Chapter 10: Farewell To Friends
August 4 - 6:00 PM
The wheels screamed against the track as the Starlight Express came into Pickering Station, slowing steadily until it came to a stop below the footbridge over the line. While the CN line was never intended to be used as a passenger rail line, it was the longest line on the continent. That made it ideal.
I pulled the wire that lead to the string, listening to the train's whistle.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOO WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I let go, hoping that the pony I'd contacted in the radio was still around.
"Starlight? Shouldn't you check the radio?"
I looked down from the engine to see that Starless Night was standing there, looking up at me. I nearly facehoofed. On the way here, I had set up a transmitter in the caboose, as well as a radio set, so that we could hear any broadcasts. Despite that, the only one that came through was the one from Pickering.
"Is it still coming in," I asked Starless.
"It is," Starless replied, "It's sad we can't talk to your friend, Double."
I nodded. Unlike Baldy Mountain Tower, which had an immense range, the radio I had been using on the train had a relatively low one, bordering on perhaps several kilometers when on my regular frequency, and a bit longer on a clear day.
"Let's go see if we can make contact with out friends here in Pickering," I said, taking flight to hover just above the ground before planting my hooves firmly down in as graceful a manner as I could manage. I still hadn't told Starless that I'd seen her in The Dream, but it seemed to me like she had some secrets of her own.
As we passed Coach 103, we could hear Fenix and Wulfric arguing about something. From the snippets I managed to catch, Wulfric had been very unprofessional when he'd had lunch, something that had irritated Fenix. The rest was lost in the yelling that soon followed.
"Boys will be boys," Starless said, to which I nodded, albeit with a small amount of hesitation. Starlight didn't seem to notice, though.
As we were about to board the caboose, I noticed something coming, and galloped back over to the engine, Starless hot on my hooves.
From overhead, a grey pegasus flew in a sweeping arc, aiming for the footbridge. Legs started scrambling as the pony neared the surface, as if to transition from flying to running, but at the last second, a stumble resulted in a swirling somersault of grey fur and purple hair, coupled with a few choice curse words.
Momentarily, a head with a disheveled purple mane popped up above the footbridge's side wall, a smile breaking across the pony's muzzle. "You made it! Starlight, I presume?"
Starless and I looked at each other, then back at the little Pegasus. "That I am. This is Starless Night."
I turned to Starless. "I'm going to go talk to her."
"Be careful," Starless warned as I flew up, landing beside the comparatively tiny mare.
"If you know who I am, then I assume that you must be Stormy," I said, looking down at the smaller grey Pegasus.
Stormy held out a hoof and nodded. "That's right. Good to see you. Everyone else is back at the... colony." She shrugged with an apologetic smile. "Still getting used to calling it that. I almost said 'store'." A wing flaps out to indicate northwards across the highway. "It's in that mall across the way."
"Smart," I said, looking at the distant mall, "Lots of food, more than adequate shelter, near more supplies should your own run out. Smart, indeed."
The littler pony folded in her wing and let her hoof drop, leaning to look around you at the train. "So... is it just you two? Did you find anybody else along the way? Any other colonies in between here and Manitoba?"
I sighed. "Sadly, I didn't come across anything in any of the towns along the rail line. I found Starless there in Winnipeg, along with another Unicorn by the name of Fenix. I picked up another Unicorn on the way from Winnipeg. There was one Unicorn I met in Dauphin, and he accompanied me to Winnipeg....but he stayed behind. Double Wub....he used to work in Dauphin at the old CKDM building, I think. At least, that's where I found him. What about you? Have you seen anypony else?"
"I forget if I mentioned them to you on the radio. There's me, a unicorn, and an Earth pony - we were the first settlers, so to speak, here. We got joined by three more - again, one of each, Earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn, we found in a failing camp further into the city. Other than us, there are some dogs around here that seem to have formed a clan. Oh, we have a dog with us, but he's a good guy. We've encountered some... other things, but we should probably talk about that when we're all settled down and... well, settled down, and prepared to discuss things. Did you plan to come in, say hi, stay here? Or are you still on the move?"
"I think that would be nice, meeting with your friends," I said, smiling at Stormy, "All I've met so far is Unicorns. It'll be nice to mingle with somepony other than the bunch of hypocrites I'm stuck with. At least Starless isn't afraid to get her hooves dirty. Fenix and Wulfric....I think they won't be joining us."
I facehoofed. "How could I forget. TEACUP!"
At my call, Teacup bounded out of the caboose and ran over to stand beside Starless, looking up at me with a smile.
"Can't forget about my trusty Teacup," I said with a smile, "He's been with me since long before....well, before I woke up like this."
Stormy smiled at the dog, "Hi, Teacup," she said. Turning back to Starlight, she added, "Okay then... erm, I was going to suggest we fly, but do you both fly? And what about him?" She nods to the dog. "I guess we're walking?"
"Starless could probably levitate herself...."
I regretted those words immediately, as I had failed to notice that she's made her way to the footbridge.
"Ow," I said, rubbing the back of my head, "Sorry, Starless."
"Apology accepted," she replied curtly. Teacup bounded up and put a paw over his face.
I turned back to Stormy. "Looks like it, then, not that I mind. At least it's getting dark out."
Stormy started off towards the mall on hoof. "You prefer the night?"
"Of course," I said with a smile, "Ever since all this happened, I've felt....different at night. Calmer, more secure. Stronger. Still, even before this all happened, I found the night sky a thing of beauty."
"Interesting. I don't feel really different, besides the obvious physical stuff of course. Well... the flow of magic seems to be really palpable, to put it one way. It's as easy to sense as light is. Or, I guess to you, dark."
"Sensing darkness," I repeated, "I don't think so. It's more like I can feel....something. Maybe it's the light of the stars and the moon? I don't know."
"It might be," offered Starless, "You told me when the sky is cloudy at night, you don't feel as different."
I nodded. Perhaps Stormy is onto something. Maybe I can feel the moonlight and the starlight. My cutie mark is the moon, so it seems likely.
A thought then occurred to me, one that I should have thought to ask a bit sooner. "Stormy, might I ask a personal question?"
"I... guess, sure. Go ahead."
"I'm curious," I began, "Before the.....well, before I woke up, I was nothing like I am now. I think of this change as the greatest gift I've ever gotten for my birthday."
"Wait," Starless began, "You woke up on your birthday?"
"June fifteenth," I said proudly, "And this is the best gift I've ever gotten, but my appearance isn't the only thing that changed."
Starless looked at me, then at Stormy. In truth, I'd asked her, Fenix and Wulfric this same question a few days ago. They had said no, and had asked why. I told them why I'd asked, and it had shocked them. However, I had the feeling that Starless knew more than she was letting on, because I swear she was faking her apparent shock. Heck, she was in my Dream, so I wouldn't say she doesn't know more than she's letting on.
"Stormy," I began, "Before the Event, were you a girl?"
Stormy flinched a little. "...no," she finally admitted. "But keep that to yourselves, okay?"
I looked at Stormy. "In that case, I can safely say that you and I are a lot alike. Starless was a girl before, and as far as I know, Wulfric and Fenix were both guys before. You and me, Stormy....you're the only other pony I know, besides myself, who used to be a guy."
"I promise I won't tell anyone, either," Starless said with a smile, "Starlight told me it wasn't too hard for her to adjust, as her old life wasn't....how did you put it?"
"Miserable," I finished for her, "My life before was completely miserable. Since I woke up, though....things have slowly started to get better."
My mind flashed to a few weeks ago, when I had finally broke, letting out all my pent up emotion. It gave me such a feeling of freedom. After that, for the first time in years, I actually felt better about myself. More secure. I looked down at Stormy. "What do you think, Stormy?"
Stormy seemed to relax a little as the conversation went on. "I'm not sure I've felt exactly the same, but I can see where you're coming from. For me, the shock of becoming a pegasus was enough to make, erm... switching sides not that big a deal. Just another change to get used to." She changed tack on the conversation a little. "As for my life before, it wasn't that bad. I had a good job, I was in touch with my - what remained of my family... I was a little bummed when I realized this was probably not reversible, because my skills from my human life weren't so transferrable to surviving in this world. But my friends - my new friends, the ones I made after the Event - have shown me what I can do and how I can be useful going forward." She stole a glance at her bare rump. "Though it seems this world has other plans for me. Maybe."
I looked back a Stormy's blank flank. "Indeed. Don't worry, Stormy. Luna told me that Cutie Marks describe what you're best at. Your true calling. You'll get one of those once you've figured out what your true calling is. Take me, for example. My mark is a lot like the Princess', a crescent moon. Coupled with the fact I've always been more of a....what's the word....'night owl?' Anyway, I've always been able to stay up late with little comeuppance, even before the Event. I always liked looking at the stars at night. I never dreamt of anything, though....I should look into that."
"Look into what," Starless asked.
"Princess Luna can enter other ponies dreams," I said, "Maybe I can, too? I mean....I'm rambling now, aren't I?"
"Little bit," Starless said with a smile, "Stormy, is that it?"
I followed Starless' outstretched hoof to see a mish-mash of neon signs that read Ponytown. I took a minute to look the place over. They had one heck of a garden, that's for sure. Half the nearby parking lot was all soil, freshly planted, by the looks of it. In what I assumed were tree plots on the sidewalk were now small gardens. I looked at Stormy. "Looks homey."
"Yeah, this is home! The entry is over this way." Stormy led them over to a side door into the mall - not an obvious entry point. All the main doors to the stores and corridors were boarded over, but this service entrance had a door with the lock defeated. Just inside was a short maze of shelves and dividers, apparently set there to slow down anyone coming in.
Stormy led the ponies down a service hallway, then into a main corridor of the mall. Skylights and windows from stores let in lighting, until at the end of one corridor, electric lighting was functioning. One of the security gates to the Wal-Mart at the end of the corridor was parted, and Stormy ducked inside.
"Everypony!" she called out. "We have guests!"
The store was in complete disarray. Beyond the cash register lines, virtually everything in the middle of the floor had been either shoved aside or rearranged. To the right and further 'back' from where they entered, the windows to the outside were in full view, with the exterior doors boarded up as mentioned earlier. In the far back right corner was a cobbled-together mezzanine with some electronics resting on shelving, green carpet on the wooden floor and a homemade set of stairs leading to it from the main floor of the store. Nearer to the center, shelving had been arranged in two X formations, with low shelving completing the exterior walls, making eight 'rooms' - all but two of which appeared to be in use. Right of the rooms, in between them and the windows, was a large kitchen, appearing as if it had been built there after the store was repurposed. It consisted of several sets of cupboards, two large sinks (but no faucets, interestingly enough), two electric stoves and two refrigerators, plus an "island" prep table made from a coffee table so that it was pony-height. In fact, all of the kitchen space except that which couldn't be adjusted (the fridges and stoves) was lowered to the requisite height for a pony of Stormy's size.
To the left of the eight bedrooms was an open, carpeted area, with several coffee tables, end tables, and a few beanbag chairs or couch cushions arranged in nest-like setups. In that area were five other ponies, some of whom were standing up and turning to meet the group. A pink unicorn mare and a blond-and-tan Earth pony stallion were the ones to move. The green-maned, tan mare, chocolate-brown male unicorn, and white pegasus stallion with red mane looked up, but didn't get to their hooves right away.
"Swift, Jeff, everypony, this is Starlight and Starless. Oh, and Teac-"
Around the corner came a full grown male Dalmatian dog. As he spotted Teacup, he folded his ears back and froze stone-still all the way back to his tail, just staring intensely at the 'intruding' dog.
Teacup, for the first time in memory, didn't instantly attack another dog. Mind, he hadn't been hostile to Wulfric, Fenix, or Starless, so this was just one more thing to add to the bucket list of oddities that had occurred since the Event.
Teacup just sat down and looked at the other dog, tilting his head slightly, almost as if he were examining this Dalmatian. It at that moment occurred to me Teacup hadn't seen a Dalmatian before today.
I lowered my head to Teacup. "Now, you play nice now, okay?"
I received a nod and an affirmative bark.
"Good boy," I said, rising to meet the two approaching ponies, "It's nice to meet all of you. I know Stormy just introduced us, but to clarify, I'm Starlight, the one Stormy was contacted by a few days ago. She's Starless," I raised a hoof, gesturing to Starless Night, "An this, of course, is Teacup.
"Ruff," Teacup barked in acknowledgement, sticking his tongue out playfully and looking up at who I assumed was Swift.
"I notice you have a dog of your own," I said, raising a hoof to point at the Dalmatian.
Swift glanced behind her at the dog, then made a nickering noise, and he instantly heeled to her and became friendly. "This is Buddy," she said, turning back to the newcomers and beaming.
The earth pony with the blond mane looked Starlight up and down and commented, "I didn't know we came in venti size." Behind him, the other earth pony he'd been beside gasped and put a hoof to her head, shaking it in embarrassment. The other unicorn snerked with a faint smile, and both Swift and Stormy sighed and rolled their eyes.
I looked at the stallion. "Umm....what?"
The brown Earth mare with green mane hurries over and hip-checks the stallion out of the way. "He's trying to say you're tall. He means well, he's just a fool. Sorry about that. I'm Karin." She swipes her mane from out of her face, smiles, and offers her hoof.
I took her hoof, and proceeded to shake it. "Nice to meet you, Karin."
Karin continued smiling. "Are you hungry or thirsty? Our resident chefs-" She winked "-can whip up something with our fresh garden produce. Or would you just like a tour of our place?"
"OHMYGODYES," I blurted before I even knew what I was saying, "Umm....sorry. All we've had to eat so far are canned foods I scavenged in Winnipeg, so the chance to eat something fresh seems wonderful."
"I second that notion," Starless said in agreement.
"Then we're agreed," I said, "Unless you six already ate."
Swift looked to Serge and nodded towards the kitchen, and the two of them began to head that way. "We're pretty casual with our dinner times. We'll get something together while you're toured around," Swift said.
Stormy nodded and smiled, gesturing with a hoof past the common area into the rest of the store. "If you're interested, or we can just lay down here, it's up to you."
"What do you think," I asked, turning to Starless.
"I think you could go for a bit of relaxation," Starless said, "You've been cooped up in that cramped engine for the last two days. I think you should lie down, at least for a little while."
I nodded, finding a rather large pillow nearby and gently lying down, savoring it's softness against my fur and hooves. That's when I noticed something odd. "Stormy, what exactly are you wearing?"
Starless had just laid herself down on another nearby pillow, but she, too, noticed what Stormy was wearing. "I have to agree with Starless. Are those supposed to be shoes or something?"
"Oh, these are Jeff's design. Tromping around on pavement, cement, tile, and such is bad for pony hooves. Wears 'em down too quickly. He put these together out of necessity - he actually walked here from Carleton University, near Ottawa. They've turned out pretty well. We can share patterns and instructions if you like."
"I think I'll stick with bare hooves for now," I said, "But some patterns probably wouldn't hurt, I suppose. Anyway, a thought occurred to me awhile back. Have you encountered any other survivors, present company excluded, or is it just me and my group?"
"Actually, we..." She sighed. "I guess this'll have to come out sooner or later. Yes, we have had contact with some other survivors. It's good you're sitting down... we have contact with a group of people who stayed human by way of ultra-high-tech." She looked around for a moment, evidently searching for something, then gave up. "They call themselves the Human Preservation Initiative, but their solution backfired. They can't survive on Earth without their protection any more. We think that what we've become is an evolution of our race, to allow us to exist in a world with magic."
"Those sad saps....," I said without realizing it.
"Starlight," Starless exclaimed, shock prevalent in her voice.
"Wait, did I actually say that out loud?"
"Yeah, kinda," Starless replied.
I sighed as I facehoofed. "I suppose it's for the best I did. I haven't met these 'people' yet. I feel kinda sorry for them, too, especially if what you're telling me is the truth. Magic is one of the best things to happen, in my opinion, at least. I'm not sure about you all, or them, but I've never felt better since I woke up. Always thought of this as the 'best birthday present ever', seeing as I woke up on my birthday after the most vivid dr-"
I stopped myself. I hadn't told anyone about The Dream, not even Starless. I hadn't even told Double Wub about it. Was now the right time? What would they think?
Stormy looked mildly surprised. "Dreams? You've had strange dreams too?"
I, with no small amount of hesitation, spoke. "A few weeks ago, I started talking to a pony in my dreams who called herself Princess Luna. She told me a lot of the things I know now, like what a Cutie Mark is. However, there is one dream she did not appear in, and that dream was the one I had the day I woke up as a pony, June fifteenth."
"Okay," Starless said, "Fenix told me he woke up on May twenty-third, and I woke up on June fifth."
"Good to know," I said before resuming my story. "Anyway, in this dream, I was a pony, but not a Pegasus. I was an Alicorn, like Luna. I was on the Starlight Express, but it looked different, a lot different. All the seats in the car I was in had been removed, and the car had been converted into something akin to private quarters....MY private quarters. I think it'd been converted to my personal train. There was a bed, and furniture, and even a grand piano, the two former of which looked sized to fit me perfectly. There was a picture on the wall with a plaque that said 'Blacklight' on it. It looked important, and I can't help feeling I built the place. I mean, I've never seen a city like the one in that painting, ever. I remember I was going to somewhere called Alexandria, and it was my first time going there. I recall being a ruler....an Empress of....the Starlight Empire. There was a mirror....that's how I knew I was an Alicorn in the dream. Starless, you were there, too. You called me by name, and that's how I knew to call myself Starlight Waltz. I tackled you....and it tore the dress I'd been wearing....then I woke up, and found the dream had at least partly come true."
"I have a confession," Starless said.
"You had the dream too," I stated, "Didn't you?"
"How did you know," Starless asked, shocked for real, this time.
"You always seemed to know me, even when we first met in Winnipeg. I'd called you my best friend in that dream, but I wasn't sure it was possible," I said, "I only began to suspect on the way here, when I told you about my former gender. I could tell you faked your surprise. That's when I knew."
"Starlight," Starless said, a sad look crossing her features, "I'm sorry."
"It's fine," I said, a smile crossing my muzzle, "I think we probably were both afraid that the other hadn't had the dream."
I then remembered Starless and I weren't alone. "Sorry Stormy. Got a bit carried away there. What kind of dreams have you had? I'd say more about my talks with Luna, but I want to hear what you have to say first."
All the ponies gathered had surprised or confused reactions for most of the tale. Jeff had glanced at Stormy during the talk of former genders. Karin was the first to speak.
"The 'waking up' at a different time - it's something more than that," she said. "Some of us seem to have underwent a time skip. I was driving when it happened, and one minute it was the late night-early morning of May 23, and the next thing I knew, it was midday, eight days later."
Stormy was holding up a hoof and staring at Starlight. "Um, Swifty?" she called out. "You may want to come listen to this."
As the unicorn was arriving back in the common area, Stormy said something which made Swift blink and pay rapt attention to her, and the guest she was speaking to.
"I'm not sure if you're aware of this," Stormy said to me. "But Princess Luna... she's real."
"Oh, I knew that already, silly filly," I said, wanting so badly to facehoof at the horrible pun I'd just made, "I've conversed with her enough to know she's real, and seen her Kingdom. What was it called again, Equestria? Yeah, that's it. I also saw, in one of the dreams I talked to her, Blacklight. It was....beautiful."
"Starlight," Starless said, giving me a nudge.
"Oh yes," I said, "You didn't answer my question, Stormy. What kind of dreams have you had with Luna?"
Stormy oh'ed and responded: "A couple of short ones. Mainly just being kind of Obi-Wanish, saying she knew I could accomplish anything I put my mind to, and all that. It's Swift that's spent more time, erm, talking to her." She looked over to the pink unicorn, who nodded.
"Oh," I said, turning to Swift, "And what, might I ask, did you and Luna converse about?"
Swift's eyes unfocused as she settled into her memories. "About magic, and humanity's future as ponies, and what was necessary to keep us on the right path, to survival as a people. And she protected me from nightmares and reassured me that we'd get through this if we stuck together." As Swift spoke, Storm moved to her side to be present as a form of comfort.
I smiled at those words. "I think Luna is both smart and wise, you know. She seems to know a lot, judging from the long talks I've had with her. She seems to believe that we'll get through these changes, and I can't argue with her about that. I'm actually enjoying them so far, to be honest. It's funny, though. Before the Event, I didn't really dream often. Now....it's hard to put into words. Whenever I sleep, I dream the most vivid and amazing dreams, even when Luna isn't there."
Almost as if on cue, my stomach began to growl.
"It seems we've all had some interesting dreams," Jeff observed. "Perhaps it has to do with the changes, either to us, or to the Earth itself."
A couple of the group smirked at the rumbling noise. "Let me see if we're ready," Swift offered, heading back into the kitchen. After a moment or two, she came out, levitating several large bowls of food, with Serge trailing behind balancing more on his back.
The selection laid out before me utterly blew my mind. Salads, pizza, and doughnuts. DOUGHNUTS! Of course, there were a few cans of beans and vegetables, but they couldn't hold a candle to everything else. I could feel my mouth watering at the selection laid out before me. I had learned awhile back from eating a can of pork and beans that meat's not on the menu for the foreseeable future, so I didn't have to ask why there was none.
I looked over to Starless, and she looks as amazed as I was. She was utterly speechless.
Starless and I both made a mad grab for the pizza, Starless seeming to have forgotten she's a Unicorn. I quickly ate four pieces, savouring every second of it, then moving on to some salad, and ending with several doughnuts. I may not have lasagna anymore, but at least I still have my doughnuts.
"This is so good," I said as I finished my second doughnut, "How on earth did you manage to get the stuff to make all this? Well, of course I know how you made the salad, but how did you make everything else? I'm....I'm speechless."
Swift smiled and said, "Remember the creepy people we mentioned? Well, they send us care packages once in a while. It's even better now that they've figured out we're ponies."
Serge added, "They said they have limited supplies, but you wouldn't know it from the stuff they've sent us. Pancake mix, canned tomatoes, flour and baking powder, all kinds of spices, and butter..."
"That reminds me," Jeff said, cutting in to the conversation. "I don't mean to talk business with guests present, but we might want to consider acquiring some cows and chickens, for milk and eggs. We can make a pen and coop on-site, but we might want to keep a field out in the country for the cows. Remind me about it later; I have some ideas."
Stormy nodded, turning back to Starlight. "The important part is using the resources you have, and knowing that those resources are hiding in plain sight. Serge in his past life was a railroad worker. Swift was a chemical engineer for an oil firm. Both of them are stunning cooks, but that's not even what their, er, 'pictures' refer to."
I almost facehoofed, but realized that, despite the fact my uncles had owned cattle, most of the cows had been moved from the farm. I'd have to source them locally, that is, once I decided on a place to settle.
"Pictures," I repeated, "Oh! You mean cutie marks!"
I received some rather odd looks from the gathered ponies, besides Starless, who knew what I was talking about, and who was also still eating.
"Luna told me the marking on each pony's flank is called a cutie mark," I explained, "Basically, it's supposed to tell you what you're good at."
Stormy deadpanned. "Cutie. Mark. Now I'm kinda glad I don't have one, so I don't have to call it that."
Swift snerked. "I think it's a perfect description."
"You would!"
Serge rumbled, "I am not interested in calling it that either."
Jeff piped up, "I'm just gonna sit here and look on passively, like Rich. Right, Rich?"
The other unicorn nodded as Karin giggled.
I leaned over towards Starless, careful to lower my voice so nopony else could hear me. "What a riot it'd be if they knew I liked the term."
"Because you used to be a guy," Starless whispered back, again, so nopony else could hear.
"Precisely," I replied, a smile crossing my lips, "Than again, the reactions already are funny."
"Yep."
I nodded, and pulled away from Starless, that little discussion over. "Well, that's what Luna told me it's called, whether any of you ponies like it or not. Be thankful it's not something like 'The Flank Spot' or something else that summons sea monsters."
"Pirates of the Caribbean," Starless said abruptly, leaping up and pointing a forehoof at me.
I bowed. "Yes indeed, Starless. Yes indeed."
Stormy grinned and glanced at Swift, but said nothing, just eating. Swift avoided speaking until she was done her meal. "So, do you still want a tour?"
I nodded. "Most certainly, Stormy. On a side note, do you think you can spare any supplies?"
Starless nodded. "I'm getting kinda tired of baked beans and....the problems it causes."
Stormy tried to hide her smirk at the comment. "Jeff's our supply clerk. He'd know what we can afford to give away. I'm sure there's enough to share." The earth stallion nodded emphatically from across the room.
"Well," she went on, "This's the common area, of course, where we all hang out most often. Over there are our bedrooms." She indicated a series of cubicle-like structures arranged in two sets of four squares, all with no roofs and half of one wall missing as a doorway. "In here we built a real kitchen, after getting rid of the two washbasins and coffee-table-prep-counter we were using before." She walked into that area, revealing an electric stove/oven, a refrigerator/freezer and a chest freezer beside it, a genuine kitchen sink with running water, and a prep island - all either built to pony heights or with risers in front of them to allow the ponies to reach. Under the sink and prep table are cupboards, and with no walls (except between it and the common room), the kitchen is open to the rest of the store - but beyond where the walls would be are several pallets of supplies of various kinds.
"This all looks rather homey," I said, "All the gizmos and whatchamacallits, right? Still, it'll all be useless when the fuel runs out. I hope you're thinking of a solution. Mine, as you probably already know, is steam."
"Still, looks like you have enough supplies to go around," Starless observed.
"Oh, we're aware. Remember what I was saying earlier about peoples' past lives? Jeff was in university for building engineering, in particular sustainable structures. Our roof is covered with solar and windmills. The generators are used for our high-draw items like our cars." She headed towards the back corner of the store, where once there had been an auto service center for oil changes, brake repair, and the other things a big-box store's auto department might do. Now, the four bays were occupied with a tandem-axle flatbed trailer, a large older blue-and-silver pickup truck, a white Prius, and a gunmetal grey luxury sedan - the last two of which were plugged in to extension cables snaking outside.
"This is them. Jeff's-" gesturing to the pickup truck and indicating the others in order of furthest to nearest "-Swifty's, and mine. The others didn't bring any vehicles with them, and we haven't bothered going to look for any more. Partly due to the fact they're harder to maintain, like you said, and partly because we actually don't use them often enough to warrant it - and when we do, we can all fit in what we have here. In fact, if we ignore the seatbelt rule, we can all fit in the pickup or the Tesla with room to spare."
"A Prius," I said, taking a look at the world-hated vehicle, "You don't happen to have a alcoholic, talking white dog named Brian around here, do you?"
"Isn't his Prius silver," Starless pointed out.
"I can't remember," I said, "Last time I watched Family Guy was before the Event. Dad's going to be pissed they never finished Fury Road."
"That new Mad Max movie?"
"My dad was a fan," I said, "Anyway, you sure do have some nice stuff here, Stormy. A big truck, a Prius and....whatever your car is...."
"It's a Tesla, a fully-electric luxury sports car. Always wanted one before Ponification, and now that gasoline is on the way out, it seemed like a good idea. And we lucked into finding it. As for the dog, I don't know if Buddy has ever snuck a drink. I know none of us have... we're not too sure what a pony on a bender would look like."
As the group went back into the store itself from the auto bays, Swift's voice carried across the building. "Don't forget to show them your brooding spot!"
"S-shut up!" Stormy hollered back, wings spreading wide and face turning red.
"Brooding spot," Starless said, giggling a bit.
"Indeed," I said, failing to supress a few giggles, "Swift seems like a nice girl."
Stormy's wings folded up and her ears drooped. "I know. She's the first pony I came across when all this started - the first friend I had since Ponification. I can't imagine I'd've gotten this far without her support."
She crossed the store yet again, this time to the northwest corner, where a mezzanine had been constructed, butting up against the windows in the corner of the store. A set of stairs led up to the green-carpeted area where a nigh-innumerable amount of radio gear was arranged, forming short walls on the two edges of the roughly 12-foot-by-12-foot platform. Several blankets and pillows were strewn about the floor along with one laptop computer.
"This is the radio room," Stormy said, climbing the stairs and stepping aside once on the platform, to let you in. "It's where I received your message and where I come to think. Not brood." All the radios are switched on, silently scanning various frequencies, blinking and flashing various messages as they do so. The one with the mic currently hooked to it shows that it's transmitting; the light briefly goes out, then about thirty seconds later, winks on again.
I took a moment to walk around, looking at the various radios and instruments. "To be honest, the only stuff I know about radios like this are the things that Double told me. Without him, I wouldn't be here now. I probably wouldn't have met Starless, either."
"Seems like it was meant to happen," Starless said, "All things considered."
"Indeed," I said, a smile crossing my face, "Maybe, once I officially found Blacklight, I might ask you to stop by, Stormy. Sound good?"
"You bet! Though it might be a while before we're ready for long trips. So far the furthest out we've gone since Ponification was to pick up Jeff and the bunch."
"Then it's a date," I said, instantly regretting it as Starless burst out laughing.
I hung my head as Starless fell on her side laughing. "A date! A DATE! Oh god.....ohhhhhh god.....oh....."
Stormy reddened and looked away. "We both seem to have our droll comic relief tagalongs, huh?"
"Hey, at least I'm not afraid to get my hooves dirty like Fenix is," Starless said, making a pouty face as she got back up.
"It's true," I said, "And I thought I used to hate getting dirty. Not anymore. So, besides your HPI 'buddies' and us, have you heard from anypony else?"
"Nope, not so far. I'm not sure how to feel about that. I was a ham operator in my past life, so I feel like my radios should be working properly. It's got me doubting that there isn't something broken, though. The alternative is either that nobody else thought to turn on a radio, which is hard for me to believe, or there really isn't anypony else out there, which is even harder for me to accept."
"I was a kid who liked writing, drawing, and just looking at the stars in my past life," I said, "And with a real knack for picking new things up both quickly, and easily. Starless?"
"I was a budding fashion designer," Starless said, "I always liked working motifs that empathized the night into what I designed. Starlight, I could make you something....probably."
"I'll think about it," I said, a smile crossing my face, "Maybe you could make one for Stormy, too!"
Stormy reddened again at that. "Thanks, but I'm content 'going native' these days."
"Same here," I said, a short chuckle escaping me, "But that'll be for another time. Anyway, do tell me more about your radios. All I know is what Double told me, which isn't much more than enough to get one to work."
"Well, I have so many because I want to listen to as many bands as possible. See, there's a whole bunch of different bands or ranges on a radio, like AM and FM on your car stereo - there's also aircraft band, and, well, what the railroads use-" She winced. "Used. Television used to use radio frequencies these radios could pick up, before they all went digital in 2009 or whenever. Anyway, commercial radios don't usually cover all bands or even more than one band, so I have to have a dozen or so to pick everything up."
She gestured to the one that was blinking its transmit light on and off with regularity. "This is the main radio that keeps broadcasting our message. It's the one I heard you on, and the one I reached you on. To be honest, picking up that kind of signal that far away? I'm astonished it worked. I've heard of people picking up stuff over really long distances at certain times of the season - it's called 'skip' - but answering it back? That's almost unheard of. I haven't had that kind of contact before or since."
"What do you mean," I asked quizzically, "Surely you can still pick up the signal, right?"
Stormy frowned a little and shook her head. "Not a peep since a day or two after I talked to you."
"It's only been two days," Starless said, looking at me.
"The fire...."
I felt distant. In that moment, time seemed to have slowed to a crawl. Double had gone back to the tower to make sure it kept broadcasting, despite the fact that forest fires were bearing down upon the tower. If it had stopped broadcasting, that meant the tower wasn't there anymore. And if it wasn't there anymore....
I could envision it. One of the mooring cables snapping from the immense heat of the blaze, making the tower lean, snapping more and more cables until it came crashing down, crushing Double beneath.
I felt a tear fall from my face. "Double...."
"Maybe he made it," Starless said, trying to cheer me up, "Maybe he made it away before the fire got him."
"It was transmitting OK, then it cut to static after a repetition, then it cut out completely. I checked to see if the signal drifted frequency a little - that's not unusual, especially on radios that aren't professionally tuned regularly." She made some hopeful suggestions. "It could have been power failure, or the signal just doesn't reach here any more due to atmospheric changes. It doesn't have to mean bad news."
"No," I said, "Those fires were going to reach Baldy Mountain either way. Nothing was going to change that. Double....Double's gone...."
"Starlight," Starless said, placing a hoof on my foreleg, "I'm so, so sorry."
"He was the first pony I met," I said solemnly, "If not for him, I wouldn't have made it this far. I wouldn't have met any of you. But still....maybe he did make it. He did survive on his own, even after I met him."
"That's the spirit," Starless said.
At that moment, a unicorn came bursting into the mall, galloping as fast as he dared, making his way over to me, Starless and Stormy.
"STARLIGHT," Wulfric said, trying to catch his breath, "There a....a pony....at the train....she's asking for you."
"Asking for me," I repeated, "Why?"
Wulfric seemed to have caught enough breath to speak coherently. "She didn't say beyond that somepony called Luna had sent her."
I turned to Stormy, "I'm sorry, but this might be important. I thank you for the tour, Stormy. You seem to be pretty well-off here, and I'm grateful for whatever supplies you manage to spare."
Stormy nodded. "I'll round some stuff up and bring it to you."
"Starlight," Starless said, causing me to turn to her, "Don't you think Stormy and her friends deserve a chance to meet a new pony? One sent BY Luna?"
I took a moment to think on that, as Starless made a very fair point. "Stormy?"
The others came over upon hearing the commotion and seeing the unfamiliar pony in their midst.
"There's more of you?" Jeff inquired.
"Luna sent an emissary here??" Swift said excitedly.
Stormy took charge. "Rich, take somepony and make up a care package for Starlight and the others and bring it across the walkway to the train station. We'll meet you over there."
Stormy turned back to me, flanked by Swift and Jeff. "Let's go," she said.
I nodded, breaking into a hard gallop, taking flight the moment I left the mall. Starless, Wulfric and Teacup kept pace on the ground below, all of us making for the Starlight Express.
Stormy took to the skies to follow, with the pink unicorn Swift giving chase below. The others went to put together some supplies for Starlight's crew for the road.
I made it back to the train in less than a minute, Starless and Wulfric catching up a minute or so later.
"Man, you fly fast," Wulfric said as he was again catching his breath. Starless seemed less winded, though.
"She's just inside," Wulfric said, "With Fenix."
I nodded. "Thank you, Wulfric." I proceeded to enter the coach Wulfric indicated, followed closely by him and Starless.
In the coach stood a pony similar to a Pegasus like myself or Stormy, but with bat wings, and cat-like eyes. The 'bat pony' was wearing an odd set of armor with a crescent moon crest on it, similar to my own cutie mark. She had a black coat, and a white mane. I quickly deduced this was one of Luna's Night Guards. The guard's initial reaction was painted all over her face. A mix of fear and confusion, but those quickly passed. "Starlight Waltz, I presume?"
I nodded. "Yes."
"Luna wasn't kidding," the guard said, "I'm Captain Morning Star of the Night Guard. Princess Luna sent me with explicit instructions to find and bring you to Equstria to meet her."
"Meet her," I said, trying to supress the disbelief in my voice, "Luna wants to meet me in person?"
"Yes," Morning Star said with a nod.
Stormy stood outside the car, looking over the entire train with interest and trying to keep Swift back from barging in on the private meeting. Bringing up the rear a few moments later were the other four local ponies, the unicorn stallion levitating a medium-sized cardboard box in his blue magic.
"Fenix, are the ponies from Ponytown outside," I asked.
Fenix shuffled over to one of the windows a looked out. "I don't know, but there are six ponies out there."
"Starless, invite them in."
"Invite who in," Morning Star asked.
"There's a settlement nearby called Ponytown," I explained as Starless went to invite Stormy and her friends in, "I don't want to cut them out of this little meeting."
"It's not really-"
"Regardless," I said, "I want you to meet them."
The Ponytown crew filed in as they were permitted to do so. Swift led the way, eyes wide and taking in the entire setting as well as the as-yet-unmet ponies, wondering which was the emissary from her idol.
Stormy was behind her, but edged aside to allow Rich to bring the box of supplies in. He set it down on a seat at her gesture, and the other three followed in behind him.
"Morning Star, this is Stormy, Swift Quill, Jeff, Serge, Rich, and Karin," I said, gesturing to each of the ponies as I said their names, "My group consists of myself, Starless Night, Wulfric, and Fenix." I gestured to the ponies of my little group.
"It's nice to see so many of you," Morning Star said, unease prevalent in her voice, "But that doesn't change the fact that Luna sent me for you, Starlight."
I nodded. "I understand. Are there any other Equestrians who can come here to meet with Stormy?"
Morning Star shook her head, an expression of regret on her face. "I don't think so. The window that allows ponies from Equestria to Earth is soon to close, and most of the ponies from Equestria have their candidates, have returned, or have dropped out of contact. I'm only here because Luna wanted to meet you, face to face."
I nodded solemnly, "Are you sure?"
Morning Star nodded. "I'm sure, though there is still a chance, though it's impossibly slim. Right now, though, time is of the essence. We need to go as soon as you're able."
"Okay," I said, "There are one or two things I need to do first."
"Okay."
I turned to Starless and Stormy. "Would you two come with me?"
Stormy blinks. "Um, okay." She steps closer to follow.
I lead Starless and Stormy into the adjacent coach, which is empty, so as to give us some privacy.
"Thank you both for coming," I said as I pull a map off of one of the nearby seats, and unroll it, revealing a detailed map of Manitoba.
"I've decided that establishing a colony is a populated area may not be the best solution," I said, "So far, ponies have only reappeared where they were beforehoof, so I personally wouldn't want to set up shop in somepony's house, knowing they're coming back eventually. Instead, I think making a new settlement would be more appropriate."
"Blacklight," Starless said thoughtfully."
"Indeed," I stated, pointing a hoof to a location directly in between the borders of Ontario and Saskatchewan, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, save for the rail line, "This location would give access to the rail line. On top of that, it located almost directly between Brandon and Winnipeg, so we can easily gather supplies while we work on getting agriculture started up."
"Wouldn't we need an Earth Pony for that sort of thing," Starless asked.
"Luna told me that Earth Pony magic allows for them to grow things faster and more efficiently," I stated, "So we can still do some gardening without one, but the sooner we meet an Earth Pony, the better off we'll be. Stormy, I want you to try to remember where I'm setting up shop. I'll try to get another telecom tower set up, or hijack another one, so we can keep in contact."
Stormy nodded as she studied the map. "Count on it. And stay in touch, yourself."
"I'll do my best," I said with a smile before turning to Starless.
"While I'm gone to Equestria, I want you to go on ahead to Blacklight and start getting everything ready," I said, "Try and find some materials for building, too."
"Anything you prefer?"
I took a moment to think on that, as it was a rather important question. "Granite or Moonstone, something that has the likeness of the night sky."
Starless nodded, "Good thing there's lots of granite around here, right?"
"I guess so."
It was at that moment that Morning Star decided to enter the coach. "Starlight, are you ready?"
I sighed and looked to both Starless and Stormy, standing side by side. I don't know what came over me, but I up and wrapped my forelegs around he two of them in a tight hug, knowing it'd likely be a long time before I saw Stormy again, and that I'd miss Starless while I was away.
Stormy urf'ed and tried to hug back the much larger pony. "Hey, can I ask a quick favor?" she wheezed out.
"Of course," I said after a moment, letting go of Starless and Stormy.
"Swifty's a complete fangirl of Luna's. She credits everything she's able to do now to the Princess' contact with her in her dreams. It'd mean a lot if you passed on her thanks. Mine too."
A smile crossed my face as I nodded. "I'll be sure to let her know, Stormy. Besides, the feeling is actually mutual. If not for Luna, I wouldn't know half the things I do know."
Stormy held out a hoof. "Best of luck, Starlight, and safe travels."
"Thank you, Stormy," I said, "Best of luck to you, as well."
With that, I followed Morning Star out of the coach. She led me a short way away from the train to another Guard, this one a Unicorn, who seemed to have been waiting patiently for us.
"Private, take us home."
"Yes, ma'am," came the reply, followed by a bright flash that blinded me for a moment. After my sight returned, I found we were in a field, and the first thing I noticed was the sky.
It was different, but I'd seen it before.
"Starlight Waltz," Morning Star said, "Welcome to Equestria."
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Yes finally the cross over chapter came!
Can't wait to see more soon!
Fury Road actually released to US theaters on May 15, 8 days prior to The Event, and had its world premiere at TCL Chinese Theater a week before. In fact, Qesun and Wolf made a point of commandeering an IMAX to watch it before they left Huntsville in "Hoofing It" chapter 2.
So, of all the things for Starlight's dad to be pissed about with the Event when he finally returns, that need not be one.
6401645
Actually, the likelihood of IMAX theatres still operating in as few as 20 years is slim to none.
6402503 My point is that the film was completed, which Starlight thought was not the case. As long as somepony is able to preserve a copy, her dad might still have a chance to view it.
6402912
Hmm....perhaps, though that not one of Starlight's priorities.
6403353 Well, no.
Edit: It occurs to me that HPI probably has archives of films, particularly ones that are considered culturally significant, and the Mad Max series are considered by many to be the most significant films to come out of Australia.
Then again, expecting an apocalypse, they may have intentionally given the entire genre a pass.
It occurs to me there's been a great tragedy comitted here. Somehow, I didn't leave a comment on this chapter when it came out. Considering how eager I am for more, it felt like the least I could do was stop by and check to see how things were coming on. and write down what I thought.
Crossover with The Coming Storm, one my favorites (and the only complete novel-length) side story. I'm glad the canadian stories are interacting!
Pretty interesting that so many of these characters have pony names. How did she get it again? Did she have an Equestrian vision or something where she leraned about how names worked there?
I always wondered about this question. Stormy acted a little confused in the very beginning of her story (understandably), but I don't really get how she would guess that based on Stormy's behavior in this section.
Oh, I got to one of the parts that I had a suggestion for. Namely, Starless. Her character in this section in paticular seems... well, the best way I can describe her actions is "sock-puppet." What I mean by that is that her dialogue doesn't feel natural. It feels like she's saying exactly what Starlight nees her to say in order to say what she wants to say next. Like she's a conversation "tool", and not a person. Take a look at this:
Or even:
Her as a pony is interesting, but her dialogue throws her into uncanny valley. Starlight could say all her lines and I would't even notice, because they sound like things the same character is saying.
Don't get me wrong, it's not bad to have characters with chemistry. But their chemistry doesn't feel natural. It feels like Starlight is holding up a puppet and getting her to say things so she can have dialogue that fits in perfectly. It just feels very "uncanny valley" to me.
I really hope we get to see this side of her developed. I wonder what she'd do if she actually ran into members of the HPI. It would probably be pretty interesting.
Ever hang out with two people who happened to be dating? It's a super awkward feeling. I can't help but feel you captured that awkwardness perfectly with this situation. Having this conversation in front of Stormy's group who know nothing about it... I'd be way too nervous. If I'd had a dream like that, I'd want to keep it private. Maybe Starless would know baout it, but not a bunch of strangers. It's too special.
Oh, they get to learn what cutie marks are here. That's good. Stormy's group didn't know that yet.
More of the uncanny dialogue with starless and starry. Their dialogue blurs together.
Just look at this. Starry says: "At least Starless isn't afraid to get her hooves dirty." Then later in the story Starless says: Hey, at least I'm not afraid to get my hooves dirty like Fenix is,"
Another of those really interesting aspects I hope we get to see explored later. Why does luna have such an interest in Starry compared to the whole world? If she can see people that specficially... I hope it comes out in their meeting. Because I just don't know. "Liking the night" might've been rare in Equestria, but it's super common on earth. I wonder what else it could be.
I read this and couldn't help but think "Starless must not know anything about stoneworking." To put it simply, stone is hard to quarry, harder to transport, and even harder to set into place correctly. Blacklight's population is like... five or six right now? There's no chance of a population that size being able to build stone structures, even if all five of them were skilled human engineers. The skill and time required...
Well, what I thought when I saw it was "if these ponies really try this, they're going to starve when winter comes". I'm sure they could eat grass in summer, but when the snow sets in... They'll be in really bad shape. Unfortunately for them, they won't be finding much moonstone either, since there aren't deposits of it in Canada. Though even if there were, I can't help but think ponies struggling for survival would have better things to do than quarry stone and gemstones.
I look forward to seeing what they do about these problems, and how the meeting with Luna goes. Overall, this is one of my favorite chapters so far. I just loved the crossover section. Keep up the good work!
"Let's go see if we can make contact with our friends here in Pickering,"
I looked back at Stormy's blank flank.
At that moment, it occurred to me Teacup hadn't seen a Dalmatian before today.
"And this, of course, is Teacup.”
Swift avoided speaking until she was done with her meal.
"I've decided that establishing a colony in a populated area may not be the best solution,"
I don't know what came over me, but I up and wrapped my forelegs around the two of them in a tight hug,
"I'm curious," I began, "Before the.....well, before I woke up; I was nothing like I am now.
"Indeed," I said, failing to suppress a few giggles, "Swift seems like a nice girl."
"Meet her," I said, trying to suppress the disbelief in my voice, "Luna wants to meet me in person?"
Starlight would make a great addition to any future “Pillars of North America” team. Composed of both returnees the hand-born and born as ponies or the hoof-born, this team is based upon the "Pillars of Old Equestria", featured in the season seven finale Shadow Play. It would be up to you to determine what role she has on this team, with Alex taking the role of Stygian. What do you consider to be Starlight’s greatest strength?
Will Starlight Waltz construct a railroad maintenance facility, along with supporting structures such as offices, housing for workers, a museum, and a rail university to name a few of the proposals intended for the future Fresno railroad maintenance facility that will be built by the California High Speed Rail Authority?
Fresno High-Speed Rail Heavy Maintenance Facility