Split Struck Spare

by Josh Crapo


Prologue: Split Up

"To anypony still in Equestria, hello again. Y’know, it gets lonely here in Canterlot. Yeah, I have no opinion on it in the slightest, but at least I get to explore an entire town until Queen Shell gets back into Equestria. When I first went into the houses, the visibility was so low, it was like back a few months ago. Thanks to me frequently coming back to these houses, and opening each of their windows, the visibility has vastly improved. That came at two huge prices though. First, the houses stand in horrible shape, probably because of that earthshake we had during that Dust Ride. Finally, seeing every single pony that used to live in the houses they’ve rotted in now is by absolutely no means an easy task. At the very least, it wasn’t any of my family. Aura Draft might not want to come here though."


"Again, hi. Right next to the radohome from Appleoosa and from what left I can see of it, it’s so cool. They had masks and goggles here too. But there are also what probably used to look like earth ponies down there. The visibility was also pretty low when I got there. But with an antidust shield, I was able to get in just fine. It’s amazing how fast the visibility improves too. But that stench, woo boy. It smelled like no one flushed a toilet that was in there. I didn’t stay too long but getting my hooves into the radohome, the actual floor was incredibly sticky. I also explored Appleoosa’s houses, which are in better shape than the radohome and radohomes don’t even need foundations. Plus, there were less of those figures in the houses than the radohome, so I found myself not plugging my nose nearly as much as well as exploring the houses just fine quite more often. I soon analysed my surroundings and asked myself, were any of my three earthbound friends born here? I truly wondered."


"Wow. Replacing contaminated clouds is such a dirty job. Much dirtier than I thought it would be. Okay, tearing down cloud houses doesn’t sound so bad at first, but then I realize they’ve been vacant for months now and whoever is left is practically only bones on the ground by now leaving stains on the floors and possibly the walls too, so after the glance of a distant house with a yellow floor, it’s very clear I’ll have to be careful trying not to get parts of the wall stuck to the floor. All the clouds that were stained are absolutely useless morally. Making said type of cloud rain is a big no no for plant life let alone anyone under it that is left, still alive, you can’t disintegrate it because the stain actually holds the cloud pretty well together and the stain even blocks off lightning, not that I wanted to ever play any pranks or anything. Contrary to what you might be thinking right now, I actually still like it up here better than the radohome I used to live in that one week, maybe not when I stayed in Yakyakistan though. The air quality is consistently good. No dust areas anywhere. Thank goodness that the weather factory is back in operation thanks to me and all my friends... my friends... Snow Flake, Cool Aid! Where are they? More importantly, where’s Aura Draft and Dry Stone?"


A natural disaster, that’s what this all is. A natural disaster. This time it was the result of the previous. Following the transformation Air Wiff, Aura Draft and Dry Stone went through overnight, they finally explore the abandoned cities that they live in now. Each and every discovery is just as devastating as the last. Decayed ponies occupy the ground and leave with them their effects of their endless coughing from the rising dust no matter what place, be it on the ground or in the clouds. Evidence of their previous existence was untouched for the few months in between, contaminating every house of every town regardless of the shape they are in. It seems there’s not but a solution to this problem. This is the story of the afterlife of the New Dust Ride.