• Published 28th Nov 2018
  • 641 Views, 31 Comments

Peregrination to the Promised Land - Alden MacManx



Waking up after shortly after The Event, Joe Velloti faces a decision- what to do now?

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Chapter Twelve- Settling In

By the start of the next week, Joe and Linz were fully integrated into the community, getting a house and jobs. Marsha and Ben moved out, Marsha going to one of the communal bunkhouses and Ben moving in with another diamond dog. The foals were to remain with Joe and Linz, because the foals asked to. Joe and Linz did not mind, it enabled them to get better housing than they would have.

The kids were placed into the school, Linz took a position working part-time at the library and the hospital, and Joe was slated for weather training and other duties. That Monday, Joe and Artie set out for the Lundquist’s orchard, fortunately making it in under a day. The Lundquists welcomed Joe’s return, and Artie thought to bring along a package for them, mainly a crank-up radio and a satphone, along with charging cables so the phone could be recharged from the tractor. Vern and Daisy insisted they spend the night, so they did, getting Artie caught up on the state of the orchard, and Artie telling about the plans Alexandria had for them. Artie was not supposed to be the ‘ambassador’, but since the couple insisted they stay and talk, he got drafted into it.

The next day, Artie telegated the Patrol back to Alexandria, returning a little later with four ponies who were interested in working the farm, which the couple were happy for. A shuttle arrangement was arranged, to bring apples and other produce to Alexandria, and finished goods, materials and ponies to the orchard. Alex herself came along that next day, to finalize the arrangements and enjoy some fresh apples for herself.

Once back in Alexandria, Artie sought out Joe. “You would saddle me with extra work…” he said drily. At Joe’s puzzled expression, Artie explained about the every couple of days telegate to the orchard, in addition to his regular duties. “Tell you what, kid. You take over at the fire department, and I won’t slap the stupid out of you for giving me the extra woik!”

“Deal!” Joe said, hoofbumping the startled unicorn.

“Okay, Lieutenant, I’ll let the chief know. I’ll go back to the ranks, you can do the leading.”

“Don’t like leading, Artie?” Joe asked.

“Heck, no! If I make a mistake while leading, we all suffer. If I make a mistake by myself, I pay for it.” Artie said in reply. “Besides, a leader I ain’t. I’ll leave that to those crazy enough to try.”

“Are you calling me crazy?” Joe snapped back.

“If you’re crazy, what does that make me? A paragon of sanity?”



At night, after the kids were put to bed, Joe and Linz had time to sit and cuddle together, under Trixie’s supervision, of course. “How was your day, love?” Joe asked.

“Wonderful. Doctor Oliver is a good teacher at the hospital, and the Equestrian information is such a challenge to read and practice. Within a month or so, Oliver will clear me for assistant nurse duties, and I can start working at the hospital for real. How about you?” Linz asked in return.

Joe told about his trip to the Lundquist’s, and his chats with Rapid Transit. “He tries to come across as a sarcastic ass, but he’s really a good fellow inside. He’s just afraid to show it.”

“I’m going to have to get to know him better. The kids are settling in to school. Danny says it’s not boring, they get to do things, not just sit in a classroom all day,” Linz reported.

“Do you like looking after them?”

“I don’t mind being a foster mother to them. They need someone to look after them in this strange new world. Think maybe we could give them a brother or sister?” Linz asked with a coy smile.

“If we have not got one started already, we ought to try some more!” Joe said with a smile.

“Ready when you are, my big red stallion!”



About three weeks after they arrived, the prep team pulled in, led by George Wilkins. They arrived in two City of New York panel trucks, the paint jobs faded some, but the trucks ran well. After debriefing, the team was given the freedom of the town. George immediately sought out Joe for a chat.

“Your trailblazing idea worked wonders, Joe. We had no problems following the trail, and we took the time to clear the lanes completely the whole way through,” George said after greetings at the firehouse.

“How did you get past the mad dog in Wheeling?” Joe asked.

“We set up camp east of Wheeling, and Yuri and I flew over to check out the campground,” Yuri being one of the griffins in New York, a former deli worker. “Yuri brought his rifle along, and held back when I went in close. The camp was a wreck, and so was the dog. When he took a couple of shots at me, Yuri lined up a shot and managed to get him twice, once in the leg, once in his gun arm. When the dog dropped his gun, I flew in and stomped the snot out of him. That dog, all he was bitching about after was that he wanted to dissect a griffin, so Yuri took him out to the bone pit and buried him there,” George explained.

“Buried him alive?” Joe asked.

George sat back on his haunches, looking thoughtful. “You know, I didn’t ask. I was on the phone, calling Sadie and having her bring the team across. When Yuri told me the damn dog was taken care of, I took him at his word. We built a base camp along 70 in Triadelphia and left a message saying to be real careful the next twenty miles, taking 470 around the city and the flooded tunnel. The next camp we built is in Morristown, at a truck stop there.”

“You going to go back to New York, or stay here?” Joe asked. “What about the main caravan?”

“A team of eighteen left New York a month after we did, taking it slow. No powered vehicles, just pony-drawn trailers and wagons. They’re taking the slow route, because Fred’s got farms started in Central Park, and wants to stay there. Next spring, they will start spreading out through the city, converting other parks to farms,” George reported. “They should be here before fall hits. At last report, they were south of Pittsburgh.

“As for me, I have a week to decide. Right now, I want to stop driving and stay put for a while, before thinking about moving on. If I do go back, I just might bring another wave out this way, depending on what’s going on back in the city,” George said.

“I can definitely understand that, George. We’ll see what happens later. Find any strays along the way?” Joe asked.

George nodded. “Five, all singles, in different places. We brought them along.”

George did leave the next week, bringing copies of Equestrian texts along to keep in New York, for basic training. He did promise to return, hopefully before the snow flies. Six other ponies went with him, either returning to New York or going along because they wanted to travel about while the ability was there to travel.



The second month after arriving, Linz reported she was pregnant with a foal, about the same time Artie’s wife, Soaring Heart, said she was pregnant as well. That night found Joe and Artie at the bar, trying to drink off the shock of becoming fathers. They were on their second beer each when the alarm horn started to howl.

“That’s the tornado alarm! Pardon me, Artie, but time to fly!” Joe said, getting up. “It was a dark and stormy night…” he muttered.

“I think I’ll call you Sky Hook, not Bulwer-Lytton, like others already are!” Artie called back as he got up, heading for the fire station.

Joe went to the weather room, where he found that a tornado was spotted and called in about three miles away and closing. He was detailed with a squad of other pegasi to divert it away from town. It was a struggle, in the rain, wind and darkness, but the team of pegasi managed to push the storm so it would pass south of Alexandria instead of through it. After, the storm team checked the path of damage, making sure no pony was trapped. Good thing they did, because a tree had come down atop a house, and it blocked the storm cellar. Joe got a grip on the trunk and lifted for all he was worth, causing the tree to shift, rolling free of the cellar door. Spent, he flopped on the ground, heedless of the wet and chill. One of his squad mates landed nearby.

“Are you okay, Sky Hook?” he was asked.

“Moving that tree took about all I had. Everypony all right?” Joe puffed.

“From the house, yes. One weather squad has not reported in yet. We’re looking for them now,” his squad mate, Ivan Gotyeroksov, a yellow and black pegasus with an eye for the ladies told him. “You rest, and we’ll call if we need you, okay?”

“Deal, Ivan,” Joe said before letting himself go limp, not caring about the damp, muddy ground he was sprawled in, too tired to really give a good goddamn.

Joe was woken up some time later by someone shaking him. He opened his eyes to find he was in a covered wagon, dried off, on a soft pad. “Wake up, Sky Hook!” he heard as he was shaken again.

Joe opened an eye to see Toni Burke, a young pink and green unicorn who is part of the fire department, shaking him with her glow. “We found the weather squad, but one of them needs an airlift. Can you handle it?” she asked his open eye, looking worried.

“Where they at?” Joe muttered, fighting to shake off his lethargy and winning.

“Almost in Vermilion,” a town a little east and south of Alexandria. “Dale and Jack are all right, but Julie got blown through a tree and broke a wing. They can’t get back here with her. Using Channel Six for guidance,” Ivan told Joe as he got up and stretched some. “Ready when you are.”

“Going to fly wing for me?” Joe asked.

“In this weather? Hell, yes!”

“Knew you were smart, Ivan. Let’s get this done so I can get some sleep,” Joe said as he took off, Ivan at his side.

“Got it, Sky Hook!”

The flight out was a challenge, both with the dark and the turbulence in the wake of the tornado. That’s why Ivan offered to fly wing pony, to help cope with the challenges. Ivan spotted the other team’s beacon first, near a big old willow tree. Upon landing, they found that the two stallions had bandaged and splinted the mare’s wing and had bound her wings with cloth. Joe hovered over the mare, got a grip on her with all four hooves, and with some effort managed to get up off the ground. “Thanks for the pickup, Sky Hook,” Julie said once airborne.

“Hey, friends help friends. I’ll take you direct to the hospital. I don’t like the blood I saw on the bandages,” Joe said as he maintained flight with only occasional wing flaps, gliding as much as he could.

“Be glad you can’t feel it. How did the rescue go?” Julie asked.

“Well. I got the tree moved, freeing the trapped ponies. The house will need some work, but at least it won’t have to be razed,” Joe muttered, concentrating more on staying airborne.

“Good to hear,” Julie grunted as a bump made her wince some.

The rest of the flight went quietly, the other three pegasi taking point. Dropping Julie at the hospital, Joe flew straight home, where after reassuring the kids all was okay, he went right to bed, pausing only long enough to dry off before flopping onto the mattress. If he didn’t do that, Linz would give him hell for at least two days.


Joe did not wake up until well after dawn, to find the house empty, a note on the table telling him to go to the hospital after breakfast, which was thoughtfully left out for him, along with a big insulated mug of coffee, done the way he liked it.

Checking in at the hospital, Joe was examined by Doctor Oliver, who pronounced him fit for duty, after his nap. Julie, Joe found, will be out of action for a couple of weeks while her wing heals, and the ponies in the house he removed the tree from were all fine. Reporting in for work, he was assigned to the crew who was removing the tree that had come down. Joe spent the rest of the day removing logs from the site, either piling some there, or hauling wood back to town for drying.

That night, at home, Joe got to explain to Linz and the kids his version of what happened the night before, after which they all told him the version they heard. “My new dad is the best pony in Alexandria!” Danny exclaimed, backed up by both Sara and Mary. “He saves other ponies that need help!”

“Just doing my job, kids…” Joe said, blushing brightly.

“You do it good, Dad!” Danny shouted. “I’m going to join the fire brigade when I’m old enough, so I can be like you, helping ponies that need it!”

“I won’t stop you, Danny, but what does your new mom think?” Joe asked.

“His new mom says that’s a good idea, if he wants. Maybe he will become smart enough to learn spells that are good for firefighting,” Linz said with a smile. “Some classes with Mystic Rune should help that.”

Danny grimaced. “Do I have to, mom? He’s such an ass as a teacher!”

“If you can’t come up with spells on your own, Danny, you’ll have to go to him for lessons,” Joe advised after a chunk of bread.

“I’ll work hard, Dad!” Danny said earnestly as Sara raised a hoof. “I want to learn what you do too, Dad. Soaring Heart says I’m getting good at flying.”

Linz let out a chuckle. “Looks like it’s ‘take your kids to work day’ tomorrow, Sky Hook,” she said, Trixie meowing in agreement.

“When it’s least expected, you’re elected…” Joe sighed as he finished his dinner.

“You’re the star today, Dad!” Mary said with a smile.

Author's Note:

This finishes this tale. I'm sure I'll do more with these ponies, sometime.

Comments ( 6 )

Journey complete, life goes on.

But, thats another story.:twilightsmile:

Is there plans for a sequel?

9374361
Eventually. Working on another project now. I'm sure I'll go back to this storyline SOMEtime in the future.

I loved this slice of life story. In addition, I hope someone will make Garry's Mod and Source Filmmaker character models based on your original characters.

Really hope that Yuri did a good job of planting the good doctor, would not like to see him pop back up.

and we have a new hit story totally awesome.

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