//------------------------------//
// OH SH... 
// Story: I Killed Fiddy Men, Not Ponies 
// by LtMajorDude 
//------------------------------//

Cotton decided that, since he hadn't talked to Mark, he should visit him.

"Excuse me lady." He asked a random mare in the street. "Ya know how I can get to...uh..Mar...I mean Midway's house"

"Just around the block." the mare responded.

Cotton then headed towards the direction the mare pointed.

He stopped in front of a red brick house.

He noticed a mailbox that was labeled "Midway"

"Yeah," Cotton said. "This's Mark's place."

He walked up to the front door.

Just when he was about to knock, he heard a small stool fall to the ground inside.

Curious, Cotton walked around the house to find the source of the sound.

When he walked up to a window, he was horrified at what he saw.

Mark was there hanging in a noose, tied to a ceiling fan.

"Oh shi..." Cotton muttered.

Cotton immediately rammed to the window, shattering it.

Then he picked up a sharp piece of the window and threw it to the noose rope, cutting it.

Mark then fell to the ground, coughing violently.

Cotton ran to Mark. "Jesus Christ! Mark! What the hell is wrong with you?-!"

Mark just sobbed and coughed. "I killed them..." he groaned.

Cotton just dropped his jaw. "What?" He whispered.

Mark just muttered. "I'm sorry Alex, Andrew, Jacob, Joshua..." he said before passing out.

"Mark!" Cotton shouted as he shook Mark. "DON'T YOU DIE ON ME, SOLDIER!"





Three days later

Mark then woke up.

He noticed that he was in a hospital bed.

He lifted up his arm and noticed two IV tubes on his arm.

He placed a hoof on his face and felt a respirator tube on his nose.

"I'm alive...?" he whispered.

"Yeah. You are."

Mark slowly turned his head and saw a smirking Cotton, who had his arms crossed.

"Took you three days to wake up. You was always the soldier youse was at the WWII." Cotton said before his smirk became a frown. "Now then. Mind telling me why you were hanging on a fan?"

Mark just stared at Cotton before rapidly reaching to the cord of his life support.

Cotton quickly grabbed Mark's hoof and shook his head. "Pulling the plug?" he said with a raised eyebrow. "I don't think so."

Mark glared at Cotton. However, it slowly turned from a glare to a pained, sad face.

Immediately, he broke into tears. He put both of his hooves on his face.

Cotton sighed. "Just tell it to me Mark. Ain't nobody here but us two."

Mark slowly stopped crying and, in a sad tone, explained the whole thing.

Cotton just widen his eyes.

Mark just gasped. "I can't take it anymore, Cotton." he said. "I just want to end it...I just...want to...die..."

Cotton placed a hoof on Mark's shoulder. "Don't you dare say that, soldier." he said with a serious tone. "Sure, you killed some people. But, the reason why you'll like this is because you never forgave yerself for this. When I met you, here on this stupid horse world, you were happy. You had some good friends, a house, a life, every-goddamn-thing. And now yer gonna throw all that away. Let me ask you something. Suppose ya did kill yerself. What about that cross-eyed pony? What about those six horse friends? What about all of your friends? What about the life you have that's a million times better than what you had on Earth? Are you willing to throw all that just because you couldn't forgave yerself for the death of yer friends? Are you willing to let them feel the same way you did when you killed yer friends? Are you willing to kill yourself?"

Mark just stared at Cotton, dried tears were under his eyes.

Cotton took out a shard of glass he got from three days ago at Mark's house.

He placed it on Mark's hoof.

"Remember, soldier." Cotton said. "I don't know the right or wrong answers. It's all you. You pick yes, use that shard. You pick no, throw it away."

He turned away and crossed his arms, letting out a serious look on his face.

Mark looked at Cotton, who was still standing.

He then looked at the shard, seeing his reflection.

As Cotton looked away, he heard a noise.

A noise he knew he would hear.

A glass shard shattering.

He turned around and saw the glass pieces on the floor and Mark, who gave Cotton a small smile.

Mark saluted Cotton. "Thank you, Colonel."

Cotton saluted back to Mark. "Much obliged, soldier."

"Mark!"

Cotton turned around and saw the pony whom he believed was Derpy Hooves.

She ran to Mark and gave him a hug. "I was so worried for you!" she said as she shed tears on his shoulder.

Mark hugged Derpy tightly. "I'm so sorry Derpy..."

Cotton let out a smile as he left the room, leaving only Mark and Derpy.

As Cotton left the hospital, he realized something.

He felt that he did something good.

Sure, he did SOME good back on Earth, but for some reason, it was different this time.

Cotton just shook his head. "God said I would redeem myself here...He...I...NO!...No?" he said to himself.

He just sighed and muttered, "Crap..." as he went back to Sweet Apple Acres.