//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Satchels of Fun // Story: Half-Life X MLP: The Lost Timeline // by GordonFreebrony //------------------------------// *BOOM* Another earth-shattering crash filled the small stone room. A few pieces of the ceiling fell down. Inside, six small ponies, a dragon, and three heavily armed humans stood with looks of confusion, fear, and, on one, outrage, could be discerned. *BOOM* “Okay, so we need a plan.” Said one of the humans, a tall man in a green, camouflage suit. A gas mask was dangling from the side of his helmet, having been taken off after a brief incident with a crowbar. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.” Replied another human, this one in an orange and black suit of unknown composition. He had a pair of pristine glasses on his face, a mock of brown hair covering his head and a beard-and-mustache combo surrounded his mouth. *BOOM* “That’s Corporal to you,” Replied the first one, “although I wouldn’t mind the promotion.” “GRRR!!! We’re getting off topic!” the frustrated, female voice of a purple unicorn broke up the conversation. “I’m with- what was your name? Ah, yes- I’m with Twilight. How the hell are we going to get out of this place?” the third human asked, his blue security uniform in contrast with the other outfits. “Ok, ok, ok, ok… I can’t fly, I’m trapped in an underground thingy-place, and I’m about to die. Why aren’t there any convenient levers or pressure plates or something around! Daring Doo would have been out of here in a jiffy, even with a broken wing!” A cyan, rainbow-maned pegasus said, the white bandages on her side in stark contrast to her fur. A small patch of red was visible in the center of them. *BOOM* “Umm, guys I think-“ A meek, quiet, yellow pegasus with a pink mane began, only to be cut off by an orange pony. “Can’t any of your super-fantastic gadgets git us outta here?” she said, turning towards the trio of humans. *BOOM* “Well, I had a portal-gun thingy, but I lost it, AND it only worked on one person.” Corporal Shephard replied. “Well, if you just look-“ Fluttershy began again, only to be interrupted by a white unicorn. “This place is absolutely DREADFUL. If I die here, by that big brute out there, I will personally haunt your spirit for an eternity! For you, that would be THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!” Rarity said, the accent of her voice and the tone of which she used made her threat seem very genuine. Gordon, whom she had addressed, actually took a step back. *BOOM* “Guys, what if we-“ Fluttershy tried a third time, to be cut off again. “We should totally have a ‘Last Hour To Live’ party! We could try all of the ‘naughty’ things I’ve seen on this site!” a pouncing, pink pony pronounced. Every person in the room stopped and stared at her for a moment, before awkwardly blushing and ignoring her comment. *BOOM* “But what about-“ for the fourth time, Fluttershy’s comments were interrupted, this time by Gordon. “WAIT! I do believe I have found our escape route!” he said, pointing to a small slit halfway up the one wall. He climbed on top of the table in the middle of the room, jumping to the small, head-height ledge surrounding the room, before pulling himself onto the tiny outcropping beneath the orifice. *BOOM* “Oh, wait. I don’t think any of us could fit through here. Unless…” Gordon began, lost in thought. “That’s what I was going to point out.” Said the quiet voice of Fluttershy, unheard by any of the others. “Twilight, I need a second on some calculations. What would be the structural weight of-“ *BOOM* *CRAAACK* A sickening crack filled the room, a corresponding slit showing up in the huge, reinforced door of the room. The screams of the ponies were cut off by Gordon shouting towards the other humans. “BARNEY! SHEPHARD! I NEED TWO MORE SATCHELS!” The two didn’t even bother to object to the fact that Gordon had already placed five down in the small crack on the wall. They just threw the two needed military-grade plastic explosives up to the orange-clad figure. *BOOM* The door splintered a little bit more, the crack widening to the point that the red, evil eye of the monster was visible. Gordon jumped down, pulling the ponies and the humans to the farthest corner of the room. “What do you doi—“ *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM* The question died on Twilight’s lips, interrupted by the massive explosion that tore through the room, a nearly visible shockwave sendind dust and debris everywhere. A couple of the supporting pillars fell, adding even more noise to the din. Pieces of debris flew around the room, impacting against Gordon’s armor with unheard dings, and the flesh of everyone else with wet thumps. The echoes died away slowly, the air filled completely with dust. The group of shell-shocked, battered, and bruised beings slowly staggered to their feet and hooves, shaking their heads in a futile attempt to clear them. “Are you guys ok?” Gordon said, but no one responded. He repeated himself, only to find he couldn’t hear his own voice. He panicked for a moment, thinking he had gone mute again, before he realized that he could still feel the vibrations of his voice. Wait. He was deaf. That was slightly worse than not being able to talk. A warning flashed in orange across his vision, the HEV suit telling him that his eardrums and cochlear nerves had been damaged, and that repairs were under way. He watched as the power indicator went down to about 70%, before beginning it’s upward curve again. He also noticed a small orange glow emanating from around both sides of his cranium, at least, that is, until he clutched his head as pain lanced across it. It felt as if hundreds of fire ants were biting into his inner ears, the itching and burning being completely unbearable. Through his half-lidded eyes and semi-conscious mind, he noticed the group moving towards him, questions forming on their lips, before they, too, realized they couldn’t hear their own voice. Blood dripped from their ears as fear entered their expressions. Twilight’s horn glowed, suffusing the ears of the group with the same purple glow, before they all clutched their ears too. Twilight was the only one who stayed standing, pain flashing across her face, the tension in her muscles showing on her rigid body. Gordon slipped into unconsciousness for a moment, the pain overloading his brain. He was awoken almost immediately by the wails emanating from the group. The unearthly sounds of pain suffused the dust-filled room, before they slowly petered out. Eventually, the group staggered to their feet again. The dust had cleared by this time, showing off the massive destruction of the satchels. A hole had opened in the wall, large enough for three men to walk abreast. The room itself was littered with boulders and rocks, jumbled around like a giant had decided to play with his building blocks there, before getting bored and moving on. The door to the room had been blasted slightly outward, not fully open, but more so than it was. The crack had opened enough that Gordon might have been able to squeeze through if he had wanted. Outside, the lack of sound was an ominous omen. Gordon left the corner the groaning group was in, moving over to look out the door. Outside, a massive mound of armored flesh blocked the exit. It didn’t stir or move, and the reason being evident if one looked closer. Slivers of rock, the arm-thick debris having gone straight through the small opening, had pierced the eye of the creature. “You are the stupidest, dumbest, most asinine brute I have ever met!” Gordon turned around to see Rarity running at him, anger on her face. He didn’t even have time to prepare before he was tackled in a massive hug. “Thank you for saving us!” came the breathless, now-smiling voice of Rarity as her muzzle nestled itself against your armor. “It was nothing?” replied Gordon, visible confused. He slowly patted rarity on the back, before he was suddenly swept into a group hug, the ponies practically choking him in their enthusiasm. Even the bone-tired Twilight gave him a hug, while Barney, Shephard, and Spike looked on, bemused expressions on their faces. The heartfelt moment was cut off by the groaning of rock above them. “Ahem, We should probably get going.” Barney said, casting a wary eye to the ceiling. He was met by a small pebble hitting him squarely between the eyes. “GAAHH! That HURT!” He made a rude gesture towards the ceiling as Shephard and Spike laughed. The rest of the group was oblivious to Barney’s plight, instead awkwardly detaching themselves and blushing in embarrassment. “Yeah, I agree,” Rainbow Dash said. The group slowly made their way out of the room, entering the small cave system on the other side. They crept along, the darkness enveloping them until Gordon clicked on his flashlight. The white beam cut through the enclosing darkness, casting strange shadows on the walls. The darkness seemed denser than normal, seeming to press in on the group. Gordon felt a primal fear, before he repressed his feeling. It’s almost as if the darkness is alive. He thought to himself. He looked back towards the group, fear jolting through his spine as he saw two shadows on the ground behind Shephard. He blinked, and the shadow disappeared. I REALLY need some rest. After about half an hour of wandering through the darkened cave in silence, Gordon’s flashlight caught something shiny. He turned back towards the flash of light, before the reflection caught his eye again. He smiled inwardly, the irony of the appearance getting to him. He moved forward, getting closer to the square of grated metal. “I’ve found a way out!” He said, pulling out his crowbar and demolishing the covering of the air vent. Reiterations of ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’ echoed from the ponies, while Shephard and Barney merely shrugged. Rainbow Dash looked up, the color draining from her face. “There is no way you’re getting me in there!” She said, her blue-furred face somehow turning white. ________________________________________________________________________ “How I get roped into this again?” came the shaking voice of Rainbow, her whole body almost completely white, stuck between Gordon and Barney. “Don’t ya’ll tell meh that the great Rainbow Dash is scared now!” Applejack said from near the back of the air vent train. “No, n-no. I-I’m not scared. I j-just don’t like small, cramped spaces.” Rainbow stuttered back, earning a laugh from Applejack. She tried to flare her wings in anger, but was thwarted by her bandages and the air vent. She winced in pain, turning a resentful glare behind her. “It’s not funny.” The retorts would probably have continued, if Gordon had not suddenly gone “AHA! Here we go.” He broke open a vent, jumping down out of the small space. He was thrown to the side as Rainbow pushed past him, breathing deeply and hardly looking around the room they found themselves in before running about in circles. That is, until she fell to the ground, writhing in pain. “AAARRRRGGGHHH!” Rainbow yelled, grabbing the attention of the group that had been slowly and carefully easing it’s way out of the air vent. At once, all semblance of civilized manner was lost in the scramble as the rest of the ponies and Shephard, who had taken the rear guard, attempted to rush out of the vent at once. Gordon was the first to get to Rainbow’s side, watching as the red stain on the bandages began to spread at an alarming rate. “Don’t move, you’ll make it worse.” He said, looking down with concern. Rainbow just whimpered in response. Carefully, Gordon turned Rainbow onto her side, placing her so that the wound would face upwards. He looked over to the group that was now behind him, worried looks filling their faces. “Twilight, how many bandages do you have?” Gordon asked, looking towards the saddlebags the purple unicorn wore. “I used the last of them on Rainbow. I honestly didn’t expect to have to use them and only brought enough for a couple small wounds. I’m also out of the willow bark powder, I used the last on Trixie.” “Damnit. Do we have anything else we can use?” Gordon asked, looking around. The group looked at eachother, before Shephard walked up. “I could rip some of my fatigues up, but they wouldn’t make much bandag-“ He began, until suddenly being interrupted by Rarity. “This will not do.” She said, extreme worry painted on her face. “Use th-th-these.” She said, stuttering as she pulled out a large array of colorful scarves from her left saddlebag. The right held the lump that was her tent, magically compacted for ease of use. Gordon wasted no time, grabbing the bundle using the Higgs Field module. He was slightly surprised, as he had not intended to use it, but he ignored it for the more pressing issues. He began to rip the scarves vertically, halving their width. As he did this, he heard a few gasps from the unicorn behind him. When he had finished his task, he began to work quickly, pulling off the old bandages. When the wound was fully revealed, a large, jagged groove could be seen at the base of Rainbow’s wing, ending with a small hole in her shoulder. There was no exit wound. The blood gushed as the bandages were removed, forcing Gordon to press down hard with a few of the scarves he had made as rags. “Did you get the bullet out?” Gordon asked Twilight. “What?” She replied. “Fuck. I should have known. Ok. Can you apply pressure to these bandages? I’m going to need to do a few things.” Twilight complied with Gordon’s request, using her magic to hold them in place. Gordon stood up, walking over to Shephard. “I need your knife.” He said, gesturing towards th indicated implement. “Woah, hold on. Do you have any medical experience?” Shephard replied. “Look, I’m not performing a surgery here, just hand over your knife. Trust me, I’m a Doctor.” Gordon replied, grabbing the knife with his Higgs Module. He did a fast about-face, kneeling down next to Rainbow and ignoring the look of surprise and confusion on Shephard and Barney. He pulled a pill bottle out of his pocket, opening it up and squinting at a label he pulled out. “How much does Rainbow weigh?” He asked the group, turning towards them. The white unicorn stepped forward, an answer apparent on her lips. “Well, it’s rather rude to ask about a lady’s weight, but she weighs about eighty pounds, at least, that was the last time she needed a certain style of dress.” She stressed the word ’certain’ strangely, as if it meant something significant. Gordon ignored this, instead peering back at the label in his hand. It says here not to use if you are under a hundred pounds. Shit, this won’t be good. Hmmm… If I half the dose… Gordon thought, before pulling out one of the pills. He hefted Shephard’s Knife, before cutting the pill in half on his hand. He walked back over to Rainbow kneeling down in front of her muzzle. “You’re going to have to swallow this.” He said, holding the half-pill in front of her half-lidded eyes, “It will help with the pain. Trust me.” A small flicker of understanding passed over the face of the pale pegasus in front of him, before her muzzle opened slightly. Gordon took the cue, placing the pill inside her mouth. She swallowed, wincing as it went down her throat. “Alright, I’m going to need water. Shephard, how’s your canteen?” Gordon asked. “Ummm, I kinda lost it. In Black Mesa.” Shephard replied. “Great. JUST GREAT!” Gordon shouted, before tunring back to the pegasus behind him. “I’m sorry about this, but it won’t be very clean.” He said, before having Twilight shift the bandages. He peered into the hole in Rainbow’s shoulder, shining his flashlight in to see if he could find the bullet. A dull, metallic shine reached him from within the red, oozing wound. He slowly used the knife to scrape away some of the excess tissue away from the bullet, before reaching his gloved hand in slowly. His other hand he used to hold down the weak pegasus , hoping that she wouldn’t hurt herself by moving. Unfortunately, Gordon could not reach the bullet. The hole was slightly too deep, and just slightly too small. He wondered if he should attempt to cut open Rainbow more, in order to get the lump of lead out of her. He didn’t notice the orange glow that began to emanate from the hole, nor the bullet passing out of the wound. He did notice, however, when the object of his thoughts began floating in front of his eyes. “Well, that’s… convenient.” He said, surprised. A small moan of pain snapped him back to his senses. He looked down and was shocked to see the small puddle of blood he was kneeling in. “Shit, this isn’t good. Can you perform a healing spell, like the one you did for your ears?” He asked Twilight, grabbing the blood soaked rags and putting pressure on the wound while Twilight responded. “No. That spell… Well, I didn’t do it on purpose. I panicked, and it just started. I had no control. I- I wouldn’t trust such a large wound to the rudimentary healing spell that I know. The most I could do was heal a bruise or a small cut. I was actually planning on reading the recent shipment of books on healing magic I received, but Fluttershy pulled me along to find you.” “Fuck. I need something. Anything, We need to cauterize this.” The blood was beginning to well around the soaked rags, the paleness and stillness of Rainbow starting to really scare Gordon. “Can you make fire?” “I umm, yes, but why would—“ “Shephard, get over here and keep pressure on the wound. Twilight, I need the hottest fire you can give me.” He said, pulling out his crowbar. “I need this red-hot. Quickly.” “Okay, okay. Here. Why do you need this?” She said, her horn glowing a magenta color, before Gordon’s crowbar began to heat up, the upper part of the metal bar encased in another magenta glow. Soon, a red glow began to overpower the magenta color, which was when Gordon called a stop. Twilight, completely and utterly exhausted, slumped to the ground. “Shephard, when I get to three, move the rags. I’m sorry Rainbow, but this is gonna hurt like hell.” Gordon said, rushing over to the nearly-white pegasus. A small movement of her eyelids and a slight raising of her ribcage indicated she was still alive. “One” Gordon said, straddling Rainbow. “Two” He knelt down, holding Rainbow still with his legs. He moved his glowing crowbar down, zeroing in on the wound under the rags. “THREE!” He shouted, watching as Shephard moved his hands out of the way. Gordon brought down the crowbar, placing the metal bar into the groove of flesh. It was a nearly perfect fit, the groove only slightly larger than the crowbar. A sizzling sound reached Gordon’s ears, followed shortly by a quiet, yet powerful scream of pain from the dying pegasus. Gordon’s nostrils registered the scent of burning meat, before he picked up his crowbar. He threw it to the side to cool, ignoring the retching sounds behind him. The wound was now covered in burns, with only a few drops of blood oozing through the callous surface. His handiwork succeeding in stopping the blood flow, Gordon next checked Rainbow’s pulse. He removed his right glove, feeling around for a vein in Rainbow’s neck. When he did find it, he had a moment of panic before he felt the slow pulse met his fingers. He grabbed the pile of bandages he had made, tightly securing the make-do cloth to Rainbow’s side. He stood up slowly, placing his glove back on and turning to the group. Shocked faces met him, some with disgust, fear and/or gratefulness mixed in. “We should stay here for a while. It’s not safe to move her.” Gordon said, before moving over to a relatively free space ion the small, square room they were in. He took a moment to look over their surroundings, taking in the concrete walls, air vent they climbed through and the solitary door set into the wall. His observations were interrupted by Shephard, walking over, a question clearly etched into his now mask-free face. “How the hell did you know what to do? I took the emergency paramedic class, but they had nothing like what you did in the curriculum.” Shephard asked. “I took a year of medical classes in college, just for the reference. Also, Black Mesa required a Hazard Course and a Makeshift Paramedic class in order to do the experiments. I learned CPR, how to make bandages, when to cauterize, and a couple other emergency procedures. I thought I would never need to use them. Now, I’m glad I knew.” Gordon said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, can you take care of setting up a guard schedule? Also, get water and food if you can, and get Rainbow to eat and drink when she wakes up. I just need to… to.. sle—“ Gordon hit the ground with a thump, a large snore escaping his mouth as he literally fell asleep. Shephard sat there for a moment, surprise written on his face, before chuckling and walking back towards the group, going about the task he was given.