Vree I'm guessing this one qualifies, because even though I'm reeeally not sure if it's a great idea, I keep returning to it in my head.
The problem with me writing a Fallout Equestria fic is how I've been openly critical about FoE in the past, & I'm not sure if I have the right to meddle with someone else's finished fic with that attitude.
Anyway, I had two ideas originally, which I then started merging into one story:
"Pip" would've been set directly before & after the Great War; mostly during the yet-uncharted 200 years between when the bombs fell & the first vaults opened.
Protagonist Captain "Pip" Pipsqueak lives through & sees the events leading to the great war, and survives the Last Day to be witness to the final post-war crumbling of Equestrian society.
"Stripeless" is set during Littlepip's timeline, but on the zebra side.
Its heroine is a pony called Mwua who finds out that she's not a zebra but belongs to another species called ponies, & sets out on a quest to find out what had happened to them.
The upgraded/merged fic is called "FoE: Real Magic".
There are two vital events in the FoE:RM timeline,
which aren't mentioned in the original work:
- the Gem Wars. The griffons and the dragons fight over the unclaimed gold and gems under Zebrica. Equestria eventually steps in as a mediator and peacekeeper.
Ironically, this war is what eventually leads to the Great War between Zebrica & Equestria.
The gem war leaves the zebra lands scorched, the tribes scattered and famished, allowing a radical militaristic leader to take over leading to the foundation of New Roam, under Caesar, a power-hungry dictator.
The fact that Equestria ends up benefiting from the previous war (notably, gaining control of more resources like the Lost Mines of Daring Do) becomes a cause for long-standing resentment towards them, and the eventual portrayal of Equestria as the imperialist enemy.
(parodies "Fallout's Resource Wars".)
- the Uncool War (unicorn-earth pony war): After the pegasi lift Cloudsdale off into the sky & break all contact with the surface, earth ponies and unicorns are left only to deal with the post-apoc world. Yet growing paranoia towards unicorn magic (now blamed for the megaspells), class conflict and corruption quickly puts an end to this too. Equestria officially ceases to exist, returning to how things were before the first Hearth Warming's Eve.
(references the Cold War, obviously.)
Characters:
Captain Pip (Pipsqueak): The hero of "Pip". An adventurous soul who has dreamed of being an explorer, an adventurer and a member of Luna's royal guard from a young age.
Initially a royalist (due to his infatuation with Princess Luna), he is forced to become a revolutionary and part of a conspiracy to dethrone the princesses, then later becomes a "traitor" to the Earth Pony side during the Unicorn-Earth Pony war.
Yet, all this results from always trying his best and struggling against fate; he is a character whose idealism and heroic aspirations are contrasted by his powerlessness against the unfolding events.
He is friends with the CMC & most canon ponies (notably Applejack) during his Royal Guard training. Remains an obedient if rebellious solider for the first part of the Great War, then a defector. He regains his position from the newly formed Dirtville Republic, but is excommunicated as a traitor shortly after from there as well.
His ultimate quest is a search for the Fire of Friendship in an attempt to save the remaining lands from the returned Windigos. During this he finds Spike's cave, and indirectly helps him get the opportunity to take control of the robot army that allows for his role as the Watcher.
Pip has two romantic interests: Dinky Hooves (representing angelic pureness) and Ruby Pinch (representing a more corrupt type of woman). It would be hinted that Dinky (against all expectations) dies, but Ruby survives in Vault 2 and becomes an ancestress of THE Littlepip (and that Pip's name might reference the original Pip), notabl passing on the gene responsible for Littlepip's drug addiction (all members of the Berry family are genetically predisposed towards addiction to something, be it drinking, sex, drugs etc. or so it is said). Whether Pipqueak also contributed remains ambigious.
When last seen, he is wandering through the Frozen North trying to reach the zebra lands. He has three symbolic 'visitations' in the snow where he meets Death, the War Doctor, and Himself. We then cut off, leaving whether he had succeeded or died ambigious.
We then switch to:
Mwua: The heroine of "Stripeless". Mwua is a slave whose tribe has been conquered by the empire of Roam.
Originally a heartless murderer feeling disconnected from zebras, and only concerned with finding out more about her lost ancestry, she eventually becomes a reformed character and a freedom fighter against Roam.
Yes-Man (name pending):
A robot and starting party member of Mwua. He is programmed to have a very agreeable personality. He is also forbidden to harm others unless ordered to first (upon which, ironically, she becomes a heartless killing machine).
Yes-Man and his mates were originally created by the Griffons during the Gem Wars to aid them against the dragons, but after those two races left Zebrica their commanding intelligence has fallen into slumber, leaving these robots aimlessly wandering through the Zebrican wastes. Many of them are willing to attach themselves to any "commanding officer" they can find, and thus the majority of them are controlled by Roam.
SPOILER: Towards the ending of "Real Magic", it'd be revealed that Yes Man & co. have been responsible for orchestrating the majority of events that took place during the FoE canon. Their core AI, the Bean Counter (based on Fallout Tactics' "Calculator", as well as ZAX from FO1) was created by griffon engineers; its purpose was to design weapons for them. It become more successful than their wildest speculations, eventually developing weapons that could destroy entire countries. But before it could deploy them, the griffon-dragon war ended and every the griffon has left Zebrica, leaving Bean Counter without a master and unfinished in its task.
Bean Counter's programming forbid it to use its weapons on innocents, unless given a direct order, by a duly elected official.
This left it unable to fulfill its prime directive, the creation and deployment of more weapons.
Bean Counter soon began to create plans to defeat its own programming.
Working through many agents: its robots and any zebra that it was able to lure into its chamber, it began to subtly influenced Zebrican history, to the point where they would reach or exceed the bloodthirsty mindset of the griffons.
In the first zebra Caesar it found a useful tool, offering him advice, weapons (while it was not allowed to give them to him directly, he could tell him where NOT to go to get them) until he became the undisputable leader of the zebra lands, at which point he could be recognized as a suitable official to allow access to Bean Counter's entire arsenal.
During the pony-zabra was, Bean Counter PERSONALLY created some of the most destructive megaspells in FoE; notably Bean Counter was the creator of Balefire.
Its final creation was a spell that could destroy the entire world, but before it could be deployed, the zebra side got annihilated by its own devices — burying Bean Counter under a mountain and sealing it off from most of its robotic agents.
By the end of "Stripeless", Mwua & co. have managed to dethrone the current ruling zebra Caesar. This too was aided by Bean Counter (acting through Yes-Man). Successfully killing off most of the zebra population meant that a much lower number of votes could make a recognized official, & breaking the Zebrican Wasteland down into smaller factions increased the chances of finding a faction leader crazy enough to give the order to activate the Last Spell.
Yet its last trick had become its undoing as Mwua and friends destroyed it with the power of frieeeeeeendship.
(This would serve as the finale to "Stripeless", before a finale were we see that Mwua has managed to reach Equestria using an oil tanker, and is reading the Book of Littlepip among some followers, and commenting on what has passed in the two countries.)
Necro zebra (name pending):
The author of the Black Book.
In my headcanon, the Black Book is actually Starswirl the Bearded's book from the show.
Necro zebra was driven mad following the rule of discord when the royal sisters chased away the pink cloud, allowing the young zebra to see the dark sky for the first time.
The War Doctor: A character who only appears once, during Pip's wanderings through the Frozen North wasteland. He is a travelling doctor who is treating the wounded on both sides, which leads to a philosophical discussion with Pip about life, death, fate, morality, the meaning of life and so on. Regardless it is heavily implied (he mentions a greater war going on somewhere that this war is only a reflection of) that he is the 8.5th Doctor Whooves.
Zecora: A Reaper, an embodiment of Death. These entities are referenced through FoE fics, and one notably appears during the "FoE: Pink Eyes" ending.
In FoE:RM, Reapers are souls of dead ponies (and zebras) under the supervision of Mort (FoE's Death). He appears during Pipsqueak's ending.