Early the next morning, Patrick, Jazz & Griz were already awake due to some innate ability to wake with the dawn.... probably another thing for Griz to research.
The night before retiring, they had come up with a list of things for Griz to research while in Paris Illinois. Mostly consisted of general magic for Sarah, earth pony farming (land AND water) for Kathryn, everything pony medical for Dr Jamie, hurricane & weather control for Jazz and as much merpony stuff as she could find. Kathryn added one last thing to that list in the middle of the night when she could not sleep and wandered the entirety of U1: the magic illnesses she, Sarah & Jazz had experienced; causes, effects and treatments. Then she put a huge gold sticker star (she found in an office desk) next to that.
Griz had packed only a small pair of saddle bags; she planned to scavenge & hunt her way north, bringing with her the laptop computer Kathryn gave her to store all of the research onto and Dr Jamie insisted she take one of the satellite phones so she could stay in contact with them. Patrick had used the stored data of a few maps to create one big map of the quickest route to Illinois. They figured that if she flew for 10 hrs per day, she could arrive in 10 days, give or take. She also didn't know how long she'd be staying in Illinois until she could see the scope of what she had to research from. Then, she'd make a guess and tell them. At best, 2 weeks; at worst, a life time!
Breakfast was very subdued that morning as Dr Jamie made some old fashioned buckwheat pancakes instead of the regular ones; buckwheat turned out to be Griz's favorite. Annie didn't feel all that adventurous that morning due to some bad dreams in the night so she settled with a bowl of cereal, poured by Sarah.
Even Raea & Lil Mac could feel something was wrong as Griz left more than half of her three pancakes on the platter, laying the plate on the floor for the pets to finish off; a common practice since she didn't use syrup. Griz quietly took her saddle bags and slung them over her back, pulling the strap tight.
Then she surprised everyone by removing her mother's necklace and put it around Kathryn's neck. "I don't want to risk loosing it or maybe even someone trying to steal it," she said in her usual rough voice. "I promise to take really good care of it. It will be back around your neck the minute you return; cross my heart, hope to fly, stick an apple in my eye." Kathryn paused a moment, wondering where in the world that came from. It is similar to the rhyme my sister & I used to do when we were kids... I never did like the "hope to die" part back then either.
Griz gave each of them one last hug before walking out the front door of U1 and taking flight. All of the ponies and pets galloped outside in time to watch Griz bank to the north-north-west and disappear into a formation of soft white clouds. The whole group just stood there for a few moments in silence. Kathryn let off a few silent prayers for a safe journey, not knowing that every pony, including little Annie, did the same thing.
Moments later, Kathryn broke the silence. "Well, we still got a colony to care for so let's keep going. Patrick, you show Annie how to do the dishes; Sarah & Jazz go care for the animals; DJ, you're with me.... we're going to watch all of these "Life After..." episodes while I take notes. When you're done those, Sarah & Patrick can take Annie for a tour of Bermareda Circle; Jazz, you can join us at the tv." Marching back into U1, Kathryn felt renewed and hopeful that Griz would arrive at Paris Illinois and learn all she could to help them.
*****
Annie was a quick learner and it was no time at all that she and Patrick got the dishes done. Kathryn was delayed in the start of the shows due to needing to give Annie her new set of wheels but despite that, she & Jamie got lots of great information to help them along, especially in the early years.
"Is that really true?!" Kathryn asked sharply, slamming her hoof on the pause button when one show mentioned the beaches of Miami were mostly man made and had to be renewed every four years. Jamie nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so," he said. "Well, that changes some plans when it comes to rebuilding that life guard station that Beth took out. We'll have to put it up on the grass land instead," Kathryn said much more quietly as she made that note.
By about the 3rd episode of the tv series (after the 2-hour special), Jazz & Sarah had finished with the animals and Sarah let them all know she, Patrick and Annie were heading for BC. "Don't expect us for lunch either. We'll make something down there," she added. Kathryn barely waved a hoof in that general direction as her eyes remained 'glued' to the screen and her mouth kept writing more notes. She didn't even register the door closing behind the merponies as they left U1. All Jazz could think about was how Griz would have gently cuffed Kathryn over the head for her lack of attention... but then Jazz guiltily remembered what Kathryn had told them about her having Attention Deficit Disorder & Asperger's Autism as a human and that she still felt the same as a pony so they never went away. Instead, Jazz sighed and joined the two earth ponies on the couch, reading a few of Kathryn's previous pages' worth of notes.
By around the 6th, Kathryn began to worry about the nuclear power plants. "We can't afford to have mass fall outs around the world from those!" "Calm down, Kathy. I'll just call Joseph and ask him if he knows anything about them," said Jamie as he took the satellite phone and started dialing.
Jamie didn't speak with Joseph... she spoke with another pony named Cloudy Skies. After getting past the confusion of what Cloudy described as changing her human name for an "Equestrian" one, Jamie got down to the questions that Kathryn pointed out could not wait for Griz; and were also not included in the lists she was given.
After some long talking, and Jamie's face turning angrier by the minute, he barely contained his rage as his -outwardly calm demeanor- hung up the phone.
"None of the nuclear power plants or hydro dams will explode because apparently three years ago, a small contingent of humans were warned in advance that the Event was going to happen and they built a bunker somewhere in the USA. They currently have about 500 safely underground, still human. It was the engineers & soldiers who, flew in special vehicles outfitted to protect them from the magic, shut them all down safely."
Silence reigned in the U1 common room again. Kathryn's family clock continued to tick as all ponies processed this information. Jazz & Jamie were furious; Kathryn was very quiet for a few moments.
"Those 500 are humanity's only hope of survival. They're most likely the smartest, best educated and selected by priority of need. If the public had been told, there would have been mass panic & the slots filled only by the highest bidder; maybe even people murdering other people to take their places via identity theft instead of those who would actually be needed like those engineers who shut down the plants. I know none of us could have done that!" Kathryn waved her front right hoof in the air in a negative gesture.
"Cloudy also said there's no going back. The Earth has been contaminated with 'magic' and it is this, as a form of radiation, that makes the surface inhabitable for humans. If any of them were exposed to it, they die a horrible & painful death. As ponies, and other Equestrian species, we use this as our magicks and it as natural to us as is breathing. There's too much magic on Earth and no way to remove it." Jamie still seemed upset by the whole thing and he felt like they got the wrong end of the deal, going into gory details about previous failed attempts by the humans to visit Equestria; both mare's faces paled at his words, a feat in itself for an already pale Kathryn.
"What's done is done; we obviously can't go back. We make the best of the situation and move forward." Kathryn's words seemed like the ultimatum the two land ponies needed to get over their anger. They both knew that she was right; none of them would have been picked for the bunker regardless. "Let's be grateful that a few were saved and they could, in turn, save us from humanity's stupidity of relying so heavily on nuclear power!" Kathryn laughed and that broke the tension of the room, making the two other ponies laugh as well.
***
After a brief lunch. Jazz decided to go on a flight to scout the skies for cloud cover while Jamie & Kathryn took a walk down at Hanover beach, using spray cans to mark off the lines were the beaches would eventually erode back to.
Jamie used blue to mark the sand, only going from the south tip to ten paces past the last of BC's buoys and then strapped on the harness for a wagon and went along the beach to collect the wooden debris of the towers & marina deck, while Kathryn used red to mark the revised location of the new lifeguard tower. Jamie continued to admire the earth pony strength as he just kept filling the wagon beyond what anyone else could manage. In no time at all, he had gathered all of the lumber and made a pile next to Kathryn's red markings.
Kathryn was reclining in the shade on an abandoned beach Lounge chair, reading a blueprint she had found in the university library. The blueprint was archived from when the life guard towers had been originally built in the 1980's and she knew it was lucky that they copied everything. But as she read, she began to wonder if it was worth it to rebuild the tower or if it would just be easier to go to other beaches and find one intact.
In the end, she felt bad to Jamie for lugging all that lumber because they were just going to go find a new one. Building would be too difficult and time consuming with just hooves, even if they did have Sarah's magic. Again, Kathryn wished they could get a land unicorn... she hated monopolizing Sarah's time for land stuff.
When Jamie brought back the last load of the salvaged lumber, Kathryn informed him of her decision and the two of them sorted the pieces into 'firewood' and 'marina' piles. Jamie was relieved that they were just going to steal a new tower and rebuild the marina deck. Jamie moved the 'firewood' pile to a spot further down the beach for a bonfire later while Kathryn carefully covered the 'marina' pile with a pair of tarps for protection and drying out.
Casually walking back to U1, Jamie finally brought up a thought he'd been having since speaking with Cloudy. "What do you think about the adopting of Equestria names?"
"I won't likely make one but if other ponies want to, I'd have no problem with it.... just take me a while to get used to it," she said. "I'd have no idea what to name myself anyway." "Pearl Magic.... Rescue Pearl.... Pearl Rescue... yeah, I see what you mean," said Jamie. "I haven't figured out one for myself either."
Kathryn looked sidelong at Dr Jamie for a moment. "Doctor Nerd?" Both ponies burst out laughing so loud, a cloud of birds were spooked from a nearby tree.
Returning to U1, Jamie called for Raea as Kathryn grabbed one of her modified rifles and a belt of ammo; the two ponies & dog jumped into one of the "one-way" cars (vehicles they had gathered in the back of the parking lot to use briefly - until the gas ran out and just leave it behind when done) to go find a special kind of boat: one with a very large flat deck to ferry the new tower back to the beach. Kathryn didn't care that the dock had not been rebuilt yet; she just wanted the tower first and they could simply beach the ship and get Sarah to levitate the tower later. If she can simply lift it, the rest of us can control it with ropes. But that's getting it OFF the ship.... getting it ON will be another challenge!
Roughly around 3 in the afternoon, picking out an older vehicle, Kathryn quickly rigged the hand controls and the three were off to find what they needed.
***
Six o'clock rolled around around and although they had found a few adequate life guard towers, finding a boat to ferry them back was proving more difficult.
In the end, Kathryn made the decision to return to Campus City empty hooved and try again the next day.
Driving back, however, fate had other plans in store for the pair of ponies & dog.
They were passing by the entrance to Disney World's Hollywood Studios when Raea started barking out the window. She didn't normally do that unless she really wanted Kathryn's attention. Kathryn looked and was shocked to see a car stopped out front of the entrance! And the way it was parked, she somehow knew it was done by someone or something recently.
Acting on impulse, she cranked the steering wheel hard, jumped the curb, rode across grass and made a bee-line for the entrance. In a squeal of tires and cloud of exhaust, she parked by drifting to a stop facing the strange car and slammed her hoof on the car's horn. When nothing came out, Kathryn slung the rifle over her back and bolted from her car.
Hurrying over, she touched a hoof to the stranger's car and found the engine to still be warm so she knew they weren't too far behind them. Raea had sniffed around the vehicle, intent on getting a scent of the car's current owner. They jumped the multiple barriers and entered the park proper. It felt really weird to be walking the same cobblestone paths as so many generations of humans and Disney characters alike but now doing it as a magic pony herself. But Kathryn also knew that the park was huge and she had no idea where to look first.
However, Raea did. She started sniffing the air, going this way and that. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks; looking in a specific direction, she took off like a shot. Kathryn & Jamie barely had time to gather their things before running off to catch up with the black and white fur on four legs. They ran for what felt like hours only to be brought up short at the entrance to the old replica of the Hollywood Chinese Theater.
There, sitting serenely in the perfect center of the courtyard, was a brown & tan unicorn mare with teal & pale yellow messy mane and tail; she wore a pair of gold bangles on her front left hoof. The only thing that moved were her ears as she heard their approach & Raea's panting.
When the pony opened her eyes, Kathryn saw they were a teal that matched her mane and they were Asian-slanted (1). Raea finally walked up to the pony and started licking her face. "Yes, that is a good dog," she said, speaking perfectly normal English. "You followed my scent from my car, didn't you?"
"My name is Kathryn, and this is Doctor Jamie. Are you in need of help?" Kathryn carefully set the rifle down on the stones slowly.
"My name is Li Lang; I've been a pony since I woke about three weeks ago in my college dorm. Where I studied and what I was studying has clearly been made redundant. I came here out of curiosity, if anything. I wanted to start over on my own at first.... but being alone is quite lonely. Do you have a place I can stay?"
"If you come back with us to Campus City, I'm sure we can accommodate you for as long as you'd like," Kathryn said.
"With a name like Li Lang, you speak English quite well," Jamie said as they turned and slowly began to walk back to the entrance.
"That is because I was born here in America, long after my parents came from China. I know very little of my parent's home; they would not talk about it.... only about how great America was for me. They both passed away last year." Li Lang seemed very sad thinking of her parents.
"My most sincere apologies," Jamie said humbly as Kathryn made a quick detour into one of the stores, carrying a bag in her mouth.
Jamie looked at her strangely. "What? Probably going to be my only chance at a visit to this place; of course I want some souvenirs!" Kathryn turned her nose up at Jamie and trotted to catch up with Li Lang.
Arriving back at the parking lot, Li Lang retrieved a duffle bag from her vehicle and left the keys behind as she tossed the bag into the trunk of Kathryn's car; she attempted to gracefully climb into the back seat but really didn't work as she was forced to grab the seat belt with her teeth to drag herself inside. Kathryn & Jamie tactfully ignored her efforts.
Instead, as they got underway, Jamie offered Li Lang some food from a cooler in the foot weld of the back seats and he told her the abridged version of what happened in the Event, including what they had learned that morning about the humans. Li Lang took the whole thing philosophically and agreed with Kathryn's assessment of "past is past".
Li Lang did bring up one point during the drive back. "I am a firm believer in Feng Shui. Would it be possible to have a room that accommodates it?"
Kathryn & Jamie exchanged a glance. "You'll have to teach us, Li Lang. I don't think any of us know anything about Feng Shui," Kathryn said. "Just Li is fine," came the quiet reply from the back seat.
***
Arriving back at Campus City, Li was introduced to Jazz almost immediately but Jazz informed them that the merponies had not returned yet despite the late hour & darkness falling.
Kathryn waved the concerns off and headed inside to get dinner started. Li was surprised at how much food they had, both salvaged and started growing. "We'll give you a tour tomorrow during daylight," Kathryn assured her.
It wasn't long before Jamie took over the making of dinner while Kathryn & Jazz helped Li pick out a room that felt Feng Shui to her. "Office #8.... must be lucky," Kathryn said as Li walked the room, who felt the compelling nature of the room. She somehow knew that this was her's.
The merponies still had not arrived by the time dinner was ready so they simply left those meals on plates in the fridge for later and the three ate while discussing Feng Shui with Li.
Much later in the evening, Kathryn was carefully putting away all of the DVD's they had watched earlier in the day when she heard the sound of tiny hooves & squeaking wheels. "Kathryn! Kathryn!" Annie came barreling inside U1's common room wearing her new set of wheels, still wet and very excited. Kathryn raised her eyes to the heavens (actually the ceiling) in silent prayer. "Thank God she hasn't fallen into the same habit of calling me 'Kathy' as Sarah & the others have." Kathryn spun around and knelt down at Annie's level.
The excited filly took this as a hint and she jumped into Kathryn's hooves. "Oh Kathryn! Bermareda Circle is so totally awesome! The fish and the plants and the ships and Sarah's magic shield and even watching the sunset! And Sarah says I can live in her ship until my mom and dad come to get me," she said excitedly.
Kathryn did not want to alienate herself in Annie's eyes but despite her young age, the filly deserved to know the truth. "Annie, we've spoken to ponies who know what happened to us. And they told us that there's very little chance of your mum and dad coming back any time soon. What turned us into ponies also sent them ahead to the future; they could be back in a few years or not for hundreds," Kathryn said gently as she watched Annie's eyes fill with tears and the filly began to cry into Kathryn's chest. Kathryn didn't have the heart to add or thousands .
When the sobbing stopped, Kathryn used a hoof to raise Annie's face to her own. "But we are here now. We were the lucky ones to be chosen to start rebuilding a better world for those who come back later! We will build a world to make your mum and dad proud of you. I'll let you add entries to the 'Kathy Dairy' and you can write your own journal; they'll keep it safe here at U1 and some day, when your parents come back, they'll be given top priority to read it all."
Sarah quietly approached the two ponies and knelt down to Annie as well. "In light of that.... Annie, may I adopt you?"
Annie wiped away the last of her tears with a fore hoof, looked at Sarah, smiled, nodded and jumped from Kathryn's lap into Sarah's; this time, tears of joy. Despite being the "new pony in town", Li felt so happy; she knew that this is where she was meant to be.
