Chapter: 13

by Chapter 13

[A Soldier's Fight Never Ends] Story Setup

A Soldier's Fight Never Ends

By: Michael A.

I awoke with a start, sweat dripping down from my forehead and down my muzzle. I looked down to see my hooves shaking, trembling. My breaths were quick, and I instantly began to try and slow both them, and my racing heart, back down to a steady rate.

Another nightmare…

This had, sadly, become a common occurrence. I thought that they’d stop now that I was back in my own country, in my own bed, but they didn’t. What made it worse what that my bed was too… soft. I felt like I was going to fall through it, straight down to the floor. All those nights of sleeping on the ground had gotten to me, and I found myself having to sleep on the floor most nights when sleep escaped me… and even when sleep did come, I found myself awoken in the middle of the night, or early hours of the day, in the same panicked, terrified state day after day.

I calmed my breathing, and slowly pushed away the covers before sliding out of bed onto the cold floor. My hooves hit the floor with a muffled “Thump” and I immediately began to make my way to my bathroom. Once inside, I turned on the cold water with a hoof, and immediately began to splash some onto my face. The cold water helped to calm me down, and bring me back to reality. I turned the water off, and wiped my face with a nearby towel. Throwing the towel back into it’s place, I looked into the mirror above the sink, and stared at it. In the mirror was a dark green earth pony stallion with a black and green striped mane. The pony in front of me looked tired, and in more ways than one. I could see the pain in his eyes, and I could see the darkness he had caused. My hoof crashed into the reflection and shattered the mirror. Bits of broken mirror rained down from the force of my blow, some managing to fall into the sink, and others landing onto the floor below. I sighed, and began picking out the broken glass shards that were embedded into my hoof from the strike. I winced several times as I pulled out the shards with my teeth before spitting them out into the nearby trashcan.

It didn’t take long to bandage my wounded hoof and clean up the glass. I had managed to contain myself from crushing any of the bigger pieces when the image of that pony stared back at me. I returned back to my bed and pulled off the blanket before curling up onto the floor. Unsurprisingly, I found sleeping on the floor better. It wasn’t that it was more comfortable, as I always woke up with a sore back in the morning, what made it better was that it made me feel more… safe. When I got comfortable, I got nervous. When I managed to let my guard down, I got nervous. It was the sad cycle that I had found myself in. That’s what my life had become, just a series for routines that I had to follow, ones that I myself had no play in creating…

I laid on the ground for what felt like hours, continuing to question my existence. Eventually, the invisible hands of sleep graced me with their presence, pulling me into a dreamless slumber. I slept well that night, better than I had slept in a long time. But I know that won’t last.

After all, tomorrow is another night...