(WARNING!!!! Chapter does contain nudity, as well as some sexual themes. No actual sex, but some things that Leopard does while in his PTSD riddled state, as well as what Dash does to comfort him, could be considered sexual.)

When the time came for bed, there was of course the topic of who was going to sleep where.

"I can sleep on the couch Dash. It's no big deal."

She looked at me funny. "Um Stud, whatever happened to us sharing a bed like we've always done?"

I kinda half-turned away from Dash. "I, um.....k-kinda want to sleep alone tonight. Or at least just have Aurora close by."

"But why Stud? What's wrong? Why don't you want to sleep with me?"

I sighed. "it's.....really complicated Dash. I don't know if you would understand."

"If this is because of something that Major Don said, don't worry about it Stud, it'll be our little secret! He'll never have to find out!"

I shook my head again. "It's....not that Dash, it's just......" I sighed. "It's something related to my PTSD. I just need some time alone to think, and to put some of the pieces together. I want Aurora close by me, because she was always there. She understands. It's nothing personal Dash; please don't take this the wrong way."

Instead of being angry though, Dash just shrugged. "Sure, I understand Stud. However, I'll leave my bedroom door open if you want to come sleep with me."

I nodded slowly. "Sure Dash, that sounds nice."

We both then got ready for bed.

Once it was completely dark outside, Dash gave me some blankets and sheets, and I made a sort of bed for myself on her couch. Aurora was curled up on her favorite rug in her bed next to me, and I just sat there on the couch, just trying to begin to put everything together.

Hey Stud?"

"Yeah Dash?"

"Even if you don't sleep with me, can I at least get a hug and a kiss?"

I smirked. "Sure Dashie. I would never deprive you of my love!"

She then glided over to me, and once she was in my arms, we kissed. I reveled in the sensations of her tongue against mine. Dash even wrapped her tail, and one of her legs around my waist as well!

"Mmm, gettin' a little frisky, are we?"

Dash smirked a bit. "Heh, a little." she said through half-lidded eyes.

Eventually, we broke the kiss, and Dash went upstairs to her room. "Well, Goodnight Stud, I'll see you in the morning!"

"Goodnight Dash, I love you!"

"Not as much as I love you Stud! Oh, and if you need anything at all during the night, just come and get me. I'm not the heaviest sleeper ever, so I should be able to hear you."

I nodded. "Ok Dash. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight!" She then went into her room, but the door didn't close all of the way.

Once I was all alone with my thoughts, I sighed. "Well" said as I stroked Aurora gently, "I guess that it's just you and me now."

Aurora didn't answer, as she was already asleep, but she did purr a bit in her sleep in response to my petting.

I then tried to put all of the pieces together. For the longest time I sat on my bed on the couch, trying to make heads or tails of the multiple wars I went through, why I was the only survivor in a few cases, to why my family, and some of my best friends had to die. It was so sad, but yet, so haunting and unnerving at the same time. I ultimately had no answers to any of the questions that I so desperately sought.

Eventually, I gave up mid-thought, and after stripping down to my boxers, I wrapped my soft wings around myself, and after pulling a blanket over myself, I tried to sleep. I did manage to find sleep, but when I did, I deeply regretted it.

A number of hours later, Dash was suddenly awoken from a sound sleep by the sounds of screaming.

"Guh......ah...what the.....what?!" She looked over at her alarm clock. The time read 3:30am. Then the sound of screaming came again, joined this time be panting, crying, and the sounds of something stumbling about in the darkness on the floor below her.

"OH CELESTIA, STUD!!!!" Dash then flew out of bed, and after hastily wrapping her robe around her nude body, (she almost always slept naked) she ran to see what the commotion was.

Once she reached the second floor landing, she looked down into her living room. After turning on the lights, what she saw shocked, and scared her beyond belief.

I was lying on the floor in front of the couch, as tangled up as I could possibly be in my sheets. The coffee table was knocked over, and a few other items were scattered about as well. Dash could see that I was crying, and mumbling insensibly.

"STUD!!!!" Dash's robe almost flew off of her as she raced to my side. "Stud, can you hear me?! WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?!"

I was able to twist my head a bit to look at her, but because of how tangled I was, that was pretty much all I could do.

"Oh Celestia! Here, just.....hold still, and I'll see about getting you out of there!"

Dash then worked with her hands, and eventually was able to get me free from my blanket prison. Once I was free though, all I did was just continue to lie there on the floor, crying, and mumbling.

As gently as she could, Dash pulled me up into a sitting position, and after pulling me into a hug, she began to comfort me. "Shh, it's ok Stud, it's all gonna be ok. I'm here for you, I'm right here Stud. Just let it all go."

"Oh Dash...." I mumbled.

"Shh, breathe, just breathe Stud. It's all going to be ok."

"End.....Why won't they end?!?!?! WHY CAN'T I EVER ESCAPE FROM THEM?!?!?!"

"What.....do you mean by that Stud? What won't end?"

"T-the nightmares! And the creatures and bad memories in them! THEY WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!! Night after night they torment me! WHY CAN'T THEY JUST LEAVE ME BE?!?!?!?" I then continued to cry.

Dash also noticed Aurora in the corner, and she was shaking with fear as well.

"Do....you want to talk about it Stud?"

I just kept crying. I did lean my head against Dash's chest though. Her breasts had all but slipped out of her robe, as in her haste to get to me, Dash hadn't tied it up at all. It was now more like a cape than a robe.

"You, can lean on my chest if want to Stud, I don't mind. I mean heck, breasts were made to be a source of comfort after all!"

I didn't answer right away, but Dash could have sworn that she'd heard maybe a faint giggle from me. Dash then lay down on the couch, and held me close to her. Her fur was so soft and warm, and Dash just ditched her robe, as it really was falling off of her anyway. She also noticed that I was naked as well, and that I'd must have lost my boxers in my frenzied, nightmare-induced panic.

Dash sighed. Then she felt a few small sucks coming from one of her breasts. She looked down, and to her quiet amusement, I was actually trying to suckle from her! She purred gently in response. "Wow Stud, I didn't take you for the kind of guy who liked to suckle. Heh, not that I mind, or anything, but it's just so......cute."

I looked up at her while I suckled.

"And it's even cuter with those Bat-Pony eyes of yours! Are you thirsty Stud?"

I nodded quietly. Dash then sighed. "Well, we can fix that. I have some REAL drinks in the kitchen. I could make us some hot chocolate if you want."

"Sure, if you wouldn't mind." I said softly.

Dash looked at me. "Why would I mind Stud? You mean the world to me." After I'd stopped suckling from her breast, Dash got up, and after pulling her robe back on, she quickly flew up to her room, and handed me a spare robe.

"Here. This may not fit you, but it'll do for now. Plus, it's really soft!"

I put it on. "Yeah, you're right Dash, it is!"

Dash then took me by the hand, and led me into the kitchen. After turning on a light, she had me sit at the kitchen table while she put water into a kettle, and then put it on the stove. She then joined me at the table.

"So...do you um, w-want to talk about it?"

I buried my face into my hands, and began to cry softly again.

"You can tell me Stud, I'm here for you. I'm your soon-to-be wife, and I want to help you. I HAVE to help you get through this!"

I still said nothing.

Eventually, the water was boiling, and after pulling it off the stove, Dash poured it into 2 mugs, to which she then added the chocolate powder. Once she'd mixed them together with a spoon, she brought them over to the table.

Dash then took one of my hands gently into her own. "Will you please tell me Stud? I really can't help you if I don't know what's wrong."

I sighed. Finally, I spoke. "Yeah....I'll tell you. For so, so many years, I've been having PTSD-induced nightmares like this. They've always been bad, but now they seem to be getting steadily worse. They all follow the same pattern. I'm a soldier, dropped into Hell, from where I attempt to escape. Then I get chased by the monsters. Monsters from my past. Wars create monsters Dash. Bad memories too. They catch me.......and.........t-tear me apart!" I then began to cry again.

Dash looked at me, before leaning in closer to hug me. "Well, I can say that I'm glad that you told me about this Stud. Now you don't have to suffer alone. I can help you through it."

"But can you?" I asked softly. "Can you handle it all? This isn't all of it. I haven't even begun to talk about Lycan Syndrome yet, or as some call it, the Apex Sickness."

"Um, what's Lycan Syndrome/Apex Sickness?"

"I'm......not ready to talk about that yet."

Dash had never seen someone in as much internal pain as I was in right then. She had seen Shell Shock before, but those cases paled in comparison to what she was seeing right then. She hugged me again. "It's ok Stud. I see now that we were meant to be together for another reason. You need someone in your life to help you through these tough times, and with your Shell Shock, I'm the right mare for you Stud."

I hugged her back. "I know Dash. And I know that someday in the not too distant future, we will be married. However, for now, let's just remain marefriend and coltfriend. I'll need to get some things shored up and squared away before I propose to you."

Dash wanted to ask what I meant by that, but she felt that it wasn't her place to. Dash glanced at the clock on the wall. The time read 4:30am.

"Wow, it's kinda getting late Stud, can we maybe go upstairs to my room now? I won't take no for an answer this time, as I'm not letting you sleep on your own again until you've gotten a better grip on your PTSD."

I didn't have any objections. "Sure thing Babe, just lead the way."

Dash giggled, and after we'd rinsed out our mugs and set them in the sink, Dash led me by the hand up to her room.

When we arrived up there, I took a look around. From what I could remember from MLP FIM, her room looked almost identical. On the walls were Wonderbolt posters, as well as a few flags, and a couple of framed pictures as well. There was also a dresser, nightstand, and a small bookshelf, as well as carpeted floors, a closet, and a few other such things. By far the most interesting thing in the room though was her bed. Dash's bed was seemingly made out of clouds! There were some pillows at the head, and the top blanket was dark blue, and had her cutie-mark on it. Dash went over to it, and after removing her robe, she pulled back the covers, and lay down on it.

"Come on Stud, I know you wanna!"

I sighed, and after removing my robe as well, I climbed into bed with my marefriend of nearly 2 and a half months, and snuggled close to her; both of us as bare as the day we were born. Dash then pulled the covers over both of us, and I tried to sleep, but yet, something in my head was still awake.

"Hmm, need something to help you relax Stud?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm close, but I'm not quite there yet."

Dash smirked a bit. "I know what'll help. Just hold still Stud, I'll do all of the work!" Dash then ducked her head under the covers. At first, I wondered what she was doing, but before long, I felt her warm tongue on my member. I was out of my sheath in an instant.

"Mmm", I moaned.

"You like?" Dash asked.

"Yeah...." I said softly.

I heard her snicker slightly, before taking me into her mouth. For a good long while, I just lay there while Dash worked away at my member. I'd gotten a few blowjobs before, but let's just say that there are things that you can do with a muzzle that an ordinary mouth just can't do.

I was in absolute bliss. "Wow.....Dash, you're....so good at this! Where.....did you learn to....d-do this?"

"Eh, I used to watch a lot of porn. I still do from time to time, at least until I met you anyway. I mean, why watch porn when you have the real thing?"

I was very surprised. Dash just didn't seem like the kind of mare who would watch porn. "Well, I guess that we all have our dirty little secrets...." I muttered.

"Do you watch porn Stud?"

"Ngh! I...used to, but it's....b-been may years since then. M-most of the porn I watched was of you......"

(By this point, Dash, as well as some of the others, had pieced together that they'd meant something to us back on Earth. They'd begun to suspect that they might have been characters in a TV show, but they still didn't have any solid proof.)

Dash heard what I said, but she really didn't care. All she could focus on was my dick, and the hot load that she was about to receive from it.

"Egh, D-Dash?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm....g-gonna....cum!"

"Mmm....good Stud, I want it!"

"NYAH!!!!!" I then blew my full load into Dash's eager throat.

She swallowed my full load as best she could, and eventually I stopped spurting. Dash then licked my member clean, and after kissing it one last time, it shrank back into its sheath.

"Mmm, better Stud...?" Dash whispered sweetly.

"N-nyah!"

"Heh, I'll take that as a yes!" Dash then shifted a bit. "Now that you're about to fall asleep, I'm gonna move us into the perfect position for sleep. We'll both sleep like foals, trust me!"

"Sure."

Dash then moved us into a sort-of spooning position, although we were also curled up into sort of a ball. She also told me to wrap my wings around the both of us, which I did. Once we were done, Dash kissed me on the nose one last time.

"*Kiss* Goodnight Stud. Now I know that we'll sleep well. I've done this before, and I felt like a newborn foal when I woke up I'd slept so well!"

I sighed. "I'll believe it when I see it Dash, but for now I'll take your word for it. Anyway, good night Dash, I love you."

"Nyah, I love you too Stud!"

We both then fell asleep, and sure enough, just like Dash had said, we both slept like foals.

And, that was the last half of Chapter 2. Like I said in the description, PTSD runs rampant among us, and it seems to be getting worse as time goes on. How many more times will this continue to happen in the future? When will I ever propose to Dash? And for that matter, when will any of the other guys who have marefriends propose to them? And when will the weddings be? Well, Tell me what YOU think! I know how it'll all play out, but I'd like to hear your guy's takes on it.

Also, what's happening with the Futas and the Caribou during this time? Will they succeed in rebuilding their empire? And what role, (if any) does Sombra play in all of this? Well, keep reading, and I'll tell you!

As always, comments, feedback, questions, as well as spreading the word about this story, are always appreciated, and I'll see you all in Chapter 3!

ScarFox out for now!