Chapter 7: Ryan
Dear journal,
Here's a list of some things that suck.
Item one: traveling through the desert
Item two: drinking gross water through a life straw
Item three: starving to death
Item four: slipping into quicksand
Item five: The way they look at me
Item six: knowing I'm going to die out here.
Item seven: knowing I only have one change of batteries for my voice recorder.
Item eight: being so close to discovering something that might change the world, but knowing I'll be dead and won't get to enjoy it.
That is my list for the day. Thank you for your attention.
Dear journal,
It has now been five days of walking. I can't feel my feet. I think there might be new holes. I don't know where they are, and I don't want to look to find out. I'm pretty sure the others are all asleep now, even Kaelynn, but I've walked off as far from them as I dare to make this recording.
I don't want to be overheard in case this might make me sound crazy or give them more reason to hate me.
I'm pretty sure all those things just happened. I wish I could make it stick. I wish I knew what I was doing, then I wouldn't have to worry about making the others so upset.
And if they weren't so disgusted with my appearance, then maybe they wouldn't feel so negative all the time. And then maybe I wouldn't feel so hungry. Of course it's obviously absurd projection and can't have any real connection to what and why I eat, but I don't really have any other theories or anything else to think about.
In the interest of completeness I should say we walked again tonight. Today. It's getting confusing, but according to the landmarks, we seem to be most of the way to our destination. Jordan disagrees, he thinks that it was just a large rock poking up from the sand. We have no way of knowing, of course, until we either find this city or we run out of water in the desert and die.
There aren't any other landmarks on our path. All we have is my navigation and Blake's suggestions. Unfortunately, we can't even use the stars to navigate since these are different stars. As it stands we're doing most of our reckoning using the sun's rising and setting. We can only hope the planet rotates the same way.
If we’re wrong, then we're going to die here. Well, we might not, if we're going the wrong way, there's a chance we'll reach the coast before we run out of supplies. And in that case at least, well, Kaelynn might not die. If she can breathe saltwater, then she’ll probably be fine. But we don’t have any way of finding out. It seems like an agonizing way to go.
But I'm just putting off getting down the details. So I should just get this all out before it goes fuzzy in my brain. Otherwise I might start thinking I imagined it all.
See, it goes without saying that I'm not like the others. I've written down enough details to convey that clearly enough. What might not be clear is that every one of us has... abilities. Blake's been starting our campfires every night and I'm pretty sure we ran out of matches a few days ago. Jordan claims that on some nights he sees visions of a place that isn't real, but he somehow knows the people he sees are real.
He says that it hasn't happened again in the last few days. Maybe if it does, we'll be able to get some real answers about what this place is and who these people are, who lives here. But the point of all this is to say that I think I've discovered what my purpose is, or at least what my abilities are.
I was with Kaelynn in the water. Well, not in the water, just talking to her. Or giving her someone to talk to anyway. As bad as Jordan and Blake have it pulling her each day, she has things far worse. I can’t imagine how awful it would be to be stuck in that stupid tank, circling endlessly as the water gets harder and harder to breathe. So I try to be around for her as much as I can. It's the only time when I don't feel hungry.
I had my head under there and she was rattling off some ideas she'd had for a filter. Some way to run the water through sand and mechanically strain away the organic debris. The water was crystal clear the first night, but now I can barely see her through it. At least she hasn't cooked alive in there.
We were discussing what materials we might acquire from this city, assuming we reach it. I was growing increasingly frustrated. You can't imagine how annoying it is to have a conversation in single sentences. Then stick your head under water and hold your breath as long as possible.
Passing back and forth is even more difficult. As anyone who's tried to talk underwater knows, it’s not easy. You can imitate sound with effort, but understanding what you’re saying isn’t easy. But somehow she can get her words out without distortion, like those special speakers. It makes sense for an animal designed to live under there.
The only effective way to have a conversation is for me to stick my head under the water, and then for her to poke up above the water, holding her breath in turn. It’s slow, and tedious, and I hate it. The frustration of this process has been growing the longer we continue. I found myself wishing I could just hop in and swim with her. No, I don't have any ulterior motives. Certainly my diary wouldn't record any of them or any feelings I may have had for her in the past. It's incredibly difficult to express feelings for strange, not even horse aliens, but she's the only one who never feels like she’s sick when I’m around.
I just wanted to be in there instead of out here. Then it happened. One minute I was leaning on the side of the tank. The next I was circling around her and breathing that foul water. I can taste why she wants the filter. God, that is awful stuff.
Having that thought, I realized what had happened and where I was. She was staring in shock. According to her, I looked exactly like her. An identical copy down to every biological detail. The shock undid my “powers,” and just like that I was taking in a mouth full of water and choking on it. I crawled out as fast as I could, but I didn't have the courage to stay and talk to her about it. I know she probably wanted me to, and I don't mean that just as a guess, I could feel it.
This could mean a great deal. Obviously I wouldn't spend any of our trip in there, since that would be significant weight wasted. But at least I could give her some company. Company of the wrong sex. But there is the path of madness, so I’m going to not think about that. I think there are some things that would be best left undiscovered.
I can tell staying here is having an adverse effect on everyone, not just me. Every time Blake and Jordan are working together for too long, I can feel the former having a minor existential crisis. Blake tries to reconcile the obvious disagreement of his senses and the instincts. But at least if he's having a crisis of faith over that, Blake isn't disgusted about me.
I don't know for sure, but it seems like Blake and Jordan are getting better about me. I'm beginning to suspect I might be a predator for the other species here. Like a cuckoo, only instead of laying eggs in another nest, I slip in myself and feed on their… attention? That's where the math breaks down a bit. Unfortunately I can't even ask Jordan to look for more information in the unconscious world. After what I just did, maybe the dreams are real. Makes me wonder if all I can do is copy.
If so, I need to focus on copying Blake. He's the only member of our party I can imitate without adding sexual confusion to the list of alien experiences. More importantly, he's the largest and strongest. If we encounter danger, I could either cower uselessly as this pseudo insect or take on a strong, brave body and fight back. Maybe Kaelynn would be more interested in my company if I did something brave.
Dear journal,
More good news. We've seen our first travelers today. I would say the contact was tense, but my companions are relieved to be eating something other than old, canned food.
The strangers appeared closer to Earth horses than any of us in the group. They towered over us, and were able to pull larger carts in their caravan. There were maybe a dozen of them in total, all dressed in pale clothing with most of their bodies covered. Of course they were traveling by day. So they encountered us as we were breaking camp to start travel.
Their leader introduced himself as Hoo'Far and said they had just traveled from our destination. Klugetown, its name hasn't changed from our maps. This produced considerable optimism from us, me included. Once the others weren't feeling beaten down, that meant I felt better as well. They traded some supplies, but the others agreed that we would try to keep as much money in our hands as possible.
We asked Hoo'Far about a portal to a distant land located in Klugetown, and whether or not visitors would be permitted to go through it. He knew nothing about it, nor did any member of his caravan.
This was not the best news we could have received, but it also wasn't terribly surprising. After all, no one knew about the portal on the Paris side. The location seemed to be actively concealed. And either we shared a moment of mass hysteria, or there is a being of some kind defending it. It could be that one or both of these things is true about the passage to New York located in Klugetown.
Unfortunately, the map Jordan found does not include more details about where the passage might be located. Only the name of the city on this side and the name on the other side. It could be this one is closed or hidden or secret. If Klugetown is not the answer, then our maps suggest we will be traveling a great distance.
The next closest passage to the Earth side is located somewhere called a Mount Aris. According to the scale of the map, the trip would be at least another 200 miles south and an indeterminate distance across open ocean. No matter how determined she is, I doubt Kaelynn would feel much like pulling a cart full of air with all of us inside it.
I haven't returned to speak with her again since my accidental discovery or hallucination. She hasn't brought it up with any of the others. She spent most of the day relaying suggestions for ways to make the filter. We purchased a couple of large clay pots from the caravan, along with charcoal and a few other ingredients. So we have the materials to make a filter.
Since we don't have a secondary vessel or pipes, we'll need to manually empty the contents into the filter and then use gravity to clean debris from the water, draining it back into the tank. But we need to do it soon. Kaelynn looks worse and worse every day. Her scales no longer shine, and her eyes are constantly cloudy and unfocused. I think she's going to get sick in there if we don't do something about it.
Fortunately, the caravan confirmed for us that Klugetown has access to ample water, so we should be able to refresh the tank as soon as we get there. Unfortunately that's the end of the good news for Kaelynn. The caravan had only seen people like Jordan before. Hoo'Far could not tell us what Blake, myself, or Kaelynn even were.
At dinner/breakfast we had a long conversation about what this might mean. If traveling through the portal causes such a significant transformation, it might be that the natives here are not descendants of human explorers after all. In fact, the transit mechanism makes us more like them. Or maybe it's none of the above and our theories about what's happening so far are completely wrong.
At least we'll have a city tomorrow. No one in the caravan spoke very highly of Klugetown’s libraries, but we were able to understand their words. The members of the other caravan seemed to speak perfect English.
But when we discussed our meeting after they had gone, Blake wondered how we had understood them as he heard them speak Spanish. That isn’t what I heard, or Jordan. At this point, it seems like every piece of new information just raises 10 more questions.
But we're not dead yet. One or two more days of travel and we will reach civilization. That civilization will probably not be very advanced based on what we saw from the caravan. I would say late middle ages, based on the way everything seemed handmade. But I could be wrong or maybe such a remote place just has less access to technology.
The last bit of information worth mentioning is that Hoo'Far knew nothing of other worlds. When we first asked, he mistook our question to mean we were looking for a way to return to a place called Equestria. He suggested booking an airship in Klugetown and flying there. Unfortunately, when it was clear to him we didn't know what an Equestria was, he didn't share further details with us. It might be something worth investigating when we reach Klugetown.
There is one matter of concern as we prepare to go in. The caravan suggested the city is a lawless and unfriendly place. If we appear weak, it may take advantage of us. When I'm done writing, I'm going to confront Blake and the others with what I think I can do.
If there are two of us that look big and strong, that should make us a less appealing target. Kaelynn also had a can of mace, so that's one weapon. We have plenty of knives that we can't use on account of not having any hands, but that's a challenge we'll face in another two days. We have a little more time to figure out our shit.
Then, hopefully, get home.
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Yeesh. Poor Ryan. And poor Kaelynn, she's gotta be so bored. I've got a feeling that a ship is gonna be sailing by the end of this story, though...
They have survived the desert... now can they survive 'civilization'?
Buggo has discovered bug things. Buggo will be MVP.
Ryan's first transformation and now it looks like he'll have to put it to practical use. Should be interesting to see.
Completely forgot about that. At least they're not drinking Fish pony soup.
Looks like he has control of his anger.
That's a good thing to hear. One less stressful thing to worry about.
Best news so far. That'll buy the group more time.
I guess it's easy to assume some connection with humanity, given the similarities between both, but the two civilizations appear to be completely separate entities. However, depending on the frequency of interdimensional travel, you might not be too far off about the natives being descended from humans.
Guess they're making it up as they go. Though I wonder what their plan will ultimately be. Traveling to another gate doesn't guarantee that it's safe from another monster on the other side. Gathering resources to build a weapon to fight the monster is also an option though so many things could go wrong. It's only gonna get tougher from here.
Everybody gangsta 'till the cute little changeling whips out a knife
I mean, biologically speaking, while you're copying her form...
Oh dear.
I'm pretty sure it's a barge at that point, but Ryan's still correct.
Ah, the magic of localization.
Yeah, making their way through the lovechild of Zootopia and Mos Eisley is not going to be easy, pleasant, or enjoyable for this group. Let's see how they tackle it.
10670422
That is the 64k bit question.
The caravan not recognizing a changeling says this story takes place at least prior to Season 2 or so far in the future that skittlebugs are all anypony has ever known save for a very select few. This could make things significantly easier on Ryan at least until he runs into someone who does recognize his species, or another changeling.
10670463
If that description doesn't make it's way into the story, we will have been dealt a grave injustice because it is so spot-on it hurts.
10670422
Given that our heroes are as well traveled as they are, I suspect they're better equipped to handle Kludgetown than most.
10670463
The implication is that Ryan has the hots for Kaelynn, and has since before they went through the portal. He doesn't want to hang out with her as a girl, he wants to hang out with her as a guy.
10670835
10670422
The way I see it, they're human, so they've already got a leg up on anything born pony. So if they dont stand out too much against anything bigger than them, they could pass as background noise, maybe with tue exception of the big fishtank.
10671152
It could also mean that any news from equestria doesn't really leave the borders. So it could really be anywhere on the timeline. And considering Klugetown is filled with many species, it wouldn't really be worth noting that everyone in the strange caravan is different, other than the fact that they don't know what species they are.
I’m a little worried about what that big red violence tag implies.
TARDIS translation matrix style of translation? Maybe???
I hope they can get what they want in Klugetown without being molested, beaten up or abducted. I doubt anyone in Klugetwon will know anything about the portal either.
10671324
every time I glance at your profile picture, I see a capybara, only after a second look do I realize it's a unicorn