Red 36 One Year Anniversary!!! (Feat. Bound in Steel)

Happy Anniversary to Red 36! Can't believe it's already been one year!

Bound in Steel was a project I was working on for a while before I started Red 36. I listened to the brilliant internet radio drama "Tales of a Junktown Pony Peddler" and that really inspired me with the type of content I wanted to create (unfortunately now on indefinite hiatus as far as I can tell, but check it out anyways. What's there is really good!) I was inspired to make a sort of prequel to FO:E focusing on Steelhooves during the war. It would've followed the inception of the Steel Rangers, all the way up until shortly after the Megaspells struck, detailing some of the drama and internal politics inside the bunker while the radiation outside was still considered unliveable. It started out as just a single short in the style of "A Shot in the Dark" by the EBC radioplay but then it became a three part series. By the end of it I didn't know if there was even going to be a fourth part because of how much work I'd put into it. There simply wasn't enough time or resources to include everything in one episode.

It would've started up with Steelhooves taking on the special assignment to work with the Ministry of Wartime Technology, and introduce the Steel Ranger project and AJ's plan for it. Then a bold idea to use the armor to end the war once and for all as they're gearing up for another major campaign against the zebras. What I really liked about that particular point in time, was that there was a lot of potential for Applesnack's character to go. In all the memory orbs we see of Steelhooves in the original fanfic, we really only saw a tiny fraction of his entire life. So for that reason, I thought it'd be kind of interesting to try and add some new perspective to it. And I'm sure that Kkat had ideas that weren't specifically detailed or committed to writing, or that might be available in lore posts that I'm unaware of but this was my take on it and I felt really proud some of what I came up with.


There was a lot of wiggle-room during that timeframe because most of the information we got was through his personal accounts or his memory orbs, and so there was some level of flexibility but I still had to make it seem believable. He was one of Big Mac's former squadmates, and it would've revolved a lot around the idea of him trying to fill the shoes that Big Mac left behind. I started directly after Big Mac died because that felt like a low point in his life and a great part to begin the Steel Rangers' story.

The way he goes about protecting what's most important to him and his desire to honor his dead friend's memory seemed like a good character motivation for him to use and it would tie into his decision to helping AJ with the Steel Ranger project. From there it would evolve into their relationship over time. It almost feels like he'd become an overnight celebrity. He's the first steel ranger. He's dating a Ministry Mare. The former squadmate of a war hero. For a while everything would be at its best, and then it'd just slowly go to shit as time went on.

I had a squad in mind for him, trying to follow the theme of steelhooves trying to Big Mac's horseshoes, and I attempted tying that into some of the politics 200 years later that were only lightly adressed in the original. One example being Blueberry Sabre, who seemed to have sort of a grudge against Steelhooves and Applejack but it wasn't really sufficiently explored in the original why she might be feeling that way 200 years later. So I tried to have an ancestor of hers under his command, and so Blueberry might've felt like her family's pride was on the line trying to prove that Steelhooves and Applejack were full of shit and she'd made it her personal mission to do so. Likewise, the squadmates he led would all end up representing one facet of the Steel Rangers in some way or another.

He would've attempted to take a young soldier under his command who reminded him of Big Mac under his wing and try to do for Big Mac what he did for him when he joined the army. This character would've played a major role amongst the Steel Rangers later, especially in the bunker after the megaspells. This character had kind of a Roger Maxson meets Captain Marvel (DC) vibe, and over time he idealism would just fade away into cynicism and a sense of responsibility as the war dragged on. I tried to make the squad seem involved, but ultimately I'm not sure the current draft I had accomplished that as well I wanted. Towards the end I was trying to figure out if there were existing canon characters I could use to that ends. The story itself revolved around Steelhooves.

There'd be the war reported on as a background element with focus on the role that the Rangers were playing along with a bold plan concerning the Steel Rangers to end it once and for all, but that would've been stopped in its tracks by the Megaspells. I also explored a bit of into the Rank of Star Paladin, why there was never an equivalent of a High Elder position, and also there was a quip about him being mistaken for a lower rank. I just figured that the Ranger suits were upgraded over the course of the war, and after the Anti Machine Rifle and Armor Piercing rounds were invented he just didn't care. Maybe even had a bit of a death wish briefly despite urges to use the upgraded suits. That suit in particular could've represented something special to him and so he wouldn't change it. I also did some light building on the Caesar's Legion (granted I haven't read Homelands) but I wanted to portray kind of a war scene going on and so I was trying to think of how the Zebras might try to utilze necromancy or other magic on the battlefield, as well as the more modern weapons. I've often heard people I know compare the war in FO:E to WWI, and then all of a sudden it becomes a Cold War. So that was the approach I was taking.

For Applesnack's past, I didn't have any real concrete material to work with aside from the memory orbs and personal accounts from the story, so I used my best judgement to extrapolate on what kind of a pony he might've been before he joined the core and that was the key component in crafting the narrative. I characterized him as being really angry growing up, like maybe he grew up in the rough parts of manehattan and he straightened himself out once he joined up and had the structure of the military. Big Mac could've played a big role in that, so he'd feel slightly indebted to him. There'd also be kind of an emphasis placed on his past on that quality he exhibited of hiding things from those close to him, that he'd never quite break and it'd be his undoing.

"Forget it Applesnack, it's Zebratown..."

Probably one of my favorite parts to this series was going to be Steelhooves' possible disillussionment with the civilian-government aspect of society and the noir themes in the second part. After he kills Wingwright, I felt like maybe he'd want to find out who it was who helped orchestrate it and as he obssessively pursued these ponies he'd alienate everyone he knew. He'd be approached by an MoM Pinks agent named Catch Twenty-Kazoo, who would reveal not only did they know about it (Pinkie Sense is one hell of a drug), but they had been digging into his past and found other things. Like his past and his relationship to Big Mac and Applejack and they'd blackmail him with it. Possibly even threatening to tell AJ about some of the shit he'd been lying to her about, and this would be the part where things would begin to fall apart. In my head, Steelhooves would've made it his mission to protect AJ since he big brother is gone, although she would likely insist she can take care of herself and insist he's being foolish. But that'd be especially true after her assassination attempt imo. There were a few characters in the original like Starshine who only appeared once and so I tried to do something with.

He'd end up helping them investigate strange inconsistencies surrounding Four Stars who I thought could've been involved in a "scandal" where they were hiring zebra workers over ponies, and they hadn't gotten proof on them yet but they would've needed Steelhooves. He would also have reason to go after them because he'd be trying to find the ones responsible for trying to kill off AJ in this short. A lot of the events would hint towards a lot of the ones detailed in the original on The Last Day, but it would be more of a slow buildup. The audience would know what's going on, but Steelhooves is unaware.

Zebratown and the Pink Cloud gas were going to be some of the things that he'd keep coming back to, and wouldn't be completely how they added together. Zebratown would be the place that he just couldn't get away from no matter how hard he tries (in a very Chinatown esque way). In the background of the Four Stars investigation, there'd be this Medical Mystery revolving around isolated gas exposure incidents. These would be smaller scale tests for the "big one". Catch Twenty-Kazoo would end up as his contact within the MoM and his window into learning things that he might not be privy towards. He'd also be the one who helps him extract those memories. Giving some extra meaning to the line "someone should remember them" in the original. (paraphrasing)

As he got deeper into it and as the war dragged on, the steel rangers serving under him would begin to see their former commander as being a Ministry insider. "One of them." Not all of them, but it'd follow this consistent theme of him feeling like he's alienating everyone close to him. Conversation keeps going back to Zebratown and this medical mystery while things cut in between what he's doing in the war, his deteriorating relationship with AJ and all of that would've culminated on the final day. His relationship with Zecora would've been more explored because he seemed to imply that he considered her a friend, and it just reinforced his hatred of zebras. He'd lose his relationship with most of his troops under him as he has to pull rank more often to keep them in line, and that friend I mentioned earlier would've actually end up arrested for trying to stop Steelhooves from attacking a civilian (he insulted AJ and he tried to stop him), and there'd be kind of this moment where he almost seems like he's becoming the badguy. This would be the end of their friendship but it wouldn't be the end of him. There'd also be another Ranger who is tired of fighting and Steelhooves might pull some strings to help them her get into a stable but she'd end up in the bunker anyways.

Applesnack just wants to ask AJ to marry him at this point, he doesn't care about anything else except to wisk her away on some romantic getaway and pop the question, but then the whole killing Zecora thing happens. Y'know...'that'.
After that, his relationship with AJ would fall apart and she'd no longer be able to trust him. She'd find out about all the lies. On the last day they'd come back to Zebratown, there might've been sort of an argument, but she'd pull rank on him and he'd have no choice. He'd reconsider everything that lead up to that point and everything would end with the Pink Cloud gas washing over him.

He'd end up being recovered, half-dead, by the other Steel Rangers and dragged back to the bunker and find him being unable to remove his armor now. That former friend of his would initially be happy to see him, but would quickly set all pleasantries aside as things would be forever changed. Steelhooves would quickly find out that basically all of the Rangers in the bunker are traitors who abandoned their posts. This former friend of his would've been sent somewhere on punishment where on the last day when there was no authority remaining, he gave the order for remaining Rangers to leave their posts for the bunkers and due to the general discontent with Luna's government at the end of the war there'd be some ammount of political clout surrounding this guy. Now he'd be known as the Great Savior of the Steel Rangers. There'd be obvious confusion and feelings of loss following the destruction of everything they knew. The fact that a lot of them were traitors would become more of a side note as they figure out how to recover what shambles of a command structure they had left. For his armor, I wanted it to come across as sort of Celestia themed as sort of a contradiction to Luna's government. Also Gold Steel Ranger oozes moral superiority and an overinflated sense of self-importance that would've worked for the character

(Artist's rendition)

_{no resemblance to Adeptus Custodes was intentended}

Steelhooves would be conflicted here over whether to choose Applejack's ideals or her legacy. The Apocalypse really puts your morality to the test, and I think as a great character building moment for him, he'd attempt to do what AJ would've wanted him to right at the beginning, but ultimately after losing everything he'd come up halfway short.
There would be light mention of the Ministry of Arcane science and at least one pony within it to voice an opinion from that perspective. Mostly because the Ministry of Arcane Science would've played a role in shaping the politics of the bunker based on their actions indirectly. I felt like maybe the fact that Scribes and Unicorns are treated almost like second class citizens could've been influenced in some degree by the fact that they might've been blamed for the Megaspells and what they did to Equestria. Not directly, but in the sense of the constant need for stronger magic and the leadership of Maxson-horse' desire to carry on fighting and I wanted a conflict to arise from some Ministry of Arcane Science ponies that had been taken prisoner. Eventually a dispute over command would arise from this and Maxson pone attempting to establish himself as the High Elder equivalent, but effectively that'd be taking Applejack's position and Steelhooves could not abide.

What I wanted to do with the Ministry of Arcane scientist prisoners would be to have their fate tied to whether or not they agreed with Maxson-horse's way of doing things and maybe explore a little of why the unicorns are seen as less than aside from just normal horse racism. So I was thinking of having a little bit of a bittersweet ending in which Steelhooves would succeed in securing their freedom and stopping Maxson from gaining undisputed command, but he would've stopped short because he realized if he went any further it would've torn the rangers apart, which was echoed in the story in one line. The final fate of the scientists would've been something like half of them leave (and maybe go on to help form the Twilight Society) and the other half choose to stay, feeling that its their duty to try and help Equestria recover and find themselves unable to disagree with Maxson-horse's way of doing things. Steelhooves would have a victory here, but he'd have lost almost everything in the process and after this it would imply the passage of time and the prequel would basically end on that note, maybe with some choice words from one of the scribes.

I tried for a long time to get it off the ground, but I'm sort of an anti-social hermit and I like dealing with people as little as possible, so when I realized I'd basically be doing all the editing and organizing cast members on my own, and my music guy got busy with real life. I toyed around with the idea of doing this as its own shortfic, but it came to a choice between this an Red 36, I decided that I'd rather write my own story that's personal to me. After working on so many failed projects already throughout my creative endeavors, I decided that I wanted to work on something that I could do almost entirely by myself and I wouldn't have to rely too much on others. That, coupled with a desire to finally finish a large scale project regardless of what it was. Fallout, Ponies, Fallout-Ponies etc. Maybe it was for the best that this never happened, or maybe the opposite is true. If I were to pick up the project again today I might've done it totally different, but he silver lining to it though is that it helped me flesh out more Steel Ranger lore than I would have otherwise. (There is a lot more, but I don't want this post to get too long)

All I know is that I'm happy to be working on Red 36, and I'm happy that there are people who want to read what I write. I was lucky enough to recruit a few editors who helped me out with the early chapters and now people seem to like my stuff enough that I've gotten 47 upvotes on the project and over 1.2k views on my page! It's admittedly a struggle sometimes, but so long as people are interested, it's a struggle that's worth it. I'll keep chugging along and get this thing finished and one day I'll look back and see this thing is finally done.

Thank you to everyone who's stuck with me this year. You're the real heroes. Have a happy holiday, whatever you celebrate. A big thank you to Kkat as well for writing the original, it really is a fantastically fun setting to work with. Here's to next year!

Peace to you all!~

PS: All fantastic art was provided by Dark-Sittich. He's a cool guy.

by Brisineo