I followed the link to this story (posted in Testing's Pony Image thread), out of curiousity. Thanks to Nitram, Fallout is a familiar setting, and I was wondering how My Little Pony could fit into the post-apocalyptic 1950s wasteland. I was not prepared for a nearly 50-chapter saga, nor was I expecting the quality of writing from the author, who goes by Kkat. I was drawn in, unable to stop reading. I *had* to know what happened next, and it was sheer torture tearing myself away for sleep, food, or anything else. There are very few Professional Writers who can hold my attention like that -- in a FanFic it's a sure sign of a writer who knows his source material and has a Talent for writing.It's Fallout! With Ponies!
KKat knows his source material. Equestria is turned into a wasteland as dangerous as the Core of the first two Fallout games, with appropriate changes for Ponies: Stables instead of Vaults, PipBucks for Pipboys, Barding for Armor. The story starts like the first Fallout games, with a good reason to leave the Stable. From there, the storyline sends the Stable-Dweller off on adventures in a homage to the Fallout narratives, with heavy borrowing from the DC Wasteland.
While your Heroine explores the Wasteland, multiple terminals and "memory orbs" provide audio-visual flashbacks to Equestria Before. Kkat builds a grand mystery of the fates of the Mane 6, as well as what happened to end the world. The author is a master of Chekhov's Gun, and they are used with precision and flair. The revelations of the past are bitter-sweet, showing Equestria at war with the Zebra, and how all the best intentions went wrong.
Kkat shows the Mane 6 lovingly, and abuses his heroine humorously, but this is not a Kid's Story. My only problem was how badly the Heroine (and the allies that join her) get shot up. If I didn't recall how fast Nitram goes through MedPacks in game, I'd think Kkat was enjoying seeing the team beat down.
Shout-outs to both Fallout and MLP are everywhere. Canterlot, Manehatten, Fillydelphia, and Ponyville are all here, in wasteland decrepitude. TenPenny Tower, the floating eye-bots blaring music, the Enclave, and of course 3-Dog's helpful broadcasts are Pony-fied and put to great use, as DJ-Pon3 rules the airwaves. Favorite background ponies are given roles suited to their natures, mostly in the past; although this is Fallout, and there are Ghouled ponies who survived the Apocalypse.
In the end, the story becomes a sweeping change over the Wasteland, where choices are made for good and ill that change the Wasteland forever. The mystery of what started the war, and how it ended is revealed, and somehow, amazingly, it all ends in Sunshine & Rainbows.
Read this story. If you play Fallout, there are Mods available to not only turn you into a Pony, but also give you access to some of the fun weapons within the story. If you love the Mane-6, the tale is going to make you cry. I consider it one of the best I've read all year.
