Nopony expected the end of the world. Dragons on the other hand? They saw it coming days in advance. A week before the bombs fell, the dragons began disappearing. At the same time, Ponies working in Equestria’s first national park, a giant caldera dubbed Craterhoof Caldera, noticed the wildlife acting strangely.

The dragons took over the caldera in the opening years of the Wasteland. The radioactivity that permeated across equestria caused many dragons to change, creating dozens of new feral, mindless species. Winged, horned, and even aquatic dragons multiplied, overthrowing the ecosystem of the park. After a thousand of years, nearly the entire ecosystem was dominated by dragons. It was survival of the fittest, where dragons ate everything, including other dragons.

The opening of stables 46, 52, and 61 changed the ecosystem dramatically. Some of the first Equestrian Stables to open, these stables were built to protect the employees, and inhabitants of the caldera. Suddenly after a thousand years, a new link was added to the food chain.
Unfortunately for the stable residents, the link was near the bottom. As hundreds of Ponies, Bison, Mountain Goats, Bighorn, Antelopes, Elk, and Deer flooded into the massive crater, they found a terrifying new world, rife with things that would love to eat them.

That first year almost saw the end of sentient life in the Craterhoof. Bullets did almost nothing against most new types of dragon, and were soon melted down along with the guns to create more effective weapons. The stable-goers that managed to take down dragons found different ways to use the dragons themselves for their defense.

Then a group of ponies calling themselves “The Hunter’s Guild” reached out to the now widespread tribes of ungulates, hoping to create a unified body with the purpose of retaking the Caldera from the scaled monsters.

This new Guild disseminated each tribe’s unique dragon hunting adaptations. Suddenly it wasn’t just Bison that armored themselves in the hides of the slain wyverns. The ponies taught the other races to use dragon bones, claws, and teeth to make weapons that would pierce the tough hide. The deer and elk, had been taking the different dragon parts and infusing them with powerful elemental properties for many years. Elken Journeymen and Deer Shamans spread out to the other tribes, imbuing their weapons with powerful new abilities.

When it came time for the Mountain Goats and Bighorn of the Confluence to share their skills with the rest of the tribes, they offered indestructability. When the other tribes learned of their use of what they considered “dark magic”, however, they were disgusted and turned their backs on them.

It was many generations before they were invited to join the Hunter’s Guild again. The Chief of the prominent Red-Hoof tribe sent a single pony, raised by Bighorns as their envoy.

Our story begins, with a quest to deliver mud.

Author's Note

I'm looking for someone to help me with a cover picture, as well as an editor if possible.

Same thing as usual for fallout equestria stories:
Thanks to fallout equestria creator KKat for this incredible world.

Thanks to Capcom, and series creator Ryozo Tsujimoto for the Monster Hunter series thatt has captured so much of my time.

Also, thanks to "It's a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Door" author Jetfire2012 for a lot of the ideas about the different magic wielded by different species. I won't be using their exact ideas, but it's been an important influence.