Chapter 2: Shotgun Boogie
Nikolai's radio had somehow crackled to life in spite of the fact that he had turned it off just a few minutes ago. Under normal circumstances he'd enjoy the background music that it provided. However, it was certainty not helping now. He did his best to ignore it, and hopped that the other's didn't mind it.
"Listen, friend, I don't know what you want. But if you just took a few minutes to think this over, I think you would realize that a gunfight here would not be... How do you say, 'very healthy' for you." Nikolai reasoned.
"Shut up and put your weapons down!" The pony screamed, his speech muddled by the shotgun in his mouth. Nikolai found it's placement ingenious. "The buck we will!" One of the ponies beside the cart responded. Nikolai kept his attention directed towards the one trying to rob them.
"I was just walking, minding my business. I do not bargain with Xуліган unless they have a good reason to be doing what they are doing. Please find your self another line of work which is less likely to result in your body springing unwanted leaks." The pony frowned, and the shotgun moved slightly. There was a loud 'thump' and a volley of pellets crashed into the asphalt beside Nikolai, causing him to jump away. Luckily, his cheap electronic hearing protection saved his hearing. It sounded roughly equal to a 12 gauge. He wasn't going to let him empty the other tube.
Nikolai raised his AK 101 and took the safety off. "Next time I won't miss-" There was a suppressed crack, ands a FMJ round flew through the equines head and out the back with a, he dropped to the ground, and the shotgun fell with him in a horrific scene of blood and gore. Nikolai turned back to the caravan, who appeared unfazed by what had just happened. He calmly raised the selector lever back to 'safe' and cleared his throat.
"I am sorry for that, does this happen to you often?" Another pony stepped out from behind the rest. From her stature, Nikolai took her to be a female.
"No, no it doesn't. But thanks' for the assistance. The Redtrotters usually keep this section of Route 52 clear." She had a midwestern American accent. Nikolai blinked under his mask. He was eying the dead body across the road.
"Who are these Redtrotters you speak of?" The creature laughed. " Ah, ya don't look like you're from around here." Nikolai nodded. " Da, that is true. I hail from a place which I assume is quite far from here. But again, who are they?"
"Oh, just a mercenary group that runs these parts. Shouldn't give ya any trouble as long as you don't act like him." The mare pointed to the corpse on the other side of the road. Nikolai nodded. "Seems sound enough. But tell me, have you ever heard the proverb, 'trust but verify'?" She shook her head.
"No, but that does sound like good advice." Nikolai slung his rifle over his shoulder and headed over to the body. "Eyin' somthin' over there?" The lead stallion asked him.
"Yes I am." He replied.
"Well good for you. We've got deliveries to make all the way out in Hoofington, won't keep you any longer." The pony pulling the cart waved, and they were off. Nikolai waved back to them.
"Be seeing you!" There was no response. " Hoofington! What an ingenious pun! It's quite fitting. Now, what do we have here?" He reached down and picked up the shotgun. It's grip and trigger assembly were like nothing he'd ever seen before. Rather than curving slightly like a typical double barrel shotgun grip, this one made a 90 degree angle turn off to the right side of the weapon, with a massive trigger and trigger guard. Given that the pony had held it in his mouth, he could put two and two together.
"Pretty impressive for something that doesn't have hands." Nikolai murmured. He broke the action open and popped the unspent round in his pocket without thinking. As for the spent one, he he pulled it from the action and examined it. It was twelve gauge, sure enough. But what he didn't recognize was the manufacturer. "Iornshod." He shrugged and threw it aside. He unzipped his rucksack and stuck the shotgun inside it. As for the other stuff, he found 5 shiny bottlecaps, a half dozen more shotgun shells on a bandolier, and hammer. All of which he stuffed into his pack, figuring they'd be of some use or worth later. Nikolai didn't worry about the weight of his pack hindering his movement yet, he'd dealt with more than twice this weight in his pack before. After that he backed away and looked on towards the city.
" That place looks weirdly inviting. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more information there." He looked down the road for the caravan, but found no sign of them.
"Oh well. I was hopping to ask them about a few things. But I suppose it's nothing I cannot figure out on my own." He looked up at the overcast sky, which hadn't changed since he arrived. "Eh... With time?" He shook his head and began making his way down the highway.
"Halt! Who goes there!?" Nikolai had made it about 1 kilometer from where he had encountered the bandit and caravan when he came across another sign of life. The voice seemed to come from an overpass about 10 meters above him. He could see the improvised wall which surrounded the city. In the distance, he could see more equine shapes moving around.
"Hello there, are you those Redtrotters that those merchants mentioned?" He looked around, and began to slowly sidestep towards the cover of a rusted over car which was laying parallel to the overpass.
"Yes... Who's asking?" The voice called back, sounding slightly annoyed. Nikolai finally made it to the car and crouched down behind what he took to be the engine block.
"I am searching for answers. I was hoping that this Salt Cube city of yours might provide some." He brought his rifle up to low ready and scanned the area.
"Do you have a pass?" Nikolai groaned. " No, no I do not. I was not aware I needed one."
"Then why are you hiding?" The voice asked.
"Usually when this sort of thing happens to me, it's the prelude to an ambush. I have no quarrel with you, whoever you are. I will not make any trouble for you if you allow me to pass. " He heard rustling, and something that sounded like the racking of a shotgun. Then the voice called back. " Ugh, fine! This is the second time today that this has happened. But you sound plenty trustworthy, I'll toss a pass down to you. " He saw something fall from the overpass. It looked like a cowbell. He left his cover and rushed over to the object, he picked it up and looked it over. It was indeed a cow bell, only the part that made it ring had been removed and the outside had been spray-painted red. He took it and held it up.
"Thank you for the assistance my friends!" He cried with a wave.
"We aren't your friends, now go before we change our minds!" Nikolai grimaced and hurried off towards the city.
The highway continued southwards, away from the city, Nikolai took the off ramp towards the wall of scrap metal and old cars which surrounded the city's entrance, the entrance itself was a simple barricade made from sandbags. Nikolai held up the pass, and one of the armored guard ponies nodded, waving him though with a hoof. He wasn't the only one seeking entrance into the city. There was a whole line of carts and ponies waiting for their chance to enter the little safe haven of civilization. He came to a little guard shack, there sat a pony typing away at a resister, he looked up at Nikolai and his eyes widened. Nikolai noticed that this one looked a little different. A horn protruded from the top of it's head. " A unicorn, fascinating!" He slung his AK 101 over his shoulder and walked off into the city. The unicorn sighed and went back to his work.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same." Nikolai looked around. As he crossed the border into the city, he heard his PDA beep. He pulled it out and swapped it to the map function. Back on Earth it used a combination of GPS data and online maps to paint a clear picture of the region around the user. Obviously, he wasn't going to be getting an internet connection here and he seriously doubted that the GPS would work either. However, the integral compass could still mark points relative to the distance between the last. He clicked on the mark on the map and named it, "Salt Cube City."
"So, what's your business here in Salt Cube City?" A voice asked below him. Nikolai shut his PDA off and stuffed it back into his pocket. Then looked down and found himself staring at yet another armored pony, a unicorn, just like the last one.
"What's your business in Salt Cube city?" A male voice asked behind a visor. Nikolai shrugged.
"I don't really know, I suppose I'm looking for answers."
"To what kind of questions?" The guard pressed. " Where am I, how did I get here, and why is everything in such a state of disrepair?"
"Well, you've just entered Salt Cube City-" Nikolai kicked a rock with his boot.
"Yes! Yes! I know that, but where!? Where is this City located?" The guard raised a hoof, "I'm gonna take a guess and say that you're not from around here. You're in Equestria, and the reason everything looks so post-apocalyptic is because it is! About 2 centuries ago, there was a giant war that wiped out most of ponykind. This city is actually a lot better off then most, the only megaspell that hit this place was absorbed by the salt cube over in the dome. That place is heavily irradiated, I'd stay away from it if I was you. " The guard took a second look at Nikolai, " although judging by the way you're dressed I'd reckon that that probably isn't much of a concern for you."
"You see, I do not like the cancer. And radiation poisoning is not very fun." Nikolai chuckled as he rubbed his forehead. The guard pointed down the road. " There's a trading hub just down the road, biggest one for miles around. Look for the tent marked 'Absolutely Everything'. They oughta have what you need." Nikolai gave him a thumbs up and continued down the road. Leaving the pony wondering what the figure the creature had just made with his appendage meant.
"This place is fascinating!" Nikolai muttered as he walked deeper into the city. To either side of him were rows upon rows of abandoned shops, most were boarded up. And he figured that they were all picked clean anyway. He was in the mood for some music, but ironically, when he tuned through the channels, all he found was static.
"Blyat! So now you do not want to work? Oh but of course you have no trouble making things awkward when I'm being robbed! Stupid thing, if you were a rabid cобака I would have no trouble beating you senseless with a broomstick!"