It's been 3200 years since "The Event" occurred. With new refugees returning from the spell's limbo every day, these former humans must adjust to the society built by those before them where normality has a completely new meaning.
In the year 2015, humans vanished off the face of the earth and those that remained were transformed into ponies, griffins, and other creatures. The others were thrown into the timestream to return as one of these creatures at a later time. Fast forward three millennia and a new society rose from the ashes, built by the returning humans and their children. The refugees of this era may not have it as bad as those in the past, but integrating into this new society still poses a great challenge.
The dining car bustled with life as everyone began taking their seats for dinner. Max and Katie weaved through the small crowd to one of the booths, scooted in, and made themselves comfortable. Outside, the autumn sky glowed a beautiful amber red as the cornfields of Nebraska whizzed by. The scene reminded Max of a road trip he and his family once went on. He could feel himself in the leather seat of his mom’s Subaru, watching a never-ending horizon of grains slide past, only broken by the occasional road sign. He could feel the air conditioning blowing into his face and he could hear the snoring of his little sister in the back.
Max snapped back to reality when Katie placed her hoof on his. “Max?” she said gently. “Are you okay?”
He kept his hoof still as his heart fluttered. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah.” He sighed and closed the curtain. “Corn makes me feel melancholy.”
“Corn?” she snorted.
Max rolled his eyes. “I grew up around the stuff, remember?”
“How could I not?” Katie chuckled. “You remind me all the time, country boy.”
“I’m not a country boy…” Max mumbled, crossing his forelegs. That’s when Max caught a glimpse of a familiar face. A pegasus a couple tables down from them was talking to a mare. It took a few moments for Max to remember, but when he did, he didn’t skip a beat.
“Holy shit, Katie. It’s that guy from the bar.” Max said staring him down.
“What guy? The donkey?” Katie turned around and scanned the car until she spotted him. “Isn’t that the singer that decked you?”
The dark gray pegasus looked up from his table and froze, seeing Max glare at him from across the car. He got up from his seat and made his way to the couple, his walk affected by the gentle sway of the train. Once close enough, he pointed his right wing at the earth pony. "You... you…”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Max said, retreating further into the booth. “We don’t want any trouble.”
“...have a very hard head” he deadpanned.
With his back against the wall, Max’s muscles locked into place. Katie’s horn glowed as she levitated a table lamp behind the stallion’s head, ready to defend her friend.
"Did you know, my wrist hates your head?” the stallion declared, staring down the terrified earth pony. “What in hell were you doing getting in the way of my swing, anyhow?" he asked, shaking his right hoof gingerly.
The couple glanced at each other then back at the rambling pegasus.
"Cost me a bit to get it healed. Fortunately, I get discount rates at Vegas General." he then turned and smiled at Katie. "This your fella?"
“Uh…” Katie squeaked. “This… is my friend, Max, yeah.”
"Good." the stallion said. "Thought so. Now, what in the name of sweet tarnation are you doing on this train going to Chi-town?" He then shakes his head, letting his multicolored mane fly about some. "Weren't you at the show with him a couple weeks back?"
“...yeah?” Katie muttered, still at a loss for words.
“You’re… not here to kick my ass for breaking your wrist?” Max said, still just as stunned by the loquacious pony.
"No, why? Do you think I should?" the stallion fired back before smiling at the two. "I got a good reason why I shouldn't. The wife is now manifesting a ten-inch cast iron skillet over my tuchis, ready to strike if I do.” He moved closer to their table to let a waitress pass by. “But where are my manners? I'm Hal Sleet, frontman of the Dippy Hippies, afternoon radio host at Retro Radio Two, and adjutant to General Blue Blizzard, head of the Nevada Aeronautical Survey, in no particular order."
Max cautiously extended his hoof for a hoof shake. “Well uh… Nice to meet you. I’m Max, and this is Katie.”
Katie floated the table lamp back to the table behind them and started giggling like a filly. “That’s an impressive resume, George Carlin.”
Hal shrugged. “So, ya found out my dirty secret. He was my favorite comedian while going through Beep school, way back when.” Without looking back, he said, “Raven, put that pan down and come join us.”
“Well that answers my question,” Katie said with a smile. “Nice to meet another returnee. I bet I’m the first one in a long time that’s got that reference, huh?”
“I don’t remember any George Carlin skits like that,” Max said with a raised brow.
“That’s cause you’ve only seen his stand-up acts,” Katie said with a playful shove.
“I’ve been a weather geek since I was a kid. Me, the hippy dippy weather pony.” Hal said, giving his head a shake, allowing his multi-colored mane to fly around some. “I thought it fit.”
“Hal, one of these days, you’ll stop being so bizarre and actually show some sense,” said a black unicorn with a lavender horn and mane, coming up alongside Hal.
“But, where’s the fun in that, Raven?” Hal asked innocently.
Raven’s horn flared a pale violet, and a frying pan waved menacingly in the air.
“What is this, some kind of eighties sitcom?” Max stated, seeing the frying pan waving about.
“Where the hell did you get a frying pan?” Katie asked bewildered.
The frying pan disappeared as Hal looked suitably chastised. “Maybe someday I will show you. Meanwhile, I’m Professor Raven Blacklight, of the ULV College of Magic and Fine Arts, and the wife of this loudmouthed, long-winded pain in the ass husband of mine who I will not let go of no matter how hard he tries,” she said, leaning against Hal.
Hal looked down at the table. “Dammitall, twenty years of effort down the sanitary tanks…” he sighed, but with an impish twinkle in the eye facing Raven.
“Anyway, who are you two?” Raven asked.
“I’m Max and this is Katie,” Max stated, finally letting out a smile. He looked between Katie and Raven, noticing their striking similarity: light charcoal colored and violet maned unicorns. “Wow… Katie, you look like a mini her.”
Katie blinked and looked at her reflection in the window. “No, I don’t! My mane is a darker and longer…”
“You take yours, I take mine, and meet you at the bar?” Hal said to Max with a Groucho Marx voice and leer.
Max looked at Hal with a tilted head and a stupid look. Katie rolled her eyes and placed her hoof on his again. “He’s fucking oblivious. You gotta be literal with this dork,” she said, looking at Max with a soft smile.
The young stallion swallowed and looked back up at Hal. “So uh… What?”
Hal sighed. “Okay, plan B.” He looked at Max. “Shall we let the ladies talk while we head over to the bar car for a couple of drinks?”
“But, Hal, you don’t drink,” Raven said, a little surprise in her eyes.
“No, but I can fake it well enough.”
Raven rolled her eyes and looked at Katie. “So, can we join you, or shall we let the boys be boys while we take control of the situation? Hal, you’re sixty-two years old and you still have yet to grow up!”
“Part of my charm,” he said. Raven’s horn flared as the skillet appeared and whacked him one upside the head with an audible clang before dissipating. “Hey!”
Both Max and Katie groaned as if they were on the receiving end of a bad joke. “Well, if I was a sixty year old with magic, I’d probably be making a bunch of soap opera gags too,” Max said to Katie with a smirk. “Think you’ll be alright here with your clone?”
Katie’s horn glowed, pushing Max out of the booth. “Go get drunk with your bar fight buddy. I haven't had proper girl talk in forever.”
Max huffed and got onto his hooves. “Fine, fine. Meet you back at the room.”
Raven glared at Max as he got out of the booth. “I am not past sixty! I’m eleven years younger than my husband!” she snapped.
“Not to mention four months pregnant with our third…” Hal slipped in before getting a look from Raven that would shut up a phonograph.
“You’ve had kids as a pony?” Katie asked, surprised. “I’ve got a lot of questions to ask you.”
Max chuckled as he and Hal started walking down the aisle of the diner car toward the door to the lounge car, slipping amongst the tables and other passengers as they made their way to the front door of the car. Hal pulled the handle aside. “After you,” he mumbled, gesturing with a wing through the space between cars, the rumble and clank of the wheels along the tracks much louder with the door open.
Once across the enclosed gap, they walked into the lounge area. It was similar to the dining car in design but consisted of comfortable sofas and loungers, as well as a large bar. Max climbed up onto one of the stools and rested his hooves on the counter. “So… how bout that weather?” he muttered, attempting to break the ice.
“Remember, all you pegasi out there, it does no good to do something about the weather, talk to Nassie if you want something done!” Hal said in his official radio announcer voice. “Or would you like the bit about a line of thunderstorms and Russian missiles?”
He looked up at the bartender. “Two drafts, please,” he ordered, putting a tenner on the bar from his outer saddlebag pocket.
“You’ve got quite the voice for radio, you know that?” Max said while flashing a half smile.
“Been with Las Vegas Retro Radio Two for six-plus years now. Afternoon drive. Two to six weekdays. Not for the next couple weeks, though.” Hal snorted as he waited for his beer. “Damn Blizz sends me to do his dirty work....”
“Oh. You’re on the old people station,” he said with a laugh. “I only ever listen to Evolution Radio One. 90s to the Event.”
Hal shivers some at those words. “Radio One… all the modern stuff. At least DJ Mixtape is a decent pony.” He then looked at Max. “Old ponies station? What do you consider Radio Three? The lead singer of the Hippies is the afternoon host of Radio Three!”
“I’m just yanking your chain, old man. Music is great, no matter what age,” he said as the bartender brought them their drinks.
Hal nodded as he raised his beer to his young companion. “Got that right, Max. To music, in all its forms.”
Max raised his drink as well but didn’t take a sip. He stopped and stared at a strand of purple hair on his hoof. His face lit up as he sat silently.
“Looks like you’re thinking of something else. What’s on your mind, other than a skull, two ears and a hunk of mane?” Hal asked as he slurped the suds off his beer.
“Just…” Max sighed and brushed the hair off of his hoof. “Just thinking about someone.”
Hal looked closely at Max, inspecting the young stallion. It took him a couple seconds to realize the emotions behind his words. He set his beer down and turned fully towards his young companion. “Do you love her?” he asked bluntly and without warning.
“What?” Max bleated. “I… I do,” he sighed. “More than anything in the world.” Max set his drink on the counter. "Hell, she is my world. My everything. I lost my family, my friends, my entire world... But she makes me happy it happened. If The Event never happened, we would've never met."
“Let me tell you something, Max,” Hal said as the train rumbled its way eastward. “The three of us, Janet, Carl and I, flew up to Vegas the morning of The Event. I was going to marry Janet because she was expected to be dead within a year, and I wanted her happy. Not four minutes after we landed, it happened. Sometimes I joke it took the end of the world to get us together for keeps. We stayed together and made it work.”
“Difference between you and me is that Katie and I had no idea who each other were before The Event,” he said, pushing his drink glass around. “At best, I would’ve had her as a waiter at Olive Garden.”
“Her as a waiter? Does she know a gender swap spell?” Hal said with a snicker.
Max rolled his eyes and downed his drink in one long swig, Hal’s one-liners becoming too much for the young (sober) stallion. He slammed the glass back down onto the bar. “I don’t know what to do. I love her so much but I don’t want to drive her away with a clingy… crush.”
“Have you seen the movie ‘Spaceballs’, Max? I can only offer this advice.” Hal said before shifting into a Ronny Graham accent. “Good. You love her. TELL HER!” he snaps out.
Hal then looks at the bartender. “Another round, please.”
Max grunts and shakes his head. “I’m gonna need something stronger if you keep up these outdated pop culture references.”
“No, you won’t. How in the name of sweet damn all is she going to know how you feel unless you tell her?” Hal asked in his normal tones.
“I don’t want to lose her!” he yelled, catching some glances from a few patrons.
“What makes you think you will? Have you looked at matters from her point of view? She’s a young returnee like you are. Just because she’s a unicorn doesn’t make her immune to confusion, wonderment, and loss.” Hal said reasonably as the next two beers arrived. “Could be she’s just waiting for you to say something..”
“I’ve been pushed away for expressing my feeling before.” he takes a sip from his glass. “I’d rather be with her and keep my feeling suppressed than tell her how I feel and having her discard me. I like what we have. I… I can’t jeopardize it…”
“Does she like what you have, or does she want more?”
“What do you mean by that?” he asked.
“You know how you feel about her. Do you know what she feels about you?” Hal asked before having a sip of beer.
“Well… I can tell I’m her best friend.” he shrugged. “The only time we’ve ever been separate is when one of us has to work.”
“Where do you two work at, if I may be so bold as to ask?”
“I’m an on-scene social worker for the Dust Devils search and rescue team,” he answered. “And Katie is a jewel crafter at a nice shop on The Promenade.”
“Working for Ace, eh? I part-time with him, a few days a year. Repaying debts that can’t be repaid any other way…” Hal sighed, looking through the bar mirror at something only he could see.
“I don’t know how talking about work is going to help me with Katie,” he said poking at his drink.
“Well, personally, I would say to her that you like her and don’t like the idea of being away from her very much. Tell her she is your stable point in life and offer to be hers.” Hal says, still looking into the distance.
“I don’t know if I have the courage.”
“Courage? Courage is not quite right, Max. Can you look at yourself in a mirror and say ‘I got the balls to do this?’ You need to know if she cares about you like you care about her. Best way of knowing is to ask her. I hid a lot of my feelings from Janet in the early days, but seeing as back then I never really bothered to hide anything, she knew full well how I felt.” Hal snorted before having a gulp of beer. “So did everyone else, yet I could not see that then.”
“Do you think it’s obvious I have feelings for Katie? Y’know, even if you never talked to me?” Max asked over his shoulder.
Hal looked contemplative as he first looked at Max, then the odd pieces of beer foam in his glass. “Let’s review what I know. I see the two of you at a bar where my group is performing. I saw her lead you out after my hoof went afoul off your head. I see the two of you together here, sharing a booth. I see you staring at a piece of her hair and getting a mooning look in your eyes and ears. Sure does add up to me that you have feelings for each other. What I don’t know is how strong. That’s up to the bird to figure out.”
Max shoved his glass to the side and turned to Hal. “I mean, do you think it’s obvious to her?”
“In my true and considered opinion, as a happily married stallion with proof of it, I would say…” Hal drained his glass, stretching the dramatic moment out, much to Max’s annoyance. “...yes. She’s a unicorn and she’s not stupid. I’ll get her side of the story from Janet later. If you see me with bruises, she decided not to tell me. She swings a mean skillet.”
“Okay, so all that aside, what the fuck is with the skillet?” he asked with a weird look.
That is a running gag between us that has lasted for years. Started in a role-playing game I ran, and now that she can do magic, she manifests it. She says she has to keep me in line with a cast iron skillet to the head or butt if I start acting stupid.” Hal said with a rueful smile. “Sometimes I need it. Works better than a willow switch with the kids, too.”
“That concept is very… retro.” he laughs. “It suits you two well.”
“She’s my best friend as well as my wife. We’ve been through highs and lows. We both know one will be there for the other. Also, we won’t hesitate to speak up when one of us is acting stupid.” Hal said with a smile. “If you listen to my show, you’ll find out more. She’s cool with it.”
“Almost makes me wanna listen to your disco station,” he said with a smile. “You must have a lot of stories to tell. This life and last.”
“Stories, not really. Hints, suggestions, observations, comments, mentions, but not real stories. My commentaries are much more entertaining. The politicians hate it, but seeing as I’m almost always right, they leave me alone. Now, there was one time when they got their revenge.” Hal said with a grimace. “Aided and abetted by my ever-loving with a ‘Hold Pony’ spell…”
Max rolled his eyes. “You sure you don’t have any stories? We’ve still got, like, twenty hours til we get to Chicago. Er, Whinny City”
“Oh, I got stories out the wazoo, but I don’t tell them on air. In private, that’s another story. How much do you want your ears bent?” Hal said with a sly smile at his new friend.
“I’ve got all night, friend,” Max replied, settling into his seat.
The colors of the October countryside painted the landscape outside of Whinny City as farmers began their morning routine. Tractors and buggies took up most of the tree-lined roads out of the city. Max and Katie sat in the back of a hay truck as they traveled through the farms that lay over the ruins of Rosemont. It was hard to imagine that this quiet countryside was once covered in office parks, a stadium, and one of the biggest highway interchanges in the city. But all around them were subtle hints of the past city. Misshaped hills sat where office towers once stood and the rusted and burned tails of past airline returns to O’hare sat untouched in open fields. It was odd enough the iconic Chicago skyline was stripped down, but the hundreds of square miles that were once nothing but suburban sprawl being turned into vast farms was surreal.
“I remember going to a show around here when I was fourteen,” Max said as he rested his head on a soft pile of hay. “High School Musical on Ice. I remember Kelly wanted that stupid slushie so badly. Ten damn dollars for it, and she didn’t even get any refills.”
“You went to see High School Musical?” Katie giggled.
“On ice!” he retorted.
Katie rolled her eyes and lied down next to him. “I’ve never been to Chicago before. What was it like?”
“Depends on what part of Chicago you want to know about.”
Katie looked back toward the small skyline obscuring the sunrise. “All I’m asking for is a summary.”
“I considered it my second hometown.” he started. “Just looking at the magnificent skyscrapers from a distance brought a sense of wonder. A marvel of human ingenuity that could be seen over twenty miles away. But to be completely honest, the loop was just an office park and the Magnificent Mile was a boring version of The Strip. But the one thing I loved more than anything were the observation decks. The Sears Tower was the highest up, but the Hancock Tower had a great cafe and an outdoor platform. Granted, a cookie up there was five bucks.”
Katie looked over at Max. “Sears Tower? I thought they changed it to the Wi-”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence” he snapped. “Never ever call the Sears Tower that stupid Willis name.”
“Willis Tower.” Katie teased.
Max grumbled. “You’re lucky I like you.”
Katie stopped for a moment and glanced over at Max nervously. Was that him coming out to her? Should she respond? She dodged the statement by throwing some hay at him. “Of course you do. Everyone likes me.”
Max flailed his forelegs around, not expecting to be pelted with hay. “Oh, it’s on now.”
He stuck his hoof into the pile and sent a bundle into her face. Katie grinned devilishly as her horn lit up. Without time to react, Max was buried under a pile. She fell onto her back laughing, letting out a couple of snorts.
The truck began slowing down as it pulled to the side of the road. By the time Max had dug himself out of the pile, the driver had gotten out of his cab and was glaring at the two young ponies.
“Hey! What did I say when I agreed to take you to New Elgin?” the stallion asked angrily. “No horsing around!”
With the end statement, both Max and Katie started laughing maniacally.
“Okay. Both of you, get off. Now.” The driver said, opening the rear hatch.
Max wiped a tear from his eye as he hopped down with his companion, who was still giggling like a filly.
The stallion rolled his eyes and threw their bags at them. He returned to his truck, leaving the two on the side of the country road.
“Well shit,” Max said, still smiling. “We lost our ride, but I think it was worth it.”
Katie sat and caught her breath. “Agreed. I needed a good laugh.”
“Well…” Max sighed as he strapped his bag onto his back. “Now what do we do?”
“I’m sure there’s some kind of town around here somewhere.” She said as she began trotting west. “We’ll find another ride there.”
“We better not horse around then,” he said, trying to hold back a snicker.
-------------
It was afternoon by the time the duo made it into the village of Schaumburg. The place once known for its massive shopping malls and convention centers now a farming town surrounded by the artificial hills of Chicagoland. It did, however, feel like a classic American farming town. The main street lined with brick and stone storefronts led to a town square being used as a farmer’s market. Street vendors graciously sold families the fruits of their labor while some offered other things like jewelry, toys, and even furniture. Next to the square’s fountain, Max and Katie sat enjoying some candy apples. A well deserved treat after their ten mile walk.
Max kicked his rear hooves off the side of the fountain. He kept thinking about Hal’s advice. Offer to be the stability in her world because she was the stability in his. But his fear of rejection had kept his mouth shut. He just couldn’t risk it.
He finished up his apple and threw the stick at the trash can across from them, missing of course. “Well… I regained all that weight I lost walking four hours straight,” he said with a smile. “You feeling alright, Katie?”
She nodded while chewing the rest of her apple, floating her stick and his into the trash can. “Yep.” she uttered with her mouth full.
“Do you have any idea how we’re gonna get to Rockford? Cause I’m all out of ideas.” Max asked in a frustrated tone.
Kate swallowed the rest of her food and nodded again. “I saw there’s a cargo train going up there this evening.”
“How’d you figure that out?”
Katie got to her hooves and floated a newspaper of her bag. “They have a train schedule in the paper.”
Max leaned in to take a look at the paper which was appropriately named ‘The Daily Whinny.’ The front page was just a bunch of boring news stories except for an ad near the bottom. It was for a guided tour through what looked like an old shopping mall in the picture. But what really caught his attention were the cartoon renditions of human faces along the side.
All November long, get half price admission to ‘The Woodfield Experience’: one of Whinny City’s most popular Chicago re-creations!
“They remade Woodfield Mall?” Max said, staring at the paper.
“What?” Katie scanned the paper until she stopped at the ad. “Looks like a tourist trap. Why? Did you go there often?”
“Not as often as I would’ve liked.” he shrugged. “The mall at home sucked. Especially after they got rid of the Disney Store.”
“We’ve got a few hours before the train leaves. Let's go see it.” Katie said, looking at the directions on the paper. She tapped Max with her hoof and motioned him to follow.
As they walked, they attracted some attention from the locals. They wondered what was making them stand out until they noticed they were the only ones wearing pants. To the others, it looked like they were in full winter gear as they were wearing jackets and pants.
“I don’t think these guys are used to seeing returnees,” Max whispered to his friend.
“Gee. You think? I thought we blended in pretty well.” Katie deadpanned. “Maybe… we should take our pants off. You know, to blend in.”
Max gasped and shook his head “No, no, no, no! Let’s definitely not go streaking.” he shouted nervously.
“Why? You got something in your pocket you’re trying to hide from me?”
Yes.
“No!” he shouted defensively.
“Fine,” Katie said with a chuckle.
For the rest of the walk, Max kept quiet. He couldn’t handle awkward situations well and boy did Katie know how to stir them up. Though he’d be lying if he said that he didn’t want to see Katie without her pants. It did take some time, but Max was beginning to see mares the way he once viewed women. Deep down it still didn’t feel right, but with Katie, it did.
He couldn’t explain it, but there were also times he could smell her. Not like in the way you would smell body soap or body odor, but a smell that just identified her. It was strange to him because not only could he identify her with his nose, but sometimes he could make out her emotions as well.
Max shook these thoughts out of his head. It was bad enough he was terrified of coming out to Katie, but he didn’t want to be a creep as well.
A few minutes pass until they made it to a small building built into the side of one the many hills surrounding the town. This particular hill, however, flattened out at the top in one area, hinting at a much larger structure hidden inside.
As the two trotted through the door, they found themselves in an entryway with an area lined with velvet ropes that corralled a queue leading up to the ticket booth. All along the walls were artist renditions of what the old mall looked like in its glory days. Max stared at these paintings, basking in his nostalgia until they made it to the ticket counter.
“Oh! Well don’t you two kids look like humans.” the unicorn mare from behind the counter said lightheartedly. “Wearing pants and everything. Is it just you two?”
Katie smiled at the welcoming mare and nodded. “Yup. Just us.”
Max couldn’t help but smile as well from the infectious midwestern attitude of the ticket mare.
The clerk floated out a couple of wristbands from under the counter. “That’ll be fifteen dollars, sweetheart.”
Katie floated a couple of paper bills out of her bag and placed them on the counter. The ticket mare took the bills and simultaneously attached the wristbands to the couple’s forehooves. “And five dollars is your change,” she said, floating another bill back to Katie. “You can go right ahead into the mall, but if you want to take the tour, it’ll start in a few minutes at the front doors. Then, you’ll be able to shop like the humans once did. Have fun dears!”
“Thanks!” the two of them both exclaimed in unison.
Upon entering the lobby area, they were greeted with a small group gathering in front of a series of glass doors leading into the mall. The tour guide was yet to arrive, but they could look into the replica mall. It was very sleek and clean, which was an immediate hint to Max that this was indeed just a replica. Faux storefronts lined the walkway which was cluttered with benches, poster stands, and vending machines. It was difficult to see further into the mall as the aisle deviated to the left after a few stores.
A unicorn stallion turned around that corner and swiftly trotted to the door. He flung the doors open and stood in front of the small gathering. “‘Ladies’ and ‘Gentlemen.’ Welcome to Woodfield Mall!” he chanted as the ponies started walking through the doors. “You can call me Ben. I know it’s a strange name, but here in the ancient world of old Chicago, it’s a very common name.”
Ben floated several small maps out of a kiosk and gave them out to the ponies in the group. “Before we get started, I want to lay out the path of our tour. Our first stop will be at a clothing store, where we’ll tell you all about the popularity of clothing among the human culture. Next, we will visit a technology store where we’ll teach you about all the highly advanced machines humans would use in their day to day lives and let you interact with some actual working devices! Then afterward, you’ll be able to walk around and shop at our marked stores and try out some authentic human cuisine in the food court. Now let’s get started.”
The group moved forward past the fake stores and turned into a large open atrium. It was much smaller than the old one but shared many similar features like the glass elevators and freestanding walkways across the large open space. The stores surrounding the atrium were renditions of pre-event stores, but many were mispronounced versions of their original counterparts.
“How off do you think their information is gonna be?” Katie whispered to her companion.
“I don’t know. They captured the architecture well enough.” Max whispered back.
The small group walked into a store as Ben switched the lights and displays on. It was a clothing store that looked similar to young adult oriented clothing stores with bright colors and contemporary displays. All around the fairly small store were clothing racks that displayed attire that would only be able to fit a fully grown human.
“So here we are in a recreation of the “AeroPostal” store. It was a clothing store, whose target market was the teenage generation of humans. Now, on top of the obvious fashion gaps between generations, clothing was a necessity in human society. Everybody had to cover their torso and their upper legs. Not doing so was a sign of indecency and it would also prevent them from being able to enter public places. In fact, if you weren't covering your private areas with clothing, you could be arrested.”
The ponies in the group mumbled questioningly to each other, the concept of public indecency due to a lack of clothing seeming unheard of to them.
“Yes, it is very strange, isn't it?” Ben continued. “But you have to remember, everypony, that humans didn't have tails to shield their privates from unwanted glances, so clothing was their only defense to perverted stares.”
Nods and agreements floated about as it became a little clearer to the tour group.
“Well, they mispronounced the name, but everything else is spot on,” Max mumbled slyly.
Ponies in the group began walking through the aisles inspecting the clothing and accessories on display while Ben continued on with his lecture about gendered clothing and the importance of style in different scenarios.
Max and Katie gingerly walked around the store a couple times waiting for the tour to move on. When it finally did, they made their way up a flight of stairs to a computer store.
“And here we have “Radioshack.” They were a very popular electronics store that sold all sorts of things like ‘televisions’ and ‘home computers.’ But what they were really popular for was their radios!”
Max held back a couple of chuckles, but still caught the attention of the tour guide.
“Something funny, friend?” Ben asked.
“Radioshack kicked the bucket a month before the event.” Max responded. “Not to mention nobody went in there for anything other than cheap phones and RC cars.”
“And how would you know that?” Ben asked sternly.
“Because we’re returnees,” Katie interjected. “And he used to come here on a regular basis.”
“Sure. And I’m Archive.” Ben said with attitude. “If you guys are returns, I guess you wouldn’t have a problem explaining the things on display in here, would you?”
Max and Katie looked at each other and nodded. “Challenge accepted,” Max said as he started at the front of the store where they had a couple fake desktop computers set up. “These are computers. They were invented as a means to calculate complex math problems and store information but were hijacked by the consumer market in the 90’s thanks to a computer nerd by the name of Bill Gates. From this time until the event, computers got much cheaper, much more powerful, and became an increasingly bigger time waster.”
Katie trotted over to the display cases near the front counter of the store that had both flip phones and smartphones in them. “These are cell phones.” she started. “They were phones you carried around with you that connected wirelessly so you could call anyone at anytime. They started as giant blocks you had to carry around in a backpack in the 80’s but got hand sized, sorry, hoof sized by the 2000s. It wasn't until about a decade before the event that the smartphone was created by the Apple Corporation. It was a computer, but less powerful than those over there. You could use them to listen to music, take pictures, and play video games. And it was also a phone, I guess.”
Max was already standing by the televisions by the time Katie finished up with the phones. “The television, or TV if you don't have much time, is an old technology from around the World War Two era. It’s like going to a movie today, but it’s not a projector. You hooked it up to a cable box, paid the cable company, and you got, like, a hundred different channels to choose from. Most of them boring and uninteresting reality tv shows. But if you didn't wanna watch live television, you could get a DVD player and watch whatever you want at any time. And if you didn't want to watch anything, but instead, wanted to interact with something, you could get a video game console. Plug it into the tv like a cable box or a DVD player and you can play games right on the screen of the TV! Basically, the time wasting part of a computer condensed into a DVD player style box.”
“Everything else in here are radios and batteries and children’s toys,” Max concluded before catching his breath.
Ben stood at the door, mouth agape. These two kids just explained his entire tour in less than a couple of minutes. Furious, Ben pointed to the store’s entrance. “Get out. You lost your privilege to play with the working devices.”
Katie snorted and levitated her phone out of her bag. “That’s okay, we have our own.”
The two of them strode proudly out the door before busting out into laughter down the hall.
--------------
It was just after sunset by the time Max and Katie made it to the Schaumburg train yard. The only lights coming from several lone light posts across the yard. Despite being after dark, the yard still had some workers milling about.
“Katie?” Max said looking through a chain linked fence. “There aren’t any passenger trains here.”
“I know,” she said firmly, watching a freight train begin to slowly roll forward. “We’re hoboing it.”
“You said nothing about hoboing it earlier!” Max said in a loud whisper.
“C’mon Max. All we need to do is sneak our way to that train car and we will be set. Easy peasy.” Katie said, standing up.
“This doesn’t seem like a good idea, Katie.”
“You trust me, right?” she said, the lights of the trainyard twinkling in her eyes.
“...I do” he replied timidly.
Katie reached out to Max with her hoof and helped him stand up. “All you need to do is take a leap of faith. Everything will work out in the end.”
Max took in a long breath and sighed. “Let’s take the leap then.”
Katie’s horn and the padlock on the fence gate began to glow a light violet, illuminating their faces in the darkness of dusk. Along with the strange humming of the natural magic field came the soft clicks of the lock’s pins as they locked into place one by one. Eventually, the lock popped open and fell to the ground with a metallic thud. The two of them froze in place, hoping nobody in the yard heard it. When no one came to investigate, they moved into the yard.
Max had been a goody four-horseshoes his whole life, so the thrill of breaking and entering had him giddy with excitement. Something about being bad felt so right. And in a world without security cameras, it was a lot safer. But that relief was thrown out when they realized they had to get onto the loading platform to get onto the train.
The two recuperated behind a couple of boxes near the platform, which was bustling with yard workers loading freight into the boxcars.
Max looked at Katie nervously and held his hooves out, mouthing the words ‘what do we do now?’
Katie peeked over the boxes to inspect the situation.
There were about five ponies pushing the pallets into the train cars and organizing them while a griffon sat with a clipboard in one talon and a pen in the other. The number of waiting freight pallets was almost diminished, signaling that the train was almost loaded and ready for departure.
“Okay,” Katie whispered. “They’re almost done. When they leave, that’s when we run.”
Max nodded and peeked over the boxes as well.
Within the span of a minute, the last pallet was loaded and the loading team left the platform. The griffon stayed behind, however, to eye the boxcars one last time before closing the doors and locking them.
Katie had to think quickly. It took her awhile to pick the gate lock, she wouldn't have enough time to unlock one of the cars before the train started to leave. Watching the griffon close the door to a car, she quickly grabbed one of the boxes inside with her magic before she lost her visual on it and tipped it over.
The griffon paused at the loud crash inside the boxcar. She slid the door open and let out a dramatic moan before leaning over to pick up the box.
Katie pushed Max out from behind the box and pointed to one of the cars that had not been closed up. They watched their hoofsteps carefully, knowing that a single misstep would cause their hooves to clop on the concrete platform. In the nick of time, they made it successfully inside. Now another dilemma; they needed to hide.
Noticing a tarp on top of one of the pallets, Max tugged at it, causing it to gently cascade off the top and onto the smaller crates below. Max pushed a crate out of the way to create a little enclave in between that they could use to hide in while being covered. With the sound of the car behind them slamming shut and being locked, Max pulled Katie into the small gap and covered themselves with the tarp.
The two of them, literally squished against one another, tried not to so much as breathe when they heard the tap of a talon just outside the protection of the thin sheet of plastic. What were only a few seconds felt like hours as the two young ponies held their breath.
Finally, the door to the car slid shut and locked into place with a loud clang of metal.
They both let out a sigh of relief as they made it into the clear.
Katie lifted the tarp off of them as she rolled off of Max’s belly and onto the floor beside him. “I… don’t think I’ve ever been that close to you before,” she said, her blush visible even in the dim lighting.
The equally flustered Max stayed on his back between the boxes, turning towards his friend as the train honked its horn and began moving. After waiting a couple minutes, Katie went to work on the door’s lock. Turns out it wasn’t a padlock like the fence gate, but just a sliding metal bar. With a simple horn glow, the door clanked and began sliding open, letting in the fresh air.
The two sat in the door watching small townhouses give way to harvest season farmland. Looking back in the direction they came, the sky above the renewed city miles away glowed a familiar orange. An orange only found in the soft soothing streetlights of the Chicago Max once knew. But away from the lights, they went, into the dark and star-filled countryside.
“I’m glad I took the leap with you,” Max muttered, staring out into the dark.
“I told you it would all work out,” Katie said with a giggle.
“No. Not that.” Max sighed before turning towards her. “I’m glad I took the leap into this new world with you. I would’ve never been able to live like this had I gone out on my own. You are the reason I wake up in the morning and say ‘everything is okay,’ even when my entire world has disappeared. You are my world now. You push me to be a better person with every passing day. No, not a better pony. A better person. I know we're young and stupid and we got well over two hundred years left, but I’m so certain that I want to spend every second with you because I… I…”
Max was silenced with the soft touch of Katie’s lips on his. He melted into the kiss, letting her take full control. When their lips parted, Max stared into Katie’s twinkling eyes, his heart fluttering uncontrollably.
Silence filled the air as Max found himself sitting on a faux leather couch in a familiar living room. It was obviously sometime at night, for the only light in the entire room was coming from the television. Katie was asleep next to him, her head resting on his lap. Max smiled and brushed her mane away from her face, not seeming to mind the fact that he was sitting in his old living room. All along the walls were old portraits of him and his sisters from when they were younger and human.
The light in the living room flicked on as Max’s mother turned the corner in her pony form. She turned the tv off and stood in front of him. “I like her too, Maxie. You picked a keeper.” she cooed looking at the sleeping unicorn.
“She’s my world,” Max said with a smile.
“I’ve seen.” his mother chuckled before sitting next to him. “It’s destiny you two ended up together. You’re perfect for each other. At least I think so. My shy awkward boy and an equally awkward girl.”
Max let out a troubled sigh and rested his head on his mother’s shoulder. “If only you could really meet her…”
“I will in a few centuries,” she stated. “We’ll have a big heavenly reunion and we’ll be able to share our stories. I’ve got a ton to share with you.”
Katie shuffled in her sleep, as she affectionately brushed her cheek against him like a cat. Max giggled and rested his hoof on her belly. “So cute…”
“The time capsule is still there, Maxie.” his mother confirmed. “It’s under the big oak tree in the backyard, on the side facing the river.
“It’s been three thousand years, mom. The tree can’t possibly still be there.”
His mother’s horn glowed a pale pink color as she opened the curtains, letting in sunlight that wasn’t there before. Outside the window, their old oak tree encompassed almost all of their backyard, ripping up the patio, knocking over the fences, and partially destroying the neighbor’s garage. It was also the only tree outside that still had green leaves. “It’s still there, thanks to momma.” she proudly boasted. “I learned some pretty cool things from this town south of U of I. Bunch of lunatics from California thought it would be a good place to settle. They had a school there for unicorns, believe it or not, so I used that knowledge to cast a preservation spell on the tree and a few other things I’m sure you have or will come across.”
Max’s eyes went wide as he laid eyes on the giant tree. “I keep forgetting magic exists.” he said, dumbfounded.
“I want you to find it. There’s something in there I want you to give to Katie.” she said, trying to place a hoof on the young mare, only to have her hoof move through her like she was a ghost.
“What is it?” he asked, looking back from the tree.
“It’s a surprise. You’ll know it when you see it.” His mother got back to her hooves and began walking to the front door. “Train’s arriving. Time for you to wake up and for me to go.”
Max smiled somberly at his mother as she began to leave. “Love you, momma.”
“I love you too, Maxie. I know you’ll treat her right. But I’ll still check up every now and then.”
With that, she walked out the door. The living room flashed white until Max found himself sitting in the boxcar, Katie still sleeping with her head on his lap.
The sudden screeching of the train’s brakes woke Katie out of her slumber. She yawned and looked up at her companion.
“Wakey wakey, sunshine,” Max said softly his hoof still resting on her barrel.
Katie almost seemed to purr in delight as she nuzzled his chest. With Max’s face successfully reddened, she sat up straight and brushed some dust off of her cutie mark. “Morning Maxie.” she murmured under the ever slowing clanks of the train’s chassis.
“You should go pantless more often,” he said with a chuckle. “That big jewel on your butt is pretty cool.”
“Says the nerd with a big red cross on his,” she said levitating their jackets over to them. “The pants are in the bags. It’s about time we joined the rest of the world fashion-wise.”
Max slid open the big door and looked outside. The train was approaching a bridge across the Rock River that led west to the trainyard. They would need to hop off now before the train crossed the river as Max had lived on the east side of the river. “I think we can hop off easy enough here. We aren’t going that fast.”
Katie levitated Max’s bag onto his back and fastened it before doing the same with hers. “Ready when you are.”
Max immediately leaped forward and planted all four hooves on the ground at once, keeping him from toppling over from the forward momentum. Katie followed suit but ended up falling once her hooves hit the ground. She brushed the dirt and leaves off of herself while Max helped her up. Giving him a quick peck on the cheek, she walked forward toward the treeline the overlooked the river below.
Max pulled out an up to date map out of his bag and laid it on the ground. “Okay, Let’s see where we are…” He traced the river until he found the rail bridge that they had arrived at. Then, using his memory, he followed the river north until he hit a familiar bend. “Right there. That sharp turn is where my neighborhood ended… so just south of there should be where the Ralston Road bridge was… so we should be searching right…” he bit his pencil and drew a small misshapen circle on the map. “Here!”
“You figured that out all by just looking at the river?” Katie asked, puzzled.
“I was a loser in high school. I spent most of my time with Google maps.” Max answered sheepishly.
“Don’t call yourself a loser. You’re anything but.” she protested.
“I said I was, not am.” he replied, picking the map back up. “So here’s the plan. We follow the river as it makes a right turn, then a left turn, then a right turn, left turn, another right turn and we should be there.”
Max put the map back into his bag and began walking alongside the river while Katie began to affectionately rub against his side as they did.
--------------
“That is a big fucking tree.”
The words escaped Katie’s mouth as they stood in front of an oak tree that seemed almost too big to be real. The trunk had to have been at least twenty feet wide and was as high as an old cell phone tower. The green leaves of the tree stood out among the oranges and reds of the autumn forest, making it an easily identifiable landmark.
Along with the wonder and amazement of the tree, Max was also being pulled in by something else. He couldn’t explain it, but the closer he got to the tree the calmer he became.
The young stallion gently placed his hoof on the tree, the bark crunching beneath him. A soft hum filled the air around them as the ground began to shake. The ground beside Katie began to crack and collapse in on itself. As she rushed to Max’s side, a series of tangled tree roots began rising out of the ground. The roots split apart from each other revealing a weathered, but surprisingly intact capsule with the name ‘Lindenberg’ engraved on the side.
“Now that’s impressive.” Max said moving toward the earthy display holding the ancient pod. He reached out and attempted to remove the heavy time capsule...
With no luck. Katie rolled her eyes and levitated the capsule out of the roots and onto the ground.
“Show Off,” Max said with a grin. He tucked his hoof underneath one of the metal latches and flicked it open. After repeating with the other, the capsule opened with a sound not unlike a can of soda. The ancient air within rushed out and the magically preserved contents inside were within reach.
“This is it…” Max said, staring at it, unsure whether he was able to touch anything without it disintegrating.
After careful consideration, he took out a couple of folders. Inside were pictures of him and his family back before the event. He found pictures from his first Christmas with his little sister, the family vacations to Disney World, and even photos as recent as his high school graduation. Max began to tear up as he sifted through the folder. As much as he loved his new life, he longed to be with his family. The people he knew all his life were now but memories. Momentos from thousands of years ago stuffed inside a manila folder.
There was something else though. The other folder had a letter written on the front in neat cursive writing.
So you found the time capsule!
Pretty neat thing with the tree right? I thought of that myself. I knew you guys would come back here when you returned, so that’s why I put a little bit of magic into the tree. I made a promise to myself in the beginning that I would make sure you guys would have some hope in this world. I know it’s just a time capsule and a note from your mom, but I want you to know that I will always love you, no matter how far apart we may be. I just pray that you all were strong enough to make the journey home so you can read this. Inside, I left some pictures of myself and the different places I ended up wandering before finally settling down. You know, just so you know what momma looked like.
Just like I did, my final wish is for you guys to go out and make your own memories. And when you’re old and your coat is beginning to go gray, like mine is now as I’m writing this, I want you to come back here and share as many memories as possible for the next one of us that returns.
I love you Amber, Max, and Kelly. Make the most of this new world.
Love Mom.
Max wiped away the tears from his face and opened the folder to find some pictures of a red unicorn mare, most of which were marked ‘Helen.’ There were pictures of her in some old world places, most of them in some kind of state of decay. There were a few in what looked like small towns that were fairly pony accessible, and in many of them, she was surrounded by a group of friends just living and loving.
Deeper into the folder, he was surprised to see his sister’s name, Amber. Her name was sprawled across the top of a big sheet of paper in very sloppy writing. There weren’t too many pictures of her, the ones that were there were of a silver pegasus mare. After some solo portraits and some group shots, a blue earth pony stallion began to frequently appear in her photos, including a solo headshot marked ‘Aqueduct.’ The picture after that was her in what looked like a homemade wedding dress standing next to the stallion. Every photo after that seemed to be one of a little foal. Max stopped counting after ten, but it looked like his big sister made a family of her own.
There weren’t any photos or mementos of Kelly’s, so it was safe to assume she hadn’t returned yet.
Seeing the people he loved with all his heart happy and living life filled Max with hope. This wasn't the end of the world. It was never the end. It was a new chapter. He may have been kicked out of the nest with no warning, but so was everyone else. He needed to learn how to spread his wings and fly. And seeing his family successfully glide into a happier tomorrow determined him to do so as well.
Max closed the folder up right as something shiny fell out and hit the ground. Upon closer inspection, he noticed it was his mother’s wedding ring. That’s when it clicked. This is what his mother wanted him to give to Katie. She wanted him to cement his future now that he had the boost of hope he needed.
With determination in his eyes and courage in his heart, he turned and asked Katie the most important question he would ever ask in his entire life.
