Facing the Future

by RuinQueenofOblivion

Chapter 3: Alone

It was weird sleeping in an empty settlement, even weirder given that it seemed like there were animals in the city. Why were they avoiding this place? Maybe it had something to do with that dragon that attacked, who knows?

My dreams were still pretty normal, at least I think they were normal for a pony, I really didn't know what was normal for a pony, do horses even dream? That was something I'd have to wonder about some other time, I still had to try and figure out what I was going to do now that I was here.

As I got up the next morning and started eating I thought about what I was going to do now. I was alone in a pretty large city as far as I could tell, save for whatever had made that noise last night. Maybe there were other people our ponies out there somewhere, I mean I couldn't be the only one to return right?

I looked back over the journal entries after breakfast, there was still the mention of Zebras and something called the Mendi, that seemed to me like some sort of tribe or society or something. Maybe if I could figure out where they lived I could at least find someone to be with, it was getting really lonely in the city right now.

It was odd, I had spent most of my adult life living alone in Atlanta except for when Jake visited, and now I wanted nothing more than to be with someone. Jewel was an empty town, whatever that Dragon had done must've scared anyone away from resettling here, not that I blamed them. The threat of a large fire breathing lizard was enough to scare me off if I had anywhere else to go.

There was also the question of how long it had been since I had fallen asleep. I had woken up in what felt like the winter, but I remembered it being late May before. The journal that Rebecca had written suggested that it had been years since she had first woken up, but how long had it been since then?

I sighed a little, this wasn't doing me any good, I had to figure out what I was going to do from here and how I was going to survive. I still had enough food to last me awhile, so the question now was more about what I was going to do from here. I sighed a little and headed to the front gate of Jewel and looked out at the skyline of Atlanta, I had to see if maybe there was still someone out there.

I hitched myself to the wagon once more and headed out after locking the gate to the abandoned settlement. If there was someone or something out there, I wasn't going to let them get at my supplies easily at least.

I just had to hope that everything was going to be okay.

00000

As I started searching some of the buildings I paused a moment when I spotted tracks in the dirt. They weren't hoofprints, they looked more like some sort of paw, but it was bigger than anything I had ever seen before. That was odd, but I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it as I kept searching the buildings for any supplies or signs of life.

I took a deep breath and wrinkled my nose as a scent hit it, it was the same dog-like scent I had smelled back in the Publix but this one smelled a bit more fresh. I didn't want to deal with whatever it was that was in there so I pulled my wagon down the street in hopes I'd have better luck elsewhere.

It was hard to think of this city as empty when to me it felt like just last week when it had cars and people lining the streets. I actually noticed something odd, there wasn't any sign of cars or other vehicles on the road, in driveways or whatever sure there were remnants of cars, but there wasn't anything actually on the road itself, it was like they had all vanished with their owners.

That was weird, was it possible that whatever force had made this happen caused the cars to vanish? Was it the same for boats and planes too? That was something that I didn't know the answer to and honestly I didn't think I ever would, so I just kept walking.

The more I walked, the more I saw, I actually saw deer in the middle of the city, something I hadn't ever expected. The animals had to be a lot bolder given what had happened, but what was it going to mean for us as a species? Was there even any humans left at this point or were they all transformed or dead?

I sighed a little, why did this feel like I was in a really bad monster movie still? Was it possible that the dog like tracks belonged to like a werewolf or something? Something that would try and eat me or turn me into one of them or something? I really didn't want to think about it because the very thought of being attacked by something like that terrified me, and what might happen to my unborn child.

It was weird, but I was actually getting more used to the idea of being Pregnant at this point. Maybe it was a result of the transformation but I wasn't as freaked out about it as I should be. I don't really know what that was about, but I was going to just go with it for now, I just had to hope that I'd be able to find someone that knew how to birth a foal in the next... 9 months?

No, ponies have a longer gestation period don't they? I mean I'm not really an expert on horses or anything, but I seem to remember reading that somewhere that they had a little less than a year instead of 9 months, that somehow worried me more than anything else, I was going to have to carry this foal for almost a full year?

I sighed a little and looked around the city more, I found a few supplies here and there but there wasn't a whole lot to speak of. This wasn't going to be easy, but at least I was going to survive for awhile. Was I even going to ever be able to find anyone? The fact was that I was more worried about being on my own than I was about anything else, maybe if I was lucky those Zebras would come back through the city or something.

I sighed and looked around, this was going to be a challenge to say the least, I was still worried about the dog creature, but for now I had to focus on survival.

I sighed a little as I took a look at the last building, there was still no sign of anyone having lived here, at least not recently. I sighed a little and was about to head back to Jewel when my ears twitched, there was a sound coming from the backyard of the building, I could barely make it out but there was definitely something there.

I pushed open the back door of the house and looked around the overgrown yard, it took me a moment to find the source of the sound and when I did I stopped in my tracks. It was another small horse creature like me, but this one was a light blue color with a yellow mane and tail, but that wasn't what drew my attention, instead what did was a pair of feathered wings like a bird's that was growing out of its back. A quick check told me she was a mare, at least I think, I mean we had the same equipment so yeah, she was probably a mare.

She looked like some sort of Pegasus or something, I had no idea what to make of that at all. What else was out here if there were Unicorns and Pegasi?

I took a deep breath, I had no idea who this mare was but I wasn't going to just leave her here, I had to get her back to Jewel somehow.

00000

Thankfully getting her to Jewel was easy, I made room in my wagon and loaded her up into it before I started back to the small settlement. The mare was alive at least, I could see her breathing in the wagon when I checked back on her every so often.

I didn't know what I was going to do from here, was she going to be okay? I didn't know anything about equine physiology, let alone equines with wings, so I didn't even know what to make of this. Was she going to be okay? What was going to happen when she woke up?

I sighed a little, I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on these things... no, that's a lie, with most of my needs now taken care of I had nothing but time to dwell on these things and it worried me a little. I levitated the Pegasus mare into one of the beds, she wasn't bleeding at least, but I didn't know what kind of effects the returning process would have if that was what had happened to her.

I sighed a little and looked back out at the city, for a moment I could've sworn I saw something moving nearby but when I looked there was nothing there. I shook my head, I was probably just imagining things.

"Calm down Charlie, this empty city is getting to you," I said and took a deep breath as I worked to secure the gate just in case something tried to get in. "Though, it would be nice to have some sort of defenses here."

I sighed a little and looked up at the sky again, I was half afraid that any moment now that dragon from the journals would swoop in and finish what it started before. I didn't think it was going to happen, but when you're living in a world like this you never know.

I kept going back to the journal entries and what they said about what happened to Earth, it was still hard to believe, but what if it was true? What if there really was another world of ponies out there that had done this to us for some reason? Yeah, it sounded crazy, but it was the closest thing I really had to an explanation.

So, what did that mean for me now? I had no idea, but I wasn't going to let it stop me from figuring things out, maybe if I could get the Pegasus mare awake that would at least help a little.

I sighed a little and got the rest of my gear together, I wasn't going to do me or the newcomer any good if I just moped around right now. There were a few things lying around that would make something resembling a defense in the event that something attacked us from outside, it was a start at least.

It wasn't easy to get it all set up, especially with hooves and magic, neither of which I was particularly adept at using just yet, but I managed to set up a few things that would provide a defense if we got attacked from the ground. By the time I was done, the sun was starting to set in the sky and I had to restart the fire that was providing light for me during the night.

I sighed a little as I looked back at the house where my new guest was still sleeping. I wondered what her story was, did she only re-appear today or had she been lying in that back yard for awhile? It was hard to tell, but given that she didn't have any external injuries that might be a good sign.

I poked at the fire a little and sighed, I wasn't any closer to figuring out what was happening than I had been when I first showed up in my old apartment. There was a lot of lingering questions that I didn't particularly look forward to mulling over, but as long as I was the only one awake I didn't have much of a choice.

I looked up at the sky again, it was actually pretty nice out, with the clouds gone I could see the full moon and the stars without much problem given the lack of light pollution. I guess that's one good thing about everyone being gone, I can actually see the stars, that was something I always kind of missed about living in the country.

I thought about my parents, we hadn't exactly been on speaking terms ever since I left home because they had wanted me to stay in the town and help them run the shop they owned. It had been over a year since I had last said even two words to them, and right now all I could think about was what they must be thinking about when they returned.

Was it possible they were already out there somewhere? Was it even possible that I would get a chance to re-unite with them at some point and maybe we could even be a family again even if we were strange pony creatures? I sighed a little, I didn't know what I was going to do, but I didn't have a whole lot of choice.

After I finally got too tired to stay up any longer I went into my small house and pulled the covers over me with a yawn. I just had to hope that the next morning would give me something better than today had.

00000

I woke up hearing a scream.

I leaped out of bed thinking that something had come in the night and attacked the Pegasus mare, but when I ran into the house she was sleeping in, she was okay, well other than the fact that she was sitting up in her bed and staring down at her body.

"What... happened... to... me..." she said, breathing heavily as she looked herself over, I knew that response, she was trying to find anything left of her old body. "What am I?"

"Are you okay?" I asked as I looked at the mare who's eyes went wide as she looked up at me with soft baby blue eyes. "I found you in the backyard of a house not too far from here."

"What did you do to me!" She demanded as she got to her hooves and tried to walk towards me only to stumble and fall on her face. "Who are you and why did you turn me into this, thing?"

"I, didn't turn you into anything," I said in the calmest voice I could muster as I looked at the Pegasus mare who was still afraid. "I woke up a few days ago just like you did in this body, I used to be human too."

"That's crazy, people don't just turn into horse creatures, that doesn't even make sense," the woman said shivering as she looked around. "Where am I? What's going on?"

"You're in a settlement called Jewel outside of Atlanta," I said with a sigh as I tried to calm the panicked mare down. "I stumbled across it the other day and I've made something of a home here. I'm not sure what happened to us, other than some clues that I found in a journal left behind by one of the previous inhabitants of this settlement."

That seemed to calm the mare down a little, maybe it was because it meant that we were both in the same situation and she didn't know any more than I did. Now things were starting to make a little more sense, at least that meant that I wasn't the only person who returned recently, that might mean there is still a hope of finding more people out there, or ponies I guess.

I showed the Pegasus mare the journal entries I had found and she read them over quickly before shaking her head. I don't think she believed them either, and I didn't really blame her for that, it seemed pretty hard to believe by any stretch of the imagination but it was all we had at the moment.

"Erica," the Pegasus mare said with a sigh and I looked over at her curiously. "Its my name, Erica Stevens, I was a teacher at one of the local High Schools. I guess its kind of hard to believe, but I don't really know how any of this happened."

"What's the last thing you remember?" I asked as I looked over at her curiously.

"I was in my back yard getting ready to head upstairs," Erica said with a shake of her head. "That's all I remember before I met you, I guess I fell asleep or whatever did this caught me up in itself or something."

"Yeah, I was asleep when it happened to me," I said with a sigh as I looked up at the ceiling. "I really wish I had more answers to give you Erica, but this is as much a mystery to me as it is to you. I guess we have to figure this whole thing out and hope that whatever it is that attacked this settlement doesn't come back."

Erica nodded, she seemed to have calmed down a little at least, that was a good sign. Maybe things were going to be okay after all, I just had to hope so at least.

"What's your name?" She asked as she looked over at me with a tilt to her head.

"Charlotte Williams, everyone calls me Charlie," I said as I offered her a hoof. "Why don't we see if we can figure this new world thing out together?"

Erica looked at my hoof for a long moment, she looked like she was trying to decide what to do now. She finally smiled and took my hoof and shook it. "Sure, I'd be glad to Charlie, I just hope that we'll be able to figure it out."

"Me too Erica, me too," I said as I gave her a smile. "Come on, lets get something to eat."

She nodded and we headed out of the house to where I was keeping the supplies. I wasn't so alone anymore, that was a good thing at least, I just had to worry about everything else in this strange new world.

I hoped me and Erica could take it on together.

Comments

[The Bricklayer]

So, a misleading chapter title! Ooh! ...Jokes aside, glad Charlie is no longer facing her troubles alone. Always best to have someone by your side when in stories like this. ...Though how long that said someone will last, is another question entirely.

All in all though, good chapter.

[PiMan]

I'm emjoying this well enough. Nothing amazing about it but no real problems with it either.
Although you should have a second look at your chapter names and stay consistent.

[Dances With Unicorns]

I would be searching the city’s police stations for equipment.  For example, I would be looking for police dog body armor, with straps for carrying water bottlers, cameras, and first aid kits.

CaliberDog

[RuinQueenofOblivion]

8575442 Good idea, though I'm not sure how much is left after this long.

[Dances With Unicorns]

8575468

Imagine that a delivery truck with six, police dog body armor sets with extra equipment, along with other police equipment was driving up to the main police station cargo loading dock seconds before the event.  While they are walking up to the station, our two protagonists see the delivery truck appear and then gently bump onto the stations outside wall.  As the truck was moving slowly, the driver is ok, yet asleep.  The driver should be a bit different than a normal pony, similar to how Sassy Saddles is almost a head taller than Rarity, or Big Daddy McColt is shorter than the average pony.

Always remember that you are in charge of events in your story.  There should be unexpected good fortune in-between the conflict triggers and depressing events.

How about our two protagonists building up a new colony at the Hickory Ridge Landfill, which has a one-megawatt photovoltaic solar panel array?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hickory_Ridge_Landfill

[RuinQueenofOblivion]

8607114 Well, maybe, but I already have the main cast planned out actually, so I don't know.

Now, that might actually work, there is going to be a settlement founded somewhere in the city.