Cryogen

"Daring..." I whisper as I look around nervously, my hand fumbling around in my pocket, ready to grab my gun at moment's notice. We've been walking for hours now, and the sun has already gone down, leaving us in an eerie darkness. Daring said it was only about half an hour back to her house. Of course she had to be talking about while flying! On foot, it could take until morning just to make it back to some kind of shelter.

"Yep?" She replies, sounding cheery as ever.

"Ever get the feeling you're being watched?" I ask as I look left and right, up and down, looking for anything that might be watching us from the eerie darkness that surrounds us like a blanket, suffocating us.

"Well yeah, but I'm not getting that right now. You're just being jumpy Zack, you gotta learn how to chill out and not be so high strung." She says as she rolls her eyes and lightly hits me in the shoulder. "Huh, you got a little more muscle than I thought." She says after hitting my bicep.

"I told you, I played sports, but not nearly as much as my girlfriend, Olivia. Man was she something. Some people called her out on her muscles, and the fact that she was a girl who could take on any football jock at any time. She never liked to admit it, but she was a real softy, she just never showed it. She tried to cover up her girly side with sports, action, and violence. God I loved that girl." I say as I smile and close my eyes, shaking my head lightly side to side.

"You'll find love again Zack, I guarantee it! Trust me, there are a ton of mares out there looking for a guy like you."

"Gees, THAT'S helpful." I say as I roll my eyes. "If you haven't noticed yet Daring, I'm not exactly a pony, much less attracted to you guys, no offense. I'd NEVER date one of you guys much less ever... ugh never mind." I say, shaking the mental image from my head.

"C'mon, do you want to be alone forever? Besides, different species go out all the time here! Gryphons with Ponies, Dragons with Zebras, you name it, it has happened."

"That doesn't mean I see it the same way as all of you. Where I'm from, or more like when I'm from, humans only dated, married, and mated with other humans. If one of us were to, y'know, have a thing for anything else other than a human, it would be frowned upon by society. So, Mrs. Daring, I have to say no to that. I'd rather be alone, thank you very much." I turn, expecting to see Daring giving me an understanding nod, but instead, she gives me an annoyed and angry look.

"You know we aren't animals right?"

"Sure look like one, well, close anyway."

"You don't get it do you Zack?"

"Get what?"

"That we are different on the outside, but the same on the inside. Think about it, we've been holding a conversation for hours now, come some animal do that? No. Saying you won't love one of us ponies, or any other species for that matter, is really biased Zack. I'd understand if you were talking about an actual animal like a dog or a cat, but that's not us. We're just as human as you."

I rub my face with a hand and let out a sigh. I don't respond at all, and we continue walking in silence. I'm still going to stand firm in my beliefs, despite whatever Daring throws at me. Maybe she has a point, maybe they are just like me, but that doesn't change what they are. I'm a human, they aren't, it is simple as that, and that's going to be my viewpoint no matter what.

"We should stop here." She says in a monotone voice. We stand in the middle of a clearing in the middle of a dense forest, the clearing allowing us to actually get some moonlight shining down on us. "Know how to start a fire?" She asks, her perky attitude slowly coming back.

"I've seen it in the movies and stuff, but I've never really done it without a tool or maybe a match. Could you show me? Y'know, for future reference?"

"Heh, yeah, sure. Looks like the human doesn't know something for once, Mr. Know-it-all." She says in a playful tone as she shakes her head and rolls her eyes.

"Hey, I'm the smartest person you'll ever meet." I retort with a smile on my face and a fist curled up. I lightly punch her on the shoulder, remembering that she did the same thing to me earlier. There, now we are even.

"Sure, sure." She says in a sarcastic voice. "Now, watch the master at work." Daring spends the next few minutes looking at different rocks while I gather wood from the surrounding forest. I drop the pile into the center of the clearing, and Daring walks over with a black rock in her mouth.

"Got anything made out of iron or steel?" She asks as she drops the rock.

"Um, I have this, but it is pretty dangerous, I don't think I trust you with it considering you probably don't even know what it is." I say as I hold the gun out in front of her. She eyes the pistol, rubbing her chin with a hoof.

"You're right, I don't know. What does it do?"

"It is a weapon that fire small projectiles at incredibly high speeds, allowing them to pierce through most solid objects, including living things. That's why I don't want you touching it since you aren't exactly trained to use it."

"And you are?"

"Well, kinda. My dad used to take me and my brother to the firing range a lot, just for fun, and I really picked up on the whole thing. I'm a better shot than my brother, but he was probably more... effective with it."

"What do you mean by effective?"

"He wasn't afraid to use it on something other than a paper or wooden target like I am, or was anyway. I'm not sure who I really am anymore due to the fact that everything that molded me into who I am is gone now."

"Well, I like the new, or old, you. You're a cool guy Zack, just wish you'd open up a little more."

"Heh, yeah... Anyway, what're you gonna do with that black rock?"

"This, my tall hairless friend, is flint." She says as she tosses it towards me. Now that I can see it clearly, I can confirm that this is indeed a chunk of flint. Where she found it, I don't know, and probably never will. I put two and two together, and realize she wants to spark a fire using the flint and the steel on my gun.

I hold the two objects close to the pile of wood, and begin scraping them together. It is hard at first, considering the wood is a little bit damp, but eventually, we get a small flame growing, and before long, it has grown into a raging fire lighting up the night and filling us with a comfortable warmth. I take off my backpack and start shuffling through it as Daring sits next to me, watching me curiously.

"What do ya have in there?" She asks as she taps the bag with a hoof. I start listing off the various items while removing them until the bag is completely empty.

"Laptop, some charging cables, history textbook, anatomy textbook, note paper, calculator, pen, jacket, and a baseball. Oh, and I have my phone and wallet in my pockets."

"So, why are you emptying your bag out?"

"Just seeing what's left from my time. All of these objects are technically ancient artifacts, so I want to know what I have with me."

"Oh, gotcha. Its pretty cool though, seeing all this stuff. Mind if I take a closer look at it all when we get back to my house?"

"As long as you don't break anything, I don't see why not. Just promise me you'll be careful, especially with the electronics."

"You like making me promise stuff, don't ya?" She says with a chuckle while elbowing me in the side. "Yeah, I promise." Daring yawns and plops onto her back, gazing up at the stars. I follow her gesture, laying down on the soft grass next to her. The stars are absolutely beautiful out here, nothing like the night sky in the cities.

Images of what recently happened flash through my mind, causing me to wince at each one. The betrayal, waking up, meeting this weird pony thing, wandering through the unknown woods of an unknown world. It is all just so surreal to me.

"How was your first day in Equestria, Zack?"

"Equestria? Is that what you guys call the planet now?" I ask as I turn over to look her in the eyes.

"No no, Equestria is our country. We call the planet Equis."

"Oh, okay then, well to answer your question, it was shitty." Daring gives me a somewhat offended and confused stare. "Well, except for meeting you of course. It is nice to have someone showing me the way instead of trying to figure this all out on my own y'know?"

"Awww, you DO have a soft side." She says as she scrunches up her face, her voice getting higher to mock me.

"Hah, yeah right! I'm not even sure if I consider you a friend yet." I say, half serious, half joking.

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know ya love me. Everypony does." She says with a smile as she rolls her eyes.

"There's your problem." I say as I tap her nose with a single finger. "I'm not a pony." I say with a sly smile as I roll onto my back. We continue to look up at the sky in silence for what seems like hours before my eyes finally start to give out.

"Kinda tired already." I say with my own yawn. "I'm gonna catch some Z's, night Daring." I say as I take in a deep breath and close my eyes. I don't even hear her response before I'm in a deep sleep.

"Zack! ZACK!" I wake up to someone screaming, and I don't know where I am. Once I see the fire still burning in front of me, I remember where I am, and notice the sudden lack of a dark yellow pegasus that was supposed to be next to me.

Then I see her.

"Zack!" She yells as some unseen force drags her across the ground and deeper into the forest. I leap to my feat as she vanishes into a bush, and grab my pistol which I know is still loaded. I flip the safety off, and take off into the forest in a full-on sprint. Sweat beads down my face as small branches make little cuts on my face, yet I don't feel them at all. Adrenaline surges through me, and all I can think about is that fact that the only living thing I've seen since waking up is getting dragged to God knows where. I can't lose her now, not so soon after all this! I let out one last cry, the words not even really processing through my brain as they escape my throat.

"Daring, I'm coming!"