Chapter Ten: Flames
Luna drifted through the dream realm; her attention quickly being focused by a familiar darkness within the thoughts of Equestria’s only human.
Jason, what plagues you tonight?
The Alicorn abruptly was spun into a familiar burning city, her eyes stinging from smoke that was blown here and there.
What in the world….?
An odd craft was situated on a pad set above what appeared to be a fortified building, two sets of spinning blades slowly rotating above the rectangular vehicle.
A helicopter, that’s what Jason told us it was, and those videos showed it too.
The square compound was clearly intended to repel an attack, metal welded over the walls and doors as razor wire was spun around the top of the fenceposts. The concrete building itself was pockmarked with holes and blown out windows.
Like before, her magic seemed dampened by the dream, the memory refusing to release its hold until a certain event had run through Jason’s mind. The alicorn double checked her safety spells and waited. Surely it couldn’t….
That’s when Luna heard the screaming. It wasn’t normal however. Not of pain or anger, but as though a wounded animal was seeking revenge. The sound echoed through the building as something moved around inside.
“They’re coming! MOVE!”
Luna’s attention was drawn to the craft and her heart jumped to her throat. Packed in the interior were over a dozen humans, children crying as unformed individuals cradled weapons in their arms. Nearest the back of the craft, Jason and his family sat, their features bloodied and scraped as they buckled into the helicopter.
Two soldiers began to fire, their guns barking as they maneuvered to the edge of the landing pad. One of them shut off a machine near the edge, hoses connecting it to the helicopter. Luna let out a gasp as another human darted from an open door and tackled the soldier off the pad with a screech, the other man continuing to fire his gun.
“The fuel line! Disconnect it!” a crackling voice yelled from the helicopter loudspeaker as the rotors began to spin faster, another solider firing from the rear of the vehicle with a larger weapon.
The man ran towards the helicopter, slinging his weapon to reach out and grasp the line. Out of nowhere, two bloodied humans tackled him, brutally stabbing the man with sharp glass held in their hands before the gunners in the helicopter mowed them down.
“We can’t leave until that line is removed! They’ll get in here!” the pilot yelled, terror creeping into his voice.
It was then that Luna saw Jason’s father stand up, barely limping a step before collapsing on a splinted leg. The other wounded individuals held him back with shaking heads. One of the soldiers in the rear of the helicopter froze, hands shaking as he clutched a rope near the door.
“Are you sure?”
The scene slowed down to focus on Jason and a bearded soldier, his arm in a sling. The man’s calloused free hand hefted over a massive rifle, an odd, crudely-modified green box set beneath it.
“Just like you practiced.”
“NO!”
Jason’s father tried to hold onto his son back as he was given a brief hug along with his mother. Charging to the ramp, Jason jumped off as the helicopter began to take off, beginning to drift across the pad.
As a dozen things broke down a hastily barricaded door at the top of the building, Jason yanked on the line, but it refused to budge. With a firm twist, the flexible tube finally came free and freed the vehicle.
But the creatures were too close. Three broke away from the pack, aiming towards the rear of the helicopter despite the bullets that tore into their limbs and torso’s.
The fearful young man in front of her raised the rifle with shaking hands and pulled the trigger. The staccato of fire dropped one of the creatures, drawing another towards him. The third was dropped by the door gunner as the helicopter began to rise.
As the bloodied human lunged forwards Jason pulled the trigger again. The shaking seemed to leave his hands as the man watched the third runner drop to the ground.
“GET ON!”
Jason ran towards the rear of the helicopter but paused, seeing the crowd of creatures now climbing onto the pad and dashing towards them with outstretched hands.
He looked into the helicopter, eyes meeting those of his family. As the pilot began to lift off, Jason’s father let out a bellow of agony, a wounded arm reaching towards his son while two others restrained him.
“NO! JASON!”
Shouldering the rifle, Jason stared down the creatures that were a stone’s throw from him now. The single word that tore from his lips seemed to carry away his fear.
“GO!”
As Luna got a look at Jason’s eyes, the stoic alicorn felt a shiver run down her spine. There was fear, yes, but also something that she had seen before that replaced it; an inferno that pushed aside any hesitation to keep those he loved safe.
Any further sounds were lost as the weapon in Jason’s hands roared. Dozens of shell casing spat out the side as the weapon mowed through the creatures like a scythe, the man then firing in long bursts as more things dashed up through the open door.
“Behind me!” Jason growled, forcefully shoving Luna back as he took aim once again.
Two large backpacks hit the ground next to Jason, tossed by the bearded soldier in the chopper as it continued to climb higher.
The weapon roared again, continuing to cut through the bloodied humans as Jason fired. The barrel of the gun glowed a cherry red as it cut down the assailants charging forwards.
When no more came up the stairs, Jason paused for the briefest of moments and looked out at the rapidly-retreating helicopter. Waving the firearm above his head with a heave towards the vehicle and his family the man then slung the weapon back into his arms as, two tears trickled down his cheeks. He then sprang into action and grabbed the two large packs, slinging the rifle and running towards a rickety fire escape. His movements became sharper, eyes narrowing as he dashed down the steps. An iron-clad will to live shoved aside all fear now that his family was safe, the man sprinting across the empty street down below.
The magical resistance faded and Luna sent a pulse through the dream. Jason shed his younger regalia, standing up and looking around.
“A dream,” he muttered, eyes wide as the man spotted Luna. “You saw all of that.”
It was a statement, not a question directed Luna’s way. She nodded, taking a deep breath. It had been some time since the alicorn had traversed a battlefield bloodied by war, and such a barbaric scene was still a bit unsettling.
“I have one question, Jason,” she asked, gesturing to the torn bodies on the concrete. “Why were those humans trying to kill you?”
Jason took a few steps forwards, and Luna saw his hands were shaking. Turning over one of the dream creatures, Jason gestured to the bloodshot eyes and the sores on the man’s arm.
“They are not human, not like me or those others at least.”
“What do you mean?”
“A different location, please.”
As a familiar meadow spun into existence, Jason sat down on a stump, wringing his hands as though trying to scrub invisible blood from them.
“I never told you how my city was attacked,” he began. “They hit us with improvised nuclear weapons, only a few though. I’d rather not go into what those are at this time. The rest were conventional explosives targeting chemical storage, nuclear power plants, and then just some old-fashioned car bombs.” Jason shook his head, taking a deep breath.
“That’s what we knew in the first week. What we didn’t know was the other weapon they released, the one designed to cause maximum panic and paralyze an entire nation with fear. I don’t know what it is exactly, but it was a pathogen. Virus, bacteria, maybe some chimera of the two. It made people crazy. They still ate, drank, walked, ran…and killed. I don’t know what they saw in their hallucinations, but they wanted to kill anyone not infected. If you got any of their blood on you through an open cut, scratch, or even touched a dead body with a wounded hand. It was disgustingly contagious with fluids; pure luck I didn’t get infected that day or any time after. Or perhaps not luck at all.”
“Such a thing exists?” Luna whispered, a humorless huff leaving Jason’s mouth.
“Until that moment we didn’t know such a thing was possible. But then again, we thought the same thing about the scope of an attack. Because it had never happened before, it was never thought within a logical realm of possibility. And yet an entire state killed itself over the course of a year. It’s why the rest of the nation sealed it off to contained the spread of the infection. It worked, thankfully. But it trapped everyone inside. That chopper was one of the few rescue vehicles sent every few days to certain locations. That regularity stopped after another month or so.”
“And you survived with those things hunting you? Everyone else?” Luna asked, Jason nodding.
“Yes. And I’m just glad I never had to kill a human who hadn’t lost himself to the virus. Never had to. You couldn’t usually fight them, not when they were clumped together. You had to run and hide, and then pray they never found you. It was better outside the city, where there weren’t millions…”
Jason shook his head, waving a hand around. “Can you wake me up? I don’t know if I can sleep after that.”
“Of course. May I tell my sister of this? Perhaps show her?”
“Yes. I just don’t want to talk about this anymore. The memories after this are…disturbing, even moreso than before.”
“I understand, Jason.”
Waking up with a shaky breath, Jason got out of bed and stared out at the peaceful city, shivering ever so slightly. The man couldn’t sleep for some time after that, the only comfort being the memory of two warm arms around his shoulders earlier that day. Only an hour or two before the light peeked through the window did he doze off to a dreamless landscape.
“Huh. So, this is an interesting place. One of those racial hubs that you mentioned? A combining of all three pony races?” Jason asked Galley as they walked. The gryphoness nodded, seeming to always get a slight smile on her face when looking over at the curious human.
“Yup! Hey, you alright by the way? You seemed a bit tired,” Galley asked.
“Just memories, dreams. I’m fine though, Luna is still helping.”
“Alright…”
The man reached over to ruffle Galley’s ears; a gesture that was apparently a friendly one and not one of the racial no-no’s.
“But thank you, Galley.”
The gesture prompted a bright blush, the gryphoness mumbling to herself as they walked. The man stretched, the backpack across his shoulders digging in slightly. As per Twilight’s instructions, he had been keeping the bracer nearby to allow for some…what was it? She had told him again when he asked for another explanation. “Arcane adjustments after long exposure to your unique magical field, allowing calibration of the matrices.”
Keep it close, let it adjust, basically.
“So, where do you think is a good place for lunch?” Jason asked, Galley’s ears perking up as she walked alongside him.
“Hmmm. There’s an awesome fish place. The grilled salmon, oh it’s fantastic.”
“Fish it is. Hmm. Are we near any food places now by the way?”
Galley’s head tilted, the gryphoness shaking her head. “No, this is more of a residential and fancy industry area, why? Hungry?”
“I smell smoke.”
The pair quickened their pace, more so Galley to keep up with Jason as he jogged down a side street.
The man skidded to a stop as he turned out of an alleyway, Galley pausing at his side with a horrified gasp. The top of the eight-story apartment in front of the pair was engulfed in flames, along with every room from top to bottom on a corner of the structure. Guards ponies were busy ushering ponies out of the bottom floor, Pegasi maneuvering rain-soaked clouds into position to contain the fire from spreading.
“The guards are here; I love that response time. A few minutes anywhere in the city,” Galley remarked proudly, looking over to see if there was a leader of the rescue crew. “I’m not on duty, but perhaps we can see if there’s something we can do to help.”
Jason’s view was focused on two hysterical mares however, the light blue and pink ponies frantically gesturing towards the building.
I know one of them. The mare from before…
“My filly!”
“PLEASE!”
As guardsponies galloped up into the burning apartment, Jason’s eyes widened as he spotted a blue shape huddled next to a red one, both clinging to the outside of a corner window and shielded from view of the guards and the Pegesi by smoke and an ornamental balcony railing. It was almost outside the area of focus, bordering on the edge of an alleyway.
There’s no time.
A blur of motion in her periphery caught Galley’s attention, the gryphoness turning to see where Jason was, or rather, wasn’t.
Sprinting towards the corner window, Jason grit his teeth as a guard moved to block his path.
The blue bundle fell.
“Hey, hold on th-”
Lowering his shoulder, the man sent the pony flying head over hooves, the guard skidding along the ground as the man nearly slammed into the wall. Adjusting his position, Jason held out his arms-
GOTCHA!
The crying filly clung to Jason’s leg as he lowered the youngster to the ground. The red figure now also lost their grip, hooves smacking Jason’s shoulder as the man caught the second falling filly.
That’s two!
Holding one filly in his arms, the man looked over to hand them to a waiting guard, only to see them all backpedaling.
That’s when he smelled the gas.
Seeing the horrified gazes of both Galley and the guardsponies, Jason knew he only had a few moments.
I know how fast this stuff can ignite, pony-made or not!
Tearing off the backpack the man slid on the gauntlet, depressing the two activation crystals as the device sputtered to life.
Come on!
Looking inside, Jason felt more than heard something ignite with a dull roar. The doorway began to glow a sinister orange as though the gates to the underworld had just been opened.
It was a rumble he was well acquainted with; more than a few gas lines had been ruptured in his doomed city during the outbreak.
Shield! SOMETHING! The man thought as he held up the armband, a few pathetic sparks sputtering from the aperture. The two fillies were still crying, each burying their heads into his shoulder and leg respectively.
“Shield!”
As the smoke welled up, pushed forward by a pocket of ignited gas, Jason’s eyes widened as a very different scene sprang to the forefront.
A bloodied child crying as he clung to Jason’s worn cargo pants, the screams of the infected echoing down the alleyway.
A battered rifle held against his shoulder, the man desperately struggling to ram his way into a side door.
“COME ON!” the man bellowed, the device beginning to emit a cascade of sparks, the bare hints of arcane energy starting to coalesce.
The child now in his arms, the man shooting off the lock of the door as he forced his way inside. Up the stairs to the roof, the child screaming in terror as an infected began to claw its way after them…
One thought then pushed through the fear and terror, causing the man to smile ever so slightly.
A family hugging him close as the child was gathered up in the arms of a parent.
As the gas fully ignited Jason kneeled down and shielded the filly on the ground with his body, arm held out in front of him.
“SHIELD!”
Galley felt her throat close up as the leaking gas detonated, engulfing the human in a ball of fire. The heat was intense enough to cause the first responders to scramble back, Galley dragging a wounded tenant with her.
“JASON!” she wasn’t even aware of her cry until after the fact, her claws starting to shake as something ignited further in the building, the blast surging out from the front of the apartments along with bits of metal and debris as a few walls were blown out across the street.
He’s ok…he’s got to be. He can’t…
The storm clouds above now dumped their contents, water coursing down onto the inferno. As mist rose up around the building, Galley’s green eyes widened in shock. Amid the steam, a bright bubble became visible. Crackling with bright blue tendrils, the shield fully surrounded the crouched figure inside.
Galley couldn’t help but laugh as Jason stood up, the magical field dissipating as he limped towards the rescuers, a filly firmly attached to his leg while the other rested on his shoulder. Blood trickled from the man’s head and leg, pieces of metal having apparently found their way through the protective barrier.
As the two fillies were whisked away by paramedics, Galley saw a firm expression on Jason’s face, an almost neutral look with a slight smile. It was the emotion in his eyes that Galley’s own gaze picked out which made her pause. It was a look that made her heart soar, even if the gryphoness couldn’t place why at seeing the battered human at peace despite his wounds and the chaos around them.
This is familiar to him.
The man didn’t look out of place at all in the chaotic disaster zone as his eyes filled with an ocean of emotion. Determination, understanding, relief, and compassion. A single thought then clarified everything Galley had seen, and finally part of Jason began to make sense. She had thought of it briefly back on the tower when cornered by those wolves, and again as the man had calmly treated her wounds.
He’s a warrior.
It made Galley realize what set him apart from the gryphons she had seen like him. They had returned from their skirmishes beaten and bruised, or allowed themselves to think so. Their mindset was the antithesis of what this odd human emanated as he watched the fillies being treated for their slight burns and scrapes, finally sitting down and letting a medic tend to his own injuries off to the side.
You already fought against an army of something worse than I can imagine, I think. You’ve done this before, battling for something, for someone. Everygriff I’ve seen fight lost their spark, their drive, their will to try and be better after they fought for something they thought was worth it all.
But you didn’t; you won.
Galley only vaguely remembered dashing forwards to wrap the human up in a hug, a familiar set of fingers rustling through her ears as soft reassuring words soothed the surprising amount of worry that surged through her frame.
And you’re ok.
Celestia calmly read over a long parchment; an incident report on a fire in lower Canterlot. As she read, a smile began to spread over the Alicorn’s features, an attentive purple princess already grinning at her side.
“I think he’s going to fit in just fine, Twilight. I think it’s worth checking up on Jason at the hospital, don’t you think?”
Twilight nodded as she charged a teleportation spell, Celestia not able to resist a laugh as she caught an excited whisper.
“So, he can use the shield matrix!”
A bit more background, and Equestria's resident human gets a chance to help! 
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To use David Eddings terms "The Will and the Word " If you like magic, gods and long term conflict try his stories!!
10120253
Huzzah!
10120263
Ooooh I'll take a look, thank you!
cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/357345911330045966/685989116835659840/large.png
A hero is someone who runs towards fire, no?
10120411
Indeed. Fantastic picture btw.
10120545
Thankee, Baron Engel does great work.
Wait, did he actually run INTO a burning building when emergency personnel were already present? Helping pitch in is commendable, but that was just stupid even if he did save someone. And saving them doesn't at all make up for how stupid such a thing is, it only adds additional people for the professionals to rescue.
10120599
Oh I'd agree- no, there were no emergency personnel present underneath the falling fillies. They couldn't see them due to the different angle/smoke, and it was on the edge of the scene and not in the general 'working' area. I'll clarify that.
Obviously not a great move in ideal circumstances. I liken it to the youtube video of the kid holding onto an escalator and only one bystander noticing. Similar to that in the tunnel-vision sense.
Hmm. Perhaps I could add a bit of them offering to help first....?
Nice
10120275
I agree with the recommendation of David Eddings. However, it can be a little confusing where to start as his main two storys are each split up into one set of books and a sequel set of books.
If you want to start with the set of series where "the will and the word" mentioned by Bronzedragon came from, then start with "The Pawn of Prophecy".
Fyi... the other set of series starts with "The Diamond Throne".
He and his wife wrote a third story recently that starts with "The Elder Gods".
The rainbow "ball of light" kind of shield could probably be way more significant than if it were a bubble. And not rainbow coloured.
This is awesome! Kerp up the amazing writing!
10120742
Ah, that makes much more sense.
Jason: *is epic*
Galley:
*SPLOOSH!!!*
10121757
10121648
Yup! I added a clarification bit.
10121557
Can do! =)
10121496
Fair enough- I'll see about changing that
10121227
Aaaah ok!
10121071
10121926
the rainbow bit is fine, and I was unclear on the bubble bit. I was trying to spot foreshadowing
10121985
Ooooooh. No foreshadowing XD Just a normal bubble!
10122105
I figured if his shield was him emitting a ball of protective light, it could have revealed interesting things about your magic system.
10122129
Oh, nope. Nothing that complex
Will he at some point tell the whole story?
That was some real Bollywood kungFu.
i.imgur.com/AOUxwl2.gif
10449509
Ultimate badass moment nice.
🐉❤