Dead Air

Static hissed far off in the distance, instantly hitting me with dread the moment I heard it. There was something about it I couldn't quite shake the feeling of...

The air was pleasantly cold to the touch, like I was back in the towers. But there was something else to it. Something more. Something... pure...

The smell, though...

I knew the stench of corpses any day...

"Whoa..." 268 muttered as I heard him take a few steps forward along what sounded like a steel walkway.

Upon opening my eyes, I was greeted with a sight I never once thought possible. A massive complex of towers - each of different size - stood in the distance. The same towers that were on the mural outside.

I stepped up to 268's side, both of us staring in awe at the wondrous sights before us. Things not even dreams could conjure in the realm of sleep.

Caves carved into the steel dome's interior that kept us from the outside, for things living - or perhaps once living - on a leviathan scale.

The dome must have been extremely thick in order for that to be done.

Falls of a blue and white liquid pouring off mountains and canyons.

Strange, brown structures with green all around them, standing tall and reaching for the ceiling.

I thought for a moment while outside of the structure that the steel only looked to have a golden color to it due to the discoloration of the atmosphere. But it indeed was golden.

Smaller buildings rested together in isolation, deep in green plains.

Giant puddles of that weird blue liquid covered certain parts of fields far off near the horizon.

It appeared we were standing at the top of a rather large mound that too carried the strange brown towers and green fields.

Flared, multicolored pads of intricate design faced a variety of directions. Us, the sky, the horizon, the ground... Each took focus on something else.

268 turned to me as I to him.

"W-what is... this...?" I asked in a state of bafflement, almost forgetting how to speak.

"I don't know, 012..." 268 whispered. "But I had a glimpse of this place in my sleep..." He closed his eyes, tapping a forehoof to his temple as he fought hard to think. "I feel like there was more than just a glimpse, but all I got are bits and pieces... I can't seem to remember... It's right there, I know it is... Something important..." He looked back at the towering complex near the center of the sheltered land mass. "Why can't I remember...?"

It took me a moment, but deep within the towers was a hint of another golden dome.

It sounded like the hissing was coming from there.

"You hear that too, right...?" I asked, keeping my eyes fixed on the towers and the road that led from here to there.

"Yeah..." He replied softly. "There's something wrong about that... and the rotting corpse stench isn't helping its case..."

"I second that."

We both turned to the rift behind us to find that the frame, which was that of the same model on the other side, had glowing blue symbols all around. But another strange green substance coated a lot of it. A language unknown to us, and perhaps, even our masters.

"Together at last..." That voice of a mysterious entity spoke in my head once more. Only... 268 seemed to hear it too, on account that he looked around frantically for the source. "Come to me, my children... We have much to discuss..."

We looked at one another once more.

"You heard that too...?" He asked after a moment of studying my eyes, to which I nodded.

"Something is alive down here..." My eyes drifted to the dome deep in the tower complex. "I think I know where it is, too..."

"Oh, no..." 268 shook his head, backing up. "No, no, no. I'm not going near whatever is making that static noise. Not with just the two of us. I have a horrible feeling about it..."

"So do I..." I stated, looking back at him. "But... 268..." I spun around and waved a hoof around at the scenery on display. "We found something wonderful. Something that was destined to us and us alone. 268..." I reached a hoof out to him with pleading eyes. "This is our chance to be free... and I want to know why we're here... I want to know why we were carved into a wall a long time before we were even conceived."

His brow knit as he stared down at my hoof.

"You... broke free from Orientation..." He spoke matter of factly. "How did you...?"

"The same way you did. You're not running to report me. Which means you broke free from it too."

There was a moment of silence between us as he stared into my eyes, realizing my statement was true.

"Please, 268. We can have a good life now. Here. No masters, no machines, no forced breeding... A lifetime of intimacy..." I stepped forward as a puzzled look etched his face.

"Intimacy...? I don't... know what that is..."

"Passion for one another. A deep care. Bound to a special place..." I tapped a hoof over his chest, over his rapid, beating heart. "... Here..."

His eyes flicked across mine, from left to right, right to left. He pondered my ideas, I could see deep down he wanted it...

"It's not allowed..." He whispered.

"We can make our own rules..."

"But... what about the others...?"

I peeked around his form at the portal with a smile growing on my face.

"It's only a matter of time until the other subjects are sent through to figure out what happened to us. Once the last one is through, we seal the portal off."

His eyes grew wide at my last sentence. "No." He backed away. "There's a malice behind that static, and I don't want to be stuck in here with it."

"268, wait..."

"No." He spoke more sternly, stomping a hoof to the ground. "I'll take being a slave any day, than suffering whatever that static intends to do to us. I'm okay with being fucked up the ass or getting blown, compared to what's in here. And from now on, I'm following each climax with a 'Thank you, master.' Because now I know there's something worse..."

I sighed and hung my head down.

"Should I start running...?"

"You can do whatever the fuck you want, 012. But... as crazy as it is, I'm not ratting you out." He lifted my chin, looking deep into my eyes with... something. Something sparkled within... I didn't know a word for it... But it made me feel good...

"Why...?"

"Because... I still want to be free. Your idea isn't bad... But with that static, it's a bit of a deal breaker..." With that, he turned back to the rift. "I'm gonna go back and call the others through. Will you be here when I come back?"

I nodded slowly, feeling my spirits falter.

"Yeah..."

He looked from me, to the portal, to me again, before shaking his head and approaching.

"Damn you, 012, for making me care..."

His foreleg wrapped around the back of my neck as his head rested beside mine. His chest pressed to me firmly. I could feel his heart racing.

This very action would have gotten us executed on the spot...

But it felt so real... It felt so true... I never wanted him to let go...

I wrapped a foreleg tightly around him as I closed my eyes. Our bodies warmed each other greatly.

His mane smelled of smoke from a fire. I suppose mine did too... I suppose we all had some burning scent to us. This was the second time I ever got to smell him... Got to smell anyone. It was a scent I held in my memory ever since our first night together. Something I cherished.

We had history... Albeit, fabricated by the Talon Corporation's breeding quota. But still... it was something.

I remembered it vividly. A special order was put out for a zebra-pegasus hybrid. A pega-zorse, they called it. 268 and I were put together for the commission.

Somewhere out there, in the infinite... we had a kid...

Little did I know that we were destined to be together, judging by the ancient mural outside. Little did I know putting us together to make a foal was one of many tests between us to see what would happen.

"Perhaps, someday..." 268 whispered in my ear, just before kissing me on the cheek. "... Together... we can get away, and try again..."

Heh...

He read my mind...

We pulled away from each other just barely, as it seemed he didn't want to let go either.

He pressed his muzzle to mine as we gazed into the red rings of each other's eyes.

"I'd like that..." I whispered back.

With a smile, he pulled away and took my hoof in his, before bringing it to his lips. He closed his eyes as his lips delivered a kiss to the frog of that hoof, followed by a brief nuzzle.

"I've wanted to do that to you for so long, 012..." He whispered again, glancing up at me with a gentle smile. "Will I see you here when I get back?"

With a wide smile, I nodded. This time with a brighter answer.

"Definitely."

He let out a soft chuckle. "Just remember to look miserable or at least catatonic when I get back. Can't have the masters suspecting anything between us."

"Right." I slouched my shoulder as I pouted. "How's this?"

He burst into laughter and lightly batted my shoulder.

"A good sense of humor, too. Knew I had a good feeling about you for a reason." He turned to the portal and began walking. "I'll be back soon, 012."

"I'll be here, 268." I replied, before slipping into my catatonic stare. Needed to maintain the illusion that I was still under the spell of Orientation.

But upon turning away from the rift, I couldn't help but smile.

268 and I... just might have been happening. After all this time.

That sent a warm feeling deep in my chest and belly.