Wasteland Wanderers

As soon as the group all returned to the Prospector Saloon, Sunny and Cheyenne propped themselves up right next to the jukebox and listened. The girls were a bit confused about what to do now until they saw an older lady near the bar talking to someone… rather harshly. “I’m done being nice.” the man threatened. “If you don’t hand Ringo over soon, I’m going to get my friends and we’re burning this town to the ground, got it?”

Sunset and Twilight were more than a bit concerned by that as the lady stood her ground. “We’ll keep that in mind. Now, if you’re not going to buy something, get out.”

The man scoffed and walked toward the door, suddenly bumping into Marty on the way out. “What the hell is your problem?” he asked with an edge to his voice.

“Sorry. Couldn’t help overhearing.” Marty said simply. “Who’s this Ringo guy you’re lookin’ for?”

“He’s some trader who decided he’d rather shoot than pay the toll for being in our territory.” the thug scowled. “He’s hiding somewhere in town. Would serve these idiots right if me and my guys shot the place up after we got payback on Ringo.”

“Fraid we can’t allow that, pardner.” Applejack sneered as she walked behind him.

“Oh yeah? And what do you think you’re gonna do?” he asked.

“Trust me, pal; you don’t wanna know,” Rainbow smirked.

The thug’s eyes went wide at the sight of Rainbow and the other girls. “The fuck kinda mutants are you?”

“The kind that get born looking like this,” Sunset said simply.

“Doesn’t matter to me.” the thug remarked. “Just let me leave you with one friendly word of advice; you wanna do business in our territory, you pay our toll same as Ringo.”

“This place is your turf?” asked Sunset.

“It is now. Me and the rest of the guys busted out of the NCR prison east of here and took over. Now we’re callin’ the shots.” The girls were more than a bit surprised; they were talking to a wanted man? “And unless you want one of those shots through your pretty head, I suggest you stay out of our way.” With that, he tromped out of the saloon.

“Well, that fellow was pleasant.” Rarity remarked.

“Glad to see you folks haven’t stopped causin’ a stir.” the older lady smiled as she moved behind the bar. “Glad I finally got to meet you. Welcome to the Prospector Saloon.”

“You must be Trudy. Marty Barron; I’ll take a beer.” the courier noted as he slapped a few caps on the bar. “I’m tryin’ to track down the people who attacked me. Know anything about them?”

Trudy just shrugged as she handed Marty a bottle of beer. “Not much, other than they’re a bunch of freeloaders who expected a few rounds on the house,” she said. “I was able to get them to pay up though. Of course, one of the Great Khans did knock my radio to the floor ‘by accident’, and it hasn’t been working since.” She gestured to the small radio on the shelf behind the bar, sitting silently.

“Did they say where they were going?” asked Marty.

“They were havin’ some kind of argument about it, but the guy in the checkered coat kept shushin’ ‘em,” Trudy remembered. “Sounded like they came in from the north through Quarry Junction. If that’s the case, I can’t say I blame ‘em for not wanting to go back.”

“Why’s that?” asked Applejack.

“That whole area’s overrun with the kind of critters that just get mad if you shoot ‘em,” Trudy explained, worrying several of the girls. “Merchants avoid that whole stretch of I-15 like it’s radioactive. Which it could be for all I know.”

“So steer clear of I-15; got it,” Rainbow noted. “So where were these guys headed?”

“I didn’t hear exactly, but the leader was talking about the Strip,” Trudy remembered. “Fella wants to get there and avoid the 15, he’d have to go east. Take Highway 93 up.”

“Mind if I take a look at your radio? I might be able to fix it.” Twilight offered.

“Sure, the outside looks okay, but I think something broke on the inside.” Trudy shrugged. “There’d be caps in it for you. I do like to hear what’s going on in the world. And that Mr. New Vegas seems like such a gentleman.”

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do.” Twilight shrugged as she moved to the radio, opening up the back before she set to work.

“So who are these Great Khans?” asked Rainbow.

“Drug-runners,” Marty remembered. “They’re some of the biggest chem pushers in the Mojave. Find a vial of Jet or Psycho out here and ten-to-one it’s got a Khan stamp on it. Course, drugs don’t pay for everything so they also run mercenary work. Which is how I ended up with this beauty.” He rubbed absently at the scar on his forehead.

Finally, Twilight closed up the radio and turned it on, letting music fill the saloon again. “There we go, good as new.” she smiled as she stepped back around to the others. “Just a few things popped loose inside when it fell; not a major fix-job.”

“Well, all the same, thanks.” Trudy smiled as she slid fifty caps across the bar to her. “Here’s some caps for the work.”

“Thanks, Trudy.” Twilight smiled as she took the money.

“You know the robot that dug me up?” Marty asked.

“I know that… thing… as much as anyone else around here.” Trudy scowled. “It mostly keeps to itself, which is just fine by me.”

“So what’s he do around here?” asked Applejack.

“Other than rolling around once in a while, it doesn’t do anything useful as far as I can tell.” Trudy shrugged, turning back to Marty. “I don’t know why it took an interest in you, but I’d be careful. It’s never helped anyone before.”

“Ah yes, Easy Pete mentioned you didn’t like him.” Rarity remembered.

“It acts friendly enough, but I don’t trust that whole ‘cheerful cowboy’ act.” Trudy shrugged. “I find it all very creepy.”

“How long has he been in town?” asked Applejack.

“It was here when I took over the saloon seven years ago,” Trudy remembered. “Some people have said its owner lived here, but no one knows who it was.”

“Well, as long as we’re here, I think it should be obvious we overheard your little argument.” Sunset pointed out. “What was it all about?”

“Looks like our little town got itself dragged into the middle of something we don’t want anything to do with,” Trudy remarked. “About a week ago, this trader – Ringo – comes into town. Survivor of an attack, he says. Bad men after him, needs a place to hide. We figured he was just in shock, so we gave him a place to lie low. We didn’t actually expect anyone to come after him.”

“Lemme guess; that guy’s goons?” Rainbow pointed after the man who’d just left.

“He’s a convict. Just without the chains.” Trudy nodded. “Said his name was Cobb. Joe Cobb. ‘Powder Gangers’ is what they call themselves. Plenty more like him out there.”

“Powder Gangers?” asked Twilight.

“Chain gangs, really.” Trudy shrugged. “The NCR brought ‘em in from California to work on the rail lines. Problem is it turns out giving convicts a bunch of dynamite and blasting powder isn’t the best idea.”

“Wow, just hearing it out loud makes it sound stupid,” Rainbow remarked as she opened one of the water bottles the group got earlier. “Lemme guess; they busted loose?”

“Not too long ago, yeah.” Trudy nodded. “Some of ‘em stuck together so they could make trouble. That’s what we’re dealing with now.”

“Why not just kill Cobb and be done with it?” The girls were shocked at this suggestion from Marty, especially considering how cold he was being about it.

“You mean murder him? That’s not our way, even if Cobb is scum.” Trudy assured, which relieved the girls in ways they couldn’t describe. “He can bluster and threaten all he wants.”

“So where’s Ringo now?” asked Applejack.

“He’s holed up at the abandoned gas station up the hill.” Trudy pointed out the window up the hill.

“I know that place; we passed by it on our way up to the cemetery,” Sunset remembered.

“So what are you going to do?” asked Twilight.

“Some of the others, like Sunny, will probably stand up for Ringo if he asks for help, which he hasn’t.” Trudy shrugged. “Personally, I hope he sneaks out of town one night and takes the Powder Gangers with him.”

“That’s if they figure out that he’s snuck out,” Rainbow remarked simply.

“What do you mean?” asked Sunset.

“Think about it; if he disappears without Cobb realizing it, they’ll just make more trouble for the town,” she explained, looking at Trudy. “And if you don’t know where he went, then you won’t be able to send Cobb on his way.”

“So if we helped Ringo out…” Sunset remarked.

“If you were able to get Ringo out of this mess, you’d have a decent reputation around Goodsprings.” Trudy smiled. “I’d even set you up with a discount.”

“Done deal.” Marty nodded as he stood up. He slugged down the last of his beer and made for the door, closely followed by the girls… who were more than a bit concerned about the company they’d started keeping in the wasteland.

It wasn’t exactly difficult to find the gas station; it was up the hill next to Doc Mitchell’s place and had a large sign above it that said Poseidon Energy. “Alright, you girls stay out here. This guy’s been hidin’ from a gang of gunslingers for a few days, so he probably won’t understand you folks.”

“That’s… probably a good idea.” Sunset nodded.

“Oh please Darling, I’m sure I could talk him out of whatever panic he may be experiencing easily.” Rarity assured as she stepped forward. “Just step back and let a lady handle this.” With that, she opened the door… and was met by a young man holding a pistol at the ready aimed straight at her stomach.

“That’s close enough, mutant,” he warned as he cocked his pistol. “Now who are you and what do you want with me?”

Rarity was at something of a loss; she wanted to tell him to calm down, but the gun pointed at her put her heart in her throat. No one said anything until Marty leaned against the doorframe calmly. “If you’re gonna shoot, you’d better not miss,” he said chillingly.

Rarity glared back at him, more than ready to yell at him, but instead, this young man just uncocked his gun and holstered it. “Sorry about the gun; you just caught me off-guard, that’s all.”

“Whew. Well, that makes two of us.” Rarity assured as she found her voice, leaning against the gas station counter in relief.

“We got off to a bad start.” the man shrugged. “What say we start over with a friendly game of Caravan? You know how to play?”

“Ringo, ain’t it?” Applejack shrugged as the other girls all piled into the room, earning a nod from the young man. “Well, fraid not. How do ya play?”

“It’s a two-player game; winner gets the whole pot,” Ringo explained. “You build a ‘caravan’ using the cards in your deck. The goal is to create caravan bids that beat your opponent’s, so there’s more strategy than luck involved. It’s why you won’t see Caravan in any casino – too slow-paced, and more importantly, no house edge.” He reached into his belt and retrieved something. “Here, take this holotape – it goes into more specifics about the rules.” The tape looked like a large metal box with what looked like a cassette or film tape inside, which Marty took. “You’ll also need some decks, so take a few of my spares.” The decks were small and looked fairly simple, but Sunset still gladly accepted them.

“Thanks,” she said.

“So, any of you feel like playin’ a game?” Ringo asked.

“Maybe some other time.” Marty interrupted. “You know there’s a guy in town named Joe Cobb looking for you?”

“Yeah. He doesn’t look very tough, though.” Ringo shrugged. “I hear he’s afraid I’ll shoot him down from one of the windows when I see him, and he’s right.” That chilled several of the girls to the bone; the geckos they could understand – they were too feral for even Fluttershy to communicate with – but how could people talk so casually about killing other people. “I’ll have a much bigger problem once his friends show up. There’s no way I could handle all of them in a gunfight.”

“What’re you doing here anyway?” asked Twilight.

“Oh, sorry. I thought everybody knew already.” Ringo shrugged, pulling a small badge from his belt. “I’m a trader with the Crimson Caravan Company. I’m just, uh… stayin’ in town until this whole thing with Cobb blows over.”

“Crimson Caravan?”

“It’s been in business for a very long time, and is probably the biggest trading outfit in California.” Ringo shrugged as he sat down on a small chair behind the counter. “There’s a branch up in New Vegas, but it hasn’t been doing so well. Word is that the big boss herself, Alice McLafferty, is coming in to fix things.”

“Why is Cobb’s gang out to get you?” asked Rainbow.

“My caravan was on the return trip from California and heading back up to the company branch in New Vegas when we got jumped,” Ringo explained. “Not even a ‘drop your weapons and hands up’ before the bullets started flying. We put up a good fight, but there was too many of them. I took a few of the bandits down before I ran, so I figure their friends are out for revenge.”

“That’s not what Cobb told us.” Rainbow remarked.

“You spoke to him, huh?” Ringo asked, subtly reaching for his pistol.

“Relax, we’re not on his side or anything,” Twilight assured, though Ringo was still on guard.

“So what are you going to do?” asked Fluttershy.

“I’m gonna lay low for as long as I can, assuming the town doesn’t throw me to the wolves.” Ringo shrugged. “I’ve got no chance against the gang on my own.”

“Well, if you need a hired gun or eight, we’re available,” Marty smirked, earning scared looks from the girls.

“Well, I certainly appreciate that.” Ringo nodded. “All I’ve got left on me are a handful of caps, but you get me out of this, and I’ll make sure the Crimson Caravan Company pays you back. You’ve got my word.”

“There’s really no need for payment,” Sunset assured.

“Speak for yourself; I’m still out of pocket for not finishing that contract,” Marty whispered to her.

“So what’s the plan?” asked Twilight.

Ringo shook his head. “Even if it was the nine of us, we’d just end up sharin’ the same grave,” he assured. “Now, if some of the other people in town were also on board…”

“What, you don’t think we can handle ourselves?” Rainbow asked, earning a raised eyebrow from Marty, reminding her of marksmanship training.

“I was thinkin’ of myself, actually.” Ringo countered. “Who’s gonna watch my back while I’m watchin’ yours?”

“He’s not wrong,” Twilight whispered to Sunset. “I don’t know if we should tell anyone about our magic, and even with it, we’re probably outmatched; we don’t know how many men Cobb has with him.”

Sunset quietly nodded and stepped forward. “We’ll ask around town; see who we can round up to help.”

“Start with Sunny Smiles; she’s been friendlier than most around here,” Ringo suggested.

No argument there; without Sunny, the girls would barely know how to shoot. They left the gas station and tromped back down the hill to the saloon where they found Sunny still propped up against the jukebox. She smiled when she saw her new friends enter the saloon and walked over. “Hi there. Stickin’ around Goodsprings for awhile longer?”

“Long enough to deal with the Powder Gangers.” Rainbow shrugged. “We’re gonna be helping Ringo out, but we could use your help.”

“Say no more. I’m in.” Sunny said simply.

The group was more than a bit surprised. “Just like that?” asked Marty.

“Just like that.” Sunny shrugged. “I have a feeling that I’m gonna end up fighting those guys one way or another, so I might as well get it over with.”

“What makes you say that?” asked Sunset.

“Joe Cobb talks about leaving us alone if we hand over Ringo, but I know his type.” Sunny explained. “He and his friends will come after the town eventually.”

“Makes sense. But I gotta say, even with all of us and Ringo, I think we ain’t exactly a force to be reckoned with.” Applejack remarked. “We’re gonna need more help. Any ideas?”

“A lot of people around here look up to Trudy.” Sunny suggested. “Convince her to join up with us, and I bet some of the other folks in town might decide to help out too.” She looked out the window now. “I know Easy Pete’s got a stock of dynamite somewhere, and Chet just got a shipment of leather armor we could borrow. Talk to them too.”

“Doubt we’ll make it out of this without a scratch,” Marty remarked. “I’ll talk to Doc Mitchell too, see if he’s willin’ to cough up some extra meds.”

“Alright, we’ve got a plan. Let’s get to it; meet at the gas station later.” Twilight nodded as the group split up again. Twilight and Sunset remained in the saloon and went to the bar to talk to Trudy. “I take it you heard most of that?”

“The important bits.” Trudy shrugged as she scrubbed out a glass. “So you’re planning on taking on Joe Cobb’s gang. It’s a big risk, but I suppose you have to do what you think is right.”

“We can’t handle this alone,” Sunset assured. “We could use your help. Maybe set up an ambush for Cobb when he rides into town.”

“Well, I was planning on sitting this one out, but for some reason, I can’t help but like you kids.” Trudy smiled. “I’m with you. Let me have a word with a few other folks and I’ll see if I can’t round up some more members for this militia you’re creating.”

“How well-equipped will it be?” Sunset asked.

“Well, while everyone in town does own a gun, we could stand to be a little better equipped.” Trudy shrugged. “The general store probably has what we need in stock.”

“Don’t worry; the others are already handling it,” Twilight assured.

And indeed, Rarity and Fluttershy had just entered the old general store. It was a rundown old place with a dead cooler in the center of the room, a small generator rattling quietly in the corner, and blown-out glass display cases at the counter, behind which a scruffy man was wandering, but his eyebrow rose when he saw the girls. “Well now… you must be friends of the one Doc Mitchell was patching up,” he remarked.

“Indeed we are. Rarity and Fluttershy, at your service.” she introduced.

“Name’s Chet. Way I heard it, I didn’t think that guy would be walkin’ out of that office.” the owner remarked.

“Yes, that was somewhat surprising.” Rarity remarked. “While we’re on the subject, I don’t suppose you know anything about the people who attacked him?”

“Not much.” Chet shrugged. “The leader was a New Vegas type, typical city boy. He had a bunch of Great Khans with him, probably hired guns. Khans normally stay in their own territory way up northwest, on account of them being enemies with the NCR.”

“Ha- Have you ever been to New Vegas?” Fluttershy asked.

“Twice,” Chet remembered. “Both times, I drank a lot of liquor and lost most of my caps at the card tables. In that order, now that I think about it. If you ever make it out there, be sure to visit Gomorrah. It’s the best casino in the city. You won’t regret it. Word of advice though; behave. Between the NCR military police and Mr. House’s robots, you don’t want to be causing trouble on the Strip.”

“We’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” Rarity nodded. “And this… Mr. House, what more do you know about him?”

“Not much, I’m afraid.” Chet shrugged. “He’s got his own casino, the Lucky 38, but nobody goes in or out except his robots. The other casinos follow his rules, so I guess that makes him the leader of New Vegas. As far as I know, nobody’s ever laid eyes on the guy. I think that robot who pulled your friend out of the dirt belongs to Mr. House.”

“Victor?” Rarity asked in surprise as she saw the Securitron rolling along the road up the hill outside the window. “How is that possible?”

“Not sure. But if Mr. House is lookin’ out for your friend, that’s gotta be a good thing, right?” Chet shrugged.

“I suppose.” Rarity said, only half-convinced. Having an apparently heavily-armored robot like Victor on their side seemed like a good thing, but now knowing that he might belong to a secretive casino owner whom no one had seen in years made her skin crawl a bit. She shook her head clear of that and looked back at Chet. “Well, enough about that for now; we need supplies to fight off the Powder Gangers.”

“Whoa-whoa, now just hold on!” Chet argued. “I never voted to take on the Powder Gangers. That’s a thousand cap investment you’re talking about.”

“A thousand?! That’s highway robbery.” Rarity remarked, insulted at the price.

“That’s business out here, sweetheart.” Chet shrugged, before Rarity noticed he was looking her and Fluttershy over with a discerning look. “Course, I’m more than willing to accept other forms of payment.”

Rarity immediately blushed in embarrassment and fury, and turned away with a flip of her hair. “Hmph! Fine then. Let the ruffians take over the town; I’m sure your business will be far better off. Come along, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy was just as embarrassed as Rarity, and quickly turned to join her friend as they walked toward the door.

Chet sighed in annoyance as he watched them. “Alright-alright, you’ve made your point,” he assured, stopping them in their tracks. “I can provide the people with some basic leather armor and extra ammo. I sure hope it’s worth it.” He passed the girls each a few sets of the garb in question; torn leather jackets with padding and leather pants.

“Hmph. Hardly my style, but I suppose in this case, function must come before fashion.” Rarity shrugged. “Pleasure doing business with you, darling.”

“Yeah well, uh, I’ll be guarding the store while all this is going on.” Chet shrugged. “I have to put my business first, you understand.”

“Of course. Ta-ta.” Rarity smiled as she and Fluttershy strode from the store.

“Well, that went well.” Fluttershy smiled.

“Yes. Would’ve been far nicer if we had left visually unmolested, but beggars can’t be choosers.” Rarity sneered over her shoulder, earning another blush from Fluttershy. “I suppose we can only hope the others are having better luck than we.”

Things were going well enough on the porch of the saloon where Applejack, Rainbow, and Pinkie found Easy Pete kickin’ it back as always. “So do tell, Pete; what do you know about Joe Cobb?” asked Applejack.

“Bad trouble,” Pete remarked simply.

Rainbow glanced at her friends in confusion. “That’s… helpful.”

“Welcome.”

“Feh. Reminds me of your brother.” Rainbow whispered to Applejack.

“Oh, how Ah wish Ah could disagree with that.” Applejack replied quietly before she turned back to Easy Pete. “Anyhow, we hear you got some dynamite. Might help with the Powder Gangers.”

Pete just shook his head. “Too dangerous.” he disagreed. “Gonna kill all yourselves if I let you touch it. Better to leave it buried – safer that way.”

“Oh come on, how hard can it be? Just light them and throw, right?” asked Rainbow.

“Too dangerous, sorry,” Pete assured. “Blow yourself up, blow your neighbor up, blow the whole town up.”

Rainbow almost said something, but Applejack stopped her as she leaned forward, pulling Pinkie over too. “Pinkie here happens to be familiar with the care and handlin’ of explosives, dynamite included.” Pinkie nodded quickly.

Easy Pete just raised an eyebrow as he looked Pinkie over. “This one?”

“She don’t look it, Ah know, but trust me; stick a grenade in her hand, and watch her go to work.” Applejack smiled.

“Uh-huh.” Pete nodded, still not totally convinced. “Guess you know what you’re doin’.” He groaned as he stood up. “I’ll go dig it up and get it ready. You’ll have it by the time the fighting starts.”

“Thanks, pardner.” Applejack nodded as the old man walked off. “Alright, that’s our part done. Let’s get to the meet-up spot and hope we’re prepped enough for this.”

They would be prepped. Marty would make certain of it as he walked into Doc Mitchell’s house. “Hey Doc, you in?” he called through the house. He found Doc Mitchell in the sitting room on the couch from earlier.

Doc seemed pleasantly surprised to see him there. “Welcome back. I had hoped you wouldn’t need to see me again so soon. What can I do for you?”

“Town’s gonna get hit by bandits,” Marty explained. “Anything you can do to help even the odds?”

Doc just sighed and shook his head. “Seems like wherever I go, it’s always the same. Folks just never leave each other alone.” He stood up with a groan and limped to a cabinet against the wall. “I’m not much good I a fight, with my bum leg. And my supplies are scarce, but I’ll give you what I can spare.”

“That oughtta be enough.” Marty shrugged. As it turned out, what Doc could spare was just three Stimpaks, which seemed to annoy Marty. “You kiddin’ me? They’ll be usin’ explosives, Doc. Got anything with a little more kick?”

Doc sighed as he went back to the cabinet. “I ain’t got much, but it’ll do you more good out there than it will in here. Take what I got.” This time, he handed Marty two small doctor’s bags.

“Thanks Doc. I’ll pay ya back for these,” Marty assured as he left.

Soon enough, the whole team rallied at the gas station and from the looks on their faces, everything seemed to have gone well, so they all gingerly wandered into the building where Ringo was waiting. “So what’s goin’ on? Did Sunny agree to help us?”

“Her and the whole rest of town.” Marty smiled.

“Well, I guess that means we’re ready to go.” Ringo smiled.

“We’d better be. Because I don’t think Sunny would be coming up here otherwise,” Rainbow remarked as she looked out the window and saw Sunny running up the hill. She threw open the door and stood ready with her rifle.

“Time to look alive; the Powder Gangers are here to play,” she reported.

Applejack was surprised and stole a quick glance out the window, noting the position of the sun. “Huh. Just about high noon. Ain’t that the way of it?”

“How many are there?” asked Twilight.

“At least twelve, Joe Cobb included.” Sunny noted. “They look pretty mean.”

“What about Trudy and the rest?” asked Sunset.

“They’re getting set up in cover, but it might not go well unless we get out there soon,” Sunny reported.

“We’d better be ready.” Rainbow shrugged.

“Oh, don’t worry; Easy Pete came through with the dynamite.” Sunny smirked, passing Pinkie a small bundle of five sticks. “Here’s your supply. I really hope I don’t blow myself up.” She checked her rifle one last time. “I’ll be set up by the store. Let’s hope that the gang doesn’t manage to make it that far.”

“It might not be too late. Maybe we can talk them down before this gets ugly.” Sunset insisted.

“They didn’t look to be in a talkin’ mood to me.” Sunny countered.

“It’s at least worth a try,” Twilight argued.

“When it goes south, you’d better either fight or hide.” Marty insisted as he checked the rifle before he gave it to Applejack and readied his pistol. “Ain’t got no time for anything else.”

“A little faith, please Mr. Barron.” Rarity insisted as they all left the gas station and hiked down the hill to town. They had just about reached the porch of the saloon – seeing Trudy and several townsfolk in cover – when Rainbow’s sharp eyes caught sight of twelve men approaching.

“There they are,” she noted to Sunset, pointing them out on the horizon.

Sunset nodded and stepped forward. “Cobb!” she shouted, prompting Joe Cobb and his men to stop and take up defensive positions. “I wanna talk!”

Cobb and his men seemed a bit confused before Cobb took a few steps forward. “You givin’ Ringo up?!”

“Of course not!” Sunset countered.

“Then we got nothin’ to talk about!” Even over the great distance, Sunset could practically hear it as she watched Cobb pull back the hammer on his revolver.

“I disagree! See, we know Ringo’s side of the story now!” Sunset yelled back. “How you ambushed his caravan and started shooting without a word!”

“Ah, crook’ll say anythin’ to keep from gettin’ himself killed!” Cobb yelled.

“My thoughts exactly,” Marty smirked quietly as he raised his pistol and took the safety off, but Sunset set her hand against the barrel and pushed it gently down.

“Alright look, I can’t stress enough how big this ‘if’ is, but if we let you have Ringo, what assurances do we have that you’ll leave Goodsprings alone and you won’t harm the people?!” Sunset asked seriously.

“Well… it’s already our territory!” Cobb shrugged. “We just want a little… base of operations here! Somewhere our boys can put their feet up without worry!”

“And what were to happen if someone passing through town sends word to the NCR that a bunch of their convicts are out here?!” Rainbow asked, picking up on what Sunset was getting at.

“Well, if they tried that, I’d say they’d get, uh… Whaddaya think, boys; ten feet past that saloon?!” The other Powder Gangers laughed in agreement at that.

“Toldja this was a waste of time.” Marty shrugged.

“Shh. Relax, I got him right where I want him.” Sunset whispered before she turned back to Cobb. “Alright Cobb, here’s the deal; as you’ve no doubt guessed by now, we’ve got you and your boys covered from pretty much every angle!” Sunny glanced over at Trudy in confusion at that statement, but the barkeep just shrugged, knowing apparently as much about what Sunset was talking about as the young gunslinger. “So the deal is you guys leave Goodsprings and don’t come back, and we don’t tell the NCR where you were going. Final offer; what do you think?”

She was hopeful Cobb would fall for it, but he just chuckled. “Man… it’s crazy, y’know? Even from all the way over here, I can tell one thing about you.”

“And what might that be?” Sunset asked.

“That you got a lousy poker face, ya mutant bitch.” Cobb smirked. “Burn it down, boys!” The Powder Gangers all laughed and whooped madly as they charged.

“Open fire!” Trudy yelled and the whole town erupted in gunfire. Sunset and the girls immediately dropped to cover behind a large upright wooden shipping container as lead whizzed by and dynamite exploded around the area.

Rainbow was a bit slower than usual with her wounded leg, and suddenly took a bullet to it. “Gah! Ow!” she yelled as she fell to the dirt and crawled the rest of the way to cover. “Ugh! Oh man, this hurts way more than I thought it would!”

“First time getting shot?!” Marty remarked as he fired indiscriminately at the Powder Gangers from nearby.

“Yeah! Have to say, I hate it a lot!” Rainbow nodded.

“Yeah, fuckin’ sucks!” Marty agreed as he quickly reloaded his pistol and got off another few shots.

Rarity could hardly believe the carnage unfolding before her, but then she saw one Powder Ganger closing on Ringo, having apparently snuck around the blockade. “Behind you!” Acting purely on instinct, she grasped her geode and raised her hand, summoning a crystal right next to Ringo’s head, just barely deflecting the blade of the ganger’s meat cleaver before it could cut his head off. Ringo was stunned by this action, but quickly took advantage of the situation by putting a quick bullet in the ganger’s gut.

“Well, so much for hiding our magic.” Sunset shrugged.

“Might as well give ‘em a sendoff they’ll remember.” Applejack shrugged as she activated her own powers and grabbed the large crate, hoisting it over her head with a light strain.

“What in the goddamn…?” Marty started to ask before Applejack tossed the crate toward Cobb, but it didn’t make it far before it hit the road and splintered into shrapnel.

Cobb had certainly seen enough as he started running, but he didn’t make it far before Sunny let off a quick shot through his kneecap and sent him to the ground writhing and screaming in pain as he held his destroyed knee.

The girls all stood up and brushed themselves off with Rainbow leaning against what she guessed was a hitching post as Ringo walked over. “I don’t understand half of what just happened, but I know I owe you guys a huge favor for what you did,” he said, digging a small cap-pouch out of his pack and placing it in Sunset’s hands. “Here – these are technically Crimson Caravan funds, but I know they’ll understand once I explain things.”

“Think we’re owed an explanation first, Ringo.” Marty countered. “What’n the hell was that just now?”

“Uh… part of our mutation?” Twilight shrugged, knowing they wouldn’t believe that but also knowing she had to say something.

“Bullshit.” Yeah, there was the disbelief. “Only things I’ve seen out here with that kinda strength are Super Mutants and Deathclaws, and you don’t look like either. And you…” He pointed at Rarity. “I don’t even know what the fuck that was.”

“Neither do I, but I’m not complaining.” Ringo shrugged.

“It’s a long story.” Sunset shrugged.

“Yeah, and personally, I’d prefer to tell it after I get this bullet out of my leg.” Rainbow insisted, pointing at the still bleeding wound.

Marty almost said something before he heard a body dragging on asphalt nearby. He looked and saw Joe Cobb trying to crawl out of town, still clutching his pistol. “Hold that thought for a second,” he remarked as he walked over to Cobb with Sunset and Ringo following him. “So what happened to not being able to pay us?”

Ringo shrugged. “I did have what was left of the Crimson Caravan money, but I wasn’t sure it was my right to just give it away,” he said. “I owe you a lot more than what I gave you though, so look me up at the Crimson Caravan camp up in New Vegas if you ever visit.”

“Oh, that’s my next stop,” Marty assured as they reached Cobb, at which point Marty placed his toe against Cobb’s hand. He looked up at Marty, who just clicked his tongue down at the powder ganger. “Should’ve just taken the deal, pardner. Now I gotta take your gun.” With that in mind, he reached down and pried the revolver from Cobb’s hand. “Hm. .357 Magnum. Nice piece. Why is it that the punks always get their hands on good guns?”

“If you’re gonna shoot me, just get it over with.” Cobb groaned in pain.

“Nah Joe, I ain’t gonna shoot ya,” Marty assured as he pulled his 9-mil. and handed it to Sunset. “She is.”

“What?!” Sunset asked in surprise.

“Oh, un-unless- did you want to, Ringo?” Marty offered.

“Nah, I got enough of their blood on my hands; I just wanna get away from them for a while.” Ringo shrugged as he started the hike out of town.

“Well then, I guess it’s down to you Sunset.” Marty shrugged as he forced the pistol into Sunset’s hand.

“No!” Sunset objected immediately and dropped the gun on the cracked road.

Marty sighed as he picked the gun up. “That ain’t the way things work out here, kid. I don’t know what kinda world you and yours come from, but out here, it’s kill or be killed. Animal or human, it doesn’t matter; if they threaten you, they die. That’s the way the wasteland works. If you don’t like that, then go hide under a rock and pray you don’t get stung by a radscorpion. Otherwise, pull the trigger and put this dog out of his mercy.” He jammed the gun back into Sunset’s hand, pointed it at Cobb’s head, and took a few steps back.

Sunset’s hand shook uncontrollably as she looked at Cobb over the sights of the gun. She knew he was far from innocent, but he was still vulnerable; unarmed, laying on the ground bleeding out. She almost didn’t want to pull the trigger, but she knew that if she didn’t, Marty would do something else drastic; maybe even give him back his gun and make it a matter of him or her. So after she bolted her eyes closed and averted her gaze a bit, she squeezed. The pistol didn’t have anywhere near as much kick as the rifle Sunny had given the group, but it still had enough power to cause a small splat of what Sunset could only guess was blood and brain matter on the asphalt. And when she peeked one eye open, she saw she was right; Joe Cobb lay dead in the sand, by her own bullet.

She could feel her stomach turning, even moreso when she realized some of the blood had splattered onto her hands and boots. Finally, she couldn’t take it, dropping the gun and dashing to the other side of the road where she promptly puked. Marty sighed as he walked over and picked up the gun, putting the safety back on. “This is gonna be a long day.”