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June 10th, 2015

June 10th, 2015 @ 9:45 AM – still at Holiday Inn, Syracuse-Liverpool-Exit 37

Dear Journal,

Sarah is still sleeping in her huge, Queen sized bed of the wheelchair room down the hall. I could not sleep this morning. I kept having strange dreams.

I am on a pristine beach, somewhere on Earth, in my merpony form. I can feel the ocean breeze coming in off the water and it blows my mane back, out of my face. My eyes glitter as the sun AND moon reflect off the water’s surface.

I look over and realize I am not alone. I see another pony approach me. I know it’s a she but she is not like I've ever seen! She’s really tall, for one. She is a dark navy blue, almost black; her mane and tail seem to flow on their own; she sports both horn AND wings but not at all like those bug ponies back in Farmville and she has a crescent moon for a flank mark.

She approaches me; I try to transform but cannot for some reason. She merely waves her hoof and she kneels down to my level. “My name is Princess Luna,” she says after a moment. “T’was my world who saved thee.”

I wanted to speak; demand answers but my mouth would not work properly. Instead, I cocked my head in a questioning gaze that I had seen Raea do on occasion. That seemed to work as she chuckled and lit up her horn. The magic touched my mouth and I could speak again, but I still said nothing.

“I hath come by because I wanted to tell thee how proud we are of thee, little pony.” She tapped her hoof to the flank mark, which glowed slightly under her touch. “Thou art doing exactly what thy cutie mark says thee should be doing. But just don’t forget thy other skills. Urban planning might become useful again someday,” she chuckled.

I looked up to her confused after looking at the mark. “Cutie mark?” I asked. She nodded very seriously. “That is what they are called. They represent a pony’s special talent. Thou hast clearly already learned what thy mark means; only a matter of time before thy companion learns her’s.”

Princess Luna stood up, dusted the sand off of her legs and started to fly away. “But wait!” I cried. “I have more questions!”

“Thou shalt have all of thy answers in due time,” came the reply before a bank of fog rolled in off the water and the dream ended.

Sarah will probably read this at some point... not sure what she’ll say about it. But at least now we have a proper name for the flank marks, instead of ‘butt tattoo’. “Cutie mark”.... hmm... it’ll take some time to get used to. -Kathryn

P.S. I don't mind Sarah calling me 'Kathy' in these journals but when she refers to me like that out loud, she makes it sound like a pet name... or maybe that's just me.

Suddenly, a scream burst forth from the next room, jarring Kathryn out of her musings. Raea bolted from the bed and ran for Sarah’s room, Kathryn hot on her heels.

They opened the door to find Sarah sweating bullets, eyes shrunk to pinpricks and panting heavily.

Took Kathryn nearly an hour to calm the pony down long enough to get her into the shower & cool her off. After a quick breakfast of apples and strawberries, Kathryn suggested that they get back on the road and that Sarah write down her experience in the journal. “We might as well share the journal, after all. If we want to document what is happening, the more writing in it, the more detailed it will become. And besides.... I've always found that writing down a bad dream made it less scary,” she had said as she led Sarah to the truck outside.

Sarah had only nodded, numbly as she was lifted into the truck. Raea sensed Sarah’s distress and immediately curled up with her while Kathryn disconnected the genny and packed up all of the cords.

June 10th, 2015 @ 11:15 AM – Interstate 90, passing through Syracuse ~written by Sarah

Dear Journal,

Yeah, I'm back... and yeah, I read the previous entry. (I think 'Kathy' is just a sweet nickname so I'm going to keep using it.) It sure was the better dream of the two of us last night. Sure, I saw this Princess Luna too but not in a good dream like Kathy’s; Luna had to save me from a nightmare! It was awful. :(

I am in the ocean, fairly deep underwater, surrounded by darkness. I lit up my horn, which while underwater, gave off a stronger glow that it would have been on land. Despite being brighter, it was still not bright enough to light everything.

Strange shapes began to merge out of the murk.... large dark shapes with big, hungry eyes and huge serrated teeth!

They were sharks.

I had never seen a real shark but enough pictures to know.

These were sharks from all over the world... tiger sharks, lemon sharks, hammer-head sharks, great white sharks and even some very hungry looking orca whales!

They kept trying to bite me... some grazed by me but a few bit down on my flukes and dragged me along for a distance, causing blood to flow from the bite marks. At some point, my mane braid had been bitten completely off!

That’s when I realized how hungry these sharks had become.

I had to get away.

I had to get on land.

I had to beach myself.

That thought alone made a shiver go down my spine.

I tried to swim away but the blood trail allowed them to follow me no matter where I went. I tried to swim straight up for the surface but no matter how hard or how fast I went up, I could not make any progress in any direction.

I was getting exhausted, from the exertion and from the blood-loss.

Just as I was just about to give up, a bright white light emerged in front of me and Princess Luna, just as Kathy described, appeared in a menacing stance. Thankfully, she was facing the sharks & monsters, chasing them away with the bright light of her magic. It also enveloped me, healing all of the cuts & restoring my mane. She then created a sphere of shielding magic; I could still see the sharks circling but they could not reach us anymore.

“What fears thee, little pony?” she asked me. I answered immediately.

“The ocean itself,” I said in a small voice. She looked at me shrewdly.

“Have thee not learned what thy cutie mark means yet?” she asked, pointing a hoof at the snail shell.

I shook my head slowly in the water. “I only woke up with it like that,” I said.

She looked at me shrewdly again, before nodding and lighting her horn to wake me.

Hang on, I’ll be right back. Kathy found a highway truck stop and wants to get diesel while we can and she wants me & Raea to check the restaurant and gift shop.

------------- --------------- --------------

Ok, I'm back. I didn’t find much useful in the gift shop, besides a few water bottles, unopened packages of travel mix and a USA flag to fly along side of the Canadian one Kathy had on the back of the RV.

So yeah, that dream was awful! Mainly because it did hit home a little for me as I have feared the ocean since I woke up that fateful day as a merpony.

But I've had no delusions about living out my days in a chlorinated swimming pool. I've known for a while that I belonged in the ocean. Kathy’s arrival merely sped up the process, not that I regret coming with her... not at all! I'm just not sure when I would have gone had I had to go on my own.

I'm just so glad that this Princess Luna was there to chase the nightmare away. But something tells me she won’t always be there and so I have to face my fears at some point.

The kilometers (miles) flew by as Kathryn took the truck easily up to 140 on the straight stretches, letting the scenic views pass. She did slow down, checking the radio and blasting the horn when they reached the sections where cities where located... Canastota, Oneida, Verona, Westmoreland, Whitesbro, and even the larger Utica came up empty as they continued down the Interstate 90.

The highway changes at Utica were insane, even by most USA standards but thanks to the truck’s GPS still working, Kathryn managed it easily. She kept the truck slower leaving Utica, still blasting the horn and checking the radio in case the ponies in the area chose a more rural location to set up shop but still only static on the radio & no ponies jumped the guardrails to flag down the truck.

As the I-90 started to dip southwards, Kathryn took the truck back up to easy 120 and silence reigned once more, only broken by Raea’s occasional yawn or the slight constant crackle of the radio’s static.

At a place called Herkimer, NY, Kathryn took the truck off the I-90 and to a nearby Wal-mart super center, not that far from the interstate.

She had intended to scavenge from the Wal-mart only to discover a single pony had already set up shop! He was a dark brown Earth pony, blonde colored mane & tail, “cutie mark” of a pitchfork over a shield. He introduced himself as “Rob Cooke”. He had already moved stuff around inside the Wal-mart to create a kind of “house within a building” which included walls, furniture and a bed piled with every stuffed toy he could find.

He claimed that he was not lonely, despite being the only one there. “’S’only a matter of time before other’s start showin’ up. Figured Ah’d get a head start at rebuilding this here town from here,” he said, before taking them to the baseball diamonds out back and showed them the farmers’ fields he had plowed AND the corn that was already fully grown. He reached up on hind legs, grabbed three cobs from the stalk and placed them on the sides of Sarah’s tail in the wheel’s rack before turning back to the building.

Kathryn & Sarah exchanged glances but followed him back inside. Once in the kitchen, Rob took the cobs from Sarah’s wheels, stripped the husks and dropped them in boiling pot on a camping stove run on propane.

Sarah seemed interested but Kathryn became antsy. “Mind if I look around, see if I can find something useful?” she asked, gesturing around her. Rob looked at her with an uninterested expression.

“Sure, why not? Go ahead,” he said dully, as he turned back to the pot.

Kathryn wandered off around the store. She found a couple of spare tablet batteries, more replacement wheels for Sarah’s rig and some new shoes that stretched over her hooves (grabbing every pair she could get). She also found a crossbow, setting up a similar rig to her own for Rob to have, just in case. He was delighted with the idea of having a proper weapon as he had gestured to a crudely made spear.

Kathryn & Sarah shivered when they realized it was covered in blood and Raea growled. But Rob was quick to set their minds at ease. “Ah only killed in self-defense,” he said "And so far Ah've been lucky... it was only a coyote, that one time."

“I remember seeing a dollar store on our way in. I think I’ll go check that out too,” Kathryn said as she slung her own crossbow over a shoulder. “OK. I’ll stay here with Rob and help with the food. Channel 2 on the walkie; take Raea with you, just in case,” Sarah said. Kathryn smiled cheekily. “Yes, mother,” she said, giggling. Sarah gave a snort of a laugh as Kathryn turned on her walkie attached to a belt and clicked her tongue; that brought Raea up to her.

Over the previous day, Kathryn had started to train Raea in a few simple commands. The tongue click was a signal for Raea to follow; a little gentle blow to the face was to lie down; Kathryn’s clenched teeth were the cue to bark menacingly. Being a pony with no fingers for sign-language signs, she had to find other alternatives.

She had also begun to train Raea as a kind of therapy dog... a kind, gentle presence for a freaking out pony. Kathryn had seen how Raea had helped Spencer back at the river and knew the dog had instincts to be friendly. She thought that perhaps it could be useful.

The two of them crossed the parking lot and found the dollar store easily; it looked just like the ones back in Brantford.

The door had already been kicked in, most likely by Rob, and the water had been removed. The rubber soles of her new shoes hardly made a sound on the tiles of the store as she walked down the aisles, checking to see if there was anything they needed. She really didn’t find much except for a mermaid doll for Sarah as a surprise and a new tennis ball throwing stick for Raea.

They continued down the street to a second-hand store that was not already broken into. Inside Kathryn found more blankets, bed sheets, towels and pillows but not much else that would be useful. She did find a really pretty pearl necklace in a jewelry display case that would look perfect on Sarah; bucking the glass was too easy and thanks to the power gone out, no alarms went off. She also found an alternating cream/blue-smaller-pearls’ necklace that matched her colors nicely. Kathryn managed to hold the necklace in her mouth, flip it up and catch it on her head, using a hoof to bring it down to her neck. The string turned out to be elastic and so very easy to put on & take off if needed.

Suddenly, the air pressure increased and a buzzing started in Kathryn’s ears. She felt like she was being pressed down into the earth and her ears flatten back as she knelt down; Raea whimpered and crawled on her belly to her friend.

A bright flash of white light blasted from the McDonald's across the street and the pressure disappeared just as quickly as it came.
A look of understanding passed between Kathryn & Raea before they bolted out the door and for the restaurant across the way, forgetting all about the spoils they had found.

The front door was surprisingly unlocked... until Kathryn remembered that most McD’s were 24 hour businesses. Somehow she just KNEW that a pony had just returned; either a customer or employee.

Kathryn slowly crept into the main dining area of the restaurant, blessing her forethought of the rubber soled shoes to keep her hooves quiet. Raea did not need her signal to stay quiet or low as they half-crawled forwards and crouched behind a dividing wall.

They could just barely make out a groaning noise from behind the front counter. “An employee,” Kathryn whispered.

As the pony came to, they heard a scream followed by muttering and whimpering. “OK, so they just opened their eyes... seen what they’ve become,” she whispered again.

When the whimpering turned to crying, Kathryn nudged Raea on her back, giving the cue to go find the sound. Raea stopped when she came to the back side of the counter but could still see Kathryn for instructions. Kathryn heard a gasp as the pony realized she was not alone.

“Oh, hello there puppy,” said the clearly feminine voice. “Where did you come from? Do you know what’s going on?” she asked. Kathryn could imagine the pony rolling her eyes. “No, of course you don’t. Why did I even bother asking?” muttered the voice.

Kathryn heard the recognizable sound of all four hooves touching tiles as the pony tried to get up on her feet, so to speak. She heard a slight grunt and a “whoa!” as the pony gained her hooves before a screeching of hooves on tile and a thump told her that the pony could not stay upright. She must have looked at Raea at the right time because the dog had looked to Kathryn & barked, essentially asking for instructions.

“Is somebody else out there?” asked the shaking voice. Kathryn took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

“Yes, I am here and I can help you but you can’t freak out ok? I'm pretty sure that there are no mirrors back there and so you can’t see yourself completely yet so you can’t freak when I come back there, ok?” Kathryn said as she kicked off her shoes and slowly clip-clopped to where Raea was sitting on her haunches.

Kathryn slouched over, to keep her body size as small as possible as she rounded the corner of the counter. The first thing she noticed was the bright blue body, white/yellow long dreads gathered together for mane & tail, the huge terrified orange eyes and the over-sized McD’s uniform t-shirt that still hung from her body; the visor and pants were in a pile on the floor, likely from her unsuccessful attempt at getting up.

The pony’s eyes went to pinpricks in surprise when Kathryn stood to her full height and her lip quivered but Kathryn tapped Raea’s side, giving her the signal to approach & calm. Raea crawled on her belly up to the new pony, whimpered gently and licked a hoof, which startled the pony but certainly calmed her down.

When the pony stopped quivering, Raea stood up and licked the pony’s face of her tears. That elicited the first giggles from her that Kathryn had heard. Once the pony was calm enough, Kathryn approached.

“What’s your name?” Kathryn asked. The pony snuffled and rubbed her face with her knee. “Marjorie,” she replied. Kathryn smiled and nodded.

“Marjorie, I know that this is going to be scary and a little unbelievable but you have to believe me. Something happened to the Earth last month that made most of humans disappear and the rest of us look like we do now. We still don’t know what for sure but it happened May 23rd; today is June 10th. Somehow, you were brought forward in time and returned to where you where just when the Event happened. This is how we are now and there’s very little chance of going back,” Kathryn said as she knelt down in front of Marjorie. The pony simply nodded dumbly and dropped her gaze. Raea continued to feel Marjorie’s stress and whimpered some more, rubbing her head on Marjorie’s shoulder.

Kathryn got to her hooves and gestured for Marjorie to do the same. Marjorie tried to stand, hesitantly but got caught up in her shirt. Kathryn moved over and pulled it off the pony to reveal a pair of feather wings instinctively trying to open for balance.

Kathryn looked in Marjorie’s eyes and chuckled. “You, my lucky girl, got something I don’t have,” she said and pointed. Marjorie looked back, saw the wings and eepp’ed. “Those make you a pegasus,” Kathryn added.

Finally being able to stand, Marjorie watched as she closed, opened fully and then closed again her wings. “Can... can I fly?” she asked in a tiny voice. Kathryn nodded. “Yeah; eventually. It’ll take some work on your part but you could be soaring like the birds,” Kathryn said, gesturing her hoof towards the open area of the dining section for Marjorie to try walking.

A few stumbles and only one trip, Marjorie got the hang of walking on four legs. Each time she stumbled, her wings would pop open, of their own accord, to regain her balance. Kathryn noticed but said nothing about Marjorie’s lack of a cutie mark; nor did she say anything about her’s. Eventually, Marjorie gained enough confidence to go outside.

Kathryn led her back to the second-hand shop to grab her bundle of spoils before walking together back to Wal-mart. “There’s another pony that’s set up shop there and I'm sure you can stay with him. I, Raea & my other companion are traveling east,” Kathryn said conversationally. Marjorie only nodded.

Trying to break the silence, Kathryn told Marjorie all about the different kinds of 'ponies' the whole world now had... mainly based on what she had seen so far in herself, Sarah and back in Farmville. Marjorie said nothing the whole walk back; she just sucked up the information like a sponge.

As they came up to Rob’s “home”, Marjorie hid behind Kathryn, suddenly self-conscious about how she looked... and the fact that she was kinda naked. “Rob~! Sar~ah! We’re ba~ck and we found another po~ny that’s just re~turn~ed!” Kathryn called in a sing-song voice. Raea gave off one of her best howls before both ponies appeared from the kitchen area.

Kathryn turned to Marjorie. “Come on out, don’t be shy,” she said gently. As she came out, Sarah came over and gave her a hug. “You’re so lucky to have come back now with all of us here to help you settle in. Chalk up another save for the rescue pony,” Sarah said, smirking in Kathryn’s direction. Kathryn responded with a stuck out tongue. “This doesn’t count because I didn’t have to save her from the water,” she replied smartly.
Rob came forward next but looked to Kathryn.

“Where did you find her?” he asked. “She appeared behind the counter at the McDonald’s down the way.”

Rob looked at the pegasus. “Marjorie Daniels?” he asked. “Yes...?” she said. “I'm Rob Cooke... I used to come in every Thursday night for double BLT,” he said. Her face lit up in recognition when he spoke in the same voice. “Oh yes! Of course! I do remember you... double BLT, medium fries, medium coffee-black and two sugar cookies,” she said blushing slightly.

Kathryn gave a sigh of relief. Marjorie would be in good hooves with Rob when she, Raea & Sarah left.

Thinking of those thoughts, she glanced at a clock which told her she still had plenty of driving daylight left. She loudly cleared her throat, getting all of their attention. “I think we ought to be hitting the road if we want to reach Boston by sunset, Sarah.” Sarah glanced at the clock and nodded her agreement.

But it was only then that Kathryn realized that Sarah’s tail was covered in a wet towel. As they walked together back to the truck, Kathryn gestured to it. “Turns out my tail can get painfully dry when it’s out of the water too long... and apparently it’s been too long since the shower I had this morning,” she added. “Duly noted,” Kathryn said.

Rob & Marjorie followed the three back to the truck, the former carrying Kathryn’s spoils (both from Wal-mart & second-hand shop) on his back. He popped open the RV and tossed the whole thing inside, after Kathryn dug into it and found the necklace for Sarah. “I was willing to share with you some of that,” she said, placing the necklace around a shocked Sarah’s neck, but Rob shook his head. “Ah took a gander at what you got... stuff Ah really don’t need. Yer welcome to it and have a safe journey,” he said, giving Sarah a boost and carefully placing her wheels in the back.

Marjorie & Kathryn exchanged an awkward hug as Raea jumped in and then Kathryn climbed into the truck behind. Kathryn tossed down a small ham radio to them; Marjorie surprisingly caught it with her wing. “Hook it to a solar panel; it’ll let you talk to us for quite a while and maybe some others too. We’re call sign, ‘Ocean Express’,” Kathryn said. “Byeeees!!” called Sarah from her seat as Kathryn revved the engine and pulled a u-turn in the parking lot before driving out and back onto the I-90.

June 10th, 2015 @ 5:10 PM, leaving Herkimer {renamed Wal-Town}(Rob & Marjorie) ~Sarah

Dear Journal,

We’re just now leaving Herkimer and Kathy says we got about an hour and half before we reach Boston. The day has already been crazy enough for me... I can’t imagine how nuts Boston is going to be. (Hey! That rhymed! LOL)

Kathy thinks that a colony may have already been set up there by now. We just need to find it.

Fourth Wall Take-a-Break Spot.

The truck weaved down the I-90 as they rumbled east ward. Not far out of “Wal-Town” they spotted a dairy farm on the westbound side. Kathryn grabbed the radio. “Wal-Town, this is Ocean Express. We’re still on the I-90, about 20 minutes out and we found what looks like a dairy farm on the westbound side... GPS says it’s on North Gardner Road. Might be worth your time going to check it out... see if any of the farm animals are still there. Over.”

The radio crackled a moment before Rob’s voice came back on. “Copy that Ocean Express. We’ll check it out first thing tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up and safe travels. Over.”

“Copy that Wal-Town. Over and out.”

The two ponies nodded to each other; both feeling proud of themselves for helping out another colony with means to produce fresh milk.

A little further down, they came to another highway rest station but Kathryn chose not to stop this time. They were getting too close to Boston and they really did not need the fuel. “Leave it for somepony who desperately needs it,” Kathryn commented. Sarah agreed with a nod.

They slowed the truck as they came up on another river bridge but when neither of them saw any cars in the ditch, both let out sighs of relief that neither knew they were holding. For the next few minutes, the truck cab was filled with giggling as the pony occupants remembered the shocked looks on Spencer & Sherry’s faces when they realized they had been saved by a pair of merponies.

The truck slowed again a little further down the I-90 when the map showed they had reached a bridge for a street, ironically named Bridge St (Highway 61 into St Johnsville). The reason for slowing down was the sighting of another pony on the I-90, pulling a wagon attached to a harness. The two merponies wondered if they were to be getting a passenger but after pulling over, it became clear that they were not.

“Where is the closest place I can find a big group of people?” asked the clearly male Earth pony. He was a dark grey, shaggy black mane and tail; he had a hard look about him and even a few scars on his face & piercing red eyes. Kathryn noticed a cutie mark but his was not a good looking one: a hand gun. She was NOT going to send him to Wal-Town... Rob & Marjorie would not be able to handle this guy or protect themselves.

“Oh yeah, sure.... but I'm sorry to say that it’s a very long walk... Henrietta. They’re now calling it Farmville. Just keep walking down I-90 and you might reach it within a week or so,” Kathryn said, gesturing back the way they came.

The male looked and grumbled. “I've already been walking a week! You can ditch your shit and drive me there,” he threatened as he forced open the passenger side door, scaring Sarah in the process. The instant Kathryn clenched her teeth, Raea climbed over Sarah (as Sarah crawled towards Kathryn) and Raea started barking and snarling and bearing her own teeth at the intruder.

The male’s eyes when wide and he stumbled down off the truck, swinging the door enough in the process that it slammed shut in Raea’s face. That did not deter her from standing on hind legs and continue her barking at the male. Kathryn stomped her hoof on the lock mechanism, shoved the truck into gear and took off as fast as the friction of wheels and asphalt would allow. Raea kept up the barking until they were about 4 truck lengths away from the male before Kathryn finally hushed her and risked a look back. The male still stood in the middle of the I-90, staring them down.

A few moments later, the road took a sharp curve south and they lost sight of him. That still did not stop Sarah from checking the auto locks on the truck’s doors and letting tears of fright roll freely down her face.

Kathryn grabbed the radio and set it to two stations (1). “Farmville & Wal-Town. This is Ocean Express with a 411. Be advised of a bad pony traveling the I-90 westbound. He’s an Earth pony; dark grey, shaggy black mane and tail; face scars, red eyes and HAND GUN for a flank mark. He tried to hijack Ocean Express; Raea scared him off and we got away. Be advised! Do not offer him lodging or supplies! Do not approach this pony at all!! Confirm you’ve received this message. Over.”

“411?” Sarah mouthed. “Well, 911 is medical emergency. 311 was general information and 411 was critical information back home... tornado warnings, Amber Alerts, police advisories. I made sure to make a list for each town of my call numbers.” Kathryn kept looking in the rear view mirrors expecting the pony to appear again.

“Wal-Town, responding to 411. We read you and thank you. We’ll be on the lookout. Over and out.” Marjorie’s voice was far clearer and more confident than when they last heard.

“Farmville, responding to 411. We also read you and thanks! We’ll make sure that he’s not welcome here.” Amy’s voice sounded serious and slightly stressed. The next part made Kathryn cringe. “I'm sorry Farmville, I told him of your presence to deflect him away from a much less protected colony. He may be at you within a week.”

“Ocean Express, don’t worry. You did the right thing. We can protect ourselves; that other place might not and you made a judgement call. We’ll be ready. Thanks again. Farmville, over and out.”

Kathryn got the truck up to 140 before slowing slightly down at Fort Plain and Canajoharie but since they saw no ponies, they did not stop. The population numbers on the signs indicated that too little of a chance of anyone being there. They slowed again at Fultonville but after their experiences with the bad pony, neither of them had any desire to pick up any new ponies or stop anywhere until they reached Boston. “Unless we find a pony with a police badge as a cutie mark,” Sarah pointed out, to which Kathryn agreed but then joked, "We'd have to stick to the speed limits after that, if we did."

Amsterdam was a far bigger city and so Kathryn took the risk, taking the truck off the I-90 and straight up the 30, which turned into Market St but only as far as Lowe’s to turn the truck around. They did stop and park the truck on the 30 when Kathryn spotted a sewing craft store. When Kathryn saw Sarah’s raised eyebrow, she shrugged. “I dabbled in sewing in my youth. I’d like to be able to wear clothes that suit my age and style.” Sarah’s only answer was a rolling of her eyes. “If you get to stop at a craft place, then I want to stop at that liquor store on the way out,” Sarah added. Kathryn nodded, feeling the desire for a drink herself. “That’s only fair.”

Having found no ponies, they raided the Target for water and left messages at Target, Wal-mart, Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Price Choppers. They topped off the truck’s tank on the way out of town.

They found another highway McDonald’s rest stop but this time, not for the diesel... Kathryn wanted to check the deep fryers for the oil. Thankfully, this had not gone bad yet and so she siphoned out the old oil into an empty dirty barrel, refilled the fryer, cooked up a couple trays worth of French fries for them both and then siphoned the new oil into same barrel as the dirty. “I figure the mix of the two will make it good enough to work in the genny,” Kathryn explained when Sarah asked about the mixing. “Granted, I won’t be able to do the process until we find and get to the Boston colony.”

They passed by a pair of quarries, all deserted and quiet with no humans to run the machines to dig, lift and crush the stone.

The road weaved ever eastward until it dropped south for a while, slightly surprising Kathryn into paying more attention to her GPS. Said GPS, nearly tricked her into changing onto the I-890 but that was not what Kathryn wanted and so they stayed on the I-90.

Passing the underside of Rotterdam, they followed the I-90 around and straight through the middle of Albany. The GPS claimed 2 hours, 41 minutes to Boston but Kathryn figured it’d be closer to 4 hours the way they kept stopping for fuel or salvaging.

She cranked the truck up to 130 and put the pedal to the metal, only slowing down for the round ramp at something called the 912M... whatever that meant.

Before they knew it, they had passed a sign that read ‘Massachusetts Welcomes You’; they had passed the first state line on their trek. Kathryn let go of the steering wheel long enough to start a mini ‘wave’ and hoof-bump Sarah as Raea turned a circle in her seat, letting her tongue roll out the side. Both ponies laughed and cheered a little, face's beaming.

They did not stop at Stockbridge or at Blandford but they did slow down for Springfield area, sadly not finding another pony.

The I-90 weaved east some more before they spotted the turn offs for Auburn and Worcester. This close to Boston, neither of them wanted to stop and search. Framingham was a speck on the GPS for barely 10 minutes before they blasted right through.

They came up to the first of the pony-made signs with stunned expressions.

“Well, clearly a pegasus hung the sign but whomever drew that picture is NOT an artist by any sense of the term,” Kathryn commented, while both were stifling some giggles. It was only a matter of time before they both burst out laughing.

The signs continued to show up at the important turns, passing right by Fenway Park along the way.

The roads were multiple lanes and the one turn around the signs had pointed them onto had made the biggest loop either of them had ever seen!

Eventually, they finally came to an entrance sign.

“I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and guess that we are here,” Kathryn said. They were in the parking lot of the former South Bay Center, clearly renamed Harbor City and already set up for lots of ponies.

There was a bunch of RV’s in the parking lot, set up like a trailer park while the Target/Home Depot had been converted into a kind of office, welcoming’s center and impromptu city hall.

Kathryn slowly drove the truck into the area near the RV’s, honking the horn to get any pony’s attention.

A pair came out from the Target and galloped toward the RV. Sadly, they kept the doors locked until Kathryn could determine if she could trust them or not. One of the ponies carried a military-style rifle on their back.

Thankfully a female approached the driver side, her pegasus wings open wide to show that she carried no weapons. She looked far more approachable to Kathryn and so she let her guard down. This pegasus was yellow body, long purple mane & tail, child’s bright blue t-shirt cut to fit her wings and a checklist for a cutie mark.

Kathryn rolled down her window to speak with this pony. “We’re sorry if we act suspicious... we had an unpleasant experience with a pony out on the I-90 on our way in,” she explained to the pegasus.

The male with rifle came up and spoke. “Dark grey Earth pony, shaggy black hair & tail, hand gun for butt tattoo?” he asked. Both Kathryn & Sarah jerked back in surprise and the stallion cursed under his breath. “Bad News Bob... that’s what everyone here called him. Convict escaped from the prison; tried to steal an RV from our lot.”

Kathryn nodded. “He tried to hijack our vehicle but my dog, Raea, scared him off long enough for us to get away,” she said as she unlocked the truck and gestured for them to disembark. "I knew I should have just shot him when I had the chance," muttered the rifle-carrier, pacing in a circle. "Nothing but trouble and never deserved to escape. Should have rotted in his cell," he added, stomping a hoof to the asphalt hard enough to cause a crack.

Kathryn heard Sarah ask Raea to get out of her way so she could get her wheels out of the truck as she, herself, approached the pegasus and the rifle carrying unicorn. “My name is Rose May, one of the founders here at Harbor City; this is Earl, another founder. Are you here to join or...?” the pegasus asked, leaving the question opened ended. Kathryn glanced at the unicorn still pacing and grumbling under his breath. Earl was a black unicorn, red spotted markings with red mane & tail, streaked in old-age grey with a red military style cross hair's for a cutie mark.

“We’re passing through, on our way to Miami, Florida. We’re hoping to create a colony for more like us,” Kathryn said as Sarah walked dramatically around the truck and joined her, showing off her merpony tail, her wet towel underneath this time but still ready to flip over if needed.

Rose May gestured a hoof at Sarah’s tail excitedly. “Oh, another one of those with fish tails! Earl, get on the radio and call Patrick back home immediately,” she said. Earl took one look at Sarah, nodded and bolted for the Home Depot behind him.

Rose May began to lead them towards the Target before Kathryn remembered, turned back and clicked the truck’s remote control to lock up. Rose May raised an eyebrow at her actions. “Sorry... our experience with ‘Bad News Bob’ has taught us to be careful... sorry,”(2) said Kathryn with a shrug. Rose May simply nodded as they continued to walk to the Target.

As they entered the Target, it was easily obvious that they had knocked out the wall that separated the two stores and had shored up the opening, creating a safe if not ugly archway between the two.

Kathryn could hear Earl on a radio set, calling out a call sign that he clearly despised. “Jolly Roger. Come in Jolly Roger. This is Harbor. Over.”

The crackle of static reigned for a moment before a male voice responded. “Harbor, this is Jolly Roger. How’re things going at port?”

Earl groaned at the enthusiasm in the voice but Kathryn found it surprisingly refreshing. “Got a pair of travelers you’re gonna want to meet. Rosie says for you to come home right away,” he added, glaring at Rose May, who had stopped with Kathryn & Sarah when they stopped to listen.

“Copy that Harbor. Jolly Roger coming to port. Fifteen minutes. Over and out.”

Earl dropped the radio microphone and growled in Rose May’s direction before stomping off.

“Oh don’t mind Earl... he’s just a grumpy old mule. He was two weeks from retirement when the Event happened. Now he’s stuck the way he is and he feels like he needs to do his part,” Rose May said as they walked.

“Umm.... ‘Rosie’?” Sarah asked. “It’s my call sign on the radio. I drive a little rose colored Prius and they all tease me about it. ‘Rose May’ is not my actual name but when the Event happened, I gave up my old name along with my old life. I chose Rose because it’s my favorite flower; May was for the month that the Event occurred. And then I got the Prius.... someone *cough Patrick cough* covered it in rose stickers, the call sign of ‘Rosie’ just stuck,” she explained as she pointed a hoof to a very rosy red Prius covered in rose stickers, big and small.

Both merponies began snickering that turned into laughter when they saw Rose May raise a single eyebrow.

Rose May feigned a hurt expression as she walked off in a huff, but the two caught up pretty quickly and they all shared a giggle.
She continued the tour of the renovated Target, explaining what they had done; setting up apartments inside for the single ponies. “As soon as they pair up, they’re moved outside to their own RV. Eventually, we want them to repopulate the houses in the immediate vicinity but we’re too small a number for that right now. I have a spot here, as does Patrick... Earl only has one because he insists that he’s waiting for his wife to return.”

Kathryn & Sarah “D’awww’ed” on that romantic thought but it was shattered when Rose May shook her head. “I knew Earl before all of this happened... his wife is the only one who could tolerate him in his moods,” she chuckled. The girls, stunned for only a moment, joined in.

“So, how long are you planning on staying for?” Rose May finally ventured to ask.

Suddenly a loud crash of the doors being burst open and a buzzing sound could be heard.

"Oh me gosh! I be so glad that thar be another pony like me. I thought I was t' only one!! Oh, where be me manners? Me name be Patrick but everyone just calls me Patty. I'm glad you’ve come t' our little colony." The big beefy pirate voice rang out through the big, mostly empty space, accompanied by the squeaking of wheels carrying too much weight.

The pony dragging said wheels was clearly a merpony on land. And it was quite clear that he was a personality!
He was actually a little taller than Kathryn; dark green body with lighter green scratches, really dark green pegasus wings with armor sections on the leading edge, a dark grey Fu Manchu moustache combined with a slightly longer soul patch, messy two-toned gray hair (but it was NOT from age), mascara around the eyes, really big long merpony tail curled up in a slightly leaky wheeled water tank strapped to his body just above a skull & crossbones cutie mark and below the wings. Kathryn also noticed he had a nick in his right ear, three piercings on each side and he wore a pair of goggles around his neck.

"Avast ye land lubbers! Now this be a beauty if I've ever seen one... and I'm t' only one I've seen so far! But what about you, blue? Ye just t' driver because ye can reach t' pedals?" he gave off an aura of confidence as he leaned a forearm on Kathryn’s middle back.

The pirate talk was cute on the radio but it was getting a tad annoying.

She shuffled a little sideways; just enough for Patrick’s hoof to drop.

Kathryn then sat on her haunches and called up her magic to transform right there... and it worked. Both Rose May & Patrick looked on in amazement as she flipped her tail a couple of times and then turned back to land pony. “Well, blow me down,” Patrick whispered.

Kathryn let that one pass as it was so short.

“We’re not sure how long we’ll be staying here. Probably a couple of days... put some distance between us and that ‘Bad News Bob’-guy-character,” Kathryn said. “He tried to hijack us on the way here but Raea helped us give him the slip,” Sarah added, patting the dog on her head.

“Oh that Bad News Bob! He’s lower than a bilge rat and I be glad we kicked his arse outta here!” Patrick’s extreme dislike for that pony was obviously clear.

“Patrick! Enough of that blasted pirate voice! I'm sick of it!” shouted a male voice from another part of the store. Patrick simply ducked his head and blushed as all the girls laughed.

Another walk through the Target and into the Home Depot, Kathryn & Rose May walking together, Patrick & Sarah falling in behind, Rose May explained how they had converted the nearby Clifford Playground for farm land while Joe Moakley Park is for the farm animals they had brought in from outlying areas.

Kathryn & Sarah found themselves impressed with the ingenuity and hard work already put into Harbor City.

Over a communal feast of a dinner, Kathryn & Sarah were guests of honor and shared their story with every pony, and every creature of Harbor City; from Kathryn’s leaving Brantford, Ontario, Canada – Eddie’s find – Farmville – rescue at Flint Creek – Wal-Town – Bad News Bob – and all the way to now. They also shared their plans for wanting to build a merpony colony down near Miami, Florida; the girls eyed Patrick at his meaningfully but only got a nod... for now.

Kathryn & Sarah got to meet some creatures they had never seen before. One was something called a Dog (capital D); bipedal creature, cross between a dog and a chimp. Another was a Minotaur; actual bipedal half man, half bull. A third was something they called a Kirin; a half pony (four legs, cutie mark, pony belly-neck), half dragon (scales down the spine & continued down tail, facial structure, bat-pony style wings but twice the size) hybrid; she seemed very shy when she was first introduced to the pair of merponies.

And of course, Kathryn had to use her magic again to prove her claims to the others when they showed up.

On top of Rose May, Earl, and Patrick, they also met ‘Sapphire’ Susie (dark blue unicorn, black/navy blue two-toned mane and tail, silver sewing needle cutie mark), ‘Geode’ Gary (soft tan Earth pony, brown mane and tail, cut open white geode rock cutie mark), ‘Dog’ Denis (clearly following the German Sheppard breed and wore a spiked dog collar around his neck), ‘Minotaur’ Mark (he was more brown than red but did still wore modified pants for the lower half) and ‘Kirin’ Karen (she was all a very dark purple, spines were black, claws were a glossy black and she had a cutie mark of a ball of green flame; she was eating a plate of raw fish).

“Rose May is ‘Rosie’, Patrick is ‘Pirate’ (unless he’s driving that boat-of-a-truck, and then it’s ‘Jolly Roger’) and Earl is just plain Earl,” finished Susie as everyone at the table except Earl laughed.

Dinner broke up not much longer after that; the girls were invited to use the guest rooms inside but they preferred to use their RV so Patrick helped them move it closer to the building, “For safety reasons,” he had said.

But that had not stopped Kathryn from locking all of the doors & windows for the night.

July 11th, 2015 @ 1:20 AM @ Harbor City (formerly Boston, MA)

Dear Journal,

OH MY FREAKING GOSH!! Sarah was right... this HAS been a crazy adventure just getting here! I can’t imagine how much more nuts it’ll get before we reach Miami. (Oops! Did i just jinx that? LOL)

We’ve been invited to stay a couple of days which we will take them up on. But before I can write about them, I have to write about what happened after Sarah last wrote...

Yeah, and this might take a while so we’re gonna tag-team! -Sarah

Author's Note:

(1) I don’t actually know if you can do that on a trucker radio but I did it anyway.
(2) Yes, you can tell she's still Canadian... she apologizes a lot.