It was often rumoured, that there once was a time when peace and equality were commonplace on Hadron. Humans had been quite content to coexist with the trinity of sapient equines that shared their planet; the two races living happily in interspecies nations for centuries—on a fertile world full of ideals and opportunity no doubt.

Knowledge had been freely shared, ponies learning from humans, humans learning from ponies. It hadn't take long after the industrial revolution for scientific pursuits to blossom, partnerships to form; the resulting leaps in technological advancement paving the way to a better tomorrow.

There was one such pursuit however, in one such nation, that had sparked controversy from start. An idea borne from the alliance of a human; known simply as Dr Oppenheimer, and a unicorn; the illustrious Atom Star. Both man and mare had credentials that were the envy of physicists the world over; past achievements that suggested their newfound partnership could only do well for the inhabitants of Columbia. Therefore, when the two paragons of science finally unveiled their creation to the country, ponies and humans alike were shocked and horrified by the implications of such a device.

Oppenheimer and Star were quick to stress that the product of the Manehattan project was only intended as a deterrent, but the citizens regarded the weapon of mass destruction with only fear and trepidation. A petition was created; requesting that it be destroyed and the project abandoned, on the grounds of the bomb being wholly unnecessary. After months of protesting, the coalition government begrudgingly agreed to disarm.

Years passed. Periods of economic prosperity and recession fluctuated, but permanently declined when the oil reserves began to run out. Sources of renewable energy were woefully underdeveloped.

A short respite from the energy crisis was granted—in the form of magically induced cold fusion—but it was too little, and far too late. Hadron was already dying, the trust between it’s two dominant superpowers had long since been lost amid various accusations, finger pointing and hoof waving.

Panic gave justification to greed—which quickly spiralled into cruelty and segregation. A conflict between the two nations began, both races fighting on either side. Decades passed, the death toll steadily growing—until the shocking events of one fateful day… the day the war changed.

…the Columbian government had lied—as governments often do. No one knew who had ordered the attack, or if they’d signed off with hand or muzzle. Either way, it hadn't really mattered in the end. Riydah—Saddle Arabia’s capital city—was wiped from the face of the planet as if it had never been, an example of the deterrent. Millions, gone in an instant. People and ponies, children and foals, their shadows forever burned into the rubble.

Widespread panic swept through Columbia, it’s citizens outraged at discovering the devastating weapon hadn't been destroyed as requested. Due to various intelligence leaks and a multitude of surveillance efforts, it was suspected that Saddle Arabia had developed their own version of balefire bombs—and were planning on retaliation.

The Columbian government was forced to act. Two teams of the country’s best scientists were assembled. One was ordered to modify the existing design of Oppenheimer and Star’s nuclear warhead; effectively creating an inter-continental ballistic variant that could be launched from a silo.

The other was to construct a number of long term nuclear shelters, known as vaults. The concept was simple; several closed ecosystems—deep underground—capable of maintaining a habitable environment for a small number of citizens in the event of a nuclear holocaust.

Over the next fifteen years, the conflict intensified. Both sides often resorted to nuclear displays of power; detonations not close enough to majorly populated areas to do any serious damage—but near enough to send a clear message. Tensions eventually grew to breaking point, until paranoia finally triumphed over rational thinking, and thus came the second fateful day… the day the war ended.

Those who had been wealthy enough to secure a place in a vault descended underground when the klaxons blared, knowing that they would never again see the light of day. Those who had no place to hide—a considerably larger proportion of the population—could do nothing but wait for hellfire to rain.

In an exchange of fission fuelled destruction that lasted only two hours—Hadron was annihilated. Vast areas of sprawling metropolis were reduced to mile after mile of dilapidated ruins; the subsequent balefire from the initial detonations burning for weeks. The world’s infrastructure collapsed, radioactive fallout bathed the surface, either killing—or hideously mutating any that had survived the barrage. The ash that contaminated the stratosphere spawned a century-long nuclear winter; only the most resilient of life forms survived without having to run to ground…

....Two hundred years after the bombs fell, all that remained of the once thriving world was a barren wasteland; a hellish realm full of demoralized humans, pessimistic ponies and post apocalyptic suffering.

Fallout: Hadron

By Bikerpon3

Author's Note

Yep...

I know this is gonna be difficult to pull off, but please—bear with me...

I love the Fallout franchise—I was following it long before I became a fan of MLP—so I couldn't resist attempting a crossover. As you can probably tell, this isn't a spin off from Kkat's masterpiece, so rest assured, Littlepip ain't gonna be making an appearance.

I'd still say it's worth reading though, (at least I hope it is) I've been throwing a few ideas around in my head for weeks now, some of them aren't even all that bad...

...but that's just my opinion. Feel free to read on and let me know if I'm right :D