Fallout Equestria: Desperados

Fallout Equestria: Desperados

How times have changed, Part 2

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"As Slowtrot explained, the Desperados were one of many biker gangs that existed in Equestria during the Great war. Many of them veteran soldiers from early in the war. He knew more about the Tartrus Angles, but as far as he knew, they were not all that different from the Desperados at the time.

He knew an older stallion who, unfortunately, had ties with the Taratus Angles. He explained to him how they were considered violent and obsessed with things like honor and family. A lot of them likely suffered from wartime stress disorder. The authorities were known to clash with them all the time, most of all the Ministry of Moral.

Strangely, unlike most open troublemakers, the biker gangs never went away as if the M.o.M. couldn't actually get rid of them. This, of course, attracted many rebellious ponies who saw no other way to defy the powers at be. There were also rumors that the reason why the biker gangs were never dealt with by the M.o.M. was because they were involved in the illegal Chem trade and that the Ministry, Pinky Pie in particular, were avid Chem addicts." ~ Azure Dice

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After the two small glasses of gin, I was feeling a little loose, mostly because I hadn't had much to eat most of the day. The alcohol was affecting me more than usual. I wasn't stumbling or feeling loopy. I was just warm and a little buzzed, which was a nice feeling.

“Say, Longslide, if you just want to move around guns, why don’t you just make a truck? That light vehicle seems a bit much.” I observed.

“You're probably right, but I think having something that can go fast and shoot at the same time is just cooler. Anyways, the wasteland is full of dangers, like that hell hound from when we took the Smuggler out last time. It was a good thing we didn’t waste our bullets on it or I might have not had enough to keep the dragon ants away.” Longslide responded.

“That makes sense, and I like the idea of being able to avoid a fight.” I agreed as we entered the reception room.

Inside the Reception room, the Desparotos Live Axle and Dead Axle were standing at the desk. Several rusty looking guns had been piled on it.

“Sorry, but we are not taking any work right now. Can you come back in the morning?” Longslid asked the two mares.

“Typical griff,” Live huffed, “Told you it was a waste of time. Lets go.”

Dead chuckled, “Come now, sis. Don’t be shy.”

“Fuck you! I’m not shy! Anyways, we got other shit to do.” Live snapped at her sister.

Dead just shrugged and trotted over to us. “We're not asking for it to be done right now. Can you just take them and do the maintenance in the morning?”

A sigh came from Longslide. “Maybe. Let me see what you have.”

As Longslid trotted over to the reception desk, Dead got up next to me and bumped me with her hip. “Say Slowtrot, you got any more of those free beers? I don’t think I’ve ever had anything so crisp before.”

I shook my head. “Sorry. I still don’t know how I was able to even do that, so it’s likely a one-time thing.”

She pouted. “Well damn, maybe I should keep you around in case you do it again.”

For some reason, she was looking at me in a way that made me feel a bit uncomfortable. It reminded me of Karot, but without all the forceful eye fluttering.

“What are you doing, Dead?” Live stomped over, looking annoyed.

Dead Axle got closer to me. She brushed her shoulder to my own. “Just trying to secure some free beer.”

Live rolled her eyes as she forced Dead away from me. “Oh no you don’t! I’m not letting that stallion bribe you again.”

Another chuckle came from Dead. “Oh, are you jelly? Maybe I should remind him about the other night.”

“Don’t you dare!” Live growled as her fur raised on its ends.

I raised a hoof to catch their attention. “Sorry, but I don’t really remember what happened after we started drinking. I hope I didn’t do anything stupid.”

“Oh, plenty of stupid stuff happend!” Dead teased with a snide grin.

“Nothing happened!” Live growled in annoyance.

“I see,” was my response

Live Axle didn’t seem to like that answer as she got closer to me. “Nothing. Happened. That. Night.”

With each word, she got closer till we were nose to nose. After that, her face seemed to go a bit red before she quickly backed away.

With a playful grin, Dead patted her sister on the back. “Ya, not much happened other than a bit of fooling.”

Live blackhoof her sister, but Dead just smiled back as a bit of blood trickled from her nose.

“Enough!” Longslide shouted. “Keep that up and you're getting kicked out of here.”

Longslide picked up one of the guns. It looked like it was made with plywood and scrap metal. Pulling back a bolt, he dry fired the gun which gave a loud clunk sound. “I can do it, but why fucking pipe guns? These things are shit anyday, clean or not.”

Dead wiped the blood from her nose and trotted over to the desk. “Until our deal is done, it’s the only guns we can get in town, with how we can only do business with Blue Skies. I figured it would be better if we have you pussy cocks look them over before we have to rely on them. With how things are going with Blue Skies, I wouldn't be surprised if they're selling us faulty guns.”

Looking down the gun's barrel, Longslide moved the bolt back and forth before putting it down. “Well, pipe guns are already not the best guns in the wasteland. I can clearly see these are made with even cheaper materials than normal. There’s not enough oil, and there is rust inside the barrel, so the likelihood of it jamming is quite high.”

Pulling out a tin from her small saddlebag, Dead placed it on the desk. “Here's the payment for getting those shit guns in working condition. The rest can go towards my clan's gun order we made with you.”

Opening the tin, Longslide nodded. “This is more than enough. We can get started with the maintenance in the morning. Just come by around noon to pick them up.

“Perfect” Dead Axle cheered with a clap of her hooves. “I wish ya birds were up north in our territory. We could use critters with your talents.”

“I’ll run it by my father. Now, could you go? I got other business to take care of.” Longslide scooped up the guns and began to put them in a nearby box.

“I’m guessing things aren't going well between the Desperados and Blue Skies?” I asked Live Axle.

She huffed and rolled her eyes. “It’s turning downright shit. While we were messing last night, a rider arrived at our camp and gave a message to our elder. It seems that one of our other clan herds, over in the west, broke ties with Blue Skies. I didn’t understand the details, but it sounded like something big is going on out west, and Blue Skies was acting like a foal hitting a blotesprite’s nest with a bat.”

“So they didn’t want to get caught up in whatever trouble is going on? Makes sense.” I figured out loud.

Live shrugged. “Maybe. My clan sisters and brothers don’t normally just cut and run, so it has to be something real big to get them to do that. All the same, Blue Skies are likely going to rethink our contract. Our elders feel it's better if we just cut ties on our own terms. It’s not like those assholes were giving us a reason to even care in the first place.”

I nodded. “Sounds like your clan has things already figured out, though I am curious about what could be causing them problems out west. I’m especially concerned since I’m probably heading that direction later on.”

“Like I said, it didn’t make all that much sense to me. It’s just something about some crazy group of ponies that Blue Skies was attacking. They had bigger guns then both my clan mates and Blue Skies together.” Live Axle scratched her chin before continuing. “Actually, a week ago, we got a message about another Clan herd, who were not in business with Blue Skies, is also leaving the west to regroup with our other herds. It was something about how some robo pony freaks were causing our vassals to rebel. They were requesting warriors to aid in the retaking of our territory.”

That last part sent a chill down my spine. “Sounds like war.”

“Probably. It’s not like the first time my clan had to beat some idiots down in force,” she said with a shrug.

I sighed. “Even after Equestria was destroyed, there’s still war. Are you going to go and fight?”

“I fucking hope so! You know how boring it’s been over here?” Live asked with an irritated huff. “It’s why the elder wants more guns and vehicles. We got to support our brothers and sisters, after all.”

“That’s right.” Dead Axle cut into our conversation. “If we don’t go and fight, then more vassals will think we're weak and start fighting us.”

Dead gave an exasperated sigh “This was never a problem when that Red Eye warlord was around. Back then, ponies were practically begging us to protect them from the slavers. As long as we kept those slavers out, the vassals paid their tributes with smiles, but now they think they don’t need us and get all stingy.”

Live rolled her eyes. “Right. That’s why we were even here in the first place. Because of all that sunshine and rainbows brahmin shit, now our vessels are trying to squirm out of their tribute, or they are outright leaving our territory. It also didn’t help that the NCR and some other new factions practically forced us to sign a treaty to dissolve the slave trade so that we and our merchants could freely travel into there territory. Still don’t know what the elders were even thinking.”

“You had slavery in your territory?” I asked, feeling a bit surprised.

Dead explained. “More like an indentured workforce. Sometimes a vassal settlement would not be able to pay tribute, so they would offer up a pony or two as the tribute. We would put them to work mines or have them make armor and weapons. They were set free after a year and could not be used as tribute again for another year. You’d be surprised how many of those ponies would go home to only stab the asshole that sold them to us. Made a good warning to others to pay their tribute properly.”

“But now that we can’t do that, we’ve practically lost a weapon we need to survive,” Live added.

I felt a bit more at ease by their explanation. “So there's other groups who are anti-slaver. I know it’s not good for your clan, but at least that means slavery has come to an end in Equestria.”

Both Live and Dead Axle looked at me for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“What?” I asked, feeling confused.

“Sorry Slowtrot, but that sounded too innocent to come from a full-grown stallion,” Dead said while suppressing a laugh.

Live elbowed her sister as she, herself, suppressed a laugh. “It’s wishful thinking to think that the slave trade would just up and vanish, just because a few young nations decided to be anti-slaver and force their neighbors to do the same. All it did was move the practice underground or just changed how a pony gets enslaved. I mean, our clan can’t force a pony to work anymore, but there are other ways to get them to do hard labor that doesn't involve a gun. It just takes more work to do it.”

“And the NCR are no different. With all their bluster about returning to the Equestria of old, they’re still just a bunch of wastlanders, with wastelander solutions,” Dead added.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Dead wavedher hoof dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. A goody two-hooves like you will likely never have to deal with it. But trust me, from what I’ve heard, all the new anti-slave nations are utterly hypocritical. They just made it that their slaves are technically not slaves.”

This… did not fill me with hope.

I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Well, I guess I should at least be happy that I didn’t arrive here when this Red Eye was around. If the NCR is interested in returning to how things used to be, I could go to them, share with them what I know, and maybe help them fix whatever they might be doing wrong.”

The twins again paused, both giving each other a questioning look.

“You really aren’t a normal pony, Slowtrot.” Live Axle observed.

“Maybe you should come with us instead. That knowledge is probably better served with my clan,” Dead added before looking at Live with a mischievous grin. “You could marry my sister. She did seem to really like you the other night.”

“Dead, go fuck yourself!” Live growled at her sister.

“Sounds fun. I’ll take Slowtrot along too. You did look like you were having fun with him,” Dead said with a chuckle.

“Say what?” I said, now confused again.

Live’s face lit up. “No… nothing happened! We only made out. Just that!” She became even redder.

Dead continued to tease her sister. “Then what's that stain that was on your dress?”

It almost seemed like steam was coming off Live Axles head. She was just standing there with her eyes wide open. After a moment she fell over, her whole body as stiff as a statue.

“Is… Is she okay?” I asked as both Dead and I trotted over to Live Axle.

Dead Axle chuckled. “She will be fine. Just give her time to cool down.”

We helped her up. The mare was still extremely stiff, making me feel worried about her. “Does this happen often?”

“I don’t get the opportunity enough to make it happen often,” Dead said with a sigh. “My sister may be a tough mare like the rest of us, but she tries harder than she really should to be the bitch in charge and hide her soft side. Frankly, if I don’t do this to her, she will likely never find a stallion. She may stay a virgin for the rest of her life. That, or get knocked up while drinking, which I rather not see.”

“That… sounds like a really inconvenient personality,” I commented.

“Your fucking telling me! I have to live with this shit,” Dead said as she started to push her sister out, but then stopped. “Say, can you help a mare out? I got to get her back to our ride.”

“Fair enough,” I said with a shrug. I helped to put the stiff Live Axle onto my back.

We trotted out of the compound. The sun was already getting low. The shadows were stretching across like many hooves crawling along the ground. It was the hardest thing to get used to in this wasteland. Other than a few lamps, there were no street lights, and the moon was strange now. Each day, it seemed to have a shadow grow on it. I had a feeling that soon there wouldn't even be any moonlight to keep the darkness away.

In the shadows, I could see ponies and other creatures peer out from it. They gave me a less than comfortable feeling as their eyes tracked us.

I looked over at Dead Axle, the mare didn’t seem to be worried by any of this, but then again, she was born into this world, where I was not. It made me wonder if these two mares were from my time, how would they have turned out? Probably still as rough and tumble, but maybe not with so many scars, and without such willingness to fight.

Who was I kidding? Mares like them would be thrown into the war, and if they lived, they would be worse off than they are in the wasteland.

Maybe it was best to not dwell on such things. It’s not like I can go back. Maybe I should start looking forward. I could just leave it all behind and find someplace peaceful to stay, but what Hardballer had said about Red Eye stuck with me about how he could not just leave ponies well enough alone.

Even if Quicktrot did uphold the deal she is giving me, I have a good feeling that there is no way she just let me be. Both those evil ponies Thorn and Phobetor were part of her, and what I knew about them was still in my head. Thorns hunger for power as she killed and backstabbed was carved into my memories as though they were my own. Phobetors hatred for the pony kind was so strong that I could taste it, and I still do.

There is no way Quicktrot would not end up endangering everypony in Equestria.

“Ya alright, softy?” Dead Axle asked and she kept paces with me. “You look mighty serious.”

“Oh, sorry. Just in thought,” I replied as I shoved those thoughts to the back of my mind to deal with later. In the process, it caused another curious thought to take its place.. “Say, what happened last night?”

Dead gave an amused grin. “Well, truthfully, it’s all blurry, but I know we had fun.”

She trotted ahead of me and turned around to trot backwards. “I know we played a game of cards most of the night. We were doing mostly dare bets.”

“Dare bets?” I asked

“Ya. It’s where we put a dare out as a bet. The winner can pick a dare placed by the other players, and they will have to do it or take a punishment, “ she answered.

She hopped up to turn around then shook her flank at me. “It’s actually a good thinking game. It get’s a pony more invested in winning than just gambling. I like those games. It’s the kind that challenges your mind. You need to be extra tricky to win. Those are the kinds of games I did lose my virginity because I lost a game.”

This felt like a bit too much information, but I still had to ask, “You really put your virginity up in a game?”

She slowed down to get back to pace with me. “The price for playing as the dumb sister. Sometimes you do find yourself actually being dumb. Not that it was bad. I also did like the stallion at the time, but mostly I’m just glad we were having food problems at the time so I didn’t end up getting pregnant from it. Anyways, the dare was to go fuck over my sister, and I rather get fucked than to have sompony make me mess with her like that.”

She looked me in the eyes. Her eyelids were now fully open which showed me her ruby red eyes. “Only I fuck around with my sis, and only on my terms.”

I don’t know why, but she put an honest smile on my face.

“What?” she asked as she cocked an eyebrow.

Now I chuckled. “It’s just good to see that, under all that tough gangger armor you have, you are still a good pony. It’s actually a bit cute.”

She blushed a little, then laughed as she slapped my shoulder. “You're an odd one, Slowtrot. Anyways, we didn’t do anything all that extreme last night. There was the Lapdance Live did where she got way into it. Other than that, it was a bunch of little things like nibbling on you or a spanking. Oh, I was the one to have the makeout session with you. That was fun. But nothing much got beyond that, so don’t worry about possibly knocking one of us up.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh good. You made it sound like we went a bit too far last night, so I was a little worried.”

“Seriously, I’m starting to think you’re gay,” Dead huffed. “Most stallions would be disappointed, not relieved, that they didn’t get to bang a mare, and twins at that.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, sorry that I don’t know you all that well. Even if you two are attractive, it’s just un-gentlecolt like to go that fast with a mare.”

“Or maybe you’re scared. Afraid that you can’t perform?” she teased as she again trotted ahead. She found a wall to lean on and suck her flank out. “Anyways, isn’t this the fastest way to get to know each other?”

Raising an eyebrow, I began to feel uncomfortable again. “Are you asking me to fuck you here an now?” I asked flatly.

She wiggled her flank and gave me a wink. “If you want, we can go to a back-alley.”

I pointed to the stiff mare on my back. “You’re forgetting that your sister’s here.”

“She’ll be fine. Anyways, you're probably not even going to last a minute.” Dead Axle mocked me.

Not to say I wasn't interested. I mean, it has been a long time since I’ve last been with a mare. It was hard to deny that I did find her attractive in a ‘she could snap me in half if I pissed her off kind of way.’ Seriously, could I, for once, get some nice innocent mare to come onto me?

Truthfully, if it was just me and Dead Axle here, I’d go for it, but I just didn’t like the idea of leaving her sister here, in that state, in this part of town.

“How about we make sure Live is safe first? If you still want to fuck, then we can go find some large rock to go behind and have a go at it,” I suggested.

Dead Axle stopped wiggling her flank and got back onto all fours. “Really? You seriously went with a compromise? You are a dumb pony. What do you think, sis?”

I felt a fenlock wrap around my neck as Live Axle locked herself around me.

“You were going to do what with my sister?!” Live Axle growled.

Frozen in fear, I said the first thing that came to my mind. “She was offering,” and it was exactly the wrong thing to say.

Her grip on my neck tightened. “Oh, and you think that I’d just accept that?”

“No mam!” I answered in stiff fear.

“Then what should I do with a pervert like you?” she asked into my ear.

I didn’t know how to respond. I felt like anything I said would be the wrong thing to say. Dead Axle was no help as she hid her laughter with her hoof, clearly enjoying my suffering.

Strangely, I began to smell something nostalgic, “Flowers?”

Live Axles grip on me weakened, then she let go. “What? You're just imagining it!” she blurted out.

Dead trotted over and slapped her sister on the rear, causing Live to hop off my back. “Oh, come on sis, you're complaining to me about wanting a quickie when you're the one that tried to drag him into the brothel last night.”

“Wha.. what! N.. No! Never! Stop being stupid s… sis.” Steam again seemed to waft off Live Axle’s head as she stammered.

Pulling her sister into a headlock, Dead sniffed Live. “Seriously, you stole mom's perfume for what? To not impress a stallion you almost fucked last night, and a soft one at that? If you keep acting like that, I’m just going to take him for myself, free beer and all.”

“Why are you such a bitch today, Dead? Do you want me to beat your ass?” Live shouted.

“Then do it,” Dead dared. “Winner takes Slowtrot to the back alley.” Dead taunted her sister.

“Oh fuck you, and fuck no! I’m not agreeing to that.” Live spat back.

Live attempted to kick her sister, but because of the headlock, she couldn't reach Dead with her back legs or get in any good hoof strikes with her front legs.

As entertaining as it was to see the two mares fight, my interest in sex had completely faded. It was slowly being replaced with annoyance. “Can you two stop it now? You're acting like teenagers!” I said loudly and sternly.

The two stopped and looked at me, then said in unison “We’re nineteen.”

I facehoofed. “Of fucking course you’re still teenagers.”

Trotting over to them, I pushed the twins apart. “Alright, first off, I’ve barely known you two for more than a day, so cut it with this sex shit. The mood’s ruined anyways. Second, though I am flattered and all, maybe it’s better if I get you two out of here safely. This part of town is clearly unsafe, and I rather not see either of you get hurt. Alright?”

The twins looked at me .Live blushed a little, where Dead burst out into laughter again.

“Seriously? You're in more danger of getting hurt than us.” Dead pointed out before looking at her sister. “Ain't that a riot, sis… wait.”

Live was hiding her face in her hooves. She was mumbling something I couldn't hear.

Dead the sighed. “Alright, I think I’ve done enough for today. Let's get you home before you really overheat yourself.”

“Is she alright?” I asked.

“Ya, she’s fine. She’ll just need to get some rest, that's all,” Dead told me as she began to trot again, her sister hiding behind her. “Live just pents up all her real emotions to put on a strong face and ends up like this when it’s all let out at once. If I don’t force it out of her now and then, she tends to explode into an emotional wrecking ball.”

Trotting with them, it reminded me of something that was a problem back in my time. “What did they call it? Not wartime stress disorder… right. It was catharsis syndrome.”

“Cath...ars… syns… dome.” Dead attempted to repeat what I said.

“Catharsis syndrome. It was a big problem among ponies during the war. I think it was an early sign of Wartime Stress Disorder,” I explained.

“And why are you bringing that up?” Dead asked.

I doubted that I could explain it well, but I did have a helper on my fenlock. “Here, let my pipbuck explain.”

“Iron Buck, explain out loud what catharsis syndrome is.”

My pipbuck beeped, then spoke in a soft digital voice. “Catharsis syndrome is when the suppressed emotions of a pony are suddenly let out all at once as an emotional outburst. The outbursts can range from fits of sobbing, verbal abuse of others, binge eating, catatonic wandering, or outright acts of violence. Among unicorns, this is especially dangerous, as their magic can go wild, causing unpredictable effects. Repeated outburst can result in the development of several health problems as well as cause wartime stress disorder.”

Dead Axle then looked worried. “That sounds a lot like sis! Will she be okay?”

“Let me check,” I told her as I again turned to my pipbuck. “Iron Buck, are there any treatments for catharsis syndrome?”

Again my pipbuck beeped. “There are several medications that can be given to alleviate the cause of catharsis syndrome, but the Ministry of Peace advises for ponies to seek counseling, or a therapist.”

I scratch my head for a moment, then sighed. “I’m going to guess that both medication and a pony with that profession are considerably rare in the wasteland… maybe if we ask Jali at the free clinic about it? She might know a way to help.”

Dead Axle breathed a sigh of relief. “That sounds like a good idea, and I’m glad to know what it’s called. Everypony in the clan just calls it berserker moments. Our dad suffers from it as well. He drinks all the time to keep it in check. I rather not see my sis become like that.”

“I’m always glad to help. Just stop by the free clinic at any time during the day. Tell Jali what my pipbuck told you. I’m sure she will know something that will help.” I lifted my pipbuck to show the mare. “I also help out in the morning by giving medical scans with my pipbuck. You two should stop by then so I can make sure you're healthy.”

Again Dead Axle burst out into laughter. “You're really something, Slowtrot. Be sure that we will take you up on that offer. Good to know ya all slow and shit.”

I smiled back. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Trotting out into the outskirts, we came to one of the Desperado's motterwaggons. It had Tire Fire in the driver's seat, looking frustrated as he messed with a puzzle cube. Seeing us, he put the cube down and jumped out of the waggon. “The fuck took ya two so long?” He looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. “Ya didn’t fuck my sisters, did ya? Because there would be a problem if ya did!”

A swift hoofstrike came from Live Axle, knocking her older brother to the ground. “Do… dont b… be an f… fucking shitstain, bro!”

Live Axle looked at me, blushed, then quickly trotted onto the motterwaggons.

Dead Axle chuckled. “You’re really throwing her through a loop, Slowtrot, but don’t worry. She will be herself in the morning.” As she trotted to the waggon, she stopped to kick her brother. “Get the fuck up, bro.” She kicked him again. “And that’s for touching my puzzle box.”

The three Desperados got seated in the motterwaggons with an annoyed Tire Fire again at the driver seat. Live Axle hid her face and Dead Axle quickly solved the puzzle box. With a roar of the engine, they were off. A dust cloud obscured them as they vanished into the night.

Trotting back to the compound, I had a lot to think about. One being that the twins were clearly into me… Twins!

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-Reputation-

-Desperados-

They don’t know what to say about Slowtrot, but somepony has been whispering about him being an alright stallion. Something about magically getting free beers and being more honorable than average Gangger.