//------------------------------// // 32. Vigilance // Story: Soldier of the Night // by Skyfire Storm //------------------------------// A week later... Having finished a routine medical checkup at the local health center which took up most of the day, Stormfire made his way through the rather compact yet bustling suburb of Silverwood towards the train station located at the intersection of Easton Street and Greenwich Avenue, the busy main road bisecting much of the district. Walking down the sidewalk through a literal traffic jam of ponies many of whom were returning home from work, Storm was forced to pay attention to curious glances taking note of areas of continually-healing tissue left over from last week's incident at the pool. Having undergone two surgeries earlier on in the week to remove the shards of glass lodged deep within his coat and to patch up any open wounds, in spite of the awkwardness of the situation all Storm could do was simply ignore them and move on, his eyes set on the elevated train station a half mile towards the north down the street. However, his anxiety levels spiked the moment he noticed a trio of unicorn guardsponies standing in front of the donut shop across the street, two of whom gave him curious yet clearly disapproving and suspicious glances, probably assuming he had gotten himself into some kind of trouble or into a brawl. Silverwood was in some respects a smaller version of inner-city Cloudsdale. A place of many contrasts, Silverwood was noted all over Vanhoover for both its surprisingly high crime rate and for the impressive, panoramic views it offered of the distant city core. His pupils shifting towards the watch on his hoof, Storm picked up the pace slightly upon noticing the present time, 6:16 PM, which left him 10 minutes before his train into downtown was to arrive. As he attempted to make his way through the crowds of ponies along the street, most of whom were going in the opposite direction to the one he was headed in, Storm felt a droplet of water land on his muzzle. As it trickled down his muzzle before dripping off onto the concrete sidewalk, a chill traveled down his spine upon hearing a low rumble of thunder echo through the air, before more rain began to fall. His head tilting slightly downwards as a large swath of dark gray cloud moved in front of the sun, he noticed the previously dry, crisp sidewalk become progressively wetter with even the smallest raindrop impacting it. Letting out a gulp as the air became filled with the sound of sharp, stinging torrents of rain as well as that of countless hooves trudging down sidewalks, his gaze shifted upwards to notice a towering cloud having enveloped much of the sky, the previously azure horizon in the distance having become almost black in the space of what seemed to be less than ten minutes. "Ah, shit..." Storm muttered under his breath as ponies who walked past him opened their umbrellas, his mind flashing back to the moment he was told by Lilli and Clear at the hospital about a planned thunderstorm set for today. "Forgot about the thunderstorm they planned for this week." Another loud, heavy rumble of thunder rang in his ears as Storm arrived at the train station at least two or three minutes later, his coat dripping with rainwater, and letting out a tired grunt and sigh, he marched up the flight of metal stairs leading up to the main platform, shivering slightly as he felt embraced by a gust of noticeably cooler wind coming from the north, which seemed to instantly plunge the temperatures in the area by at least a few degrees from a previously comfortable 82. Walking up to the ticket counter followed by two or three equally-drenched ponies, Storm paid for a one-way ticket to the central station in Downtown, and not wanting to stand out in the cold, the platform being sheltered from the rain itself by a sloping glass roof protruding from the main building, he decided to make his way to the cafe, where he would buy himself something to eat and drink for the short trip home. Having purchased himself a cup of warm coffee with some spare change he had in his wallet, the mere feel of the warm, paper cup in his hoof instantly soothing him, he made his way across the platform to one of the vacant benches located just next to the railroad. As he bit into the sandwich, he felt his wing being tapped from his left, but initially chose to pay no attention to it, but after two more successive taps, the urge to respond became greater. "Huh?" he asked, quickly rotating his head to the left and reeling slightly in the opposite direction along the cold, metal bench. "Lilli, what are you doing here?" "Hey." she smiled. "How did your checkup go?" "Good." Storm beamed, allowing Lilli to sit down next to him before drawing her mane back from in front of her left eye. "I thought you had a day off today, Lilli." "I did, yeah," Lilli smirked in response. "I thought I told you before?" "Oh yeah, so you did." Storm let out a hearty chuckle. "Sorry, my brain is literally fried right now. The doctors were literally bombarding me with questions." "Took a while, didn't it?" she nudged him playfully. "What, the checkup?" "Yeah." "Probably a few hours or so." replied Storm with uncertainty in his voice. "Your mom's paying my medical bill, isn't she?" "Yep, it came in the mail this morning," Lilli replied. "She says she's lucky her insurer covered most of it, but the remaining amount will take at least up until Hearth's Warming Eve to pay off." "I hope she knows what she's doing, Lilli." Storm explained, unease growing within his voice. "I don't want to be a burden on her finances or anything." "Oh, stop it." she playfully nudged him in seeming mock frustration, although Storm could notice the worry in her voice. "Mom said herself that she's happy to help, so..." "Well, alright. Hey, are you still up for our date on Saturday?" Storm inquired as he stared down at the slightly shorter mare sitting next to him. "Yeah, probably." she beamed. "Where is it again?" "Gio's Itailian, at 43rd and Seaview." replied Storm. "It's that pizza place close to the beach you've been really wanting to go to." "Thanks for reminding me." she chuckled. "I love Gio's, especially the pizza and the risotto." "I love Itailian in general." Storm grinned. "I'm sure my mom won't mind us going, but I'll have to ask my dad just to be certain. He's like, super overprotective." "Your dad?" "Yeah." Lilli nodded. "Mom's going to a weather pony conference in Seaddle tomorrow. I was sure she'd have told you before." "Oh, yeah... she told me something about that alright." Storm muttered under his breath. "So that's why I haven't seen her much this week." "Yeah, pretty much... would you like to meet my dad?" Lilli asked, before quickly turning her head to notice a train pull into the station in the distance. "I think that one might be yours." "Yeah, that's the one," replied Storm, before noticing the mostly-empty flatbeds being pulled behind the locomotive. "Shit...no it's not... what the hay is taking my one so long?" "So, is that a yes?" "Maybe... I'm actually surprised I haven't met your dad before." "My dad, well, he's a Lunar Guard." "He is?" Storm raised an eyebrow, just as the train passed them. "Yep." Lilli grinned proudly. "Though what sucks is that he rarely has time off." "Yeah, that sucks..." Storm muttered, watching as the train raced away into the distance before a sudden announcement sounded over the PA. Mares and gentlecolts, we regret to inform you that due to a fallen tree on the railroad, the train service to Vanhoover Central Station has been delayed until further notice... ...we apologize for any inconvenience and are working to resolve the issue. "Well, that's just perfect." Storm growled, just as lightning struck the spire of a distant skyscraper, illuminating the dark-gray sky for the briefest of moments before thunder rumbled through the air and burrowed itself into Storm's ears. "Bucking great." "Sorry..." Lilli sighed, resting her hoof on his shoulder. "It's fine, honestly." Storm shrugged. "Guess I'm stuck here for now..." "Hey, do you want to spend the evening at my house until the storm passes?" Lilli proposed. "Wait, you think that's a good idea?" asked Storm, just as the sky lit up around them for a moment, followed by a sudden burst of thunder. "Of course." she nudged his chest gently with her hoof. "I mean, I don't want you waiting out here for your ride home, at least not in this weather." "Alright then." Storm happily shrugged his shoulders, before turning to look to his right, noticing the rain picking up slightly in intensity, the individual drops battering against the sloping glass panes over the platform with their full force. "I'm not going back out into that though." "Wanna just wait until it eases off before we head off?" she asked, her mane fluttering in the gusts of wind, before a sudden flash of light shone into the train station, dissipating within moments before quickly being replaced by the deafening sound of a thunderclap. "How long is this storm going to last for, do you know?" "Mom said it might last a few hours at most." "Well, shit." "Plus, it is fairly chilly out here, don't you think?" she inched slightly closer to him as they both stared out towards the distant northern suburbs of the city, mostly shrouded in a veil of cloud and rain. At first, Stormfire was slightly taken aback by this, still having his reservations and second thoughts about continuing their relationship further, not feeling particularly right about having two marefriends, but the warmth her body provided for him was enough to make him reconsider, at least for now. Unfolding his left wing, he wrapped it around her body and shifted slightly towards her himself, allowing her to nuzzle against his chest. "Definitely." Storm looked down at her with a tender smile, but that smile., in fact, masked his true feelings of confusion and hesitance in continuing their relationship. "Alright then, you've talked me into it. Come on." Cloudsdale, meanwhile... As a slight, yet decidedly nippy breeze whistled through the single, partly open window in her bedroom, Blue sat at her desk overlooking the letter she had received from Storm earlier that day, her desk lamp keeping the room illuminated at a comfortable enough light level for this time of night. She didn't usually stay up this late, but the fact that tomorrow was her day off at work was enough to put her off sleeping, at least for now. Her eyes, shrouded in a light coating of crust, scanned each and every word written on that sheet of paper like some sort of living camera, and her heart fluttered with joy knowing that every single one of those words was sincere and true. This was her second time reading through the letter, yet deep down inside she knew the joyous feeling instilled by reading Storm's words was only temporary. The very fact that Storm was still wanting to keep in touch with Blue raised her spirits, yet this, unfortunately did very little to soothe the feeling of overbearing loneliness and that yearning for him to be back home which lingered deep within her heart, a feeling which plagued Blue ever since he moved to Vanhoover. No matter the amount of letters sent between the two, they were still two thousand miles apart from one another on opposite sides of the country and at present, it seemed as though that was what it was going to be like for the time being. Blue knew full well that Storm did not resign himself to this fate and instead had other plans for his future, plans which she wholeheartedly supported along with most of his family, yet she did not wish to argue with his stepfather, the stallion who sent him away in the first place and instead chose to quietly accept what had happened. "Oh, Storm..." Blue sighed in sadness before she turned down the music playing on her stereo and picked up a framed photograph of her coltfriend off the desk, a lonely tear dropping onto his face. "I just wish I could see you again." Over the past few days, she had begun thinking long and hard about the discussion she had with Mist about saving up enough money to eventually buy a train or a plane ticket to Vanhoover and back, yet speaking financially, these past few weeks have been unbearably stressful for her. Instead of going towards her planned trip to Vanhoover, the vast majority of the funds she had raised so far through her now-full-time job at the weather factory went towards a wing checkup she was advised to undergo at the local hospital, on account of her displaying mild symptoms of the feather flu at work. After being checked out and prescribed medications, Blue had been left with a massive dent in her finances, and at one point her parents, and even Storm's mom, who had heard of her plans through Star, offered to at least provide some funding for the trip, though Blue ended up respectfully declining. Looking back now, though, she regretted not accepting their help. "Blue, can I come in? There's something I need to talk to you about." "Sure, come on in." Blue let out a loud yawn, stretching her hooves as far as they could go before bringing them back in and standing up out of her desk chair. After a rather sudden, yet thankfully quick and mild sensation of headrush, she grabbed a single armrest with her right hoof and gently nudged the chair across the floor towards her windowsill. The door behind her, as if on cue, then promptly unlocked and swung ajar with a loud squeak, one that she was sure could have woken up at least half the household if it had lasted longer. "Ssh." she let out a sudden whisper, her heart skipping a beat as she noticed her elder brother standing in the doorway, who upon closer inspection was wearing his Navy uniform, immediately catching her attention. "Sorry, Blue... forgot to oil those hinges." "It's fine," she let out a quiet yawn. "I have a day off tomorrow, so I can do it for you if you want." "I mean, I'd easily do it if...I wasn't busy." "With what?" "Blue?" "Lone?" "There's not much time to explain, little sister." he rushed towards where she stood, stopping just as their eyes met and locked. "I didn't think you'd still be awake by now." "I've been reading." Blue smiled in response, gazing up at the elder stallion, her letter having caught the corner of his eye, although her cautiousness and nerve persisted. "Just got that letter from Storm today." "How's he been doing?" asked Lone. "Settling into Vanhoover okay?" "Yeah, definitely." faking a smile this time, she quickly glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand. "I'd tell you more, but I'm really tired right now...what is it you wanted to talk about, big bro? And why are you wearing your uniform?" "There's something pretty serious going on out at sea." "What is it?" Blue asked, her heart rate picking up by the second as she stared blankly at the taller stallion. "Lone, tell me. Please. Is it that Griffon fleet?" "You wouldn't understand---you wouldn't." "I'll try my best to." "I don't want to traumatize you especially..." "Lone, please, what the hay is going on!?" Blue, confused and terrified, raised her voice at the stallion, though not enough to wake anypony up, scrutinizing him closely. "Come on, just tell me...please, you can trust me." At that point, she noticed the stallion was struggling to hold back his tears, his body shaking and jerking violently before he finally got a hold of himself and tensed up. "You know how I once told you I'll never leave your side, no matter what happens?" "Y...yeah?" she raised an eyebrow. "Well...it looks as though I'll have to break that promise... Blue...?" Lone replied, eyes glassing up as tears began to roll out of them. "You know what's going out at sea right now? With that Griffon fleet?" "Uh huh..." "Apparently this fiasco has gotten worse now." "What happened?" Blue inquired, her lungs beginning to contract and expand within the confines of her ribcage. "How so?" "The Navy vessels out there are struggling to hold them off, with many sailors either missing or reported as being KIA..." Lone explained, fear and uncertainty evident in his voice. "They want more ponies to go out there and provide backup. At this point the Navy is pretty certain these ships pose a threat, and though it'll take them two weeks to reach Equestrian shores, they aren't taking any chances with 'em." "But...we signed a peace treaty with them several years ago," Blue replied, her face growing pale and her eyes going dead as her heart kicked into overdrive out of pure, unadulterated fear. "They wouldn't just do that..." "I don't think they would myself, but they can be fairly unpredictable..." Lone replied, just as a loud series of knocks sounded on the door downstairs, startling both of them. "They're here for me...oh, sweet Celestia...they're here for me." "---open up, please!" "But, why you?" Blue asked, her eyes watering. "Aren't you meant to be on leave, big bro?" "Blue?" "Y--ye...yeah?" "I'm being deployed..." Lone explained, eyes welling up with tears as he held his sister in his hooves, gently stroking her mane with his right hoof. "I'm being sent to a small, sparsely populated island out on the coast, I think it's called Gander Cove or something...from there I'll get deployed within about a week. We'll make our way out via the northern Equestrian waterways first...and that'll be me out at sea three or four days later." "---they might not be home." "No, they didn't..." "They did..." "They couldn't have..." "The reason why I went to the airport earlier on today was for them to check up on me, prepare me for tonight..." Lone replied. "Blue, this is serious, and by serious, I mean---if I don't come back..." "You only just came home...don't say that!" Blue embraced him tightly, her eyes overflowing with tears which trickled down her face. "You will be back...you will be. Please..." "Open up, Lonestar. We know you're in there. Time is of the essence right now." "Wake mom and dad up," replied Lone, abruptly letting go of the shorter mare. "Tell them I'm being deployed." "I can't..." Blue wailed. "It's all too much for me...all too sudden." "It's sudden for me as well," Lone sighed. "But it's my job...now go wake them up." "Okay..."