Ch08 All Alone
“This place just keeps getting stranger and stranger.”
I was continuing my journey through the forest; being mindful not to disturb the environment too much. I didn’t want to clue in my would-be pursuers to my direction of travel, nor did I want any more potential predators on my tail. It was a couple hours after my discovery the cloud factory, that I had noticed something peculiar about the forest. It wasn’t my current location that was the issue; rather it was the area up ahead that was the concern.
The area in question was interesting to say the least. The forest slowly becomes more condensed the further you progress. Tall, slender, healthy looking trees soon became twisted, decrepit pieces of forestry commonly found in horror stories. Firm, fertile land gave way to spongy ground barely able to handle the weight of the trees; let alone passing creatures. A faint but distinct scent of decay wafts in the air; most likely that of decomposing plant matter. The canopy was so dense that it almost completely blocked out the sun. What little light that made it through was further filtered by the sheer number of intersecting branches; casting a depressing gloom upon the ground. This was quite honestly surprising; seeing as the appearance and very nature of decay would suggest otherwise. Trees on the verge of death, yet alive enough to produce healthy living leaves?
But that was not all to this rather dreary place; oh no. The complete lack of sound was as big a warning signal as anything else. I couldn’t hear anything coming from it all. It was far too quiet to be natural as most normal places would have some manner of sound. It was as if it was devoid of life, which was in stark contrast to the obviously alive trees it held.
To test my theory, I looked around on the ground in front of me for a stone. Finding one quickly, I tossed it at a large bush. To my dismay, the results of this experiment confirmed my suspicions. The tell-tale sound of leaves rustling was absent as the stone made contact with the leaves. This meant that if I were to continue on through my sense of hearing will be lost. Not something I would be happy to give up. I will need all five senses and maybe a few more if I want to make it back home alive. Being handicapped in this fashion would only increase the level of danger that is already quite high to begin with. To put it simply, this place was bad. I don’t like bad.
I was not very fond of risky endeavors and decided to pursue a different direction of travel. But which way should I go? I could go left, but that leads to an open prairie. I had already nearly made the mistake of leaving the cover of the forest once so that was out of the question. To my right, a good twenty minutes walk away, was a large, fast moving river that quickly became intense rapids further down. Again it was open for all to see, something I didn’t need. Fast moving river plus no swimming ability plus sharp, pointy rocks equals one dead Carl. Well I could always go back the way I came. Back into the safety and loving arms of my very best friends; the ponies.
…
Yeah. Not happening.
So what do I do now? I don’t have all the time in the world to sit and think. I’m hungry, tired and the sun will be setting soon. Even if all the paths are undesirable, a decision must be made. Easier said than done as no matter which way I go, I was liable to have something catastrophic happen to me. But what was the correct action to take? What?
I didn’t have to wait long for an answer. A loud roar blasted through the trees, steadily getting closer with each passing second. I thought I had lost my hunter ages ago; but apparently the thing actual tracked me down! My choice was made rather quickly; courtesy of my friendly neighborhood predator. I ran directly into the ‘dead’ forest (as I decided to name it) and hid behind a tree. Peering over from behind the trunk, I could see a large beast covered in vegetation. I wasn’t able to discern its species, but I did know was that it was fairly large; nearly double my size. And to rub salt into the wound, the blasted thing was patrolling the perimeter of the ‘dead’ zone locking me inside. I couldn’t escape and the beast seemed to understand that by keeping a watchful eye toward my hiding place.
Well that settles it, this place sucks.
“Sister, art thou prepared for departure?” Luna asked, turning her attention towards the entrance of the royal flight deck.
“We’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the festivities. There is no need to rush, Luna,” Celestia replied, before exiting out onto the deck.
“We- I know that but it is hard for me to be patient. You know that I hardly get to attend most special events,” Luna responded.
Celestia sighed to herself as she looked at her sister, “I know Luna. I’ve seen how hard it’s been for you having to adjust so quickly to modern times. “
“Not to mention most of said events occur during the day,” she pouted.
“Come now Luna, don’t fret. There are plenty of interesting things that happen at night.”
“Oh? What do you suggest sister?” Luna looked squarely into her sister’s eyes. “Besides Nightmare Night and the occasional party, what other nightly activities can a pony attend?” She asked challenging her sister for an answer.
Celestia was at a loss of what to do. She didn’t have anything on hoof to placate her sister. There were other activities available for the night hours but most were just extension from the day. This wasn’t a position she thought she’d find herself in so quickly. An answer must be found or she’d risk possibly hurting Luna.
Seeing Celestia a bit slow to respond, probably thinking of an answer, Luna decided to simply drop the subject. “Let us not concern ourselves with that, we have time to discuss those matters later,” Luna said as she hopped into the chariot. She moved over onto her side leaving room for Celestia to get in. “Shall we go and attend this viewing?”
“Yes, lets.”
Following her lead, Celestia also climbed into the chariot, taking a seat beside her. After all initial safety checks were completed by the guards, they were ready to depart. They were just about to take off when the flight deck’s doors flew open. A nearly out of breath, Earth pony stood at its opening; eyes determined to accomplish his goal. He was one of Celestia’s fastest messenger ponies used to send messages from long distances.
“Your Majesties, We have an urgent situation that needs your attention!” He called out to them, before quickly closing the distance between them.
Surprised at sudden interruption, the sisters quickly leapt out of the chariot and met the messenger. Whatever the situation was, they would handle it as they always have; calm and thoughtful, befitting that of benevolent rulers.
“What happened, Nitrus?”
“Your highness, a code four emergency was issued from the southern region. “
The sisters were somewhat alarmed at this new information. Years ago, with the help of some of their most trusted advisors, they developed a system of indicating a situations threat level. The scale was measured in numerical units, one being the lowest and six being the highest. A code four emergency was nothing to take lightly and needed to be handled with care.
Celestia was the first to speak, “Where exactly was this message received from?”
“Arvaud.”
“What!? Explain.”
“They had just started final preparations for departure when an accident occurred. Or rather an accident had occurred.”
“What exactly do you mean?” Luna asked speaking for the first time.
The Pegasus looked a little uncomfortable before finally answering, “The creature they were meant to showcase escaped capture sometime last night. Nopony was hurt but one nurse was rendered unconscious as a result.”
The sisters were shocked at the recent turn of events. The creature had escaped and was running wild in Equestria. There was no telling the untold amount of havoc it could cause. While it didn’t harm a single pony, there was still a chance it could lash out violently if left alone. That was a rather unsettling possibility to have happen.
“Your highness,” Nitrus interrupted. “Arvaud is requesting immediate assistance in re-capturing the creature and await your response,” he finished looking expectantly to his rulers.
After a moment of consideration, Celestia made her decision. If the safety of ponies were in question she would do what is best for her subjects.
“Tell them that their request is granted.”
I take back what I said this place doesn’t suck; it really sucks.
The sun was setting and my way out was blocked by that creature. I had to keep an eye on it; lest it sneak up on me due to my decreased senses. I couldn’t stay there as night would eventually come and give it the advantage. So it was time for a change of pace. Against common sense, I decided to venture deeper into the forest hoping to find an alternate way out. I was doing alright by my standards until I walked across a patch of ground and fell into a pit.
Thankfully, it was made of the same soft, spongy material the forest floor was made out of. The only difference is that the dirt was dry instead of moist. Roots were jutting out the walls seeking a place to grab hold to. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find a way to climb up out of here by using the roots. I was just about to get started when I noticed something.
What's this?
In the dirt nestled in between the exposed roots, was a barely recognizable metallic object. Curious as to what it was, I decided to further inspect. Wiping away the dirt, I was surprised to find it to be a container of some kind. It had a handle on it, so I began to try and pull it out. It wasn’t easy trying to free it but after a few minutes of tugging and pulling it came loose and fell to the ground. It wasn’t all that heavy but had enough weight to sink into the ground a bit. I took a moment to take a look at my discovery.
The outer shell of the box wasn’t all that impressive a sight. It was riddled with holes and rust stains which were expected given its resting place. The condition of it was so poor that I could see that another smaller box was held inside. I pulled apart the brittle shell case to examine the new container.
It was a black case made of a synthetic plastic with two latches inside of two holes keeping it closed. It was made in such a way that you needed to use your fingers in order to open it. The plastic the case was made out of wasn’t biodegradable seeing as it hadn’t become part of the soil. I was curious about the case’s contents so I stuck my fingers inside the holes and pulled on both latches. Because the forest disabled sound, I didn’t have much warning as the case let lose a cloud of vapor in my face startling me.
Once the case was finished venting, I was able to get a good look inside. The inside was padded with spongy material typically used for holding delicate valuables. However, the ‘valuables’ turned out to be nothing but a stack of newspapers sealed in clear plastic and a scroll of some kind with a ribbon tied around it. I ignored the stack of newspapers and decided to check out the scroll. What could be inside it? Secrets to using telekinesis? Ancient Fighting techniques? Or maybe, if I’m lucky, a way back home?
Excited by the possibilities, I quickly removed the ribbon and unfurled the scroll ready to absorb its knowledge. Surprisingly, it wasn’t written in a foreign language; which I found to be a little strange but didn’t care enough to question it. I quickly read the scroll only to become disappointed soon thereafter. It was a scroll of techniques alright. Massage techniques.
‘Great, just what I needed the ability to bring pleasure to another’s muscles. This is a great find, ‘I thought sarcastically. I was ready to toss the scroll away but my eye caught something written near the bottom; a phrase that read, ‘In darkness, knowledge shines brightest.’
What did that mean? Does it want me to put it in total darkness? Intrigued by the riddle, I grabbed the scroll and placed it in the hole the box came out of. What happened next was interesting, the scroll slowly grew darker and lines started appearing over the text. There was a diagram of the human body along with notes written beside specific points visible on the scroll. The title of this secret diagram was labeled ‘Hidden pressure points and muscle control.’
Well this was an interesting development. I had in my hands information that could prove very useful to me. It had clear instructions on techniques and their effects on the applicant. I could use these to make sure my muscles are in top physical condition. Or I might be able to modify it to be used against my captors. These ponies’ bodies, while obviously different, were somewhat similar enough in construction to mimic a human body’s movements so that might be a possibility.
Sitting the scroll down for now, I turned to read the newspapers that were lying there curious to find more information. I just skimmed a few topics not really giving any all that much attention.
The New York Times is happy to report that North Korea has joined the UEA as the last member. This is a glorious day in history as we enter a new era of peace the world has never seen before. See page 4 for more details.
North Korea is in good relations with us? When did that happen? UEA? I’ve never heard of such a thing. I continued to skim through the paper before setting it down and picking up a new one.
The GSP have succeeded in making space travel more affordable for countries to invest in. Innovations in spacecraft and engine designs have considerable reduce complications slowing development. One day soon, most likely within the decade, commercial space travel will be a real possibility ushering in new wonders for us to enjoy.
They started up the space program again? That’s a little odd, but not impossible. I’m assuming the U.N. most of decided to make a global consortium to make space exploration more of a focus. Having had enough of that, I grabbed the last newspaper to finish off the reading material.
It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that the end is upon us. Scientists have confirmed that an (SGR) or soft gamma repeater was detected in our galaxy. A magnetar has already flared and sadly, after thousands of years of good luck, the Earth's good fortune is gone. We are unfortunately directly in the path of the beam from a (GRB) Gamma-ray burst.
The Earth should survive this encounter but all life will be destroyed and the atmosphere contaminated; eventually being lost to space. This will make the Earth uninhabitable for millions of years as the effects that the gamma rays will have on the planet are numerous and partially unknown.
This should also be the end of our planet, but advancements in technology have given us more accurate instruments and projection models that may suggest otherwise. A high c-fractional neutron star is approaching in from below the solar plane, and will smash into the sun ramming it out of the way. Two large brown dwarves have been detected from opposite ends of the galaxy approaching the center of our solar system at an incredible velocity. The initial collision should cause stellar ignition; forming a new sun. The blast from this violent event will scour the Earth razing the planets surface.
This particular process would take millions if not billions of years to happen which is time we don’t have. We have already lost contact with satellites Erim and Xeyh due to the high levels of radiation and by the time this paper is issued all other space transmissions will be impossible. Spend as much time as you can with your families and loved ones; for the year 2346 marks humanity end. I bid you all farewell…
Huh? What the heck is this?! This is something I only hear from in Science fiction. Why is it in a newspaper? It can’t be real because it’s only 2015. When was this newspaper issued? Better yet, why was it on this planet in the first place? It doesn’t make sense.
I decided to look at the paper more closely to see if I could find any details to help answer my questions. I couldn’t really find anything out of the ordinary. I grabbed each newspaper and checked its issue date. To my annoyance, each one had a future date posted plainly on its surface. This was stupid, why would anyone place eventful newspapers and an ancient scroll in a highly protective case? Then go through the trouble of burying it. I guess you say they wanted to save or protect it but that’s silly. The case wasn’t even truly locked so anyone could have opened it. It’s almost as if they want someone to eventually find it. The only reason I could think of is………
Wait.
This wasn’t some sort of secret treasure. It was a time capsule; something meant to preserve information for others in the future to discover. But if that’s the case why would this be on the alien planet? What on Earth is it doing here? Wait. What.. on… Earth?
Oh no.
The harsh truth was made disturbingly clear to me. This entire time I believed that I was abducted from my home, whisked away onto some unknown planet for whatever purpose. But that wasn’t the case at all. The truth was I never left. I was on Earth; home. As hard as it was to believe my species is extinct. They no longer exist after centuries of living and incredible accomplishments.
I dropped to my knees in despair as the horrifying realization set in.
They’re gone… Everyone….Just gone……
Tears were percolating in my eyes; threatening to fall for the first time in years.
I’m the only one left.
The pain of truth was too much as I let loose a scream of pure anguish for the world to hear. There was no response; nothing at all to vent or bring some level of comfort. My voice taken from me by a forest that was unrelenting and cruel. For it did not cater nor acquiesce to a being’s distress. It simply did as it always had and silenced the voice; just as it had others. Silence the one…Silence the many…. It did not discriminate. I was all there ever was and all that will ever be. I was destined to be the only survivor of a race lost in the throes of history; forever alone to be.
The last man on Earth……
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Not sure about this chapter. I've had several different variations of the chapter that I could have written. But I chose this one as it was the closet I could get to what I had envisioned.
Sadly, my skills in writing don't seem to be on par with the idea I'm going with.
I'm honestly surprised that this many people are reading my story. From what I understand, HIE stories are generally considered bad and yet people seem to be liking it. I'm kind of confused but I'll leave it alone.
If you see anything that seems off, let me know. Any suggestions or constructive criticism will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
~8chill
FINALLY! HAVENT HAD AN UPDATE IN A WEEK FROM ANYONE!
reading now! xD
This chapter is great! Really starting to get into good bits now!
massive mindfuck with the newspaper! getting ggoooooooood now! 
Your writing isn't bad. Your 'science' makes me want to hurt you. If you'd like, I can suggest a few other end-of-the-world scenarios that make a bit more sense. Yes, they are numerous and have varied side effects.
499018
I know full well it isn't scientifically correct. I just 'fictioned' some aspects of how the process actually works.
~8chill
499029
Some? Some? That was more nonsensical than... THERE ARE NO GODDAMN WORDS.
499042
I don't understand care to explain it to me?
~8chill
499054
All right. Let's start from the beggining.
First, there is simply no way the Sun's lifespan could be off by six billion years. That's because of how it was determined. Astronomical spectroscopy determind the Sun's composition, the mass was already known simply from figuring out our planet's orbit, and calculating the total energy output told us how much hydrogen it was fusioning per year. It is possible that the data is wrong by perhaps as much as ten million, but not six billion.
'Gravitational power' is nonsensical. Unless the sun was actively throwing matter out of the solar system, which makes no sense in this situation, the Sun's mass would be effectively constant. At no point in the sun's lifetime will planets begin to 'drift away'. It's good to see you know of planetary nebulae, and our sun will get one, but that happens like this: Sun starts running low on hydrogen, collapses, starts fusioning heavier elements. For some reason I've never been quite clear on this makes it become less dense, giving you a red giant. Red giant novas after a while longer, and a good chunk of the material blasted off goes into solar orbit, creating the planetary nebula. Yes, the sun would be left as a white dwarf. No, a white dwarf is not a conventional star, it's matter that's collapsed to the point of being unable to collapse further without protons and electrons fusing into neutrons.
Jupiter, short of eating half a solar mass of, well, hydrogen (in other words half the sun) is incapable of becoming a star. It's simply not large enough to sustain fusion. If it ate a fifth of that, it could become what's called a brown dwarf, but those can't produce enough energy to sustain life- and if the sun's dying, there isn't enough hydrogen in the solar system to do that. Literally. All the planets combined are maybe 1% of the sun's mass, or less.
Losing contact with colonies due to solar flares makes no sense, if the sun is dying, the amount of energy is decreasing and flare activity would be decreasing. If anything, communications would be getting better.
All in all- better to handwave in some sort of FTL communications and say a gamma-ray burst did it. If you did that, it would kill most Earthly life, effectively super-EMP all our tech, and not really do that much else. You need the FTL communicator to allow for warning, of course.
From what I understand, HIE stories are generally considered bad and yet people seem to be liking it.
Don't you dare to say that.
HiE stories are the best stories, if something,-brony,-pony,-body or -one doesn't like them, KILL THEM WITH FI.. I MEAN LOVE AND HUGS
I don't understand how people can NOT like HiE stories...
499169
Sturgeon's Law? HiE fall victim to the Law more than most.
499191
Well, that, but people seem to instantly go like "HiE = shit". Sure there are many shitty HiEs since it's one of the popular genres to WRITE.... But that really shouldn't make them to hate HiEs, except if they're total pricks, but that's another matter for another time.
What is the real reason of hating HiEs, or are most of the people just total assholes?
That is the question - - -
499163
Excellent! I was basically going off memory and exaggerating the rest. I appreciate the information. I remembered hearing somewhere that it was possible that Jupiter could have become a star if it had about 20-30% more mass. I was way off on that front but I still will most likely have Jupiter 'somehow' becoming a full fledge star instead of a 'brown dwarf?' I appreciate the suggestion about the gamma ray burst as that will be a better solution.
But I have two questions. I thought that if the sun were to shed its layers all that would be left was a dense core. Wouldn't that mean less mass and therefore less gravity holding the planets in place?
Also was I at least partially correct in the fact that Earth may be spared but it would incinerate everything?
Just want to know so I can adjust certain parts of the story. Again, I appreciate the help. Thanks!
~8chill
499231
1. Not really. Gravity's... weird. It would shed some layers, yeah, but not much of the total mass. Nebulae aren't what you call 'dense'. The planets would more or less remain in their orbits.
2. Nah. Like I said, orbits wouldn't change much. Everything out to Mars is toast. Better to just use the GRB and keep the sun we have.
Also, not a problem- I enjoy astronomy and space-related stuff in general. If I had a cutie mark, it would probably be a telescope or something similar.
499591
At least I know who to go through for this kind of thing.
Hmm. This might be a bit troublesome as I sorta needed the 'Jupistar' for a certain plot point. It will take some time to figure out a new plan of attack.
~8chill
499660
Does it need to be Jupiter, or just a new star? Maybe, through some insanely unlikely coincidence that was still bound to happen somewhere in this universe, a brown dwarf passed through the solar system, dragged Earth off, then collided with another brown dwarf, followed by something knocking Earth into a stable orbit? Hilariously unlikely, but not impossible.
EDIT: Failing that, say the big black Monoliths did it. It worked for Arthur C. Clarke, one of the three greatest science fiction authors who ever lived.
499694
A new star is fine. I had originally thought the hilariously unlikely would perfectly fit Jupiter. But alas that doesn't work. Haley's comet perhaps? Simultaneous supernovae causing dust from two different star systems to systematically combine in an area suspiciously close to our sun's original position?
I'll take practically anything at this point if it will result in a new star and leave Earth razed but fundamentally unharmed.
499694
You have to admit, even though the science here is completely nonsensical, at least the author actually made the humans good in the past rather than the vastly overused plot of "Nukes fall, everybody dies, oh those silly humans...oh look, ponies in the future!"
I don't know why you feel as if your a bad writer but you're not.
You are really good and don't let any other assholes tell you otherwise.
Btw great chapter
499778
...Celestia comes into existence with the new sun, doesn't she? That's why you need a new one. Guessing is fun. Anywho... hmm. Ok, so we want a new sun, right where the old one was, and Earth razed but still intact.
Ok. Most bizarre coincidence ever: First, a high c-fractional neutron star comes in from above or below the solar plane, smashing the sun out of the way by ramming. Then, within a matter of minutes, two large brown dwarves come in from opposite directions, slamming into each other in more-or-less the center of the solar system, forming a new sun, and the blast from the collision and initial ignition scours the surface of the Earth. Unlikely? Yes. But the universe is big enough that it was going to happen sometime. And, just for kicks, all of the above would have been detectable with at least a few month's notice.
499798
True. I still say we're less good or evil than we are Cthulhu, though.
499867
Not quite about the Celestia bit but that is something to think about.
Gamma kills humans. Coincidence happens. New sun. Story doesn't have small plot point destroyed.
Works for me!
(Looks around nervously)
Now all I have to do is incorporate it correctly and everything should be fine, right?
While I'm asking, Was there any other parts of this chapter (besides the star fail) that were problematic or clunky? Any other errors in grammar? Weak dialogue? Or something else I'm missing?
499923
Yeah, no other problems I can see with that.
499953
Grammar and spelling are good. Dialogue, I can't see any problems with... and this is getting into characterization, which I can't do for a number of reasons. But yeah, other than the astronomy/physics fail all appears well.
Your story is good because,
ponies! I will forget everything that makes me human and surrender to them." Also he is not a brony which makes it a lot more interesting.
1. You are trying to incorporate science rather than the old war fare situation to bring an end to humanity. (even though it doesn't make much sense, but since PonyCthulhu helped you out with that there won't be a problem)
2. Your OC doesn't just see ponies and go "
3. The HiE concept doesn't suck, rather it is people overusing certain topics that makes it boring to read after a while. Also some of the stories I have gone through looked like they could have been written by a 14 year old. They simply lack any imagination and creativity and that is where yours is different.
This is a brilliant story, I do find some of the grammar to be annoying but I don't mind, just keep on writing and I will keep on reading
This makes no sense 3746? Uhmm shouldn't space travel be aleardy available at that time? 1500+ years is pretty damn enough for inter stellar travel -_-
It took only 90 years from the first plane to the moon technological advancement 1500 years would enough that humanity probably conquered hundreds of planets can't you make any friendly humanity's picking up on Carl the 'last' human on earth and teach those ponies a lesson on being friendly >_<??
A changeling has been sighted!