Even after a day and a half of being a small, fuzzy alien horse; waking up like that was still a shock. Though, the pain outweighed the shock.
Stupid too-high beds, I mentally cursed, slowly getting up on all fours.
After the rude awakening, I did a bit of organization for my trip to the city. I'd planned on coming back to the lodge later, but probably not for a while. A good look at one of the maps Sam brought told me that the grocery store I saw was quite a distance from here, and I had no idea how I'd carry everything back in one day. I also considered taking a shower, but when I did try, it started making angry plumbing noises.
I'm still surprised that anything is working. I mean, if it's really been about six months, and no one has been here to maintain... well... anything, shouldn't the power have gone out a while ago? I know that Niagara Falls has some sort of hydro-power plant, but doesn't that need maintenance? I really wished I knew more about that sort of stuff.
That's for Future Martha to worry about though. Current Martha is going to just focus on finding a nice place to live. Current Martha should probably also stop referring to herself in the third-person. Third-pony? You know what I meant.
As I was making my way to the door, the threshold to the world beyond, the thought stayed on my mind.
Was I even Martha anymore?
I mean, yes, I had my memories, my horrible self-esteem, and all my emotional baggage. Other than that, though? I was a talking blue alien pony. There was really nothing that tied me to that person anymore.
I winced. Now's not the time for getting all existential. Save that for later.
Pausing at the door, I looked back at the lobby. Dusty and lifeless as it was, I felt a bit sad leaving. It was my shelter and I was cheating on it, looking for a better one. I promise I'm not going crazy.
I took a deep breath and pushed open the door (with my face). A November wind blew in making me shiver a bit. My new fur coat could only insulate so much once the real winter weather started coming. But I pushed onwards and trotted out.
I had no way of holding my map easily without sitting down, so I worked on memorizing it earlier this morning. I would be heading south, past the residential area below the lodge. Victoria Avenue would lead me straight into the city, so I'd take that road until I got to Bridge Street.
Once I got there, there would be all sorts of goodies, including: an animal hospital, two convenience stores, some auto repair stores, and a car dealer. Though, I doubted I'd have any need for the last two. I couldn't drive as a human, so driving as a pony was probably out of the question.
So, trekking I went on foot... I mean hoof. I'll get used to the phrases, I swear.
---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---
If I thought it was creepy before, just the entire lodge being empty, you can imagine how it must have felt entering an empty city. Nature had started overtaking it; everywhere I looked, I saw lawns with tall-grown grass and animals running amok (like me). What was once the domain of man, had been claimed by the flora and fauna of the area.
I hadn't mastered running in this form, or I'd have probably been booking it. I didn't like the way the animals looked at me. It was as if they knew something. Great, even more points on the 'Insane Martha Board'.
Fortunately nature hadn't gone too crazy while I was away. The roads were still easily navigable and buildings and signs were able to be identified.
I'll spare the details of the walk, but I will say this. Not getting tired from all the back-and-forth trips in the lodge was one thing, but this was almost a mile to Bridge Street and not only did I walk much faster, but I didn't break a sweat.
Well, freaky pony stamina aside, I was here. I decided to check out the convenience stores first. The first one I went to had been locked up for the night. I would have tried breaking through the glass door, but getting all cut up by glass shards wasn't really on my to-do-list today.
Luckily, there was a back entrance that had been left unlocked. Though, even with that, it was still a pain opening doors without hands. My current reliable method was a stool and using my big ol' horse mouth on the knob to turn it. Sorry, pony mouth. If I was a horse, at least I'd be tall enough to reach it. Whoever or whatever did this to me could've at least left me with some opposable thumbs.
Eventually I got the door open and almost lost my lunch. The fridges must have lost power, cause the meat smelled like death. However, that wasn't too much of a concern. Well, the smell was a big deterrent, but the meat itself wasn't on my list. No, what I was really looking for was canned food, or anything that would have lasted this long really.
Trying to stay away from the smelly part of the store, I gathered anything that looked to still be edible. Dry pasta, canned veggies, all the good stuff. I even found a few packages of Ramen Noodles.
Once I was satisfied with my stash of "groceries", I put them into a shopping cart, and pushed it outside with my head, making sure to close the backdoor behind me. There was still some supplies in there, and leaving it open for animals (minus me) probably wouldn't be a good idea.
I checked out the other store and it was pretty much the same story, except in terms of security. Whoever owned this place was much more responsible with keeping all the doors locked. They probably didn't anticipate a pony climbing through one of the windows, though. I guess being small has some advantages.
Next on my list was the animal hospital. It was closer to the crossroads, so I'd be heading back that direction anyways.
"It's only been two days and I was already robbing stores. What would my friends say?" I giggled.
I hummed to myself as I pushed the cart along, closing my eyes in contentment. Not that I was happy with this whole situation, but I couldn't help but radiate a bit of hope and joy, even from my meager success.
---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---
I continued on my way, eventually making it to the animal hospital. Finding some books on horses or even medical supplies for one had been my reason for coming here. I just hoped that whatever animals that were here before 'The Dehuman-ing' (It's a working title) had escaped. I don't think I'd be able to bear seeing a dead dog.
One thing in my favor was that the front door was slightly ajar. A simple face-nudge and I was in, a little bell jingling as I entered. How cute. Too bad it was just me to hea–
"Stay back or I'll shoot! I won't let ya take me too!" A sudden voice shouted, breaking my thoughts and making my ears involuntarily flick.
I think I almost had a heart attack from that and quickly turned my head towards the source.
What I saw was an honest-to-goodness unicorn. If unicorns were the size of dogs, that is. She – or at least I assumed she was a she – had a light purple coat and a bit of a red swirly mane and tail. She wasn't wearing anything other than a dark purple scarf and a matching pair of bags on her back. She also had a bit of an accent and had some dark purple freckles on her face.
Oh, and there was also the shotgun pointed at me. It was floating beside her, surrounded by some blue sparkly stuff that matched her eyes, and the same sparkly stuff around her horn. Was she controlling that? I just stood there speechless, unsure what to say to the freckle-faced unicorn.
She must have sensed my fear and the glow from her horn disappeared, the shotgun dropping to the floor with a clang. It shot a round into the wall, making us both jump.
She broke the silence and looked back to me with an apologetic expression. "You... you didn't cause this, did you?"
I slowly shook my head, assuming she was talking about the everyone gone thing. "No. Did you?" I asked dumbly.
"Can't say I did. But, since you're here talking to me, I guess I'm not the only one still here then, even if 'still here' means being a magic pony," She paused then blinked. "You... uh... you were a human before this, right?"
"Mhm. So, I'm not alone?"
"Uh, yeah, I gues– woah, hey now. It's okay," she answered before pulling me into a much needed hug.
I just started crying. Not sad tears, I had finished those at the lodge. These were tears of joy, for I wasn't alone anymore.
My hornheaded acquaintance waited til I was finished. "Got that out of your system, dear?"
"I think so. S-sorry... I'm not usually this emotional," I sniffled.
"Hey, I'd be worried if ya didn't have any strong feelings about this whole situation. But we got each other now, don't we? That's what matters," she gave a jovial wink.
I nodded, "Y-yeah. So, uh, you mind telling me your name?"
"Aw shucks, I didn't even introduce myself? Name's Katherine Hutchinson. You can just call me Kat, though," She held out a hoof. Guess with no hands, bumping hoofs was our best option.
"I'm Martha Roberts. Just... call me whatever you want, though," I replied, meeting my hoof with hers.
She raised an eyebrow at that, but shrugged. "Well then, nice to meet ya, Martha. You from around here? Don't think I've seen you during my scavenging trips."
"No, I'm from Pennsylvania. I was just taking a trip here for vacation."
"So much for a relaxing vacation, huh?" she joked, to which I just looked at the floor. She coughed. "So... how about a tour of my little home away from home?"
"Sure."
---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---
Being that it was a relatively small building, it wasn't a very long tour. It did, however, let me ask a few questions I had weighing on my mind. For one, that blue glowy stuff. Apparently, yes, she can indeed control it and move stuff with her mind, just that it's a bit hard to keep it focused sometimes. Why can't I have magic levitating powers? Life is so unfair.
From what she tells me, she had been a nurse at the animal hospital, working an overnight shift, and suddenly she was an animal herself. She ended up turning the hospital into her base of operations.
Apparently this place also had power, so she was able to fully utilize the breakroom's appliances. Man's greatest invention: the microwave, still could be used.
She'd been starting work on an indoor garden. With winter soon approaching, we'd need as much food as we can get. It was a good idea, one I didn't think of. There is only so much you can scavenge.
Something about Kat I failed to mention. She had a tattoo on her butt... err flank I guess. Same spot as mine. It was a pawprint with a heart in the center, a white heartrate monitor wave going through it.
"And that concludes the tour," Kat said, smiling and turning to face me.
"Nice place you've got here. How did you get this all set up in just two days time?" I asked, curious.
"Wha? Where'd ya go and get that idea from? I've been here for two weeks now, not two days."
"Huh. Well, I woke up two days ago. Strange..."
"One of many. Oh! Speaking of..." she said, trailing off as she trotted into a backroom.
I was about to follow her when she came back, a blue jay on her head. "This is Jay."
"A blue jay? I didn't think you could tame them," I said, looking at it.
She giggled. "Well, you can. Doesn't mean ya should. This little guy, though, he came to me."
"Like landed on you Disney princess style?"
"Yep, yep. Exactly like that. Kinda weird. I think he understands me too. Watch this. Jay, this is Martha. Say hi to her."
The little bird turned his attention from Kat and flew over to me, singing a little birdsong before flying back on top of Kat's head.
"Woah, that's amazing, Kat. How did you train him to do that?"
"That's just it. I didn't," she said. "It seems like a lot of the animals around here are... how do I say this... smarter? Obviously not to our level, but I get the feeling they're understanding things much better than normal."
"Huh. Well, with everything else that's happened, I guess slightly smarter animals isn't that far out there."
"Mhm. So, Martha, do ya have a place to stay?"
"No, not really. I have the lodge I woke up in, but there's really not any heat there, and being such a big building, it's not the best place for one pony. I was going to look for a place here in the city," I replied.
"Well, I've got a better idea. How about you be my roommate? You can live with me and all I ask is that ya help me scavenge. Sound like a fair deal?"
I knew exactly what to say, giving a resounding "Yes!"
Kat had set up a spare room for me. Though, I'd use the word room with quotes. It was a kennel. A nice kennel, but still a kennel. To be fair, she slept in the kennel next to me and set up mine like hers with lots of blankets and pillows, but it didn't make me feel much better about my loss of humanity.
Still, I wasn't one to complain. It's not her fault, and if I was being honest, this was a good use of the space with our current sizes. I'd learn to get used to this eventually I'm sure.
All that aside, though, it was my favorite time of day. Drawing time! I eagerly got out my tablet and began work on drawing my new acquaintance.