A Light In The Darkness

“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.”