Cure for Pain

“YES!!!!” I yelled, seeing the little red beacon representing Coleton. He was using his brain and avoiding conflict. “That was really smart, what you did back there.” I told Coleton as he and the small group flew away with a relatively low danger level. They weren’t in the clear, but the threat wasn’t that big.

“Thanks.” He said, wasted adrenaline shaking his voice as he flew away. “I wasn’t going to join that fight. That would have been suicide.” I looked around, noticing all the beacons by the coast that were disappearing as every life sent to fight was being lost. It was depressing to see the other operators set down his or her headset and walk out, as his or her only hope for contribution was lost with the pony he or she was helping. “Dude…” I said, noticing black beacons coming from the north. “Retreat NOW!”

And this was how the next couple of hours went, with me leading him to the safest location. I had to lead Coleton through combat, and it was no question that he had to fight individual Changelings every once in a while, but I kept him from the large packs that would rip him to shreds. As I led him on, the fatigue became heavier on his voice, and his voice slowly became less lively as the time went on.

“Dude, keep fi-“  I started before he interrupted me. “You know something, Walker? Maybe I’m sick of fighting.” I was fearing this was his loss. This was his loss of motivation. “Dude, keep going. I can’t stand the thought of you just giving up. Keep go-“

“I DON’T CARE, MAN!” I heard through my headphones, my eardrums assaulted by a depressed, shrieking friend. “I JUST DON’T CARE ANYMORE! Do you know how many of those Changelings had the same look of fear on their faces as I had to fight them? I let them go, I let them fly away, but that look of fear, that temporary look of inevitable death on their faces… it’s inhuman.” I let his words sink in, a tear falling down my face. It was inhuman, to send my friend to either die for the military or kill for it. Coleton was my friend, so full of life and humor, and now he was reduced to a sack of skin and bones, all motivation lost.

“You don’t mean that, man.” I said, trying not to let my crying affect my voice. “You don’t know how much you mean to people. I don’t want to lose my best friend, Dash certainly doesn’t want to lose the best damn boyfriend she ever had, and I wouldn’t know what to do without you, man. Friends forever, since kindergarden.” I noticed a weak chuckle through my earphones.

“Remember that fight we had, man?” He asked. “That fight in Kindergarten that made us not speak to each other for years? What was that about?” Good. I was tapping into his memories. “I don’t know, man. I think I stole your animal crackers or something.” I said, trying to initiate humor. “But we’ve been close since then, man. You helped me through shit I could never have gone through alone. I don’t want to go home without you, man.

So get up and fight, man. Let’s go back home, see our marefriends and our best friends again. Enjoy life from now on.” I looked up to the screen to see a group of Changelings heading straight to his location. Most of his fellow pegasi had died, that much I knew. If Coleton didn’t fight, this would be the end of him.

“Dude, group of around fifteen changelings headed your way. Get up and fly southeast.” His location didn’t move. It was still there, but there was no voice responding to me, and there was no movement of his beacon on the screen.

“DAMMIT, COLETON, MOVE!” I yelled. No movement. No voice. My mind raced for a solution; he was unresponsive, but alive. I needed to keep it that way, but I couldn’t find a way to do that.

Coleton sat on the cold sand, letting the sun dip below the seawater to his right. He had accepted his fate. He didn’t want to die, but that was exactly what was going to happen. He wasn’t going to run; running from fate was unnecessary. He lay down, and enjoyed the cold sand against his tangled, dirty coat. It felt soothing in this world of chaos he was in, and he enjoyed it.

He looked up and saw the group of Changelings flying towards him. He chuckled, standing up and waiting for sweet release.

All of a sudden, from behind him, he heard a thunder-like sound and a bright green flash blinded him. He looked back to see what it was, but he only saw the silhouette of a pony figure, walking towards him. He smiled, and laid back down, closing his eyes. A green flash surrounded the two ponies, and the dark beach’s salty smell was replaced with the sanitary smell of medical equipment, and as he was rolled off of the back of his savior, his resistance to sleep finally broke, and the warm embrace of slumber surrounded him.