Fort Deadtree is a location in the audio drama series Confessions of a Wasteland Pony.
It first appears in the sixth episode, The Ice Mare.
History & Equestrian Army Chemical Corps[]
Fort Deadtree was a multiple use Equestrian military post during the Great War.
It was located on the Eastern Coast of Equestria near Baltimare and the Celestial Sea.
The Fort primarily served two main divisions of the Equestrian military. The first was the Rigid Air Corps, which oversaw many of the rigid airships which made up the Equestrian fleet. The second division was the Equestrian Army Chemical Corps.
The large surface airfield served the primary function of the Fort as an airship logistics and maintenance station. Cargo ships, war balloons, fast attack ships, and bombers would all stop at the Fort for resupply, refueling, or light repair work not requiring a full SkyDock, like those at Mare Island.
The Chemical Corp's initial reason for being placed at the Fort was to refine liquid crystal for the balefire reactors found on the larger airships. The refined crystal could also be stored or transported to other locations to be used as fuel.
However, the remote location of Fort Deadtree in the forest and the ease of which the entire post could be evacuated with the many airships made it the ideal location for the Chemical Corps' other main function, developing biological weapons.
A large industrial complex was carved out below the main levels of the base, including basic Stable-like living accommodations. Because most of these facilities were used by the Equestrian Army Chemical Corps, the mix of other military members which took shelter there during the war eventually just assimilated into the new de facto military government.
After the war, the Chemical Corps slowly began exploring the post-war wasteland in a limited capacity. The early leadership especially were fearful of the surface conditions. Many of them thought that because of the hazards of the chemicals they worked with they would be more susceptible to horrible mutations if overexposed to surface balefire. Because of this, there was a longstanding policy of very few soldiers leaving to explore the surface for limited periods of time.
This allowed for an easily controlled information flow which would get exploited more and more by later Colonels leading the faction. Colonel Baker would be the leader of the installation when Frozen Peaks was brought their from their recovery operation.
She would describe her experiences at the Fort to DJ Pony, but the present conditions are not known.
Quotes[]
- "Well, from what we know, Manehattan was hit first. After that there were other reports coming in from all over, it was pretty chaotic. Half of the ships on base left for various places. The Pegasi forces, for instance, all went to one of their cloud bases. The underground levels of the Fort were mostly overseen by the Chemical Corps… This is where all of our storage areas, mixing facilities, and laboratories were placed… Along with Fort Deadtree’s reactor. Once we were sealed up, the Chemical Corps were basically in charge because we were most of what was left. As the years went on, all the other units just got merged in with us." - Ranch Horn (being paraphrased by Freezie)
- "He was telling me a bit about Fort Deadtree and what life was like for them. Naturally they had a very militaristic lifestyle, which I couldn’t imagine going through as a filly. Even my parents, who were in the Royal Guard, were still just normal parents at home. I wasn’t saluting and doing PT drills from the day I got my mark… But at the same time, Ranch Horn and the others formed a pretty close camaraderie… for the Chemical Corps, Fort Deadtree and their fellow soldiers were the entire world. They were brethren and family." - Freezie
Behind The Scenes[]
- The name "Fort Deadtree" is inspired by Fort Detrick, Maryland. Fort Detrick headed the U.S. Army's biological warfare programs which stretched for the decades between WW2 and the Vietnam War. These were large inspirations for the plot of The Ice Mare story.
- The name was coined separately and was not intended as a reference to Dead Tree Studios, Fallout Equestria: Dead Tree or their related projects. They have however worked together in the past and are considered friends of EAST Corp Productions.