Soldiering on

That went well,  Mocha thought, wandering through camp. He found himself daydream walking to the infirmary, lost in thoughts pertaining to a certain cyan Pegasus, who he found himself suddenly preoccupied with.  It was the sweetest indignant “harrumph” Mocha had ever heard that finally got his attention.

“Excuse me Mocha, could you move, umm, only if that’s ok with you, of course.”

Mocha searched for the owner of the voice, eventually finding the butter yellow Pegasus he knew it belonged to. “Hey ,Fluttershy, what’s up” he asked, trying to strike a conversation. “Anything interesting happen today?”

“Well Mocha, if you don’t mind, I need to get through, Cloudchaser dislocated her wing, so…,” she said, gesturing for him to move. “Actually, could you come in here and help with that, this might be tougher than I can handle, if, you know, you’re not busy ” she asked, stopping on her way in.

“Hell, anything for you Flutters , you know that” he said, gesturing for Fluttershy to lead the way. There was a time, when that level of cuteness from her would have stopped his heart in mid-beat. But those days were gone, seemingly never to be found again.

He went into the tent, and instantly the smell of rubbing alcohol, horseflesh, and stale blood. He cringed, blood and gun smoke was one thing, but this smell, was beyond foul, beyond unnatural. As he followed Fluttershy thorough the rows of bed he saw ponies he knew, put out of commission for one reason or another.

Vinyl was covered hoof to horn in white gausses; she had a close run in with a Batallion of Dimond Kommando Spetzial Servki[ /i] the diamond dog’s special operations unit. Owing to the savagery of these fighters, they had dipped back into the vaults, using the barbaric and horrific weaponry of the Hive war. When the changelings had made war on The diamond dogs, their first attack was a massive slaughter , thousands dead, millions more took to be consumed. And, being diamond dogs, they naturally devised a gruesome retribution. This took the form of flamethrowers and gas launchers, which, in the tight spaces of the hive, proved devastating. Now, only the most twisted and gruesome shock troopers used them, literally melting and burning those they ran across. Vinyl had helped save her unit from an attack, but not without cost. The chemical burns would heal, but exposure to oxygen and pathogens would allow for infection. So there she sat, counting the ticks of the clock, wondering if it was worth it.

Most however, were far luckier than she was. There were broken wings, fetlocks, hooves, and a hoof full of gunshot wounds. These too were more gruesome than necessary, owing to the dog’s practice of arming paw soldiers with hollow point bullets.

They made their way over to the bed where Cloudchaser was sitting, her wing pointing a hundred and eighty degrees the wrong way, as well as 3 inches from its socket. Instantly Fluttershy turned on her veterinary instincts. “Cloudchaser, what happened, she asked, her voice soft and sweet, like a wave of satin. “Well, I was flying a patrol,  and I was going to land and I went in too fast, so I pulled back, and it popped, she said, giving a weak chuckle, followed by a  wince.

“I can fix it, but it’ll hurt a bit, ok” Fluttershy crooned.  Cloudchaser nodded, her breath coming in short, pained spurts. “Mocha, you know what to do,” She said, allowing her voice to return to a matter of fact tone.

Mocha undid his belt, doubling it over “Cloud, I need you to clamp down on this,” he said, making his slow tenor as soothing as he could. Cloudchaser opened her mouth and he put the makeshift bite guard in between her jaws.  Cloudchaser nodded, catching Mocha's fetlock in a death grip. “Ok cloudy, we go on three” Fluttershy said, gently taking the wing in her hooves. “Ready?” she  asked, receiving a nod of ascent from both participants. “Ok, ONE!” she yelled, forcing Cloud chasers wing into its socket. Even through the belt, he could hear Cloudchaser scream. “Two, three” Fluttershy finished, her voice becoming a meek whisper.

“

MOTHERFUCKER, THAT HURT!” she yelled after spitting the belt out, not at the two of them but more at her own surprise. They helped Cloudchaser up, whose eyes were still watering from the pain of the process.

“Now Cloud, go easy on it, no flying for at least a week” Fluttershy admonished Cloudchaser, walking her out of the tent. They made their way to the outside of the infirmary, the light of the setting sun beginning to streak its long, pink fingers through the crisp air. He was just admiring the sunset, even though he knew it was pollution from the factories in Leonberg. His thoughts, however, were interrupted by f

Fluttershy unscrewing a pill bottle, and upending it in her mouth, munching down as if they were candy. Mocha magically grabbed the bottle from her hooves, reading the label. “Vicadin! What the hell, what are you thinking?” he said, more concerned than angry.

“Mocha, I know full well how bad it is for me, but quitting is a hell of a lot worse. You know my anxiety makes me twitch. I’m a surgeon, I can’t have that!” She shot back, somewhere between cute and indignant

“Please don’t let this get a hold of you” he begged, deeply concerned for her.

“I promise I’ll quit,” she said

“Do you really?” he asked

“Mocha, I’m cold, can I…um…could you…please?” she asked, raising a wing, hoping he would take his place under the outstretched appendage.

“I need an answer.” He said

“Yes, now please, come here” she said, her seemingly infinite patience wearing thin.

With an exaggerated sigh, he snuggled up against her barrel.

“Fine”, he said, jokingly rolling his eyes

They stood there, savoring the moment and each other’s presence. They had been so close once, and both of them secretly wished they could be again. But those days were gone. So they stood in silence, dreaming on what could have been.

“Hey Flutters, love to stay and not talk, but Dash is expecting me, so…,” he said, pulling away from Fluttershy.

Fluttershy nodded, shooing him in the direction of Rainbow Dashes’ tent. Following a short walk, she came to her own tent.  Fluttershy ducked in, slipping into her cold and lonely bed.  How long do I have to pretend that he isn’t tearing me apart? How many hours of, “He’s so perfect”, How many “I’m so in love’s would she have to sit though. What made her predicament worse, she thought, was that she knew exactly what Rainbow Dash meant.  He was perfect, he was so kind, so funny, some pony that you could give you advice, or a kiss, and knew which one you needed. He was so good to be with, big and strong, his big legs wrapping her in an embrace, something she missed and craved. She missed her rock, her pillow, her stallion. She felt the tears beginning to come, the hot anger and sadness mixing and melting together in one big mass of emotion.  So she cried, cried with nopony to hear her, cried into her pillow, when it should have been Mocha there to share her pain, to stroke her mane and comfort her, like he had been.