Dear Journal,
Today I began the laborious process of setting up something like a semi-permanent… base? Colony? It’s hard to feel like either of those words is justified when I’m still the only person using them. One might ask why I didn’t just keep living in my apartment (god, I wish there was anyone around to ask me that).
As much as it’s a fairly decent place, it just doesn’t seem practical to me when I’m going to lack the support of Earth’s infrastructure. Without people to do farming for me, to purify water and generate power, I’m going to have to do all of those things myself. How long do solar panels last, anyway?
I wonder what the smallest population is that could sustain itself. Five hundred? Are there even that many people left in all the world? Am I the only one?
Huan didn't come inside with me last night, but once I got out onto the street he found me in fairly short order. As before, I made the first part of my trip a mission to get food for him, this time from a nearby convenience store. Can dogs eat several-day-old sandwiches with partially rotten meat? Yes, as it turns out. They can. Course, my old dog used to bury things for weeks before digging them up and eating them, so I wasn't too worried. Once Huan was fed, he kept along beside me for my daily adventures, and thank god he did.
I found something a little better than rolling around a hard-wheeled grocery cart, one that threatens to fall over and dump its contents if I pull from the wrong angle or strike any obstruction. Before I started moving anything, I went to a toy store and found one of those wagons with the high sides and a more rugged suspension. While it can’t hold quite as much, it also doesn’t rattle around like it’s going to explode or threaten to dump everything all over me.
I found something else useful in the toy store: a harness and bridle. Oh, they’re toys, made of plastic and designed for plastic horses. The size similarities are so close as to be almost disturbing, and at present it’s held up well enough under light use. I wonder if I might be able to copy the pattern with something other than coarse nylon rope that scratches and chafes everywhere it touches.
I didn’t bring very much. Fit it all in one wagon, in fact. My clothes are almost all useless now, for one. Maybe I’ll have time to learn how to sew better and figure out how to make something eventually. When I have safety, stability, and company.
It was getting on in the day and was almost evening when I made the trip, and I knew it probably wasn't the best time to be walking into an unfamiliar (and quite suburban) part of the city. As I got close to the house, I noticed Huan starting to tense up, as if he was worried about something I couldn't see. Of course I saw it just fine when a pack of mangy dogs emerged from close by. Not a large pack, mind, maybe six animals, smaller and leaner than Huan, and a few inches shorter than I was.
Still pretty terrifying. They didn't rush right into attack the way I would expect, though. Instead, they surrounded us first, a prowling mass of sharp teeth and claws. My heart pounded in my chest like I was gonna have some kind of embolism, and the scent. God, I've never smelled anything like that in my life. Or, I've smelled dog before, but it didn't used to be that frightening. Why doesn't Huan smell like that?
Instead of attacking, they started barking, growling, and making other animal noises. Almost as though they were having some kind of conversation. I'm not sure where the idea came from, but the instant I thought it I couldn't help but look at the way they moved and see something different about it than any other predators I've ever seen or read about. Sure, they were probably just nervous about what Huan could do, standing beside me as he was in a defensive, fighting position.
Even if I had been able to fight, It would take at least a minute to untangle myself from the harness. Surely the sign of weakness and struggle would be an invitation to attack and a grisly end afterwards. I would have to fight without moving, if it came to that. After a few tense moments, the largest of the animals moved in to fight a brief, snapping contest with my new friend. The other dogs just watched, though their eyes were also on me. Somehow, I knew that to interfere would be to invite them to attack.
After what couldn't be more than a few seconds, the big dog broke past Huan and came straight for me, frothing at its lips. Unfortunately for the dog, I was ready, my back hooves braced against the concrete. I might not be very coordinated yet, but I've kicked forward plenty of times, like when that case of cans fell on my other leg.
I delivered a kick with every drop of adrenaline and fear in my body. In the contest of hooves vs teeth, it seems that hooves win. The dog went flying, sprawling several meters away. When it finally limped away, it was trailing blood and broken teeth from its mouth, whimpering all the while. The others soon followed.
Huan had been the one to do the real fighting, and he had several nasty scratches to show for it, though nothing more severe. He limped along after me the rest of the way. When we got there, I went inside and brought a first aid kit, and cleaned out his wounds. Honestly, he didn't look that bad. It didn't seem like the animals were really going for a kill. I don't know much about dogs, but none of what I saw seemed like typical behavior. He wasn't willing to come past the fence into the house, so I set out all the slowly rotting meat in the fridge for him and waved goodbye. I hope he's okay out there.
I transferred everything into one of the bedrooms in the new house. Well, house might be a bit modest: small mansion might be more accurate. Amazing, it’s only been five days and already I’m claiming everything I see for my own. Wonder if I’m really all that different from the animals after all. I’m sure there are predators doing that exact same thing all over Los Angeles. Only, I’m not a predator anymore, am I? Shame, meat was always a convenient source of food in lean times. Restarting a vegetarian society will be far more difficult, assuming there’s any society to restart.
Is that it? Am I assuming what happened to everyone now? I’ll admit, that option does have some minor appeal. If everyone changed, it means I wasn’t selected for no reason to have every familiar aspect about myself taken away.
Why? Why would anyone do this? The selective removal of humans and (seemingly) nothing else seems to demand an intelligence or will is behind this somehow. The changes to my body only make it more baffling. I wonder where everyone went… I refuse to accept that they might simply have been erased. There weren’t bodies… that has to mean they were taken somewhere, right? What would someone want with all the humans on earth? Why leave a few horses behind?
The water system is no longer working, of course, and apparently the cistern had been flowing to help water the palatial lawn. I shut down the sprinkler system. From what I can tell, the water flows into the house as well, because the taps still work in here when they don’t seem to anywhere else. I took a wrench and shut off the gas, though I don’t have the dexterity to do anything about the water-main, not yet. I need some kind of tool for this stupid hoof thing, something I can use to regain some of the precision and grip like a hand. Something to start thinking about.
I also need to make a trip to transfer my fresh food here from the fridge back at work. It will be an enormous pain to pack everything up in coolers. I’ll save the bother of talking about my struggle with every single thing from now on. You can… probably safely assume a great deal of struggle. Using a keyboard is still pretty much impossible, for instance. Wonder how big the keys would have to be to strike them accurately with hooves. Too bad I’m not some sorta mad scientist; maybe then I could’ve made some sort of boot that could separate into a mechanical hand at my command and work just as well as a real one. I’d give Tony Stark a call if the phones weren’t down (or he existed).
As much as I picked the house for all its many sustainability features, it didn’t come with a HAM radio set installed like the truck did. The simple solution would be to drive the truck here, but again I think that highly unlikely. Getting a drivable vehicle will be a priority for me once the necessities of life are taken care of, but I don’t think I’ll ever have a prayer of driving a semi-truck. Maybe I can convert one of those Smart Car toys into something quadruped friendly.
I’ve noticed a few other strange things about this body, all of which seem to reiterate the fact that I am not an Earth horse. My spine comfortably bends in ways that should probably break it, and I can even sit up on a chair the way I used to. It isn’t entirely natural; the way I seem to want to sit is on my haunches, like a dog, but I can do either without discomfort. My strength seems… difficult to easily quantify. There are times when I struggle to pull the wagon, and other times I kick a door open so forcefully that it gets torn off its hinges. I don’t seem to feel tired regardless of how much work I do, then it gets dark and I suddenly have difficulty staying awake. I wish I had a doctor who could speculate about what is causing that. Maybe while he/she’s at it, he/she can tell me how I can get my body back.
Oh, I spared some of the precious water for a brief shower. I'm not really sure what I smell like (if it's horse, I've never actually been around one before, so I wouldn't recognize it anyway). Cold showers are awful and I don't feel like I got nearly enough time. More than that is I've been using my mouth for more and more and I'm sure as heck not going to use it to spread soap around. I'll glue a rough sponge to a stick next time I try it, or just use standing water like the animal I am.
I’ll go shopping tomorrow, for the gear to get my radio working again and for some better-fitting clothes besides. I will probably forgo a top for the time being, and just see what sort of shorts I can modify to wear without bunching up when I walk. It isn’t as if there’s anyone around to complain about my modesty, and wearing something will easily identify me as unusual to anyone who notices me, even if I don’t see them first. Should avoid getting hunted that way, I hope.
—A
UPDATE: I was fiddling with a hand radio before bed when I noticed strange static coming from one bandwidth. The signal is far too faint to identify or pinpoint. Tomorrow I will take the radio with me and see if I can’t find the direction. It’s probably nothing, just something left transmitting when everything fell apart. I shouldn’t get too excited, and I can barely stay awake… in the dark…
Good as always.
Kept refreshing the page lol
Wait wait wait...
There are survivor?
*gets his hopes high so it can come crushing down*
*realises something terrible*
What if it is the thing that has done this?
And it wants to lure him into his New-Equestria?
*horrified expression*
Moving is always a pain. More so when you can't ask anyone to help and you have no fingers.
Earth pony strength and endurance seem to be on display, along with a curiously enforced activity cycle. And now a mystery signal, faint but detectable. Most intriguing...
Oh my. Another transmission? I already have a faint idea what may happen. One of two things, but I'm not gonna spoil it for anyone. Then again, I have been watching to many movies and playing to many video games... Oh well. I hope to see what happens on the next day.
Got to get to these right away or I'll drown. Good problem to have I guess.
6023961
I'm still baffled whenever someone who recognizes me from my early work. Maybe a little nervous, considering I wrote that stuff when I was in middle and high school and didn't know how to write (some say I still don't). Still, I leave all that early stuff up because I know I did my best at the time, even if now I can see the story's full of errors and mistakes.
Hopefully I can keep this one a little easier to read.
6023987
I think it's more that A doesn't bother signing a full name at the end of journal entries. I've said this before in previous comments, but most people (including myself) who keep a diary don't use it to remind themselves with it what their own name and identity is.
6023990
Hey, you said dust bath. Humans can take them too. ^^
6024246
I almost changed it, but I left that typo in for a drop of authenticity, since as you say, it's a speech program. I recently used the latest version of Dragon Naturally Speaking (one of the best offline solutions out there), and it was quite accurate, though it made mistakes like that more often than any other kind of mistake.
6024482
6025105
Having a pony near it has obviously embewed the voice-recognition software with some latent magic.
6025460
And eventually it worked. Chapter would've been posted earlier if my sleep schedule wasn't completely screwy.
6025510
[youtube=bW7Op86ox9g]
6025529
A does seem unappreciative of just how convenient it is to be really strong and never get tired. Wonder if maybe A kept healthy enough before everything started that being strong and having lots of endurance was just part of what they expected from life.
6025544
Well, we won't have to wait very long to find out.
Possible other survivor?
Is he a pony too? Maybe a pegasi or hornhead?
Or maybe it's the thing that did this
Actual plot?
Huh, didn't even know you had fics elsewhere.
Sounds like A is starting to get in touch with some earth pony magical strength and endurance.
I wonder if whatever happened left those dogs with the sort of limited sapience that animals in the show display. And if yes, what about all other dogs? Cats? Grizzly bears?
Bunnies? *shudder*
I really can't shake the feeling that this is going to end with "...and that's how Equestria was made."
Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.
I see A finally got his hooves on a cart. Toy or not, it will help in his future endeavours. Fortifying the new household is a good priority. If his water source is rain supplied, he might have to keep a close eye on that. Power wise, I think solar panels can last a fairly long time...
i hope those static is another survivor
and btw did we know the main charater name or gender ?
Hmmmm. Eternal night might not force ponies to enjoy the night, but to sleep: fooorrreeeevvveeerrrr.
Edward Fortyhands is the answer.
pedestriantv-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images%2Farticle%2F2015%2F05%2F27%2Ftumblr_lrt3mv7dLP1qbf11po3_500.gif
6025620 Hopefully it doesn't considering all the news about California being in a drought I keep hearing of.(It might not be so bad as I think it is since I live in Europa.)
So, It's seems that Not only humans have been affected. Interesting, Maybe A will have to watch for more than that pack of dogs(Who's leader probably wants a bit of revenge for getting it's teeth kicked in.) Perhaps Timber wolves will soon be joining the party together with hydra's and ursa majors. (maybe even a creature similar like the Timber wolves that manifest itself in the concrete and iron remains of the crumbling city?)
I guess A has a little more pressing matter to worry about thou.
Now, onward! To better living!
A little conflict with dogs nearby, I wonder about that strength problem as well, if I had to hazard a guess it would be that he is either a bucking kind of pony, who likely worked with apples, and doesn't do much pulling work, or it is a case of unlocking that Earth Pony strength in daring situations.
Either way, we have a wagon now! We are truly getting a 'traveling to distant lands' feel about it.
6025664
I loved that episode.
Great story!
I wonder what A will find when he goes searching for that transmission?
>Turns out radio is actually broken
>A wanders aimlessly trying to find this "signal"
>A gets eaten by pack of dogs
>The End!
<Actually dont do that plz>
<that would be sad, and the story would suck lol>
anywayyyyyyyyyyyyyyz
6025647
I do believe its a guy, and by looking to the bottom of each page, its signed "A"
his name is literally A.
Oh look, it's a new daily entry. This one sounds a lot different than I remember it being. Like... I'm pretty sure A didn't fight dogs, originally. It's a lot more awesome this way, though. Team AH! is doing a great job at surviving and showing other who own the place. Well, kind of. I'm pretty sure A doesn't own anything outside their new house. Which, by the look of it, isn't a bad place to spend the rest of eternity in. Can I trade my current house for that one? It's ok if I have to become a pony. Just not an Earth Pony. Maybe an unicorn. OR A CHANGELING. (Lings away)
6025566
I expect we'll find out soon enough. Though I can only imagine A's disappointment if it isn't really another survivor. Would suck if it was just something someone had been using before the vanishing or something.
6025585
I don't talk about it much, because I wrote those stories a very long time ago. They're full of all sorts of problems, but they were how I learned how to write, so...
6025620
Years at least, yeah. A cistern is cool except that it almost never rains down here.
6025647
We don't, know. A hasn't had any reason to state a name, which probably would tell us a gender. Like most people, A doesn't ever say "oh yeah, and I was a girl today, like every day" or "Still a man by the way, in case you were curious." I've intentionally avoided confirming or denying A's gender in the comments so people can figure it out for themselves. ^^
6025774
We have had less rain the last few years, but the real cause of the drought is political. I won't get into the details because it's boring, but basically some uses of water get extremely large subsidies and some get none, and as a result water is getting way overused and we have a shortage. Classic Econ 101 stuff up in here, but it's been exacerbated by the lack of rain. Without a government and some people using more water than its value in alternative uses, the only problem would be a physical scarcity, which is much easier to deal with.
6025805
Well the wildife was bound to be dangerous eventually. To think before writing this story I barely even knew we had stray dogs here. Turns out there's like 50,000 or something of them in the city. Woah.
6025810
I think most of all A was a "fixes cars" sort of pony, more than anything else. I wonder if former humans can get cutie marks about things that never existed in equestria...
6025845
As useful as sticky hooves would be, I think A would rather know how to run and gallop. Ponies can go pretty fast, particularly a determined pony with some magical strength and endurance. That said, being able to hold things would be pretty nice too.
6025860
That would be kind of arbitrary if it happened. I don't mind sad endings, but when they happen I want to feel like the characters caused it somehow. Just looking for survivors doesn't feel like risky enough behavior to justify being eaten alive. That said... stories have been known to go in unanticipated directions before. Guess we'll have to find out. Me included. I only have a vague idea of how it's going to end, and very little idea about how it's going to get there towards the end. So I'm as curious as anyone to see what comes next. I just... see it a little earlier.
6026055
Yeah, the chapters all get revised the night before from the old versions. Granted, that's mostly because the old version didn't expect it to be so popular, so I took steps to make it as awesome as possible.
6026102
Yeah, I tried talking about that few times already. 6020037
6026168
Seriously, you are forgetting the most important rule about fanon, ANYTHING is possible in the right circumstance, if the pony knows what car mechanics and technology to that level is, then their mind should connect to their natural magics and conjure an image for the Cutie Mark to mostly symbolise.
And seriously, his name is A?
I actually looked this up, but the closest I could find was all stuff about space colonies. None of it was about actual settlement management but more about genetics. Apparently, for 10 generations you need about 160 people, 80 if people show restraint and only pair with one person.
6025647
Hmmm…well the cover pic kinda looks like a guy…
6026168
It wou suck for him severely
6025647 I think most people assume the main character is a guy, but the only thing we know about his name is that it probably starts with an A
That is why I seriously hope there is a possibility of switched consciousness, though I would rather another rout were taken.
And, wow. Wouldn't have known you where the same guy that wrote My Little Apprentice. Only because I'm bad with names though.
6026237 And then they populate the space colony with awkward geeks.
It dies out in less than a generation.
Amazing! Keep it up!
6026460 do to the advanced form of English the character has to have a gender and thus the easier way to deal with it is with the male form. much how crona is assumed to be a guy in soul eater.
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(apologies if this comes off as spam-like.)
I like how.... clean this story feels. the character seems like a reasonable guy/girl (i am betting guy) who is reacting maybe a little too well to everyone being fucking.... gone.
my only question is how you are able to keep up such a quick release schedule. fun story so far.
For the author, or those interested in the setting, here's a few interesting facts about a world without people.
Nuclear power: Located in Diablo Canyon on the west coast of California, west-northwest of Los Angelas. As a safety precaution, nuclear reactors will shut off when not tended to, to prevent a meltdown. However, somewhere around 8-12 days after humans vanish, there's something worse. The uranium rods used to power the reactor must be removed after they stop containing the energy necessary to power the reaction, and stored under coolant pools for no less than ten years under 40 feet of water kept cooled to below 120 degrees. After the automated systems shut down and there isn't power maintaining this stasis, the water will evaporate and the fuel rods will catch fire. (they remain about 2,000 degrees unless cooled for said ten years). When they do catch fire, they will release the equivalent of 20 reactor cores worth of radiation into the atmosphere, creating vast swathes of irradiated land around the power plant, possibly carried further by weather or, in this case, the sea which is directly adjacent to the power plant. Presumedly, they would continue to burn and release this radiation for up to 10 years. To my knowledge, Los Angelas is far enough away to avoid this effect, but it would be Very Bad to be in that area in the next few days of the story and afterward.
Solar Power: A solar furnace (the power plants you see composed of mirrors focusing light) can operate unattended for upwards of 50+ years before the mirrors start to break down and crack, barring earthquakes or unexpected concussive forces or accidents. This means that many parts of the world still have power at this point in the story, and in fact, portions of California still have power, though susceptable to brownouts. Additionally, photovoltaic panels will continue to produce power as long as they receive sunlight and the structure in which they are set is maintained. This means that photovoltaic silicon crystal solar panels could provide electricity for the rest of A's natural life.
California's Power: California contains (give or take 2-3) 44 conventional hydro-electric dams, which will function autonomously for quite awhile, providing anywhere from 676 Megawatts to as low as 0.4, with the average of about 100 MW. Additionally there are 7 wind farms, which contribute from 1,320 MW (in a county due north of LA about halfway between LA and Diablo Canyon), down to 50-ish on an Indian reservation, and these will easily last a year. There are a further 7 solar photovoltaic power plants, and 7 more that are currently under construction, one of which can put out (or will be able to put out) 2,400 MW. There are 4 solar thermal power plants, but they don't offer too much power output. There are also 8 geothermal power plants, including the Geysers, which puts out 750 MW. The geothermal plants, however, will last perhaps 6 years before giving out, as the superheated steam explodes the pipes. There are a further 3 hydroelectric pumped storage powerplants, which both generate power and supply water.
* Interesting note: California is powered mainly through natural gas power plants, yielding 27,655 MW. The sum total of power output that would exist in the state without maintenance for up to 1 year after people vanish: 15,985 MW. Please note that there are other sources of power in CA, but somewhere between a quarter and a fifth of the total power for California would still be available on grid. This power would also go much further as lightbulbs burn out and systems fail that use much of the electricity. This is, of course, assuming no massive storms or natural disasters to interrupt the grid itself.
Natural Disasters: California is capable of weathering quite a few natural disasters... as long as there is regular maintenance. That said, the quality of life wold actually not change all that much, nor would the first bad storm or earthquake end the world, as it were. Time and the accumulation of damage is the greatest threat here, including dams breaking in 5-10 years, depending on what happened. This would result in portions of the state being flooded, particularly the state capitol. That said the infrastructure could, at large, be expected to endure for nigh of a decade, barring wildfires or a megaquake, and there would be recognizable landmarks for up to 150 years.
In other words: If you find yourself alone without human beings on the planet, don't worry. You have plenty of time to adapt and to research before your quality of life (aside from company) becomes untenable without adequate preparation.
BONUS: The Internet: While power would EXIST, it may not be getting to the right places in the right amounts, and the systems would shut down during brownouts, or if there simply wasn't enough power, depending upon the ISP. This means that within 2-4 days of people vanishing, the Internet would become patchy or inaccessible, depending on the locations of the servers, and tons of other factors.
EDIT NOTE: The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant has cooling water fed from the pacific ocean. This water is not recycled and is pumped back out. I don't know enough about the setup, power supply necessary, or time tables to give an adequate idea of the issues of a light-water plant applied to this particular setup, but even if the process is autonomous, heavy storms and time would result in kelp building up in the intake valves. That means that sooner or later, this power plant WOULD eventually explode in the irradiating cloud of doom, but there's a larger safety window, potentially.
First thing: since I'm reading all the comments (because this story has one of the most interesting comment boards I've encountered) I love how you seem to integrate info/suggestions from the comments here and there. And I'm impressed you actually respond to every comment!
That said... hmm. A gets so tired at nightfall that A is unable to stay awake even if A'd want to?
Everybody vanished over night. A changed into a pony overnight and slept soundly through the transformation.
Dogs have begun to display at least semi-sapient behavior after a few nights.
Something is changing over night all right. Or someone is changing things in the darkness.
Ps.: try reading this while listening to a youtube playlist called 'Fallout Equestria Music'. Perfect.
6026202
A is just the first letter of the character's name. I think A is just too lazy to sign journal entries with their full name. If I used the name in the comments, it would spoil the fun of the story I think.
6026237
Seems strange to me that pairing with one person would improve your odds. I would think that you'd want a crazy skewed gender ratio, like way more females than males (say, 5-1). Keep the females as productive as possible and never with the same partner, and I feel like you'd get an extremely diverse population that way. Granted, keeping track of who can't breed with who in the second generation gets a little confusing, because the family structure we humans know and love has been thrown out the window, but... I wonder what the logic is between monogamy as a promoter of genetic diversity. I always though monogamy sacrificed diversity in the interests of a more stable and productive society. Course there's been plenty of debate about whether it's really a good thing, but in any case, what really interests me is the genetics side of things.
6026460
It does, yeah. First or last name. Probably first. That's what I'd sign with if I signed my diary entries. Can't say I do, but if I did...
6026697
I hope that isn't a point against me! My Little Apprentice was fantastic to write and I still feel like I have more to say in that universe, but I feel like I've been doing derivative stories for too long and needed a break. A summer break, if you will.
6026800
I'll try!
6027105
Well obviously. Sorry A. You're cute. It's a problem you have.
6027216
A long habit of writing 2000 words a day, and having a moderate work schedule over the summer mostly. I write entries in one-week chunks, then submit them to pre-readers, then get together with editors before posting. It works well enough I suppose, though it's incredibly time-consuming. The real test will be seeing if I can keep up with the schedule come next week when I go on vacation.
Writing ponies? Tropical island. Writing ponies? Tropical island... you see my dilemma here. Trying to build up a stockpile of chapters to cover that time in case I don't get to do my usual writing output.
6027634
Masterful analysis, right there. I think what I like the most about that is that I've reached a great deal of those same conclusions myself. It's good to know at least one other person figures the math about the same way as I do. I've talked about many of those things in the comments previously (like when I showed this image from the inevitable cooling failure at my nearest nuclear plant:
b.fastcompany.net/multisite_files/coexist/imagecache/inline-large/post-inline/onofre.jpg
Of course, just because power is being produced I don't think the lights are going to be on in very many places. For one, lots of the systems that actually regulate power distribution in the grid require human intervention to keep running. Even if they all kept working for some reason, the end of humanity keeping the coal and natural gas plants in California running would mean that what percentage of power does keep being produced would be a fraction of what was demanded by all the lights and refrigerators and air conditioners left running with nobody to appreciate them.
I anticipate the system keeping power flowing uniformly along the grid would fail long before power stopped being produced in the greenest places. Granted, I don't think those places would all keep going quite as long as you predict. Lots of what keep dam producing at peak efficiency is careful management of the water level, which would obviously stop. Solar-mirror plants, often located in desert areas, require regular cleaning of their mirrors or efficiency drops there too (not as rapidly as regular solar panels though).
In a world after humans, I anticipate the essentially random production of power outstripped by the demand would mean that things would most often be dark, though occasionally power might appear, or in isolated areas, in ways that seem random and arbitrary to anyone without intimate experience with the grid and its vagaries. Though I anticipate some significant portion of the power might be produced, the grid actually relies quite heavily on human intervention. Many areas simply shut down connections when demand exceeds supply and additional power can't be secured from elsewhere.
In short, I don't think A should count on anything like a reliable access to power, particularly in the summer when everybody's air conditioners have been left on. It's all going somewhere, but I doubt that much of it will go where A would like it to be. It might be safer to cut connections to the grid entirely to avoid the surges and strange voltages that might result from such an unmanned grid. To say nothing about what might happen as power flows across state lines in both directions. God only knows how such a complex network would behave. But I'm a software developer, not an electrician.
6027811
Well to some degree at least, A already was fairly day-focused, waking up early for a hard day's work and going to bed early as well. It seems like what's happened is just a natural extension of that.
Unless...
6028203
it's a sign that something insidious is happening at night. Something A hasn't realized yet or been able to quantify. WHO KNOWS. Okay, I know. But nobody else.
Also, yeah. I take the comments seriously, and I try to respond to every one if I can (though it's easier when people make direct suggestions, questions, or corrections than when they just say "great story" or whatever). Not that I don't like that too. I feel like all the people reading this together are way way smarter than I am on my own, so not paying close attention to suggestions would be pretty stupid. I DO write this story in advance (I'm one week and three days ahead of current posting), but that doesn't mean I can't perform additional revisions as needed until the story is as good as it could be.
People's comments really can change the direction of the story. Really good ideas I didn't have will probably make their way in eventually if people take the time to post them.
No, that was not meant to be taken to offence, I was only stating my surprise that you have written two stories that I adore, and that I did not realize they had the same author.
Yes, I have been feeling the same way. My own story is only 24,000 words in but I've been looking for another more original idea for quite some time. Though my first attempt didn't give me much hope.
6025805 Ferroconcrete wolves from industrial demolition sites? Interesting thought.
Problem is, fire or rocks don't cut it against those. You'd need explosives.
Oh, and sewage plant hydras.
6027811 Heh. I increasingly get the feeling that A would be seriously tempted to give many commenters here the same treatment as the attacking dog. I really do feel for and worry about our protagonist... but it's so difficult to resist teasing the pretty little pony. Good thing A will never hear all this.
(For the people who were talking about dust/dirt baths.)
36.media.tumblr.com/c58b45686e00783aed00955c66bec9a2/tumblr_np2q0wSv1h1rsmidfo1_500.png
One thing: can other writers use this universe? Have their stories be canon in this one?
6027634 But doesn't the concrete from dams get harder because the water keeps reforming them and making them stronger?
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Enjoying the store thus far and doubt that's going to change anytime soon. BTW something you might find helpful is a History channel show called, Life after People (think I got that name right). It might give you some ideas for time tables on when stuff starts going bad. Keep in mind you'd only likely need to watch the first couple episodes.
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On the subject of sticky hooves, I feel compelled to give this little lecture once again...
First, hoof anatomy:
extension.missouri.edu/explore/images/g02740art01.jpg
See the soft fleshy part called the frog? It's the sensate part of the horse hoof, which allows them to feel the ground. It's not very big on Earth horses. But notice how oversized the hooves of MLP ponies are? It makes them cuter, but what's the physiological reason? Logically, it would be because MLP ponies have oversized frogs compared to Earth horses, necessitating wider hooves despite their smaller stature.
Why? Because of this:
This is the frog of a MLP pony's hoof. This is how they pick up stuff.
I am sorry, but you used the same word incorrectly last chapter and it kind of bugs me.
I think you mean "Grisly".
Also, I absolutely adore your profile image. Very nice.
you need something like this mite help you
I recall a proverb that went something like 5 to sustain a family, 50 to sustain a village, 500 to sustain a city, and 5000 to sustain a civilization. That's not the exact quote, but I'm unable to find it now.
I see what you did there...
KA3ZZD.
I had to put that in, because I just love that you put Ham radio into this situation.
That was my old call-sign. Haven't used it in years as it expired in 2002, and I've been out of the loop as far as amateur radio is concerned for a while before that.
While we're on this subject, in an emergency situation, anyone that knows how can broadcast as long as they use the standard emergency code.
Only five chapters in and already I have a mental picture of a survivor I would like to put in this apocalypse... I like it
So I'm guessing the dogs are becoming diamond dogs. That's... interesting.
I’ll go shopping tomorrow, for the gear to get my radio working again and for some better-fitting clothes besides.
In the real world, there already are warm, horse blankets for horse foals and dog-sized saddle bags so dogs can carry their food for camping trips. Because our protagonist is the size of a large dog, there is body armor available for police dogs. There is also cargo wagons built for ponies, which means the wagon harnesses are the correct size for our protagonist to wear with some comfort.
It would be kind of neat to see a human turned into a pony who is wearing police dog body armor over a foal blanket, while pulling a pony cart. That pony is also wearing nail-free, glue on hoof boots on their rear hooves. How would that human turned pony have all this knowledge about dogs and ponies? I would make that pony a veterinary physician, working to maintain the health of the police department’s dogs and horses.