Fallout: Equestria- The Last Sentinel

by Adder1

Reflection One: Exodus

Reflection One: Exodus

“...for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.”

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria... no, too unoriginal.

Long, long ago- no, still not quite right.

Hmph. May as well just jump into it.

The land where I was born bears many names- Haysia, Urawl, Horway, Losyke, Skyzha, Ultima Thule. Equestrians simply knew and know it as the Far North. It is a vast, cold, hard, unforgiving land of snow, ice, and rock.

But, like the Wasteland, it wasn't always that way. Thousands upon thousands of years ago, it was a lush land of fertile, verdant green. We know this because of what history teaches us.

The storyteller drew in a deep breath, his words heavy with weight and power.

All ponies came from the Far North. It is our birthplace, our cradle. The Far North is the source of our heritage, our history, our origins, our ancestry, our people- everything that defines ponykind.

History teaches us that earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi lived in an uneasy alliance. Simply put, earth ponies grew crops, unicorns controlled the cycle of the day and night, and pegasi controlled the weather. Bear in mind this was not friendship in any shape or form. Rather than feeling obligated to work for the good of all ponies, each pony race- and this is a term that I use with some reservation- worked only because they felt entitled to that which the others offered. It was not a sustainable or friendly relationship.

When an unusually harsh winter resulted in a severe food shortage, the three pony races came together to come to an agreement, to devise solutions. Hmph, instead they did nothing more than fling accusations from one to another. Earth ponies became the greedy hoarders of the food, unicorns became the wicked sorcerers that induced the strange weather phenomenon, and pegasi were the vile perpetrators that allowed this winter to persist. It's no surprise that the summit ended in a shattered alliance. As the winter grew steadily worse and the bells of death began to toll, the three leaders of the pony races journeyed southward, separately, in search of a more hospitable land.

What they found was a region rich in fertile land, with gems aplenty, with endless skies. Each leader, seeking their own individual glory, hurried to stake their claim to this wonderful new land. Imagine their surprise when they discovered they did so almost simultaneously and right next to one another! They bickered with one another once more, and to their surprise, the unnatural winter that plagued the Far North drew up around them once more. Lost in their own arguments- to the point of using sticks to mark off their own “territory” and squabbling over useless rocks- the leaders were frozen solid by the actual cause of the wild weather- wendigos, wintry equine spirits that feed off of enmity. It was actually the leaders' escorts that came together in a bond of friendship that warded the wendigos away, the first bond of friendship formed between the three pony races. With the land saved and a true unity formed, earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi claimed the new land under one flag, under one people, under one new nation- The Covenant of Equestria.

Heh, that was... a rather simplified history of the founding of Equestria. It's the version most ponies are familiar with, thanks to the Hearth's Warming Eve Pageant. I'm sure you're familiar with it, Rig. The actual history is much more complicated, but for the sake of brevity, it will suffice.

That's not our focus in this story, however. With the repulsion of the wendigos, the Far North's climate became far more habitable. Perhaps it was not as fertile, rich, or mild as Equestria, but recall that the Far North was still the original homeland for all of ponykind. The land held a certain connection to them, one of blood and birth. In the end, that connection was strong enough to make many of them stay. It is estimated that over a third of the ponies found their bond to their homeland stronger than even the tantalizing call of the brave new world. The remaining two-thirds embarked on what became known as the Great Migration, where the three pony races journeyed south as one to this new promised land. For the Northerners who stayed, the winters may have remained harsh enough to warrant year-round preparations and stockpiling of food, but it was what they were used to. All equines are creatures of habit, and so long as the wintry North yielded a living for the sturdy ponies that remained behind, the Northerners were content to live as they have for eons- by tradition.

Time rolled on, as it does, and the years flowed past. Years turned to decades, to centuries, to millennia. The Northerners prospered as much as they could, surviving and growing in the cold, arctic wind. Along came and went the formal recognition of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia as the biumvirate rulers of the renamed Principality of Equestria and keepers of the moon and sun. Along came and went the War of the Heavens, the Lunar Exile, and the Equestria-Zebrica Trade Agreement. Equestria grew and prospered, as did the Far North. Even as Northerners continued to trickle down to Equestria, drawn by its prosperity- even as the population of Equestria far exceeded that of the Far North, tradition continued to be upheld. That said, even tradition changes. The unicorns, freed from moving the moon and sun, bent their efforts to improving the lot of the Far North, preparing for the rough winter that descended every year. From these spellcasters came many famous magicians, one group in particular...

It wasn't until just before the return of Princess Luna from her thousand-year exile- perhaps twenty years before it- that Northerners saw trouble on the horizon. With the rapidly increasing industrialization of the equine nations- The Principality of Equestria, The Griffin Republic of Aldorna, The Holy Zebrican Empire, and their territories- came increasing concern about equinogenic pollution and the more controversial global warming. Basically, the notion was that chemical compounds produced by industries around the world were released into the environment and caused problems in the ecosystem, one of which involves the warming of the atmosphere. Looking back, it's almost... kind of funny how things turned out. Nopony thought it was possible. Nopony thought about the possibility of feedback loops, not of that severity. Everypony thought that it would only get warmer and warmer. I heard stories about it. Nopony thought it could happen.

Nopony thought that the ice would spread.

Weather became increasingly uncontrollable for the Northerner pegasi- and fast. Average annual temperature plummeted, and blizzards of unprecedented ferocity rapidly turned the Far North into a frozen hell. Permafrost crept south from the arctic circle, ruining and preventing planting of the Northerners’ critical food supply. The ponies of the Far North sought economic and material aid from Equestria and even Aldorna and Zebrica for the first time in history. Even with the massive aid effort, even with the greater output provided by agricultural technology, it proved to be insufficient for survival through the deadly winter season. When the death toll dwarfed the ancient records, when ponies were dying faster than even before the Great Migration, the Northerners decided it was time to leave their ancestral homeland behind.

With the bare minimum of preparation and planning, millions upon millions of ponies suddenly took whatever worldly possessions and provisions they could pack onto their backs, into their bags, into their wagons and simply left. The three pony races journeyed south as one to this new promised land- not as hopeful emigrants, but as fleeing refugees.

The storyteller's tone became more somber.

It was an evacuation of unfathomable proportions in which seven out of ten ponies perished in the journey, even with Equestria declaring a state of emergency and Princess Celestia herself personally rendering aid. Imagine the steadily encroaching fear as neighbors flee around you, the trauma of leaving almost everything that holds meaning to you behind- fleeing cold death through snow and ice, always hungry, always in pain. The Northerners didn't even have enough food to last them the winter staying at home. Do you think they had anywhere close to sustain them for the whole journey down? A whole way of life, entire cultures were uprooted and destroyed in the blink of an eye.

The storyteller fell quiet, lips flattened in reminiscence, eyes glazing over. He turned back to the audience, not speaking for almost a minute. His tone was hollow.

Do you know just how many ponies died to the Great War, before the balefire bombs fell? Casualty figures fell in the range of just under one million- only for ponies. The zebras lost around four million and the griffins easily exceeded seven-million during the Aldornan Civil War. Sometimes, all you have to do is look back in time to put the present- and the future- in perspective.

This tragic event would later go down in history as the Great Exodus. Over twenty million ponies lost their lives in the months that followed. Over eight million went missing, never accounted for. Only the spellfire apocalypse claimed more lives. The Urawlis were all but wiped out, as were the Losians, Skyzians, the Ag’ai, and the Korum. Ponies, cultures, histories- so many ponies and so many fountains of knowledge were all lost to the deadly winter.

It was during this trying time... that I was born.

The storyteller sighed, a plume of his frosty breath rolling out from his muzzle, smiling softly and speaking in a nostalgic tone.

My people have a unique tradition when it comes to names. Names mean everything to us. What is in a name? A rose by any other name, and all that. The answer- identity. More than anything, identity- and magic. A name is the single item that belongs wholly and completely to a person- and no one else. The name sets the individual apart from the herd, makes him or her unique among all others. That undeniable identity gives us power beyond words. That is why ponies of our culture receive two.

The first, received at childbirth, is in our language. It is meant to be symbolic or to be a wish of good fortune. My father's was “Ki,” or “tree.” It was his parents' hopes that he would be as strong, firm, and steady as the Doubtless Fir. My mother's was “Chouju,” or “longevity.” She was born with an extremely rare condition known as progeria, in which she aged approximately three times as quickly as the normal pony. It was her parents' wishes that she would still live a long, fruitful life in spite of it.

The second name was to be given after one earned his or her cutie-mark. Just as the cutie-mark, it was to be representative of one's calling in life. Father, Diamond Dust, had the cutie-mark of a lump of coal cracked open to reveal the glittery gem beneath the black. He was always good at finding the best in others. It just took a little push, a little pressure. Mother, Natural Cure, was an herbalist. Her cutie-mark was that of a broc flower and xander root set on a medical cross. Remedies were scarce in the Far North, and creating them from the local flora was a dying art- even more so with how much cultural knowledge died with those lost during the Great Exodus. That she could seek out and use the herbal remedies made her an important figure in village life, father told me.

To my knowledge, I was the only foal born during the Great Exodus to survive- and barely. I was lucky enough to have survived my untimely birth and doubly lucky to have survived the harsh trek south. My parents saw great significance in this. Now, even though I have eidetic- photographic memory... well, I can't quite remember that far back.

My father told me that... heh... my father told me that I stopped crying very quickly after I was born. They were worried that I had already succumbed to the cold. But no... I was merely sleeping. Heh... I slept a lot during the journey, apparently. And when I was awake, I found I could see my own breath because of how cold it was. After finding out what caused it, I kept on making these quick exhales- hoh! Hoh! And then I would just... just burst into giggles, doing it over and over again. Funny how things work back then. Such childish joy amidst the most trying time yet...

And so that is the story behind my middle name, my very first name. I was given my people's name for our homeland- Hokkaido. It was now a forbidden winter wasteland we could never call home again. And so I was named so that I may serve as a reminder to all ponies of the Far North, so that we never forget where we came from...

The storyteller set down his first memento- a yellowed, age-eaten newspaper with the headline “TRAGEDY IN THE NORTH; MILLIONS DEAD”. Below was the picture of a wailing pegasus mare, head bent toward the heavens in a despaired cry, clutching the limp, emaciated, frozen form of what could only be her daughter.

... and so that we never forget what we endured.

* * *

Footnote: Hokkaido- Level 1
Origin: Survivor of the Exodus- You were not only born in the Far North, but you also survived the Great Exodus to the south. You have much greater resistance to cold temperatures and also gain better discounts and unique dialogue options out of sympathy. Note: this only applies when you are recognized as a Northerner.

Trait: Veteris Vestigia- You have eidetic memory and remember everything you experience whether you like it or not. Memorization comes easy, but application of muscle memory is a different story. You gain one perk per level and books and magazines offer larger (and permanent!) bonuses. You also gain unique dialogue options. However, all skill points allocated to combat skills, Sneak, and Lockpick count as 1/3 of their value. You cannot take the Comprehension or Educated perks.
Trait: One-Trick Horn- (Unicorn Only) You can only cast one type of spell, but you're really, really good at it. You gain 100% extra magical endurance but are locked to one spell tree.

Tagged Skills: Barter, Sneak, Speech

Unlockables added: Soundtrack- Once Upon a Time...

Soundtrack- The Northerners

Bonus feature added!

Hokkaido's S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

Strength: 4
Perception: 4
Endurance: 4
Charisma: 10
Intelligence: 6
Agility: 5
Luck: 7

Author's Note:

And now we start something, something new. Hope you're all ready to dive in. Anyway, a big thanks to the FoE community on this one. I must especially thank Broadestpeak and definitely Wirepony for their pre-read of this installment. You're all awesome. Lastly, thank you for reading. Please leave feedback- I always appreciate it.

Comments

[Pinkius]

Is it bad I consider 2k word posts short?
Hmm...

[Adder1]

1083816 Not really, though this installment really is an "intro" to a new portion of the story if anything.

1084489 Thank you kindly, and perhaps not a new story... but Frost's, yes.

[Shattered Skies]

I guess you need a luck higher than 1 to survive a birth like that. It makes me wonder where it all went wrong.

On a less related note, I wanted to thank you for the amazing soundtracks. The fit well with the story and have allowed me to make a few additions to my own playlist of favorite video game music. Hopefully I will be able to add more in the future.

Write on!

[Adder1]

1087901 Well, you're gonna find out eventually...

And thank you! The whole "music for (almost) every chapter" thing started out with my second attempt at a fan-fic, and it didn't sit well with some readers. I'm glad it's working out a lot better now.

*rereads* i c wat y did thar

[Tonto the Trotter]

Wait, Frost's telling a story, within a story. That's some Inception level stuff right there =).