//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: R&R – Rebirth and Rejuvenation // Story: Left 4 Derpy // by Edmar Fecler //------------------------------// Left 4 Derpy Chapter 6: R&R – Rebirth and Rejuvenation Ditzy was surrounded by black nothingness. She tried looking around, but there was nothing to see. She couldn’t even feel her own body. Suddenly, a light appeared with a flash. She couldn’t tell what it was, but it certainly was pretty. As she began moving closer, she began to hear muffled voices coming from it. As she approached the light, she was able to decipher one of the voices as it shouted “CLEAR!” There was another, brighter flash that shattered the blackness, surrounding her with blinding light. Ditzy’s eyes shot open. She was lying on her back, looking up at neon light attached to a metal ceiling. The muffled voices became clearer as her vision came into focus. She saw her four human companions standing on either side of her. Louis was standing closest to her, holding two smoking rectangles in his hands. “Ditzy?! Can you hear me? Come on man, answer me!” “Y-yea Louis, I can hear you.” “YES! You’re alive! You really scared the shit out of us there.” “…What do you mean ‘I’m alive’? Why wouldn’t I be?” Louis set the rectangles down. “Well, that witch really did a number on you.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “You, um… You weren’t breathing when Francis came back here with you draped over his shoulder.” Ditzy’s eyes widened. “You mean…” “You died, kid,” Bill said flatly. “But Zoey patched you up as quickly as she could to avoid more blood loss. Lucky for you Louis found a defibrillator in amongst all the ammo.” “W-wait, if I died, how could I possibly be alive now?!” Louis picked up one of the rectangles. “A defibrillator is used to bring people, or in your case ponies, back to life. It sends an electrical pulse through your body to try and jumpstart the subject's system.” “So I guess you could say that your coming back to life,” Francis began as he put on a pair of sunglasses that he had found, “…Was rather shocking.” He crossed his arms and grinned. He held the pose for just a moment as everyone glared at him. “Aw come on, It was a joke!” Bill slapped a hand to his face. “Francis, that has to be the worst joke I’ve ever heard.” The grin fell from Francis’s face. “Well excuse me for trying to lighten the mood.” “Since when were you one to try to lighten anything up?” “Um… Just trying it out, I guess.” Francis’s notion passed. “What, would you prefer me being an ass? Fine. I can do that.” He turned and kicked a box of ammunition before walking to the other end of the car. Louis looked over to Bill. “Is it just me, or is Francis acting a bit differently?” “How should I know? I don’t pay that close attention to him.” Ditzy sat up on her haunches and looked down at the bandages wrapped around her body. “So... just how bad were my wounds?” “That bitch cut you pretty deep, actually,” Zoey began. “The cuts go down to the bone. But don’t worry too much, none of your organs were damaged as far as I can tell.” she paused for a moment as she inspected a bloody section of the bandages. “Does it hurt? Do you think you can walk?” Ditzy stood up slowly, being careful not to risk any pain. “Actually, no. I can’t really feel a thing.” She started to outstretch her wings, but quickly retracted them. “GAH! Ok, THAT hurt a bit.” “I take it that flight is out of the question then?” Bill asked. “Yea, I guess. I wouldn’t want to risk any long term damage.” “Can’t blame you there. So, how long do you think you’ll need before you’re ready to get goin'?” Ditzy paused as she thought about her situation. “…I’m fine to head on out right now if you all are.” Louis set his Uzi down. “Hey now, we just had to bring you back to life! I may not be a medical expert, but I’m pretty sure you’re not ready to dive back into the fray this soon.” “Yea,” Bill continued with a concerned look on his face. “We’d hate lose you out there.” Ditzy held up her forelegs in a defensive manner. “It’s alright, I can handle it. Who knows how long that rescue will wait for us, right? The sooner we get there the better.” She winced at a sudden sting of pain. “I… I’m fine. Really, I am.” Bill thought to himself for a bit. “Well… Before you go anywhere, you’re going to need something to help relieve you. Here,” he pulled a small white bottle out of one of his pockets. “Take some of these, they’ll help ease the pain.” With a forceful twist, Bill popped the lid off before holding the open bottle out to the pony. Ditzy took the bottle in-between her hooves and examined its contents. “Pills?” “Painkillers, to be exact.” “Not only do they make you feel good, but they taste amazing!” Louis interjected. Bill shot him a suspecting glance. “Right… Just don’t take too many, alright?” Ditzy nodded before shaking a few of the white pills into her mouth. Swallowing them was uncomfortable without anything to drink with them, but the effects were almost instant. The pain simply faded away. “I think its working! …Wait a second…” As the pain faded, her body began to feel tingly. She felt refreshed, but very energetic as well. Soon everything began to spin around. “Woa…” Bill watched as her eyes started spinning around in their sockets. “…Um, you ok there?” “Dude, this is trippin’!” Louis burst out laughing. “I know, right?!” After a few more seconds of the world spinning out of control, Ditzy’s eyes began slowing down. When her eyes stopped they weren’t derped like before. She blinked a few times before looking up at Bill. The veteran couldn’t help but stare back into the giant yellow orbs. For the first time since Vietnam, he felt incredibly nervous. It was like they were staring straight into his soul. After what felt like hours, Ditzy blinked again. Bill was snapped back to reality. “What the hell…” Ditzy looked around to Zoey and Louis. Everything seemed… different. Her head felt a lot clearer as well. “Wow, that’s some powerful stuff.” Louis chuckled nervously. “I’d say. They even straightened out your eyes. …however that works…” Ditzy turned to him. “Really?” A chill ran down Louis’s back. Why was it so creepy to see her eyes like that?! “…Yea, it sure did.” Bill rubbed the back of his neck and looked around for something to focus on instead of those creepy eyes. He noticed Francis standing above a pile of ammo that had been spread out across one of the seats. But instead of sorting through the munitions, Francis was scratching his arm furiously. “Francis, you alright?” Francis jumped a bit. “Oh uh, yea. It’s just that there’s this damn itchy rash where that pony bit me earlier.” “Well it can’t be that bad,” Bill continued as he stepped over to the biker. “Let me take a look at it.” Francis held out his arm, revealing a massive, red whelp almost 4 inches in diameter around where Ditzy had bitten him. “Oh… Zoey, you might want to take a look at this.” “Take a look at what,” she responded as she walked over to them, leaving Ditzy and Louis to stare at each other. Bill motioned to Francis’s swollen arm. “…Yikes. Looks like it got infected.” Francis jerked his arm back suddenly. “What?! I thought we were immune!” Zoey sighed. “The green flu isn’t the only disease out there, remember? It could be any number of other things that could have gotten into the wound.” “…So I’m not turning into a zombie, right?” Zoey rolled her eyes. “No Francis, you’re not turning into a zombie. …Not as far as I can tell, at least.” “How reassuring,” Francis grumbled. Zoey pulled out another first aid kit. “Here, the best I can do here is wrap it up to prevent any further infection. If it’s still this bad when we reach the hospital, then I may be able to help it more if we are able to find some proper equipment.” Francis stuck out his arm and mumbled to himself. “…Stupid flying horse. I hate horses.” “Pony, Francis; She’s a pony,” Zoey corrected as she began to wrap the gauze around the biker’s swollen arm. “Besides, it’s not her fault. You didn’t have to be so rough when you got her out from under that bed.” Francis winced as a sharp sting cut into his rash. “GAH! Be careful!” “What do you think I’m doing?” “Making it hurt.” “I thought you were supposed to be some kind of tough guy, who ‘didn’t give a rat’s ass about pain,’” she retorted, quoting him from an earlier argument. Francis just scowled and looked away while she finished bandaging the rash. “Strange, I figured Francis would have made some kind of attempt at a comeback at that last comment. …Maybe he’s finally coming around?” Zoey pondered the thought for a brief second. “…Naw, that’s impossible. There must be something wrong with him,” she concluded half jokingly.