Cure for Pain

I woke up on the cold floor, Coleton sleeping soundly on the couch in the corner of the room. I was hoping this was a dream, that this was really my mind’s way of relieving the stress during the day, but my hopes were not appeased. I looked around to see the sickeningly clean hotel room, the walls adorned with happy, beautiful pictures of flowers, family, friends, etc. The irony was that we were not feeling happy; we would be leaving to some unknown location to fight who knows what.

My spirits were lifted, however, when I noticed another presence walking in the living room. I looked up to see the solemn face of Helix, looking as if he hadn’t slept at all.

“Dude…” I said, getting up to talk. “Where were you last night? We didn’t know you were the third roommate!” He gave a weak smile, rubbing his head. “I went out drinking with a couple of friends after the ceremony. I didn’t get back until around two in the morning.” He said, giving a force laughed.

“Where is the parchment?” I asked. “You know, the one that tells us where we’re going today?” He fished around in his bag to pull out a rumpled piece of paper, throwing it to me. I unfolded the paper and read.

“Apparently…” he said, acting as a narrator to what I read. “We’re being deployed to this island off the coast called Horsica.” I laughed, unable to control it. I mean, I knew that there were allusions to Earthly locations in Equestria, like Manehattan and Saddle Arabia, but really? Horsica?

“You’re gonna act as one of the brains of the operation, like me.” He said, his eyes drifting towards the bottom of the parchment. “Coleton’s gonna be on the front lines, fighing in the air.” I almost wanted to burst out crying. My best friend was gonna be out there, face to face with those ruthless monsters who wouldn’t hesitate to kill him? He was my best friend dammit, both on Earth and in Equestria, and I don’t know what would happen if I had to go back home without him. Dash would be devastated and everyone else would be depressed, including myself.

“So…” he said, noticing my worried face. “Here’s your ticket for the boat ride to Horsica. It leaves at two, so you have a few hours to get your stuff together.” I took the ticket without talking or showing any emotion. It would be too risky to try, seeing as how volatile I was at the moment.

Coleton woke up, satisfied with a good night’s sleep. He looked around to notice that what he experienced was very true, much to his dismay. He didn’t want to be here; he wanted to be back home with Dash and everyone else. He wanted to enjoy a drink with his friends and just have fun.

“Hey…” he noticed a voice coming from behind him. He looked up to see a familiar face looking down solemnly. “Hey man.” Coleton said, stretching his wings. “What’s up?” Coleton couldn’t name the look on his friend’s face. It was like Walker was trying to keep up a poker face, but failing really badly. “Here.” Walker finally said, handing him a crumpled sheet of paper and a ship ticket. “It’s our assignments for the mission. I’m gonna start packing.”

With that, Walker left the hotel room, his bags already packed with CDs and clothes. Coleton looked down to see his assignment, and his heart dropped. He wasn’t going to make it back. He had just been here for a month, and they expected him to FIGHT the changelings in actual physical combat and live?

Coleton sighed, his heart a mix of sadness and anxiety, and lifted from the couch, ready to begin what was sure to be a depressing day.

As Coleton and I were standing by the ship with Helix, not necessarily wanting to converse with other people, I pondered what I would do. I mean, I wouldn’t be able to help him with his fighting, I would be stuck in a control room, barking orders at scared ponies who were there against their will. I’m not necessarily for or against war, but I’m against friends dying in it.

The boat finally arrived, and Coleton and I shuffled onto it. They led Coleton to the stern of the ship, and me and Helix were forced into a technology filled room, beeps and clicks everywhere. I sat down in front a large, complicated computer system. We were given a brief runthrough of what everything in front of us did, and gave us a headset. “The other person you are speaking to is a foot soldier. The tracking beacon on your computer screen is their location, and your job is to keep them out of trouble. Understand?”

Everyone nodded, still confused about some things, but afraid to ask again. I picked up the headset and put it on. “Hello, are you getting a transmission from me, soldier?” I asked, not exactly sure how to initiate conversation. I was greeted with a pleasant, familiar voice. “Walker?”

“Dude!” I yelled, happy that I would keep in touch with Coleton during this fight. “I can’t believe it.” I couldn’t see him, but I could tell he was smiling a large, wide grin.

“Alright, maggots!” the drill sergeant yelled to the foot soldiers, waiting to be deployed onto the land. “You will be fighting these bastards head-on. There will be blood, gore, violence, and death. It will be rampant throughout these beaches. Try not to be the victim of it.” The drill sergeant looked behind him to an experienced army-bred pegasus, and gave him a nod. The pegasus, expressionless, pressed a button, and the barrier between the scared drafted ponies and the merciless, brutal changelings was lowered, leaving all “soldiers” open for fire. The sergeant looked forward at the cowering group of Cadets, and smiled an evil, thirsty grin.

“Get out there and FIGHT!” the sergeant barked, and the ponies departed, some in a calm, hesitant trot, and some in a full-fledged sprint to safety. This wasn’t war; war implies that both sides are experienced, and as Coleton saw the first group of ponies being beaten down by the strong, trained Changelings, evil rampant in their emerald eyes, his fight-or-flight response kicked in. He thanked Dash for his flight lessons as he flew over the clump of violence on the coast, a few smart, cunning pegasi following him.