//------------------------------// // TLH Vol. 1: SotM: Issue #3: Infection - Part 1 // Story: MLDC: The Justice League of Equestria - Omnibus 2 // by littleman001 //------------------------------// "J'inn..." In the infinite mass of space, he heard a voice calling out to him. He didn't recognise who it belonged to, but he must have known it from somewhere because hearing it filled his being with peace and serenity. He felt perfectly safe and carefree as he floated through the void with his eyes closed and his limbs spread wide open on each part of his body. "Good boy, Jean..." The voice continued. "Give in. Give yourself to oblivion and just float without a care in the world." It was definitely tempting at the moment. Jean would have liked nothing more than to take the voice's suggestion and just float until the end of time. But then he recognised the voice. It belonged to his mother. She was beckoning him to the afterlife just like she was in his nightmare earlier that night. But this wasn't right. His mother was dead. Just like the rest of his family and his kind. And Jean knew for a fact that the dead had no voice to speak with. And with that realisation, he regained the sense of his being and began to swim away from the voice. The owner of the voice seemed to have realised this, but their only reaction was a light chuckle. It was innocent enough, but for some reason, it still sent shivers down his spine. "Why do you resist?" The voice asked. "Can't you see this is the way it has to be? A child's place is at their mother's side. And the place of the wayward son is next to his kind." Jean felt a slight tug at his body but he resisted it and kept swimming away. "You're not my mother." He snarled. "And my kind is dead. My place is at Luna's side now. In Equestria." He insisted. "Is it?" The voice asked with another chuckle. "Luna may share a special bond with you but what about the rest of ponykind? Don't delude yourself, J'inn. You will never fit in, in Equestria. You will never truly belong. Come to us instead, J'inn. Come home." "I am." The stallion replied as he kept fighting the pull of the voice. But the pull was getting stronger. No matter how hard he tried to get away, the pull was slowly prevailing. "It's useless, J'inn!" The voice continued to taunt. "You will join us in sweet oblivion. It is only a matter of time. The more you fight it, the more painful it will be." Jean wasn't listening. He kept struggling and swimming away from the voice, but it only became louder in his ear. "Do you hear me, J'inn? J'inn?" The voice kept repeating his name, but over time, it was beginning to change. It changed to much more familiar and soothing voice. And the way it pronounced his name changed as well. "Jean?! Jean, wake up!" Jean felt his entire body beginning to shake as he recognised the new voice as Princess Luna. Suddenly, his surroundings changed in a flash. He was no longer swimming in the endless void of space but sitting behind the Princess' desk, apparently dozing off during his work. "Are you alright?" Luna asked with a concerned expression. "You were sleeping like the dead." "I'm feeling like the dead as well." Jean grumbled in response. He was so beat that he didn't even realise he said that out loud. "I knew letting you work during the middle of the night was a bad idea." Luna shook her head before looking at the documents on her desk. "But it looks like you managed to organise my trip in the industrial district after all, so if you want, you can have the day off." Jean would have lied if he said it wasn't tempting. He was quite exhausted and he didn't feel too well, but his sense of duty overcame his concern for his health. "That will not be necessary. I am quite capable of fulfilling my duties for the day." He told her, trying to put on a brave face, but a huge yawn coming immediately after he stopped talking was all Luna needed to know better. "No, you are not. I cannot have my trusty aide and confidant fall asleep on me in the middle of official royal business. Can you imagine how that would affect my reputation?" She said, trying to sound casual, but Jean saw right through it. Her concern was unmistakable. "I cannot imagine how it could be worse than the Nightmare Moon incident." He retorted with a deadpan expression, much to Luna's dismay. "That hurt, Jean. That really hurt." She replied dryly. "One more dig like that and your daily coffee break is canceled." Princess Luna's trip through the industrial district was rather uneventful if Jean said so himself. Far too uneventful in fact. Of all the city's districts the Changelings hit, this one had it by far the worst and that meant the inspection of the damages was going to be a lengthy process. A very lengthy and very tedious process. They were currently passing through a ruined ticket textile factory that several ponies took shelter in during the invasion. This meant that the creatures raided this building severely in search of prey and it showed. Many walls have all but completely collapsed, the equipment was mostly reduced to scrap metal and the materials they've been working with were all destroyed. The damages were catastrophic for the factory owner and while Luna and Jean both pitied him as well as the several workers who were left without a job, their pity was not enough to surpass the absolute boredom they both felt after only five minutes inside the ruins as the stallion went on and on about the damages he suffered. It didn't help that they have lost count on how many similar buildings they visited that day. Jean was seriously beginning to regret not taking Luna up on her offer to have the day off. He caught himself in the middle of a huge yawn on several occasions which he always managed to disguise as a sneeze, blaming it on how much dust was there among the ruins, and it was becoming increasingly hard for him to keep himself awake. "And that's not even going into all the orders that we couldn't fulfill after this awful ordeal!" The owner, an orange earth pony wearing a top hat, complained. "Not to mention the damage our reputation suffered! We used to be the biggest and most reliable supplier of textile in Canterlot! When our clients hear about this, we will lose over half of them!" Jean realised that the factory owner's grievance was more than legitimate, but at that moment, being absolutely exhausted and feeling under the weather, he just couldn't bring himself to care. He felt another yawn approaching and was already trying to make it look like a sneeze again, but this time, he didn't have to pretend. Everypony in the room turned to look at Jean when they heard him release a series of violent coughs. He tried to overcome it but eventually it became so bad that he collapsed onto his knees. Luna immediately felt overcome with concern for her friend and rushed to his side to help him up, while the other ponies in the crowd felt more reluctant to approach him. "Is your companion well, your highness?" The owner asked. "He's been showing signs of a nasty illness today and the last thing I need right now is an epidemic across the workforce." Luna merely gave him a deadpan look in response. "Your concern over my aide's wellbeing is much appreciated, kind sir." She retorted before turning to Jean. "But he has a point. What is wrong with you today, Jean? You have never been ill before." She asked in a much lower voice to make sure only Jean heard her. "I am not sure." He replied as the two walked away from the observers. "My lunar immune system is supposed to make me immune to any disease native to your planet. But I do feel rather unwell." He said as he placed a hoof on his forehead. Luna frowned in worry. "Alright! That does it!" She said firmly, literally putting her hoof down in front of the stallion. "You are heading back to the castle and you are going to rest until I am done for the day! I will have a doctor take a look at you once I return." But Jean shook only his head. "I do not think that is a good idea. I do not wish to be dismissive of your physicians but my lunar physiology may be beyond their expertise." Luna was forced to agree. "Good point." She nodded. "But you are still going to rest! That is not up for debate!" The stallion remained defiant. "Really, Luna! I will be fine! I just..." But Luna held up a hoof to silence him. "That was not a request, Jean! WE insist you go back to the castle right now and rest!" Jean's eyes widened. She had used the royal we. This rarely happened between them, but it always let him know that Luna meant business. When the princess saw his hesitation, she spoke once more. "Do we need to use the Royal Canterlot Voice as well?" She asked menacingly. That was all the motivation Jean needed to concede. "Fine, your highness. I will be off then." Jean replied bluntly before turning to leave without even saying farewell. Luna sighed. He was obviously upset with her, but his health mattered more to her than his feelings. She watched him leave what was left of the building before turning to return to her negotiation partners. Jean was making his way back to the castle at a slow and half-hearted pace. He knew Luna pretty much gave him an order, but he still wasn't eager to get home and rest. He hated nothing more than that. Just lying around and doing nothing while ponies around him worked. It made him feel so helpless. That was the worst feeling in the world. When his race was dying around him and he could do nothing, he felt helpless. When he roamed the endless, barren wasteland that had become of his home, he felt helpless. When he saw all the death and destruction in his nightmare last night, he felt helpless. He now perfectly understood Supermare and the other heroes who couldn't restrain themselves from using their powers to help ponies even if they were helping them fix problems they would be perfectly able to handle given the opportunity. Because if they don't, they feel like he was feeling throughout his entire life. Absolutely useless. He thought maybe if he could help a few ponies out with their problems today on the way back to the palace, he would feel a little better so he activated his telepathic senses to find a pony in need. But when he did, his blood froze. He felt it again. The same evil presence that stalked him last night in Luna's study. It was clear as day. It was around him somewhere in the city. It wasn't calling out to him like it did last night, but he could sense it all the same. He looked all around the city and eventually he saw a pair of glowing red eyes watching him from the balcony of the bank building in front of him. When they made eye contact, Jean could feel the same amount of evil pouring from its eyes as last night. Whatever, or whoever this observer was, they hated him deeply. But why? He didn't remember crossing anypony in the past to earn him such an ire. Of course just because he didn't remember, didn't mean it didn't happen. He did perform several heroic deeds in the past all across the country and it could have been that he did end up angering a very dangerous creature without his knowledge. One who had the means to track him down and figure out who he was. Who or what this observer was he couldn't begin to imagine but he will know soon. He was right in front of him and apparently he wasn't bothered at all by the fact that Jean obviously spotted him. All he had to do was peek into its head to figure it out but he never got the chance. Out of nowhere, he heard a huge crash coming from inside the bank that drew his attention away from the entity, which was followed by several desperate cries for help from the ponies inside. Jean briefly looked back at the observer on the balcony, only to see that it was gone. He tried to locate it again, but the screams quickly reminded him that there was a more important task at hoof right now. He looked around and when he saw that nopony was around, he turned his body intangible and phased through the wall. Inside, a horrible sight greeted him. He expected a group of robbers but the situation was much worse. The equipment the construction workers had been using to rebuild the bank had malfunctioned and exploded. Some workers have been trapped under the debris brought down by the blast as the spreading fire was approaching them. The ones who escaped the debris weren't in a much better situation as the explosion also damaged the pipes in the wall, making water leak onto the floor right toward the ruined equipment which was obviously still under power. If the water reached the device, those ponies would fry! And to make matters worse, fallen, burning wooden beams were also blocking the exit. Jean didn't waste any time. He ran up to one of the ponies who was pinned under a fallen marble column and lifted it off of him, much to his astonishment. He pulled the worker out from beneath the column and checked his hind legs for any injuries. "Are you able to stand?" Jean asked. The pony tried to move his legs but the pain was too great. "No, they're hurt too much!" He groaned. Jean got him onto his back and carried him to an empty corner far away from the flames and the leaking water. He would be safe there until Jean saved the others. He heard a scream and looked up to see a unicorn mare dangling from the ceiling, holding onto a cable she caught as she fell during the explosion. She was dangling directly above the water covered floor and electric sparks were flying out of the end of the cable. If she fell, she would no doubt be electrocuted. Jean didn't know what to do. There was no way he could save that mare without revealing what he was to them. Not to mention going against his belief of helping ponies without his powers. But ponies had to survive before they could learn to solve things without superheroes doing it for them. And when there was a need to act immediately, he had no choice but to act. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and shifted back to his lunar form, but when he was about to fly up and grab her, he only ended up falling back on the ground powerlessly. His eyes widened in horror. Just like in his nightmare, his powers failed him. Could this mean that it was more of a premonition than a dream? But he had no time to dwell on that as the mare screamed again, signaling that she was about to fall. Jean had to act quickly. His powers may not be working right now, but his lunar physiology should still be enough to help. He shot himself out with his hind legs and grabbed the poor mare just before the cable hit the ground. The unicorn opened her eyes to see that she was being carried through the air by a strange figure. Needless to say, after the ordeal with the Changelings, strange figures were understandably panic inducing for her. "Who... What are you?!" She asked on the brink of tears. "What do you want from me?!" "I'm here to help, ma'am." Jean said calmly as he grabbed onto the ledge of the upper floor. "Hold on tight. I'm going to bring you down to the ground." When Jean felt her hooves tightening around his neck, he kicked himself away from the ledge and landed in the corner he left the wounded stallion in. Fortunately, he was so preoccupied with his injuries that he didn't even notice Jean's transformation. Two ponies were safe, but Jean's job was not done. He looked around the room and still saw several trapped workers all over the place. And without his powers, it was gonna be difficult to rescue them. Fortunately, his strength was still there. He lifted the fallen marble column and raised it over his head and pushed it over to two ponies who were trapped between the flames, just as the electrified water was about to reach them. "Climb it!" He called out to them. One of them was an earth pony who helped the unicorn climb the column before he pulled him up. The two climbed over the column to reach the safe corner and once they got down, Jean then used the column to break a hole in the wall allowing the four rescued ponies to escape the building. Once that was done, he used the column to break through the wreckage blocking his access to the next room and proceeded to get in there. He found himself in the main hall which was also covered in debris and flames, causing Jean to narrow his eyes. It wasn't possible that this also came from the explosion caused by the piece of equipment in the last room. What was going on here? He briefly wondered if the mysterious entity that had been stalking him had something to do with it, but he soon found himself facing bigger concerns. "Help!" He looked up to see a unicorn stallion dangling from a fallen column on the top floor. Jean jumped up and grabbed him before landing on the upper floor and putting the stallion down. "How many more of you are in here?" He asked frantically, but he had to wait for the answer until the stallion got over his unusual appearance. "Uh... Three! We were setting up the new alarm system when the explosion hit from out of nowhere! They're still around somewhere!" He panicked, looking across the hall in search of his coworkers. Jean put a hoof on his shoulder. "I will find them. Get to safety!" He told him, pointing at the emergency exit next to them. He saw the concern in his eyes and knew he wanted to help, but he had to decline. "You'll be of no help putting yourself in danger here! Get out of here!" The stallion finally sighed and reluctantly left through the fire exit, leaving Jean to deal with the rescue himself. The flames were spreading rapidly and he couldn't use his telepathy to locate the ponies, but his vision was extremely sharp compared to the average pony. It didn't take long until he spotted an unconscious pegasus mare lying under another piece of debris with the flames getting dangerously close to her body. Jean jumped down and reached for debris but when he tried to lift it, another coughing fit overcame him. And even his strength seemed to leave him. "What is..." He couldn't even exclaim through his violent coughs. "Why is this happening to me? And at the worst possible time?!" He tried to ignore the urge to cough and resumed trying to lift the debris off of the mare, but he was losing his strength at a rapid rate. Despite this, he managed to lift it enough to pull the mare free. "Ma'am, are you alright?" Jean asked as he gently tried to slap the pegasus awake. "Wake up! You need to get out of here!" His efforts were futile so he settled on putting her on his back and jumping up to the second floor. He placed his ear on her chest to make sure she was still alive before searching for the other two. Eventually, he noticed an earth pony in the corner, surrounded by flames as he held a fire hose he got out from a cabinet on the wall and cursing his luck that it wasn't working. Jean immediately knew what to do. "Throw that hose up to me!" He called out to him. "I will help you climb up!" The earth pony was rather surprised when Jean called out to him out of nowhere, but he wasn't about to turn down a helping hoof in his situation. He threw the hose up and Jean caught it before tying it around one of the columns that still stood in its place. "Wrecking Ball! He's still down there!" He panicked as Jean pulled him up. He wasn't even surprised at Jean's alien appearance. Whether his concern for his coworker overwhelmed his shock, or he was simply used to all the unusual beings and happenings around Equestria Jean did not know. "I will find your friend! You need to get out of here!" But the stallion shook his head feverishly. "He's my brother! I am not leaving without him!" Jean appreciated his dedication to family, but right now, he had no time for this. "Do you see her?!" He asked, pointing at the unconscious mare next to them. The stallion's eyes widened. "That's Golden Dove! I know her! We just celebrated the birth of her niece last week!" He exclaimed. "See? That mare needs help now! Pick her up and take her outside! You have my word, I will save your brother!" The earth pony looked reluctant but eventually realised that the hero was right. He placed the unconscious mare onto his back and ran through the fire exit. But Jean's job was not yet done. He had one more pony to save. He jumped down to the ground floor and began frantically searching through the hall. Which was increasingly difficult with how quickly the fires had spread. And the more they spread, the more powerless he felt. And the disease hiding in him seemed to be wearing him down more and more as well. He collapsed onto the ground and broke down into another heavy coughing fit. He felt like he could pass out any moment now, but he had to fight it. As long as there was one pony who needed him, he couldn't give up. As he got closer to the bank's main entrance, he heard another series of coughs coming from another pony. He saw the shape of the earth pony worker he was looking for and much like himself, he had trouble keeping himself conscious from the smoke he was inhaling. The sight of a pony in trouble gave Jean the resolve he needed to push himself up from the floor and make his way through the fallen debris. Jumping over the flames, he placed the barely awake Wrecking Ball onto his back and began to make his way towards the exit. He wasn't even surprised at this point to find that it was also covered by the debris. Collecting every bit of strength he had left, he jumped forward and literally burst through the rubble and the gates behind them, reaching the safety of the streets outside. A group of firefighters and royal guards were already there trying to stop the flames, as well as a group of medical ponies who immediately took Wrecking Ball into their care. The assembled onlookers all backed away when they noticed the strange figure who rescued the construction worker. Jean could only hope that once the initial surprise wore off, they would not freak out too bad from discovering another alien among them, but he didn't find out. The entire world went black around him as he finally gave in to weakness, exhaustion and whatever infection was plaguing him and collapsed.