Same Heart, Different Days

Cloudy weather greeted the soldiers on the final day of the week.

Even as midday rolled around, a dark, gloomy gray blanketed the forest. The weather didn’t stop the soldiers from fighting, of course. So as he had been for the past few days, Rain was working on a patient.

It was a common injury. Bruising along the sides and underbelly. Armor protected against most cuts and stabs, but the impact of blows wasn’t so easily avoided. The best he could do was offer them painkillers and icy paste. After they were patched up and wrapped in gauze for swelling, Rain would send them on their way. Then, he’d wait for the next patient to stumble in.

Were days… always this bleak?

No… the other days, he had something to look forward to. Now, the only thing he could think of was that one, crucial moment. Questions bombarded him ever since the incident and they hadn’t stopped once. Why couldn’t he say anything? Just one word to let her know what he did was an accident?

“Rain!” The shout froze him in place and brought him back down to Earth. He pulled his hoof away from the patient, realizing his mistake far too late. “Pay attention! That stuff doesn’t grow on trees!”

“Sorry, sir.” Rain swiped the excess icy paste from the griffon’s bruise and began wrapping it with gauze.

“I have no use for a ‘sorry’, officer.” Rain flinched with each scalding word out of Gideon’s beak. “Concentrate. We’re suffering from enough shortages as is.”

“Yes, sir.” he finished the bandaging, then placed the gauze on the tray beside him. “I’ve finished your bandaging. If the pain persists, come back later.”

“Uh... yeah." The griffon gave Rain a look of pity before slipping out of bed. He shuffled to the entrance of the tent, then disappeared behind it. Rain could barely hide his pained expression as he watched him go. With a deep sigh, he turned to his tray and began organizing for the next patient.

“Mistakes like that will only take you further from your goal,” said Gideon. Rain looked down at his hooves in shame.

“I know…” He couldn’t say much back. As disappointed as Gideon was in him, he was doubly so in himself.

Like a bright-eyed child during Hearth’s Warming, he was so excited to reach that goal. Yet, with just a single incident, his resolve had shaken. Gideon looked down at him in silence. Rain was certain he was gearing up to call out his pitiful appearance.

“Outside. With me.” Rain met his gaze with a confused expression.

“Y-Yes sir?” Gideon had already begun walking by the time Rain realized he was serious. He trailed behind him a bit before stepping outside into the warm forest air. The sounds of shouting and clashing metal sounded from all around him. The distant rumbling of thunder echoed above. The unique smell of petrichor drifted on the breeze. He did not doubt that rain was coming.

The griffon from before had gone. For now, it was just the two of them. Gideon had stopped a bit off the path leading out. He took a seat in the grass and looked at Rain to follow suit. He did as he suggested, taking a seat on the dry earth. Yet, even after he sat, Gideon said nothing. His expression was just stony as ever, so that didn’t give him any clues. Without much else to do, he watched the skies.

“Something happened.” Gideon’s voice startled him. “Between you and your griffon mate, right?” Rain felt a sharp stab in his chest, and looked to the ground at his hooves.

“Permission to speak freely?”

“Granted.” Rain sighed.

“I fucked up. Bad.” He raised his hoof slightly and looked at it. “I was afraid. My heart was racing. Without thinking I… pulled away from the one griffon… one anything I trust the most.” He returned his hoof to the dirt and hung his head. “I’m sure that Grace knows something is wrong. She knows I didn’t want to pull away from her, but… I can’t talk to her. Not while we both have jobs to do”

“Funny how love always seems to get in the way of duty, hm?” Rain looked at him with a confused look. Gideon just scratched at his chin feathers. “It’s eerie how much you remind me of myself.”

“P-Pardon, sir?” Gideon looked into Rain’s eyes, then tapped his talon underneath his bad eye, along the scar.

“This was because of love,” he answered. “And because that love was stronger than my sense of… hey.” He frowned. “Wipe that shocked look off your face.”

“S-Sorry!” Rain quickly picked his jaw up off the floor. “It’s just hard to imagine, I suppose.” His expression switched to one of caution. “Who were you in love with?” Gideon’s silence nearly made him withdraw his question. But, after a long pause, he finally opened his beak.

“Something I should not have fallen for.” Rain’s confusion returned, and Gideon noticed it. He looked at the sky and the bleak clouds above him. After a roll of thunder cracked the sky, he spoke again. “Do you believe you and your griffon mate were the first to cross that boundary?”

“Huh?” The realization came over Rain like a wave. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped again. “You were with… a pony?” Gideon narrowed his eyes and sighed deeply.

“I wish it were a pony that gave me this scar.” Before his curiosity reared up again, Gideon shook his head and continued. “In any case, I can’t help you with romance. I’m far too old for that. But, if you want to move forward with your goals, you’ll need to be rid of those distractions.”

“I get it, but…” Rain looked down at his hoof, remembering that day once again. The desire to bring everyone together still burned bright in his chest, but the fire was fading. The biggest reason he even wanted that in the first place was Grace. And if she wasn’t by his side… what was even the point?

“Make way! Get him on the bed as fast as possible!” Rain’s thoughts were cut in half by the shouting going on above him. Seconds later, near the entrance of the tent came a set of thunderous stomps. Three griffons touched down next to them, carrying another on a tarp between them. Pain warped the griffon’s expression and his screams echoed through the trees. Rain’s eyes went wide as he saw his injury.

“Prepare some ice! A lot of it!” Gideon had already gotten to his paws. He all but sprinted toward the tent, leaving a scrambling Rain to follow close behind. As soon as they entered, they realized the chaos he’d brought with him. Doctors were scrambling every which way to prepare treatments. All the while, Rain never took his eyes off of the injury.

A torn wing. Almost completely ripped off from the griffon’s back. Had pressure not been placed on it, it surely would have come off at the seams.

For a moment, his mind wandered. To all those days ago, on that battlefield. A single fallen griffon with a cut across her wing.

“Someone get me some—” Rain took a step in front of Gideon. His head was lit ablaze with thoughts. His hooves shook with energy. This wasn’t the time to be idle. He had to act. Fast.

“I need some Chronoleaf extract, ASAP!” Rain’s voice boomed through the tent. Every eye in the place was on him. Without missing a beat, he zipped through the crowd of griffons and to the side of the injured soldier. “We need to keep the wound as cold as possible. Where’s that ice!?”

“T-There’s some under the desk, but—” Before the doctor could finish her sentence, Rain had already dove down for it. As she said, there was a jar of light blue liquid nearby. Rain swiped it up and grabbed a needle. “There’s nowhere near enough.” Rain grumbled.

“It’s not perfect, but there should be some Chronoleaf patches nearby. Someone grab a hoof full and mash it into a paste!” After barking his orders, a griffon came to his side with several bags full of ice. Rain reached into his saddlebags and popped open a bottle of pills. “Listen, we’re gonna get you through this, okay? Sit tight and hold on!” Rain fed the pills to the griffon, who swallowed them down hard.

Rain worked like a stallion possessed. His hooves shot every which way, grabbing tools and working to minimize the damage. With the amount of blood he’d spilled over the sheets alone, he wasn’t going to make it much longer without help. The Chronoleaf extract did its job, paralyzing his wing and slowing the blood flow, but it wouldn’t be enough.

Thankfully, the efficient griffon medics obtained the leaves in less than five minutes. Mashing it into a paste wasn't the most efficient, but they were against the clock here. The anesthesia pill left the patient thoroughly sedated. He became groggy just as Rain started to clean and stitch the wound. His methodical pace made it short work.

Once he laid the last stitch, he took a deep breath. Blood and sweat coated his body, so he was in no position to try dressing the wound. He grabbed a clean towel and began wiping away the blood from his hooves.

“He may have broken or dislocated some bones, so we’ll need to be extra cautious when dressing this.” He tossed the bloody rag to the side, then returned to the wound. “But we’ve avoided the worst-case scenario.”

“M-My wing…” the injured griffon croaked. Through half-lidded eyes, he looked around at the doctors surrounding him. “I… I can’t feel my wings… Is it…? Oh god…” Rain narrowed his eyes, then rested his hoof on the back of the griffon’s claw.

“The worst of it is over,” said Rain. “A little bit of physical therapy, and you’ll be alright.” He pulled his hoof away, then reached for his wing. There was still work to be done, after all.

“Thank you.” Rain froze. He must have misheard. Yet, as he glanced down at the griffon’s expression, he saw tears rolling down his face. His claw twitched like he wanted to move, but the anesthesia was still in effect. “Thank you. Thank you…”

“Y-Yeah, of course,” Rain stuttered. After a shake of his head, he returned his focus to the wound. The thumping of his heartbeat in his ears was impossible to ignore. Despite knowing better, Rain couldn’t stop his smile from coming out. “T-The job’s not done yet. Let’s finish this and then talk about thanks, okay?”

Before he could finish his sentence, the griffon succumbed to his fatigue. His eyes closed shut, and he drifted off to sleep. Rain smiled as he watched him, a comfortable pride building up in his chest. He returned to his work with a newfound purpose in his movements. Getting this griffon back to his best was all that was on his mind.

Off to the side sat Gideon, a small smirk on his face. He turned away from the commotion without a word and headed back to his own duties.

“Uh, captain? You doing alright?”

Grace looked to her side and found the earth pony member of her squad standing there. He was wearing his helmet, but his worried expression was as clear as day. Grace turned away from him with a grunt.

“You’re still trying that? I think it’s pretty clear she doesn’t want to talk about it.” The second voice came from the unicorn. Grace spared her a peek as well before returning to business.

“I know that, but I still thought I’d ask.” He looked back at Grace. “Momma always told me to be mindful of other pony’s problems, after all.”

“Maybe I’m misremembering, but I thought I told you both to do independent sparring.” Grace's voice was enough to freeze both ponies in place. She gripped the hilt of her sword and pulled it from the boulder she was striking. Its surface had been beset with long gashes and cuts from her fierce swings. She turned her head just enough to see them and gripped her sword harder. “Or maybe you’d really like to spar with me?”

“N-No ma’am, that’s alright!” The earth pony nervously laughed and took a few steps back. Even the arrogant unicorn seemed to know that this wasn’t a fight she was likely to win. “We’ll get r-right on that. C’mon!” The two scuttled away from her, joining the two griffons further out in the clearing. Grace watched them go with a dark expression, then turned away.

Next to the battered boulder, Grace took a seat, leaning her head against it. The dark clouds above them threatened to pour down, but as hours passed, they never did. Before, the weather was nothing more than an obstacle or a hindrance. But now, as she stared at the gray sky, she felt an inexplicable sharp pain in her chest.

She was overtaken by a sudden large fatigue as if she’d just walked a mile in the desert. But no matter what, she didn’t want to close her eyes. Every night, she’d see that same image going through her head. The fear on Rain's face that struck his core. The fear she'd put there. It was enough to make her strong heart crumple in an instant.

Then, just as she felt at her worst, an image would flash into her mind. A glimpse of a smug grin painted on the beak of a despicable griffon. Red feathers and red eyes. Rage would build, using her sorrow as fuel. She grabbed her sword and hopped to her paws. With a mighty grunt, she slammed her sword into the rock as she’d done many times before. But now, in a clean cut, her blade snapped in two. The tip clattered to the ground while the broken hilt stayed firmly in her grip. She took a few deep breaths before bringing it to her face and examining the chipped metal. She’d put that sword through a lot.

“C-Captain? Sorry to bother you again…” The earth pony stammered as he returned. Grace’s glare still seemed to make him squirm. “The um… general, ma’am? He’s calling for you.”

“Mmh.” Grace let the hilt slip through her claw and hit the ground. Without a word, she walked past him and into the open field, leaving her sword in the grass.

The field was as active as it was on the first day. Everyone was scrambling around, doing last-minute practice drills or scouting the forest. Grace had her fill of both already. She just wanted all this to be over.

The general was easy to spot. It was no secret that the pony liked bossing people around. Though that would normally annoy her, Grace had other things to worry about. Once she approached, the general perked up and skipped out to meet her.

“Ah, there she is! My number one soldier.” Grace stopped a ways away from him, but the general trotted even closer. She and her squad’s performances over the past few days had a positive effect on the general. Now, if anything needed doing, Grace would be the first one called. A non-hostile pony was nice, but his enthusiasm was ill-placed. Had she been an average soldier, she wondered how he’d view her. “How’s your training been going?”

“What do you…” Grace caught herself. It wouldn’t do her any good to be antagonistic here. She sighed, then rephrased. “What do you need?” The general raised a hoof, pointing behind him. A familiar face stepped forward.

“This pony’s squad is falling behind. Can you help them out?” The general turned around with a stern look. “Says he’s not feeling confident for tomorrow, but I need everyone at their best.”

“Yup. I could use the help.” Front Line scratched his dark red stubble. The general grunted and shook his head.

“If you could get them up to speed, I’d appreciate it.” Grace glared at the general, then at Front Line. It wasn’t exactly ideal, but at least she’d be doing something. Having nothing to do invited those thoughts from earlier.

“Fine.” She sighed, then stepped forward. “Let’s go.”

“Alright then. Thanks, general.” Front Line turned on his hoof. “Come on, there’s this way.”

“Mhm.” Grace hummed and fell into Front Line’s stride.

The two began their walk in complete silence. To make matters worse, Front Line’s pace was slow. Without knowing where he was taking her, she couldn’t even speed up and head for the destination. So, in the absence of conversation, the thoughts from before made their return. She looked up at the skies once more, hoping to find comfort in them like she had before.

“Hey, so…” She jumped in surprise as he spoke up. Front Line had stopped a little away from a treeline, at the edge of the clearing. He turned around to face her with a worried expression on his face. “Have you met Rain recently?” Her eyes widened, and unease crawled up her back.

“No…” she answered. She looked up with expectant eyes. “...Have you?” His expression became troubled, and he rubbed his stubble again.

“Well, I’ve seen him. He isn't looking great.” He shook his head. “He looks like a zombie. I thought he was just overworked, but it feels like there’s something else wrong.” Grace narrowed her eyes and looked down at the ground. She could feel her heart sink deeper with every word. “That’s why I wanted to ask you.”

“I see…” The uncertainty felt worse than any injury she ever had. Somewhere deep inside of her, she knew that Rain would come to her if he had a problem. But the face he made… she couldn’t get it out of her mind. “I’ve been… busy. I haven’t talked to him either.”

“That sucks...” Front Line sighed, then shook his head. “He’s not the kinda guy to just leave his friends in the dark like this. Something bad must have happened.” A cold sweat rolled down Grace’s forehead. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I… scared him. I can’t be sure but… I think that’s why he’s like that.” She opened her eyes and peered at her claws. “I reached out to him and he pulled away. He looked afraid of my claws. Like… I’d hurt him.”

“Scared him, huh?” Front Line hummed, thinking it over. “Nah, I don’t think that’s it.” Grace’s eyes widened, and she whipped her head to look up at him.

“What do you mean?”

“You ever hear what Rain was like before he met you?” The question took Grace off guard. She blinked a few times before shaking her head. “He was way different. He barely spoke up, kept himself in check, and always followed orders.” He scratched his stubble as he walked. “I don’t know why, but it was almost like he was afraid of breaking a rule or something. Even the small ones.”

“But he healed me…” Grace mumbled. Front Line pointed at her.

“But he healed you, directly against orders!” He laughed. “I really thought he went crazy when I heard the news. But after I saw him, and how he cared for you… it didn’t seem that far-fetched.” Front Line stopped in place and shook his head. “There’s no way the guy that had the courage to do that got scared. Not without a good reason, anyway.” He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “You didn’t threaten his life or anything, right?”

“N-No, of course not!” snapped Grace. Front Line put a hoof up in defense.

“Just kidding,” he said with a smile. “Well, let’s go talk to him right now!” Grace froze up as soon as he suggested it. “We'll clear the confusion right now.”

“I-I, um…” Grace clawed at the dirt. As much as she wanted to move, she couldn’t. It felt awful to guess what might have hurt Rain. The thought of confirming it made her feel much worse. As much as she told herself it couldn’t be the case… If she went there and he pulled away again…

“Grace? Are you okay?” Front Line’s voice barely reached her. Every heartbeat felt like it took everything she had to pump it out. Her beak was clenched so hard, she thought it might break. “Celestia, you ‘re paler than a ghost.”

“Oh? Is there a little party going on over here?” Grace’s eyes narrowed to pinpricks. She whipped around to face the voice and found the one griffon she really didn’t want to see. Those red feathers, those red eyes. Heat boiled up in her core just by looking at them. “Jeez, what’s up with her? Bad night’s sleep?”

“What do you guys want?” said Front Line, stepping up. Slowly, other griffons started flocking to her side. Four in total. Grace reached for her sword but found her sheath empty. She sucked her teeth and kept her eyes on Gina. And she, in turn, never took her eyes off of Grace. “We’re having a private conversation here.”

“You.” Shaking with her building rage, she stepped forward. “What did you do?’

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re gonna need to be more specific.”

“Rain… what did you do to him?” A smirk spread across her beak. Her patience could only keep a lid on her temper for so long. “Answer me. Now.”

“Mmm. That's a nice expression," murmured Gina. "That’s no way to ask someone something, right? Not that I’m surprised. Manners don’t fit a barbarian like you.” Grace took another step forward, but Gina wasn’t deterred. “Oh? Do you want to fight? Even an idiot like you should know when you’re outmatched. Or did you never learn how to count as well?”

“Did you do something to Rain or not?” Front Line chimed in. Gina looked at him with disgust but changed her tune quickly. Her smug grin returned as she tapped her cheek with a talon.

“Rain, Rain… Oh! I do remember that one. The medical pony, right?” The fur on Grace’s body stood on edge. Gina giggled. “How could I forget? After he had a taste of me, he was ready to fuck all day long—”

With a speed betraying her size, Grace lunged forward, claws out. Judging by how fast they moved, the other griffons must have been anticipating her. Two grabbed onto her forelegs and one went for her hindlegs. They pulled her down to the ground and stopped her momentum in its tracks. Gina looked on with that same smug grin that infuriated Grace so much.

"Even after telling you it was a bad idea, you still did it. Way to impress me." Gina approached, popping Grace in the beak with her claw. "How does it feel, Grace? To be powerless in front of someone like me?" Grace struggled against their hold, making Gina smirk. "Maybe now you'll feel even a bit of the shame you gave to me that day, you bitch."

Grace grunted in a struggle again. Even with a numbers advantage, pinning her down wouldn't be easy. The griffons shifted around often, trying to get her to stay still underneath them. Once one gave her the tiniest bit of leeway, she knew she had her.

She ripped her claws from their grasp and reached forward. With a burst of strength, she lunged once more, three griffons in tow. Like a viper lashing out, she grabbed hold of Gina's neck and clamped down.

“D-Damnit!” called one of the griffons. She put her weight down on Grace, trying to pull her away, but to no avail. Gina fell down, letting Grace pile on top of her. She lifted her other claw, ready to take Gina’s eye out. Panic quickly spread along her features.

“What are y-you guys doing?” she choked, clawing at Grace’s iron grip. “You're all so u-useless!” She launched her claw toward Gina’s face, but the griffon holding her right side switched to the other. Now two of them were struggling to keep her from sending her fist into Gina's face. She fought against them, but they finally managed to keep her from pushing forward.

“Mind if I cut in?” The griffon barely had time to react before a huge hoof came swinging at her beak. She yelped out and braced for impact, but it didn’t do her much good. With his whole body weight, Front Line shoved a griffon off of Grace. She went flying into a nearby tree with a huge thud. The next griffon only had a second to react to his hind hoof before he bucked into her head. She snapped back and she lost consciousness immediately.

“You bastard!” called the final griffon. She tried to climb up to Grace’s claw but was easily dispatched by a kick.

“Hey! Everyone stop!” Finally unhindered, Grace pulled back a fist. She squeezed down on her neck tight as she reached the apex. “Grace, stop!”

Her punch landed just underneath Gina’s right eye. She could feel the resistance of her skull bouncing off of the ground as she struck. She pulled back and launched another one, closer to her beak this time. Blood stained her claw as it connected.

As she readied her third swing, she was tackled to the ground. This time, it was a pony, followed by a bunch of others. She flew off to the side and was dogpiled immediately. She saw the furious look of the general, but it didn’t matter to her. She wasn’t done with Gina. She clawed at the dirt underneath all the pressure, trying to get even a single extra punch in.

“Grace, c-calm down!” Not even Front Line’s pleading was enough to keep her still. The weight of several ponies and griffons on her back meant nothing. She still managed to crawl forward. Nearly there, almost within range of her claws, Grace reached out. “Grace! How are you going to meet Rain again if you're discharged!?”

As soon as she heard those words she froze. Strength rapidly left her body until she was completely drained. She pulled back her claw and let it rest in the dirt. She’d been defeated.

“K-Keep those two apart. Far apart.” The general pointed a hoof at one of the ponies at his side. He quickly collected the fallen Gina and moved her further away. With no hope of catching up, Grace finally gave up. “Celestia, this is a mess. Let her up.”

“W-won’t she go wild again?” The general looked at Grace with an uncertain look. The intensity behind her eyes waned. He pursed his lips, then shook his head.

“She’s fine. Must’ve been a… small fight.” The dogpile shared a worried glance but followed his orders. Once Grace felt the weight lifted off of her, she got to her paws. Everyone around her studied her like she’d jump out at them. Instead, she turned to Front Line.

“Thanks.” He blinked a few times in confusion but offered her a friendly smile. Next, she turned to the general, who didn’t have the nicest of expressions on. “I’m reporting to the commander.”

“W-What for?” Grace tapped the sheath at her side.

“Need a new sword,” she said. With that short explanation, she turned away from him and headed off into the forest.

The conversation she had earlier played in her mind again and again. It alone wasn't enough to ease her completely, but she felt much better now. In her chest, she could feel a small fuzzy warmth growing. She pressed a claw to her chest, hoping that it would last just a bit longer.

For the first time that day, she smirked. She made her way to the main forest clearing in silence.