Bermuda Beginnings

by ScarFox9700


Chapter 26: Fire-Ponies, Hospital, Trauma, and Horrifying Revelations

The workshop was in chaos. There was thick black smoke everywhere, puddles of burning liquid, in addition to the damage caused by the engine explosion. The shock-wave shattered several windows, and sent more debris out into the streets of Ponyville. Worst of all though, were the bodies. Taylor and the Airplane 8 had all been present during the final engine test, so there were a total of 9 victims in various stages of injury.

Taylor had been blasted off of his ladder, engulfed in a sheet of flames, and fell to the floor. Luckily, he landed onto a pile of lumber, which was going to be used to build more workbenches in the coming weeks, which did serve to break his fall. Unfortunately, this was about all of what the wood did for him.

Luckily for everypony inside though, Ponyville residents saw the smoke, and immediately alerted the local fire brigade. They arrived in a few short minutes, and quickly went to work.

"Ok, we need to get this workshop open!" The brigade leader, Captain Burner shouted, "We have visible smoke and flames, let's go!"

While he shouted orders, some ponies grabbed tools, and began to pry open the workshop doors. Others began to pump water from their fire-wagon, and dump it onto the flames that they could see through the broken windows.

"Any idea what happened here?" Burner asked.

According to eyewitnesses, there had been some kind of explosion inside of the workshop, which had possibly been caused by exploding fuel. By this time, the workshop's main doors were opened, and the fire-ponies rushed inside. What they found horrified them.

"Captain! We're going to need stretchers in here on the double! We've got multiple casualties, some with severe injuries!"

"Right!"

Several ponies ran to the Ponyville General Hospital to alert the staff there to the situation. When they returned a few minutes later, they were accompanied by several ponies pulling wagons with the Red Cross symbol on them. They were the ambulances.

The medical ponies grabbed their stretchers, and raced inside the workshop. By this point, the fires were out, but there still was lingering smoke. The first pony that they came to was Blueprints.

"Are you ok sir?" They asked.

He nodded. "Yes, but I'm extremely shook up."

"And how many ponies were in here?"

"There were 9 of us. 8 ponies and Mr. Taylor."

"MR. TAYLOR WAS IN HERE?!?!?!?! WHERE IS HE?!?!"

Blueprints shrugged. "I don't know."

He was helped outside, as was Squeaky, the only two completely uninjured during this whole debacle. Fly was found next. She had several severe burns on her limbs, as well as cuts from flying debris. That still left Oilcan, Dusty, Metalwork, Inky, Royal, and of course, Taylor.

Dusty was the first to tell Captain Burner about what happened. "It was horrible. Taylor and Metalwork were the closest to the plane. When I first saw the engine catch fire, all I could do was turn away and hit the floor. I wasn't as near to the plane as some of us were. I was lucky to get away with just some severely singed fur. I don't think that others were so lucky."

Sadly, he was right. Oilcan was covered in severe cuts, and still had fragments of broken glass in him. Inky was severely burned, and lost most of her mane and tail. Royal had been standing in front of the plane, so he wasn't directly hit by fire, but he was hit by the engine cowling, which broke both of his back legs, as well as his hips. That just left Taylor and Metalwork.

Ponies began to gasp in horror as the stretchers bearing the injured were taken out.

"How many casualties are there?" Burner asked.

"9." Somepony answered. "There were 9 in the workshop when it happened. Two are completely uninjured, and a third only got singed. Another has cuts and glass fragments, another has severe burns, and a 7th has a broken hip, and two broken legs."

"But what about the other two?"

"We're still looking for them. One of them we were told by one of the uninjured is Chief Engineer Metalwork, and the other of course, is Mr. Taylor."

Burner buried his face in his hooves. "Dear Faust", he muttered. "Why did this have to happen?"

As he was still pondering this, there came more shouts from inside of the workshop. "Oh my Celestia! We need two more stretchers in here pronto!"

Burner walked over to the edge of the workshop's doorway. "Did, did you find them?"

"Yes, but I don't think that they're going to make it." Came the grave reply.

Metalwork was pulled out first. Almost all of the fur on his head, and upper body had been burned off, and he had a broken leg and a skull fracture from colliding with the concrete floor.

After him, came Taylor. As he was carried out, very few were even able to recognize him anymore. Almost his entire head, lower arms, hands, and parts of his torso were covered in second, and possibly third degree burns. His goggles that he had been wearing seemed to be fused to his face.

"Oh Faust! Get all of them to the hospital now!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

The medical ponies then got Taylor, and all of the Airplane 8, with the exception of Blueprints and Squeaky, who were uninjured. Captain Burner and the fireponies continued to make sure that everything was safe, as well as begin to prepare statements for the incident.


Once they arrived at the hospital a few minutes later, they were divided into groups, and sent to a ward, depending on how injured they were. Dusty, and Fly were sent to a recovery ward, since their wounds were minor. Inky was sent to the Trauma Ward, to the section that dealt with burns. Oilcan was sent directly to the OR, due to his glass injuries. Royal was also sent to the OR, as his broken bones would have to be operated on, so that they could properly be set back into place.

Metalwork was also sent to the Trauma Ward because of his injuries, and Taylor? He was also taken to the ward, so that he could be evaluated. His life was on the line, as were the lives of the others who had been severely wounded.


"I need 30cc's of A+ blood now!" A nurse shouted.

Taylor was lying on a table in a secondary operating room in the Trauma Ward, while the nurses on duty did everything they could to keep him stable.

"I also need as much burn cream that can be given in one treatment, now!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"How is he even still alive?" A nurse whispered as she worked.

"I have no idea", another answered.

"I do." A doctor said slowly. "His thick leather jacket acted as a barrier, as did the leather work-gloves that he was wearing."

The nurses looked to where Taylor's jacket, and gloves were being removed from him as gently as possible, so as to be able to better access the wounds underneath.

"Also, according to another eyewitness, he also was knocked back by the flames, which also toppled the ladder that he was standing on. He was moving at the speed of the flames, and fell onto a pile of lumber, which broke his fall, and also one of his arms, and caused more than a little heavy bruising on his back."

By this point, Taylor's jacket and shirt had been removed, as had his gloves, and while another nurse was injecting morphine into Taylor, a surgeon began the delicate process of removing his blast goggles from his face. The goggles had fused to his face, and everypony could tell that once they had removed them, what was underneath wasn't going to be pretty.

"So, what do we need to do now?" One of the nurses asked.

"We need to keep sterilizing his wounds, applying the burn cream, and wrapping them up in bandages. We must keep him alive! If he dies, it will all be on us, so let's move!"


The hours began to tick by. Dusty and Fly had been released from the hospital, and were at home resting in the care of their families. Oilcan's surgeries were complete, all of the glass was removed, and he was stitched back together. He was then moved to the OR recovery ward, where he was currently resting.

Inky's burns had been stabilized, and she was sleeping in the Trauma Ward. Royal's surgeries were almost complete, and it appeared that he was going to be making a full recovery. Metalwork's broken arm had been set, his burns were being tended to, and he was undergoing surgery to stabilize the damage caused by his skull fracture.

A few hours after this, Taylor's injuries had all been stabilized, at least for the time being, and he was laid to rest in the Trauma Ward as well.


At 1:30 am that night, there suddenly came a knock on Ensign James's door.

"Huh? Now who could that be?"

Nurse Starlight stuck her head in. "Mr. James, are you awake?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm awake."

"Oh, um, I didn't wake you, did I?"

James shook his head. "No. I woke up a few minutes ago for whatever reason, and I haven't been able to get back to sleep." James then saw the look of sadness on her face.

"What's wrong Miss Starlight?" He asked nervously.

"It's about Mr. Taylor. There's been a terrible accident....."


"WHAT?!?!" James cried when he heard the full story, "How bad is it?"

"It's pretty bad. He is stable for the current moment, but it's still unclear if he's going to survive."

"And what about the others?"

"Well, like I said earlier, two were uninjured, and two others who's injuries were light, Dusty and Fly, were sent home. The one injured by glass, Oilcan, is currently resting, the burn victim, Inky, is stable, and resting. Royal, the stallion injured by the falling engine cowl, is also sleeping. All of them are expected to make full recoveries. However, that leaves Metalwork and Taylor. Because they were the closest to the plane when it exploded, they were hurt the worst."

(All while Starlight was telling him this, James was trying to get out of bed, and find something better to wrap around himself than the robe meant for a stallion that he was provided.)

"Metalwork's broken leg has been set in a cast, his burns have been stabilized, and he has had surgery to stabilize his skull fracture, but it's still unclear if he's going to pull through. He has been put into a coma for the time being. Taylor suffered from extreme burns, a broken arm, and severe bruising on his back. His face has also been scorched almost beyond recognition....."

At this point, James was no longer listening. He knew that he had to go see Taylor. He slipped on his stallion-sized slippers, and once he was away from his room, he began to make his way down the hall as fast as he could.

"Wait! Where are you going Mr. James?"

"To see Taylor! Where is he?"

"He's in the Trauma Ward, but..."

James was already gone.

"Wait!" Starlight called running after him, "I have to tell you something!"

But James didn't hear her, as he was already out of earshot.


A few minutes later, he arrived at the Trauma Ward.

"Excuse me", he asked the first nurse that he could find, "But can you tell me where Taylor is? I must see him right away!"

The nurse pointed to a set of closed doors behind her. "He's back there, however!" She stopped James by blocking the doors, "He cannot be disturbed! His condition is still life-threatening, and he has been put into a coma for the time being. Only medical staff are allowed to see him."

"But...." James protested.

"I said NO! Now leave before I have you escorted back to your room! You are still injured too Mr. James!"

James was absolutely crestfallen. Just as he was turning to leave though, Starlight came running up to him.

"There you are! You shouldn't have run away from me like that! I had something to tell you!"

James looked up at her. "What? That I couldn't see Taylor because his condition was still life-threatening? Or that I couldn't see him because I'm not medical staff? Or maybe it's the fact that he'sin a coma?"

Starlight nodded sadly. "All those things and one more I'm afraid." She then turned to the other nurse. "Let us into the Trauma Ward Cotton. He needs to see his comrade."

The nurse, Cotton, was still upset. "But, the rules were..."

"I'M medical staff aren't I? And Mr. James here is the only comrade that Taylor has left. He must see him. Now, you can either let us in, or I could go and find Dr. Stables, and have him let us in."

Cotton sighed. "You know that I really shouldn't do this Starlight, but because he's Taylor's comrade, and you are medical staff, I'll let you in. However, I will have to tell Dr. Stables that I did so."

Starlight nodded. "Sure, you do whatever you have to do. I know that Dr. Stables will understand."

Cotton nodded, and then she opened the doors to the Trauma Ward.

Once James and Starlight were inside, James turned to her. "Um, Nurse Starlight," He asked as they walked, you told me that there was something else that you had to tell me about Taylor. What was it?"

Starlight looked like she was about to cry. "D-during the accident, Taylor was wearing a p-pair of machinist g-goggles. T-they were clear, and w-were not up to code. The b-blast fused the f-frames to the skin around his eye-sockets."

James put his hands over his mouth. "Oh dear God!"

"Yes. And the g-goggles's remains were s-surgically removed, b-but that's not the w-worst of it."

"What, do you mean Nurse Starlight?"

"You have to be brave Mr. James."

Now James was starting to turn extremely pale. "Um, w-what does t-that mean, N-Nurse Starlight?"

Starlight started crying. James held her to comfort her.

" T-the blast left M-Mr. Taylor b-blind!" She finally whispered.

When James heard that, he had absolutely no words.

"Wh-wh-what?! B-blind?! B-but, how?"

"T-the flames hit him d-directly in h-his face and t-torso. H-his goggles s-saved his eyes, b-but he c-cannot see!"

James buried his face in his hands, and broke down crying.