Part 1 (Adrian) - Chapter 3
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Alex called back, grinning too broadly. “Under five hours! We’re making better and better time every time we come down here!” She parked the car the same place they always did, in front of a fancy bank building that became their city headquarters whenever they visited St. Louis.
The ponies in the backseat, Adrian included, groaned loudly, and stumbled over each other to get to the outside. There were four of them in the back of the tiny sedan, and while it wasn’t nearly as cramped as it would’ve been with humans, it still wasn’t pleasant.
“Don’t wander off!” Alex hopped out, the only one without wobbly legs. Earth ponies and their magical endurance! She moved past Adrian to the trunk, popping it with a twist of her mouth and the key. It wasn’t very full: a locked rolling cooler and a single hard-plastic crate. “Joseph, could you-” The unicorn complied, levitating the box onto the sidewalk and popping it open. Six weapons waited inside, along with six custom-made tactical saddle-bags.
The creation had been Sky’s idea, and even Adrian had been impressed at the time. A fusion of saddlebags and the tactical vests worn by human militaries before the Event, the thick black fabric gave immediate access with dozens of little pockets.
“Moriah, did you check the radio batteries before we left?”
The mare glared, even as she continued shaking out her hooves. “Yes. They’re all fully charged.”
Alex nodded, though she didn’t look the least-bit intimidated by the unicorn’s anger. The stories of what Moriah’s magic had done absolutely terrified Adrian. If he was on the wrong end of a broken horn, he was damn sure he’d be finding something thick to hide behind.
“And Oliver, the guns are loaded?”
He didn’t look upset. Adrian wasn’t either, no matter if Moriah and Joseph might find this ritual boring. He’d much rather learn by the car that they weren’t prepared than right before being run down by a pack of wild animals or something. In some ways he was very like Moriah. Neither of them had much control over the magic being a pony had given them.
“Absolutely. Two full clips in each vest, one in each rifle.”
“Remember, they’re a-”
“-last resort!” everypony else supplied, loud and monotone.
Alex smiled slightly. “Glad you all remember.” She slid into her saddlebags with casual dexterity, zipping herself with a tug. Each of them followed, though the worst part by far was that all the noise was enough to activate the radios, broadcasting painful feedback from the vests. Adrian tugged his own well away from the group before slipping it on.
He had enough dexterity to get to the zipper himself these days, but he didn’t try. “Cloudy, can you…” She did, and they both smiled.
When they were all done, Lonely Day went back to being boring. “Alright everypony, let’s review. Today’s teams are Adrian and I, Joseph and Cloudy, and Moriah and Oliver. Stay within sight and sound of each other at all times.” She tossed her rifle onto her back, catching it by the strap. “What are we all doing?”
“Packing solar panels. Foam between each panel, wrap each bundle of eight. Don’t stack more than two bundles,” Cloudy recited, fighting not to sound bored. “We keep going until we run out of panels to stack.” Neither her nor Joseph had removed their guns, probably because they were going to be driving the car to the solar distributor on the other end of town. Well, Cloudy would be driving. Joseph couldn’t drive.
Alex nodded, directing her attention to Moriah and Oliver. “We’re picking out trailers or RVs. The biggest, nicest ones we can find. Then we’re looting every movie worth watching from the public library and every best buy in walking distance. After that, we’re on camping stores again.”
Moriah took a step towards the only other vehicle in the parking lot, a converted moving van they kept in town for every trip. “Can we go now?”
“Yeah.” Alex sighed, slumping a little as she dragged the cooler out of the back of the car on raw strength. It was almost pitiful to watch, except that somehow she managed not to drop it. “Go ahead. Adrian and I will convert the vehicles, as usual. Good luck, everypony. If you’re in trouble, say something. If you see evidence of ponies here, say something.”
They dispersed. Alex took the cooler, dragging it by the handle in her mouth towards the door of the bank.
“Be safe,” Cloudy whispered, hugging Adrian briefly as she passed him. It was the same hug she gave all her friends, but Adrian still thought it was nice.
“You too.”
She grinned. “I can fly, Adrian. I’ll be safe.” She flared her wings for emphasis, angling them back as though she were pulling into some aerodynamic dive. It was one of the sexiest things she’d ever done, and Adrian didn’t even know why he thought so.
He only managed a “yeah” before she hopped in the car and drove off.
Alex dumped the cooler inside before hurrying back to him, with a pair of wrapped sandwiches in her mouth. She set them down on the sidewalk, offering him one. “The others are gonna remember they’re hungry and end up eating stale chips.”
Moriah and Joseph often complained that all Alex cared about was work. Adrian knew better, though. She had fun while she worked. Besides, Cloudy Skies had made the sandwiches, and that made them amazing.
Alex lowered her voice, speaking quietly enough that the radio wouldn’t pick it up. It wasn’t hard; you had to shout or make some other noise similarly loud for the microphone to pick it up. Otherwise, they’d all go completely insane hearing snatches of each others’ conversations. “So we’ve got until 7:45 before it’s dark.” She grinned. “Wanna completely waste time for an hour? It’ll be awesome!”
Adrian made sure to keep quiet himself, raising his eyebrows in gained skepticism. “Shouldn’t we be productive or something? The others are all going to work…”
Alex laughed, and he could see her visibly fighting to keep it from being too loud. “I think we both know how much of a lie that is. Five hours of driving? They’re going to relax.” She started walking backwards, towards the huge empty street. “Nopony else will appreciate this, c’mon! I’m sick of raising pedals and putting in hoof controls. Let’s do something different first.”
“Alright.” Adrian was pretty sure Alex was the least interested in companionship of the group, so he was pretty sure she wasn’t coming onto him. Couldn’t be positive until he saw what she had in mind, though. She had been the one to set up the work assignments. Had she set things up so they could be alone?
No, as it turned out. They hadn’t been wandering for more than a few minutes before they turned the corner on the most bizarre sight he’d ever seen. An old plane, suspended over the open air in what looked like a gigantic, unnatural jungle-gym. His eyes searched for the boundaries, and he could see it went right into the building. The building looked old, like some sort of converted factory, and like every building in town there was no trace of activity.
“You’ll need your headlamp.” She tugged hers out, adjusting it on her forehead with her hooves. She had to stop walking and bend down to do it, and Adrian was only sorta tempted to look.
He didn’t, instead imitating the gesture. He was faster. It was amazing what hooves could do with a few months of practice, particularly when you had a hard surface to use as leverage. “Okay. What is this place?”
She grinned, practically bouncing up and down. “It’s like… it’s the biggest playground ever.” She raced towards the door, galloping rapidly across the concrete so much that the gun jostled on her shoulder. It didn’t actually come off, though. She stopped at the locked door, then casually turned and bucked. Wood splintered, and the lock came tearing out. “I found it when I was researching the stuff we were going to come and pick up, but I wasn’t sure if it was really safe. I figured the hardiest ponies we have ought to be the ones to explore it first. Make sure it’s okay.”
Adrian stared. He almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing, and not just because it looked awesome even from outside. “There’s a school bus hanging off the roof.” He pointed with his hoof. “How was this place even legal?”
“I know, right!” She giggled, turning and racing inside.
Adrian found himself smiling in spite of himself. Maybe he was a little old for a playground. That didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun. Couldn’t let a little apocalypse ruin the rest of your life!
The lobby was cavernous, a mismatch of bright colored glass and junk. He sped up to catch up with Alex, as the flickers of her headlamp vanished into the bowels of the building. It wasn’t hard, particularly since she stopped after less than ten seconds.
He did too, ears swiveling to point deeper into the building. He heard it too, a child’s voice echoing from the deepest recesses of the building.
Crying.
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Odd seeing Day goofing off after seeing her be such a worrywart for months. Good for her, I guess.
Something tells me that the ponies have found their first non-productive mouth; a child who can only be helped rather than can help. Nonetheless, none of them will be able to turn away.
Well, looks like they're getting their first child at the colony, probably going to latch on to Day as a surrogate mother.
Oh HELL naw. This changes things. It's actually weird seeing Alex act the way she is - being the leader, she's usually just concerned with survival and organisation.
6207614 Also raises the issue - are babies dropped in the path of caregivers.
Even someone who is really crap at survival can move out of hot sun effectively, or get indoors from rain, or ...
A baby may not survive some environments for minutes.
Aw you just had to throw a baby in huh? And in the City Museum of all places?! (I live in St Louis for about three months of the year) Still nice job describing the place! And nice job capturing how creepy it is when people aren't inside...it still creeps me out even if it's full of people...
I'm happy that Zutcha is still doing the art for this story. I love there little drawings.
I need to visit this place before the next apocalypse. Or maybe after wouldn't make much of a difference.
Is Moriah the designated group grouch or something? She never seems to be happy about anything... except maybe spending time with
Joseph.
It's fascinating seeing Alex from the outside. Good to see that that optimism we saw at the end of Last Pony on Earth seems to be genuine.
Also, sounds like there's either a new arrival or a struggling survivor. Either way, fun time has been suspended until further notice.
Oh no... Oooh no. Something very awkward is going to happen, I can feel it.
Everypony - as in one word.
Nooo, Alex, stop conforming to their ways.
Well then. 10 bits says Cloudy pseudo-adopts it. Also, maybe the filly-ness is getting it Alex's head.
am I the only one who thought this a walking dead crossover?
6205598
Well, she is included in the story's character tags, so that seems likely.
Nice that Alex is not being that much of a hardass, and also awkward boytoy and spitting hydra seems to be the layabouts of the group.
Sorry, this is the beginning stages of their civilization right? So I guess they still have some hiccups, but why do these ponies have to be so dis-likable all of a sudden?
For now, we have a lone child crying their eyes out, I swear of one of them protests against taking a kid in, I'll flip.
6207925 yes
An armed solar panel, RV, and movie run, for some reason that strikes me as particularly funny.
Shipping continues to intensify.
Neat.
Something that sounds like a crying child? That's going to make life in Alexandria a bit more complicated if they start collecting children while still only having six adults.
Let me call Fed-ex real quick, I need to ship this story.
6208057
Clipazines!
I am loving that this idea of children getting handed off to caretakers is canonized instead of left as an unexplored possibility.
6208230
so nobody else said that they that thought this was a walking dead crossover? that seems strange to me, since Alexandrea is where 'the group' is right now.
6203776
I've never seen that series, but I've thought about it several times when people have compared it to this story.
6204253
I couldn't stay away from the series. >.>
6205089
Got lucky there! I don't really have a set time in the morning I post new chapters, so... just happened to work out that way, I guess! ^^
6205112
Are you sure those ten bits aren't just from the character tag? I could be lying! Maybe one chapter I'll just take the tag away and there won't be any sign it'd ever been there... >.>
6205306
No typo; her whole coat is pink. Is the white balance or delta or whatever on your monitor calibrated correctly?
6205400
Yeah, it hasn't really been that long since the last story, so Equestrian things aren't general knowledge yet. I don't know if Alex just never talked about what cutie marks really were, or he just never bought into it, or what.
6205466
I think that vehicles will only appear once everyone inside is ready to return, which means most of them will probably show up a long time from now. Of course, there's no guarantee the pilots will be able to use their skills as ponies, or find good runways in time to prevent exactly what you're describing. It's quite possible, though I doubt we'll see any large aircraft return during the time covered by this story (too many people for them to have been left behind all at once like that)
Also, this has already been said, but this Paris is a tiny town in Illinois, that just happens to be named after the Paris in France. They wanted to stay away from the large cities, find somewhere with good farmland, but also had plenty of water and a relatively easy climate. That's the location they chose.
6205561
I dunno if there's really intense competition yet, with communication so difficult and ponies so spread out, but there will be eventually. Just as cooperation have to fight to get the most skilled and experienced employees, offering them enough to incentivise them to come... at least in the early years.
6205598
I didn't say so, but he was actually playing pokemon too ^^. Pity there won't be any of those now that there's no more... companies.
6205704
Probably one of the newer pokemon titles. I don't think Adrian cared to write about it.
6205743
The pictures are getting pretty neat, yeah. The artist generally chooses the cutest thing to draw from any given chapter, unless there's something really significant going on.
6206239
I think this one's not a real-world one, though. Just the name of the place from the last story. X.x
6206643
It came from the comments, though I can't remember who came up with it...
6207614
Could any moral being turn away a helpless child? That's the real question.
6207629
That's most of what she was doing! But... try to stay on 24/7, and you'll eventually go completely insane. Unless you want to get meta and guess she somehow knew a child was there.
6207650
Without people around, babies would survive almost not at all. On the other hand, they're probably better able to adapt to a new body than anyone, they barely know how to be human.
To be fair, horse foals are far more independent than human babies. They can walk, after all, something baby humans can't do. If the spell was crafted well, it would probably send the babies as far forward as possible, to maximize the chances of them being discovered.
6207690
I absolutely love the city museum! Don't get me wrong, it just "feels" dangerous in there, with the constant construction, and the power tools running all the time, and being suspended a hundred feet by nothing but some steel rods over empty air, but it's so much fun anyway! Fun, but... creepy, yeah.
6207743
Me too! I worried it wouldn't keep going, but... looks like we're still on! The awesome art ride continues.
6207747
It's a pretty amazing place. Honestly, when I first visited, I didn't believe I was in a real place, it was that amazing.
6207765
Some people just act that way. Like to tear other people down. Or just... nothing is ever up to their personal standards.
6207918
Alex has been holding on to her boring adult dignity for quite some time! At least she seems to want to have fun only with people who would appreciate it. I'm not sure what the others will think of her wanting to go play for awhile before working. Then again, she must be so sick of converting trucks by now... the same few modifications every single time...
6207925
It isn't, unfortunately. No zombies here, just an empty world.
6208024
Unless I'm a filthy liar. Wouldn't be the first time X.x
6208057
Hey, don't blame Alex for that! That was Oliver's mistake! He's a doctor, not a soldier!
6208203
Once again, I don't think any moral individual could not help a child in need like that. I think it's, like... something fundamental in human nature. I read that somewhere. Or something.
6208269
If it became a pattern, taking care of them would be a serious concern. Not so much for food... I learned reccently that a single human with a supermarket could survive about thirty years on its contents if they ate them in the right order. We'd have to trim that for ponies who can't eat all the meat, but... yeah, food won't be in short supply during the first generation. Labor to take care of those little ponies, on the other hand...
6208522
33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5h2nnq7Ty1qg9f9k.gif
6208916
There will be dates at some point in the story, but... it actually picks up less than a month after the ending of Last Pony On Earth. It's still august right now. That's why so little seems to have changed. The characters are basically in the same place we left them, with perhaps a few trips to the city and a pile of junk to show for their week or two of effort since the last story ended.
6209705
Awesome, so instead of one pony crashing to their doom, it will be several!
...
That's worse...
Alright, does this also extend to any cars they would be driving in as well? Or boats?
6209705 You may have an armada, but I have American Express to call forth! After all, with the click of a pen, I can become mightier than the sword!
... If I knew how to put pictures up on this damnable website, I would have just done that instead...
I don't like Adrian. Not as a character- he's written believably- but because
peopleponies like him bother me. They're hard to depend on for a lot of things and they tend to be flaky in serious situations.However, I'll take a dozen Adrians over one Moirah. Her lack of magic control is one thing; her attitude is far more dangerous to a community.
6209705
Actually no ;)
I put that together on my own by searching for confirmation I remembered in the first story ... posted my brilliant analysis here and when I checked the comments again an hour later I saw the character tag and felt real stupid. Ergo: character tags can be major mystery minimizers. Unless you somehow manage to fail to notice them.
Should be a way to black them out like spoiler text in comments :)
Heh.
As she's from an affluent family and daughter of an airline pilot that could be a real good explanation. Also, doesn't she still have migraines all the time? Still a jerk.
i thought Alex was a guy... and after i read this i felt like i had been living a lie...
6211745 you're not alone. I figured out awhile ago, but I still have that feeling.
6210004 It may be mightier than the sword, but is it mightier than a flintlock?
It's nice to see Day have a little bit of fun after worrying herself gray
At least she's paying attention to Rule 32
30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m30eldB3Ur1qhkxlwo1_500.gif
And may I just ask: is this an actual real place in St. Louis?
Dang straight
Just because everyone has been displaced ahead in time and you're one of the few left behind doesn't mean you gotta be a worry wort; have some fun
Break a few windows, smash a china shop, explore, set stuff on fire in places where it's not gunna spread
6213917
Yeah, Alex got genderswapped and it wasn't really confirmed till the end of LPoE
And she couldn't even get with sky if she wanted. She got turned to something around 14 thanks to the resident jerkbag Moirah trying to prove she can still do magic and It failing miserably.
Ah... the City Museum. I love that place. Not for people with vertigo though
6214778
the city museum is what they are referring to.
Axel McBuffMan Human-man Tough-guy sure is adorable when she's having fun.
So you fall through the princess's plot hole into an abandoned city and you're like, 12, and a pony. First thing you do?
Jungle gym.
*Googles St. Louis City Museum, expecting to see a museum...*
Holy moly.
"Adrian and me"
Or
"Adrian and myself"
6263698 That is the complete opposite of a correction.
6263698
You make grammar cry.
When you're talking about yourself and another, you put their name first and then use I.
6263698
6317328
6356746
Three strikes.
This is actually an area of the language where correct usage is ambiguous or disputed. This is at least partly due to Latin influence on classically educated grammarians. In that heavily inflected language, which did not rely on word order to distinguish the function of a word, there was no real difference between, for example, saying, "Julius is the emperor" and "the emperor is Julius." Which of those nouns is the "object" of the verb? Neither! They were both inflected as if they were the "subject" of the verb.
In English, there is likewise not exactly an object. Technically, the verb "to be" (which linguists call a copula, and which you might have heard called a linking verb) has a subject and a subject complement-- although this distinction is generally academic, since we don't inflect our nouns. But we do inflect pronouns! So the question becomes, is it I, or is it me?
I prefer to take my grammar from the language as it is spoken, rather than inflicting the inflection of a dead language on it. You'll find quite a few examples of " it is I," but fewer examples of "it is he," and all of them sound a little unnatural to my ears.
Nevertheless, one can cite many respectable and influential sources on either side of the issue, and both uses have some traction in speech and prose. It is not quite a simple matter of right and wrong.
The old ban on split infinitives has similar roots, as the Latin infinitive is a single word, and thus cannot ever be split.
Ooh, new addition to the party already? :3
The city museum is the best playground ever. I miss being child-sized
6228841 I think Alex is 16, not 12
6263038 I think I just wet myself.
8029532 Alex is only biologically 16. she's actually 23. Moriah accidentally made him 7 years younger.
6263038
No kidding.