7: To Save the World
Five minutes later, a still-broken Twilight found herself back out in the open air, miles away from the power plant outside a different building. This time, to her relief, she sensed nothing except the everpresent background energy—radiation, she corrected herself—of the area; the remnants of the disaster that had once poisoned the town beyond the point of habitation.
“What’s this place?” she asked for what felt like the hundredth time that day, looking around in confusion before spotting an odd sculpture.
“We are now standing outside the Chernobyl fire station, my student,” Celestia explained, her mane and tail still visibly glowing, if not as intensely as before. “This complicated statue you see… in fact went up after the disaster.”
“After?” Twilight blinked in surprise, stifling another sniffle. “But I would have thought this area was too contaminated!”
“The worst contamination subsided fairly quickly, once further radioactive release ceased. This was thanks in large part to a literal army of ‘liquidators’, as the Soviets called them; soldiers who cleansed the area and cleaned up the radioactive debris. They worked tirelessly and despite the danger to prevent any further steam explosions, and later entomb both the reactor and the contaminated fragments of the core.
“In the end, they succeeded, preventing a far greater catastrophe. From the firefighters who initially fought the flames to the army soldiers who came later, they saved many lives and prevented the disaster from becoming immeasurably worse.”
“Then this is a memorial?” Twilight realized in disbelief.
“Yes, my student. It is in fact made of the same concrete as the reactor sarcophagus—the cement tomb that originally contained the destroyed reactor before that dome you saw replaced it. Can you translate the inscription?”
Her emotions still raw, Twilight had some trouble doing so, but was finally able to dig up enough focus, remembering the Ibexian tongue. “To those who saved the world.”
“Well done. A bit of an exaggeration perhaps, but nevertheless, a valid sentiment,” Celestia confirmed. “I promised you there was redemption in this story, Twilight. And you see the start of it here.”
Twilight considered that, only to shake her head. “But a monument doesn’t undo what happened, Princess! Or bring back the dead!”
“But it does give their passing meaning, and ensures that neither the disaster nor their sacrifice in the face of it will be forgotten,” Celestia answered patiently. “Thirty-three years ago, the people of this land fought a war, Twilight. A war unlike any they ever faced in their long and oft-unhappy history, but a war they nonetheless had to win. Not just for their own sake, but that of the entire continent.”
“They fought a war? How?” An uncomprehending Twilight could only stare up at the statues. “This wasn’t a physical enemy, Princess! It was an invader as insidious and ever-present as the air itself! It got everywhere, and it couldn’t be stopped! All they could do was flee it!
“And yet they did not,” Celestia noted, her calm tone in marked contrast to Twilight’s quavering one. “That vehicle graveyard outside the city is evidence enough of that. And in doing so, they prevented an even worse disaster from befalling not just this area, but perhaps the greater region.”
“Worse?” What could be worse than…? THIS?
“Worse,” Celestia confirmed with another bow of her head. “The initial explosions were potentially only the opening salvos. With the core exposed and burning, there was a danger of additional, and even more powerful steam explosions should it burn through enough floors to reach the water remaining in the basement coolant tanks, and the distinct possibility the other three reactors could be compromised by it.
“If that happened, the contamination could become exponentially worse and the affected area far wider, rendering a large part of the entire continent both uninhabitable and unfit for agriculture. But it did not.”
“Wh-Why not?” Twilight could scarcely imagine there was some part of this story that was not the worst case.
“In order to prevent it, they had to send three volunteers from the plant day shift to go into the basement beneath the still-burning pile, with the mission to manually open the sluice gates to drain the cooling water tanks in case the core should burn through to them. They knew it to be a suicide mission from the radiation dose they were likely to receive, and yet they went. And remarkably, they not only succeeded, they survived.” Celestia’s smile turned coy for just a moment.
Despite the description, Twilight’s shoulders slumped further. “I grant they were heroes, but that’s still only three.”
“But even then, the danger was not over. There was a chance that the Arcanocite could burn all the way through the base of the building to the groundwater below, both contaminating it and causing another steam explosion at least on the order of the first. To prevent it, they dug tunnels beneath the base to inject liquid nitrogen to freeze the area and cool the pile, and later, they enlisted a cadre of coal miners to dig much larger tunnels to install a machine that would vent excess heat and cool the pile more quickly.
“They, too, did so despite the danger and the knowledge that they were poisoning themselves, perhaps fatally. In the end, the core did not escape the building, and its remains still rest where you saw it to this day.”
“A few dozen brave workers more, then. Perhaps worthy of remembrance, but still nothing compared to all... this!” Twilight insisted.
“No? Six hundred pilots were used to airdrop sand and boron on the fire, flying those vehicles you saw. One later crashed during the entombing effort. Many fell ill, but they knew the danger and still they went.”
Twilight blinked, then shook her head again. “But they were just soldiers, following orders!”
“Do you truly believe it’s that simple, my student?” Celestia gave her a rare reproachful look. “Take it from me that even well-trained soldiers have their limits. They will not obey orders they feel are unjust or sacrifices their lives to no valid purpose. And even when such a purpose exists, ‘following orders’ still takes great courage and resolve in the face of such extreme danger and certainty of death.”
Twilight felt her own resolve start to crack at that. “I see your point, Princess. But…” She suddenly couldn’t think of any more objections.
Celestia did not wait for her to come up with one. “And finally, there was the literal army of soldiers—fully half a million—they mobilized to the task of evacuation and decontamination, removing the residents while clearing and cleansing the area,” Celestia concluded. “Just like the pilots, they did so, even knowing the danger. And to borrow a phrase I heard only recently, ‘if you tell me that is not enough, I won’t believe you.’”
Though she had no idea who her mentor was quoting, Twilight finally fell silent as Celestia went on. “And those are but the most prominent examples. There are in fact many others I could mention. So consider, my student, the many workers; firefighters and pilots alike who braved intense radiation to perform rescues and put out the fire.
“Think of the many medical workers who risked contamination to care for and comfort the afflicted—many of whom they did indeed succeed in saving.
“Think of the human scientists and engineers who worked feverishly to find solutions to a disaster that had never happened before, preventing an even worse one from occurring.
“Think of the workers who volunteered for the suicide mission to drain the broken water tanks beneath the facility to prevent a second steam explosion.
“Think of the miners who dug underneath the building to install machinery that would cool the pile down more quickly despite the heat and radioactive output.
“And finally, think of the countless thousands of soldiers who did their duty to cleanse and contain not just the site but the entire area, even knowing the danger they were in. In the end, they did so not because they were ordered to… but because, for the sake of their friends, their families, and even for neighboring nations, they understood that it had to be done. That is ultimately what this monument memorializes, my student.” Celestia gave Twilight a firm look for only a brief moment before turning towards the memorial, her gaze softening.
Twilight considered that, only to shake her head again, if with somewhat less certainty than before. “All well and good, Princess. But still just meaningless symbolism unless it resulted in serious reforms. Unless steps were taken in the names of the fallen to ensure this horror could never happen again!”
“I couldn’t agree more, my student. And so did it come to pass.” Celestia smiled. “In the years that followed, the design flaws of the remaining reactors of this type were examined and corrected, ensuring this catastrophe could never recur. The disaster also rocked the foundations of the Soviet Union to its core, finally exposing the bankruptcy of its governing philosophy; the false belief of its leaders in its own manifest destiny and infallibility.
“Forced to humble themselves before international opinion and pay a massive cleanup cost—this on top of the economic stagnation and a failing military campaign their own blinders and blunders had brought upon their nation—the Soviet leadership recommitted themselves to the twin programs of Glasnost and Perestroika in an attempt to reform the Soviet Union and make it viable again.”
“Openness and restructuring?” Twilight instantly translated.
Celestia gave Twilight an approving nod. “Very good, my student. But in the end, the rot went too deep. The reform programs failed, and the Soviet Union collapsed, dissolving surprisingly peacefully into its many component countries. That was not always the case with some of its vassal nations that made up the eastern bloc, and there are tensions between many of the former Soviet states to this day. But that is a story for another time.”
Celestia walked forward to face the memorial again. “In short, many lives were lost needlessly, but many more were saved heroically, and those who fell did not die in vain. You are correct that the leadership of this now-former nation failed their people utterly in the leadup and immediate aftermath to this event. But their people did not in their response to it.
“The citizens of this land rose to the occasion magnificently. And they did so not for the sake of their state or its leadership, but for the sake of all—for, as this inscription says, the sake of the entire world,” she recited reverently, then bowed her head once more.
“Such folly. Such hubris. Such appalling arrogance and utter ignorance, to both the danger and the potential for disaster. But such heroism. Such selfless sacrifice. Such devotion to duty and to each other. Such incredible efforts in the face of the unimaginable. And such far-reaching consequences that were, in the end, much for the better,” she stated with certainty.
“Make no mistake, Twilight—I condemn unreservedly the system of government and backwards state of mind that led to this cataclysm, but I admire immensely the response to it over the weeks and months that followed, and see within it a window into the very soul of humanity.”
With that, she raised her gaze to her student’s, causing Twilight to start when she realized that Celestia’s eyes were likewise glimmering, and for the first time, there was a tremor of emotion in her voice.
“And that is the lesson I wish you to draw from this place, my student. Not just of the disaster, but of what came after. That humanity is capable of great wrongs, but even greater rights in the face of overwhelming adversity.” She paused just long enough for Twilight to absorb her statement before continuing. “Their resiliency and ability to turn tragedy into a victory over the most implacable of foes, using it as the motivation and means to better themselves is something we can learn from, and is something we, as ponies, should aspire to.”
With those words, Celestia materialized two objects encased in crystal—a pair of medals, Twilight realized; she didn’t want to think of how much magic was necessary to summon them all the way from Equios. “Princess, those are Equestrian awards!”
“Indeed they are. The Celestial Seal of Sacrifice, and the Defender of Harmony, though by strange coincidence, they are also awards of valor given by the human state of Equios,” she noted with a wry grin as Twilight’s eyes went wide at the last.
“I see you recognize their import, my student. The first, as you know, was traditionally given to soldiers and civilians alike who fell in armed conflict, but as I say, this was a war no less than a real one.
“The second, of course, is Equestria’s highest civilian and military award, given for acts of utmost valor in defense of other lives. I do not give the latter lightly, Twilight. There have in fact been but forty awarded over my long reign. But in my mind, if there is anything that defines the idea of utmost valor, it is the response of those depicted to this disaster.”
She laid the medals, along with a scroll of proclamation written in Ibexian from the Equios crown, on the base of the main statue by the flowers. She then cast a spell on them, hiding them from view. “Until the time is right,” she said with a momentary but coy grin at Twilight’s questioning look. That accomplished, she stepped back and bowed low before the monument, spending a moment in silence before speaking again.
“Humanity has accomplished miracles that rival even the greatest feats of magic we have, achieving a kind of alchemy far beyond anything we have ever envisioned. Even without magic or being able to control the weather, they have tamed the very forces of nature; bending even the most volatile of elements to their purposes, both creative and destructive.
“There are always risks to such endeavors, and sometimes the worst case can happen even if you plan for them properly. But that alone should not dissuade them—or us—from trying to tame them.”
“Even for Arcanocite?” Twilight challenged, feeling her sadness starting to ebb at Celestia’s actions and passionately delivered defense.
“Even for that,” Celestia confirmed without hesitation. “That substance you saw beneath the plant was neither evil nor without redeem, my student. It is merely a tool that can be used for good or ill. It is a particularly potent type of fire, yes, and like any fire, it can warm or burn—or in this case, it can power or poison.
“But the fact it is capable of the latter does not automatically make it evil or unable to be used. There is no such thing as a risk-free power, my student, and the greater a substance or energy’s potential benefits, the greater also is its potential for harm.
“There are no exceptions to this, including our magic. Whether spells, enchantments or curses, there is always a chance that something may backfire or spiral out of control. Indeed, such things have happened in our own past, to even greater cost.” This time, it was Celestia who shivered once.
“So what happened here was not, in fact, unique in my experience, either to humanity or the many races of our world over our long history. But the response to it was. That is what I seek to both honor and emulate. And that, my loyal student, is ultimately what I wished you to see—a place and story that demonstrates both the best and the worst of humanity.”
Twilight considered her words carefully, staring at the statue through glimmering eyes. Looking around, she saw a few spring flowers budding in a patch of dirt. Walking up to their parent plant, she cast a spell that caused its growth to accelerate and the buds to almost instantly bloom, far brighter and larger than they would have otherwise.
She bathed the plant in her magic for nearly thirty seconds, ensuring it would have enough energy to produce additional flowers before she plucked the first growth of them, gathering them into a group before laying them beside her regent’s offerings with a deep and respectful bow. With that, teacher and student stood by the human memorial side by side in silence for a minute before Celestia put her wing over Twilight’s shoulders again.
“Come, my student. Our visit is complete and as it is now nearly noon, I’m sure you are hungry. I have already ensured that lunch will await us upon our return. It might also be best to vacate the area before the first tour groups arrive,” she added in a note of amusement.
“What? Tour groups?” Twilight repeated in shock as she fell in beside her mentor.
Celestia chuckled. “That is in fact the reason I wanted to come in the early morning—to avoid such groups. This place is a microcosm of human life thirty years ago; a preserved relic of a bygone age and nation. The residual radiation level is not generally enough to hurt visitors who are only staying for a few hours or even overnight, so guided visits are possible and even encouraged as a source of income to the region. There is even an open hotel.”
“And just when I think humans can’t surprise me anymore…” was all Twilight could mumble in response.
“Indeed. There was also a dramatic television series on the disaster recently which rekindled interest in this place—including, perhaps, my own. It was rather difficult to watch at times, but also very compelling as it explained decently—if not perfectly—the full story of what happened here. Albeit with a few gratuitous and rather unnecessary embellishments.”
“I think I might like to see it,” Twilight finally announced as she walked beside her mentor, leaving the memorial and their offerings behind. “And research these ‘reactors’ more.”
“That could be arranged, my student. Now let us return home.” She offered her hoof again, waiting until Twilight touched it before teleporting them both out, returning them to the portal nexus in a final flash of light.
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The saddest truth of the Soviet Union was that she wasn't worthy of her people. Respect from the United States to the citizens both great and small of the late and unlamented USSR.
Not holding everything back and releasing bit by bit? More words for me I guess.
Edit: You fiend! Linking To TV Tropes without warning! You time killing monster!
I watched Chernobyl recently, so this resonated with me. Well done.
I think this might be one of the best pieces of literature I've ever read about Chernobyl. A sad chapter in human history, but at the same time a valuable lesson for us and future generations. And Celestia in full nurturing mentor mode is such a delight to witness.
9761947
Doesn't seem to, surprisingly.
9763701
Good work on the cover art!
9761830
Not even remotely. Unfortunately, the lessons it taught go unheeded by some.
9761895
Actually, I'm now thinking that was a mistake and I'd've garnered more heat and likes if I'd reserved half the chapters for dailiy releases after publication. Ah well.
That's how incredibly evil I am!
Though actually, I didn't find that page. James CyberLink did so I linked it here.
9762772
Good quotes, and ones that definitely apply here. Thanks for sharing!
9762946
Why thank you!
I do think mentor Celestia is my favorite Celestia, and that's a version of her we stopped seeing in later seasons.
9762466
As did I.
That's where the idea for this story came from. It's one of those deals where the idea wouldn't leave me alone until I put it on paper, and once I started, I just couldn't stop. That's the best kind of writing, right there, when you indulge a muse and for it, things come easily.
This. This is what I want to see from you. Interesting commentary on humanity, with an outside species' perspective, with none of that "Humans are bastards and should be exterminated" bull.
9768823
Went ahead and changed it to 'magical awareness'. I'll have to be more careful about that in the future.
9771251
I'd never do that. Not my style.
I much prefer the worlds—and even within Equestria, various races and nations—to be in balance in terms of abilities. One of the things I hate about the show is that it's given all the non-pony races some kind of ridiculous and systemic character flaw.
This story was something different for me. I regret I don't currently have anything else along these exact lines, but I invite you again to read the Firefly stories if you'd like me to see go real in depth into worldbuilding and character development with plenty of (combat) action.
Loved it.
9774520
This was great, the show got a bit difficult to follow in the last episode and you wrapped it up nicely.
9778865
Thanks!
I tried doing my own research here and not relying on the HBO series, which I knew was taking liberties with the truth at times (such as claiming the use of graphite was unnecessary when it in fact had a perfectly valid use as a neutron moderator). The problem was, the true sequence of events isn’t fully known and you get contradictory information from different sites and sources. I basically settled on what seemed to be the facts not in dispute.
Thanks for reading!
I love this story; well-written, well-researched and everything just fits.
Fantastic job.
9780388
Thank you very much!
That's because stars like the sun are basically large fusion reactors* while nuclear power plants in use right now use nuclear fission, also you can be in a uranium mine and have no ill effects* , also the radiation talked about is ionizing radiation* from the electromagnetic spectrum*, which the human body can handle up to a certain amount of certain types of ionizing radiation without long term effects*.
*we're looking into using it as an alternative to what's in use now.
* so long as you don't breathe in the dust or get any in your blood stream via open cuts.
* compared to non-ionizing radiation which is relatively harmless.
* which is a form of radiation with the others being acoustic, gravitational and particle.
* you even take it in daily from food, water and the air we breathe and we have inside our bodies.
9788957
It's true that just being in the presence of mined uranium is probably not going to hurt you without ingesting it or breathing in dust for an extended period. The alpha and beta particle radiation of Uranium can be stopped by skin and clothes, respectively. However, you omitted the most dangerous radiation of all: Neutron.
That's emitted by both fission and fusion reactions. Once a sustained fission reaction is initiated by neutron bombardment on enriched Uranium (or Plutonium), they become far more radioactive and dangerous because they're continuously releasing more neutrons through ongoing fission reactions, which are hard to stop. Neutron radiation also has the ugly effect of contaminating what it touches by turning stable atoms into unstable isotopes through neutron activation (basically, adding additional neutrons to an atomic nucleus), meaning it can turn other substances radioactive--even your own body tissues.
I tried to keep this story simple and not get too caught up into the explanations of what radiation was or how reactors worked, or else I was going to get bogged down in describing the difference between the various types of radiation or U-238/235. So suffice it to say, the ponies are aware of what Uranium is and what it can do on an alchemic level, and Twilight's explanation implies that attempts to use it in alchemy have met with disastrous results before.
9790081
Neutron radiation is a form of ionizing radiation, good thing you did too.
9780563
It also seemed that their reactor was more for... well, and forgive me for this Russian people, but it seemed like it was more for propaganda then anything
My only concern is the new HBO documentary doesn't paint a good image to the future of nuclear power. Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and now Fukushima are exceptions to the rule, rather than the norm. People hear about those accidents and they freak out because they think nuclear power plants are a ticking time bomb or something
9808997
I don’t think you need forgiving for that. I make a distinction between the Soviet state and its peoples. The former categorically did not serve or represent the interests of the latter.
9809759
If folks want cleaner, less carbon-heavy energy, that’s nuclear. And people freaking out over nuclear power in the past is the reason why we don’t have a new and much better generation of reactors now.
Celestia basically reflects my own viewpoints on the matter here. As she says, there’s no such thing as a risk-free power. Here’s a good rule of thumb to use: all forms of energy production can either be cheap, clean, or plentiful. Chose two. Every single energy source we currently have falls on this spectrum of only being able to satisfy two criteria at the cost of the third.
A sobering presentation of one of the greatest disasters of the past century and how it could have been so much worse. The mystery framing device worked quite well, along with the staggering quantities of dramatic irony. Very well done.
9854181
9854204
Thank you very much!
I'm glad you enjoyed. Thanks for the watch as well!
Reading this while listening to the Chernobyl series's OST was quite the.....experience....
i'm totally not crying right now! damn onion cutting ninjas......oh what the hell....
9874589
Geez. I'll bet.
I normally include mood-setting musical scores in my works but didn't this time. That would have been perfect here.
I'd say you're welcome, but that seems the wrong word here.
Nevertheless, I'm very gratified it had that effect on you, as someone telling me my writing made them feel is what I consider to be the highest compliment an author can ever receive. I wrote this after seeing the HBO series, and I'm very glad I did. Thanks for checking it out, and for the like you left behind!
This was an interesting story and revealed several things about the disaster I didn't know.
Here is the review you ask for on My little Reviews & Feedback!
10045798
Thank you! I gave you and your review a shout out here: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/886710/the-best-and-the-worst-reviewed
10046507
Thank you but there is no need I wasted time with doing it because of my computer malfunctioning and creating a delay on all my work.
10046766
It happens. I didn’t hold it against you. You did get to it as promised, so that’s all I really care about.
Dammit, i was gonna try to adapt it. Just needed to get to be a good as R. R. Martin in storytelling/writing. (So something i will never realistically accomplish)
10133943
Hey, don't let this story stop you. I took a rather unique angle here, but that and my story's short length leaves plenty of others you could do. And writing as well as RR Martin is a tall order for anyone!
Honestly one of my favorite stories on the site.
Hope you write more stories set in this, well setting in the future.
10159296
I can't believe I forgot to reply to this.
My apologies! This was very nice of you to say. This visit will likely be mentioned in certain other stories at some point (The Lawyer and The Unicorn series), but I'm not sure how I would do a sequel to this except for maybe have Twilight take Starlight in the near future or even Luster Dawn in the far future. I don't--at all--like the idea of the Celestial sisters retiring and Twilight taking over for them for reasons I won't go into here (and for it, I reject it in my canon), but I could certainly see a matured Twilight having Luster Dawn as a student (particularly if she's Starlight's daughter) and taking her there twenty years later. Food for thought!
I've been looking for a story like this for a long time. Chernobyl is now one of my favorite pieces of film due to how incredible and emotional it was, even if it was hard to watch at some points as Celestia pointed out. The dialogue was spot on, you wrote the characters brilliantly. I've fallen in love with stories of ponies examining the nature of humanity, and I feel like I've just found the holy grail. This has got to be one of the best stories I've read on the site. Outstanding work, author! Hopefully you'll find the inspiration to write another story within this universe.
10296125
It's not without flaws, to be sure, but it's certainly a very compelling piece of cinema that affected me greatly the first time I saw it. The idea then got in my head to make a story about it, and this is what came of it.
Why thank you!
I have great affection for Celly in particular. How I depicted her is the way I think she should be shown but the show got away from--powerful and motherly, with all the great strength and wisdom that comes from her long life. Since, given her avatar, you seem to like her as well, I invite you to check out my Firefly stories, which show not just these qualities, but what she can do when she's roused to action as well.
Why thank you again!
Thanks as well for leaving such a wonderful and thoughtful comment. It's very much appreciated, and thank you for the 80th like on this story as well!
Will more stories in this verse be coming? Perhaps, further down the line. This actually does take place in one of my existing verses (the Turnabout Storm/Lawyer and The Unicorn verse) and if there are future entries in that verse, they will reference the events of this story.
10297328
Thank you for the reply! I'll make sure to check out your other works! If you wouldn't mind my input, if you do eventually write another story similar in nature to this, perhaps Celestia takes Twilight to other locations around the world which showcase the duality of man as Chernobyl does? The beaches of Normandy and the World Trade Center seem like great places for them to visit. Just a penny for your thoughts, though. I love this story and would love to see some sort of 'sequel' if you ever do feel like writing one.
10297354
Excellent! I have mostly a mixture of action and adult fics, but one common thread is that they all treat Celly well.
I've had several ideas for sequels suggested to me already, including having Twilight do for her own students what Celly did for her, taking Starlight Glimmer and later Luster Dawn to see the site. Your ideas are certainly tempting, but I'm not sure I'd get to any of them at this point given my creative energies are elsewhere and I'm very angry and moody right now at what I see happening in this country, with the assault on our monuments and very identity as Americans underway.
10300225
I totally understand! I am upset at the current state of the country as well, thankfully I can distract myself with pones in the meantime. Hopefully you'll find the time and inspiration to do some sort of a sequel/spin off. If not, I am content with just having this story as it is amazing. I hope you don't mind me replying to this, I just enjoy authors that take the time to reply to comments. Whatever you decide to do, I'll be happy to read it! Hope you can distract yourself from the current happenings of our country with best princess.
Interesting choice of phrase... Still, good fic overall!
10327072
I'm sorry, I forgot to answer this! Thank you for saying so!
And the phrase was well-meant. As they'd done so often in the past, the Russian and Ukranian people (note I'm not using 'Soviet') triumphed over an implacable foe by determination and sheer force of will. At this point especially, I think you'd be hard pressed to find another group or nationality who could do what they did.
10361841
Actually, I think they may have been referring to this old movie, Firesight.
10983637
With apologies, I had absolutely no idea that’s what I’d accidentally referenced.
In a word, yikes. Suffice it to say, I’ve reworded it now. Thanks for letting me know, because I was completely clueless.
11093128
It's okay. My understanding of FoE comes strictly from you, since I have no wish to read it myself. And yet, for all that, I continually manage to accidentally reference it in my works from Firefly to The Lawyer and The Unicorn!
Okay, I did do it deliberately once in the latter... 
Ah, back when the fandom was so young and fresh. Our canon was limited, and yet, folks still quickly discovered how readily FiM could pair with just about anything, including brutal franchises like Fallout.
I'm going to spoiler the next part because anyone who hasn't read Fallout Equestria already really should, if they can handle the dark stuff, and I don't want to spoil anything.
So the main idea is that they can survive radiation and even thrive in heavily irradiated areas where other ponies cannot. That still works for me.
I seem to recall hearing that Derpy was one of those ghouls in the FoE story, if not a completely mad one?
The only thing I can think to say in response to this is--you never forget your first, and FoE was your first fanfic. So I think it's fair to say that it imprinted on you heavily.
You were an absolute trooper to do that for her. To trudge through that massive horror story that systematically brutalized all our favorite characters. You're made of stern stuff, mon ami.
She's a keeper, no question. Even after she stopped writing on the site, she still responds to comments on her stories. That's more than we can say for some authors we could mention, who left without a single word of goodbye.
That's okay, believe me. As far as I'm concerned, the concept still works just fine here. Being the sun's avatar, Celly's powered by the all the emissions of the sun, which would even include the hard-core neutron radiation given off by fusion and fission reactions alike. As she says, she alone can not only survive, but thrive in such an environment, but she's also under no illusions that somehow, her ability to absorb and be strengthened by normally lethal levels of radiation makes it all okay.
It must, given how often I accidentally reference it in my works!