//------------------------------// // The Aftermath. // Story: A Marine and His Ponies // by USMC517 //------------------------------// The dawn of a new day had come again. Everyone that stayed the night, slept soundly throughout Twilight's house. It was early still and the sun was just starting to peek out and signal for all to awaken from sleep. The only one who was up though, was James. He had had another nightmare just a few minutes before, and did not want to go back to sleep. He sat looking out the window at what the storm the previous night had caused, but it was unclear to him because a thick fog had formed outside and covered everything in a dense, grey blanket. He continued looking out the window for a long while, trying to settle back down from his horrific dream. After finally calming down, he went back over to where he was sleeping at and laid down for an hour or so more. He woke up once again, laying in his bed and listening to the sounds of everyone sleeping. Both Rainbow and Spike snored, but Twilight was quiet. James liked his friends, even if one of them was a little spiteful at first he thought. He got up after a few minutes and quietly walked around so as to not disturb anyone. He picked up a chair from the kitchen table and brought it to the window he was gazing out before. He sat down and propped his legs on the window sill and got comfortable. The fog was still outside, but it had cleared up slightly and exposed some of the landscape. Some trees had been blown over and the twisted roots exposed, leaving a large earthen hole where they had been previously glued to the ground. The tips of some had been blown off and littered the ground, along with countless branches. Many pony's houses were covered in debris and other things such as trash and shingles from other's houses; a few windows had been broken as well, and the streets were covered in puddles. The storm had certainly done a number on the town and possibly other places as well. "Hope my little crack shack is still standing." He said quietly to himself. He looked around for a little longer, then got up to stretch. He bent down and touched his toes, then went back up and stretched his back and arms. With a yawn and neck crack, he went over to where he piled his gear on the floor and began to sort it out. He put his rifle and pistol aside and checked them individually to see if any rust was starting to form on them. Luckily he hadn't seen any so he put them back together. He then went to his rucksack, which was damp but fairly dry inside, to sort out the rest of his gear and make sure everything was still in its place. These were the only things he had left that would keep him alive and his weapons working, so he wanted to make sure at all times he had everything. He laid it all out and perused it with a keen eye, everything was there and accounted for, except one little piece of equipment; his Oakley sun glasses. "How the hell did I miss those? This whole time I've been here and I haven't put them on once, and now I just realize that I don't have them... fuck." He sighed. He put everything back in his bag and zipped it up, still mad that he hadn't noticed the glasses were missing. He laid out his jacket and hung it up on the back of his chair after putting his plate carrier on the backrest. He turned around to put the rest of it on the chair and it all fell backwards from the unbalanced and excessive weight. It fell to the floor with a loud crash. James quickly and as quietly as he could, went back over to it and set it back up properly. He turned back around after fixing it to see that he had woken Rainbow Dash up. She was laying on her side, propped up on her foreleg, looking at him with a friendly smile and soft eyes, even though she had been woken up, which she hated. "Hey, James. What's up?" She asked in a soft, quiet voice. "Oh... sorry Rainbow, I didn't mean to wake you up." "It's okay, no biggie. What are you doing up this early though?" "Couldn't sleep." He said thinking back to the nightmare he had. "Oh. Something wrong?" She asked concerned for him. "No, it's just that I had another bad dream. Not a big deal, it happens." He played it off, even though they tormented him while he slept some nights. "Really? They seem to be a problem, to me anyway. I mean, from what you've told us all, you've been through a lot of bad stuff." "Well, yeah, but it's really not a big deal, they're just dreams is all. Nothing real about them." He stated as he propped his rifle up on the chair and holstered his sidearm. "Well, if you say so, James." She said giving up on it. "You can go back to sleep Rainbow, I'm just getting my stuff ready to leave here in a few hours or so, it's about 0630 right now, probably head out at 0700 or 0730, I need to get back and see if my house is up or a pile of Lincoln Logs." "Oh, yeah, I kind of forgot that there was a storm last night. What are Lincoln Logs by the way?" "They're just a toy for kids to play with, basically just a pile of sticks to make a house. But anyway, if you're up or not I'm rolling out. I'm not trying to be mean, I just need to get back there is all. From the looks of it out there, it more than likely got blown over." He said as he put his boots next to the chair. He then walked back over to where his bed was at, and began to fold the blanket . "Oh, that's okay, I'm not worried about it. Well then, if you're cool with it, I'm going to go back to sleep. It's been a while since I slept in. Wanna' meet up later today?" She asked as she yawned. "Sure, I'll probably be at home fixing all of my broken shit, though." "Okay, well, I'll see ya' later then." She said with a smile, then collapsed back into the couch and closed her eyes. James waited around for another hour then began to put his gear back on to get ready to leave. He clipped his helmet to his rucksack and let the goggles dangle off the chin strap. He put his jacket on, then cinched the leg cuff strings tight on his pants. He tucked them into his boots then put them on tight, wrapping the laces around at the top. He put his drop leg holster on his belt then secured it to his leg, then stowed his pistol in it. He slung his pack on, then put the sling of his rifle over his shoulder and secured it and headed for the door. He looked at Rainbow for a brief moment as she slept. Her chest rose up and down and her sides expanded as she breathed quietly. "See ya' around, Rainbow." He whispered, then walked out the front door of Twilight's house. The fog was still thick, the air was cold and the ground was very wet with puddles and mud everywhere on the streets. The humidity in the air quickly began to produce condensation on his face and everything else. As he walked, all of the sticks and other debris would crunch and crack under his weight, sending an echo down the streets that were barren of ponies. It had become slightly easier to see as the sun crept up, but the grey swallowed most of it, along with everything else around it. "Fuck, how in the hell am I going to get out of here, let alone back home? I couldn't see a damn Abrams if it was painted red in this shit!" He said out loud to himself. He continued on and looked around for a street to head down and possibly lead him out of town, but it was nearly impossible. He tried to remember what houses he had passed by that had lead him through town, but they were hard to recognize with being covered in mud, dirt, missing siding and chipped paint. He stopped to think for a moment and get his bearings on the situation. After a few moments of thinking, he realized he had his compass and quickly grabbed it from his rucksack. His house was towards the southeast and roughly a half mile from the main part of town. He closed his eyes to try and envision his way back through town and soon got his route, but still needed to navigate the dense fog and structured town. With no map it was difficult, but with knowing his way around slightly, he soon found a path to take. He walked down it for a while, following where the compass pointed. After walking for a few minutes, and running into a few unseen buildings, he came to the outskirts of Ponyville. As he got closer to leaving, the amount of stuff left behind from the storm became more intense with more and more trees being blown over and thicker branches laying on the ground. He approached a small intersection close to where the town emptied out to the rest of the surrounding area, but a large tree had fallen over and blocked the path. "Damn it." He said getting annoyed. He went to the left where it looked like the street would let out, but as he got closer he could make out what looked like to be a building, half smashed by another large tree. The branches draped on the ground and pieces of wood and other housing material lay scattered everywhere. He could slightly see the bedroom upstairs, but noone was in it. "Well that's good, I guess.." He thought. As he got closer he could hear sounds coming from inside the house. He quickly turned his full attention to it to find out what it was. "Someone in there?" He asked aloud. Hhhuuhhhhh... guuuuhhhh he got in response. He could clearly tell somepony was in distress. "Oh shit. Whoever is in there, I'm captain James Crossland of the U.S. Marines, I want you to knock loud once for me if you are okay and able to move, knock twice if you can't and need medical assistance!" He yelled in at the building. He quickly unslung his pack and everything else off. Knock... knock. "I hear you, just keep making sounds so I can locate you!" He yelled back. "Corpsman, corpsman!" He yelled out into the town for anypony to hear, but noone came to assist him. He quickly whipped out his pistol and aimed it at a small garden patch, firing two shots at the dirt to avoid ricochet. Bang bang! "Corpsman! Medic! Doctor!" He yelled once more, then turned back to the trapped victim. "Keep talking to me! Knock once if you are a male, twice if female!" Knock knock "Understood, I'll get you out of there ma'am! Just hang tight and I'll make my way in to you, just keep talking to me!" He said once more. The mare would knock randomly to let him know where she was, but it was hard to hear sometimes because it was so faint. He undid his helmet and strapped it to his head as a safety measure, then detached his rail-mounted flashlight and clicked it on. "Fire! Fire! Fire!" He yelled out to see if anypony would respond to that. Finally somepony did. "What is all the ruckus going on out here!?" A purple mare with a swirling light purple and white mane and tail asked as she stepped out from her own house. It took her just a moment to realize what was happening. "Oh my, is everything okay!?" She asked now very alert and surprised. "What's your name?" James asked quickly as he snapped his head up. "I- I'm Cheerilee, the local school teacher. W- what happened here?" She asked as she quickly trotted over. "I'm James; someone is trapped in here and she needs help. I need you to get some of your friends or whoever and help me with the lady in here! What is her name?" He ordered. "Lyra lives here. I have a few friends close by I can get." She offered. "Go get them Cheerilee, hurry! Lyra, I'm coming in for you, just keep making noises for me!" He yelled as he began to crawl through the barely openable door, having a very hard time with it and almost getting stuck. He turned back around and got back into a good position to try and force it open more. He let go a powerful kick, causing the door to crack; he let another go, and another until there was just enough room for him to squeeze through. He squirmed inside and began to crawl around in the rubble, shining the light over everything. He caught a glimpse of what he thought was Lyra, but it turned out to be just a blanket. "Lyra, I know it might hurt, but I need you to keep making noise so I can get to you!" He called out to her. She had become even quieter with the sounds that James wasn't able to tell if she had stopped or not. "H-hee-eeellpp." She said very faintly. James quickly went in the direction of where he heard the voice, banging his head a few times on the broken, wood beams; he could tell that she was in very poor shape. He finally found her after a few more minutes of digging and searching. Cheerilee had gotten some of her friends and was back at the house. "Mister James, we're here! What do you want us to do!?" She asked. "I need you to make a stretcher to lay her on, and get one of your friends to start clearing out a path for me and her to get out of! Got it!?" He directed. "Doughnut Joe, Time Turner, start clearing out a path for them. Berry Punch and I will make the stretcher." Cheerilee ordered. "How will we make it though?" Berry Punch asked looking around. "There's plenty of shit around ladies, get some sticks from the trees and find some cloth in all of the trash! Lyra keep making noise for me dear, don't stop at all." He said as he dug as fast as he possibly could to get to her. He finally got down enough to do something, but he found that the turquoise mare had a large piece of wood sticking out of her stomach and was very pale in color. "Fuck! She's got a puncture wound to her left abdominal cavity! We're gonna need a doc immediately, how are we looking out there guys!?" "We're getting the entrance dug out enough for you, those two are still getting stuff for the stretcher thing!" Joe answered. "Copy! I'm gonna' move her in just a second and we'll head your way, don't stop digging until we're out! Come on Lyra, I didn't tell you to stop, now keep on talking to me. What's your name?" He asked as he moved a few more boards out of the way. "I- I don't- don't know." She very weakly said. As he moved another board he could see where she had bled at. A large red spot was seen on everything underneath her. "That's good enough. She's got a concussion!" He yelled out to them, "what day is it Lyra?" "I don't kn- know." "That's okay, just stay conscious and focus on me. Now Lyra, I'm going to move you and it will probably hurt. But whatever you do, don't fight me on it, I'm going to get you out of here before this whole thing comes down on us." He warned her. Immediately after it, the two stallions moved a large beam, causing the house to collapse more, a loud crash was heard coming from inside. "Are you okay!?" Time Turner asked. "Fine! Just don't let that happen again!" James yelled back. He turned around to find his way out, which had been luckily opened up much better by their digging accident. "Hold up guys, stop! I have a clear shot out, don't do anything!" He shouted out to the stallions. They immediately stopped what they were doing and began to look for the two inside. James turned back around and propped his light up so he could see and take Lyra at the same time. He worked around her and lifted up one of her arms, then the other and began to slowly pull her out. "Aaaaaahhhh!" She screamed, but soon lost consciousness and stopped. "Goddamn it! She slipped out, get that stretcher ready! We're moving the second she's on there!" He yelled out to them as he began to drag her body out. "They're not ready yet." Joe said as he looked around to see them still trying to get at a piece of cloth to use. He quickly ran to help them, leaving Time Turner to help James when he got out. "Tell them to be ready when we're out!" James barked. He took the light and looped it uncomfortably in the straps of his helmet so he could use it better. He didn't care that it hurt though and continued to pull Lyra out of the destroyed house. They made it to the exit finally, and waiting there with a partially made stretcher, stood all four ponies. "That thing ready?" He asked. "Not quite, we don't have enough materials." Cheerilee said. James wasted no time and got on the task. "Doughnut Joe, support her head so it's not on the ground. Cheerilee and Time Turner, hold this thing up tight, I'll put my jacket on it. When that's done I want Joe and Turner to get on the stretcher to move it to the hospital. Got it?" He asked as he took off his jacket turned it inside out and slid the branches they had gotten through the arm holes, they all nodded and got into position. Once he finished and got it tight, he told the stallions to move the stretcher into place. They brought it over next to her and James rocked her side up to let the makeshift piece of medical equipment slide under, then he rocked her the other way to let it get under her entirely. She was getting more pale by the minute. "Are we going to the hospital now?" Berry Punched asked in nervous tone due to the stressful nature of the event. "Yes, start kind of heading there and I'll catch up, just let me throw on my stuff and we'll get it moving quick. If she wakes up on the way there, keep her on there and don't let her fall; she might freak out as soon as she wakes up, if she does, hold her down." He said, directing as he went to quickly strap his gear on. He wasted no time and dove into his vest and holstered his pistol as he ran with his rifle halfway slung over his shoulder and his pack in his left hand. The group had moved just out of his sight, so he started running where he thought they were as he tried to put his vest and bag on. He called out to them and quickly rejoined the band as he still fiddled with everything. They thundered through the town, trying to dodge the buildings and other obstacles that were in their path as they made their way to the hospital. Mud and water would splash on them as they ran through the puddles. James ran in front as the scouter with Berry Punch as the navigator; James would look out for anything that may slow them down or possibly stop them from moving, Berry Punch directed them all to the right place. Several times they came close to spilling their patient due to turning corners too quick and running into objects. After making it about halfway there, James finally had everything retained so it wouldn't come off, but it was not tightened down; however he was now able to focus on getting Lyra help faster. They finally made it about one hundred yards from the hospital, so they all began to yell for anypony who might be there to hear and give them help. Noone came out to help them though, and as soon as they made it to the door, Lyra woke up. "Huh, wha-what's going on? Where am I?" She asked as she rolled her head around at them all, then as she began to feel a throbbing pain in her stomach, she looked down to what was causing it. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth went agape, she tried to say something, but was too dumbfounded by what she saw. Blood had crusted over on her fading minty green coat and fresh blood would leak out from the wound when she moved. She very quickly went unconscious again. "Is she going to be okay? She just woke up then went back out again." Cheerilee said as she trotted to Lyra's side. James paid no attention to her because there was something more important to do: find a way to get through the locked hospital door. "The fuck, is anyone here!?" He yelled at the double doors as he sent a hard kick into them. His foot connected solid with it, but it didn't open. "Who the fuck locks a hospital!?" He yelled again, "get back and cover your ears if you can." He continued as he pulled out his sidearm. They all looked at him confused, but James didn't wait for them to see what was happening, a life was on the line. He went to the nearest window and pressed the weapon against the glass, firing towards the floor. Bang. Most of the glass fell out as the bullet smashed through it, but some still remained, however, he used the grip of his gun to clear out the rest. He thew his pack inside with his rifle, then vaulted into the building. He cut himself on a few pieces of glass, but he paid no attention to it. Once inside, he grabbed his rucksack and weapon and went to find the door. He dodged hospital beds and counters and other various things found in such a place as he ran, but the one thing he noticed that was not quite right, there were no patients in the large infirmary. He ran through the room and into the hallway, almost slipping on the dusty laminate floor. He crashed into the wall and made a slight hole in it from his shoulder, but was unfazed by it. He sprinted down the corridor leading into the main entrance and the double doors, crashing through another set of double doors in his way. As he made it to the main receiving area, he found the reason for the door being locked. The black and white checkered floor had been ripped up, exposing the grey, concrete foundation underneath. White sheets hung from doorways and draped all entrance ways including the door he needed to open; most of the ceiling tiles were missing and showed the latticework pipe running through the complex. He tore the sheet from the door and yelled at everyone to stand back. They all complied and James went to crash it open. The door swung wide and allowed them access. They rushed Lyra inside and resumed running through the halls of the hospital in search of someone. Cheerilee lead the way as she knew her way around better from the many field trips she and her students had taken there to learn about pony anatomy. As they followed, James would shout out for a doctor, but after winding through more of the construction zones and getting no response, they felt their attempts were feeble and decided to find an operating room with a table. James knew a small amount of medical procedures from what one of his corpsman friends had taught him while on deployment, however, he was not a professional. They found a door that was open and had a table to work on Lyra with. "Alright, get her up on the table, we're going to tip her just like we did to get her on here. Ready?" He said to them as they prepared the patient. Once they were, they all nodded. "Okay; one, two... three!" He counted, they all lifted her onto the table and James rocked her off; she was still unconscious. "We need to find medical equipment, look through the cupboards, if we can't find anything, I always keep a blowout kit on me and wed can use that." "If you don't mind me asking, what's a blowout kit?" Time Turner asked as he began to search. "It's just a med kit used to treat any sort of combat sustained wounds such as gun shots and the like. Most guys have one on them, such as myself." He answered as he too opened up a cupboard, finding rubbing alcohol and a sterile gauze dressing. "What in the name of Celestia is a... gun?" He asked, absolutely baffled. "We'll talk abou-" "What in Equestria is going on here!?" A member of the hospital staff asked as she stumbled into the room they were all in. "Nurse Redheart! Thank goodness you're here, Lyra has been in a terrible accident and we need help!" Cheerilee explained to the white earth pony. "What happened to her?" She asked as she trotted to Lyra's unconscious side and perused her over. Very soon after, two more nurses and a doctor rushed into the room. "She was impaled by a wooden beam and has been bleeding for quite sometime, possibly several hours. It looks like it hit her in the stomach and almost went to her dorsal side. She lost a lot of blood on the way over too, and she possibly has a concussion." James said giving the nurse a diagnosis. She looked Lyra over further as the other staff rushed to look at her as well. "Nurse Tenderheart and Redheart, Go back to my office and grab my scalpel, forceps, the big tweezers, some cotton swabs, a bottle of antiseptic, local anesthetic, a compression bandage, sterile table paper, and an I.V. to top it off. Hurry!" A brown unicorn with a short, buzzed, brown mane and glasses told the two nurses. He and nurse Sweetheart stayed behind to look after the patient with everyone else. "Alright everypony and... um... I'm sorry I don't know who you are. I've heard of you though, the human that has come to stay with us." The doctor asked James. "I'm James, James Crossland." "Well mister James, I'm doctor Strong Hale, pleasure to meet you. Unfortunately it is under these conditions, though." He formally stated, "now, if you all could stand outside when the nurses come back, that would help very much. Alright, I need you to tell me exactly what happened to her, James." "I was staying the night at Twilight Sparkle's house and had woken up, so I started back for home and I came upon Lyra's deconstructed house with her in it. I climbed inside to get her and found her under a large pile of debris and a pretty good sized splinter in her abdominal section. We brought her over on the stretcher you see over yonder where she had passed out at, and with your doors being locked I broke a window to get inside, that brings up to this point. Look, doc, she is in really bad condition and I don't thunk she'll make it much longer. I've dealt with death in combat before and she looks like someone who has been shot and left to die slowly. If we don't do something quick, she will die." "I agree with you. The wood is fairly deep in her and she looks pale. Was there a lot of blood where you pulled her out at?" He asked. "There was some, but it didn't seem like enough to turn her so pale, there's some on my jacket, but still not enough; possibly internal bleeding." He added to the diagnosis. "Very possible. This may have hit some other vital organs as well, in which case those two need to be back here right now." Hale added, gathering more valuable information. The two nurses came running back in with the supplies and quickly began to set up a sterile working environment, Nurse Tenderheart began the I.V. drip to keep her fluids and blood level up, along with the anesthetic to numb the pain. Everyone else stepped outside, James picked up the makeshift stretcher and brought it out with them. He dismantled it and took his jacket and the piece of cloth, then threw the pieces of wood outside the hospital. He returned to the others a few minutes later with his jacket draped over his arm, blood was stained around the collar and upper chest area, but he wasn't bothered too badly by it. They all stood crowded around the door, waiting to see how the operation turned out. At first, they weren't able to hear much, other than the staff talking. But after a few minutes, Lyra woke up again. Her weak screams of pain and confusion barely escaped the door as the doctor removed the large piece of wood. Blood spilled out as it was removed, further staining her very pale coat. When it finally came out, the doctor set the wooden stake aside and looked the wound over. Indeed it had almost gone through her backside, and in the process of it being shoved through, it had caught part of her stomach and a large portion of her appendix, tearing them and leaving small splinters in the gnarled tissue. As the pain medication kicked in, she quieted down more, but she was weak and growing weaker and had trouble forming coherent sentences. The doctor quickly grabbed one of the forceps and tried to close the hole in her stomach, luckily she was unable to feel any pain it may have caused. He was unable to do anything for the small appendix that had completely broke open, spilling out all of the lethal bacteria contained inside. He looked at it for a second and realized what this meant for Lyra. "Oh no." The doctor whispered as his eyes went wide with horror and his heart dropped to his stomach. "What is it?" Nurse Redheart asked as she moved to where he was standing. "Her appendix has ruptured..." He said, still staring at the open wound. "No... d-does that mean..." She asked nervously as she too knew what it meant. "I-I'm afraid it does." He replied. The whole room fell silent and the world seemed to stop spinning as the sudden realization of Lyra's fate became known. "How long do you think she has?" Redheart asked after a few moments. "I don't know, I'm surprised she's lasted this long." He said looking her over further, she had become even more pale, almost light grey, as her life slowly left her. Her breathing was shallow and she was very quiet. "W-what should we do?" "I... I don't know, I've never lost a patient bef-" He was cut off by a very soft female voice. "P-please, t-tell BonBon th-that I l-love her." Lyra said just barely audible enough for the doctor and nurse to hear. "No-no! Stay with me Lyra! Listen to my voice, stay with me!" The doctor shouted at her as he frantically searched for something to do that would miraculously save her life. His attempt was futile, and with one last breath and bright flash of yellow aura from her horn, Lyra Heartstrings passed away on the operating table. The last thing that she though of was the smiling face of her beloved marefriend, BonBon. The doctor closed Lyra's eyelids and pressed his forehead against hers as tears dripped from his eyes; he muttered a prayer in Celestia's name, then accepting her passage, regained some composure. James and the others crowded around the door to better hear what the commotion was. They all looked at each other with confused faces when they no longer heard anything. After a few minutes of silence, the doctor opened the door, his white apron had minute splotches of blood on it. He looked at them all with a disappointed and ashamed expression as tears came back to his eyes. "Fillies and gentlecolts, I-I regret to inform you- I regret to inform you... th-that Lyra Heartstrings... has- has passed away from a ruptured appendix." They all looked at him with shocked faces as their hearts sank as well. They stepped back and gave the doctor some room to breathe, then took a long moment of silence to let the news to settle in. After a few minutes had passed, Doughnut Joe broke the silence. "So what's going to happen now?" "Now... we have to open the morgue and bring in her family to identify her, then set up funeral arrangements. Listen, this is hard for anypony, especially when you see somepony right before they die, but for all of your sake, there is a counselor here that you can see ." Strong Hale stated. "Thank you, doctor." James said, he had been through death before and was better prepared for it, although he still did not like it. All the others were still in too much of a shocked state to do much. "Doctor, why did she have to die?" Berry Punch asked devoid of any emotion. "I don't know Berry, but it so very unfortunately happened. There was nothing we could do for her, no matter what we could have tried, nothing would have saved her." "Nothing? Not anything at all!? It was only a stick though! How come something like that killed her!?" She yelled at him as tears began to stream down her face. Berry Punch and Lyra had been decent friends, and with her death so suddenly, she could still not cope with what was happening. "I know this hurts, it hurts us all in so many ways, but you must understand that everything that happened to her caused her a fatal wound that even the strongest stallion could not live through. When it happened, it happened, and nothing could have been done to prevent it." He said trying to calm her down "Why did it have to be her though!?" She yelled once more as she cried. Cheerilee turned and embraced her to give her some form of comfort. She quickly returned the gesture and started sobbing all over Cheerilee. The others stood and looked at each other, not knowing what else they could do. Doctor Strong Hale had excused himself to let the other staff know what had happened and to get a coroner for the body. James slightly distanced himself as well to look at his watch, it was only eight thirty. "It's going to be one of those days." He thought.