Fallout Equestria: Desperados

Fallout Equestria: Desperados

Path to Power, Part 3

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"What is one of the most important characteristics of a leader? This is a question I asked Harp Melody.

Not wanting the power was her simple answer.

From the things I have seen and heard over my life, in both fiction and nonfiction stories, this has been an unshakable truth. Not because one must not want the power, but because one must understand what comes with it. For those who truly crave power rarely understand what a burden it is to properly wield it. How they will be burdened by it. Only a lucky few can ever irresponsibly jump through the flames and come out unscathed." ~ Azure Dice

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A loud yawn from the invisible Snaps drew my attention from reading a big book of science. The book was unfortunately my escape from sorting through the terribly made documents the others had made for me. It was almost as bad as the ones in New Appaloosa. Fortunately there was no speculation on the worth between a bottle of whisky and a shot of whiskey in caps. Just what they were able to recover and put into those boxes.

I had gotten used to the nightstalker, strange as it sounded. But it was taking up a large space on the overmare desk and I really wanted it to get off. No matter how much I wanted to free up the space, there was no way I was going to try and move the large pit viper of a hound.

The door to the overmare’s office opened., Slowtrot stepped inside along with Cherry Knot.

“Hey Harp. feeling better?” Cherry asked, sounding a bit too cheerfully.

I raised my eyebrow. “Where Star?”

They both looked at each other and sighed.

Cherry then answered. “Fucking some zebras.”

I sighed and let my head hit the table. “Why is she fucking some zebras?”

Slowtrot nervously scratched the back of his head. “Well… With Spritz and her followers gone, she came to me to get her own health checked with them there. When I gave her a clean bill of health, she took some contraceptives I found in medical and left for Cherry's place.”

“The bitch tried to kick me out of my own fucking place,” Cherry huffed in annoyance. “Wasn't going to stop her, but damn will I give up what's my own space for free. Got them to agree to make a show of it. Even let us use one of those cameras you fixed up for me. Though, they might have been a bit high when we were negotiating.”

I facehooed as I asked. “Why?”

The mare then trotted up to me. She sits herself on the other side of the deals, away from Snaps. “Oh come on. You three have been so stressed the day you arrived at the NCRCF. Even when things calmed down here, you still had Spritz to worry about. But now you can truly unwind, along with everypony else, so I thought that everypony could use some entertainment, even if it’s just a recording.”

Cherry then grinned at me. “Maybe you need to unwind as well. Let some of that stress go. I know a stallion, or five, who will be nice and gentle with you. All clean.”

Taking a deep breath, I slowly exhaled before responding. “Technically, I’m still a virgin, so I would rather not have the first stallion I sleep with to be an escaped convict. So no.”

Cherry kept on smiling. “How about a mare?”

I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to get the message across. “I currently have a marefriend, so again, no.”

She then sighed as she got off the desk. “Fine by me.

“Other than that the chem Bitter has been making, we don’t have anything else for relaxing right now. I’m only trying to… oh, excuse me.” Cherry held her hoof to her mouth, looking like she was ready to puke, then quickly trotted off in a hurry.

“Is she sick?” I asked Slowtrot in concern.

He shook his head. “No, just pregnant.”

I face hooded. “Why was the prison mixed gendered? No, wait… they were fucking the guards too.”

Slowtrot then came up to the desk, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Why don’t we stop talking about sex right now and move onto another topic.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, “Please don’t tell me your also-”

“What! No... no way!” He quickly responded. “There's been a few mares trying to flirt with me, but I’m a bit of the same mind as you on the matter.

“Anyways, it’s a bit of a different problem for me then you mares. I can’t take a contraceptive and say I’m safe, as things go.”

With a nod of understanding, I passed him one of the documents. “Alright, I think I have a good balance on what’s coming with us and what will stay in the stable for now.”

He read the documents over twice, looking a bit confused. “I get some of this stuff. Guns, food, water, even the sulfur. But why the alcohol still?”

“I asked Tire Fire about things the Desperados would want and he said moore booze never hurts,” I explained as I pulled out a glass bottle of distilled water. “Also, with that drought coming, it can be used to make clean drinking water. It should at least make a good gift for their hospitality.”

Slowtrot nodded as he put the document down. “I get it. We are imposing ourselves onto them.” He then raised an eyebrow while looking at the big book of science. “Planning to do some arcano science?”

Looking at the chemistry page of the book, it was about how to make certain chemical compounds through simple and complex means. I was no scientist myself, or a chemist, but I needed to know what salvage could be useful beyond their core components.

“More chemistry. Though Spritz was on the right track, she was not as smart as she thought she was,” I explained. “The gunpowder she was thinking of making can’t be used in the automatic weapons we have. It’s too dirty. What we need is smokeless gunpowder. To make it, we need to make Nitroglycerin. Or so it looks like. I’m reading this over to know what is used to make what.”

“And any success?” Slowtrot asked.

Taking a deep breath, I put the book down as I exhaled slowly to relieve myself of stress. “There’s a reason why specialists were trained for years. It’s almost like a foreign language trying to understand most of what's in this book. Add to that, we're talking about something highly explosive so I don’t want to just…. wing it.”

Pushing myself out of my seat, I winced in pain as I put pressure on my leg. It was nothing extreme, just really uncomfortable. “Anyways, once I figure out how to make the smokeless gunpowder, the Desperado’s should be more than happy to escort us to the west.”

“You should put on your brace. I know it’s not comfortable, but your leg is still in a weakened state,” Slowtort told me.

With a sigh, I grabbed the nearby brace and slid it onto my hurt leg. The pressure was annoying, but once on, it made sure I didn’t put too much weight on my leg. “Can’t I just have some more med-x?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “This is the fourth time you asked me. That’s not a good sign.”

“RIght, right. It just felt, you know, good,” I said, feeling a bit ashamed by admitting to it.

Slowtrot came over to help me trot. “Anyways, the pain helps you remember to not put pressure on that leg. The last thing you need is to get high on painkillers and go break that leg by running around. It was a miracle alone that most of your leg even healed without deformation. I even had to push your own stomach back in you for crying out loud.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d be calling you a high class doctor,” I teased.

“Please don’t. The most I am is a field medic. That's what Jali told me anyway,” he explained, looking a bit embarrassed.

“Well I’m still alive thanks to you, so don’t cut yourself too short,” I told him with a big smile on my face.

“Thanks. So where are you going?” Slowtrot asked.

“To the Atrium. It’s about time we tell everypony what we are planning on doing,” I explained.

A yawn and a thud came from behind us as Snaps finally got off the damn desk.

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Things had really calmed down after Spritz had died, both in tension and in a need for distraction. The ponies not doing anything were now simply relaxing or calmly gambling off in one of the rooms. Cherry’s fillies were also less busy. They simply lounged around as they chatted up a few of the stallions or other mares.

Some ponies were still a bit on edge or having a hard time coping. But, without the specter of death over them, they were better able to confine with the others.

A few ponies gave me a friendly wave. Some fearfully averted their gaze instead. I was not some savage brute like Spritz was, but I had earned their fear. It is something I did not feel like correcting. It was a balance. So long as no pony felt like taking over, then everything would go smoothly.

“Before I address everypony, let’s visit the orchard.” I told Slowtrot.

The long dead dirt of the stable’s orchard was now mostly void of trees. The ponies turned them into planks or charcoal by now. In their place were simple graves for the stable dwellers as well as the ponies who died here just recently. Besides the ponies we had killed, Spritz had murdered seven ponies on her way to cut us off. It was the best we could do for them to at least make sure they were properly put to rest. The only pony who didn’t get a grave was Spritz. Her body was thrown in cold storage. We still had a use for her.

There were a few ponies standing in the graveyard, one being Pilfer at Filch’s grave. There was no honor among thieves, but that didn’t mean they were not friends. It only made me wish I could have made Spitz's death longer and more painful.

“So are you still seeing the ghosts?” I asked Slowtrot.

He nodded. “Sometimes, but I think now that they've been put to rest, they might be moving on.”

It was not much confort, but I liked to think the spirits of this stable were finally finding some rest after so long. “I hope so.”

Turning away from the orchard, we made our way up the stairs where several ponies were crowding around the window to the school room. Wondering what the commotion was, I decided to take a look. Inside was Amralt playing with the puppy nightstalkers as their mother, Alpha, watched.

“Seriously, those things should not be so cute looking.” one of the ponies said.

“I know. I would go in there too, but one bite from them and you’re dead… right?” another pony questioned.

“I don’t know about you, but I’d rather tussle with the Yak,” a third pony said, getting a concerned look from the other ponies. “What?”

Leaving them all to do their thing, I turned to trot over to the far balcony. The feeling of something jumping onto my back caught me by surprise. A friendly hiss revealed it to be one of the puppies.

“Oh, hello Cavall!” I greeted the pup.

Slowtrot reached out and gave it a scratch on the chin as it hissed happily. “Strange that Star let you name this one after she named all the others. What is he named after again?”

I explained, “Cavall was one of Princess Platinum’s favorit dogs. Well, he was her father’s dog, but he protected her with loyalty. Because of that it’s customary in my family to have a dog named Cavall. Princess Majesty's cybernetic guard dog’s name was that too. So I thought, why not this little guy?”

The Nightstalker itself was just like the others, a mostly white animal with gray diamond pattern along the side and pale piercing blue eyes. Each one was made a dog collar to help tell them apart… when they were not invisible. Cavall’s collar was made from raddler skin. The special treatment being because of how friendly he was with us.

Letting Cavall be, both because I didn’t want to just shove the pup off me, and that it was still a venomous nightstalker. I just trotted to where I wanted to have my speech.

We passed the entrance to Cherry's place. It, too, had a crowd inside who were making a lot of noise. The last thing I wanted to do was see Star getting it on with two or more zebras or whatever else was going on in there. Despite that, I couldn't help but be a little curious. I just had other things to do first.

I found the right place where everypony could see me and took a moment to ready myself mentaly. I took a few deep breaths before raising my pipbuck closer to my face. “Order, begin transmitting.”

It beeped. I could hear static coming out four the intercoms for a moment. “Hello everypony. This is Harp Melody, your current boss. I’m sorry if I’m disturbing any of you right now, but it’s time I finally tell you what our plans will be. I know that, even after leaving the NCRCF, that we’ve all had little time to truly relax. Unfortunately, time is not something we can simply waste.”

Taking a few seconds before continuing, several of the ponies had started to gather from both below and along the balcony.

“First off,” I continued, “as I hope you all understand, staying in this stable is both not possible and ill advised. Other than the poor condition it is in, and low supplies, the stable is also capable of killing everypony in it. Not to say that will happen, but the possibility is there, so it’s better to leave here as soon as possible.

“As for where we're going, fortunately I already have some friends who can help us. I know some of you might not like the idea, but it’s the best option we have. As for where we are going, we will be seeking shelter with the Desperado’s through the connections I currently have and the gifts we will be bringing them. So they are unlikely to turn us away. With them, we should have at least three options on what you can do next.”

“Option one, you go your own way. With the supply of food and water here, there is enough to give everypony what they need to live for a few months, but some of that’s going to the Desperados so if you choose to not stay with us, I promise at least a week's supply. Two at most. You will be dropped off someplace outside the NCR conrole, and from there, it is up to you.

“As for those who want to stay with us, we will be leaving with the Desperado’s when they leave this area. They have a big fight out west. A war, to tell the truth. But trust me, I don’t plan on dragging you all into it. What will likely happen is that we will be taken to a settlement that needs ponies for work. There, if you so choose, you all will become normal ponies again.

“The third option, and I’m sure only a few will even consider this, you turn yourself in. Trot back to the NCR. Now I know that sounds like suiside, but I’ve thought it through. For anypony who still has family and friends within the NCR who don’t want a possible bounty on their heads, this is an option. This is also why I didn’t want anypony mutaliating Spritz corpse. As part of turning yourself in, you also get to take Spritz with you. She is quite hated by the NCR and whoever thought of putting her in the NCRCF instead of just shooting her should get shot themselves. That's why if you turn yourself in, and hoof over her corpse, I know the NCR will show you mercy.”

I took a deep breath, my speech mostly done. “Now with that over, I’d like you to discuss this among yourselves. When it’s time for us to head out, I want half of you to stay here, where it’s safe. If things go well, we will return with the Desperado’s to finish clearing this place out. So, until then, try to not destroy anything. And if you have any questions, I’ll be returning to the overmare’s office later today.”

The ponies below began talking amongst each other. They likely had a lot of thinking to do. As for myself, I needed something to eat.

“What’s the chef cooking today?” I asked Slowtrot.

He scratches his goatee for a moment before hypothesizing. “I think Chainlock said he was cooking a wasteland style gumbo. A family recipe or something like that.”

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We had to wait a while for Chainlock to finish cooking us a pot of his gumbo. It was a strange dish, mainly consisting of meats, a thick stock and what seasonings he could find. I only regretted asking him how he thickened the stock. He used the snake's blood as a thickener.

Both Slowtrot and I struggled to take the first bite, but when hunger won us over, we ultimately found it to taste really good. Actually, it was the best tasting food I’ve had since I left home.

“All it’s missing is the wasteland peppers. Had to make due with preserved chilli powder, but it just does not have the heat.” Chainlock lamented.

The food was already spicy as it was. I’d hate to find out how hot wastland peppers would make it.

“Well I can say from this, you're a wonderful cook. It’s just tragic you don’t have the ingredients needed to make it even better.” I complemented the stallion.

Chainlock gave me a slight bow. “Why thank you. Mama always said I should be a cook.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “How did you end up in prison?”

He gave a sigh. “It’s a common story. Where I’m from, things weren't going well. The drought hit us first and hard. Maybe that land was alway a dry place, and parting the clouds just returned it to what it was.

“Well... because of that, we couldn't grow any crops, and a lot of the critters left, so hunting became harder. I decided to join up with some ganggers and earn caps that way. Long story short, we got on the bad side of the NCR and they rounded us up.

“Probably a good thing it happened. The boss was getting more crazy as time went on. Like raider crazy.”

“Well maybe it’s time you head on home. I’m sure your mom would love to see you again,” I advised Chainlock.

“Maybe I should,” he mused while giving me a slight nod.

We then let him go off and finish cooking his gumbo for the rest of the stable. Soon after, a clean but frizzled looking Star Charter trotted into the diner.

“Had fun?” I asked coldly.

Star just plopped herself down in the booth with us. She grabbed a bowl and poured some gumbo into it. “Hey, they were interested, I was interested, and I wanted to experiment a bit.”

She then took a bite of the gumbo and squealed a little. “Fuck, this is good! It even washes that taste out of my mouth.”

“What t… no, no. I don’t want to know.” I said while cringing.

Smiling at me, Star rubbed up on me in a more friendly manner than I would have liked her to do right now. “Oh don’t be that way. I heard what you and Cloudy did with that rich mare, so don’t act all innocent.”

I pushed her away, getting a bit annoyed. “That’s different. Anyways, why a Zebra? Aren't they still standoffish with every pony else?”

She then gave a happy sight that only made me more annoyed. “Oh ya, they're still got a big chip on their shoulder about the discrimiantion they got in prison. That includes that whole history shit going back to the war. That's why I asked them if they wanted somepony a bit more aggressive to play with. Got two zebras for the price of one.”

Flipping her mane, Star looked out the window with a smile on her face. I saw two Zebra stallions sitting down, looking a bit exhausted. “I got to have some fun and they got their aggression out. It was a lot of aggression at that. Having an audience was not part of the plan or having it be recorded. At least Cherry promised me a copy, so whatever.”

“Mind if I cut in? I’m trying to eat.” Slowtrot interrupted.

Star laughed. “Sorry, sorry. Still got it on my mind,” she said as she leaned over to me and whispered in my ear. “If you want, I can show you it later and give you commentary.”

“Fine. Just come with me to the overmare's office after we finished eating,” I said quietly.

It’s not like I was that interested. Just curious.

Giving me back my space, Star returned her attention to the gumbo. “So, when we go west, what are you planning to do? I mean, I know a few people, so I’m going to leave a letter with mom and meet up at Burro’s farm.”

“Farm?” I asked.

She nodded. “I mentioned them before mom took me east. We had made friends with a strange bunch. I helped them find a buried treasure. Mom didn’t want to stay with them. Too close to the sea. She said it was calling me back. We’ve visited them once before since then, so it shouldn’t be hard for her to go over there with Bridget.”

“I do want to see what happened to Applewood,” Slowtrot spoke up, but then looked down at his pipbuck. “Also it seems that Thorn is out west under the ocean. I can’t help but feel something’s bad going on in Desponies.”

“Ya. That too,” Star agreed. “I should go with ya. I mean you first have to go over the waters. Anyways, if what Victoria says is true, then the Pope of the Chosen knows about Thorn still being alive. A bit beyond me, but sounds exciting.”

“Count me out,” I said with a sigh. “Sorry, but there seems to be a lot of shit going on in the west right now. Quicktrot was being a bitch about it, but she revealed an old enemy of my family has made it to Equestria. I need to contact Orthrus and warn them. Remember that weird radio broadcast we listened to? The one that surprised me when we were heading to that raider's nest?”

“The one about the heavily armed airship.” Star answered.

“Yes. The DJ confirmed that the group using it called themselves Orthrus. Well… my father is one of their leaders, so if I can get to them I should finally be safe. I’m hoping they might be able to help you as well. Their good ponies after all.” I explained.

“And have a massive airship, if the DJ is right.” Star added.

I nodded. “That too, among other things.”

Slowtrot raised his hoof to get our attention. “So are we just going west? From what the Desperados told me, they live more to the north than where Applewood is.”

“Right. About that,” I tapped on my pipbuck to share the map information I had planned out. “So the plan for that is simple. With the Desperados, we’re heading north. We’ll stop at a place called Platinum Hill before making our way to route 50. From there, it’s a straight path to the west coast, then we just need to join a caravan south bound.”

“There are caravans that go straight to the west coast. Why not take them?” Star asked.

I shook my head. “There mostly by hoof and they make many stops along the way. At best, it’s a month's journey from New Appaloosa to Applewood so long that nothing stops us along the way. Also there's a risk we might have bounties on our heads after what happened at the prison. That makes everypony who would want to collect it an enemy to us.”

“On the other hoof, the Desperados have motor wagons we can ride in. They also aren't going to honor any bounty on us. Rout 50 is also under their control, making it unlikely for raiders to get in our way. So with them, if nothing stops us, the journey should only take a week at most.”

Slowtrot then sighed. “Too bad the trains can’t be used. It only took a few days to get from Applewood to Manehattan. It was a safe and relaxing way to travel.”

A slurp came from Star as she finished her bowl of gumbo by pouring it’s contents down her throat. Smacking her lips, she then took our pot and filled her bowl with some more. “Fuck, that’s good stuff.

“Anyways, I’d rather not stop at Platinum Hill. It’s full of uptight asshats and sleazy merchants. But, if we don’t have to stay long, then I can deal.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been there before? What’s it like?” I inquired.

She sighed. “Boring for the most part. The place is the only structure that was not an irritated ruin for miles and miles. Has a protective magic shield over the structure, but you can still go inside. Because of that, everypony has to pass through Platinum Hill in that region if they ever need to resupply or trade. The locals are basically Steel Rangers, though they say they aren't. They got power armor and are hard on for rules. Unlike the tin cans, however, they don’t give to shits about tech. They only care about maintaining the structure at the center of Platinum Hill. Also their armor was extra fancy and shiny. It reminded me of the paladins from the Blackwater.”

That sounded interesting, along with the name of the place. I hoped the Desperados would let me look around for a bit before we moved on.

“Oh! What about the war the Desperados are having?” Slowtrot then asked. “Should we help them, if even a little?”

Star rolled her eyes. “Isn't that why we're still mining the sulphur crystals?”

“I know that, but I mean in some other ways. Not that I want to get into their fight, but… well I don’t know,” he responded.

“If we can help it, I think it’s fair if we do, but I rather not get more involved,” I told them. “If things go well, what we make for them should be more than enough to help them. Any more questions?”

“Actually,” Slotrot again spoke up, “how are we going to sort out the ponies staying or leaving after when we go to the Desperados?”

“Easy enough,” I said while taking a bite of the gumbo before explaining. “We’re going to have them put their names on one of three lists. For those who want to join us with the Desperados, they can be the ones who leave with us first if there aren't too many of them. The other two groups, along with the undecided, can stay here and wait to be picked up. In that time the ones who will go their own way can continue to gather the sulphur crystals, and depending on how much they mine, they will receive extra supplies.”

“Anything else?” I asked, and they shook their heads.

_______________________________________________________

Time seemed to move quickly after I opened the overmare’s doors to the others. Many had questions and a few requests. It made me glad that Star shared with me her romp with the Zebras. Never did I think that knowing the measurements of a zebra’s privets and their skills with it would help desensitize me to what came next.

A few stallions tried to flirt with me and wanted me to run off with them. Several mares wanted to know if the Desperados would be down for a good time. The graphic details some shared with me were far more than I ever wanted to know from a stranger. And then the few mares, including Cherry, who were pregnant and wanted to know how safe it would be to join us with the Desperados.

It was annoying, and Star was no help at all. She just laughed at what the others said to me or played with Cavall. At least Tire Fire had joined us to give some answers. But then, unfortunately, he then had to leave, which was soon after two mares had flirted with him. The bastard.

Luckily he returned just in time for the more serious ponies to finally come around. These questions were more about what was to be expected if they joined us and if they could even join the Desperados themselves. One of the ponies wanted to know what route they could take to get them back home, of which I shared what my pipbuck map had. That, in turn, told them that it’s not the most reliable source. Another pony wanted to know how they would turn themselves in and if they needed to bloody themselves up first or come well dressed.

All of it was draining, and I was glad when it was over. By the end of the day, all the boxes of materials we planned to bring were all ready to be moved to Daisy Chain. We also had a good list of who to bring with us. I let them know to get themselves ready in the morning. As soon as day breaks, we’re heading out.

As I got my bed ready, I saw Star dressing up in a yellow dress, stockings and a choker. She looked like a mare from the photos taken during the great war. “What are you doing?” I asked her,

She looked back at me. Her makeup was applied professionally on her. “Going on a late night stroll.”

“In that?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes. Those two zebras promised to take me on a date. They were quite rough before and wanted to treat me right before we go our separate ways,” she said happily.

I frowned at her. “You’re going to fuck them again, aren’t you?”

Star smiled widely. “Well ya. Who knows when I’ll ever get to do something like that again. If you want, you can join me,” Star offered.

Throwing a pillow at her, I flopped down onto the bed. “Just tell me about it later. Right now I need to sleep.”

“Good night, Harp,” Star said softly.

“Have fun,” I told her.

The door then hissed as it opened and hissed as it shut. Laying there, I then felt several beasts walk around me before laying down almost on top of me. I don’t know why, but my bed somehow became a nightstalker nest. I dared not move.

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-Level up-

-Slowtrot-

Lv, 8

Medicine is now at 65

Small Gun is now at 34

-Harp Melody-

Lv, 8

Science is now at 75

Speech is now at 77

-Star Charter-

Lv, 8

Explosive are now at 50

Small Guns are now at 59