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

Chapter 37: Thundering Hooves

It goes without saying that those cannibals complied with the Stalker's demands and let them leave in peace after that. Nikolai neither felt like, nor actively tried to push for conversation regarding what had happened. There now existed an unspoken writ between the three of them that they would never mention it again. Nikolai, Willow, and Flashpoint had said enough to one another during the event.

It takes a special kind of person to forgive so quickly, to say things that need to be said without words. Odd as it may seem, those three fellows had exactly that specialty. Nikolai was no 'drama queen'. He wasn't some pathetic fat assed oligarch who sat on his bum in his private super mansion all day long, no, he wasn't. But he was aiming for that super mansion... It's just that he'd have to work for that mansion. And work for him came in the form of what he was doing at the moment-Treasure hunting in 'exotic' locations.

Now came the other half of the issue, the one he couldn't overcome through a heart to heart. If The Stalker had at all tried to keep the existence of that strange shard of pink cloud formed artifact, than it was out in the open now. He carried with him a veritable panacea to all ailments he could think of. He knew that this thing was capable of saving a life, that made it one of the most valuable things on his person. It was a possession he guarded jealously-And he never wanted to exhibit it in public ever again.

Three days had passed since they had left their previous stop-Determined to keep plodding on forward. They were now nearing the coastal portion of the Smokey Mountains. And yes, Nikolai did have his fair share of mad theories about what they would come across. Given that the past 'collection' of places their presence had paid homage to in the form of a visit. Nikolai would not have been surprised in the slightest if they had come up to the 'Smokey' mountains to literally find them choked full with smoke. But like an inferno in the searing Australian Outback or a mountain range spanning conflagration in California, they would have been able to see it from veritable leagues away- Or kilometers. Preferably kilometers for Nikolai.

As the days went by, the trio exchanged bits of treasured humor in between long spans of silence. There was simply not that much to talk about. And now that Eggshell was gone, having left their presence with a seemingly good hearted and sane ghoul. The Stalker hated the thought of having to rid himself of that seemingly helpless equine, but he simply could not afford to feed out of a few small portable packs her alongside two other hungering mouths. It was very nearly refreshing having to do without that child of a pony. But, as with Willow, Nikolai was determined to show and to pay it as little mind as possible. Laughter, he thought. Was the best way to resolve this. Even if it sometimes led to him being mistaken for a raider. They were swiftly approaching the coastline, and Nikolai was excited at the prospect of seeing a real large body of water for once. The thought of beachgoing in a post apocalyptic Wasteland was simply too powerful for his better instincts to dissuade him. Nikolai was a man that suffered in the moment so that he would be able to have comfort in the future. But he preferred to bring that metaphorical future to himself, rather than simply awaiting it.

Nikolai was taking the easy route though the Smokey's. He was well and done with mountain ranges and their persistent manifestation of danger. Up until now, they had avoided urban centers of all kinds. In the same likeness as mountains, they were wrought with danger. Those concrete jungles were cesspools of all the worst kinds of death and destruction. Not only were they pilferated with balefire magic, they were hives of mutants and violence. And almost always never worth delving into in Nikolai's opinion-on account of their atrocious cost to reward ratio.

"Let's find some power armor for you," could easily turn into: "I was shot by some drunken bandit in a skyscraper wielding a gun that's older than you."

The story now falls back to Nikolai's perspective, forming the typical scene of him and his friends marching their way though a dust bowled forest of brown-black skeletons and scattered ruined buildings. Nikolai kicked a rock and finally broke the spell of silence.

"Do any-Have either of you two found any sets of... Around medium size pliers? I need to know."

His eyes shifted lazily in between his two friends, and the dead oak tree that had been courteously chain sawed and removed from the road by someone who came down this road before them. Flashpoint fumbled for his saddle bags, and interrupting their progress in the middle of the road. "Well?" Nikolai asked him again, extending his hands in a mock plea towards the zebra, who fumbled and bumbled until his pliers were in his muzzles grasp. A hand lurched down and snatched it away from him for a moment before handing it back and pumping a fist.

"Success." Nikolai responded flatly. He passed a thumb over the plier tips and stuffed it back into Flashpoints pack for him. In the absence of what he had just been doing, the Stalker coughed and put his fist to the tip of his olive green mask filter. His breath felt a bit warm. Warmer than usual.

"Hm. Hm!" He exclaimed, he took a whiff in though his nose and frowned at the little metal grate ahead of his mouth. He threw off his hoof and peeled back his mask to examine the little pits of perspiration that dotted the interior. It smelled like wet fabric. He turned his mask around and stared into the filter channel, running a gloved finger across the little bumpy inlet as he did, feeling the decades old chemical resistant paint chip as he did.

"What is it now?" Flashpoint asked for the second time in five minutes.

"My mask filter-It is on last legs. I need to find find a new one." He wiped musky sweat off his brow and coughed again. He knew that certain models of filter for his particular mask sometimes contained asbestos up until a certain date-when it was swapped for something less... Cancerous.

"When was the cut off date? 1970-72? 1980?" The Stalker couldn't remember. They passed a road sign that read; "Hooffield Regional Park."

"Regional Park?" Flashpoint's eyebrow arched upwards sharply.

"Regional Park. It means more dead stuff and more walking, answer is no. He beckoned Flashpoint to check the map on his PipBuck.

"There is an old sheriff's station about a kilometer due east of here. Let us go."

They did not in fact go to the sheriff's station. Willow's prying eyes were kind enough to inform his friends of the presence of a rather angry looking pair of ponies armed with shotguns that were taking potshots at the derelict lamp shop across the street. He observed it for a few moments, then determined that they really didn't need to get into that kind of unnecessary trouble. In place of the sheriff station, they settled for the old regional guard depot that was nestled along the east side of a little valley just beyond the sheriff's station. They took the long way around the south side of the sheriff station, passing along a dry river bed which emptied out in to a fetid, stinking lake riddled with razor sharp mutated cattails that Nikolai swore he could see leaning towards the bank to try and get to the equines and human strolling lazily along the shore. This concerned Flashpoint so much that he ended up vehemently insisting that they stick to ground that ran parallel to the lake instead of the shore. They came up over a rise and were greeted by the ominous sight of a small town, nestled in a valley that was surrounded by legions of long dead deciduous trees, though which drifted banks of eerie grey fog.

To their right stood a semi elegant sign with the illustrious words: "Murkycrest Garrison" Splayed across it in faded yellow letters. Nikolai folded his arms and chuckled triumphantly.

"There it is." He jabbed a finger at the guardhouse and barbed wire topped fences of the small military base across from them, "Come on, I do not want to wait-Let's go-Go-Go!"

He grabbed his rifle from under it's handguard and began to stumble and bumble his way down the slope, sending rocks and gravel flying every which way in the process. Willow and Flashpoint followed close behind, half sliding down on their flanks for about 40 seconds before they came to a stop at the bottom, putting the town ahead of them in full view as the fog from the brown-orange-red mountains around poured in on all sides. Nikolai wound his way down the two lane highway into town, they were greeted by several homes, a post office, and a bar. It reminded the Stalker a bit of Wither's pass. The fog slowly creeping down into the valley gave it a nice 'mist' vibe. The air around them seemed to cool to their presence, and Nikolai saw his breath leave his mouth in little puffs. He checked his Geiger counter, and then his PDA. He was the slightest bit jealous of Flashpoint's PipBuck.

"Do you wanna reconnoiter it before we head in? We could camp outside for the night, that fog looks like it's gonna be coming in all sorts of thick." The Stalker took a peek at his watch and shook his head. "This is important-we can fight our way through the dark if need be. With or without night vision, in this case." He patted his gas mask pouch.

"This, takes priority."

"Nikolai," Willow replied mildly. "Thick fog can mess with a thestrals sense of echolocation." Nikolai rested his elbows on the butt of his rifle. "Fair point, yes. But Flashpoint has PipBuck, and if it is half as reliable as my Geiger counter or sense of direction- We will be fine! Is not so big deal, yes?" Before either equine could reply he quickly added. "And do not think that just because I am rushing us that I have not learned from all other times!"

As it turns out Nikolai's sense of direction wasn't quite as acute as he had made it out to be. He led the team in circles as the fog turned into a veritable grey soup around them. This led them into an feed and pet supply store, notably devoid of anything feed-Or pet related. The three split off and spent the next 5 minutes murdering radroaches though the timeless technique of stomping. Nikolai had selected the structure on account of it's location, it was right on the edge of town-and because of it's all glass exterior. Which, while yellowed and stained and fairly dusted with age, was still very much translucent.

Night fell, and the world once more turned to pitch blackness. A little tiny camp stove fire graced the interior of their campsite of choice, Nikolai and his compatriots sat huddled up together in between a pair of old cars. They ate their usual spartan dinner and bedded down using some stolen cushions from a couch in the break room, forming a set of easy going-and easy on the back, cots to bed down on for the night. All of a sudden, Nikolai felt the 'call of nature' and rushed off to relieve himself.

"Oh... Sweet mother mercy!" He cried, ducking behind a tree in the parking lot outside. He knew the actual bathroom might have been safer-But certainly not cleaner. He had learned his lesson in the field of Wasteland bathrooms a long time ago. In the eerie quiet of the late, late afternoon, Nikolai stared out into the silvery blanket of mist around him. As he looked up and out at the fog. Suddenly a flash of sharp red light cut through the mist-and then another. And then, another. He blinked and tried to focus his eyes.

"Am I seeing things?" His mind asked, defying his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and blinked. No more flashes came. He shrugged it off and walked back inside, saying nothing of what he had just seen to his half asleep friends. He was asleep in the bed of an antique pickup in an instant.

The following morning the fog had thinned out just a little bit-and by that Nikolai realized that it has simply drifted away rather than burning off like it usually did back on earth. As they left their little hidey-hole and headed up and over the hill and towards the gate of Murkycrest, Nikolai realized that the fog had simply retreated on call with with dawn, and was now slowly scurrying it's way back through adjoining passes and valleys and gullies to haunt them again.

Murkycrest looked more or less the same as it did across the way. A set of low concrete and olive paint speckled wooden structures with an asphalt parade ground, and a chain link fence topped with barbed wire, and a simple guardhouse with a worn out wooden boom adorned with a stop sign gate that served as the only visible entryway into the base. It was small-Much smaller than Sunrise Valley. But Nikolai could not afford to care about that. He brought his gun up into a relaxed position and ducked around the gate.

"What now?" The two voices at his sides inquired, looking out at their surroundings, Nikolai met their question with a dry humored expression strewn across his face. "Pull apart and scavenge anything of value that is small enough to take with us. Not-Necessarily in that order." He shooed Willow and Flashpoint off to his right to check out some shipping container stacks, he paused for a moment and stared up at the 15 meter tall radio tower in the middle of the base, he set his hands on his belt and nodded slowly.

"Da... I have good feeling about this." He walked over to the dorms, his mind distant-half engrossed in those flashes he had seen in the dark last night. They looked an awful lot like something he had seen a while ago. But as he pounded and mashed away at the reinforced door and eventually gave up and just threw a brick through the window and climbed in instead, he couldn't really put any of his fingers on it.

"Forty millimeter filter..." He began to mumble jargon about gas mask filters as he scrounged through the gear lockers and storage boxes. He threw a mothballed canvas sheet off a box and was rewarded with a sound metal crate adorned with a Peace Ministry logo and found the details regarding the contents on a handy sticker posted on it's side. He pumped a fist in success and tried to pry off the crate top. It wouldn't budge. He rolled his shoulders and slid his pack off onto the ground.

"Hard way, huh? Oh-Ok!" He grimaced, stuffing his crowbar in the little crack between the container and it's lid, a bit like a giant can opener, he pounded it into place, and then kicked it with all his might. The metal buckled. He kicked it again. It tore a hole in the old steel, sending specks of paint flying off. Inside was a care package. The instructional materials within seemed to explain that it was supposed to be distributed to civilians in the event of a megaspell or chemical attack. Included within this was dozens upon dozens of black masks in pouches, with intact filters. He held in his applause as he picked up one of the masks and examined it, comparing it's filter design and threading with his own GP 5.

He lined up the filter with the mask thread. "Moment of truth!" It was stiff, but he got the black, shiny filter to fit onto his mask. He slipped it over his head and inhaled curiously. "Perfect, just... Perfect." He slumped back against the wall, removed his mask, and began to delve into a bottle of Vodka to celebrate.

"Ohohoho... I wonder if Flashpoint and Willow are having same luck as me? I would hope." Nikolai heard a voice call from outside, it was weird and jumbled, and he thought it was just the alcohol doing it's thing. Than he heard it again, and again, and again:

“Vivacity! Vivacity! Are you here? Please, give me an answer!” The voice cried. It was undeniably female, one he doesn't recognize at that. It sounded desperate.

Nikolai arched an eyebrow sharply as he pulls himself off one of the ancient cots, pulling his mask on over his face. "That... Does not sound like Willow or Flashpoint." He held down the transmitter on his radio to ask his PipBuck wearing friend, "Hey, Flashpoint... Are you there?"

"Yes?" The zebra's calm voice replied. "Did you hear that? The voice?"

"No-But Willow did, his ears snapped around just a moment ago." Nikolai paused for a moment, and then held down the transmitter button again. "Do you know anyone named-" Willow's voice butted in, "No I don't, you've got a stranger on your hoove-hands." Groaning as he stood up, he walked over to the door and set a gloved hand on it, his bootsteps making the floor creak in the process. Half an instant later and he had remembered that he hadn't actually come in through the door-that was still locked. He took up his rifle in one hand and sauntered out of the broken window, pausing to look both ways before turning his way into the little alley in between the barracks and some other mobile home esque structure. The voice continued to call out with a faint metallic undertone in their speech. It sounded clearer as he moved further down the alley and he presumed- the source. “Vivacity! Vivacity! Vivacity!” It seemed like that voice would never end.

The Stalker paused and ducked in behind some crates, his head swiveled from side to side- Trying to figure out where the voice was coming from, he held his rifle at a low ready and glanced out. Though the fog off to his direct front, two glimmering yellow-orange eyes protrude from the mist, and his blood ran cold. Not 20 meters ahead of him, the sharp and distinct figure of a winged power armor clad equine with a jarring barbed tail that remained motionless just off the ground, its wing beats sending tendrils of mist fleeing away with every single flap. The figure had it's side turned to him at the moment. It turned body in his general direction, it's visor giving off an oddly alluring yellow glow in the midst of the fog with the curved and angular mask obscuring the rest of it's face. Added up, the facts were unmistakable.

"Enclave! Enclave!" The voice in his head screamed, the gemstone tips of energy weapons adorning the pegasi's sides crackled to life and sent a pair of evil-looking energy bolts down the alley and over Nikolai's head.

"Blya-!" He threw himself against the wall of the adjacent building and took off down the alley as another pair of magical bolts flew past him. "Those red beams... I-Holy-That was what I saw last night! I wasn't hallucinating!" He would have been happier if he hadn't been right, he ran back around to the shattered window of the barracks building and scrambled back inside, flattening himself against the dusty ground and crawling to the nearest support pillar, panting heavily all the while.

"How did-How did they find me!?" He brought the muzzle of his rifle up and scanned the windows along the northwest wall, the barrage of magical bolts ceased in an instant. This little respite gave him time to collect his thoughts. "How many more of them were out there? Did they have the whole base surrounded? Was that one pegasus alone? Who had she been calling for?"

"Think, think!" He kept his rifle directed at the wall, and reached down into his leftmost vest pouch for his radio, he was about to contact his friends, when the craziest idea dawned on him. He swapped channels to the secure one that had drawn so much animosity the first time he had accidentally met the Enclave. Bad as this could turn out, his tipsy mind He murmured under his breath as he held down the transmitter button and whispered: "Hello? Hello?" Nothing. So he tried something a bit more specific; "No shoot, no shoot! I have done nothing to you!"

He put his hand to his forehead and groaned, wondering why he had just done that-He hardly had time to finish the motion before a response came back through the speaker.

[ “Who the- wait, who...you can talk?” ]

The Stalker grew giddy. "Yes!" He mouthed to himself. "Yes, I can talk. Look-I am not this Vivacity fellow you look for. Please no kill." A sigh came through the airwaves.

[ “I suppose I can rule out any of my theories regarding your presence here. What are you? I don't recognize your appearance. Are there more of you here?” ]

Nikolai paused and took his hand off the radio. That was reassuring, this mare did not know that Willow and Flashpoint were here. The Stalker deadpanned at the wall and replied with, "Look. Save yourself trouble and go away, please? I ask nicely. I no want the 'trouble', you see."

[ “Go away? You fucking... Actually, have you seen a pegasus in this facility in a white hazmat suit? She has purplish blue fur and a pale blue-green mane?” ] That must have been 'Vivacity', Nikolai gave an honest reply.

"No, no I have not." Nikolai scratched his chin, wondering how to respond. The radio went quiet. "Enclave lady-" The Stalker sighed and muttered something in Ukrainian. "Did she just... Hang up on me?" The Stalker began to move back towards the far end of the barracks, as he approched the window at the far end of the structure, the voice of the Enclave pegasus returned.

[ “Oh, uh, yeah, I'm here, I was just taking some time here to process what the fuck just happened.” ]

"What do you mean?" He inquired nonchalantly as he carefully opened a window and shimmied through it. "You shoot at me, I run away. And now we have talk over radio?"

[ “Look I...I don't want to fucking kill you, you were just unknown to me; you could have shot, tortured, raped me, or worse.” ] Nikolai didn't reply.

[ “Ugh, look, I'm not going to shoot you now that I know you aren't hostile!” ] The voice added quickly.

In the meantime, he set himself back down on solid ground just outside the barracks, he looks both ways to make sure the pavilion was clear of any power armor clad faces-then bolted across to the vehicle depot on the other side. "Where did..." He scanned the fog through his PSO rifle optic. Every fiber of his being was telling him to radio Willow and Flashpoint-to leave without any more conflict. Nikolai thought he recognized that particular pattern of armor that she was wearing, but those magical rifles were designs he hadn't seen before. Though they didn't look like they did anything special when compared to a more contemporary looking laser rifle.

"Blin-Where did she go!?" He muttered.

The Stalker cautiously maneuvered out of cover and towards a rusted red shipping container, a sudden noise nearly made him jump- he did- if only in time to watch as what must have been one extremely confused radroach scurry away, he looked about suspiciously with his gun raised, scanning the foggy lot with growing paranoia. Nikolai knew knew he needed to begin making his way back towards the south side of the base, where he was certain he would find Willow and Flashpoint.

[ “I can hear you talking from my position. Stay quiet. I'm behind a grey green container. Lower your firearm.” ] Nikolai took a step backwards, and then another-Out of the corner of his came the contorted shadow of a pony, he backed up against something hard and metallic.

[ “I won't fire at you, I promise.” ] The mare's voice said mildly. "Promise?" He queried loudly.

"I promise-" The voice halted, and without any warning the metal thing behind him moved. He didn't have time to face the pegasus before she spoke “...Make sure to keep a good eye on everything around you. Thank the skies you bumped into me and not some raider scum.”

Up-close, the mares power armor was in full view. There weren't enough armor plates to protect her body; her abdominal region, neck, rear, and parts of her legs were only covered by a jet black bodysuit. It looked more like some sort of combat armor than an actual power armor, although it seemed to make up for it in mobility- she had already moved back a few meters away from him. The underside of her wings and and her mane.. oddly enough, were the only part of her body exposed to the elements, revealing peach feathers and an equally peach colored mane, worn and speckled with dirt. Which... Was certainly odd, Nikolai would mention it later.

"That armor... Oh-It-I remember!" The voice in his head exclaimed suddenly. "The Ministry of Arcane Sciences Lab! Right before I ran into those Zebras...Oh-Oh blyat." Nikolai looked at her again, "Was she there? Has she seen me before?" The gloved fingers of his left hand firmly grasped ahold of his rifle. His eyes meandered down to pry a grimace at the enormous barbed tail on the suit that looked like it could make a Bowie Knife blush, between that and those shimmering red gemstones on the tips of those rifles-At this distance. Nikolai would be hard pressed to win a fight without coming away from some nasty wounds-if even at all. But this mare didn't seem to want to fight... Yet.

“You stood on two legs instead of four, and you have...claws. You also have an accent I haven't heard before. Not even from the other wasties.” She mused, her tailblade lowered.

"You backed into me as well!" He declared, inching his rifle away from the mare's center-of-mass and towards the dirt at her hooves. The mare cocked her head off to one side. "You almost walked right past me, I was hiding behind that crate, she gestured to the grey metal box off to her side.

"For all good sake, it was an accident!" He drawled, jabbing an accusing finger out at her. "Enclave-I can't believe it-Oh... Yes, yes I can! You have been following me, haven't you!?"

“What-I initially thought you were some sort of abomination sent out to track me down and kill me. Now, can we start focusing around us instead of igniting a worthless argument that obviously won't get us anywhere?” She huffed.

A brief wave of irony swept over Nikolai. "To track you down? I thought you were tracking me down!" He jabbed the remaining four fingers of his left hand at her. "And abomination? Hah!"

“That's not important." She replied. "What is important is that we keep our voices down before we lure a gang of raiders or some wasteland abominations to us, and I'm not looking forward to a firefight today.” The Stalker pointed over at the scorch marks on the barrack walls. "Too late for that, eh?" He laughed.

"Hm, the only thing abominable here is Willow's bad breath." He murmured to himself. "How I know I can-You know what fair point, you no shoot at me and I not shoot at you, ok? Sorry about... Eh, odd introduction." He lowered his left hand and rested it on his belt. The mare lowered her magical rifles as The Stalker lowered his. "Name is Nikolai!" He exclaimed pridefully, pounding his ballistic vest with a clenched fist.

She nods, understanding his dogma. “Fair point. I'm....Corporal Aurora. That's what all you need to know about me.” Nikolai nodded and itched his leg though his pants. "Need to know? Really?"

"Ok, how about this; I know you are Enclave, I know you are secretive-And I can tell you have a peach colored mane and feathers!" He squinted at her only distinguishing features while she continued talking, "I'm assuming you are here to scavenge pre-war tech.”

"No...I am just here to find new filter for mask. I did-Right before you showed up."

“I'm surprised you aren't looking for anymore else here. Pre-war military facilities and depots are big treasures waiting to be opened so these places are very valuable. Hell, we are only a few miles east from the slave capital.” she looked around them, like she was searching for something that wasn't really there. “So be sure to keep a careful eye when you're near Fillydelphia.”

Miles? Where I am from we use Kilometers." He held back a quaint smile. "Also-Um... Fillidelphia is southeast. You must have come here when the fog was at it's thickest-Once it clears you should be able to see the glow and smokestacks off in distance." His time talking with members of the Ukrainian Army gave him more than enough confidence to bet that her maps or navigation might have been off. But he decided to hold back any insults regarding that, it was an understandable mistake-if a bit odd for a pegasus wearing fancy looking power armor.

“I came here on purpose." She replied flatly, "And with an assignment to complete.”

"To find Vivacity?" He guessed. "You were shouting her name earlier, I heard voice before I heard your wing beats."

“Yeah." Aurora continued on, "She's an important scientist who disappeared after her research team was attacked. She's one of the six who hasn't been found and I'm assigned to find and take her back.”

Nikolai considered what the mare just told her, on one hand... This pegasus didn't seem like she was about to kill him, if he left now and took off and didn't look back. He might be able to lose her in the fog. But, on the other, Nikolai felt that this Corporal Aurora's of Vivacity- as an 'important scientist' and the way he had heard her calling her name led him to believe that there may have been more to this story than she let on.

“It's too dangerous and too conspicuous to send out a whole squad which is why they picked me for the mission. Have you searched everything here?” Nikolai looked her up and down. He couldn't see the face of the mare under that armor, but the armor alone probably counted for more than a fair share of his mental assessment.

"Most of it," He informed her. "Including the town in the valley." (Nikolai hadn't actually searched the town down in Murkycrest valley, he had been too busy trying to lead his friends through the pitch thick fog.)

“Then it's safe to say she wasn't here.” The corporal looked over her shoulder again. Nikolai took a step back and twisted the knob atop his radio back to Flashpoint's frequency. "Guys," He glanced back up at the power armor clad face of Aurora. "You are never going to believe who I found."

Corporal Aurora unfurled her wings, eyeing him from behind her visor. “Who are you talking to? Friends of yours?”

"He is." Willow's voice answered from above them. A hooded face stared down at them from the roof of the shipping container, with glowing yellow eyes obscured by sunglasses and leathery wings masked by canvas cloth. Nikolai gestured upwards, and the thestral darted out of sight. "I apologize, he is not fond of pegasi-Is long story."

The mare caught herself in the motion of swaying and held herself upright, Aurora quickly glanced up but was only able to catch a glimpse of a thestral bolting out of sight, she jabbed her right wing up at the top of the shipping container “As long as he doesn't plan on attacking me.”

"Ohoho..." Nikolai thought to himself, "I have a zebra friend who didn't like my new bat pony compatriot... And now that same bat pony doesn't like the pegasus-Go figure!" Aurora took a step away from Nikolai and looked around.

"Is there anyone else here with you?"

"There is, why do you want to know?" Off to their right, Flashpoint trotted out of mist, adorned in his usual set of sky blue and grey military police armor. "Well Nikolai-" His green eyes met Aurora's visor, and the zebra fell silent and pulled a cloth over his PipBuck. It was too late, Aurora's visor locked with the zebra for an instant before returning to Nikolai “Why so I know they're on your side. Most wasties I've come across ran away or wanted to get a piece of my power armor. So, have you found what you're looking for?”

"I have."

The Enclave mare shifted her wings uneasily. “Okay. Let's get a move on. Since there's nothing left of interest here it's time for us to take our leave.” She flapped her wings once, and lifted herself up off the ground, blowing dust in Nikolai's face and rippling the folds of his hood. "I'm all by myself out here... can I join your little group?” Aurora's voice amplifier expressed the desire to the Stalker pretty clearly. Nikolai glanced over at Flashpoint, who was vigorously shaking his head by now. Nikolai turned back to glance at Aurora, taking a partial knee, bringing himself down to eye level with her-and offered out his right hand.

"How about... Yes!" He prayed he wasn't making the wrong choice, but that armor could give him a great leg up in a fight. "Since we are not going to kill each other, we must be friends-Yes!? Come, we celebrate!"

She stared at what looked to her to be a weird look paw for a few seconds until Nikolai's gesture clicked in her mind. Aurora reached out and grabbed his hand and shook it “Of course. Friends. Celebrations are for later.” She let go of his hand so quickly Nikolai would later joke to himself that had she not let go, she probably would have taken his hand with her.

The Stalker clasped his hands together and laughed. But Willow was nowhere do be seen, and Flashpoint looked like he was about to either faint, or throw a grenade at Aurora. "Flashpoint!" The Stalker barked, snapping his fingers. "Get over here and greet our new companion!"

"Давай, не соромся! Come on, don't be shy!"

The Zebra looked from Nikolai, to the intimating Enclave pegasus, and then back again. "Nikolai trusts her... And he was right about Willow and Cirro and Eggshell..." He thought to himself. But The Stalker had been wrong before. Flashpoint approached Aurora coolly, trying to persuade his mind into being cautiously optimistic.

“Don't worry, I won't bite nor fire at you.” She tried to reassure him. He stopped about 6 paces shy of Aurora, gazing into those glowing orange eyes. The only other time he had stared into those eyes he had been moments from being potentially atomized. The thought of Nikolai telling him that there were ordinary ponies under that armor flew threw his mind, but he had a hard time seeing past it when it was right there in front of him.

"I wasn't really worried about you biting me. I'm... Flashpoint." The Stalker wasn't fully satisfied with his friends out of character meek introduction. "Go on, shake her hoof!" Nikolai insisted. The Zebra held himself upright and sighed.

"Dude," Flashpoint's ears shot back to Nikolai. "If we are going to be traveling with her than you are going to have to talk with her!" Flashpoint's face resounded with defiance, and his ears pinned themselves back. He raised his right forehoof and tried to smile genuinely. "Nice to..." He forced the words out with Nikolai staring at him. "Meet you."

She nodded before taking his hoof for a hoofshake. “Aurora.” Flashpoint pulled himself back. Nikolai's fingers danced across the top of his rifle's receiver as he collected his thoughts together. "We need to find some way to disguise you Aurora."

"That armor is huge magnet for trouble and hoodlums, is like waving a giant road flare over your head in the dark!" Nikolai checked his watch.

“Mm? A disguise? What for?” She posed seemingly confused with a sudden need of disguise . “This power armor is the only thing I have that's close to clothing, and my means of protection. I... Honestly feel vulnerable without it. ” Nikolai laughed cordially, he hadn't expected such a personal reply-Though he supposed it could be a façade.

"I had no thoughts about you discarding your armor!" Nikolai replied cheerfully. "A canvas sheet-or an old rain tarp perhaps should do the trick! Anything to make you look less..." He motioned to all of her. "Like that." Aurora looked down at her armored forehooves and agree with the Stalker.

“That.. was actually what I had in mind.” She admitted. "Mh, and how come you have not yet done so? Whatever, is no need to debate-Come, we go to find something to suit you." He waved her along and began to turn away when she gave him a quick and simple reply: "Lead the way, I got your back covered.”

With Flashpoint watching her closely all the while, and Willow watching from some hidden perch in the fog, surveilling Aurora's behavior and waiting for the right time to pop out, he led her over towards the vehicle depot. Using his begrudgingly alright sewing skills, he fashioned a semi decent hooded smock-poncho thing for Aurora all while she stood by, stiff as an oak tree. He took a step to admire his handiwork.

"Go on, try it on over your armor." He urged her on with enthusiasm. Aurora threw the cloak on over herself, leveling her mane underneath the hood, and draping it across her wings and flanks, Nikolai helped her unfurl the rest so it obscured her tail as well. "We shall need to find some kind of scarf to hide your visor, but other than that-you look..."

"Awesome, you look awesome!" He exclaimed, Flashpoint rolled his eyes. "He says that every time he sees something he likes."

“Your enthusiasm is a welcome change.” Aurora replied patiently.

It didn't completely cover the armor, but it was enough to differentiate her from the other Enclave and to give others a pause at the sight of her. “Not bad.” She told him, trotting back and forth as she tried to shift her wings into a comfortable resting position beneath the cloak, and shifted her tailblade in a fashion that reminded Flashpoint of a rad scorpion.

“At the very least, I can still use my tailblade." Nikolai framed Aurora in his hands like a photographer trying to visualize a scene. "Mh, if we run into problems you can just throw the cloak off."

She snorted and added, “I wouldn't mind if it happened to land on someone's face.” The Stalker checked his watch again. Nikolai turned back to Aurora. "Shall we?" He dramatically gestured out the garage door with both hands.

"Lead the way."

And so, they left Murkycrest garrison, bound eastwards by Nikolai's will. With Aurora behind Nikolai and Flashpoint just off to her side. Willow was out there somewhere, too. But he still hadn't revealed himself. Scarcely had they left the confines of the barbed wire fence which cordoned the garrison off from the rest of the world when Nikolai began to lose himself in his own thoughts again, his mind swarmed with questions that he wanted to ask their new companion once they made camp in a few hours.

The day sped by, and neither Flashpoint nor Nikolai had managed to get much out of the Corporal, she'd been notably distant while they were in motion, she kept looking off into the sky or scanning the horizon like something was watching her. She also rarely ever spoke aside for a few passing comments, one time, they passed a skeletal remains a pony, long passed but Nikolai could hear her whisper to herself. “No feathers nor bones belonging to wings. They don't have anything around them. I wonder if they died peacefully.”

Distant really wasn't the right word anyhow-Alert, would be a better way of putting it-Even when the Stalker halted them a dilapidated cabin and christened it their campsite for the night, she didn't seem to ease up while Nikolai and Flashpoint went through their usual evening routine. At a point, while Flashpoint finished setting up his own little sleeping bag, Nikolai watched Aurora closely as he gathered up some firewood. As soon as she had done 'her part', she had simply trotted outside the cabin and sat down to look out over the road they had come in on-Her face still remained a mystery behind that unsettling insectoid visage. He dropped the armful of dry wood and strolled lazily towards Aurora, stopping just past an old oak log that looked like it had been there for centuries.

He removed his mask and looked out at the desolate landscape, the faint sound of music from his radio gave him away before he spoke. "You have been awfully distant this past while Aurora, why?"

Her head snapped about for a moment to gaze over her shoulder at Nikolai. “We only just met." She replied dully. "And even if you want to be friends with me, it's clear that your other friends don't." The Stalker laughed at his own pain and groaned. "Mind if I sit down?"

She snorted. “Yeah, I don't mind you sitting with me.” The Stalker shuffled up to her and sat down with his knees kicked up as Aurora returned her gaze to the sky, which was swiftly tossing and turning from steel grey to a sort of purple-black.

"Look, I don't know where you're from-But pegasi aren't a common sight on the surface-And there's a reason behind that; The rest of us are up there beyond the cloud cover. We're taught that the wasteland is a dangerous place. It's not easy to trust everyone here even when I'm willing to look past the claim everyone down here are savages who'd tear our wings and eat us.” The Stalker laughed heartedly. "I think the 'eat us' part applies to everyone-Not just pegasi." He took a pause.

"I have been told as much by my compatriots, Aurora-I have waited far to long to ask you this question but... Are there really cities above the clouds?"

He got an answer in no time at all. “There are, and there's many of them. Neighvarro, New Cloudsdale, Thunderhead, Typhoonopolis, Columnbus, Cyclonus, Stormshear, Stratus, Archnimbus, Vapor-Springs, Snowmist, Verrskies, Stratusburg; there's a fuckton of cloud cities out there. Hell, from what I heard Typhoonopolis is in an overseas territory far from Equestria on the other side of the Lunar Sea.” Nikolai gave a whistle of approval.

"Wow...That, is impressive-No, astounding."

He gestured to himself. "I come from the...Eh, North of Ukraine...Is-A long way from here.

“Never heard of that. But then again, a lot was lost and forgotten when the Megaspells annihilated Equestria with magical fire when Roam decided they were done letting us exist. There is a big world out there that has to be discovered.” Nikolai waved the reply away. "Oh, is not in Equestria-Is father, much farther. Weather is similar-Worse-Depending on season-We have green stuff! Trees and grass and raspberry bushes and flowers-Mushrooms. The people there are like me, same accent, same Cyrillic language, same... Everything. I love it." He stopped himself there.

"I want to hear more about life your life 'up there', tell me everything." But he stood up before she could get another word out. "I am going to grab some refreshments, wait here."

"But when I get back want to hear more about life your life 'up there', tell me everything." But he stood up before she could get another word out. "I am going to grab some refreshments, wait here." He jabbed a thumb back at the cabin, picked up his firewood, and walked off-Returning a moment later with a bottle of Vodka.

"Opah!" He exclaimed, the guitar over his radio began to strum away the opening notes of an acoustic guitar and steel guitar song, it was cool and ominous-breaking the silence almost perfectly as the deep baritone bass notes echoed off their surroundings like they were in some kind of American Spaghetti Western. Behind them, Flashpoint was pulling the firewood into a round ring with old newspaper as kindling- And setting portions of it aside for later in the night.

" Please, continue." He pushed himself up with his gloved hands and unscrewed the cap on the vodka bottle. He stared at it for a moment, then capped it again and set it off to his side without drinking a drop for a moment-only to pick it back up a brief moment later. Aurora gestured up and down with her head in a way that didn't quite look like a nod. "I'm not a magic tourist pamphlet."

"Then... Try to confirm what I already think I know, ok?" She nodded. "You can manipulate clouds, yes? Walk on them and everything? Fold and mold them like plaster?" She nodded, and her mane swayed in the wind. "Yeah, we can-But I'm not going to fly up and grab a piece of cloud cover to show you-If that's what you were hopping for." The Stalker shrugged like it didn't matter too much, but under his mask Nikolai was grinning ear to ear.

"How about your system of government-Your society?" She shifted her armored hooves for a moment. "It's a military council." Nikolai raised a hand out of question, just like he was back in school. "So... A junta?" She didn't seem to want to answer that question, and The Stalker moved on to the next inquiry. It would not take a collage professor to accurately gauge her answer.

"Civil service is mandatory." She finally explained. "But only a few of us ever see the surface-And fewer still get the chance to actually speak with someone from down here." Nikolai gesticulated, urging her on. "Anything else? How about yourself, Aurora?" She shrugged back, rolling her shoulders in a manner foreign to Nikolai, her armored tail swept up little particles of dirt behind her. "Why?" She asked him bluntly.

"Because I am curious-You know.... Aurora, we are not out to 'get you'. I will not vouch for whatever 'surfacers' or 'savages' you have met before me and Flashpoint and Willow, but I promise-We are different. Give us a chance, we may surprise you." He grunted heartily and stood himself up. "Are you hungry?"

"No. We were instructed... Not to consume anything on the surface." Nikolai walked off, and returned with a lukewarm can of tomato-basil soup. She stared at the can. "Maybe just a little bit."

"Full, warm, and unopened." Nikolai informed her. Nikolai couldn't tell what she may be thinking nor her expression behind the helmet, but she was staring at that can-And the Stalker, like a pile of shiny caps had landed in front of her. "No fire needed, I use these things called 'pocket warmers'. They work miracles. Do you need help opening can? I would rather you not spill a drop."

“No. I know another way to open that tin can.” After taking the can from Nikolai, she punctured the corner edge of the lid with the tip of her tailblade and pushed it outwards, the lid came off with a metallic pop. With another rapid click, her mask slid back into her visor, revealing a relaxed peach colored muzzle underneath. She took the can in her hooves and drank it down like it was a bottle of water, to Nikolai's amusement.

"You really were hungry." Nikolai beamed. Aurora didn't reply immediately, opting to gulp down her food before speaking. “I did not eat for several hours, not to mention I've traveled for a few miles fucking exhausted up to my mind.” Her voice amplifier was gone with her mask, and in it's place was the sound of a manifestly out of character young female that bordered on teenagerish.

"You are welcome." He nodded again. "Now... How long have you been down here?"

She set down the now empty can, and turned eyes back on the clouds above “Been here for probably fifteen or twenty four days now... I've lost track counting. The lack of sunlight's been difficult for me.” The Stalker rolled back his jacket sleeve, revealing his only slightly grimy quartz officer's watch. "That has never been problem for me, rain, snow, radioactive rain-This will function, this has been in family for quite some time."

Aurora examined the watch with her gaze “That's nice. It's good to keep an article of someone else with you. And if there's anything worse than loneliness is losing it. You had good ties with him?”

The Stalker chuckled happily, "Oh... You bet I did. Grandfather and mother, too."

“My father was a former soldier honorably discharged after a mutant abomination burned most of his face and leaving a permanent scar. I had a good upbringing with him and mom and rarely, if ever, any heated argument although they tried discouraging me from enlisting into the military.” The expression on her face was solemn.

"Mm, my grandfather was only member of family to fight in war of any kind. Decades and decades-almost a century ago. Although," He elbowed his rifle. "I suppose I am sort of waging my own little one."

That caught her interest. “Waging your own little one?”

"In a way-I need money, I am saving up so I can get better education... This, what I am doing right now-Is just another job. " He cast a glance back at Flashpoint, then turned back to Aurora. "Is just a-less than ordinary career choice. Plus-Who doesn't like money?" She shrugged her wings in response, and Nikolai folded his arms across one another in triumph." Case in point."

"Hey-Nikolai? What do you want?" Flashpoint asked from over his shoulder. "Anything that will make me die and-preferably something that tastes good enough to not throw up."

"I'm not you! I shot a squirrel on the way here!"

"Mutant!?"

"Yes?" The zebra replied skeptically.

"How many eyes and-was it glowing?" Aurora inquired incredulously.

"One, and no, it wasn't glowing."

"Alright, sprinkle some salt and pepper on it and stick it on spit."

"This isn't a restaurant! Come over and help me!" Flashpoint protested. Nikolai stood up and drew his hunting knife, he sprinkled a little bit of vodka on his gloved hand and rubbed his blade down with it before gutting the mutant, skinning it, and cleaning it right in front of Aurora.

"Please-go on. Tell me, have you met anyone else friendly down here?"

“Only a small few but only because I stayed far from them. The rest were mostly bandits who probably wanted to take my power armor off my corpse.”

“Don't ask me. I wasn't the one who made this.” Nikolai slapped his knee. "Sorry-I'm just saying, you've got that bright pink mane out there where everyone can see it. I just found it odd."

She shook her head “Me and my friends would often go to a bar back in the city but we often headed there to hangout and talk about random shit. Not to mention I don't want some asshole to catch me while under the influence. That is not how my life ends.” Nikolai pulled his mask off by the filter, and draped his hood down around his neck, revealing his head, face and all to the Enclave mare. "Good thinking Aurora. But we Slavs have natural tolerance for the stuff." He unscrewed the cap and took a short swig of it.

She glared at him, particularly at his face, studying every little facet of it. “Your eyes are small.”

"At least they are not size of apples." He retorted, downing another swig. She chuckled. "What?" He clamored." I am being serious! It-I have been here for like-a whole month now!"

“Equine eyes are actually bigger than apples.” He rolled his own eyes. "I ask so many biology questions to Flashpoint and Willow-They get fed up after days and days. But I cannot help myself, I must."

Finally, she finally smiled for the first time since they first met, this one expressing amusement. “I would too if I wasn't hanging around with eggheads.”

Nikolai returned the smile. "Trust me, Flashpoint and Willow are far from eggheads. In a good way... I don't suppose you'd be up for removing that visor? I've shown you my face-Is only fair that I would see yours."

That put her to a pause, she considered his words. Then finally took hold of her helmet-visor with one of her wings, and raised it. Her face was the same shade of peach as her, and her eyes were a violent hue of pink. She looked young, young and... Innocent. It didn't look like the face of a hardened soldier, but Nikolai supposed that he was just setting his expectations too high.

"Nice to meet you Aurora, formally." He said kindly. "That is your name, right?"

"Yes, that's my name?" She replied.

"Do you have a first name, or is this a 'last name' sort of basis?" He gesticulated a twirling motion with his gloved hands in between sips of Vodka, than stood up and paced back towards the cabin. He turned to glance back at the pegasus, who smiled back again in kind.

“Borealis is my last name. And-If you're wondering-you can call me either. I don't mind." Nikolai's mind wandered when it heard her name. "Aurora Borealis... Clever name for pegasus, I would like to see one of those Auroras some day-the eh, the meteorological phenomena-I mean." He meandered past Flashpoint again and fetched something out of his pack, he returned with a browned paper pamphlet about as thick as an average comic book.

"Oh... This one is a treat, The Wasteland Survival Guide." He began to narrate. "By Ditzy Doo. She is this sweet pegasus ghoul-I met her myself a while ago, she just gives these out to anyone who asks. 'first copy free'. Of course, this one is mine."

He turned to glance back at the pegasus... What is going on in her head?

"Anything and everything you need to know about life here. Trust me-It was fun read-You-You do know how to read, yes?"

She frowned “You take me for a wastie? Of course I know how to read. I certainly didn't go to the Academy to be illiterate.” her residual glare would immediately soften, realizing what she had said, and looked away from Nikolai-Feeling almost ashamed of herself. “Sorry.”

"Is ok. Flashpoint looks like needs help with campfire. I go help him, you go on and skim through it." A beep resounded from within the Stalker's PDA. She took the book from him, taking a look at the cover before flipping on the first page “By the way, we need someone to look over the camp, and there's only just the three of us.”

The Stalker glanced around, feeling relaxed. "Do not worry. We are safe. Take a look around, perfect sightlines everywhere, an isolated structure out of the way-And us. Is no problem, truly."

She shrugged “I'd still take precautions. Go help your friend.”

"Very well, Flashpoint!?" He walked off behind Aurora, leaving her alone with the book. It only took a moment-But Nikolai sparked a flame like it was second nature to him, and it wasn't long before the smell of cooking mutant squirrel was drifting through the site...And past Aurora's nostrils. The Corporal was new to the concept of eating meat, probably even disgusted her a little bit, but the smell had an appetizing taste to her nose. It convinced her to turn her head and see what was being cooked. She glanced back to see the blackening corpse of a mutant squirrel, skewered on a makeshift spit over the fire, with Nikolai turning it every once and a while. The two huddled close to the fire with their mess tins in hand and hoof, only slightly disturbed-She returned to reading the Wasteland Survival Guide.

"She doesn't like meat." Flashpoint murmured. "More for us, right?" Nikolai laughed. " Only because she has not tried it. Ponies are omnivores." Flashpoint tore a chunk of meat off a bone and grinned wildly up at his friend. "More for us." The Stalker replied, burping as he contently reached for his salt shaker. He looked off to his right, and noticed Aurora at the edge of the firelight's boundary, he looked over his left shoulder and noticed a pair of familiar batish eyes staring at him from the dark.
"Hey Aurora, come over and join us. давай come on!" He waved her over.

"Are you sure?" Nikolai smiled, and waved again. "You better believe I am." His PDA beeped twice-The same brisk electronic chirp that he had heard more times than he could count, he ignored it for now-still trying to keep it out of sight of Aurora.

"Alright..." Nikolai cracked his knuckles. Aurora got up and went over to join Nikolai and Flashpoint, “Enjoying yourselves?” She murmured, turning her head from the zebra to the human, and then back again. "Yes, yes we are. Enjoying yourself?"

“I don't know if I can call it 'enjoying', but that survival guide is incredibly well-written and provides a lot of good tips for scavenging, interacting with pre-war technology, and among other things.” While Aurora had her head turned towards The Stalker and the campfire, that same pair of glowing batish eyes crept up behind her and took a seat beside her on the old log, all without her noticing.

"It is! I personally enjoyed the segment on armor and environmental hazards. Though..." He caught sight of Willow and kept up his best 'poker face'. "I could not help but be mesmerized by segment on bat ponies."

“I haven't encountered any ghouls but the book has details about them. I don't know how long this Ditzy Doo has been one but she lived long enough to accumulate a lot of knowledge to write this book. I admire her.” Finally, the bat pony decided to make her presence known. "You wanna tell her, Nikolai?" Willow chirped.

She turned to look at Willow. Aurora was surprisingly calm when she spoke to him “How long have you been sitting there?” The thestral turned his slit, glowing eyes on Aurora and smiled, firelight unintentional illuminated his fangs. "Since before your compliment about Ditzy, Aurora." His wings ruffled beneath his cloak.

Her gaze briefly moved to his fangs before focusing back to his face. “I see, good for you to join in.”

"Likewise, you... Don't seem to have any bad intent towards my friends, so I'd like to formally introduce myself. Willow Lamp, resident thestral." He turned his fuzzy grey face towards Nikolai, who sighed and resigned himself to telling the Corporal what Willow wanted her to know. "A few days ago, we lost a member of our group. Cirro Wisp, we only ever knew him for two days-Not even a full forty eight hours. He was a ghoul... A pegasus ghoul."

She kept a neutral expression at her face when she heard the news. “You have my sympathies. What happened to him?” Nikolai tapped his earlobe. "One moment, he was standing in doorway... The next moment-He was everywhere." He and his friends fell silent for a while before Nikolai began to talk again. She frowned, gazing down at the ground below her. “A fatal headshot; from what you described, it must've been an instantaneous death...and a messy one too.” she raised a hoof and proceeded to scratch her head. “By the skies...”

"What is past is past." The Stalker remarked quietly. He then pointed to the radiation trefoil insignia on his left shoulder.
"He was far from the first ghoul I met." She fell silent again, and her ears perked up and awaited his explanation.

"This symbol, you are familiar with it? Radiation? Danger? Well... It means something else to me. I am a Stalker-"

“Stalker? You stalk for a living?” He couldn't tell if she was joking or not-most likely not, by the estranged expression on her face. "No-No! Stalker is acronym, it is also noun-Colloquial term for those like me where I come from. I travel into dangerous places to try and turn profit. But-Strangely, since I have arrived here I have been greeted warmly by almost every ghoul I have come across."

“Lucky you then.” She said, sounding a bit jealous that this bipedal creature in front of her was better at communicating with the undead than she was. "He is telling the truth. Flashpoint began. "Nikolai here is-"

"Like a celebrity-For ghouls. It sounds odd, and-We don't really understand why. He simply gets along with them well."

"Almost every sane-And nonferal ghoul, mind you... Including those in Canterlot... But that, is a story for another time."

She rolled her eyes in a sarcastic manner. “Well isn't that a huge blessing?” Nikolai pulled his gloves off and held them close to the flames. "It is, and I am not complaining. Let us change subject, what is on agenda for tomorrow?" She cocked her head off to one side, sending her mane tumbling over in the process.

She looked at him again with confused eyes. “Well this is certainly a change of pace for me. All I ever did since coming down here is walk, kill some assholes, head to certain locations then leave when my interest isn't there, eat, travel some more, bunker down in some abandoned home, wake up; repeat.”

"Funny-That is exactly what I do most days! Just...Without the killing-usually. Best fight is one you don't get into, after all." This drew smiles from both Flashpoint, and-Though he hated to admit it, Willow as well. It was at this point that Flashpoint simply couldn't ignore the incessant beeping from his PipBuck any longer, frustrated to almost no end, he stood up in a rage and glared down at his PipBuck.

"Well?" Nikolai pressured him. "Spill beans!"

Aurora pulled her wings away from Flashpoint. "Is there anyplace where you're going?” Flashpoint motioned for Nikolai to come over and take a look at what was on his screen. He looked up at Aurora and grinned.

"Yes, now there is!"

"Really..." She edged closer to Flashpoint, she barbed tail swaying against the dirt behind her. "Where?"

"Have you ever heard of someplace called-'Single Pegasus Project'?" There was intrigue in her eyes when he asked her that question, “Yeah, I know what that is. Why do you ask?” Her eyes went wide with amazement.

“Wait a fucking minute, there's an SPP tower that's just sitting abandoned? Now this is getting interesting.”

Willow pressed closer to Aurora. Nikolai pointed at the corporal. "Abandoned and-Partially damaged, Aurora, what is it?"

Then came his answer, “From what I learned, SPP, or Single Pegasus Project, was a project developed by the Ministry of Awesome during the height of the Great War to control Equestria's weather to help the pegasi participate in the war effort; now they help with farming above the clouds which is only made possible thanks to the towers. There's fifty of them.“

"Fourty nine, if Flashpoint's map is right." Willow chimed in.

"Well, it is settled then. Tomorrow, we will go and investigate this thing." The Stalker decidedly wanted to pull some more from Aurora before they turned. "Aurora, any thoughts?"

“I don't know what the tower looks like from the inside, and we have to be careful. Anything very important to us tends to have high security so keep a keen eye once we're inside. I'm curious though what's your reason is go to such a place. I'm guessing you're planning to scavenge for tech there?” Nikolai scratched his head for a moment, and then nodded in agreement. "That-Is exactly what we are going to do." The Stalker stood up and licked his mess tin clean. "Now, Willow-You are on nighttime guard duty, feel free to make yourself whatever you want-And take what is left from mutant squirrel. Flashpoint and I will be going off to bed."

“I'll help him out.” Aurora reached for her helmet. Nikolai smiled. "You can if you want-But when you do decide to sleep, stay away from Flashpoint. Sorry, personal policy. One time was enough, I won't have 'it' happen in again." Flashpoint nodded quickly. “I don't know what you are referring to. I wasn't planning to sleep next to him anyway.” She snapped her visor into place, replacing her mellow eyes with the fierce glow of her eyepieces. “I was not planning to sleep next to him.” The Stalker held his hands out defensively. "Was only precaution." They didn't want another Amber Reins. He picked up his rifle, and his pack.

"Alright, we go! We shall reconnoiter in morning! Goodnight Aurora, goodnight Willow." The two nodded, and turned away from the waning fire to face the Wasteland. Nikolai looked back at his new companion one more time, and stepped into the abandoned cabin.

It was too late to thing of anything else, and he was too tired, the last words to float through his semi conscious brain were approximately this: "White hazmat suit... Pegasus-Chemical laboratory-Crap!"