-
The throes of war have left Equestria's once pristine landscape desolate, dusty, and drained of life- a wasteland, in short, and one of terrifying nature. It teems with all manner of dangerous creatures warped by the lingering of darkest magics that now pollutes the countryside. The towns and cities themselves have been reduced to little more than rubble and ruin, remaining as ghosts to remind ponykind of what once was, and perhaps never will be again. Unity as it was is a thing a pony can only dream of, when such destruction of the old world is laid out at their hooves, and though divided by what their ancestors have wrought, the ponies formed new tribes, new villages, and persevere in the face of all odds. The Wastelands are a perilous and inhospitable thing to be sure, but when it comes to survival? Where there's a will, there's a way.
___
The Story So Far...
"Whenever Starswirl travels in time, he is very careful not to tell us anything about our future.
Though I can see in his eyes there may be troubled times ahead for Equestria." - The Journal of Two Sisters.
Once, long ago when the royal sisters were young, newly crowned as princesses of Equestria, they had received a cry for help from the Crystal Empire. The Crystal Heart had been stolen by a dragon that, in legends, had laid claim to the jewel-and-crystal rich Crystal Mountains from whence the Crystal Heart had come. He had reclaimed that prize for his own, and left the Crystal Empire downtrodden and unprotected. The sisters gathered a force of Pegasi, and with a spell given to them by Starswirl the Bearded, they had flown to face the dragon and retrieve the Crystal Heart. Celestia had hoped to talk the dragon into returning it, but his disrespect and spite provoked her rage and she used the Royal Canterlot Voice, frightening him into giving it back. The Crystal Empire was saved!
A thousand and thirteen years later, the dragon reawoke from one of his long slumbers. His cave had been bricked in by large chunks of stone. He remembered the small pony princess who had shouted at him so, who had managed to frighten him so badly. Believing she had used some wretched pony magic on him and tried to bury him alive, he grew furious and dug his way out of his cave. On the precipice, he vowed to exact vengeance on those who would move against him.
The Crystal Empire was his first target.
Word of its destruction reached Canterlot by a shocked survivor. Concerned, Celestia sent the six to investigate. A few days later, a letter arrived from Spike, spelling out the death of their most beloved Princess of Friendship. Celestia was heartbroken by the news, while Luna demanded they act at once and find who could have taken down the Bearer of Magic! It sparked a fight between the two sisters, one who felt her emotions were being pushed aside and the other who felt the safety of Equestria was more important. Their feud left them blinded to the dangerous force sweeping across the land, and their failure to act sparked discord, and later revolt, among Equestria's citizens.
Within a few months, the princesses were usurped from the throne and cast out with each on her own, while the fighting among the ponies and beyond slowly crumbled into all out war as ponies chose sides, formed new factions, and struggled to seize power. Along the way, the use of dark magic was encouraged, and though the name of the one responsible was lost to time, its effect slowly corrupted the land over the course of two-hundred years of war. Healthy plants no longer grew and thus food became scarce, while clean water was difficult to find.
Equestria had become a wasteland.
Torn by what had befallen their once-great nation, the Celestia and Luna reunited at the Tree of Harmony. used the elements one last time to put an end to the fighting. This action took most of their power to stop it, but it did not bring true peace. The hearts of the ponies would no doubt be forever darkened by the war, and by what their nation had become. And the sisters themselves would forever be known to history as demons, as with all of the alicorn race with them.
___
You can find the dream itself to roleplay in on the Street Corner in the Imaginarium! It goes by the name "The Wasteland."
*Disclaimer: This is not Fallout Equestria, and does not follow its storyline. There is a FoE dream in AI for that particular roleplay- this dream is completely separate and original.
