Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria...

... There were two sisters, elevated from mere unicorns to regal alicorns, who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. They defended their kingdom from many different threats and helped maintain the balance for their subjects; the unicorn, the pegasus, and the earth ponies, and many other magical beings. However, one sister grew jealous of the attention her other received and a black cloud of mistrust and greed befell her. One fateful night, the sister of the day was forced to imprison the fallen sibling in the moon, where she was to be sealed for a thousand years.

When her incarceration ended on the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration, the vengeful sister returned to bring eternal darkness on the lands of Equestria. It appeared that all was lost until one student of friendship sought the Elements of Harmony. She found them in her closest comrades and together they kept the balanced scales from tipping. The nightmare was defeated and the two sibling princesses reconciled to take their place as sisters of the sun and moon once more.

The era of peace that followed felt like it would remain forever with no end in sight. The student soon became the Princess of Friendship, her brother married the Princess of Love, and despite several trials, all was well with the realm. Yet, like the blackest thoughts that once enveloped one sister, the cogs of time turned towards such things as greed, gluttony, fear, and loathing. For even in the brightest of days the darkest shadows could be found.

A darker chapter in the history of Ponies would come to pass that would draw a permanent cloud over the lands. There were battles for dwindling resources, mistrust and anger for anything deemed different and a violent split between friends, families, siblings...

The sister of the day who had devoted her life to harmony lost her spirit to the heartbreak around her. She abdicated her throne to her sister of the night and wept as good became undone. Her choice and the choices made by princes, princesses, and ministries forever changed the harmonious land, driving it toward a future torched by balefire and dark magic...

Still, this was not the end. Through the flames of their homeland and beneath the blistered earth, many did not perish. Instead, they were forced to find new ways to survive in a world that no longer promised to protect them from the shadows. The time of friendship and harmony appeared to be at an end. The age of monsters, rogues and thieves had dawned...

Author's Notes:

Want to discuss the story? Follow me to the Scoundrel’s Settlement on Discord...

Song for this chapter; 'My Little Pony Theme Slowed' by 'MissSeddieSunshine' originally composed by Daniel Ingram

"Why am I writing this part now," I hear Doomande cry! Do not fear my friend, there is a reason. The reason is, my dad (who has not watched the show nor read Fallout Equestria by KKat or any MLP:FIM fiction) has expressed an interest in reading this. I wanted to give him and others a gateway into understanding the world before it blew up.

Hopefully, this doesn't feel too condescending to old readers of this story and other FO:E tales. A new chapter IS in the works, I hope to bring it out in a few weeks.

All good things,

Duskhoof.