Fallout Equestria: S.T.A.L.K.E.R

by aegishailstorm

Chapter 27: Desolation Wilderness

Chapter 27: Desolation Wilderness

"Nikolai... What are you doing?" Flashpoint asked the drowsy Stalker. Nikolai sighed, and sat up against his rucksack. He had awoken only minutes earlier to the feeling of rough deep crimson red carpet below him, and the flickering warmth of a brazier against his back.

"Hmm..." The Stalker replied blankly fiddling with the buttons on either side of his device.

"Looking at things." He slowly raised his his head from the PDA and it's glowing map to take a glance back at his friends. "What in particular?" Flashpoint clarified, Nikolai held out the digital map, scrolling outwards until Flashpoint was given a full view over the Stalker's traveled route.

"It is map of where I've been. About week and a half ago I updated map in Salt Cube city. Before, it was just orange grid with dots for geotagged locations and names that I gave them, now... Look! If almost full topographic map! I make progress, yes?"

"I... Don't follow Nikolai." A still veiled and cloaked Willow Lamp trotted over from his cushiony spot on the far side of the brazier took take a look at the screen. As Nikolai scrolled around, the bat pony gradually became more and more amused. "Hmm... Hmm!" The Stalker chuckled, readjusting his seat and kicking one leg up over the other.

"You do look comfortable." Mystic trotted up to trotted up to him, his gilded robes swaying lazily as he made his way up to the trio and looked for a place to sit, doing his best to keep a calm composure as he did. It was then when a festering question arose within Nikolai, one which he just had to have answered as soon as possible.

"Um, why does it seem like every cult I meet only wear robes? And not just any robes, but always ornate and decorated robes! " He jabbed a finger of accusation at Mystic.

"It is a part of our kinds traditions, it dates back beyond my own time. As for those others whom you've met. I cannot tell you." The Stalker laughed, and reached into his rucksack for a canteen, setting his PDA down right beside himself, turning it off as discretely as possible. Unfortunately, the characteristic 'beep beep', that is always made upon shutdown tipped Mystic off, and Nikolai soon found himself crowded by a very curious eyed zebra Soberer. The Stalker unscrewed his canteen and took a long swig of lukewarm water.

"Oh... Think nothing of it! Is cool aesthetic! Very... Ominous and foreboding." The Stalker snatched up his PDA and turned it back on. "You are curious, yes?" Nikolai's radio crackled with static, followed by the same thickly accented Slavic voice, and the reassuring words of;

"You listen to Zone FM! Best radio station this side of Pripyat!" And the faint playing of, ' Everybody Wants to Rule the World.' Through working order speakers.

The Stalker reclined back on his sack, and began fixing himself another hardy MRE breakfast all while dealing with the trio of inquisitive equine creatures that had formed around his PDA. "Does not work off of magic." He told them, "Though, last pony I show to seemed to think that, do you know why?" Mystic shook his head.

"No, unfortunately I do not. Technology is... Not my field of expertise. I brew potions, not computers and spell matrixes'." Nikolai smiled, and scrolled over the route he had traveled over the past couple of days.

"All those dozens of kilometers sure do go by quick when you have someone to talk to, yes?" Flashpoint laughed. "They sure do Nikolai."

"You can eat with us if you would like." Mystic told them. "You've more than proven yourself, I can bring some here if you so desire." Nikolai laughed. "I do indeed... So desire, please. It would make my morning." The Sorcerers left eyebrow curled upwards. "How would a meal construct your-" Nikolai held his right hand up.

"It is expression! Play on words! Is no big deal, please, I am much hungry." Flashpoint turned and looked over at Mystic. "Could you get some for me as well?" Mystic nodded, and trotted off.

"Food for the victors." Nikolai proclaimed to them, his voice flaring with enthusiasm as the words left his mouth.

"In meantime, check your guns... And... Eh- Want story? If too distract, I no tell."

Willow, who had just taken to disassembling his minute carbine, practically shot up from his disassembled weapon to hear what his friend had to say. Flashpoint, though a bit preoccupied, did the same after a few seconds.

"Alright, which one would you like to hear? The one about Luxemburg, where school friend and I got drunk on chocolate or the one about Romania- I save details for later?"

"Who?" The zebra and batpony both asked him. This statement, absurd as it may have been... Put Nikolai in an even better mood. He couldn't help but laugh as he pulled off his rifle's dust cover, extracting the magazine and racking the bolt twice immediately after, clearing the chambered round of 5.56, which he stuffed into his coat pocket for later. With a click of the button on the back of the rifle, he removed the spring and the bolt, and gave the barrel rifling a quick inspection before snapping everything back together as quickly as he had broken it down.

"Oh... I no tell you about rest of Earth, yes? Well... You are in for big treat! Well... Story about big treat at least."

Following just half an hour of storytelling, Nikolai had both of his equine friends veritably starry eyed and cross legged on the ground in front of him. Listening to every word in slightly broken and accented English that he had to say to them, giggling from time to time like foals right up to the point Mystic arrived with a basket of food.

"It sounds as though you're enjoying your time here." The cloaked zebra observed. The Stalker nodded. "Da, it is. Little strange, to be sure. But, it is nice to feel somewhat safe in a place. Oh... Who do I kid? Is always safe with me around! Nothing bad ever happen! Is just funny lie people tell!" Flashpoint rolled his eyes.

"Sure." Willow replied bluntly, rolling his eyes under his glasses.

"Would it be alright if I sat and ate with you?" Nikolai waved him down with left index finger. "Not in the slightest, please, you sit. Is no problem." Nikolai was enthusiastic as could be, whatever it was smelled good. Ever so slightly better than the preserved meals he'd been eating for the past few weeks, first in the Exclusion Zone, then in the Equestrian Wasteland. Though... It didn't quite compare to the ra0dhog that Willow had served him the day before. He was still surprised it had tasted as good as it had. It wasn't actually quite as bad as he'd imagined. Nikolai had eaten cooked mutants before, though none quite as good as regular, unirradiated meat. That would be a constant regardless of where he went. Though, Willow's did taste better than most.

"Hmm... Is pretty good on the Slav scale of cooking." Nikolai wavered his hand as he finished devouring the flavored corpse of some strange creature.

"You really wolfed that down!" Willow said with a laugh. Nikolai smiled, and set his plate and napkin off to the side, licking the outside of his mouth clean. "Mmm... Дякую. Thank you. I hope it is not a bother, but we have to leave." He slung his rifle over his back, cracked his knuckles, and was beginning to edge up to full height when Mystic stopped him.

"Are you sure?" He asked Nikolai. "The Wasteland is a terrible place that saps the life from everything that exists within it. You are welcome to remain with us for as long as you need." Nikolai tapped his PDA one more time before standing all the way up.

"Thank you for assistance. Was much fun! Even if leg still sore from fight!" He flinched slightly and rubbed the spots on his legs where the pair of obsidian dueling spears had drawn just a little bit of blood. The Stalker's borderline copious consumption of Vodka, along with some clean bandages and a good breakfast did a fair share at mediating it. But, the slight ache was still present. Especially now that his adrenaline had faded.

"Our door is always open." Mystic informed him. "I will put in a word with our Guardians to not shoot you on sight." The Stalker smiled, and nodded his head. He knew that he would likely never return, but it was a fun thought."

"Since you were so intrepid earlier. I do not suppose that I could give you an actual spell book, but, if you would be willing to accept one more gift-" The Zebra reached into his gilded robes and pulled out a little tattered pamphlet. It was perhaps half the size of the Wasteland Survival Guide he had been given back in Salt Cube City, and at least as yellowed.

"A Foals First Guide to Sorcery. You're not a unicorn, and you posses no innate magical talent as far as I have seen. But, I thought that perhaps you might enjoy it. It may even help you on your journey." The Stalker nodded again, and moved to carefully stuff the gift into one of his rucksack's deeper pockets. That was something he was looking forward to reading.

"Дякую. Thank you."

About 20 minutes later...

Following their brisk departure from the Zebrican Remnant Sect compound which Nikolai, Flashpoint, and Willow Lamp presided in the night before. They were once again on the open road. As they walked ever so progressively more northward, and the sight of the crumbling buildings which surrounded the Ministry of Arcane Sciences Chemical Laboratory which Nikolai had ever so chaotically braved to find a Gas Analyzer they'd need for their excursion into the ruins of Canterlot, he couldn't help but pause for a moment and gaze back at what had been their stomping grounds the last two days.

"Nikolai?" Willow called back. "Keep up!"

"Da, is all fine. I will be there in moment." The Stalker replied, unslinging his AK 101 and dropping it into both hands as he turned to briskly jog back towards his friends to the dull crackle of a deep rough guitar tune filtering in through his radio's speaker.

"You seem off." Flashpoint said with mellowness in his voice as Nikolai took up a place in between the two equines. "So, where are we going next?" Willow asked. "There's a lot of wild territory between Whiskey Springs and Canterlot, most of it's just like the ruins we just passed through. Most of it's just the same irradiated desert, you'll see a farm or small community on occasion, but nothing like Old Olneigh or Salt Cube City."

"I want most direct route to Canterlot nothing else, hold on, we stop by rusted truck up ahead. Is only couple hundred meters. Is no place for anything to hide, sure. We seem to be alone! But, you can never be sure! Would be safer hiding anyhow." As they approached the overturned 18 wheeler lying on the eastern side of the road in uneasy silence, Nikolai was swiftly drawn to the peeling Sparkle Cola logo emblazed across the trailer's side. The Stalker pumped his fist in excitement and rushed to the overturned truck.

"Careful Nikolai!" Willow warned. "Something might be home!" The Stalker was just 5 meters from the truck cabin when a garbled snarl began to emanate through the from inside. The maroon red paint on the front of the vehicle seemed like it had been flash boiled away. An almost sure result of the Balefire bombardment that had consumed the city behind them. A few seconds later, a coarse, rotting foreleg poked up from behind one of the side doors.

"Hello?" He asked. " Is there anything in there that does not want to eat me? I just check." The growling lulled for a moment, and then continued.

"Ok, I no care any more." He switched his rifle from safe to semi auto, took aim at the truck door, and threw it aside with a heave, putting two shots into the feral ghoul's head, splattering putrid irradiated blood and grey matter all over the back all over the roof and drivers side door.

"Ah... Is much pleasant! Maybe make stew later, no?"

Flashpoint fought back the sudden urge to vomit, and Willow took a few steps back as the two witnessed as their friend, uncaring of the putrid gore around him, began to rummage around the interior cabin of the truck, prying open glove the glove compartment and dashboard cabinets with some persuasion from his hatchet.

"Well?" He asked them. "Do not just stand there, help out! Pull back of trailer open, see what is in there." Nikolai took a knee away from the truck cabin to take a few gulps of water from one of his canteens. "Is fun! Sure I could have stayed in town, or in Zebra place, would have been safer, more secure. I wouldn't have pack weighing me down all day." The sounds of fevered excitement filled the air, followed by the rustling of glass and the stomping of hooves on sheet metal floors.

"What is it?"

"Nikolai!" Willow's voice resonated. The Stalker stood up and jogged around the back of overturned vehicle, and was met with several crates of Sparkle Cola, most still unopened."

"There's got to be at least thirty unopened bottles of it in here!" Flashpoint added gleefully. Nikolai fought back the urge to facepalm.

"You shouted my name over carrot juice?"

"No," Willow responded. "Well, he did. But I shouted your name over all these bottle caps." Nikolai raised an eyebrow out of skepticism under his mask. "You did not take any for yourself?" He asked his follow up question as though it was an opportunity long gone for Willow.

"Do not worry, is no problem! You take some, I take some, Flashpoint, you want as well? You take compensation in the Sparkle Cola stuff, I get caps... Still find it strange currency but- It is what it is." The Stalker walked right past his friends and began digging into the various overturned crates.

All in all, the spoils gained from the overturned pickup truck totaled 4 full, unbroken-albeit slightly lukewarm bottles of Sparkle Cola, and exactly 90 caps for Nikolai, most he had to pry away from shattered bottle tops in the most ungraceful and awkward display of showmanship he had involved himself in since he had first arrived in Equestria. But, it had paid off. Forty five minutes later and now they were back out on the road, a steady crosswind blowing bits of dust and gravel across the already barely present cracked asphalt.

"If only I had a truck, no... A tank! That would make travel so much easier." Nikolai wondered, letting his mind wander for the time being.

"Willow, I have question about thing I see on PDA map, it had strange name, would you mind clarifying it for me?" Nikolai broke the silence between them. The bat pony, who had been staring at something off in the distance, snapped his head to answer his friends question.

"What's bothering you?"

"You see, whole time I am here, I see just one or two tree that actually looks little bit alive. But-" The bat pony cocked his head. "But what?"

"There is a massive swath of wilderness a day or so northwest of us, it's labeled as, 'The Everfree Forest.' But, everything else here is dead. Could you explain that to me?" Flashpoint and Willow looked at one another, and then looked back at Nikolai.

"Please don't tell me you're thinking of going in there." Willow mused. "Nikolai," Flashpoint added. "If Splendid Valley and Canterlot weren't already dangerous enough for you-" The Stalker raised his hand and laughed obnoxiously.

"Now you have my interest, please tell me about this forest. What is it that makes you so warry and- Why does it still exist. If you have even seen it, that is. I do not pay too much mind to crazy local myths. I need actual advice, not drunken ramblings. Drunken Ramblings are how unwary Stalkers get themselves blown apart by a gravitational anomaly, melted by a puddle of glowing acid, or- Eaten by a bloodsucker." Willow smiled uncomfortably. "No, no! Not like you Willow, this thing not make good friend at all. It make better bullet filled corpse." The Stalker clapped his hands together.

"Well?" He asked again. "What is it about this place that is so dangerous? Please, tell me."

"Where do I begin?" Willow retorted.

"At wherever you think best."

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[Heretics Everywhere]

oh no