Fallout Equestria: From Dusk Until Dawn

Prologue: Welcome to Griffonstone

When you see a Griffon, what is your first reaction? Most wastelanders see us as simple guns-for-hire, willing to kill anyone to make a quick buck. Truth be told, this notion isn’t entirely incorrect. Throughout the war, our home remained neutral; both sides of the conflict utilising our inborn greed and martial nature. We were mere mercenaries – faceless tools that they thought could change the tide of the war.

The reality is that we just added to the ever growing sea of blood being shed on the frontlines. We made zero difference. Because our kind was indiscriminate in its aid, we did nothing but perpetuate the stalemate between the warring factions. In the end, all that could tip the balance was total annihilation. Equestria was cleansed by Balefire, and the end of both Pony and Zebrakind was all but assured.

In retrospect, this was a boon to Griffonstone. Now that the war was over, we no longer had to send more and more of our kin to die. Since we were never hit, you’d think life back home would go on normally, right?

In the decades following the war’s end, life did exactly that. The monarchy still held the power in the kingdom and for a while, everything seemed...peaceful - though our numbers had dwindled. Many groups flirted with thoughts of seizing control; from diminutive traders, to returned mercenaries. However, no one dared to attempt a coup.

No one, except for one group.

The Black Talons - a group of mercenaries dominated by females moved to seize control of the capital. Their ruthlessness, coupled with their natural ferocity and immense size, proved to be a formidable force. That’s not to say they weren’t met with resistance. The king and his honor guard were as battle-hardened as the rest, and they greeted the rogue faction with equal ruthlessness. It was all for nought. Despite being experienced and determined, the sheer numbers soon overwhelmed them.

Following a brutal but swift conflict, the Black Talons emerged victorious. The king was dead, and the throne was claimed by their General: Arcadia of the Black Talon. Under her vicious reign, Griffonstone descended into a dictatorship; with the military as the sole rulers over what was left of the kingdom.

Under the new regime, every single Griffon of fighting age was conscripted into their military and trained to kill. A number of expeditions were sent across the sea to Equestria, only to die from radiation sickness.

Once Equestria was deemed to be safe, Griffons migrated in even greater numbers. Many returned to Griffonstone, holding aloft whatever they deemed to be of value to the kingdom. Others formed their own branches of the Black Talons, while the rest simply fell to the mutated wildlife, or other raiding parties that populated the land.

Back home, Arcadia left nothing to chance in her rule. Any notion of dissent was stamped out as swiftly as it appeared, most traitors being forced into servitude or, if they were lucky, executed. Upon her death, the torch was passed to her daughter, who followed in her mother’s footsteps.

The Black Talon company reigned long into the present day, shortening their name to simply “The Talons”. Under their rule, Griffonstone prospered while also boasting the single most fearsome military on this side of Equus. Domination became the ethos of the kingdom, and that paired well with our predatory nature. Warfare and combat became our lifeblood, and honoring the contract became the single rule that we all lived by. Most did come to accept Griffonstone’s new government (not that they had a realistic alternative), but there were some that did not.

A clandestine faction, known as the New Dawn began recruiting in total secrecy. Their leader, an enigma known only by the name of Helios, unified the separatists with a zeal that rivaled the Talons. Eventually, the schism between the female ruling class, and largely male underlings, culminated in a civil war which threatened to destroy the once prosperous kingdom.

Although the Talons had the New Dawn both outgunned and outnumbered, the traitorous faction had them outmatched in raw determination. Unity became the New Dawn’s greatest asset and with it, they had sustained a deadlock with the Talons. While the New Dawn had retreated over the horizon into the Equestrian badlands; both sides were still locked in conflict, the impasse showing no sign of breaking.

Ideologies may have shifted, and the leadership may have changed, but war? War never changes.