(This will start in third person)
CHAPTER 1
Jerry was lying on his couch, situated in his small run-down apartment in one of New York's more, sketchy, neighbourhoods. He wasn't afraid. He was a fully trained combat medic with several years of martial arts training and one tour of duty under his belt. If anything, the locals should be afraid of him. He'd seen their type before, people who had no problem kicking a man when he was down, or picking the pocket of a poor man for reasons as petty as being jealous that he had money and they didn't. He'd dealt with people like that since he was a kid, and they only understood one thing: If your target isn't afraid, then stop targeting them.
Tonight was different. Tonight, some punk kids thought it would be funny to prove they were brave by breaking into his apartment and, armed with baseball bats and lead pipes, they broke in through a window in his bedroom. Jerry heard the noise and went to investigate, his footfalls deadly silent compared to the cacophony of voices arguing about what was worth taking. Opening the door, he was faced with two youths who turned to him, wide-eyed and ready to run.
He never saw the third boy to his left, never even knew he was there until he felt him swing his baseball bat right into his face, breaking his nose and concussing him. He could do naught but fall to the ground as his legs failed him and fell out from under him, could do nothing to prevent the agonising onslaught of the youths as they took their bats and pipes to the rest of his body, only leaving when they were sure he was dead. By their inexperience, though, they failed to notice the steady rise and fall of his chest signalling his survival.
However, he knew this wouldn't last long. He was bleeding heavily, and his vision was turning blurry. He couldn't even muster up the strength to raise a finger, let alone crawl all the way to the main hall to reach the phone and call an ambulance. He could only lie there as his life left him. As darkness claimed him, he could have sworn he saw a small purple horse with a glowing horn of the same color.
As we I felt my life starting to leave me I suddenly felt a jolt of energy as my chest thrusted into the air signaling that whoever was doing this was saving my life. Then everything just went black as I went back onto the soft fabric of some sort of bed. Later I woke up chest, left arm, and head in a hellish pain. My eyes opened slowly as I looked around seeing that I was in some sort of a bed. Then I realized that it was more colorful than it should be. Even more peaceful than the street I used to live on which had gunshots and killing everywhere. I got up into a sitting position which was a little bit hard.
"Where the hell am I? This is not heaven I know that...is it?" I asked aloud.
"Well, it's not heaven unless you enjoy hospitals." A voice called from my left.
I looked to my left and saw the monitor first. It was beeping normally along with an I.V. in my left arm which was bandaged as was my chest. Then I looked to the one that spoke and was completely shocked when I saw that whoever spoke was a goddamn horse looking thing. Now normally I would panic and try to get the fuck out of there. But since I was literally stuck on the bed I just looked wide eyes. I looked around frantically as my heart began to race and the monitor beeped faster. Now I had to stay calm so I took a few steady breaths as I somehow managed to calm down.
"Well....since you can talk....where the fuck am I?" I asked looking at the talking horse looking thing. Must have been a stallion...why did I think that?
"Uh, well that is, um, you really don't know?" He stammered, much to my annoyance.
"Well...no I don't considering talking horses isn't a real species in my world...so where am I?" I asked with a hint of annoyance in my voice.
"Well, you're in Ponyville General Hospital." The stallion replied, ignoring my tone, "In the town of Ponyville, in the great nation of Equestria."
"......... so basically i'm in a world full of talking ponies that somehow know about medicine.....great." I said plopping my head on the pillow. "At least this bed is my size...and softer than the bedrolls in Iraq."
"Eye-rack? What is that?" The stallion asked in confusion.
I let out a sigh. "No Iraq. I-r-a-q. Well basicly it's a place where there's nothing but sand and desert. Also a bunch of taliban AKA enemy soldiers trying to kill us. I was a medic for the U.S. marines which is basicly a doctor on the battlefield. War us what it's called. Where humans fought each other to the death.” I said without a hint of emotion in my voice.
"What? You mean you actually try to kill others?" The stallion asked, horrified.
I nodded. "Yep had no choice where I came from....and sometimes the trying would succeed. Meaning I have killed plenty of times where I lived." I said again without a hint of emotion.
"You've...killed. I see. It must have been horrible." The stallion said, trying to regain his composure.
"Sometimes.......but you get used to it after about the tenth time. In war killing is just like breathing and sleeping. A regular thing in life for us vets of war." I said.
"I don't think I'd ever want to be used to it. And I hope it won't be a problem for you, since we have no need of armies. There are no wars here, we live in peace and harmony with our neighbours, the griffons, and the dragons." The stallion replied with a hint of a smile.
I just chuckled. "Well I'll admit I would love to live in a place like this.......say by the way who in the hell is taking care of us?" I asked. It felt like I was making a friend.
"That would be me." A voice replied from the door. I turned to see a mare with a white coat and a strawberry blonde mane and tail, wearing a nurses cap with a red cross on it. "Nurse Redheart, at your service, gentlestallions."
I chuckled. "Well I'm not actually a stallion. Feel free to call me Jerry nurse redheart." I said with a small smile on my face.
"Well then Jerry, I trust you are feeling better? You were pretty banged up. And as for you," She turned to the stallion, "Doctor Lazybones, why am I not surprised. Pretending to be another patient to get out of work again?" She said in mock irritation.
"Wait what?" I said surprised. Looking at the so called patient.
"Uh, well, you see, um, the thing is....well bye!" He yelled, running out the door. Nurse Redheart chuckled, and for some reason, hearing her laugh made me want to smile.
"Don't mind him, he tends to pretend to be a patient to get out of work sometimes. But he's one of the best we have. After all, he managed to keep you alive, didn't he?" She said.
"Again, what?" I asked surprised.
"Oh, right. Well, you had bruised ribs, several fractured bones, many, many cuts all over your body, and a severe concussion. It took several unicorns to cast a healing spell strong enough to save your life. Doctor LB, as he prefers for some reason, was the one who supplied the most magic, so he's the one who's mostly responsible for saving your life." She replied with a soft smile.
"Oh...well I would say thank you only he ran off and anyways how long you think till i can get out of here...but where would I go?" I asked looking down. Reality hit me preety hard there not knowing where I would live.
"That's the thing. I've actually volunteered to take care of you, at least until you're fully recovered. After all, I feel partly responsible for you being here." She replied sheepishly
"You feel....responsible...why?" I asked curiously, looking up at her.
"Because, Twilight cast the spell that brought you here after hearing that I didn't have a special somepony." She said, hanging her head sadly. "She cast that spell trying to summon one for me, and she said something probably went wrong which is why you're here. I'm sorry." She started to cry.
"Whoa whoa now no need to be sad." I said in a comforting voice. I was used to that voice since I used it a good bit of times for injured marines. "I was attacked before I even arrived. Hell if it wasn't for that spell I would be dead." I said with a comforting smile.
"W-w-what do you mean?" She asked between sobs. I placed a good arm around her neck and pulled her in close, trying to provide as much comfort as I could for her.
"I'm saying if it wasn't for you and twilight I would probably be in my old home on the floor, dead from blood loss. SO I think my thanks you should be given to you nurse redheart." I said smiling as she quietly cried into my chest. For some reason it didn't bother me.
"R-r-really?" She asked. I nodded silently. She slowly got her sobbing under control and smiled, nuzzling me. "Thank you. And I'm sorry for losing it like that. I was just worried you would die, and I guess my emotions finally caught up with me."
I just smiled at her. "Well it happens....besides I know what it's like you know. Considering i'm basicly a doctor myself." I said looking at her.
"You are?" she inquired. "Where did you work?"
"Well....... I actually worked on...the battlefield of war. As a medic or on field doctor." I said.
"Battlefield? You mean..." She trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.
"Yes..... I don't know if you want to know what I saw and did do you?" I asked. I was really wondering and thinking instead of just talking like before. I didn't know if what I would tell her scar her or not.
"I don't know. I'm scared to ask, but I know first-hand that not talking about things that bother you only causes problems in the long run. So if you want to talk about it, at any point, I'm all ears." She said, reluctantly removing herself from the embrace. "I have to check on other patients for now. You'll be free to leave tomorrow, and then I can show you my home." She said, smiling again.
"Oh....ok I guess that'll be just fine and tomorrow if it's ok...I could tell anything you wanna know." I said smiling back.
"Alright. Thank you Jerry. Thank you, for listening." she said, and then she was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts...