Fallout: Equestria - Transcending Darkness

[vx2254]

The Boneyard; ruins of Los Celestis, Equestria's largest city (in terms of area, anyway); and one among many places hit hard during the war. For over Two Hundred years the Boneyard lay silent, the wind flowing through the derelict streets, Mother Nature, or at least the brutal, twisted spawn of what could once be considered such, roaming the streets unchecked.

Not all had perished during the war, no; many had made it to the safety of Stables in and around the sprawling city. Whether it be due to the nature of the Stables, or rubble from ruined buildings blocking out the entrances; many of the ponies who were supposed to have been spared the horrors of Megaspells met their ends, some more gruesome than others.

Still; throughout it all Pony-Kind had learned to adapt to their new world, to survive in a harsh, unforgiving Wasteland of radiation, mutations, and old-world secrets, some of which many believed should stay buried. Some, however, began to question their fears of the old world, pondering the possibilities of going beyond simply surviving, and perhaps; thriving.

It all began to take off several years ago; rumors of a brave adventurer far to the East conquering many powerful foes and some even claim the Unicorn Mare to have been responsible for lifting the cloud cover over Equestria. Still; as the world began to heal some, the many tribes were graced with a new gift from the old world. A vault from the heart of the Boneyard had opened; its residents braving the creatures that had taken up residence in the once-lively and prosperous city to bring to the Tribals something worth more than all the caps in the world.

Nestled under the Great Library; Stable 47 had been a shelter for intellectuals and a safe-haven for knowledge; a bright young Filly seeing through the lies of their Stable-Tech appointed lineage of Overseer's and rally the residents around her; the Dwellers revolting and overwhelming the Overseer and her Security Division, before the survivors of the violence took their first steps into the outside world.

Those who lived through the Revolt and their Exodus from their former home found themselves in the company of friendly and peaceful tribals; primitive ponies whose limited knowledge of the world before had gotten them so far. Contact and communication, however, began to open up a whole new world for the survivors of the War and subsequent centuries. Ancient methods of Agriculture and Industry were re-introduced. Crops now produced a significant excess of food due to Crop Rotation, Advanced Irrigation, and the re-introduction of tools.

The later in the same year after coming into contact with the Stable 47 Ponies; the tribals found use for an old Iron Workshop on the outskirts of the city; industry re-introduced with the repairing of the barely-functional smelter and Forge. Now, with a place to melt down their Scrap-Metal and re-cast it into tools, the Tribals lives improved significantly.

Next came structure and order. Initially a Democracy; the ever-growing Tribes bound themselves together as one great state; united under the strong Hoof of a Monarch. The Idealistic, youthful ponies among the Learned community had pushed the people in favor of a Federal Monarchy; in which member-states retained their own form of self-government, which ultimately answered to one higher symbol of Political Authority. Embracing the Ideals of Enlightenment and meeting the desires of the people halfway with the need for a strong, centralized state; it was agreed that one Pony would serve as Princess, the highest form of Political Authority in the growing state of New Equestria, with reasonable limitations to her power, though unrivaled and undisputed head of state and all matters, domestic and foreign.

Sadly; peace does not last forever. Jealous of the great wealth and Prosperity the united Tribes had worked so long and hard for; aggressive tribes of ponies set themselves to raiding and pillaging; terrorizing the peaceful farming communities that made up a vast majority of the new Principality's territory. Taking it upon themselves to resolve this; the leaders of the Principality had their scouts and scavengers scour the inner city; coming upon an old Munitions Factory a reasonable distance within city limits. Evicting the mutated tenants of the factory; the new State began to produce weapons of war, calling upon the intelligentsia once more for their access to pre-war knowledge, which had helped so much before.

Military Doctrines were uncovered; from successful generals across all the Pre-War periods recorded in pony history. The West watched as the first organized and professional Army the region has seen in years marched through the gates of the Princess' Citadel in the outer Boneyard, straight into the territory of the Hostile tribes. Through their superior training, discipline, and firepower; the Monarchy put down several tribes of raiders; their tribespeople forced to either flee or integrate.

Spirits soared high; a Golden Age descended upon the Ponies of the far Western holdings of the old Principality of Equestria. A new state; using the past as its foundation upon which to build anew. This state had only begin to transcend their dark age, however; despite intensive reforms in Education and Industry, many ponies remained uneducated, and the wastes were a dangerous place, if not because of the mutated flora and fauna, then due to their fellow Ponies as well. Many among the Intelligentsia, who had saved these ponies time and time again, would surely exploit their incompetence, were it not for the Princess, the Benevolent Princess Golden Dawn; head of state and ruler of all territories within New Equestria. Under her guidance; the Intelligentsia has been kept from exploiting the Tribals, who have only just begun to see the light. As a result of her Meritocratic Policies, which have prevented many an entitled Stable-Dweller from attaining the prestigious rank of Nobility; the Princess has made many enemies within her state already, and now it seems; newcomers encroach on their lands, whose intentions may not be in the best interests of the people.

The New Canterlot Republic; looking to expand its wealth and influence through the reconstruction of Equestria. An admirable and similar goal, though they are guided under the Political Ideology of a Republic; "by the ponies, for the ponies". They lack a traditional Head of State, instead relying upon an elected Senate of representatives from the common population to guide them to prosperity; giving the commoners a greater sense of entitlement and control over the system.

The Steel Rangers; dedicated to pre-war technology, finding it and preserving it no matter what the costs. Their distrust of outsiders with the safe use of Pre-War tech, chiefly weapons, has led to open confrontation with the NCR, and a subsequent rift in the order known as Applejack's Rangers; an organization dedicated to preserving pre-war tech so that it might be used to help Equestria rebuild and flourish.

Alicorns; strange beasts previously unseen and unheard of, forced West in the wake of the Goddess' destruction. Some seem genuinely helpful, others malicious, and others still completely insane, having lost their minds due to having spent so much time as part of the Unity before, now incapable of coping with the silencing of their dear Goddess' voice.

And alas; not all is perfect within the Kingdom itself. The Intelligentsia has become drunk with success; many becoming greedy and entitled, believing they should not waste any more time on the simpleton ponies now so eagerly wrapped around their hooves, but rather; use them to expand, be it out into the wastes or further into the Boneyard. Still; the Military's loyalty and Citizenry's great approval of Golden Dawn keeps them at bay, for the time being.

While the vast majority of the Intelligentsia schemes and broods over Golden Dawn's perceived weakness; the Citizenry faces its own issues as well. Many are very well aware Zebra's were responsible for dropping the first bombs which condemned Equestria to its doom centuries ago, and continue to harbor a deep hatred for the race. Gryphons are treated little better; perceived as aggressive and generally obnoxious by the Ponies of New Equestria; old cultural differences continue to cause a rift between the Pony Majority and what few Gryphons live in New Equestria. Racial tensions are nowhere near as high between Ponies as Gryphons as they are with Zebra's, though; yet no records exist indicating the Gryphon Kingdoms did anything to help Equestria in its time of need, seen by many and cause enough for suspicion at the least, and for a few, as justification for discrimination.

Finally; Religious Zeal proves itself a rather minor and annoying issue in the New Principality. In the wake of the war; many in the Tribes that formed afterwards turned to their faith that the Princess' would always watch over them, even without their mortal forms to tie them to this world. This conflicts with the Secular Intelligentsia, which believes that even though the Princess' once lived and ruled the affairs of mere mortals; their mortality was proven by the war, marking an end of their time and the beginning of a new age when Ponies must instead rely upon each other, rather than promises that long-dead Goddess' would do anything to help them. This in and of itself had caused internal strife between the devout and the Intelligentsia, though such tensions as of late have been directed outwards, at Alicorns; labeled by the more Zealous as horrid abominations; testaments to the hubris of those who came before, contributing to the divine punishment sent down to purge the world of sin so that the true believers may start anew under the tender embrace of Celestia's divine Sun and the peaceful respite of Luna's holy Moon.

Even through all this; many strong figures of authority and loyal believers of their Nation's values exist within the growing Principality. One such Pony, a Cavalier by the name of Crossfire, leads the Princess' Elite force of soldiers; trained and armed beyond the best of the Royal Guard, and the most educated individuals, be they of Tribal or Stable-Dweller descent. The young Mare has proven herself quite capable time and time again in training; her recently-obtained Cutie-Mark pertaining to Marksmanship and ability with Pistols, her skills and ability to learn quickly earning her rapid promotion among the ranks of the Cavaliers. Young Crossfire had even impressed her Majesty during an inspection; her lightning-fast reflexes and tact giving her an edge over most others among the Cavaliers. Rumor's have it the Princess has her eye on Crossfire as an heir to the throne of the aging Monarch, whose health has been failing as of late. Such rumors, however, are only half-truths. While Her Majesty may very well intend for Crossfire to take the reins of leadership; even the highly-talented young mare has her flaws. Being Socially Reclusive is the first among many such traits; her incapability of sitting through small-talk and avoidance of large crowds in favor of isolation a matter of concern for her superiors. Still; her open-minded was has allowed for some improvement; interaction with fellow Cavaliers providing some hope that maybe someday, she could overcome such issues. In the meantime, however; the Cavaliers had more important matters to concern themselves with; to establish contact between the Principality and these encroaching Ponies; to observe and report, so that they might know who to consider friends and who to consider Enemies...

---

Crossfire stood alone on a ridge overlooking a small encampment. This was the first signs of life she'd seen this far from the borders since the scouts reported the presence of strange new ponies, and it did not bode well at all. Smoke rose from the encampment below; obvious signs of a struggle, which it seemed these newcomers had lost.

"Raiders, you think?" An Earth Pony Stallion asked, stepping beside his Lieutenant and gazing over the edge of the slope.

"Possibly... Sir." The much smaller Pegasus Mare replied, caught between her thoughts and reality.

"Hmm... Let's get moving, then. Everypony; keep low and move fast, there might be survivors in need of our assistance." The captain of the small entourage said, the others complying and moving quickly.

Crossfire joined her comrades and they descended the slope towards the flatlands below; keeping an eye and ear out for danger. They approached the burnt tents; some still smoldering in the mid-morning breeze. A banner sat amidst the carnage; too burnt-out for them to recognize, but still.

If there were any survivors in this mess; they would have surely recognized the Cavaliers by now. Their dusty, brown Uniforms reinforced with leather armor gave them away as more than just Raiders, as did the Coat-of-Arms of Celestia's Pre-War Monarchy that was woven onto the shoulders of the Uniform.

The Cavaliers picked through the wreckage; looking for anything useful to salvage, or anypony still alive. Eventually, Crossfire came upon a collapsed tent, which moved slightly as she passed. Without hesitation, she drew a pistol and aimed it at the figure now outlined within the tent, admittedly taken by surprise by the sudden, unannounced presence.

"Identify yourself!" She exclaimed, watching as the figure beneath the tent froze, prompting her to switch her safety off, staring the figure right where its eyes would be, were they not currently covered.

[SongHeart]

((this thing didn't die completely did it?))

it had been late at night and young Silver Secret had been lying in her tent. her family had never liked staying in one placed so they just moved in tents along with other ponies like themselves who would rather not settle down in one place. it was late at night and Silver heard a scream. she woke up and saw that her tent was burning. she started to run out but the entrance was already burning. her silver and pink mane standing on end, as was her light pinkish purple fur. she was trapped in the tent. she had never been so scared in all her (human equivalent to) 12 years. the screams stopped and she guessed everyone had forgot her and run off. after a few hours the tent had stopped burning and she saw something outside the tent. she moved a little closer to see what it was. then she was startled by a voice "identify yourself!" it screamed. she was to scared to say anything and backed up. she could see the shadow of the pistol through the tent. she grabbed her sword (bandits came around often so even the foals and fillies in the little caravan had some kind of weaopn) and cut a hole in the tent and ran out.