//------------------------------// // Adapt to the Unknown // Story: The Lost Children // by RuinQueenofOblivion //------------------------------// " ...and the earth becomes my throne I adapt to the unknown Under wandering stars I've grown By myself but not alone I ask no one." -Metallica, Wherever I May Roam I yawned a little as the sun's light woke me up the next morning, I found myself staring up at the sky and realized that we must have dozed off the night before. I looked beside me and smiled a little at the sleeping Zebra filly next to me. I quietly got to my hooves and opened the trapdoor as I headed down into the safe room to get us some food. It was weird to think that we were going to leave this place today, it had almost started to feel like home. I wondered who had lived in here before, if anypony had really, had it been some sort of hiding place in the event of an attack by the, what did that paper call them, the Herd? That was kind of an odd name for a group now that I thought about it, was it because they were ponies or something? I shrugged, maybe we'd learn more about them later but for now I had breakfast to get. I picked out some things from our supplies before packing the rest of it into my saddlebags and carrying them back up above ground. Alicia was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with her forehooves when I came back up and she smiled at me. "Hey Katie, what's for breakfast?" "Same thing as dinner, canned fruits and vegetables," I said with a chuckle as I passed her a can. "If we have to eat this for the whole trip, grass may actually be preferable." Alicia laughed a little at that. "Hey, don't knock it until you try it, grass can be tasty when made right." "Really?" "Heck no, its grass," Alicia said and we shared a laugh. "Really though, we may have to think about it at least so we don't run out of food." I didn't really like the idea of eating grass even if I was a pony now. I looked down at the grass at my hooves and sniffed it, taking a curious bite. It didn't exactly taste like chicken I'll tell you that. "Bleah, how do ponies eat this stuff?" I said as I tried to spit the taste out of my mouth, which just made Alicia roll on the ground laughing. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" "Okay, okay, I'll stop," Alicia said as we started to eat our vegetables. "I wonder if ponies can eat meat." "You know I'm not sure," I said with a shrug. "My grandpa is the real horse expert in my family not me, I'm sure he could tell us everything we needed to know." "Well about you maybe," Alicia pointed out. "I'm not exactly a pony you know." "Okay good point," I said, I wasn't actually sure what the difference between a pony and a zebra was other than the stripes. "But still, an expert on horses or horse-like animals could be handy if we knew one." "Yeah, which means my family is pretty much unhelpful," Alicia said. "My older brothers are all... were all in high school when this happened. Its weird, but sometimes I miss them, mostly Ryan really, he was always nice to me even though we weren't related." "My mom liked to say family is more than blood," I said with a shrug. "Which I think she got from Star Wars or something, she was always into sci-fi series like that." "Sounds like Ryan," Alicia said with a giggle. "But what she said it means is that family isn't just about who you're related to. Its about the people you form bonds with, the ones that shape your life in different ways and you are close to." "Your mom sounds like a smart lady," Alicia said as we finished eating breakfast. "I wish I could've known her." "Hey, you never know, that still might happen," I said with a smile as we uncovered the wagon and made sure we secured all the supplies we were bringing including the sleeping bag. "If she's out there, I know she'll be looking for me." "Yeah, I hope so," Alicia said. We did one last check of the area and after some trying managed to fold up the map of Georgia that we had found in the welcome center. We took one last look at the place that had been our home since we had arrived. "Its weird, up until I met you I never thought much about where I'd go next," Alicia commented as she closed up the trapdoor for the last time, she left it unlocked so that many somepony else could use it. "This place it kind of feels like home to me." "Yeah, I know how you feel," I said as we walked over to the hiding spot for the wagon. "Lets just hope we have enough to make it to Nightingale." "Yeah," Alicia said as she picked up the harness. "Do you want to pull it first or me?" "I'll do it," I said and slipped into the harness as Alicia secured it as best she could. "Are you going to be okay pulling it?" "Yeah, I'll be fine," I said as we started walking forward towards the old road that was near the town. 00000 I hummed a tune to myself as we walked down the road together. Alicia was scouting ahead at the moment, which left me alone with my thoughts. Waking up a pony had been, surreal to say the least and I still had a lot to get used to. I still had to try hard to avoid tripping over my new legs, but I was slowly starting to get used to them at least, which was good. Then there was the matter of what we had seen yesterday, if there were ponies still alive out there it seemed that this Haven place was the logical place to start looking. I thought back to the map of Georgia I had seen and remembered that it seemed to be divided more into three groups. One of them had to be Haven, which was where we were heading now, that was something at least. But then what were the other two? One of them was probably the Herd that the message had mentioned, but there was still that third group. Maybe I was just overthinking it as mom liked to say, we didn't even know how old the map was, it could be outdated. There was still the matter of where we'd stop for the night of course, maybe there was other places to stay for shelter here and there, that would be nice at least. I took a deep breath and started up the hill in front of me, it wasn't easy to pull this wagon uphill since I felt almost like it was straining against me with every step. It wasn't even that high of a hill, maybe it was just my small body. "Are you okay down there?" Alicia asked from the top of the hill. "I'm fine, I'll manage," I said with a smile, more to reassure myself myself than her. "Did you see anything up there?" "No, just more road and trees," Alicia said with a shrug as I kept walking up the hill. "This road seems pretty old to me, what do you think?" Actually now that she mentioned it, it kinda did to me as well. It was cracked and coming apart in several places which didn't make the trek up the hill any easier, did that mean it hadn't been worked on in awhile? Just how long had it really been since I had gone to sleep? If we ever found any adults that weren't Trappers, that was going to be one of the things I asked them. "Yeah, it really is," I finally said as I pulled the wagon up to the top of the hill. "So, what do you think the other ponies are like?" "Hopefully they're nice," Alicia said as she took up her spot next to me. "Do you think there might be other Zebras like me?" "Maybe," I said with a shrug. "I mean you can't be the only one in the world right? If one Zebra appeared I guess, there's bound to be more." "Yeah," Alicia said with a nod. "I still have to wonder a little about my stripes though, do you think that's normal?" I wasn't sure what to say to that honestly, since I hadn't ever met another Zebra, I had just seen pictures of them in books, and she most definitely did not look like one of those. Then again from what I saw, I didn't exactly look like a horse either given that I had these wings. Now that I think about it, what even happened to normal horses and zebras? Were they still around or did something happen to them too? Darn it this just kept raising questions that I didn't know the answer to, thank goodness there wasn't a pop quiz coming. "Well, I don't know to be honest," I finally said. "But I do know one thing, I don't care if you're a Human, a Pony, a Zebra, or a Dragon, I wouldn't rather have anyone at my side on this trip." Alicia's face brightened up as she gave me a hug, I smiled a little, I was glad that I had made the filly smile. She had a nice smile, it really highlighted her facial stripes. "Thanks Katie, I'm happy I met you too. As we walked on for awhile longer I couldn't help but think about what this might mean for my future. Well on the bright side this means I didn't have to go to school again, no homework, no math... yeah, I wasn't going to miss math at all. I looked back at my wings for a moment, it was weird but I had almost forgotten they were there since I had last tried to fly. I wondered if that was just because I wasn't used to my new body or if I never would be able to fly, but right now wasn't the time to think about it. I felt a drop of water fall on my head and looked up just as the sky opened up and it started to rain. "Well, that figures," Alicia said with a groan as we kept walking through the rain. 00000 We kept walking for a little while longer as the rain continued to pour down around us. The road was getting slick and we needed to find somewhere to stop and rest soon when we heard the last thing we expected to hear. Music, there was actual music being played as we heard people (ponies?) laughing and cheering up ahead. We exchanged a glance and started to push forward harder, maybe they'd be able to help us out. When we came in for a stop we found ourselves next to a field where a group of tents had been set up. There were a few figures playing music and even, dancing I guess, as close to equines could get at least. It took me a moment to realize that they weren't ponies either, at lest not most of them, they had the telltale black or grey stripes of Zebras. Alicia couldn't help but watch them as they continued. "What should we do?" I whispered to the Zebra filly. "Maybe we should wait for them to stop," Alicia whispered back with a shrug. "It might be rude to interrupt them." "Little ones, come, get out of the rain," a woman's voice said with a strange accent, I was surprised to look over and see that one of the Zebras was looking at us with a smile. She looked different from Alicia, instead her body had more evenly spaced stripes including some that were connected at her back. She smiled a little as we approached and I slipped out of the harness. That's when I saw her eyes, they weren't normal eyes, they were purple and clouded. She patted the ground next to her and we sat down. "Silly little fillies shouldn't be traveling the roads alone," the Zebra said with a smile as we got comfortable. "Especially pony fillies, not when the Herd may still be about. Where may I ask are you going this rainy day?" "Uh, we're going to Nightingale," I said, I was a little surprised by this woman's questions, but at least she seemed nice. "Ah, the great jewel of Haven, I have not seen it with my own eyes, but I know its sounds and smells well," the older Zebra said. "Not, with your own eyes?" I asked as I tilted my head a little. "Child, I was not born with the gift of sight like you lucky fillies," she said with a light chuckle. "Sickness robbed me of that when I was but a foal." "So, you didn't re-appear like we did?" Alicia asked. "Afraid not child, I am a third Generation member of the Zencori tribe," she said. "You two are refugees then?" "Yeah, I've only been here for three days, Alicia here has been here for longer," I said with a shrug. "We were in... what was the name of that town again?" "Gateway I think," Alicia said. "Oh dear, you are fortunate then that you escaped the Herd," the older Zebra said with a look of concern on her face (or at least I think it was, I don't know how to read pony faces yet). "What are your names?" "Well, I'm Katie." "Alicia." "Charmed to meet you both, I shall remember your names, perhaps you will become the focus of a great story of your own someday. I am Daegra of the Zencori, welcome to our camp." "Story?" I asked, I admitted I was curious about what she was talking about. "The Zencori, we are storytellers," Daegra said with a smile. "It is our tradition to catalog the stories of the old world and of the new and tell them so that they are not lost to time. I for one am quite fond of the tales of Frodo Baggins and Luke Skywalker, but there are many more out there among the Zencori." Wow, an entire tribe of Storytellers, that was something I hadn't expected... also, wait, was she talking about Lord of the Rings and Star Wars? Huh, I guess that was one way to preserve human culture. "We're still kind of new to this whole thing, what exactly happened to Gateway?" "The War happened," Daegra said with a frown. "Perhaps it is time for a story if you wish to know more." "Of course, that would be nice," I said with a nod and Alicia agreed. "Very good then, come around children, it is time for momma Daegra to tell the tale of the three founders," Daegra said as the other foals in the camp, both Zebra and a few ponies gathered around the tent where we were sitting. "Now my children, we have two new friends here with us today, they recently came to this new world so they would like to know more about what is going on. So gather around and we shall tell them." It was almost a shame that the rains made it impossible to light a fire as we all sat around a fire pit. The other foals seemed to be just as interested in what the blind Zebra had to say as we were. "Many years ago, long after the event that brought about the end of the old world, three ponies appeared in the city of Atlanta," Daegra said in a dramatic tone. "A religious scholar, a wildman, and a teacher." I listened carefully, this wasn't like some boring lesson at school, instead Daegra spoke with such passion and such excitement that it was impossible to not be drawn into her story. "The scholar who came back as a Unicorn, he saw the Event as the will of God, punishing humanity for its sins and crimes against the earth. He saw it as a way to start the world over, rejecting his former humanity and desiring to see the world of man purged from the Earth." I gasped a little at the very idea, rejecting your humanity? That seemed weird for a human to do, but if it made sense to him I guess, something about that seemed weird though. "The wildman who came back as a Zebra of the great Roamani Tribe, he saw the new world as a chance to reconnect with nature. He kept his humanity, but he believed that the only way to survive was to embrace the world as it had once been, he agreed with the scholar but believed that he went too far." The Roamani tribe? That was another new one, I had to wonder how many tribes there were, and what about Alicia, what did she belong to? "And what about the teacher?" I asked curiously, which made Daegra laugh a little. "I was just getting to her my silly little filly," Daegra said with a smile, I hadn't expected her to say her. "She came back as a beautiful Pegasus mare they say could outshine the sun itself if she so desired. She saw the ways of both the Wildman and the Scholar and believed that there was no need for such extremes, instead she believed that the focus should be on rebuilding, and preserving the old world. She taught others things that had long been lost to time, and saught to learn more about this new world." Wow, she sounded pretty cool, I wondered how much of this was actually true and how much was just her telling a story. I didn't even care about the rain at this point, I just wanted to hear what happened. "Now, all three of them happened to return to the same area of Atlanta and back in those days the city was still mostly empty so they came together to survive. They found an old building that still had a lot of supplies and turned it into Atlanta's first thriving settlement at New Atlanta. As more ponies and other species began to appear in the city, many of them flocked to the settlement and it grew. But sadly, this peace was not to last." With that her tone became sad, it was clear that whatever Daegra was going to say next wasn't easy to tell, or to hear. "Over the years, the three came to teach others what they had come to believe, but while the leaders had respect for one another, their followers began to fight amongst themselves until with regret, the founders of New Atlanta had to banish all but their most loyal of followers out into the new world. Lines began to be drawn between the followers of the Scholar and the Teacher as the three groups came to found their own factions, dividing Georgia amongst themselves." "What happened to the three founders?" I asked Daegra curiously. "Nopony knows," one of the fillies said. "Indeed, the tale of the three founders were passed down by our ancestors who had followed the Wildman," Daegra said. "But their influence is still felt to this day, the Wildman taught us how to live off the land and the first Zencori came to know of our great traditions." "How many tribes are there?" Alicia asked curiously. "Well, there are the Zencori of course, the Roamani as I mentioned before, then there's the Orah but they don't do much unless they're called on," Daegra answered. "And a few others, why Alicia?" "I just..." she said and paused a moment. "None of you look like me, I was wondering, what tribe would I fit into?" Daegra was given a brief description of Alicia's stripe pattern and she frowned a little. "I apologize Alicia, but I do not know your Tribe." Alicia's ears flatted at the news and she sighed a little. I put my wing around my friend gently. 00000 The Zencori were friendly enough, they allowed us to stay in their camp for the night in one of their extra tents. They said that they were nomadic, which I guess meant they traveled a lot, and had been traveling around Georgia for awhile now and were on their way back to their home territory in the Tribelands. That night once the rain had ended, we all sat around the campfire and told more stories. Daegra and a stallion named Lorus even got into a reenactment of one of the stories they both had memorized, which was surprisingly familiar to me. "If only you knew the power of the dark side," Lorus said in a deep voice. "Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father." "He told me enough!" Daegra said back, her voice filled with pain and anger as she did so. "It was you who killed him!" "No," Lorus said, his voice just becoming scarier and scarier. "I am your father." The group of ponies and Zebras let out a gasp of shock before they started stamping their hooves in what sounded strangely like applause. I couldn't help but join in, the two had done great and I wondered if maybe someday I could be like them. The two Zebras finally broke character and bowed to their audience with a smile as Daegra took a seat next to me. "Star Wars huh?" I asked with a smile. "It's a very popular story," Daegra said as she smiled back. "My great-grandfather Belius was a fan and he passed the story to his children and so on." I was starting to understand how the Zencori worked, they passed the stories, the histories from parent to child in order to save them. It was actually kind of funny to think of stories from my time as being passed down like that, but hey if it worked. I yawned and stretched a little as I looked at Alicia who was already fast asleep. Daegra smiled as I laid down next to my friend and the Zebra storyteller pulled the covers over us with her mouth. "Good night little fillies, sleep well," she said with a smile as I closed my eyes and fell asleep.