Aftermath

   May 2, 2034. The New Lunar Republic is seething with unrest and rage as it watches helplessly as some of their major officials are executed publicly in front of the royal palace in Canterlot. The gallows are surrounded by enraged onlookers, obvious supporters of the tyrannous Celestial Monarchy. The floor drops out, the ropes tighten, and five conspirators are dead. The monarchy does not stand for treason. Later that day, the Lunar Consortium gathers to discuss plans of retaliation. Those plans are put into action four months later.

   September 16, 2034. The New Lunar Republic launches a campaign of assassinations directed towards civilians that had affiliation to supporters of the NLR and framed the muders on the monarchy. Such deliberate actions sparked a vicious uprising, just as the republic intended. The small rebellion was enough to lure Royal Guards into firing on the civilians, turning that spark into an uncontrollable blaze that engulfed the entire country in a four year war that ended with both sides reaching a stalemate and launching nuclear weapons at one another. These weapons destroyed city after city. What wasn't destroyed by the explosions was killed by the radiation. The only way to have survived this hoof-crafted armageddon was to hide away in vaults of banks and bunkers and heavily-armoured basements for many months. Although the bombs were launched on February 20, 2038, most survivors mark the end of the war as May 11, 2038, the day the effects of radiation were almost completely erased from the land and it was safe enough to come out of hiding. Or so they thought.

   Equestria was different now. Walking into it was like stepping on the surface of another planet. The remains of buildings served as a reminder of civilization. What was civilization anymore? The civilization once known to all was gone. Death, fear, and captivity took the places of life, security, and liberty. Fear drives the body, heart, and mind of every living pony that resides in what was previously known as the most prosperous country in the world. Small lights of leadership shine, but are dimmed by the greed and fear of its acquaintences and collaborators. Factions and warlords and colonies of bandits and barbarians have carved the country up into their own little slices of Hell.

   Deep in the heart of what used to be Manehattan, away from the rest of the chaos of the world and amidst the wreckage, six souls are destined to meet, whether or not they know it. Fate will bring them together, but ultimately tear them apart. In a makeshift bunker in the basement of a rural home, in the vault of a bank, in a buried military vehicle, and in a collapsed skyscraper, six souls shine brighter than the rest.