...It seemed like I was just standing there for hours, trying very hard to interpret what had just happened. The fact it could talk almost made me jump. I never would have expected it; then again, it was a character I thought was fictional. I was already heading to Yale, and let's face it... whatever they called it - a pony, I think it was - was lucky they found me and not someone else, as it might've been immediately shot at. I wasted no time in picking this pony up and struggling to carry it somewhere safe, because it must've weighed 160 pounds or so. Not normal for a horse, but I wasn't going to question it, since it made my job a lot easier. Yale was probably going to have several other survivors hanging around, so I went over to the little area just East of it, where there was a small shed from where farmers would keep their hay and such, which I didn't realize was very ironic at the time for a place to go to. I set this thing down inside and out of sight from everything, now searching around for whatever I could find that could be useful in this situation, such as some worn-out clothes (or better, new ones) or maybe a second bag, because I wasn't carrying everything in just one bag. The most I found was a red shirt, which was luckily clean, and one of those small packs I used to see many hikers wearing, so I went back into the shed, closing the doors.
Once I closed the doors, I looked at the pony or whatever I could call it, and it was looking right back. It may be a cartoon-like thing, but I could easily see that look of scared confusion, and it really wasn't that hard, because I saw it everywhere that I went. My initial, natural response, was, "Is something wrong?" All I got from the rainbow-haired pony was a nod. "Well then, what's wrong? It can't be because I'm helping you not die out there, because that's what I'm doing."
"I just want to know what they heck is going on here!" it replied. Oh, boy... this was going to be fun. What, it couldn't even say "hell"? Either way, all I could do was go up and put one hand on what I could only assume was its shoulder, in which it initially flinched, considering it probably hasn't seen a human before in its life. "W-What are you doing?"
"Stand still," I told... her? I think it was a her. So she managed to calm down just enough to where I could wrap the shirt around areas of her head that I missed that were still bleeding. I didn't want to use all the gauze that I had left earlier, so I didn't apply much. I tied off the end, and honestly... it just looked like a red headband. I was pretty surprised. "Keep that on there, you're bleeding. I'll take it off when the bleeding stops."
"...Why should I trust you?" she dared to ask me. She was probably still a little bit disoriented. If not, then she's just not very smart. I took a seat at a fair distance away from her, while still being somewhat close.
"I just picked you up and carried you away from the hay field you were laying in, where you were defenseless, may I add, and I don't even know what you are. That's why."
"Why should that mean anything? You're probably just going to... well... I don't know, but it could be really bad what you're gonna do!"
"Calm down, seriously... why would I carry you to safety and stop you from bleeding too much only to do something horrible to you later? How would that make any sense?" My statement could not have been any more clear, and I think that she realized that, since she just sighed and looked at me without saying anything more. I opened up the bag that I had on (via the zipper) and grabbed out a small can of soda I never even realized I'd put in there. It might've been that other guy's, but... oh well. I probably just didn't see it in the bag. I opened it up, pulling back the... whatever you call it, and just held it. I would've drank it myself, if not for the pony sitting next to me, or for the fact it was Coca-Cola, which definitely wasn't my favorite drink. So I did what I had intended to do. "You thirsty?" I offered, in which she had a conflicted expression on her face. It seemed like she was, but it also seemed like she didn't know what the hell I was holding.
"What... is that?" Just as I thought.
"It's soda. Isn't there any where you come from? Or... is that inaccurate?"
"Well... we do, it's just that it doesn't look like that, really." She touched the can like it was some alien device.
"You know how to hold things, don't you?"
"Uh... yeah, why?"
"Hold it, then. Just not too hard, or you'll crush it." I held the can in front of her. Interestingly enough, she used both of her front hooves to hold it, which was actually a bit clever. "Now just... take a drink."
"You're not trying to poison me or--"
"Just take a drink, I'm not trying to kill you. Jeez." That resolved things quickly, as she took a small drink. It was pretty evident she hadn't tasted something like it before, even if there was things similar to it back where she came from. After a few seconds of just sitting there, she downed the rest pretty quickly. "What do you think?"
"Weeeeeell... it wasn't bad, I guess. I was really thirsty, though, and that did the trick."
"That's good. You know, since I saw you like, 10 minutes ago, I've been wondering what your name is, since clearly you're not an ordinary horse... or pony. At least here, anyways." She immediately stood up and looked at me like she had some bold proclamation to state. She spread out her wings-- wait, wings?! I didn't think they were real! If she can really use those, that's going to be more than useful for both of us!
"The name's--" Her speech got interrupted by her closing her wings and repeatedly saying "ow" multiple times. What was wrong? Only one way to find out...
"What is it?" I casually asked.
"My wings hurt... like, a lot..." Oh, great. A pony with wings that can't even fly. Well, for now... but still, I have to take care of this! And I thought traveling alone was tough.
"Wait, they do? How so?"
"They just do! Whaddya want from me, tears?!"
"No, I want to help you! Why are you so aggressive?!"
"Why do you keep asking things?!"
"Because I have no idea what the hell you are!"
"I feel the same way about you, whatever you are!"
"I'm a human! There, now you know! Happy?!"
"And I'm a pegasus!"
"Was that so hard?!"
"Yeah, it was, actually!"
It fell pretty silent after that 20-second argument. We were just sitting there, not saying a single word, just looking about. Sometimes at each other, then away again. This lasted for about 5 minutes. "Hey, uh... so, I never said my name. It's Rainbow Dash. You have one?"
"Mine's Jared. Jared Harem."
"That's a pretty weird name you got there."
"Speak for yourself, Missy. Hey, do you know how you got here?"
"Not really..."
"Well, I'll tell you about here. This is Earth. We're a pretty good planet... or, were. A few years back, some corporation tried doing tests on a few test subjects and ended up creating some virus that got out and infected a lot of us. There aren't that many that survived it, and it's becoming less and less from them being attacked by the infected and from other people that are selfish and kill them just for what they have. It's a dangerous place... but we have to live through it, I guess."
"That sounds like some cheesy movie or something."
"Well, it's not. I've had to live with it--" I would've continued a bit more... if not for the gunfire heard outside. One of the guns being used didn't sound that loud - probably a suppressor - while the other one was clearly a 7.62, probably an Assault Rifle of some kind. The sound of the bullets penetrating the ground and dirt made me freeze in place. As for Dash, the sounds had piqued her interest, since she was now moved to the door and opened it just slightly, to see what was happening outside. Just a few seconds after she did this, we were greeted with the doors being pulled open, one man rushing inside before closing them both again, like he didn't realize we were there. He was gasping for air somewhat, like he ran through all the stamina he had gathered in a matter of seconds. He turned around, not yet seeing Dash, and immediately had his sidearm at the ready, not seeming to have a regular gun of any kind, and it had a suppressor on the end. Then, he saw Dash, shrieking in fear as he shuffled backwards to the other side of the shed.
"W-What the hell is that thing?!" He had his gun pointed right at her... and he looked like he was just about to pull the trigger any second...