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// August 1, 2015 
// Story: The First Unicorn on Earth 
// by Baileyjrob 
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Dear Journal,

We met Sam. Or... well, that's not her name, but I'm just using that as a placeholder for now, and yes she's female. Disgustingly sweet too. I suppose I should start from the beginning.

Jamie and I did our normal routine, gathered food from where we stayed and ran. Something was different this day though: rather than dogs being everywhere we last were, they were in between us and the radio tower. They somehow were even anticipating where we're going to be! Well... that's not entirely correct, but nonetheless they're becoming disturbingly intelligent on a level that makes me curious as to how the other animals on Earth are faring.

Eventually some dogs saw us and began howling to the sky like a wolf howls at the full moon. Others blocks away began howling and soon it felt like the whole city was howling. We quickly ran into a house and barricaded the building. 

My thought was if the dogs killed Leon, than he would've died as he lived... Hiding from what he fears.

I wasn't to go down the same way.

I pulled out my gun and B.B. and prepared for a fight. Dogs surrounded the building in formation. I told Jamie to hide (An incapable kid hiding is okay.) My gun was prepped, the dogs were closing in. The doors were barricaded shut, but the windows were open. I was ready to die. I heard steps getting closer and closer, and...

Then there was a knock on the door. A knock of all things. It was most certainly not a paw hitting the door. I've never heard a pony knock, but I imagined that's what hooves hitting wood sounded like. I moved the barricade and opened the door and... there she was. Admittedly she was a pretty mare. She had strong blue eyes compared well with a light blue coat. She had a pink mane that was cut fairly short, and brushed forward. She also had a long and thick tail that twirled and wound. The most prominent part of her though was the incredibly kind eyes and friendly smile she gave us. 

She told us that the dogs were her friends, and she assured that they wouldn't hurt her. I stepped outside with the gun at the ready and observed the crowd of dogs, and noticed that none of them were approaching us. I asked her why we were attacked so consistently then, and she told me there was a gang of dogs out that were desperate for meat and willing to get it anywhere. They've been cannibalizing, but she told me that it's likely that a full and healthy pony was just too good of an oppurtunity to pass up. I then asked how her dogs got by. She laughed and told me they weren't her's, but that apparently they were literally friends. At this point in life I don't doubt it. She also told me that they were for the most part vegetarian. They respected humans, or ponies as it were, mostly thanks to her. She helped find them fruits and vegetables to eat, and in return they kept her company and promised not to eat ponies. An... interesting idea, to say the least. 

She told me to come with them, and she'd explain everything along the way. I told Jamie it was safe and we moved out. She explained that dogs had come into tribes, each with their own leaders. Some of them, like the largest of them all and the one before us, were what humans would have called civilized. They have families, work together, and help others to survive. Some are great and completely open, again like the one we're with, and others have definitive territories and will harm unwanted trespassers but otherwise are open to others, such as the ones Leon encountered earlier in his journal. Other tribes, like the one in the grocery store, were what we would have called savages. They ate anything they could find and only left their own tribe mates alive. The allied dogs (that's what I've come to call the dogs that are friends to ponies, which is this gang for the most part) have been protecting us and trying to give us the safest passage. Turn out a good portion of the dogs we were hiding from were actually looking to bring Sheila and us together. That's the girl's name, by the way, Sheila. 

Also, she gave us good news: Leon is alive! The allied dogs broke into the super market and rescued him, but not before he got beaten. He's in bad shape to say the least. Bloodied and cut in a lot of places, some may be very serious. She said he lost a lot of blood, and has been unconscious since they rescued him. That was days ago. They've been force feeding him a lot of stuff, exactly how I won't go into detail on, but it involves Sheila chewing the food. At this point I brought up how she can work with them, and she can TALK to them. Like she can understand what they say and they can understand her. Kind of strange. Then I noticed the strangest thing about her: she has a butt mark. What the hell, I didn't know ponies could get tattoos! Apparently she didn't either, it just showed up when she woke up from the Purge. It's of a dog with a happy smile. It kinda reminds me of the Smile Dog creepy pasta, and that in itself is enough to make me creeped out. She was a vet before the Purge, and always loved animals. Makes sense I suppose, it's pretty clear.

Jamie's very relieved to see Leon okay, but he seems pretty angry about something. I don't know what. Could it relate to what happened with the dog in the restaurant? I don't know, and I certainly hope not.

Putting down a survivor is the last thing I want.

– Martha