Adam Trask glared at the skeeball game, his eyes spitting daggers at the infernal machine.

The sandy-haired human swore he could hear the machine mock him. In his mind, the smug carnival game laughed at the countless tokens he’d spent trying to beat it, chuckled evilly at the second place prizes he’d won every single time.

Adam pointed a finger at the machine. Around him, the sounds of the Nightmare Night festivities had dulled into a faint background noise. The universe contracted until all that was left was Adam and the Skeeball machine. You’re going down, pal.

“Sir, can ya’ hurry up?“ Said the pale yellow unicorn running the stand. “There’s a line formin‘ behind ya‘.”

Adam turned around to see a line of impatient carnival-goers waiting behind him, nearly stretching to the balloon popping game right across from them.

“Give me a minute.” He gave the compressed wood ball a small kiss. Fly true. He pulled his arm back, then rolled the little globe down the ramp like a tiny bowling ball.

Adam crossed his fingers, then crossed them again for good measure.

The little ball hit the ramp and leapt into the air towards the holes. For a second it seemed to hang in mid-air, as if it were reconsidering its options.

C’mon, c’mon…

Time slowed to a crawl. The little ball inched towards the hole marked “500”… and plopped right in.

WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP! The machine whooped and flashed as if it were about to self-destruct.

Adam pumped a fist in triumph. YES! He did a little victory dance. Two years. Two years this machine had bested him. And now it was defeated. He’d won.

“Congratulations” The Unicorn shouted. “You’ve won yourself a fabulous grand prize!”

A nearly identical unicorn popped out of nowhere, holding up several stuffed plushies.

“Take your pick of these fine plushies.” The unicorn said, twirling the tip of his mustache. “Which one would you like?”

Adam pointed at a not very menacing Nightmare Moon plushie. “I think I’ll take one of those.”

“A most excellent choice, sir!” The unicorn said. The two tilted their porkpie hats at him. “Please come again!”

Adam nodded, “I will!”. The overexcited human tucked the stuffed villain under his arm and tapped the OmniPad strapped to his forearm.

“Pad, Access: 'Things to do before year ends'”

The tiny device unfolded like plastic origami, and a holographic checklist popped into existence.

Man these things are handy. Adam had bought the hand-sized device about a week ago and he still couldn't believe how handy they were; with the right apps, they could do, well, pretty much everything."
Adam scrolled down the list and tapped “BEAT SKEEBALL MACHINE.” marking it with a tiny check mark.

Well, that’s done. Adam thought, folding up the Pad. Might as well see what else this Nightmare Night festival had to offer.

Adam walked along the thoroughfares, touting his plushie like a trophy as he threaded his way through the crowds. Around him, festival goers, pony and human alike, popped balloons, knocked over bottles, threw balls, and shot holographic targets, filling the air with a symphony of beeps, bells, pops, and whistles.

As he walked, Adam spotted a red Earth pony dressed as a cowboy next to a virtual arcade. “Hey, Mac!”

The stocky pony turned around and trotted over to Adam. “Howdy Adam.” He drawled. “Good to see ‘ya“.

“Same.” Adam said. Mac and he had met back when he was still working at Sweet Apple Acres, and they‘d been best friends ever since. The big lug had helped him show him the ropes at the farm, and in turn, Adam had introduced him to human culture. Specifically, human comic books.

“You here with the family?”

“Eeyup.” Mac said in his typical, lazy drawl, as if he were relaxing in a hammock instead of enjoying himself at a carnival. “Granny Smith’s runnin’ our apple pie stand, AppleJack’s out with her friends, and Applebloom’s probably out getting’ into trouble as usual.”

Adam chuckled. “It’s what she does best.” Just last month, she and her friends, the “Cutie Mark Crusaders”, had tried to get their “viral video star” cutie marks by tying their wagon to an old maintenance drone and activating it. The results had been predictably hilarious.

Sometimes he wondered if there was a "getting into hilarious shenanigans" cutie mark.

Mac chuckled. “Yup.” He noticed Adam‘s costume. “Nice Golden Age Flash costume by the way.”

“Thanks.” Adam said, adjusting the winged helmet on his head. “Good to see somepony around here appreciates the classics.” Not all ponies were as fond of human culture as Mac was. Hell, some of them outright hated it. Whenever some human book was released in a bookstore, or some new human movie appeared at the tridee theater, there’d always be some ponies protesting that it was “too violent”, and that it “corrupted the minds of our fillies and colts”.

Some things were the same in both universes.

Mac took a bite of the candy apple, his strong pony jaws biting through the fruit like it was pudding. “ So.” Mac drawled through a mouthful of apple. “Where’s ya wife? She’s here, right?”

“Oh, she and Zephyr are around here somewhere.” Adam said. “We like to split up after Princess Luna’s performance; you know, see as much of the festival as we can.”

“Same.” Mac said, taking another bite out of the apple. “The Princess really outdid herself this year. I’ve bin seein’ it for years and I’ve never been half as scared as I was this night.”

Adam shrugged. “Eh, I thought it was ok.”

“Funny. Yah sure seemed scared t’me.”

“I was not!”

“Oh really.” Mac held out the Omnipad strapped to his left foreleg. “Pad: show video: ‘Man Screams like a Filly’”

The little pad beeped and unfolded. A loading icon appeared for a second, and a YouTube video began to play.

A crowd stands in front of a statue of Nightmare Moon. Lightning flashes. Hologram projectors paint the sky with grotesque faces and bizarre symbols.

“FOOLS! You thought me destroyed by the Elements of Harmony?” Booms an unnatural, demonic voice.

Drones shaped like oversized bats buzz the crowd, drawing screams of terror with every pass.

There’s an immense flash of unnatural black light, and a jet-black alicorn appears atop the statue, cackling maniacally.

“THIS NIGHT, WILL LAST,FOREVER!”

The crowd screams at once. The omnipad’s camera focuses on a blond-haired human letting out a high-pitched girlish scream.

Adam blushed. “That…wasn’t me.”

Mac tapped his omnipad again and the device folded up. “Sure it wasn’t.”

Desperate, Adam looked around for something, anything that could change the subject. He spotted an off-yellow Pegasus dressed as a rabbit sitting at a face-painting booth. “Say, isn’t that Fluttershy?”

Mac followed Adam‘s finger. “Eeyup. That’s her alright. Why?”

Adam grinned. “When are you finally gonna ask her out?”

Mac’s face somehow turned even redder. “It’s…not like thaht! We‘re jus‘ friends!”

One of Adam’s eyebrows raised a few inches. “Really?” He crossed his arms. “Then why do you keep leaving anonymous love notes at her door every morning?”

Beads of sweat began to appear on Mac‘s forehead. “Ah don’t know watch’yer talkin’ about!”

“ Oh really?” Adam pulled out a folded-up piece of paper. “Then how come I found this under your couch last time I visited?”

Adam unfolded the slip of paper and cleared his throat.

“Princess Celestia herself is in awe of your beauty, my dear sweet Fluttershy.”

The Earth pony stared at the ground sheepishly. Adam put a hand on his shoulder.

“C’mon, Mac. Everypony and their grandma knows you‘ve got a thing for her. Sooner or later she’s gonna find out. You gotta take the initiative!”

“Uh…uh…” Big Mac stammered, tugging at the collar of his faux-cowhide shirt.

Big Mac’s salvation came in the form of Adam‘s Omnipad going off.

"Incoming call from: SUMMER BREEZE"

“Dang it!” Adam gave the device a tap. An image of a Cinnamon-colored Earth pony in a Daring Do costume popped into existence.

“Adam?”

Adam held the little pad in front of his face. “I’m here, Summer.”

“It’s about five past ten. Where are you?”

Adam‘s palm made contact with his forehead. Dang it! Not again!

“Sorry, honey” He said sheepishly. “I kinda sorta got caught up in a game of Skeeball.“

The Earth pony rolled her massive eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”

“I know, I know.”

“It’s alright, just get here as soon as you can.” She yawned. “I’m getting pretty tired, so is Zephyr.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Bye”.

Adam hung up and pointed a finger at Mac. “You got off easy this time, Mac.”

The Earth pony grinned. “Whatever yah say, Flash.”

With that, Adam walked towards the Ferris wheel, wading his way through the crowd

The carnival was a hive of activity. Ferris wheels and roller coasters lit up the night sky, carrying loads of shrieking ponies and laughing humans. The streets were packed with vendors from all over Equestria, hawking everything from toys to junk food to personal drones. In a portable amphitheater, a human band performed some song about a war between dark and light.

Sure wasn‘t like this when I got here. Adam thought, taking a few pictures with his omnipad. It'd only been a decade since the dark matter experiment that'd opened the Gate to Equestria, and only eight years since he'd arrived.

Ah, the good ol' days. Adam reminisced. He'd been one of the first humans to cross the Gate into Equestria; it’d been part of a work-exchange program, intended to help solidify relations between the two worlds. Back then, the Nightmare Night festival had been a lot more modest; kids would gather candy, play some simple carnival games, and dress up. Hell, back then, Princess Luna had still been on the Moon.

It's official; I'm gettin' old

After pushing his way through a jungle of carnival-goers, Adam reached the Ferris Wheel. He spotted Summer next to a corn dog stand.

“Hey honey! Sorry I‘m late” He walked up next to the Earth pony and smiled.

Summer grinned. “ So you finally did it.”

“Yep!” Adam held the Nightmare Moon Plushie with pride. “Finally beat the machine.”

“Dad!”

A light pink Pegasus filly wearing dressed as a human pilot flung herself at Adam, wrapping her hooves around his neck.

“Hey there ya’ little buzz bomb!” Adam ruffled his daughters’ mane “Did you have a good time?”

“Uh huh uh huh uh huh! I went on the Roller Coaster and the Ferris Wheel and then I shot some holotargets and won a lot of prizes!”

The Little filly showed him a saddlebag filled to bursting with carnival prizes. “Then I ate a funnel cake and some cotton candy and I wanted some more but Mom said that I couldn’t’ because it’d rot my teeth!“

Adam smiled. “Sounds like you had a good time!”

Summer gave Zephyr a nudge. “Why don’t you show your father what you got from Princess Luna?”

“Oh yeah!” Summer dug through her saddlebags and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “After the show, after the show, I met Princess Luna after she did that Nightmare Moon impression that scared Dad so much!”

“ I wasn’t scared!” Adam said indignantly.

Summer nickered. “Sure you weren‘t”

“Anyway,…what did you get from Princess Luna?”

“Oh, Oh, she gave me her autograph.” The overexcited Pegasus unfolded the paper. “ See See?”

Adam studied the slip of paper. The autograph had the archaic, spidery look of Princess Luna’s hoof writing.

“May your dreams always be sweet”

Yours truly
Princess Luna.

Adam noticed that the “i” had been dotted with a tiny crescent moon. It was a nice touch.

“Awesome.“ He said. "Wait ‘til your friends hear about this.”

Adam turned to Summer. “What about yourself? You have a good time?”

“Yeah. I went on a few rides, bought some Omnipad apps I‘ll probably never use, ate some carnival food, the usual.”

“Speaking of which…“ Adam reached into his bag and pulled out a sucker the size of his hand. “Here you go, Zeffy.”

Adam’s daughter transformed into a blue blur. The confection vanished, and the Pegasus reappeared, holding the treat in her hooves. “YAY!”

“Honey, please.” Summer groaned. “She’s already had more than enough sugar tonight.”

“C’mon it’s Nightmare Night!”

Summer snorted. “You know what the dentist said about her teeth. She’s already had two fillings.”

“C’mon, honey. It’s only for one night. Zephyr’s teeth can handle a little extra sugar.”

“No!” Summer took the sucker from Zephyr.

“Aw, Mom!”

“no ‘buts‘, Zephyr.“ Summer scolded. “You’ve already had more than enough sugar tonight.“

Adam was about to say something in Zephyr’s defense, but he cancelled it mid-breath. He didn’t want to start an argument with his wife. She’d always win.

Zephyr’s ears drooped. “Okay…”

Summer smiled and patted her daughter on the head. “Maybe tomorrow after dinner. Ok?“

Zephyr smiled “Okay.”

Adam sighed in relief and tapped an icon on his Omnipad. Within minutes, a taxi pony pulled up next to the family.

“Where you folks headed?”

“Bridle Street, Human district.” Adam said. “I’ll give you an extra bit if you can get us there in a hurry

The door to the cab hissed open. Adam and the rest of the family climbed into the egg-shaped cab.

“Hang on folks, I’ll get you home in a jiffy.”

The cabbie reared on his hind legs and the cab lurched forward.

“Remember honey.” Adam said. “Soon as we get home, you’re going straight to bed.”

“Bed!” Zephyr whined. “But I’m not-” She yawned. “-tired.” The little filly laid her head against Adam’s shoulder.

Adam and Summer looked at each other and smiled. It was the same every year.

-

“There you go.”

Adam placed Zephyrs’ “Harry the Human “ doll in bed with her. The filly curled her forearms around the ratty little toy, clutching it to her chest as if it were her own child.
Adam looked into his daughters’ oversized eyes. He may not have been Zephyr’s biological father- that honor belonged to some anonymous Pegasus from the sperm bank- but he would’ve bet both his hands that she had the same baby-blue eyes as him

Summer knelt down and pressed her fore hooves together. Adam did the same.

“Great Queen of the universe.” Summer said softly “Please watch over our little Zephyr tonight. May Luna look after her dreams as she sleeps, and may Celestia’s sun greet her warmly.”

“Amen.” Said Adam. He gave the little Pegasus a goodnight kiss.

“Good night, Zeffy”.

“Good night, Dad. Night, Mom.”

The two walked to the master bathroom and started brushing their teeth.

“Okay, now we gotta start planning for Hearthswarming.” Summer said, brushing her teeth. “What’s the deal with your parents? Are they gonna make it?”

“Should be able to.” Adam said, scrubbing plaque off of his molars. “That is, if Dad’s exosuit doesn’t malfunction again.”

“Hope he gets better soon.” Summer spat a wad of blue foam into the sink. She picked up a hairbrush and started brushing her dark red mane. “Zephyr really misses her ‘Papa Monkey’”.

“You’re not going to let that nickname go, are you?”

Summer gave an impish smile. “Nope.”

As Summer brushed the tangles out of her mane, Adam’s eyes couldn’t help but study her. The years had been good to his equine wife; strong, muscular legs, silky mane, and a flank that was big enough to be plump, but not big enough to be considered fat. Her cutie mark, a simple cartoon sun, was as vibrant as the day it’d appeared.

As he studied his spouse, Adam felt a familiar stirring in his loins. A wicked idea popped into his head. Slowly, carefully, he inched himself behind Summer.

The Earth pony stopped brushing. “Adam, what are you-?”

Adam grabbed his wife’s head and gently bit her left ear.

“ADAM!” Summer jumped as if she’d been shocked. “You know what that does to me!” Her cheeks grew noticeably redder.

Adam grinned. “Why do you think I did it?”

Summer managed to calm herself down. “Didn’t we already do this last night? And the night before?”

Adam shrugged. “What’s wrong with a third round?”

Summer’s cheeks returned to normal. She yawned. “Not tonight, dear. I’m…(yawn)…really out of it.”

“C’mon, Summer, you know the old Earth expression: ‘third time‘s the charm‘?”

Summer rolled her oversized eyes. “Yeah, and I also remember that other old Earth expression: ‘The spirit is willing, but the meat is weak”

“Flesh. The flesh is weak.”

“Whatever.” She yawned again. “B’sides, I’ve got a lot to do tomorrow. Promised Cheerilee I’d chaperone her field trip to Earth, and Rarity’s meeting me for tea in the afternoon.”

“Fine.” Adam grumbled. He set down his toothbrush in a cup by the sink and walked through the sliding door to the master bedroom. “Buzzkiller” He mumbled as he lay down on their bed. The memory foam gave slightly under his weight.

“Cheer up.” Summer said. She hopped up onto the bed and buried her blunt muzzle in Adam’s hairy chest. ” We can still cuddle.”

Adam smiled. “Ok”. For a few minutes, Adam just lay on his bed, stroking his wife’s silky mane.

There was nothing quite like sharing a bed with a pony. Sleeping with Summer was like sleeping with a living, breathing teddy bear- not that he’d ever say that to her face. Having her next to him made him want to squeeze her. Which he’d done. More than once.

For a long time, Adam and Summer lay there, barely moving. Adam breathed deeply of his wife’s musk, sweeter than any perfume. The silence of the room became almost sacred; an intangible testament to contentment. Making a sound would’ve been blasphemy.

Finally, Adam decided to become a heretic. “Hey Summer?”

“Yeah?” Summer said, her voice heavy with sleep.

“You ever think about the circumstances that brought us together?”

“What do you mean?”

“ Well, think about it. If I hadn’t been fifteen minutes early for work, I wouldn’t have noticed you struggling with that broken cart. If AppleJack hadn’t caught me looking at you so many times, she never woulda forced me to talk to you. Hell, if those lab coats at CERN hadn’t screwed up their dark energy experiment, we wouldn’t even have the Gate!”

“What are you getting at?”

Adam smiled. “Just thinking about how lucky I’ve am.”

Summer nickered. “Nice try, lover boy. ‘Fraid your silver tongue isn't going to work this time.”

Adam shrugged. “Hey, it was worth a try.”

Summer closed her eyes “Just get some sleep.”

“Yes dear.“ Adam closed his eyes, letting the rhythmic thud of Summer’s heartbeat lull him to sleep. His mind began to shut down, and the conscious world slowly dissolved away.

-

“Adam?”

Something nudged Adam’s cheek. He stirred, “Huh, what is it?” In his sleep-fogged state, it came out as “Huh’wuz’it?”

“Adam, wake up!”

Adam slowly forced himself up. “What’z it?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. The holoclock by his bed read 3:30 am.

“Adam“. Summer sniffed the air. “I smell smoke.”

Adam took a few sniffs himself. She was right; there was a very faint hint of smoke in the air.

“It’z nuthin’ Summer.“

“Nothing!” Summer said. “There is smoke in the air! It smells like it’s practically right next to me!”

Adam groaned. “It hasn’t set off the smoke detectors.” He gave a jaw-cracking yawn. “Pro’lly just some idiot burning leaves. Don’t worry ‘bout it.”

“Adam, last I checked all the windows were closed.” Summer nudged him. “Could you go downstairs and check?” She put on her signature puppy-dog eyes. “Please?”

Adam sighed. He never could say “no” to those eyes. “Fine.” The sleep-fogged human pushed himself out of bed and slowly plodded out the master bedroom.

Sensitive noses. It was one of the drawbacks of having a pony spouse, along the forced vegetarian diet and their tendency to break into song. It had lead to a lot of problems in the past. Especially when garlic was involved

As Adam walked down the stairs, the scent of smoke grew stronger. his eyes began to smart and tear.
“The hell?” This wasn’t the woody scent of burning leaves. This smoke, whatever it was, reeked of burning plastic, with the strange ozone-like tang of magic. Why hadn’t it set off the smoke alarms?

A knot began to form in the pit of Adam’s stomach. Something wasn’t right. He dashed to the kitchen and his worst fears were confirmed. The thaumatic convertor that powered the appliance was sparking and smoking like crazy, sending off little blue starbursts of magical energy.

The blood drained from Adam’s face. His blood became ice water. “Oh no.” Quickly, Adam ran to to a nearby control panel.

“magic flow, now!”

An error message appeared on the screen. Frantic, Adam opened a panel and reached for the emergency shutoff switch. Maybe if he shut if the power in time he could-

POP!

Without warning, the little converter exploded in a spray of sparks and molten plastic. The sparks arced through the kitchen, leaving blue tails behind them like miniature comets. The instant they made contact with the hardwood floor, a small blue-orange flame sprouted up.

Adam’s sphincter clenched. There was a name for this kind of phenomenon: thaumatically-enhanced combustion.

Also known as magic flames.

The mystically-charged flames grew rapidly. Within seconds, they had swelled from the size of a grape to the size of an orange, then a grape fruit, then a watermelon.

Adrenalin surged through Adam’s blood like a flash flood through a dried-out riverbed. He dashed towards the stairs as if Queen Chrysalis herself was after him.

“Summer! Zephyr! Wake up!” Adam hurled himself up the stairs and tore open the master bedroom door.

“What is it?!” Said Summer “What was that sound?”

“House on Fire! We need to get out! Now!”

Summer leaped out of bed. “Oh no, Zephyr!”

“C’mon!” Adam took his wife’s hoof and practically dragged her towards the little Pegasus’ room.

In less than a minute, the fire had turned the house into a nightmare. The air was filled with bluish ,sparkling smoke that seared Adam’s nostrils and scorched his throat. He could see tongues of blue-orange flames slowly climbing their way up the walls like incandescent ivy.

One of the support beams splintered and cracked, then fell to the floor. Adam’s heart raced; at this rate this fire was burning, they only had minutes before the house was reduced to cinders.

Adam kicked open the door to Zephyr’s room. The little filly was sound asleep, blissfully unaware of the inferno.

“Zephyr!” Summer ran over to her daughter’s bed and shook the pink Pegasus. “Zephyr wake up!”

Zephyr stirred. Her oversized eyelids fluttered. “Mom?” She started to cough. “What’s going-”

“No time, Zeffy.” Adam scooped up the little Pegasus in his arms, cradling her like a china doll.
“C’mon we gotta get outta here now!”

Crrrk…Crsshh

The family dashed out the bedroom door. Adam almost feel to his knees. No. A good chunk of the roof had collapsed onto the stairwell, turning it into an impossible obstacle course of burning timbers.

Suddenly, a light appeared in the bedroom window. “ATTENTION! IS ANYONE IN THERE?”

The family scrambled over to the window. Hovering just a few feet away was a Pegasus fire pony, looking for all the world like some grotesque, metallic insect in his fireproof suit..

“How many of you are in there?” The firepony barked through the speaker grill of his mask.

“ Me, my daughter, and my wife!” Adam shouted. He let out a hacking cough. “Hurry!”

“Hold on sir, I’ll get you out!” The suited Pegasus held out its forearms. “I’ll have to take you down one at a time- everypony else is manning the pumps!”

We definitely need a bigger fire department. Adam thought ruefully. He held out Zephyr. “Here, take my daughter first!”

The fire pony cradled the shivering Pegasus in his forelegs. For a second, it looked to Adam as though a metallic angel was holding his child.

“Hang on!”

The fire pony flew down out of sight. For a few anxious minutes, Adam huddled next to his wife,

Summer pressed her forehooves together. “Dear Queen please get us out of this dear Queen please get us out of this Dear Queen please get us out of this.”

Adam stroked his wife’s mane. “It’s gonna be alright, Summer. It’s gonna be alright.”

Finally, the Firepony reappeared. “You next, sir!”

“No, take my wife next!”

“No!” Summer shouted. “ Adam, you go next!”

“Summer we don’t have time-”

“I said go!”

Adam reluctantly started for the window. Even in times of mortal danger, she always won her arguments.

Was it any wonder he loved her?

Adam coughed up a mouthful of phlegm and raced to the window. The firepony held out his forehooves

“Just grab hold of me sir. I’ll have you down in-”

Crrrrk!

A chunk of ceiling over Summer began to sag noticeably.

“Summer, get out of there!”

Before the Earth pony could move, the portion of ceiling gave way, burying her under a pile of charred wood and plaster.
“Summer!” Adam raced over to his trapped wife.

The Earth pony coughed. “Adam...please…” She plead weakly. Blood began to well up from her mouth.

Frantically, Adam tried digging his wife out of the rubble. The firepony burst into the room. “Hang on, maam!” He gripped a splintered length of 2x4 with his hooves and pulled it loose.
Some of the smoldering debris caught fire, and tongues of flame began to lap at the trapped pony’s hide. The smell of smoke was joined by the acrid scent of charred fur and burning flesh. Summer’s screams were like a whip across Adam’s back, spurring him forward. The pain, the heat, and the smoke faded into the background. The universe seemed to contract until all that existed was Summer, Adam, and the debris pile.

Adam and the firepony gripped a heavy support beam “On my count” Said the firepony, “One, two-” The two grunted and strained. The beam slowly began to lift.

“Hang on, honey!” Adam screamed over the sounds of the inferno.

There was an ominous creak. The floorboards beneath Summer began to smolder and smoke.

Crrrak

Without warning, the floor beneath Summer gave out entirely. The debris pile pitched forwards into the inferno, carrying Summer with it. The trapped Earth pony gave a final scream as her prison tumbled into the flames.

“Summer!” Adam started towards the hole. A pair of metallic hooves grabbed him from behind.

“Let me go you bastard!”

“Sir,” The firepony barked, trying to keep his grip on Adam. “we need to get out of here now!”

“No!” Adam struggled against his rescuer. He could still save Summer. He just needed to get loose!

“Sir there’s nothing we can do! We need to-”

Adam heard something crack like a gunshot. There was a bright flash of light, followed by an intense, throbbing pain. The next thing Adam knew, he was lying on a stretcher,watching the fire devour his house. His castle, nay, his life slowly crumbled into charred timbers and snow-like ash.
“Summer.” Adam croaked, his throat seared and dry. Fire engines sprayed the blaze with streams of magically-chilled water. In his dazed state, Adam swore he could hear the fire scream as the ice-cold streams drowned it.

There was a violent jolt, and Adam found himself in an ambulance-airship. A human paramedic stood over him and placed a mask over his mouth. Adam tasted something sweet, and the world faded into sweet, sweet oblivion.