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"Yeah, they do it up right here at the diner, mostly homemade. Shirley is very talented in the kitchen." Clay bit his tongue to keep from adding the other rooms in which he knew Shirley to be quite gifted. "I've been eating here since," the stallion gazed towards a distant memory, his eyes squinting slightly. "Oh, gosh, since I came to Crawford Corners." "Really? When was that?" Kimi's eyes went wide, giving him a startled look which was rather accentuated by the fork frozen halfway to his muzzle. Giggling slightly, he finished the bite on his fork before continuing. "I'm a history buff, and, heh, sort of nosy." "No need to worry, kid, I don't mind talking about my history. The problem is getting me to shut up!" The stallion stirred more cream into his coffee, catching Kimi's friendly gaze out of the corner of his eye. 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. Whatever it was, the kid was likeable and easy to talk to -- qualities that were sometimes short around town. "Near as I can figure, it was sometime around 1966 or so, several years After The Bright Light and... ." "Wait, the what?" Kimi interrupted, his head tilting at an odd angle. "The Bright Light, Kimi; I didn't know what else to call it when I was young." Clay settled back in the booth, resting the coffee bucket on the table. "I was still qaudruped then, there were no anthros. 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. 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. All I knew then was horrid squealing and stampeding as flame rushed toward our paddock. My dam threw me into a stock tank, and I survived the fireball." "Did she... ?" "She died saving me, Kimi. I was protected by the water in the tank, at least from the blast. I stumbled from the area, totally disoriented. It seemed like I couldn't get out of the blast zone, because as far as I wandered I saw wreckage and debris. It was the virus, spreading and killing people that left everything so bleak. The first responders spread it to their colleagues, families, and survivors, and the virus just rippled out from there. Much of the surrounding area quickly became a ghost town." "I remember reading about this in history class, Clay." Kimi looked somber as he spoke, nodding a little bit. "Wasn't the virus unstable?" "Yeah, that's what we found out. The instability caused it to mutate quickly, which decreased its lethality. The farther away in time victims were from initial victims, the greater their chances of surviving infection. Eventually the virus morphed into a non-transmissible form and died out from a lack of hosts. Or at least, no new cases were reported about 8 months after the strikes, and quarantines were lifted just two years after that. The Soviets were evil, but not terribly competent. The damage they managed to inflict was brief, local, and harsh, and I count myself one of the lucky ones. Human DNA responded very differently to the virus, and some of the poor bastards I saw mutated," Clay paused, pursing his lips. "Let's just say they would have preferred having died." "Yeah, one of my Dad's friends is a mutated human, Clay. He seems kind of withdrawn to me, even though his mutation is pretty mild. Some facial scarring and bumpiness on his forehead." "Mm-hmm, one of the lucky ones. He still has bones." Kimi made a slight face indicating a lack of interest in further details about human mutation. "So you became a first-generation anthro? That must have been intense, Clay!" "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. Shirley interrupted with an offer of more coffee, filling Clay's cup and leaving the check on the table. "Whenever you're ready, hun," she said, "and you know I wasn't talking about the bill!" She winked at Clay, giving his shoulder a squeeze that was a trifle more than friendly before she walked away. Kimi laughed as he reached for the check, "Man, she's so into you! Now, what's my portion of the...HEY!" He laughed as Clay deftly snatched the small greenish paper away. "My treat, colt," Clay neighed, pulling out a well-worn wallet and counting off several bills. "I've enjoyed the company and," he paused, smiling before continuing. "You know, I look forward to getting together again. You know, if you might be, uh, well whatever, you know." The older stallion sounded as though he was a bit tongue-tied. "Oh, no question, I'd love to! I mean, I'd really enjoy that, a lot." Kimi laughed, a lighthearted chuckle that was easy on the ears. He nodded at Clay, his head bobbing just a little bit. "I'd certainly like to hear more about the early anthro days, Clay, and it's been a pleasure." He got up from the table, extending his hand. "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. "Maybe this weekend if you're gonna be around." He took a card from his wallet, handing it Kimi. "Give me a call if you're gonna be free Saturday or Sunday." "I think I just might do that," Kimi thought as he looked at the card, which had Clay's cell number on it. "See ya soon, Clay!" he nickered. Before turning away, Kimi impulsively gave the startled Clydesdale a quick hug. In a move that was surprisingly agile for such a plodding work horse, Clay's arms wrapped for an instant around Kimi. "It's nice to know you, Claymore," Kimi neighed in a warm tone. "All right, all right kid, people talk about me enough as it is," Clay muttered. 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.