//------------------------------// // To be a wise in a land of greed // Story: Fallout Equestria New Horizons: Lacunae and Rampage's vacation in paradise. // by starwars90001 //------------------------------// The silence was the long-time friend of Lacunae, a friend she often welcomed. Yes, in the quiet she was left to ponder her thoughts, life, and the sad state of her friend. The silence was a remedy she welcomed after the centuries of painful noise. She stood near the window watching the nightlife below, watching as ponies came and went in the brightness of the city’s endless lights, sensing their emotions, feeling their magical auras like a sea of life. It would be a thing of beauty to her if this place wasn’t home of vice. “Hump, such beauty wasted on the Element of Greed.” She looked from building to building, casino after casino, bar after bar, high society whores, and drugs being pushed everywhere. She didn’t care, most well-off towns in the Wasteland were the same, yet this town could be so much more. When she got into a conversation with her escort to this fine room he told her of the four gangs that ran the city. The four casinos that gave out every pleasure known, each at war with each other for power. When She asked about schools, hospitals, churches, and general structures outside of vice the pony simply laughed. Saying “This is paradise, not a homeless shelter. Everything has a price here.” The only group the pony knew like that would be the Watchers, a group of doctors and teachers who made it their goal to help those in need no matter what, and yet the pony talked about them in a dismissive tone. Lacunae sighed and trotted over to her bed. It was a fancy thing along with everything else in the room, a large bathroom with marvel floors, the queen size bed with fur sheets, the air smelling of fresh scents, and a fridge filled with drinks. While she looked down on the city it’s many amenities were joyous to her. “And onto the news” The smooth gentle voice of a stallion came from the radio sitting on a nightstand by the bed. “Well, my little ponies today has been a strange day in the city of lights, strange than it usually is around here. The word spreading out town,  Luna’s visiting us! That’s right my little ponies an alicorn and her strange zebra friend have been seen around Dise, visiting the Moon and the Ale House. They’ve left quite an impression on our little town with the zebra going on to pay off a prostitute's debts and for her rehab. On top of that, she’s now Dise champion prizefighter! Well, words can’t describe what I’ve heard, but I will say this. If you two mares want an interview please come to my station, I’m all ears. In other but probably related news stories of two ‘Demon Mares’ roaming the northern Wasteland, killing raiders and Steel Rangers that have been terrorizing the Caledonia Wastes. Apparently, it's their day job to kill to wipe out the trash of the Wasteland but they're taking a break in our neck of the woods says, one survivor. The kicker, these Demon Mares are an Alicorn and a red zebra, now I wonder who that can be? Well, that’s it for today, this is Mr. New Haygas with a song from Sweetie Bell.” “One day in town and we’re already the stars of the show.” Lacunae just laid down to forget it all. Her letting the quiet of her mind take her. She tried to find peace but her thoughts kept going to her long-time friend, and how she was dealing with the events of tonight. She had known Arloste for years, she knew of the essences of other souls trapped inside her. She had seen her struggle to control them for decades, and she had watched as Arloste tame them. But every now and then her inner demons would take control of her when she gave into them. But was it always her fault? wasn't Lacunae's job to help Arloste in her darker moments? Wasn’t it her job to make sure her friend wasn’t consumed by the demons inside? Had she not sore to Arloste's mother, Shujaa, to be her the little filly’s guardian? It was her duty to protect her daughter not just as a friend but as a guardian angel. When Arloste fell it was her job to pick her up, that’s what an angel does. She felt needed to find her friend and apologize.  A knock at the door ended those thoughts real quick. With a groan, the alicorn pulled herself away from the soft fur sheets and dragged herself to the door. Opening she was greeted by a lemon-colored mare dressed in a doctor’s uniform, a strange eyeball symbol on her lab coat. Lacunae groaned again. “I will not join your faction or cause, I’ve already told off three other messenger ponies already.” The NCA one was the most bothersome, the constant speeches about bringing law to the wasteland made her head hurt. “Please leave me alone.” Before Lacunae could close the door the doctor pony quickly placed herself in the doorway. “Please wait!” Lacunae was growing angrier by the minute but the mare ignored her as she charged in. “We don’t want you to join! We just want to come down to the Watcher’s fort for questions and tests, that’s all!” The mare’s breaths were fast and pleading. “We just want a study of an alicorn up close!” Lacunae rolled her eyes so hard, if it wasn't a job offer it was doctors and scientists asking to study them. “Are you the Watchers?” The doctor nodded. “Fine, I’m not doing anything for the rest of the night.” Lacunae sighed, her quiet taken from her. “What’s your name, Miss? “Bright streak.” “Of course it is.” Lacunae sometimes hated that theme names caught on in pony culture. “Well, Ms. Bright Streak I was interested in your organization so I will bite. I wish to speak to your leader first, so take me to your fort.” Bright Streak was ecstatic at the request, bowing and giving thanks. “Thank you, Miss? “Lacunae.” “Ms. Lacunae, you will be rewarded for your time.” Bright Streak looked five minutes away from kissing the alicorn’s hooves. Lacunae just felt tired already from the experience, already regretting her decision but the mare seemed to mean well. “Lead the way Ms. Streak. I will be your humble guest.” ------------- Lacunae wasn’t expecting much and yet was still disappointed. The operation the Watcher called home was just a rundown fort on the north end of town filled with a sea of tents serving as doctor’s offices. She watched as doctors and nurses came and went, the place seemed to be overflowing with patients with most of them looking like addicts. Lacunae could hardly believe there was a school or proper medical service here. Her escort had led her into a larger tent that functioned as a waiting room, rolls of plastic cheap chairs faced a hastily put together desk. She had been waiting there an hour along with an overweight pony who was fast asleep. Lacunae wouldn’t mind the quiet but the large pony’s snoring ended that peace. Finally, a blue unicorn with a stethoscope around his neck walked in from a side opening. He was mostly normal except for his eyes, there were small black voids that seemed to almost glow. “Hi there.” For his off-putting eyes his manners and attitude were that of a gentle stallion. “When I hear there was an Alicorn in Dise I could hardly believe it.” He trotted up to Lacunae and put a welcoming hoof out.  “Clean Cut Ms. Lacunae.” “A pleasure.” She took the kind gesture. From behind Clean Cut a Minotaur, a large, two leg, muscular creature with two hands and a small head with horns that could impale a pony walked in. For most ponies, the sight of such a creature glaring at them would send them running to the hills, but for Lacunae, she had met such creatures before, plus she was half his size. “A Minotaur, interesting.” “Oh, this is Ginger. Our resident guard and war refugee.” Clean Cut waved the big fellow over. “Come say hello Ginger.” The Minotaur was in a constant state of glaring at the alicorn but gave out a friendly hand.  Lacunae ever the maiden took the Minotaur hand with a ladylike bow. “Nice to meet you, Mister Ginger, I’m Lacunae.” The Minotaur looked confused at her, obviously, he wasn’t used to getting such flattery so he bowed back in respect. “Now, you wanted to test me or something?” The alicorn gaze fell back on the blue stallion. “Yep, not every day we get an alicorn dropping into our laps.”  Lacunae started questioning what type of tests they wanted. “Oh don’t worry it’s just tests of your magic and radiation intake.” His horn sprung to life and a clipboard floated out from a pocket in front of him. “We’d heard stories about Alicorns up north, about their attraction to magical radiation. We were hoping you extend our knowledge of mutations and their connection to radiation.” It seemed like a nice enough reason to help, still Lacunae couldn’t shake the feeling this was because of something else they wanted. “Very well then, let’s get this show on the road.” --------------------- As a host, Clean Cut was a welcoming pony compared to most ponies in the wasteland, when Lacunae inquired about his organization the stallion gave a long-winded rundown of their founding ideals, and goals in a matter benefiting a college teacher. Even her questions about the factions of Dise and their history were met with the same overly detailed breakdown. And to top it off, there was no strain in the stallion’s voice about explaining, no annoyance from asking questions about the world around them. No, he seemed to enjoy this almost lecture-like discussion they were having. “And that’s there’s only four gangs instead of one.”  He said as they kept trotting through the camp. “Interesting. A balance of power at knifepoint, so this town’s is one run by the Elements of Fear and Control.” While she sought to put the city’s politics as far away from her as possible, hearing about them still interested her. This city has changed a lot since I last set hoof here, yet it’s still a city controlled by Elements of Greed and Fear. The more things change the more they also stay the same. “Tell me, do any of these gangs seek to control the Watchers?” Clean Cut chuckled at that as if the idea was the silliest ever. “Oh no, we’re of such little notice that gangs roll their eyes at us.” He looked around at some of the ponies moving through the camp. “Plus being a neutral zone where any pony can get treatment helps.”  Interesting.” Lacunae looked around the camp now with inquiry, the idea such a kind organization existed in the wastes especially in a city of vice-like this unmolested seemed impossible. However, she started to notice whenever they walked by any pony they scattered like rats, at first she thought it was because of Ginger. Clean Cut had told of her of the Minotaur army and its war with all of the Caledonia Wasteland, apparently, they sought to destroy the city and Lacunae had taken that as the reason the ponies were fleeing but now she wasn’t sure. “Ponies around here are a bit jumpy aren’t they?” She hoped that would be a hint for Clean Cut to explain their reactions. The Blue buck sighed in disappointment though. “Never mind them, their just not used to have strange visitors around.” The topic seemed like a sore one from the annoyance in his voice. Lacunae raised an eyebrow at that. “Are we scaring them? I would have thought ponies would have gotten used to Ginger being around, isn’t me? Clean Cut looked away in shame. “Yes and no.” He stared at the alicorn with sorrowful eyes. “See the Watchers are divided up between two groups of ponies. The followers of Watcher and the followers of Celestia’s vision.” That made Lacunae groan internally, she could already tell where this was going. “See the Watchers believe that every creature deserves to be saved as the way of the Watcher. We will provide aid, education, and cybernetics to any pony or creature that needs it. But Celestia’s vision.” He trailed off a bit as if the words bothered him to say. “ They believe Goddess Celestia has a vision of harmony that has been lost in the Wasteland. They view Zebras as mockeries of ponies that destroyed Celestia’s holy land, they see all nonpony races as beneath Celestia’s grand vision as side creations. They hate pegasi for stealing the sky from us with the cloud cover, they hate ghouls and your kind as monsters they need to be purged. And the look down on cybernetics as abandoning your soul.” “Oh, so their a normal religion in the wasteland.” Lacunae just chuckled at all that which shocked Clean Cut. “Do they burn heretics on a symbol of the Sun?” For Lacunae crazy cults in the wastes were as normal as raiders, you couldn’t travel five miles in the Wasteland without bumping into some death cult. “Do they kill ponies?” Clean Cut didn’t know how to answer that. “No, they mostly do protest like last week they protested the Ale House since a Mule runs it.” “Well, that just makes them annoying moral preachers. A good change for the Wasteland in my opinion.” Clean Cut didn’t know how to respond to any of that, he expected a more disgusted reaction from the alicorn but she was none plus about the whole thing. “The Wasteland with a few angry Celestia thumbing moms is better rather than say black robed ponies tearing your insides out in Luna’s name.” Clean Cut saw the point in that viewpoint so he just nodded his head in acceptance. The alicorn took note of Ginger’s quietness at all of this, she did not like talking over any creature so she tried to enter him into the conversation. “Tell me Mr. Ginger.” she moved closer to him which the large bull backed up a bit. “Is your silence because of this alienation?” He didn’t answer her, only looking at her with the same glare he gave everything, she just gave a friendly smile. She knew how much alienation hurt, the hateful eyes that stared at you wherever you went, burning into your mind like bullets. She hoped that she could be a friendly reminder that not every pony hated him Clean Cut was amused by the ladylike treatment of the Minotaur, in fact, she was the first pony he’d ever seen be this kind to him since they recovered him. “Oh, his silence isn’t from ponies being wary. No, it’s from his brethren.” “Brethren?” Clean Cut nodded his head. “Yes, Ginger here was left for dead by the Minotaur army. After we took him in he swore a vow of silence until his brothers in arms leave Dise.” The alicorn understood the idea, it was just something she couldn’t get behind, she stopped in front of the Minotaur with meaning in her voice. “Mr. Ginger if I could ever be inclined to tell you something.” The Minotaur's glare broke, replaced with confusion. “I know Minotaur culture, I know the reason you’ve taken this oath is that your people have abandoned you, That in their eyes you are a disgrace for being saved by the enemy. I know how it feels to be cast out and forgotten by your own kind, to walk the path of an exile is never an easy one but you should never allow it to control you.” She placed a hoof on his chest. “ I know how it feels to be an exile in a world that hates your existence, but you must never let how others view you control your life. Not brothers in the west or the ponies in this camp. You are Ginger before anything else, and if others see this as a problem then they are nothing for you to care about.” The Minotaur stared at the alicorn for a solid minute, no words were spoken as his expression softened to a smile, finally, he grabbed the hoof on his chest and in a move that shocked even Clean Cut he spoke. “Thank you.” Lacunae warmly smiled at the bull, she wasn’t the priestess she expired to be but she damn well tried. “You're welcome, my friend.” Clean Cut lost his normal deposition at what just happened in front of him. He couldn’t believe an alicorn of all ponies got Ginger to talk, the Minotaur didn’t talk to any pony except him and a few others in the Watchers. This mare had a way with words he’d never seen. “Eh? We’re here.” The stallion pointed to a tent that had antennas sticking out of its top, a sign with bright red letters saying ‘LAB” hung from the entrance. Lacunae walked past the shocked stallion with a ladylike trot before turning back to Clean Cut. “Well come on, it’s rude to keep a lady waiting. And I do wish to continue my quiet time.” As she entered the stallion and Minotaur exchanged glances before following her in.