//------------------------------// // CP. II : Dead pony walking // Story: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (Stalker) Dirge of Equestria // by Hoghound //------------------------------// CP. II – Dead pony walking “The strangest thing is that some of the subjects have mentioned side-effects from the experiment. The other day, 311 was screaming about being capable to see her dead parents. Nonsense, if you ask me.” The very same bed upon which I had been laid before was holding me again. Damn. My body found out new and disturbingly intense levels of pain, as if a plant pot struck my head, then an anvil, then a cart full of hay, and then a piano. “Well, it looks our hero has awaken…” the dusk mare beside me sarcastically snapped “Just… what hit me ? I saw the whole world around myself… unlit.” “Helluva lucky unicorn you are… most stalkers out there could not boast having survived a blowout to their friends” “THAT was a blowout ?” “Ayep.” “How I even…” “Our scouts searched the area after the emission broke out and brought you back. Now, about how you actually managed to survive, I’d say that the answer you seek lies within…” She touched my chest “Literally. From what we dug on the Mergequine project, your genetic structure was thoroughly modified. Somehow, it made you better, stronger, more capable. The thing is… a blowout is a sudden release of mysterious energy, one that effectively resonates with all the living beings unlucky enough to be caught by it, generally meaning death. In your case, however… the results are rather… controversial. As we speak, Ameara is re-running your DNA tracing” “But the stalker…” “Has been found dead. The Zone is not a forgiving place. Now rest. You had been through a lot lately. When you feel better, meet us downstairs” She turned around to descend the stair. As she did, I could spot the figure of a bright yellow sun over two white clouds on her flanks. Her cutie mark. ============================== [><]============================= “Are you sure about it ? I mean… couldn’t you have accidentally done several mistakes on the test?” “I am afraid not. Potria is especially careful with these things” Ameara apologetically eyed me We have been in this conversation for half an hour and so. Potria, the dusk colored mare, was now eyeing through the window, while Ameara spoke to me “I am truly sorry about your situation, Boshan . But even if you had a radio at the time, it wouldn’t do you much good, this blowout was not like any other… it materialized, all of a sudden. Usually, the whole climate changes as a forewarning, giving stalkers a few minutes to seek shelter.” “Just explain me about this whole… deep genetic changes business my body had.” “In layman’s terms, your body is somehow very adaptable and diversified, result of an extensive genetic selection. The blowout, in contact with it, reacted as a catalyst, speeding up the lifecycle of your genes. It also increased the efficiency of them.” “So it is a good thing, right ? my body is working better than before” “No, it is not. Your genes are working so fast, that it is just a matter of time until they cross the threshold of acceptability, being cracked over the excess they now operate at normally. If our calculations are right, you have thirty days before they shut down.” “But there isn’t a way to revert this ? I can’t bear the thought of just having a month of life.” “Believe us, we tried everything we could, but the data we had on you, taken from the mergequine project , was incomplete. And our machines can only work from a certain level. We need to acquire the complete research notes at least.” “Just tell me, what do you need me to do ?” She pointed at the map covering the wall beside her, right on the middle, a red circle marked the center of the Zone. The NPP. “So, the only way to save myself from certain death, is going on a head straight suicidal mission ?” “Do not be foolish. One does not simply walk directly into the NPP. There are some serious threats blocking access to it. We’ll just progress toward it by small, but consistent steps. I even have someone in mind to guide us safely.” “You’d care to share his name with me?” “After you do us an small favor, we shall…” Fair enough, I thought. After all, Limpid Skies has saved my life (twice). The least I could do was provide some assistance for them. I nodded. “If you can accompany us…” she gestured toward outside We moved toward the main courtyard Noticeably more crowded than before, it was beaming with activity. Limpid Skies members were packing gear, repairing weapons and sewing the holes of their armors. I followed the two mare officers near a particularly grim group. The two pegasai we approached were carrying what had been a third one, it was now only a bullet-filled corpse. “Ameara, we lost Delphanos while retreating from the scrapyard. Those goddamn riders, they encroached nearly every corner of the swamp… what are we supposed to do?” “I believe it is about time we should put someone experienced in charge of the battle.” She eyed me. “What, me ? I just wake up two days ago… how I can possibly have combat tactics or strategical skills whatsoever?” “Well, surviving a blowout is a precedent no other stalker had. I believe your dormant genetical inheritance could somehow aid us on wiping out those vermin.” “I don’t really have a choice, do i?” She simply shrugged. “Oh, we have left your gear with Peppermint, our mechanic. He’s probably done with it by the moment. You should go check with him, while we pay our respects to Delph.” Leaving them behind, I sought the makeshift shack, with every corner patched, scraped and held together by goddess knew what (maybe super-glue…) the inside was nearly chaotic as the outside, with several shelves filled with broken down junk, spare parts, entangled wires, electronic components, rotting compounds and everything else a pony could think, but the kitchen sink. Beside the workbench, a hooded pegasus stallion tinkered with the very same PDA a maroon-colored pegasus mare showed to me. “Go away, don’t you people read the sign at the door?” I turned from him, just to examine the sign he mentioned, but there was nothing fixated at the door “Dude, there is nothing at the door” He lifted his gaze from the PDA, showing he was wearing magnifying glasses with four lens. Observing the door, he was left speechless. After pondering for a minute, the pegasus just remarked: “Ah, now i remember… used it last week to repair the water pump hull. It is hard to keep track of stuff when nearly everything around seems to be of use to repair broken gear. Anyways, doesn’t matter. It is finished.” He smiled while handing to me the PDA. The pegasus set his silly magnifying glasses down, while i peeked at the device unsure of what to do with it. “I suppose you have no idea how to use one of these, do you?” “Not at all.” “Well then, stay awhile and listen.” It came out that a PDA had several useful features. A list of tasks, upon which I could keep track of my objectives, a map, a faction reputation-sheet (marked neutral upon all of them, but Limpid Skies, since I had no contact with any other.), a diary section, upon which personal notes could be set, a rating section, listing the twenty toughest stalkers with their ranks, and an encyclopedia, which could be filled with information about the Zone and survival tips found on other stalkers PDAs or given to me. “Have I been myself clear or do I need to repeat something ?” “I think I get it… let me try using it a bit…” “Suit yourself.” He crossed over the workbench and handed me the PDA. I could now see his orange, black-speckled fur. A pair or wrenches rest on his flanks. “Ah, and your pack is atop that shelf” he pointed toward the one at the right corner from the door. “I worked your pistol. It is now properly calibrated” As I reached the pack, I peeked inside to check if everything there survived the blast. Everything was intact. Then I remembered… catching it from the depths of the saddlebag, I produced a stone with several holes on the surface. “Any idea of what this is ?” “An artifact, I see… hmm… I saw some of the guys with this one. They called it a funny name. Jellyfish.” “Why so ?” “Probably because of the shape. It indeed look like one.” “Do it have any special proprieties ?” “From what I had been told, it creates a protective field around the user, slightly increasing protection against bullet wounds. However, radiation is a side effect of it” Interesting… if this widespread artifact could even do this, I could only imagine what a rare one could produce. I stuffed it back onto the saddlebag. “Thanks a lot, Peppermint. I’d better speak with Ameara to proceed to the bog.” “Wait. Are you going to help our guys fend off the raiders, stranger?” "If I can be of help to them…” He eyed me up and down “Could you do something for me while out there ?” “What do you have in mind ?” “I am kind of short of spare parts” I eyed the room filled with assorted trash, even reaching the ceiling at some points, and eyed him incredulously. “Yes, I know. But all of this is for everyday repair uses. I need spare trash for personal projects… when you spend some time dismounting and fixing up stuff, you learn how to make quite… unique and ingenious devices from the most exotic materials. I tried all of these, they are not good for the kind of things I have at my mind. they even fail to inspire me…so plain.” The pegasus deflated at his workbench “So, I need to be on the lookout for interesting trash. Where should I look for it?” He immediately stood back up, excited for the prospects of new junk to work with. “The swamp was a huge farm once, the place used to thrive before monarchy broke out. Scavenging some of the ruins should yield nice results. Do it, and I’ll make it worth your while.” I shook his hoof firmly. “By the way, my name is Boshan” “Well, Boshan, good luck. Oh, one last thing. Your PDA has a built in radio unit with a frequency scanner range of 250 meters, you can intercept even encrypted communications from this range. Also, you can hear us through it, since Limpid Skies possess a 50 KM range radio on this facility, meaning we can keep in touch, send you over the latest buzz and hand over advice as you traverse the Zone. I exited his shop, waving goodbyes to the black-speckled pegasus Then, i went to speak with Ameara. She sat at her office. “Did he updated your PDA?” “Yes, it will be very useful out there…do we have a plan or something ?” “Basically, the swamp is just a bunch of land with several interest points at it. Whoever group can keep those interest points and defend them, can easily assume control of the immediate surroundings. So, we have to wipe the buildings clean of raiders to be able to regain dominance over the swamp. First off, we’ll occupy the nearby abandoned buildings, then proceed to confront the raiders and retake the ones at the center of the swamp, acquiring enough reinforcements to stand against them. Lastly, we’ll spearhead an incisive strike at their headquarters, to drive them off our swamp.” “Sounds easy when put this way… but I suspect it will be as hard as nails.” She nodded “At least you won’t be alone. Limpid Skies will have your back, Bosh. By the way, this coat won’t last much out there, take this barding.” She handed me a worn sky-blue camouflaged barding, the same i saw members of Limpid Skies wearing around the base. Mine had recently sewed holes and the hood had a few red stains over the sky-blue fabric, also a hastily cut hole at the forehead area, to accommodate my horn. My suspicions about the origin of the suit vanished right after spotting a label marked with the letter “D” beside the collar, but Ameara was right. A simple leather jacket would not hold out efficiently against a barrage of gunfire, although i wished to fare better than the previous owner of the armor. So, i let go my prejudice and wore the barding, using the telekinesis to close the zippers at the back of it, originally intended to allow a pegasus to stretch their wings. “Fits perfectly, who knew… now we just need to grab you something better than this pig-shooter you have” She rifled through her desk’s drawers, stopping at a particularly promising one and bringing out of it a sawn-off shotgun along with a few boxes of shells I flipped around the shotgun with my TK, testing it’s weight, familiarizing myself with its structure. When I felt my TK grew solid enough to precisely wield it, I stored it at the saddlebag. Ameara mused outside. “Whenever you are ready to go, meet with your group outside. You know, the two stallions we spoke before” “Isn’t by any chance one of them is the one that guided me by the swamp yesterday ?” “Actually, Clockgear is at this moment out there on the crossfire. Why you ask about him?” “The bastard tripped me.” “Nonsense, you probably tripped on a stump. After all, you couldn’t see” “But now I see… a big moron is what I see.” “Look Boshan, I know Clockgear for a long time. He would never do something like that on purpose. It was just an accident” “Sure it was” She glared at me skeptically “I mean… yeah, I am sure it was.” “Remember, save this energy for the raiders. We cannot afford to fall apart while they roam freely through the swamp.” I laid my body against the wall and spent a moment to meditate about her words. Then, i exited her office to reunite with my new group. ============================== [><]============================= Fortunately, traveling blindfolded was more pleasant than the last time. As my pegasai friends removed it, we rushed through the swamp. I accompanied them toward the recently purged docks. A faint smell of smoke still permeated the air. Limpid Skies units had recently eliminated the encroaching raiders permeating the building, and were currently defending the structure against a new batch of them. We caught them under fire. The raiders secured their positions behind long-rusted boats, and were thinning down Limpid Skies numbers, slowly but surely. My group actually landed on the other side of the raiders’ cover. POWW… POWW… Two shotguns shells went toward the air, one of them wounding the burgundy pegasus at my right. We quickly dove for cover behind some feeble trees. My shotgun flew out of the saddlebags, ready for action. I gestured toward my pegasai group to synchronize our fire, they nodded at me. I hoofed the land quickly three times. The pegasai mouthed their handles, triggering their harness mechanisms. It was a metal contraption wrapped around their bodies, allowing the use of bigger weapons, such as rifles and submachine guns, the very same contraption some of the raiders were using, although some of them looked like cheap knock-offs or made of several parts of different models of other harnesses, cramped together. RATTLLLE…RATLLLEEEE….RATLEEETLEE…. POWW… POWW… We wounded a raider and killed another. blood sprouted through the extension of his black jacket. We dove again for cover As Teacup bandaged his wound the best he could, Tourmaline peeked at the group of raiders nearby “Three more to go… we can probably wipe them out fast if we just wait for our guys over there to distract them.” Teacup nodded, and I reloaded my two-slug shotgun while grunting acknowledgment. Our group stood there, waiting… it went several minutes, until gunshots were heard far out. At the moment we heard the raiders countering fire, we rushed toward their position, and fired point blank at them while they were aiming toward the docks RATTLLESQUACH…. RATTLETLEESQUACH…. POWWTHOOF… POWTHOOFF… Five bodies laid before us. One of them was shot dead by some sharpshooter at the docks. Tourmaline instantly begun searching their dead bodies, and threw some supplies to us. “Fair share.” He said. “And if I were you, horn-bearer, I’d trash the shotgun and take one of their rifles. It is simply worthless on mid-distance combat” I took his advice; after all, from what little we had spoken while on the travel, I could get that he was an experienced stalker. the fact that he was still alive attested to it. My combat knife dove at the deceased raider’s harness, releasing his AK-47. I’ve also unloaded the other raiders’ AKs to safeguard ammo. Still, all I had was only a handful of it. I had to conserve. Upon reaching the docks, we were welcomed by the other pegasai. With the apparently clear situation, they could spare a couple of members to help us on trying to wrestle the raiders off from the nearby interest point. The map indicated that the interest point laid north. With our course set, our group proceeded. The swamp eventually came to be much more dense and corrupted trees sprouted everywhere as we approached it, to the point that it became necessary to use our combat daggers to cut through the plants. I was at the front, when my TK-driven knife struck onto ivory and did not release instantly. Coming closer to it, we noticed the fact that it wasn’t ivory, but an ancient sign covered with it. With a few measures of my now freed knife, it was legible. It was written with the following words: “Froggy Bottom Bog” A few meters deeper onto it, we heard the raiders occupying the pond that compromised froggy bottom bog itself. It was not much really, just a pond of irradiated water, circumvented by a few wooden piers. Tourmaline counted eight raiders. It wasn’t going to be easy. To make matters worse, they were separated through the pond’s borders in pairs. If we opened fire against a group, it would certainly alert the other six raiders. “So, any ideas?” “We cannot just fire and run, they would know form where we shot.” “What if… we separate into three groups and open fire against each squad of them, them team up to clear the last one ?” “Sounds logical… but how are we going to sync up ?” “Set your PDAs to time five minutes, to give time to the others cross through the jungle again and find their positions.” “Okay but… who stays alone ?” “I do.” i interrupted their planning “my telekinesis enables me to pull out my sidearm faster. If my ammo depletes, I can finish off the other raider with ease.” “Hmm… well… somepony has a word against it ?” The other three pegasai fell silent After syncing our PDAs, Tourmaline grouped with one of the rookies and Teacup with the other. Both of their groups went west and east, respectively. I kept my position. Those raiders seemed so obliviously blind to their fates… those five minutes came, and in a flash of moment, guns blazed from the depths of the jungle, as we all opened fire simultaneously at the raiders. At the end of the gunshot, nine bodies rotted on the ground. The Zone reclaimed them as its own. “A fancy job we did out here, isn’t it ?” Tourmaline broke the silence Teacup groaned while lying near a tree, he was suffering from a grievous wound, it was starting to hemorrhage. The elder pegasus paid no attention to him and again begun to scavenge the corpses of the dead. Not even sparing the one of his own group. Rushing closer to the burgundy pegasus, i begun to tend to his wounds, using my last medkit. “You are not going to last long on the Zone, horn-bearer. You are too soft.” Unfortunately, the pegasus died even as i tried to mend him up, his wounds were too deep, he died at my hooves, his blood soaked my barding. “See? the Zone does not forgive foolishness… Teacup saw it coming.” Seeing that I couldn’t do anything more to him, I closed his eyes… at least he was now in peace. I turned toward the two other pegasai alive. Tourmaline and Doughspoon Nodding my head sadly, I backed away from the burgundy-colored body. Tourmaline took it as his cue to rummage on his friend’s possessions. “Don’t you have any shame?” I asked him. “Look, do you think he cares ? that he will actually complain being looted ? What I do, horn-bearer, is to survive. I do not like it either, but it got me through. This is the way it is supposed to be. This is the way you must embrace if you want to live on the Zone.” “Even so, he deserves better than this…” “Alright, if you are so concerned about it, let’s make a poll. Who is against looting Teacup?” I rose my hoof “Ok, one vote. Now, who is in favor of looting Teacup?” Tourmaline rose his own hoof AND Teacup’s dead hoof Dougspoon absented himself of voting. “Two votes in favor of looting. Looks like I won.” After scowling at him, i picked up whenever crumbs Tourmaline left on the raider’s bodies. A few more bullets for my AK and some food. “We should move out… our guys will fortify this position soon. With luck, we can take out the next point and secure ourselves a nice foothold on this war.” Doughspoon awkwardly said. The map shown two points of interest nearby, one far to the north, an abandoned scrap yard and another east, a stone bridge crossing what once had been a river. The bridge seemed the evident strategic choice. Limpid Skies could easily conquer the isolated scrap yard north if the bog was still secured, but the stone bridge was much more prone to territorial disputes, since it was positioned right on the middle of the swamp. On the trek toward it, my mind raced, trying to assimilate just what I had been through… downright at my second day out on the Zone, I held a dying pony on my hands… one I had been incapable to save… just like the earth pony caught by the blowout. At one moment he was with me, breathing. While the next… I just wondered… if I’d been around the Zone enough, would I become alike the pegasai next to me? A creature without any scruples, dismissing them at will if they stood between him and survival? I suspected that this would be only the beginning… By the time we reached the bridge, our eyes spotted a group of raiders trying to defend themselves against a pack of dogs. It seemed like the raiders had been unlucky enough to have attracted a huge pack of the creatures, there were around twenty dogs, chewing down raider bones, while cornering the surviving ones around the stony structure. The raiders were thoroughly desperate. Three of them lay dead, with their interiors already defiled by the dogs. The beasts only left out the hardest bones and weapons, their stomachs could even digest ammo, I realized in horror as i saw one of them chewing a raider saddlebag entirely, not leaving any of its contents behind. “Those are blind dogs… let them have their fun, then we’ll eliminate any survivors” How he could be so calm and focused while seeing this spectacle of horror was beyond my comprehension… I was starting to really hate the pegasus next to me… Five minutes later, twelve dogs fed on several pony corpses. They had been especially keen to gut their prey in seconds. “Let’s move. And try not to get on the way, horn-bearer.” We moved by the bridge’s side, getting closer to the mutants. I rose my AK, while my pegasai companions readied their mouth-manifold mechanisms “3…2…1… Blast them good.” RATTLETLETLETLE…. RATLLETTLLLE… RATLLEETLEE RATTLEETLEETLEE… RATTTLETLEE While releasing the deadly barrage, I moved toward the mutants to get a better shot at them. RATTLETLETLEETLEE… click, click, click Screw those raiders with all the mutated livestock of this fucking swamp! The badly kept AK I took from one of them has jammed. I was defenseless! Two of those dogs lunged at me like lunatics, possibly attracted to the blood that coated my barding. That’s what you get for trying to help others on the Zone. They knocked me on the grey pavement, their teeth worked through my barding, ripping it to shreds, as my nose was nauseated by their warm and putrid breath. They started biting off my flesh. Pain was unbearable, I was being eaten alive! A third dog came from the bridge and went for my neck ! Luckily, I was prepared now. My telekinetic grasp pulled off my pistol, touched his skull and pulled the trigger before he could descend upon my throat. BANG! Bits of his brain and blood fell over the other dogs, still snapping off blood and flesh entangled cloth from me. RATTLETLEEEETLEEEE….RATTLETLEEETLEEE The dog fell dead before my feet, with a mouthful of red-stained fabric on his teeth. The other one ran away. Reality blacked out… ============================== [><]============================= “Fucking rookie… looks like you nearly got yourself killed. And Doughspoon, why the hell you aided him? If he is going to start fighting like this, he’s better off dead.” As I slowly regained my senses, the very first thing I noticed, was that my body was covered with bandages, all of my stock had been used to stack the wounds. Pain was still over the top, but more moderate than before. “He is useless now. See?” I rose up to confront my pegasai companions, they stood nearby a huge pile of dogs, they probably have brought them together in order to burn the mutants remains. “Thanks Doughspoon. I owe you.” Tourmaline eyed me depreciatively. “At least I will not have to stand you goddamn tourists anymore. Limpid Skies has retaken the scrap yard by this moment. Now I just need to reach it to cross the swamp toward Agropony and get on with the cash treadmill again” “Wait, we have not gained control over the swamp. What… are you… deserting your own faction?” “My faction?” the elder pegasus snapped “just because i am a pegasus, it does not mean that i am a Limpid Skies member.” “He is right. Tourmaline is not one of us. He is… a merc” Doughspoon voiced “Damn right I am. Now that the bandits from this swamp do not entrap me anymore, I’ll just use the back door to quit this shithole. I didn’t enlist to partake on this stupid turf war” “But Limpid Skies has sheltered you from the raiders! the minimum you could do to repay…” My PDA’s radio has sprang to life all of a sudden. “ All units, requesting backup at the treehouse …. A shooter has pinned down all my squad, I need IMEADIATE assistance.” Tourmaline turned northwest, toward the scrap yard. “Not my problem.” I rushed over by him. “You ARE going to aid us. THEY SAVED YOUR DAMN MANE FROM GETTING SWISS-CHEESE’D, you INGRATE MOTHERFUCKER.” “As i said before, i AM bailing out, and there is nothing you can do about it, horn-bearer. Insult me all you want, I’m out of here.” I locked my infuriated gaze at him. “FINE THEN, GO. But know this. Someday… our differences will put us on the opposite sides of a loaded gun.” The merc removed his gas mask, revealing the short dark blue hair below it. Tourmaline returned my gaze, with cold, unfaltering eyes. “I’ll look forward to it… if you manage to live that long.” With those words, the pegasus left us. I checked out the PDA. The treehouse was south of our position. After leaving the bridge, i checked out the (few) raider bodies that the dogs had not consumed entirely. One of them had a PDA. Tourmaline had somehow missed it. The PDA contained coordinates to a stash on the swamp. It read: “Shit… those featherheads have made a move toward the base. While my comrades rushed to take their positions, I hid the excess gear under a carriage by the tower. Will pick it up later.” Doughspoon advised me to take some of the blind dogs’ tails. He said that there were certain individuals who valued them. Personally, I couldn’t picture someone on their right state of sanity wanting a fibrous appendage of a mutated canine, but i carved out three pristine tails anyway. Me and my companion had to brave the swamp yet again, only this time to reach some firm land, the remnants of an apple orchard, upon the treehouse was encrusted on a clearing. The ponies of the past built it as a landmark on the forest, possibly to keep their pestering colts and fillies away while they did menial work. “Over here” whispered a voice from our right as we crossed the forest. The indigo pegasus was taking cover behind a dead oak. The treehouse was a few meters ahead. “So, you are my reinforcements ?” the pegasus asked, and eyed me “Kid, you took a rain of pocket knives or something ?” he referenced my mud-crusted, blood-bathed, fang-ripped barding, it was somehow sticking to my skin, and the bandages weren’t really helping it either. I just shooed the desire to itch myself and spoke to him. “How many raiders are on the treehouse ?” “One. But he is a helluva shooter.” I noticed that his armor had been pierced profusely, wonder which kind of weapon the shooter had… there was only one way to find out. While gravitating a rock, I drew at it a smiley with some of the mud. Then, floated it into the line of vision of the treehouse. PLITCH…TCHAAK !!!! The rock crumbled to dust. The pony was handling a Vintar BC. One false move toward him, could pretty much mean a straight bullet to the head. The indigo pegasus gestured toward me. “if you can creep up close the tree, unicorn, then you could float these to our friend…” He handed me three grenades. “Push the pin, count to three, and release.” Right now I had to be fast… real fast. I fell back toward the outer trees of the orchard, trying to find a blind point in the structure, then i ran like hell. My body ached in protest, but my will guided me onward. The sniper saw me coming and started to take shots. PLITCH…. !!! Missed PLITCH….!!!!! Missed again. PLITCH…SQUELCH !!! The Fucker crippled my front right hoof! Slouching toward the tree, I did a dive roll to cover the last few meters, then, my back hit against the hard bark of the oak. the world seemed… more gray than usual. Then I took notice I had landed upside down against the tree. It was an awkward pose, but I managed to float the grenades and lob them onto the treehouse, unpinning them. KABLAMMOOO!!!.... Well… no plan was flawless, this one was no exception. I was below the collapsing structure. Harnessing all of my telekinetical might, I held off a large piece of the roof to cover my body, luckily, it was enough. After the blast ceased, the pegasai neared me. I shook off the dust and staggered toward them. “Wow unicorn, now that’s what i’d call some fancy hoofwork.” I nodded. “Unfortunately, wasn’t enough to evade the bullets altogether.” The pegasus ripped off some of his barding fabric and wrapped my shot hoof. This day was getting better and better… see a pony die in my hands, being bitten to almost death, and now getting shot… with my luck, by the end of the day, the Zone would hit me with another blowout. Ameara assured me that the second would be pretty much fatal to me; after all, the lucky ponies only get to explode once, while i had been forced to endure attempting a near exhausting sequence of feats in order to avert a timed death sentence. After ten minutes or so, a Limpid Skies squad reached us, intended to fortify the spot. From their news, i found out we’ve nearly took all the swamp. The raiders were now bunkering onto their last line of defense. The scouting tower, the Barn ruins and ultimately, the apple storage warehouse, by the PDA’s indications. As Limpid Skies now hogged much control over the swamps, now we could spare more troops into the fray. I reunited seven battle-capable pegasai and marched toward the scouting tower that was further east. By nearing, the first thing we noted, as usual, is that was crawling with raiders atop it. “Featherbrains! this is OUR swamp.” And he opened fire against us. RATTLETLETLEEEE…. RATTTLETLETLETLEEE… Response fire was immediate. “Take a hike then, bottom-feeding pansies. We are reclaiming what is ours.” RATTLETLETLEEEE…RATTLLETLEEE…. “We’ll nail your wings to the…” RATTLETLETLEE… “ugh…” And with it, five raiders were dead. I took the time to examine their rifles to find a replacement for mine, since it was on a depreciable state. After fidgeting with a few AK parts here and there, i produced a now worthy AK. The bodies also contained much needed rifle ammo, which i quickly looted. As I noted a few farm props around the tower, my mind quickly went to the stash location data on my PDA. The carriage was spotted easily. I crawled underneath it. The land below had been stirred. Using my hooves to dig out, I pulled out of the hole an olive-colored backpack. I took just a moment to spill it’s contents on the ground. A Scope and two blue medkits. I quickly put one of the medkits to good use. As found out, these blue ones were made specifically for battle wounds, containing painkillers, antibiotics and other advanced medicine. After exhausting the kit on my wounds, I felt like a brand new pony. If it only had repaired my armor too… Then, I turned my attention toward the scope, stashing the second medkit on my saddlebags. The scope itself had 2 x magnifying glasses, and appeared to be intended for mounting on assault rifles. As to test it, i mounted it on my AK, the scope fit perfectly onto it. “Bosh, the broken silo is under attack ! some ponies are trapped inside, holding against the raiders” Ameara’s voice soared from the radio. “I’ve tried to request help from Purity’s squad, but their signal is dead. Your group is the closest to them.” After gathering three pegasai (the three others were left to secure the tower), we cruised southeast. The silo ruins were by the corner of the swamp. And it surely looked like our comrades could use some help. The raiders overtook positions atop the farm’s machinery and whenever protective trash piles they could find, while the silo occupants bunkered themselves and used the top window to fire at their ambushers. From the looks of it, the raiders outnumbered the occupants from 3 to 1. But then, why they have not invaded the silo already? The answer: a few raider bodies were on the doorway to the silo. This was a battle of patience, whoever group could stand their ground and conserve their ammo for longer would be victorious. RATTLETLETLEEETLE… RATTLETLETLEETLEE… The rifle atop the window soared. Its bullets vainly hit the pile of saggy old plows which the raiders took cover behind. One of the raiders raised a megaphone. “This is your last chance to surrender, winged scum! We promise a quick death.” “Talk to my little friend!“ The voice of a mare answered, and the rifle appeared again, and released another clip of bullets flying. This time, hurting two of the raiders and striking the megaphone “You are not getting out of this alive!” the raider shouted “boys, release the rain-boom!” With it, they have begun to lob grenades at the structure. If we didn’t act quickly, the entire thing would crack over the pegasai inside. My group opened fire RATTLETLEETLEETLE… RATTLETLEEETLEE… RATTLETLEETLEE…RATTLETLEE… Two of the raiders died. But then, all the others were now aware of us. “Eat lead, bird-lovers.” One of them threw a grenade at us “DISPERSE!” my mind yelled. KABOOM !!! The explosion only flew away large patches of earth. My crew had been able to shelter in time. Then, we rose again. RATTLETLEETLEE… RATTTTLETLEETLEE… RATTLETLEETLEE… RATTTTTTLEEEEERATLLERATTLE… “GUYS, KILL THEM, KILL THEM ALL” RATTLETLEETLETLE…. RATTLERATLLE… RATTLERATTLE…. RATTLETLEEERATTLE…. We were locked on savage combat. One of the raiders threw another grenade. I dropped my AK and intercepted the explosive mid air, levitating it back to a frightened raider. he actually got time to run from it… although not enough to not get caught on the blast radius. KABOOOOM !!! The mare at the silo’s window emptied yet another clip, now having time to scoop up the raiders. I took the time to notice that she was a skilled shooter. About half of her frags were done with a single bullet, to the head. RATTLERATTLE…. RATTLETLEEETLEEE…RATTLERATTLEEE…. After this show of skill, the (few) remaining raiders were retreating as quickly as they hooves could afford them. “It’s clear. They are all dead… can we come in?” I voiced. A violet pegasus carefully poked his head outside, then yelled to the other two inside that it was over. The building itself was cramped, littered with broken machinery for peeling the grains, storing it, and whatsoever. Spiral stairs led to the top. “Whee ! we got those rats running ! who’s the best ? I nailed them off… did you see ? I was all like PEWPEWPEWPEW, and they all went like OHNOES! huh, huh, huh ?” The excited lavender-colored pegasus descended the stairs, a Obokan strapped to her back (she was only wearing the Limpid Skies barding, which mean… she had fired with her hooves!) and her straight brown hair protuberated from her mane and fell over the mare’s face. “By the way, thanks for the hand out there, although I could had dealt with them easi…” She eyed through me, smiling profusely “Ow, about some time you’d repay your debt unicorn… but the last time I saw you, you were not so… ripe. HAHAHAHAHA Get it? ripe? Because you are covered in red, like a ripe apple” My face blushed, damn, now i was EVEN more ripe. “Sorry, but I do not remember meeting you...” “Sure you do not, Duu-uh. You were beneath three layers of concrete. Allow me to introduce myself…” She rapidly rushed back and forth, then made a heroic pose, looking toward a non-existent metaphorical horizon. “I am… the first… the only… Iridox ! scourge of those who prey on the weak, slayer of mutants, ambassador of the pegasai. I have recently returned from my latest adventure, only to find my beloved homeland being overtaken by vile raiders” “But we have nearly wip…” She put a hoof over my mouth, silencing it, then held my shoulder with her other arm, hugging me, her eyes had a wicked vivacity. This pony was taking every word to the heart. “Picture this, friend.” She moved her hoof through the imaginary horizon “Living the dream, living the dream everywhere and everyday. That’s what the Zone is about. That is why I have this burning need to go outside, have new experiences and then triumphantly return to my lovely swamp. Do you get what I mean, huh, huh, huh?” She eyed me expectantly. I could only think of one thing to say… “Iris … it’s like I’m feeling you, but I’m not feeling you, you know? I only had been awake for… say, two or three days. I did not see much beside these marshlands” “Well… perhaps someday, the call of adventure will call you too ! like this : adveeentureee…. adveeeentureee” She crept closer to my ear. “Adveeeentureee” “Stop it… this is silly” I shook her off. Iris bumped on the floor, still laughing. I laid my PDA out of the saddlebag, eyeing the map thoroughly. She came by. “ Awww…. You guys had all the fun while I was away. No fair. Now just the old barn and the warehouse to the north need to be cleared.” “However, both points must have the highest concentration of raiders. Shit looks serious.” I remarked. “We could always try some of these” Iris produced a true arsenal from her saddlebags. Bullets twinkled in the floor, forming piles, of all sizes and tastes. and there were even a few weapons among her possessions. A shotgun, two pistols and another Obokan. I nodded, sounded like a plan for my ears. “Well, then let’s move out. The last pony to get to the barn is a dirty old mule!” the lavender pegasus rushed outside. I eyed over the room. All these machinery, Peppermint would be delighted. I started to pry free some of the parts from them. “Aren’t you coming ?” Iris asked from the doorway. “Yes… go ahead without me, I just need a moment to finish this.” “Okay. Do not leave us hanging there, unicorn! “ “As you wish.” She then disappeared in a flurry of rush toward a building full of raiders, as I resumed salvaging the parts. ============================== [><]============================= “What took you so long?” the lavender mare snapped at me “Sorry, a friend’s request. How many raiders over there ?” “From six to eight, but there is something else.” She pointed at an outdoor oven, close by the barn door. The land around it was dark. “What is that ?” I tried to focus at the oven, now I could clearly see… half of a body… more specifically, charred half of a body. “A burner anomaly. Some dumb raider got far too close to it.” She pointed the charred body. “So… just the two of us, against at least half a dozen raiders… why you didn’t ask for reinforcements ?” “Silly, we ARE the reinforcements. Now, I’ll go around the barn and kill half of them, and you go toward the front door and shoot dead the other half. Whoever finishes first wins!” I rolled my eyes… for somepony so battle-skilled, she was rather enthusiastic about it. Well, the swamp wouldn’t purge by itself alone. It was a dirty work, but somepony had to do it. I floated my AK off the bag, aiming through its scope, until I found a comfortable telekinetic position that would allow me to run with the gun near me and quickly use the aim. “Ready?” I asked her “Just a minute, let me move by the other side. I’ll radio you when I’m in position” Iris moved through the tall grass, sneaking around the barn. She was a natural. A few moments later, her voice came from my radio. “Okay, on my count to three.” “THREE!” Adrenaline pumped from my body as i ran to the barn. Iris had already started shooting down even before entering the barn. Well, so much for a sneak attack… RATTLETLEEETLEEE… RATTLETLEETLEETLEEE…. I bucked the door hard, caughting off-guard the raiders, they were all over a table, playing cards. Iris’ bullets had already fragged two of them. I quickly blasted them with more lead. RATTLETLEEETLETLETLE….. RATTTLETLETLELTLEEE Two more down. The survivors rushed past me, running for their lives. (Apparently, they feared the pegasus mare more than me… figures) I balefully gazed as they stepped directly into… yes, you guessed it. BWAAASHHH… AWWWWW… FWOOOSH Iris emerged from the door, still arriving before the raiders charred completely. Her Obokan was still held on her mouth. “Wefghh Swoulfgh Hrephghds Zho Okhz” To which I just glared at her, quizzically. She spit her Obokan and spoke “We should rally the others to coordinate a full scale attack on the warehouse. Any surviving raider is probably hiding his coward ass in there with his comrades.” “About time we finish this…” I raised my PDA, tuning the radio to contact the Limpid Skies HQ. “This is Boshan, we have control over the barn, is anyone there ?” “Roger. I am relaying our units to rendezvous at given coordinates: 56,3 and 81,4. Good luck, unicorn” Potria’s voice answered. “You heard the mare… let’s do this.” After several meters onto the marshland and knee-deep water, we saw the meeting point, it was beaming with pegasai activity. With a notebook on her hooves, Ameara was checking out the preparations. When she lifted her gaze to me, she smiled, then, when turning her visage toward the lavender-colored pegasus, her expression was of shock. Iris rushed toward her, screaming like a maniac. “SIS, SIS, SIS!!!!” Then lunged over the maroon pegasus, dropping her to the ground and embracing her on a tight hug. After being freed from her sister, Ameara’s expression was the one of resignation. “Aren’t you happy to find your younger sis is well, Mea?” “I am thrilling of excitement, Iris. So, what do you need from us now?” “What makes you think I came to ask for favors?” “Well, for the past three months, you came back only after screwing up something, and every time you came, you brought problems with you.” “That is NOT TRUE, and you know it, Mea. Don’t you remember who took care of that termite infestation?” “Should i remind you, who, in the first place, brought a plank of wood “from a real pirate ship, WHOAA” ? “ “Hehe, details… but there was that time when i defended the base against the striders… those mutants were mean.” “Remember WHO was practicing target shooting that day, using watermelons, and DID NOT cleaned up the mess as i instructed ?” “Gosh, why do you have to be such a neigh-sayer… sometimes i wish you’d take things less seriously, Mea.” “And I wish you could use your brains once in a while instead of behaving like a filly, Iris !” “Says the mare who can’t even top my…” at this moment, I interjected between the two pegasai “Look, do you two have to ? I mean, there is an entire platoon of raiders in that building,” I pointed toward the warehouse. The two mares blushed. Ameara was the first to broke the silence “You’re right Bosh. Now, I think there could be an alternative to dealing with the raiders. They won’t budge from there, since we have numerical supremacy now.” “What do you mean ?” I asked “Well, we thought about giving them a chance to leave the swamp for good” Iris’ pupils dilated at this remark. “Please, please, please, let me do it sis, let me talk to the raiders, please, please, please, hand me the megaphone, please, please, please.” “Not happening.” and then she stashed the megaphone onto her saddlebag. Iris, however, pulled Ameara’s saddlebag apart, picking up the megaphone and running off with it. “Give it back!!!” “Finders-keepers” She dashed onto the front of the warehouse, an enormous building with metal walls, circumvented by an iron fence and a steel gate. It was built ages ago to store apples grown at the orchard. “Hey raiders, open up. I am the pizza pony you guys ordered” A plate moved from the gate, and a raider wearing a welding helmet gazed from it. “No, you’re not, cloud-hugger. Now leave before we get angry.” Ameara finally reached her sister. Having heard the outcome of Iris’ “plan”, she addressed the raiders inside. “Look, we do not want to be forced to do this… just leave our swamp. All your base are belong to us, you raiders have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.” “Hell hath no fury like a scorned raider, lady. Cross these walls, and you are dead meat.” Both pegasai returned to the RV point. “If they are so confident to actually carry on a conversation with us, then they must be packing a lot of gun power into there.” Ameara remarked I nodded. “how do you intent to cross their gate ?” “C4 it” she took a plastic explosive from her bag. “I’ve been saving this for a special occasion.” “Then we’ll just storm in?” “I fear there’s no alternative way. They barricaded all exits, so they know from where we’ll come.” “Oh, and another thing. Bosh, I want you to lead the assault.” I eyed her incredulously “Why me? i mean, your sister included, there’s a lot of more capable and more skilled pegasai than…” “Because your group has so far aided undertaking nearly all interest points, albeit it’s losses. And also because Iris’s strategic plans all amount to the same reckless charge.” “Hey! I i am still here!” Iris glared at her sister. “I suppose you’ll want to join him, huh?” “Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else on the world… I can’t wait to get going PEWPEWPEW on an entire line of raiders” After meticulous preparations (much to Iris’ distress), we decided to overtake the warehouse with a group of eight stalkers (plus Iris and me), while everypony else would offer cover fire and deal with any escaping raider. I floated the jellyfish out from the bag and attached it to my barding belt. The emanating radiation instantly nauseated me .however, if that thing could swerve bullets like Peppermint told me, it would be worth it. Ameara’s bomb laid on the rusted steel gate, all eyes laid upon it, expectantly… BOOOOOMMMM…CRASH… “GO, GO, GO…” RATTLETLETLETLEEE…. RATTLERATTLETLETLE….. Those fuckers had been waiting by the wall’s corners. A trap. The two stalkers before me fell dead, and several more were wounded. I quickly turned the AK toward the raider to the right. RATTLERATTLERATTLE…. RATTLERATTLETLEE… Behind me, the music of an Obokan soared in unison. RATTLERATTLERATTTLETLE…. RATTLERATTLE… Soon enough, my back was against the warehouse’s wall. Iris and half of our group were by the other side of the delivery door. She gestured to me “after three beats.” Then, hoofed the wall softly three times quickly. We both stormed, leading all the stalkers inside. The interior of the warehouse was ominously dark. “Surprise!” A light above us was lit. Beneath it, three catwalks full of raiders, all of them pointing their rifles at us. RATTLERATTLE.RATTLERATTTLERATTLERATTLE…. “TAKE COVER! IT’S AN AMBUSH!” RATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLERATTLE…. I quickly dived by the rotten wood crates that filled the base level of the warehouse, as bullets flew over my head, hitting the body of less fortunate stalkers. I looked to the others. Only four survivors. Iris had been shot. They took shelter on another pile of crates, diametrically opposed to me. Her shoulder was now a scarlet mess, to which she pulled her barding to, trying to bandage it. The raiders above still gunned down at us… those crates were not going to hold out for long… Then, amidst the corpses that lay on the ground, I spotted some grenades. It took some patience to levitate it calmly, so that the raiders wouldn’t suspect anything. I flew it across the room, right below one of the raider-filled catwalks. Then I released the pin. KABOOOM, CREAAKKK…. TCHAACKK The catwalk fell crashing, breaking over another one and then both thudded on the floor, atop them, several roasted or smashed raiders. Smoke filled the enclosed structure. My group took advantage of the distraction to open fire. RATTLERATTLERATTLE… RATTLERATTLE… Raiders groaned of pain behind the smoke curtain. Now it was just a sweep up matter… I erupted from the shelter, gravitated the AK and took shots at anything up there that was still moving. RATTLERATTLERATTLE… RATTLERATTLERATTLE…. After rushing toward the corner of the warehouse and climbing over the stairs, I reached the catwalk level of the structure. Most of the raiders here were dead, bullet wounds plentiful amongst them. Only one of them was still alive, backing up on the last catwalk. It looked like he was guarding one of the dead bodies. He looked terrified, but nevertheless, he held his AK pointed at me RATTLERATTLERATTLE… I ducked at his attack, the pony’s aim was terrible, he must had been really afraid of us. Most of his bullets hit the roof of the warehouse, and the very few that reached me were softened by the protective field of the jellyfish. My rifle did short work of him. RATTLERATTLE… As I crept closer to his body, intended on scavenging it, I could now examine the corpse he was guarding. It wasn’t one corpse. The raider mare was still alive, on fetal position, contorting herself of pain. The pony I just had killed had been her friend, or lover, or whenever… someone who cared about her. I got close to the mare. You’d probably think this could be one of those moments of how I was presented the choice to turn the other cheek, forgive the raiders and become a better pony. The Zone never forgives mistakes such as those. I floated my pistol out of the holster and gave her the mercy shot. Bang. My head dazed out from exhaustion… it had been a long day. But it was over now. My Geiger counter started to beep. My radiation levels were at half of a lethal one. I floated the Jellyfish away and into the saddlebag. From down there, it could not further radiate me. I took out one of the anti-rad drugs that Ameara gave me yesterday and gurgled it down my throat. Tasted like piss. Only if vodka could heal radiation instead of these… After minutes of looting and scavenging the few somewhat usable weapons for Peppermint, I reunited with the others outside. All the pegasai were radiant with joy, shouting and celebrating and dancing. When I came out of the structure, they cheered at me, bringing me toward the crowd. From the middle of it, I could spot Ameara tending to her sister’s shoulder. Iris smiled weakly at me. ============================== [><]============================= The moon could be seen on the dark sky outside, from the window of Ameara’s office. It was the only light on the dark, cloud-filled sky. Ameara’s hoof fit through one of the holes of the barding she was examining. Now, it was just little more than a red-colored rag. “I mean, it is unbelievable. Did you threw it on EVERY anomaly on this swamp? Or did a goddamn pseudodog chewed it to hell? This barding has suffered more on a day with you then on a lifetime being worn by Delphanos.” She shrugged and threw the rag at the dustbin. The only sound on the room came from my mouth, chewing a soy-sausage n’ bread sandwich. At the right of me, under the map of the zone affixed to the wall, Iris snored loudly, the pegasus had crashed onto a couch. Her shoulder was covered with a multitude of white bandages that her caring sister took the time to clean a few hours ago. Ameara glared at her and rolled her eyes. Then, turned to me. “I suppose you do earn yourself a new one, though, after all you did for us, Boshan. Fair enough. I’ll see about it first thing in the morning. Now go get yourself some rest.” As I climbed the stairs toward the guestroom, my mind begun to replay the events of today. I quickly tried to dismiss them off, fatigue was unbearable. I just laid my junk-filled saddlebags at one of the room’s corners and went to the bed. In a few instants, I succumbed to sleep. ============================== [><]============================= “Hello ? Aren’t we forgetting something?” I woke up confused… it was still dark, had they let me sleep for… like, one hour only? My eyes slowly got used to the darkness. Couldn’t see anyone else on the room. “Over here” Impossible… I must had been delusional, or dreaming, or into drugs… my mind couldn’t comprehend it. Floating above me was a small, white unicorn with a black wavy mane. She was using librarian glasses. “Who… what are you ?” “I am your conscience, jackass. Apparently, my services are much needed here” she snipped with an annoyingly acute voice “But I am a stallion, why the hell is my conscience a mare ?” “We are not here to talk about me. I came to discuss your actions.” “I am dreaming, aren’t I?” “Why have you hurt so many ponies today ? it is a bullet to the head your only answer to problems , or a grenade ?” “Look, in case you did not noticed, those ponies out there were raiders, the looting n’ pillaging kind of criminal scum” “Oh really ? how could you know ? they were wearing badges of villainy ? or did you personally asked them ?” “If it looks like a raider, fights like a raider, and shoots like a raider, then it must goddamn BE a raider” “if it speaks like a bigot, dresses like a bigot and mow down ponies like a bigot, then it must be you.” “Look… what I did was to…” “Survive? well, you saw how becomes a pony that thinks this way…” “I did it to protect my friends. Limpid Skies” “And how do you know that they are fighting on the right side ? For all you’d know, they could be pretty well the ones harassing the raiders.” “I believe we should give them the benefit of doubt. After all, they saved me. TWICE.” “And what about that raider mare ? Did you expressly HAD to shoot her? By some chance, the image of her crawling on the ground, groaning from severe pain, seemed threatening to you?” I did not had an answer for this…at least, not one she would accept. So, I did the only thing I could, I pushed my pillow over the face, to make her disappear. “You are not getting rid of me this easily, mister. Speak to me eye to eye.” “Go away, you whining hallucination.” “I am not whining. I am asking you to reason your attitudes. But if you really want to hear whining…” “Why do you have to be sooo mean??? What did those ponies did to you on the first place ???? Couldn’t you just allowed them to share the swamp with you friends??? Why do you have to be so selfish ???” It was just unbearable… I lifted from the bed, and head-butted the floor to make her vanish from my sight and for her voice to disappear. “Sad how a crash with reality can make such a young , charming stallion, go nuts all of a sudden.” I raised my hoof, trying to shoo her off. It just went through the conscience, like she was immaterial. “Hahahaha… stop. It tickles…” I tried banging my head to the floor again, now at full speed. Fortunately, I was able to knock myself unconscious and escape that relentless ghost. ============================== [><]============================= “Some pretty good stuff you got there…” Peppermint’s eyes glowed as he rummaged the pile of trash I laid down upon his workbench. “I can work out some mean stuff out of these. Thanks a lot Bosh. I have something for you, as payment…” He disappeared below his counter, only coming back with… half of a rifle, glued to a pressure cooker, some copper pipes and several other things. It was shaped like a weapon. He grinned while hoofing it to me. I eyed at the device curiously, flipping it to see from different sides, finally laying it again on the counter. “Uh-oh… you don’t like it?” “Emmm… yes, I like it. I suppose I will like it even more once I know what it is” The pegasus took the thing, and full of pride, announced “This, my friend, is a finely-tuned throat needler. You won’t find a weapon like this anywhere else. Although you are a unicorn and can pretty much TK everything, this weapon was built to be able to fire even with hooves… see this little lever up here? Just push it to fire. And it is a completely user-friendly weapon, seriously, if you somehow break it, the materials for repairs are almost free. Yeah, this weapon is a marvel of engineering” He laid it down on the counter again, and then pat the weapon amorously. STKUP !!! Finely-tuned my ass! At the wall of his shack, a half-pound railway spike was struck. Why Peppermint intended THESE to needle throats, is a mystery I’ll never solve. “Hehehe… just, do not shake it too much.” I floated the weapon toward my saddlebags, making a mental note to unload the gun and ditch it at the first opportunity. After waving him goodbyes, i went to Ameara’s office, finding her dying a barding gray. Iris still laid on the couch, much to her displeasure, her bullet wounds meant that she’d be stuck on the swamps for a while. “And it is… perfect.” She handed me the barding. “I hope you do not mind the grey scheme, I did it because some of the stalkers on the mainland aren’t really fond of Limpid Skies.” I equipped the barding. it was heavier than the older one. After shaking it a bit, I could feel mail plates sewn inside the fabric. I smiled at Ameara. She just shook her hoof and said: “Oh, you’d ought to thank Peppermint’s freaky knowledge of sewing for this.” “Now, I remember you mentioned a guide to the NPP…” “Well, not exactly a guide… let me explain it for you…I am sure that in the past two days, some of my pegasus friends had been a little… rude with you, right ?” I nodded. “I hope you forgive them, because they have a reason in doing so. You see, more or less a month ago, we had another unicorn as our guest. A veteran stalker. Someday he appeared ,washed up by the swamp.” She turned to her sister “somepony simply was far too much selfless to refuse help, even to a complete stranger” Ameara smiled to the lavender pegasus “but I fear that he have tricked us all… long story short, the unicorn rested onto Swampsdale until he recovered all his vigor, and when he left, he sold out information about the swamp’s safe routes to a group of bandits. from that damned day, they had been flocking at the swamp in ever-increasing numbers, until another unicorn stepped in to aid us.” She smiled at me. I felt myself blushing. “but where does the NPP fits at this ?” “From what little I had been able to dig out on the unicorn, he actually had survived a raid at the NPP. He knows how to circumvent all obstacles and reach the power plant. He said that he was mugged by bandits, and then thrown at the swamp. It looks like he thought about selling us up to gather enough money to fund himself another raid into the NPP.” “So, I need to track this guy and follow him ?” “Yes, you could do this. But it will be better if you can capture him, if you actually have the nerve to face the veteran.” “Does he have a name ?” “He called himself “Searinor”.” “Where do I start ?” She fetched my PDA, and marked some coords. “Now, you just traverse the Muzzle tunnel, near the ruined silo, and you’ll hit the Cordon. it is kind of like a kindergarten for stalkers, where the beginners get their skills without exposing themselves to a lot of danger. The place I marked at your map is a rookie village. Once you hit it, speak to the trader. he used to do business with us before the swamp become the “Shangri-la for bandits”. If someone knows about Searinor’s lead, the trader has probably heard of it.” “Thanks Ameara , I should get going.” “Wait, this could help you out…” She searched her desk, this time coming up with a crumpled piece of paper. “A coupon ?” “Yes, the trader emitted a few of these as currency. Use it to buy basic supplies once you reach him.” “Awww… they grow so fast… it seems that only three days ago, I carried him. And now he is big enough to go to the mainland.” Ameara rolled her eyes, while I laughed. Iris eyed me and said: “Remember Boshie… adveeentureeee” “Will do. Until then, get healthy quickly so we can hang out on the mainland” The lavender pegasus hit her chest and smiled “Bosh, remember that we will keep contact with you by the radio. It isn’t like you’re never going to see us anymore. And keep your ears open for emissions alerts. If you are caught by another blowout, results won’t be so pretty, although you could use your genes as your favor…” “How could I do so ?” “You remember how I told about your metabolism being speeded up, but also adrenaline speeds up metabolism. If you stack both augmentations, you’d have an meaningful improvement in your physical abilities. That means, the closer you find yourself to death, the stronger you become.” My body shivered at the mention of death… I hoped that I’d never find out needing this genetic superpower. After saying goodbyes to everyone at Swampsdale, a guide traveled me to the silo. The Muzzle tunnel appeared after a short trek. I checked out my PDA: 3:30 PM, crossing the swamp had taken the whole morning and half of the afternoon. While traversing the dark tunnel, a megaphone-powered voice soared from the other side of the tunnel NOT ONE MORE STEP, STALKER. FREEZE. Oh shit… ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PDA entry: The zone encyclopedia #/filefolder- Bestiary #/filenam – Blind dog #/filedescript – A menace that originally came from equestria’s countryside, Blind dogs are the result of multiple lifespans and inbreeding of the canis familiaris that once were used to herd cattle. With their masters long gone, these creatures roamed the Zone aimlessly, eventually degenerating to a state of wild animals, such as wolves. Their body adapted itself to the lack of a plentiful source of food, as their organisms quickly degraded some worthless energy-spending abilities – such as vision – in order to improve other useful ones, such as smell, which the dogs use to avoid anomalies, radiation and stalk their prey. Mutation has also gifted these mutants with uncanny resistance to electricity and chemical agents. Blind dogs build their dens on cold, humid places, such as ruins or caves, being especially ruthless to any stalker that wanders too close to them. They always hunt in packs, preferring to prey on smaller mutants (such as rats) or lone stalkers. Luckily, Blind dogs are mostly coward mutants, and will disband their pack after a few members die or get wounded. My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic Intellectual propriety belongs to Hasbro All S.T.A.L.K.E.R. installments Intellectual propriety belongs to GSC game world I do not own, neither lay claim to the intellectual properties that this fan-fiction is based on. This work was made entirely for entertainment and appreciation, and should not be distributed for profit This is a My little pony : FiM fan fiction Made by Hoghound.