The Love Of A Soldier

by Shysoldier94

Memories: Part One

Three days later…

The night air was crisp and cool as a gentle breeze blew through the opened window of the couple’s bedroom window. It was two a.m. Violet was sleeping soundly in her crib. Fluttershy stirred in her sleep. After a few moments, she awakened. Without opening her eyes, she rolled over to hold on to her lover. Her hooves stretched across only to feel an empty spot on the bed. She opened her eyes to see that Thunder wasn’t there. Normally this wouldn’t bother her because a few nights earlier she woke to see him outside in the backyard walking around the perimeter of the fence that was just recently built. She tried not to worry about it since she thought that this may be a habit and may be some procedures they had done while deployed. She managed to get him inside and he stated over and over that he couldn’t sleep and had a few things on his mind keeping him up.

But this time was different somehow. She began to feel uneasy as if something wasn’t right. She rubbed her eyes and got up from the bed. She went to go check on Violet, who was still asleep. As she just began leaving the doorway, she heard a bang from downstairs followed by somepony cursing. Upon turning around and facing the stairs, she noticed a faint light reflecting off the walls.

It must be Thunder, she thought.

She slowly made her way downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, a sound of glass bottles clanging together echoed from the kitchen. As Fluttershy entered the doorway, she caught sight of Thunder laying his head on top of the table and looked as if he hadn’t slept in days. Around him were several small bottles of whiskey and other strong spirits. The strong odor of the alcohol started to burn her nostrils.

Fluttershy was shocked. He never drank anything unless it was champagne or wine at dinner parties or on other special occasions. She took a step forward.

“Thunder?” She called softly.

Thunder quickly jumped up but eased as he noticed it was Fluttershy. He looked at his wife who wore a concerned expression on her face and at the half and empty bottles of whiskey. His ears lowered.

“I’m sorry if I woke you.” His speech sounded slightly slurred.

“Thunder, honey, what’s going on? You haven’t been acting like yourself lately.”

Thunder sighed deeply. “I’m sorry, dear. I just haven’t had a lot of sleep lately.”

Fluttershy sat next to him and kissed his cheek.

“I understand. You’re in the reserves you’ve been gone for almost an entire year. Coming back to a whole different lifestyle is a difficult adjustment.”

Thunder slightly nodded.

She lightly rubbed his back. “I’m here for you, Thunder. If there’s anything that you need or want to talk about, I’m there.”

He smiled slightly and laid his head on her shoulder. “I know. And I’m sorry about you seeing me like this.” Thunder said as he pointed towards the whiskey bottles.

“I just worry about you.”

“I know. And I promise I won’t drink again.” He said.

She hugged him tightly.

“Come to bed. You look exhausted.”

Thunder nodded his head. He got on his hooves and followed her up the stairs and into bed. It wasn't before long that Thunder started snoring away into a deep sleep. Fluttershy kissed his temple and wrapped her arm around him. She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.

Over the course of the next few days, Fluttershy noticed Thunder’s behavior began to become more eccentric. Before he was deployed, they spent massive amounts of time with each other. Before Fluttershy was pregnant, Thunder would surprise her every day when he came home from work with flowers and passionate kisses. Now, he didn’t appear to have the drive to do the things they used to do. While he spends time with Violet, he appears to be what he used to be. But, when he’s around Fluttershy, especially during the evening, he appears to be spacing out as if he’s in a trance and jumps when snapped back to reality.

Fluttershy began to hear of his strange behavior following him at work. As a leader in the weather team for Ponyville, he became well liked and respected among his team. He was also known to be understanding and helpful to those who needed it within the team. But of course, that was before he came back. He now has become stern among those in the team and experience outbursts of anger which Thunder has never done before. She would occasionally find empty bottles of whiskey in the garbage. This angered her a little bit because of his promise to her but she didn’t mention anything about it to him.

Tonight, there was a festival in town. They enjoyed the festivities and Thunder seemed to be happy to be up and around and conversing with their friends. They headed home early due to Violet falling asleep and wanted to get her home and inside before the firework show started so she wouldn’t wake up. Once she was put to bed, Fluttershy and Thunder laid on their back porch looking up at the stars. Fluttershy was glad to see that he was finally getting back onto his hooves. Then a loud boom occurred and the sky lit up. Thunder was instantly low on his hooves and looked around frantically. He quickly ran into the cottage. Fluttershy got up and noticed the firework show had started. She went inside the cottage and called for Thunder’s name. She searched for nearly five minutes and couldn’t find him anywhere. Her search ended in the living room when she heard a whimpering within the closet located on the other end of the room. She slowly opened it and Thunder was curled up in a ball. Tears flew from his eyes like a river. Fluttershy held his hoof. He held onto it tightly and stared into her eyes.

“Thunder, sweetie, what’s going on?” She was worried. He had never acted this way before.

He crawled out of the closet, looked her in the eyes again, and wrapped his hooves around her and sobbed.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry… I couldn’t save him.” He mumbled under his sobbing breath.

Fluttershy began to shake. What does he mean? She thought. Her eyes grew wide. She held him tight.

“Save who, Thunder?” Fluttershy asked.

A few seconds passed with no answer. He just held her and sobbed when suddenly, he whispered, “T-Trigger.”

She couldn’t move nor speak. This was the worst she has seen him in and it was scaring her.

What happened out there, Thunder? She thought as she held him close, not wanting to let go.

Through the rest of the night, Fluttershy and Thunder spent the rest of the night huddled together. As he slept, Fluttershy stayed awake, watching over him. A few times during the night he moved and moaned and woke up slightly only to fall back asleep. Fluttershy dozed off a few times during the night but couldn’t stay asleep. The constant worry for her husband was constantly pulling at her. The only times she got up was to check on Violet.

The light of day began to shine through the curtains and illuminate the room. Thunder was lying on his back; his legs sprawled in all directions. Fluttershy was lying on his chest. Her eyes were heavy due to the lack of sleep.

Thunder began to wake up. He yawned and stretched and opened his eyes and looked at Fluttershy. He smiled.

“Morning, sweetheart.” He said.

Fluttershy managed a partial smile. “Morning.”

He sat up and looked at the clock. The time was nine thirty. He quickly jumped to his hooves.

“Sweet Celestia, what day is it!”

“It’s Saturday.” Fluttershy answered. She lowered her head to the ground and closed her eyes.

Thunder sighed in relief. “Ugh. Whew! I thought there for a second I was late for work.”

He sat and looked around.

“Why are we in the living room?” He looked down at Fluttershy who appeared to be exhausted. “You okay, Fluttershy?”

She nodded. “I just didn’t get any sleep.” She said, raising her head.

“I’m sorry.” He said. He kissed her forehead. “Tell you what, you go on upstairs into bed and I’ll make some breakfast and bring it to you.”

Fluttershy smiled. “That’s really sweet of you but I have something I need to do.”

“Oh. When will you be back?”

“I won’t be long. I’ll be back in thirty minutes or so.”

“Okay, well I’ll look after Violet while you’re gone. I’ll have something for you when you get back.” He grinned.

Fluttershy kissed his cheek. “Thank you.” She walked to the front door. “I love you, Thunder.”

“I love you too, Shy.”

She headed out the door and down the trail. It was great that he was in a good mood but Fluttershy knew it wouldn’t last long. He has been back for about a week now and his behavior was getting worse. She couldn’t do it alone. She needed guidance.

Fluttershy flew into town. Out of all of her friends, she knew that Twilight would have some information that could help her. Besides, she is the most studious pony she knows.

She landed in front of her home and knocked on the door. A few moments later a small purple dragon answered.

“Good morning, Spike.”

“Morning, Fluttershy.” The dragon beamed but his smile quickly faded. “Say, you don’t look so good. Are you okay?”

Fluttershy sighed. “Yeah. I just didn’t get much sleep the last few days.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Is Twilight home?”

“Yeah, she’s in her office.” He said. “Come on in.”

Fluttershy followed as Spike led her into Twilight’s office area.

“Hey Twilight, Fluttershy’s here to see you.” Spike announced.

Twilight looked up. “Morning, Fluttershy!” She beamed.

“Morning, Twilight.” Fluttershy yawned.

Twilight tilted her head. “You okay? You look exhausted.”

“I am exhausted.” Fluttershy sighed. “Not much sleep lately.”

“I can tell. And what happened at the festival last night?”

“Well, Violet fell asleep so we wanted to get her back home before the firework show started. And that’s kind of the reason what I’m here to talk to you about.”

“I’m all ears.” Twilight said.

Fluttershy sighed. She began to shake and felt like she was going to cry. “Oh Twilight! I just don’t know what to do.”

Twilight was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Ever since Thunder came home, he hasn’t been himself. He seems distant and we haven’t done anything we used to do. Sometimes he behaves like he has before he left but then returns back to the abnormal behavior. He’s really jumpy and even has anger outbursts at work. He’s never been this way, Twilight. Never.” Her eyes began to fill with tears but she refused to let herself cry.

Twilight was intrigued. She moved from her desk to the bookshelf behind her and used her magic to quickly skim through a throng of books. “Hmm, I have been studying pony psychology for quite some time and I remember reading something about Equestrian Military Psychology. Let’s see here… ah, here it is.” She began looking through the pages. “Anger outbursts, jumpy; Fluttershy, does he have difficulty falling or staying asleep?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Last night I believe he was having nightmares and he kept waking up throughout the night but fell back asleep shortly after.”

Twilight continued to look through the pages. “Nightmares, difficulty falling asleep, distant from family members and loved ones…” She suddenly stopped on a page and read through it. She looked up at Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, Thunder may have something called PTSD.” Twilight said.

“P-T-S… what?” Fluttershy asked, puzzled.

“PTSD,” Twilight repeated. “It stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a disorder that ponies can get who experienced something traumatic in their life. It can range from very minor to very bad. They can experience nightmares recalling the event or having flashbacks during the day.”

“So, could Thunder have experienced something while he was deployed?” Fluttershy asked.

“According to this book, which was written by an Equestrian Army Psychologist, it’s very likely. But, we don’t know for sure. Has he talked to you about anything that has happened over there?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “When he first came home, out of curiosity, I tried asking him what it was like out there, he just said that there’s nothing to talk about it because it’s a desert with blistering heat all the time.”

Twilight leaned back in her chair and rubbed her chin. “Well I don’t want to jump to any conclusions and say that this is exactly what he has because I could be wrong. He may just have some difficulty adjusting to his regular life style he had before he left. And besides, he’s been there for quite a long time and it will take some time to adjust.”

Fluttershy nodded and stared at the floor. “Is it treatable?”

“Treatments can vary from pony to pony. But some of the treatments are psychotherapy, or ‘talk’ therapy, or medications, or both. But the main key in these treatments is time. It could take up to six to twelve weeks or maybe several years depending on the severity. Even though the treatments may work for him, throughout his life he will still have recurring nightmares or flashbacks to the events that caused the disorder. Those with PTSD also need the support of friends and family.”
Fluttershy nodded and continued to stare at the floor.

“But on the other hand, have him come here tomorrow at noon so I can see him. I may be able to tell by looking at his behavior and asking him some questions. I don’t want to go too far, but, we’ll need to take this one step at a time.”

“Oh, and one other thing, Twilight. I believe he has been drinking. I’ve found empty bottles of whiskey in the trash. He never drank anything but wine or maybe some champagne before.” Fluttershy said.

“I’ll make a note of that. It’s very common for ponies with this disorder to use alcohol to cope with the stress and any guilt they may feel.” Twilight replied, writing on a note pad.

Fluttershy hugged her. “Thank you, Twilight. I knew I could count on you.”

Twilight smiled. “Anything to help out my friends in need. I’ll take a look over at a few more books and see what else I can find to prepare for tomorrow.”

Fluttershy nodded. She said her goodbyes and headed back home. On the way, she thought about what Twilight had said. Could he have seen something bad out there to make him this way? She thought. She shook her head. She didn’t want to think about any of it. All she wanted to do was to go home and see her family.

Fluttershy landed in front of her cottage and walked to the door. She opened it and saw Thunder playing with Violet. He was lying on his back in the living room with their daughter in his hooves. He raised her up and made “cooing” sounds. He didn’t notice Fluttershy walking in.

He laid her down on his chest and kissed her forehead. He held her close as her tiny wings opened and closed.

“You kept me alive.” He whispered. “Daddy loves you, sweetheart.”

Violet was grinning widely and lightly brushed her minute hooves across his cheek.

Fluttershy smiled. “You two are so adorable; I wish I could get a picture.”

Thunder looked over and grinned. “Hey, you’re back.” He turned back to Violet. “Look who’s back, sweetie.”

He raised Violet up. She grinned and threw her hooves up. “Momma!” She called out.

Thunder was surprised. “Her first word!” He rolled over and set her onto her hooves. “Go to momma.” He lightly pushed her bottom, giving her a start, and she slowly made her way over to Fluttershy. She kept going until she bumped into her mother’s hooves.

Fluttershy picked her up. “You did it!” It was a family moment she was happy to experience. Everything she had forgotten about. She was saddened to hear that her husband may have experienced something traumatic but this moment made her forget it instantly.

Thunder walked up and kissed Fluttershy. It was a soft and passionate kiss that she hadn’t experienced in days.

Thunder looked into her eyes. “You’ve done a great job. I don’t know how you did it all by yourself, but you’re strong.”

Fluttershy kissed him. “So, what’s it like being a papa?”

Thunder shook his head. “It’s a feeling that just can’t be described. Only experienced”

She smiled. They looked at their daughter who rolled around on her back, making drooling sounds. They chortled.

“So, you ready to for that surprise?” Thunder asked.

Fluttershy nodded.

Thunder motioned for her to follow. Fluttershy picked up Violet and followed him out the front door. He led them down the trail towards the park.

Fluttershy giggled while Violet wriggled in her arms. “Where you taking us, Thunder?”

“You’ll see.” He sung.

A few minutes later he stopped by a tree. Sounds of children playing filled the air and brought a sense of joy and peace.

Thunder turned around. “Wait right here and close your eyes.”

Fluttershy closed them and held Violet. Birds sung in the trees overhead.

“Okay, come around.” Thunder called.

Fluttershy opened her eyes and walked around the tree. She gasped. Before her was a checkered styled blanket with a basket on top and a small vase with a rose in it. A picnic.

“Surprise.” Thunder said with a smile.

Fluttershy couldn’t think of a word to say.

“I thought since we’re both experiencing a lot of stress, I figured we needed a little outside family time, something to ease the stress.” He said. “But, I can’t take all the credit. After all, I did have a little helper, huh?” He nuzzled Violet’s tiny neck, making her giggle.

Fluttershy laid Violet down next to the basket.

“Come join me.” He said, patting a spot next to him. Fluttershy sat down.

Thunder opened the basket and took out some sandwiches for them and mashed apples for Violet, one of her favorites.
As they ate, they watched the foals play in the distance. Fluttershy leaned against Thunder’s shoulder and gazed upon her daughter who, as always, had a smile on her face and giggled nonstop. This brought a smile to her own. They may have had some bumps in the road but it’s moments like these that make all the better.

They finished eating and watched their daughter as she rolled around on the blanket.

“I’ve always wondered what makes her this happy all the time.” Fluttershy said.

Thunder chuckled. “It’s because she has you as a mother. She may not know me quite well yet but she will soon.” He said as he wrapped his arm around his wife.

“And I know you may think that I’ve changed since I’ve been gone. And you’re right, I have. But, I’m not going to let that effect anything. I promise you that.” He held her close.

Fluttershy and Thunder continued with small talk. She asked him how things were going at work.

“Well, it hasn’t been the same since I came back. I’d just suddenly get angry for no reason and lash out at my co-workers. I’ve never done anything like that, ever. Already one of them requested a transfer to another department.”

“Oh no.” Fluttershy said sincerely.

Thunder shrugged. “That same day I went and apologized to him and said that I wasn’t myself when I did that. He said that he understood and that the transfer would only be a temporary thing and that he’ll come back but I don’t know if he will.” He sighed and lay on his back. A gentle breeze blew through the air. It felt good.

Fluttershy sensed his despair. She quickly changed the subject.

“I know you don’t like to talk about any of it, but, has there been anything that happened over there that was joyful or brought you guys a good time?” Fluttershy asked, unsure of what his reply would be.

Thunder thought for a moment before a sly grin spread across his face. He chuckled and sat up.

“Well, my company was stationed at this base for a few months until we had to ship back home. Starry Night it was called because of the amount of stars you could see when night came. We were there to help with Afghaneighstan’s Security Forces on patrols, minor things like that. It was near the tenth month marking the time I was deployed there when I was promoted to platoon leader. So I was in charge of up to sixty other ponies, and I tell you, these were some rowdy soldiers.” He paused before continuing, “We were at the base for about a week and all we had done was stand around most of the days; a few times a day we would hit the shooting range but other than that, everyone was practically bored out of their minds. One day, one of the Privates in my platoon had the weirdest idea. He wouldn’t tell anypony about it but rather show us. We waited for a few minutes and he appeared wearing a heavy caliber rifle around his shoulders, his combat boots, a cigar in his mouth, and a mare’s undergarments. It was the most ridiculous scene most of us had ever seen. I remember him saying, ‘yeah that’s right, I’m the best looking mare you ‘fellers ever seen!’ He then said, ‘watch this’ and started chasing chickens that were near this wall while yelling ‘get on the ground!’. It was funny because the ASF were crowding around watching him with the funniest looks on their faces.” Thunder continues to laugh as he reminisced.

Fluttershy giggled and tried to picture the scene. She couldn’t help but laugh at the part with the mare’s undergarments.

“Yeah, he was a goofy kid. He was pretty clumsy too. A few days later at the shooting range, he started doing this odd dance after scoring high on the range. Then his rifle slipped and he shot his own hoof.” Thunder added.

“Oh my goodness, was he okay?” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh yeah; Once the medic patched him up he started laughing. None of us knew why, but, some of us thought it was the morphine kicking in. He was transferred into another unit once he recovered. A ‘replacement’ and newcomer took his place, Private First Class Trigger.” Thunder sighed and stared down at the blanket.

Fluttershy remembered that name. He muttered it last night. She could see that this name appeared to affect him greatly.

“Let’s head on home.” Fluttershy touched his shoulder. He gave a slight smile and nodded.

They packed up everything and put it inside the basket. Thunder put it on his back. On the way home, Violet fell asleep.

“Hey I’m going to put Violet to bed. I’ll meet you at home?” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah I’ll meet you there.” He replied.

Fluttershy held her, flapped her wings and headed towards the cottage. Thunder stopped, turned, and walked into the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

***

Fluttershy paced around the living room. It’s been thirty minutes since she arrived home and put Violet to bed.

He should’ve been here by now. She thought.

She walked to the front door and walked outside. Then sun was setting and air was cooling down. She peered down the path to see Thunder at the gate. He walked closer and Fluttershy noticed the basket he carried earlier was replaced with saddlebags. Three apple patches were stitched onto the side flaps in a familiar way.

“Where were you? I was starting to get worried.” Fluttershy said.

“Surprise. I thought I’d stop by Sweet Apple Acres real quick before I came back.” Thunder replied.

Fluttershy turned her head slightly. “Isn’t that Applejacks saddlebag?”

Thunder slid the brown leather bag off his hindquarters and gently laid it on the ground.

“Yeah she let me borrow it to bring these home.” Thunder opened one of the flaps on the saddlebags and revealed one of many bottles of apple cider.

Fluttershy read the label and gasped. “These are Applejack’s specially made apple ciders that only the Apple family has. How did you get these?”

“Well I stopped by to tell her and little Applebloom I was doing alright and Applejack gave me these. She said she appreciates what we do and insisted I take a few. I tried to say it wasn’t necessary but she insisted.” Thunder explained. “It wasn’t much, but she said she’d find out a better way to show her gratitude given more time, ‘least that’s what she said, anyway.”

Fluttershy chuckled and motioned for him to come inside. Once there, Thunder headed for the kitchen and stowed away the cider. He left one of the bottles on the table as he grasped on to two wine classes in the cupboard. Being the kind of stallion who likes to impress and show off to his wife, he balanced the two glasses on his head and the bottle between his teeth. As he turned the corner, Fluttershy turned her head and noticed her husband, wearing a funny looking grin. He raised his eyebrows. She instantly rolled her eyes and snickered.

“You never cease to try and impress me, don’t you?”

“Nope.” Thunder replied, laying the bottle and glasses on to the coffee table.

“I’m going to check on Violet real quick.” She said.

As she headed up the stairs, Thunder forged an idea. He quickly walked to the closet and grabbed a few candles from the top shelf and set them on the coffee table. He arranged them accordingly, lit them, and shut off the lights.

The soft sound of hoofs echoed the hallway as Fluttershy took her last step. She turned the corner and saw her husband sitting at the coffee table, candles lit, and the cider poured in both glasses.

Fluttershy beamed and sat next to him. She leaned against him, feeling the warmth of his body mix with hers, a mass feeling she could not explain. Thunder wrapped his hoof around her.

“Shall we?” Thunder asked, pointing to the cider.

She nodded and picked up her glass. They chipped the glasses together and drank. Fluttershy’s eyes opened wide, rapidly swallowed the cider, and began gagging.

“You okay?” Thunder asked, lightly patting her back.

“How much… is in that?” She asked with a raspy voice.

Thunder studied the bottle. “Umm…. between twenty-four and twenty-eight percent.”

She shook her head as shivers ran up her spine.

“Bleghh! Too strong for me.” She said smacking her lips together, her tongue sticking out.

Thunder snickered. “Want me to drink it?”

She nodded.

He took her glass and quickly drank it in one gulp. As he set the glass down, his facial expression turned from a smile, to a frown.

“Hey, listen…. I know I haven’t been right these past few days. It’s just been hard, being gone for almost a year in a different world and coming back trying to return back to civilian life. It’s…” He paused and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “It’s more difficult than I imagined it to be.”

Fluttershy put her hoof on his shoulder. “I know it’s hard, sweetie, and it’s going to be. But you do a great thing protecting Equestria. If you ever need to relieve any stress, I’m sure Twilight can help.”

He looked into his wife’s eyes. He could see the sincerity shine bright. She was worried about him and wanted to do her best to help him with anything that she can.

He nodded. “Okay. Let’s see what Twilight can do.”

“We can head over there tomorrow at noon.”

Thunder hesitated. “Is she going to be busy?”

Fluttershy shook her head.

“Okay. I’ll be there at noon.” Thunder gave a slight smile; his eyes began to feel heavy.

Fluttershy smiled and hugged him. They sat there in each other’s arms and lightly kissed.

They blew out the candles and headed upstairs to bed.

********

Fluttershy awoke the next morning late. Sleep became difficult for her over the past few days. She lay in bed lost in thought as Thunder snored away. Occasionally he muttered something, stirred slightly, then sank back down into the bed. She became used to this

She became worried about what would happen at noon. As she tried to sleep, images of him becoming angry and lashing out flooded her mind. Although she never thought that it would happen, Fluttershy couldn’t shun the images away.
She soon fell asleep.

Fluttershy woke up with a blaring migraine as the sun glared through window, temporarily blinding her.

“Ughh..” ‘Definitely not the greatest way to wake up.’ Fluttershy almost thought aloud as she leaned up slowly, shielding her eyes from the sun’s bright rays.

Once she regained her sight, she looked over her shoulder and chuckled at the sight of Thunder sprawled on the bed with a light stream of saliva flowing from the side of his mouth onto his pillow. As she turned around, her eyes locked onto the clock on the dresser beside the bed.

Ten-fifteen! Oh my goodness! Fluttershy jumped off the bed swiftly and made her way to Violet’s room. When she entered, Violet was awake and rolling around in her crib, and giggling as she always did.

“Hi sweety! Momma had a rough night sleep.” Fluttershy said as she picked Violet out of her crib.

“Ma…Mommy!” Violet said and tapped her mother’s head with her hoof.

Fluttershy grinned. This was something she knew she would never get tired of hearing.

After breakfast was finished and the dishes were done, Fluttershy went upstairs to wake up Thunder. She went into their room and lightly shook his shoulder.

“Thunder. Wake up sweetie.”

Thunder moved slightly, yawned deeply and stretched, cracking some stiff joints in the process. His eyes opened halfway.

“Morning, beautiful.”

Fluttershy blushed. “I made breakfast. There’s a plate on the table in the kitchen waiting for you.”

He stretched again. “What time is it?”

“Just a few minutes after eleven.”

Thunder chuckled. “I kept having these weird dreams last night. Like, I was in this room filled with cake and ice cream and all these goodies and when I’m about to take a bite, it disappeared and was replaced with… vegetables.” He attempted to cringe.

Fluttershy giggled. “Well Mister Joker, I’m going to head over Twilight’s early. But breakfast is on the table for you.”

“Okay I’ll be up.” He tried to sit up, but fell back into the pillow, clutching his head. “Ugh, massive headache.”

“Will this make it better?” She asked and leaned over and kissed his forehead.

“A little. Maybe another one would help make me feel even better.” He stuck his lower lip out in a pouty fashion that reminded Fluttershy of the way her friend Rarity does.

She leaned over again and kissed him twice in the same spot.

A sly grin spread across his face. “Ahh. That’s the… that’s the stuff.”

Fluttershy chortled. “See you at noon.”

She leaned down and kissed him again, said goodbye, grabbed Violet, and headed outside and flew towards Twilight’s house.

Once she landed, she noticed Twilight sitting on the bench outside her front door looking at some papers.

“Good morning, Twilight.” Fluttershy said.

Twilight looked up. “Oh, morning, Fluttershy, Violet. You’re here early.”

“Well I thought I’d give Thunder some time to get ready to come out here.” Fluttershy replied.

“I asked Spike to deliver some packages and letters to Princess Celestia.” She paused. “You look tired. How’d you sleep?”

Fluttershy sighed. She set Violet down in front of her as she sat down. “Not good. I was up most of the night worried about how today might go. I’m just worried how he’ll react.”

“You have a reason to be worried. I’m afraid of how he’ll react too but we just need to be cautious. We can’t move too quickly on this.” Twilight said.

Fluttershy nodded.

“It’ll all be alright. Come inside, I’ll make us some tea while we wait for Thunder. Oh, and Flash will take our son and Violet out to the little foals park while we have this session.”

“Oh, tea sounds lovely. And thank you.” Fluttershy said.

“My pleasure.” As they entered the door, Twilight called, “Flash, sweetheart, Fluttershy’s here.”

Flash walked around the corner with their son in a stroller. “Hey Fluttershy.”

“How are you doing, Flash?” Fluttershy asked.

“Pretty good, actually. Gonna take little monster colt here to the park so he can burn off some energy so he’ll be ready for his afternoon nap.”

“You wanna take Violet with you? Because… you know.” Twilight asked.

“I sure can. Hi Vi!” He said happily as Fluttershy set her in the seat behind their son.

“Bye sweetie, be good to Flash for mommy.” Fluttershy said.

“We’ll see you later.”

They all waved goodbye as Flash headed out the door.

“Good thing we bought that double seat stroller.” Twilight chuckled. “Now, about that tea.”

********

Fluttershy paced around Twilight’s office and gazed at the clock. It was twelve-forty five.

She remembered precisely, telling him to meet here at noon. With Thunder being forty-five minutes late for their first session, she was beginning to worry as every minute passed by.

“He doesn’t have work or anything?” Twilight asked, looking at her calendar on her desk and hoping she didn’t schedule on his work day by accident.

Fluttershy shook her head. “He doesn’t work on Saturdays or Sundays. Oh, where could he be?”

Suddenly, there was loud heavy knocking on the front door. Fluttershy and Twilight glanced at each other and quickly ran to the door. When they opened it, standing there was Thunder, stumbling, trying to keep himself standing. He reeked strongly of alcohol.

He walked through the doorway and fell onto the floor.

“I’m….I’m here.” His speech was slurred.

“Thunder, are you… are you drunk?” Twilight asked, putting her hoof over her nose.

“I… I did have a few drinks.” He replied.

“Why?”

“It’s a little complicated.”

Fluttershy’s face began turning red. She had had enough.

“Thunder Shy!!” She screamed, and slammed her hoof onto the floor. The house echoed.

Thunder retreated onto the floor in a low prone position and covered his head with his hooves, whimpering and shaking madly.

“Thunder, Thunder. Look at me. It’s Twilight.”

He looked up into her eyes. Fluttershy looked through his. His eyes bore fear, an expression that sent chills down her spine.

“Fluttershy, I need you talk to him. Try to calm him down.”

Fluttershy knelt down and put her hooves on his cheeks. “Thunder, baby, look at me. It’s okay.”

She repeated a few times before his breathing slowed. Fluttershy’s heart was pounding within her chest. She was scared for him.

“Thunder…. What happened to you? Why are you doing this to yourself?” She said in between dry sobs.

He looked at her for a moment before bursting into tears. He cried for minutes before he was able to speak.

“I’ve seen…. I’ve seen horrible things…. The things I had to do…”

Twilight was listening intently.

“What happened there, Thunder?” Twilight asked.

“But I thought you didn’t want to do this that fast?” Fluttershy asked.

“No.” Thunder said. “You of all ponies deserve to know, Shy.”

He took a deep, shaky breath.

He spoke, almost in a whisper, “We had a month and a half left in our deployment. After some of the soldiers were wounded on a patrol, four replacements were reassigned to our company. Private Fezz, Private Skipps, Corporal Comet and….Private First Class…. Trigger.”

Comments

[Shysoldier94]

The long awaited chapter is finally here! Apologies for the hiatus

This chapter has been split into two parts so I left a nice cliffhanger here

And if anyone notices something I may have missed, let me know and I can fix it right away

~Shysoldier

[Pony Knight]

Well this just keeps getting more interesting

[Joy Stick]

2526316
A CLIFFHANGER!
YOU HUMAN SON OF A BISCUIT!

[looks28]

MOAR! GIVE ME MOAR!
Great fic. I sure do hope it doesnt take another what... 8 weeks to update! This story is great! However you may want to run through this with a spell checker. I'm in a bit of a rush otherwise i would point them out. keep up the good work

[Jeta]

Finally a good story where they're all straight. So far.