Introduction
Twilight took a few deep breaths, the mare looking out across the rainy Canterlot scenery. A migraine threatened to take hold, hardly a surprise due to the subject matter she had been immersed in.
Well, some of it.
This week is my official date with Tanzil. Yes, we’ll have concealment spells and an official reason to meet, but the news will get out eventually. I don’t even know how to handle all of it. I already had to postpone it once due to the news Joro sent me.
As the thought had a dozen times, the mare contemplated putting any sort of social activities off until the crisis was resolved.
Twilight couldn’t keep her shoulders from finally slumping, the Princess shaking her head.
I can’t keep putting it off. I need to make friends.
I just can’t do this alone. And with the scale of this potential disaster…
The crushing loneliness was nearly as dampening to her spirits as the rain outside. Twilight took another set of deep breaths; in, and out. She hadn’t realized how isolating her life had been, not until it all had come crashing down a few months ago with the harsh realization of her failures. A panic attack was looming, as was more often than not these days. At least every other day, Twilight had to force herself to read a book unrelated to everything. Even then, the evenings were the worst, and her mental health had been fragmenting.
I can’t keep doing this alone.
Currently, Tanzil was her main companion in this mess. Whether that was a healthy start to a relationship or not, time would tell. They had put off their initial date until this month, for obvious reasons. But all Twilight could do was be completely honest with the Emperor. That included both about herself, and the coming storm.
She had already sent over the general situation report to all nations so they could be on the same page. Equestria would have to lead the efforts, as they had the most magical resources.
That didn’t make Twilight’s job any easier, of course.
Her eyes drifted over to the documents that occupied her mind like a swarm of locusts. She had read them a hundred times by now.
“Simplified steps to contain outbreak of Limbo Pathogen (Fungal):
- Do not use normal fire. It would carry the spores upwards
- On confirmation of an infection, sterilize the city. Erect a quarantine zone at least two day’s flight around the infected city- as high as the shield can reach into your atmosphere
- Superheat the entire quarantine zone. Ensure the land is burned to glass and the air is turned to plasma.
- Drop the shield only after the land and air have naturally cooled to a safe temperature.”
Twilight sat down, reaching up and rubbing a hoof on her head. What she needed aside from more painkillers was a hug. A very, very long hug. Forget books or anything that required mental exertion; she just wanted to feel like things would be okay.
The stakes were astronomical and that alone was crushing. While there hadn’t been any signs that a pathogen had escaped, it wasn’t comforting. Because they knew something had escaped. What exactly it was, nobody knew. Only that it was out there and carried a potential ticking time bomb of disease. Magical scans over the entire continent and beyond yielded nothing.
At first, the heightened security had been easily justifiable. But as the weeks wore on, the population’s nervousness settled into a general annoyance. Small, medium, and then large sports and carnival events came and went. Gatherings of tens of thousands had come together and dispersed without so much as a single incident.
The doubt dug into Twilight’s analytical mind.
Is it even in Equestria?!
Her magic reached out, tapping a recording from the High Queen during their initial conversation three months ago. She had to. It was so easy to get lost in emotion. But this was the one matter where the Elements couldn’t help, that emotion would get creatures killed. It was odd, watching herself interact with the messenger sent by the Queen; but it helped the Princess analyze the situation and know how to act in the future.
“Superheat the air- one day’s flight? Two? That could kill more than a fifth of our population!” The mare exclaimed.
“Princess Twilight,” the Queen said with a grave tone. “I have seen similar fungal diseases here. Generations ago, a Limbo fungus mutated and began to infect my brood and outlying hive clusters- similar to your cities. We controlled a geographic area larger than three of your kingdoms, and far more populated.”
Twilight had only been able to stare in horror at the Queen as the messenger shook her head.
“The fungal spores spread through both tunnels and above-ground cities, ones that were completely isolated in every way except for air medium. It was at least a day or two travel between the closest cities at first, and yet they fell within a week to the infection. Infected individuals will likewise do anything to break containment and spread the contagion. That is why it all must burn. I do not give this recommendation lightly.”
A knife of pain slid across Joro’s expression, agony writing itself across her alien features.
“I paid a heavy price for trying to save everyone and for not acting on pure numbers and logic. The moment you confirm the method of transmission; viral, bacterial, or fungal, that is when you act. A virus or bacteria in your world can be contained. But from what I saw, it was fungal in nature, and not entirely stable. The spores wouldn’t act like normal particles in your world. They’d be energized with magic and spread far more like an aerosol. A single Pegasus at a high enough altitude could inject the spores into the wind.
Tears now trickled from the Queen’s eyes, desperate fear flickering in their depths as she met Twilight’s gaze.
“Princess, my hive was nearly a million souls. Due to my failure, we now number less than ten thousand. I beg of you, do not make the same mistake.”
Twilight took a few deep breaths as the recording ended, her eyes starting to burn. She needed to sleep. Such a thing hadn’t been common for the past few months.
But the fear was nearly all-encompassing. Last Light had stepped in to help quell various rumors and unease among various nations. The organization had generously opened up its ever-growing resources to add another surveillance net to look for the elusive foe. But Twilight had heard legitimate rumors behind the scenes concerning the island nation. While some nations were blowing off the threat, the Organization was preparing for the worst. High-tech shields, bunkers; things that would have been written off by the Princess as paranoid extremism but a few months ago.
Not anymore.
In Equestria, even with Celestia, Luna, and their spouses helping behind the scenes, the nation wasn’t ready for this. It never would be. If this pathogen took root, life would change forever.
The worst part about all of it was that all Twilight could do was prepare and wait for the storm.
Dragging herself over to the desk, she opened one of the drawers, staring at a single, simple object. A simple metal square containing a red button, and a speaker.
A certain mare had given it to her a month ago with a knowing look. Twilight’s efforts to increasingly, but quietly, draw upon Sassi Satin’s experience had not gone unnoticed.
“If you need us, call.
-Sassi & Astral”
Twilight curled up on her bed, tightly clutching a pillow between her forelimbs. The heavy weighted blanket provided some comfort, but she still shivered slightly. It was times like this that the bookish mare would have traded half her library for a warm hug.
Her dreams were mercifully blank.
“Zucchini?” Astral asked, stifling a laugh at the horrified look on Sassi’s face.
“Ew. No. Nooooo!”
“Another reason I love you. So long, slimy vegetable,” the dark-grey Thestral chuckled with a grin as he returned the produce to its shelf in the grocery store aisle. “Hmmm. Mangos, oranges, apples, strawberries, blueberries…
“Pineapple!” Sassi exclaimed trotting off and snagging a few of the spikey items. “Cannot forget pineapple!”
“How could I forget those…?”
She giggled, taking the lead of pushing the significantly laden-down cart as they meandered through the stores. Her tail would occasionally swish to brush his side, the dark-blue Thestral clearly enjoying a constant bit of contact with her special somepony. At least as much as was reasonable and not overbearing.
Perhaps others would have found it annoying, but Astral had come to rely on it as a source of comfort.
“This…still feels so weird.”
Sassi nodded in agreement to Astral’s mental words, her violet eyes glancing over at him briefly.
“No freaky mutants. No objective outside of “get tasty food.”"
The stallion bumped his side against her, casually snagging some pancake mix.
“It’s nice, doing normal things with you,” he whispered.
While still able to walk next to her special somepony, Sassi abruptly had to make a significant effort not to cry. It was a more common occurrence than not, a bit of trauma mixed with finally being comfortable enough with someone to cry with. Despite her efforts, the mare sniffled as a lump formed in her throat.
“Sas?”
“Give me a minute.”
Thank the stars she was able to talk to Astral at least in one way without opening up the waterworks. They checked out their groceries, casually tapping a crystal adhered to their shoulder to open a portal back to their home. With the public still very aware of their escapades, being out and about was a journey in and of itself without concealment spells.
Before walking in the door, Sassi rest a hoof on Astral’s shoulder.
“Just. It’s the silly, stupid, normal things that get me,” she admitted, a wave of embarrassment making the Thestral mare look at the ground. “Shopping with you. Being able to just…do normal things. I always wondered what it’d feel like. And it’s just really nice.”
As Astral always did, he took a few steps forward and wrapped his special somepony up in a tight hug, nuzzling into her shoulder. It was a gesture that never got old, and, if anything, seemed to mean more and more as time went on.
Considering what they were still dealing with, neither pony was about to complain.
Not able to resist a smirk, Astral reached over and gave Sassi a kiss just as she started to speak. The half-annoyed, half-affectionate glare she shot his way made it worth it. It was a fun, cheeky thing to make her mind blank just as she was about to talk.
He loved how flustered it always made her. His green eyes sparkled with mirth as the mare sputtered and tried to regain her lost thoughts- only to always fail.
Worth it.
Sassi let out a long sigh, the mare relaxing as she reached over to nudge Astral’s shoulder with her own. The two hauled the groceries inside, their home’s lights flickering on automatically. In terms of a location to live, they had hit the jackpot.
Tall Pines was the lovely city nearby. They were on the outskirts, skyscrapers visible in the distance. It was a growing population center to be sure, but was quickly starting to rival portions of Manehatten. It had the energy of a city for those who like it, and then still offered rural suburbs. Sassi and Astral preferred the latter. The mayor, Gold Mint, had gifted them the property, happy that the run-down observatory and unused areas were being put to good use.
The two Thestrals had an initial feeling it was more for a PR move, but on further investigation, the property had indeed been empty for some time. Due to the refurbishment cost, it just wasn’t worth it.
But, to be fair, investors didn’t have a chaos-wielding unicorn to help out with that.
Their personal home was, essentially, two houses joined together with a long hallway, a large living room, and a kitchen in the middle. Each side of the home had multiple bedrooms and areas to make their own. The hallway allowed both closeness and a bit of distance as the two tried to acclimate to being…well, free.
On the outside, it looked like a large cabin-like structure, similar to a large visitor’s center at a nature park. Natural wood and stone blended together to give the entire house a very relaxed feel. The Observatory construction had finished a few weeks ago, and the dome was neatly hidden by a large artificial hill on the edge of their property. It allowed an uninterrupted view of the ocean nearby, along with gently rolling grassy knolls dotted with trees.
They needed clear lines of fire, after all.
“I gotta say, these industrial blenders are pretty great,” Astral chuckled. The items were bigger than his head and could process their various foodstuffs into the smoothest smoothies he had ever tasted.
“And we have two.”
“I mean duh? That’s how wealth is measured nowadays, right? By how many blenders you own?”
Sassi snorted in amusement, throwing a piece of dried mango at her special somepony. Managing to catch it, Astral casually trotted over to her…
With a rather well-practice heave, he casually swept Sassi off her hooves with a yelp. Landing with a slight wince, Astral couldn’t help but grin.
Perfect.
Reaching up and poking his chest, Sassi then adjusted herself to snuggle underneath his wing, rolling her eyes.
“You are getting way too good at that,” she sighed, cuddling closer and using Astral’s shoulder as a pillow.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Nope. I’m rather impressed, honestly.”
Stars above how she loved that roguish, proud grin.
“Movie?”
She reached up to give him a long kiss, thoroughly enjoying her coltfriend pillow.
“Movie. How about Floor-E?” Sassi suggested.
“We always could use a daily dose of robotic adorableness,” he reached down to gently boop Sassi’s nose with a hoof. “Well, in addition to you, that is.”
Her face went a bright red, and Astral couldn’t help but cackle. It was cheesy, silly, but also true. And Sassi knew it.
As far as recovering from a mutant-filled death cavern went things were going pretty well.
And thus a new adventure begins! But first, a bit of down time with our heroes, getting some well-deserved rest.
I do want to mention that, as I said at the end of SL-5, Astral/Sassi aren't the only primary focus of this story. They're absolutely main characters (I mean, duh, our favorite Thestral's aren't going anywhere!) but they're going to be sharing the spotlight and taking a back seat at times.
I don't want people thinking this is going to be just another solo Astral/Sassi-focused story and then end up disappointed when they take a back seat at times. Their arcs are still present, but aren't the only core focus. They've had their time in the limelight, so now they've got to share!
I hope everyone enjoys this ride into the sequel; Love, Fluff, and Thunder! As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated!
The next chapter will be uploaded in a few weeks, as I'm taking a break for a bit. As a forewarning, this is a slower-burn story at first. Larger chapters than SL-5 with plenty of events happening. It's a slow ride.
Well, until everything catches on fire of course. 
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You know I've been casually asking if my character would show up but honestly I think Steelheart would be better, even as another RASP survivor as one of Twilight's new friends. I mean sure she would be friends with Sassy and Astral as I initially suggestedbbut maybe she would volunteer to be Twilight's new personal guard so that way she has a friend nearby, considering the first half of the chapter itself. Seriously considering how long people with RASP modifications are supposedly able to survive I would think she would be the perfect person to be Twilight's guard considering Fizzlepop passed so long ago.
11683674
To be honest, I am not sure who Steelheart is; I thought you were referencing Steelhooves from Fallout Equestria. If it's from another fic, I'm not aiming to do any crossovers as this all stays within the Radverse.
11683686
The Radverse. Otherwise known as the Bad@$$verse!
Ah!! Can't wait to read this one! The title is gold!
-Harpy
11683712
As yes, Floor-E and his gal AvA.
Wonderfully relaxing note to end the first chapter on.
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Nice start to the story!
11683686
I've mentioned her before she's a minor OC of mine who is a guard in most stories. In this case, I had suggested she be a RASP test subject like Arcane who survived and was hidden by the company She's a super strong and big earth pony (think Trouble Hooves' size with Maud Pie level strength before RASP enhancements) I was hoping she would show up in the first story but oh well.
her name has a few meanings it references her physical strength sure but like with G1 Optimus Prime she's strong enough to be gentle.
11683844
Aaaah I gotcha. There aren't going to be other OC's in the story/any crossovers- just the existing characters.
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Pretty good so far
11683916
Thank you!
Havent even read the intro yet and i know its deserving of a favorite.
👍
11683986
Thank you!
11683869
oh okay
Then get a bigger vampire.
11686849
"I AM A MAN WHO OWNS FIVE OVENS!" comes to mind
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HUZZAH! A FELLOW USER OF QUALITY!
I was wondering if anyone would get that reference!
It took me a reread to realize that the button isn't for if she needs someone to talk to. It is for if she needs supersoldiers. The "bat signal" to make an only somewhat accurate analogy.
I am reminded of a Rescue Rangers fanfic where a pair of Mice lived at the CIA. They solved problems with, when necessary, more lethal violence than the Rangers. They referred to the dedicated line through which they got their missions as "The Phone That Should Never Ring", because whenever it did, it meant there was something deeply, horribly wrong with the state of the world, and given the nature of their work, also the people in it.
11688106
Oh man, that brings me back. I grew up on that show!
And it's...oh my gosh it's literally a bat signal
SL-5...
They don't have an equivalent of Jack O'Neill
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Indeed