//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 // Story: The Blessing and the Curse // by Equestria Buck Yeah //------------------------------// The sheets were pleasantly cool and Matt really didn't want to wake up. However, the thin beam of light sneaking over the bottom of the window convinced him otherwise when he rolled over, facing east. Grunting, he ducked under the covers and shifted about, but it wasn't going to do any good. His brain had kicked on and it was time to rise. He yawned, sat up and looked to his left, only one eye barely open and hidden by a hand. Jeez, that kind of light was punishing so early in the morning – at least it was before taking a shower, getting a quick bite to eat and letting his eyes adjust. He closed them hard and let the spots stop flickering in the darkness before opening them again. Was a little better. Shouldn't an alarm have gone off? He did set one, right? Not wanting to disturb the girls, Matt gingerly scooted up to their make-shift headboard and reached clumsily for the phone. The icons at the top only told him that it had lost a little power during the night and what time it was – just before eight. Was a good thing he was able to figure out how to manually set the clock. Not having a satellite system feed him the information was a bit of an inconvenience but not one he hadn't gotten used to anyway. Still, nothing had been set. Must have been in too much of a fog last night when his head hit the pillow, and he was sure he was forgetting something. Oh well. Thank you, Celestia, for the wake-up call, in a manner of speaking. Tossing the phone back down and returning to his seat, Matt's senses finally returned to him in a most painful way. Twilight's spell must have worn off during the night at some point and the neck injury he received in their little wreck returned with a vengeance. He groaned and hissed through the throbbing pain, enough to cause a stir in his traveling companions. One by one, they fought through the grogginess and woke up. Bright eyes were not as prevalent as bushy tails. Some yawned, others shook thanks to the crisp air, a couple stretched. Soon though, the others whom Twilight nursed back to some degree of health in the mall felt the effects of the accident attacking them again. Fighting the pain, Rarity's flicked her horn on and peeled open the door. If Twilight was going to fix them up again, she might as well do so while they didn't feel so cramped inside the back of a car. Barely half awake, they filed out of the car only the bump into Rarity's rump after a few steps. They followed the direction she was staring – ahead from the car – and found themselves briefly surprised too. Seems they had a few more uninvited things show up during the night. Twilight groaned at the abandoned, graffiti-covered three-story building and pair of similarly derelict, stripped cars in front of it. Further away and to the left was a bus stop and an accompanying garbage can. She really didn't want to scan over things this early – nor did she really want to do it at all at this point. They had their primary target and up until that point, nothing she had checked ever bore any fruit. Celestia would still probably want to know about it though. Either way, her friends came first. It didn't take long to help Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and herself out. Matt took a few minutes to grab his backpack and get into a new set of clothes first. Despite still being a little upset over learning who was on the way last night, the cowgirl couldn't help but sneak a peek. "Oh goodie, more things," Matt said as he walked around the front of the vehicle, studying the new arrivals while not-so-subtly zipping up his shorts. His neck started to tingle and gradually, the ache went away. "Ohhhh, thank you." "I figured you were hurting again too," Twilight reasoned. "You figured right." He noticed her ragged morning hair and playfully flipped it about. "Yeah, I know," she mumbled, swatting his hand away. "Well, I'm going to go brush my teeth and I'll be all set. Eh, suppose I gotta clear out the front seat too." "Would be nice if there was a shower around here," Rarity whined. "Don't worry. If we can get to that hotel I told you about, you'll love the place so long as they didn't change or anything," Matt assured her. He glanced at the abandoned building and smirked. "There could be one in there, y'know. Granted, it probably wouldn't work..." The delicate mare cringed. "I...think I'll just brush my mane in the meantime. Could you grab my saddlebag for me, please?" Needing to clear out the front anyway, Matt nodded and yanked open the passenger's seat. He held out the first bag he found and wiggled it for its owner, Fluttershy. Pinkie's followed and then Rarity's came behind it. "And you all probably thought I was silly for grabbing my hair brush," the designer joked. ----- The musty building took the group longer to navigate than they originally anticipated; there were more storage closets and small rooms than expected. Exactly what the structure could have been was anybody's guess as there wasn't anything found anywhere aside from mildew and gang signs on the walls. Just as Twilight suspected, they didn't find any traces of magic on any of the alien architecture either. Another necessary but ultimately useless endeavor. It took nearly an hour and a half to get back on the road after everything was said and done. They hadn't traveled more than twenty-five miles before they were forced to stop again. This time, however, what they stumbled upon looked very used, and the handful of cars they found in the parking lot told them there could be others there too. They had to be cautious. Matt brought the Hummer to a stop in front of the series of barrier poles guarding the doors. The Wal-Mart was dark inside, and according to the signs, it wasn't a twenty-four hour store. The young man took a tentative glance. He didn't see any movement in the shadows. Could just mean they were hanging out somewhere inside or out back, but if it was anything like the house Rainbow Dash stumbled upon, it could be sweltering inside. "What's this place?" Applejack asked. "Grocery store. Some of these places are big enough to be like their own shopping mall with a bunch of other stuff." "Another one? I got my fill with the last place." "Still should go check inside," Matt insisted. Several moans answered him. "Yeah, I know. Look at it this way, it won't be much longer and we should be there." The Hummer stopped humming and they hopped out. Matt cupped his head against the glass and had as much luck seeing anything as he did from the car. The doors were all locked too. "I can pop us inside if need be," Twilight said. Matt curved his lips at the thought. Damn that disorientation it left him with! How she was able to handle it without a problem was a mystery for the ages. "Alright, go ahead," he sighed. "We need to be really careful. There doesn't look like there's any lights in there, not even skylights." "We can generate it with our horns if you'd like, darling," Rarity reminded him. "I know. Would just like to see where we were going in the first place. Plus, I don't feel like running into another security guy, this time with a light and the drop on us, that's all." "After what happened on our way out of that last place, I can understand why," Fluttershy added. Matt nodded and found the nerve. "On you, Twi." With that, she focused and blinked them inside, catching Matt as he stumbled. Once his head was clear, they marched on ahead. Rarity lit her horn for them to see while Twilight activated her magic detection spell. It gave them some light but not as much as the dressmaker did. To their right sat an army of shopping carts and ahead of them was the line of check-out counters. Moving on, to the right once more, the first of several grocery aisles, the store's produce, and a deli waited. Further in front of them were even more goods. "So, which way?" Pinkie asked. Off to the right looked like a fine place to start. With a nod, the girls followed Matt into the unknown. The deli was their first stop. Matt put his hand on the glass and found it to be warm, not even the slightest hint of cold to be found. Plus, several of the blocks of cold cut meat were missing. It told him two things: First, this place didn't appear just last night like the abandoned building did, and second, someone had to have been here and could possibly still be lurking about. The cars they found out front hinted at that, and now he had more evidence to support the theory. A place like Wal-Mart simply wouldn't let their food supply dwindle like this on their own without replacing it. Matt tugged at his collar, already bothered by the unspeakable heat inside. Behind them were several fruit and vegetable stands. Nothing seemed really out of the ordinary here, but he wasn't about to go digging through the produce to see how rotten things may be. Moving on, the meat department just ahead was practically barren. The inability to keep things cold likely had a hand in that as well. There wasn't any frozen – or even warm – seafood waiting for them either. Good Lord, the stench would be beyond overpowering if there was. They took a left and went down the first aisle to the far side of the fruits. Just more greens and little else. A lot of it was wilted. They didn't bother to dwell on the circumstances as to why that was the case. Breads and grains of all kinds, condiments, canned goods and candy were what they found as they snaked their way through the next several grocery aisles. Just like everything before, the supermarket was failing to tell them anything. "Feels like we're getting nowhere with all this. Do we really have to stop and check everything?" Rainbow groaned. "I mean, we haven't found squat at any of the–" Matt suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth. Voices seemed to be approaching though they were still distant. Two of them, one maybe middle-aged male and one female. His eyes darted back and forth as he glanced up, focusing hard on the conversation though he couldn't make anything out. He noticed the groceries on the top shelves were fairly well illuminated and motioned an open palm downward at Rarity. She finally got the hint when he pointed at her horn and dimmed the area. He let Rainbow Dash go and hushed them with a finger to his lips. Tiptoeing, he made his way to the end of the aisle where the people were heard. Using the stacks of goods as cover, he peeked around to see a pair of flashlights wobbling their way in his general direction. They stopped and turned two, maybe three rows away to look up at the signs overhead and then down the aisle. Whatever they were looking for must be close. However, it wasn't where they stopped and they moved one closer. From what he gathered, it didn't sound like they were talking about anything in particular – small talk to pass the time. For people displaced from home, they were surprisingly calm. Perhaps they've been here a while and had simply adjusted? A Wal-Mart obviously didn't have a few million people in it. Maybe they could actually talk to them in a rational manner. Perhaps they'd seen something that could give them a clue and they wouldn't have to worry about going all the way to New York? Just because Twilight hadn't found anything yet didn't mean that was going to be the case the entire way up. Plus, Matt did argue before the trip that it would be easier to converse with a small group rather than a large city. The clothes he could barely make out didn't look like security's. If anything, they looked like they could have been customers or maybe employees. If they worked there, there really wouldn't be any reason to keep wearing their aprons in such a situation. Aside from helping them feel hotter than necessary, it would look just plain silly. They were in a tough spot. If Rarity and Twilight killed their light source completely, they could easily bump into something and give themselves away. Plus, if the mares moved too much, their hoofsteps could easily be heard on the tile floor. Not moving and waiting them out may not work either; they had no idea if these people were going to head down their aisle nor did they know how long they were going to be in the first place. If worse came to worse, at least they had the intruders outnumbered. Matt made a brash decision and took a courageous breath. Here goes nothing! He stuck his head out and spoke up quietly, almost feeling like Fluttershy for a moment. "Err...hello?" The flashlights pointed his way, almost immediately right into his face. It was first morning light all over again. "Hello? Who's there?" the male asked. 'Christ, please don't pull out a gun and shoot me.' Matt stepped into the open, hands spread wide. "I'm unarmed." "Who the heck are you?" "Eh, me and my friends were just...passing by. Saw this place, thought maybe we'd find some other people, maybe something to eat." It wasn't really a total lie. "Passing by?" "Jerry, don't you see?" the hefty woman interrupted as they approached cautiously. "He and his friends must have... Well, whatever happened to us must have happened to them too!" "Ehhh, kinda sorta. Name's Matt." "I'm Valerie. This is Jerry, as you heard." "Hey. Odd that we didn't see you come in. The front doors are locked, right?" "They should be, unless someone opened them. Don't know why anyone would though," Valerie stated. Matt lowered his hands and shrugged sheepishly. "Yeah, we just sorta...popped in, heh. You guys aren't the only ones here then?" "No, the place's night crew is here. Stockers, receiving, cleaning people, that sort of thing. Twenty-seven people I think it was, Val?" Jerry said. "Something like that, yeah." "How long've you guys been here?" Matt inquired. "This'll be the, uh...fourth day now," Jerry replied. "What about you? Like she said, you must've gone through whatever the hell happened to us, yeah?" "Eh, been a little while." "Don't suppose you have any idea what's going on, do you?" Valerie asked. "There was some weird yellow light and then suddenly all your lights and shit went out, and then when you went outside, you were somewhere else, right?" She nudged her co-worker. "See? It did happen to them." "That doesn't mean they know why it happened," Jerry countered. "He's...right. We don't," Matt interjected, shifting his eyes back to the group for a moment. "Where are you friends anyway? They in here somewhere?" Matt felt his stomach drop. He took a gamble by revealing himself and, inevitably, the girls too. So far, Jerry and Val seemed okay, but who knew what they had in their pockets? Who knew how the others would react? Plus, those heavy-duty flashlights they were holding could easily knock one senseless. He did admit that remaining completely out of sight was going to be near impossible no matter how hard they tried, and they had already been in probably a thousand snapshots as they went through the mall. Surely this experience wasn't going to be worse than that in any way. "Yeah, they're...over here," Matt muttered, nodding down the aisle. The pair before him took one step before he threw up a hand, making them come to a stop. He bit his pursed lip. "I have to warn you, they're...uhh...a little unusual." "What do you mean 'unusual'?" Jerry demanded. Okay, maybe not the best choice of words. "Well, they're harmless. They wouldn't hurt anyone unless provoked, but I mean, heh, who doesn't act like that, right?" Ugh, those weren't either. Matt wanted to smack himself after seeing his interrogators share a suddenly weary glance. "Just...please don't freak out. I had enough of that when we were getting out of that damned mall yesterday," Matt continued. "Mall?" "Long story. Just..." Not sure what else to say at this point, Matt extended his arm and took a step back, allowing Jerry and Valerie to step forth and shine their lights down the narrow hall. Their jaws fell open when they revealed their guests. "What the hell...?" Val mumbled in shock. "They can talk too," Matt bluntly said. After an awkward moment, Rainbow Dash decided to try and break the ice with a joke, blurting, "Err, sometimes Pinkie Pie doesn't know when to stop talking!" "Rainbow!" Twilight scolded. Eyes were rolled and faces were hoofed. "Hey, I do too know when to stop talking! You don't hear me talking now, do you? I mean, if I was, I..." The pink pony blinked. "Never mind! Heehee!" Matt addressed the perplexed pair, noting that they never looked at him as he spoke – not that that surprised him. "I wasn't kidding when I said we didn't know why this all was going on, but we should be finding out soon. If you want, we can tell you a little more about it, but...could we do it outside? It's hot as Hell in here." Jerry eventually came to his senses and stared at Valerie. It took another moment, but she managed to return the look. "Uh...y-yeah. Sure, why not? It's, uh...we're outside this way," the older man said, thumbing the way back. ----- It couldn't have been more fortuitous for the employees that fate decided to bring the market with them. It must not have taken them long – once they realized and accepted that everything had gone topsy turvy – to decide that staying inside, particularly to rest, would be insanely uncomfortable. Out back where company trucks normally would deliver their wares, the group of men and women sat in various lawn chairs they had brought from the outdoor department, listening to mostly Matt and Twilight explain the predicament. Here and there, tents had been taken from the sporting goods section and pitched, and no doubt the pillows, covers or sleeping bags that had to be inside could be found on some of their shelves. Near the center of what could be described as their campsite was a large barbecue grill with a few bags of charcoal by its side and a box of matches on one of its small counters. They had also managed to drag a few patio tables, some bags of paper plates, numerous non-perishables and what looked like all the bottled water they had in the store outdoors. A giant plastic garbage can with a half-full bag inside completed the set. All in all, they weren't doing too badly for themselves. Compared to what they experienced at the mall, very few pictures were taken of the bizarre group after they were introduced by their escort. While many were separated from their families back home, they could easily ask a number of co-workers to confirm the wild story they'd have for their loved ones – assuming the Elements could send everyone back. Besides, dealing with only a couple dozen individuals was nothing next to a couple thousand. After a little while, and following some stories over what they did during their first nerve-wracking twenty-four hours there, the employees seemed more relaxed and not quite as speechless over seeing six colorful talking ponies. It was most likely due in part to Matt dominating much of the early conversations. Hearing the mares speak for the first time quietly stunned the group at first, but their pleasant demeanor helped them move past it quickly enough. When they finally had composed themselves the day after arriving, a number of suggestions were thrown around to figure things out: Try and call friends or family, build some smoke signals, maybe have someone hop in their car and just drive somewhere, hoping to find help. Eventually, they decided not to separate or waste materials if they could help it. They hadn't turned on their emergency generator since after they set up camp outside. Any treks into the store would be done by flashlight. The meats and frozen goods weren't going to be of any use after barely a day in an un-air-conditioned store. Thus, they found it best to cook what they could on the grill and abandon the rest a distance away so as not to attract predators. If that still didn't keep them away, the multiple rifles up against the wall – and assumedly in their tents – would hopefully do the trick. The speed at which the misplaced denizens were able to cope with their new surroundings was rather surprising to Matt and his friends. Perhaps the fact that they all already knew and could rely on each other helped. Maybe whoever took charge was just damn good at his job. It probably also didn't hurt that they weren't visited by any strange talking creatures up until now, especially since these particular creatures came with their own personal human. The communication gap would have been nearly impossible to cross without Matt being able to speak up on the Elements' behalf. One thing he made sure not discuss with their hosts was the events regarding Discord. Instead, he wove a tale that he'd been there only for a few weeks and that the girls stumbled upon him and, as protectors of the realm, took him in for his own safety as well as the populace's, what with being the first thing to appear on their world since the whole mess started. The fibbing was true enough in most respects. Being completely honest and talking about some all-powerful madman being able to do whatever was on his mind with a snap of his talons could easily stir things up again, regardless of the fact that he was no longer there. Twilight, in the meantime, told them about their visit from the mayor of Manehattan, the photos he brought with him, and their mission to track down what could be the source of the insanity. Only briefly did they touch on their shopping experience the previous day. One of the men in the group shook his head. "Y'know, we're sitting here listening to this, experiencing it, and I'm still having such a hard time believing it. It's just...nuts." A younger member chimed in, "Could always look at it this way: The conspiracy theorists were right all along. We just didn't picture the aliens right." Few were amused by the gag. "So that cloud...smoke...thing, whatever, in New York. You get up there, you find the thing and whatever you intend to do doesn't work? What then?" a woman about Matt's age asked. The silent response made most present exchange nervous looks. Twilight pursed her lips and shrugged. "I really don't know. I know that our country's rulers have been trying to find something back in the capital city since this started that may give us an answer we don't have yet. They may just need to find the right spell to simply reverse the effect, but they have a lot of research to go through." "How do you know this cloud you're after is even what the problem is?" Valerie asked. "We don't completely, but we have strong reason to believe it's related," Twilight replied. "Why's that?" "Several things and members of your species have been appearing ever since Matt did. However, this is the first time any unusual activity – aside from, well, the obvious – has occurred. This phenomenon only showed up when your city did, and I haven't heard from our leaders that any else on such a grand scale has come over." "How do you know that another city hasn't popped up out of nowhere somewhere else though?" Jerry interjected. "They're able to contact me from just about anywhere. If what was happening over this 'New York' was happening somewhere else too, they would have been informed about it and then would have told me." With a thought, a glowing piece of paper materialized in front of the startled employee. "Like that! All they have to do is address it to me and it'll find me." The older man took the parchment and looked it over in amazement. "Jeez, makes email look inefficient." "I think I speak for everyone when I say I hope your gut feeling's right," Valerie said with several others nodding in agreement. "I don't think I have to explain why." "Yeah, me too." The purple mare looked toward the heavens and shielded her eyes from the sun. They had shared a light lunch with their new, gracious acquaintances, but they had to press on, especially so close to their goal. "We really should get going. We had hoped to have been in the city by now, and we probably would've been if it wasn't for that shopping mall landing on us." "Hey, before we go...err, I have a rather difficult question," Matt spoke up. "Was thinking while she was talking there about New York. I was going to try and find us a hotel room so we didn't have to hide in the car all day. I mean, the place is probably still going nuts in plenty of areas. I can't imagine what they'd do to us, especially them, y'know?" He nodded at the girls. "Anyway, I can't imagine this place has much food left, if any at all. The place has been there about, what, a week now, right?" "Yeah, it's been about that long." "Right. So, I was thinking if there was anyone who could actually hook us up with a room that maybe a little bit of food would make for some decent trade bait." Matt winced helplessly for them. "I don't suppose I could...maybe ask to get a little bit from the store? Like, I don't know, a paper bag's worth or something? I can understand if you'd be against it though." The twenty-plus people glanced around, muttering opinions to each other. Eventually someone asked, "What do we do if, like, it takes you longer than expected to get us back or we're stuck here or something?" A valid concern. "Well, you shouldn't be terribly far from the east coast. If it comes down to that, there's always fishing," Matt suggested. "Plus, if I know my geography correctly, there should be a forest with some fruit-bearing trees about a day's walk to the northwest of here," Twilight added. "Could be some game out there," a middle-aged man in the crowd said. The idea seemed to appease the doubters but made Fluttershy bite her lip at the thought of any of her little friends being hurt, even if it was for survival purposes. "Seems okay by most of us, yeah?" Jerry confirmed. Nods and shrugs were his response. "Alright. How about I turn the lights on for you, you get a few things and come see me when you're ready? All we ask is that you not take too long. We don't want to waste too much power considering how little we have." "Yeah, sure. Thanks!" ----- It was refreshing feeling the sweet gusts of air conditioning after sitting outside just after high noon with no breeze anywhere. If only it could help unstick the shirt off Matt's back. Even though he had been aware of their wings and horns ever since seeing them in the light, Jerry couldn't help but look dumbfounded at the sight of a tiny blue horse racing away to the check-out counters to retrieve a bag and leaving a streak of prismatic glory in her wake. Curious as to how they felt, he knelt down to caress and gently extend Fluttershy's wing, forcing her cheeks to redden behind her mane. Once the speedster returned, the seven made a beeline for the nearest grocery aisle while Jerry headed back to the generator to wait. They moved through the food aisles at a quickened pace, not finding many small goods they could use. Matt figured to grab a six-pack of Coke bottles in case the water in the city wasn't working. He passed on the potato chips across from the drinks though. There were smaller, more filling things found in cans somewhere else, but they still thought it a good idea to check each lane. Overall, the number of products in the single aisle that they passed by was nothing short of astounding to mares. Twenty, thirty different kinds of drinks alone, maybe more? The outdoor markets they perused in Ponyville didn't prepare them for anything like this! Several corridors and a few items later, Rainbow Dash forced the others to pause as she returned from up ahead of them with a box in her hooves, laughing her head off. An apparently hilariously-named cereal was in her possession. The cowgirl smirked. Pinkie Pie joined in the merriment. The rest gave her deadpan looks. "I never had those before. I always liked Corn Flakes or Cocoa Puffs or Rice Krispies, stuff like that," Matt mentioned. Still cracking up, Rainbow Dash asked, "So you don't know if these taste like apples then?" He shrugged and set their groceries down. "Guess we can find out." Matt knelt beside Applejack and snatched her hat off her head. "Huh?" Before she knew it, a set of teeth were nibbling on the end of her ear. She stiffened up, bit her lip and was twitching in unexpected delight – not that she would ever admit to it in public. By now, the others were having a good chuckle at Applejack's expense too. After a moment, Matt released her and smacked his lips, concluding, "Nope. Tastes like fur." Once she regained her composure, the flummoxed farm girl gave him a slap on his leg as he stood up and replaced her hat. "Don't do that!" "Ah!" Barely able to contain herself, Rarity added, "Yes, you really should buy her dinner first!" If looks could kill, they'd suddenly be short one unicorn. Rolling his eyes and chortling, Matt grabbed the paper bag and marched ahead. "Come on, Rainbow, put it back. We all had our fun now." ----- They zipped up and down the remaining aisles as quick as they could to make up for lost time, as amusing as it may have been. A little over fifteen minutes later, they were making their way back toward Jerry with a comfortably full bag containing canned fruits and vegetables, pork and beans, some soups, and chicken chunks. Rarity offered to carry the bag for Matt as it was starting to get a bit heavy for him. Hopefully the bag would actually hold together. As they headed to meet Jerry, Matt happened to see out of the corner of his eye the sign for the sports department. He was curious if what was suddenly on his mind could be found over there. Been understandably a while since he used one, but it would be like riding a bike. If the city was as crazed as he expected it to be, the food may only get them so far. Guess he'd see if Jerry would continue to be as generous as he was with the groceries. Matt and the girls made their way through the stock room and found their new friend checking some of the inventory that would have to wait until they made it home before being shelved. "Got everything you need, son?" Jerry asked, happy to see them again. "Just about, yeah. Was wondering something though." "What's on your mind?" "Do you think it'd be possible to get one other little thing that we may need once we get to New York?" "What's that?" "Protection."