Twilight didn't want to let go of her brother. He was the only thing keeping her from losing her mind. She felt personally responsible for what happened to Matt even though it was his idea to begin with. She could have insisted 'no' and teleported them away or performed a spell that would knock him out until they had taken care of the matter or something other than what asked her to do.
Rarity held Sweetie Belle in her hooves, and Apple Bloom was curled up tightly under Applejack, sobbing. Rainbow walked up to her number one fan, seeing how out of place and alone she felt, and embraced her. Scootaloo returned the heartfelt gesture and cried into Rainbow's mane.
"I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry," the lavender mare mumbled, choking on her tears.
Shining Armor held her tight and turned his attention briefly to the huge body laying in front of them. What were they supposed to do with this thing now? Even Celestia's incredibly powerful magic probably wouldn't be able to move it. He put away the question for later and returned his thoughts to his sister.
A noise from the bear broke the silence without warning. It was quiet but not inaudible. It sounded like a growl or scream – not of one in pain but of desperation. All their eyes darted instantly to the corpse.
"AAAH! It's still alive!" Pinkie shrieked, ready to run for the hills.
When no movement came from the Ursa, Twilight's curiosity got the better of her. She let go of her brother and headed toward the crater where the massive gaping maw waited. She jumped down and continued. Her friends cautiously followed behind but didn't dare go any further than the edge of the hole. As she reached the first rows of teeth and the tongue draped on the ground, her approach took a noticeably uneasy turn. Even though the monster was dead, she still got the feeling its jaws could slam down on her at any moment.
Her friends held their collective breath. Knowing she was tiptoeing through the middle of the mouth she just threw Matt into was beyond unsettling for everypony. Drool had soaked the ground Twilight stepped across and it felt disgusting on her hooves, but she paid it no mind. She reached the furthest end of the Ursa's lips and gently stepped onto the flesh.
"Twilight, for Celestia's sake, what are you doing? Get out of there!" Rarity pleaded.
She ignored the advice and took a few more steps. The sunlight couldn't reach where she was, but her friends could still see her hind legs. They cringed as she slowly disappeared from sight altogether.
The sudden, extreme humidity permeated through the air, causing beads of sweat to appear on Twilight's forehead. The stink was unspeakable as well and she struggled to hold down the contents of her stomach.
'It must have felt like this when...' she said to herself. She couldn't bear to finish the idea though; there was a noise that she needed to investigate. If there was even a remote chance...
She lit her horn and saw Matt's arm laying motionless at the back of its throat, causing her heart to skip a beat.
"GIRLS!"
They thought the worst when they heard her scream. Throwing caution to the wind, they charged head-on into the Ursa's mouth, not worrying about anything other than the well being of their friend. Even Rarity didn't care that she just trampled its sticky tongue or that the moisture in the air was likely going to ruin her mane. Shining Armor held the Crusaders back even though they wanted to go see what was wrong too.
When they got to Twilight, they saw her horn glowing and she was struggling to move something. She had Matt by the arm and was slowly pulling him out. He was much heavier than when he first crashed into Pinkie's room thanks to the layers of blood covering him. Rarity fired up her magic and her aura wrapped around what she could see of Matt as well. The purple and light blue hues danced together around him as they eventually pulled him out.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack pushed the Ursa's tongue out of their way. The unicorns were having some difficulty keeping him elevated, not only because of the added weight but they were still under a lot of stress over everything that had happened. Their undertaking wasn't getting any easier as they went either despite seeing Matt's fate in front of them. Perhaps his being there was what was actually making things difficult. If he never made it out, that would have been the end of it, even if it hurt for a while. They couldn't be sure.
The girls were almost out when a magenta glow swallowed Rarity's and Twilight's magic. They paused for a moment, unsure what to think before they turned around and saw Shining Armor beside them, lending his own magic to theirs. Twilight and her brother met each other with a smile and they carried him out of the crater.
They laid him gently on the ground on his stomach. Most of them crunched their noses up or covered their muzzles once the smell hit them. It wasn't surprising that he stank, but they couldn't have prepared for how bad it really was.
They examined the bloody body of their friend and started to tear up again. Twilight suddenly gasped with a rather obvious realization.
"Rarity, help me get this thing off his face! Hold his head up for me!"
Rarity's signature glow gently raised Matt's head from the ground, and Twilight's magic tore at the tape wrapped around his neck, eventually unraveling it. As the last of the strips came loose, she yanked the hazmat hood off and threw it away. Rarity carefully set his head back down and Twilight undid the makeshift grips from Matt's hands to remove and discard the knives.
He laid there motionless, and his breathing was so shallow they couldn't even tell the difference if he was taking in any air or not. Twilight sobbed and pushed his shoulders, trying to stir him from what she hoped was just a deep sleep. She wasn't concerned about getting blood on her coat or hooves. She and her friends just wanted a sign of life. Any sign. Twilight nudged him more, each time harder than the last. Nothing. She hung her head after giving up and tears poured from her eyes once again. The Royal Guard still in attendance, waiting for the last of their comrades to return, saw everything and removed their helmets out of respect.
Matt had been unable to get any new air once he strapped the mask down. He also was unable to smell how bad the Ursa's innards were. It took a minute for the rotten scent to reach his olfactory nerves and kick start his brain, not to mention instantly turn his stomach. When it hit him, he snapped his eyes open and started violently coughing and shaking. His stomach emptied mucus and what little liquids he had onto his cheek.
The girls jumped back in astonishment when Matt came back to them. They turned to each other and their surprise slowly turned to hope. A minute ago he looked as if he was gone, but now he was with them once again. Unfortunately, that hope was changing into concern.
Matt continued to cough and shake. Sweat covered his face and he looked almost as white as a ghost. He stared dead-eyed at nothing as his fits got worse with every passing minute. His pulse was racing and his breathing sharp and erratic.
It took a second for Twilight to collect herself before she finally started shouting for help. Nurse Redheart was tending to one of the injured soldiers when he heard the unicorn's frightened cries. The guard she was working on shooed her away to go check on the more important problem. She snatched her medical bag in her mouth and raced off in the direction of the screams.
"Nurse! Thank Celestia! You've gotta help him, please!"
Redheart held her snout as she approached the girls, almost overtaken by the stench. When she finally got a clear look at Matt laying there covered in blood, words failed her. She had a similar confused stare that the girls had when Matt first arrived in Equestria and the medical bag flopped out of her mouth.
"I...uh...what is this?"
"Please, just help him!"
"I know about ponies, not...whatever this is."
"Then examine him like he was a pony!"
Nurse Redheart thought for a second and grew determined. She reached into her bag and threw a stethoscope around her neck, fitting it into her ears with her hooves. She took his hand and pressed the chest piece against his arm, looking for a good spot to find a pulse. She located it in his wrist and it was going a mile a minute. The symptoms she was finding on Matt were being mentally recorded as she went along with her examination. She caressed his forehead, feeling the condition of his skin, and the sweat pouring from his hairline was soaking her hoof.
"Hmm...pulse is weak but racing...skin's clammy...sweating profusely...feels cold and he's hyperventilating." She sighed as she gave them her assessment. "If this was a pony, I'd say he was going into shock."
"Shouldn't we get him to the hospital?" Fluttershy asked.
"We don't have the facilities for anything but ponies, and even if we did, the place is turned inside out thanks to that," she said with a nod at the Ursa. "Plus, some of the infectious things we've been doing work on spilled out all over the place because their containers were damaged, so we can't let any patients in." Nurse Redheart thought intently for a moment. "I can race back and see if we have an IV solution that we use for this type of situation. I might be able to get in since I work there, but he needs some attention here first."
"There anythin' we can do?"
"Get some pillows and blankets. His legs need to be elevated several inches, and if his back or neck isn't injured, his head can be propped up a little. Wrap him with the blankets all around. We need to keep his body temperature stable. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get these clothes off him too. You're supposed to just loosen tight clothes, but all the...yick...blood may have an adverse affect on his temperature. Plus, he doesn't need to be throwing up and losing more fluids," she said as she wrinkled her nose thanks to another whiff of the air attacking her nostrils.
Twilight spoke up, "My home's not too far from here."
Surprisingly serious for a change, Pinkie volunteered to get the required provisions. She blasted off toward the library, leaving a pink streak and a puff of smoke behind.
"I'll go help. She's not going to be able to carry them all herself," Rainbow Dash said before she raced off as well.
"I know where your things are, Twilight. I'm going too so they don't take forever trying to find everything," Rarity said.
"Bring some towels too. I can always buy more later. I'd like to clean him up a bit if we get a chance," Twilight requested. Rarity nodded and galloped away.
Nurse Redheart addressed the remaining ponies, "The rest of you stay here. Do your best to keep him calm and be there for him. I'll return as fast as possible. I just hope the IV works. Without any previous testing, I have no idea if it will help or hurt him."
Twilight teared up looking at the nurse. "If there's a chance it'll help him, please take it." The nurse nodded and sprinted to the hospital.
-----
About fifteen minutes crawled by; it might as well had been fifteen years. Pinkie, Rainbow and Rarity returned with what was asked of Nurse Redheart. Even at top speed, she may have only just arrived at Ponyville Hospital. It was all the way on the other side of town after all.
They set the pillows and blankets on the ground. Twilight recanted that Redheart said to get rid of his clothes. Cringing, she lifted him in the air and Rarity removed his shoes and socks first, followed by the rest save for his boxers. They never anticipated having to strip him down for any reason, but these weren't ordinary circumstances. The white unicorn trotted away, the spoiled clothes still in her magical grasp, and flung them into a pile a fair distance away from the group. She'd be likely to burn them later just to rid themselves of the smell.
"Wipe what you can off him. The blood soaked right through his clothes," Twilight said. They each grabbed a towel and scrubbed him quickly from head to toe. There was still a lot of residue left over but not nearly like there was a moment ago. Fortunately, there were still a few spare towels to go through. No doubt it wouldn't take much for them to be utterly stained pink with blood if it was necessary to use them.
Twilight pointed at the pile of blankets and Applejack grabbed one in her teeth. She spread it out on the ground and he was laid atop it. The others snatched up their own sheets and mats and wrapped Matt into a fabric cocoon. Once they felt he was sufficiently covered, they grabbed the pillows and propped his legs and head up. Satisfied with their efforts, they laid down around him as he continued to shake and hyperventilate. The Crusaders joined their sisters and idol beside him.
-----
It was nearly an hour before Nurse Redheart returned. She was carrying an IV stand with a bag of solution attached. Matt was breathing less erratically than before and his pulse had relaxed, but it was still weaker than it should be. He had stopped sweating and a bit warmer than before, but his skin was still cool to the touch and far too pale. The nurse pulled out one of his arms and hunted around for a vein. She assumed correctly that it would be near his joint like it was on a pony. She found it and pierced through the skin, forcing Matt to quietly grunt in pain.
Fluttershy, ever the attendant mother figure, gently caressed his head, occasionally wiping bits of sweat from his brow. He wasn't one of her pets, but it relaxed him either way. "How long will it take until we know if he's okay?" she asked Redheart.
"That depends on him really and if the IV works. This solution is what we use when a pony needs fluids. I'm hoping his body handles it the same way ours do. I should stay here either way. He'll probably go through the entire bag, but if he doesn't need to, putting too much into him could cause complications too," she explained. "It usually takes about an hour for a bag this size with the drip rate I have it set on." She looked around for her co-worker. "Has Nurse Tenderheart already left?"
"About a half hour or so ago," Rarity told her. Tenderheart had her hooves full with the injured Royal Guards but got them patched up enough. They had medical buildings back in Canterlot and just needed to be able to make the trip. About ten minutes after she finished up and departed for the Ponyville Hospital, the rest of the absent guards returned after being informed the battle was over. They headed for home after their ranks had been tallied, save for Shining Armor's escort. There were several injuries but amazingly no casualties.
"Okay, good," Nurse Redheart said as she looked over her patient. "I wish we could bring him too. I'd like to get him hooked up to our machines just to keep an eye on his vitals." She inspected him again like she had when she found him. "He seems to be doing a lot better. Still a bit cold, but the IV should fix that if it works. Gives him some fluids. Given the situation, there's not much more we can do right now but wait."
-----
Another hour crept by. The IV bag had emptied and Matt was out like a light. The girls paced around and tried to strike up small talk to pass the time but not much was really said. The Crusaders had fallen asleep up against Matt in the meantime. Nurse Redheart examined him periodically and the solution seemed to be doing the trick. His color was returning and his shivers were mostly but not completely gone. His temperature had increased significantly but it could still be better.
Nurse Redheart spoke up after putting her equipment away. "Well, he looks like he's doing fairly well. I don't believe it's necessary to get another bag, and the doctors have probably been expecting me to help with the patients we wheeled out of the hospital earlier. I know where they were bringing them, so I'll just head over that way."
"Is there anything else we can do, Nurse?" Twilight asked.
She thought for a moment. "Well, his body should be able to replenish some of the fluids he still needs at this point. It isn't as serious as before. Still, it couldn't hurt to give him some water if he asks for it in a little while after he's further recovered. Not too hot or cold. Don't want to throw his body temperature off and start this all over again. Other than that, just be there for him."
"Well, shoot, that last part's easy."
She gave one last glance over Matt and smiled to herself. She was good at what she did and she knew it. Her cutie mark told that story. If Matt survived, she could take pride in the fact that she was able to save an entirely different species that she was unfamiliar with that wasn't a pet. She didn't know how she knew, but Matt wasn't some common household animal.
Twilight made a mental note of the instructions and thanked Nurse Redheart from the bottom of her heart. She wished them well, grabbed her medical bag and headed on her way.
Shining Armor watched the nurse leave and turned to his sister. "I should get going myself. You seem to have a handle on things here, and he looks like he's doing alright. The princesses are probably waiting for my reports and the sun is almost down. Take care, Twiley," he said, hugging his sister. "Let me know how he turns out, okay?"
"Will do, BBBFF," she smiled at him. He trotted to his chariot and the pegasi lifted off. They all waved goodbyes and a short while later, he was out of sight.