The two of them stared at each other. A siren began to wail and the sound of it made Astral’s skin crawl. Sassi was the first to speak the obvious.
“Astral, we need to go, now,” she said flatly. “This is the only silo with that form of containment. We need to be anywhere but Silo One.
Immediately putting on his helmet, Astral affixed Sassi’s, unbuckling the grenade launcher from her side.
“What are-”
“Too heavy. Need to go,” he explained, not hearing any objections as he stuffed the remaining dose into a pouch. Rummaging through the first aid kit, Astral immediately downed a hoof-full of fast-acting painkillers.
If luck was on his side, he’d escape this with just a few sore muscles. If not; painkillers.
“We need to get to the elevators, then to the transit station on SL-Nine,” Sassi said, her voice quivering slightly, the familiar professional tone then returning. “We just don’t stop. It should be a straight shot.”
Astral nodded, unlocking one of his saddle-guns to further reduce the weight. They left them with twelve shots; it would have to be enough. Sassi had two grenades; he quickly attached those to his vest, along with a can of the miracle-foam.
“Nine Minutes.”
“I can barely move my head, so I can’t be of much use. Please don’t drop me.” Sassi said, the tremor in her voice returning. To her surprise, Astral smirked, visor lifting to look at her.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said with a nervous grin, “it’s just like in a book. Plenty of stallions dream of rescuing a gorgeous mare in distress and carrying her to safety.” His smile then dropped, not quite reaching his eyes. “I just get to do it right this time.”
The raw determination in his green eyes threw off Sassi’s response, the mare not able to speak for a few moments as her heart fluttered. The fire behind Astral’s eyes was a complete about-turn from the easygoing stallion’s previous demeanor.
“Astral?” Sassi finally asked, the stallion pausing.
“Hmm?”
“You’re not a monster,” she said firmly, a smile twitching at her face, “but sometimes we have to go to a different place to fight them. However you felt when you helped that mare? When you pulled that pony from a building? That’s what we need right now,” she hesitated, “it’s what I need. Ok?”
It was a bit of a round-about way of saying it, but Astral nodded as he removed the barricades. Sliding underneath Sassi, he adjusted the mare on his back, making sure she wasn’t about to get jostled off.
“Jeez, Sassi,” he grunted, “I thought with that form of yours you’d be a bit lighter!”
Thankfully he couldn’t see her blush again. The stallion carefully looped a makeshift duct-tape strap over the mare’s forelimbs; at least something to keep her secure.
Astral took a few deep breaths.
“And thank you,” he whispered.
You’re a smart mare, Sassi.
Maybe he was a monster to some, maybe he wasn’t. But all the stallion knew is that he had a new friend, a friend who needed his help. A friend who had been through so much more than he had. The trials the stallion had endured paled in comparison, that much was apparent.
Forced into an experiment? Trapped underground?
I have no right to complain. What I went through was bad, but Sassi…
The thought of a small, innocent filly being subjected to whatever this company had to offer made his limbs shiver with anger, Astral not trying to force it down. Something in his heart snapped, a raging fire that matched the one when he first joined the guard. It hadn’t been a life’s calling, but it had been something that felt right. When he had pulled a foal from the rubble of the building, the mother then embracing him tearfully…
His love was in the stars, but there was a part of the stallion that Astral couldn’t ignore. The call to protect, to make the world a bit better, as much as he could. And now seeing how broken things were, the injustice that lurked beneath the literal surface; it made that desire just burn all the brighter.
Not many ponies got a second chance at life-changing events, let alone live through one such as this.
We’re not going to die down here.
That thought made Astral’s limbs bunch with energy. It wasn’t a question; a simple statement. The odd, laser-focus flooded through his mind. He now remembered from when he first felt it; an artificial calm during an extremely stressful situation. It happened during the few times he had needed to use his guard training outside of the academy. When the team leader had directed them into the rubble of the building.
It was also how he had felt moments before beating those two would-be assaulting ponies to a pulp. A single goal that erased everything else. Just like when he had been saving Sassi’s life with the injections.
Only now it raged with anger. A single voice defiantly refused to be silent when everything had gone so, so wrong. So much was wrong with this situation, this place.
Maybe he could be one of the few things that were right.
You’ll see the forests, Sassi. The ocean, the mountains.
I promise.
“Eight Minutes,” a familiar voice called, distant alarms starting to sound, a low, pulsing drone.
“Let’s go.”
Astral almost didn’t recognize his voice, the stallion opening the door-
A Skitter stared back.
There was no hesitation, Astral chomping on the bit and punching a hole in the creature’s chest with a roar from the gun. Galloping past the flailing creature, the Thestral’s hooves dug into the floor as he skidded around a corner.
This left. Then a right. Then left again to the end of the hall.
Taking another corner, Astral’s eyes narrowed as a Skitter blocked the way ahead of them. There wasn’t any fear, just simple anger that melted any freezing of the stallion’s limbs.
“Seven Minutes.”
“MOVE!” Astral bellowed, green eyes narrowed at the creature. The Skitter appeared surprised as the pony charged towards it. The first shot went wide- the second and third shots tore into the creature’s ribs as it scrambled away.
End of the hall.
“Six Minutes.”
Making sure Sassi was still secure on his back, Astral took off again.
One more turn.
Sliding around the corner, Astral’s heart leaped as the familiar cream color of the elevator lobby shone in the distance.
No more Skitters were present; the stallion ducked into the elevator, the doors quickly closing.
“Five Minutes.”
Selecting SL-Nine, Astral felt the elevator zip upwards. They just had three floors to go…
“We’re almost there, Astral” Sassi whispered, the stallion letting out a grunt.
“Let me focus, Sassi,” he said firmly, but kindly.
The door opened, and Astral was confronted with the piles of dead bodies, emergency lights flickering on and off.
“Four Minutes.”
With only a sliver of hesitation, the Thestral galloped into the dark hallway. Blood was still sprayed across doors and rooms but his previous fear was all but gone.
Now he had a name for what caused all of this. Spiders. Skitters. The Stairway Company.
And at the moment, one of those was blocking his path again.
To the Stallion’s surprise, the Skitter only glanced at the pony briefly before moving, tearing along the wall towards the elevators they had just left.
Perhaps it knew time was limited as well. But Astral paid it no mind, only taking a few seconds to toss a grenade behind them as a good measure.
“Three Minutes.”
There!
The Silo Junction sign glowed like an entrance to the heavens. He took the stairs two at a time, careful to not drop Sassi as he landed with a thud on the tile. Metal-shod hooves shattered the tiles as he skidded to avoid a pillar.
“Two Minutes.”
Their tram was still there; Astral ran to the front of the car.
“Input your code, select the main Silo Junction as the destination. There should be a simple icon to click,” Sassi instructed.
Tapping the keys, the override code immediately pulled up the destinations map, Astral tapping the appropriate location.
“One Minute…”
The tram doors shut, a familiar voice echoing as the car pulled away down the tracks.
“Zero. Detonating. Have a nice day.”
Astral didn’t let himself relax, a distant rumble then making the entire tram shake. Dust blew briefly past the car, then settling as they continued to travel.
That could have been us.
That thought was an overwhelming one, but the Thestral pushed it out of his mind.
“You holding up back there, Sassi?” he asked.
“Just peachy. You’re doing amazing,” the mare said, as if not entirely sure what to say.
“I aim to please. Let’s get back home.”
The tram slowed to a stop, Astral noting how the car was now ‘down for maintenance’ as soon as it docked with the station. The coast appearing clear, he trotted up the steps, peering out into the main floor.
Aside from the still-decaying dead bodies, it was oddly silent. And that made Astral nervous. The familiar feeling of eyes boring into the back of his head returned, and he didn’t have nearly enough bullets to deal with it.
“Sassi,” he said softly. “If you have any feeling at all in your limbs, I need you to hold on. The door should open when we’re close, right?”
“Y-yes. I set it to detect our badges. It will auto-arm the defenses once we’re inside.”
At first moving quietly, Astral abruptly felt almost shoved by an unseen force to pick up the pace, every instinct screaming at him to gallop.
So, he did.
Hooves slamming into the tile, the pony tore towards the security station, a cacophony of clicking echoing from behind and above the pair. He dropped the last grenade, letting it slide across the floor behind them.
The small security door slid open, the grenade detonating with the furious shrieks of maimed Skitters as Astral neared.
So close!
A particularly ambitious creature jumped ahead, landing directly in their path.
With a snarl, Astral fired. The creature’s arm was the first to be torn off, chest punctured by explosive rounds as a final shot ripped its throat apart. Astral jumped, barely clearing the fallen Skitter’s limbs as he aimed for the door.
In an unceremonious heap, Astral and Sassi landed inside with a thump, the door shutting and activating with a high-pitched hum. The pained cries indicated that a lot of Skitters and Spiders had been forming a welcoming committee just outside the tram exit.
“Sassi? You ok?” Astral asked, his limbs now starting to shake as he carefully slid the mare off his back.
Quite abruptly, Sassi started to laugh, an exhausted, tired, stressed, and scared laugh, but also a genuinely happy one.
“That. Was. Awesome!” she crowed, tapping her helmet against the wall as a sign for Astral to remove it. “You were incredible! Mangos and seeds Astral, you can really tussle!”
He managed a weak chuckle, the stallion ducking under to pick Sassi up again.
“We’re not home yet. Let’s get you set before I crash, yeah?” he said. “If I’m going to pass out, I want to make sure you’re going to be ok.”
Sassi was very quiet at that, the two traveling down the beautifully-silent lift to the apartment.
“Thank you,” she whispered, Astral looking over to her with a nod.
“I would say anytime, but let’s not do that again.”
The mare abruptly snorted, an exhausted grin on her face as they entered her apartment, the heavy door sealing behind them.
Safe.