//------------------------------// // Chapter Forty One: Daybreak // Story: Cure For a Toxin // by RadBunny //------------------------------// “He wasn’t there.” Shifting’s annoyed tone spoke the thought of everyone in the room; Celestia, Luna, and Nacreous all looking at the report the Last Light Organization had recently sent. “Well, the area is turned to rubble. The gas is dispersing with the counter-agent and there is no sign of any remaining Chaos Creatures,” Luna replied, “And we have at least the cooperation of that high ranking Abyssin. No sign of counter-attacks to Equestria. The ‘kingdom’ is all but reduced to dust.” “Quite a few creatures begged to be taken prisoner in Equestria,” Celestia huffed, “but, treaties are treaties. I did request that the Organization not immediately turn them to ash. Thankfully, their goal of helping and possibly rehabilitation others will hold true for now.” “Toxic and Gelliana are safe then,” Nacreous rumbled, “we cannot ask more of them.” “It’s not a matter of asking,” Luna replied, “it’s a matter of what is required. The King is still on the loose and the Organization is trying to hunt him down with our aid. He only has a dozen or two of those creatures left. And apparently, he has a host. A pony host. We have to increase our sweeps for sure.” Everyone knew that Luna’s words, while true, were a bit hollow. Scans had turned up empty, as had any leads. The Shadow-King was gone, licking his wounds apparently. But when and where he would resurface none of them knew. But for now, there was a lull, one that hopefully could let two individuals recover. Gelliana stretched, the gryphoness’s mind cloudy. The last thing she had remembered was wishing Toxic well. That was back in the- She bolted upright- or mentally did at least. In reality, the gryphoness opened her eyes groggily, shifting slightly as she moved in a medical cot. A light-green earth pony mare looked over to the gryphoness, smiling kindly as she tapped a few keys on the bedside monitor. “Welcome back, Gelliana,” she said softly. “You’ve been out for a solid day. How are you feeling? My name is Nurse Saline- or just Sali for short.” The gryphoness opened her mouth to speak- and abruptly began to cough until the nurse levitated some water over to her. “B-better, thank you,” she stammered, Sali checking Gelliana’s chart again. “That is good to hear. We’ve mainly been giving you fluids and vitamins to help you recover from, well, all of that,” the nurse explained. “We need to leave the IV’s in though; there are restroom facilities behind me and to the left that you can use. The leads will stay attached and not pull. Do you need any help with that?” “N-no, I’m good. I think,” Gelliana replied, “I may need some help standing, but other than that, I should be ok.” “Alright, lean on me then, slowly. I’ll wait until you’re done so I can help you back into bed if needs be.” “That works; thank you.” The IVs were oddly, well, not comfortable, but they didn’t interfere with movement as much as Gelliana thought. An odd levitating spell kept them above her head. There was no need to wheel a frame around. It was only after Gelliana had washed the grime from her eyes and made her way back to the bed (with a bit of help,) that the situation fully began to sink it. “So, we’re…?” “At the Last Light Organization’s Headquarters. Specifically, the primary hospital,” Sali explained. “You were rescued over a day ago.” The next question surprisingly made Gelliana’s voice tremble. She could feel the impending wave and weight of their situation, a month of extreme stress threatening to crash down. “W-where’s Toxic?” The nurse checked behind the adjoining curtain, nodding once before pulling it back, revealing a slumbering stallion. Similar IVs were hooked up; but a few additional bags were attached for him. “Usually you’d be in separate rooms, but he was rather insistent,” Sali explained, her brow furrowing, “I hope that is-” “No, that’s perfect. Thank you,” Gelliana interjected, “Is he…?” “He’ll be fine,” the unicorn said, “mainly sleep deprivation and effects of extreme stress like yourself. We have him on a light sedative that should be wearing off soon. You’re both going to be fine.” Gelliana wasn’t sure when she started crying, only that the nurse hugged her at some point, a hoof gently patting her back. We’re safe. For the briefest of moments, Toxic thought he had died. Nothing hurt. Whatever he was sleeping on felt like clouds. Songbirds were singing nearby, a soft light calling him to wakefulness. The familiar cozy room of the Organization’s medical wing greeted him. The soft hum of electronics and magical monitoring spells reached Toxic’s ears, a soft teal curtain giving him a view out a large, one-way window. Distant waves crashed as rolling green hills sprawled out beneath the room. He almost refused to believe it. The abrupt jump into the dream world had dulled the reality of everything, out of one fire and into another. Then the rescue, the stallion barely remembering collapsing in the medical bay. Over a month of running, a week of dream-walking. He wasn’t sure what felt real anymore amid the chaos. But now there was nothing. Nothing but the distant hustle-and-bustle of a medical facility. He assumed someone would be in to check on him. “Safe,” he said to himself softly, amulet pulsing in time to his voice. “I wonder when I will feel like it?” “Tox?” He jerked in surprise, a gryphoness standing next to his bed, IV leads trailing behind her. Gelliana’s eyes watered, her beak quivering. The stallion carefully stood up, sliding off the bed to sit in front of her. “Gells?” It was almost a question on his part. Things were too peaceful, too serene. The hoof he reached up to rest against her cheek felt real enough, as did when she reached up with her claws to press into it. She is real. She carefully pulled the pony into a hug, the gryphoness crying into his shoulder as tears flowed from Toxic’s eyes freely. “Y-you’re real.” The pony nodded gently, his head resting against hers. “And you’re here. We’re here,” his brow furrowed, even as Gelliana’s chest fluttered against his, her breathing starting to become steadier. “I think we made it. It still doesn’t feel real though.” She nodded at that, the softest giggle leaving her beak. “I’ve been up for a b-bit. It still feels like a dream,” Gelliana admitted, “I would say it is a dream since you’re here, but I’ve had enough of dreamscapes for a long, long time.” He couldn’t help but smile at that. The stallion reached down to hold one of Gelliana’s claws in his hooves, the gryphoness reaching up to place her other claws on his chest with a teary smile. “We made it, Toxic,” she whispered, “we made it.” No more words were said for a time, the pair simply sitting in each other’s arms. Gelliana started to cry gently, the full weight of everything beginning to settle. A tearful kiss definitely confirmed this was reality, the gryphoness’s chest shivering against the stallions. She reached up to give him a kiss, this one with enough fiery passion to make Toxic’s hair stand on end. Of course, the fact he returned the affection made Gelliana let out a soft squeak before he returned to just nuzzle against her cheek. “Now we get to go on a different, more peaceful adventure,” Toxic whispered after a time, the gryphoness letting out a sniffly “huh?”. “One with lots of nice food, regular dates, lots of kisses, hugs, and a significant amount of therapy. And no caves for a while.” Gelliana couldn’t help but laugh through the tears. How could she not? The look in Toxic’s eyes let her know that the stallion meant every word. Oddly, he looked around briefly, Toxic taking off the amulet briefly. “Love you, Gells,” he said softly before placing the item back around his neck. The simple gesture and hearing his true voice didn’t help the gryphoness’s composure. She settled for scooting closer to rest her head underneath his as the gryphoness tried to at least stop crying. “Love you too, Toxic,” she managed to whisper. “And t-that new adventure sounds amazing.” “For now, let’s just focus on getting out of this hospital room without crying. I think that might take a bit.” She could only smile in agreement as Toxic hugged her close, the sensitive stallion also shedding a few rebellious tears. They were safe. They stayed in the hospital that day and night for monitoring. Considering the size and how modern it was, the ‘monitoring’ session was the equivalent of a mid-range hotel. Well, with a bunch of nurses and equipment taped to your limbs. Staying on the protected island was a given, and they wore medical monitoring bracelets that would alert any response staff of an emergency. In the morning, aside from a large bottle of pills they had to take to help them bounce back, Toxic and Gelliana were declared to be in fairly good condition. Well, all things considered at least. They were still both sleep-deprived, stressed-out, and needing a long vacation. But physically were at least in the borderline ‘healthy’ category, but only barely. Some evening conference calls were scheduled, as were as short visit to Canterlot, but for now they could just take a deep breath. “Y’know, I think this adjusting is going to be a bit harder than I thought,” Gelliana admitted. The two were sitting under one of the many gazebos overlooking the ocean; such scenic areas dotted around the exterior of the facility. “Oh?” the stallion asked, the salty air putting his mind at ease, as did the fact a certain gryphoness’s feathers brushed against his side. A necklace sat off to the side, not needed around the Gelliana. His eyes glanced over to her. Toxic hadn’t said anything, but he had definitely noticed the dark circles underneath his gryphoness’s eyes today. The previous night neither of them had slept well, it would seem. “Yeah. I went to that shop to get some snacks an hour or two ago?” she explained, “and when I was looking at stuff, I had just-well, it wasn’t a panic attack but the start of one.” “That’s not good. Do you know what caused it?” Gelliana blushed, looking to the ground in embarrassment. “Not knowing if you were ok,” she muttered, “I know it’s silly, but…” “It’s not silly at all,” Toxic countered immediately, “it makes a lot of sense, actually.” “It does?” she was genuinely surprised, brow furrowing as Gelliana tried to work through both her logical thoughts and feelings. The stallion mentally kicked himself at that. Of course, she wouldn’t know as much about PTSD or trauma outside of her own, extremely-specific experience. For better or worse, at least he did. “Of course. You’ve been looking out for me for over a month straight. We’ve both almost died. Myself, twice, if not more. I’ve been, for the lack of a better term, the focus of everything. Outside of staying alive that is,” Toxic explained, “it’s only natural that now, when that has been completely changed, you’re going to struggle to adjust for a bit. I had something like that happen too.” “You did?” Another mental kick. He should have immediately shared that. “Yeah. I was talking with Varti today and I couldn’t get myself to stand out in the open,” Toxic admitted. “I really wanted to be close to the wall. I couldn’t explain it. I just felt so vulnerable without something around me. Here,” he gestured to the gazebo, “we’re surrounded by something, and you’re here. So, I feel safe. But walking here I swear I started to shiver.” “Me to,” Gelliana admitted, “I’ve had reactions to like, thunderstorms, but that was a single night. We were gone for over a month.” That seemed to make her shoulders and wings slump, the gryphoness swallowing nervously. “This could get really rough, huh? Things have changed forever, even if it’s in a small way? Well, lots of big ways I guess.” Toxic wished he could immediately counter her words, but she deserved the truth. Always the truth. “Forever? In a way, yes,” he admitted, “and the adjustment is going to be rough, more so for you than myself if I had to guess. I have at least had a few days to decompress and have been dealing with trauma for over a decade. That’s why I’m really glad we can talk to my counselor together, and you can also have your own private sessions.” He nudged her shoulder at that. “Just know that I’m here for you, and I’ll never think something is silly that is bothering you. Remember your reaction to me being afraid of that burst soda can on our date? I’d be the biggest hypocrite ever if I didn’t treat your troubles with the same care.” A loving kiss briefly occupied the pony’s time, the stallion sighing happily as Gelliana snuggled a bit closer. “Thank you, Tox,” she whispered, “that helps. Hearing that I can say stuff and you won’t judge. I mean, I knew you would, but hearing it again helps.” “That’s why I said it,” he replied happily, ears flattening briefly. “I knew you slept on the floor for an hour or two last night. So, I get it.” “You saw that?” “Saw and heard, as I was dozing. I’ve been in that same situation, so I wanted to make sure you knew it was normal and that you weren’t alone,” he explained softly. “Just, the bed felt great, it just was too cushy,” she admitted. “I know. I did the same thing after one of my jobs. Three months of sleeping on hard dirt…it takes a few days to adjust.” She was quiet for a moment, then nudging Toxic with a shoulder. “Thank you, Tox,” she whispered, wincing in surprise as a soft chime sounded from the stallion’s utility gauntlet. “That’s the hour or so warning, by the way.” Gelliana couldn’t help but shift uncomfortably at that. “Nervous?” he asked. “Very. I know we’re just talking to our parents, but there’s so much they don’t know, at least for me,” she admitted. “I don’t even know how to introduce you!” “We’re talking to them separately first, and then we’ll meet together. I can take the lead on that if it’d help.” “We’ll just wait and see on that. If I’m a mess, I’d appreciate it,” Gelliana admitted. “I promise not to say that we’re basically married, sans a few fun intimate details.” The squeak that left Gelliana’s beak made Toxic cackle, the familiar poofing of feathers making the stallion grin. “Am I wrong?” “No.” the returning grumble lacked any venom, the loving glint in Gelliana’s eyes making Toxic’s heart flutter. “But I greatly appreciate you not saying that. My parents are probably going to flip out as it is. Me being captured and dating you and such.” “I promise to be on my best behavior. I am capable of it, you know.” “I know you are. Just don’t make my feathers fluff when you’re meeting my parents.” “Awwww. It’d be so easy! I even know what I’d say!” Gelliana glared at Toxic as they began to meander back to the complex, the unicorn smirking as he put the amulet back on around his neck. “Don’t you dare.” “It’s not wrong!” “Dooooon’t you dare.” “I just have to say we’ve been sleeping together for a month! Every night like clockwork. And sometimes during the day too. You were quite insistent.” The fact his gryphoness resembled an angry ball of feathers and fur was too much, Toxic cracking up as Gelliana glared daggers at him. After a few moments, he wiped the tears of mirth from his eyes, leaning over to nudge his playfully-fuming special somecreature with a shoulder. “In all seriousness, Gells, I promise to do my absolute best to make things easier,” Toxic said in a more subdued, serious tone. “I know how much this means to you, and at least know some of the baggage with your parents. I’ll try my hardest not to do anything to cause any more questions than they already have.” A friendly nudge back was Gelliana’s answer, a nervous but thankful smile on her beak. They had faced a King of Shadows; surely this paled in comparison. The transportation to Canterlot was fairly uneventful. Well, uneventful aside from the squad of shock troops that accompanied the pair through the portal. With the Shadow-King still on the loose, Varti and Pick were not taking any chances, something that Celestia and Luna had agreed upon. To their credit, admitting that their own forces may be compromised was a hard pill to swallow. Toxic had to admire them for the lack of waffling when presented with such facts. Stepping through the portal, the pair were greeted by the royals; Celestia, Luna, Nacreous and Shifting (the latter not technically a royal just yet, however.) Toxic let himself indulge in the jealous glinting seen in some of the Royal Guard’s expressions on seeing his organization’s troops. The Organization’s guard were geared for war, and not just with a spear or two as they stood guard both inside and outside the immediate rooms. Heavy crossbows were slung across their backs, enchanted blades at their sides. After a few pleasantries, Celestia pulled Toxic aside as Shifting explained where the parents were. A few whispers from Luna likely pacified the gryphoness as to why her sister needed a moment. “Toxic, I…” the Empress’s words failed her, Celestia hanging her head and not able to meet Toxic’s gaze. “Princess?” he asked, genuinely curious as to what this was about. “I am so sorry,” she whispered, “I failed you, again. Failing to protect you led to your capture, among many other things. I don’t expect you to forgive me for that. But I just wanted to say that I’m sorry, for however little that may be worth to you.” Toxic blinked. Of the things he had been expecting, the first few words to him from Celestia being an apology was not on the list. Having said her piece, the Princess looked over to him, clearly prepared for a casual dismissal of her words or an outright rejection. For the briefest of moments there was a conflict of what to say or two; but the stallion only had one true answer. He had told Gelliana how he wanted to be on terms with Celestia. Now he had a chance. “Celestia, I forgave you a long time ago,” Toxic said firmly, the Alicorn’s eyes widening in genuine shock. “The moment I learned more about politics, history, and the responsibilities of a ruler, I forgave you. That applies to our first…incident, and everything up to and including now.” Celestia’s eyes shimmered, the Princess rendered genuinely speechless, Toxic holding up a hoof. “That said, that doesn’t mean I am blind,” he added. His tone, while firm, didn’t have the usual edge present when dealing with the Princess. “I know you would sacrifice myself, my organization, and my friends to save Equestria. I cannot and will not forget or overlook such a fact. That will never change.” Her gaze dropped ever so slightly at that, but Celestia didn’t voice a counter argument. It was true, after all. “But that is a burden that I cannot fully understand, and therefore I cannot hold it against you. Not like I did before,” Toxic continued, the pony letting out a rather humorless chuckle. “If my loved ones were threatened, I know what I’d sacrifice to save them. So, I’d be a hypocrite to fault you for that, as I imagine you love your subjects in a way I cannot fully grasp. I don’t have to like my place in your priorities, but I logically understand it and cannot fault you for it.” Looking up, Toxic held out his hoof, clearly pushing himself to do so, but wanting to do it nonetheless. “I’d like to be on at least friendly terms. Without your help I couldn’t have built the Last Light Organization. Well, it would have taken many more decades.” Toxic shrugged as he spoke, the usual guarded demeanor present when dealing with Celestia greatly subdued if not absent. “So that said, and if we’re on the same page of understanding each other’s positions, can we at least be friends?” he asked. Clearly swallowing a lump in her throat, Celestia carefully reached out a hoof and bumped Toxic’s with a nod. “I’d like that, Toxic,” she admitted. “Friends it is.” The alicorn paused, swallowing a lump in her throat. “One of my greatest mistakes was making you think your…position in my priorities was less than it really was. Perhaps in time I can convince you otherwise.” Toxic couldn’t help but be a bit startled at the flurry of emotion behind Celestia’s eyes. Genuine thanks radiated from her gaze, the Alicorn seeming to be trying to hold back tears. A soft squeak made Toxic turn over, Gelliana clamping a set of claws over her beak and she did tear up. “S-sorry!” she managed to say, blushing a bright pink from embarrassment. “Just, I get it.” Letting out a tired but genuine laugh, Toxic waved a hoof at her as he glanced to Celestia. “She would understand,” he admitted, the pair walking over to join the rest of the group. The pony and gryphoness were shepherded towards the two rooms with their parents, Nacreous pulling Celestia aside briefly. “I’m so proud of you, Sunspots,” he whispered, giving his Fiancé a tight hug. “I’m proud of you both.” A thankful kiss was all Celestia could spare, her grateful smile conveying more than words could.