Fallout Equestria Dead Road Introduction
My mother was just a slave, a toy for the others to use. Sky, a Reaper, bought her to be his and to use her as he wished. For better or worse, she was at least safe. No raider would dare to touch her. After a year she got pregnant; I was born the colt son of a reaper. Five years was all it took; he told my mother he couldn’t get attached to anything, not us or anyone else. He sold us to a slaver down near Hoofington. That was the last time I ever saw him.
An old buck bought me and my mother to work for him. He worked for a caravan called Nickels. I never really understood the meaning behind the name. My mother always taught me everything: reading, speaking, and writing. She had tons of magazines for me to read. She would spend the caps she got from caravan work to buy new ones. She wanted me to be smart and strong. I loved her more than anything in this fucked up world.
Then the day came. It was a day that I have never forgotten, nor will I ever forget. The owner of the caravan was drunk, and I, like always, was alone in a tent reading. Unlike my mom, I wasn’t much help with caravan work. She was tough, but me… I was just a seven-year-old colt. There wasn’t much I could do. He got in and laid down beside me. At that time, I was so innocent that I didn’t know better. He was touching me, sliding his hoof along my body. I remember looking at him, seeing that face staring at me with those wanting eyes as my mother walked in. She had her gun ready.
“Get away from him, now!” she yelled.
He turned his head toward my mother, “Oh? Did the slave forget her place?”
“Don't touch him!” she pleaded. “Do anything you want with me, but don't you dare touch him.”
“What's wrong momma?” I asked.
The old stallion had a wicked grin on his face. “Don’t touch him? Or what?” he asked rhetorically. “Go back to your post slave. I've got things to do here.”
As soon as he touched me again, I heard a loud bang. The stallion fell on top of me, blood dripping all over my body. My mother rushed and picked me up. More ponies came to check what happened, but we escaped through the back of the tent. They chased after us, firing their weapons toward us. Suddenly, I heard my mother yell. She had been shot in the side.
I remember, we eventually stumbled upon a bunch of ponies wearing armor. They almost shot us too, but when they saw me, they had… maybe a change of heart. Sadly, it was too late . My mother fell to the ground and so did I. She lost a lot of blood and wasn’t going to make it. I cried over her, but all she did before she passed was put a bloody hoof on my cheek, look into my eyes, and say:
“Live... don’t give up… just live ...”
After that, I was taken in by the Steel Rangers. A scribe, by the name of Cable, took care of me. At first, I didn’t want to do anything except cry. He was patient, he waited a few days for me to calm down. I told him everything; he promised me he would keep me safe, and I believed him. Then, I joined the young colts and fillies in training. I was the best one in class. They were impressed by my knowledge on firearms and arcane science. Years passed , and I turned twelve. I was a cadet-in-training going on missions to retrieve technology alongside Cable. However, if there’s one thing that I have learned in this wasteland, it is that nothing lasts forever.
There had been a war in Hoofington , for many years, between the Reapers and the Steel Rangers. I knew this because of my father. He was one of them, and now I was in the middle of all of it. I saw Cable dead on the ground beside me. The others started to flee. I couldn’t run, move, or even breathe; it was like I was stuck inside an endless loop. First my mother and now this. Then a grenade exploded next to me, sending me flying inside a broken building. The world became dark. I remember waking up several hours later with a Radroach nibbling on my hoof.
“I’m alive,” I thought to myself, after getting up and kicking the bug away from me. I limped towards the broken window and took a good look outside. It was a disaster; bodies upon bodies laid dead on the floor, steel rangers and reapers alike. I began to shake. I sat there for a couple of minutes trying to calm down, then I made my decision. I left. Day after day, running away, hiding, stealing, killing. This wasn’t living, this was surviving. Until one day, when I crossed paths with this old pony who had caught me stealing from him. He was an old stallion with an eye patch covering one eye. He stood, up looked at me, then he laughed and sat back down.
“Well now, ya sure got some balls there,” he said.
“Huh? Aren’t you mad?” I asked
I saw that he was actually smiling. It was weird at first, but then he looked at me.
“Nah. There ain’t no reason fer me t’be upset,” he said. “Too old fer this shit anyway. What’s your name, kid?
He tossed a can of cram near and stared waiting. I took the can and sat beside slowly.
“I’m… Zeek,” I said.
“Well ain’t that a name, huh? Well buck, my name is…” he paused for a moment. “Damn, well the Reapers call me Eyepatch.”
I could see why. He removed the eye patch and showed his blind eye.
“Ah… I see... you’re a Reaper?” I asked.
“Eeyup, I’ve been a reaper for about thirty years from now,” he said. “I just kept t’myself most of the time. Hell, I did enough already to this fucked up world.”
I open the can gingerly and looked at it for a moment, thinking about what he just said.
“My... father was a Reaper…” I said.
He looked at me for a moment then shrugs.
“Well ain’t that something?” Eyepatch said. “I might’ve known’em what was his name?
“Sky.”
He touched his chin then his ears perked up.
“Well shit,” he said with a chuckle. “Skyline that ol’ bastard, you’re his son ain’t ya?”
I nodded and began to eat already waiting for the worse
“That som’bitch left a long time ago. The others call him a traitor. He left for Manehattan a few years ago. Some folks said he died, some said he ran away, and other folk just don’t really give a fuck,” he said as he looked off into the distance. “Hell, Big Daddy almost sent Deus an’ Rampage after him. The only reason he didn’t was ‘cause it be too much trouble just for one coward who ran away.”
He looked at the campfire with a sigh then he turned to me.
“Yeah… he left me and my mother. He sold us to a slave trader.”
He looked up to the cloudy sky and sighed as if he was thinking on something. Then, he got up and showed his hoof.
“Want to become a Reaper Zeek?” he asked.
I stared at him, grabbed his hoof, and stood up.
“How? Is... is that even possible?” I asked.
“Eeyup. Honestly, now you’re just helping an old stallion in dealin’ with his sins,” He said.
“What?”
“T’become a Reaper, you’ll have to kill one.”
I knew what he meant, “oh…”
“Now... What do you say? Would ya like t’take my place in this wasteland and bring hell to that old bastard of a father of yours?” he asked.
“Yeah... I do.”
With that we headed to their base. On the way he taught me about the Hoofington Reapers. We arrived at their base in the Hoofington Arena. Eyepatch talked to Big Daddy, the leader of the Hoofington Reapers, and told him what we were going to do. He looked at me for a moment and just shrugged. He said it had to be a fair fight, and I had to fight him for real. Eyepatch was the only friend I’ve found after Cable died, and now I had to kill him. Then it happened, the fight began. He slashed his knife at me and managed to cut my face right at my eye, blinding me. After a few missed slashes, I saw an opening and got a clean cut right through his throat. Blood spray from his neck wound. I wanted to make it stop and tried to do so, but it was too late. I laid him down on the ground as the others watched and cheered. I looked at the kind old stallion’s face and saw that he was smiling at me, as if thanking me. Now, I became the new Eyepatch, the one-eyed Reaper of Hoofington .
It has been a few years; I’ve done lots of things. I’ve helped Big Daddy and Deus with a few missions here and there. I kept my head low, only acting when I could. I mostly just did jobs I could handle. Slowly I became stronger, more dangerous, more aggressive. I was a killer, the embodiment of a Reaper. One day, Deus brought me a new mission. Apparently, I would help him invade a Stable. Now, the question I had was: Why? Why would we raid a Stable?
I overheard something about a file, EC1101. Apparently, a ghoul that arrived a few years ago needed this file for some big project. His name is Sanguine. So I helped, we attacked Stable 99. Although, it was mostly the raiders that Deus gathered. I stayed next to the entrance to make sure things were okay. Then, I heard shooting big guns and the sound of explosions. Then a white mare in stable armor ran out along with a blue buck. We chased after them, but they got away. Deus told me along with some others to return to the arena and inform Sanguine about the mission. I did what he asked and that was that.
Before long, I heard news about my father. Apparently, my old man was still alive in Manehattan. So I asked Big Daddy if I could go after him, and he gave me permission. I left Hoofington to go after my father. I have to admit, leaving Hoofington was a breath of fresh air. The downside of it was that I couldn’t ask for help. The reapers wouldn’t help me. I was on my own from here on out.
I arrived in this city, compared to Hoofington , this place was kinda easy to get through. It ain’t as dangerous, nevertheless I kept a low profile. From the information I had gathered, I knew I was looking for a town called The Slums. My old man helped build the place, so my only guess is that he was still there. I eventually found the town. I have to admit the place has seen better days. There wasn’t a whole lot here besides a bar, a few trading posts, and a building. The building looked like a very old hospital from the pre-war days. I got inside and met a pretty mare named Needle. She was a very strong mare, always serious about her job, but one thing shocked me the most. I knew her and she knew me. She was a steel ranger from back when I was a cadet.
“No fucking way. Is that really you Zeek?” she asked.
“I suppose… I mean yeah, but…”
What am I saying? After all, my name is Zeek. I just want to forget my old self from back then and not think about it. I then just nodded at her like an idiot. She came over to me and hugged me. I didn’t know what to do besides return the gesture. It was the least I could do for her.
“Yeah... it has been a while, hasn’t it?” I said.
“Are you kidding me?!” she yelled. “You disappeared after the... after what happened you just vanished. All I found was Cable… laying there.”
Please, I just want to forget that. I don’t want to think about it; not now, not ever. She caught my gaze, and she could see in my eyes that I didn’t want to talk about the subject with her. I looked hurt.
“Anyway... I’m glad you’re alive, that's all that matters right now,” she said.
She finished unpacking a small box with a few med-x syringes and stared at me for a moment, as if she was considering something.
“So... with that out of the way,” she said. “What brings you here in The Slums, Zeek?
“I’m looking for a pony,” I said, taking a look around the clinic. Her clinic was full of medical supplies that were perfectly stacked on the shelfs, a few books of medicine, and first aid kits. She let out a sigh of annoyance, levitated another box, and opened it.
“There’s a lot of ponies here, Zeek,” she said. “You’ll have to be more specific.”
I paused, looking at her for a moment, then I sat down beside her. She stopped to look at me.
“I’m looking for Skyline,” I said.
She snorted, closed the box, and put it back on the shelf with her magic. Boy, I sure am jealous of unicorns and their magic.
“He’s long gone, Zeek,” she said. “But why him if you don’t mind me asking? Does he owe you anything? That’s how it usually goes in this town.”
“He’s my father, Needle, and I want to find him.”
She was about to grab another box but almost dropped it. I caught it with my hoof and looked her in the eyes. Her gaze met mine and she was in shock, it was as if I slapped her across the face.
“You’re his son? Please… tell me this isn’t a fucking joke?” she asked.
“Why else would I be here, Needle?”
She sat down hard and stared at me for a long time, as if she was studying me.
“Well… unless the other buck who arrived two days ago is lying. I believe you, because apparently now Sky has two sons,” she said.
I blinked for a moment trying to understand what she was saying.
“You see, two days ago we sent out a small group of raiders,” she said. “We offered a bounty of two thousand caps for Sky’s head, but when they arrived at his camp… Well, the place was a complete mess and absolutely destroyed, all they found was a single pony. The pony was his son and he said sky was dead; he kept apologizing and said he had no choice but to kill Sky.”
She noticed my look. With a sigh, she went over to me and patted me on the shoulder softly.
“He’s locked up now. Our boss here will decide what to do with him for killing Sky,” she said. “You should have seen him when he arrived, he was pretty beat up. I take it that the bounty hunters weren’t really happy about him killing Sky. He’s all patched up now though... I can take you there if you want.”
I lean against the wall. This wasn’t fair, I was supposed to be the one, damnit! I trained for years and now... Sky is dead. I bottled up that hate for years and it was all for nothing.
“Sure,” I said. “Take me to this… buck you’re talking about.”