Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, ponies wondered if they would ever see the sun or the stars. They got their wish when the Lightbringer ended the dominion of the Enclave and cleared the skies by taking control of the Single Pegasus Project. The surface awaited death from above. Instead, ponies were united again. A new age of harmony seemed to be upon us, but ponies soon reawoke from that Equestrian dream. Years of scarcity and brutality are not easily forgotten, and peace remained a distant memory. While most of Equestria has seen clear skies, we stand on the brink of total darkness. And I am afraid; for myself, for my friends, for my home, because if my time in the wasteland has taught me one thing, it’s that war… war never changes.

Whinneyapolis-St. Pone

The Sister Cities of Whinneyapolis and St. Pone, built on either side of the Whinneysota River, were two of the northernmost cities in Equestria, and during the war were primarily devoted to food production. The cities were never directly struck by any balefire bombs, but nevertheless, the apocalypse didn’t cut the ponies of Whinneyapolis-St. Pone any slack, then or now. What the cities were spared in bombings was made up for by the balefire winters that followed.

While the pegasi did block out the sun, their maintenance of the cloud cover did prevent harsh balefire winters enveloping all of Equestria. The Sister Cities are beyond the northernmost extent of the Grand Pegasus Enclave, and the cloud cover was feral from the apocalypse onward. Because the atmosphere over northern Equestria was unmaintained by pegasi, the fallout launched by the balefire bombs was allowed to linger and form into a thick haze, blotting out the sun to a greater degree than the Enclave’s clouds ever did. Being in the north, pre-war Whinneyapolis-St. Pone was already cold, and that haze created a cooling effect that caused longer, harsher winters. Plus, the snow was now radioactive. To survive, those who couldn’t get into a stable found homes in the cities’ subway tunnels, where roughly half of the cities’ settlements remain today. They now refer to the Sister Cities as simply Whinneyapolis, or the cities.

While DJ Pon-3 often preaches about the heroic sacrifice of the Lightbringer, the heroine who brought back the sun, the ponies of the north have been surveying the skies for changes and have yet to notice any. The skies are still gray, the nights are still long, and it is always below freezing.

Despite the occasional rad-blizzard blowing south, the radioactivity of the surface has decreased to about the same ambient levels as the rest of Equestria within the last few generations, and the ponies of the tunnels have emerged to reclaim the ruins of Whinneyapolis-St. Pone. Located in the vast Mall of Equestria, the first major settlement established above ground was founded within living memory.

The mall’s sheer size and abundance made it the perfect place to settle as ponies emerged from their underground homes, and in a few years, the mall became a prosperous and bustling city. Early on, one of the massive department stores was made into a market for traders, and as the city grew, the smaller shops were converted into businesses catering to the city's permanent inhabitants. Everything from the necessities of survival, like a simple weaponsmith to an honest-to-goodness mane-stylist began popping up. While we have our own station, lots of ponies still listen to DJ Pon-3, and I’m proud to say I’m his local correspondent. I’m Red, of the Maloria Foalfree Press.

Author's Note

This is a lazy side project I started basically as a writing exercise while I write my novel, which is coming along at a snail's pace because I keep making other side projects. I've always enjoyed FE and thought writing my own story in this world would be a fun way to practice and get feedback.