//------------------------------// // Chapter Two: All systems normal. Cleaning teams assigned. // Story: We don't go to Sub-Level Five // by RadBunny //------------------------------// “A collapse?” he asked, Ledger nodding sadly. “If it sounds stupid, it’s because it is,” his supervisor said with a growl. “We’ve been trying to figure out the weak spots for months. There was a spill that they said didn’t weaken the floor. Some egg-head is going to get sent to the moon over that fib. It happened in that room and caused the floor to buckle into L4.” “And the blood?” “A cleaning mare you must have missed. When the collapse happened, some beakers and vials shattered. She tripped, cut herself…and fell. She’s in critical condition, but doing ok,” Ledger said with a sigh. “What a mess; and it’s not on you. You couldn’t have done anything. Those rooms are locked and soundproofed, even for your fuzzy ears, so don’t get that in your head.” Astral managed a weak smile, the unicorn patting the Thestral on the back. “I figured you’d have thought that. Should be a slow shift. We just have repair teams and the usual bunch tonight.” And with that, Astral was left to his duties, the Thestral shaking his head. It was a logical and believable series of events. He had even seen a staff member getting chewed out for mishandling an acid last time he was down there. And yet something gnawed at his gut. That ‘something’ had been proven right before. Walking over to the weapons locker, Astral examined the sleek, repeating crossbow held in place for emergencies. The explosive bolts were powerful enough to blow a manticore in half, and he had gone through quite a bit of training to be qualified to use it. He liked big weapons; Astral wasn’t about to lie about that. Crossbows, Ballistae- the thought of the new gunpowder and brass-cased gear made him start to drool. But that was for high-end military operations, not security guards. How that could change warfare though. From crossbows, black-powder muzzleloaders to brass-cased saddle-weapons? If the bat-pony was being honest, he’d likely end up writing a research paper on the historical impacts…it was within his degree to do so. Historical applications of weapons and battle-tactics…not exactly the ‘perfect guard’ you all envisioned. Astral mused, knowing his parents weren’t entirely thrilled, especially after the discharge incident. At least they believed him, mostly. Partially. Maybe. In the end, it didn’t matter, it couldn’t matter, and Astral had come to terms with that. Other than the fascination with potentially explosive tools, the bat-pony lived up to his name with a hobby of stargazing. His parents had caught him quite a few times just sitting alone and watching the heavens. His star-shaped cutie mark, half-hidden behind a shield was a clue enough for his general ‘purpose.’ Quite frankly, the Thestral envied ponies who had a clear-cut future and goal. He seemed to vacillate between teaching, the stars, and security work. Of course, maybe teaching about the stars too? What’s another course to add to my workload? Why not? The hours passed fairly quickly, a constant flow of repair ponies and usual employees filtering through. The only hiccup was a pony who forgot their badge, which Astral had to politely remind them that ‘they’d do him a favor’ wasn’t a valid reason to buzz the pony through. It was a somewhat common excuse and reason to be turned away. Sometimes Astral wondered if the Company was testing him, but ponies could forget things. Stars above, he had forgotten his badge a few times at first too. During a lull in the comings and goings of the employees, Astral let his mind wander briefly. The collapse had been an unwelcome jolt to be sure, and he wasn’t sure why it upset him so much. He didn’t have a fear of blood, per se. It was just the feeling that left him shaken. What was worse is that it didn’t go away, only lessened. If not for the fact the goings-on of the company which was confidential (hence the top-secret security clearance) he’d have sent a voice-text to his hippogriff friend in Canterlot. There weren’t any new messages on the phone (another Sparkle-sponsored marvel taking Equestria by storm) but it had only been a few days. Knowing Gabbro, he’d be trying to decide which mare to go out with next… So help me if he tries to teach me the ‘ways with ladies’ one more time… The hippogriff meant well, he just had the problem of not knowing what he wanted, at least when it came to interested mares. That naturally meant a bit of heartbreak here and there. But hey, the guy has a steady job and is pretty sharp. Can’t fault him there. Astral let out a snort at that. Can’t judge him either, since I’m the occupant of the single-stallion club. He’s got the reverse problem. Another few ponies trotted in, Astral buzzing them through. “Well, at least after tomorrow it’s the weekend,” he mused, once again left to his own devices. Talking to himself was a common thing at this job; nobody else could hear him in the booth, after all. “Maybe I’ll head to the mountains. Get out of here for a bit to clear my head.” That sounded like a fantastic idea. The Thestral hadn’t been camping in a good month or two, so it was definitely time to revisit that hobby. One more day, and then the Thestral could get his head on straight and put the collapse business behind him. Friday night did not start off on the right hoof. He wasn’t sure if it was bad dreams, but Astral woke up with a grumble just before his alarm went off. Going through his routine, he checked his private phone, the device glowing with new texts from Gabbro. “Oh, a hippogriff? Hope it works out for you, buddy,” Astral said, both annoyed but also a bit glad. Apparently, his friend was fine with taking things slow, which usually meant he was serious. If Gabbro could find someone to put up with his incessant puns, Astral would be thrilled, if not a bit shocked. However, the follow-up text made Astral eat his words. “Wait, she made more puns than you?” he muttered, sending back a message. “Don’t let this one get away you buffoon.” His spirits lifted a bit, Astral ran through his checklist, a slight pang echoing in his chest as he glanced around the empty apartment. Aside from a garden of succulents, the dwelling didn’t have much life to it. With his best friend’s usual pastimes involving mares, it was an occasional, if not annoying, reminder of that missing fact to the bat-pony’s life. Astral let out a huff, walking through the portal to get the evening started. Sure, he was lonely from time to time, but he was happy being himself, lack of a romantic life or not. He had a solid job, a chance to branch out his career in two different directions, and a wide array of hobbies. He was happy being alone, but you couldn’t ignore the ‘what-if’s’ forever. Sure, he was content with life, but it’d be nice to share that with someone. It was easier to ignore when your best friend wasn’t ecstatic about every new mare he met monthly. To Astral’s credit, he had at least tried to branch out a year or two ago at the urging of Gabbro. The hippogriff had meant well, very well. And the idea had been a good one. And yet how well did that go when you learned how to dance? Pre-Gala classes and you quickly learned that even the Princess of Friendship can’t erase some viewpoints. At least I learned how to dance though, along with all those fancy manners. So that is a plus among other things. That had been a harsh reminder that bat-ponies still weren’t as widely accepted as other races. Despite borders being fairly open, creatures of all types intermixing, Thestrals seemed almost forgotten, relegated to the past of ‘creepy and scary creatures of the night’. Of course, Astral couldn’t help but smirk a bit. A bit misunderstood, but we’ve got better hearing, awesome fangs, wings, and amazing fluff. I’ll take that over being a normal pony any day. There were signs of progress; a Thestral had just been appointed to the council that reported directly to Princess Twilight. That had shut up quite a few of the more vocal nobles of their viewpoints on the matter. So, things were definitely getting better. It was just a matter of waiting a bit longer. In his experience, mares still had a wide view on Thestral’s ranging from ‘exotic’ to thinking they were horrifying with their fangs. But the likelihood of finding a fellow bat-pony mare was pretty low since they mostly stuck to their native lands in Hollow Shades. “Eh. I can wait a bit. I’m not going anywhere,” Astral said to himself. “Decent job, and maybe I’ll just bite the arrow and enroll in some classes on the weekend. Can’t complain about no social life unless I do something.” He kept that last thought to himself. Gabbro would never shut up about it otherwise until Astral made good on it. I can hear him saying something already. ‘Well of course you aren’t meeting any mares! When WOULD you meet them? You need to get out more?’ “Yeah, I know, and I will,” Astral said with a sigh to his friend’s imaginary response. “First things first. Camping, and then scheduling some social events.” He couldn’t help but grin. The Thestral could already hear his friend cheering in a supportive (but jesting) way that his bat-pony friend was finally getting out and about again. “I’ll tell him once it’s planned. No point in him making a kerfuffle about it until then.” Knowing Gabbro, he’d plan a whole party for my return to a social life just to get a laugh. But that’s why I love that feathery goofball.