Chapter Eight: The Walls Tumble Down
‘Are their eyes red?’
‘I don’t-’
‘Jason, focus. Are their eyes red?!’
‘Please let us in!’
‘Yes. They’re red, about ten people. I can see some have open sores. Dad, there’s blood around their mouths, some coughing…’
‘Then get away from the door! They’re back again, a different group! *louder* We can’t help you! Go to the aid station near at the edge of the county!’
‘Please let us in!’
*sound of a rifle round being chambered*
‘Get away from the door! Come here Jason and grab that pistol! If they force that door open…’
*Heavy blows against the door*
‘LET US IN!’
‘Don’t make me do this! Son, aim down the sights, just like I taught you. Just like that. You know what’s at stake- DON’T COME IN HERE!’
Waking up with a jolt that coincided with a thunderous *BANG* in his dreams, Jason looked over and saw his hand firmly wrapped around a piece of the wood nightstand next to him, muscles aching from the tight grip.
Back to reality once again…
Jason got up and scrubbed his face, the cold water shocking him to mostly-wakefulness. Apparently, Luna’s influence wasn’t terribly effective on humans, if the past few nights had been any indicator. He made a mental note to mention such; if there was a way to help him get some sleep, the man would take it. The same sense of ‘being watched’ was still present. But it wasn’t like those horrific months, but in a more sentient and caring sense. Perhaps Luna wasn’t going to help without permission?
If that was the case, he appreciated the gesture.
I haven’t had these nightmares in years. Why now?
I mean, there is one bright side of not seeing a dark blue alicorn in my dreams. She very well may have a heart attack on seeing it all. Rather courteous of her to not pry. I guess they do want me to trust them. Then again, I have very little reason to not.
I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing that it’ll come up eventually, those months, almost a year. Twilight will probably find it fascinating…and possibly lose her lunch.
Ugh, and the worst part is that most people don’t even know the truth about it all. The suspected truth at least. But what does that matter now? I guess there’s no repercussions for sharing that here in this world.
The man went through his what now could be a ‘normal’ routine, at least considering his situation. Breakfast, getting dressed, and confirming his schedule for the day with the nearest guard. Heeding his better judgement, Jason passed along a request to reschedule the firearms test, the dream unsettling him much more than the man cared to admit.
Last thing I want to do right now is fire at some armor plating. No, that’s for the best. A day or two won’t change things.
“Sir, are you well?”
Clearly the bags under his eyes didn’t go unnoticed as Jason had apparently been staring off into space.
“I’m fine, just, haven’t been sleeping well.”
“Should I pass along a request to Princess Luna?”
Jason paused at that, about to wave a dismissive hand. “I’d actually appreciate that. I don’t know if she can help, but it’s worth a shot.”
The guard nodded, speaking into a small crystal bulb attached to his ear as the man wandered the halls towards the throne room. Celestia had made it clear she wanted to be in touch each morning, so-
“Oh, Jason!” a familiar alabaster alicorn called out as she trotted over. “I’m glad I caught you, I was just on my way to the Day Court…” she then paused, a frown flickering onto the ruler’s features. “Are you alright?”
Jason let out a tired huff, waving a hand to the ruler. “In what sense? In terms of sleep, not so much. Apparently, it’s wearing on me.”
“…it?”
The man sighed, frowning as he shook his head. “Nightmares. Well, more like memories. People-sorry, ponies keep mentioning Princess Luna, that she might be able to help? I’m not sure how that’d go though, and I didn’t want to impose.”
Celestia’s brow furrowed, a hoof tapping the ground in thought. “Unlike in your world, the realm of dreams is a somewhat controllable and accessible thing here. As you learned briefly, my Sister helps keep nightmares and such at bay within Equestria, which is important considering emotional energy can manifest as a physical force here. I will pass on your words; and I expect she’ll test a few ways to help. I don’t know how her magic will affect a human however. From what I understand she has not entered your dreams out of respect and that unknown factor.”
Jason shrugged, only able to meet Celestia’s gaze for a moment. He was about to speak, but then seemed to catch himself.
“What is it, Jason?”
The man gestured to his scarred side, jaw clenching slightly. “They are not pleasant memories, Princess. I-”
“Just Celestia when we’re alone and informal, Jason.”
He smiled slightly, then continuing. “Celestia it is. I worry how your sister will react. From what you have told me, this world is not nearly as brutal as mine, but perhaps that’s just my limited knowledge.”
A pensive sigh left the Alicorn’s mouth as she trotted over to sit next to the human, collecting her thoughts for a moment.
“Your assessment is mostly correct. However, while the Equestrian population is rather insulated from such primal aspects of life, my sister and myself are not. Other races too are remarkably similar to aspects of humanity. Gryphons, some Satyr factions; it has taken a lot of effort to ensure my subjects never experience such things. Do not worry about our reactions, for I can guarantee we have seen worse; at least I have.”
Jason’s eyes widened slightly, seeing a bit of fire seem to ignite behind Celestia’s violet gaze.
“But you and your sister…ah. Alright. I just didn’t want Princess Luna to have a heart attack if she-what is she going to do?”
Smiling, Celestia gestured with a hoof as she spoke. “I doubt that will be the case, but I’ll warn her nonetheless. While I am able to do it in a basic capacity, Luna can traverse and affect the dream realm. Likely she’ll try to redirect the memories or nightmares to more positive avenues within your mind, avoiding a more direct confrontation. I suspect that’s what she’s been trying to do without entering your dream directly, at least trying to help in some sense.”
“So, she’ll be in my head?”
“Your dreams, specifically. She may contact you and wish to speak, which is an experience indeed one’s first time. I understand it may seem invasive, and I can inform my sister to not linger unnecessarily.”
Jason thought about the idea and finally shrugged, seeming to be more defeated than anything.
“Honestly, at this point I’ll take any help I can get. As long as she doesn’t go rooting around in my brain, I’m good.”
A titter left Celestia’s muzzle, the alicorn shaking her head. “Oh no, nothing like that. She simply re-directs situations your mind dreams up- not the other way around. And she only intervenes if it’s a nightmare, so anything outside that situation isn’t her concern. I can certainly promise there will be no ‘rooting around.’”
“I think that’ll be fine then I-” Jason’s words cut off, the man pausing. “I want to make one thing clear. What your sister would see is the worst of humanity. You say you’ve traveled to some versions of my world before, so you must know that the majority of humanity doesn’t seek out conflict. What is shown in my dreams is what happens when the minority of such gets a lot of things right in their plans to harm others. As far as I know it is the most deadly and successful attack against a civilian population in the modern times. When I say it’s the worst…” his words trailed off, the man not able to meet the ruler’s gaze any longer.
Celestia nodded curtly, her expression that of sincere understanding. “I promise neither of us will judge humanity on what we see, not as a whole. You’ve certainly showed us the opposite end of the spectrum with being such a courteous guest and saving one of my friends, so worry not. I’ll only let Twilight know if what Luna reports, if anything, you’re your permission.”
“As long as you make it clear what she sees is the result of a minority, that’s fine. It’s a moment to learn about humanity, evil and all.”
A soft chime sounded, Celestia pulling a large pocket watch out of a magic portal and letting out a huff.
“Thank you, Jason. Hmm, looks like it’s time for more meetings. I suppose you’re on your way to meet Private Stonefeather?”
“Correct, just wandering a bit at first.”
“Let me know if anything else pops up; I do want you to be comfortable here, we all do.”
As Celestia trotted off, Jason couldn’t help but smile as he continued onwards.
“A sincere host and ruler of a nation at that. Sounds like I landed in the five-star option…”
Immediately on entering the plushily-furnished room, Jason could tell Galley was troubled or at the very least nervous. The gryphoness was busy pacing at the free area behind one of the small wooden conference tables finally sitting down with a huff. Not clad in her armor, the gryphoness was wearing a flexible splint even as her claws fiddled with a spare bit of rug on the floor.
“Hey Galley, everything alright? Or is this a bad time?”
Obviously having heard the man enter, Galley shrugged her wings and looked over at him, ears perking up even though her expression was that of pensiveness.
“No, it’s fine. Nice to see you again, Jason,” she replied, shrugging her wings briefly. “I just have no idea how to begin? Like, after getting through those crazy nights with the Timberwolves, and suddenly fine again? Seeing you in a setting familiar to me? It’s…pretty odd.”
Jason sat down in one of the chairs, a knowing smile twitching at his lips. “I can understand part of that a bit more than I think you understand. So how about we just talk? Nothing formal for now. Break the ice officially?”
Galley opened her beak, then closing it with a nod as a bit of tension left her shoulders. “I’d like that.”
“You know, I’d certainly like to hear a bit more about you. I recall you saying…or rather, miming that was a possibility once that mess was over.”
The gryphoness’s face seemed to get ever so slightly poofier, the guard nodding.
“Um…where do I start? Maybe at Griffinstone?” she muttered to herself.
“That’s the gryphon capital, right?”
“Yeah. I grew up there for most of my childhood- not exactly happy memories. Came to Equestria looking for a better life. I found it, to say the least. Got some schooling under my wings, took some odd jobs and eventually ended up in the Guard.”
Jason nodded, able to relax a bit easier as Galley opened up. As she spoke, the gryphoness seemed to settled down slightly, a familiar spark entering her green gaze as the nerves seemed to evaporate.
“So, did you always want to be a guard?” he asked.
“Sort of? My ancestors were part of King Grover’s personal guard; one of the last kings when the Gryphon Empire was still a cohesive thing. I was an informal guard in Griffinstone, even as a chick. I watched to make sure nogriff shoplifted from a stall or two for a few coins a day, patrolled the marketplace for a meal, that sort of thing. This is obviously quite a step up from that.”
Jason nodded, thoroughly enjoying filling in the pieces to the mysterious gryphoness.
Well, not so mysterious anymore.
“If I may ask, is that a normal…well, situation to be in? Griffinstone I mean? From what little I learned it seems to be getting better from what it was, which doesn’t sound good.”
Galley laughed, a sound that was a lot more cheerful and adorable than Jason would have originally pegged for her.
Not that he knew what a gryphoness sounded like when they laughed, but still.
“Oh, I actually had it better than most. I had a job where I got paid. Still had to scavenge for food, but at least I could sleep under the marketplace stalls and afford a meal or two a day…usually. That’s a lot better than most, at least back then.” She then winced, claws entwining themselves briefly. “It always sounds so awful when I explain it, and I guess it was. But back then it didn’t seem like it, it was just life. Only now that I have something to compare it to, do I realize how horrible things were. Kind of hard to explain that to…erm….”
Jason grinned, trying to suppress a laugh of his own. “Those who haven’t lived or even visited such a place?”
Galley was definitely blushing in embarrassment, nodding as she let out a huff. “We’ll go with that. I mean it in the nicest way possible, but most ponies have no idea how to process the information since they have been so sheltered. And honestly, I’m glad for that. But it makes for awkward conversation whenever the ‘so what was your life like’ topic comes up.”
Jason was now snickering uncontrollably, nodding as he waved a hand at her. “I can relate to that a lot more than I think you know, Galley.”
The gryphoness paused, head tilting to the side as her ears angled towards the human in an adorable expression of curiosity.
“Huh? Ooooooh. Right. The thing.”
“The thing?” Jason asked, still not able to resist a grin as Galley gestured towards his side.
“That thing.”
“Yep. It’s why I don’t talk about it that much, but it’s partially due to that disconnect you mentioned. But it’ll come up eventually, sooner rather than later, I think. Luna is probably going to have a LOT of questions.”
Galley blinked, Jason waving a hand with apologetic wince. “Sorry, you have no idea what that was about. Just nightmares from that time, and apparently the Princess can help. I just hope I don’t give her nightmares.”
“Ah, well, she helped me with mine, so I doubt it’ll be a challenging thing.”
Looking at the gryphoness in surprise, Jason only saw sincerity shining in her green eyes. It was as though an invisible wall had been cracked; two individuals admitting a past trial they shared in common.
“Well…I really do hope she can help. What’s it like, if I may ask?” Jason ventured.
“Oh, Luna in your dreams? It’s really weird at first. You wake up in your dream per say, and then you can just talk to her like we are now,” Galley explained as Jason rubbed his temples with a hand.
“Sorry, I just had a moment of realizing how absolutely odd this entire situation is…” Jason muttered, taking a few deep breaths. “Well, it doesn’t sound like this dream-talking thing is that bad.”
“It really isn’t,” Galley replied, looking at the human curiously. “You doing alright?”
Jason nodded, letting out a soft chuckle. “I guess talking with you kind of cemented how much things have changed in a week or so of getting back to civilization, and then there’s the while revelation I’m here, well, permanently.”
“But you’re here with friends. I’d say you’ve got at least two so far.” Seeing Jason’s eyebrow raise Galley gestured with a set of claws to herself. “Me and Twilight for sure. If asked, I’m certain Celestia would call also you a friend, but I don’t want to put words in her mouth. I’d say that’s not bad for a week.”
“I suppose that’s a nice way of looking at it.”
“And besides, now you get the pleasure of dealing with me!” Galley proclaimed with a chirp, wings flaring with a wide grin. “Especially since I’m your favorite creature!”
Jason let out an embarrassed groan, not missing the slight puffiness on Galley’s cheeks as she continued to grin.
“Celestia told you that I take it?”
All smiles but with a definite tinge of pink on her face, Galley nodded.
“She miiiiight have mentioned it. But gryphons are pretty cool, I should know!” Jason couldn’t help but chuckle, Galley letting out a happy chirp at the sound. “Feel better?”
“…ok, yes.”
The grinning gryphon continuing to brighten up the mood, Galley gestured towards the door. “Then how about we get something to eat? I can show you the cafeteria. We’ve got a few gryphon-based dishes too, since apparently eating hay-based stuff won’t go well with you. Plenty of oats and the like though.”
Nodding as he stood up, Jason followed Galley out the door as she walked along, her gait slightly awkward with the flexible cast.
“So, do you know about the other kingdoms at all?” Galley asked as they walked down the hallways.
“A bit. I got a crash course in geography from Twilight. I think she enjoyed it a bit too much though. Hippogriffs, dragons, gryphons, yaks, changelings, I’ll need to brush up on it all. For now, I’ll stick with learning about Canterlot’s layout, the difference races in general, and branch out from there.”
“Oh, well I can help you there! I’ve lived here for a good few years. Ugh, my apartment is going to be a mess now that I think about it. I was going to clean it after my patrol a week ago…” Galley mussed, sticking out her tongue. “Ah well. It needed a deep clean anyway. I’m glad I didn’t have a pet or anything.”
“I guess I’ll need to find an apartment eventually,” Jason mused as Galley let out an amused snort.
“Well, I can tell you a few good ones who don’t have a chip on their shoulder against other races. I went through about ten of them before finding this one.”
As they walked down a hallway, Galley let out a groan as a pink monstrosity was wheeled around on a cart by two earth ponies.
“Ugh, seriously? It’s like, more than a month away!” Galley groaned, glaring at the offensive thing on the cart. It vaguely looked like a pile of hearts sewn together with red thread…
“Hey, we’re just moving it from storage. They want to prepare early this year,” one of the ponies remarked, a teal stallion who simply shrugged as they moved the cart down an adjacent hallway.
“So much pink. Why does it have to be pink? Hearts and Hooves day hurts my eyes,” Galley grumbled.
“Er, what?”
Galley let out what sounded like a half sneeze, half laugh as she waved at the retreating cart.
“Oh, right, sorry. Hearts and Hooves day. Basically, a day out of the year dedicated to romance, love, and all that stuff. If you’re not in a relationship? It’s just a slightly obnoxious reminder of such,” she grumbled.
“…oh. So, Valentine’s day.”
The gryphoness’s head tilted in an increasingly endearingly-curious fashion as she looked towards the human.
“What day?”
“Erm, long story with the actual meaning of it…Basically, it sounds like a holiday we have on Earth, for the most part, centered around romance with your significant other and celebrating love and such but it varies by area. Nowadays it usually means lots of pink, hearts, candy, overly-sweet and sometimes fake romance stuff. Eh, I’ve never really been a fan. Well, usually.”
Galley’s ears perked up, increasing the cuteness factor surrounding the gryphoness by a good ten percent. “Usually?”
Jason shrugged as they continued to walk, waving a hand down the hallway. “Well, when you don’t have someone to share it with, the holiday is basically an excuse to eat chocolate and an obnoxious reminder of things. If you do, well, then it can be kind of fun to get creative. Haven’t had too many opportunities to test that though.”
The man definitely wasn’t imagining the fact Galley’s ears seemed to be locked onto him as they walked, despite the fact the gryphoness letting out a thoughtful hum as she looked down the hallway in apparent thought.
Huh. Note to self. Ears on ponies or gryphons are good indicators of….something. Focus? Emotion?
“I guess that makes sense. I haven’t really had anyone who enjoys celebrating it; this year will probably be like the last and just another day. Gryphons don’t really do that sort of thing. The whole ‘gruff and nasty’ stereotype that is somewhat true, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t appreciate something different! But ponies, eh, they have no idea what to get a gryphon on that day, or me in general, I guess. I mean, what do I do with a pile of paper hearts?!”
“Burn them?”
Galley’s eyes widened as a snort left her beak, the gryphoness now clutching her side in laughter as Jason waved a hand in explanation.
“Like, together! Camping! Cook S’mores over the fire, not in some horrible breakup thing! Ok, that sounded a lot less sinister in my head…”
It took a few moments for Galley to recover, the guard wiping a few tears from her eyes.
“Oh, that was perfect! I haven’t laughed that hard in ages. I know you didn’t mean it to sound evil, but oh, my sides…”
Jason was all smiles, clearly having enjoyed incapacitating the gryphoness. “Well, we can agree that a day dedicated to red and pinks is at least a bit obnoxious. The chocolate that goes on sale the day after is a total bonus too.”
“Dark chocolate is the best. I’ll take that over the weaker stuff any day,” Galley agreed, Jason letting out a thoughtful hum.
“Do they have spicy dark chocolate here?”
Galley held out a curled fist, Jason bumping it with his own with a grin.
I take that as a yes; and another gesture that’s the same! Points for the human!
…at least I hope it’s the same.
“Finally, someone who appreciates the finer things in life,” Galley laughed. “They do, but it’s not nearly as popular. Gryphon spice is powerful enough to melt a hole in a table at times.”
“I may have won a bet a few years ago by eating one of the hottest peppers I could find, so maybe I can stomach it,” Jason countered proudly, a rather playful look being shot his way by the gryphoness.
“And you were fine?”
“Define ‘fine’?”
“Able to walk and be coherent?”
Jason nodded as they entered the large cafeteria, letting a slight smirk dawn on his lips.
“I did both. I calmly asked, ‘where is the toilet’? I then walked over to it and tossed up my entire dinner.”
Galley’s barely suppressed giggling was enough to put any lingering tension in the lunchroom at ease, the other ponies relaxing as the pair meandered down the familiar buffet line, offset from the typical cafeteria setup.
“Ooooh. Grilled salmon. I think you’ll like that, oh, that stuff too. They have potatoes where you are, right? Hmm. How about this! And before I forget, I’m really curious what a city is like, if that’s ok to ask.”
As Jason was led down the more ‘international’ selection of foods, he could only smile in reply. “I’d be glad to tell you. Can’t say I’m the biggest fan of them though, so I might be slightly biased.”
The rest of the day was oddly relaxing. After regaling Galley with how a large city operated (to which she was rather enthralled with,) Jason had a few appointments with the media for some more public appearances and questions. Thankfully they were less fear driven and more curious, such as what type of foods he liked here, plans, and so forth. A workout session, dinner, and then the evening abruptly made itself known with the stereotypical flip-flop of celestial bodies.
It’d be a while before he could get used to that.
Despite needing to sleep, Jason was a tad nervous about the whole dream-princess-thing…yet exhaustion won out over nerves, the plush bed guiding the human to the never-never-land of sleep, or so he hoped.
Luna drifted through the dream realm, ever on the watch for the tell-tale tendrils of shadow that signaled a nightmare was taking hold. There were remarkably few; a few foals here and there, and a noble who had chocolate fondue spilled all over his new tuxedo.
Jason’s should be around here somewhere. But it is not my place to intervene unless-
Her thoughts were interrupted by a dream bobble sputtering black sparks; an odd indication of a nightmare.
Yet this is Jason’s indeed. I must be careful. Not too much magic, I don’t wish to harm him.
Diving into the dream, Luna blinked as a damaged shop swirled into view. A quick look around indicated, like Jason had said, the world was rather similar to theirs. Well, other than the alien odds-and-ends. There were counters, goods displayed, shattered windows, dark, sickly-smokey clouds outside, screams….
What is this?!
A familiar form slid down beside her, a younger human taking refuge behind the cashier’s counter. His chest heaved as Jason shifted a torn backpack across his frame, bloodied hands gripping a worn metal handgun as a worn gas-mask covered his face. Looking over to Luna, his eyes widened in surprise behind the clear faceplate.
“Why aren’t you wearing a mask?!”
Before Luna could reply, the young man dug out a respirator and placed it over her muzzle, the contraption conforming to her face as only dream-items could.
“Just stay quiet! They’re everywhere!”
Luna nodded, sending out tendrils of magic to try and guide this nightmare to something more pleasant. To her annoyance, the dream path didn’t want to respond easily.
Then I must take it slow, and see where this goes for now.
A voice called out with an unintelligible scream, and it was only now Luna noticed that Jason’s chest was soaked in blood, a crude bandage not able to fully stem the flow from his side. His hands worked the slippery metal slide of the pistol, then tightening the bandage with a hiss.
“Dangit, Dad was right, I froze and couldn’t do it. Ugh, this won’t stop bleeding…”
Luna was able to pick out his words in remarkable clarity, the usual muffled voice behind a mask resolving itself in the dream.
What is that?
A human, or what she assumed to be a human female ran into view. Clothing torn and matted with red blood; the woman’s mouth was red with a matching hue. Odd sores were visible across her skin, strangely red eyes darting this way and that before she ran off down the street towards some distant gunfire, a knife clutched in her torn-up hands.
Jason winced, digging into his pack and slowly applying another bandage across his chest.
“So why are you here? This place is a warzone!” he asked, Luna’s eyes narrowing in curiosity.
Perhaps a blunt gesture at first.
“This is a dream, Jason. I’m Princess Luna, we’ve met briefly before.”
Jason chuckled, glancing around the ruined shop. “Yeah, well feel free to wake me up. This gash hurts way too much for a dream, and my hands are shaking something fierce. Up this way!”
He pushed her out from behind the counter towards some stairs. Up multiple flights and through a ladder, the pair crawled out onto the roof as Jason’s chest heaved.
“Look, you have to get out of here. Those things will be back, and I don’t know if I-”
“Jason.”
Luna’s horn glowed, the entire scene freezing as she poured more power into the spell. It took some additional skill to prevent the entire dream from collapsing, but it was doable.
Jason stood up; his dream-self being shed like a second skin as the older man looked around.
“What the-ok, that’s weird. This is a dream? You’re, wait, Princess Luna?” he asked, seemingly more for himself than anything.
“Correct. It took me a bit in order to get used to your dream makeup. It is different, more chaotic than those I am usually…dealing…with…” Luna’s voice drifted off as she looked around. The scene began to move again, but only the non-sentient environment. Now visible from the roof, the ruined city spawned out at eye level or below. Pillars of smoke rose into the sky as the stench of burning garbage wafted out from the streets below. Gunshots sounded out, both near and far as distant skyscrapers burned, many of them missing large chunks of their structure.
The streets below made Luna’s chest tighten, bloodied and bloated bodies sprawled out this way and that, some clearly having been there for at least a week.
“I tried to warn you,” Jason whispered as he walked over to the edge of the roof.
“Jason, what happened here? Obviously, you got that scar from the event in this dream but what is all of this? Your world? Or at least a city of it; it’s all destroyed,” Luna asked. “Those people down below…dead? I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I am at a loss for words. I have not seen violence like this since outside isolated incidents in remote settlements.”
Jason was quiet for a moment, taking in the scene and waving a hand. “Princess Luna, can you make this all go away, please?”
Luna immediately complied, the world spinning to a simple meadow, colorful flowers and grass blowing in a peaceful wind.
“Thank you. I will tell you all more in time, but with these nightmares returning, it’s difficult to spend a lot of time on the matter,” Jason said.
“I understand, and will certainly not pressure you. In here, Jason, Luna is fine as well. I am not here as a ruler, but a friend. Do I have permission to tell my sister and the other rulers at the very least what I see and learn? I do know to not judge humanity on your memories of this; only the ones who caused this.”
Nodding, Jason sat down on a grassy bump, hand going to massage his scarred side. “That’s perfectly fine; but not Galley. I’ll tell her myself tomorrow, I think. For now, perhaps I’ll just explain a little bit each time you help here, at least until I get situated to living in Equestria, if that is alright. I would like to meet with you, your sister, and Twilight tomorrow morning however. I’ll give a general explanation of the situation, and leave it at that for the time being.”
“That is most perfectly alright; even if you wished to not say anything else, that is completely understandable.”
Pausing for a few moments, Jason’s eyes narrowed, and Luna saw an ocean of emotion in his eyes, shifting from anger, to rage, to anguish, to absolute torment.
He paused, taking a slow, deep breath. “Eight months, Luna. Two of those I spent with my family and my father’s friends in this city surviving the initial catastrophe. That dream was in the middle of that time, a supply run that went bad before we had help.”
With a smooth shift, the pair was suddenly back on the rooftop overlooking the horrific ruins of the suburb and skyscrapers. Jason’s voice dropped to nearly a whisper, but despite the apparent vulnerability Luna saw his gaze harden into a steely determination as he slowly gestured to the apocalyptic expanse below them. The shaken man had now all but vanished, Jason’s demeanor shifting to that of a coiled spring.
“The other six months, I spent surviving in that.”
Reunion with Galley! Huzzah! 
And now we get a more in-depth look at what Jason went through...yikes. (And no, they aren't zombies. The events Jason went through are based in fact; worst-case fact, but not fantasy.) I'm drawing from my own research/ideas and the account of an individual who lived for a year inside a blockaded city. (Known as Selco)
Heavy stuff aside, no zombies.
....even though they are unlikely, but possible. 
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*nods respectfully*
Ah yes. The Royal Sisters, Celestia especially, are the shields that have protected Equestrian and its ponies from various threats for centuries. Yet, that task has a toll, and shields work by absorbing the blow for their bearers.
I'm surprised you even thought it could sound not sinister.
Sounds like we're getting the explanation next chapter. Wonder what happened...
Biological attack? The sores and such would suggest so. Reminds me of the Maze Runner sequels...
From bits in the previous chapters, it makes me think some kind of nuclear event, like someone sabotaged a power plant and it didn't end up getting sealed up like Chernobyl did at the end so the meltdown wouldn't spread far and wide.
And Jason putting things in perspective like he did is definetly going to influence how they view it, basically saying that the whole situation was one where a Villian suceeded.
10008221
It was a doozy of an event; it will unfold within a few chapters. I can only tease readers so far
I definitely want him to be aware that 'oh, this might influence a view of humanity,' instead of blowing it off, that's for sure.
10008083
Yep. They've been Equestria's shield for now.
That will all be revealed within a few chapters....
Sounds like a pretty nasty societal collapse. Could have been worse, could have been Stirling's Change, that one was a proper horror. There's always a way things could be worse.
10008368
I'm pulling in a lot of what I know about a societal collapse/worse case scenario- it's ugly indeed. I might have to check out that book!
10008513
S. M. Stirling's Dies The Fire. It gets a lot worse before it gets better, but 'tis a fascinating read overall.
10008519
Hmm. I'll take a look!
I am eager to hear WTF happened
My initial thought was "Noob CT didnt buy a defuse kit"
Pff! That question is so "today," isn't it?
10198864
Gotta admit Jason survived the worst.
But that’s all he didn’t move on he survived and for me who still has nightmares about poor treatment in my past. I can attest that you never truly move on you survive and keep moving and life moves on.
11023125
To quote a forgetful fish...
"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming."
Or what I like to call "singles awareness day".
11198012
*SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH.*
Yup.
right so, if they arent zombies, what the hell are they exactly? mutants?
11603393
Ever seen 28 Days Later?
🐉❤