Fallout Equestria: Desperados

Fallout Equestria: Desperados

Intermission, 05

With the sound of a blaring whistle, the screeching of metal on metal, and the chattering of ponies waiting to leave our confined compartments, the train came to a stop. The workers aboard trotted along the hallway, checking on each of the ponies or other creatures aboard.

The young stallion came to my cart. He froze, clearly unsure what to say or do.

“We’re at New Appleoosa, correct?” I asked.

He nodded. “Next stop will be Ponyville... I need to see your ticket… you?”

“It’s Azure Dice, and no need. This is my stop,” I informed the confused pony.

Getting out of my seat and grabbing my luggage, I proceeded to trot off the train. It had been a relatively peaceful ride, mostly because all the ponies avoided me after the staff confiscated my helmet. Fortunately Velvet had given me a bag of caps that I gave to the pony in charge and, like she explained to me, they made sure I would be at least left alone.

No matter when and where I am, bribery makes all the eyes look elsewhere.

Velvet had also donated a change of clothes for me, as what I had before had gotten all torn up from my robot disguise. Now I had this nice, if quite old olive green jacket that was a comfortable size larger on me. A cowboy hat topped off the ensemble to help block the sun.

Now I just needed to find the New Appleoosa’s clinic where the followers worked at and drop off the package Velvet wanted to give to Harp Melody.

Fortunately all the ponies gave me a wide berth as I trotted into the dusty town. This gave me space for my annoyingly inflexible tail. It had become quite the chore to make sure I didn’t hit the ponies whenever I turned around when I was with the Followers, but here it was going to be even harder still.

I could only hope that this will fix itself the next time I molt. Maybe even give me my claws back. Hooves are really inconvenient when trying to pick anything up.

I saw one building that had the word Clinic on it, but it was blocked off with a sign that said “Closed”. The inside was also dark. I didn’t like the looks of that. Closed medical facilities never did, but I still hadn't seen the rest of the town, so I pushed on.

After a bit more looking, I found another clinic. It advertised with a large billboard. The place seemed a bit… louder, then the impression I had from the followers. More selling medicine over aiding others. Still, this world was alien to me and individuals had their individual tastes.

The inside was narrow, to say the least, with several ponies sitting on a bench. Clearly they were waiting for their turn inside the room at the end. Taking a cue from the line, I took a seat on the bench. I had to lift my tail up. It made me feel like I was now a green glowing lamp.

As I waited, I stretched out my finned antenna to enjoy the radio in the next room. The music had an uplifting song of an acoustic guitar backed up by a piano on brass instruments. All before a mare began to sing with a husky voice.

The warden threw a party in the county jail

The prison band was there and they began to wail

The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing

You should've heard them knocked-out jailbirds sing

Let's rock everypony, let's rock

Everypony in the whole cell block

Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock

....

The music eventually came to an end. It had a fun tone, but it felt a bit out of place for this depressing wasteland. With the end of the song came the DJ.

“That was Victoria Rosary singing Jailhouse Rock! Once again, thanks goes out to Happy Trails for donating his old record of the King of Rock for it to be recorded and be covered. Whoever this King was, he knew how to sing and party! Next up is a classic from Sweetie Belle…”

The radio turned off as a rather banged up mare stepped out. “I knew they were trouble. All of them, Doctor Quacksalver!”

“I know, Miss Karat. I know. Now just make sure to take your pills once in the morning and once at night.” A stallion in a clean white coat told the hurt looking mare.

The pony mare called Karat began to whine, “The sheriff should have run them out of town long ago. If it was not for that hussy Harp, my marriage wouldn’t be in tatters.”

I hopped off the bench at the sound of Harp’s name, getting the shocked attention from those I had been sitting next to. “Miss, might you know a mare by the name of Harp Melody?”

Karat gave a loud and dramatic huff. “Now, I downright have the displeasure of having met that no good whor…” When she locked eyes with me, confusion was evident on her face as she studied me.

She then fainted.

“Oh my! That was not my intention.” Looking up at the doctor, Quacksalver, I think his name was? I then addressed him. “Maybe we should get her off the floor?”

He nodded, a cigarette falling from his mouth.

Propping up the mare Karat on the bench, I was then allowed to cut in line to talk with the doctor.

Knowing what he was going to ask, I decided to answer it first. “Names Azure Dice. I’m a Lurker. No need to know what that is. I’m looking for Harp Melody.”

Quacksalver put a cigarette in his mouth before offering me one.

“Sorry. I can’t smoke tobacco. My lungs filter it out and the taste lingers terribly,” I told him.

He nodded. “Right. So, you said you're looking for the mare Harp? Why?”

I placed my luggage down and sat on it. “Well first off, I have a delivery for her from a Velvet Remedy. I think it’s medical supplies and such. But I also need to…”

“Medical supplies!” Quacksalver spoke up, interrupting and annoying me. “Right. Miss Harp is a bit indisposed right now, so you can leave that here. I’ll make sure she gets it.”

Looking at the “Good” doctor and sensing the air with my antenna, I was not getting the best vibe from him, or this room. It was sterile and clean, but all the jars of materials he had were more reminiscent of a witch doctor than a real doctor. The Doctor himself gave off a slight chemical smell, similar to cleaning materials, but a bit too strong, and they were on his breath.

I placed my… hoof, onto the luggage. “Doctor Quacksalver, was it? That is so kind of you, but I rather give it to her directly. It’s been a long journey and my stomach has not been feeling the best from eating all the preserved foods from around here. So, could you just tell me where she is?”

“Well that might be hard right now, but rest assured that I can get it to her for you,” Quacksalver said before pausing for a moment, then smiled. “Your stomach, you say? I have a medicine that could settle your stomach at a fair price.”

He turned to a drawer and pulled out a small jar with several tablets inside. “This is a homeopathic cure made from Viper extract and mole rat gallbladder. Very effective.”

If I had an eyebrow, I’d raise it at him. “So snake oil and random animal body parts,” I said skeptically.

With a sigh, I picked up the luggage, placed it back onto my back, and addressed him one more time. “Just tell me where Harp is.”

A knocking on the wall to the hallway caught our attention. There stood a white pony with black stripes. It looked like she was a corpse. A ghoul, I think they were called. “She's not in town anymore. Come with me. I’ll explain.”

Nodding, I followed the undead mare out of the building.

She took me to the closed down clinic. It had several boxes inside filled with random medical stuff that looked a bit too old to be at its most useful. There was also a hole in the roof and the sign of some creature having had a temper tantrum from how several tables were scattered all around.

“I got word you would be showing up. Sadly, your timing is a bit bad. The name is Jali, by the way,” the ghoul mare politely told me.

“My name is Azure. So did she already leave? Here I was hoping to relax a bit. First time in proper civilization since getting here. I could do with having a cold beer as well,” I said, hoping for some good news out of this.

She shook her head. “It’s not that.”

My antennas dropped at hearing that. “She's not dead, is she?”

Jali’s eyes widened a little and shook her head again. “Oh no. She is, fortunately, still alive. It’s just that there was an incident. The sheriff accused her of working with raiders and being involved with the death of an associate of hers. She is currently held at the NCR Correctional Facility with several other ponies we knew.”

“Well damn. That’s a wrench in my monkey.” I sighed. “Could I at least get directions to this place?”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “You sure that is a good idea? You look like you stepped out of the movie, The Creature from the Black Lagoon. You're lucky some trigger happy pony hasn't shot you yet.”

This had been bothering me for quite a while too. It's almost like ponies and other creatures don’t see me right away, even if I was right in front of them. “Strange luck is my guess. But I need to talk with Harp to see if she can help me find a way back home. Well... to a time-space tear in reality which I can step into.”

“What?” Jali said in confusion.

“Oh. Sorry. I’m not from this world. I kind of fell here when I bumped into Harp in some bubble in unreality. It’s like having a number inside zero… I think. I’m no scholar on theoretical magics, my job was just to record what was seen, not really understand any of it.”

Jali scratched her head, clearly trying to process what I just explained. “Excuse me, I’m a doctor, not a theoretical acano scientist. So what you're saying is… you're an alien?”

I shrugged. “Technically, yes, but the form I have is slightly different from my real form, such as I don’t normally have hoof-like ends on my legs. Also, I’ve met two ponies who have been around creatures that look like myself.”

Her eyes again widened, seemingly brighter than before. “You're from the other side of a magic mirror! I’ve only heard stories about creatures like you. Now that I think about it, the pony Starswirl the Bearded had excelled in the research of otherworldly travel through magic mirrors. But those are ancient tales.”

“Yes. The watcher said something similar,” I said with a head nod.

Jali paused for a moment, clearly thinking. “How about this? You let me study you back at the Followers camp and, in return, I’ll talk with the NCR about you getting to visit Harp Melody, though it might take some time after what recently happened.”

I didn’t like the sound of that, though I didn’t like the sound of a lot of things since falling to this world. “I’ll agree, but what happened to make things more difficult?”

She sighed. “My nurse figuratively flew off in a rage when her daughter was caught up in the incident with Harp. Never seen her so angry before. She was making demands of everypony that had any authority. Nearly got shot by the sheriff too. The NCR ambassador is a bit upset by her outburst right now, so it’s best to wait for things to cool down first.”

Somehow I had a feeling that politics was involved if there was an ambassador here. If I knew anything about anything, it was how nasty and annoying politics was. Mainly petty fights over the smallest amount of power. Some people were willing to set everything on fire just because they can't get their way.

Understanding how sensitive the situation likely was, I figured that slow and steady was the best course of action in this situation. “If you're willing to help me, then I will help you.”

She smiled, which caused some of her exposed muscles on her face to move, reminding me of a skinless monster that the miasma back home would sometimes make. “Thank you.”

The sound of the door opened which was followed by heavy hoof steps. This caught my attention. Looking around, I saw a more portly stallion, one that could use a better-tailored suit to better fit him. “Hey zombie. Stop dragging your hooves and move your junk out of here,” the stallion commanded.

Jali rolled her milky white eyes. “False Cap, go fuck yourself. You may be able to lie to this town, but I know it’s you and the other deputies who are responsible for Hardballer's death.”

False chuckled. “We have many eyewitnesses to the incident, but if you still want to cause problems, then I might as well just kick you out now and sell all that junk you have there.”

“Once this gets to the right ears, there are going to be a lot of questions asked from some very pissed off griffins.” Jali sternly told the deputy.

The stallion didn’t lose his grin. “Let them. It will only prove us right about how dangerous those thieves are to this town.”

A mare behind him trotted in. False quickly tighten his lips.

Jali glared at the mare. “Sheriff Asky, here to shoot me like you shot Hardballer?”

The mare, Ashy, pulled out a flask and took a swig of whatever was inside. “Shut up, monster. Just be glad I didn’t shoot your assistant. Now get going.”

Jali picked up the boxes as she muttered, “Not even going to deny it.” Shen turned to me. “Mister Azure, care to help a lady carry her luggage?”

I nodded. “Only fair.”

Picking up the last box and placing it on top of my luggage, we then trotted to the door. The Sheriff and Deputy gave me a confused look.

A sudden tug stopped me, drawing my attention to the Sheriff. “What in Celestia's ivory ass are you?” Ashy asked in confusion.

I simply told her. “Not in your jurisdiction, Officer.” before trotting off to wherever Jali was leading me.