Prologue

War. War...never changes. When the megaspells rained down from the heavens, most ponies fled into the stables into a false sense of safety. Those who didn't make it either died, mutated, or just tried to survive. When the balefire cleared, many heroes came forth from the ashes of the apocalypse: Littlepip, Blackjack, Puppysmiles, to name a few. No tale about the heroes of the Southern Wasteland has ever been told. Until the memoirs of a caravaneer were discovered. This is his story.

"No more Mr. Nice Unicorn..."

The hot desert sun beat down on me as I moved my pack brahmin, Ol' Bessie, through the desert that was the Southern Equestrian Wasteland. I was your typical unicorn caravaneer, wearing a pre-war explorer's outfit that shielded me from the sun. I suppose a better description of myself would have to do, to avoid any questioning on my appearance. I am a red unicorn with a black mane and blue eyes. I wear a pre-war fedora that I found while scavenging for new items to sell. My cutie mark is a pre'war bit, signifying my talent for buying and selling. About my family...well, there is a lot to say. After the megaspells fell, my ancestors struggled to survive in the wastes, often trading with raiders, mercenaries, and the like to make a living. My parents named me Renegade, for my rebellious attitude. 2 years ago, I had inherited the family's caravan, determined to carry on the trade that made my family famous among the local communies. Where was I? Oh right, wandering the wastes. Ol' Bessie and I were wandering the wasteland, heading to a small town called New Dodge Junction to make a few deliveries. As we neared the town, we came upon a group of raiders. Now, these fellows were shielded from head to hoof in cloth, and from the look of it, they seemed to be earth ponies. "Hello, my fellow wastelanders," I greeted. "How's about we bargain a little?" At this point, one of the raiders, which I will refer to as Nomads from this point on, was in my face, growling at me. I drew my pistol, which I had been keeping in my pocket, at the wretch. One of the raiders shouted, "GET 'IM!" and the group surrounded me. I began to shoot frantically, but it was 5 against 1, so I was outnumbered. From there, everything went black.

Maybe you'll think of me

When you are all alone...

I woke up, almost blinded by a sudden flash of light. Where was I? From the looks of it, I was in some sort of hospital bed. Slowly getting up, I felt a sudden pain and fell off the bed. Looking around for any medical supplies, I saw something on a nearby table. It seemed to be a machine, however a hoof-sized one. Observing it a little more closely, I could see it was a PipBuck, like the ones I heard about when I was little. However this model seemed to be a bit older, and a bit clunkier. Slowly picking it up, it felt its weight, apparently moderate heavy. Placing it on my right hoof, it immediaetly clasped around it, locking the PipBuck in place. ROBRONCO BRAND PIPBUCK 2000 PLUS, the startup screen read. That's when I noticed I was completely naked. My outfit must have been taken while I was unconcious. I noticed another thing on the table. It was folded. It was blue. Unfolding it, I could see it was a jumpsuit with a 45 on the back. I started piecing the puzzle together and finally figured it out: I was in a Stable! But why was nopony around? Putting on my new jumpsuit, I decided to look around the facility for answers. Slowly exiting the doctor's room I was in, I decided to use my PipBuck's map to navigate my around the halls, squishing some radroaches along the way, I began looking for some weapons to use. Finding nothing but a BB gun, I continued to look for answers. "Attention all Stable 45 residents, theCatzador infestation is under control." the PA system droned. Thankfully, I did not need the PipBuck's radio to tell me this. "What in the name of Celestia is a Catzador?" I wondered. My question was immediately answered by a loud buzzing noise. Turning around, I was greeting by a horrible thing that looked like a combination of housecat and wasp. "FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK!" I shouted as I shot the thing with a few bullets. Finally, the thing was half-dead. Quickly running, I knew I had to get out of here. Running to nowhere in particular, I finally found what I assumed was the Overstallion's office. Accesing the terminal, I found a file reading "CATZADOR EXPERIMENT-FAILURE''. I clicked on it. This is what appeared on the screen:

"The experiment was a failure. Everyone's dead. I knew this would turn out badly, but no one listened. The very thought of crossing feline with insect was against nature itself. For anyone who is left, I will tell the sad tale that is-was Project Pet. Our goal was a simple one: To create a new breed of pet for the Stable's inhabitants. Our scientists tried everything, but they all failed. Eventually, we created what was supposed to be the perfect pet: Cute, yet vicious at the same time. As the Catzadors grew, so did their hostile nature. Eventually, we had to evacuate the facility when the Catzadors turned against us. Everypony died trying to escape, or didn't escape at all. Please, for anyone out there, please destroy this Sta-GET AWAY YOU DAMN DIRTY BUGS! GET AWA-"

Going back to the main screen, I realized I had to destroy whatever remained of the Catzadors, or die trying. Outside, I could see a whole bunch of angry Catzadors swarming in to get me. Clicking the file that said, "EMERGENCY SELF-DESTRUCT", I ran for it. A rumbling, then rocks falling, was heard, crushing the small swarm that pursued me. Soon I entered the small passageway that led outsiide. It was littered with dead Catzadors and ponies. The small wooden door that led outside was already open, so obviously a few Catzadors had escaped. Realizing that my time was almost up, I dove for the door. I had escaped in the nick of time: The Stable had caved in. I stood wielding my BB gun. Now I had to find Ol' Bessie and the Nomads.

LEVEL UP!

Perk gained- Sharpshoot: 'You skill with guns impresses friend and foe alike.'

"The wastes ain't a place for a Celestia-damned caravaneer."

I stood on the hill where Stable 45 once stood, BB gun in my hoof. I didn't know where to go, but hopefully the road would lead me to Ol' Bessie. Looking at my PipBuck, I could see various buttons, each labeled for a specific function. Pressing the button labeled MAPS, the PipBuck began scanning-actually scanning the enviroment around me. Deciding to follow the map, I began heading southward. I walked through the desert for a little while, not knowing where I was headed. After a while, I could see what looked like a town in the distance. "Finally, some civilization." I muttered under my breath. Coming closer to the town, I could see a sign. WELCOME TO WATERHOLE, it read in crudely written letters. As I walked ever closer, I heard a voice shout, "HALT!" It had a gruff tone to it, almost as if it were either a ghoul or some REALLY pissed off stallion. Turns out, it was neither of those, but rather a medium sized griffon.

And he had a revolver pointed straight at me.

"Whoa, there buddy. No need to point guns at ponies." I said nervously. The eagle-lion hybrid narrowed his eyes at me, and they seemed to say, Likely story. Now get away before I shoot the fuck out of you. A few minutes of silence passed, and the griffon finally spoke. "Who the hell are you, and what do you want?" he asked, reloading his gun with a KA-CHUCK sound. Thinking quickly, I blurted out, "I am a simple caravaneer who's stuff got stolen." The griffon cocked his head for a moment, then laughed a deep, burly laugh. "Got your stuff stolen, eh? I know how that feels, buddy." he said before clearing his throat. "Anyways, I'm Ironclaw." he said, extending his left talon to me. Shocked for a moment, I finally shook it. "I'm Renegade." I replied, still a bit nervous. Ironclaw put his revolver onto his back, and began leading me into Waterhole. It was a simple frontier town, with a saloon, gambling house, and sheriff's office. The buildings were made out of aged wood, with the saloon and gambling house having neon signs, the other buildings having typical typeface signs. Ironclaw spoke again. "Geez, Renegade, you looked parched. Would you like me to buy ya a drink?" he asked kindly. "Sure." I replied. It was true, my throat was quite dry, and I could use a drink. We entered the saloon, which was called Oasis.

Taking a seat at the bar, Ironclaw pounded the table in impatience. "Oh, hey Ironclaw." the bartender said in a friendly tone. "So, new guy in town?" he asked, referring to me. "Yeah." Ironclaw replied. "Get me two Victory Punches." Now, for those of you who don't know, Victory Punch was a drink they made back in the days before the war. It was sorta like carbonated fruit punch, and it had a variety of flavors, like Party Pineapple, Banan-za, and Fruit Punch. We Southerners use the caps as the main currency, due to Sparkle-Cola and Sunrise Sarsparilla being scarce in the south. "Five caps." the bartender said. Ironclaw counted out five blue bottle caps with stars on 'em, and gave them to the bartender. As we drank, Ironclaw told me a bit about himself. He was the deputy sheriff of Waterhole, and his boss was a Ms. Peach Cobbler. They had been having some problems with a gang of troublemakers, led by an earth pony named Full House, who ran the casino. Ironclaw also told me he was an expert in guns and heavy weapons, and he could teach me a few things. All of a sudden, we both heard a scream. "Speak of Tartarus. Sounds like Full House is causing trouble again." Ironclaw said, readying his revolver. "Wanna come with me?" he asked. I nodded.

Level up!

Quest added-'Find out what is happening at the casino.'

Perk gained-Cola Casanova-"Being an expert in all things carbonated, your Dehydration goes down 15 percent when you drink soda."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oh my god, guys! I'm sorry for not updating, I was very busy and forgot about this story. Anyway, guys, here's the fourth chapter of Fallout: Equestria - Memories of a Caravaneer! Epic Rainbow (a new character in the story) belongs to EpicRainbow 123.

Walking towards the casino with Ironclaw, I decided to ask him a few questions about this "Full House" guy. Besides, the walk was getting a bit tedious, and I just felt like starting up a conversation. "So...who is this guy, anyway?" I asked Ironclaw. Looking back at me, Ironclaw gave a small chuckle. "Well, it's a bit of a long story, but I'll give you the short version. Basically a couple of hoodlums came into town, looking for a place to stay. The pony who led them, Full House, bought out the casino and has been causin' trouble ever since." he said, his expression turning back into a serious one.

Eventually, we got to the casino. Putting my ear against the door, I could hear the sounds of stallions laughing and a mare's terrified screams. "Careful, Renegade." Ironclaw warned. "These guys are a bunch of bad eggs. Handle with care." Nodding, I slowly walked into the building, being very careful not to make a sound. Inside, there was a purple mare tied to a large pole, probably a support beam, and a group of rather burly stallions surrounding her. The mare had emerald green eyes, and a rainbow heart symbol on her flank. But what struck me as a surprise was this: her mane. It was a variety of colors, almost like...a rainbow. Could she be one of those "Dashites" I had been hearing about all my life? No, of course not. Dashites had Rainbow Dash's cutie mark branded on their flanks, so she couldn't have been part of the Enclave. There was no time to ponder, I had to do something, and fast. "Where's the money?" I heard the center stallion ask as I kept myself hidden. I guessed he was Full House. "How many bucking times do I have to say it? I don't know!" the mare replied, struggling to get free. Screw it, I'm not hiding anymore. I thought. Firing my gun to get the stallions' attention, I called, "End of the line, Full House. It looks like you haven't played your cards right."

Taking that as his cue, I saw Ironclaw walk in, his gun readied. Turning around, the center stallion growled. From what I saw, he seemed to be a large beige earth pony, with a mane and beard as black as midnight. "Hey, boys, lookie what we got here." the stallion said to his cronies, who sneered at us. "Deputy Ironclaw and some random stable-dweller. What do they call ya, boy?" Full House asked me, a manure-eating grin on his face. "Renegade." I replied, scowling at him. The stallion gave a laugh. No, it sounded more like a herd of buffalo than a laugh. "More like Fruit Punch." he taunted. That set me off. Aiming my gun, I growled, "You take that back, you bloated sack of dung."

"Or what?" Full House asked. Aiming my gun at one of the mooks that surrounded the mare, I fired. Next thing he knew, the guy was lying in a pool of his own blood. I'd shot him straight in the back. Giving an impressed whistle, Full House grinned. "Impressive. But look at what's up my sleeve." All of a sudden, bullets began flying left and right. Knocking over a table for cover, Ironclaw yelled, "Renegade, get the mare outta here!" The griffon then opened fire on Full House and his cronies. Using my magic, I untied the mare and grabbed her hoof. "Let's go while we still can." I told her. 'No." she replied. I gave her a look that said, 'What do you mean no?' "Look, I can take care of myself. Go help Ironclaw." Obeying, I slid next to Ironclaw and began shooting. Ironclaw had taken care of most of the cronies, so there weren't many left, maybe around 4 or 5. I realized that my bullets weren't working, and I was running out. Looking at my PipBuck's monochromatic gray screen, I looked for something that could help me. Soon, I found something called "SATS". Selecting it, it felt as though time stopped.

I found myself aiming my gun at a henchpony's body, but it was divided by lines, one for the head and torso, four for the hooves and legs each. Deciding the henchpony wasn't my target, I aimed for Full House's head. I had 4 bullets left, so I selected his head two times, and fired. All of sudden, time sped up again, and Full House's body was lying on the ground, a splatter of blood where his head was. The few remaining henchponies were either killed or knocked out. Wait, knocked out? Who could have-? My question was soon answered. The purple mare from before was standing over one of the henchponies, a chair in her hooves. Ironclaw got up from behind the table and looked all around. "It's finally over." he said, sounding relieved.

Sometime later, after Ironclaw had a small talk with the sheriff, I found him standing next to me outside Waterhole's entrance. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "Coming with ya. I've retired. You could use a companion." Ironclaw replied. "You said it." a female voice said out of nowhere. "Oh, hey Epic." Ironclaw greeted. "Renegade, this is Epic Rainbow. She runs the general store in Waterhole." Shaking her hoof, I gave her a warm friendly smile. "What are you doing here? Didn't you say you could take care of yourself?" I asked. Epic nodded. "Yeah, but I owe ya one. You saved my life." Looking down the crumbling road that stretched from Waterhole onwards, I smiled. Well, it's gonna be a long way to Ol' Bessie. I thought.

Perk(s) gained:

Trigger Happy-'With Ironclaw as your companion, you gain +10 accuracy with firearms.'

Taste the Painbow-'With Epic Rainbow as your companion, you gain +11 strength when fighting alongside her.'