//------------------------------//
// A Wasted Trip 
// Story: TCB:  Not Without My Cat 
// by StormLuna 
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Another morning had arrived in the city of Rock Springs and Storm woke up.  After so many years of doubt over everything involving the barrier, Equestria, the conversion bureaus and the princesses, he finally broke down and realized that, after extensive studying, that it was all true.  Most mornings he would be getting ready to go to work but given that what had yet to be destroyed of the earth, the area where he lived was predicted to have one week left.  With that being the case, he decided the time had come to grab Shadow, his cat, and head to the nearest bureau in Salt Lake. 

As he got on the interstate and headed west, he couldn't help but notice that the traffic was much less than it was in the old days.  In the old days, prior to the population declines, I-80 always had a great amount of truck traffic.  Now all that remained were a few trucks carrying gasoline to the few gas stations that remained open.  As he continued his trek west, everything seemed creepy to him.  It reminded him almost of the desolation that one would see in a post-apocalyptic world, one where only the most necessary traffic still traveled down the highways. 

After nearly three hours, he reached Salt Lake.  This was when the near absence of traffic was a relief.  Prior to things going downhill, the traffic in the city was horrible and the roads were filled with the rudest drivers he had ever ran across.  Getting off the highway and onto State Street was easy and it wasn't hard for him to find his way to the bureau as there were plenty of signs directing people towards it. 

As he approached the bureau, the traffic began to increase but still, nothing compared to what was a normal day in Utah's capitol city.  When he finally arrived, he couldn't help but notice that some people were excited and were talking about how wonderful life in Equestria would be and others were frustrated, frustrated that it was either become a pony or die.  There was some arguing among the people who had different mindsets but Storm could see things from both perspectives. 

When he got in line, he got behind what appeared to be a rather pious family.  The woman in front of him looked back and said, "So what is your opinion on this?  What is your opinion on this whole 'either become a pony or die thing?'"

Storm replied, "Well for many, many  years I denied everything.  I believed that such things were scientifically impossible until I lost family when the barrier hit Miami." 

The woman's husband commented, "Well I still think this is the work of demons but at this point, what have we got to lose?  We may as well go through with this 'ponification'"

Storm couldn't help but laugh over the comment, "Demons?  You actually believe in that kind of stuff?"

The man took offense to his comment, "Yes, I do.  Demons are just as real as those winged unicorns."  He paused before continuing, "To be honest, I can't help but wonder if they aren't demons!" 

Storm again laughed, "I don't know what those ponies are all about but at least they exist."  Storm had never been the religious type and threw in one additional snide comment, "At least they're real!  At least we have scientific proof they exist, unlike your alleged demons!" 

That caused the man and his family to fall silent.  To Storm, this was a good thing as the one type of people he had never done anything but argue with were religious people.  The line seemed to move excruciatingly slow for him but it wasn't just him that he worried about, he worried about Shadow and him either having to use the restroom or eat or drink.  After four hours, Storm finally got to the front of the line he would be less than pleased by his initial interaction. 

When he set Shadow's carrier up on the counter, the receptionist immediately reacted, "I'm sorry sir but pets can not be given the serum, it won't work on anything but human tissue." 

Storm asked, "So does that mean that people, after they are ponified, can not take their pets with them across the barrier?"

The receptionist replied, "No sir, they can not.  I am sorry but you will have to leave your pet behind or go home with him and die as a human." 

The receptionist's comment didn't sit well with him but he wasn't about to make a scene.  "Very well then, I would rather die with my cat than leave him behind to die all alone." 

Storm took Shadow and got back into his vehicle.  He was not thrilled that he had spent quite a bit of money to travel to the bureau only to discover that he couldn't take Shadow with him.  As he was fueling up his pick-up, he couldn't help but think about how a good part of the day had been wasted, a day that he could have been giving all his attention to his cat. 

After another three hour drive, Storm returned home.  Once he got in his house, he let Shadow out and he immediately went to do his business.  He couldn't help but sigh in frustration knowing that there were only six days left, six days left to enjoy with his cat before the barrier would move into the city and consume everything in its path, including him and Shadow.