I'm Sorry It Had To Be This Way
We open in a battlefield, unlike any other...for one, it’s in a flowery meadow. The battlefield is unusual and much different from normal battlefields, because in actuality, the battle is taking place beneath the grass. A fight between the tiny, transparent-butterfly-winged ponies, and electric insects. The war between Breezies and Flash Bees for the field where Breezies gather their pollen.
It's a dangerous fight. The Flash Bee's stings can pierce straight through an unsuspecting Breezie and leave them fatally wounded. Those who are lucky to not receive a stinger in a fatal spot are left with painful gashes that can rarely be healed fully. The Breezies, on the other hand, are far more technologically advanced than the bees, armed with weapons and guns that can shoot down five Flash Bees with a single round. Fatalities are common on each side due to this. But every one of the Breezies knew what they signed up for.
A group of Breezies sneak through the meadow that makes up the battlefield, weapons drawn. They hold tiny rifles and wear grass-woven camouflage uniforms. Some are carrying machetes and pistols, cutting through any shrubbery in their path.
At the front of the charge is General Seabreeze, wearing a hat and his grass uniform bearing flower pins and badges. He leads them through the meadow, telling them to watch everywhere. One of the soldiers joins him, delicate wings brushing against the tall blades of grass. He helps to push aside the grass ahead of his General.
"How far do we have to move General?" He asks him.
“Until we find their fort, soldier.” the General replied curtly
“But sir. We can't just waltz into their base. What if we get stung?”
“That’s why we’re launching a sneak attack soldier. But in order to do that we must find their camp first.”
“Yes sir.” The soldier nodded respectfully and backed up again.
They continue walking for a few minutes. General Seabreeze eventually gave the signal to halt and turned to one of the nearest soldiers.
“Scout the perimeter, it’s around here somewhere.”
“Yes sir.” They started walking in different directions, not noticing the eyes watching their every move.
“Sir...do you feel that? It’s like something’s...watching…” A soldier nearby said
“It’s just your nerves, kid. We’re practically all alone out—”
“CONTACT!”
They turned at the yell and looked in the direction. A volley of rifle fire was heard.
“Soldiers, weapons at the ready!” General Seabreeze commanded.
The soldiers chambered their rounds and started moving towards the fighting. They pushed through the grass and gazed at the scene before them. There lay at least seven Breezies, all with sting wounds.
“Gather the injured! Search for attackers!” General Seabreeze yelled
They spread out, medics gathering any who survived, and infantry looking for any attackers. The General watched, looking from side to side and cocking his rifle. All was silent, as if time itself was frozen.
“Something’s wrong here…”
The soldiers tensed up. A blue and yellow blur whipped past them. A few soldiers fired their weapons out of panic.
“Stop!!” General Seabreeze commanded “You newbies! Don’t give up our position until the enemy makes itself known!”
“I think they already know we’re here! Didn’t you see what they did to our boys?!” A soldier yelled
“For all we know it could be a scout! Do you realize how many of us are yellow or blue?” General Seabreeze shouted
“A scout?! A scout took out seven well armed soldiers?! Do you realize how stupid that sounds?! They could be right behind us and we wouldn’t know it!” he screamed back
“You idiot! I meant our scouts coming back to report!”
“Y’know what?! Screw this!” The Breezies watched as the soldier threw his rifle on the ground.
“You complete moron! That could have gone off!”
“So be it! None of us are going home!” He screamed
“How dare you say that?! Some of us have families and children, some of us won’t go home, yes, but it is worth it! Would you rather you be celebrated as a hero for doing your part or a coward who got his comrades killed?” General Seabreeze demanded of him.
“Is that what this is about?! Just getting a statue of yourself in town square?! We may as well give up! We’re not winning this war!” the soldier cried
“I just said some of us have families! That includes myself! I only meant celebrated as meaning honored!” General Seabreeze screamed, temper rising.
They continued going back and forth, not noticing that there was a large force encircling them.
“Um...sir?” another soldier asked
Seabreeze looked over. “What is it kid?”
“ARGH!”
The soldier he was arguing with yelled out as they became aware of their surroundings at last. He backed up, watching as a few Flash Bees started emerging.
“I told you they weren’t scouts!” the soldier said
“Oh so now it’s my fault for exercising caution in case we were hitting our own soldiers?!” General Seabreeze shouted, then shook his head. “That doesn’t matter! Just bucking shoot them!”
Their guns went off rapidly. The soldier desperately scrambled for his M16 and joined the firefight.
“They’re not yielding!”
“Just keep shooting!” General Seabreeze commanded
Unbeknownst to them, other forces were flanking from their left, right, and rear. General Seabreeze spun around, wings beating slowly to keep himself aloft. “They’re surrounding us!”
“Great, now what?!”
Seabreeze looked towards a nearby radiobug and ran over. “Give me that radio!”
He tossed it over, trembling in fear.
“Eagle Eye! Eagle Eye! This is Birch Wood 3-2! We’re surrounded! I’m calling in a pesticide air strike!”
“Copy that Birch Wood! We’re on the way, over!”
He threw the radio back to the soldier. “Gas masks on!” he ordered
The soldiers fumbled for the masks made of specialized moss and lichen, placing them over their heads.
Seabreeze looked up to see other Breezies dropping large flasks of pesticides down onto the battlefield. He watched through his masks as the Flash Bees dropped or fled. He looked over to his soldiers, watching as they breathed heavily. He looked up to see more and more pesticides being dropped.
“Retreat into the grass!” he ordered
The soldiers grabbed their weapons and wounded and began making an exit. He watched as the air force continued dropping pesticides, not in the Flash Bees, but on them.
“Everyone hit the deck!”
They hit the ground, avoiding the glass shards flying in every direction. “Sir! They’re trying to kill us!” a soldier yelled.
General Seabreeze reached for the radio. “Eagle Eye! Cease fire! It’s us!”
“Shoot! Hold fire! Those are our boys!”
The gas stopped and they all stood shakily. Seabreeze looked around. “Pesticides are still in the air. Keep your masks on and keep moving.”
His soldiers nodded, saluting before making their way out into the open to survey the damage. Aside from the many limp bees, most of the flowers had wilted, and some trees were cut down by gunfire.
“Well, that was a lot of damage.”
“Ya think? Any casualties?” the soldier from before asked
“None that I can see.” General Seabreeze turned to a few soldiers. “Circle the perimeter, search for stragglers or bodies.”
They began their recon around the area. General Seabreeze reached for the radio. He took a breath.
“Eagle Eye? Would you like to tell me what the heck that was?”
“Sorry, it’s hard to see from up here. Especially with all that green, blue, and yellow.”
“Understandable. But try not to make that mistake again. That stuff is strong, just throw down three or four next time and wait for a confirmation to toss more.”
“Yes sir. Sorry sir.”
“Sir!” the soldiers reemerged
“Soldiers, report.”
“There’s a base, a few miles out.”
“I guess now we know where those suckers came from. Soldiers, scout ahead, we’ll head for that. Hopefully those that fled won’t make it back.”
“Yes sir.”
The soldiers headed off, and General Seabreeze trotted after them. They continued to point their weapons everywhere. General Seabreeze made no attempt to stop them, they weren’t actually firing, anyway. After a while, they removed their masks. They were far enough away that it would be safe.
“Fresh air at last!” one soldier cried
“Yeah.”
“Alright, alright, keep it down. For all we know the base could be coming up.”
“Yes sir.” They continued walking.
General Seabreeze led the way through the long grass, picking his way along carefully. He looked at a map, trying to stay on the path. The soldiers followed behind him loyally. He glanced back on occasion, making sure they were all keeping up.
After a while, they found a hill, overlooking the base. General Seabreeze gestured for them to get down, and he began to brief them.
“Alright. We need two teams to flank each base.” He looked over to another soldier, holding a scoped rifle. “I need you to cover us from afar.”
“Copy that.”
They split up, each moving to their position. General Seabreeze led a team, holding his rifle close. He looked around at the many bees. “Got some FB’s here.” he reported “We’ll take them out, one at a time, careful with the stingers.”
They raised their rifles, each picking targets. General Seabreeze aimed for the largest one. “Headshots. Ready?”
“Yes sir.”
“Fire.”
The shots rang out at once. Twelve Flash Bees dropped. More turned and headed for them. The sniper helped them, taking out three of them. General Seabreeze fired off another round, taking out four in quick succession. The soldiers lined up and fired. More fell, but the noise drew more. A few Breezies cried out in anguish.
“If you’re out of ammunition, fall back with the fallen!” General Seabreeze ordered. A few soldiers grabbed their dead and began moving back, firing their pistols.
The Flash Bees surged forwards, electricity crackling in the air around them. A few Breezies were struck down.
“Grab them!” General Seabreeze called.
“We can’t!” a soldier cried
“Why not?”
“What if we get stung?”
“Then you’ll be remembered as heroes who tried to save your friends! GO!”
A few Breezies ran over to get the either wounded or dead, drawing their pistols. They shot at the Flash Bees to drive them back as others locked their forelegs around their fallen comrades and dragged them back.
Up above, a few Breezies flew over the battlefield, watching the battle unfold. “We need to help them!” one said
“No duh.” another one remarked, drawing his gun. They charged over to the battle. “Fire!”
General Seabreeze began to look relieved when he spotted them. He raised a hoof. “Calvary’s here!”
The shots rang out from above them and the Flash Bees began to flee. They started to cheer.
“We’re not out of the woods yet. Bring the wounded to the medics. The rest of you, follow me.”
They began to collect the wounded and dead. General Seabreeze observed it with sad eyes. So many had to die for a good cause. It wasn’t right. He sighed. Then, he started forwards, walking around the bodies of the Flash Bees. He gritted his teeth. He raised his weapon and cocked it. He closed his eyes.
Gunshots rang out, all around him. He looked up. The Flash Bees standing guard had fallen. He walked around the base, moving towards the door. His soldiers followed him. He took out a pesticide flask and threw it in.
“Masks on.” he commanded.
They nodded. Once all their masks were slipped on and secure, General Seabreeze led them through the gas. They passed by a few Flash Bees. “Put these guys out of their misery.” The order was followed by a quick round of shots.
They continued moving. General Seabreeze led them down the hallways. They stopped at a door, with sound on the other side.
“Stand at the ready soldiers.” he said.
He threw another flask into the room. They waited, then he poked his head in. A few Flash Bees lay limp. He nudged one in the side, carefully avoiding the stinger. He pointed his pistol around. Nothing else. He opened the door and walked in.
There, they saw…
…a map towards their village.
“What. The literal. Buck.” General Seabreeze said. He grabbed the map.
“This is how they’ve set up bases in each of the towns leading to it.” a soldier remarked.
“Yes. Hopefully it’s the only copy.” General Seabreeze folded it up and stashed it in his uniform. He looked at his soldiers, arranged behind him. “Come on, we need to report this...discovery.”
“Yes sir.”
He led them back out of the base. They were set up in a defensive position. General Seabreeze took them past the group of soldiers. “Come on, let’s get back to base. I’ll send reinforcements to this base.”
“Yes sir!”
They started walking towards their base. General Seabreeze beckoned the other soldiers to go back to the base and finish the job. They nodded and marched back, leaving him and his soldiers to march back to their base. General Seabreeze made it back and paused momentarily to observe the limp bodies and injured Breezies. He frowned and closed his eyes.
“Don’t think about it...more important matters…” He continued walking. He made it back to his tent. He sits on his bed, taking his helmet off. He then reached for the radio he had that was a direct line to their village. “Homeland, this is General Seabreeze. Do you copy?”
“We copy General. Anything to report?”
“We uhh… found a map to our village.”
“Inside the base?!”
“Yep.”
“Were there any more that you could find?”
“Negative. I took it and have a few soldiers at the base.”
“Alright. We’ll double our defenses then.”
“Alright. I have nothing else to report, other than casualties.”
“How many?”
“Not sure at the moment. I tried not to think about it, honestly.”
“We’ll send a mortician to count them.”
“Alright.” Seabreeze sighed, then they ended the conversation.
He left his tent to observe the fallen, trying to pick out any familiar faces. He continued looking down the line, until he found the soldier he was arguing with. His expression went even more gray. The soldier was bleeding heavily from a gash in his side. He bent down.
“Hey kid.”
“G-General…” he gasped.
“Are… you..?”
“Final irony, I suppose…”
“Don’t say that. It ain’t your fault.”
“Still...said we were gonna die and here I am...you were just lookin’ out for us...shoulda’ known you didn’t want this anymore than I did...”
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to protect you all.”
“Yeah...crossed my mind...you took out the biggest FB…”
“Course I did. A general takes the biggest jobs, not for the glory...but so their troops can live another day…”
“I… guess… but I was being the jerk… I kept saying we were gonna die…”
“You weren’t wrong...many of us will...but it’s for a good cause...and heck, we all knew what we signed up for...everyone here knows that they may not make it back. They accepted it when they agreed.”
“I guess… I shoulda’ read the… the fine print…”
“Funny.” Seabreeze said dryly. “It was there in bold. It wasn’t even on the papers. Everyone should automatically know the possibilities.”
The soldier laughed while coughing. “Yeah. Fair enough.”
“I’m...sorry…”
“For what..?”
“That it had to be this way…”
“Y-You has no control over it, sir…”
“Could have watched your back.”
“...You didn’t have to… I was the one being naive…”
“Doesn’t mean I had to ignore you. It doesn’t matter on the battlefield, who you’re friends with or not. You look out for each other.”
“I guess… I guess I just…” he coughed. “Just…”
“Yes?”
“Do one thing for me?”
“Anything.”
“...My folks don’t know I joined...kind of ran off when they refused...could you...could you tell ‘em I love ‘em, and I never meant...meant for things to end with them this way?”
Seabreeze stared for a while, then nodded. “Of-Of course. Who are they?”
“H-Harmony Wisp and Frigid Air…”
“Okay. I’ll tell them you died a hero.”
“...Don’t...I’m not a hero...just tell ‘em...I’m sorry…”
“Don’t say that! We’re all heroes! We— kid..?”
The Breezie had gone silent. His eyes closed and he breathed out one last sigh. A peaceful smile spread across his face. Seabreeze bowed his head and closed his eyes.
“You were a soldier in life, but you’ll be a captain in Elysium.” he murmured “I bid thee take your place among the halls of heroes.” He placed his pistol on the soldier's chest. “Take this with you.”
He realized he didn’t know the young soldier’s name. He reached into the chest pocket of his uniform and searched for the ID tag. He then noticed the silver dog tags.
He found the name ‘Cold Breeze’. Seabreeze sighed and clutched the tags close to his chest. He removed the helmet from Cold Breeze’s head and laid it on his chest, placing the fallen Breezie’s forelegs over it. He closed his eyes.
“Sorry kid...I’ll do what you asked...like it or not, you’re going to be a hero among your family…” He smiled a bit. “Goodnight, Cold Breeze. I’ll see you in Elysium.”
Seabreeze then backed away to let the medics record the death, and reentered his tent before the tears could fall freely. He sighed and sat down on his bed. He buried his head in his hooves and let the tears fall. He couldn’t believe it. He regretted saying those things to Cold, but he knew he couldn’t do anything. He gritted his teeth.
“C’mon...move on...he’s gone...grieve for now...but tomorrow you’ve got to get up and put that helmet back on…” He kicked his helmet with a hoof. “Why does war exist?” He looked around the tent. “Why?”
Seabreeze laid down and closed his eyes, clutching the dog tags close against him. He tried to go to sleep. Images of Cold Breeze filled his thoughts, and he tossed and turned. He started to hold back tears. No... No. Seabreeze sat up and went outside, letting the breeze catch his wings. He noticed a… cold breeze in the air. He held back another sob. He looked around.
“I’m alone…” he said, looking around. “I...never realized how quiet it can get without others…” He looked around.
The cold night air was making the grass blow slightly. Seabreeze fluttered down and landed on a thick blade of grass. He looked up to see the moon starting to rise. Seabreeze sighed and let the breeze carry him back to the ground. He needed to be awake the next day. He walked back to his tent. Seabreeze laid back down again and looked across at the small framed photo of his wife and son. He started to tear up as he reached for it.
“I miss you two…” he said, holding the picture close to his chest. He looked at the roof. “I wish I could see you again soon.” He sighed. He slowly closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. Soon, this war would be over. Hopefully…
A few months later…
Seabreeze hovered before the door of a house. His wife cradled his son beside him.
“You don’t have to do this Sea.” she spoke in their native tongue.
“I have to. It’s what Cold asked me to do,” he said, removing his hat and reaching to knock on the door.
A female Breezie opened the door, and took in his appearance. Her mouth slowly opened, looking at the officer.
“G-General?” she asked, noting his badges and medals, as well as the stripes that signified his rank.
He nodded slowly. “Yes ma’am. I’m here to inform you…” he sighed “Your son, Cold Breeze...he didn’t survive…”
Her jaw dropped. “B-But that’s impossible! We said he couldn’t join! How could he—”
“He told me he snuck into the force...it was his dying wish for me to come and tell you of his fate...and that he loved you and was sorry… he wanted to make amends.”
The Breezie started to break down as a male Breezie walked over. “Honey? Who is— it…”
“Cold’s dead.” the female said in a low voice.
“...What?”
“Ma’am, sir, I’m sorry. He died nobly, and I never saw a braver kid.”
The father embraced the mother as she started to cry. Seabreeze sighed as he handed them a folded Breezie flag. The female took it and held it close. The male looked up.
“Thank you for bringing this news...for caring too, I mean…” he sighed. “We didn’t want him to join… because we were scared he’d get hurt… or…”
“He...he was very brave...I know he regretted leaving things the way he did...but I don’t think he regretted joining. All of us...we knew the risks…”
“I guess… thank you…”
“He told me to tell you both that he was sorry, and he never meant to hurt you...he told me not to say it, but...he is a hero…”
They looked down at the flag. “Thank you…” the fallen soldier's mother whispered
“No, thank your son, for his service and bravery…” Seabreeze bowed his head to them.
The two Breezies went back into their house. Seabreeze felt his wife place a hoof gently on his shoulder. He looked over to her and smiled a bit. He took his son from her and held him close. The tiny Breezie smiled at his father.
“Let’s go home…” Seabreeze said
His wife nodded and they walked home.
Author's Note
I could not have done this without the help of MlpHero. Check out his work if you haven't already.
~Melody Song
