{"sf1_id":408666,"sf2_id":"Vm2JQygm","title":"There's A New Horse In Town: New Friends","author":"Claymore","words":1096,"posted_at":"2012-07-28T04:08:00.000Z","tags":["Anthro","Clean","Clydesdale","Equine","Horse","blacksmith"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/408666-there-s-a-new-horse-in-town-new-friends","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/Vm2JQygm","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/81/6c/816cc18f-1404-4de5-9ae0-b71595c8d9c2","description":"Continuing story of anthro Clydesdale in an alternative Pennsylvania.","content":"NEW FRIENDS\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"Yeah, they do it up right here at the diner, mostly homemade.\u0026nbsp; Shirley is very talented in the kitchen.\"\u0026nbsp; Clay bit his tongue to keep from adding the other rooms in which he knew Shirley to be quite gifted.\u0026nbsp; \"I've been eating here since,\" the stallion gazed towards a distant memory, his eyes squinting slightly.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"Oh, gosh, since I came to Crawford Corners.\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"Really?\u0026nbsp; When was that?\"\u0026nbsp; Kimi's eyes went wide, giving him a startled look which was rather accentuated by the fork frozen halfway to his muzzle.\u0026nbsp; Giggling slightly, he finished the bite on his fork before continuing.\u0026nbsp; \"I'm a history buff,\u0026nbsp; and, heh, sort of nosy.\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"No need to worry, kid, I don't mind talking about my history.\u0026nbsp; The problem is getting me to shut up!\"\u0026nbsp; The stallion stirred more cream into his coffee, catching Kimi's friendly gaze out of the corner of his eye.\u0026nbsp; There was a pleasant manner about him that Clay found engaging, a sort of optimism or good-naturedness, something Clay couldn't quite put his hoof on.\u0026nbsp; Whatever it was, the kid was likeable and easy to talk to -- qualities that were sometimes short around town.  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"Near as I can figure, it was sometime around 1966 or so, several years After The Bright Light and... .\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"Wait, the what?\" Kimi interrupted, his head tilting at an odd angle.  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"The Bright Light, Kimi; I didn't know what else to call it when I was young.\"\u0026nbsp; Clay settled back in the booth, resting the coffee bucket on the table.\u0026nbsp; \"I was still qaudruped then, there were no anthros.\u0026nbsp; I was a late foal during what I later learned were attacks hit US soil, one of them not too far south of here in what was still Pennsylvania.\u0026nbsp; The 'Bright Light' was caused by a jet crashing to the ground, an intentional crash that we eventually learned was meant to unleash the Minsk Virus.\u0026nbsp; All I knew then was horrid squealing and stampeding as flame rushed toward our paddock.\u0026nbsp; My dam threw me into a stock tank, and I survived the fireball.\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"Did she... ?\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"She died saving me, Kimi.\u0026nbsp; I was protected by the water in the tank, at least from the blast.\u0026nbsp; I stumbled from the area, totally disoriented.\u0026nbsp; It seemed like I couldn't get out of the blast zone, because as far as I wandered I saw wreckage and debris.\u0026nbsp; It was the virus, spreading and killing people that left everything so bleak.\u0026nbsp; The first responders spread it to their colleagues, families, and survivors, and the virus just rippled out from there.\u0026nbsp; Much of the surrounding area quickly became a ghost town.\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"I remember reading about this in history class, Clay.\" Kimi looked somber as he spoke, nodding a little bit.\u0026nbsp; \"Wasn't the virus unstable?\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"Yeah, that's what we found out.\u0026nbsp; The instability caused it to mutate quickly, which decreased its lethality.\u0026nbsp; The farther away in time victims were from initial victims, the greater their chances of surviving infection.\u0026nbsp; Eventually the virus morphed into a non-transmissible form and died out from a lack of hosts.\u0026nbsp; Or at least, no new cases were reported about 8 months after the strikes, and quarantines were lifted just two years after that.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The Soviets were evil, but not terribly competent.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The damage they managed to inflict was brief, local, and harsh, and I count myself one of the lucky ones.\u0026nbsp; Human DNA responded very differently to the virus, and some of the poor bastards I saw mutated,\"\u0026nbsp; Clay paused, pursing his lips.\u0026nbsp; \"Let's just say they would have preferred having died.\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"Yeah, one of my Dad's friends is a mutated human, Clay.\u0026nbsp; He seems kind of withdrawn to me, even though his mutation is pretty mild.\u0026nbsp; Some facial scarring and bumpiness on his forehead.\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"Mm-hmm, one of the lucky ones.\u0026nbsp; He still has bones.\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Kimi made a slight face indicating a lack of interest in further details about human mutation.\u0026nbsp; \"So you became a first-generation anthro?\u0026nbsp; That must have been intense, Clay!\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"Well, if by 'intense' you mean 'scared the hell out of me and caused nearly two years of confused wandering,' yeah, you're right,\" Clay snorted.\u0026nbsp; Shirley interrupted with an offer of more coffee, filling Clay's cup and leaving the check on the table.\u0026nbsp; \"Whenever you're ready, hun,\" she said, \"and you know I wasn't talking about the bill!\"\u0026nbsp; She winked at Clay, giving his shoulder a squeeze that was a trifle more than friendly before she walked away. \u0026nbsp;  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Kimi laughed as he reached for the check, \"Man, she's so into you!\u0026nbsp; Now, what's my portion of the...HEY!\"\u0026nbsp; He laughed as Clay deftly snatched the small greenish paper away.  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"My treat, colt,\" Clay neighed, pulling out a well-worn wallet and counting off several bills.\u0026nbsp; \"I've enjoyed the company and,\" he paused, smiling before continuing.\u0026nbsp; \"You know, I look forward to getting together again.\u0026nbsp; You know, if you might be, uh, well whatever, you know.\"\u0026nbsp; The older stallion sounded as though he was a bit tongue-tied.  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"Oh, no question, I'd love to!\u0026nbsp; I mean, I'd really enjoy that, a lot.\"\u0026nbsp; Kimi laughed, a lighthearted chuckle that was easy on the ears.\u0026nbsp; He nodded at Clay, his head bobbing just a little bit.\u0026nbsp; \"I'd certainly like to hear more about the early anthro days, Clay, and it's been a pleasure.\"\u0026nbsp; He got up from the table, extending his hand.  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"Well then, it's a da...uh, well, it's settled then.\" Claymore scooted out of the booth, standing to take Kimi's hand in both of his and shaking it warmly.\u0026nbsp; \"Maybe this weekend if you're gonna be around.\"\u0026nbsp; He took a card from his wallet, handing it Kimi.\u0026nbsp; \"Give me a call if you're gonna be free Saturday or Sunday.\"\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"I think I just might do that,\" Kimi thought as he looked at the card, which had Clay's cell number on it.\u0026nbsp; \"See ya soon, Clay!\" he nickered.\u0026nbsp; Before turning away, Kimi impulsively gave the startled Clydesdale a quick hug.\u0026nbsp; In a move that was surprisingly agile for such a plodding work horse, Clay's arms wrapped for an instant around Kimi.\u0026nbsp; \"It's nice to know you, Claymore,\" Kimi neighed in a warm tone.   \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\"All right, all right kid, people talk about me enough as it is,\" Clay muttered.\u0026nbsp; His tone, however, was more playful than scolding, and it seemed to Kimi as though there was a slight bit of redness showing in the gruff stallion's muzzle.\n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;  \n  \n  \n  \n\n"}