Fallout Equestria: Wanderers

by Mach Speed

Chapter 1

Who am I, you ask? Well, you’d better listen because I’m not going to repeat myself. My name is Clear Shot, Sheriff-in-Training of Sunny Springs. My father, Buckshot, is the sheriff (but he’s always just been dad to me). There’s been a tradition in my family for many generations; the first colt to be born will always be in charge of the law. My grandfather was the sheriff before my dad, his dad was sheriff before him, his dad was head of security in Stable 50 and so on and so on. There’s another tradition in the town that a pony won’t be named until they earn their cutie mark, it wasn’t fun being known as “nameless unicorn colt #16” for ten years of my life. Thankfully, being the son of the town sheriff has its perks, namely, weapon training. My dad kept trying to force a shotgun cutie mark onto me but try as he might, I never took to the up close messiness of the shotguns. Rifles were my calling. One day my dad hoofed me hunting rifle and showed me a radroo through some binoculars.

“If you can shoot the head off that roo from here, I will buy you your own rifle.” were his exact words. He even nickered while he said it. Needless to say, I pulled it off and if the look on his face was worth a million caps, then the face he made ten seconds later when my reticule cutie mark appeared was nothing short of priceless. True to his word, he bought me a sniper rifle from a caravan for my nineteenth birthday. Two years on and I’m well on my way to becoming the sheriff of Sunny Springs. So what am I doing out in a minefield you ask? Why in the name of Luna am I doing something this insane? Well... I may or may not have lost a bet with the mare who usually does it... well at least I’m not-

“Cleeeear, I’m hungry, can’t we just eat!?” –lonely.

“Joy, do you know why we have all these landmines?” That little filly riding on my back is my little sister, Joyful Days. She got her cutie mark when she was still little, a smiling sun. She just had a knack for making people happy.

“It’s to keep the bad slaver ponies away, right?” As she spoke, I could feel her climbing onto my head. Slowly, her sunshine yellow eyes came into view, in line with my silver ones.

“Yes, so I have to make sure all the mines are working”

“But it’s not even your job!” I had to give it to her; she was smart for her age.

“Well, I lost a bet with Tick Tock” I gave a low sigh, but true to her nature, I soon had a smile on my face as I levitated her into full view. “Alright silly filly, you twisted my leg, we’ll go get something to eat” she smiled and giggled as I levitated her out of the minefield and tiptoed my own way out. The minefield was large but at least the mines were fairly far apart. The minefield itself circled all around town with just one strip of road free of any mines. The road was used by the caravans for trading and snaked its way across the wasteland between towns with Sunny Springs being a dead end.

With a sigh of relief; I took the last few tentative steps out and onto the dusty road. (How Tick Tock did this every week without blowing herself to the moon was beyond me). We set off back to home; all the while Joy was bouncing along side me. Taking a few big bounds, she started to jump in front of me. She’s so young, happy, carefree and full of energy, makes me a little sad that she has to grow up in a world like this, a world of murder and lies.

The young filly bounced in front of me, turned around and gave me a big smile which soon faded into a blank expression. I could see it in her eyes, she looked scared. That’s when I realised she was looking past me, not at me.

“What? What’s wro-“ crack!

I had turned around just in time to catch a wooden bat to the face and not the back of the head. My vision was starting to go blurry as I fell to the ground. Before me stood a unicorn and two earth ponies wearing slaver armour, I could hear Joy begin to scream but I couldn’t do anything as the unicorn levitated her into my view. The earth pony mare with the bat began to chuckle.

“heh doh yoh tih-“

“Whiplash, how many times have I told you? Take the bat out of your mouth before you talk, ya’ dumb bitch” the unicorn said as he cut her off.

The earth pony called Whiplash spat the bat out of her mouth just before glaring at the unicorn. “I was sayin’ do you think we should take silver eye here with us? He’ll probably fetch a pretty price, what with those eyes of his”

“nah, ya’ heard the boss, all he wants at this stage is a filly from each town in the area.” The rough voice of the unicorn was giving me a headache. (Or was it the blow to the head? I really couldn’t tell at this point). “besides, I’m not going to be the one to carry his ass back ta’ camp, c’mon we’ve wasted enough time here.” The slavers turned to leave, and as my vision faded to black, all I could hear was the sound of Joy crying out to me. I couldn’t do anything to help. I felt so useless.

It was a few hours before I woke up. In a daze, I stood up and looked around trying to recall what had happened. That’s when it hit me (like a bat); Joy had been taken to the slaver camp.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit!” if I didn’t have a headache from before, I probably would have hit myself (I’d just have to settle for cursing this time). I had no time to worry about my head; I needed to get back into town as fast as my wobbly legs would carry me. I needed help, I needed to find dad, he’d know what to do, he’d get everyone together and storm that slaver camp. I just had to find him.

“Dad, we’ve got a problem!” I burst through the door of the sheriff’s office and found my dad... napping (of course he’d be napping).

He gave a grunt as he so elegantly woke from his slumber, flailed around and fell off his chair with a thud “Ouch...Clear, what’s wrong?”

“It’s slavers, I was checking the mines and they knocked me out and took Joy awa-“

“If you were checking the mines, why in the goddesses’ names was Joy out there with you!?”

“She followed me out there, she... she just wanted to help”

Dad and I just looked at each other for a few seconds before he ran a hoof through his mane and turned to the terminal on his desk. Putting in his password, he opened the safe below his desk and took out the key to the gun cabinet. Turning his back to me, he trotted over to said cabinet. “Go home, Clear. I’ll round up the boys and we’ll get rid of those slavers once and for all.”

“No, I’m coming with you. I can help.” I stomped my hoof on the ground, there had to be something I could do to fix this.

“Don’t you think you’ve fucking helped enough already!” Dad turned around and barked at me. All I saw was anger in his eyes, anger that told me I had fucked up big time. “Go home and tell your mother what happened...” he turned back to the cabinet and levitated his combat shotgun out. “and pray that I bring Joy back how she was this mornin’.” As he turned back around, I dropped my head and faced the floor, not wanting to see his eyes again as I heard him walk past me and slam the door.

This was crazy, insane, (and if I could think of another word at the time it would be that too). Dad had lead another sixteen ponies from the town to the slaver camp. I did what he asked and went home. Mum acted as expected, she started crying and even called me an idiot for letting Joy follow me out of town. Who am I kidding? I deserved it. I wasn’t going to sit around though, I had to make things right, I had to go help. While the other ponies were out the front fighting, I would sneak around the back and unlock the slave pens, simple right? Well it would have been a lot simpler if I had remembered to bring a bloody weapon. That’s right folks, I, Clear Shot, future sheriff of Sunny Springs, just infiltrated a slaver camp with no weapons, not even a single bullet. Bravo Clear clap, clap. How could I forget to even pick up a rifle on my way out?! Well at least all the slavers were busy at the front.

Slipping into the back of the camp silently I could hear the ever-present sound of gunfire coming from the other side of camp. The ponies of Sunny Springs and the slavers were really going at it. I soon found a large slave pen at the back where I counted at least six fillies but... Joy wasn’t there. When the fillies saw me they all huddled together in the far corner, afraid I was going to hurt them.

“Everything is going to be ok.” (at least I hoped so as I reassured them) “I’m here to let you all out and take you back to your families.” Upon hearing that, the fillies at least stopped shaking. “Now, have you seen a filly that looks like me with yellow eyes and mane and a sun cutie mark?”

It was a few seconds before a small blue filly spoke up “the... the bad ponies took her into the big building over there” the filly pointed to what looked like the main building of the camp. There was sure to be some slavers in there, but if Joy was in there, I had to find her.

“Stay here, I’ll be right back.” (Stay here? Yeah, because they were really going to pick the lock and wander off by themselves.) I kept low to the ground, slinking my way towards the main building. The building itself was large; it appeared to have been a factory of some sort. I could only imagine what it would have been like before the war. I imagined hundreds of unicorn and earth ponies shuffling about creating whatever it was that got created here, then going home to Sunny Springs and the other towns in the area. Now all that stood was shell of its former self, the machines on the inside were heavily rusted, dust and trash were scattered about the floor and above all else, it was now home to a heap of slaver ponies. As I crept inside through a broken window, I found my worries to be unfounded; there were no slavers inside the building. “Guess they’re all outs-“ Boom! The building didn’t shake, but the explosion outside had loosened some dust from the ceiling “great, they’ve started chuckin’ grenades.”

The building was almost fully hollow; the machines had all been dismantled and used for spare parts. The main room was the factory floor, which had five rooms branching off and then a hallway which lead to a flight of stairs that went up into the building. If anything, I’d probably find the key to the slave pen in one of the upper rooms, maybe where the head pony of the factory used to work. But I had something else in mind, I had to find Joy. The first door I arrived at was locked (of course it would be). Spinning around, I braced on my front legs, reared up and bucked the wooden door in. The rust on the hinges of the door had weakened it to the point where it didn’t just open or fall off when I bucked it, no, the door flew a good couple of metres before landing with a loud thud. The room was small and still well-kept after so many years; it looked like not even the slavers could pick the lock. A thick layer of dust lay across everything in the room, only now disturbed by the door hitting the floor. The room contained a desk, filing cabinets, a bin, everything you’d find in a basic office. On the desk sat a terminal, a thick layer of dust covered it, much like the rest of the room, it’s monitor off, I doubt it wouldn’t have worked now anyway. Leaving the doorway, I went to try another room.

Quietly, I trotted to the next door in the room, but I stopped. At the very back of the factory was a door that was open just a bit, a slit of light poured out through the small opening. I don’t know what it was, but I felt drawn to the door, as if some invisible force was leading me there. Slowly, I trotted up to the door and pushed it open with my hoof. The room was slightly larger than office I was just in, trash littered the floor. Inside lay a few filthy, bloody mattresses. On one mattress laid the body of a filly, beige coat, a blonde mane and... a smiling sun cutie mark. Oh Goddesses, it was Joy. I couldn’t just stand in the doorway; I slowly moved towards the still body of my sibling, already, I could feel my eyes start to water. Soon I was standing above Joy’s body; her yellow eyes turned towards the ceiling in a look of pure horror, between her legs was blood red and across her throat was a red line where it had been cut. Tears started falling from my eyes as I began to cry. Slowly, I lifted my hoof and pulled her eyelids down. I wanted to move, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her. My little sister had been raped and murdered when only hours ago she had been skipping down the road beside me. If the ponies who did this weren’t dead already I’d find them and kill them myself, I’d use my bare hooves if I had to.

“Well, well, well. Who do we have here?” that voice, it sounded so familiar. I turned around and there, just inside the doorway, were the three ponies who knocked me out before and took Joy. “Hey, you’re that little shit stain from earlier” neither the unicorn talking to me or the two earth ponies had scratches on them; I could only assume they were hiding when the bullets had started flying. The unicorn’s eyes trailed from me to Joy’s lifeless body “naww, here to save her?” the unicorn taunted. “Too bad, turns out she wasn’t what the boss was lookin’ for, too...” the unicorn turned his head a little, contemplating the next word “cheery.” I just stood there, shocked, I couldn’t move but with each passing second, my vision turned a deeper shade of red.

“Do with her what you wish I believe were his exact words” the earth pony, Whiplash said, piping up in a mocking tone.

“She was a real screamer too. Music to my ears.” The unicorn said with a smile as I began to shake. “Well at least it was until Slit cut her throat” the unicorn nodded to the final pony in the room, an earth pony stallion carrying a switchblade in his mouth. I wanted to murder the three ponies in front of me, I wanted them to suffer but I just couldn’t move even as I gritted my teeth and felt tears run down my face.“No, please, don’t hurt me, stop, please. I love it when they struggle” the unicorn mocked.

I couldn’t take it anymore. In a swift motion, I focused my magic on the switchblade in Slit’s mouth, pulling it out with enough force to chip one of his teeth. Without warning, I ran and pounced at the unicorn, knocking him to the ground and pinning him under my hooves “I’ll kill you!” I shouted as brought the switchblade down, slashing it across his face. I got one good slash in before Whiplash bucked me off of the nameless unicorn. I hit the ground with a thud but as I started to rise, the unicorn was already on his hooves, with a pistol pointed at my head.

“You pissed off the wrong stallion, shit stain.” With that he magically pulled the trigger. I didn’t feel the bullet, I didn’t feel pain, I just fell. I quickly started to lose consciousness as blood soaked into my beige coat. I struggled to stay awake, only to hear the sound of a gun go off.

BANG BANG BANG

One by one, the slavers’ heads exploded in front of me, sending bits of flesh and blood raining done on me, in the doorway stood my dad. “Clear I thought I told you to stay home” he looked up slightly. “Oh dear Celestia, JOY!” the last thing I saw was my dad dropping his combat shotgun, then, darkness.

Dust, dust was all I could smell, no, dust and (sniff) antiseptic? I awoke slowly, the world around me was blurred but it eventually came into focus. I remember this place. It took me only a moment to realise I was lying on a bed and not the ground; I was in the Sunny Springs clinic. Posters of the ministry of peace hung on the wall, yellow first aid boxes were stacked to the side. Slowly I rose from the bed, only to feel a sharp pain in the side of my head, groaning, I brought my hoof up and felt magical bandages wrapped around my cranium. It finally came back to me; I remembered everything, the slavers, my dad killing them and then Joy.

“Oh, you’re awake?” the voice called from the other side of the room. Looking over, I saw the town nurse, nurse Healing Hooves. She was a beautiful mare, one all the stallions had their eyes on. Slowly, she trotted up to me. “How are you feeling?”

“Like a just went 12 rounds with a radroo, and lost each round.” I said, my head still pounding.

“Well you did get shot in the head” she said, rolling her eyes a little.

Giving the best smile I could muster, I looked at her “how long was I out?”

“It’s going on three days now” (three days!? I was out cold for three days!?) “Your father brought you in here; everyone was surprised that you were still alive after what happened”

“Mum always said I had a thick skull” I said with a weak chuckle “was anyone else injured during the attack?”

“There were a few injured, not severely though, the townsponies took the slavers by surprise and got the upper hoof quickly”

“What about the fillies in the slave pen?”

“They were brought back with the group. Your father sent them back to their homes with guarded caravans.”

I sat there for a moment, not wanting to ask the next question “and... what about my sister?”

Healing Hooves turned away from me and looked at the wall “your father brought her in the same time he did you, I’m sure you’re already well aware that she was already gone by then. After I patched you up, I gave her a clean. Your family buried her the next day.” It was as if a sea of sorrow that had been welling up inside me finally broke free. Lowering my head, I started to cry. Hundreds of tears soaked my sheets before I felt Healing Hooves wrap her legs around me in a hug. If it was any other day, I would have been ecstatic to feel her against me, but at this point in time, all I could think of, all I could see, was Joy’s lifeless body on that bloody mattress.

After my tears had passed, Healing Hooves changed the bandages on my head and let me get some sleep, only to wake me a few hours later.

“Clear, wake up, you have some visitors.” Blinking, I rose from my slumber to be greeted by my friends, some had patches where they had gotten injured in the fight, the room was quiet except for a slight sobbing I could hear. Pushing her way through the small crowd, Tick Tock appeared, tears in her eyes.

“Clear, I’m so, so, sorry. If you didn’t take my shift, Joy wouldn’t have...” she couldn’t finish her sentence, instead she embraced me in a tight hug.

“It’s not your fault. If... that... didn’t happen, we probably wouldn’t have gone to the slaver camp, and many more fillies would have suffered.” She didn’t raise her head as I stroked her mane. It wasn’t her fault, when it comes down to it; I was the one who made the bet in the first place. No matter how you look at it, Joy’s death was my fault.

For a while, Tick Tock cried on my shoulder and the rest of my friends expressed their sympathies until Healing Hooves shooed them out of the clinic then what she said took me by surprise.

“You have some more visitors, Clear.”

“Who?” I asked. When there came no answer, I looked towards the door and saw my mum and dad. Neither looked like they had slept in days, I noted as they walked up to my bedside.

“Feeling better, love?” my mum said as she gave me a light hug.

“Yeah, I’m ok, a little sore, but I’m ok.” My dad didn’t say anything; I didn’t even want to look into his eyes, knowing all I would see is disappointment. “So the other fillies were sent home?”

“I’ve gotten word that they all got home safely, their parents send thanks” my dad’s voice was empty as he spoke, void of emotion.

“Good” I didn’t want to ask about Joy, I’d see her grave for myself when I left.

There was silence for what seemed like forever, then my parents announced their leaving. They wanted to take me home then and there but nurse Hooves wanted me to stay for another night, just to be safe.

I left the clinic early the next morning. My first stop was the town cemetery, there, next to my grandfather’s grave, was Joy’s. I felt like crying but I just couldn’t, I didn’t the energy.

After visiting Joy’s grave, I wandered through the town and slowly made my way to the pub. The Empty Bottle was the highlight of the town. As I walked in, there came a shout from the bar.

“OI! Clear Shot!” looking up, I saw the bar owner, a dark brown earth pony named Hops. Hops was the sympathetic ear of the town. If you were down, he was the pony to talk to and he always had a story to tell. Hops beckoned me to the bar, a sly grin on his face.

“A little birdie told me you’re the real pony who saved all those fillies from the slavers. So, as a thank you, all your drinks for tonight are on me and for the next week, half price.” He ended his proposal with a wink. Putting as much effort into it as I could, I gave my best smile.

“Thank you.”

I looked through the golden liquid that floated in front of me. I was levitating a tall glass of beer (this was what? My eleventh? Twelfth glass today?”) I had been out of the clinic for a week and already I was living my new life. I had been slowly whittling my collection of caps away at the pub since the day I walked in, both on booze and cigarettes. Where the booze helped me forget, the cigarettes helped to keep me calm. I knew all too well what they were doing to me, but I really couldn’t care. Tilting my head back, I slowly let the drink run down my throat, its cooling presence welcomed into my body.

“Hops, another glass” I said placing a hoofful of caps on the bar.

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough for the day Clear, hay, I think you’ve had enough for the week.” Hops said, turning away from another customer

“I’m fine, just take the caps and give me a beer”

“Clear, you passed out last night from your drinking. You can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

“It’s my body and I’m going to do to it what I want.” I didn’t bother to hide the frustration in my voice this time. “Now just give me a fucking beer.”

Whack!

Hops hit me across the face hard enough to make me fall off my bar stool. (Seriously, was there something about my head that made everyone want to hit it or shoot it?) I looked up at Hops, a scowl crossed his face, I had never seen this, he was always so nice and calm.

“For fuck’s sake, Clear! I know about Joy, we all do.” Hops barked at me and waved his hoof to the other patrons. “Do you think killing yourself slowly like this will solve anything? Do you think it’ll bring her back? News flash, it won’t do anything but kill your sorry ass and just make your family even more upset.” I turned my face away from him. “How do you think your sister would feel if she saw you like this?” (I had no answer for him.) “Do you think she’d be happy to see you like this? Do you think she’d be proud to call you her big brother?”

The pub was silent for what felt like an hour, but was really more like a minute. No one ate, no one drank, even the radio was off. “Just go home Clear, I don’t want to see you in here again until you’re out of this rut.” Hops said as he turned around. I didn’t move right away, I just sat there and stared at the floor. Eventually, I picked myself up and dragged myself out of the pub. For what it was worth, Hops was right, I needed to go home, I needed some rest.

I lay awake in my bed. Night had fallen some time ago but I was still awake, much like the previous nights, I couldn’t sleep. Today was different though. Hops’ words kept circling in my mind. Joy deserved better than me, I shouldn’t have been drinking myself stupid, I should be trying to do something different. My mind flashed to that night when I found the fillies in the slave pen, then Joy’s body and then finally, the words of the slavers. How many other ponies would have to suffer that fate? How many other ponies have died from raiders or have been captured and sold into slavery? The Equestrian Wasteland was a horrible place, a place where hundreds, maybe thousands of ponies suffered every day. I couldn’t just sit by anymore and let those ponies suffer like Joy had.

Slowly, I sad up on my bed and hopped off, I knew what I had to do. I levitated a note pad and pencil over to the desk that took up a quarter of my room. I began to write.

Mum, dad,

By the time you read this I’ll be gone. I don’t know fully where I’ll go but I know what I’ll do. I realise now that Joy’s death wasn’t my fault, not partially anyway. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else out there so I’m setting out to hopefully wipe slavers and raiders off the face of Equestria. Yes, I realise my goal is stupid and I probably won’t succeed, but if I can wipe out at least some slaver or raider camps in my time, I’ll have at least done a little. Hopefully I can come home one day and return to a happy life. I love you both.

Love,
Clear Shot.

I placed the pencil down beside note pad and stepped over to my wardrobe. Inside was a duster, darkened with age. It wasn’t much, but I knew dad kept sets on leather armour in the sheriff’s office, which was my next stop. Grabbing the duster, my saddlebags, my life savings of bottlecaps, some food, a canteen of water, a pack of cigarettes and my lighter, I silently moved out of the house and through town. The night air was cool as it blew against my face. The town was silent and still, no one was awake and every light was off. I eventually came to the sheriff’s office; it was as dark and quiet as the rest of the town. No, that wasn’t true, on the inside came a sickly green glow, dad must have forgotten to turn his terminal off. The door opened with a squeak as I pushed it. (No lock, great job on the security, dad.)

My first stop was the terminal on the main desk. Its screen gave off a green glow, as if it itself was radioactive. Turning to its screen, I noticed it was on but logged off, it needed a password. I pondered for a moment then slowly typed.

JOYFUL

The screen blinked into existence with an audible beep. Scrolling through the items on the terminal I selected “Open safe”. Inside the safe was the key to the gun cabinet and a few maps of Rust Valley, Hoovestralia and the whole of Equestria. Luckily, dad had a few spares of each map so I took a copy of each and the key from the safe. Before I moved to the gun cabinet, I trotted over to a wardrobe in the far corner of the room. Inside the wardrobe were many suits of leather and metal armour. Levitating my designated armour out, I slipped into it. It was a snug fit (note to self, lay off the radroo meat for a while) but it was bearable. Moving, finally, over to the gun cabinet, I unlocked and opened it to revealing a number of shotguns, hunting rifles, magnums and my sniper. Levitating my favoured rifle out, as well all the ammo for it, I slung it over my body and onto my back. After replacing the key in the safe and logging out of the terminal, I was ready to set off.

The town was still asleep as I made my way to the gate at the front. The gate, much like the rest of the town, was silent and still. Normally there would be a guard posted, but with the slaver camp wiped out, there was no need for one. The gate swung open with a loud squeak, but gave no resistance. Trotting outside, I closed the gate behind me and started to walk down the dusty road. As I reached the edge of the minefield I stopped and levitated a cigarette out of the pack in my saddlebags, along with the lighter. Lighting the cigarette I inhaled the smoke. Over the past week these had become one of my closest friends, always keeping me calm. I looked over my shoulder at Sunny Springs, the place I had called home for my entire life. After that last, fleeting sight, I set my eyes on the road ahead and started walking. I have a lot of wandering ahead of me.

Footnote: Level Up!
New Perk: Vengeance, Level 1– Your blood boils with hate against the scum of the wasteland, you do +5% damage to slavers and raiders.

A/N: Thank you for reading my first fic. I’d like to give thanks to Kkat, Somber, No One and Mimezinga. Fallout Equestria: Wanderers is a collaborative fic between Mach Speed and Whisper. This chapter of Wanderers was written by Mach and edited by Shikari. If you enjoyed this first chapter give us a like, a comment and help us get it out there. Stay tuned for further updates from both myself and Whisper which will be posted here. Constructive criticism is always welcome and again, thanks for reading.