The Chronicles of Swarm: The Equestrian Front

by kildeez

Chapter LXVI: Lost Memories, Remembered Nightmares

Twilight groaned and turned over in her bed, flopping right out onto the floor. Still moaning, she shakily pushed herself to her hooves, squinting against the sun peeking in through her blinds. “Midday?” She asked, judging from the sun’s height in the sky. “That can’t be…”

Shaking her head to clear an odd bit of fuzziness creeping in along the edges of her mind, the violet unicorn queasily stumbled to the stairs, an odd smell meeting her nose. Lifting a hoof, she gave her pits a sniff and immediately cringed. “Gosh, I must’ve had a nightmare and sweat myself half to death!” She exclaimed, heading to the kitchen for a glass of water. She tried to remember any sort of dream she’d had the night before as she guzzled her glass down, but nothing coherent came to mind. Just…sounds…loud bangs and pops in the night, and faces…faces that were furless, maybe? That was weird, why would somepony’s face not have any fur?

A groan from the doorway interrupted her thoughts. Spike stumbled in, cradling his head and trailed by Owlowiscious, along with Angel the bunny and Tank the tortoise. “Looks like somepony had a fun night,” Twilight said with a light smile, offering the glass to him.

“Yeah, real fun,” he mumbled, drinking greedily. “Just wish I could remember some of it.”

Twilight frowned at that. “You didn’t raid Applejack’s cider stores while we were away, did you?” She accused.

“What!? No, I swear! Wait,” he clenched his head while Angel hopped around him, the bunny setting to making breakfast for himself. “Where did you guys go again?”

“Um…” embarrassed, Twilight trailed off as she scoured her memory, but all she kept getting were more of those random bangs and strange, furless faces. She trailed off as she headed to the front door to grab the morning paper, hoping Spike would let the matter drop.

“Ha!” He laughed as she spread the paper out on the kitchen table. “Looks like I’m not the one who tried some cider!”

“No,” she grimaced, eyebrows scrunched up. “That can’t be it, I just…can’t seem to…” her eyes fell on the main headline: “Guard Captain honored in ceremony”, in big, black lettering, and immediately it all came rushing back to her.

“That’s it! We went to Coltton for Shining’s awards ceremony! He was being honored for fending off that dragon attack!” She exclaimed, never even noticing the little shimmer that entered her eyes, erasing all traces of the odd furless creatures and the strange ‘bang’ sounds from her mind.

“Aw yeah,” Spike added, also not noticing the shimmer passing over his eyes. “And Fluttershy and Rainbow had me watch their pets while you girls were gone!”

“Which I thought was weird,” Twilight snickered, opening the paper up while Angel cracked a few eggs into the frying pan on the stove. “I mean, after last time…”

“Hey, I wasn’t that bad,” Spike folded his arms as Tank took one look at what the rabbit was cooking, gasped in horror, and immediately launched himself at the little bunny, managing a top speed of almost a snail’s pace. Not bad for a tortoise, but not enough to honestly concern the rabbit as he sprinkled cheese into the omelet.

“Spike, you nearly lost all our pets,” Twilight said, eyebrows rising as Owlowiscious joined in the attack, dive bombing the bunny while hooting and screeching wildly.

“No! We were just…playing hide and seek and…they were…really, really good,” the baby dragon replied unconvincingly, the owl and the rabbit now engaged in brutal paw-to-talon combat while the tortoise nipped at them periodically.

“Sure,” she smiled, skimming over the article. It was just an overview of everything she already knew, though: the tiny village of Coltton had come under attack by a rogue dragon right in the middle of Shining and Cadence’s honeymoon, and her BBBFF had fended it off in true royal guard fashion, injuring himself in the process. The article featured a picture of the royal couple, sharing a kiss in the hospital, his face wrapped in bandages. Twilight couldn’t be prouder of him. She had hopped on the first train to Coltton when she’d heard the news and arrived just in time for an impromptu ceremony celebrating his bravery, and they’d all been swept up in the festivities amidst the repairs the village had needed. All in all, it was the perfect ending to a wonderful, fairytale-like story, with the big hero getting a kiss from the beautiful princess for the papers. And that was it. There was nothing else that happened. She was certain of it now. Wasn’t she?

“Twilight?”

“Hmm?” She looked up from the paper. Spike had a grip on both Owlowiscious and Angel, trying to keep them separated, even as Tank butt his head feebly against one of the dragon’s knees. The dragon eyed his caretaker suspiciously.

“Is something wrong? You’re crying.”

“I’m what?” She reached a hoof up and felt a single tear running down her cheek. She arched an eyebrow at it. That was odd, why was that there?

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts yet again. “Don’t worry, Spike, I got it,” she said, still staring quizzically at the touch of moisture on her hoof.

“Yeah, thanks,” he replied just as the bunny wrenched free of his grip.

Twilight opened the door and smiled as a certain yellow pegasus hovered in the air over her doorstep. “Um, hi Twilight,” she said.

“Fluttershy! Glad you could make it!” Twilight cooed, hugging her friend just as a loud crash sounded from the kitchen, accompanied by a series of squawks and loud thumps. “Really glad. I take it you’re here for Angel?”

“Oh, yes,” the pegasus replied, trotting into the treehouse. “I just remembered I left him here a little while ago. I guess now would be a good time to pick him up?”

“Yes, thank you.” Twilight smiled sheepishly as the bunny bounded from the kitchen and into Fluttershy’s arms, spitting a raspberry over its shoulder at the owl hot on its trail. With an annoyed hoot, Owlowiscious flapped her wings and returned to her perch by the window, glaring angrily at the little bundle of squeaking fur.

“Also, Rainbow wanted me to tell you she’ll be by later to pick up Tank. Right now, she had some things she wanted to do,” Fluttershy said, making sure to leave out the minor detail that she had found the cyan pegasus sobbing into her pillow when she had visited her earlier, crying about strange dreams and “something she’d lost, but couldn’t remember what”.

“Oh, she can take her time,” Twilight replied cheerfully, glaring at the bunny in Fluttershy’s hooves. “Really, Tank is no problem.”

“I didn’t think he would be. W-well, I guess I’ll be on my way,” the pegasus hovered out the door, not even noticing the envelope that fell out of the satchel wrapped around her body.

“Okay, be sure to…wait, Fluttershy!” Twilight quickly scooped up the envelope and hoofed it to her friend. “You nearly forgot this!”

“Oh my, thank you so much, Twilight! I’m not sure what I would’ve done if I lost this!”

“You’re welcome, what is that, though? It looks like a letter.”

“Oh yes, the Princess set me up with a penpal just the other day! He’s from another nation; she says it’s to improve international relations or something like that.”

“A penpal from another nation, hmm? Sounds exciting!”

“Oh, it is! He just got back from serving in his country’s army, and he’s just trying to get settled back to regular life,” the pegasus’ eyebrows scrunched up slightly in concern. “The way he talks though, it sounds like he’s having a hard time. He lost a few friends while he was serving, and he…he says he has bad dreams now…”

“Ah,” Twilight smiled, suddenly understanding why Celestia had chosen the Element of Kindness for such an assignment. “Well, it’s a good thing he has a wonderful pony to write to about it, isn’t it?”

“Aheh, well,” Fluttershy blushed immediately. “I-I’ll just be going then.”

“Okay, take care!” Twilight said, waving her friend off. “And send my regards to your penpal!”

“I will!” The pegasus replied, waving as she flapped away. Twilight had the right idea, she figured. Perhaps it would be best to write a letter to her penpal soon. Something told her he could use the marginal comfort a letter from a friend would…

She paused at that thought. A friend? That was strange, usually it would take quite a bit more than a few letters to consider somepony her friend, especially somepony she’d never met. Yet for some reason, when she thought about this pony, she couldn’t help but associate that term with him. Brushing off the creeping sensation that seized her shoulders, Fluttershy turned herself to her little cottage home, still cradling the bunny in her hooves.

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Uris shifted on his overstuffed couch and suppressed a burp, quietly forcing the offending gas back down to his stomach. He had a lady in the house, after all, and he didn’t want to do anything to make her any more uncomfortable than she already was. The beer in his hand sloshed as he moved to change the channel yet again. He had been watching the Patriots game on his little analog TV, and while it wasn’t much of a screen he loved it simply because, like the rest of the little apartment in Queens where he spent his days, it was his.

A crash from the kitchen interrupted his thoughts, and in a heartbeat he was on his feet, vaulting the couch and charging into the little, tiled corner of his apartment that served as a kitchen. A large, metal bowl rattled to a stop on the ground, quivering slightly. “Fluttershy?” He asked.

A little, yellow nose poked out from under the bowl, a pair of gorgeous blue eyes still shrouded in darkness behind it. He smiled gently. “I-I’m sorry, Uris,” the pony’s angelic voice quivered from underneath the bowl. “I-I just wanted to make you dinner to thank you for having me over, but the stove had all these buttons and-and there were all these appliances that I’ve never seen before and…”

“Fluttershy,” he smiled, slowly pulling the bowl off the little pegasus. She gazed up at him, still unsure, still quivering, and once again his heart melted. You’d think he might grow used to that unsure little look she flashed him every so often, but a part of him still went to mush every time. “You don’t have to do that, you know. You’re my guest, and you don’t even know what humans eat.”

“I-I know, but still…”

“But still, it was very, very sweet of you,” he interrupted, his heart lightening as a little blush entered her cheeks. Finally taking her hoof to help her up, he ushered her back to the living room. “C’mon, I think ‘Animal Planet’ has a special on tonight about Earth dog breeds.”

“Sounds nice,” another voice rasped from the couch. Uris smiled once again, this time an easygoing half-smile, as a slightly tanned hand held up a bottle of beer. “Saved your beer for ya, too! You should be more careful with this shit.”

“Ramirez man, watch your language,” the pilot climbed onto the couch and grabbed the beer from the hand, popping it open with a little hiss. “We got a lady in the house now.”

The SEAL grinned, his arms sprawled back over the couch as he reclined lazily. “Eh, forgot about that. Sorry, Flutters.”

“Oh, d-don’t worry.” She replied, gently flapping her little wings to land between them. “I’m not sure why you guys keep calling me that, though; Rarity is the lady in our group…”

“Oh, pish-posh,” Ramirez waved a hand as Uris took a sip from his beer and reached for the remote. “You’re plenty lady for us, Miss ‘Shy. Hell, probably more lady than we deserve.”

“Language,” Uris chided.

“I-I’m still not sure what you guys are talking about half the time,” the little yellow pegasus said, her nose scrunched up cutely. “Although there is one thing I’ve been wondering.”

“What’s that?” Uris asked as he flipped the channel over to ‘Animal Planet’ (Fluttershy’s favorite, unsurprisingly enough).

“Actually, it’s a question for Mr. Ramirez,” she replied, turning to the SEAL. “I was just wondering if dying hurts.”

The pilot froze, his beer a centimeter from his lips. “W-what?” He asked quietly.

“I’m glad you asked, ‘Shy,” Ramirez replied, still with that laid-back, cheerful grin on his face. “Because yes, in fact; it did hurt. It hurt more than anything.”

“Nuh-no,” Uris whimpered, the beer dropping from his fingers and spilling over the carpet.

“Now, what part would you say hurt the most: the part where your skin dissolved under all that gooey crap, or the moment when the last shreds of life slipped out of your body and you closed your eyes, fully aware that you would never open them again?” Fluttershy asked, still in her gentle, withdrawn tone.

“I don’t wanna hear this, Ramirez please, I don’t wanna hear,” Uris said, rocking back and forth on the couch, his eyes pinched shut, fingers stuffed in his ears. For some reason, it didn’t do anything to block out the sound of Ramirez’s voice.

“Neither, I’d say. It was probably the part where this jackass right here fell short and forced me to take his place,” Ramirez laughed jokingly, giving the pilot a gentle bro-punch to the shoulder.

“I DON’T WANNA HEAR! I DON’T WANNA HEAR! I DON’T WANNA HEAR!” Uris curled up in a little ball on the couch, eyes squeezing shut in the vain hope that he could shut the SEAL out.

“But you wanna know the very worst part?”

“No, no, nonononononononono please, Ramirez, please…”

Uris felt the SEAL shift on the couch, a hand on the pilot’s thigh. He slowly opened his eyes, tears pouring down his face. “It was knowing that it all could’ve been avoided if it hadn’t been for you,” Ramirez cooed, staring right into Uris’s horrified face as his skin slowly dissolved, bubbling and boiling away to slump over the carpet beneath him.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…Jesus…” Uris gasped, still rocking back and forth on the couch as he sobbed.

“Sorry?” A hand covered in burns clamped down on his shoulder, bits of muscle visibly flexing where the skin had been sheared off. Uris jerked to find Miller standing behind him, still in uniform, still with half his body covered in shrapnel. “You think sorry covers it, son?” He asked, blood bubbling from the hole where his trachea used to be.

“Sorry doesn’t even come close,” Parker added, his blackened, skeletal body creaking as he hobbled unsteadily from the kitchen.

“Sorry is just something people say when they know they’ve done something they can’t ever, EVER take back,” Bannon’s decapitated head added, sitting on a platter next to a steaming steak dinner, his body slicing in and feeding him bits of meat as warm jets of blood sprayed the curtains behind it, shooting from the stump at the end of its neck.

“Please,” Uris sobbed, terrified, as the dead men closed in on him, their bloodied, decrepit hands reaching for his face. “Please, I’m sorry! I’m so, so, sorry!”

The hands stopped, clenched his hair in their skeletal grips, and forced him to turn, making him look Fluttershy right in the eye. That sweet, innocent gaze had long since been abandoned, replaced by a look of disgust at the man before her. “Sorry doesn’t bring back the dead, Uris,” she hissed, shoving a hoof against his head to force him back down into the pile of burnt and broken humanity, her nose scrunched up in revulsion. “Now get away from me, you freak!”

“No!” He screamed as the scratching began, the ghosts descending upon him, clawing and gnashing at his skin like rabid animals. “No! Please! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m…”

Comments

[vullture]

When twilight felt the tear on her face it reminded me of that scene in Doctor Who when Amy forgot who Rory and found she was crying for no reason.