Metrot City Tale

Ugh, I hate hospitals, I thought as I walked towards the Heart of Luna Medical Center. As the doors slid open, the wretched smells of disinfectant and sickness mixed in my nose. Approaching the front desk, I pulled my hood down. The mare sitting there was typing away on her computer, fingers fast as lightning, unaware of my presence. “Nice Min-Taur. Mark Five?” I asked politely, startling the worker.

With a giggle, the clerk’s mechanical digits receded back into her hooves as she turned to me. “I wish - Mark Three. Checking in, visiting or picking up, sir?” she asked, smiling.

“Picking up. I’m looking for a Raphael Martin, miss Florel,” I responded, shooting a glance at the cute mare’s nametag. I think I can deal with dating a modded mare if she’s as cute as this one.

The worker turned back to the computer and began typing again. “It seems mister Martin left a special request...Only a short list of people are allowed to visit him,” she said nervously. Not perfect with interacting with other ponies, I thought. “I have to ask you for your name and some photo identification, please.”

Hovering my wallet out of my sweatshirt’s pocket, I shot the worker a smile. “Name is Joseph Quartz, and here’s my ID...Think I could get your number, cutie?” We chuckled. She gave the card a quick look as she scribbled on a scrap of paper.

“OK then, Joseph, mister Martin is in room 409.” I took the scrap and placed it in my wallet. “Checking in, visiting or picking up, sirs?” I heard her ask again as I entered the elevator. First time in years I’ve gotten somepony’s number without using any trickery.

With a ding, the elevator doors slid open, and I left. 403...405...407...409. “Hey, Raphael, it’s check-out...time?” Upon entering the room, I was greeted by a floating pistol aimed directly at my face. The unicorn behind the firearm was a bright blue, reminiscent of the egotistical unicorn performer spoken of in old mare’s tales, with a purple and dark blue dyed mane.

“Woah, Rea-Rea, gun down! Gun down! That’s J-Q, don’t you recognize him?” the stallion laying in the hospital bed questioned.

The mare turned towards the speaker, pistol still floating in my face. “As in me ‘ighschool ex?” she asked before looking back at me. “Yeah, I suppose it could be ‘im.”

I don’t like ponies pointing things in my face. Especially if those things could potentially ruin my day, I thought, grumbling. “Yes, Reagan, that J-Q.” I walked past her as she holstered the pistol. “Alright, Raphey, time to head home,” I said, helping my friend up. As he stood, the light glared off his metallic legs. With a clank, he stepped off the bed.

“Glad I won’t have to eat more hospital food for a while...say, you didn’t happen to see a Dirty Dog stand on your way here, did you?” Raphael asked as we left his room. I shook my head in response as a loud bang echoed through the halls. Another followed, beginning a series of echoing gunshots.

“Wait ‘ere, boys,” Reagan said, hovering her pistol over to Raphael before pulling out another from seemingly nowhere and entering the lift alone.

I stared at the stallion now standing on his rear legs, as he held the metal contraption in one robotic hand, flexing the fingers on the other. “Do you have to do that now? It’s kinda creeping me out.”

“No other reason for me to do it now." He gave me a taunting smile. "Besides, I thought you were one of those hume-boos?”

“Hey, ponies with hands and humans are completely different things.” We argued for about a half-hour, trying to ignore to the gunshots echoing from the lobby.

Ding! Raphael pointed his gun towards the elevator as the doors opened and a trio of unicorns dressed in grey clothing exited. “Oh thank Celestia, you two are still here,” the leading pony said with relief.

“What’s going on down there?” my pink-maned friend asked, lowering the pistol.

“An unknown gang, sir. Decent hardware, and Reagan thinks they came here for you,” another of the trio spoke, saluting Raphael. “She told us to take you and your friend out the back while she collected the security footage, sir.”

Well, I may still be at risk of getting shot, but at least I’ll be out of this foul place soon enough, I thought as the three ponies led us into the elevator.

The metal doors slid open, and two of our escorts immediately stuck their heads out to check for potential threats. “Oi, get back ‘ere, I ain’t through wit’ you yet!” I heard.

“We’re clear. Hang a right here, gents.”

We made a mad dash to the right of the lift. As we passed through the lobby, Raphael turned and fired a few shots at a pair of stragglers from the attack. Charging by the front desk, I spotted a beautiful mare lying on the floor, her otherwise perfect face ruined by a hole between her eyes. “Now that’s just not fair!” I cried, not stopping. I get a drop-dead gorgeous mare’s number, and she winds up...dead, within an hour. Why do you hate me, karma?

________

Barreling through a door, we were greeted by the sight of a Carbby - One of the many human vehicles redesigned for use by Equestrians. “Please for the love of Celestia know how to drive,” I whispered as a number of bullets whizzed by my head, making emptying my bladder mid-gallop a very likely event. Leaping in through an open window, I crouched in the rear of the vehicle. “Drive! Drive! Drive!” I shouted. What did I do to deserve this!?

The vehicle’s tires screeched as we sped away. “Drop us off at seventy-eight Oakwind street,” I heard Raphael say over my crying. “And quit bawling, Joey! You’re a grown stallion, for Luna’s sake!” I kept sobbing. “You’re gonna have to grow a pair, bud, because after what happened today - Listen to me!” he shouted. “After what happened today, you’re gonna be helping me, Reagan, and a bunch of other ponies clean up this city...and trust me, it’s only gonna get worse.”

“Can we really trust him, Raphey? He seems to be a pretty big coward," the driver said.

For a short while, the only sound in the van was my sobbing as Raphael thought.

“Well, we'll just have to fix that, then.”

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A.N

Firstly - To whoever is reading this during the approval process: Thank you. I appreciate you taking time to read over this and whatnot, especially considering you're doing it during your free time.

Secondly - A note to anyone and everyone who has read this far: Depending on how well this chapter is received, I may or may not just stick a "Completed" tag on the story. I would require about a week or two to decide, so please, read, comment, and give a thumb. Please, if you comment, leave some constructive criticism, since it makes improving my work easier for me, and we all know people want quality stories here.

Alternatively - Because I'm not unreasonable - If enough people say this chapter could have been better, I will consider rewriting this one. It'll save me another terrible, TERRIBLE story, and it's easier to restart something if you're still fairly early on.