The Last of My Kind

by Immortan Joe

Chapter 25: Arrival

I sat back in my seat, thumbs fumbling over the phone as my eyes glared at the screen before me. I suddenly twirled around, pistol in hand, as I blasted the head off yet another zombie before whirling back and swiping the feet out from beneath another one with a sweep of my shotgun. I gritted my teeth and evacuated into the nearest shelter, swiftly checking my ammunition as the wailing, walking hordes of dead closed in on me. I cursed softly and pushed a large dresser in front of the door of the house I hid in, then began making my way to the back entrance.

A screaming child forced a startled cry out from my throat as it forced itself into me and into a wall. I cried out loudly as I mashed the button prompt on screen before being interrupted by a notification alerting me my phone was at fifty percent. I screamed loudly and mashed the close button on the notification just as the quick time event on screen vanished and my throat was torn out by the fucking kid in gory fashion!

“Gaaahah, nyooo!” I whine and drop my newly claimed phone on my lap.

I closed my eyes and rested my head back against the train seat and sighed softly as the two ponies across from me and the small child looked at me. Across from that, after popping an eye open, I saw even the ponies in the seats above and across were looking back at me. Partly because I was an alien, and secondly, I had just screamed bloody murder.

“You okay?” Quill, the pegasus, asked me as I rubbed my neck and shifted in my seat. I stuck the phone in my pocket to save battery life and nodded.

“Oh yeah...” I blushed. “I get a little too into my games,” I said as I glanced at Sonic who was giving me a strange look, and I chuckled softly. “Yes I was playing a video game.”

“Vidya game?” Sonic blinked and I snickered.

“Video,” I corrected him and took a deep breath. “I would show you more, but the one I was playing drained the life down to fifty percent, so I’m saving it for now.” I took a breath just as a car attendant appeared at the front of of our coach.

“Twenty minutes until Appleloosa station!” the mare called out. I couldn’t help but giggle at the few sighs of relief that made it to my ears. Even Little Chloe breathed happily upon hearing this and leaned against me, and I smiled softly and wrapped an arm around the girl and hummed softly.

The train began to coast and screech lightly as the brakes kicked in. I looked out at the mid afternoon sun drifting over the desert landscape and smiled just a little wider. Of all the days since my return to this world, today was the one I guess I could say I felt the most content. The thought that I was no longer alone, that, even though she was a clone, I had a young and clingy girl and a...older friend back home.

Then again, my heart dropped, the thought that we may be the literal last generation of the human race struck me hard. I breathed deeply and blinked when I felt Little Chloe nudge my side, I glanced back and saw her looking at me.

“What’s wrong?” she asked me, and I couldn’t help but smile once again and pat her head.

“Nothing, Just thinking about what’s to come.” I sighed and looked to see the pony couple, Sonic and Quill, snuggling soundly against each other, one’s head on top the other. “So...you know anything about where we’re going?” I asked Chloe.

The little girl smiled and shrugged as she then straightened herself out with a small grunt. She shook her head. “Not too much, I know its a little trading town from what the Princesses made me read in their books. It was founded not too long ago.” The train then jolted as it officially began to slow and outside the window I could see the station now fully coming into view before us.

“Gather yer belongin’s, we’re now disembarkin’!” A voice boomed from up ahead, jolting the unicorn and pegasus in front of me awake. The two blushed lightly through the fur and stood. Sonic using his magic to start gathering up their stuff while Little Chloe and I grabbed each of our bags and stood. We then followed the ponies off the train and onto a not so busy platform outside, the blistering heat and stale air hitting me like a locomotive. I stopped for a second and took a few breaths as I tried to get myself used to the new change of temperature.

“Y’all not so used to the heat, ain’t ya?” Sonic laughed and lightly kicked my back with a hoof. I blushed softly and glanced over to see Little Chloe beside me, also already starting to sweat.

“It never got this bad in New York,” I said with a small smile but frowned when I saw Sonic cock his head at the mentioning of the Big Apple.

“New York, eh?” The stallion straightened out and bumped his wife with his flank, prompting her to start moving ahead as we began to exit the station. “Can’t say I’m too familiar with that place.”

“Uh yeah,” I said softly as we walked, “It’s pretty far.” I shifted my luggage on my back and nearly jolted when I felt a small hand take hold of my left. I looked down and saw a rather nervous looking Chloe following beside me. That’s right, I thought to myself, she’s never been this far from home before.

“Explains yer accent then,” Sonic said, rather joyously as we pushed out the station’s front doors open, stepping out onto a dirt and gravel road. The sun blinded me for a second before adjusting and revealing to me a town right out of a Hollywood western set piece. Wooden and brick shops lined the street along with a literal saloon on the corner facing the station, and across from that looked to be an old styled apartment. Or maybe it was an inn? The street was lined with ponies with literal ten gallon hats and colored scarfs, many walking from building to building, either for work or simple errands. Fillies and Colts ran amok playing and laughing, others fighting playfully, while foals cried loudly from the immense heat, their annoyed parents pushing them hurriedly to a nearby ice cream cart.

I watched the scenery before me unfold, only to shake my head and bring myself to reality when I noticed Sonic and Quilly hastily moving towards the bustling street. “H-Hey! What do you mean ‘accent’?” I asked as Sonic laughed loudly and we ventured deep into the western expanse.

We walked for a good ten minutes or so in the blistering heat, my chest and armpits itching like crazy as I sweated all over. Little Chloe was also panting like a dog as the sun was actually giving me a headache, yet our pony companions, however, seemed unbothered. “How much more we gotta walk?” I asked Sonic softly, not wanting to seem like I was trying to rush things when I really was.

The blue unicorn smiled back at me and motioned with his head. “Not too far, actually!” he chirped before pointing with his horn towards a whitewashed house which reflected the sun’s blinding rays like a mirror. I winced and brought a hand over my eyes and looked ahead at the single story ranch home. On the front porch I saw three ponies talking and drinking...water.

My dry mouth became drier. I watched as a much older unicorn stallion, a walking mummy really, levitated a glass to his lips. Below the old stallion, who sat in a rocking chair, was a middle-aged unicorn couple chatting away with the old fella.

Suddenly, Sonic skipped ahead and gestured with a hoof. “And this here is my good ol’ grandpappy, and my Mom and Dad!” The unicorn turned towards us and smiled widely as his parents gasped and stood up rapidly at the sight of both Chloe and I. The old pony choked on his glass and nearly fell out of his chair, only to be caught by Quilly who bolted ahead and caught him.

“Hi,” both Chloe and I said at the same time. The two of us sharing a glance and I coughed softly to clear my throat. “Nice to meet all of you,” I said softly to the shocked ponies. “I’m Chloe, and...so is she.” I nudged the little girl who then waved a small hand at the ponies out of shyness.

“By, Celestia’s beard...” The old pony coughed and gagged, water flying out of his mouth, making me flinch and turn a tad green as his crusty eyes looked upon me. “It’s you.” Silence fell over all of us, I blinked confusedly, Little Chloe also looking at me with a perplexed expression.

Sonic cocked his head and looked at his parents. “Uh...wha?” The pegasus, Quill, also glanced at me and I nervously shrugged.

“I-It’s me?” I asked awkwardly.

“Yeah!” The old pony nodded. “The milk pony!” He spat once more and I nearly recoiled as his spit nearly hit me in the face. “I’ve been waitin’ all dang day fer ya’ to come waltzin’ up wit’ mah mulk!”

My eyebrow cocked up several inches as I eyed the clearly delusional horse as Sonic, by the look of it, laughed nervously. The large, dark blue unicorn stood and held a hoof out towards the old man. “Alright, Dad, we’re...” The soft tone pony glanced at me with a concerned look. “Taking you out for your lunch.”

“What’cha talkin’ about! We just got back from the saloon!” the old pony barked as he was carefully lifted off the chair and taken inside.

“That was yesterday, Metallic,” Sonic’s mother said as she took the pony inside. “We haven’t even gone out today.”

“Fooey!” the old man spat.

Quill straightened herself out and sighed. “He probably hasn’t gone through the morning spell or his medicine yet,” she said as Sonic stepped towards me with a hoof on his neck.

“Yeah uh...sorry you had to see that.” The stallion looked down at the ground and took a deep breath. “He’s been having some...memory issues the past month or so.”

I looked to Sonic and asked, “So is that him? The one who told you about...the Remnants?” Sonic shifted on his hooves before nodding his head.

“Yeah. At least, he was.” He took a breath just as Quill wrapped a wing around him and held him close. “We don’t know what happened to him.”

“Dementia?” I asked softly and the ponies looked at me.

Sonic cocked his head like a dog. “Demon-wha?” He asked.

I shook my head. “It’s a mental disability, my kind suffered it a lot when we hit a certain age. It’s memory loss.” I rubbed my neck. “I’m sorry to hear about it.”

“Maybe it’s just temporary,” Quill said with hope in her voice, she looked to me and Little Chlo. “Or perhaps something we can fix.” I could do nothing but shrug.

“Maybe...” Sonic said softly. “For now, let’s just...get you guys nice and comfortable.” The stallion looked up at us sadly and smiled.

Shamefully, I bit my lower lip, my mind mentally kicking itself as I knew for a fact...I was only upset that the man might not remember the last of the Remnants. My thoughts were brought to Little Chloe when she poked me. “Yeah,” the little girl said to the ponies, “I think we’d like that.” She gave them a gentle smile.

Sonic nodded and turned towards the house and gestured with a swing of his head. “Let’s go in then, please, remove those shoes if you can.” With a gentle push from the girl behind me and small grunt, I shamefully followed my hosts inside.

Comments

[Lord Legion]

“Maybe it’s just temporary,” Quill said with hope in her voice,

Yeah dont we wish...

[Mother3Forever]

8798254
They might be able to fix it, but sadly it's not temporary.

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Damn....

[Scarheart]

He just wants milk from Chloe. Amirite?

[Opponent]

Well, in the end it turns to the usual track. Ponies killed all humans but, despite the odds they will make the resurgence with a help of very flawed and not at all mary sue protagonist, and drown Equestria in fire and blood, because war, war never changes.

Eh. Son, I am disispoint. At the start I thought this was actually going somewhere. I guess you burned out way before you reached the destination.

[Immortan Joe]

8800128
The hay you talking about?

[King Sombrony]

8800920
Don't worry, they can't even spell disappoint

[pahnazd]

The naiveté of the ponies regarding dementia is saddening. It's nice to see that they still hold hope, but sad that it's not really something that can be cured... at least when it comes to our own knowledge.

So, seems like getting more information just became far more difficult for Chloe. This ought to be interesting.

[Sulpher]

8800091
Well, I mean, there is a sex tag....
Oh god no.

[112mag211]

Damn it, i like this story so much, but the writing (somehow) makes it all but impossible for me to read and i hate it

[Justy]

You know, this could have been less of a trainwreck if you managed to sidestep at least SOME of the stereotypes that make most HiE stories so horrible. So far just about the only annoying thing you haven't managed to shoehorn in is Pinkie making tired fourth wall allusions, and that might be only because she's been given next to no exposure to begin with.

[Firestorm]

A new post while I was inactive?!

_{Multiple reactions go through my brain}

[The Lunar Toaster]

Joe has been gone about as long as this last chapter. I wonder what happened to him.

[Immortan Joe]

9321314
Life happened I'm afraid. But do not fret, I'm alive and well.

9343375
*proceeds to face plant desk* That is truly something that did not come to my mind.

[Amaponynoob]

10177463
I'm aware of at least the basics of cryostasis that you mention. But even then that was never the point of my comment .
Now stop trying to ruin my jokes .