• Published 18th Jan 2012
  • 7,848 Views, 322 Comments

Fallout Equestria: The Ditzy Doo Chronicles - Ten Mihara



200 Years is a long time. It's time to tell my side of the story.

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Interlude 4: Carrying On

Interlude 4: Carrying On

Life.

In spite of all odds, all obstacles, and all the horror, death, and destruction, life in Equestria continued. While much of Equestria had been wiped clean of life in the Megaspell holocaust, more than a century and a half ago, it was never really gone. Pockets of civilization survived on the surface, and many more ponies survived thanks to the Stables. As time wore on, Stables opened, ponies bred, and radiation levels dropped. Animals adapted, plants mutated, and insects seemed particularly hardy in the face of the apocalypse, especially roaches. While only a shadow of its former verdant, vibrant state, Equestria had endured.

Life in the Equestrian wasteland was never easy. Ponies living there faced daily threats from mutated aberrations, the magical radiation and taint that had twisted them in the first place, and even their fellow ponies. Slavers, for a variety of reasons, forced other ponies to work for them with no regard to their wellbeing, or else sold them to others to be worked. Bandits stole from other ponies when they couldn’t find enough for themselves, and killed if they felt they needed to, wanting to survive bad enough to deprive other ponies of their lives. Worst of all were the Raiders, completely devoid of morality. They slaughtered and tortured their fellow equines for amusement.

Having lived in the wasteland since it first became a wasteland, I experienced all of these horrors and more. Yet in spite of all of it, I endured too. Steel Rangers, insane ghouls, prejudiced ponies, mutant animals, raiders, and more; I had survived encounters with them all. Often it was just by a hair’s breadth, and I can’t help but feel like I have an unnatural amount of luck. Unfortunately, not everypony was as lucky as me.

As the years rolled on, I saw many of my friends succumb to the wasteland in one way or another. There’s a long list of them, and even the best of my friends were not immune to its poisons. Lone Star had once been an honest, loyal, and responsible pony, but the loss of his family and home to the Steel Rangers turned him cold to non-ghouls, and left him firmly in his Rottingtail persona. May meanwhile, could never let go of her grudge against the zebras, and in the end it cost her not just her mind, but her life as well.

May’s death was a bitter pill to swallow, not just for me, but for all ghouls. May’s efforts to treat and cure the ghoul condition had done great things to increase mental wellbeing and longevity. While Rottingtail and I could still employ some of her techniques, we ultimately weren’t as good at it, and the rate of feralism went up among the residents of Craterside as the years wore on. Each time Rottingtail had to put down a feral ghoul, it seemed like a little more of him died inside as well.

Craterside, while never able to reach the heights of the Trottingham Necropolis at its peak, still managed to do well enough for its part. Rottingtail trained a skilled militia, and normal ponies stayed well away from Manehattan’s blast crater, the area still far more irradiated than non-ghouls could handle. The community had a far easier time being self-sustaining when we didn’t need food or clean water to survive like most settlements would.

Even without the need for food or water, Craterside couldn’t exist in a vacuum, no matter how much the residents wanted to remove themselves from the rest of ponykind. The increased rates of feralism caused a need to bring in more ghouls from time to time so that the settlement could continue as a refuge. This meant we couldn’t just hide away and let the outside world think the village didn’t exist. As well, occasional attacks by mutated animals and raiders ponies would gradually deplete the munitions the settlement had. Replenishing them required either trade or scavenging, and both had their own risks.

Beyond Craterside, Manehattan continued to draw in more ponies from across the wasteland. The metropolis had once had a population in the millions, and because of that it was full of grocery stores, restaurants, and all manner of shops. This pre-holocaust abundance made the city ripe for scavengers, even with the risk of raiders, monsters, and radiation. As well, the buildings and debris of the pre-war city made excellent shelters and building materials, prompting the ponies who came to the city to stay there.

The influx of new ponies and the gradually diminishing radiation throughout the city, even around the megaspell crater, was the cause of some discord amongst the ponies of Craterside. Many were in Rottingtail’s camp. Although he never wanted to repeat the madness that Apex had done, he still distrusted non-ghouls and wanted to remain separated from them as much as possible. He was convinced that doing so was the only way to avoid another tragedy like Trottingham. The crater’s radiation was one of the strongest deterrents keeping non-ghouls out of town.

Other ponies, myself included, didn’t want to remove ourselves so entirely from the company of our fellow equines. Though we were ghouls, none of us wanted to set ourselves apart from regular ponies. Some craved acceptance from other ponies that they knew isolation would never grant us. Others felt that living tucked away like we were would only increase the suspicion and prejudice place on ghouls. They wanted to prove that they weren’t monsters, and that they could live among any other ponies in peace.

The growing rift between our desires, both individually and for the settlement in which we lived, put a strain on my and Rottingtail’s relationship. While he had been a great comfort after May’s death, it was becoming more and more clear that he wasn’t the same pony I had first fallen for back when I met him in Trottingham. I suppose I had always known that he was a changed pony after Apple Crumble died, but he was still my friend, and he still cared for me. I still cared for him too, but unfortunately he was past the point where I would be able to convince him to change.

Even if Rottingtail could have changed, I don’t think he wanted to. Like May and the zebras, he refused to forgive the ones he saw as responsible for the death of his loved ones. Just like May, he stopped making the distinction between the individuals and the group. He became not unlike those who refused to differentiate ghouls and ferals. Sadly, like May, his grudge would cost him dearly.

Author's Note:

Well the new year brings with it the new arc of Ditzy Doo Chronicles. Kind of a fresh start for me too, but also a continuation I hope. Of the way things have been better for me lately that is.

Comments ( 25 )
Comment posted by TheTyrannicalEyeFudge deleted Jan 2nd, 2016

Ah, I'm glad that things have improved for you. :)

6790073 Ditzy didn't actually use her voice in the first chapter, so that could be why >.> I did that deliberately though, due to the fact that Ditzy is mute in FoE proper because of her tongue getting cut out by slavers.

I'm very glad to see an update to this story. :pinkiehappy:
I hope that the next chapter will come soon.

After several days of reading I have finally caught up with the story and what a story it is.
Like the original Fallout: Equestria, yours is something of a challenge to read. Not because of poor grammar or anything like that, but because of the sheer amount of depression radiating from nearly every chapter. It pains me to see the beautiful land we know from the series, twisted into a brutal, unforgiving wasteland. The mass genocide, stable experiments, violence and so on, it's much harder to take when it's colorful ponies doing all those things to each other.

Furthermore, the story gets even more depressing when it's about one of the canon characters. It is hard enough to know that all the main characters we know and love died in the war, but to have Ditzy serve as our eyes and ears, a pony who knew the main characters and was there to see how war changed everything. That's just brutal.

The part that affected me most was the massacre of Trottingham by Steel Rangers. I like the Brotherhood of Steel. In the Fallout games, I have always seen them as the good guys. A tad zealous, sure, but good guys nonetheless. Ones who would fight against the darkness and defend the helpless. In this story, however... yeah. They are no different from raiders. The part with Emerald was especially hard. To think how a nice kid could be twisted into someone so merciless. Then again, that's the wasteland. The brighter a light shines, the harder the wasteland tries to put it out.

I really want to see this story end on a happy note, I really do. However, I think we all know that there is still plenty of hardship for Ditzy to face. Still plenty of things that could go wrong. Just because we know that Ditzy is around when Pip leaves her Stable, does not lessen the tension.

Either way, can't wait for the next chapter. And the one after that.

Just a few days ago, I jumped into the ghoulified world you created for us, and now that I am caught up, I find my self at a loss for words, or a reaction.

There isn't a "next" button to click! And my mind just might be radiated enough by your glowing written words of awesomness, that I might go feral over it! I cannot wait for the next chapter!

This story keeps me coming back to this site.

I love you, and your tale

Oh god this awesome FoE fic is alive again???

After like 3 or so years? Whelp, time to remind myself of this greatness. Please please please, do not vanish again.

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6838224

Yeah, my life situation greatly improved last year and I'm in a much better headspace overall. I finished chapter 16 before I managed to hit a full 3 year absence, and decided to use the new year to launch the next 4-chapter arc with the corresponding interlude.

6840873

There are not enough words to explain how much this makes me happy.

I truly love this story, and I am extremely happy that you decided to continue it.
Thank you.

This story..........I don't even.........just..........damn.

Mihara, despite the your fantastic fic, I should say that: You are silly bastard. Why do you need so many philosophic phrases? Why do you need make it so sad? And last and main question: Why have you written an Interlude Four, but doesn't continued it? If Interlude Four that you have written is a kind of ending, than why couldn't you call it "Epilogue", huh?

finally caught up, this is only the second FoE story I actually read (since no good audio book of it has been made)...but will it ever be continued?

I have found that while there are many side stories to fallout, I have seen certain stories as Pillars, telling the real story of the Equestrian Wasteland, Project horizons, Heroes, Pink Eyes and I'm still reading more as I go, but I definitely think, this should be considered one of those Pillars, telling the Tale of Ditzy Doo. I am eager to read more, Good Fortune Ten Mihara /)

great story. hope it continues

Hey there,
I was just checking to see if your story was on hiatus or cancelled.

Great Story...except the part where the last update was almost 2 years ago. When is the next chapter coming out?

hey...so is the story going to continue? :fluttershysad: if not might want to change it to "canceled" or "complete"

9017349
Thanks for responding 5 years late I guess?

its been nearly 3 years since you updated Ditzy Doo Chronicles. I really enjoy the story, but are you ever gonna finish it or is it effectively canceled?

6840873
Hitting another three year absence.

Ten,
Are you going to finish this tale? There is still much to do, besides having Ditzy captured by raiders and her tongue being cut out. You have given her a fantastic ride through the wasteland, with various friends and foes, and there is still much yet to do. In regards to the timeline, you still have plenty of time before Little Pip exits Vault 2 and encounters our favorite ghoul Pegasus.

I know how real life can get in the way of creative writing. And I have to say, I am a bit remiss on my own writing (non-pony, sorry). But this is a tale that needs a natural ending. One that takes the horrible thing done to her, and turns it around to making a difference in the wasteland of Equestria.

Being unable to speak is probably what inspires her to write her experiences down, along with information gathered from others, to create the Guide in the first place. The sense of accomplishment at creating such a work would keep her spirits up as she runs her store and delivery service too. And, having created such a work, she would constantly be on the outlook for new information to add to her Guide as well.

Ditzy still needs to encounter much more to fill the pages of her eventual 'Wastelander's Survival Guide'. Even if it's only from other ponies and members of other species that tell her tales that can be confirmed to add to what she will eventually create and sell.

Oh, sudden thought. She is one of only a hoof-full that actually can remember the original DJ Pon-3, and every one of her descendants on the radio. Other than Velvet Remedy, who encountered a hologram version of Vinyl Scratch in a bar off Celestial Highway 49 while performing her new song 'Fly Like you' (Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YgqXCoEVqw ), there are very few that can say that ( one being Rainbow Dash up in the Enclave, reprising the role of Mare Do Well with a distinct Batman flavor, before she dies heroically in Little Pip's tale ).

Obviously this is shortly before Velvet founded the Followers of the Apocalypse, and before the use of the Gardens of Equestria mega-spell.

We all love our sometimes scatterbrained mail mare. Please continue her tale.

Celestia and Luna bless you, and may the spirit of Twilight Sparkle inspire you,
the Frank Pony

Hey, any updates on this? Really, really would be awesome to see this continued.

I guess this is dead since the last post was over 5 years ago. Another brilliant story never to be completed :applecry:

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