My Little Wastelander

Minuette

Minuette was a unicorn with a light blue coat, periwinkle mane and tail with a pigment blue streak, her eyes were of a steel blue, and she bore the cutie mark of an hour glass. A usually passive mare, and not exactly sociable. A little voice inside of her head was constantly warning her of how she was going to be late for an appointment.

It didn't matter though, she needed to be alone to clear her head and gather her thoughts, after all, how many other ponies have been brainwashed by a changeling queen to assist in the imprisonment of a alicorn princess? (Aside from Lyra and Twinkleshine, who just so happened to be part in the same event.) Nopony she knew of, that's for sure.

Attempting to dispel the feeling of annoyance coming over her from the memories of the wedding, she moved on to thinking about the happier things, after all, her life wasn't all just a marathon of unfortunate events. Her visit to the Crystal Empire was huge fun, even better is that she'd be visiting again if the Crystal Empire held the Equestria Games, she'd need to bring Rose, she'd refused to believe her when she told them her mane and fur became crystallized after the sheer joy of the residents caused the Crystal Heart, the relic that keeps the empire safe from the forces that wish darkness upon it, to discharge. Sure just being in range long enough would have crystallized her body, but the fact that there was a huge explosion of colors overhead while it happened, was totally wicked.

She'd gotten so consumed in her thoughts it took a moment for her to realize she'd reached the Everfree Forest.

It was a beautiful day despite the slight chill in the air.

Nothing in the world could possibly be wrong right now!

That thought was about to change, fast. Before Minuette could knew what was happening, or could even react what looked like a tear through the fabric of space ripped itself into existence, what followed was nothing short than ear-splitting cracks, bloodcurdling screams, howls of pain, and a explosion that shook Minuette to the core. Fire and smoke erupted from the tear. And suddenly... Pony.

The explosion had launched it through the portal, given it's velocity, and then the tear in space quickly healed itself, the sounds of a nightmare fading away. Three minutes later, Minuette realized she'd been standing still, unblinking. Then, she looked towards the lump of cloth and dark blue fur. She could see a horn, so unicorn, giving the face a good look, she came to a conclusion that said unicorn was a male. He looked like he'd been through Tartarus, soot, dirt, and cuts littering his face. He wore a pair of black shades, one Minuette swore she'd seen in purple before, just without cracks lining the lenses, along with a just-as-dark trench coat, with a brown-red shirt, and earthly colored vest. Looking at his mane, it was pitch black, with a strip of dirty red running through it. This pony hadn't seen a shower in a very long time, by the look of him.

I should probably check to see if he's alive.

The mare leaned down and put her ear to the stallions chest, sure enough, she heard the rhythm of a heart, time mattered more now. She needed to get the stallion to the hospital. She bent down and wedged her head under his chest, then stood upright to get him in a comfortable position on her back. Minuette had just began her trek back to the town when suddenly a weight fell out of one of the stallion's pockets. It landed on the ground with a couple of strange clicks, a sign that the object had moving parts. The mare turned around to look at it, it looked like a small sort of tool, made out of a dark metal, and what she assumed was the handle was covered in black rubber for a grip. Her curiosity buzzed, then she realized she was still carrying a unconscious stallion of his back, and the weight wasn't getting any better. She stuffed the tool back into his pocket then started towards Ponyville.

Rusty Fortune

Rusty Fortune yawned, only to yelp at the pain it caused. The memory of the explosion came back to him quickly, now he didn't even know where he was! His vision was blurred, but he'd reached for his sidearm enough times he knew perfectly were it was, and doing so had become a reflex to danger.

It wasn't there.

Where's my rev-... Where are my clothes?! Am I laying in a bed?

The unfamiliar feeling of comfort and warmth answered the last question, that or the mutant that was trying to swallow him whole had a very dry mouth, not exactly uncommon in the wastes. From what he'd heard from multiple beast hunters. He questioned whether he could even stretch.

The pain which followed his next attempt at movement was his only reply. It was obvious he had hurt himself, he was starting to feel multiple burn marks, and noticed bandages around his midsection. But he did prove to himself he wasn't in the mouth, or stomach, of a giant mutant.

Beep.

What was that?

Beep.

More questions than answers. Rust tilted his head to his left, and recognized the sound machine as a heartbeat monitor. Before he could mentally comment there was a clicking sound from the door. Somepony was opening it, but had stopped to talk with somepony else. Rust pulled the plug on the monitor.

They aren't getting information from me, I need them to think i'm dead.

There was one drawn out noise, accompanied the flat line eerily pursuing the edge of the screen. The pony outside finally opened the door, more haste than before, focused more on the dark blue unicorn than her previous conversation.

"Nurse Coldheart! Nurse Coldheart!" Rust could see a mare, blue coat, minty green mane, her yelling was enough to hurt his ears. She turned, and with a final "Oh Celestia." she ran out of the room. Probably getting ready to throw up.

Now it was time to escape, he couldn't go out the door, that left only one option, suddenly, he found a annoyingly familiar phrase echoing  in his head.

THROUGH THE WINDOOOW.

He shook his head, and attempted to get to his feet. Ignoring the absolute agony he was causing himself. He eventually found himself on his feet, shaky, but he was standing. After allowing himself a mere seconds to recover, he limped along his bed, he could see out the window. He grimaced at the thought of his idea, it already felt like he had spikes in his legs.

The stallion braced himself, then ran to the window, and with a strained effort, pushed himself into the air, and towards the window. The glass shattered easily, he was free! He felt some of his worries melt away, until he looked down.

Screaming for his life suddenly seemed like a good idea.

He wasn't on the first floor, not even on the second, he had been three stories up all along. Fear and remorse consumed his thoughts, then something occurred to him, still airborne; the grass wasn't dead and burnt, the trees had leaves, and healthy bark, the air was clean, and the earth was not cracked.

Then, he was caught by the ground. His hooves touched first, and when his legs buckled, he hit his head with about the same force as his hooves.

Rust lay there for a few seconds, then he opened his eyes. Nothing other than a blur of colors, but the sun seemed to be rising, and he swore he heard birds in the distance. He felt at peace, as he listened to the sweet birdsong, and then he felt himself slipping away. Darkness was taking him once more, probably for good this time, it seemed to be only a matter of seconds. He vocalized one more thought.

"This is beautiful." He voice cracked on the last word, and blackness consumed him.

*Nurse Coldheart*

The nurse had seen much in her lifetime, so many injuries, and even a fatality which seemed to break her heart, she felt like she could have saved a life that day, but she didn't. And when she heard the scream of Nurse Tenderheart, she could feel her heart skip a beat. Now, confused, she stared at the scene where it happened. The pony was missing, and the monitor was automatically shut off to prevent being thrown across the room due to annoyance. The nurse looked around, the room was far too small and organized to hide in, but she could tell something was off.

The window. Was that stallion crazy?!

She ran over to the window, hoping the stallion at least managed to climb down, but when saw the pony below, her fears were confirmed, judging by body position and the fact he was no longer moving, he had jumped out the window. The nurse turned and booked it to the staircase, down to the first floor, and finally through the door leading to the front of the hospital.

She quickly approached the stallion. Once she realized he was still breathing a heavy sigh of relief could be heard from her. He was alive, so far she recognized a out-of-place forearm, possibly a cracked skull, and a undoubtedly heavy headache when he woke up. She'd need one of the unicorn nurses to examine him, in case he had a cracked rib or any sort of internal bleeding. However she figured he'd survive, and should consider himself lucky, especially due to what the nurse what told by Minuette.

I'll have one of the nurses get a stretcher, probably some restraints too.