Doctor Swinging Shingle looked over the small village and smiled. He could honestly say he knew every pony in Rock Ridge. He'd treated every one of them over the years.
Except the traveler who'd taken a room at the local inn. Why a human would visit an isolated town like theirs, he had no idea. But pony, gryphon, minotaur, buffalo, or even human, he'd treat them all as his oath demanded.
A simple diagnostic spell, one he'd learned while he was in service. Granted, it verged - barely - on invasion of privacy, but still within the legal limits. It helped him keep small problems small, before they could become large ones. He frowned at the result.
"Hello, sir. I'm Doctor Shingle." The human was sitting outside, a blanket covering his hind legs. "You're new in town, I understand."
The human chuckled. "And you'd like for me to visit your clinic, eh? Can't slip one past a good doctor. Learned that a long time ago. Care to sit a moment and chat?"
The pony nodded. "Don't mind if I do. How are you feeling this fine day?"
"Enjoying the weather. Rather pleasant. Reminds me of home."
"And where would home be?"
"Long ago and far away, Doc." He stuck out a forelimb. A normal pony would barely notice the tremor. "Call me John."
Doctor Shingle nodded. "And how did you escape my fellows in the field, eh?"
"Snuck out when they weren't looking." John waved at the mountains in the distance. "Reminds me of where I grew up. Had a private little spot no one knew about. I'd sneak over there, and just enjoy the silence. Then the folks needed money, and I signed up."
"Military man, eh?"
"Sort of. The sign-up bonus put my folks into the black, and the duties weren't all bad."
Shingle waved a hoof. "I know the feeling. Got called up during a Diamond Dog uprising in the Palomino Desert. Wasn't pretty. And again after the Rainbow Bridge came back. Though that was only for a few days. So what brings you here?"
"Same reason I snuck out from the hospital, Doc. Didn't want anyone spitting on my grave after I'm gone." John unwrapped the small package lying in his lap, and the doctor blinked.
"Huh. You don't seem like the type."
"Like I said, I needed the money." John closed the wrappings. "Used a few tricks that I learned from my squadmates, got the right papers, and came to Equestria just as soon as they allowed a few tourists. Turns out that slippery types are universal - a few bits to the right sorts, and here I am."
Shingle rubbed his chin. "Not something we're proud of, but I can understand. If it's not prying..." His horn flickered, and he waved it in a small circle, careful not to aim it at John.
"Nah. Feel free."
A full diagnostic spell, and Shingle had all the details he needed. "How'd it happen?" He didn't need to specify.
"Decepticon attack. We'd gotten the word to leave them alone, but seems like it didn't go both ways. I was off making a food run when my unit got hit. Not sure what the hell the tin can was using, but the radiation detectors..." John shrugged. "All the film strips were dead black. My buddies were dead, their bodies just didn't know it yet. But there was a bus load of civilians, children - and the medical supplies were shielded. So I left my buddies to die, and did what I could for the kids. Triage." He snorted. "I guess I was a little closer than I thought. Little too close, seems like."
"You were." Shingle wasn't going to lie, not about this. "So now what?"
"Like I said. A little privacy. Maybe someplace with flowers, like back home." John nodded towards the inn. "The gal in there. Looks like she's gonna have family soon."
"That she is. The stallion wasn't stallion enough to take responsibility and ran."
"Thought that might be the case. Seen a lot of that, sadly. Do me a small favor?"
"Depends on what it is."
"There's a letter of credit in my bags, drawn on a Canterlot bank. A few thousand bits." He paused. "Lotus Spot's a good mare. Treated me nice these past few days. See to it I get someplace private, and take the rest for her. Something decent for dirty money. Give her foal a head start in life, would you?"
Doc Shingle nodded again. "I can see to that. Do you want anything? I can make it... easier. Take away the pain."
"I'd appreciate that. Take the fee from the letter along with the rest, okay?
"I will."
When the Royal Guard finally came looking, everyone in Rock Ridge firmly asserted that the human had wandered off into the Badlands and was never seen again.
It was the truth, from a certain point of view. There was no memorial. No stone. Just a fine and private place.
With some flowers.
Doc Shingle made certain to burn the hooded red patch the human had shown him. Wasn't any need for the Guard to see it. Let the dead rest and the past remain the past.
