red poked her head around the corner. Her hair was out of its usual ponytail and was instead hanging around her shoulders and she was covered in sweat and other less than sanitary liquids.
“Sorry for waking you, Willow gets needy.” She panted as she gave an apologetic glance at the poor beings in the same room as her.
“Did we wake the two unfortunates?” Willow asked in a seductive tone as she lay on top of Reds back, her chin resting upon said lady’s head.
“The key to the truck is in the bowl by the door.” Red said as Willow descended off of her and lower onto her body until reaching her destination, causing Red to moan “Honey, I’m trying to help them sleep!” She whined.
“They can manage from there.” Willow countered continuing her onslaught on Red. While this was happening Twilight and Spike had grabbed their blankets and were slowly backing towards the door, at which point Twilight grabbed the key for the truck and opened the door. Spike had got through and Twilight was soon to follow when she was stopped by a call from Red.
“Shut the door on your way ouaaAAAHHH!”
*SLAM*
Spike looked up at his mother with an expression mixed between worry and scepticism. “Please don’t ever be like that.” He said almost pleadingly.
“Spike, if I ever get like that you are free to evict me from the library and send me off to a mad house.” Twilight said as she unlocked the back of the truck and clambered in, exceptionally tired from all that had transpired recently.
Alicorn princesses are often considered the epitome of beauty, sophistication and benevolence. Ponies will usually hold them in the highest regards and sing their praises to anyone who is less than convinced. Princess Celestia is considered to be the epitome of purity and kindness, guiding the equestrian populace with her radiant light. Her sister, Princess Luna, is known as the princess of the night and dreams, watching over the population during their dreams and throughout the night-time. The third Princess to be crowned, Princess Cadence, handles all matters related to the heart, blessing anypony who is under the influence of love. Lastly, there was the most recently crowned princess, Twilight Sparkle, the Alicorn of <insert important title here>. All ponies under their rule would say that there is not a moment where the royal princesses were not beautiful.
It was about 7:30am Twilight Sparkle was currently fast asleep on the bottom bunk of the trucks beds. She was laying on her front with one hoof hanging over the edge while the other was supporting her head, squishing it in the process. Her tongue was lolled out and she was drooling from the side of her mouth, creating a puddle on the floor where it had pooled over the night. The normally neat and combed mane that she had was currently dishevelled beyond belief, with strands of hair pointing out in all directions and sticking to her face, matching her wings and tail in similar states of disarray. Twilight also snored very loudly, almost shaking the truck with the volume she produced from her open maw.
Spike, on the other hand, was the poster drake for peaceful sleeping. He had a calm expression on his face as he slumbered and the only noise that came from his mouth was the very quiet sound of breathing. His bed covers and pillow were all in their appropriate place and not cast around him like his mothers were.
After a particularly loud snore, the hoof that was holding up Twilights face slipped from its position, causing the mare to tumble off her bunk head over heels and onto the floor in a heap, which was accompanied by a loud yelp.
“Oowww.” Twilight moaned as she clambered up from the floor and supported herself on her bunk, rubbing her head to try and ease the pain.
“Morning Twi.” Said Spike without even looking over the edge to see if she was alright. This sort of thing had happened before in the Sparkle household and it became one of Spikes impromptu alarm clocks. “Have a nice sleep?” He asked, finally looking over the side of his bunk.
“It was fine, would have liked a bit more of it though.” She grumbled, switching the position of her hooves so that she could sit down against the bed. “*yawn* what time is it?” She asked, smacking her lips to get moisture into her mouth.
“Hmm, let’s see… the time is 7:32 in the morning.” Spike said as he checked the clock on the wall by his bed. “Are we going to go back into the bungalow?”
“I think that would be for the best, just give me a couple of minutes to wake up properly.” Twilight then proceeded to trot over to the sink and peered up a t it with an annoyed gaze, realizing that she couldn’t reach it. She looked round the interior for something to use as a stand and spotted some ammo crates under the workbench on the other side of the truck which she pulled over. Using the ammo crates as stands, she placed her hind legs on one of them and hoisted her front hoofs up onto the counter, giving her access to the sink.
“You almost done?” Spike asked, checking his scales for any imperfections.
“Just about.” Twilight responded as she finished drying off her face with the towel by the sink. “Okay done, let’s go.”
They both hopped out the truck and onto the dry dirt below, closing it behind them as they made their way to the front door of the bungalow. Twilight then opened the door with her magic and walked inside with Spike on her back between her wings. Arcade was standing by the sink, filling up a kettle. Willow was kneeling behind Veronica as she did her hair and chatted about the latest goings on in the Mojave and elsewhere. Stood by the fireplace was Boone, being his broody self as was per-usual, cleaning his hunting rifle with care. The sound of a shower could be heard which led Twilight to believe that Red was taking a shower at the current time.
“I see you decided to make the smart choice and sleep in the truck instead of on the couch.” Arcade said with a smirk as he placed the full kettle on the stove, switched on the gas and lit it ignited it.
“Yeah. I understood what you meant when Willow decided to ruin our sleep.” Twilight muttered, glancing at said woman pointedly.
“Sorry.” Willow apologised sheepishly with a rub of the back of her head. “I hadn’t really gotten the chance to… enjoy my nights with Red since left for our trip to Zion.”
“I’ve managed it for years Willow, have some restraint.” Arcade scolded. He then turned to look at Twilight and Spike and gestured to the rows of mugs that were laid out. “I’m making coffee, would you two like a mug? We have sugar, milk and honey if that’s your thing.”
“You had me at coffee,” Twilight said with a grin, causing Arcade to chuckle and turn back to the mugs. “I take mine black with no sugar and Spike has his with milk and honey. How about you help him out Spike.” Spike nodded his head and hopped of her back and clambered up onto the counter using the bin.
“Hey Twilight, come here for a sec.” Veronica said as Willow continued to put her hair into a messy bun. “Our first meeting probably didn’t go as well as either of us would have hoped, so let’s start over. Hey, my name is Veronica Renata Sant’Angelo, I’m an ex-brotherhood of steel scribe with stars in her eyes and a pneumatic gauntlet on her hand.” She extended her hand out and Twilight shook it.
“My names Twilight Sparkle and I’m a magical pony princess from another dimension, sent here to rescue a creature that is an embodiment of chaos with my young dragon son.” Twilight smirked after she had finished her introduction at the confused expression on Veronicas face.
“First time I’ve met a princess before.” Veronica admitted. “How are you magic if I may add?” She asked, receiving a nod from the purple alicorn as her horn lit up and levitated a pillow over to them. “Well… that’s different.” This caused Twilight to laugh at her dumbstruck expression.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She said as she tried to calm down her giggles. It was then that Arcade decided to bring over their coffees and with the aid of Spike, handing each of them theirs before sitting on the sofa and taking a sip of his own.
“Red will finish up in the shower soon, so we should enjoy the peace while we can.” He said as everyone just sat there in silence, enjoying the atmosphere and each other’s company.
About five minutes after that they all heard the shower turn off and all the humans in the room groaned at the same time.
“Here she comes.” Boone said as he lifted a newspaper up to his eyes to block himself from seeing anything he wouldn’t want to. Arcade reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses that had black metal instead of lenses in the rims, which he replaced his normal pair with. Veronica pulled her hoodie over her eyes and yanked the strings taught so that she couldn’t see through it. Twilight created an opaque magic barrier over hers and Spikes eyes, blocking all light from entering their vision. Willow didn’t care, she just frowned at everyone else.
They all heard the door to the bathroom open and the sound of footsteps walking into the room.
“Oh come on!” Red shouted as she spotted everyone blocking their vision, those whose mouths were visible also barely holding back laughter.
“I don’t think they appreciate your nudity as much as I do.” Willow consoled. “I think it would be best if you went and got dressed.”
“Fiiiine.” Red moaned, her shoulders slumping as she went round the corner to get dressed. About 30 seconds later they heard her footsteps come back round the corner, except this time they sounded like boot clad footsteps. “Better?” She asked Willow.
“Better.” Willow affirmed. “You can look now guys, she has clothes on.”
“Thank god.” Arcade said as he switched his glasses back. “Remind me again why you feel like torturing us with awkwardness.”
“Two reasons.” Red said as she held up her fingers. “Reason One: Frontal Lobe damage from the bullets. Reason Two: Because I can, my home, my rules.” She folded her arms and flicked her head up, doing an impression of a posh twat. She then mock pouted and looked round the room her bottom lip quivering and her eyes watering. “Does no one like my body?”
“I know Twilight does.” Spike pointed out, a smirk adorning his face. “The way she was drooling last night I could have mistaken her for Princess Celestia at the castle bake sale.”
All Twilight could do was squeak and bury her face in her hooves as everyone laughed at her expense, a burning blushing forming on her cheeks. Even though many of the people present hadn’t got the joke, they all knew that whoever this Princess Celestia was, she must have loved cakes if Twilights expression was anything to go by.
Once everyone’s laughter had died down, Red grabbed her Duster and pulled it on. She then got everyone to pay attention and addressed them.
“We will be heading back to the Lucky 38 before leaving for the Mojave Outpost, and then to the Sierra Madre.” She said, placing her rifle on her back.
“Where is the Sierra Madre located exactly?” Veronica asked as she went to one of the lockers by the door.
“It’s in the Sierra Nevada funnily enough.”
“Wouldn’t it be quicker to go up past Vegas then instead of heading to the Long 15 then?” Arcade asked with a frown.
“I thought that to, but it turns out that there is no known way through to the Madre via that road.” Red shrugged. “Gather up what you want to bring and let’s get going.”
After Veronica had gathered up all her things, the group exited the bungalow and locked it before opening the truck and climbing in. Just as Red was about to walk into the cab she slipped on something and smacked her head on the top of the opening, falling to the floor and rubbing her head in pain.
“What the hell was that?” She groaned as she sat up.
“Let me see.” Arcade said as he bent down and examined the liquid that Red has slipped on. “It looks like… drool?” He then turned to the two that had stayed in the Truck overnight and raised an eyebrow at them, causing Spike to quickly point to Twilight who had a sheepish expression on her face.
“Sorry.”
“Just clean it up and let’s get going.” Red said with a facepalm.
Twilight was not having a good day so far. It started out with her falling out of bed, causing a bruise to form in the process. Then she was embarrassed in front of everyone by Spike who decided it would be a great idea to tell them about her less than appealing sleeping habits. And to top it all off she was made to clean up a puddle of her own drool in front of them all while riding back to New Vegas. By this point the poor mare was grumbling to herself in the seat opposite to Arcade and Spike while they constantly came up with horrifyingly bad jokes and puns.
“Are you trying to say something Twilight?” Arcade asked, “Why don’t you just spit it out already?” Both he and Spike were laughing at her sour expression.
“Knock it off guys.” Veronica scolded from where she sat next to Twilight. “You are at the point where we’ve heard all of them at least once already.”
“She’s right, I counted.” Came the voice of Boone from the top bunk.
“Okay, okay we’ll stop.” Arcade said with a faint smile on his face. “We shouldn’t be mean to a fellow survivor unless they shoot at us.” Arcade then winked at Spike who grinned wickedly.
“Or in Twilights case… a fellow saliva.” He said with an almost cheshire smile on his face which was mimicked by Arcade. Both of their smiles fell almost immediately when they caught sight of Twilight.
Her mane was smoking and her irises were flickering between shades of purple and red, all the while, a low guttural growl was making its way up from deep inside her lungs.
“I will make both of your testicals into my own personal ping pong balls if you do not shut the FUCK UP RIGHT NOW!” She fumed, her voice rising until she was shouting. She then turned to Spike who was expectedly shaking. “And there will be no more comments from you either mister, unless you would like to find out what it feels like to be a potted plant. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Yes Mom.”
“That brings back memories.” Boone said as he climbed down from the bunk and made his way over to the reloading bench/worktable.
“Yeah, reminds me of the drill instructor in the bunker back when I was a kid.” Veronica said wistfully. “Even though I was originally a scribe before being assigned to the role of ‘procurement specialist’, I will never forget the members who are now paladins being treated like worms while I sat on the side-lines reading. Good times.”
“You were lucky, I was on the receiving end of the shouting.” Boone said. “Drill Instructor Stone was one of the scariest men I had the pleasure of knowing. He could turn even the most unruly bunch of fools into a force to be reckoned with.”
“Sounds like he could show Red a thing or two about discipline.” Twilight muttered from her seat, her hooves folded over her arms. “That mare needs a lesson in how to not be a fool. As well as maybe a hint of compassion.” After a few seconds of grumbling to herself, Twilight noticed the silence in the truck and looked up to see almost everyone staring at her with expressions varying from woeful to angry. The only exception being Spike who was looking between all the other faces in the room worriedly.
“Twilight.” Arcade said sternly. “Red is far from a fool.”
“She is also one of the most disciplined people I know when she needs to be.” Boone almost growled out.
“And she is by far a rarity in how compassionate she actually is, past the jokes and everything.” Veronica finished.
“Just because what you’ve seen of her so far has been the personality of a reckless fool, doesn’t mean she is one.” Arcade then pulled up his sleeve to show a scar that ran right round his entire arm. “She managed to reattach my arm during of one of the largest battles we have ever been in. As well as that, she brought my old family together for one last hoorah at hoover dam and helped me decide to fight alongside them.”
“She has helped make the lives of so many people so much better. She stopped the Great Khans from being betrayed by the legion and gave them a chance to start again, building an entire new community with the Followers.” Veronica then smiled and pulled out a battered power glove. “She also helped me find where I belong and who I am.”
“Red has taken on armies with nothing but her words and smarts.” Boone said as he came back over to the table. “She managed to persuade arguably the most dangerous man in America to simply walk away instead of fighting her, even when the only reason he came here was to fight. Everyone in the Mojave owes her their lives.”
Twilight looked ashamedly at her hooves as she twiddled them. She hadn’t expected them to back Red up the way they did but now looking back on it, she realised that of course they would, with the way that she had been described by Arcade when they were looking through the memory book, it would have been surprising if they did anything different. Twilight thought back and realised that she would have done the same if someone was questioning her friends without getting to know them.
“I… I’m sorry.” She mumbled, looking up at the others. “It was uncalled of me to say that about her, especially considering she took me and Spike in.”
“It’s fine, just remember that this world’s kindness has a far lower expectation than yours.” Arcade chided. “Red can be considered one of the kindest people in the wasteland and the meanest at the same time, it just depends on whether or not she believes you deserve it… wait that came out wrong.”
“I understand what you mean.” Twilight sighed, “I have been doing nothing but complaining about how flippant she is about violence without properly looking at the world around me. I realise that this world is not my own and I cannot expect the power of friendship to win against everything else, and sometimes you need to get down and dirty.” She finished her little speech by placing her hooves down on the table and schooling her features. The look turned into a frown soon after though. “I’m not going to enjoy killing though, it goes against my morals, but I do understand that my morals will not be enough.”
Veronica smiled down at twilight with a smile and placed a hand on her back, causing the mare to look up at her. “Don’t worry Twilight, no-one is expecting you to enjoy killing. Although I think we might let you off if you decide to indulge in a bit of Fiend killing.”
As much as she would not admit it to anyone back home, she couldn’t help but feel a slight hint of trepidation for when she could get back at the people who had caused her so much pain. According to what she had read on them in the survival guide, they weren’t exactly the type of people that would be missed if someone decided to kill a few of them. Not only that, but they were also considered by most to be worse than wild animals, so if that was the case then, she would putting them down for the betterment of everyone.
As soon as that though went across her mind, Twilight almost retched. *How could I think like that about another living being!?* She mentally screamed to herself. *Every life is sacred no matter how bad they may be.* Then Twilight thought back to all the arguments she had heard over the years being spoken by griffon generals and even a few pony veterans who spoke of needing to take the lives of the a few bad ponies to save far more. Back then, Twilight had just assumed that they were all heartless and that they were only looking for the simplest ways of resolving a conflict instead of trying to work out a peaceful accord with the enemy. She had vehemently fought against anyone who believed in those ways with her friends, and as a result, a large scale war was stopped.
*This world isn’t Equestria though, is It.* She thought, allowing her head to rest on the table while all the others continued talking. *The peaceful approach didn’t work here, and as a result, violence became the next option.* Twilight remembered some of the things that the fiends talked about while they were walking past Rampant’s room in Vault 3. They were all talking about doing such horrifying things to innocent people just because they wanted to, it was beyond sickening. No-one seemed to notice as her face shifted into a snarl. *Those Fiends think that they have the right to do anything they want and not face the repercussions? Well they have another thing coming.* Her line of thought was broken when the truck came to a halt and the engine turned off.
“Alright people.” Red said loudly as she climbed out of the cab and stood up straight. “Anyone who wants to grab something is more than welcome to come with, and those of you who don’t can stay here.” She then turned to the gun rack opposite the table and picked up the gun that she had told Twilight to use back in the armoury. At Twilights puzzled expression she elaborated, “I saw you using this and realized that it doesn’t really fit your method of combat so I decide to grab you a new one, Okay?”
“That’s fine, whatever you think would suit me better.” Twilight answered.
Red then turned to Boone, “You’re staying back at the Lucky 38, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, someone’s got to keep an eye on things back here while you’re away.” Boone said as he placed his rifle on his backpack and hung it over his shoulder.
Red finished packing her things and faced the others. “We’re not in a rush so any of you who has something they need to do can go do it as long as you’re back by 5 o’clock.”
Twilight and Spike stayed seated while everyone else got up and started filing out of the truck. Arcade said something along the lines of visiting the followers and Julie to see how they were doing. Veronica and Willow chatted about going shopping in some of the new stores that had opened up in Freeside thanks to the renovation work going on there. Once the others had left, the only other person in the truck was Red.
“I’ll probably be the first person to get back here but even then I will probably take a good hour doing so.” She then walked over to the kitchen and opened up the fridge. “We’ve got some leftover omelette in here if you want to have that for lunch and there are some Nuka Colas in here as well as a couple of blood bags for little miss vampire over here.” Both her and Spike chuckled at Twilights pout at the nickname.
“I’m not a vampire.” She huffed, folding her hooves over her chest and increasing the level of her pout.
“Whatever you say Vampire Sparkle.” Red teased. Her teasing suddenly stopped when she noticed that Twilight had a look of sheer horror on her face and Spike was crying with laughter. Twilight then ran to the toilet in the corner of the room and proceeded to start retching while Spike continued to laugh uncontrollably. “What did I say?” Red questioned.
Twilight came back over to the table and sat down, her face displaying complete and utter disgust. “Please do not call me that name, in fact, don’t ever put the word Vampire next to any of my names.”
“Why not?” Red asked, her confusion clear.
“Because that turns my name into an abomination of literature.” Twilight said as she suppressed a shudder.
“I’m missing something, aren’t I?” Red said with a sigh, only to be stopped by Twilights tired expression.
“Trust me, you’re not missing anything.” Twilights comment only redoubled Spikes laughter as he fell off of his seat and proceeded to roll on the floor, clutching his sides in hysterics.
Red watched all of this and slowly backed up towards the exit of the van before climbing out and shutting the door, all the while Twilight sat with her face in her hooves. When Spikes laughter finally died down and he had managed to stand up again, Twilight hopped down from her seat and walked over to the fridge and pulled out the plate that had the leftover omelettes on it. She turned on the stove and lit it with a spark of magic before holding the food over the flame with telekinesis.
“Are you sure you should be the one cooking/” Spike asked as he climbed up Twilights back to get onto the counter.
“All I’m doing is heating it up, there’s not much that can really go wrong with that is there?” She argued as Spike gave her a flat look, which soon shifted into a smirk.
“Okay, okay, I’ll leave it to you and your Cullen-ary skills.” He quipped, earning a scowl from his mother.
The small town of Ponyville was often considered a strange, if not dangerous place. With the common monster attacks and its position of being right next to the Everfree, it was no wonder that the unused hostel had been converted into a hospital a few decades ago. The staff at the hospital had dealt with all manner of injuries and problems, from cases of the common cold and fever all the way up to full limb amputations and major organ surgery. Recently though there had been a lull in severe cases that had caused need for large scale staff mobilisation, the new local Ponyville guard stopping any errant Everfree creatures from entering the populated areas.
That had changed when a certain light blue unicorn named Trixie had been rushed into the emergency surgery ward with severe blood loss, multiple compound fractures, internal haemorrhaging and a shattered pelvis. She had been in surgery well throughout the night as the surgeons worked tirelessly to remove the smaller bone fragments and realign the larger ones. Once the main surgery had been completed and the healing spells had been applied to stimulate and amplify her body’s healing process, she was placed into a medically induced coma while she slowly knitted herself back together. During the time spent sleeping/healing she had gone through several more minor surgeries to fix anything that wasn’t quite healing right.
This had gone on for about two weeks, all the while many ponies from around the village visited and five mares in particular made frequent visits. All around her room where cards and other get well presents that had been left by the foals and parents who enjoyed her magic shows that she put on every now and then for fun. The most common visitor by far though was rainbow maned mare by the name of Rainbow Dash who dropped in at least twice a day.
It was on one of those visits where Rainbow Dash found herself sitting beside Trixie’s bed while staring up at the ceiling while telling the sleeping mare about what had happened that day.
“Pinkie’s managed to get all the stuff together for your get well party when you wake up.” She said quietly, her eyes never leaving the small crack in the ceiling that she had stared for so long. “I… *sigh* I don’t think there is really anything of interest going on today.”
The loud beeping of the heart-rate monitor drew Rainbow’s attention down from the ceiling and towards the quietly sleeping form of Trixie. The unicorn was clearly in a sorry state, her entire lower half in a large cast with tubes and wires coming from her nose and from within the cast. It nearly brought tears to Rainbow’s eyes seeing the pain and damage she had caused to one of her friends. She had given ponies quite a few bumps and bruises over her time in Ponyville thanks to her botched stunts, but those had all been accidents and they had always forgiven her after she had made it up to them. This time though she had done it on purpose and whether she regretted it quickly afterwards didn’t matter, she had caused grievous injuries to somepony that she knew and they couldn’t hear her apologies no matter how many times she did.
Rainbow slipped off of her chair and trotted up to the side of Trixie’s bed, placing her fore hooves on the mattress. “I’m sorry.” She whispered. “I’m a terrible friend, I attacked you for over something as petty as a comeback I deserved, I blamed you for something that you obviously wouldn’t do and now you’re stuck in here and can’t even help us look for Twilight.” She dropped her face onto the covers and moved her hooves to surround her head. “Some element of loyalty I am.”
It was then that she felt the feeling of a hoof touching her folded hooves and her head shot up to see the tired, but most certainly awake, face of Trixie staring back at her with a very faint smile on her face.
“Trixie?!” Rainbow Dash almost shouted as she jumped to her hooves and rushed up to the other end of the bed, closer to Trixie. “You’re awake!”
“H- *cough*” Trixie attempted to say before she realised that her mouth and throat were far too dry for any form of speech.
“Here, let me get you some water.” Rainbow said as she grabbed the pitcher of water by the bedside and filled a glass for Trixie. She then brought the glass over to the mare In question and held out for her to hold so that she could drink it.
After the water had been fully gulped down, Rainbow rubbed her fetlock with the other and looked to the side. “How much did you hear?”
“I think I woke up when you entered the room.” Trixie said quietly, holding up a hoof when Rainbow tried to speak. “I forgive you, if our positions were reversed I would have probably done something similar… well maybe not drop a bookshelf on you, but that’s neither here nor there.”
“I should probably grab a nurse, shouldn’t I?” Rainbow asked.
“That would be for the best yes, I don’t like having these tubes in my nose.” Trixie said with a grimace as she tried to wiggle her snout. Rainbow was about to leave the room before Trixie called to her. “Rainbow, do they have any ideas were Twilight or Spike might be?”
“Not at the moment no, though I’m guessing the Princess will want to speak with you as soon as possible.” She said before leaving the room to fetch some staff.
“So Doc, what’s the damage?” Trixie asked as she was lying in the bed with Dr Care by her side and nurse Redheart sorting out many of the, now unnecessary, pieces of equipment and wheeling them out of the room
“Okay Miss Lulamoon, You were brought in here with a shattered pelvis, three compound fractures in your left rear leg, two in your right rear leg, internal haemorrhaging and severe blood loss.” Dr Care read off of his clipboard that he held in his telekinetic grip. “You went through multiple surgeries and have been in a medically induced coma for sixteen days.”
This was a surprise for Trixie as she hadn’t realised how long she had been out, which also brought along more thoughts about Twilight and Spike. If it had been over two weeks without them being found with the Princesses helping, then how likely was it that she would even be able to help. And how likely would it be that they failed to find them and they were never-. *NO! Do not go down that line of thought. Trixie can help the Princess find Sparkle and she will bring them back.* Trixie was snapped back to reality by the voice of the doctor.
“We will be able to discharge you in about a week thanks to the spells we placed and your own magical strength.” He said as he placed his clipboard into one of the pockets on his coat. “Now, I need to get back to my other patients, so you just call for a nurse if you need anything.”
“Thank you doctor.” Trixie said with a small smile as he trotted out the room, leaving Trixie on her own. That didn’t last for long however as about a minute later the door opened and five mares entered in various different manners.
“TRIXIIIIIEEE!” shouted Pinkie Pie as she leapt into the room to hug the bedridden mare, only to be stopped mid-air by a frowning Rarity.
“Really Pinkie, I thought you knew better than to jump on someone when they are injured.” She admonished as she lowered Pinkie to the ground and took a seat at the edge of the room.
“Yeah Pinks, didn’t the last time teach you anything?” Dash said, lazily flying into the room and sitting down in the chair by the bed.
“Sorry Tricky.” Pinkie apologised, earning a frown from Trixie at the use of the nickname. “I just haven’t seen you in so long, well I have seen you but you were asleep so I was just talking to you and you weren’t talking back *GASP* that means you don’t know about the party I’ve been planning. It’s got Cake and streamers and cake and balloons and cake and-“ An orange hoof was unceremoniously stuffed into Pinkies mouth, ending her tirade.
“Ah’ think she gets the picture Pinkie.” Applejack said while the still talking Pinkie Pie continued to muffle out her speech, covering Applejacks hoof in spit, causing the apple farmer to quickly withdraw her hoof and glare. “Aww c’mon! Dang it Pinkie!” Pinkie then continued to spew words out at the speed of a printer hopped up on crack.
“Pinkie, I think you might be overwhelming the poor dear.” Rarity said with a lopsided smile as she looked at the currently wide eyed Trixie.
“Oops, sorry again.” Pinkie said as she finally stopped talking and moved over to the small box of toys that was often left in the rooms from when foals had previously stayed in them. It was then that Fluttershy finally poked her head round the door and crept in, taking a seat by Rarity and quietly muttering a greeting.
“Anyways, how are you doing now Trix?” Dash asked, her question snapping the bedridden mare out of her dazed state.
“The doctor says that I can leave in about a week, so that’s good.” Trixie said awkwardly, not quite sure what to say. “I hadn’t realised how bad it was until he told me just before you girls came in.” She tentatively reached down and touched her rear legs and winced when she felt a shot of pain. “Still hurts.”
Rainbow dash was about to apologise but a light blue hoof stopped her and forced her to look at the hoofs owner. Trixie was looking at her with a pained, but kind smile that spoke volumes of how she had already forgiven her.
“There is no need for you to apologise anymore Rainbow, I have already told you that you are forgiven.” Trixie said softly. “How many times do I have to say it before you stop apologising?” She added playfully.
“I think I could stop when you’re up and about… maybe.” Rainbow said with a smirk as she pushed Trixie’s hoof away from her mouth.
The girls chatted about the things that Trixie had missed over the two weeks that she had been under for. It was mostly stuff about the search for Twilight and Spike as well as a few minor incidents that had come up. The most striking thing however was that not even the princesses could locate Twilights magical signature which made no sense considering the sheer power she possessed.
“How can Celestia not locate her power?” Asked the girls confusedly, a few hairs in her main fraying as the girls looked between each other and shrugged to the worried mare.
“I do not know my little ponies.” Came a serene yet tired voice from the doorway, shocking all of them as Princess Celestia walked in. She still held her regal posture but there were clear signs of fatigue and sleepless nights if the bags around her eyes were anything to go by.
“Princess Celestia?!” Trixie shouted from her bed, everyone else mimicking various other forms of surprise. “Why are you here?” She asked in a more controlled fashion.
“I have come here to speak with you Miss Lulamoon if that is alright with you.” She asked calmly. She turned her head to look at the others with a small smile, silently asking them to leave.
“We’ll see you tomorrow Trixie.” Rainbow said as she led the others out of the room.
“Get well soon Tricky!” Pinkie beamed as she bounced out of the room, everypony else offering similar farewells as they to left the room. Once they had all gone Celestia shut the door with her telekinesis and cast a high level soundproofing spell over the room.
“I’m guessing that this is about Twilight ma’am.” Trixie asked as the princess finished double checking that the spell had worked as intended.
“I’m afraid so Trixie.” She answered with a sigh, her hoof lifting up to rub her forehead and brush any stray hairs out of her vision. She pulled off her gold slippers and removed her peytral, placing them all down to her side as she summoned a pillow to sit on. After all of this was done she collapsed onto her haunches and slumped her upper body over the covers of the bed.
“Are you okay?” Trixie asked, her hoof resting on the princesses withers comfortingly.
“No, I am far from okay.” Celestia admitted. “One of my closest friends and her son have gone missing without a trace. The noble households are having a hissy fit over the missing royal seat, some saying that it should be filled with somepony of more noble background, others saying that they don’t need any other Princesses, and the rare few who are legitimately concerned are already sending all they can to help.” She removed her crown from atop her head and held it in her hooves, scrutinizing it for a few seconds before placing it down with the rest of her regalia. “The worst bit though is the fact that Discord is nowhere to be found, even Fluttershy’s attempts have been met with nothing but silence.”
“But I thought that Discord never ignored Fluttershy, why is he doing it now?” Trixie asked.
“There are only two possible reasons that I can think of. One: he is hiding.” She said holding up one hoof. “Two: he used up a large amount of chaos magic and is recuperating in his chaos realm.” She then held up the other hoof. “Both of these outcomes would lead as to the conclusion that he had something to do with Twilight and Spike disappearing.”
“Why would he do that though?”
“It could be for revenge. He may have done it so that the elements would be rendered useless.” Both of these reasons seemed like something that Discord would do, but with how him and Fluttershy where getting along, it seemed unlikely now. “He may have a legitimate reason for doing it, however unlikely that is.” Celestia finished, mumbling under breath.
“You would have such little faith in me? Why Celly, I’m hurt.” A voice came from all sides, Celestia instantly shifting onto her hooves and taking a defensive stance.
“Show yourself Discord!” She shouted into the air.
“Very well.” Discord said calmly as the toy box that Pinkie had been playing with popped open and a small Discord figurine clambered up and hopped down onto the floor. He was barely a few inches tall and it took him a while to reach the bed which he climbed up until he was standing on the sheets. Discord was about to speak when he was suddenly grasped in a mix of golden and light pink magic.
“WHERE IS SHE!?” both Trixie and Celestia shouted, their magic spiking mid shouting causing it to squeeze Discord so hard that he squeaked ,his eyes bulging out comically.
“C-can’t… breathe.” Discord wheezed as his misshapen lungs were flattened. Both of the telekinetic holds on were loosened enough for him to inhale a large gulp of air and breathe again. “She is currently residing In another dimensio- *SQUEAK!*” Discord said before being cut off by both of the magical holds on him redoubling their efforts to turn him into a miniature black hole.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE IS IN ANOTHER DIMENSION?!” Celestia shouted, her usually regal demeanour being flung out the window, into space, through a tear in the fabric of time and onto the roof of Red’s truck where it said a few rather uncouth things before heading back to where it came from.
“I… mean… that *cough* she… volunteered… to… look… for… my… SISTER! *GAAAASP*” Discord wheezed on his knees as both the two ponies in the room sat in shocked silence at the revelation.
“You have a sister?” Trixie asked after she had recovered from her shock, doing so before Celestia.
“Yes *cough* I do, her name is Dissonance.” Discord said as he finally managed to regain his composure and dust himself off.
“Why is she in another dimension?” Asked Celestia, her regal demeanour finally managing to return from its trip and reinsert itself back into her psyche.
“Because of your swollen derriere and Princess Nobody-Loves-Me sealing me in stone all those centuries ago.” Discord said with a grumble, a white small t-shirt with the words ‘I’m with fat-flanks’ printed on it with an arrow pointing forwards. As Celestia sputtered, Trixie sit up a bit straighter and drew Discords attention.
“How does you being sealed in stone have to do with her being in another dimension?” She asked.
“When the skittle beam washed over Equestria, it removed all the excess chaos energy from the world and with that energy my sister would have died.” He explained, a miniature blackboard and wooden pointer appearing next to him. “The elements of harmony, being the ‘kind’ powers they are, decided that without the excess chaos energy allowing my sister to grow she would perish. This was true of course, but their method of dealing with it was to send my sister into the void until a suitable dimension or world for her to finish growing was found.” His drawings were very childish, but they conveyed the point as much as his speech did. “I was planning on turning this world back into a chaos filled wonderland so that she would return here but you tasked the bearers with ending that.” He said frowning at Celestia and snapping his pointer, turning it into two halves of a liquorice whip and eating them both, all the while still glaring at Celestia.
“But your chaos was too dangerous for ponies to handle, they were in danger.” She reasoned. “I couldn’t just sit there and let them get hurt for your amusement.” Discord scowled and held up his talon.
“One: It wasn’t ‘just’ for my amusement. Two: Your ponies were only in danger from their overly skittish nature, my creations never acted maliciously. Three is a question.” He said, snapping his fingers to remove all of his small creations and creating a ladder that matched his size. He began to climb it, the ladder itself moving upwards as he continued on, until he reached the end of Celestia’s muzzle. She was about to protest at his intrusion of her personal space but he cut her off before she could start. “How old do you think I am?”
Celestia stopped and thought to herself for a while, brow creasing as she finally decided to think about it. “I would guess around about 1500 years old give-or-take.” After she answered Discord chuckled and almost lost his hold on the ladder.
“However flattering that is, you are off by a long way.” He pulled out an abacus and started moving all the beads to the one side. “Your belief is that I was ‘born’ just before my reign of chaos started. That is in fact, off by a long shot. I am actually over 3000 years old, which I believe is older than you, young Celly.”
“That’s the Pre-Unification era.” Trixie said, her statement causing Discord to place his claw onto his nose and point one of his pawed digits at her.
“Bingo, exactly.”
“But why weren’t you causing chaos back then?” Celestia inquired, the idea of Discord not causing the very thing he prided himself on baffling her.
“I was, just not to the extent that I did during my reign or when I was released.” His blackboard reappearing along with his slightly chewed pointer. “Back before you ponies got all friendly with each other, I went around causing chaos among villages and towns. I didn’t do many major chaotic events back then, it was mostly small little things or every now and again a large thing. A few examples would be the creation of the Manticore and the cockatrice, which were fairly large things compared to what I normally did.”
“What does this have to do with your sister?” Trixie asked impatiently.
“I’m getting to that.” Discord said with a huff. “Just before each of the races stumbled upon what is now known as Equestria a new chaos being was created by the latent chaos magic that suffused the air. Her name was Dissonance and she was my sister.”
“Your reign started roughly twenty, thirty years after the races unified, I’m guessing you ran out of chaos magic.” Celestia guessed.
“Almost right. You see, once a chaos being has reached its full growth it emanates its own chaos magic, allowing it to survive off of the tiniest amounts.” He explained, a chalk drawing of a strange mish-mash creature, like a mix between an octopus and an antelope, appeared on the blackboard. “That is not the same for when they are growing, for when a chaos being is growing they require an almost constant source of chaos magic. I got my constant source by roaming the lands and soaking it up whenever I came across something chaotic. Dissonance, Nancy for short, wasn’t able to do that because of all the order based activities your ponies were participating in. Soooo…” he gestured for Celestia and Trixie to finish off is sentence.
“So you needed to create a large amount of chaos so that she could survive on her own.” Trixie finished, beating Celestia to the punch.
“And the Crippled Blunicorn in the Bed corner gets it in one, someone give this mare a prize.” Discord shouted, now suddenly dressed in a game show hosts outfit, complete with large greased back wig and microphone. A lollipop appeared out of nowhere and landed on Trixie’s horn, causing her to wince and hold her hoof up to it. She did unwrap the lollipop and place it in her mouth, Celestia off to the side, pouting at the missed chance of sugar.
“All the rest is history really.” Discord regained their attention. “The elements sent her off and I was stuck in stone for a long while, waiting for the chance to bring her back.”
“Why not go yourself?” Asked Celestia, her confusion written on her face. “Surely it would be easy for you to just teleport her over here.”
“That is where I wished you were right Celly, but alas I cannot. I am tied to this world as much as you are tied to the sun and Luna is to the moon, as in leaving would result in destabilisation of the world’s balance.” He reasoned. “The dimensional barriers that lie between each universe do not allow someone to bring something from one dimension to the other either. You can go to the other dimension and bring yourself back, but you cannot just pull something through. I fear that my sister may be in trouble considering she hasn’t brought herself back.”
“And that is why you sent Twilight then.” Trixie realised.
“She was probably the most qualified for it.” Discord explained. “She has power, resilience and is kind enough to asked questions first and shoot later, unlike a lot of ponies you seem to know, and don’t tell me I should have sent some guards or something like that. Your guards are just that, Guards. They are not soldiers, they are not highly trained attack forces. They are nothing more than a glorified police force.” His words causing Celestia to lower her raised hoof and pout, which caused Trixie to try and stifle her giggles.
“That aside.” Celestia said awkwardly. “Why didn’t you ask me in the first place? I’m sure we could have worked something out.”
“You are full of whys today aren’t you?” Discord snarked before suddenly growing apprehensive. “You would have asked too many questions about the place before hearing the reasons.” He said dejectedly as Celestia frowned and Trixie grew worried.
“Discord, where have you sent Twilight and Spike?” She asked sternly, her regal composure combining with royal fury to make… Ultimate Stern Parent Glare.
“America.” Discord said quietly
“That doesn’t mean much Discord, Details.” She glowered, stomping her hoof on the bed which almost sent Discord flying.
“Specifically the Mojave Wasteland.” He offered, Celestia’s scowl growing to ‘You just destroyed the police chiefs donut after she just got back from losing a court case and it’s her time of the month’ levels.
“What is this place like Discord?” She asked heatedly.
“It has been described by everyone living there as *mumble*.” He trailed off at the end into incoherent mumbling.
“What was that?”
“A *mumble* on earth.” He said slightly louder but still too quiet.
“Discord.” Celestia almost growled out.
“Ahellonearth!” HE almost shouted out before teleporting into a toy hamster ball on the floor and trying to roll away. It didn’t stop Celestia though, as he was soon lifted up off the ground and brought face to face with the raging inferno that was the sun god’s anger. The term ‘hell hath no fury like a mare scorned’ being wholly inadequate to describe her currently.
“Look at me.” Princess Celestia Solaris Aeternae, Sol invictus of omnem uitam litteratura, Wielder of the suns power and 1371 times world champion cake eater looked towards the tiny Draconequus that was hiding behind his mismatched talon and paw. She spoke with the calmness of a black hole, broaching no room for anything but what she asks.
As Discord shakily peeked over his talon and almost screamed at the sight that beheld him. Celestia’s mane was a roaring inferno, all of the colours had shifted to various shades of orange yellow and red. Her fur had also changed, it rippled like it was being seen through heat distortion and wisps of plasma licked at her. Her eyes though were by far the scariest part, they were almost completely white apart from her irises which had grown smaller and were completely made up of flame.
“Bring. Her. Back.” She said through grit teeth. Despite all the warnings that were telling him that he would regret it, he shook his head and whispered out an answer. “What?”
“I told you I can’t even if I wanted to!” He shouted out, earing himself a throw across the room where his hamster ball shattered against the wall.
“HOW DARE YOU SEND HER INTO A LIVING HELL!” She roared, her voice almost shattering the soundproofing spell that was placed upon the room.
The shout though had the opposite effect on Discord though. Whereas it would normally cow someone into a bawling mess. It only caused Discord to snap. He grew back into the same wild version that he had shown Twilight when she had enraged him.
“HOW DARE I!?” He bellowed, his voice seeming to come from all sides. “HOW DARE YOU SEND MY SISTER AWAY FRO ME! HOW DARE YOU SEND HER INTO SUCH A DANGEROUS PLACE WHEN SHE WAS BARELY A CHILD!”
His shouting had caused Celestia to take a step back and her expression to turn fearful. “I-“
“YOU JUST CAN’T SEEM TO STOP BREAKING FAMILIES CAN YOU?!” He continued his verbal rampage before Celestia could even get a word in. “FIRST IT WAS MY FAMILY THEN YOU DECIDED TO BREAK SCORPANS AND FINALLY YOU SETTLED ON YOUR OWN!”
By this point, Celestia had reverted back to her original form and was on her haunches staring into nothingness with a look of despair plastered on her face. Discord slowly changed back until he was at his normal height, he gave one last look at Celestia before opening a portal on the far wall and turning towards it.
“Discord!” Came the voice of Trixie, her voice desperate. “I want to help Twilight!”
Discord pondered her words for a bit before turning away and waling up to the portal into his chaos realm. He then turned back to Trixie. “In about a weeks’ time, my magic will have replenished enough to open up a portal.” HE then stepped through the portal and closed it after himself. Leaving Trixie in a slightly singed room with broken and melted toys scattered everywhere, a distraught alicorn and bedsheets that were slightly damper than they were before.
“The heck was that?” Spike asked as he and Twilight sat at the table, eating their plates of omelette.
“I don’t know.” Twilight responded “Sounded like something hitting the roof.” After listening for a bit longer she concluded that it was probably something blowing in the wind and was of little consequence. She continued to dig into her omelette and enjoy its delicious qualities. The taste of it reminded her of the times that Princess Celestia had brought back exotic foods from other countries, back when Twilight was her student and still staying with her.
“This is really good.” Spike said, his claw covering his mouth so the food in his mouth was neither visible nor flying across the table. The same level of table manners was not being shown by his mother who was eating hers rather messily and getting small pieces of food all over her side of the table.
“Yeah, I normally don’t like exceedingly cheesy food, but this is delicious.” She muffled out, her mouth almost full to the brim with omelettey goodness.
“Jeez mom, can you not talk with your mouth full please?” Spike urged “It’s getting food everywhere.”
“Sorry.” She said before swallowing her shockingly large mouthful in one go and wiping her mouth with a hoof. “This has to be one of the nicest meals I’ve had.” At Spikes frown she quickly added, “That you didn’t make of course, nopony can beat your culinary mastery.”
“And don’t you forget it.” Spike then looked down at his meal then back up at Twilight with a smile. “I might have to ask for this recipe though.”
“I could give it to you know if you like?” Came Reds voice as she hopped up into the Truck and shut the door behind her.
“You’re back earlier than I expected.” Twilight said, one of her eyebrows raised in a questioning manner. “It’s barely been 15 minutes since you left.”
“Turns out that Yes Man had actually managed to get a lot of the stuff I needed to do done while we were away so all I had to do was grab your new gun and some other supplies.” Red said as she pulled off her back pack and placed it on the floor before budging up Spike and sitting next to him. She then pulled out a long lever action hunting carbine with a light receiver and longer ammo tube and placed it on the table. “This is Medicine Stick, one of the best rifles I own.” She held it out at arm’s length and Twilight carefully picked it up with her magic.
“What makes it so special?” Spike asked sceptically.
“It has a much longer ammo tube than the standard variant you find in these parts which I have made even longer with a bit of modification. I modified the receiver to make it far more durable and perform better under high stress situations, although I wouldn’t recommend doing too much damage to it.” She said, indicating to the parts as she went along. “I installed a makeshift attachment holder which I mainly use for a scope when I need to do some long range marksmanship and I haven’t brought my anti-mat.”
“What ammunition does it use?” Twilight looked up at Red with a slight tilt of her head.
“It uses .45-70-405 rounds which come in Hollow Point and SWC variants.” Red said as she handed a box of said ammo. “I thought that you might want to give it a try and come shoot some bottles with me in McCarran.”
Twilight thought about it for a bit before nodding her head and levitating the ammo box and the rifle onto the straps on her back.
“What about me?” Spike asked indignantly.
“Have you actually read the Wasteland Survival Guide yet?” Red asked as she started looking through the books and magazines on the shelf. When she got a no from Spike she pulled out the guide and handed it to him. “I would recommend reading it then since you should know the factions and creatures that roam these wastes.” She then pulled open a draw and sifted through it until she found a holotape with the words ‘Music-Reds’ written on the front. “If you want to listen to some songs as well then this tape has my favourites on it.”
“Thanks” Spike said as he grabbed the holotape and sat at the table with the guide in front of him.
“Let’s get going then shall we?” Red asked as she slung her backpack over her shoulder and opened the back of the truck.
“Okay then.” Twilight said as she followed Red out the back and onto the tarmac of the strip. She turned back towards the truck and waved to Spike. “I’ll see you in a bit Spike!”
“Bye mom!” He called back with his own wave as the door was closed.
Outside the strip was decidedly less busy, the sounds of the wind and distant gunfights being the only sound around. Now that Twilight had gotten a good look at the Mojave itself, she could see why it had gained the title of wasteland by those who either lived within it or those who had merely visited it. The destroyed buildings stretched on for what seemed like miles, their crumbling walls and roofs slowly getting more and more sparse as they travelled further through the ruins.
“Where are we going again?” She asked, looking up at Reds almost towering form.
“We’re going to Camp McCarran, an old airport that used to be the NCR’s main hold on the Strip.” She reached into one of her pockets, pulled out the Black carton of cigarettes, lifted it up to her mouth and pulling out one of the tar sticks with her teeth, lit it with her thumb. “It’s now a refugee camp and the main stopping point for all caravans heading up to the areas like Freeside and North Vegas.”
“Why are we heading there to practise shooting?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow, shaking her head when Red offered her a cigarette.
“The people that live there have all sorts of different hobbies, and it just so happened that a large group of them liked shooting.” She took a drag from her smoke and blew it upward into the air. “They all decided, using many of the leftover supplies from when the NCR used to be stationed there, to make a shooting range that they all could use. The range also gets used to train the militia that guards many settlements outside the range of the securitrons.”
The two soon arrived in front of a large walled off structure with a large metal gate at its entrance. The gate itself had seen better days, as was evident by the many sheets of corrugated iron that were welded to it and the small holes and tears that littered its surface. On top of the stone pillars that held the gate and in front of the gate itself were men and women dressed in leather and metal armours and carrying a wide variety of rifles and weapons. All of these weapons were in various states of disrepair and had been repaired many times.
“Red! It’s great to see you.” An old woman said as she walked up to Red and Twilight. She was dressed in a heavy black coat with a few leather straps pulled over her figure and some light blueish grey trousers accompanied by a pair of laced boots that went up to just below her knees. She held a Wattz 2000 laser rifle in her gloved hands and a crowbar hung at her hip. She carried herself with confidence and calculating poise, though the fact that she was smiling widely and almost skipping towards them kind of belittled that poise.
“Lovely to see you too Florence, how are things?” Red asked as she reached out and shook the woman’s hand.
“Nothing of much to note.” Florence said as she moved her hand through her long greying hair. “Other than a few fiend raids and one incident with a group of bandits who thought that they could take us on, there hasn’t been anything interesting.” Florence then noticed the small form of Twilight next to Red and blinked a few times before looking back up at Red. “I’m not that old yet am I?” She asked, earning a chuckle from the tall lady.
“Not yet Flo, this is Twilight.” Red said as she pointed to the alicorn with her hand.
“Hi” Twilight said with a smile as she looked up at the shocked Florence.
“Um… Hi?” Florence said back. “Never met a unicorn before.”
“Alicorn actually.” Twilight said as she sifted slightly so that her wings were visible.
“This is Florence, she’s the closest thing to family I have these days with the exception of the gang.” Red said, her hand gripping Florence’s shoulder and pulling her into a sideways hug.
“Ouch! Watch it Red, I’m not as young as I used to be.” Florence said as she extracted herself from the hug and held her shoulder. “You sure do pick up some strange companions don’t you?” She raised an eyebrow at Red rubbed the back of her head and smiled awkwardly.
“Everyone seems to be saying that recently.” Red said as she took her cigarette out of her mouth, dropped it onto the floor and stamped on it with her boot. “Anyway, can we use the range? I’m hoping to teach Twilight here to shoot without V.A.T.S.”
“You know you don’t have to ask to use the range since you practically made it.” Florence exclaimed, many of the other guards who had been listening on the conversation adding their own various forms of agreement. “What have I told you bunch of lousy excuses for a militia about listening in on my conversations!?” She bellowed angrily at the nosey guards who all jumped at her loud shout. “Back to your posts or I will tan your hides with my laser rifle!”
“That brings back memories.” Red said almost dreamily, Twilight looking up at her and raising an eyebrow. “What?”
“Oh, nothing.” Twilight said as she quickly looked back at Florence who had finished ranting at a particular guard who had dropped his rifle at her shout.
“I will sculpt them into a force to be reckoned with sooner or later.” She mumbled with a scowl before turning to face Red and smiling. “I’ll get the boys to open up the gate and let you through.” She then turned and waved up at the two men up on the right hand pillar, one of the men nodding and shouting down to the other side of the gate. Soon after, a loud screeching was heard as the gate started to slide open and the path was opened. “I want to talk to you later though Red, the fiends are getting ballsier even after your raid shrank their numbers.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you in about an hour.” Red nodded and proceeded to walk towards the now open gate with Twilight at her side.
Once both of them were through the gate Twilight got a look around the place and took it in. There were lots of tents and scrap huts at the far side of the car park, with many people wandering around and socialising. Closer to the main building there were quite a few stalls and tables that seemed to be selling and handing out food to the caravan parties and refugees respectively. All of these people were chatting and enjoying each other’s company while the stall owners hurried around preparing more food and drinks. The area to the left of the entrance held a few tents, each bearing a strange symbol on the front. Lots of what looked like doctors rushed around this area while many people sat or lay beds.
“I always get a small sense of pride whenever I come here.” Red sighed wistfully.
“You should be, this place looks… happy.” Twilight struggled to find the right word but settled for happy.
“Yeah, I wanted to create somewhere that allowed the people with nowhere to go a safe haven and a somewhat stable home.” Red started walking along the road that went towards the main building, the gat shutting behind them as they went.
“So you mentioned that Florence was the closest thing you had to family, what did you mean by that?” Twilight asked after a short while.
“Florence pretty much raised me after my parents died and I was alone.” Red said with a shrug, “I had almost gone wild by the time that she found me, living in the wastes and all, and she took pity on me and helped me find my humanity again.” Red lifted up her Pip-Boy and checked the time before lowering it and stopping in front of the door to the terminal building. She pushed the glass door open and held it open to Twilight who thanked her and stepped in.
“Whoa” Twilight was rather shocked at the interior of the building, the suspended aeroplane to being the only reason. There were lots of people bustling around the place doing different jobs and generally wandering, with a group of sharply dressed people standing behind a few desks seeing to the queues that followed the velvet ropes. “What happens here?” Twilight asked as Red stepped up next to her.
“This is the closest place to an office that I have in my little empire.” Red said as she straightened out her attire as much as she could, pulling out a stick of lipstick and spreading it on her lips. “They deal with all the requests and complaints of the people and either deal with it themselves or send it up to me and I deal with it.”
“That sounds like a far better system than what we use back in Equestria.” Twilight snorted, already trotting ahead towards the sign that said ‘Shooting range through here’.
“Why, what’s so bad about your system?” Red asked as she caught up to Twilight.
“Everypony always brings their problems straight to the princesses, nopony checking to see if it is worth their time, no real background checks, no ‘quality control’.” Twilight was steaming by this point. “It’s a political nightmare, the noble families spare almost no thought to whether or not their requests are actually worth the princesses time and the actually worthwhile requests have to wait until the very end of the court. Not to mention how easy it is to attempt to assassinate the royalty.” Twilight finished with a sneer.
“Why hasn’t it changed if it’s so bad?” Red raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip.
“The princess can’t actually pass laws without either the noble courts consent or the authority of all Royal family members.” She sighed and lifted her hoof to brush some strands of mane out of her eyes. “Blueblood is pretty much in every noble households pocket, bless his soul. I completely forgot to tell Rarity that Blueblood was secretly gay and tried to dissuade all the female suiters by acting like a jackass.” Twilight then laughed slightly into her hoof.
“A funny story?” Red smiled and waved at the guard who was stood in front of the exit to the airstrip, who in turn stepped out the way and saluted, only glancing at the laughing alicorn before snapping back into form.
“Yeah, our first trip to the gala went atrociously bad.” Twilight said as she stopped laughing.
“Well you can tell me all about it once we’ve reached the range.” Red said as they both continued walking for a minute, each thinking about their own thoughts until they arrived at the outdoor shooting range, where a few people were practising their aim with various weapons.
“HA! If it isn’t my old friend Red, you here to show the rookies how it’s done?” A gruff voice called from the left of the range.
Twilight turned towards the voice and had to double take at the sheer size of the man she was looking at. He had to be at least the same height as Red if not taller, and his shoulders were incredibly broad, about three feet across. He wore a black sleeveless jacket, which had been reinforced with shoulder pads and bandoliers, over a red long sleeved jumper. He also was wearing a pair of armoured black trousers and a set of rugged boots, both of which looked rather homemade. He had a bushy brown beard and thick eyebrows the contrasted against his shaved head, though he managed to pull the look off rather well. The man was smiling broadly as he leant against the counter that he was behind, a sign on the front reading ‘Ammo and Weaponry’.
“While that may not be the reason I’m here, I can do that in the process.” Red said with a laugh as she walked up to the counter and stood in front of the beast of a man. They both smiled at each other before simultaneously head-butting so hard you sound was almost deafening. As they separated their foreheads they looked at one-another until they both burst out laughing.
“Still as thick skulled as ever Red.” The man said as he patted Red on the shoulder.
“Good to see you again Drew.” Red said as her laughter died down and she gestured Twilight forth. “I’m here to teach this Purple Pony Princess how to shoot without V.A.T.S.”
“Hello, my names Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight ventured rather timidly. She hoisted herself up so her front hooves were on the counter and held out her hoof to shake.
“Hello there Miss Sparkle, I’m Drew Gardener and I run this fine establishment.” Drew said kindly as he shook Twilights hoof gently.
“Fine establishment my ass.” Red commented with a roll of her eyes. “This place is a shit-hole inside a Cazador.”
Drew tsked at Reds words and turned back to Twilight. “People these days, they have no respect.” The mirth in both his and Reds eyes showed that it was but harmless banter.
“Come on Twilight, let’s get you set up.” Red led Twilight to one of the free stations and took her backpack off. “Okay, first I’m going to demonstrate how to shoot without V.A.T.S. and then I want you to practise until your hitting dead centre with each shot.”
“I don’t think your methods will work on me considering we have different anatomies and I have telekinesis.” Twilight said sceptically.
“Well then miss no-it-all, let’s see how it’s done.” Red folded her arms and looked at Twilight expectantly.
Twilight felt a noticeable drop in her confidence when Red said that and she cautiously pulled her rifle off of her back and loaded some shots into it. She held her rifle up to her head and made sure that the sights lined up with her eye and pulled the trigger.
*CRACK* *SMACK*
“OW!” Twilight yelped as the gun smacked into her face and she dropped the gun.
“Ten out of Ten.” Red said as she clapped slowly with a smirk on her face, ignoring the scowl she got front Twilight who was still rubbing her bruised jaw with her hoof.
“Fine, show me how to do it.” Twilight relented as she picked up the gun and handed it to Red.
“Okay then.” Red grabbed the rifle and held so Twilight could see. “Whether you know them or not, I am going tell you the four main rules to wielding a firearm. The first Rule is to always treat every firearm as if it were loaded. No ifs, ands, or buts. Even if you know the gun is unloaded, still handle it as if it were loaded.” Red indicated to the direction that the rifle was pointing: the ground within the firing range. “Always keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction, a direction where a negligent discharge would cause minimum property damage and zero physical injury. The safest direction to point a gun is always downrange as long as there aren’t any people downrange… no matter how funny that is!” Red shouted in the direction of Drew’s counter which got a laugh from the bulky man. “Always keep your trigger finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard until you have your target in your sights and you know that you want to fire.” Red pointed to the fact that her rifle was pointing towards the target down the range. “Lastly, Always be sure of your target and beyond. You want to be aware of what’s in your line of fire. We don’t want you missing your shots and hitting some poor sod who for some moronic reason is behind the targets.”
“I already knew those.” Twilight said, growing slightly impatient with how long she had been left waiting.
“Whenever I’m teaching someone to shoot, I always repeat those four rules whether they’ve heard them before. I’m sure you would agree that safety comes first?” Red admonished and Twilight sighed, acknowledging the point. “Now for your stance, I’m fairly certain that you can adapt both of the stances to fit your body, so I’ll give the rundown of both of them.” Red turned to the side and held the rifle up to her cheek and made sure the stock fit into her shoulder. “This is the bladed-off stance. It is mostly used for precision firing and stationary low rate-of-fire shots that are not dependent on how much muzzle rise you face.” She then shifted to a position that had her torso facing towards the target and her legs spread apart, with the rifle in a similar position except it ran perpendicular to her main body and the stock was further up her shoulder. “This is the squared stance. It is used for more active firefights thanks to the fact that it helps negate muzzle rise far better than the bladed-off. This stance also allows you to track your targets better since it allows for more twisting movement, although that may not apply to you.” Red handed the rifle back to Twilight so that she could test each of the different stances, after which she settled on a slightly adapted squared stance.
“I think this stance works the best because it’ll expose less of my body and it allows for more physical support against recoil.” Twilight tested firing a few times and found it easier to hold and she didn’t drop it. She held the rifle back up so Red could take it and show her the next steps.
“This one will more than likely be pointless in your case, thanks to the necessity of hands, but I’ll try and see what I can do.” Red then held the rifle so that her hands sat underneath it. “I think the best way for me to teach you the points on holding the rifle is to see what you do while holding, so here, take it.” Red watched as Twilight took the rifle in her telekinetic grip, tilting her head and looking closer as Twilight got into her stance. “Okay, I think I see where you can improve. You hold the rifle in your telekinesis completely, all of its surfaces being gripped by it. I want you to only hold the rifle on the forestock and the crook, making sure to only place the telekinesis on the trigger when you want to fire.” Red observed as Twilight tried that, and after a bit of effort trying to hold it up with the reduced amount of magic, she held it just as steady.
“Why hold it like this, when I’m more likely to be on target with the finer control of holding completely?” Twilight questioned Reds decision until she squatted down so that she could indicate to the different parts on the rifle.
“While your aim may be off a bit at first. That can be improved by practice, no, the main reason I wanted you to hold it like this is for safety reasons.” Red pointed to the trigger and crook of the weapon. “I’m not sure how your magic works but if you grip the trigger while not intending to fire it can go off at the slightest of jolts. This can lead to injuries or worse.” Twilight relented and nodded at the sound reasoning.
“Is there anything else?” Twilight asked.
“One last thing.” Red held out her hands so Twilight could place the rifle in them. “When you first tried firing you had the rifles stock on your jaw. As you now know, that can lead to bruising and strain if done so.” She held the rifle in the bladed-off stance so that Twilight could easily see. “See how only my cheek is touching the stock, and how the stock itself is planted as close to my centerline as possible?” At Red’s question Twilight nodded her head and subconsciously rubbed her bruised jaw. “Now I don’t expect you to fail as badly as you did the first time you tried to fire, so placing the stock on your jaw will only cause and ache, but a firefight may last a long time.” Red got out of her stance and gave the rifle back to Twilight who adopted her stance, held the rifle correctly and placed her cheek against the stock.
“Any last tips you want to tell me before I fire?” Twilight said as she looked up at Red out of the corner of her eye.
“If you are planning on firing from a stationary position and you want to hit something as close to the mark as possible, breathe out, not in.” Red said as she stepped back to give Twilight some room.
Twilight took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Feeling her heartbeat start to slow, she tightened her grip on the rifle and pulled the trigger.
*CRACK*
The bullet raced out of the barrel and flew right down the range. While the bullet didn’t hit the target, it did impact on the wall next to the target.
“Much better.” Red said as she lightly patted Twilight on the back and pulled a box of ammo out of her backpack. “I need to go speak with Flo, so you keep practicing until all of your shots are within the targets.”
“All of them?” Twilight asked, a bit daunted by the task.
“I know you can manage that, you just need to practice.” Red said as she pulled her backpack onto her back and waved goodbye to Twilight.
Twilight had been on the range for a good half an hour already and her aim had improved noticeable. Her shots weren’t all hitting within the rings, but they all hit the actual target board. As she had been shooting her mind had wandered and she thought back on her life in Equestria.
*I wonder how each of my friends would have dealt with being this situation?* She thought about Pinkie and snerked into her hoof. *Pinkie would probably find some way to make everyone get together for one big party.* She then frowned. *Either that, or she would murder them all. I recognize Schizophrenia when I see it and she also seems to be suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, not a good combo in a high-stress situation.*
Twilight then thought about Applejack and what she would do in her place. *AJ would probably do as much as she could to help anyone in need.* She bent down to pick up the bullet she’d dropped. *Though she may end up focusing on returning home and getting back to her family more than everyone else.* Twilight sighed and loaded the bullet into the rifle and fired.
*Rarity, while not liking the overall look and feel of the wasteland, would probably agree with Red’s ideals the most.* Twilight cocked the lever and took aim down the range again. *Though, I’m pretty sure she would end up with nothing because of how generous she is.* She pulled the trigger again and loosed another bullet down range, actually hitting one of the rings on the target, though she didn’t notice.
*I don’t think Dash would stand out all that much, apart from the obvious reason. She would more than likely enjoy the fights as long as she knew that they were bad people and that they had hurt others.* Twilight repeated the process until her rifle was empty, before loading more shots. *The wasteland would desensitize her though, and as much as I would still be friends with her, and I’m sure the girls would as well, I can’t say the same for anypony else.* She then placed the rifle down and sat on her haunches, leaning against the side of her cubicle. *Who says I’m not being desensitized by this all, I don’t think I could ever think of killing somepony coming here, and know? I’m practicing so I’ll be better at it.*
Twilight stood back up and took aim with the rifle again before hesitation and lowering it. *I don’t even want to think what Fluttershy would do in this situation.* Twilight blew a lock of her mane that was in front of her eyes. *Fluttershy’s ideals don’t fit into this world very well… although, if Arcade is right, she might be a good Follower of the Apocalypse.* She aimed down the range and fired until the rifle was empty again and started reloading it, barely noticing that all her shots were within the rings.
*What about how everyone else thinks I’m doing in this world.* She thought sadly. *My friends are probably worried sick about me, thinking that I’m barely surviving of the bare necessities.* Her thoughts turned bitter and started leaking into her speech. “The Princesses are probably expecting me to come back as I once was, untainted by the wasteland, with a new world of friendship in my wake.” She frowned and gripped her rifle more firmly. “The nobles are either wishing I stay gone or are expecting me to come back a quivering mess.” She spat to the side and aimed her rifle at the target.
“I’m not barely surviving.”
*CRACK* *KER-CHACK*
“I am not a god!”
*CRACK* *KER-CHACK*
“I’m not weak!”
*CRACK* *KER-CHACK* “I am not whatever you expect me to be!”
Twilight stood panting with the rifle held shakily in her telekinesis. She turned her head and saw Red watching her from the side of the cubicle with a sad smile on her face.
“I-“ Twilight tried to speak but she couldn’t manage anything and just collapsed into her legs weakly.
“Come on, let’s get back to the truck.” Red said soothingly as she lifted Twilight and carried her out of the range. She spared a glance back at the target and smiled before continuing on. Twilight hadn’t just hit the bull's-eye, she had eviscerated it.
Red and Twilight arrived back at the van soon after they had left McCarran with the alicorn still curled up in Red’s arms. Just before they were about to enter the truck, Red looked down at Twilight and Placed her on the ground.
“You okay?” She asked, leaning against the doorway.
“Yeah… I guess?” Twilight said uncertainly. “I think I’ll be okay.”
“Well, if you want to chat, then you’re always welcome to talk to me.” Red said as she squatted down and placed her hand on Twilights shoulder. She got back up and was about to open the door when Twilight spoke.
“Red… can I talk now?” She said, rubbing her left fetlock on her right foreleg.
“Sure, let’s sit over here.” Red said as she gestured for Twilight to follow her to a slightly damaged, but still standing bench. They both sat down on the bench, Twilight lazily flying onto her seat and Red carefully plonking herself down as to not break it. “So what did you want to talk about?”
“Would… would you say I’m being desensitised to violence?” Twilight asked, shuffling awkwardly in her seat. “I mean, I never would have agreed with killing anything before I came here.” She looked up at Red to see the woman staring ahead, a tired expression on her face.
“You are more than likely desensitised to violence, but a better question to ask is do you think that it is good?” Red said after a bit, her eyes never leaving the horizon.
“No, I don’t like violence at all.” Twilight frowned, her hooves brushing over her body until she found one of the many small scars that had been left by her time in Vault 3. They were barely noticeable thanks to her fur, but she knew where each of them was located, she could feel them constantly. “But I can’t help but want to inflict it on them.” She sighed.
“The Fiends?” Red said as she finally broke her gaze and looked down at Twilight.
“Yeah, they hurt me more than anything else ever had.” She said petulantly, clenching her eyes shut as a wave of pain crept up her entire body, making her shudder. She reached behind herself with her magic and pulled the box of Fixer from out of the straps, opened it and took one of the large disc shaped tablets. It tasted slightly of lemon. “In more ways than one.”
“Did Arcade give you those?” Red questioned lightly, an expression of sympathy adorning her face.
“Yeah. He said they would help when the urges came back.” She placed the tin back into the straps on her back and finished chewing on the tablet. “I’ve had to take three so far, one before I went to bed, one when I woke up and one at lunch.” Twilight shifted on her haunches and rubbed her hooves together. “I haven’t had to deal with anything like this before.”
“Addiction and withdrawal are two sides to the same, blood coated coin.” Red said as she opened up her backpack and pulled out another tin of fixer and handed it to Twilight. “They are both the terrible results of something that seems great, the positives almost never outweighing the negatives.”
“Why take the risk then?” Twilight asked as she put the new tin under her straps.
“Because sometimes the chances that the positives stop something horrible happening are too great not to risk.” Red said as she got out a bottle of water and took a swig, offering Twilight a blood bag at the same time.
“I still don’t know I got addicted to blood though.” Twilight said, looking down at the blood bag in her hooves as she lined up the ‘straw’ to her mouth.
“I’ve seen weirder things.” Red said as they both sat there in relative silence and drank their beverages. Red finished hers first and put the empty bottle back in her bag and settled to looking back at the horizon. “I’ve heard stories of people who rejected cannibalism and instead decided to drink blood bags.”
“I don’t think it’s quite the same… at least I hope I don’t become a cannibal.” Twilight looked at her now empty blood bag and handed it to Red. “I don’t think there are laws in place in Equestria to deal with that.”
“Can I let you in on a little secret?” Red said as she nervously looked around. “You have to promise not to tell anyone.”
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Twilight said as she did the coveted pinkie promise.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Red said with a raised eyebrow before getting back on track. “I may have, ever so slightly, taken [art in a teensy bit of cannibalism once.” Red winced and rubbed her arm nervously.
Twilight just looked up at her, both eyebrows raised and questioning. She looked Red up and down as she tried to gauge if she was giving of any cannibalistic vibes. “You don’t seem the type.” Twilight said carefully after a while.
“It was back when I was young, before I met Florence.” Red said quickly, waving her hands widely.
“I guess I can’t say I know what going mad is like… well maybe not the way you’re talking about.” Twilight said as she thought back to a certain occasion with a doll and spell. “Anyway, you weren’t in your right mind, so I won’t hold it against you.” Twilight brushed a lock of mane out of her eyes and shuffled a bit in her seat. “I would hope you’re not doing it anymore though, that is less excusable.”
“Yeah, I gave that up a long while ago.” Red chuckled bitterly, “Almost got plain shot by the NCR for that, thankfully, that was when Flo found me and took care of me.”
“What happened to this ‘NCR’ anyway, I don’t see them around here?” Twilight asked, her eyes roaming the wastes as if to try and spot any signs of them.
“They’re still around, they tend not to come into the Mojave though since I we kicked them out.” Red laughed and lit a cigarette and inhaled its poisonous fumes.
“How can you stand those things, aren’t they really bad for your lungs and other organs?” Twilight grimaced and leaned away from Red as she exhaled.
“I thought I told you that I’ve probably more synthetic parts in me than a pack of Fancy Lad Snack Cakes?” Red said with a raised eyebrow as she looked down at Twilight, who smacked her hoof one her forehead.
“Sorry, forgot about that.” She said as she lowered her hoof from her face. “Getting back on track though, what are the NCR doing now?”
“In general? They’re still running their states with taxes and secret observation, while the army are holding the borders against raiders, tribals and the remnants of the Legion.” Red sneered and took another drag of her cigarette. “In relation to the Mojave? They are keeping their distance and watching the borders, the only place they are allowed to step on being the Mojave Outpost.”
“Won’t we be passing through there when we travel to the Sierra Madre?” Twilight questioned.
“Yep.” Red said cheerfully.
“Isn’t that a bad idea?” Twilight worried, a questioning look being directed at Red.
Red just leaned back on the bench and smiled. “I would be worrying if the post was being manned by generals and colonels and not lower ranked soldiers. Because, while the politicians and highest ranks of the military dislike me heavily, the masses and lower ranked soldiers find me to be a very good inspiration of what to be like, ignoring the going against the NCR bit of course.”
“Surely they have to follow orders though?” Twilight asked as she hopped off the bench to stretch her legs.
“That would be the case if they weren’t running a democracy where a big decision like killing the powerful, non-violent leader of another city would require a majority approval vote, which every time it has been put forward has been scrapped faster than a car in luddite territory.” Red grinned and brought her cig up to her mouth.
“Didn’t realise you were so popular.” Twilight smirked as she stretched in a similar fashion to that of a cat.
Red was about to retort when the sounds of a firefight could be heard nearby with wild shouts accompanying the shots, indicating Fiends or raiders to be the culprits.
“What’s happening?” Twilight asked as she jumped up onto her hooves and grasped her rifle in her magic.
“Sounds like a fights going down, and by the sounds of it it’s raiders of some kind c’mon!” Red shouted as she started running towards the gunfire, Twilight having to gallop to keep up with her.
“God damn fucking Fiend bastards!” Came the shout of a particularly irate caravan guard who, along with the rest of the crew, was taking heavy fire from the aforementioned Fiends.
“How fucking many of them are there?!” another of the guards shouted before a bullet tore through her skull, splattering it across the wall behind them.
“Fuck!” the first guard shouted. “Rachael’s dead!”
“We can’t keep this up for much longer Tony!” Another guard shouted to the first.
“Just keep your head down and don’t get shot!” Tony yelled to the rest of the group, popping up and letting loose a few shots from his 44’.
“That is easier said than FUCKING DONE TONY!” another guard, this one a woman, shouted as she clutched her bleeding stomach with one hand before grunting and twisting to get a few shots out with her 10mm.
“Just hold on Keri, once this battles over we’ll get you to McCarran.” Another guard said from next to Keri as he ducked his head to avoid stray laser fire.
“When this battle is over the Fiends will be looting our corpses!” The owner of the caravan shouted from behind a concrete barrier that been moved to face long ways across the road. “As well as my caravan!” He leapt up and fired a good few shots with his assault carbine before ducking back down behind cover as a hail of lead tore through where he was previously.
“If we make it through this, you are paying us triple Davidson!” Tony shouted from his position.
“I won’t be able to pay you jack if I’m not alive!” Davidson argued loudly.
“OH FUCK! Is that a Gatling Laser?!” The guard with Keri shouted, just in time to receive a veritable storm of laser beams to his face, completely eviscerating it.
“SAMSON!” Keri screamed, her good arm reaching out to the now headless body of Samson.
“We are so fucked.” The last unnamed guard shouted as he reloaded his hunting rifle.
“Don’t give up yet Reid!” Tony called, “There’s still a chance we can survive!”
“What the hell could save us now!?” Reid shouted as he tossed a grenade over the cover. “Nothing short of a god could save us now!”
“I don’t think I’m quite god status yet.” A voice rang out as a shadow was cast over them from above. The owner of the voice jumped down into the middle of the battle, silencing even the fiends as the floor cracked underneath her.
“Is that who think it is?” Tony said as he looked up over the cover at the mysterious woman.
“If you’re thinking of the Courier then yes, yes it is.” She said as she whipped out a Remington Model 1958 and fired off all six shots, each shot splitting a fiends head. She then leapt back behind the same cover the guards were behind as the Fiends gunfire resumed with vigour.
“Fuck me.” Reid whispered out as Red lent against the same cover he was behind, a smile never leaving her face.
“I don’t think my fiancé would approve of me doing that, but thanks for the offer.” Red said cheekily, causing the guard to sputter. She turned and popped her head up and fired a couple of shots the Fiend with a Gatling Laser, a few beams of the laser scorching the area around Reds head but not making any actual hits.
“T-that’s not what I meant at all!” Reid shouted indignantly, throwing another grenade into a large grouping of fiends, scattering pieces of them into the air.
“Don’t you find me attractive enough?” Red asked as she mock pouted and positioned her body to accentuate her ‘assets’.
Reid just blushed and kept his mouth causing Red to laugh and stand back up and empty the rest of the rounds in her revolver into the crowds of Fiends. She shrugged off any shots that hit her, merely reacting to the force before straightening back out again. She knelt back down once all her shots had been fired and began to reload her gun and checked to see which shots she had taken mattered.
“Goddess damn it Red, how can you run faster than a quadruped?” Twilight muttered to herself as she panted after her long gallop to catch up with Red. She slowly walked up to the edge of what appeared to be a large concrete trench with a road going along the bottom of it. Twilight almost instantly spotted Red among a few other people, three males and one female. As she looked towards what they were fighting her heart almost stopped at the sight of the Fiends.
Twilights mind was fight with whether to run or to fight, the fearful part of her mind telling her that they might somehow get hold of her again and repeat her treatment. The Rest of her mind was screaming at her body to rip them to shreds and brutalise them all. This side one out against to the feeble excuses of her minds fearful part. With what looked like practised ease she entered V.A.T.S. and lined up as many shots onto the Fiends that she could and released, her rifle unloading five of her loaded shots into five different bodies, four dying and one collapsing onto the ground howling in pain. She then, using the tips Red taught her, aimed at another of the Fiends heads and pulled the trigger, a bullet loosing from the barrel and tearing through the air and the targets head. The process was repeated for each of the remaining four bullets in her rifle, before the fiends started firing on her. She managed to avoid being hit by the gunfire and ducked behind a brick wall between her and the Fiends.
As she was reloading she peered round the corner to look down to see how Red and the other people were doing. Red was still fighting with her revolver and every now and then she would launch a fireball out of her arm, ducking back down when reloading to talk to the guards. Said guards had gained a second wind when The Courier had dropped down to help them and were each killing a respectable amount of Fiends. She was about to go out behind the wall when the wounded woman sitting against a concrete barrier got hit by one of the Gatling Lasers shots, the beam striking her firing arm causing her to let out a scream of pain.
The scream made something in Twilight snap, her memories going back to the nights in Vault 3 and her own screams. Her Vision went crimson and her rifle lay forgotten on the floor by her hooves as she leapt into the air fast enough to cause a huge gust of wind to kick up a cloud of dust. The soured through the air towards the Fiend with the Gatling Laser at a speed that could rival Rainbow Dash, dodging gunshots with professional ease as the Fiends tried to desperately shoot her down. As the Gatling Laser was turned on her she tilted her wings before quickly bringing them tight against her body causing her to aileron roll through the stream of lasers, snapping them open again quickly, flapping and then barrel rolling around the beams.
Just as she was about to plow into the Fiend, she used her wings to turning entre bod around so that her rear hooves were pointing towards his head. To everyone watching, time almost seemed to slow as Twilight unleashed a magically enhanced flying buck to the Fiends head, shattering it completely and spraying gore behind him in a cone of red. Twilight flipped in mid-air, landed facing the rest of the Fiends and skidded a few feet before charging at breakneck speeds towards another of the Fiends unlucky enough to be in front of her. She gored his throat with her horn before sending a burst of magic into it, severing his head and splattering her with blood. Without a second even going by, she was galloping towards another Fiend and slicing any others that got in her way with the discarded blades of the already dead Fiends.
Once she reached the one she was originally going for, she leapt up onto her shoulders and snapped her neck with her hooves while holding her body upright with her magic. As the, now lifeless, body stood upright with Twilight perched on its shoulders it lifted up its weapon and began firing on the rest of the Fiends, Twilight ducking behind the body whenever shots were fired at it. After the gun ran empty Twilight pulled the pins on the body’s grenades through it into a group of Fiends. It was at this point that Red decided to join in on the melee that was taking place, her first action being to leap up onto one of the concrete barriers and using it to jump onto a Fiends head, smashing it as she crushed it into the ground.
The fight continued for about a minute until all the Fiends were either dead or had fled from the two demons that had ripped them to shreds. Stood among the bodies was one grinning woman and one blood coated mare, both of whom were panting heavily as the adrenaline began to wear off.
As Twilight finally came down from her anger induced high, her clouded mind came into focus and she actually saw what she had done. She stood speechless for a good few seconds before she looked down at her hooves, all four of which were coated in blood that was quite obviously not hers. She threw up violently as the whole scene fully soaked in and she realised that she had done this.
“It’s not pretty.” Red said as she began pouring some water over Twilights coat to try and get the blood out. “But, for what it’s worth, they deserved this.”
“I-I d-did this.” Twilight stuttered as she hacked and spat to get the taste of vomit out of her mouth. “So easily.” She whispered as tears poured down her horrified face.
“What do you feel?” Red asked as she turned Twilight to face her and looked deeply into the mare’s eyes.
“I-I… horror.” Twilight finally settled on. She looked around at the mutilated corpse that lay around her. “Disgust” She then looked at the faces of the fiends that still had them and the clothes that they wore, her mind flashing back to the Vault. “But no guilt.”
“I never do feel guilt for these things anymore either.” Red said as she looked around the bodies with a clear expression of disgust on her face. “If I was killing NCR I would feel guilt, if I was killing a man who had done bad things but didn’t want to continue I would feel guilt. These… monsters though?” Red spat the last bit out like it tasted bad. “I don’t even think twice, whether it’s Fiends, Raiders or the Legion, I shoot them down with nothing but a sense of pity.”
“Why?” Twilight croaked out, the tears still flowing even though she wasn’t actually crying.
“I pity them because they lost their humanity, but I don’t think twice because they enjoy the fact they don’t think twice either. That’s something I don’t enjoy no matter what.” Red took out another bottle of water and began rinsing Twilights main of the worst bits of blood and gore, said alicorn was ruminating on the information that Red had given her. As this was happening, the three guards and caravan boss walked up to the bloodbath, Keri being helped along by Reid while Tony kept an eye out for more Fiends and Davidson kept his eyes on Red and the small purple equine that she was cleaning.
“Thanks for the save.” Tony said as he holstered his magnum in its holster. “Though I don’t think this was necessary.”
“I think they deserved every bit of it.” Keri spat at the corpse of the Fiend who wielded the Gatling Laser.
“Are you guys going to be okay to get to McCarran?” Red asked as she used a third water bottle to get any last bits of blood off of Twilight.
“I think we’ll make it.” Davidson said as he started looting the corpses along with Tony. “Damn shame about the others though.” He sighed.
After a few minutes of exchanging small talk, the guards and caravan boss had gathered all that they could carry and left to reach McCarran, Red having given them a slip of paper that made sure that they could get through the main gate quicker. It had turned out that Twilight had taken more hits than she previously thought, the scorch marks of laser fire on her left foreleg being any indication. Red had decided to carry the mare, against Twilights half-hearted protests, and they were now at the door to the truck. Red set her down and opened the trucks backdoor and lifted Twilight up into the truck, where she proceeded to limp over to the medicine box and take out a syringe of Morphine and inject it into her injured leg.
“I suppose using your addiction for its intended purpose is a good enough excuse to take it.” Red said as she walked into and shut the door, spotting Spike asleep with his head on the desk next to the closed Wasteland Survival Guide.
“I’m too tired for anything right now.” Twilight said with a sigh and a yawn, her haunted eyes drooping and her limbs weakening.
“Let’s get you to bed then.” Red said in a motherly tone as she lifted Twilight by her armpits (foreleg pits?) and placed her onto the top bed and tucking her in with a spare blanket that was under one of the seats.
“Thank you Red.” Twilight said drowsily before she let out a long yawn and her eyes closed completely.
“Don’t mention it Twilight.” Were the last words Twilight heard before the exhaustion finally took hold fully and she was lost to the world of the waking.
The back of the now moving truck was filled with a cacophony of noise as Twilight slept, Red and Willow sitting with Spike as Arcade and Veronica drove.
“You weren’t kidding when you said she snores loudly.” Red said with a wince as the ungodly sound of the mares slumbering breaths reverberated around the room.
“I’ve gotten used to it.” Spike said with a shrug, completely unfazed by his mother.
“You grew up with it, it’s normal for you.” Red shot back as she finished off her box of gumdrops and tossed the packaging into the bin. “How can we wake her up, I’ve tried almost all I can think of.”
Spike placed a claw under his chin and tried to remember all the ways to wake up his mother. “I think the best way to wake her up is with the smell of coffee, the stronger the better.” He affirmed with a nod in Willows direction as she visibly relaxed at the opportunity to stop the racket.
“I’m on it.” The blonde woman then got up and walked over to the coffee machine in the kitchenette and started it up. “My mom used to make the strongest coffee around, if this doesn’t wake her up then I don’t know what will.”
After the water had finished boiling, the top hole opened for the coffee granules and willow tipped a few spoons worth from a bag labelled ‘Death Wish (Mom’s Variant)’. Once the brew had been sufficiently brewed to brewery perfection that would make brewers proud of brewing, Willow asked around if anyone wanted one. Receiving no’s from the others, she poured Twilight and herself a mug and passed the snoring ponies mug to Spike who took it and stood on the table before wafting the vapour rising from the mugs piping hot contents towards Twilight face.
“Muurrr” Twilight’s snout twitched and started sniffing out the source of the heavenly scent. Spike suddenly smirked and started moving the mug away from Twilights face, causing her to start pulling herself towards it in a trance like state. By this point Red and Willow had realised what Spike was doing and were both trying and failing to hold back their snickers. Once Twilight was almost completely over the edge of the bed, being held up with her own magic that had been subconsciously drifting her towards the mug, Spike looked down at the two grinning humans with his own matching grin.
“Twilight!” Spike shouted loudly, instantly bringing the mare out of her trance like state and causing her magic to cut out abruptly.
“WAAGH-!” *SMACK!*
The others all burst out laughing as Twilight face-planted onto the floor of the truck, her rear end pointed upwards and her wings laying limply at her sides. She began peeling her face off the floor in a dazed manner and sat on her haunches while rubbing her bruised snout. She looked around at the others all laughing and she folded her front hooves and harrumphed, only causing them to laugh even harder.
“Sorry mom, but they couldn’t stand your snoring so they wanted to wake you up, I couldn’t pass up that opportunity.” Spike said with a somewhat sympathetic pat on the shoulder as he passed her the mug of coffee. “This should hopefully make up for it.”
Twilight scowled at the others as she brought the mug up to her face and inhaled the scent through her nose, before taking a delicate sip of the coffee. Her eyes snapped open wide and she stared, shocked at the coffee in her hooves.
“This is some of the best coffee I have had in ages.” Twilight said, her wide eyes staring up at the duo of humans sitting in the seat facing her.
“It’s my mother’s special blend.” Willow said as she smiled proudly at the bag of coffee on the counter. “She found a few bags of the original Death Wish coffee while scavenging and with her amazing, but strangely specific, coffee skills she managed to match its strength and taste with a hint of the apocalypse added in for good measure.” She opened up her backpack and pulled out a photo of her family. There were lots of people in the photo, many of which being young men and boys who looked to be all different ages, with a few women and girls dotted around.
“That’s a large family.” Spike said as he scooted along in his seat to allow twilight to fit in next to him.
“My mom and dad were very… active, to say the least.” Willow said awkwardly, a slight blush forming on her face. “I have 7 younger brothers, 2 older brothers, 4 younger sisters and 1 older sister.”
“So you were one of the older ones in your family?” Twilight asked, her eyes roaming over the picture to try and spot Willow.
“Once my two older brothers, Dylan and Tyler, joined the NCR and my older sister Rebecca had left to start her own business in the Hub, I was the oldest child in the house. That led to me having to take up a lot of the responsibilities in the family and becoming a babysitter for all the others.” Willow said the last bit with clear disdain. “I hated having to do that, it was one of the reasons I left to travel once Carter and Janette had grown up enough to take on the jobs I was doing.”
“I’m guessing Carter and Janette were both born after you?” Twilight asked as Willow pointed out the two younger siblings. Carter had brown hair and was wearing a white shirt with brown work trousers and a leather jacket that hung off of his shoulders. Janette was wearing a similar outfit but with a green shirt and black work trousers instead, an unbuttoned suit vest over her shirt. Both of them were smirking as they each held a younger child under their arms in a light headlock, their other arms linked over each other’s shoulders.
“Yeah, I had to get them to grow up a bit before I could leave the house under their control.” Willow looked at the picture and smiled. “This photo was taken before Dylan and Tyler left, it is the only photo we have that is of all of us.”
“Hopefully you can get another at the wedding.” Red said as she slung an arm over Willows shoulder and kissed her on the cheek.
“I don’t think we would be able to leave without at least five full family photos.” Willow said with a laugh. “My parents would go ballistic if they didn’t get a picture of the new family members.”
“I’m just glad that your parents and family were so openly accepting of me, even if your family in the NCR were a bit wary.”
“I think my mother was more worrying, me just dropping in and telling her that I was getting married.” Willow rubbed the back of her head, “That was a dangerous situation.”
“What happened?” Twilight asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
“Oh that is a great story.” Red looked over at Willow, “Can I tell them?” She pleaded.
“Fiiinne.” Willow groaned
“Awesome, let me just get some drinks.” Red got up out of her chair, walked over to the fridge, opened it, pulled out three Nuka Colas and one blood bag, shut the fridge and then hopped back into her chair. “Let’s get started then shall we?” She said as she passed the Colas around and the blood bag to Twilight. She popped the cap off her drink with her thumb and took a swig before leaning back and lifting her legs onto the table. “Well, it all started when Willow and I arrived at her families place on one of the bikes.”
Flashback
“So this is the place then?” Red asked as she hopped off the motorbike and set down the brake to hold it in place. It was mid-to-late afternoon when they arrived at Willows family’s farm.
“Yep, haven’t seen it in years.” Willow smiled and joined Red as they looked on at the large house that was in front of them. The place was very reminiscent of the huge farmhouses that used to dot the plain areas in the 1930’s, except it possessed a more apocalyptic style to it, with its walls patched up with sheets of corrugated iron and the roof maintaining the same style.
“How many people are living here?” Red asked as she got to work removing the bags from the back of the bike.
“The last letter I got from mom said that Carter and Janette were still keeping everything under control and that I had a new brother, so that takes the total up to twelve people living at the farm.” Willow then looked thoughtful for a bit. “That is if no one else has left, but I doubt that.”
“I keep forgetting just how big your family is.” Red chuckled and stood up to her full height and face Willow. “How do I look?” She was dressed in a worn motorcycle jacket with a red t-shirt underneath and the biker goggles around her neck. She wore a pair of dark jeans that were tucked into her boots and a belt that had a buckle in the shape of a blackjack with the number 21 within it.
“You look beautiful.” Willow said with a smile which soon turned wry. “Though you should know that you’re going to look strange no matter what you wear, your height and… ‘Size’ being clear factors in that.”
Red just blushed and turned around to continue removing the bags from the bike and making sure everything was in good condition or gone.
“You’ll be fine, my family doesn’t care all that much about appearances” Willow assured with a pat on the shoulder. “Anyway, I’ll go and knock on the door while you finish up here.” She pivoted on her heels and started to walk towards the front door. As she neared the door she could her the noise of what sounded like rowdy kids and young adults coming from within the house. She stopped in front of the door and knocked her fist on it three times and waited for a few seconds before she heard the sound of footsteps drawing closer. Once they stopped she heard the sound of a bolt being drawn back and the door opening to reveal Carter standing there with a tired look in his eyes. Once he spotted who it was that was in front of him his expression changed to shock then joy.
“Willow!” He exclaimed happily as he drew her into a bear hug which Willow reciprocated as much as she could.
“Hey Carter.” She laughed from within the hug. “How’ve you been managing without me?” She asked cheekily.
“Well enough.” He answered with a shrug and a smile. “Mom and Dad are gonna be happy to see you, god knows Janette will be, let me just call her now.” He faced back towards the door and cupped his hands around his mouth. “JAN!” He yelled.
“WHAT!” Came the response.
“COME SEE WHO’S AT THE DOOR!” Carter shouted back, his hands lowering from around his mouth. They both waited a few seconds until a short brown haired young woman poked her head around the door at the other end of the hallway. Once she spotted Willow at the door, she too went through the same expression changes as Carter before launching herself down the corridor and into Willows arms, almost toppling the poor woman.
“Hey Jan.” Willow wheezed out after having the air knocked out of her. After she had been let out of the crushing hug she gave her younger sister a much gentler hug.
“I didn’t know you were coming?” Janette said with a look mixed between shock and happiness. She brushed a lock of her long hair out of her eyes and beamed up at the older sibling. “You should have sent a letter so we could prepare.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Willow smirked and ruffled Jan’s hair, earning a glare from the young woman.
“Come on Willow, I’m nineteen.” Janette swatted Willows hand from her hair.
“You’re still my little sister.” Willow then turned to Carter who suddenly looked a bit worried. “And you’re still my younger brother.” She grinned as she leapt at her brother and, using her arm to spin herself around him, hopped onto his back and began giving him a noogie.
“Ow! Willow, since when were you so strong?” Carter yelped as the blonde kept a firm grip on his back and continued to grind her knuckles on his head.
“Since I learnt how to kick all your asses.” Willow then hopped off his back and dusted herself off while her brother rubbed his sore noggin and her sister watched on with a smile. “So, how is everyone?”
“James and Clark are finally starting to grow up and are now taking up responsibilities around the house.” Carter started as he leant against the wall. “Phoebe was already very mature, but mom finally considers her old enough to start helping us properly.”
“Ethan is still his reserved old self.” Janette added as she sat on a barrel by the door. “Sophie and Violet will not stop going on about this ‘Courier’ person.” Willow blanched at the mention of Red and she quickly glanced over her shoulder, seeing Red by the bike having trouble with its exhaust.
“Michael is an absolute pain in the ass now that he is talking, I mean he is constantly asking everyone questions that are either pointless or far too advanced for his age.” Carter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Thankfully mom is still breast feeding William, so neither of us have to deal with him.”
“I haven’t seen William yet, is he cute?” Willow asked.
“As a button.” Janette responded with a grin, Willow almost squeezing at the thought.
“When did you leave to get here?” Carter asked once the two girls had finished. “It must have taken at least a few days if you were with a caravan.” Willow just smirked at him and crossed her arms.
“Actually, I left this morning.” She answered with a grin at their confused expressions.
“How?” Janette asked with a frown. “Are you bullshitting us?”
“I swear I’m not. A… friend of mine drove us here on her motorbike.” Willow assured, “She’s over by the bike right now.” She pointed to Red who was almost finished with everything, all of their stuff being hefted onto her shoulders.
“That’s pretty awesome, what’s her name?” Carter asked as he looked out at the incredibly tall woman carrying three full backpacks and a couple of duffle bags.
“Her names Red.” Willow said as she waved to the said woman, getting a nod in return.
Janette looked suspiciously back and forth between Willow and the approaching woman before looking up and down Willow. As she looked up at Willows face, she saw an almost dreamy expression adorning it, a dopey smile and relaxed eyes both apparent. She then looked down at the rest of Willow and spotted something that raised a lot of alarms. Willow was sporting a golden ring on her right ring finger, one that, when she looked, matched the one being worn by Red.
“Well I’ll be damned.” Janette said before letting out a quiet laugh.
“What?” Carter asked as both he and Willow turned to face the grinning young woman.
“I think I figured out the reason why Willow’s here unannounced.” She said with a smirk as she pointed towards Willows hand. Willow just sighed and a faint smile appeared on her lips.
“I should have known you would figure it out.” She said as she lifted her hand up to show off the ring, earning a smirk from Janette and a dropped jaw from Carter. “Yep I’m engaged.” As Janette started doing a little jig, Carter picked his jaw off the ground and faced Willow.
“When did this happen?” he asked her.
“Just as the Battle of Hoover Dam ended.” Willow answered back. “It was actually very romantic.”
“But who are you married to?” Carter questioned with a confused expression.
“That would be me.” Came a voice behind him. When he turned to face the person who had spoken, he had to look up to see their face. The woman towered over him at what looked like about seven feet tall, the bags on her shoulders and in her hands being carried like they were nothing. “Hi, names Red, nice to meet you.” She dropped the bags that were being supported by her left arm and held it out for a handshake.
Still dazed, Carter shook the woman’s hand, wincing at the strength of it. “Hey.” He said in a bewildered way.
“Don’t mind him, he’s not used to seeing people so tall.” Janette said as she walked over and shook Reds hand as well. “Although neither am I, I suppose.”
“I tend to get that a lot, it’s no problem.” Red said with a laugh and a shrug as she picked the bag back up and held Willow’s own bag out for her to carry.
“Thanks hun.” Willow said as she grabbed her bag from Red and slung it over her shoulder.
“Oh, I almost forgot to mention. Dylan, Tyler and Rebecca have been over for the past week and will be staying for another, so you get to tell them all about this as well.” Janette said as she walked up to Carter and flicked his ear, startling out of his dazed state.
“Sorry about that.” Carter said as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
“Don’t sweat it, I’ve met people who have had worse responses to my size.” Red reassured. “That’s not even the weirdest thing about me though.” She said mysteriously.
“What’s the weirdest thing then?” Carter asked.
Just as Red was about to respond, Willow cut in. “How about we head inside before we continue on with any more of these questions, I want to see Mom, Dad and the others.”
“Fine by me.” Red said as she shifted the bags and started following Willow and Janette into the house with Carter following after her.
After carter had shut the front door, the group walked down the hallway and into the first room, Red having to duck her head so that it didn’t hit the ceiling.
“Sorry about the height of the rooms, we’re a short-to-average height family, so low ceilings don’t tend to be a problem with us.” Janette said as they were lead into the living room where a large bunch of kids and teenagers were talking and playing. Red remained out of the way and by the door as Willow stood a bit further in. “Hey guys, look who showed up unannounced!” Janette shouted over the noise, all the occupants of the room turning towards the noise.
“WILLOW!” The many voices of the kids chorused loudly as they charged to hug their older sibling.
“Oomph!” Willow winced as they all hugged her at once, the air being knocked out of her again. “Hey everyone.” She wheezed out, her arms unable to reach around all the kids. “How’ve you all been?” She asked, to which she got an array of different answers. “How about you all let go of me and you tell what each of you have been doing one at a time. That sound good? After they had all let go, Willow sat down on one of the sofas and the others all found perches around the room to sit. “I’ll go from oldest to youngest, not necessarily most mature but anyway… so, what have you been doing then Carter?” She asked with a smile, earning a few laughs from the others.
“Mostly just been helping around the house and keeping this rowdy lot in line.” He said, sending a smirk mixed with a glare towards the younger siblings.
“How about you Jan, what have you been up to?” Willow asked, indicating for the brown haired woman to speak.
“Pretty similar to what Carter’s been doing, though I also have to keep him in line.” She laughed out the last bit, returning the stuck-out tongue she got from said young man.
“Now that we have those two children out of the way, how about you James, how have you been?” Willow asked the next oldest brother, Carter. He had short blonde hair and was wearing a dark shirt and jeans, a few scratches on his face from the inevitable roughhousing he got up to.
“Dad finally allowed me to help him at work.” He said with a smile, showing off his one missing tooth.
“Same here!” Came the shout of another boy, Carter. He was almost exactly the same in appearance as his brother except from the fact he was wearing a dark red shirt and brown cargo pants.
“What about you Phoebe, anything interesting happen?” Willow questioned, turning to face her younger sister with a smile.
“I won the medal for best improvised explosive at Survival school.” The teenager grinned up at Willow, the scar that ran across her cheek from when she first started practising bomb making clearly visible.
“Wow, that’s great! I knew you had it in you.” Willow said as she patted Phoebe on the shoulder. “How about you Ethan? Read any good books?” She asked the quiet boy who was remaining relatively distant from everyone else.
“The new book about the Courier is good.” He said quietly, his voice barely reaching above a mumble, yet being heard by everyone. “I like how she tried to handle situations without resorting to violence, it reminds me that there are kind people out there.” He spoke with an air of wisdom that felt almost out of place with someone so young.
“I like that about her too.” Willow said with a small smile, directing another one towards Red who just smiled back. “Did you know that she managed to get the khans to leave the Mojave without a single drop of blood being spilt?”
“You know a lot about her?” He asked, his voice raising ever so slightly as wonder crept into his eyes.
“You could say that.” Willow said as a wry smile crept onto her face. She turned to the other two girls in the room, both of whom were sitting on the floor, braiding their hair. “What about you, Sophie and Violet? I know you two like to do everything together.”
“We found a friendly nightstalker and named him Larry!” They both shouted in unison. Willow laughed with the others and glanced back at Willow to see her almost explode with excitement.
“I think my friend Red would like to meet Larry.” Willow said, pointing her thumb towards the tall woman, only now being noticed by the kids.
“Hello.” Willow smiled and waved at the others and knelt down a bit so that she was a bit closer to everyone else’s height. “My names Red, nice to meet you all.”
“Wow, you’re tall!” Sophie and Violet said at the same time, their eyes filled with no small amount of awe.
“I get that a lot.” Red laughed and sat on the couch next to Willow.
“How tall are you?” James asked.
“Last time I checked, I was seven feet tall.” Red shrugged and then grinned at the shocked look she got from the young boy.
“How strong are you?” Clark asked while his brother worked out Reds height compared to him.
“I could lift you with one hand without even trying.” Red smirked and flexed her right arm, Clark just beamed at the display.
“Can you make bombs?” Phoebe asked as she almost leapt at Red, her hands under her head in an almost pleading manner.
“I can, yes.” Red nodded and backed up a bit when the teen squeed and started bouncing around the room. After Phoebe had calmed down Ethan prepared to speak when another voice came from the door at the other end of the room.
“There is only one person in this house who ever managed to get everyone to be quiet at one time.” The voice was female and sounded late-to-middle aged.
“Yep, and that person is also the only person who wouldn’t write before arriving.” Another voice, male, said just after the female. The two owners of the voices then walked through the door and faced the group. One of them was short brown haired woman who possessed a face chock full of laugh lines and dimples around the edge of her mouth, a clear sign of the laughter she often took part in. The other was average height man with greying blonde hair and tired eyes that held a sharp gleam to them hidden behind layers of mirth and joy.
“It’s great to see you two.” Willow said as she got up and gave her parents both a hug, the two adults hugging her back. “I’ve missed you.” She sighed and ended the hug with a smile on her face.
“Who’s your friend?” Willows father asked as he looked round his daughter to see the red haired woman sitting on the sofa.
“She’s certainly a big girl ain’t she?” Willows mother whistled as Red stood up as much as she could in the room.
“Actually, that’s why I decided to visit ahead of when I last said I would.” Willow nervously shuffled in place with her hand behind her back. “This is Red, she’s… um, I… We…”
“Just spit it out already.” Willows mother said as she gave Willow a light bonk on the head.
“Okay.” Willow took a few deep breaths and then steeled her nerves. “This is Red, she’s my fiancé.”
Willows parents just stared for a few seconds while the news sank in, before both of them spoke in unison.
“So you just sprang that on them, just like that?” To say that Twilight was unimpressed would be an understatement, this was on a whole other level.
“I mean… Seriously?” Spike was equally, if not more unimpressed.
“Yeah… it just sort of burst out.” Willow was blushing bright red as the two Equestrians stared at her with nonplussed expressions while Red laughed her ass off at the scene.
“Oh god, my sides.” Red finally stopped laughing and was taking deep breaths as she settled down. “Even I wouldn’t do that.”
“Well I’m sorry, but it all worked out in the end.” Willow harrumphed and blew a few strands of hair out of her face.
“It took quite a bit of explanation though before we had any chance of leaving that farm in one piece.” Red snickered and picked up her now half empty cola bottle before taking another sip. “Let’s continue on anyway.”
Flashback
The atmosphere in the room was so tense you could cut it with a spoon, the silence permeating said atmosphere was deafening. Among the fourteen people who occupied this space, over two thirds of them had dropped jaws, two of them had completely straight faces and the last one was only now realising how much she had just messed up.
“Willow.” Lucille Houston, Willows mother, currently the scariest woman on the planet, said tersely to her daughter who was almost shaking in her boots. “A word please.” She then stood aside to allow Willow passage to the kitchen, looking at her husband quickly before following her daughter.
“The kitchen will be off limits until we say so.” Jonathon Houston, Willows Father, currently the scariest man on the planet, said to everyone in the room. His eyes lingered on Red for a few seconds, judging her, before he too entered the kitchen and shut the door behind him.
The whole room was silent for a while longer before someone finally spoke up.
“So… you’re going to be our sister in law?” Phoebe asked, her overly bouncy personality lost in favour for of quiet curiosity.
“I believe so, unless your parents think otherwise.” Red said carefully as she slowly sat herself back down on the sofa.
“Should we call you sister then?” Sophie asked, hers and Violet’s hair forgotten at the revelation.
“I think it might be a bit too early for that.” Red said with a quiet laugh.
“Your name can’t just be Red though… is it?” Violet asked, she and Sophie had scooted closer to the settee.
“My full name is Rosaline Thana Red, I just prefer Red though.” Red smiled at the look of surprise on Ethan’s face.
“You’re…” He whispered out before Red gave him a mischievous grin and nodded.
“What? What is she?” the Carter asked, the others adding their own versions of the same question.
“She’s the Courier.” His eyes were filled with a mix of surprise, awe and joy.
“That I am. Courier Six at your service.” Red did a mock bow in her seat and soaked in all of the shock that filled everyone’s faces.
“No way.” James and Clark both said at the same time.
“For real?” Janette asked as she looked Red up and down with a critical eye.
“If you don’t believe me then I’ll prove it, ask me something Ethan.” Red folded her arms and gestured to Ethan.
“Um… okay, let’s see.” He flipped through the pages of his book until he found a page that he was looking for. “Here it is. The book says that the Courier won’t go anywhere without her Remington Model 1858, Sweet Revenge,” He looked up at Red as she reached into her motorcycle jacket and pulled out the gun from its holster.
“I love this gun.” She said, twirling the gun on her finger before holstering it back in its holster.
Ethan started flipping back through the book, every now and then looking back up at Red before mumbling something then continuing to flip through the pages. “Okay, this is the only way I think we can really prove that she is The Courier or not. The Courier can shoot fire from her left arm, can you do that?” They all looked expectantly at Red, who just smirked and removed her jacket and gloves before rolling up her left shirt sleeve.
“This prove it?” She activated the fireball launcher in her arm and they all watched as it shifted into its gun format.
“She’s definitely The Courier.” Ethan said after he had finished gawking at Reds arm.
“Willow’s marrying the freaking Courier?!” Carter exclaimed.
“It seems like it.” Janette said as she leant against the wall. “Dylan and Tyler aren’t gonna like that, Dad as well.”
“NCR supporters?” Red asked with a wince, pinching the bridge of her nose and sighing.
“Dad was a sergeant major before he left in favour of a job close to home.” Janette said, walking over to one of the cabinets in the room and grabbing a photo. “This is him back when he was younger.” She handed the photo to Red.
“Wow, he looks scary.” Red commented, the man in the picture looking very different to the one that she saw before Willow dropped the whole marriage thing on him.
“Yeah, he was a pretty rough one back then.” Carter agreed. “Mom says that she was able to soften him up though.”
“What about the other two, Dylan and Tyler?” Red asked as she handed the photo back to Janette.
“They’re front line soldiers, Dylan being a Corporal and Tyler a Private First Class.” Janette said as she placed the photo back on the cabinet. “They were about to join the fight in the Mojave when they received orders that the NCR was pulling out. At first they believed that the Legion had won the battle of Hoover Dam, but when word came through that the both sides were being kicked out by a Third party being led by The Courier.” She walked back over to the spot that she was at before and turned to face Red. “They were pretty ticked off at that, Dad included. They had no idea how some mysterious Third party had the strength to kick the entire NCR out of the Mojave.”
“The Securitrons were the bulk of my forces and the majority of the Remnants were more than happy to switch who they were aiming at, though Orion wasn’t happy that he couldn’t actually pull the trigger.” Red said to Janette. “Although I think I was either considered too powerful to take down, those opinions being held by the higher ups, or too respected to shoot at, those opinions being held by the troopers.”
“I can see the people in the Mojave respecting you…” James Started
“But why did the troops respect you?” Carter finished, their split question causing Red to raise an eyebrow.
“Has no one actually told you much about me?” She questioned, a large portion of the room shaking their heads.
“I know of a few things.” Ethan offered, everyone looking to him as he held his book.
“Thank you Ethan, why don’t you tell them a few of the things that I’ve done to earn the respect of the NCR troops.” Red then sat back against the arm of the chair and gestured for the kid to go one.
“Well… she did kill Caesar.” He pointed out, many jaws dropping for the second or third time that day.
“You did that?” Phoebe asked, her eyes gleaming with awe.
“Yep, stormed right into the Fort and took him down, Willow was there with as well.” Red answered with a slightly cocky smile.
“She also-“ Ethan started before he was cut off by the door to the kitchen opening and Willows father leaning round, pointing at Red and jerking his thumb in the direction of the kitchen.
“Wish me luck.” Red said as she got up off the sofa and followed Jonathon, leaving the rest of the room silent as the door shut behind her.
“So what was it that you were about to say?” Phoebe asked as she scooted closer to Ethan.
“So, Willow tells us you two are engaged.” Lucille stated as she leant against the counter in the centre of the room with Red sitting on a chair in front of both of Willow’s parents.
“Yes Ma’am.” Red affirmed, her joking attitude replaced by one of seriousness.
“We knew our daughter swung both ways, and from what she’s told us, you’re pretty open about your preferences as well.” Jonathon was at the side of the room, not far away from Red but not as close as his wife was.
“I am open about my sexuality, yes. It being polysexual if Willow hasn’t told you yet.” Red was quite nervous inside, but was managing to show a calm front quite well.
“No, she told us.” Lucille said, her expression unreadable.
“What she didn’t tell us however, was exactly who you are.” Jonathon had moved from his position and was now standing next to his wife, both of them frowning at Red, who was now starting to lose her calm mask in favour for a nervous one. “We’ll start with a simple one, what is your full name?”
“My full name is Rosaline Thana Red.” Red answered, half expecting Jonathon to realise who she was but almost sighing in relief when he didn’t.
“Rose of Red Death, Interesting.” Jonathon hummed. “What is your profession?” he asked next, causing Red to have to stop and think of a good way to sum up what she did.
“I guess my job is a combination of a few jobs. The easiest way to describe it being a mix between a Sheriff, a Mayor, a Vigilante and an ambassador… Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke.” Red smiled awkwardly at the impassive expressions on her two judge’s faces. She glanced nervously at Willow who was at the other end of the room with an apologetic smile on her face.
“I don’t quite know how that could be a job, so I’m going to ask you another question.” Lucille was the next to speak, she leant down until she was face to face with Red and her hands were on the armrests of the seat. “Who are you?” She asked simply.
Red understood the question she was being asked so she closed her eyes, calmed herself and looked straight into Lucille’s eyes.
“I am the Bane of Legion, Percussor Caesar, the leader of the metal army, I have walked the Divide and returned, the criminals of the west fear my title of Red Death and the oppressed gain hope at my coming.” Red had gained more and more confidence as she had went along, both Jonathon and Lucille recognising some of the titles and achievements. “The people I protect know me as the Hero of the Dam, the people close to me know me as friend… those even closer, family. You probably know me as a different title though, The Courier.”
The room was silent for a good while before Willow walked up to Red and linked arms with her, a determined expression on her face as she looked at her parents, waiting for them to talk.
“I expected a lot of things but that… was not one of them.” Lucille had lost her seriousness and was now almost dumbstruck with the person in front of her. Jonathon was a different case though, he was frowning at Red with an air of anger around him.
“So, my daughter is getting married to you then.” He said hotly, his eyes judging Red as she stared defiantly back at him. He suddenly lost his anger and just sighed, his posture slumping and the tiredness returning to his features. “The boys on high are going to have a fit when they hear about this.” He then walked up to Red and held out his hand to her. “While I may not understand your reasoning, I know that the people of the Mojave… and my daughter trust you, so I guess I’m willing to place my trust in you as well.”
“Thank you.” Red was a bit shocked at the turn around but shook his hand none-the-less.
“I know if anyone can keep my baby safe, it’s the Courier.” Lucille said, a faint smile gracing her lips. “We’ll have to have a talk later though, I need to hear all the details and I’m sure my husband will want to hear your reasons for kicking the NCR out of the Mojave.”
“All in due course, I know everyone else must be getting hungry for lunch so we better start working on that.” Jonathon clapped his hands and began instructing everyone on roles to do in the preparation of lunch. While this was going on Willow scooted up to Red, who was slicing the bread, and spoke to her.
“I think that went rather well in the end.” She said with a relieved smile.
“If that’s your idea of it going well I’d hate to see what going badly looks like.” Red chuckled and wrapped her arm around willows waist and kissed her on the cheek.
End of Flashback
“They just accepted you just like that?” Twilight asked as she finished her blood bag and telekinetically dropped it into the bin.
“Oh no, there were a lot of questions for the rest of the day, Dylan and Tyler being the least accepting for a while.” Red had finished her drink and had thrown it over her should and into the bin.
“My older brothers are quite stubborn when it comes to their opinions of people.” Willow said with a sigh, “Hopefully all of that will end when they come to the Mojave for the wedding and see all the good we’ve done without the NCR.”
Just then the door to the cab opened and a serious looking Arcade climbed out. He looked over to red and nodded his head before grabbing his plasma rifle and opening the back, climbing onto the top of the truck and staying there.
“We’re here.” Red said as she pulled her hat off of a hat rack and grabbed the rebreather off of the counter, placing both of them on her head and face respectively.
“Where’s here?” Twilight asked as she and Spike hopped out of their seats and stood out of the way as both Willow and Red grabbed their guns.
“We’re at the Mojave Outpost, the only place I allowed the NCR to keep hold of when I kicked them out.” Red checked her rifle and revolver over in her hands before holstering Sweet Revenge and slinging Paciencia over her shoulder.
“I thought you said the NCR wouldn’t attack you, why do you need all those guns?” Twilight followed Red up to the door with Spike on her back as she looked up at the woman.
“The troops won’t enjoy shooting me, but if they are ordered to then they will have to.” She pulled the brim of her hat down and hopped out onto the dilapidated road below. “I would recommend not speaking unless spoken to, the officers they put in charge of this outpost are not the friendly types.”
“Shouldn’t we grab our guns as well then?” Spike asked from his mother’s back.
“Best you look as unintimidating as possible, we don’t want them think we’re planning on attacking.” Willow said as she hopped down as well.
“Come on then.” Red stepped to the side to allow Twilight and Spike down. “Let’s go get our passports checked.”
Private Lewis Daniels was not a happy man. He knew his insubordination would catch up with him in the end, he just didn’t realise what the punishment would be. The Mojave Outpost was both the most boring station anyone could be sent to and, potentially, the most dangerous. When he had been told that as punishment for his latest ‘disagreement’ he would be stationed at the outpost, he had almost begged the commanding officer to give him something else. The only people who got sent to the Mojave outpost were either delinquents or hard ass veterans sent there to keep those obstreperous soldiers in line.
“This is so fucking boring.” The man next to Pvt Daniels moaned as he leant against the chain-link fence between the building and the road.
“It’s better than being attacked by Gangs, Fiends or legion Remnants.” Their CO shouted from her position on the roof. The NCR Ranger they had stationed with them had been at this Outpost for years if the stories were to be believed. She had even met the Courier before they took over Vegas.
“I’d rather have a boring job that I’m alive to do than a dangerous job that I would likely die doing.” Daniels said to his compatriot who had complained.
“But there is nothing here.” He said with a huff. “I have been at this outpost for at least a month and not a single thing even remotely dangerous has come to attack us. This job couldn’t get any worse.” He was immediately smacked round the back of his head for that comment by Daniels.
“You just had to tempt Murphey didn’t you?” He said with a scowl.
“Well murphy has taken the bait it seems.” The Ranger said from her position as she checked her rifle. “We got company.” She then began barking orders to everyone, yelling at them to get into positions and to stop lazing about.
“What are we looking to face?” Shouted one of the veterans, his LMG planted firmly on the sandbag in front of him.
“Danger level, Red Rose!” She shouted down to him, many of the other men and women steeling themselves for what they knew was to come.
“This is not my day.” Daniels grumbled from his position behind the sandbags.
Twilight was expecting many things when she saw the Mojave Outpost. A wall of guns being pointed their way was not one of them. Oh, she expected defensiveness from the soldiers, but this was quite a lot more than just plain old defence. She looked up at Arcade on the roof, his plasma rifle shifting between multiple targets ahead. Veronica had remained in the front cab of the vehicle but was no doubt aiming something at the men in front of the vehicle.
“Why are you here Courier?!” Shouted a women who was standing atop one of the buildings to Twilights left.
“Just passing through!” Red shouted back, her hands to the sides of her head. “I don’t want any trouble!”
“What’s with the two… things you’ve got there?!” The Ranger looked at both Spike and Twilight, her gaze sending chills down their spines.
“These two are Twilight and Spike.” Red answered, gesturing to each of them respectively. “They’re friends.”
“Hi” “Hello” Twilight and Spike greeted.
“Why are you leaving the Mojave?” She asked, a scowl making its way onto her face.
“We’re headed to the Sierra Madre.” Red lowered her arms and removed the rebreather from her face. “That place is dangerous and can’t be allowed to remain standing, I don’t know what I was thinking when didn’t blow up the entire place.”
The Ranger mulled it over for a moment before sighing and gesturing her head for them to come through. “Get your ass in here while I call this in to command, I’m not supposed to let you anywhere without first consulting them.”
“Thanks” Red turned to look up at Arcade and gestured for him to hop down from on top of the truck. She then turned to Twilight and Spike. “Come on you two, Veronica will drive the truck into the Outpost, we’ll head inside to speak to Ghost.”
“I’ll stay with Veronica.” Willow said as she went round the back and hopped inside, Arcade following her.
The interior of the Outpost was a little different from the last time that Red had been here. What used to be the bar had now been converted into a mess hall and the bunk room at the end of the building had gained a lot more beds. The section in between the two now had a makeshift wall with a door that turned it into small office which was where Red, Twilight and Spike were sitting. The Ranger, now known as Ghost, sat across from them with a radio in front of her which she was using.
“Look I know what the brass will say sir, but it’s not like she’s banned from leaving the Mojave.” She sighed, lifting her aviators off of her nose and rubbing her eyes. “If you’re that worried sir, then tell the brass that I let them through before radioing it in to you, I’m already at the worst place anyone can be sent to, the worst they can do is dock my pay.” There was a few moments where Ghost didn’t speak before she sighed. “If you think that’s for the best then okay.” She pushed her shades back up her nose. “Yes sir, will do sir.”
“So what’s the verdict?” Red asked.
“They want me to send one of our veterans out with you to the Madre.” Ghost turned off the radio and placed the microphone down. “It’s not like I could actually stop you from leaving in the first place, we are located in you territory.”
“I know, I’d rather not start any conflict with the NCR if I can avoid it.” Red said nonchalantly and straightened her hat out. “Any idea who you’re gonna send with us?”
“I think I’ll send PFC Daniels with you.” Ghost said with a faint smile on her face.
“I thought they said to send a veteran, isn’t that a bit of a low rank for him to be a veteran?” Red questioned the Ranger, her confusion clearly written on her face.
“By the time you guys will be back from the Madre, he’ll be a veteran.” She smirked and got up from her seat. “I’ll go get him.”
After she had left, Twilight looked up at Red with a questioning gaze. “What did she mean by them being located in your territory, I thought this was the border between your land and the NCR’s?”
“Technically my territory goes on for about a mile beyond the Outpost.” Red said, lighting a cigarette and placing it in her mouth. “This is the only building for a good few miles though so I let them stay here and they fortified the place even more. I still have jurisdiction over this land though, meaning I should be allowed to pass through without even checking in.”
“So why don’t you then?” Spike asked.
“Like I said, I prefer not to cause any trouble with the NCR, don’t want another war so soon after I ended the last one.” Red said.
“That wouldn’t start a war would it?” Twilight asked, an incredulous expression on her face.
“The majority of the generals at the top of the NCR want me, and everyone who has power and agrees with me, dead. The only ones who don’t are the ones who were there during the NCR - Legion war.” Red explained.
“So as always, the ignorant people in power want something purely because they don’t have it.” Twilight rolled her eyes.
“You got people like that back home?” Red asked as she took another drag of her cigarette.
“There are quite a few Gryphon politicians who have that mind-set, that’s not to say that they are all like that, it’s just they had a conquest like culture a lot longer than a lot of the other races, Ponies included.” Twilight explained. “The first time Celestia took me to the Annual Summit of all the world powers, I had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting a few of those politicians, and let me tell you, they were not at all pleased about another princess in the Equestrian Triumvirate, now of course being a Quadrumvirate.”
“This world, before and after the war, is full of those people.” Red scoffed “And the NCR has its fair share of them running it. The only high ranking military officers I’ve met and not wished to punch in the face were General Hsu, previously Colonel Hsu, and Colonel Moore, who despite also being one of the ones who wants me either dead or disposed from my seat of power, has a huge amount of my respect.”
“Why does she want you out of the Mojave?” Spike asked before thinking back on his question and adding, “Apart from the obvious reasons.”
“She wants me gone because of me taking over made a lot of her efforts all for nothing, I spoke profusely with her while negotiating what the NCR would be able to do in my territory and she was not a happy bunny with the outcome.” Red then laughed “Once the Negotiations were over she stormed right up to me and socked me right in the face, broke my nose if I remember correctly. Of course Willow wouldn’t let that stand which is why Moore was walking funny when the NCR actually left… I hope she can still have kids though.”
Twilight was aghast at the thought that Willow may have caused the Colonel to become infertile with what she assumed was a very powerful kick to the genital area. *I don’t think I could live with not being able to have foals* She thought to herself, shuddering with the prospect.
“Yeah I heard about that on the radio.” Ghost said as she walked into the room with a younger black haired man following her. “Thankfully the Colonel was massively out of order so no major problems arose.”
“When they finally did leave, Moore walked, well hobbled really, right up to Willow and stared her in the eyes before placing her hand on her shoulder and saying “Good Kick” and then she got on the Vertibird and left.” Red said with a laugh.
“Well that bit wasn’t broadcasted on the Radio.” Ghost said before she sat down at her desk and opened up a bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla and took a sip. “Red, this is Private First Class Daniels, he’ll be the lucky man to go with you on your journey to the Sierra Madre.”
“Nice to meet you private.” Red said, holding out her hand which he shook. “You looking forward to traveling with the almighty Courier?” She asked in a bombastic manner, earning a laugh out of Twilight. “What? I didn’t think it was that funny.” Red questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“No, no. It’s just that you reminded me of my… um… friend Trixie, her stage title is The Great and Powerful Trixie.” Twilight coughed into her hoof after she finished the sentence rather quietly. Red shot Spike a confused look at which a he responded with him pointing his thumb at Twilight and then making the shape of a heart with both of his claws together.
“Oh okay, anyway, you ready to leave soon?” Red asked Daniels.
“Yes ma’am, I’ll grab my gear and be ready in ten.” He then looked over at Ghost.
“Dismissed Private.” She said with a nod, at which he made his way out of the room at a brisk pace.
“Any particular reason why you decided him over any other man or woman?” Red asked as she got up and stamped her cigarette out.
“A few actually. One, he has a similar way of thinking as you. Two, he really does not belong on this station, he’s going stir crazy here. And three, he needs the experience, and he’s going to get plenty of it traveling with you.” Ghost took another sip from her bottle and lifted her legs up onto her desk.
“What do you mean by ‘similar way of thinking’?” Red enquired.
“The reason he was sent here was because her refused to follow orders when told to deal with a family that had been causing trouble for some on-high business man who had bought the land from the person who they were living under.” She smiled as she placed the bottle down and fished out a report from her desk. “He instead dug through a lot of paperwork and discovered that the family needed to have a place to go before they could be evicted. Of course, they still got evicted, but not before they were paid by the Business man and the NCR for the trouble.”
“I bet the officials who had obviously ‘not’ been bribed by the Business man were not too happy with his decision.” Red said with a smirk. “Sounds like my kind of guy.”
“Sorry, he wouldn’t be interested in you.” Ghost said with a knowing look in her eyes.
It took Red a few seconds to figure out what she meant before she gained a look of realisation and nodded her head. A few seconds later her look became confused, then slightly irritated before settling on bemused.
“Twilight watched the whole thing and was left with a perplexed expression on her face. “What’s the problem?”
“I just realised that out of everyone I’ve been traveling with, only three of them are straight, four if you count Lily.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “What are we, the Gay Brigade?”
“I’m straight.” Spike said with a raised claw.
“Five then.” Red sighed and slumped in our seat. “I mean, I have zero problems with any of them, it’s just that it seems that I’m attracting them like moths to a flame.” Red then perked up and looked over at Ghost. “I just realised, how’s Knighty?”
“Major Knight left about three months ago to get engaged.” Ghost said with a smile.
“Aww, why didn’t he tell me he was getting married?” Red pouted.
“I do believe he decided to move into Freeside with his husband. So I would assume he didn’t want you bugging him constantly.” Ghost smirked and finished the last of her drink off.
“I’ll have to go visit him when I get back and tell him off for trying to run away from his friends.” Red said with a huff. Just as she said that, Private Daniels came back into the room, fully kitted out carrying a duffel bag.
“I’m ready to leave ma’am.” He said, snapping a salute to Ghost.
“We best get going then.” Red clapped her hands and stood up, the other occupants of the room following after her. “The Journey will be about two days long if nothing goes wrong, though that probably means the journey will take three at minimum.”
“I’ve got enough stuff to last that long.” Daniels said with a nod.
“I don’t mean food, though if we could buy a few groceries here then I would much appreciate it, I mean you’ll be cramped inside a small truck for about three to four days. Can you last that long?” Red asked him dead seriously, causing the man to gulped and hesitantly nod his head. “We’ll see about that.”
They exited the building and started making their way to the truck where Arcade was chatting with a few of the female soldiers.
“Yo Arcade! We good to go?” Red shouted over to him.
“We’re ready.” He then spotted Daniels with them. “Who’s this?”
“This is PFC Daniels, he’ll be joining us on this trip.” Red gestured to the man himself and he held out his hand which Arcade shook.
“Nice to meet you.” Daniels said.
“Yeah… anyway, you anything left to do before we go?” Arcade asked as he turned to Red.
“I’ll see if I can pick up any Groceries, Oh and if any of you guys need the toilet, I would recommend going now before we get going.” This earned a sheepish smile from Twilight who just realised that she hadn’t been in quite a while. “It’s in that building further up, I’ll come with so I can buy stuff at the store.”
After they had left and Ghost had gone back to her position on the roof, Daniel turned to Arcade.
“Soo, what’s with the winged unicorn?” he asked
“It’s a looong story.” Arcade said with a sigh, “And it’ll only get longer.”
The group had been driving for a good few hours since leaving the Mojave Outpost, Daniels having taken Twilights spot in the back of the truck so that Arcade could explain the purpose of the venture. They had long since left the desert area of the Mojave and were now driving in the mountains, following winding roads between sheer rock faces and steep drops. Twilight herself was sitting in the front with Willow who was giving her a rundown on how the truck ran.
“Do you want a long version or a short version?” Willow asked.
“Well, I don’t have any paper to write notes on so give a detailed but easy to remember explanation if you could.” Twilight said, preparing her brain to remember the information she was about to receive.
“Okay, hmm… let’s start with the basics.” She began. “Most cars, trucks, trains, ships, and planes are all powered by nuclear fission which is also known as nuclear power. Nuclear power is the controlled use of nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is the energy in uranium and plutonium that can be released by reactions in a nuclear reactor. This energy is made into electricity, which then can be used to power the vehicles and many other devices. An example of another machine that requires this form of power would be the Mr. and Mrs. Handy robots.” She stopped speaking to make a turn on the road, giving Twilight time to ask a question.
“Is that how this vehicle works then?” She asked, a slight worry building up inside her as to the exposure to the radiation that would be emitted from such an engine.
“No actually, this truck actually runs on a rare model of engine that uses combustion to produce its power, a very prized commodity in this day and age where fission cells are being used for combat instead of power.” She tapped on a large cap that was fitted in the center of the dashboard. “This engine itself has been tinkered with throughout the years that it has seen use. When Red first bought it, it was running off of the same fuel that gets used for the flame throwers and incinerators that you see being wielded by Fiends and other raider gangs.” Twilight shuddered at the mention of that particular group of individuals and subconsciously pressed her legs together and shifted her tail to block her more private areas. This didn’t go unnoticed by Willow who shot a concerned look towards the pony at her side.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought them up.” She gently patted Twilights shoulder in an attempt to sooth the mare, ultimately making her flinch though instead at the contact. This made Twilight look up at Willow apologetically
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude and I just… I…” She sighed and slouched back against her seat with a tired expression on her face.
“You have nothing to be sorry about, what happened to you should was not your fault and you should not have to apologize to anyone about it.” Willow said in a sympathetic voice.
“I know it’s not my fault though.” Twilight said with a whine as she held her hooves to the sides of her head. “I can’t stop thinking about how this has affected Spike though. I’ve noticed the changes too, he is so nonchalant about all of the death in this world and he talks about it like everyone that would hurt us deserves to die.” She shivered and pulled her hooves around herself. “I can handle what happened to me… well maybe not as well as I think, but I’m managing, but I can’t even begin to comprehend what Spike went through. Listening his Mom being… hurt… and him not being able to do a thing about it, apart from listen and wait until he sees me lying there.” Twilight slammed her hoof onto the dashboard, cracking one of the dials and causing the glove compartment to pop open. “It’s not fair!” She shouted, slamming her hoof down again, thankfully not breaking anything this time.
Willow pulled the truck over to a small area of open dirt by the side of the road and turned to face Twilight before pulling the alicorn into a fierce hug, one which Twilight accepted readily. They sat there for a moment, Willow making soothing noises to calm her down. As Willow held Twilight, the opening to the back of the truck slid open and Red looked through. She was just about to ask why they had stopped when she saw the situation and directed a concerned look at Willow who just shook her head. Red nodded and closed the hatch back up, leaving Willow to comfort Twilight until she calmed down enough.
“What’s going on then?” Arcade asked as Red shut the hatch to the front of the truck. “Why’ve we stopped?”
“Twilight had a bit of a moment and Willows calming her down.” She answered. Spike was about to get up and go see Twilight when he was stopped by Red. “I think that she may just need time to calm down, I wouldn’t go in there right now.”
“But-.”
“I’m sorry Spike but I’ve seen this happen to lots of people in my time roaming the wastes. I bet Willow will come out of the front any second now.” Red said, no less than five seconds later the hatch opened up and Willow walked out.
“We staying the rest of the night here then?” Daniels asked as he got up from his seat.
“Twilight needs some time alone, so I guess we are.” Willow walked over to the kitchenette and opened one of the cupboards below the counter. She pulled out a large tarpaulin, opened the back door to the truck and climbed up to the roof of the truck.
“What’s she doing?” Spike asked.
“She’s setting up the waterproof tarpaulin so that we can sleep outside and not worry about the rain.” Red said. “Anyone have any preference for what they want to eat for tonight?” She asked as she started checking the fridge and cabinets for ingredients. “How do people fell about… gecko and squirrel stew with some noodles?”
“I’m cool with whatever you make.” Said Daniels, a loud rumbling from the bunk above told Red that Veronica agreed.
“Then I’ll get started on that, you mind lending me a hand Spike?” Red asked as she began taking the necessary ingredients out of their respective cupboards and the fridge.
“Sure” Sighed Spike as he climbed up onto the counter and washed his claws.
Arcade grabbed the spare table and Daniels helped him by grabbing the set of chairs from a floor panel under the carpet and they both made their way out to set them up. Veronica climbed out of the bunk and took out the sleeping bags with her as she exited the truck. This just left Spike and Red preparing the food in the small kitchen area with Spike sitting atop the dividing wall of the truck, tearing the meat apart with his claws and placing the bits in a bowl for the stew. Red was chopping a few assorted vegetables and fruits to put in the stew with the meat when she came to putting it all together. Once she had finished cutting and was placing all of the pieces into a pot she glanced at Spike and noticed his sad expression.
“You okay?” she asked, fully expecting a no or a dishonest answer.
“Not really.” He said, an almost imperceptible sigh escaping his mouth. “I don’t like not being able to help mom, she thinks that it hurts me when I see here in a state but it hurts more when she won’t let me help her.” He handed Red the bowl with the chunks of meat in and she added it to the pot. After water and a few flavorings and thickeners were added to the mix, she put the pot on the stove and left it there to cook. She leant against the wall so that she could face Spike and thought about what she knew on how he could comfort Twilight.
“I think she isn’t ready for all the help that she needs, I know that makes you feel powerless and miserable but you can’t go about forcing these things.” She sighed and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one in her mouth with her thumb.
“Can I have one of those?” Spike asked hesitantly.
“I’m not about to go around handing cigs to a minor, and I don’t want to face the wrath of your mother.” Red frowned and blew a wisp of smoke out the back of the truck before turning back to face Spike.
“I’m seventeen you know, I can make my own decisions, it’s not like it would harm me anyway, and dragon organs are a lot tougher than your tin can lungs I bet.” He snarked with a roll of his eyes. “I’m tired of being considered a child just because my body makes me look like one. I hoped that this world might treat me differently because of the hardships that can happen at any age, I guess I was wrong.” He turned away and gazed at the door that was separating his mother from him. He felt a tapping on his shoulder to find Red holding out a small pack of lightly coloured cigarettes, he took the pack out of her hand before looking up at her with a puzzled expression.
“I’m not about to give you some of my Black Deaths just yet… but I guess can let you start of small if you’re old enough to be making these decisions on your own.” She held out her thumb for him allowing him to light one of the cigarettes, to which he shook his head and breathed a small gout of flame at the end of the cigarette. “I don’t know why you would want to start smoking when everyone you know is telling you it’s a bad idea though.”
“I’ve heard the soldiers back home who have faced something that haunted them say that it helps ease the stress and alleviate the tension.” He held the cigarette out in front of him and brought it to his lips, pausing for a small bit before inhaling. He held it for a while with a contemplative expression on his face before breathing out the smoke, the cloud crackling with a slight green tint of his dragon fire. “Kind of spicy, bitter as well, it’s got an almost chemical taste to it.”
“There’s a lot of bad stuff in those things, the main ingredient in being tobacco, though I’m sure you knew that one. There are over 4,000 chemicals in them. 51 of these are known to be carcinogenic, something that causes cancer. Chemicals in cigarettes and cigarette smoke are known to cause not only cancer but also other serious health problems. Many of the chemicals are poisonous. If someone ate one pack of cigarettes, they would die.” Red said as she held up her pack so that Spike could see the warning that was printed on it.
“Dragons have immune systems that could destroy a pony if they were in the dragon’s blood stream, there’s never been a reported case of a dragon getting cancer.” Spike took another puff of the cigarette.
“Three of the most widely known chemicals are nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide. Nicotine is a strong poisonous drug. It is the main ingredient in insecticides or bug sprays. In its pure form, just one drop on someone’s tongue would kill them, I would know, I’ve got a bottle of that stuff in my poisons kit back home. I make sure I keep all that bad stuff locked away, but I have used it to tip a few darts when the person I was killing couldn’t be taken out by a simple gunshot.” She pulled out her revolver and twirled it on her finger before holstering it.
“A problem you had to deal with without gunning someone, shock horror.” Spike mock exclaimed, Red smacking him on the head for his snarky remark.
“I have tried to deal with all of the problems I’ve come across non-violently, it’s just that sometimes, that doesn’t work out and you need to take more… drastic measures.” She frowned and took another puff from her own cigarette. “Anyway, the next big ingredient in them gives them the name I often call them by. Tar is an oily material which remains after tobacco passes through the filter. When the smoker inhales, a lot of the tar sticks to the lungs, blackening them.”
“I’ve inhaled pure sulphur dioxide into my lungs and only coughed because there was not enough air in the mix.” Said Spike.
“Well good for you mister “I’m too cool for noxious gases” what do you want, a medal?” Red said sarcastically, earning a chuckle from Spike. “I suppose that means the last ingredient won’t cause you any trouble either, considering that it’s carbon monoxide.”
“Nah, that doesn’t do anything for me either, though that’s probably the bitter taste I’m getting from them.” He said with a shrug.
He and Red lapsed into silence after that, both of them smoking their cigarettes out the back of the truck into the mountain air. After they had both finished their cigarettes, Red looked at Spike and saw that he was still upset. She checked the pot, giving the stew a stir before sitting with her legs over the edge of the exit out the truck. Gesturing for Spike to sit down next to her, Red pulled out a small, bruised and battered book from inside her duster pocket which had “Personal Guide” carved in the leather with what looked like a knife and filled with a paint of some kind.
“What’s that?” Spike asked once he saw Red flicking through the small book.
“It’s a book I’ve been writing on the types of people I’ve come across in my travels and their personalities, though I also include things on situations that require a certain kind of dealing with.” She said as she continued flicking through the pages until she found the page she was looking for.
“Isn’t that kind of disrespectful?” Spike asked as he raised an eyebrow.
“There’s nothing in here about the actual people I get this information from, it’s only their personality architypes and how I can help them or make them back down from doing something that causes too much damage.” She explained.
“That sounds like something used to manipulate others if you ask me.” Spike huffed and folded his arms sceptically.
“I suppose you could see it as that, but I mostly use it so I can avoid resorting to violence with people I don’t need to be violent towards, even if that means I have to manipulate them in some way. I’m not proud of doing it, but if it saves lives that deserved to be saved, then it’s something that I would do again.” Red finally found the page she was looking for and held it out so that Spike could see it. “This is the page I wanted to show you, I think you might want to give it a look.”
Spike sighed and scooted closer to Reds side, taking a look at the book that she held out for him.
“Helping someone who doesn’t want help?” He read the title of the page out questioningly, looking up at Red with a confused look on his face.
“I recognise what your mom is going through, she doesn’t want people to help her and she feels that asking for it will make things worse or show a weakness that she believes can’t be witnessed.” She said sadly, a sympathetic smile on her face as she rubbed Spikes shoulder. “I don’t usually come across people like this who I can stay with long enough to help to the best of my abilities, but I have spoken enough with people who have dealt with these sorts of issues before. I copied down what they told me and I have made the most of what little experience I have.” She handed the whole book which Spike took in his hands and began reading in full. “I’ve got to go speak with Willow quickly, once I get back we’ll see what you think you want to do and go from there.” She got up, her feet landing on the dirt outside the truck before she made her way round the truck.
“I guess this could be useful.” Spike said to himself as he started to read the rest of the page.
Causes: (most commonly found) 1. A strong sense of bravado or stubbornness 2. A deep care for someone who they believe they need to keep safe 3. A belief that the world rests on their shoulders (Not egotistical) 4. Brought up in an environment that encourages dealing with one’s own problems
What not to do: 1. Try and force the issue 2. Put pressure on them 3. Avoid them
What to do: (independently or in conjunction with each other) 1. Be available to listen to them when they need 2. Offer help if they reach out to you and ask for your help 3. Keep yourself healthy as well as them (see notes)
Notes: I haven’t got much experience with this so all of these pieces of information should be taken with a grain of salt. What I have been often told though is to make sure that I shouldn’t let my own health cause a detriment to the person I’m trying to help.
Spike re-read the page and pondered what it said. *I can see why Red wanted me to read this, I suppose mom would fit into this category.* He decided to flip through a few more pages before Red came back, which wasn’t very long as about three minutes later she came back with two Nuka Colas in her hands which she offered one of them to Spike.
“So, you understand what I mean when you shouldn’t just barge in there?” She asked as she opened her own bottle and took a sip.
“Yeah, I get why you didn’t want me just going in there.” Spike conceded. “It still sucks that I can’t just help though.”
“I never said you couldn’t help, you just have to take your time with how you go about it.” Red checked the pot and gave it a taste. “I think we can start prepping the noodles now, think you’re up for it?” She asked jokingly.
“Oh jeez, not the noodles, it’s not like I had to cook every meal for mom as she has absolutely no cooking skill.” Spike said sarcastically, both him and red chuckling as they got onto preparing the rest of the meal. They cooked quietly, only talking when it was to do with the food. Soon enough they had finished and were dishing out the food into the bowls for everyone, Red taking the bowls in her arms intended for Willow and the others outside and Spike taking the bowls for himself and Twilight. He knocked on the hatch and waited for Twilight to open up, a sigh escaping his mouth as he realised that she wasn’t going to open up.
“Mom, I’ve got dinner here and I’m still under that order from Princess Celestia to make sure you stay fed.” He said jokingly, hoping that his attempt at humour would get Twilight to respond. About ten seconds later the hatch opened and he was allowed into the front.
“Thanks Spike.” Twilight said hoarsely as she took the bowl and cutlery that Spike held out for with her magic, a slight smile gracing her face. “Though, I think Princess meant that for when I had just arrived at Ponyville.”
“Hey, I have my honour to uphold and I will not go against a princesses orders… unless of course, that order goes against my honour.” He said, holding his claw over his heart in a fist and standing up straight.
“Such an honourable drake, what did I ever do to deserve you.” Twilight smiled and hugged Spike with her hooves which he reciprocated in a heartbeat.
“You raised me, were there for me and held me when I needed it, that’s enough for me.” He tightened the hug. “Now let me do the same for you.”
“Spike-“
“Just… just let me help you mom, you don’t have to do this alone.” He said kindly, shifting slightly so that he could look Twilight in the eyes. “I can’t just sit here and watch you beat yourself up about this.”
“But it hurts so much.” Twilight said sniffling “I don’t want you to see me like this, I can’t stand the idea of not being strong for you, I need to stay strong.” She was having trouble keeping her composure as she spoke, tears already beading at the corners of her eyes.
“You can’t do this alone though.” Spike said sadly “I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you before-“
“No, please, it wasn’t your-“
“No, let me finish.” Spike almost ordered, shocking Twilight. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you before, but I won’t let anything stop me from helping you now. Don’t shut me out, don’t shut any of us out.” He held his claw on the sides of Twilights head and made her look him in the eyes. “Please mom, tell me what we can do and we’ll do it. We won’t force anything, but you don’t have to do this alone.”
Twilights lip started quivering until she couldn’t hold it anymore and she broke down entirely, clinging tightly to Spike as she bawled her eyes out and blubbered out apologies and other words. Spike just held her in his arms as she let out all of her pent up stress, even as she began drumming her hooves into his chest, he kept holding onto her silently. This went on for a few more minutes until Twilight had cried away all of her tears and was laying there sniffling and taking haggard breaths. Spike reached over and took Twilights bowl of stew and reheated it with a slight breath of fire. He then began feeding the food to Twilight, which she was reluctant to at first before relenting to her babying and ate the food which Spike held out for on the end of the fork.
“I can eat the food myself.” Twilight said in a quiet but slightly indignant voice.
“I know.” Spike said as he skewered a chunk of gecko on the end of his fork and held out in front of Twilights mouth, which she reluctantly bit into after rolling her eyes, which brought a smile to Spikes face and a small one to her own.
After they had finished their meals and Spike had put the bowls to one side and turned the cab light off, they both sat on one of the chairs that was looking out of the front window of the truck. Their eyes were on the sky as the clouds cleared and revealed the mass of shining stars that lay above them.
“It’s beautiful.” Said Spike, huddling closer to Twilight almost out of instinct.
“It’s amazing how this sky is completely untouched, no being has moved any of the stars around to paint a picture, this is all natural.” Twilight was surprised at the beauty that this chaotic thought brought. This world had no controlled magic at all, and yet it had managed to not only reach the same level as ponykind, but had also surpassed it in so many ways. It was humbling to see how easy it was for all of it to crumble though, destroying what must have once been a thriving technological world and leaving a wasteland in its place. And yet the world still moved on, the sun and moon still rose and set, the clouds still rained, and the animals kept going with their daily lives. She hadn’t realised how much her world relied on the ponies to keep it going until now, she had just thought of it as the natural way of doing things, but now she saw it as something almost controlling. Of course, many on Equus were happy with the way things were, with the exception of a few notable beings such as Discord and a few would-be leaders who thought that the world should be controlled by them.
“I know, I guess Discord was right when he said that chaos can be okay to look at.” Spike joked, startling twilight out of her train of thought.
“I think I may have to agree with Discord on that point…” Twilight conceded “Though I’m still going to buck him in the balls when we get home.” She added as an after thought
“Yeah, I think I might singe his eyebrows off, maybe with a touch of order magic to make it stay that way for a bit.” They both chuckled quietly at the idea of Discord without his bushy eyebrows.
Twilight looked down at Spike and smiled, pulling him into an embrace and nuzzling his head. Spike was surprised at first but soon smiled as well and wrapped his around Twilights back, a happy murmur emitting from his mouth. Twilight began humming pinkies smile song quietly as Spike began to doze off in her arms. *He can’t even begin to know how proud of him I am.* She thought to herself. *He’s grown up to be one of the kindest, bravest and most caring little guy I know, and I couldn’t be happier.* As Spike’s breaths became more gentle, she looked down to see him sleeping peacefully and kissed the top of his forehead, causing him to smile in his sleep and snuggle closer into her chest.
“I love you my number one son.” She said quietly before she too, drifted off to sleep.
Red smiled as she watched the two fall asleep in the front of the truck, her stealthboy turning off as she made her way back to the others who were all sitting around a campfire that Willow had set up.
“How are they?” Veronica asked, her normal nightgown having been replaced with a thick woolly jumper that went past her thighs and hung over the ends of her arms.
“They’re asleep, it’s one of the most adorable sights you’ll ever see.” Red said as she sat down next to Willow on their sleeping bag. “I think Twilight is letting herself get better now.”
“What do you mean?” Asked Daniels, his own sleeping bag sitting across the fire from Red and Willows, a pair of jogging bottoms and a shirt being his sleepwear.
“I think she was punishing herself for everything that she sees as her fault.” Red said sadly, using a stick to poke the fire. “I’ve done it to myself a lot of times in the past, heck, I still do it every now and again now.”
“It’s something people who care do.” Willow said as she hugged onto Reds arm, and kissed her on the cheek. “And you are one of the most caring people I know.”
“Thanks hun” Red kissed Willow back.
“So you think she’ll stop blaming herself for whatever it is she thinks is her fault.” Arcade asked, his onesie remaining the only set of bed wear to not be different.
“No, I don’t think she’ll ever stop blaming herself, but she won’t be punishing herself like this anymore, and hopefully she realises that everyone is here to help her get through it.” Red yawned at stretched her arms. “I think it’s best that we get some shut-eye. I want everyone to be up early enough to reach the Madre by tomorrow evening at the latest.”
Everyone crawled into their own sleeping bags with Willow getting in hers and Red while Red got up to head towards the truck.
“Where’re you going?” She asked Red.
“I just got to go do something quickly, I’ll be right back.” She entered the back of the truck and searched around under the bunks until she found what she was looking for. It was a large thick light grey blanket that she kept for cold nights. Blanket in hand, she opened the hatch to the front as quietly as she could and entered the cab, she made a soft d’aww at the close up sight of the two equestrians curled up together. Being careful not to wake them, she lay the blanket over their resting forms and began tiptoeing off. The sound of stirring made her look towards the sound, where a tired looking Twilight was smiling at her.
“Thankyou.” She whispered, her fatigued but sincere smile never leaving her face.
“Don’t mention it.” Red said with a nod as she left Twilight to get back to sleep, closing the hatch as she went.
As the sun peaked over the tops of the surrounding mountains, the makeshift campsite that housed the group was as quiet as a nightkin in slippers. Everyone was asleep except for Twilight who lay with Spike still in her forelegs, a content look on her face. She watched as a few birds flew around the sky ahead of her, weaving and diving in what looked like a sort of avian dance. A sense of longing grew in her heart as she watched them fly, an aching in her wings made her extend them around herself.
“I haven’t flown properly in a long while.” She mused quietly. “Maybe I can get a few minutes of flying in.”
Carefully, as not to wake Spike up, she picked him up in her magic and placed him back on the seat once she had stood up. He frowned slightly and clung to the blanket but did not wake up, much to the relief of Twilight. After she had made it out of the truck, Twilight trotted past everyone’s sleeping bags and made her way to a stream that flowed on the other side of the road to where the truck had stopped. Remembering a piece of advice that she had read in the Survival Guide, she placed the hoof with her Pip-boy on into the stream to check for any radiation which, thankfully, there was none. She dipped the end of her muzzle into the stream and drank heartily until she felt that her thirst was quenched, taking an empty bottle from her pack and filling it with the river water.
Once she had stepped out of the stream, Twilight walked out into a clearing a few metres away from any trees or rock faces, and began ruffling her wings in preparation for her flight. She used her pegasus senses to feel for any coming updrafts and slowly spread her wings, getting ready for one that she felt would arrive in a few seconds.
*4, 3, 2, 1,* She counted in her head before a large gust of warm air lifted her into the air with the help of a powerful flap of her wings. After stabilising her accent and stopping at a level altitude, Twilight began flapping her wings and doing small manoeuvres through the air, a few spins and loops making their way into the flight. *This feels amazing!* She yelled in her head, a grin breaking onto her face. *The air is so clear up here, I bet I would only find trace amounts of sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides.*
“CAWWW!” Came the screeching call of a bird as it flew past Twilight, joining the rest of its flock. Twilight smirked and flew into the group and began joining in on the almost game-like flight they were taking part in. She laughed as they flew around her and began ducking and diving, trying to shake the few that were following her and catch the few that were ahead. This lasted for a few minutes before Twilight got tired and decided to land back on the ground, panting with a large smile on her face.
“You looked like you were having a good time.” A voice said from behind Twilight, spooking her and causing her to make a loud whinny like noise. Once Twilight had managed to calm her beating heart she turned around to find Red trying desperately to hold back her laughs, eventually failing in her attempt and bursting out in guffaws.
“Yeah, yeah laugh it up.” Twilight grumbled. She flopped onto her haunches and folded her forelegs in a childish manner, pouting all the while.
“Sorry, that was just too funny.” Red said as she stopped laughing and sat down next to Twilight who had now attracted the attention of the birds she was playing up with earlier, a few of them sitting around her and another on her head. “Seems you’re as good with animals as I am.” She said as she held out her hand and one of the birds landed on it.
“Birds and pegasi have always had a way with each other.” Twilight said as she carefully stroked one of the birds next hers neck. “Since I’m an alicorn I get that bonus as well.”
They sat with the birds for a short while, Red pulling a bag of nuts and seeds out of her bag and handing some to Twilight who began scattering them for the birds.
“So how’re you feeling?” Red asked as she continued to scatter the seeds.
“Better.” Twilight answered “I really needed the talk that Spike gave me.”
“I hope you know that we’re all here for you as well, no matter what it is you need.” Red placed her hand on Twilights shoulder and gave her a kind smile, one which Twilight returned. “We’re your friends and friends help each other.” Twilight giggled causing Red to smile and raise an eyebrow. “What did I say?”
“You’d make a good Princess of Friendship.” She snickered. Red just looked shocked for a second before she nervously chuckled.
“I don’t think I’m princess material, that stuff is too froo-frooey for my tastes.” She muttered. This just twilight to laugh louder, making Red join her.
“What are you two laughing about?” the voice of Daniels said as he tiredly walked over to the pair. This caused the birds to fly around in shock. This caused Twilight to fall over onto her back, scatter seeds all over herself, which in turn resulted in the birds returning and pecking her all over, making her giggle.
“Just girl stuff.” Red said with a wave of her hand and a smile as she watched the birds mercilessly tickle the poor purple pony.
“Count me in then.” He sang in an overly flamboyant manner.
“Seriously?” Red raised her eyebrow as he sat down on a log next to them.
“Hey, don’t diss.” He said back in his normal voice. “I don’t get to talk with actual girls often.”
“What do you *ha-ha* mean by, stop it, by actual girls?” twilight asked as she finally manged to get the flock of birds off of her and sit up.
“All the women at the outpost are all hardened soldiers or Butchs” He said in an exasperated manner, rolling his eyes in conjunction.
“What’s a Butch?” Twilight asked, a confused look on her face.
“It means a woman, often a lesbian, who adopts a masculine personality.” Red answered for Daniels, who gestured to Red in agreement.
“There was no one to talk with about anything that I actually enjoyed talking about.” He sighed and held his head in his palms and his elbows on his knees.
“Well, Willow and Veronica are likely to have more to say than we would, but I guess you can talk with us if you want.” Red conceded as she lifted herself onto the log that Daniels was sitting on.
“’I’ll speak with them once they’re up.” He nodded and yawned.
“So, where’re you from?” Red questioned.
“I was born in the Boneyard and spent most of my early life there with my family. My childhood was pretty average for most people living there.” He answered “We had to move though once my Dads business fell through because of a local gang that had begun to ask for extortionate prices for “Protection” that caused more damage than they said they were stopping.”
“Sounds like they deserved sorting out.” Red grunted with a scowl, Twilight nodding her head in agreement with the statement.
“Well I don’t know what happened after we left so I couldn’t tell you if they have been sorted out yet, but I would hope they have.” He pulled out a folded up photo from the pocket of his jogging bottoms and showed it to Red and Twilight. “This is my family.” There were four people in the photo; an older woman who had black hair and green eyes; an older man with brown hair and grey eyes and a long scar traveling the length of his jaw; a younger man who had a brown hair and green eyes, presumably Daniels; and a younger woman with black hair and grey eyes. “The one next to me is my sister, Laura.”
“She’s very pretty.” Twilight said with a smile.
“Yeah, all of them are back home in The Hub right now, a majority of my paycheck goes back to them.” He took the photo back and folded it up and put it in his pocket. “Well anyway, I think it’s time I got dressed.” He stood up and stretched his arms before turning around and making his way back to the truck.
“We need to be going soon anyway. I’ll go wake up the others, you wake up Spike okay?” Red asked as she threw the last of the seeds at the Birds.
“Okay.” Twilight nodded.
Once Red had left, Twilight waved at the birds with her wing and made her way into the Truck, knocking first to make sure that no-one was in there. She entered the cab of the truck to fins Spike still sleeping in the same position that he was before, the blanket firmly grasped in his claws as a substitute for Twilight. She smiled down at him and gently nudged his shoulder with her hoof.
“Time to wake up Spike.” She said quietly, her voice and the nudging causing Spike to yawn and start to wake up. “Morning sleepyhead.”
“Morning mom.” He said tiredly as he sat up and pulled the blanket off of himself. “You feeling okay?”
The fact alone that he asked her that as soon as he had woken made Twilights pride in him soar and brought a very happy smile to her face. She pulled him into a fierce embrace and gave him multiple big kisses on all over his head.
“I am now thanks to the best son a mare could ever ask for.” She beamed, continuing with her onslaught of kisses.
“Mom stop!” He chuckled as he tried, desperately, to escape his mother’s grasp and end the assault.
Twilight finally released him and giggled at him as he began wiping his face with the blanket to get all the wet marks from her kisses off. Once that had been done, they exited the front of the truck to see everyone packing away all of the kit that they had got out the night before. Arcade nodded to the pair as he made his way past them to the front of the truck where he sat at the driver’s seat and checked the gauges and dials. Willow was chatting with Daniels as they put the spare table and chairs back into their space under the floor, a chat that caused Willow to burst out laughing at something that had been said. Veronica had just put the tarpaulin back into the cupboard under the kitchenette and was taking a seat at the table when the two Equestrians joined her on the opposite side.
“Morning you two.” She said as she grabbed a pack of cards off of the shelf next to the table and began shuffling them. “You sleep well?”
“Yeah.” Twilight confirmed “Best rest I’ve had since I came to this world.” She nuzzled Spike causing him to blush and hold her head away with his claws.
“Not in front of the others mom.” He complained, earning a laugh from Veronica and a devious smile from Twilight.
“Well I guess I shouldn’t do this then.” Twilight then gave him a big kiss on the cheek which caused him to yell out in embarrassment and jump off of the chair.
“I’m going to go sit with Arcade.” He said with a frown that was made less affective by the crimson blush on his cheeks. Once he had left, Willow and Daniels joined the two laughing females at the table and asked them what had got them in such a state.
“I was just embarrassing Spike.” Twilight said as she reached into her bag and pulled out her case of Fixer and took one of them in her mouth. “He gets all flustered when I get all doting.”
“I was like that when my mom did that with me.” Daniels said with a laugh.
“Same” Veronica added as she finished shuffling her cards and started dealing them out to everyone.
“What are we playing?” Twilight asked as this went on.
“Do you know how to play poker?” Veronica asked.
“My dad used to play it with his friends once a month and I would sometimes be allowed to sit and watch… as long as there wasn’t any alcohol around.” Twilight answered with a shrug, brushing a lock of her mane out of her face with a hoof. “I have a basic idea of the rules but they may be different in this world so run them by me.”
“I’ll go through the basics and a few notable hands and we’ll work our ways on from there.” Veronica finished dealing everyone their hands and looked through her cards before putting them face down on the table. “Poker is played from a standard pack of 52 cards. The cards are ranked from high to low: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. Ace can be high or low, but is usually high. There are four suits: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs, however, no suit is higher than another. All poker hands contain five cards, the highest hand wins.”
“Same rules, okay then.” Twilight said as she looked at her hand and arranged them.
“The highest natural hand is a straight flush, is that the same name that your world uses?” Veronica asked.
“Yep, I guess the names are exactly the same then. Funny that our worlds share so many of the same names for things.” Twilight mused as they all began to play.
A bead of sweat rolled down Willows forehead, this decision had to work or it was all over. A shaky hand wiped her forehead and came back down with her other, both clammy from the focused state she was in. A cough from her left caused her head to snap in the direction of Veronica, the ex-Brotherhood of Steel member in a similar state to her own. Willow looked to her right and saw Daniels, a completely blank expression on his face, but she could see his eyes darting back and forth and his fingers clench as the seconds ticked by. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as they all made their moves and took the risk they were all hoping would pay out in each of their favours.
“Daniels with a three of a kind, Willow with a two pair, Veronica has a four of a kind and Twilight has a…” All three of them waited with bated breath as Twilight moved to show her cards. “…Straight flush, twilight wins… again.” Red said with a smirk, causing all of the others to groan and Twilight to do a little jig.
“How are you so good at this?!” Daniels cried out.
“Princess Practice.” Twilight said with a shrug. “When you’re a Princess you need to be able to hold a mask up when the time requires, which in this case was for the whole game.” She then collected in her bottlecaps and scooped them into a pouch on her bag. “Plus, you guys have really bad poker faces.”
“She’s not wrong.” Red said as she collected in the cards. She had been made the dealer after Twilight pointed out the Veronica could stack the decks if she ended having a losing streak. This of course, was after red had asked if she herself could play, which was answered by a resounding no from Willow and veronica. “Anyway, another game?”
“NO!” shouted Willow, Veronica and Daniels at the same time.
“I think I have enough of their caps for now.” Twilight laughed.
Red got up from the chair that she had pulled over to the side of the table and made her way over to the fridge. She pulled out a bottle of Sarsaparilla for everyone and handed them out.
“No blood bag?” Veronica asked, looking at Twilight who was taking a sip from her bottle.
“I’ve got to have other drinks to survive you know.” She said with a grin. “Thanks to my alicorn biology I can drink blood in somewhat small enough quantities, but drinking it in excess will make me sick and I don’t fancy adding vomiting up blood to my list of new things I’ve done in this world.”
“Fair point.” Veronica conceded.
“Plus, I like a bit of variety.” Twilight added, a content smile adorning her face.
That lasted for about three seconds before a loud rapping on the hatch to the front of the truck jolted Twilight and caused her to spill her drink all over her coat. The hatch opened a tad and Spike poked his head through. He was about to say something but he noticed Twilight covered in Sarsaparilla, sending a murderous glare his way.
“Sorry” He apologised then turned to Red who was chuckling at Twilights state. “Red, Arcade wants you in the front.”
“I’m coming.” She nodded and moved past Spike.
As she entered the front of the truck she noticed Arcade was leaning his head forward and shifting his gaze between the road and the sky. He had a slightly nervous expression on his face as he slowed down the truck to a stop and set the handbrake, turning back to face Red as she shut the hatch.
“I need to know if that’s normal.” Arcade said, pointing his thumb out the window as he wiped a handkerchief on his forehead, Spike was nervously twiddling his claws from the other seat.
Red moved up to the window and peered out, a frown making its way onto her face almost instantly. The sky ahead was slowly shifting into a dark foreboding red with bolts of lightning jumping between the clouds and every now and then leaping down and out of sight behind the mountains.
“Yeah, that’s what we’re looking for.” Red said grimly.
“Okay, just wanted to know if we were driving into hell or that was just something we passed.” Arcade sighed and got the truck moving again. “Any idea how long from here it will be until we arrive at the Madre?” He asked Red.
“Well, those clouds filled the entire sky from every angle so it could be anywhere from an hour to three, but I would assume that we’ve got in-between that time.” Red said as she opened the hatch back up and left, followed by Spike who was quite shaken by the sight of the darkened sky.
“What’s the situation?” Willow asked as she finished helping Twilight get the sarsaparilla out of her coat.
“We’ll be arriving at the Madre in around about two hours.” Red answered.
“Anything we need to know about the place before we arrive?” Twilight asked.
“The air in the Madre is thick with a smog that, in all the terminals and holotapes I found, is referred to as The Cloud.” Red bent down and began rummaging through the shelfs under her workshop until she pulled out a jar of dark red dust and set it down on the table. “This is the residue of The Cloud, often found on the walls and floor around the most concentrated pockets of the stuff. The Cloud and its residue will cause serious chemical burns and will corrode any weapons and armour we have, which is why I’d suggest we bring plenty of stimpaks and other medical supplies.”
Twilight looked back at herself and her lack of armour before looking back up at Red with her heavy duster. She fidgeted nervously on her hooves and then trotted up to Red and tapped her on the leg with her hoof.
“Um Red, will me and Spike get any armour, I would rather get as few chemical burns as possible.” She said with a nervous giggle.
Red stared blankly at Twilight for a moment before she held up a finger, turned around, walked up to the back door of the truck, pulled her head back and began slamming it into the door while shouting “stupid” over and over again. Willow sighed and got up out of her chair and walked up to Red before grabbing the back of her ponytail and pulling just as she was about to slam her head into the door. This had the effect of causing Red to yelp and stumble back, which in turn caused her to fall flat on her back with a frowning Willow looking down at her.
“What have I told you about doing that? You’ll damage the door.” She then offered a hand out to the floored woman which Red accepted.
“Sorry, I just can’t believe I hadn’t thought of getting these two armour yet.” She said, rubbing her forehead. She walked up to her lockers and began sifting through the hung up outfits that lined the inside of them. “Ah-ha!” She suddenly exclaimed with a smile as she pulled out a dark grey full body suit that had armour plates along the chest, abdomen, forearms, back and knees. There was a set of tubes connected to the collar of the suit that looked as if it was for use with a rebreather and a few pouches around the waist line.
“That’s a bit ironic don’t you think?” Willow said once she had seen the outfit that Red had pulled out.
“It’s good armour, it doesn’t matter where it came from.” Red defended as she pulled a toolbox and sewing kit from her workbench and a notebook from the shelf above the table and sat down in front of the workbench. She grabbed a tape measure from the sewing kit and flipped through her notebook until she found a clear page. “I’ll need to measure your proportions Twilight, so if you could stand as still as possible please.”
Twilight straightened out her posture and stood stock still as Red began going over her with the measuring tape, her eyes tracking Reds movements as much as they could. “What’s so ironic about me getting this suit?” she asked as Red looped the tape around her front fetlock.
“I got this suit on my previous visit to The Madre, and it served me very well for a good long while afterwards as well.” She checked the measurement and wrote it down on her notepad. “I don’t think I’ll be able to wear it again after I’ve finished these alterations though.” She brought the tape over Twilights back and pulled the end under her belly. “Thirty two waist.” She said to herself.
“Hey!” Twilight yelled, blushing madly. “I’m not that fat… am I?”
“The measurements don’t lie.” Red smirked. “What’s the average mare’s waistline in Equestria?”
Twilight looked down mumbled, “Twenty six inches.” Her face was beet red and Spike was trying to hold back his snickers at his mother’s plight. “Stop laughing mister, or I’m going to tell them about your gem eating habits.” Spike immediately blanched and shook his head. “That’s what I thought.” Twilight harrumphed and turned her head back to facing straight.
“This is going to be the hard bit.” Red said as she began measuring Twilights neck. “I have no idea how I’m going to cover this.”
“What about sewing some leather around the collar of the outfit?” Spike suggested as he pointed out the area on the suit. “You could let out a fair bit of the neck seem and sew some leather onto the end, bringing it up to just under here.” He indicated to just under Twilights jaw with his claw.
“Leather won’t be enough armour on its own though, and that area’s got to be flexible, right?” Red argued, moving Twilights head and neck to show her point.
“Do you have anything flexible and strong that can serve as an armour layer between two sheets of leather, similar to an insulating sheet?” he asked as he held two pieces of leather. Red thought for a second before looking through her tool shelf, pulling out a roll of a woven material that possessed a black sheen to it.
“Carbon fibre weave might do the trick, you think you get me a few sheets done so I can cut it out once I’ve got Twilights measurement s done?” She asked, handing the roll to Spike.
“No problem, I’ve done a lot of sewing before and this shouldn’t be too hard.” He took the roll and a sewing kit.
“You’ll need a special needle to work with carbon fibre, here.” Red handed Spike a thin long blue needle that, despite its thinness, was unable to bend. “The easiest way of doing it will be to sandwich the carbon fibre inside the leather in smaller squares and sew around the squares to keep them in place, only sewing though the carbon fibre in the middle of each square.”
“What’s so special about this needle?” Spike asked as he looked it over in his claws.
“It’s what’s called Saturnite, a space-age, ceramic-like alloy developed in the Big Empty.” Red explained, putting away her toolbox and grabbing a pair of scissors of a similar make to the needle from the sewing kit. “The stuff is insanely strong and can retain heat for a long time, making it perfect for heavy duty armour work. I found it works really well when working on polymers as the heat allows you to pierce it easily.”
“Doesn’t it burn the thread?” Spike asked.
“It hardly distributes the heat around the needle, basically meaning only the area you heat will remain heated.” She said, “I think it was so that it could be used for the power fists and cutlery people know them for, so you didn’t burn yourself holding them.”
“That’s cool.” Spike said, getting to work heating the needle with his breath. “Ever thought about using it as a weapon?” He said looking up at Red after the tip of the needle was glowing wit heat.
“They’re pretty hard to come by.” Red shrugged, “Plus, I don’t think there would be much of an opportunity to use it for that purpose.”
“I’m sure if the opportunity presented itself, you wouldn’t hesitate to use it in that way.” Willow said from the seat next to them.
“Probably” Red admitted.
By the time the Madre itself as in view, Red and Spike had finished altering the suit and they were now fitting it on Twilight.
“And I just zip it up back here… and done!” Red said with a flourish, holding out her arms to Twilight. The alicorn examined herself in a full body mirror that Red had pulled out from behind the cabinet.
“Wow.” Spike said as he looked at his mother all suited up. The body suit had been altered to fit her frame and bend on her unguligrade legs. The gloves had been removed completely so that Twilight’s hooves where free to grip surfaces and pick up objects. The chest plate that had once been the main protection from the front had been cut down the middle and was now sitting on either side of Twilights barrel, offering protection from the sides. The back plate had been moved to cover her belly as her wings needed to be free on her back. Each of the arm and leg plates had been fitted onto her legs in some manner, covering her forelegs and cannons so as to avoid limb injuries that could cripple her. Lastly, the leather-carbon weave neck coverage had been fitted snuggly and had suitable give to allow Twilight a full range of movement with her head and neck.
“It’s very comfy as well.” Twilight noted, contracting and extending each of her legs and flexing her wings that poked through two small holes on the top of the suit. “Doesn’t feel restrictive at all and the material isn’t uncomfortable in the least.”
“The assassin suit was meant to be worn for long periods of time, so it made sense to make the suit comfortable so the occupant wouldn’t want to take it off during a mission.” Red explained as she began putting away her sewing kits and toolboxes.
“Aren’t I getting any armour?” Spike asked as he watched Red clean up.
“I have an armour in mind for you to wear but it’s back at the Lucky 38. I believe your scales should suffice until then.” Red finished tidying up and got up to check on Arcade. She opened the hatch to see Arcade driving through roads with villas lined up on either side. “You should have told me we were at the Madre.” She said, startling Arcade.
“Well we haven’t reached this fountain you mentioned yet, so I thought it’d be best to let you get on with your armour making back there until I spotted any signs of civilization.” He said back after he had calmed down. “Speaking of which.” He pointed towards a gate at the end of the street which had been covered in metal plates and had spotlights pointing down at it from the roofs on either side of the road. Also on the rooves where people dressed in heavy looking armour that looked cobbled together from Sierra Madre Security armour and the suits that the ghost people wore, give or take a few pieces of other clothing and armour. Two of the men were on top of a walkway built atop the gate, wielding what looked to be a marksman carbine and a light machine gun. On the roof to the right of the gate was a small platform built out of wooden planks and corrugated iron that had a table and set of chairs on it where a few more men were seated. As the truck neared the gate, the two men on the walkway aimed their guns down at the truck and the rest of the men got up from their seats. One of the men, a grey haired man with a gauss rifle on his back and suit of what looked like salvaged power armour on walked onto the walkway.
“Stop a few meters away and let me handle it.” Red said as she turned back and climbed through the hatch.
“We arrived?” Veronica asked as Red started gearing up and grabbing a few things.
“Yeah, you guys stay back here while I go sort this out.” Red finished grabbing her stuff and made her way to the door of the truck. “This shouldn’t take too long.” Once she had climbed out and had shut the door, Red slowly walked round to the front of the truck, her hands to the sides of her head. The man in the salvaged power armour looked down at her from the walkway with a serious look on his face.
“What are you ‘ere for?” He asked in a gruff voice.
“Return visit.” Red said with a smirk as she lowered her hands to her sides. The man scowled and looked Red up and down, scrutinizing her for a few seconds.
“I ain’t seen you ‘ere before.” He said, his tone not getting any friendlier.
“I was here long before you guys even got here, at the time everyone thought this place was a legend.” Red calmly began rifling through her backpack before pulling out a small gold chip in flipping it up to the man. He caught it deftly and examined it closely before tossing it back to Red.
“You could’a picked that up from one o’ the traders, don’t mean nothin’” He crossed his arms at Red and frowned. Red pulled a whiskey bottle filled with a disgusting brown substance with a label that read “Sierra Madre Martini” on it.
“How about this?” She said, chucking the bottle up to the man. He opened the lid of the bottle and sniffed the contents, recoiling as the pungent odor reached his nose.
“That’s one o’ Dean’s martinis alright.” The man screwed the cap of the bottle and turned to one of the men who was on the roof. “Go fetch that ghoul bastard and tell ‘im there’s someone who says they know ‘im.”
After about a minute, the man returned with a ghoul dressed in a suit with a white bow tie. He took one look at Red standing in front of the truck and smiled a very wide smile. “Of all the people who I thought it might be, you were the one who I was hoping to see the most. How’s life been treating you my dear?”
“You now, same old same old.” Red smirked up at the old ghoul. “How about you Dean, I see you finally got some company?”
“It’s a lot more lively now that I’ve got someone to talk to again, I did miss our time together you know, even if the circumstances could have been better.” They both shared a chuckle before Dean held up his hand and pulled out a revolver from his pocket. “Before I forget, I want to return this to you.” He dropped the revolver into red outstretched hand, and then turned back to the Man in the power armour. “Its fine, you can let them in.” The man nodded and gestured down to the other side of the gate.
“Thanks, I’ll go tell the others to bring the truck in.” Red said as she began walking back to the truck, giving Arcade a thumbs up through the window.
“Who else you got in there?” Dean asked as Arcade began driving the truck through the now open gate.
“My fiancé, a follower of the apocalypse, an ex-brotherhood of steel member, an NCR soldier, a dragon and a pretty purple pony princess.” Red listed off, smirking at Deans confused face.
“Well then, best get them in then.” He said after a while, “Besides, you’ve yet to see what’s changed.” After Dean said that, he walked back down to the plaza, red and the truck following through the gate shortly after.
