Fallout Equestria: Dracony Chronicles

Lazuli sat silently on the floor as the filly ate. Laz didn’t have a lot in the way of food, but she had enough to be comfortable. Pearl was sitting on her bed, hind legs dangling off the edge as she ate piece after piece of dried Radigator meat that Lazuli had bought off of some traders that came through a few days ago. She wondered for a bit if the filly would eat meat, as some ponies in the Wasteland didn’t, but she seemed perfectly content with it.

She slowly lifted a piece of meat to her own mouth, taking a bite out of it. It was just dry jerky, really, but proper meat was something she found hard to get – and, while she knew that a Dracony could resort to eating equine meat…she wasn’t going to do that.

“Umm, miss Lazuli?” Pearl spoke up.

“Just call me Lazuli. What is it?” She replied.

“Umm…is…is this…you live here?”

The Dracony smiled a bit, and nodded. “Yep, I do. I know it’s not much, but…” She waved a hoof.

“I-it’s…very nice.” Pearl said, nibbling on her food a bit more.

“Oh, well er…thanks.” Lazuli stayed quiet for a minute, then continued. “Um…do you have…a place to go?” She asked tentatively, tilting her head. “I don’t suppose you come from Redhoof, do you?”

“Mm-m.” Pearl shook her head. “I…I used to live with my mom in a small village…but…”

Lazuli frowned. “Raiders?” She asked, trying not to make it too difficult. Pearl nodded slowly.

“Y-yeah…they…got rid of everyone except me and a few other foals…”

“…how old are you, Pearl?” Lazuli swallowed softly.

“I-I’m 10.” Pearl responded, looking up at Lazuli, having finished her food. “Why?”

Lazuli wasn’t sure why, and in fact it was completely out of character for her – but she suddenly moved forward and wrapped her front legs around Pearl. She embraced the young unicorn as tightly as she could without hurting her.

“I’m so sorry…” She said, almost in a whisper.

“U-um…thanks?” Pearl smiled shakily, slowly returning the hug and resting her chin on Lazuli’s shoulder. “Are you okay, miss- or…Lazuli?”

Lazuli breathed in deeply, holding Pearl as if she’d run away if she let go. “I-I’m fine.” She finally released her, sighing. “But…since you don’t have anywhere to go, I um…you can stay here, if you want.”

She inwardly cursed herself. What are you doing? You can’t take care of a filly. You’re out of your house half the day…

Pearl’s eyes lit up like a pair of suns, the likes of which Lazuli hadn’t seen in about two whole centuries. “R-really? You’d let me stay with you?!” It was Pearl’s turn to hug Lazuli now, her hooves wrapping tightly around the Dracony’s middle and squeezing her as hard as she could.

Sweet Celestia, kid’s got grip…Lazuli gritted her teeth, carefully returning the hug with a gentle squeeze. “Yeah…of course I would.” Lazuli nodded. This is a terrible, stupid idea, Lazuli. She thought to herself, but there was no way she was leaving Pearl to fend for herself. She could make this work…she just needed to alter her schedules a bit.

“Thank you thank you thank you!” Pearl squealed, burying her face in the fluff of Lazuli’s chest. “I promise I won’t do anything to annoy you, thank you so much!”

“Hey, it’s fine, kid.” Lazuli gently ran her hoof through Pearl’s mane, giving her another squeeze. “But you probably need rest. You can use my bed for now, okay?”

“Wh- um, where’re you gonna sleep?” Pearl tilted her head.

“I’ll just sleep on the floor. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Lazuli let go of Pearl, but not before lifting her up and placing her gently on the bed.

Pearl seemed a bit apprehensive, but with a confident smile from Lazuli she calmed herself down and nodded. “Th-thanks, miss Lazuli.” She laid down on the bed, which was really the only proper bed she had been in her entire life. Lazuli saw her wriggle around a bit against the sheets, pulling the covers over herself with magic. As he eyes closed, the look of pure contentment and bliss on the filly’s face made Lazuli’s chest ache.

Lazuli slowly laid down beside the bed, curling herself up like a cat and resting her chin on her forehooves. “It’ll be fine, Laz…” She muttered to herself, sighing gently and wrapping her tail around to her front before shutting her eyes.

The next morning, Lazuli woke to find that Pearl was still fast asleep in the bed. She didn’t have the heart to wake her up, so she just headed into the bathroom to clean up.

Once she had washed her face with the questionably clean water she had been keeping, she sat down at her desk and stared at the papers sitting on top of it.

For the past 2 years or so, she had been working on a record of her life. The past 180 years or so didn’t have a lot in them – the first 20 years after the bombs dropped had been hard, so she hadn’t left them out, but once the turmoil subsided, once the Stables began to open many years later, it wasn’t so interesting anymore.

Her life before the apocalypse, however…that was something she felt that she needed to document. She was fairly sure that she was the one of the only ponies alive who could remember the times before Equestria had been turned into a Wasteland, a time that she had actually been able to live normally before that was taken from her, too.

After staring at the pages for a few minutes, she picked up the radio on the desk and plugged in her headset. It was a simple pair of headphones with a scraggly wired microphone attached, but it did the trick. Flicking to a specific channel, she brought the mic down to her mouth. “Aura, you there?” She asked. For a few seconds she didn’t get an answer.

“Yeah, I’m here.” Came a soft, female voice. “What’s up, Laz?”

“Listen, uh…” She cleared her throat. “I need some advice, and I need uh…help. But I know Redhoof isn’t too fond of non-ponies…any chance you could convince them to let me come visit? If it helps, I’m the one they contracted to-“

“Yeah I know, Laz. I’m the one who set that up, remember?”

The sound of a chair rolling across wood and an exaggerated sigh came across through her headphones. “Fiiiiiine.” The mare on the other end replied. “Ugh, such a pain having to see you in the flesh, you know?”

Lazuli rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay. Thanks, Aura.”

“Kiss-ass.” Aura replied.

“Well I could also just not help you next time you’ve got raiders…”

“Nah, you love me too much.” Aura’s snicker came through, and Lazuli snorted.

“Anyway. I’ll be there in a few hours, okay? Just tell them, so they don’t shoot at me…my passenger isn’t exactly combat-ready.” Lazuli turned to look over her shoulder, watching Pearl’s chest rise and fall as she snored. She looked completely peaceful, like she hadn’t slept in a bed in months, maybe even years…or maybe not ever.

“Can do, old-timer.” Aura snapped her out of her thoughts, and the radio switched to static.

Lazuli put down the radio, smiling a bit. These things are so damn useful. She thought to herself, getting out of her chair and trotting over to the bed to wake Pearl up.

“Just stay on my back, okay?” Lazuli smiled over her shoulder as she trotted into the town, the packed-down dirt road kicking up gentle clouds of dust with each step.

“I’m not too heavy?” Pearl asked, her bright eyes looking around at her surroundings.

“Nah, you’re fine.” Laz replied, looking around as well. Normally, she didn’t go into towns much, unless she really needed supplies…those she normally got from traders passing by, anyway.

Redhoof was a town of few wonders, and even fewer ponies. It boasted a population of just over a hundred, which Lazuli supposed wasn’t too bad for a town in the Wastes. Its buildings were actual buildings, at least, made out of wood and bricks and sturdy enough to not loose parts during a storm. The town itself had gained its name for the basin it was sat in, a large natural crater that was filled with red sand and dirt. Most ponies who walked around outside had red hooves, hence ‘Redhoof’.

As she made her way down the street – for the town was essentially one long street walled in by rows of buildings, though there were a few twists and turns – it didn’t take long for her to be greeted by the only mare she knew on a friendly basis in the town, and one of the only ponies who she considered anything more than a living sack of meat in this Wasteland. Aura Burst was a bright mare, both in her intellect and colouration, a nice contrast to the drab browns and reds that filled the area. Her mane was a shiny, shimmering blonde, and her coat was a light creamy colour that wasn’t quite beige, but too dark to be considered pure white. A horn jutted out from her forehead.

“Laz!” Aura called, her face brightening into a wide smile. “How the heck’s my favourite dead-maker?”

“You need to work on your titles.” Lazuli said with a bit of a smirk.

“Hello!” Pearl spoke up suddenly, putting her front hooves on the back of Lazuli’s head and hoisting herself up so she could be properly seen.

“Wooooaaah, Laz.” Aura squinted, giving the Dracony a saucy look. “Somethin’ you want to explain to me? Who’s the lucky guy?”

With anypony else, Lazuli probably would have ripped their throat out, but she just snarled instead. “I will end you.”

“Yeah okay, scary.” Aura snickered. “But uh…seriously, what’s with the um…that?” She nodded at Pearl, who was still smiling like a…filly.

“She’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Uh…Aura, this is Pearl Blossom. Pearl, Aura Burst.” She said, gesturing between the two of them.

“Here, let’s walk back to my place. And uh…nice to meet you I guess, Pearl.”

Lazuli fell into step beside Aura. “So…what’s this about, then?” She asked, glancing back at the filly who seemed content to play with Lazuli’s metal wings.

“Well…when I was out killing that raider boss – you’re welcome by the way – I found this one.” She extended her wings, doubling as both a guard to keep Pearl on her back and a source of entertainment for the young unicorn. “She uh…they…um.”

“Slave?” Aura raised an eyebrow.

“…yeah. And you know how I am about those.” Laz replied.

Aura frowned and nibbled on her lip. “So…you saved this filly, and now you don’t know what to do with her.”

“Well…I mean…it’s not so much that I don’t know what to do, but I…” Lazuli started, but trailed off.

“Geez, I’ve never seen you like this.” Aura tilted her head, concerned. “I could probably ask around and see if anyone in town wanted to take he-“

“No!” Laz suddenly blurted out, startling Aura. “I mean… I… no, it’s fine, it’s just…” She sighed heavily. “I can handle it. I just need to figure out how to work it into my… career, you know?”

Aura’s horn glowed a gentle gold colour, pushing open the door to one of the houses lining the street and stepping inside. “Well that’s uh… kind of impossible, Laz. You can’t take care of a kid and be a merc who’s never at home.”

“I-…” Lazuli tried to come up with some sort of rebuttal, but Aura wasn’t wrong. “…yeah… but I don’t want to just… leave her with a town, you know? What if raiders attack again, or-“

“I get it.” Aura cut her off. “Believe me. But… your options are kind of limited. Unless you settle down somewhere, that is, but… that doesn’t really seem your style.”

As the two mares walked into the house, Lazuli gently slid one wing to the side and let Pearl use it as a ramp, the filly hopping onto the floor. Lazuli and Aura sat down on the couch, Pearl soon following their example and sitting next to Laz, scooting as close as possible and resting her head against the Dracony’s side. Pearl seemed to get the idea that she shouldn’t talk yet, so she stayed quiet.

“…I guess you’re right.” Laz nodded. “But… I kind of do want to settle a bit.”

Aura looked a bit taken aback, her green eyes focusing in on Lazuli’s. “…you feeling okay, Laz? Sure you’re not sick?”

“I mean it, Aura.” She responded, suddenly overcome with a feeling of exhaustion. “I just… I dunno. I’ve been doing this for almost two centuries, in total.”

“I still don’t really believe that whole thing.” Aura chimed in. “Er…but right, go on.”

Lazuli shot her friend a bit of a glare, then snorted. “I’ve been doing it for so long, and…I miss being able to be normal. I only really was ‘normal’ for like…ten years, but I miss it.”

“Well…I’m sure ‘normal’ back then is pretty different from ‘normal’ now. Not that I’m saying you don’t deserve a break or anything, but…what would you do, really?” Aura asked, her head tilting and her ears wiggling a bit.

The Dracony thought about it for a minute. “I…” She realized that Aura had a point. Most settlements in the Wastes weren’t very fond of mutants, and while Lazuli wasn’t a mutant in any way, she was always seen as one. “I d… I don’t…” She leaned back in her seat, staring at the carpet. “I don’t know…”

Aura put a hoof on Lazuli’s shoulder sympathetically. “I’m not gonna tell you what to do, and I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t do it even if caps were on the line, but you’re not the motherly type.”

“…what if I…” Laz started to say, but it turned into a mumble.

“Um… what if you what?” Aura lifted one of her ears.

Lazuli took a deep breath. “What if I… worked here? In Redhoof?” Her head slowly turned to meet Aura’s gaze.

“Laz…”

“No, I’m serious.” She said more firmly. “The ponies here know me. Maybe they don’t really like me, but they know me, and I’ve done three contracts for them as a whole. They can’t just say no, right? And I know for a fact they have empty houses, and that the leaders need a secretary.”

“Laz, the life here would bore the hell out of you. Why are you letting one filly change your whole way of doing things?”

“Because Topaz-…” She froze, her ears flattening against her head for a moment, her eyes wide. “I… I mean… because Pearl… deserves to have a normal, safe life.”

Aura’s face seemed a bit concerned, but she sighed and shook her head. “I can ask the mayor, I guess. But… don’t get your hopes up, okay? For now…make yourselves at home I guess.”

“Thanks.” Laz tried to clear her head, looking down at Pearl, who was idly curling Lazuli’s mane around her hoof. “Pearl, you okay?”

“Yep!” Pearl responded, the first time she had spoke for a while. “I’m fine.” She smiled, her grin surprisingly bright despite probably not having much dental hygiene.

Lazuli sighed and laid her head back, a heavy sigh rolling out of her. She didn’t know why she was deciding to basically change her entire lifestyle because of this one filly, but she did know that she wasn’t going to let Pearl live in a town that was already prone to raider attacks and destruction on a regular basis, not without her being there to protect her.

…sweet Celestia, what’s wrong with me? She wondered, before getting up to look around the town with Pearl.