Hoofington is a ruined city located within Equestria's borders. Hoofington is close to the border between Equestria and the Zebra Empire, and was a hub of research and development. During the Great War, the zebras attempted to destroy Hoofington numerous times, but always failed. Even after the Last Day, Hoofington is still mostly intact.
A map of Hoofington
~ 
SilentCarto
The Core by
~ TheOmegaRidley
History[]
Before the war, Hoofington was a small settlement and was one of the zebra's initial targets. The settlement was utterly destroyed, but its citizens banded together to rebuild Hoofington into a true city.
Hoofington was the base of operations for the O.I.A: an organization that spearheaded numerous technological, scientific and magical breakthroughs. A vast underground network of tunnels was built beneath Hoofington and the surrounding area, mainly with the labour of the diamond dogs from Splendid Valley .
The city of Hoofington was home to Shadowbolt Tower, the Ministry of Awesome's hub and base of operations for the Shadowbolts. Beneath the city, a large meteorite was buried, which explained the zebra motivations for wanting to destroy Hoofington, since they believed star metal was inherently evil.
The area surrounding Hoofington was full of smaller settlements, factories, and research installations, all of which were connected together by a vast series of roads (and in many cases, the entangled, enervation soaked tunnel system deep underground). On the Last Day, the bombs fell and one hit Hoofington. Despite this, the majority of the city is still standing and full of fully functional pre-war technology. The catch is lethal enervation fields plague the surrounding area, a unique type of radiation exclusively found in Hoofington.
By far the most distinct and lethal area of the city is the Core (also known as The Hoof, due to it's shape). The large, fortress-like island between two rivers downstream from the hydro-electric dams is a mix of enormous, black skyscrapers bathed in a ominous green glow. As well as housing the local ministry hubs (the skyline of Hoofington still dominated by the MOA's Shadowbolt tower), the core featured a residential area packed with the latest technology with factories and supply lines running underground. While many have tried to access the core in the past, the flesh-liquifying levels of Enervation, feral robots and indescribable unique abominations make this possibly the most dangerous region in the wasteland (to the point that the eastern edition of the Wasteland Survival Guide discourages all approach in no uncertain terms). Outside the walls of the Core itself, the city's defenses are still active and will vaporize anypony trying to enter the core via the connecting bridges. The settlement of Chapel is near the edge of the city border, where Priest, a local unicorn, tries to convince ponies who are going on "Pilgrimage" (Ponies who walk across the bridge to be vaporised by the Core defenses) to go on living and offers orphaned children a home with himself and the Crusaders.
The city outside the core and the surrounding areas have long been plagued by exceptionally dangerous bands of Raiders, warlords and gangs, greatly toughened by the harsh environment. The situation has improved somewhat in the last three decades however, following the arrival of a group of six friends who wished to clean up the wasteland. Though their fellowship fell apart over time, each of the six made improvements that tamed Hoofington to some extend. Big Daddy formed the Reapers who diminished gang incentives to go to war by recruiting their toughest members; Dr. Zodiac took over the Hoofington University, providing medical care for locals through the Collegiate; King Awesome took over the Society and reformed it to produce fresh crops while diminishing their slaver practices; Crunchy Carrots created a charter of the Steel Rangers to prevent advanced technology from falling into the wrong hooves; Finders Keepers established the Finders, a franchise of neutral scavengers to encourage trade in the region; Dawn, after leaving the group, provided political momentum for the Enclave city of Thunderhead to eventually establish contact with the surface through the Volunteer Corps.
Factions[]
The Hoofington Region is home to numerous factions, mainly at peace for the moment.
The Reapers: The Reapers are named after an old hoofball team and are set up inside the Hoofington arena. The arena was once a large hoofball stadium, complete with massive domed roof. The Reapers are led by the aging Big Daddy Reaper who ranks as the Number 1 Reaper. Their is a scoreboard which displays all one hundred Reapers. The only way to ascend the board is to beat the Reaper above, either by killing them or in combat. This system keeps the numerous Gangs and Tribals from getting too out of hand as their toughest and meanest warriors are always trying to get into the Reapers.
Hoofington Steel Rangers: A contingent of Steel Rangers based out of the battleship 'The Celestia'. Their elder, Crunchy Carrots, was once one of the six friends who tried to clean up Hoofington several decades ago, however the group drifted apart due to in-fighting (Crunchy once shattered a working water talisman, rather than let it fall into the hands of the local populace, due to the Steel Ranger's policy of hoarding advanced technology). The Steel Rangers suffered a schism unrelated to the Applejack/Steel Ranger divide when Paladin Steel Rain tried to usurp Crunchy Carrots; a firefight between loyalists and renegades broke out, forcing Blackjack to use Trottenheimer's Folly after being blinded, sinking The Celestia. While some forces returned to the order or defected to the Applejack Rangers, others deserted and sought employment with the other Hoofington factions, such as the Harbingers and the Society.
The Society: Run by King Awesome, one of the six friends who tried to clean up Hoofington several decades ago, the Society is descended from Equestria's ruling class. Based out of the old Elysium Country Club, the sophisticated members believe that it was their birthright to rule the wasteland. Responsible for most of the fresh-grown food in the region (some of the only fresh food still grown on Equestria's surface), they sell food to the other factions including the Enclave . They use Slave labor to run their farms and also buy oddities, such as a pair of ponies that turned into seaponies due to killing joke. After Blackjacks visit, King Awesome passed away in his sleep, and was his rule was passed to his daughter, after being passed to Blackjack for a couple of days.
The Collegiate: Based out of the Hoofington University, this group of scientists and doctors provide services to the wasteland and own numerous medical technologies exclusive to the University. They run hospitals like the Fluttershy Medical Clinic along with The Society and Hoofington's Steel Rangers. The Collegiate is run by Dr. Zodiac (a.k.a Silver Stripe) and hires out its own group of assassin's; the Zodiacs, that also act as a defense force.
Thunderhead Enclave: Unlike the rest of the Enclave, elements of the pegasi city of Thunderhead - located over Hoofington near Shadowbolt Tower - are in contact with the surface and actively trading for materials like metal. They also import fruit from the society and are much more forward thinking than the rest of the Enclave (much to the ire of Neighvarro). They also have access to Unicorns untainted by the wasteland since they were in Shadowbolt Tower (the local MOA hub) before the bombs fell. The surface operations are spear-headed by the first volunteer corps; a civilian group given access to basic equipment, based out of the Rainbow Dash Skyport near the Hoofington University. As Shadowbolt tower is also the seat of Enclave Intelligence, however, clandestine unethical operations have been discovered in the region.
Raiders: Unlike the similar bands scattered across the wasteland, most of the Hoofington Raiders are created by the Raider Disease; while the standard strain has no effect on pegasi, infected earth ponies and unicorns quickly succumb to violent madness and a craving for protein via cannibalism. This psychotic, self-destructive, cannibalistic behavior is actually the vector through which the disease spreads, as it is passed on through exposure to tainted meat. The Raiders produced by the disease are particularly savage and have been known to eat themselves when they cannot find victims; one Raider was found to have ruptured her stomach by eating too much pony meat, killing herself.
Zebra Remnants: Led by Legate Vitiosus, not much is known about this faction beyond their desire to continue the war. They have access to some advanced, pre-war Zebra technologies, such as stealth cloaks, zebra rifles, and even a tank which had a built in regeneration talisman. Remnants will kill zebra separatists that refuse to aid them, obsessively continue to wage war on the ponies of Equestria, and seek to destroy star metal whenever it is encountered.
Sand Dogs: The Sand Dogs are a group of diamond dog survivors from before the bombs fell. Sand Dogs are cyborgs who run on gemstones for their cybernetic portions and eat regular food for their organic ones. The Sand Dogs were originally Diamond Dogs evicted from their home in Pleasant Valley, they were brought to Hoofington to dig out a vast network of tunnels that still stand in modern Equestria. Their pack leader is Rover who tried to convince Goldenblood to get them their home back, they worked but suffered injuries beneath Hoofington that could kill Diamond Dogs. Goldenblood let them have access to cybernetics and taught them to use and make them. Over time most of the Diamond Dogs were cybernetically enhanced and largely reliant on these enhancements to live normally. They now inhabit the underground metro tunnels and trade with the nearby settlement of Riverside.
The Zodiac Clan: The Zodiacs are a group of eccentric and deadly assassins, named after the signs of the Zodiac. They operate out of the Collegiate and work for Dr. Zodiac (formally known as Silver Stripe, one of the six friends who tried to clean up Hoofington decades earlier). After Deus put an excessive bounty on her head, the clan pursued Blackjack on numerous occasions, trying to get her PipBuck.
Traders/Finders: A large franchise of scavengers run by the Daughters of Finders Keepers (one of the six friends who tried to clean up Hoofington decades earlier); Caprice, Bottlecap, Usury and their family at large. The traders cater to all factions, their trading hubs considered neutral ground. It is Bottlecap's belief that trade will be what saves the Wasteland. Major Trade centers include The Megamart and the Exchange in Flankfurt, and caravans frequently pass by the Rainbow Dash Skyport to trade with the Enclave. Paradise once ran slave trading, but was forced out of business by the forces of Red Eye who took all the slaves. Usury was the leader of Paradise, but was forced to accompany her father's roving trade caravan after Red Eye put her out of business.
Red Eye's Slavers: While Hoofington was free from Red Eye's influence for the longest time, bands of slavers loyal to the ruler have recently begun appearing in both the south of the city near the Rainbow Dash Skyport, and at Paradise near Meatlocker. Additionally, other members of Red Eye's army have been observed working as enforcers for Sanguine, protecting their local business interests.
The Crusaders: The Crusaders are a group of orphan colts and fillies based in Chapel, originally formed by Priest and Arloste. They scavenge the wasteland, scrounging together anything that might be valuable and selling it later. Charity runs their store in Chapel and Priest worked as a Priest in Chapels namesake church.
Gangs & Tribes: Hoofington is home to numerous smaller gangs and groups, all having unique traits and combat methods. These groups include:
- Burner Boys - a group of scarred ponies that prefer incendiary weaponry in combat. The can easily be identified by the old firefighter's coats they wear. Their leaders name is speculated to be 'Napalm'.
- Pecos - a band of thugs for hire that are based out of an old Strip Mall near Brimstone's Fall, lead a pony named Sidewinder. Until their numbers are devastated, they held plans of taking over security in Flank.
- Flash Fillies - an all-female gang based out of the old Flash industries building near Fallen Arch, known for their use of beam weaponry. The group has a supposed reputation for capturing and raping males, however this fact is disputed (and further complicated as most of their members are victims of some form of abuse themselves). Until her death, the leader of the Fillies was Diamond Flash.
- Halfhearts - a group that controls the territory to the South of Hoofington that is made up of ponies who have lost someone important in their lives. Members are known both for their fearlessness in battle and melancholy; the reality behind both of these traits is that the gang exists to help their members stave off suicide. They are lead by Heartmender, a reclusive, ex-MOP ghoul who used to work as a psychiatrist.
- Highlanders - a group of pre-war separatists-turned-survivalists operating in the Northern passes near Black Pony Mountain. Generations of combating the local wildlife and Zebra remnant forces has toughened the group considerably (their leader, White lightning, fought Big Daddy Reaper in hoof-to-hoof combat for three straight days until the fight was interrupted by a Star Spawn).
- Meatlocker Ghouls - A large group of ghouls operating out of the old Hoofington Memorial Hospital, renamed "Meatlocker". Lead by Mayor Windclop, the group provide a refuge for the Hoofington Ghouls who frequently face persecution from the local populace. The settlement is reasonably well defended and welcomes trade from those open-minded enough to visit.
- Rocket Town Ghouls - A group of religious ghouls who planned to use the mothballed rockets at the Luna Space Center to escape the world. Little is known about them due to their reclusive nature.
Each group control their own turf in a different area of Hoofington, and answer in some way to Big Daddy who maintains orders by absorbing each gang's toughest members into the Reapers, ensuring no gang becomes powerful enough to take over the region.
Harbingers: The Harbingers began appearing whilst Blackjack was in Manehatten, during her conversion into a cyberpony. The Harbingers are in pursuit of Blackjack, desiring her PipBuck because it contains EC-1101. The group offer free food, weapons and technology to anyone that assists them and have access to production facilities that allow them to produce high quality, factory new products. Their leader is known only as the Prophet and was working with Steel Rain, who joined the Harbingers along with his renegade Steel Rangers after the destruction of The Celestia.