Chapter Two: Outside

Fallout Equestria: A Wanderer’s Tale

By TornadoFIM

Chapter Two: Outside

“There ain’t no place like home… no place like home.”

Wilderness.

I was finally outside the home I had been born and raised in for twenty years. The first few seconds of inhaling the rotten and vile air that I had now been forced to breath in stung my lungs. The area around me was almost empty. Other than a few dead trees and a few grey and filthy dunes, the world around me was basically empty. There were a few ruined towns in the distance and advertisement boards sticking outside of the dirt which had them buried beneath the soil. The thick black clouds that linger above allowed a small amount of natural sunlight to creepy through and shine onto the soil. Around me were ruins of houses which were torn apart by some sort of blast. The remaining frame of the houses were made out of a beige colored wood as the roofing that was made of hay and structures of wood was now completely shattered.

“Fuck…” I mumbled to myself at the sight of the Wasteland. I felt completely useless out here. One pony with a gun and a few bandages cannot do anything in an entire world waiting to hunt that pony down and gut them like they were some sort of wild animal.

But I didn’t feel fear as such. At least not yet. I felt a little surprised and overwhelmed from the seemingly sudden transition from one place to another, but I didn’t feel fear. I however could not return to the place I had just left. I was an enemy no doubt and if I was to go back there, I’d never find what I came out to find in the first place.

I felt slightly homesick. I couldn’t hear the sounds of the Stable like I could before. There were no longer ponies walking around nor sharing laughs or talking. Just a bitter silence that lingered for a while around me and the surrounding emptiness that seemed to stretch for miles. No longer were there dull, grey walls representing the Stable’s dull environment, but a large open Wasteland before me representing nothingness.

Large mountains within the far reaches of the surrounding wilderness stood out in a form of silhouette. The peaks of the mountains within the distance reached up to the thick, polluted clouds that lingered above. Bones within the grey and dusty dirt stuck out of the ground, cracked and broken. They were crumbling apart. Skulls partially showing had the eyes removed from the eye sockets and jaws detached from them like if somepony had just ripped the jaw out with no mercy. Parts of ribcages and other body parts such as leg bones were laid out above the dirt, gathering dust from the winds that swept the filth of the Wasteland onto it.

The wind whistled ever so softly as it passed through the crooked old trees that stood out of the soil. There was a gentle breeze that was cold and nippy grasping the back of my neck, as the sight of swirling dust drifted across the ground in the direction and pattern of the wind. I was alone out here and with no pony who I knew with me, I felt completely helpless. The broken stone and dark grey soil surrounded most of the Wasteland that surrounded me and a very light mist lingered around the entire wilderness.

With only bandages, a gun and the lucky charm from Cyclone inside of my saddle bag, I began to take my first steps into the Wasteland. I was on a stretch of road made of cracked and crumbling tarmac. A wooden and splintered sign that stood out of the soil beside the stretch of road gave a name to a nearby settlement. The settlement’s name: Old Vermillion City.

I wasn’t going to walk into the settlement expecting much there as I had never been out here, nor had I ever been to a city before. All I remember seeing was the grey walls of the Stable, the echoing voices through the hallway and the dull hum of the ventilation system. I had never seen the sun, I had never seen clouds in my lifetime, nor had I ever inhaled pure air. All I was breathing in was the filtered air of Stable 30, and personally, the air from the ventilation system was much better to breathe in than this shit.

The stench within the air stung my nostrils as it reached all the way to the back of my throat. I gagged softly. Keeping on track, the surrounding Wasteland around me looked poisoned and desolated. I never really thought the world beyond the door would look… like this. Large advertisement boards sat by the road I was walking down, displaying advertisements for the area I was going to. Due to its age, the picture displayed on the wooden board that stuck out of the ground at a diagonal angle was cracked and fading. The slogan was only just visible from the fading white tone on it.

Vermillion City

“Looking to make a fresh start? Look no further, Vermillion City will give you the brand new start you need in a brand new and worry-free environment.”

Walking along the dusty old, lonesome road, I had felt an eerie loneliness and anxiety build within me. I couldn’t help but glance back; the silence was making the anxiety grow even more! Seeing ruins of a city nearby, where once tall skyscrapers with large chunks ripped out of the side stood. Fumes of black smoke leaked out of the holes which were blown into the walls by some sort of powerful explosive weapon. The road soon bent towards the grey soil, as the thick layer of tarmac began to thin as it turned towards the city in ruin.

Trotting onto the thin layer of road, I kept glancing around to see if anypony was there. I felt like I was being watched, I had no idea why… I just felt -- uneven. Not the disappointed type of uneven feeling, or the uncomfortable feeling. But more of the “feeling like I’m being watched” feeling. And I didn’t like it one bit. Not one bit.

The mist that lingered around the Wasteland made the poison air feel thicker within my throat. With the large city that sat within ruin getting even closer to me, I saw a pair of stallions standing by a battered old and torn apart gate which allowed full view of the city. The two large wooden gates looked like they had been torn apart by some sort of large creature. Approaching the two stallions, both of them turned their heads to look at me with mocking grins. I froze in my tracks as they soon walked up to me.

One of the stallions had a dark grey coat that was tatty and stained with dirt. His eyes: an emerald green color that shined brightly into my eyes as he looked at me with the vicious stare. He was a Unicorn. His horn was slightly blunt and scratched from what seemed to be gunfire and deep, permanent scars were carved onto his right cheek. As he grinned, his crooked and yellowing teeth were revealed within the grin that had slithered across his face. The brown and dirty old hand-me-down jacket that he wore was stained with blood and pierced with bullet holes. The grey shirt he wore underneath seemed to be similar: scars were slashed into the chest area, and around the scars on the shirt were stains of blood and scabs of where he had been injured.

The other buck standing by him had a jet black coat, shot me a threatening look. Not so much of a grin, but more of an angry expression. I could see it in his eyes. He only wore some rags that looked like they had been picked out of a trash can. It smelled like it too. The dusty old rags he wore were grey and checkered all over. He wore no jacket over it, and he was just an earth pony. No horn or wings. His crystal blue eyes staring back into mine. I cowered slightly as they both daunted over me.

“You look a little lost, pal,” I heard one of the stallions speak. “Is everything okay?” His accent was intimidating as I felt his breath drift against me. It was horrible to inhale as soon as I caught a whiff of it, it made me gag.

I slowly looked back at them, seeing the grey unicorn watching over me with the same sadistic grin. I was scared -- more than I had hoped to be. I was already making a fool of myself and I knew it was only going to get worse. Finally coming out of the cocoon of fear, I looked at the two menacing stallions as they looked down at me.

“I’m not sure that he’s from around here,” the black stallion spoke in a deep voice. But then his eyes slowly drifted towards the device on my leg before a mocking grin drifted across his face. “Oh, I get it. This guy’s a Stable Dweller -- so how did you get out, little guy?” The stallion walked up to me, literally being only inches apart.

“I just got out… what’s it to you?” I mumbled below my breath, with my head down. I stared at the broken stones scattered out along the dirt covered road, and the dust sweeping across. I tried to not make any sudden movements.

Snickers of mockery were heard from this point from both of the bucks, before the obsidian colored one proceeded. “Oh is that so?”

“Blasphemy!” the grey stallion cried. “You can’t have just ‘got out’; there is no way in hell it was that simple.”

Feeling the intimidation from both of them close in onto me, I heard the same voice that was just speaking grind against my ear. “You don’t belong out here…”

I remained silent in both fear and shock. I mean, I had not even spent an hour out here and already I was in trouble. Or at least I thought. Either way, I felt like I was doomed and doomed was not good in any way possible. Their shadows were casting over me, covering me in darkness as I seemed to shake. Or at least, I felt myself shaking in fright.

The fact that the stallion was right in my face did not help to how I felt being out here. The feeling that somepony was going to strike me down or shoot me, I just couldn’t take it. Cowering yet again, I soon heard them both burst out in laughter. Hearing their laughs of mockery and twisted joy, my cheeks flushed red and then I quickly darted out of my cowering cocoon and then yanked the gun out from my saddle bag with my wing, and aimed it at the grey stallion. They still laughed; I was so close to pulling the fucking trigger.

“Oh lighten up, kid!” The black stallion chuckled, “we’re just having some fun, we aren’t going to hurt you!” I slowly lowered the gun, tilting my head in confusion to why they weren’t going to hurt me; I was thankful but slightly annoyed nonetheless.

“Well… if you happen to stir up trouble, then we just might, so I’d be careful if I was you.” His partner cut in straight after the other stallion spoke. “Trust me -- if you even hurt somepony with the gun you can’t even use, then I swear I’ll kill you!”

Okay… that was a little sudden. However, placing the gun back into the saddle bag and ceiling it up, I nodded before continuing into the ruins of the city. As soon as the ruins came into view, a lot of the area was spaced out and full of the decaying trees, however the few remaining buildings were skyscrapers, hotels and small offices. The skyscrapers: stood tall and thin. Their slender figure made it daunting to pass them as if they were to collapse onto us at any moment. Large holes torn within the buildings along the edges of the large space fumed a thick scented smoke into the atmosphere, which the glowing flames within the smoke were easily visible. Very few ponies were actually here too. In fact, many of them sat by the desolated buildings in hope of being given something from a stranger.

“I’m so sorry…” I mumbled to myself, looking at them with a surprising feeling of guilt. I felt pity for them, despite not knowing them at all.

The many seemingly stranded ponies were all staring at me. Some of them seemed to show threat while some showed a hopeful expression. All eyes on me, I walked down the dirt road as the wind whistled past my ears.

Finding a small office building crammed in-between two broken and slightly tilted skyscrapers, I soon walked over towards the thin, metal door. The blue door on the left side of the building had been pierced with bullets all over the bottom of it, while the maroon colored walls of the exterior had been scarred by ammo being thrown at it. The blackened windows were shattered and broken, as the sharp shards that sat on the edge of the window frame had blood stained on the sharpest points. The darkness was caused by the wooden planks that had been nailed onto the windows as a replacement. It stood seven stories high, despite it being high in size, it didn’t look very wide.

A wooden sign on the door hung from a nail that pinned into the thin sheet of metal that the door wore. The sign read: STAY OUT!

Glancing around myself to see if any of the homeless ponies were looking, I soon tried the door lock feeling it twisting and turning. The sound of the locks playing around was heard as my hoof twisted and rotated around the doorknob. It was unlocked? But what about ponies staying out of this place? If somepony didn’t want anypony to enter the building, they should have done a better job of locking this place down. Pushing the door open slowly, I saw the room beyond the doorway filled with darkness. The light that brightly gleamed into the room from the doorway showed cracked and dusty floor tiles. The white color that was meant to be on them was now a hollow grey color. Small red boxes were stacked in the far corner of which I could see and skeletons sat within the same corner.

Walking into the building, I heard my hoofsteps echo and rebound off of the surrounding walls. I silently closed the door behind me, before finding myself in complete darkness. The only light sources were the small cracks in the boards nailed to the windows allowing rays of light to pass through, and the PipBuck on my leg lit up a small ratio of the room.

There really was no other light. I had to rely on the PipBuck mainly. I walked along the broken and dusty old tiles that were below me, hearing each of my hoofsteps echo inside of the room. Not only that, but the breaths leaving my mouth echoed in the room also. The cold breeze drifting through the building nipped at my neck making me shiver slightly, and as I took another step forward, a sound of a bottle rolling and banging against the tiles was heard.

“There has to be some sort of light switch in here,” I grumbled, as I felt the chipped and rough walls that were around me. I felt some graze my hoof. Some sharp and… metal. It stabbed into the bottom of my hoof, stinging right into the bloodstream. I felt blood draw from my hoof and yelped as I held the hoof affected.

I soon heard echoing hoofsteps, as I then fell silent to wait for who it was. Hearing a few echoing coughs as I heard the hoofs slowly come down the staircase that sounded like it was in the distance, I soon glanced to where the sound was coming from before hearing another weak cough in the distance of the room. Seeing another PipBuck come into view, glowing in the dark, this time more of a sky blue color lighting up the way for the pony, his hooves echoing as he took each step. The stallion within the dark soon came to a halt before speaking.

“Didn’t ya’ see tha’ sign, wanderer?” His southern, old accent rebounded off of the walls as he spoke in the croaky tone he had, “by the looks of your PipBuck, Ah’ assume that you’re jus’ like me -- a Stable Wanderer. You mus’ be new ‘round these parts…”

I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Yup. I haven’t even been out here for long.” I responded with a mundane tone. A weak, dry chuckle was heard within the abyss of the room, before he yet again spoke.

“Uh-huh.” He coughed yet again, this time sounding eve dryer in the throat. “Let me get some light in here.”

Click!

The sound of a generator powering on was heard, before the beams of light bulbs fixed onto the ceiling flickered on, lighting the room up. It wasn’t a bright light, but it was dim and shady. The room was fairly large, and empty. There were barely any chairs or desks. Only a few wooden tables hugging the wall covered in dust and also having the odd few guns and ammo, and even rusty old and bent bottle caps sitting on top of them. It was wide open, but a large wall in the far center of the room, which I assumed the staircase, was over there. Many different wasted bottle caps were lying all over the floor, bent and the edges sharp. That must have been what I had cut my hoof on.

The old, apple green earth pony seen standing not too far away. His grey and long mane which hung down and hugged his neck beneath the Stetson that sat on his head. His amber eyes stared at me, looking dry and grey-ish. The facial hair that covered most of his lips was also grey like his mane and was styled in a moustache. The Stable jacket he wore no longer contained the bright blue and yellow color it normally contains, it was degrading in both colors and the number on the collar which represented the Stable he was from displayed the number twelve. An old Winchester colored rifle sat within the battle saddle that rested on his back and the rusty old lever that had to be yanked to shoot the weapon within the holster.

“That’s better,” the peculiar stallion mumbled. “Now, why did you leave the Stable, young one?” He soon took a few steps closer to me, before stopping only a meter away from me.

“It’s complicated.” I mumbled, but it was loud enough to be audible.

He laughed in a tone of what seemed to be sarcasm. “Oh really? Ah’ bet it isn’t as complicated as havin’ Stable Raiders invade your Stable an’ then killin’ your parents right in front of ya’ -- if ya’ haven’t heard of the Invasion of Stable 12 then you mus’ be really new out here. Despite the story being old, the radio presenter on Radio Equestria keeps retelling the story as if it was yesterday!” He spat out.

I felt my heart sink as soon as he spoke the words that left his mouth. Imaging what he had gone through really tore me apart. I knew how he felt, my mother was shot down and my father died of cancer. And now losing my sister only just recently.

“N-no… it isn’t.” I stammered, as I looked at the buck with a pitiful look. “My sister left the Stable without even saying goodbye; she’s the only bit of family I have left…” I paused, trying to swallow back the tears. I felt my voice shake. “I just want to find her.”

“Uh-huh,” the buck mumbled as he gently nodded his head, looking slightly to the left. “Ah’ wish ya’ good luck and Ah’ would help ya’ if I could, but this is where I belong now. Ah’m no longer the young, athletic buck I used to be… this Wasteland does thin’s to ya’, and Ah’ can regrettably say they aren’t nice.”

He soon began to walk around the room, but he stayed close to where I was. “The name’s Old Orchard, Ah’ don’t really help any o’ the residents, but if Ah’ have no choice, then Ah’d do it.” His voice tone seemed to raise slightly before he continued. “Since you’re relatively new out here, Ah’ll tell you a few vital things before you go out there and throw ya’self in front of bullets and what-not.”

“Like what?”

He looked at me in the eyes. “Well for starters, make sure you use ya’ ammo wisely, young buck. Ah’ made one big mistake back when I first came out here and many lives Ah’ was tryin’ to save were all taken within minutes,” he regrettably said with a frown. “Ah’ don’t want an innocent buck like you to make the same mistake -- not only does it endanger you, but it can endanger those around ya’.”

I nodded with a small sigh. He turned away and then walked over to one of the small wooden tables that hugged the walls surrounding us. He grabbed a few items into his hoof. Sounds of bottle caps, and ammo cases chiming together as he soon placed the small amount of items onto his back. Seeing four scratched, small, steel ammo cases and a small pouch of caps sitting on top of one of them. He walked back to me, before he removed each of the items from his back slowly and placing them in front of him. He used his snout to gently push the pouch of caps and ammo cases individually towards me before showing a small smile on his face.

“You can have these,” he spoke in a slightly uplifting tone. “If you don’t have a gun, Ah’m sure Twist Bolt can sort you out with somethin’. His gun store is by the old Ministry building by the river on the far side of town.” He yet again smiled, the wrinkles on his seemingly ancient body stretched across his face as the grin crept across his face.

I smiled back.

“Another thing ya’ need to know is friends and foes. Don’t trust anypony who ya’ meet, they could kill ya’ or even worse, feed you to Hellhounds,” his voice yet again turned stern, as he spoke. “Build trust, it might just save your life… Ah’d look out for any suspicious activities your companions do if you happen to meet any.”

I nodded in understanding. “Okay.” I simply added. He tapped his muzzle, thinking of another helpful tip to help me with. Nothing. He soon shook his head, and looked slightly puzzled before focusing his attention back onto me.

“Ah’d say that’s the basics,” he added. “Oh and one more thing… make sure you do have another gun with ya’ out there. Being alone out there can get awful lonely, let alone dangerous -- all I have to say now is, good luck!”

As he said that, the sound of movement was heard upstairs. The sound of something heavy falling on the ground boomed across the building, making dust from the cracks collapse onto us both. I coughed bitterly as some of the grey dust fell onto my lips. Again, another minute of silence dominated. The only sound I could hear was the sound of my breathing. The light rays that beamed through in the window brightened up as the sun brightly flashed down onto the building, the floating dust particles by the windows were seen floating by them,

“Wait...somepony’s inside -- and I cannot promise that they’ll be friendly.”

I heard the dry, ancient voice speak. I looked to him and stared at him. He stared back at me with a stern look, before nodding and cocking the bolt on the rifle that sat in his battle saddle. He took a couple of steps towards the staircase on the far end of the room and I followed him shortly after he began moving. Our hoofsteps echoed throughout the offices as we slowly made our way towards the staircase. The red carpet on the stairs was ripped, stained and dry. The pattern upon the carpets was a degrading, golden swirling pattern and it stretched all over the carpet.

“Keep on your guard, kid.” Old Orchard bitterly said with a croaky voice tone. “Ah’ ain’t so sure that the pony upstairs won’t be armed.”