//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirty Five: Cracked Foundations // Story: We don't go to Sub-Level Five // by RadBunny //------------------------------// Letting out a surprised yell, Astral backhoofed the Spider out of reflex, smacking it into the wall. Stepping on the squirming remains, he let out a snort. The moment passed as the stallion’s sides heaved, catching his breath from the surprise. Thankfully the helmet had muted his cry. “I hate those things,” he growled. There was an abrupt edge to his voice that even surprised the stallion before it faded, Sassi stared at him for a moment, her head shaking back and forth in amusement. “What?” “You’re a very different pony than the one who first came down here. You just punched a spider,” Sassi replied, amusement leaking through her tone. “Well, I’ve been through just a few things,” he huffed, the two quietly scanning the lobby. “Just a few. I’m still impressed.” He stood a bit taller at that, clearly quite happy to get the approval from a near-super-mare. “As long as neither of us gets bitten, we’ll be good,” the stallion remarked, the two of them cautiously traversing the floor. As they passed by sparring arenas, gym equipment, an empty (and blood-covered) armory, Sassi seemed to grow a bit more nervous. As they stopped about halfway through the floor, Astral saw her physically shudder. The mare’s gaze was clearly locked onto one of the sparring arenas; that much was easy to see even with the visor down. “Sassi? You ok?” he asked softly, the mare not responding at first. “I spent a lot of time here, Astral. In this ring training,” Sassi finally said. Her words were almost monotone, but Astral got the sense it wasn’t for lack of emotion. She seemed tense, as if the forced words were the only alternative to something else. Judging from the slight shake that briefly shuddered up her limbs, Astral figured it wasn’t good. “I never really thought about it until now. But seeing everything broken and empty it hits differently,” she muttered, “I spent weeks, months, probably years by now, all right there. You had some combat training for the night guard; I learned all of that when I was a foal,” Sassi continued. “That’s not to brag. I had to complete the courses even if my limbs barely responded. Quarterly evaluations after that to see how the modifications were taking. Even until my hooves cracked and….” Her voice drifted off, Astral watching curiously as the demeanor of the mare crumbled. The confidence faded, and a very vulnerable, very real pony poked out from behind the pained words. How much of you is buried underneath the training and torture, Sassi? Just the thought of it made his chest tighten. There was no physical enemy to combat here, only memories. Astral lifted his hoof, wanting to at least offer a bit of comfort. He then set it back down. She had specified that physical touch was a rocky area. The memory of the scars jumped out at him, making the stallion’s heart twinge. I don’t blame her for being uncomfortable about that. Small steps, as slowly as she’d like. Sassi saw the movement out of the corner of her vision. The mare couldn’t help but smile, edges quivering as a torrent of emotions threatened to burst through the dam of training and conditioning. Her fluffy ears perked up, even as Sassi’s world moved in slow motion as the mare processed everything in an instant. While she was able to clamp down on the outward expressions, the warm hum of affection that made her chest glow refused to be silenced. It was such a simple gesture of help, yet Astral had no idea how much it meant. It was likely because of her degree in Psychology, but Sassi admitted it probably was additionally due to the training on how to read creatures to analyze them for threats. Whatever the case, she was able to take a snapshot of Astral at that moment, and it made her heart melt. A brief burst of emotion dashed across her mind, a feeling the mare had been so terrified had long since been choked out by the evils of the Silos. It warmed Sassi from the tips of her ears to the ends of her hooves. It was so simple yet the snapshot spoke volumes. Astral was confident. The only hesitation on his part was after beginning the gesture, meaning he wanted to comfort her. The stallion was obviously on edge, but the minute she showed any distress, that fear seemed to flee. There were no tremors, no terror in his eyes at their situation in those moments. It was something Sassi had picked up on when Astral had first rescued her. But it was now becoming more and more apparent. When it was just them walking, she could almost see his nerves. The moment she showed any discomfort, any pain, a very different pony stood next to her. The mare realized she didn’t have any words to put to the feeling she felt on thinking that. All she could say was three words. Not the three precious ones she feared would never be said her lifetime, but some Sassi hoped would convey an ounce of the mare’s gratefulness to this curious stallion. “Thank you, Astral,” she whispered. A shake of the head, and the confident, military-minded mare was back. The doubts and churnings of her feelings were under lock and key once again, but barely. They had a mission, and this was all just a distraction from that. “Let’s keep going.” Astral nodded, following Sassi down the central hallway. The remainder of the room was then split off into two locker rooms. Considering each entrance was covered in blood, they avoided that route. Locker rooms. I still remember snapping that stallion’s arm like a twig when he didn’t seem to hear me say ‘back off.’ Oddly, that encounter didn’t disturb Sassi nearly as much as seeing the training arena. Continuing down the main hallway, Sassi led them past the showering area, and then some open rooms which had previously been used for things like stretches, meditation, and so forth. She had never really gotten into that. Cuddling with Astral is the type of meditation I could get used to. The thought rose so unbidden it nearly caused Sassi to stumble, her eyes widening behind the visor. This wasn’t normal. To have such things punch through and distract her was exactly what she had been trained to not have happen. Then again, she hadn’t ever been comfortable enough with somepony to have such thoughts, let alone anything more. That was an entirely new train of thought Sassi shut down. She couldn’t go down that road, not now. Even during this straightforward mission, her usual barriers were barely holding back a flood of thoughts, a tidal wave of emotions the mare wasn’t used to processing. The fact she didn’t want it to stop just added to the confusion. Thankfully, their current situation reared a new obstacle in the form of a Swiss-cheese style arrangement. “We can’t go over that, can we?” Astral asked. The hallway that led to their goal, the electrical room, was currently full of dozens of holes. Judging from how the metal was dripping inwards, some sort of chemical had eaten up from below. There’s a series of testing labs below this one. Some of the piping must have burst. “No, I think we should stay as far away from that as possible,” Sassi muttered. The floor groaned in response, the mare slowly taking a step backward. “There’s a series of maintenance tunnels behind us and to the right. We can use those instead. But let’s not make any sudden movements.” “No argument here,” Astral replied, cautiously testing each step as he backed up. A terrified yelp made the mare’s head whip around, Sassi barely catching sight of Astral as the floor collapsed around him.