My second place entry for the Fallout: Equestria 500 members writing competition, choosing the theme "Before the bombs".

This isn't a tale of great heroism, of any great battle fought hard and won well. Deadbolt Tumbler never really had any driving force in his life, he didn't have a special somepony, he didn't even have any friends. He was content to do his job to the best of his abilities everyday and live out his life in peace as he always had, but the great war was now in full swing, and as it often does, fate decides to intervene. On the afternoon of his 18th birthday, he was drafted to fight for his country, throwing him into a world of new experiences that threaten to shatter his fragile perception of friends, love, and loss. Although he had written them off as nothing more than fables as a colt, he soon comes to see that the monsters from the tales of old, still roam the battlefields before him.

The wonderful youtuber Plagen Shiki has done a marvelous reading of this story! You can find it here if you'd like to listen as you read!

Hope is the faith of the young. Losing everything she holds dear, Puppysmiles embarks on the adventure of her life to find her mother, her hopes of meeting her again driving her through the horrors of a world not of her making. Too bad the Wastelands doesn't care about hope.

A young colt embarks on an epic quest to find a ghost pirate's treasure. In his endeavors he must travel almost a mile from home, battle seemingly insurmountable odds in hoof-to-hoof combat and risk never tasting sweetroll again.

At the end of the war, after the blast of balefire tore his city asunder, a ghoulified Zebra is left to question if his actions were right, and if his punishment is as fitting as the stars have implied it to be. He will have to fight for his life after losing everything, but is there really something left to hope for in the hellish lands that he inhabits, or will he be doomed to an existence of suffering for his sins?

A short Fallout: Equestria sidestory written in an attempt to see how I can do without some of the things I always rely on with a normal fic. I would love to hear any sort of feedback on it, positive or negative, but overall I hope you enjoy it all the same.

Here's a fantastic reading of it done by Plagen Shiki over on youtube if you want to listen along!

Hi, my name is Ditzy Doo. Many of you know me as the author of the 'Wasteland Survival Guide'. For 200 years I wandered the Equestrian Wasteland, and through those experiences I gained the knowledge that I shared with everypony through the Guide. Now, it's time to tell my side of the story.

Ever wonder how each of the Power Ponies came to be?

Wonder how Fili-second got her speed, or how Radiance got those diamonds that allow her to create constructs?

Well if you do then pick this story up and you'll see each of the Power Ponies in their true original origin stories. That's right this story contains the heroes original origin stories before they were either changed or updated for the modern readers.

So sit back and read the original origin stories of the Power Ponies.