Fallout Equestria: Desperados V2 (of Blood and Dirt)

Desperado’s V2, Chapter 06

Amethyst Sand (Part 3)

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Placing several caps onto the bar, I was then given a bottle of the Blast Berry Whisky. The bottle was clearly a reused Wild Pegasus Whisky bottle, not that I cared. Taking it, I trotted back to my friends, who were sipping on their free drinks.

"I'm sure of it, this stuff has got to be strong enough to be flammable. Maybe enough to be used for firebombs." Harp pondered as her face crinkled from the drink.

Slowtrot let it settle in his mouth, clearly remembering something from the wartime. "Is it odd that this reminds me of rocket fuel?"

I frowned at that comment of his. "Please don't tell me you also worked on rockets?"

He chuckled. "Oh no, not at all. Only ponies working under the Ministry's could do jobs like that. But I knew a pony who knew a pony that did. I guess since they're all dead now, or well, maybe dead, I can talk about it."

"Well of course, It's been over two hundred years! Even if anypony from back then is still alive, the Ministry's are clearly not." Harp pointed out.

Slowtrot nodded. "Yes of course. It's just that old habits are hard to drop. I mean, it's only been what, two, maybe three months for me. Anyways, the rocket fuel is actually just refined apple cider if you'd believe it. It all came from the Flim and Flam cider factory, and only from the Flim and Flam cider factory. There were even rumors of the Flim and Flam copping the alchemic motor wagons used by the Zebras, and fueling them with the apple rocket fuel. Weird to think about."

"Non magical motor wagons, how'd the engines even work?" Harp wondered.

I shrugged. "Probably the same way most things are, steam powered." I suggested. "The Blackwater was powered by two big old steam engines. Couldn't it work the same way?"

Harp nodded back at me. "That is possible. Despite how much of the old tech the Marewaii Islands managed to maintain, the main power was still just steam power with extra steps. I mean, the concept of the slave engine was just having a group of mirage ponies providing magical energy to several heating talismans inside a boiler. It's a dreadful thing to do, just for squeeze out the bare minimum of power."

"I can imagine." Pyrope said as he rejoined us, pouring himself a bit of whisky. The stallion was now sporting a black eye, but other than that, looked no worse for wear. "It's amazing how Mirage Ponies like you, Miss Harp, can power old tech naturally, but I can easily see how it can be abused."

"Well anything can be abused if another can make a profit off it." Harp commented and Pyrope nodded.

"So, is your mother still mad?" I asked.

Pyrope sighed. "She is, but she's always upset over something. As for the colt, I told him you want to talk."

"Thanks for that. It's awkward if strangers like us just came up to him like that." Harp said, sounding a bit guilty.

"I get that, but why do you need to anyways?" He asked us.

Harp and I looked at each other, unsure how to answer that without giving away our true intentions.

But Slowtrot just blurted out, "we know his sister, and want to know how things are between him and his mother. Not really our place, but we're a bit worried from what Keep has said about her."

"Right, that makes sense. Last time Keep was here, it turned into a shootout. Not the worst, and nopony died, but it scared ponies here mighty fierce. Also, Rook is probably the most dangerous alcoholic I've ever seen, and my father is one mean drunk at times. Not to mention what my mom does when drunk." Pyrope said nervously.

Pouring myself a glass, I again savored the drink; it sickly sweet, yet satisfyingly strong. The moment lingered as nopony said anything, which seemed to make Pyrope even more nervous.

The young bandit then continued, as though trying to fill the silence. "I mean it's not like Rook is hurting nopony because she drinks. A bit violent when ponies try something with her, but no less than what we already do to each other. It's just that she's almost always drinking, even when it's time to start killing. Frankly, I don't know how she can even shoot straight, much less hit anything with that GAR rifle of her's."

"GAR?" Harp asked.

"A Gabby Automatic Rifle." Slowtrot blurted out. "Griffinstone Mechanics made them, and they were a big deal early in the great war. I think their main use was as a counter to the Zebra Gatling guns. They're like a machine gun, but in rifle form. My father bought one when they were released onto the open market, and I got to shoot it once."

Pyrope again nodded. "E'yep, that sounds about right. I don't know much about em, but I do know that any machine gun that fires .308 rounds is fucking rare and that one is a rifle to boot. Got to try it once too; shits heavy, but damn is it easy to use."

Slowtrot nodded. "You think it would be unwieldy, but compared to a shotgun it's a rather smooth shooter."

"And Mom's a master with it." Fort said as he levitated my glass of whiskey over to him.

I took the glass back, very sure he shouldn't be even trying to drink alcohol. Or at least not my whisky. "Well she looks like it, that's for sure."

Harp pulled over a seat for the colt, pulling him out a bottle of mutefrute juice from her bag for him. "You can drink this, it's actually rather fresh and refreshing."

The teenaged colt sipped the juice, his eyes going wide as he then gulped it down.

I let out a chuckle, reminded of how Bridget responded at the first time drinking juice.

"What ch'a laughing at?" Fort asked defensively.

I took a deep breath, and told him. "You just reminded me of my daughter, that's all."

He seemed to calm down, now just sipping at his drink. "So, you wanted to talk about something?"

The three of us looked at each other, rather unsure how to start this, but it was clear that Slowtrot and I were leaving it to Harp to do.

Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, Harp then started the conversation.

"Well, as you might know, we are acquaintances of your older sister, Keep. And, well, we're a bit curious about a few things." Harp stated.

Fort rolled his eyes in the way a teenager can only do. "Ya ya, I know big sis and mom don't get along. But it ain't moms fault, it's the elders and their braminshit, always talking about traditions and rules. Not like any of them believed in what they were saying, it was just all an excuse to do whatever they wanted, all while not doing jack shit!"

"Umm, care to explain?" Harp probed.

The older colt looked away from us as he said, "I'd… rather not."

A frustrated sigh left my lips catching the colt's attention. "Ya'know, sounds a bit like life aboard the Blackwater when I was a little filly. The adults always do whatever they like, and if ya called them out on their brahminshit, they'd spout scripture back at ya as their excuse. Got thumped and stolen from so many times, all because they said they knew better." A slight chuckle escaped my muzzle. "Ya, they got what was coming to them for sure."

Fort's eyebrow raised at me, curiosity taking hold. "Wh… what happened to them?"

"Not sure about most of them, though I imagine that they're probably dead. But I know that the captain and her goons got killed." I said with swelling pride. "Victoria, a mare I once followed, led a mutiny, which I was a part of. Doing shit like throwing bombs and even getting to use a rust gun. By the end of the day, we were in charge, and those who opposed us were dead."

"And what happened after? If you're out here I mean." Fort asked.

The pride I was feeling faded, and the memories of mom returned. "A mare by the name Prism Paint whisked me away, and gave me a new and better life away from the violence. She… became my mom."

Fort slowly looked me in the eyes, "I… I think I understand."

He took a deep breath, clenching his teeth before relaxing. "It's tradition that the elders raise the foals among the White Scorpions, freeing up the adults to work. But unlike the others, I lived outside the clan for many years before big sis found me. Because of that, the elders never saw me as one of theirs, and never hid their dislike of me. They'd say it was tradition to treat me like an outcast, to make me stronger like the other foals. But whenever they thought nopony was looking, they'd pray that I'd die." Again Fort gritted his teeth, taking a moment to return to his calm. "Then mom showed up, gave the elders what they deserved, and then took me away."

Harp and I shared a concerned look between each other.

But it was Slowtrot that spoke. "Got what they deserved, what happened?"

Fort took an extra long sip of his drink, but eventually told us. "Mom killed em. Most of em I mean. Grandma only got a beating, but she should have been shot too."

"That's horrible!" Slowtrot blurted out!

"They still deserved it!" Fort grumbled.

Before Slowtrot could say any more, I shoved my hoof in his muzzle to keep him quiet as Harp then asked. "I understand that you were ill-treated, but shouldn't your mother have stopped it before?

Fort glard at my friend, but then softened his eyes. "No, she didn't know, she wasn't around. Sis says mom abandoned me, left me with Redeye. It's why she's so mad at her." Taking a deep breath, Fort let out an annoyed huff. "But sis left me with the elders, I wasn't her responsibility, but the clan's responsibility. Yet they never saw me as one of their own."

"Wait, she abandoned you, but why?" I asked, a creeping feeling of anger climbed up from within me.

"I… don't know. Mom refuses to talk about it to me. But sis says it's because she couldn't hoof the responsibility. Something to do with an older brother of mine. But mom refuses to say anything about him, not even his name." Fort explained.

It sounded all bad to me, and all too vague. Yet I couldn't help but sympathize with the colt, something about how he held himself was terribly familiar.

"So your mother just left you, and then one day returned, acting like she knows better?" I blurted out, only for Harp to shove a bottle in my mouth.

She then put her way too friendly smile on. "What Star ment to-"

"What do you know!" Fort growled at us. "Mom's doing her best! She's hurt, but she does her best. I know she's not the best pony in the world, but she at least cares about me. Not the elders, not sis, not nopony but her!"

I pulled the bottle out of my mouth and snarled. "No mare who abandoned their foal deserves to be called a mother! No matter how much I wanted to call her one!"

Everything became quiet. Fort looked at me as I looked at him, tension building. The unicorn colt then threw the remains of his juice at me and bolted away.

"What, don't go, Belfry!" Harp called out to him, but the colt didn't listen.

Again things were quiet and Harp slowly turned to me, both concerned and with anger on her face.

I looked away, finding a dirty cup on the other side of the table more interesting. "It's not my fault!" I admitted.

Harp sighed and finished her drink before getting out of her seat. "Slowtrot, I think we should check the Smuggler. Make sure nopony has messed with it."

Slowtrot gave me a sympathetic look and then shook his head as he left with Harp.

Across from me Pyrope still sat, swerling his drink before giving it a sip.

"Ya think I did wrong too?" I grumbled at him.

"E'yep." He said before downing all the whisky in one gulp. "But though you ain't right, ya aint wrong too. Ya just went about it the dumb way, if ya catch my drift."

Feeling annoyed, I then asked, "And what way was the right way?"

"First off, maybe not bringing whatever baggage ya have into the conversation." He told me as he reached for my bottle, but I pulled it away from him and closer to me. "I mean, you clearly have some kind of mom issue, and it's muddying up your mind about the colt."

"But I ain't wrong," I grumbled back at him.

Pyrope rolled his eyes. "And I ain't saying you are, not completely. But a colt is going to love their mother, no matter how much they're a drunken wreck." He then stretched his legs and got up. "Maybe you should talk to somepony about whatever got your tail all in a bunch. Or not. It isn't my problem to worry about after all, it's your problem to worry about."

I watched as he left, and then poured myself some more whiskey.

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After negotiating with the bar, I managed to get a case of their whisky at a reasonable price, plus an extra bottle for myself. At the very least it should lighten up the mood as we hit the road again. But before that, there was still a pony I needed to talk to. Thankfully the locals pointed me in the right direction.

"Eh'hem." A mare spoke up, catching my attention. "Miss Star Charter?" Mayor Almandine said as she trotted up to me.

I looked around a bit nervously. "Uhh, did I do anything wrong?"

Almandine let out a slight chuckle. "Oh no, you haven't done anything recently. I'm actually here to ask you and your friends a request. Nothing big, you can trust me on that."

I glared at the not-bandit politician and preacher, not caring for whatever brahminshit she's about to spew. "Oh cut the crap. Just as I'm not fucking any stallion here, not your husband, your son, or what ever moron your cheating on your husband with, don't fuck with me!"

She dropped the friendly face, and a bit of anger could be seen in her eyes. "Fine, I'll be blunt. I want you and your friends to deal with a raider problem we're having. We'd do it ourselves, but the land is flat here, and they can see us coming for miles, literally."

"And let me guess, you asked my friends, and they said no?" I asked.

Almandine let out a sigh. "You're correct about that."

Of course she did, "and then their answer is my answer."

"I could help you with your deal with Lean Year." She then told me.

I took a deep breath, not liking where this is going, but I needed to know otherwise. "And how can you do that, and ain't she your sheriff?"

The older mare shrugged. "She's more of a deterrent than any kind of law pony. When Golden Harvest was more of a pain, ya we needed her to keep em in check. But now they're more or less under our hoof. Frankly, she's becoming more of a liability then she is worth. If ya can deal with the raiders, then any reason we need her around is gone. After that, we can slip her an extra strong drink, and convince her to release Fort into the Harvester family custody."

"A bit cold-hearted of you." I told her.

"I didn't get where I am by being soft." She said as she backed away from me. "Just keep it in mind, okay. Deal with our problem and we deal with yours."

Trotting away, I kept her offer in the back of my mind. It wouldn't be the first raider nest we destroyed, and it'd make a good distraction. But the problem is my friends, if they both don't want to do it, I wasn't going to make them do it.

I groaned in frustration. Everything was getting complicated and we haven't even gotten very far from New Appaloosa. Harp was upset with me, and I was upset with myself. It was all just fucked.

I then found Rook sitting near the entrance of the mine, pumping water for herself from a small well. "Already hung over?" I asked the older mare.

She looked at me scornfully with reddened eyes. "I don't know who you might be, but if you're looking for a fight, trust me, you don't want nothing to do with it."

Right, she's already forgotten me. "Hey now, I carried you back home like just over an hour or two ago."

She cocked an eyebrow at me and then guzzled a bucket of water, it splashing over her chin. "And big fucking what. Don't tell me we fucked too?"

"Ya, in your dreams." I said back to her.

Rook shrugged. "And here I thought I still had it." Throwing the bucket to the side she then trotted up to me, and it quickly became clear that Keep was practically a clone of her mother. Rook was tall for a mare, and both lean and muscular for one her age. "Now what business do ya have with me?"

Taking a deep breath, I had to be careful around this mare, but also needed to know. "I heard ya abandoned your foal, why?"

The bigger mare only needed to take one step to get muzzle to muzzle with me. There was deep rage in her eyes that burned like the fires of Tartarus. "Who told ya that, and don't play dumb with me, bitch!"

"Your kid, that's who." I said honestly

Rook snarled at me, but backed up. "Well it ain't your business, you got that."

"And what if it is my business. Then what?" I snapped at her even as she made me feel small.

She let out one little mocking laugh. "Then your business is suicidal."

"Ya, that's for sure. So why did ya do it?" I asked.

I saw her hoof move just in time for me to roll with the hit, avoiding what would be a very painful hoof strike to the jaw. "I ain't tell ya shit ya prissy little bitch. Now fuck off or I'll really mess up that face of yours."

Standing up strate and cracking my neck, I looked the mare in the eyes. I was done with all this Brahminshit, and needed that bounty gone. Otherwise I might never see my Bridget again and I'll really become just like that bitch who was my mother!

I felt my evil eye focus on Rook, trapping her within my gaze. My pain, my anger, and whatever else I could throw at her I did, and it felt good. Just like with that damn gravedigger, it felt good to let it all out, even if it would destroy her mind, I didn't care.

But mom wouldn't want that.

Neither would Bridget.

I closed my eyes and looked away, shame welling up within me. Again I was becoming a monster. Something Bridget would grow to hate.

"Okay, that was rather fucked up." Rook said unfazed. "Ya'know, eye magic is the worst right, all trying to mess with a ponies head and shit! Good thing I got this charm for protection. "

Wiping the blood from my eyes, I looked at the mare, who looked back at me with an unfazed expression on her face. In her hoof she held a stone pendant, it three circles that looked like a crude blue eye. Strangely, as I looked at the pendant, it felt as though something was looking back at me.

"S… sorry, I lost control of myself." I said apologetically.

The tall mare rolled her eyes back at me as she put her pendant away. "Miss, mind telling me what the fuck is your problem. Because my problems shouldn't be your problem, so best if you don't fuck with me anymore without a good reason."

She really was strong, maybe as strong as Victoria. Or I had just become weak. I at least knew that I had lost here, and it was time to give up.

With a sigh, I told her, "It's… Lean Year, he promised to get rid of our bounties if I-"

"Get me to give up my son." Rook finished what I was going to say. I nodded and she spat at the ground. "Figures, that pissant ain't got the backbone to do this shit himself. Fucking slaver families, they never change."

"But you did sleep with one of them?" I said, only to get a back hoof slap to the side of my face, knocking me over.

"You need to learn to watch your damn tongue!" Rook growled at me. "That fucker was a seral rapist, and because his father was all so important, Redeye kept his damn eyes closed to it all."

"Oh… oohh, I'm so sorry." I said, rubbing my cheek as I realized what she was getting at.

Rook let out a huff as she reached out and took the bottle of whisky from my saddlebag. She was clearly annoyed, yet still talked to me. "Shit happened because I let my guard down." She said before popping the cork and taking a swig. "Anyways, I have been in worse situations. It's to be expected when you're a mercenary for your entire life. But Redeye made a promise of civilization, then gave the slavers back all their power. When I was given no justice, and denied taking it myself, I left everything behind."

"Including Fort?" I asked.

She nodded. "My newborn, my pay, my clan, my family. I just didn't care anymore since nothing was going to change." Rook took another swig, and then looked down at me. Her eyes were filled with a deep sorrow, pain and hate, yet something more was there that was like a dim light in a sea of darkness. "So you want to know why I abandoned him? It's simple, because I went looking for my grave, that's why."

"Yet you're here." I said as I got back up, my face still stinging. "So what changed?"

Rook passed me my bottle and I took a swig myself as she told me. "Long story short, I saw too much death."

I let out a chuckle, finding that answer to be stupid as fuck. "Really? Ain't it supposed to be the other way around?"

She shrugged as she took the drink back. "Most of the time, ya, too much death drains your soul. Make you numb to the world, and filled with despair." Rook again took another swig of the whiskey, almost drinking it like water. "But sometimes… it's a different kind of death. And it gets ya to start thinking. A lot of thinking."

Placing the bottle down onto the ground, Rook then sat back. "So, what so damn important about ridding yourself of this bounty that it's worth ripping a nearly adult colt from his mother?"

I sat down as well, taking the nearly empty bottle and putting it in my saddlebag. "I got a little filly. She already lost her grandmother, and now her mom can't comfort her." I gritted my teeth, feeling angry at myself. "I should have been there for them, but I wasn't. Instead I was acting like that bitch that birthed me, a self absorbed whore."

"Ya, you'd fit right in with the White Scorpions," Rook said with a low chuckle. "We all hate each other in the clan, but stick together because there's nopony else we can trust."

"Sounds just like home. Let me guess, you're all super religious too." I snarked back at her.

"Ain't most ponies out here." She said with a sigh. "Fortunately my clan doesn't worship this Glow Goddess shit. It's bad enough we already eat, drink and breathe radscorpions venom. But doing that with radiation, that shit of theirs gives me the creeps. No, we follow the Dream Goddess, or as everypony elss calls her, Luna. It's your normal princess cult shit."

I looked over to my side, and saw a few not-bandits keeping an eye on us. "Right, makes sense. Unfortunately my kin are a bit more on the extreme side, worship both Celestia and Luna, but all through the machinations of a so-called prophet."

Rook breathed sharply through her teeth, cringing at what I said. "Prophets are always bad news. Most times it's some damn sex cult, not the worst, and can be fun, but annoyingly clingy. Then you get the real bad ones. Ever heard of Glad-ology?" I shook my head. "Good, because that shit is a real fucked up mess."

"Let me guess, they're the cult you killed." I said, remembering the list of mass deaths she survived.

Breathing in deeply, Rook slowly exhaled through her nose as though doing her best to not stress out. "Yes, that's the cult I nearly wiped out. Not that I had a choice in the matter. The remaining survivors are at least harmless, well not to your life, but they will drain you of your caps. But the dead ones, they needed to be put down for the good of everypony."

I raised an eyebrow at her, and asked, "why was that?"

"I still don't quite understand it myself." She said as she looked off into the distance, as though seeing something that wasn't there. "My memory is still a bit foggy about it all, but there was a mare, both alive yet not. Like some ghost. Had the cult in her thrall, and was using them to expand her control. Tried to control me as well, and my employer. Had its eye on some ancient weapon." Rook shook her head, and then refocused her eyes on me. "Long story short, some magical brahminshit was possessing ponies, and they had to be put down to stop it. The biggest shame of it all was the pipbuck I had, Sweet fucking thing it was, but I had to destroy it due to the bitch using me through it."

That sounded crazy, yet something about it was familiar. "Wait, didn't Slowtrot say something like that with Qu-" several gunshots went off, ripping me from my train of thought, followed by an explosion.

"Who the fuck?" Rook cursed as she got up. "Great, I got some damn work to do."

The larger mare then stumbled before catching herself and rushed off to where the gunfire was happening.

Following her, we rounded a building, and I saw Harp and Slowtrot taking shelter behind the Smuggler as Pyrope layed next to them. Several ponies traded fire with the locals from the other side of the now flaming wall. The gunfire whizzing over my friend's heads.

A stallion rushed out, armed with a rather crappy looking SMG, and covered in spiked makeshift armor. No doubt about it, it was a raider attack. His shot went wide, only to get ripped apart by gunfire from all around. The locals had taken to the roof to defend their home with their rifles, the black powder guns blasting out thick clouds of smoke.

But the rooftop defense proved less of an advantage as a pegasus raider flew overhead, dropping several cylinders, in which the locals jumped from the roof before getting caught up in a fireball of an explosion.

Pulling out her rifle, Never Forget, Rook took aim and let out a burst of lead into the air. Red mist then burst out from the pegasus raider, and they dropped from the sky like a sack of bricks.

But the bomber's attack had done its job scattering the defense as a group of six raiders rushed in guns blazing.

Rushing over to my friends I noticed that Harp had been bandaged up, and Slowtrot was preparing more for Pyrope.

"The fuck happened?" As I climbed up and grabbed my Outlaw.

"Ambushed from the sky." Slowtrot said as he pointed up at one lone cloud. "And then they came rushing from the gate. Took our damn trailer too."

That was best fucking news ever! "We can easily get it back. But how did the two of you get hurt?"

Harp then slammed her hoof on the side of the smuggler. "We were trying to apologize to Fort when they attacked."

"What!" Rook spoke up, catching my friends off guard. "Where is he!"

Realization flashed over Harp's face. "One of the pegasus grabbed him before we could react. That's when the other raiders first rushed in, and Pyrope shielded me from the attack."

Rook gritted her teeth and with her rifle in hoof, she got up and braced her gun on top of the smuggler's hood. She didn't even flinch as she took a bullet through the ear. I joined her as she began to fire, wildly spraying at the raiders as they scrambled.

With both of us working from either end and joining the spray at the center, the attacking raiders were quickly cut down like oversized vermin. Rook then climbed over the hood, and busted out the town entrance, a trail of dust following the mare.

"Wait, mam! It's too dangerous to run after them alone!" Slowtrot shouted, but Rook was already gone.

Harp then let out a long sigh. "This is exactly why I didn't want to do this job!"

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