//------------------------------// // Chapter Two: Sunrise // Story: SL-5: Love, Fluff, and Thunder // by RadBunny //------------------------------// Astral’s heart was nearly beating out of his chest. The stallion ducked behind a corner, the smell of damp carpet filling his nostrils. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. The glare from above coupled with the stench of mildew sent pain digging into the Thestral’s temples. A set of dark claws reached around the corner, digging into the wallpaper above his head. A fungus-filled face slowly turned to look at him, wide mouth parting to expose a thousand needle-like teeth. The creature laughed as Sassi’s detached face hung from its fangs, bloodied mouth moving in a disembodied whisper. “Why didn’t you save me, Astral?” Astral practically fell out of bed as he woke up with a yell. He barely made it to the bathroom before heaving up what was left in his stomach. A cold sweat plastered the Thestral’s fur to his frame, Astral flopping over the toilet as he heaved. Just when things started to settle down something always snapped him back to reality. A nightmare, a panic attack; just some reminder that he wasn’t ok. He probably wouldn’t be for a while. And that’s not a bad thing inherently. But this is awful. His limbs were weak, the stallion rinsing his mouth out before tottering back to his bed. Considering a few aches that now began to manifest along his flanks, the stallion settled in for a miserable remainder of the night. Their half-day, half-night schedule was useful but made falling asleep once the sun was up a bit difficult. Not that it mattered in this case. As he hugged a pillow, Astral tried to calm the shivers wracking his frame but to no avail. The episodes were starting to increase. While his body was largely healed from the stab wounds, there were still moments when the RASP modifications and prior rapid healing caught up with him. Sometimes it was random. Other times brought on by heavy exertion or a panic attack. Of course, an onset meant a day or so of feeling under the weather at annoyingly regular intervals. The longest had been for a week. Naturally, that was all in addition to severe nightmares and other unpleasantness. Just peachy. A soft knock made his ears perk up, and his favorite mare trotted in, immediately hopping up on the bed with a yawn. Their hive mind link tended to wake the other when nightmares cropped up, for better or worse. Astral felt horrible that it woke Sassi, but he was grateful for the extra comfort. Sassi frowned Seeing his fur soaked through. She quickly retrieved a towel before returning. “Nightmare?” Sassi whispered, toweling him off before covering the stallion with a blanket. “Y-yeah,” he admitted between chattering teeth. “And d-don’t feel so hot…” “I gathered. But you’re doing great, Astral. Even if you feel lousy.” He managed a pained chuckle, Sassi carefully wrapping herself around him protectively, placing her chest against his back. Her tight embrace made the shivers subside ever so slightly. “S-sorry for waking you,” he whispered, “this w-was a bad one…” The mare tightened her hold with a disproving huff. The stallion couldn’t keep a soft whimper from escaping his lips, the pony desperately trying to forget the nightmarish images. “Don’t apologize for that. Ever. I’ve done the same to you,” she said firmly. “I need you during those bad nights. So, I’m not about to let you go through this alone. If you ever want to share, I’m here. Nothing you tell me is going to scare or scar me. I’ve had plenty of my bad days, and I’ll have plenty more.” “Pretty sure I’ve had more bad nights than you.” Sassi yawned, adjusting her position to nuzzle Astral’s ears. “Well, obviously. But I grew up in the trauma. You got a condensed version after a somewhat normal life. I’m able to adjust to a life of “always better”. You get extreme whiplash. So, I’m not surprised you’re having a rougher time.” “So basically, what our therapist said?” She nodded, nuzzling the side of his head. “Exactly. Now if you can, let’s get some sleep.” Even with the nightmares and his body wracked with shivers, Astral managed to doze off. Having the best pillow ever certainly added to that fact, Sassi nuzzling his ears as her hug tightened around his middle. “Love you, Sas.” “Love you too, Astral.” Sassi woke up with a gasp, the stallion at her side jerking awake as the mare took a few deep breaths. She didn’t remember the nightmare, mercifully. But the feeling of the control spell still lingered, and the mare shivered. It happened, more often than not. A strange contagion in their hive mind. If one of them had a nightmare, chances are, the other would too. Astral didn’t move for a few moments, waiting for Sassi to reach over and hold his hoof. Another thing she loved about him, the stallion constantly remembered that for most of her nightmares, she didn’t want immediate comfort. As she squeezed his hoof, Astral mumbled, scooting a bit closer. “Sorr-” “Don’t you start again,” Sassi whispered, rolling over to hug him. “I’ve given you plenty of nightmares.” Even though her special somepony was a sweaty mess, he still didn’t smell horrible as Sassi used his side as a pillow. Either she was used to it, or that was just Astral. Maybe a bit of both. He yawned, still clearly halfway between wakefulness and dozing. “Plenty of nightmares, but plenty of dreams too,” he mumbled. “Worth it. My dream mare.” Even half-asleep her stallion was adorable. It made the last claws of the nightmare vanish, Astral hugging her as he dozed off again. We’ll get through this. “Dude, you look like crud,” Gabbro said, looking at the Thestral across the small table. “Like, more than usual.” “Love you too, dude,” Astral grumbled, adjusting the sunglasses on his face as he sipped a dangerously caffeinated soda. “Just the usual stuff.” The two friends had tried to catch up every few weeks, Gabbro meeting Astral at a simple yet tasty diner on the outskirts of Tall Pines for lunch. Other times, Astral would travel to Canterlot. Both trips were easy with portals. Thankfully, the Thestral’s flu-like rebound hadn’t lasted more than a day and a half, leaving him a bit of time to recover before the meeting with his friend. “I just want you to feel better,” the hippogriff admitted, shrugging his wings. “But at least you’ve got Sassi.” “She’s, yeah. She’s the one,” Astral said, a tired but dopey grin meandering onto his face. “And I hear you’re finally thinking you found someone steady?” “I think so,” Gabbro admitted, the usually perky hippogriff drumming his claws nervously. “I mean, I’m thinking about it. She’s thinking about it. We’re both kind of just seeing how things go.” “Huh. Never seen you nervous about your special somegriffs before.” “Because I wasn’t!” Gabbro exclaimed with a huff, slumping onto the table. “That was just a fun night or two. This is like, potentially all of the nights of my life if things keep going as they are. Which is awesome! But scary.” Astral casually took a fried chunk of potatoes and gently shoved it into his friend’s beak, the hippogriff chewing rebelliously. “There, there. Drown your sorrows in deep-fried, carby goodness,” he chuckled. “But seriously, I’m happy for you. Scary can be good.” “I haven’t really asked you much, because of...y’know,” Gabbro admitted. “But was it like this with Sassi? Or totally not relatable?” The Thestral’s brow furrowed, Astral taking a few moments to think. “It’s both relatable and not. We just learned to trust each other in the Silos so much, I can’t imagine that with anyone else,” he explained. “Nobody else knows what went on down there, even with films and such. It kind of just happened.” Seeing his friend still thinking, Astral reached over to poke his shoulder with a hoof. “But the whole “together forever” thing is still a bit nerve-wracking. I’m going to talk to Flask this week. Get his blessing and all that.” Gabbro’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “WaitwaitwaitWAIT! What? This week? Why didn’t you lead with that?!” he exclaimed, Astral holding up a hoof in defense. “Because you clearly were troubled! And we got there eventually!” “Fair enough.” The hippogriff chuckled, shaking his head. “So, you’re really going to ask her? I mean, I don’t totally understand your situation. You both know someone will propose, but it’s the actual asking that’s the fun mystery? A semi-planned proposal?” “Something like that. She’ll probably want to try and talk to my parents, for however that’ll go. But you’ve pretty much got it. There’s nobody else I’d want to spend my life with, so, yeah.” “Dude.” The simple exclamation made Astral chuckle, his friend shaking his head again. “Well, congrats! To be honest, I still don’t really know how you do the whole “living together but not” thing. That’d drive me nuts,” the hippogriff chuckled. “Talk about a distraction. Living like that, we’d not get anything done like, ever! Probably never leave the bedroom.” “That’s fair enough, but it’s kind of hard to think about sex when I see dead ponies at night, including Sassi,” Astral said casually, his mouth making an audible snap as it shut, seeing the mortified look on Gabbro’s face. “Wow. I-sorry,” he muttered, ears flattening to his skull. There was often a mental buffer Astral had when speaking, a filter between what the truth was, and what the other creature could fully understand. Sometimes it was just too much energy to catch it all. “Stars. I knew it was bad, but I didn’t know it was…” Gabbro’s words trailed off, the hippogriff shrugging. “I’m sorry. That just sounds awful.” “It is. But that’s why I didn’t tell you. Or anyone,” Astral said, finally looking up to his friend. Thankfully, Gabbro was more concerned than anything. “The stuff I saw, that we saw; I don’t want to burden anyone else with that.” “I wish I could say that I’m happy to listen. And I want to. But I think my stomach already did a flip-flop,” Gabbro said defeatedly. “I’m happy to do my best though.” “Nah, don’t worry about it,” Astral reached out his hoof, Gabbro bumping it with his clenched claws. “I still need someone to hang out with. We’ve got a paid therapist for all the other stuff.” “Fair enough. Then how about a toast to whatever the world has planned for us and our special somecreature’s?” Astral raised his soda glass to Gabbro’s with a grin. “I’ll cheers to that!” “You’re looking better,” Flask said with a gentle smile, the stallion sitting next to his daughter. The two of them were outside, the small yard next to his designated home in Canterlot providing a surprisingly nice meeting place. “How so?” the mare asked, trying to not shift nervously. It wasn’t Flask- not specifically. But without her armor, Sass just felt incomplete. It was why she usually wore a slimmed-down breastplate at the very least. “Just in general. You seem more relaxed. Well, until we get talking,” Flask said, a regretful expression on his face. “I really…” emotion clogged the stallion’s throat abruptly, Sassi’s father taking a slow, deep breath. “I’ve come to realize seeing me brings up a lot of stuff. I know you said that you still want to meet, but if not, I get it.” “I have to deal with it all sooner or later, Dad,” Sassi said, shoulders slumping. She scooted over, leaning on his shoulder with a huff. Flask was one of two stallions where the mare wouldn’t flinch as he gently lay a comforting hoof across her back. “It’s going to take a while. I see you, and I’m back in that place. But it doesn’t happen with only you. So, don’t think you’re that special.” Flask managed a chuckle at that. “Well, that makes me feel a bit better. I don’t-you’ve been hurt enough. I don’t want to be another cause of it.” “You aren’t. Not completely,” Sassi said with a sigh. “I mean, the therapist says it’s good to see you, both because you’re one of the few good role models I had-” she raised a hoof to point at her dad “and you were. But they also said it’ll help pin down what exactly I’m trying to process. Or something like that.” Her shoulders slumped. “It’s just hard sometimes. But I’ve got Astral.” “He’s a good one. I’m glad you’re able to help each other.” “My life is pretty, well, normalized at this point. But how are you holding up? House arrest doesn’t sound terribly fun,” Sassi asked, Flask letting out a huff. “I think it’s a very lenient sentence. I still don’t feel comfortable with it,” her father admitted. “But apparently, it’s one of the stricter punishments. So, I keep myself busy helping out Vial and the other scientists when assigned. Otherwise, reading books and writing my memoirs.” “Oh?” “Well, someone has to know what happened. Besides, haven’t you made mountains of bits selling your brief accounts?” Sassi couldn’t help but laugh. “Ok, fair enough! I actually have a training after this. Well, a question-and-answer session at least.” A guard trotted around the building, poking their head over with a nod. Flask let out a sigh, waving to the fellow earth pony. “Visiting time up?” Sassi asked, standing up with her dad. “Yep. But I’m grateful I even get this.” The stallion drew a shaky breath as his daughter hugged him, Flask not able to resist a smile. “Love you, Dad.” “Love you too, Sassi.” He let her go, the mare trotting off and casually activating a portal crystal. Flask would have been fully content in a jail cell if it meant knowing his daughter was safe and happy. In his current situation, every day felt like nothing short of a gift. “Ms. Satin? What tactical strategies did you find both useful and useless during your escape?” a stallion asked. Sassi tapped a hoof to her chin, the mare sitting in the center of a large classroom. The recent military Q&A sessions with members of the Guard had been surprisingly high-quality. It paid well and added structure to her day. The increasingly in-depth and specific questions from the participants had been a pleasant, if not interesting development. Which, given what the mare had gleaned from rumors, lined up with her suspicions. “Strategies? I’d say close-quarters strategies proved to be invaluable. Medium to long range is an ideal engagement distance when dealing with the usual threats down there, but all of that goes out the window when you’re in an enclosed hallway,” she explained. “Even with my saddle guns, I had to know how to move on every surface to keep out of range. So, if it was an above-ground engagement, I’d emphasize keeping one’s distance and, failing that, close-quarters combat. Not all enemies you face will have ranged weaponry. In the case of the Silos, they used claws and teeth.” The royal guard nodded in thanks, scribbling a few notes as Sassi scanned the crowd. “I think we’ve got time for one more question. Anyone else?” “What’s something you learned that’s both applicable to life and military tactics?” Sassi let out an impressed hum, looking over the Pegasus mare. That was a good question indeed. After a few moments of thinking, she smiled. “You can only get so far without a team.” A chime then sounded, every creature packing up their items and orderly filing out of the doors of the circular classroom. Astral had likely finished his get-together with Gabbro, and hopefully, the Thestral had remembered to pick up the groceries. Speaking of which… “Hey, Astral? Can you snag those fruits we forgot?” “Way ahead of you. Done with the Q&A?” “Yup. See you at home soon.” It was starting to become second nature, using their hive mind link to check on the other. The warm glow in the back of her mind always made the mare smile. They had done some tests, and the range was impressive. Emotions and direct thoughts could reach at least across two cities before fading to just basic emotions. Obviously, there were “a few more experiments that needed to be run” on them. The scientist who had uttered those exact words had immediately turned pale at seeing the look on Astral’s face. Apparently, the Thestral had unconsciously glared at the pony for the rather…insensitive phrasing. Sassi had admitted later to Astral that even though she knew the phrase logically wasn’t any threat, it still had made her skin crawl. That sensation had been shared with Astral over their link, hence his glare of death. From what she understood, the scientist in question had nearly wet himself. Astral’s enraged expression had been out of pure reflex; all out of concern for her. I love that stallion. The current situation abruptly captured her focus again in a very specific manner. Despite their somewhat normal routine, the past few Q&A’s had Sassi on edge. As the creatures passed by her and began to file out, her senses heightened, the RASP modifications kicking in slightly to give her a laser focus on certain observations. Nodding and accepting the thanks many sent her way, Sassi was the picture-perfect guest speaker. Yet her mind was in overdrive as the ponies filed out of the classroom. Things were noticed, cataloged, and a conclusion drawn in her mind. They’re almost in formation. Moving in time, forcing themselves to spread apart and not be too close. You can’t force natural randomness. When you do, it looks off to those who are watching. There were other tells. A few of the soldiers moved a tad clumsily on their hooves. The specific manner they did so was a sign of not acclimating to armor-assisted movement just yet. Wear the stuff too much, and normal movements seemed like an over-exaggeration. Some others walked with a specific gait, one that indicated the usual bounce of a side saddle was missing. All of these things were the result of long training hours, rapid acclimation, and a mix of veteran and new soldiers. The conclusion? I guess there is something to those reports of increased tensions. Equestria knows something out there, and it has the world on edge. They’re trying to train more troops, and fast. Her mind wandered as the mare tapped a teleportation crystal, the spell yanking her back to the house. Twilight has been annoyingly vague. I’m thankful she’s kept the nosy paparazzi away, and I know she’s keeping us in the dark to heal. But there’s a point where I want to know how much ammo to stack. Of course, to that end, they had a basement full of the stuff. Among other things. Not that we’d ever say that out loud. She shrugged off her saddlebags and the minimalist armor that accompanied the mare wherever she went. Even though she was home, it still felt odd to not wear armor. But it was so much nicer to cuddle without it. It was so strange to have a home that was hers, stallion and all. “Fruits are in the fridge! Can’t believe we burned through that many already,” Astral said as he meandered over from the kitchen to the living room. Trotting over, Sassi wrapped her stallion up in a hug, unable to contain a happy squeak as he did the same, burying his muzzle into her shoulder with a loving sigh. It never got old, being able to wrap up the stallion she loved in a hug. That hadn’t changed in the slightest. If anything, as they continued to process everything, it just made the gesture mean even more. He was the only creature she could hug without reservations, and that alone meant the world. The kiss he then gave Sassi made the mare’s head spin, his soft lips making her wings flare as she eagerly pressed back. The blush on her cheeks drew a rather proud grin to the other Thestral’s face. He gently let her go, partitioning the groceries into their massive fridges. Astral paused as a twang of annoyance hummed through their link. “Astraaaaaaal…” The stallion winced, already knowing what Sassi was looking at. “Sorry! I just forgot!” Despite her nonchalant shrug, Astral could tell the mare was a bit miffed with him. To be fair, it wasn’t the first time he had forgotten to put the blender parts in the dishwasher, leaving a fair pile of them in the sink. If he was being honest, it was probably the tenth. Or twentieth? Or more? “Just-mmmmf!” Sassi grumbled, shaking her head and flopping on the couch as Astral put said blender parts in their proper place. He really didn’t mean to forget. It was difficult shifting from “I’ll put them away when I get back tonight,” as a single stallion, to “I need to put them away right after we use them.” Should be simple. In reality? Not so much. Once the dishwasher was chugging away, Astral joined his marefriend on the couch, her ears perking up as he scooted closer. A smile quickly slid onto Sassi’s face as he draped himself over her shoulders; the world’s best weighted blanket. “So, how’d the Q and A go?” “It went rather well. The questions have been getting better and better. Which is a bit worrying,” she admitted, frowning as Astral hissed in pain, his side spasming briefly. “Sorry. Just the usual tweaks and stuff. I did get impaled,” he said, seeing her concerned glance. “That you did,” Sassi said, unable to stop her body from tensing at the mention of it. Astral’s hoof caressing her ears immediately helped that matter, however. “Sorry. And blender parts aside, you are one tense mare,” he remarked, Sassi reaching over to hold his hoof. After a lifetime of necessary aversion to physical touch, being able to have someone she trusted so close was still incredibly new, scary, and utterly relieving at the same time. “What’s up? I know there have been rumblings. I assume they haven’t caught whatever they are looking for. You’ve been getting tenser with each session.” “It’s that obvious?” she sighed, “It’s just the continued reports and rumors. I’ve started to notice signs that the soldiers are showing signs of rapid training. Like, extremely rapid. And I can tell some of them are special forces, royal guards. Sure, they’re mixed in with newbies, but they’re more and more common. The world is preparing for a storm. And we don’t know if it’ll be over in a day, or engulf the entire world.” Sassi’s words made Astral let out a long breath, hugging her closer. “Is there anything we need to do?” She shook her head, enjoying feeling Astral’s sides rising and falling against her back. “I don’t think so. What we need to do is not focus on that stuff so we can heal. We’re both hurting. But how can we not think about it? We wouldn’t be any use until they found the creature that escaped. So, all we can do is be here and wait. But I don’t want to just do nothing! Like, ugh…” Astral shifted around, angling so he could wrap his marefriend up in a hug as she lay next to him. All Sassi wanted to do was just forget about it all. Her head resting against Astral’s chest, the mare actually was able to relax. The scent she had grown so used to pleasantly clouded out everything else, and Sassi felt her eyes starting to grow heavy. A gentle, comforting rub on the back of her neck made the Thestral slip right into a doze. Underneath a scarred chest, a familiar heartbeat lulled Sassi right off into a pleasant sleep. It was brief moments like this where Astral was usually able to relax. He had hoped escaping the Silos would reduce the stress. And for a time, it had. But after Twilight had given them both a rather terse summary of the exchange with Joro, the stress never left. He had to give the Princess credit though. She had banked on being honest with them being a priority. That was certainly appreciated. Astral winced, adjusting his wings as he held his marefriend close, Sassi completely passed out on his chest. A happy, warm glow of affection radiated from their little hive mind. The stallion finally felt the mare relax, muscles finally loosening in sleep. The whole situation had her worried. But she wasn’t alone in that. Alone. That just wasn’t a word in his life that held any weight anymore. He and Sassi had discussed a lot of things the month after they escaped. One of those was being honest. If there was a stressor, they’d share it to meet it head-on, no matter how uncomfortable the initial talk may be. Their hive mind meant such things couldn’t be hidden, not like normal ponies would. Astral was thankful for that. It just taught them to be honest. Not just with each other, but with themselves. It was still an adjustment, essentially living together aside from more intimate stuff. Both of them were learning to get along with each other outside of a survival situation, but they were managing. More than managing, thriving. But it was still an adjustment, and that would have been the case even without the trauma. Sassi mumbled in her sleep, the mare tensing. She immediately relaxed as Astral shifted, hugging her a bit closer and resting his neck across the mare’s shoulders. The stallion let his mind wander, a slight frown meandering onto his face. He wasn’t a fool. Seeing Sassi suffer in any way ignited a dangerous protective streak in him. There were other, random instances where the stallion knew that his internal emotional barometer was off. The more common surges of anger had nearly gotten the stallion in trouble a few times, a fire of rage nearly burning out of control over small, insignificant things. A late appointment, a dropped bag of groceries… It all forced Astral to realize a very humbling fact. I’m not ok. Sassi was dealing with the adjustment far better than he was; she had been spot-on the other day when she re-hashed what the therapist had noted. True, she had bad days. But hers were a linear increase. She had days of things building up before something snapped. For Astral, it was getting hit by a freight train of trauma at the drop of a hat, and it could continue for a few days due to the physical health effects. The fine line he walked day to day between feeling terrible and somewhat alright was a thin one indeed. But he had quickly realized Sassi had her own protective streak. When it had become clear that Astral was going to have a rougher time adjusting than she was, Sassi had always made sure to have his back. Not in an overbearing way, for which Astral was thankful, but just like in the Silos. Paying attention when he had bad days, and just being open. She was always there when he needed her, and Astral made sure the opposite was true. While her bad days were less frequent, the mare still had times when she needed a comforting hug. He wanted to protect her, and it was humbling when his capacity to do so was minimized. That thought was aggravating to no end. But Sassi had (repeatedly) reassured the stallion there wasn’t anything to be annoyed about. He was there when she needed him, and that didn’t mean guns blazing or being 100% okay. It meant giving her a hug when she was crying, or simply letting Sassi know he cared. He could do that. Maybe being me, is enough. Whether due to the Silo or just being able to open up with someone, Astral wasn’t sure. But that thought made his eyes water as he hugged Sassi closer. At the very least, they were free and safe. Even with all the bumps and bruises ahead, and the occasionally-forgotten blender parts… We’ll get through this, together.