I woke with a jolt shooting staight up, then I was forced back down by the pain in my legs. I looked down and saw I was in a bed with blue sheets. Looks like I was in a hospital, just my luck. I pulled up the covers.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A doctor who just came into the room said, he was holding a clipboard flipping through m what I assumed was my medical file. "Might not like what you see." he said finally looking at me. He took a seat on a stool next to my bed.
"Please," I brushed him off, "I'm a marine nothing scares me."
I pulled up the covers.
"Not about scaring." he mumbled as I saw what he was afraid I would see. My feet were black with gashes cuts and scrapes. All which seemed to have yellow infection set in.
The doctor stood and walked over to my feet
"You've been out for several weeks." he said, "We put you in a chemically induced coma to sleep out the most painful part of your treatment." he said nonchalantly, I already didn't like this guy.
"Gangrene has already started to set in," he said, "if the infection doesn't clear we're going to have to amputate them." he said looking straight into my eyes.
I felt my heart drop. I was going to loose my legs? I remembered the promise I made to my son. The words echoed in my head.
'Come back in one piece ok?'
He proded my soles with a scalpal.
"Feel that?" he said.
"No!" I shot with a sour attitude.
"Not a good sign." he wrote something on his clipboard, "I'll come back with some more results soon, in the mean time the nurse will be in shortly with breakfast. If the results are too severe..." he took off his glasses to look me in the eye, "we're going to put you into surgery. We'll try to dig out the infection, but if we can't we're going to have to amputate." he said. I glared daggers at him.
He sighed and took his seat, "Look I get a lot of marines in here son," he said, "war injuries like this are part of my job. I have to act like this, but I honestly want to stop this." he said clapping a hand on my shoulder, "I don't want to take your legs, but I don't want to let you die either." I eyed him, but saw in his eyes he was sincere.
He left the room, the nurse came in carrying a tray. She came in and place a tray on my rails and began to leave. I saw a remote control on her cart. I looked into the corner and saw a TV, probably best not to be here with nothing to do right?
"Nurse." I called.
"What?" she said annoyed.
"Mind turning on the tube?" I asked.
She sighed, she held up the remote to the television and turned it on. As it powered up she left, hopefully something good was on.
I heard the voice come on "We now return to the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic seven hour marathon."
Oh... SH***
"NURSE!!!"
"Sorry kid I'm off duty." I heard her call from the hallway.
Oh no, what the hell was I gunna do now.
I tried to avoid listening to the things going on but certain things caught my eye and ear every now and again. It started off with some little purple one walking around with a little dragon on it's back. I laughed at that, a dragon and a friggen pony, ya right these directors needed to get there facts straight. I looked away remembering that I wasn't interested in these kinds of things. It went on her talking to other ponies the first one was a yellowish orange one. She approached the horse. To be totally honest I thought it was a male at first, after all she had a cowboy hat on.
"Good afternoon my name is Twilight Sparkle-" she was cut off by the orange pony rapidly shaking her hand. I snickered at the burst of random behavior. The little orange mare went on and on the two talked and it seemed Applejack, wanted Twilight to stay for brunch with her family. I quickly turned my head away, great now I was learning there friggen names.
I wasn't watching but I could here it, I tried to tune it out but I kept hearing things that got my attention and brought me back to the screen. At the end of the episode the little dragon came in with a lamp shade on his head. He told Twilight that they had to go to the Summer Sun Celebration. Which from what I had heard was some kind of annual marker for the first day of summer, and apparently the rising of "The Mare in the Moon" Oooooh, creepy right, ha. Stupid kids tv show.
She got there and as they all prepared to see what was apparently some kind of Princess appear a smoke came out and turned into a big horse. Woah, now that I can honestly admit I wasn't expecting. She questioned all of them that they didn't know who her princess was. That's when I though, wait how can there be another princess. Then I remembered I hadn't seen the beginning. Twilight stepped forward, "I know who you are," the others all watched her.
"Your the Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon!" the all gasped.
"Well, well, well, somepony who remembres me, then you also know why I'm here?" she asked her.
"Your here to... to..." Twilight gulped.
What the hell, this was way too intense to be a kids show.
Nightmare Moon laughed maniacally, "Remember this day little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last FOREVER!" She let out an evil laugh that made lightning shoot from the sky.
The episode ended, I found myself watching the next one. Where they faced the Everfree forest to find the Elements of Harmony and defeat Nightmare Moon. Well they didn't really beat her, but she was transformed back to her original self Princess Luna. Her sister Princess Celestia came in and she forgave her and they had a warm embrace. It was a touching moment I did admit. I found myself following it and acctually getting into it, I wasn't sure if it was boredom or just the fact that somewhere in this kids tv show there was a deeper meaning to it. Acceptance. Love. Freindship. It was a relief to the world outside I experiecnced. Out here there was war that ripped families apart, crime that was unpunished and hatred all around.
But whenever I looked at this screen, there was bright colors and smiles. Something I haven't seen in a while... ever actually. Smile come, but then they fade away when something bad happens. These six ponies had a more simplistic way of living, they just... lived. They didn't worry about things they just did what they did and didn't care what anypony had to say about it. I thought to myself, how can a generation raised by such corruption produce something with this kind of light. It was getting near the end of the seven hour marathon. I was near the end of where they were facing some guy named Discord. Things were getting super intense, seriously busted up laughing at Pinkie Pie in this episode. Her random demeanor reminded me of the antics my little one pulled at home.
The doctor finally came in, I noticed him watching me laughing at the tv show. I cleared my throat.
He walked over and turned off the television, to be honest I was a little sad to see it turn off. I acctually wanted to see what happened to the gang and Discord.
"Sorry you had to see that, our nurses can be a bit boneheaded at times." He told me pulling out my file.
"Well I admit it was acctually entertaining." I told him.
He laughed, "Well we'll make a brony out of you yet won't we Mr. Johnson."
"Brony?" I questioned, "What in Gods name is a brony?"
He laughed again, "My son is a brony that's how I know about this, it actually a community of men, average ages between I'd say 16 to 25. They watch this show." He replied.
Well it looks like I'm not the first to be drawn in by these silly antics of tecnicolor equines, huh?
"Yes I thought he was strange at first too, I even began to question his orientation. But then I met some of his friends who also shared his interest. They laugh and joke just like anybody else, there normal kids, they just watch ponies." He laughed as if he told a joke.
"Alright well it looks good from here, surgery will begin in two hours, in the mean time we need to get you all prepped and ready to save those legs." He told me patting my sholder.
He exited and came back in with a stretcher a couple other paramedics and nurses. They lifted me up and onto the stretcher. As they wheeled me into the OR I watched the ceiling. I listened to their medical talk as we went. One put a mask on my face, I could taste a slightly minted cool air coming from it. It was a little sweet, I knew this taste it was nitrous oxide, laughing gas. I began to get drowsy breathing in the sleep inducing gas. I felt a prick in my arm as they put an IV in. The last word I heard before I went under was my doctor.
"This doesn't look good..."
I was out