Mechanical Pegasus

Day 3 brings with it a mechanical pegasus. I hope you’re enjoying Fyrecon’s Fyretober because I am. The celebrate of creation continues!

The battle for Delus 88 raged on, and Ealrith served the front line. Wings spread, he soared above the green, little more than the settlements worth and toward ash and stone. A wave of smoke struck him, glazing over his sensors for a moment until his servos burned the soot away.

There. His sensors locked onto a likely spot. There was sufficient water beneath the ground, if released. It would extend the barrier between the settlement and fire.

His hoofs struck the ground, metal clanging against stone and dirt. Looking down Ealrith snuffed, taking a closer reading, pleased to find it was still positive. Raising his forehoof he struck the ground, sinking inches.

He knew the compartment was opening, releasing extractors into the dirt, and beginning the process of withdrawing water from the ground. He knew it. He controlled it. Situations changed too readily to rely on slow human reflexes watching monitors at the camp.

Controlled, but only in the back of his mind, much as he assumed humans would swat at gnats. An annoyance that didn’t require his attention beyond twitching.

Instead, his mind wandering down the paths they’d flicked through on the way here. Pride in the settlement. Reverence for the green. Displeasure with the fires waiting to tear apart their work.

Pride.

When had that become a part of his courses? He’d been designed by the technicians after the fires had first erupted. A symbol of a time when man had explored a world they hadn’t understood either. A beast of myth which brought water then… and now.

Ealrith’s nostrils contracted, pulling in a sample of the air. Head raising, he lifted his hoof as he disengaged drawing the water upward. A pool of water sputtered into life, too small to remain long, but he couldn’t worry about that now. Not with that amount of smoke on the wind. A wind which would push it toward the settlement.

Taking to the air, he soared. Red flames raged across the ground racing toward the green. A wall which hadn’t been there when he’d landed, and the rest of the flight were too far scattered, still he sent the call for them to come and aid.

His sensors raced over the ground, searching for a likely spring. He needed only an eruption point and his channels could spray over the flames, wetting the ground and slowing its ravages. The others would arrive.

There!

Ealrith plummeted through the air, wings folded to shear instead of catch. At the last second, he twisted his gears. To last a second a connection snapped, and he crashed to the ground. Legs folding beneath him attempting to cushion the flow.

Straightening he turned toward the flames, ignoring the damage. There wasn’t time to fly out anyway. Rising on his hind legs he smashed both forehooves into the dirt, digging deeply into the ground and deploying again.

The lines sought the water buried beneath the ground, pulling it up and racing through his pipes to fling from his wings in a wave against the fire rushing over him.

His sensors, built to destroy soot before it could mesh too tightly did nothing for the steam accumulating suddenly.

A sensor flared warning that the heat was too intense. But Ealrith stood. Spraying the water.

A breeze pushed the steam aside long enough for him to look up. Above the flight soared, not joining him on the line. Ealrith sent a call to them, reaching internal speakers where external wouldn’t cover the distance.

“Join me. We’ll hold the line here.”

“No,” came the response lacking an identification. “The heat is too intense.”

Ealrith nodded sending a simultaneous acknowledgement. “I feel it burning, but the water is sufficient here to combat. Nowhere else before it reaches the green.”

“We can hold it there.” Though the voice was identical to the first, Ealrith knew a second spoke.

Ealrith crinkled his nose and shook his head. “You hope you can. You do not know.”

“Retreat with us and our chances improve.”

Ealrith snorted again, digging his extractors deeper. “No,” he sent again. “I shall not risk the settlement when there is such plenty here.” The water surged through his pipes spreading with greater force.

There was no response. Ealrith doubted they remained above. Had they noted his injured wing? He couldn’t have soared his he wished to. Why didn’t he want to?

The fire rages and the water surged as the question hunted his mind. Circuits burned out as he froze in place logic circuits burning out. Still, he raised his head with his last movement and locked the water extractor into place.

Perhaps when the fire ebbed this place could be a lake with him at the core. He could trade defending the green for being the blue.

Be sure to check out all the #fyretober creations.

#fyretober #fyretoberflashfiction #fyretoberday3

“Fyretober isn’t for just writers or just artists. It’s for everyone who loves to create, and this month we’re looking to see your flash fiction, poetry, and illustrations every day. We’ll be providing daily prompts for the month and want to see what new concepts and wonders you can make with them.

Join the creation fun and share your work with us.

This isn’t a contest. But that doesn’t mean we won’t be giving out random prizes for amazing work.”