Chapter 3: Survivor
I was fiddling with an old radio I found lying on a bench when I heard it, Eli jumped as well when a loud squeal penetrated the world around us and then a loud crash. I dropped the radio back on the bench and ran towards the noise, where there was noise, there were people. Eli followed close behind until we came to a terrifying sight. A car had wrapped itself around a telephone pole and caught fire, inside the car were two shapes I couldn’t quite make out until one moved.
“Eli,” I shouted. “There’s someone in there!”
Eli nodded at me and the two of us tried to pry open opposite doors, I had the passenger door and Eli got the driver’s door. I couldn’t seem to pry the door the door open, so I tried using my apparent magic to pull open the door.
My horn glowed bright and the same strange aura of blue from before surrounded the door. I focused my mind and imagined the door opening. Instead, a loud groaning noise filled the air and the door literally bent all the way backwards on its hinges until it was touching what was left of the hood.
I didn’t want to break whoever was inside’s back so I reached into the car and grabbed the shape in the passenger seat then pulled them out. I looked down at who I’d rescued and was a bit more surprised than I should have been at the sight of another pony. The pony, who I assumed was a guy, due to his muscular build had light-grey fur and a contrasting orange mane and tail, but no horn. The pony was knocked unconscious and he had a gash on his forehead, but seemed to still be breathing, his chest rising steadily and strongly. I had no idea if he had some sort of internal damages and cursed myself for not choosing to become a veterinarian.
Eli pulled his patient over towards me and we both stared down at the pair. The other pony, that Eli had saved, looked smaller and more compact, I assumed this pony was a girl if the exaggerated eyelashes and shape were anything to go by. I stopped myself from looking like a creep as I examined her further. Her fur was a dark green with a white mane and tail she had a few minor injuries, but surprisingly nothing serious, however what really surprised me was that she had wings! Sprouting from halfway down her back was a pair of feathery wings that matched her fur.
I guess it made sense that pegasi existed too, though until now I hadn’t come to that conclusion until now. Leaving the other ponies in Eli’s care I went to work trying to put out the flaming car. I ran to a nearby building and grabbed a hose with my mouth and used my hooves to turn on the water. The water gushed out of the hose and I ran to the car and began extinguishing the flames. The fire had seemed to have been confined to the hood until now and the gas line hadn’t seemed to have ruptured. The flames hissed as I put them out and the car groaned as the heat warped the metal.
I managed to put out the fire and all that was left of the car was a mostly burned and warped wreck. To make sure the car didn’t explode I undid the hose from the building and used it to siphon the gas out of the car and into a gas can I found in another car’s trunk. Eli and I carried the unconscious ponies to my apartment nearby. I lay the girl on my bed and Eli lay the guy next to her, it was strange, our new pony bodies were so small compared to our old ones that a twin-size bed could fit two or maybe three if you squeezed.
Eli motioned for me to step outside the room and when I did, he said, “I told you so, I knew there had to be others! The only downside is now we know how bad it’ll get.”
“What,” I asked. “What do you mean how bad it’ll get?"
“Have you ever seen any post-apocalyptic show or movie ever? This is the part where the main characters—us—find out that everyone else is running around looting and beating each other up and...” He paused. “Stealing cars. That was a Mustang they were driving. Sure, it could be theirs, but it’s unlikely.”
I frowned, “what about us? We stole who knows how much from the stores around here! What does that make us?”
Eli got more serious than I'd seen him in a long time and he leaned in and said, “survivors. That makes us survivors Zach.”
I sighed, “I suppose you’re right.”
Suddenly a noise drew our attention to the room where our wards patients now lay, someone groaned. We entered the room to see the grey pony sitting up and rubbing his head with a hoof.
“What the heck happened?”
“You were in an accident,” Eli said.
The grey ponies' eyes snapped toward us. “There’s more people left? You guys are... humans?”
Eli nodded, “We are, what’s your name?”
“Russel. I’m Russel and this is--”
He suddenly looked very worried until he noticed the other pony in the bed, his friend I assumed. Russel sighed.
“This is Molly, my sister.”
“Sister,” I said surprised again. “I wasn’t sure that any siblings were left, if anyone.”
“Well, we are and I’m pretty sure that that means there must be others.”
“Maybe. Have you seen anyone else?”
“Yeah,” Russel said rubbing his head. “I saw this nutso guy jump off of a building.”
“W-what?”
Eli leaned in next to me, “I’m not surprised. Some won’t be able to cope with the changes, so they’ll take the only conceivable option. Suicide.”
I saw Russel frown, but nod knowingly, “you’ve got wisdom beyond your years boy.”
“Yeah,” Eli said with a faraway look. “I’m a survivor.”