Facing the Future

by RuinQueenofOblivion

Chapter 4: Season's Greetings

Author's Note:

Okay guys, I don't know how many of my readers celebrate Christmas, but I wanted to do a special chapter for it for this fic given the time period. You can skip it if you want, you won't miss much other than the main characters making first contact with the outside world.

It was weird having someone else in the settlement with me after being alone for the past few days. Not that I minded having Erica's company, it was just strange given that I had almost gotten used to being on my own.

Erica seemed nice enough really, she helped me get the defenses on the Settlement set back up and search for food. We were actually looking pretty good at the moment and I was starting to hope that maybe, just maybe, we'd be able to make it without any problems.

There was still the occasional howls coming from the city but they didn't seem to be getting any closer and there was still no sign of our large fire breathing adversary that had attacked the settlement before. I didn't ever think that I would actually be defending myself from a dragon, and I don't think Erica did either.

"Do you really think there's a dragon out there somewhere?" Erica asked as we sat down for breakfast one morning. "I mean it sounds pretty fantastic is all I'm saying."

"We've been turned into a Unicorn and a Pegasus, I don't think fantastic is a word that should be said by us right now," I said with a chuckle as I started eating ravenously. "Besides, you never know what might be out there."

"Yeah, first its dragons, maybe there's something like an eldritch abomination from the stars or something out there that wants to take over the world," Erica said and I shot her a weird look.

"You read way too much H.P. Lovecraft, you know that?" I said as I just blinked a little, that was a strangely specific thing to say could happen. "Or do you know something I don't?"

"Nope, just thinking out loud really," Erica said as she took a drink of water. "So, what about you, what did you do before you showed up as a, strangely colored Unicorn. Seriously, what's with the red splotches, did you fall into a vat of tomato sauce?"

"Would you believe this is natural?" I asked with a chuckle as I looked at my red spots on my body. "I kind of like it actually, its something kinda unique to me maybe, I don't know how pony genetics work. But before I was a Unicorn I was actually a waitress at the Varsity, not exactly an illustrious career choice I know, but it put food on the table."

"Oh, I went there a few times," Erica said a little surprised, I guess neither of us had expected to meet with one another. "Small world I guess, I'm just a high school teacher like I said. I'm still wondering exactly what happened here, how much of that story do you think is true?"

"Well, unless you want to walk to Alexandria, wherever that is, we have only the journals to go by," I said with a shrug. "But really, we don't know. People don't just randomly turn into small horse creatures with or without wings and horns, something had to have caused this, right?"

"Right," Erica said with a nod.

"This is literally the only thing we have that resembles an answer," I said as I looked through the journal entries again. "We could find this, Naris maybe she might be able to give us more answers."

"Talking Zebras, do I want to know what's next?" Erica asked with a chuckle as she finished her breakfast and set down the rough plate she had been using. "So what do you think we should do today?"

"I'd say look around a little, maybe we can find some more..." I started to say when my ears twitched a little, there was a sound on the wind, it sounded like someone singing a tune in a language I didn't quite understand. "Do you hear that too?"

"Yeah, I hear it," Erica said as we got to our hooves and headed out towards the main gate of the settlement and opened it up to look outside to see where the sound was coming from.

Walking along the street was an equine figure dressed in warm clothing with a hat pulled down over their face a little. I blinked a little in surprise when I got a brief look at them, they had stripes, that must mean they're a Zebra.

"I don't think that's a recently returned person," Erica commented as she looked at the Zebra, she was probably right, they carried themselves differently than either of us, like they knew the world better than we did.

Finally the Zebra stopped in front of the gate and looked at us with a smile, lifting her hat a little to reveal a smiling Zebra that gave us each a nod.

"Ave, and Merry Christmas," the Zebra said in a recognizably feminine voice. "What brings two ponies into this part of the city?"

I blinked a little, did she just say ave? What did that mean, and Merry Christmas? While I had no doubt that it was sometime in the winter, I didn't think we were that close to Christmas, shows what I knew I guess.

"Uh, ave," I said with a surprised look on my face as the Zebra removed her hat and shook her long mane free before putting it back on her head. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jirani of the Zencori Tribe, I was passing nearby when I saw the smoke from your campfire," Jirani said with a nod as she pointed behind us. "Jewel has not been inhabited in many years, what brings the two of you here?"

"We, recently re-appeared in this world I guess," I said as I just looked at her for a long moment as I tried to figure out what was up with this Zebra as we introduced ourselves. "What about you, what brings you here?"

"I'm a Zencori Storyteller, so I travel around Georgia a lot, and I happened to be nearby," Jirani said as she gestured inside again. "Do you mind if I stop and rest for awhile? I know we just met and I don't want to impose."

"No, no, of course we don't mind, we could use the company," I said and Erica nodded as the Zebra nodded and we walked back into the settlement together.

When we were around the campfire again I was a little surprised when the Zebra removed her outer coat in order to get warmer. My eyes fell on her flank where there was some sort of weird symbol that looked like it had been drawn there like a tattoo with a flowing symbol of, something that I didn't recognize.

"So, are you going to keep checking me out or do you have something else planned?" Jirani asked with a chuckle and I looked away with a blush. "Don't worry about it, if you two are refugees like you said you both have a lot to get used to. Its a shame you didn't return when there was more civilization in Atlanta, but that can't be helped."

"What happened?" Erica asked as Jirani shook her head a little.

"The Dragon of Stone Mountain moved in and started laying waste everywhere he went," Jirani said as she warmed herself up more. "He destroyed Jewel here in a matter of minutes, there were only a few survivors and they were lucky to make it out alive. That Dragon has been nothing but trouble for anypony who wants to make their home here, its why we mostly live farther south."

The Dragon of Stone Mountain? Well that was one thing to call it I guess, and it did confirm that it was the same creature that had been mentioned in the earlier journal entry.

"That's a bit on the nose isn't it? Erica asked which just made the Zebra laugh.

"Well, we do not know the dragon's true name, so we just have to go with what we know about where he lives I guess," Jirani said with a chuckle as she gave us a nod. "But really, the Dragon is dangerous, we're still trying to figure everything out, you'd think after almost 157 years we'd know more about this strange new world we're stuck in."

"Wait, its been that long?" Erica asked as she looked at Jirani with a shocked look on her face. "I had no idea that much time had passed."

"Yeah, well, things have been getting a little hard to get together," the Zebra said with a shrug. "But everything seems to be getting somewhat on track, and the Zebra tribes have been getting everything together as best we can."

"Right, the Zencori are, storytellers right?" I asked and she nodded. "So, you said today is Christmas?"

"That's right," Jirani said with a smile and a nod. "We've been keeping track of the days as best we can, but we believe that it is December 25th, 156 AE yes."

"I honestly never really got into Christmas," Erica said with a shrug. "The fact is that it just became so much about consumerism that its all kind of lost its original message is all I'm saying."

"Well, the Zencori have a tradition for Christmas Day," Jirani said with a smile as she reached into her bags and took out an old bound book and gave us a nod. "Every year we tell the Christmas story to those who want to hear it, given the situation its not always easy to get anything like presents so we consider it more a time of contemplation and reflection on everything that's been happening."

I smiled a little at that, that actually made sense to me, everything that was going on made it hard to do anything else and I could understand why people might want to celebrate it that way. It actually sounded kind of nice to just hang around and talk or read the story, it kind of reminded me of Christmas back home with my family.

I looked over at Erica who tilted her head a bit curiously, she looked like she was as interested in seeing what was going on here as I was.

"Alright, well if that's your tradition for Christmas, then I'd be glad to be here for that," I said with a nod and looked at Erica who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that sounds okay I guess," Erica said as she gave me a nod. "So, the Christmas story huh?"

"Yes, well its more like a somewhat shortened version of it, but its what we tell every year around this time," Jirani said as she opened the book which looked like it was written in some language that I didn't quite understand but the Zebra seemed to understand it well enough as she started to read."In those days, Caesar Augustus ordered a census of all of those who lived in the Roman empire. So Joseph, as he was of the line of David, traveled to Bethlehem with his wife Mary, who was with child."

I listened intently, it had been a long time since I had really heard the Christmas story since I barely saw my parents any time of the year let alone around Christmas. I smiled a little as I listened intently, I had an idea of what to expect of this story, but it still sent me back to a time when I was just a little girl sitting in my father's lap as he told the story.

I thought about my parents, I had no idea what might've happened to them, odds were that they had vanished like I had but I didn't know where they were or what they even looked like now. Maybe they had already re-appeared by now or they were even still missing, I didn't know but right now the fact was that I wasn't in much of a position to look for them.

"As it happened, Mary gave birth to a son while she was in Bethlehem, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger as there was no room for them at the inn. He was given the name Jesus, as he was to be the savior of the world."

I looked over at Erica, I was a bit surprised to see her listening curiously, I didn't know a lot about the Pegasus mare just yet but it was nice to have something that we could listen to together. I placed my hoof on her's and she gave me a light smile as the Zebra continued reading.

"Outside the town there were shepherds who were tending to their flocks by night. Suddenly an Angel appeared above them and the shepherds were afraid, but the Angel said, 'Be not afraid for I bring you tidings of great joy. Onto you a Savior is born on this day, you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and resting in a manger, and you shall know him as Christ the lord.' Suddenly a whole host of angels appeared in the skies above and began singing, "Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace towards men.'"

I brushed a tear from my eye, the more she read the more I thought about my family and what might've happened to them. I wished that maybe I could've stayed in better contact with them and maybe, just maybe there was a chance that they were still out there somewhere.

My thoughts went to Jake, he was still out there somewhere too and I had no idea where he might be. The fact of the matter was that I might never know, I might be alone in this part of Georgia for the rest of my life. Well, other than Erica at least, and maybe there was a chance of finding other ponies out there somewhere, maybe we could even consider going with the Zebras, it was something at least and we wouldn't have to keep scrounging for supplies like this.

"The Shepherds took their flock into town and as the Angel had promised they found Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus. That evening they returned to their fields, singing praises of the Lord with great joy as the promise of the Lord had been kept."

She smiled a little as she closed the book and looked at the two of us. "So, that's the story of the first Christmas, I'm glad I got to share it with you both."

"Thank you for that," I said with a smile as I looked at the Zebra for a long moment. I wondered what made different people come back as different things, I didn't know a lot about whatever caused this, and for that matter could a dragon be a factor of that or was I missing something?

This new world was strange and was filled with wonders and surprises so I honestly didn't know what might still be waiting for us out there. Maybe there was something worse than just a fire breathing dragon, or maybe there was something we might be missing.

"So, is there anything else we should know about what's going on around here?" I asked as I looked over at the Zebra curiously. "Any, large dog like creatures perhaps?"

The Zebra looked at me strangely for a long moment before she realized what I was talking about. "Oh, you mean the Wolf Beast, well, honestly I don't know a lot about it myself. There are some rumors that its a Diamond Dog that returned sometime after Jewel was abandoned and it has been stalking Atlanta ever since, but nopony is quite sure to be honest."

That wasn't exactly reassuring, that might mean there was something out there that was just as dangerous as a dragon and it was somewhere nearby based on what we had found.

"But that's not important right now, right now we should just focus on the present," she said with a smile as she warmed herself more by the fire. "So, who are you two waiting for?"

"Well, my boyfriend I guess," I said with a shrug. "He was in New York City though, so I doubt he'll be coming back here, so I don't really know what I'm waiting for. My family didn't really live anywhere near here, I guess I'm just on my own unless Jake decides to head south after he returned."

I looked down at my stomach for a long moment and Jirani looked at me sympathetically as she tilted her head a little. "You're pregnant aren't you?"

"You're what?" Erica asked as her eyes went wide and she looked over at me in shock, I hadn't told her yet, I hadn't really gotten the chance to tell her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't really get the chance until now," I said with a sigh as I shrugged a little. "Jake's the father, he's the only one who could be, but I don't know what I'm going to do to be honest. Its not like there are a lot of doctors left in the city or something, so I've got a lot of stuff to figure out."

"Well, doctors are the easy part," Jirani said with a smile. "We're on good terms with members of the Mendi Tribe who are willing to help pregnant mares out as they need it. Its interesting really, there have only been a few reports about pregnant women returning in Georgia, perhaps it'll make a good story someday. You're quite the interesting pony if you're able to survive in this part of Georgia."

"We'll see, right now I just want to focus on surviving," I said as I looked at the Zebra mare strangely, I wasn't sure why she was interested in the idea of making me the main character of my own story, but I wasn't going to tell her otherwise. "How many stories do the Zencori have?"

"Countless," Jirani said with a smile. "We have stories from both the old world and the new, the things I could tell you such as the war over Battle Creek or the attempted takeover of Alexandria by a being from Equestria. So what about you Erica, are you waiting for anyone to return?"

"Not really, I lived alone before this whole thing happened," the Pegasus mare said with a shrug. "I was a teacher so that was pretty much my life and I didn't have much of a love life to be honest. A few dates here and there sure, but it never really went anywhere."

"Well, you never know, maybe this will give you a new chance at something more," Jirani said. "I'm sure that you both will have someone out there for you in no time, at least we can all hope."

She paused a long moment and I realized she was starting to cry a little. This was the first time I had seen the Zebra show an emotion other than cheerfulness and it was weird, like something was bothering her but she wasn't ready to talk about it just yet.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I looked at the Zebra curiously. "Are you still waiting for someone to return too?"

"My children," she said with a sigh as she poked at the fire with a stick. "Justin, Cynthia, and Victoria, they still haven't returned yet. I only returned a few years ago myself, and while I've settled into the Zencori fairly well, I'm still hoping that someday soon they'll return and we can all be a family."

I placed a hoof on the Zebra mare's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile, I could tell that it pained her to talk about this and I understood why. We had all been separated from our loved ones by this whole thing and it wasn't going to be easy on any of us.

What kind of cruel force could do this sort of thing to a mother and her children? I don't care what purpose they may have had, whatever reason they had couldn't excuse this. I don't know what I would've done if this had happened later than it had and I had been a mother in the same situation.

"I'm sure that you'll see them again someday," I said with a soft smile.

Jirani gave me a smile and she pulled me into a hug. "Thank you Charlie, that means a lot," she said and released the hug after a moment. "If not to me then maybe to my other children or my grandchildren, we will never forget the past, that is the purpose of the Zencori, to make sure the past survives and will not be forgotten."

"A noble goal to say the least," Erica said with a smile.

"Yes it is," Jirani said as she gave us both a smile. "And I'm afraid that I should be going, I still have a long walk back home and I would like to see my own foals again. I wish you both luck, and perhaps I can get some help out here to you."

"That, would be nice," I said with a smile as the Zebra got her equipment back together and gave us both a hug.

"It was nice meeting you Jirani," Erica said and we each hugged her back before the Zebra headed out of the settlement's gate again.

I watched her go and sighed a little, while it was nice that there were more out there I kind of wished that she had stayed for awhile longer. At least now things were going pretty well.

"So, scavenging again today?" Erica asked as she looked over at me.

"Maybe, but for now lets just relax, it is Christmas after all," I said with a smile and looked up at the sky above and wondered what more might be awaiting us in this strange new world.

Comments

[The Bricklayer]

Merry Christmas Ruin, lovely chapter. Nice change from the usual.

[PiMan]

Giving some thought, it surprises me how long there have been zebra tribes in your corner of this universe.
It would only take a handful to start a tribe, but I've gotten the impression that Jewel fell some years ago, and the total population in the area would still have been low, let alone specifically the zebra population. Why would they have formed their own tiny tribe rather than work more directly with other equine survivors?

[RuinQueenofOblivion]

8630827 That is an excellent question.

First, the Zebra Tribes really formed about 40 years after the Event, which is 100 years before this fic, so it’s been quite awhile.

Second, Georgia has a higher than normal Zebra population when compared to the rest of the planet. Likewise they exhibit unusual traits and traditions either not seen or rarely seen elsewhere.

Third, as implied in The Lost Children, there is an outside influence at work here. The Zebras formed the tribes as a result of this influence, and it may reflect Zebra society in Equestria or be something else.

[Dances With Unicorns]

I’d be attempting to find more returnees, by searching MARTA's Five Points Station. Here is a link to Atlanta’s busiest transit, bus and train station.

Five-Points - MARTA

Another place to find returnees is the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport