Fallout Equestria: Desperados V2 (of Blood and Dirt)

Desperado’s V2, Chapter 01

From the Past to the Future.

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"Give me that!" Mother grumbled as she snatched the brass fixed magnifying lens from around my neck, snapping the ragged thread I used to keep it with me. "Did ye pilfer this, again?" She asked as I looked away as she glared down at me. "Answer me you little brat!"

"But… it's mine." I breathed out, as I braced for another beating.

"No 'tisn't, 'n ye know why I know?" My mother said coldly. "Because I sold it! It ain't yours, and if ya steal it again, you're getting a hoof chopped off. And I'll even do it myself!"

"No it's not! It has me name on it! Father gave it to me!" I argued.

But mother wasn't going to care, she never cared.

Scoffing, she tossed the lens into her jewel box, and slammed the box shut. "Don't remind me. I be reminded enough by yer face. Now get out o' here, I got work t' prepare fer."

She must have been in a good mood, with her not striking me. So, I backed away, not wanting to force her hoof on me. Spying from the edge of the rusty door, I watched as mother got her makeup and clothing ready, a ritual she always did before work, which I enjoyed watching.

I hated her so much, but she was also the most beautiful mare on the Blackwater. Beauty which I didn't inherit, something she always made sure to remind me of. She had a long dark scarlet mane and tail that glistened in the light, and a deep blue, almost black coat that was like the sea at night. Crowning in front of her head were two small horns, in which mother always made sure to polish and have on display, sometimes adding a gold ring to each.

I on the other hoof was not a bicorn like mother, but a plane earth pony. My coat was a simple blue, and my main and tail was the color of dark green seaweed. I barely remembered him, but I supposedly looked exactly like my father, whom my mother hated.

Watching her, she carefully put on one of her dresses, this time the one she used for very special clients. She even pulled out her good makeup, we'll all of her makeup was good, but this was the extra good makeup. Even pulling out her perfume, which barely overpowered the stench of the Blackwater. So maybe she was getting on another ship, maybe seeing a captain this time.

It didn't really fill me with all that much joy, knowing what she was going to do with them, but at least mother will be in a better mood for a few days. Also, it meant that our home wasn't going to smell of stallions and sweat, or that I'll have to clean up after them.

I was already used to seeing mother having sex with other stallions, it was her job after all, but I still didn't like it. I also didn't like how some of the stallions looked at me, some even asking me when I was old enough to join my mothers work. I hated that the most.

I didn't want to become a prostitute like my mother, I wanted to join a ship like my father… even if it probably killed him. But at least I'd be free of this place.

I then caught the glare from mother, her jade green eyes sparking fear in me, it's magic hitting me almost like a whip.

Scurrying away and climbing down into The Red-Light corner of the Blackwater. It was a towering maze of ancient cargo containers, both bolted together and tied down with ropes, forming a maze of rope bridges and ladders. The place was a mini city within the already cramped city ship of the Blackwater, floating on the endless ocean.

I passed by the other prostitutes and did my best to not knock over any clothing on any lines, or stumble into any pony at work. I also had to be extra careful to not stumble or risk falling off and hurting myself.

"Oh Star, off t' church today?" Dotty said to me as I reached one of the ways out. She was a young mare who just started working here after her parents had died. Mother had helped her learn how things worked here and gave her some protection from the others after she paid mom the few doubloons she had. As mares here went, she was a rather pretty white mare covered in black spots, and very kind.

I nodded. "Aye aye, it's well-nigh time fer 'em t' pass out the daily tack."

She sighed, clear disappointment on her face. "Seriously, Settin' Sun best be feedin' ye. We all know she's nah poor like the rest o' us." Dotty then sighed as she hid a bruise on her face. "Speakin' o' which. Can ye take me wee brother wit' ye?"

I looked behind her and saw Black Spot, who was still rather shy for a colt my age. "Ay, no problem!" I told her.

"Thank ye Star, ye're a darlin'." Dotty said as she pushed her brother to me. "Now both o' ye be safe out thar, 'n gangway fer creepy ponies."

"I know!" I said as I dragged Black Spot out and made our way to church. All we needed to do was read a page from Prophet Roselands holy book to get our meal. So, it was easy, and usually fun. Though without the magnifying lens, reading the small text in the holy book was going to be a lot harder. I loved how it could not only make words bigger, but also make them visible even when it was dark, or when somepony had black out the words with ink.

At least I get to see big sis Victoria. With her golden blond mane and sky-blue coat, she resembled the prophet in many ways. Her voice when she sang was divine, and no pony dared to fuck with her as she was a brutal fighter. It was almost like she was sent by the goddesses themselves.

"Ahoy, whore born!" Some little shit of a filly called out to me. Just because her parents were security she trotted around with a stick up her ass. They were always like this, looking for a fight and picking on the smaller foals like Black Spot and me.

But I wasn't some timid little filly and was ready for a fight. But there were three of them, which didn't look good, and I couldn't rely on Back Spot, yet I was still going to fight.

"See, I told ye she wasn't goin' t' run away." The shit filly said, all proud of herself. "Today's nah goin' t' be borin', nah at all."

I wasn't going to win, but I didn't care, so long as I hurt them, I would be satisfied.

"Ahoy now, Save the violence fer aft the sermon." A soft voice called to us.

I took a step back and sat up straight, as did the other three fillies. "S… sorry Victoria!" I apologized.

She was only fifteen years old, but Victoria had the presence of an adult, even scared some of them. Yet she was calm, kind, and so very cool!

Victoria rolled her eyes. "It's alright Star, if ye don’t beat some sense into a pony, they start gettin' a big head. But jus' nah right now aye." She then glared at the three and they dashed off with their tails between their legs.

"I understand big sis!" I said, not quite understanding, but if Victoria said it, I believed it.

She then smiled at me, her eyes gazing into my own, almost hypnotic with how her emerald-colored eyes shimmered. They reminded me a lot like my mothers, as though her gaze had magic in them just like mother. "Good, now best t' head on in. I saved a seat fer ye 'n Black Spot. I even swiped a bit o' Garum from the head nun's cabin, but don't tell nopony, aye."

My own eyes went wide in surprise. "B… why?"

Victoria rolled her eyes at me. "Don't ye turn Eight years ole today, Star? So it's a special day where ya get some treats." She then motioned for me to head inside the church. "Once we be done wit' prayer 'n our daily hardtack, ye can come wit' me 'n hage out wit' me gang. We actually got the game cabin mostly t' ourselves fer a few hours."

"Really!" I squealed as I rushed in. Victoria was truly the best.

The day went by quickly, and it was fun, super fun! Hanging out with Victoria and her gang was the best. I got to talk about the things I liked, the things I hated, and how I wanted to join a ship as soon as I can. We got to trot around the Blackwater and nopony fucked with me, even got to join a fight. But as the sun set, it was time to go. Trotting around at night was liable to get a filly like me thrown overboard, or at least that's what the adults say. Anyways, mom was likely finished with her work, and I could return home.

Navigating through the Red-Light Corner, ignoring the sounds of ponies at work, I climbed to the highest spot where I lived. The cool wind blew over me, bringing with it a light spray of salty air. Though cold, it always felt good to me, made me feel more relaxed.

Looking out over the ocean, colored red by the sunset, I felt compelled to go to it, as though something about the waters wanted me. It was strange, though I knew it would be my death, I always wanted to try and swim in the waters.

Resisting the feeling I opened the rusty door of the cargo container I called home. It squeaked louder than I liked, which was going to annoy my mother. But as I trotted in, I found my home very dark.

"Mom?" I meekly called out, finding my voice echoing inside.

It was cold, and dark. Too cold. Too dark.

As the door opened fully, I was greeted by an empty room, empty for all but something left in the center. Shaking I trotted further in, and picked up my magnifying lens. It was meant for reading maps, an important tool for sailors… but it had been smashed, bent, and the engraving with my and my fathers name on it scratched out.

She was gone, my mother… had left me. And the only memento of my father, had been reduced to junk.

The wind blew again and the door to my now empty home closed, leaving me in darkness.

I could only sit there and cry. I hated her, I hated her so much, but I wanted her. I… I wanted my mother to love me. And now she is gone.

Alone, I was alone.

"You're never truly alone, Star." A wispy like voice spoke as a bony hoof placed itself on my shoulder. "Let me take that, and I'll restore it for you."

A strange blue flame envelopes the lens, lifting it up from my hooves and levitating it behind me.

"Th… thanks." I said as I looked to see who it was, only to freeze in horror. There it was, a dry corps, looking down at me with a blue glow from two empty eye sockets. My chest thumped, my body stiffened, and starting out as a squeak, I began to scream.

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-Star Charter -

Special

Strength: 7

Perception: 6

Endurance: 6

Charisma: 5

Intelligence: 4

Agility: 8

Luck: 4

-Skills-

Explosives- 50

Small Guns- 61

Melee Weapons- 60

Trait: Kamikaze - Star Charter acts fast and recklessly when in conflict. She is often the first to attack, even when taken by surprise. Because of her reckless nature, she rarely gets out unscratched, having -2 damage threshold.

Trait: Hot Blooded - Star has a +15% damage increase but a -2 to Perception and Agility when health is below 50%.

Unique trait: Evil Eye’s Corruption - Star was "given" the power of the evil eye at the age of 11. This gives her the power of terrifying presence when making eye contact as well as regeneration. The use of the evil eye does damage to Star, starting with bleeding from her eyes which progresses until she is bleeding from every orifice. Her regeneration keeps the evil eye from crippling her. Though magical, the eye uses her natural energy to heal. Because of this, she will need to eat or risk her body consuming itself. The self-consumption of her body also puts great strain on her body. It pumps adrenaline to extreme levels and causes her to go into a berserk state of hunger.

Developed Perk: Canterlot Gourmay - Your discerning palette allows you to gain more health benefits from food and drink and resist substance addiction.

Developed Perk: Foal at Heart - Opens up dialog options with younger NPCs and characters.

Learned Skill: Stone Throw - when tossing heavy rocks for hours on end a pony quickly learns how to throw them a bit better. Star Charter can throw weapons 10% farther with 10% more accuracy.

Perk- Earlier Sequence: Star reacts a little faster in a fight, possibly faster than anypony around her. This often gives her the first strike in a fight.

Perk- Pathfinder- Star’s intuition leads her in the right direction, even if it is down a twisting path. She will commonly find shortcuts when traveling or avoid going down the wrong path. All through intuition alone.

Perk- War Dancer - All’s fair in love and war and being able to move one’s hips can also help in both. When dealing with the opposite sex, Star gains a -5% to damage taken and a +5% to damage given along with new dialogue options.

-Gear-

Cosmic Cutlass: A sword that both holds an edge and is more durable than any known metal, but most strange is its ability to take in and hold heat. The blade will have an added burning effect if ever near a heat source.

Nightstalkers Regarded: An enchanted 10.mm fully automatic pistol with snake-like engraving and paint that resembles the ghost Nightstalker. It has the ability to envenomate those hit by its bullets.

Outlaw: A 10mm Griffinstone Typewriter made by the Gunrunner Hardballer for controlled and sustained fire. Perfect for life in the wasteland. Though heavy compared to all other SMG’s, it has almost no recoil and is built to even outlast its user. The gun also has an air of mischief and style only a roguish pony could truly enjoy.

-Companion-

Caval: This young Ghost Nightstalker will go wherever Star goes as her protector.

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My eyes shot open as the smuggler bounced on the ruined remains of some grand roadway, now nothing more than rubble, waking me from my nightmare of a memory. It had been fourteen years since I last saw Setting Sun and I had done my fucking best to forget all about that bitch of a mother. But now, at my lowest, her memory comes back to kick me while I'm down, to remind me how much I was a failure.

Worse, I was no better than her.

My daughters crying still ran through my head, even now so far away, I could still hear her crying, demanding that I don't leave her. My Bridget, my darling, I had to leave her behind, no way I could take her with me.

Still didn't change the fact I did leave her, just like how my mother left me.

Again the smuggler bounced, rattling me out of my train of thought. Despite Longside's attempt to give this vehicle some good suspension, there was only so much a pony-griffin can do with over two hundred year old parts. Still the smuggler held up well for our long trip as it hauled a shipment of guns and ammo in the trailer behind us.

The wind blew through my mane as we rolled along an old and broken road through a mountain pass. Sitting up in the gunner's nest, I looked down at my strange mix of companions. Not that I was any bit normal myself.

Driving the Smuggler was Slowtrot, a pony from over two hundred years in the past, who one day fell out of the sky. Relatively mild mannered, and a bit slow on the uptake, but when push comes to shove he still pulls through in the end. Also, sometimes he slips through time and comes back with strange goodies.

Then there's Harp Melody, well Princess Harp Melody if I was to be exact. Not a Princess like Celestia and Luna, but more direct blood royalty of Princess Platinum, a founder of Equestria. She appeared a little after Slowtrot in much the same way as he had, but she's only from a year in the past and from a place called the Marewaii Islands. Stranger yet is that she was what she called, a Mirage Pony. Some sort of genetic chimera of every equine, which has something to do with her home region being a capital "S" shithole, so toxic that everypony needs genetic treatment to even have kids. Otherwise their foals are born dead or have too many genetic defects to survive for long. So she looked like some zony half-acorn; faded stripes with very small wings and a very small horn. It was like she was a mockery of an alicorn, yet not at the same time. And crazy enough, they have their own magic, which involves storing raw magic in themselves from the ambient magic around themselves and sending it out into other things that can hold it.

On that note, the only reason the smuggler can even drive is because Harp can recharge its spark batteries. She was practically a walking talking magical generator, though it also means she was rather weak to radiation when doing her magic. Drawing in the ambient magic also included radiation, and if she was not careful, she could easily give herself radiation poisoning.

With Harp, came the robot Order, some sort of flying scout drone connected to her pipbuck, given to Harp for protection. I don't know the details very well, but it developed sentience at some point, so that's interesting.

I then felt something fluffy rub on my leg, and I reached out to pet Cavall. The young ghost nightstalker pup gave a happy hiss as my hoof stroked its head. Cavall was a white and gray nightstalker with floppy ears, and far friendlier than the more common nightstalkers found in the mountains everywhere else. He could also turn invisible, which was both awesome, and a pain in my flank. From what Harp had found out, they were some Ministry of Awesome experiment, in which they replaced the coyote genetics of the normal nightstalker with that of a farm dog, making them far less aggressive and far smarter. Then some moron gave then the ability to turn invisible, because why the fuck not.

Most of that was more than I could really understand, but I knew that Bridget would have loved Cavall, since she always wanted a dog… or a cat… actually any animal would have been fine for her, she just wanted a pet.

I let out a sigh as memories of my daughter came back to me.

"You alright miss Star Charter?" A whistling like voice spoke up, startling me.

"Ahhh! Shit, how do you keep doing that!" I complained as I took a deep breath to get my heart to stop pounding.

"Sorry about that, I'm still getting used to this magic business." Azure Dice said apologetically.

He was a… mutant? Monster? Alien? Oh I didn't know or understand that Brahminshit. All I knew was that he was a pony shaped blue crab thing with green glowing joints and fins. Supposedly he was from another dimension, but Harp told me that there were more like him in this world, who were not from other dimensions. Sparkle-Lurkers she called them, and they had some sort of perception filtering magic about them. Meaning that if you're not looking directly at them, they might as well be invisible or something. Also they're capable of doing some sort of sonic attack, and maybe other weird stuff.

"It's fine, Azure. I was just… sleeping up until recently." I told the crab pony.

He nodded, the claws covering his mandibles were like a fake pony snout, hitting the uncanny valley for me. "A dream I guess. Anything you want to talk about?"

"Rather not." I told him. "It was more memories than dreams, personal memories."

"I understand, not everything needs to be recorded. But let me know when you want to share anything, and I'll do my best to jolt it down." He said before returning to his seat next to Harp.

The crab pony was some sort of explorer and liked to write and draw the things he found. I had seen some of his work, and it was okay at best. But I couldn't for the life of me understand how he made any money on what he did. Though he did say he would often sell artifacts he finds, which made more sense to me.

My attention drifted back to the wasteland; the mountain side we were driving along gave me a good view of the land. It was still the depressing browns and grays that I saw when Prism first brought me to Equestria. Before all I knew was the vast blue of the ocean. But there were patches of green to be found in the wasteland, along with other signs of life asserting itself, with more of it every year.

New Appaloosa had long dipped over the horizon, a place I could never call home again. Not that I cared about that place, as most of the ponies there never liked me. Most, but not all. My daughter was still there, protected by her father's family. I also had several close friends, who I worry deeply for.

Prism likely has a grave now, maybe a tombstone. Not that I was given the time to bury her myself, may Celestia damn them.

Taking a deep breath through my clenched teeth, I slowly calmed myself down. No use being angry over dead ponies. I already claimed that revenge.

The smuggler began to slow down, the loud humm and pops of its ancient arcano-tech tractor engine fading.

"What's going on, another sharp turn? … oh, well fuck us sidways." I began to ask, but then saw the reason for the slowdown.

Ahead of us was a blockade, and behind it were several ponies armed with rifles. At first, I thought raiders, as this was something they would do; blocking off well-traveled routes to extort ponies out of their hard-earned caps. Though most times they would accept chems as payment, and even sex was viable payment for them. Though it was never a guarantee that they won't still rape and kill everpony, then rape the corpses. When your brain is fried from prolonged chem abuse, you tend to be more monster than pony.

But nope, it wasn't raiders that we could just kill and not feel bad about it, it was something even worse, bandits. Not that I wouldn't feel bad about killing bandits, they were still going to try and extort us like raiders. No, the problem was that they did more than put a jittery sniper on watch, they liked to rig shit to explode, or some other trap to deter ponies from choosing violence as an option. And looking around, I then saw the explosives already next to us, half buried underground, having been hidden behind a rock. A sign behind the bomb that said "Stay calm or get fucked!" We either had to deal with them politely, or go back and find another route around the mountain.

"Well, looky here! I not seen a motor wagon like that in my life before." A bandit called out as he trotted over. His leather duster and wide brim hat helped hide his thin, almost ghoulish body. It looked as though he hadn't eaten in over a week, yet trotted with more life then even I felt I had. With each step, he clattered with the sound of iron and brass banging on each other from a rough leather belt, making a “Clink” sound. A decorated pickaxe hung proudly on his side for all to see, with it looking both as a status symbol, tool, and weapon. More importantly was the clearly hoof built breach action rifle and revolver on him, along with two bandoliers that wrapped around his body. As he got closer to get a better look at us, I could see a small lantern on his hat, which had a well-cared for and polished brass emblem depicting crossed pickaxes with the letters S.M.U. over them.

I wasn’t sure, but this looked like the bandit clan Union, who had grown more active in this region over the years. A relatively unknown bandit clan up before the Gardens of Equestria were used. Meaning one thing, they are probably Waste Ponies. Ponies born from ghouls, they lived in the dead radiation saturated parts of the wasteland, isolated from the madness that was the rest of the wasteland.

His eyes then peered at me through his scraggly sweat-soaked white mane and opened wide in surprise. "Now there's a sight I hadn't thought I'd ever seen out here. Star Charter, is that you? Now why's one of the Ruffled Feathers best mares doing out her over shaking your flank on stage. Did ya finally kill a customer or something?" He asked, smiling wide, showing off his black gums which caused me to shiver.

Yep, he was a waste pony to be sure. I don’t know why, but most of their inners were black or near black in color, even if they tended to look albino on the outside.

I patted the Smugglers main gun, Aeternus, making sure the bandits got a good look at the gatling beam gun. "The sheriff actually, and most of her deputies."

He clicked his tongue. "Thought that might happen one day. That bitch always pushed too hard with her idea of justice. Not that I blame her or anything. Spending all those years as a Redeye slave would drive anypony off the edge." The bandit eyed me carefully, clearly sizing me up. "And ain't surprised you did it either. Now if ya put your hooved off that big glowing typewriter gun there, it be mighty polite of you. Same goes for keeping your hooves of that normal one ya got next to ya. Ya, keep em hooves up, and nopony gets an itchy trigger hoof, okay."

With a sigh I raised my hooves up. "So what do you plan to do with us?" I asked.

The bandit smiled at me. "Ain't sure yet, not like we've been expecting nopony up here. We definitely didn't expect ponies with the Desperados colors rolling on through. Trouble we ain't wanting, to tell the truth."

"And trouble you're not going to get." Harp then spoke up. "Were simply making a delivery, and saw nopony up here. You agree?"

The bandit scratched his bearded chin. "Maybe I do. Maybe I'd like to see what you got in their trailer behind your wagon."

"You could, but nothing inside that trailer is ours to give away. You'll need to ask the owner first." Harp calmly told him.

"And ya think we care?" The bandit said as other bandits hidden along the mountain showed themselves, their rifles at the ready.

A sharp whistle then caught everponies attention as a younger bandit stallion trotted out from their hiding spot. "Hay Pa! I think they're the ones going to Percussion's farm. Ya remember she said something about a shipment coming her way." He was dressed much like his father, but was less gaunt, and had a mostly trimmed goatee. His mane and tail was just as white and scraggly as his father, which popped out well on his brown coat.

The older bandit nodded. "Ya, six gun bitch said something about that."

"And, what was it she said to ya… right; I'll hang ya all by your entrails if I find ya fucking with my shit again!" The younger bandit said in a poor done accent that resembled how PC talked.

With a sigh, the older bandit then said. "And no doubt she'd do it too." He then looked at Harp with a tired expression. "So you off to Percussion's place?"

"Percussion Cap's farm, that we certainly are." Harp replied. "A shipment from the Gunrunners she ordered last time she passed through New Appaloosa. Another group you rather not upset, I'm sure."

I watched as several of the bandits tighten their grips around their guns, likely now smelling the steel, brass and gunpowder inside the trailer.

"That's your right little miss stripes. Them griffins are ornery on a good day." He then smiled. "But who's to say anypony will know who was even here. Ain't that right?"

The younger bandit then slugged his father in the arm. "Ma will have a damn word or two. The only pony feeding us right now is Percussion and her ponies. If that mine fails because ya pissed off the only farmer for weeks around, she'll kill us both and feed our corpses to the coyotes."

The older bandit glared at his son for a long moment, then defeat fell onto his face. "Fine, they can pass, but since you're all being responsible, you got ta escort them and talk with Percussion."

The younger bandit rolled his eyes and trotted to the smuggler, grabbing onto a bar along the side and holding himself up to ride. "Alright, they won't shoot nopony so long I'm with ya, so get moving." He then winked at Harp. "Names Pyrope Garnett by the way, and yours is?"

"Her name's Harp, and if ya touch her, you're going to become less of a stallion." I growled out my warning at the bandit.

Pyrope blew me a kiss. "Duly noted miss Star. By the way, will you be putting on any shows out here, just asking."

I groaned internally. "If by shows, you mean wanton violence, then that's a distinct possibility if any idiots try anything."

He smiled, but not that conniving charming smile bandits were known for, but the kind of smile that says "that's what I wanted to hear."

It gave me a bad feeling.

"Well miss Star, things are getting a bit wild out here, so we might just see that show if y'all not careful where ya go." Pyrope told me, and that bad feeling I got only grew.

But then again, if I get to smash a few skulls, then I might feel better. I doubted that Victoria was out here, and it was not like we had the power to fight her right now if we wanted too. But if there was a pony dumb enough to piss me off right now, oh I was going to have fun breaking them.

I flashed a smile back at Pyrope, showing off one of my fangs. "Then we'll be extra careful of where we go."

Safely passing by the bandits, Slowtrot made another turn, giving me a good view of the valley below. Alone in an ocean of dirt was a flat patch of green with several buildings at the center. Further off in the distance and at the base of a mountain I could see what was likely a walled settlement. And further off, just peeking over the horizon was a spot of green, though it strangely has blue spots I could just about make out.

"Looks like we should be there before nightfall." Slowtrot called out. "Unless we have any more stops along the way."

The Smuggler then rolled on, now heading down into the valley. The dry air blew through my mane, and the smell of plant matter with the faint hint of blood passed through my nose. Trouble was on the wind, and I for once was glad about it.

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