Blackout on 281
To the whole world, you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the whole world…
---
As the sensation of the mental takeover washed away from Aurora Ray’s mind, he turned to stare at the crashed semi-trailer down in the ditch off Highway 281. Down in his arms he saw the young boy, no older than eleven, shivering in fear. He turned back to the trailer and looked at the crushed cabin as fluids started to leak from underneath. Fire, was all he could think of in his mind. “Stay here,” he said to the young boy and started off down the path.
“Where are you…?” Ray yelled as he stumbled down the path.
“I’m here!” a voice responded from the cabin of the semi.
I’m not talking to you, Ray thought. He listened and heard no response in his head. Damnit, where are you? I know you did this! Show yourself! He moved closer to the cab and stepped around the leaking liquids to get to the driver’s side door. DAMNIT, say something!
“Hey!” the trucker said, his face visible from the cracked window. “I’m stuck!”
“Just hold on,” Ray said. “We gotta be careful not to cause a spark. You’re leaking fuel!”
“Don’t hit the door handle, then! The metal will cause a spark for sure!” the man yelled.
Ray reached for his phone, but his pocket was empty. WHICH ONE OF YOU TOOK IT? He yelled in his head. Where is it?! I need that phone!
He heard a response from a calm, female voice, which filled his mind with the image of a purple unicorn with wings. <You left it in your car, two miles back.>
I left it in my car?! “DAMNIT!” Ray yelled.
“Hey I could really use your help getting out of here, man,” the truck driver said.
“Do you have a phone?” Ray asked. “Or a CB radio or something?”
“The transmitter on my radio flew off and is below the seat. I can’t reach it. My phone is outta battery.”
Ray walked around the side of the truck and opened the passenger door. He crawled in and saw the driver’s legs stuck underneath a collapsed steering wheel. He reached down under the seat and pulled out the radio transmitter. The buttons were broken off, like it had been crushed.
“Damnit! I must’ve stepped on it when it hit the ground somehow!” The truck driver said. “Hey, you think you can pull this wheel up? I can get out if you and I push it off together! Just bend it up!”
“I’m not strong enough for that,” Ray said.
<Ah am,> a voice said in his mind. His hands weren’t his own anymore as they clutched the top of the steering wheel.
“Come on,” Ray’s voice said, even though it wasn’t him who was speaking. He and the driver pushed the wheel upwards, trying to bend it. It barely budged. But it was moving. “Harder, push it now!” Ray’s voice said again and somewhere deep in his mind, Ray could only watch. You’ll hurt him! Be careful, Applejack!
“Ah got this,” Ray’s voice said with a distinctly southern drawl. “But ah’m using the wrong tools.” Applejack leaned back in the seat and put her legs right under the top rung of the wheel. “We push as one. Ready?”
“Yeah yeah,” the truck driver said. He started to sniff loudly. “You smell that right?”
“Yeah, tha gasoline…”
“No, the smoke!” The driver and Applejack peered at the broken and battered hood of the car and saw trails of black smoke start to issue from the sides. “Hurry!”
“GO!” Applejack said as she pushed hard upwards on the wheel with her legs while the driver screamed and pushed upwards with his arms. The wheel bent up just enough for his legs to move.
“GOT IT!” the driver yelled and scooted his body to the side. He yelled in agony. “My legs are broken!”
“Out of the car!” Applejack yelled as she pulled on his jacket and moved him to the edge with all her might. He helped by pulling himself with his arms but now he hung a good five feet off the ground. Applejack underestimated her own strength and accidentally pulled him too far.
Applejack, he’s falling! Ray thought.
Applejack hit the ground first and rolled to the side. The large truck driver fell. Head first. His body rested in the gasoline as the smoke started to pour from the engine up above. He did not move. Applejack crawled over to him. “Wh..what do ah do? I can’t…I don’t know how to check for a pulse!”
<Outta the way,> a white mare appeared in Ray’s mind with a Red Cross symbol. Nurse Redheart put her hands on the driver’s neck and felt for a pulse. “He’s alive,” she said aloud in Ray’s gruff voice. “We need to move him away from the accident or that fire’s going to ignite the gasoline and burn us alive.”
We can’t move him with just our strength alone! Ray thought. Nurse Redheart turned to the kid who had been saved a minute before. He was sitting fifty yards away on the shoulder of the road. “Who’s good with kids?” Nurse Redheart asked out loud.
<Let me do it,> answered a voice. The kid saw Ray approach him on the side of the road, but he couldn’t see the deep berry purple pony filling Ray’s mind as she bent down and spoke softly to the child. “Hey,” Cheerilee said, “I know you’re scared, but I need your help okay? I need you to be a hero because I can’t do this alone. Can you be strong for me? This man needs us.” The kid nodded. Cheerilee offered her hand. “Let’s do this together, okay?” The kid nodded again. Cheerilee jogged with the kid back to the scene where the smoke was getting worse.
You know you’re putting the kid’s life in danger, right? Ray said in his mind.
Cheerilee spoke up in response. “If things look dangerous or a fire breaks out, I want you to run, okay? Don’t stay. I need you to be safe.” The kid nodded one more time. “Promise me.”
“I promise,” the young boy said. They both knelt down by the unconscious, gasoline-soaked truck driver and grabbed him by the shoulders.
“We move him on three, okay?” Cheerilee said.
“Fire!” the kid yelled as he pointed upward. Tongues of flame were licking the air above the smashed hood of the semi.
Cheerilee turned back. “You need to run! Now!”
“NO!” the kid yelled, causing Cheerilee to recoil. “MOVE HIM! GO!”
Cheerilee and the kid pulled with all their might as they managed to drag the heavy man a few feet before they both had to rest.
“Leave!” Cheerilee yelled.
“It’s my fault he’s dying!” The kid said. “MOVE! GO!”
Both pulled again and moved the man a few more feet as the fire blazed higher and hotter.
<Kid’s got guts. Stop telling him to leave and help him. Or let me do it,> a wild fiery pegasus took charge of the body and clasped the arms with her hands. “No more screwing around, kid. We pull him as far as we can this time or that fire will overtake us. You ready?” Spitfire asked.
“Yeah.”
“Kid, I better hear some fire in your voice or we ain’t gonna make it! READY?!”
“FUCK YEAH!”
“GO!” Spitfire and the kid yelled with all their might as they dragged the unconscious man three feet, six feet, and finally ten feet onto the edge of the road and off the gasoline-soaked grass. The two collapsed next to the body as the truck exploded into a blazing inferno. The grass around the truck caught ablaze.
“We…did it!” The kid said between wild breaths.
The herd in Ray’s mind fell back and he came forward again. He looked around, aware of what happened, and still not believing it. “Yeah…we all did.”
--
The interior of the San Antonio Police Department was dingy and poorly lit. Ray sat in the seat next to the investigating officer. “Kid said you saved that man’s life. And his,” Officer Linda Lopez said. “You’re lucky the kid had a phone on him. The driver will live, but he’s got some serious injuries.”
<Oh dear,> Twilight Sparkle said in Ray’s mind. <Totally forgot that every kid has a phone these days.>
No talking right now. I need to focus, Ray thought. And please don’t take control right now, unless all of you want to spend the rest of our lives in a mental hospital.
After a strange silence visible only to Officer Lopez, Ray spoke up. “I did what I had to do. I’m just glad they’re both okay.”
“And you’re a hero for that, Aurora.” She looked down at the name on her report and cocked an eyebrow. “Aurora? Isn’t that…”
“A woman’s name. It’s complicated. Please just call me Ray.”
“All right then…well, Ray. You see there’s a bit of a complication with the story you and the kid presented us,” Officer Lopez started.
<Here it comes,> Twilight Sparkle said.
“What’s that?” Ray asked.
“Your car was two miles back down the road. And yet you were on foot when you saw the kid in the road and the driver moving towards him. You were there just in-time to pull him out of the way. Why was your car so far back down the road?”
<Careful what you say,> Spitfire said.
Guys, I don’t remember why it was so far! Which one of you walked me over to the scene? Do you remember?
Nurse Redheart spoke up. <No, there’s a blank where that memory should be. A complete blackout of information. What’s the last thing you remember? Feign traumatic stress if you have to buy some more time.>
Feign? I wouldn’t be faking it, Ray thought.
“Mr. Ray?” Officer Lopez asked. “You okay? You look like you zoned out there for a minute.”
“Sorry Officer. It’s been a long day. I’m…trying to remember what happened. The events are all mixed up in my mind.” <Good, keep it up,> Redheart said. “I think I…must’ve gotten carsick and walked out of the vehicle for a bit. Maybe I went too far. Ended up down the road. Two miles, though? Are you sure that’s right?”
The Officer was quiet for the briefest of seconds. “Approximately two miles. You would have had to have been walking for at least 30 minutes at a gradual pace to make it that far. And as far as we could see your vehicle was not broken down. It was in perfect working order.”
“Huh,” Ray said.
<You’re not a very convincing liar,> Spitfire said. <Let me do it.>
“No!” Ray said aloud and caught himself a little too late.
“No what?” the officer asked.
<Shit,> Spitfire said.
“No…this is all wrong,” Ray said, trying to cover. “I feel like we’re missing some vital piece of the puzzle here.”
“You’re telling me,” Officer Lopez said. “You were there. How ‘bout you fill me in?”
“The kid…there were on the road, right? So maybe I was following them for that stretch of time, wondering what they were doing till I saw them get in trouble.”
<That sounds suspicious…> Spitfire said.
“You think ‘maybe’ that’s what happened? How are you not certain, Mr. Ray?”
“Officer, I can’t remember very well. The whole situation jarred my brain. I must be dealing with some sort of post-traumatic stress.”
“Of that I have no doubt,” she said. “But that stress happened LONG AFTER you got out of your car and walked the two miles to the scene of the accident. Whatever you were doing happened before this incident occurred. That’s what I want to know. Are you really saying you can’t remember why you were out there in the first place?”
<LET. ME. TAKE. OVER,> Spitfire said.
No! You’ll ruin it! She’ll notice the difference! Ray thought.
“Officer, you’re right. This stress happened because of the incident, but I still can’t remember why I was out there. I deal with...a LOT of stress in my job. Sometimes I zone out when stress gets to me. It’s really difficult to deal with. And I forget a lot. That day on the road, I was coming back from work and I know that lately I’ve been dealing with a lot of pressure from upper management. I probably had an anxiety attack on the road, pulled off to the side and got out and walked because I didn’t want to cause and accident. And yes, I have anxiety attacks. I’ve had them for a long time and you can check with my doctor on that.”
The officer nodded and waited for Ray to finish his story before responding. “That is the most plausible thing you’ve said so far.” She wrote down what Ray said on her computer.
<She’s not buying it,> Spitfire said. <Did you see her expression when you were talking to her? Total disbelief.>
I focused on whatever I knew to be true and that was it. See? That’s how it works, Ray thought.
“Okay Mr. Ray,” Officer Lopez said, “You’re free to go, but I will be calling you for a followup later when we get some more information on this, so keep yourself available for the next week. Please make sure to come back here when we ask you. You don’t want to see me at your home. Trust me.”
“Oh. Kay,” was all Ray could say, rather dorkily.
--
Ray sat down at his kitchen table in his apartment by himself. The events of the day had worn him out and he was holding a bottle of Jack Daniels. He could not seem to bring it to his lips, but not without trying.
“All right,” he said aloud. “Which one of you is stopping me from drinking this time?”
<Does it matter? You aren’t allowed to drink that stuff anymore,> Twilight said.
“I’d say it matters a lot, Twilight,” Ray respond verbally. “I want to know who’s taking control of my life this time.”
<I’m sorry,> Fluttershy said. She hadn’t spoken up all day and Ray sighed.
“Really, Fluttershy? You, of all ponies?”
<Ray, it’s not healthy! For you or us,> she said.
Ray put the bottle down and held his head in his hands. “Please just leave me alone. I want silence for at least an hour. Is that so hard to ask for?”
<If you want silence, go to sleep,> Twilight said.
“You know damn well what happens when I go to sleep. You’re just waiting for me to do so. Then, I’ll find myself inside Canterlot again speaking to Princess Celestia or her sister Lunar.”
<LUNA!> A loud, boisterous voice called out. <MY NAME. IS LUNA.>
“Whatever, your majesty,” Ray said as he got up and went to his bedroom. He sat down and turned on his computer. “If I can’t drink, I’ll do something else.”
<What are you doing?> Twilight asked.
“Looking up porn. Hardcore porn.”
<NO!> Twilight said.
<YES!> Luna shouted. <I…I mean…NOoooo...>
“Luna, I’m going to say this once,” Ray started. “If you try and take over when I’m ‘busy,’ we’re gonna have some words.”
<I WAS CURIOUS,> she responded.
<Ray,> Twilight spoke, <I need to ask you about today.>
“Why?”
<None of us remember what happened. There as a total blackout in your memory when you stepped out of your car. This is a very serious problem. If this keeps happening, you could end up doing things you don’t remember, and how are you going to defend yourself to the police then?>
“I don’t know. And I don’t want to think about it. Let me…deal with my problems. They aren’t yours anyway.”
<But if they matter to you, then they matter to us,> Twilight said. <We’re all a part of the same system and have been for quite a while now. Equestria needs you to help us, but you keep ignoring us instead of doing what’s necessary!> Ray kept clicking on websites. <Are you ignoring me again? Fine!>
Luna spoke up. <Click on the new uploads.>
<It’s ridiculous how much effort it takes for us to get your attention!> Twilight yelled.
<You have to put commas between the keywords if you want more results,> Luna said.
<Whatever, Ray! When you’re ready to help us, we’ll be waiting. See you tonight IN YOUR DREAMS,> Twilight said before disappearing from the front of Ray’s mind.
<She’s right you know,> Luna said. <We’re basically stuck in here. Equestria isn’t going to fix itself.>
“I didn’t ask for this responsibility,” Ray said, before shutting down his computer out of frustration.
<I know. I’m sorry,> Luna said. <Hey…tonight, meet me in my chambers okay?>
“Why?” Ray asked.
<You’re not the only one who’s lonely.>
--
The interior of Canterlot castle was unimaginably beautiful. Ray traced a hand over a marble column and felt the cold of the room, the impossibly vivid sensation which could never make sense in a dream. “I’ll never dream again…will I?”
“If you could have this over a dream, would you choose the latter?” Luna’s voice rang loud and clear through the hollowed chambers. Ray looked up at the staircase as he strolled through the ice-blue glow of the room. A serene feeling pervaded his heart as he eyed the stain glass windows. They were fragmented images of beauty arranged in a mismatch of forms.
“I feel like a stain glass window. Easy to see through. Just tons of tiny pieces and each one, held by one of you,” Ray said. Somewhere in the distance, he heard the most gentle of mournful songs. He wondered who it was and figured he’d meet them later anyway.
“It’s who you are now,” Luna said. “I know it’s not the life you wanted, but it’s the life you were given.”
“By whom?” Ray asked. “Because I’d like to have a word with them.”
He turned and stopped.
Down the staircase strode the soft and silent star-studded steps of the Princess of the Night. Her mane and tail flowed like a nebula casting light in all the shadows of the room and drawing everything within it. The light of the moon fell upon her face and accented every loving curve. Like a celestial accretion disk, Ray’s gaze could not escape the eyes of the Princess staring back at him. When she stood in front of him, the whole universe watched. And when the thought ran through his mind once more, he realized that he was the universe. And she was his night.
“Ray,” she said. “What are you looking at?”
“Someone who makes me wish I’d never awake,” he said. Tears fell from his eyes.
She wiped them away tenderly. “Every time you hurt, we all feel it. We could shut it out, and some do. But I won’t. I need to feel what you feel.”
“Why is my life like this, Luna?” Ray asked. The moonlight fell upon he and Luna alone. “Why can’t I have a normal life?”
“Would you rather we ceased to be? And this whole universe turn to naught?”
He shook his head. “No. You deserve to be just as much as anyone else.”
She took him by the hand and they stepped up to the stairs towards Luna’s castle spire. The room was bathed in the light of the night. Everywhere he looked, Ray saw the sparkle of stardust swirling in slow, graceful dreamlike motion. No matter what Luna touched, it was always made more beautiful because she had been there.
Ray found his voice. “I wish my thoughts were always this beautiful.”
Luna guided him to the canopy bed, with a ceiling of constellations and shooting stars, and held him close. He said nothing and smiled. Surely, this was a better end to the day than most.
“Visit me tomorrow, please,” Ray said. “Wherever you want to go.”
“Wait till later at night. We’ll go somewhere special. Somewhere we can all enjoy,” Luna said.
Ray laughed quietly. “Gotta take the whole crew.”
“Always,” Luna said and smiled.
--
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Nice! Please write more.
7299086
Thank you, Anonymous! *hugs* I plan on writing this very soon. I love how this story has developed! As a writer, it's fun to see how storylines arrive from such a simple spark. Stay tuned!
7299113 LET GO OF ME!
7299121
Oh! *releases hug* I always forget about the release part. Sorry. *Sweatdrop*
Off to write and not at all run away from an awkward social situationnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!
*takes off*
7299145 Well, another one to mutilate in their sleep...
Allons-y—I mean, all right, after about 2 days worth of time, I've finally read the first chapter of this... Huh, you said that you have trouble with letting go after hugging. Why did I miss and fall on my face that one time? Also I what I've read of your fanfics so far, though I mostly focus on Equus Metamophus (Metamorphosis you dunderhead!) thank you, why are you based on the smarter Twilight anyways, So yeah, I like this though I like Equus Metamorphosis more, and even... dammit I for—OH YEAH so can I have a hug despite me being extremely afraid of touching other people? I mean another one? Unless you haven't let go since two days ago and I'm really inattentive?
Hmm... this... actually is really interesting. I like the idea of it. It feels more unique? Yes I believe this calls for a fave and like. You're doing well, Please continue.
This makes me wonder if it was a accident that Equestria is there, or Discord deciding to have some severe shenanigans.
Wow, what a way to start. Can see this as a really bizarre anime