> It's Quiet in the City
>  by SkyArrow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1 - Mare Out of Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are many ways to wake up. Alarms, going to bed early, maybe a bit of coffee for good measure. All of these are fine and reliable methods. None of those were how I woke up today. In fact, I didn't even remember falling asleep at all. One minute I was in the lodge's lobby, a warm and cozy fire illuminating the room. Then, the next thing I knew, the room was dark and cold! There was no fire, no sound. There was just... nothing. How long was I asleep for?

It was so cold, I couldn't feel my hands or my feet. My whole body felt odd. Is this what hypothermia is like? Wait, was it hyperthermia or hypothermia? I pondered.

"Agh, not important, Martha," I said aloud to myself, the sudden sound of my voice echoing through the halls. It sounded kinda off. Not crazily off, just cuter I guess is the word? Much higher than my voice usually is.

I attempted to stand, only for my body to outright refuse my request and resulting in me being sent tumbling face-first into the floor. I groaned in pain and again tried to stand, but just fell again. 

Was I at such a late stage of the hyper... err... hypo (whatever it's called!) thing that I couldn't walk? I wondered. If that was the case, there was only one option.

I got on my numb hands and knees - which also felt off - and crawled my way over towards where I'd remembered seeing a light switch. It would be hard in the near-pitch darkness, but I'm sure I could find it.

Good news: I found the light switch! Bad news: they made these for giants! I went back to my chair and slowly pushed it over as best I could and crawled up onto it. With the added boost of the chair, I was able to flip the switch and get the lights on.

With some light now, I nearly fainted. Where my hands should be were flat stubs! I was practically drowning in my clothes, now much too big for me. Being too freaked out to care about modesty, I squirmed my way out of them to get a better look at myself. All over my body was dull light-blue fur, stubby legs at my backside matching the things that replaced my hands, and a grayish teal tail. One might chalk this up to being very very drunk or high. Problem was, I was as sober as a pastor on Sunday right now.

You know how I said I almost fainted? Well, that was a lie. I fainted at least two times I think. I guess the shock wore off enough after that second time. Not that I was calmed down at all though. 

"This... this can't be real. This has to be some sort of prank, right?" 

Except pranks didn't turn you into a tiny horse! I hit my hand - hoof - on the floor to confirm again that this was real. There was no feeling of any fingers. Just a solid hoof.

I took a deep breath. I needed to not freak out right now (even though I had every reason to!). I needed answers. More importantly, I needed to find out where everyone went. I closed my eyes and retraced my steps to earlier today.

~0O0~

I was on break from college and had been heading up to Niagara Falls with my friends. Course, I would have preferred to just stay at home and spend time drawing, but Jenny practically forced me to go. We've been friends since we were kids and she's always been pushy. Though, I guess I shouldn't be so mad. I've never been to the Falls. 

Other than Jenny, there was Sam. She was our driver for the trip up. More than that, she's been up here before, so she knew the area a little bit. She told us that there's much more than just the Falls to see. Haunted houses, a few wax museums, a Ripley's Believe It Or Not, and a place called the Great Wolf Lodge, which is where we were planning on staying at.

After some time, we arrived, checked in, and got our room key. Jenny kept them on hand saying that "You two would lose them." I didn't want to argue with her. This was supposed to be a fun getaway.

Anyways, we made it to our room, got unpacked and decided to do some exploring. Turns out the lodge had a giant water park inside it, to which we took great advantage of. It was mostly young kids and families there, but there wasn't an age limit. Or if there was, none of the workers seemed to care enough to tell us to leave.

After we were done there, Jenny and Sam decided to head back to the room. I told them I'd catch up with them in a bit and took a look over at the lobby. Most people were in their rooms at this time of night, so it was pretty empty. I found a seat by the fire and got my drawing tablet out.

~0O0~

I opened my eyes again. Back to reality, even though it sure didn't feel like it. With my eyes open again and some light to help me see, I noticed something else unusual. Dust, dust just everywhere. As if nobody had been here for months. That couldn't be right. I looked at my clothes. No way I could fit in them normally now. Maybe I could borrow some children's clothing from the gift shop.

I needed to get there first though. Apparently, walking like I usually did was not on the table. 

So, if I was a tiny horse, I just need to walk like one, right? Shouldn't be too hard, the confident part of me declared inwardly.

---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---

The universe just loved proving me wrong today, didn't it? It took many unsuccessful faceplant-ridden attempts at walking (trotting?), before I managed to finally make my way to the gift shop.

Unfortunately, when I arrived at the gift shop, no one was here either. For once, I was somewhat relieved about that. No one around to see me steal (I mean borrow) and no one that will see me without clothes. Though, they probably wouldn't even know it was me. In fact, they'd probably faint like I did.

There wasn't much to choose from, but I managed to find some child-sized sweatpants and a red hoodie. It probably wasn't meant to fit a... whatever I was. Pony? Yeah, let's go with pony. However, meant to or not, it would have to do for now. I also got a single-strap backpack so I could carry stuff around with me.

I stumble-walked out and back to the lobby. Maybe I could use my phone and call someone. My hopes were dashed, though, when I found out that my phone was dead. Strange, it was almost fully charged before... this. I probably wouldn't be able to use it anyway with these bulky hoof things. My drawing tablet was also dead. That was the most pressing concern. 

I coughed. Okay fine, finding my friends, figuring out what happened to me, and finding out where everyone else went was pretty high up there too. But I needed to draw!

I shook my head. Thinking rationally was also important. Jenny and Sam said they'd head back to the room, meaning that maybe they were still there (and as a bonus, my phone and tablet charger should be there too). So, after putting my clothes and devices in my new backpack, I headed off to the room.

I hoped to see someone, anyone, on my way to the room, but the halls were just as quiet as the lobby and gift shop. The only sound was my hooves on the floor. Normally I'd be terrified of abandoned buildings at night. But I knew my friends were definitely still here. Everything would be okay as long as I kept those thoughts in my head. Jenny could probably figure something out and Sam would tell a funny joke. We'd all laugh this off.

Right?

When I arrived at the door to our room it was locked. I expected this, so I knocked. 

"Jenny? Sam? It's me, Martha! Don't laugh, but I turned into a mini-horse! I need your help."

There was no laughter. There was no sound at all. Just my voice echoing through the empty halls. 

"Guys? This... this isn't funny. Please, unlock the door."

I waited, and waited. No answer. Okay, it's fine. Maybe they're both sleeping. I ran with this logic (no, not literally. I wish I could still run) and went back to the lobby. After some digging, I managed to get a spare key for our room and again went back. I was surprised I wasn't tired yet. Normally so many back and forth trips would exhaust poor unathletic me.

With a bit of trial and error, I got the key in and turned the handle with my mouth (I know, unsanitary, but what choice did I have?). The door unlocked and I pushed it open, a smile on my face ready to see my friends. However, it almost immediately turned to a frown when I saw an empty room. Empty of any living being anyway.

I slowly entered, looking around. Jenny's laptop was open, but it was dead. Guess I'll need to charge that too. Both of the keys were here too. They wouldn't leave without those. Unless... they were taken by someone. Could that be what happened? I didn't see any signs of a struggle (as best I could tell. I'm no detective). Or maybe... maybe...

"Maybe what? Aliens invaded? You're surely going crazy now. You're already talking to yourself," I said to myself.

I sat there on the bed, unsure what to do for I don't know how long. Must have been a while, cause I could start to see the sun rising outside. I could see snow as well.

Wait, snow? I shook my head and took a second glance out the window. Sure enough, it was snowing. Not very hard, nor was there much on the ground. Snow in May was definitely one more weird thing to add to the growing list of weird things. First things first, though. Breakfast. I hadn't eaten anything at all this whole night, and I guess even pastel ponies need food too.

I looked through Sam's bags and got out some granola bars. I had two of them and put the rest in my backpack. I'm sure she won't mind. Probably. After that, I went to the bathroom to get a better look at myself in the mirror. I may not have my tablet or my hands, but I would not let that stop me. And the first thing I was going to draw was myself. Or, well, pony me.



Well, it turned out a little rough, but I tried. I swear I'm a good artist! Just... kinda hard to draw with only your mouth, y'know? Anyways, after my drawing session, I felt much better. I was going to figure out what was going on here. I was going to find my friends. And most importantly, I was going to find a way to use my drawing tablet again.

Oh, and I guess maybe find some food and water too. See? I can handle priorities.
> Chapter 2 - Exploration
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun was still fairly low on the horizon, a bright star just waking up to greet the earth. I could thankfully count on that being one thing that still made sense. The moment the sun turned neon green, though, they'd better just throw me in a madhouse.

With some effort, and a bit of clumsy hoof maneuvering, I was able to get my tablet, my phone, and Jenny's laptop all plugged in. A lot of the simple tasks I took for granted were so much harder now, and that's not even mentioning my crazy teeth strength. I almost broke my phone's screen while holding it in my mouth earlier. Gotta be more careful from now on I guess.

Anyways, I let those charge and headed out, leaving a doorstop at the door for an easy way back in. I hadn't checked the whole lodge yet, so maybe someone was still here. And if not, it would at least give me some practice with these new appendages. 

I know for sure I definitely need it, I mentally reminded myself, recalling my triptastic hallway adventures.

The whole building was just as unkempt as the lobby, and there were bugs aplenty. Normally I don't really mind insects, but a spider landing on your face? Nope! Soooo much nope! I may have screamed like a little girl. Just a little bit.

Every room I looked in had signs of people being there, sure, but none to be found. Bowls left out, beds not made, televisions on. I tried finding a news station – a difficult task with hooves – but all the channels were just solid blue or those colorful vertical bars.

"A world without TV. How would Sam survive?" I joked aloud, then frowned. 

Simple, she wouldn't. She's gone, I thought solemnly.

I thwacked my head with a hoof. I needed to stop thinking like that. Everything would be okay. Once everything was charged, I could find my answers. Until then, I just needed to stay strong and to keep looking. Someone could still be here. 

So, I resumed my search. After checking the first floor, I proceeded to the second, then the third. I even checked the water park, which was surprisingly eerie with no one around. Why is it always the fun places that are super creepy when no one is there? Suffice to say, I spent as little time as I had to in there.

But anyway, after looking through every nook and cranny of the building, there was not a soul to be found. If this was some sort of weird reality TV show and someone was watching me, they must have hid really well or they were watching me from somewhere else.

However, my searching efforts were not completely in vain, as I did manage to find something that might help me out. The janitor's closet had all sorts of useful things including: spare batteries, flashlights, keys to locked doors, as well as some various odds and ends. I packed what I could in my humble bag and headed back to the room, my HQ if you will.

I started with Jenny's laptop. Without fingers, I had to be creative, which meant holding a pen in my mouth and tapping the keys with it. I never realized how amazing my hands were until I lost them. On the bright side, I knew her password from the many times I've had to borrow her computer for my late-night research papers. I just wish she had a shorter password.

But finally I managed to type in EUCL1DE@NaLG0R1THm (Jenny, you're such a nerd) and was greeted with her desktop screen. Would it still be called a desktop screen for a laptop? Too bad there was no one around to tell me.

Something that surprised me was that the time was a bit off. No, that's too generous. It was way off. According to the laptop, it was November 13th! I quickly checked my phone, having to resort to using my snout on the touch screen. It too had that same date. 

My eyes narrowed in thought. How is that possible? Did I travel forward in time? I now felt horribly unprepared having never read any of those sci-fi or apocalypse books.

Putting these panicked thoughts on hold for the time being, I went back to Jenny's computer and started searching through it (she'll have to forgive me later). No internet connection, but I could still check recent files. From what I could find, the last modified file was on May 23rd, a little after 3:00 AM. That would have been the night, or morning I guess, when I was in the lobby.

The file was a word document labeled "Vacation Budget Keeping". Now I remember, she was the one keeping track of our money for the trip and making sure we didn't overspend. Well, I guess I didn't have to worry about that now, seeing as I already stole from the gift shop. Martha Roberts, tiny horse criminal mastermind.

Another odd thing about the document was that it stopped very abruptly; that is, halfway through a word. Jenny would never leave something unfinished, I knew that for sure. So, what could have happened? I really hoped that being a pony hadn't made me dumber and there's some sort of obvious answer here.

Dwelling on all of this, I almost forgot I had my phone. Yes! Surely someone was out there! I quickly – or as quickly as one can manage as a light blue pony using their snout – brought up my contacts list and called mom. 

It didn't even ring.

I just got one of those generic error messages. The same for everyone else on the list.

I sat down on my – I guess haunches? – and took this all in. It might really be only me left. I had been subconsciously thinking about it, but hoping I'd be wrong. Mom, my friends, everyone I cared about. All of them had just... vanished, maybe forever.

I cried in the empty room for what felt like hours, mourning the loss of those I knew. I wasn't one to cry often. Not that I had a heart of stone, just that I often tuned out what would otherwise depress me. Mom and dad fighting? Tune that out. Getting dumped? Just smile and nod, tune it out. Dropping out of college and being sent worried letters from mom? Pretend things are fine, and tune that out.

I couldn't tune this one out. I couldn't ignore the fact that I was alone. More alone than I ever wanted to be. And I may have stayed there, alone in that cold room if something unusual didn't happen just then. 

A glimmer of hope resounded from somewhere within me, urging me forwards. From where I was not sure. I don't know why, but I listened to that glimmer. It was right. I had to stay hopeful. Even if it was just me, I had to survive for everyone else. 

"Mom... Jenny... Sam. I don't know if you can hear me, wherever you are. If you're d-dead... or something else. But... I'll make sure you aren't forgotten. And I'll stay hopeful, I promise. For you."

Strange. I felt like I had more energy after that. And the room seemed less dusty. Shiny even. Same with my hoof. Probably some hallucination, cause it went away after a blink.

Well, I was going to keep true to my word. I made a promise and I had to keep it. I was scared, yes. Still a bit sad too. However, I wasn't going to give up. I couldn't.

---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---

So, surviving as a tiny horse in Niagara Falls, Ontario. I got Jenny's clipboard and one of my sheets of paper and started (horribly) writing a checklist.

Step 1: Food. I had granola bars, but I'd probably need more than that if I had any hopes of surviving. So, I did what anyone would do in my situation. I scavenged through the food in the mess hall. A lot of it was spoiled, but I managed to find some canned goods. I knew there was a grocery store here on our way up. I could stop by there later.

Step 2: Water. Well, there's snow, right? Kidding, kidding. As for the water situation, I also managed to find plenty of bottled water along with the canned goods. I might have this survival stuff down.

As for my next steps, I had written down shelter, heat, power, and a friend. I was probably going to look elsewhere for shelter. This place is nice and all, but if it truly is just me, I'd rather do some looking for a real house to live in. 

I know I had power here somewhat, but I had no idea what I was going to do to maintain it. At least with a smaller building, I might be able to figure it out eventually. Same thing for the heat, which I was not even going to try to touch here, for fear of starting a fire. Maybe I was being overcautious, but there really was no one here to help me if I really messed up. And I'm an expert at messing up.

Finding a friend was just wishful thinking, but a girl can dream (or is it mare now?). I had no guarantee there were other people, but I didn't deny that it could be possible, so I included it on the list.

I added clothes as an extra step. I mean, I've never seen a pony wear clothes, though I haven't seen a blue pony before either. But I wasn't going to go full horse, I still had a sense of modesty. Hopefully I could find better clothes than these in the city. My old ones were too big, and now these were a bit too small. I needed ones that were just right.

But I'd wait for this tomorrow. Tonight I'd have a granola casserole with bottled water (a meal fit for royalty) while looking out at the city through the window. It looked cold, empty, and uninviting, even with many of the lights on. With some time, maybe I could bring a bit of life to it. Paint some buildings or make some murals. The whole city was my canvas if I was feeling up for a bit of graffiti.

Well, for now, I'd start small-scale. I got out my drawing tablet (fully charged now, woohoo!) and held the stylus in my mouth. This was going to be hard to get used to, but hey, practice makes perfect as they say.

I had started drawing something. This time, I drew the little mark on my butt. Did I mention that? Yeah, there's some weird mark there, on both sides.

How do I describe it? Well, it's kinda like one of those pictures you'd see in a science book about light refracting through an object. It's a black crystal thing with a white line coming from the left and splitting into rainbow beams on the right. I'm not sure what it's supposed to mean or why it's there, but it's good practice for drawing I guess. Thank you, line stabilizers.



Anyway, after that, I drifted off to sleep, letting whatever dreams I might have take over. I just had to hope that tomorrow would be a better day.


~̷0̴O̶0̸~̷

I was back in the car again with Jenny and Sam. We were heading back after the trip. It was fun and went off without issue. I smiled and looked out the window, only to see the city of Niagara Falls on fire! I quickly turned to tell my friends what I saw, but they were gone.

The car was still moving, however, now completely out of control. Someone had to stop it! I climbed into the front seat, sweating. I tried to get control of the steering wheel, but as I tried to, I saw hooves instead of hands. I was too short to reach the brakes either now. I was on a straight collision course with another truck. There was nothing I could do.

Something else saved me, though. I couldn't see it, but there was a gray blur. The truck disappeared and the car I was in eventually slowed on its own. I was too scared to move, and I just sat there.

~̷0̴O̶0̸~̷

> Chapter 3 - Outside
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even after a day and a half of being a small, fuzzy alien horse; waking up like that was still a shock. Though, the pain outweighed the shock. 

Stupid too-high beds, I mentally cursed, slowly getting up on all fours.

After the rude awakening, I did a bit of organization for my trip to the city. I'd planned on coming back to the lodge later, but probably not for a while. A good look at one of the maps Sam brought told me that the grocery store I saw was quite a distance from here, and I had no idea how I'd carry everything back in one day. I also considered taking a shower, but when I did try, it started making angry plumbing noises.

I'm still surprised that anything is working. I mean, if it's really been about six months, and no one has been here to maintain... well... anything, shouldn't the power have gone out a while ago? I know that Niagara Falls has some sort of hydro-power plant, but doesn't that need maintenance? I really wished I knew more about that sort of stuff.

That's for Future Martha to worry about though. Current Martha is going to just focus on finding a nice place to live. Current Martha should probably also stop referring to herself in the third-person. Third-pony? You know what I meant.

As I was making my way to the door, the threshold to the world beyond, the thought stayed on my mind. 

Was I even Martha anymore?

I mean, yes, I had my memories, my horrible self-esteem, and all my emotional baggage. Other than that, though? I was a talking blue alien pony. There was really nothing that tied me to that person anymore.

I winced. Now's not the time for getting all existential. Save that for later.

Pausing at the door, I looked back at the lobby. Dusty and lifeless as it was, I felt a bit sad leaving. It was my shelter and I was cheating on it, looking for a better one. I promise I'm not going crazy.

I took a deep breath and pushed open the door (with my face). A November wind blew in making me shiver a bit. My new fur coat could only insulate so much once the real winter weather started coming. But I pushed onwards and trotted out.

I had no way of holding my map easily without sitting down, so I worked on memorizing it earlier this morning. I would be heading south, past the residential area below the lodge. Victoria Avenue would lead me straight into the city, so I'd take that road until I got to Bridge Street.

Once I got there, there would be all sorts of goodies, including: an animal hospital, two convenience stores, some auto repair stores, and a car dealer. Though, I doubted I'd have any need for the last two. I couldn't drive as a human, so driving as a pony was probably out of the question.

So, trekking I went on foot... I mean hoof. I'll get used to the phrases, I swear. 

---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---

If I thought it was creepy before, just the entire lodge being empty, you can imagine how it must have felt entering an empty city. Nature had started overtaking it; everywhere I looked, I saw lawns with tall-grown grass and animals running amok (like me). What was once the domain of man, had been claimed by the flora and fauna of the area.

I hadn't mastered running in this form, or I'd have probably been booking it. I didn't like the way the animals looked at me. It was as if they knew something. Great, even more points on the 'Insane Martha Board'.

Fortunately nature hadn't gone too crazy while I was away. The roads were still easily navigable and buildings and signs were able to be identified.

I'll spare the details of the walk, but I will say this. Not getting tired from all the back-and-forth trips in the lodge was one thing, but this was almost a mile to Bridge Street and not only did I walk much faster, but I didn't break a sweat.

Well, freaky pony stamina aside, I was here. I decided to check out the convenience stores first. The first one I went to had been locked up for the night. I would have tried breaking through the glass door, but getting all cut up by glass shards wasn't really on my to-do-list today.

Luckily, there was a back entrance that had been left unlocked. Though, even with that, it was still a pain opening doors without hands. My current reliable method was a stool and using my big ol' horse mouth on the knob to turn it. Sorry, pony mouth. If I was a horse, at least I'd be tall enough to reach it. Whoever or whatever did this to me could've at least left me with some opposable thumbs.

Eventually I got the door open and almost lost my lunch. The fridges must have lost power, cause the meat smelled like death. However, that wasn't too much of a concern. Well, the smell was a big deterrent, but the meat itself wasn't on my list. No, what I was really looking for was canned food, or anything that would have lasted this long really.

Trying to stay away from the smelly part of the store, I gathered anything that looked to still be edible. Dry pasta, canned veggies, all the good stuff. I even found a few packages of Ramen Noodles. 

Once I was satisfied with my stash of "groceries", I put them into a shopping cart, and pushed it outside with my head, making sure to close the backdoor behind me. There was still some supplies in there, and leaving it open for animals (minus me) probably wouldn't be a good idea.

I checked out the other store and it was pretty much the same story, except in terms of security. Whoever owned this place was much more responsible with keeping all the doors locked. They probably didn't anticipate a pony climbing through one of the windows, though. I guess being small has some advantages.

Next on my list was the animal hospital. It was closer to the crossroads, so I'd be heading back that direction anyways.

"It's only been two days and I was already robbing stores. What would my friends say?" I giggled.

I hummed to myself as I pushed the cart along, closing my eyes in contentment. Not that I was happy with this whole situation, but I couldn't help but radiate a bit of hope and joy, even from my meager success.

---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---

I continued on my way, eventually making it to the animal hospital. Finding some books on horses or even medical supplies for one had been my reason for coming here. I just hoped that whatever animals that were here before 'The Dehuman-ing' (It's a working title) had escaped. I don't think I'd be able to bear seeing a dead dog.

One thing in my favor was that the front door was slightly ajar. A simple face-nudge and I was in, a little bell jingling as I entered. How cute. Too bad it was just me to hea–

"Stay back or I'll shoot! I won't let ya take me too!" A sudden voice shouted, breaking my thoughts and making my ears involuntarily flick.

I think I almost had a heart attack from that and quickly turned my head towards the source.

What I saw was an honest-to-goodness unicorn. If unicorns were the size of dogs, that is. She – or at least I assumed she was a she – had a light purple coat and a bit of a red swirly mane and tail. She wasn't wearing anything other than a dark purple scarf and a matching pair of bags on her back. She also had a bit of an accent and had some dark purple freckles on her face.

Oh, and there was also the shotgun pointed at me. It was floating beside her, surrounded by some blue sparkly stuff that matched her eyes, and the same sparkly stuff around her horn. Was she controlling that? I just stood there speechless, unsure what to say to the freckle-faced unicorn.

She must have sensed my fear and the glow from her horn disappeared, the shotgun dropping to the floor with a clang. It shot a round into the wall, making us both jump.

She broke the silence and looked back to me with an apologetic expression. "You... you didn't cause this, did you?"

I slowly shook my head, assuming she was talking about the everyone gone thing. "No. Did you?" I asked dumbly.

"Can't say I did. But, since you're here talking to me, I guess I'm not the only one still here then, even if 'still here' means being a magic pony," She paused then blinked. "You... uh... you were a human before this, right?"

"Mhm. So, I'm not alone?"

"Uh, yeah, I gues– woah, hey now. It's okay," she answered before pulling me into a much needed hug.

I just started crying. Not sad tears, I had finished those at the lodge. These were tears of joy, for I wasn't alone anymore.

My hornheaded acquaintance waited til I was finished. "Got that out of your system, dear?"

"I think so. S-sorry... I'm not usually this emotional," I sniffled.

"Hey, I'd be worried if ya didn't have any strong feelings about this whole situation. But we got each other now, don't we? That's what matters," she gave a jovial wink.

I nodded, "Y-yeah. So, uh, you mind telling me your name?"

"Aw shucks, I didn't even introduce myself? Name's Katherine Hutchinson. You can just call me Kat, though," She held out a hoof. Guess with no hands, bumping hoofs was our best option.

"I'm Martha Roberts. Just... call me whatever you want, though," I replied, meeting my hoof with hers.

She raised an eyebrow at that, but shrugged. "Well then, nice to meet ya, Martha. You from around here? Don't think I've seen you during my scavenging trips."

"No, I'm from Pennsylvania. I was just taking a trip here for vacation."

"So much for a relaxing vacation, huh?" she joked, to which I just looked at the floor. She coughed. "So... how about a tour of my little home away from home?"

"Sure."

---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---

Being that it was a relatively small building, it wasn't a very long tour. It did, however, let me ask a few questions I had weighing on my mind. For one, that blue glowy stuff. Apparently, yes, she can indeed control it and move stuff with her mind, just that it's a bit hard to keep it focused sometimes. Why can't I have magic levitating powers? Life is so unfair.

From what she tells me, she had been a nurse at the animal hospital, working an overnight shift, and suddenly she was an animal herself. She ended up turning the hospital into her base of operations.

Apparently this place also had power, so she was able to fully utilize the breakroom's appliances. Man's greatest invention: the microwave, still could be used.

She'd been starting work on an indoor garden. With winter soon approaching, we'd need as much food as we can get. It was a good idea, one I didn't think of. There is only so much you can scavenge.

Something about Kat I failed to mention. She had a tattoo on her butt... err flank I guess. Same spot as mine. It was a pawprint with a heart in the center, a white heartrate monitor wave going through it.

"And that concludes the tour," Kat said, smiling and turning to face me.

"Nice place you've got here. How did you get this all set up in just two days time?" I asked, curious.

"Wha? Where'd ya go and get that idea from? I've been here for two weeks now, not two days."

"Huh. Well, I woke up two days ago. Strange..."

"One of many. Oh! Speaking of..." she said, trailing off as she trotted into a backroom.

I was about to follow her when she came back, a blue jay on her head. "This is Jay."

"A blue jay? I didn't think you could tame them," I said, looking at it.

She giggled. "Well, you can. Doesn't mean ya should. This little guy, though, he came to me."

"Like landed on you Disney princess style?"

"Yep, yep. Exactly like that. Kinda weird. I think he understands me too. Watch this. Jay, this is Martha. Say hi to her."

The little bird turned his attention from Kat and flew over to me, singing a little birdsong before flying back on top of Kat's head.

"Woah, that's amazing, Kat. How did you train him to do that?"

"That's just it. I didn't," she said. "It seems like a lot of the animals around here are... how do I say this... smarter? Obviously not to our level, but I get the feeling they're understanding things much better than normal."

"Huh. Well, with everything else that's happened, I guess slightly smarter animals isn't that far out there."

"Mhm. So, Martha, do ya have a place to stay?"

"No, not really. I have the lodge I woke up in, but there's really not any heat there, and being such a big building, it's not the best place for one pony. I was going to look for a place here in the city," I replied.

"Well, I've got a better idea. How about you be my roommate? You can live with me and all I ask is that ya help me scavenge. Sound like a fair deal?"

I knew exactly what to say, giving a resounding "Yes!"

Kat had set up a spare room for me. Though, I'd use the word room with quotes. It was a kennel. A nice kennel, but still a kennel. To be fair, she slept in the kennel next to me and set up mine like hers with lots of blankets and pillows, but it didn't make me feel much better about my loss of humanity.

Still, I wasn't one to complain. It's not her fault, and if I was being honest, this was a good use of the space with our current sizes. I'd learn to get used to this eventually I'm sure.

All that aside, though, it was my favorite time of day. Drawing time! I eagerly got out my tablet and began work on drawing my new acquaintance.


> Chapter 4 - A Magical Friendship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Up and at 'em, Martha! We're burning daylight!" Kat's voice called out to my sleeping form.

"Five more minutes..." I groaned, turning over in my 'bed'.

"You said that five minutes ago. And five minutes before that! Besides, don't ya want some breakfast? I promise it's probably better than what you've been scrounging up."

"Mmph... fine. What is it?" I mumbled, punctuating myself with a yawn.

"Oh, well if ya wanna know, you're gonna have to get up and come see. Otherwise, I guess Jay and I will be eating it all," she teased. As did Jay, somehow finding a way to chirp teasingly.

With a sigh, I got up, stretching similarly to a cat with their back arched. Blinking the tired out of my eyes, I trotted out to the breakroom-turned-kitchen. It was my own fault really for being so tired. I spent a good chunk of the night practicing my mouthdrawing. Not a word? Well, I'm making it one now and no one can stop me.

I entered, the warm smell of a cooked meal wafting by me. I almost thought I was dreaming. Or maybe I was dead and in heaven. Either way, I eagerly went over and sat at a chair. Or tried to.

"Try sitting on your hind legs, and placing your forelegs in front of you. Like how cats sit," Kat suggested, turning off her electric skillet.

"How 'Kats' sit?" I joked.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. You know what I meant."

I did as she said, and it was so much easier. Though, even trying to sit like a human, my joints didn't seem to be in any pain, just that this felt more natural.

Kat levitated over a plate of scrambled eggs onto the table next to me. "Here ya go. Careful, it's a might bit hot still. Also, your tail is wagging."

"Huh?" I blushed and looked at my tail, which was indeed wagging back and forth like it had a mind of its own.

Kat giggled as I frantically tried to make it stop. "No need to get embarrassed. It's an involuntary behavior; perfectly normal."

"I'm... uh... pretty sure that magical talking ponies aren't normal," I countered.

"Well, yeah. That's also true, but from what I have noticed, a lot of our involuntary behavior mimics normal ponies somewhat, with a smidge of cat behavior mixed in there. Though we're a lot more flexible than normal ponies."

I nodded as I began to eat, stopping to talk in between bites. "So, where'd you get eggs from? I'd expect them all to be rotten by this point," I paused. "These aren't rotten, right?"

She gave a huff. "What, you think I'd try to poison you? How rude."

"S-sorry, I–" I started before she ruffled my mane with a hoof, giving me a playful grin.

"Settle down girl, I'm just messin' with ya. Nah, these aren't eggs from the store. I've got some hens out back. Rescued them from a farm I did. It's a good thing I did too. Poor things had almost starved."

"Aren't you worried they'll get attacked?" I asked, finishing the last of my eggs.

"The back fence is secure enough to stop most creatures. Though, if we're dealing with smarter animals, including smarter predators, we'll probably need to bring them inside with us eventually. But don't worry about that now. I've got a whole list of other more immediate things that need getting done."

I stood up, eager to help out. Kat's offered to help me, so I was not going to leave her high and dry. "Alright. What's the first thing on the list? Is it something I can do?"

She sniffed and recoiled a bit. "Mm-hm. There sure is. You haven't taken a shower since this all started, have you?"

I coughed, awkwardly tapping a hoof on the ground. "...m-maaaybe."

She gave me a suspicious look.

"Okay fine, no. I wanted to, but I had so much else on my mind. Plus, the shower in the lodge was making weird noises."

"Well, lucky for you, my old house still has a working shower. Or... at least until it breaks," she said, looking up in thought before waving a hoof dismissively. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Come on, let's go."

"Wait, I'm not even dressed yet!" I complained, but she was already out the door. I sighed. I guess I didn't really need to wear clothes like before. Unlike human me, I was entirely covered in a coat of fur, and I probably wouldn't truly need any extra insulation until it really got cold out.

I did, however, quickly retrieve my backpack (just in case of a drawing emergency) and headed out after her.

---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---

Fortunately, her house was just a few doors down, so Martha's Triptastic Adventures Vol. 2 would have to be put on hold.

It wasn't anything grand. Just a simple single-story blue bungalow. However, the inside was anything but ordinary. Upon entering, I could only describe the decor as very pet-themed. Paw-print sofas, countless photos of dogs and cats adorning the walls, a clock with little cat ears, need I say more?

She saw my look and rolled her eyes a bit. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It's a bit tacky. A lot of it was housewarming gifts from my mom. I just couldn't find it in me to say no. Guess I still keep them around now cause it's all I've got left of her."

I nodded, understanding. "It's not that bad," I lied, then noticed a photo of a woman. She had brown eyes and long ginger hair, a big smile on her face as she held a superhero pose for the camera. She looked to be in her late 20s. 

"Who's this?" I asked, even though I had a pretty good guess.

"Hmm... I dunno, but she sure is a looker, isn't she?" Kat answered with a knowing smile. "But yeah, that's me. Or, was me. My husband took the photo, but... " her eyes glanced down, and she bit her bottom lip.

I put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. I hadn't thought about it, but obviously she must have lost people she cared for as well. I just tried to be there, someone to give her a little hope.

She gave a smile and hugged me this time, though briefly. "Thanks. Now let's get back on track," she said, quickly recovering and leading me over to the bathroom.

Kat helped get the knobs turned with her magical unicorn talents, but left me to my privacy and my thoughts. It was a bit awkward standing at such a low stature in the shower, and washing myself without hands was a nightmare. I eventually just succumbed to it being a lost cause and had to bring Kat in to help me. She didn't mind at all, but that didn't help with my embarrassment.

When that was done, Kat dried me off with a towel, then thoroughly brushed my coat, as well as my mane and tail. It felt... nice. Is this why animals like being petted so much? (Well, until they didn't and bit you. I swear I didn't bite Kat, though).

"There ya go, Martha. Now you're sparkly clean, take a look," she said, directing my attention to the mirror. I glanced over, seeing pony me, but my fur was much less dull. Not bright like Kat's, but still brighter than it was before.

"Wow. Thank you so much, Kat. I could have never done this on my own," I said.

"Don't mention it. 'Sides, when we find any other people or ponies, we gotta at least look like we're civilized."

"You really think there are others still out there somewhere? In the same situation as us?" I asked, thinking about the possibility. I guess if Kat and I were still here, there could be others.

Kat reaffirmed my thoughts and nodded firmly. "That's why I said 'when'. There's no way it's just us. I got no way of proving it, just a feeling. A very strong feeling at that."

All dry now, I trotted out of the bathroom with her. "How will we find them then? And how will we know if they're on our side?"

Her ears flattened a bit. "Well, for starters, not greeting them with a shotgun. Real sorry about that again. But you're right, we could find others, but they might not be too friendly. I guess we'll just have to play it by ear, which leads to what we're gonna be doing today."

"Which is?" I asked, curious.

"That depends. First I gotta ask. You any good with radios?" she asked.

"I know that you can tune to stations, put CDs in, and change the volume. That's about it, sorry. It's just something I never really looked into," I replied, sad to see a bit of disappointment in her face. I don't think it was directed at me, but I still felt bad.

"That's alright. I had a backup plan anyways. If we're going to be finding others, we need a way to communicate with them. So, since phones aren't working, I think our best bet is to start broadcasting with a radio. And seeing that neither of us know a lick about that stuff, my plan was that we head to the library and see if we can learn something," she explained.

"Sounds like a great idea. I'm in," I said.

"Great! Oh, and before we go, I've got a present for you back at the hospital."

---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---

We packed some supplies in case we took longer than a day, as well as leaving a note just on the off-chance some survivors discovered our little base. Jay was given orders to watch the hospital, to which he did a salute at. 

The present Kat was talking about was a pair of hoof boots. Apparently that's a thing. She told me that there's a horseback riding place northwest of here, and sometimes they'd come here for treatment. Whenever they had a hoof injury, they'd have to wear these hoof boots for a while.

Neither of us had injured hooves, but Kat said that the asphalt would start to wear down on them after a while. 

In her words, "Unless you wanna be shorter than you are now, it might be a good idea to wear them."

I wasn't short. I was... fun-sized.

That aside, the boots were actually kinda nice. They felt comfy and they didn't fall off. They were a bit simple, though, being mostly just a simple gray. Maybe I'd give them a bit of a paint-job when I got the chance.

I also decided to at least put the hoodie back on. I know I didn't really need to. Kat sure wasn't. All she had was a scarf. But it still felt weird not wearing clothes, especially if we were heading deeper into the city, even though it was likely just us for miles.

We spent the walk to the library talking and sharing more things about each other. From what Kat tells me, she used to live in the southern US, but moved up here with her family back when she was in her teens. Never lost the accent, though. She also told me more about her husband. His name was James. Apparently he was one of her clients, but one thing led to another and well, they ended up married.

She asked me about my love interests and I just said "I'd rather not talk about it," hoping she'd leave it at that. She did, thankfully, and didn't push any further.

Other than that, nothing of note happened. I had hoped we'd at least see signs of others, but it was just empty streets, the occasional parked car or wild animal here or there. Luckily, none of the wild animals we found were the predatory kind. I knew our luck would probably run out at some point, though, and we'd run into dog packs. I did not look forward to that day.

The library was locked, to no one's surprise. However, Kat seemed to be unconcerned, levitating out a screwdriver and bobby pin from her bags. With practiced care, she started working on the lock until it gave a 'Click!' sound.

I blinked, surprised. "You know how to lockpick?"

"Eeyup. Locked myself out of my own house enough times to warrant learning. Why pay a locksmith when you can do the job yourself?" she answered, trotting in first.

I followed and looked around. Yep, definitely had that 'library smell' to it, though it was even stronger smelling as a pony. A mixture of dusty books, paper, and a bit of worn leather. If the smell and the big sign outside weren't blatant enough clues as to what building we walked into, the rows upon rows of bookshelves were a pretty big hint.

We decided to split up and search for the books we need. Anything to do with radios, or broadcasting, or survival prep guides. I decided to also look for some books about horses, figuring that it might help me out with the terminology as well as learning about my new body. Though I really doubted there would be a chapter on 'blue talking ponies', it would at least be something.

I may have also snuck in some time drawing after reading through a particularly long book about the history of radiocommunications. Don't judge me, you'd want a break after that too.
> Chapter 5 - Horsepower
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I yawned. We'd been reading all day. The only time we stopped for a break was around noon, when Kat had decided to raid the Tim Horton's across the street and make us some lunch.

"Well, Martha, I hope you're prepared for an unforgettable luncheon," Kat grinned, trotting out of the kitchen.

"Does it come with an aurora borealis?" I quipped as she set some bowls of soup on the table.

"Mm... sadly it doesn't. But it does come with chicken noodle soup and crackers, minus the chicken," she replied.

"No chicken?" I pouted. I wasn't exactly a meat lover, but I didn't mind a little chicken in my soup.

"Not unless you feel like being sick all day. Have ya tried eating meat since you became like this? Or even just smelling it?"

I thought back to my earlier scavenging runs. Reflecting on it now, those freezers were definitely still running fine, but the smell... God, that was awful. "Oh... so we can't eat meat anymore?"

"That seems to be the case. On the bright side, we can still eat other stuff. What's more, grass and some kinds of flowers are now edible. Yes, before ya ask, I did try them. And no, they aren't as bad as you'd think," she quickly replied.

I squinted at the soup. "So, all that extra green and yellow stuff in there... ?"

"Dandelions. Oh, don't give me that look. I promise it's good."

Despite a part of me recoiling at the thought of eating flowers, I went ahead and tried the soup. There wasn't really an easy method for me to hold a spoon, so I ended up just slurping from the bowl. To my surprise, it was actually pretty good (maybe even amazing), and I ended up eating the entire thing.

Kat was still finishing up hers, levitating a spoon to take some sips. 

Cheating unicorns, I thought. Yes, I was still a bit jealous of that. She had magic and all I do is glow once in a while. I'm so useless... 

"So, have ya learned anything yet, Martha?" Kat asked, glancing up from her meal. "I think my head still hertz after all that."

I smirked at her pun. "Well, I learned stuff, yeah. Did I understand it?" I made a so-so motion with my hoof.

Kat sighed. "Yeah, I feel ya. I regret never looking up this sort of thing while we still had the internet, or people to ask for that matter. Still, I feel we have enough to work with, and we can bring the books back with us."

"Are we going to try to build a transmitter from scratch?" I asked.

"You kiddin'? Nah, I think we should try to get one of the local radio broadcasting towers working. With luck, they'll have guides there, and we might have even over-researched."

"Do you think we'll be ready?"

"For getting this radio stuff working? Probably not, to be honest. We're way in over our heads. Buuut," she winked, "I think we can stumble through it together."

"No, not that. I mean... if there are other survivors out there. Can we really help them? We're still trying to figure stuff out as it is," I said.

"We won't know til we try, will we? If nothing else, we can give them companionship. We're all struggling and misery loves company, right?" she said.

"I guess," I sighed. Maybe Kat could help someone who's injured I supposed. Not sure what I could do.

"But what we'll need is someone to give the message, and I think you're the perfect candidate," she said, pointing a hoof at me.

"Huwwha?" I sputtered. "Me?"

"Yep! You'll be the voice of PON-R!" she said, grinning and making an odd sound I could only describe as a rubber duck quietly being stepped on.

"'PON-R'? Uh... " I asked. Somehow that was more confusing than the sound she made.

"Ponies Of Niagara Radio! PON-R! It'll be our radio station name!" she exclaimed. "I came up with it while I was doing research."

I would have pointed out that she was slacking off, but I had been drawing during some of my research. "Okay, but why am I going to be the one talking? Why not you?"

"Well, for one," she hovered a coffee stirrer in the air, "I need to be at the controls for precision work. And two," she brought up another stirrer, "I think you'll be good at it."

"I don't know... I was never really the best public speaker," I said, looking away.

She put her hooves on mine, her eyes pleading to me. "Please, Martha? I need ya for this. We're a team, aren't we?"

I relented and sighed, "Alright, alright. I'll... I'll do it. I don't know how good I'll be, but I'll try."

"That's all I ask," she smiled and brought her hooves back to a sitting position. "Oh, and one more thing. Before we head on back, we gotta stop at an electronics store. I figure we should get some personal radios in case we ever get separated."

I nodded. "Good idea, but how are we going to carry all this stuff back by nightfall?"

Kat gave a big grin. Why was I getting a bad feeling?

---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---

"Kat, this is crazy!" I exclaimed as she and I arrived in the parking lot of a car dealership. "We're going to get in an accident if we try to drive any of these like this!"

She ignored my comment and trotted about, giving each car a thorough examination. Utilizing her lockpicking skills, she retrieved whatever car keys she needed with relative ease. If only she could fix our toaster that easily.

I groaned and went over to her, leaving our book cart by the entrance. "Kat, are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, I hear ya, Martha. But I think I can make this work. It'll save us a lot of time, and make carrying things much simpler. Plus, if we ever feel the need to move our base, we can fit most of the important stuff in it," she explained, still not facing me as she looked inside a dark gray... well I know it was a car, just not what it's called.

"Have you forgotten our current stature? And lack of fingers?" I pointed out.

She poked her head out of the driver-side door. "Nope. Haven't forgotten at all. See this? This right here is a Chrysler Town & Country Limited Platinum!"

At my blank stare, she restated. "It's a great car that will be perfect for our needs: adjustable seats and pedals, heated seats, and plenty of room in the back. And judging by the mileage, this one's barely been used."

I'll admit that she had a point, but I was still not fond of the idea. If we got in an accident of some sort, there would be no one here to help; we'd be as good as dead. However, I decided that arguing with her about this was pointless, and nodded. "Alright I guess. Do those adjustable pedals and seats have a setting for ponies?"

"Not specifically, but just give me a sec. And do me a favor, will ya? Can you bring the book cart over here and start loading them up in the trunk?"

I nodded and went to do just that, my freckled unicorn friend going back to her task. I noticed the sun was nearing the horizon, and it was beginning to get into late evening. I don't know why, but I felt like someone was watching me. I shook it off and pushed the cart over to the car, with a bit of haste in my steps for good measure.

I managed to get all the books in, as well as our supply bags and called out to Kat. "You done yet?"

"Sure am! Come on over here and take a look," she said.

I walked over to the driver's side and before me was Kat at the driver's seat, the pedals moved up to where her hooves could reach and the seat set so she could see out the window. She could also reach the wheel, but I doubt she'd need to even try to use her hooves for that with her magic and all. Though, I wondered if she could do that. I hadn't seen her use it for long periods at once.

"You sure about this, Kat?" I asked, still a bit cautious.

"Yes. Now stop being a worry wart and hop in. I'll drive safe, don't you worry," she said, opening the passenger seat door.

It was only once we were out of the lot did we realize.

"Martha, did you close the trunk?"

---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---

A quick trip back to gather the books, and we were back on the road. It was, suffice to say, a very odd experience. Two colorful ponylike creatures driving a minivan through an empty city. Enough to make someone double check what they've been drinking to see something like this.

The drive was pretty calm, with no traffic to contend with; however, every time we drove through a red light or stop sign, a part of me cringed reflexively. As for the electronics store we were heading to, according to my map, it was a bit north of the hospital, closer to where I woke up.

We could've probably just called it a night and journeyed up here in the morning, but I think something about driving at night felt soothing to Kat. I guess we all have our coping mechanisms.

"Hey Kat?" I asked, looking out the window. It wasn't quite nighttime yet, but the light was slowly waning. "You think this... you know, us being turned into ponies and so many people gone thing... do you think it's reversible?"

She didn't say anything for a while, so I assumed she was too focused on driving to answer, but eventually she said, "I'd like to think that, but... "

"But?" I echoed.

"But even if it is... I think this is beyond us, Martha. I think we'd be lucky if we ever found the answers. As far as I'm concerned, this is my life now," she said briefly, then continued. "And whether I like it or not, I'm not going to go wasting it longing for what was."

"We can't just forget, though," I said.

"Never said that," she frowned, her hoof pushing a bit harder on the gas, before she realized and let loose a little. "We can never forget them. Maybe we're stuck like this forever, but our friends, our loved ones... our children... " she wrenched her eyes shut, her magic dissipating from the wheel.

"Kat, the road!" I exclaimed as she was about to hit a parked car.

She opened her eyes and quickly adjusted, using her magic to turn the wheel out of the way and smoothen it. "I'm sorry.... I'm so sorry, Martha."

I just gave her a reassuring smile. It was all I could do at the moment. "It's alright. Maybe let's not talk about this while on the road."

She nodded. "Y-yeah, good idea."

---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---

When we arrived at the electronics store, we were surprised to find it unlocked. We were too tired to dwell on it, though, and went straight to getting what we needed. Some handheld radios (soon to be hoofheld), enough packs of batteries of all sorts to fill a box, and a DVD player and a few movies. We needed something to lighten the mood.

It took a few trips, but we got everything neatly packed inside the back of the car. This time I double-checked that the trunk was shut. We also decided to leave the place unlocked. There wasn't really anything here wild animals would go looking for; however, if any survivors showed up, they might find some useful supplies in there.

By the time we were heading back, it was completely dark out. Fortunately, the city still was getting power and there were lots of lights on. Though I suppose that would probably stop one day, unless we came across someone who knew how to maintain a hydroelectric power plant. Well, even without that, on the small-scale, we might start having problems too. Neither Kat nor I had a clue about simple electric wiring.

During the trip back, I kept an eye on Kat just to make sure she was okay. Who am I kidding? Neither of us were okay, it's just whoever was more emotionally stable at the moment. Like musical chairs, but with ponies and existential crises.

When we pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, Jay wasn't there to greet us. I figured it was probably because it was so late. I had no idea if blue jays have a certain sleep-schedule or not. Course, Jay isn't a normal blue jay, so who's to say.

I hopped out and started unloading our haul to bring in to the hospital. Kat handled the electronic equipment, while I took care of the book cart. Following Kat inside, I got that feeling again. Like eyes were on me. I turned around, but I saw nothing,

Am I imagining things? Or am I really going crazy? I thought to myself. I stood there for a few moments, making sure that it really was just nothing, before eventually Kat called. Shaking it off, I trotted in, closing (and locking) the door behind me.

We, or rather Kat while I held things in place, hooked up the DVD player to the breakroom TV and put in one of the movies I picked up: Oliver and Company. Yeah, I know, a bit of a childish thing for two grown adults to be watching. But dang it, we needed something happy.
> Chapter 6 - A Small Setback
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For once, I woke up early today. I know, what a shock, especially since I went to bed so late. Even more of a surprise, Kat slept in. Yes, you heard me right. Kat, Ms. Early Riser Extraordinaire, slept in.

Jay, however, was ever the early bird (heh), and woke up along with me. I made myself a simple breakfast: a box of dry Apple Jacks cereal. We had some pancake mix, even some oatmeal that we could make, but I didn't feel like making a mess trying to just make breakfast. So, cereal it was.

My feathered friend had a different idea of breakfast, eating an acorn when I trotted outside. I hadn't planned on it, but before I knew it, I was trotting (cantering? Uh… something between trotting and galloping. Kat's the expert, not me) through the neighborhood with Jay flying by my side.

I didn't bring anything with me, but had figured it wouldn't matter. I didn't think I'd be gone very long. My little morning trot ended up taking me to a park a couple of blocks down. Rosberg Family Park, to be specific. Within the unmaintained park, I could see plenty of trees still hanging onto their leaves, giving a last hurrah of fall before the coming winter.

I took a deep breath and resumed my trot. But this time, it wasn’t for travel. Slowly, I sped up, picking myself up again each time I tripped and fell. It was like riding a bike. At first, you were clumsy, but eventually, you got into a rhythm; a flow where you barely even registered what you were doing with the pedals. It became second nature in a sense.

I was running, no, galloping through the park, the wind flowing through my mane. Not even Jay could fly fast enough to keep up with me. At this speed, I felt lighter than air, while the ground sped past me. I'd bet I could easily catch up to a car if I wanted to.

I also think I was glowing again, too.

Unfortunately, my blissful gallop did end with tripping over a loose branch before I went tumbling onto my back. It hurt a bit, but the grass mostly cushioned my fall. I was also probably covered in grass stains. I didn't care, though, laughing as I looked up at the sky above. Wow, I felt so full of energy!

Jay finally caught up and flew over to me. I smirked up at him. "Heehee, I totally beat you."

He gave me a dismissive tweet and landed beside me on the grass.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, you're just jealous you can't run like me."

He proudly spread his wings, lifting his head up as he gave them a little flap.

"Yeah, if you say so, feather-brain," I giggled.

I spent some time there for a few more minutes, feeling the grass beneath me, before I got up and started making my way back. I didn't take a shortcut this time, instead going for a bit of a longer route through Queen Street. It was for scavenging purposes, and definitely not because I wanted to gallop around some more.

It was a fairly occupied street, building-wise that is. With all the stores and shops lining the street, it was undoubtedly a hub of business before the 'Ponying'. We really needed a name for that.

Should we start separating now from then? Maybe we could call then Before Pony or BP, and now I guess AP? I wondered.

If we did that, I guess we'd still be in 0 AP; not even a year into this new era. These thoughts drifted, though, as something else took my attention. My ears flicked in a direction. I’ve been a pony for a little over three days now, and I've learned that my ears are like a noise compass. With my ears as my guide, I quickly went in the direction they pointed, the sound getting clearer.

It was the type of sound you never wanted to hear. The kind you'd hear in a horror movie. A child screaming in genuine terror. I heard dogs as well. Vicious sounding ones. I picked up my pace, breaking into a full gallop as Jay struggled to keep up with me. It didn’t matter if I had only just figured it out this morning and doing it on concrete was risky. I just hoped I wouldn't be too late.

I arrived at an alley, the sounds of barking getting louder as I got closer. From what I could guess, there were about four dogs there. I wasn't a fighter, so I had no idea what I was going to do. All I had were instincts, and they told me that this kid was in danger, and I was the only one around to help.

I poked my head around the corner and found that my suspicions were right. There were four dogs, all of them looking emaciated and starved. I'd feel bad for them, if not for their target of aggression. There was a small white-coated pony child on a dumpster, trying to fend them off with nothing but a rolled up newspaper in his mouth. He looked terrified and had red stains all over his fur.

I tried to think of something I could do to help, but in a situation like this, there wasn't time to think. So, in a burst of sudden willpower and built up energy from somewhere, I ran towards the dogs, about ready to try to run them off. However, I didn’t even need to get very far, before something very odd happened.

The dogs were suddenly knocked away by a large burst of blinding energy. One that seemed to be coming from… me? It didn’t seem to be lethal, but it did scare them enough to run off. I stood there, watching them run off until I was sure they were gone, then looked up at the kid. He gave a weak smile before passing out there.


---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---


What's this, the third time I've run – galloped, I mean – as fast as I could today? Even with my freaky new pony stamina, I was beginning to get tired. Especially after that strange energy thing. I wasn’t even sure if that was from me, but who else could it be from?

Right after the kid passed out, I picked him up by the scruff, hoping not to hurt him, and put him on my back. After that, I immediately booked it back to the hospital.

"You should have worn your boots, or told Kat where you were going," an angelic mini-Martha chided me on my shoulder.

"Oh, don't be uptight. She needed a bit of fun. Plus, she rescued a kid. You should be happy!" another mini-Martha, this one with devil horns, said on my other shoulder.

I shook my head, my illusions disappearing. I can’t be taking a trip to crazytown today. With a quick check behind me, I confirmed that I still had the kid on my back, while Jay was flying after us from a couple of yards back. I had just rounded the corner from Buckley Avenue onto Park Street and took a shortcut through the backyard of the hospital.

Kat was waiting in the driveway, giving me a miffed look before seeing the kid on my back, causing her expression to soften. She didn't say anything; she didn't have to. What was important was that this kid's life was in danger, so she quickly levitated him inside and went to one of the treatment rooms.


---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---


I waited for I don't know how long. To keep myself occupied, and to try to be useful, I did some chores around the hospital: refilling Jay's bird-feeder, watering the plants in Kat's indoor garden, doing inventory on our supplies, and even bottling some water from the tap preparing for the eventual degradation of our plumbing systems.

I made Kat some lunch as well. Not anything nearly as good as what she makes, but it was Ramen Noodles made with care. She didn't end up coming out though for it, so I headed over to her place to take a shower. I had hoped she'd come out when I came back, with good news (or bad news even, just so I could know).

Unfortunately, that was not the case. The only time she came out was to use the bathroom, and even then, she went right back into the room afterwards. I know the kid was injured, but I hoped Kat would realize she needed to care for herself too.


---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---


It's been two days now, making it November 18. Thankfully, Kat didn't work herself dead and did end up eating the food I set out for her. Our radio plan was put on hold for the time being, for obvious reasons.

I hadn't gotten a good look at the kid – or colt, as Kat tells me – until today. He had brown eyes, a very unkempt sandy mane and tail, and white fur. The oddest thing though was that the colt had wings. They looked severely disproportionate to his body, so I doubted they actually worked. I recalled something about a horse with wings being called a pegasus from that useless Greek Mythology class I took. Though, I guess it wasn't so useless now.

He still seemed a bit out of it and laid there, probably still under whatever medicine Kat had to give him.

I turned to Kat. "Is he going to be alright?"

She nodded. "Yes. It's good you found him when ya did. He was suffering from heavy blood loss. His blood-type matched mine, so I was able to help with that. He's going to have scars, though."

"It could be worse, I guess. Has he said anything yet?" I asked.

"He murmured something about someone named 'Amy'. Other than that, no," she said. "I'm gonna check on the hens. I heard a wolf last night. Can you stay here and keep an eye on him?"

"Of course," I said as she trotted out. I made my way over to the bed he'd been laying on and sat next to it. He was covered in bandages all over. It was then when I heard him cough. I turned my head towards him and saw him staring at me, a mix of many emotions at once coming across in his expression. As to be expected, confusion was the most prominent one.

I decided to break the silence and introduce myself first. "Hey there. I'm Martha. Remember me?" I asked with a smile, to which he nodded slowly, carefully. "That's good. The nice mare who's been caring for you is Kat. You're in good hands, err hooves. Can you tell us what your name is?"

He frowned a bit, looking down, but managed to answer with a small voice. "Paul. Paul Harris."

I didn't want to make the poor thing have to speak anymore, but I know he wanted some answers. "I bet you're wondering what happened to everyone, huh?"

He looked up at me again. "I sure am."

I sighed. "I'm sorry. I wish I could say, but I don't know either. I just know that some of us have come back like this, and at different times. Do you know when you came back, Paul?"

He looked up in thought. "I... guess just a few hours before you found me. That's when... nevermind."

"Huh?"

"I said nevermind!" he shouted, then exhaled. "Just... it doesn't matter anymore."

I was about to say something, when he continued. "So what now?"

"Hm?" I asked.

"When your friend finishes helping me. What are you going to do with me then?" he asked.

"Well, we can probably help care for you. You can stay here with us, and we'll keep you safe and fed," I assured him.

"I don't need help. I can take care of myself," he stated matter-of-factly.

I had to suppress a giggle at that. "Are you sure about that? I know your parents might not be here, but they'd probably be concerned about you staying safe."

It was only after I said that aloud, that I mentally hit myself for the parents line. It definitely hit a sour note for him, but not in the way I expected. "My parents? Lady, I'm 30 years old."

I deadpanned. "Uhh... what?"


---⬦⟢⬦♢⬦⟣⬦---


"Uhh... what?" Kat echoed about five minutes later, perfectly replicating my own expression.

Paul put a hoof to his face, wincing a bit but not letting the pain deter a good facep– facehoof. "How many times... do I have to tell you...? Are we speaking different languages or something?"

Kat, sitting on her haunches from shock, waved her hooves. "No, no, we understand ya perfectly. But... we're having trouble believing you. Judging by our sizes compared to yours, you look to be a young pony colt. Maybe around 10 or 11 years old."

"So you're calling me a liar?" he asked, making a huff of annoyance, which I couldn't help but note as adorable.

"Now, I didn't say that, Paul. I guess anything is possible, seeing how we've got so much other stuff that makes no sense. It's just... off-putting," Kat stated.

Paul sighed. "You're telling me. One minute I'm on my motorcycle, next thing I know, I have no grip on it, and I'm falling off at high speeds. I think the blood attracted those dogs."

"Motorcycle?" I asked.

He nodded. "That's right. My pride and joy, or at least it was when I could still ride it, and it wasn't totaled," he shook his head. "So, you said I'm what, a pony?"

"Pegasus I think, actually," I pointed out.

"Pegasus, huh?" he smirked, a bit of excitement in his eyes. "Well, how about that. Not a grown one, though?"

Kat shook her head. "No, sorry. Despite how old ya were before, all signs show that you're in your adolescence in this form."

He grumbled, once again in a cute way. "And there's nothing you can do? Nothing at all?"

"I'm a veterinarian, not a miracle worker," she saw me raise a hoof and shot me down. "No, Martha, I don't think my magic can do anything for this either."

"Magic? What, like hocus-pocus alakazam?" Paul asked, intrigued.

"Mostly just levitating things around. I haven't tried doing much more than that," Kat explained.

"Woah. Show me?" he asked.

Kat complied, and levitated me up. "Wha– heey! Set me down, Kat!"

She giggled and released me from the magical grip, while Paul looked on amazed. “Well, what about you, then?” he asked.

“Me?” I asked him. “I can’t do any magic.”

“Then what was that you did in the alley?” he pushed, Kat glancing my way as well. I guess I forgot to mention that to her…

“I’m not sure what that was. Or if it was from me. Might be related to my glowing, but I really don’t know, Paul. If it is anything, I don’t think it would fix this. Sorry.” I replied.

He sighed. “Alright. Well, can you at least give me a rundown of what you do know, at least? I really feel lost here…”

Kat smiled. "That we can do."

We spent the rest of the day catching Paul up on everything we knew and had done. From our off-sync arrival times, to our pony-compatible car. He had been interested in that bit, but also a bit upset we didn't have a motorcycle for ponies. We also told him about our radio plans, and he immediately offered to help, or rather demanded we let him help.

Most importantly, though, Paul's day job was as an electrician, which was great news for us. Once he got back on his hooves, he'd be a great asset to our little team. I paused to think, would it be considered child labor if he had the mind of a 30-year-old?

Anyway, we concluded the day with a nice meal (in other words, not made by me), and I spent some time drawing our newest member of... whatever our little group is called. Maybe Kat could think of a name.