PRN Hospital: From Birth to Death

by Short-tale

Rating: mature
Tags: Nurse Tenderheart, Gore, Slice of Life, Dark, Death, Sad, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Nurse Snowheart, Suicide / Self Harm
Length: 7046

Ace Bandage has had a hard week. Nurse Snowheart is there to comfort him and listen.

Nurse Snowheart hasn’t been a girlfriend for long but she has been a nurse. She knows what the field is like first hand. Her new boyfriend Ace Bandage has had some troubling calls recently and Snowheart knows that pain. All one can do is listen and support.

Thanks to RDT, Punished Bean , Mykola and Techno and everypony else at Bean’s Writing group for their support and help on this one.

Published 2021-03-28 19:40:00 UTC
Last updated 2021-03-28 19:40:00 UTC

Birth

Snowheart was on nights again. The way the nurses shift rotations worked was three days on, two days off, alternating day and night so that they prevented burnout. Snowheart found herself in charge. The other nurse was Tenderheart. One of the twins.

Tenderheart was seen by many as a gentle shy filly with a soft voice. They were always astounded with what that voice began to say. Snowheart believed that it made others awkward so they laughed . This made her feel less awkward. Or so Snowheart surmised.

“Hey sis,” Tenderheart said in her soft diminutive tone. “Did you hear about Red and her new squeeze?”

“I am assuming you are referring to Redheart’s new romantic partner, Kerfuffle. I had heard Red is quite content in their current status,” Snowheart stated flatly.

“Do you think they had sex yet?” Tenderheart said softly but with enthusiasm.

“That is not my affair. I do not keep track of our sisters' physical engagements.”

“Well I hope it goes better than her and Cherilee. I still don’t know what happened.”

“Red did not think enlightening you would add any assistance.”

“Hey, she’s my twin. Why didn’t she come to me?” Tenderheart said in a mockingly sad tone.

“If you insist on ascertaining this knowledge I shall illuminate you,” Snowheart sighed. It was not like Redheart was all that secretive about it anymore.
“It came down to foals. Cherilee wanted foals. Redheart thought it would take too much time from the hospital.”

“Red doesn’t want foals? I didn’t know that.”

“Perhaps you should converse with her more.”

Tenderheart looked a little hurt. She looked at the ground for a bit then back at Snow. Her eyes returned to their playful look. She didn’t like being caught off guard. That was her game.

“So,” Tenderheart began, the sly grin returning. “You and Ace get it on yet?”

“I assume you are referring to more carnal acts. These have been specified as “not your business,” Snowheart informed as she turned back to her paperwork.

“So that is a yes.”

Snowheart fixed her with her most icy stare. Such a startle would freeze the very blood in most ponies in their veins. It could still the most heated of tongues and the hottest of heads. Her sister was unphased.

“Ahh so that’s a no,” said Tenderheart. The smile remained plastered on her face. The older nurse hated that.

“Well you should..”

“You should tend to your patients whose problems are your business,” recommended Snowheart, effectively cutting her younger sister off from any further inquiry.

The young nurse scoffed and turned away, leaving Snowheart back to her paperwork. The nice straight lines and need for concrete answers soothed Snowheart’s temperament. She preferred the control and emphasis on facts to emotional banter. It didn’t make her feel uncomfortable and instilled the feeling of victory over the darkness of ignorance.

A light hoof tap on the counter of her desk brought her attention away from her glory. She looked up to see the stoic face of one of the day shift medics. It was Aloe Glow, the only Kirin medic in the area. The Kirin had come down from the village to learn the pony method of medicine. The more the Kirin mare learned the more she seemed to stay.

Aloe’s face reflected the same still manner as Snowheart’s own. They were similar in some ways. Both avoided emotions. Aloe for more practical reasons. But the Kirin had brought with her a different way of thought that Snowheart couldn’t comprehend.

Something about allowing things to be and not getting overly involved if you can’t change anything. Snowheart felt that much reservation could hurt the reaction time to helping patients. Aloe would state it didn’t. The momentary pause in action allowed more possibilities to formulate in the mind.

Snowheart didn’t think such a pause was necessary. Her mind was a fact channeling device. She was able to recall the most miniscule detail with no effort. But it could not shed any light on the expression Aloe bore now.

“Snowheart,” Aloe said with a slight unnatural quiver in her voice. She seemed uncomfortable. “You are dating the EMT Ace Bandage, are you not?”

“Affirmative,” Snowheart nodded, the unnerved voice putting her on edge. She was never one for boyfriends and this rare opportunity was taken rather quickly. She wondered if she should have analyzed all the different possibilities first, but Nurse Ivy Push suggested to feel it rather than think it.

“Then you should probably check his mental well being,” the Kirin said, sheepishly. “He does not seem to be faring well.”

“Alert me to his position,” Snowheart demanded with more heat than she expected of herself.

“He’s in the wagon bay. He looks like could use a helping hoof and a tender ear.”

“Or a tender rear,” snickered Siren, the earth mare EMT. She pulled the wagon for Aloe most of the time. Snowheart felt she was too flighty. The mare seemed to throw herself at anypony, male or female.

“I shall go and attend to his needs,”said Snowheart as her body moved of its own accord.

“You’re leaving your post?!” called Tenderheart in surprise. She had to shout for her words to reach her sister’s ear.

“I am upon my break,” the elder nurse shouted back.

“Finally,” whispered Tender to herself.

****

Snowheart knew the hospital like the back of her hoof. This might have been bigger than the old clinic that most of the nurses grew up in, but she had supervised the installation of the entire thing. She knew every inch very well. It took her ten minutes to find the EMT huddled in the corner of the hallway near the wagon bay.

Ace was a large pony. Not as large as Big Heart and Big Mac, but still larger than Snowheart herself. The ponies that pull the emergency wagon have to be. They have to be strong, fast, and also have to be calm enough to think clearly in intense situations. It was not easy to be on scene sometimes, when ponies felt their worst.

Snowheart lightly approached. She had only read about a few of the conventions of a marefriend and had even less experiences being one. But she could tell that Ace might need her in this capacity.

The large red pony looked at the ground with a face that threatened to burst into tears at any moment. His eyes were looking at something far away from her. Something he did not like. He didn’t react when she got close. It was something the nurse had seen in other health care workers' faces before. Even her own. A patient did not fare well. Something went wrong.

Snowheart tried to think of what she had read girlfriends were supposed to do in this situation. What would she have wanted when those eyes were hers? She sighed. This was not paperwork. She leaned her yellow body on the EMT and rested her weight against him. It was considered by many to be a comforting act.

To her surprise, the EMT’s forehoof pulled her close. That close to him, it was extremely warm. Snowheart felt her cheeks flush slightly.

“Did you hear what happened?” Ace said with a burned out voice.

“I was informed that you were not feeling well. I surmise that something did not go favorably,” Snow calmly explained. “I am here to place comfort upon you. As your girlfriend.”

“Thank you,” the wagon pony said, placing his weight on her. Snowheart knew he was holding back. She could not physically bear his full weight.

“Did they tell you,” he asked tentatively. “About the call?”

“I have heard the call in which you experienced great difficulty,” the nurse rested her head on his shoulder as well. It was an unusual position for her, yet she could not deny the warmth it produced. “Was this the foal you recently assisted birthing?”

Klinger Gauze, the pegasus that Ace worked with, had told her about the call. It was sprinkled with fits of dark laughter. It began as any other Snowheart had imagined. Ace was very excited. The dispatcher had told them it was an imminent delivery. It was the only call that could be joyous.

Snowheart pictured the way it had played out:

Ace’s large hooves pelted the earth, tearing chunks of dirt and sod into the air. His body glistened with perspiration and his white mane trailed behind him. The warning bells on the wagon clanged out their message to the ponies of Ponyville that he was not stopping. His eyes filled with fear and urgency.

Klinger flew ahead. He was the medic, and if the patient was in true trouble he could assist in their care. Ace had no knowledge of how things were progressing. The multitude of scenarios played through his mind. A mother could be bleeding uncontrollably. The foal could be breech presentation, with its back feet facing the birth canal instead of its head. The umbilical cord could be wrapped around the foal’s neck, not allowing the foal the breath that it desperately needed in that stage.

Ace steered his hooves towards the source of the call, Sweet Apple Acres. The Apples were a staple of the community. If a foal was being born there, it meant a new wonderful pony to help in the farm. Ace knew that his speed was crucial. He didn’t want to be the wagon pony that let the Apple’s down—and subsequently the whole town. It didn’t take him long to see the bright red barn rising in the moonlight.

Ace pulled the cart right up to the main house. Applejack and Applebloom were outside. Rainbow Dash was inside dancing on her hooves.

“Come on! Come on!” Rainbow insisted. “The medic says you’re the expert here! So she needs you!”

The expert?! Ace’s lips went dry. He had never delivered a foal in his life. But the insistence of the pegasus spurned his legs into action.

“Hey!” barked a shout behind him. “Ya can’t pull the whole cart in there! Just get what ya need.”

Applejack looked at him uncertainly and helped unhook the cart. Ace grabbed his bag of medical supplies. His hooves started to shake from adrenaline but he tried to keep them still in front of the family.

He rushed into the scene then remembered to put on his gloves. He had to keep his hooves sterile and didn’t want anything to affect the foal. Rainbow pointed him to the kitchen where a yellow pegasus lay on the ground next to an uncomfortable white one.

He took a few steps in and his eyes adjusted to the change in light. The bright spot light of the kitchen illuminated ponies that Ace had only seen on posters and in magazines. It was Spitfire and Soarin from the Wonderbolts. Ace had no idea they were together, let alone this together. He saw Klinger sitting in the corner with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Birth is a BLS skill, Ace,” the snickering medic stated with a shrug of his wings. “This is all you.”

Ace’s eyes momentarily at his smirking partner. Basic life support does cover birth, but Ace was not used to being in charge.

“Ahhhhh!” The scream ripped Ace through his brooding. His eyes snapped to Spitfire, the source of the scream. He knew what Klinger was doing. The medic was throwing him into the water and hoping he could swim. If he started to drown, the pegasus would catch him; but Ace had to learn.

He scrambled for a few seconds, then took some deep breaths. He started with what he could do first. The bag with the letters “OB” written on the side is what he needed. Klinger had written on the side in big friendly letters, “don’t panic.” Ace snorted at the reference.

“Ok, Miss Spitfire,” Ace shakily began. “I’m going to need you to lie on your back.”

“Just...Spitfire,” the fierce Wonderbolt commanded. Ace could see the anger and pain in her eyes, but underneath he noted a tinge of fear.

“Y-y-yes ma’am. Now I am going to lay out a sterile field so that nothing contaminates the baby, and drape this towel over you to protect your decency.”

Ace placed the towel. Then his face went flush. He had never seen that area on a mare before, and now he was going to have to look there. Repeatedly. He swallowed hard and tried to look anywhere but there. He placed the rest of the bag out so he could reach them easier. The scalpel to cut the cord. The clamps to clamp it. A bulb syringe to help suction the foal’s nose and mouth of ..fluid. Ace took another steadying breath. And lastly a blanket to wrap the bundle of ...wet.

All the things in place, it was time to look at...Soarin. He noted the frozen face of the daring Wonderbolt. Despite all the death defying stunts, brave rescues and intense fights he was engaged in, the stallion looked terrified of one of the most natural events.

“M-mr. Er Soarin?” Ace signaled. The pegasus startled as if he was shouted at. His eyes snapped to attention at Ace’s command. “I’m going to need you to boil some water, ok?”

“Y-y-es, sir!” The Wonderbolt dashed through the unfamiliar kitchen fumbling for a pot.

Ace felt bad lying to him. The point of boiling water was merely to distract the father and give him a job to do. But the Wonderbolt had a mission and was diligently performing it.

Now he just had to check if… Klinger was ok. He had to make sure his partner was on board with his set up. The pegasus was starting an IV in Spitfire to help replace the… fluids lost in the birthing process. He glanced up at Ace with a glare that told the nervous pony that he knew exactly why there was hesitation. A sleezy smirk appeared on Klinger’s face. Ace couldn’t hide from this forever.

“Aaaaaa,” screamed Spitfire. She looked at Soarin’s back. “You! You grounded me! It was only supposed to be a way to blow off steam! Now look at what you did!”

Ace stared blankly at the writhing patient, unsure what to say. She glared back and was about to say something but only “uuuuhhh” came out with another contraction.

“Check for presentation, Ace!” Klinger prodded.

The earth pony bit his lower lip and looked beneath the towel.

“With your eyes open!”

Ace opened his eyes and saw the yellow gates that were the foal’s exit. His upbringing told him to look away. This was a private area. Staring was not polite and highly offensive. But circumstances dictated a different response. Decorum and medical emergencies did not fall under the same conditions. Ace reminded himself this was ok. This was his job.

After the brief struggle with his own modesty he looked again. He reminded himself this was a clinical setting. That was when the floodgates opened. It was the fluid. It poured out like a waterfall. The sanitary pad that Ace placed under her absorbed most of the mess. The EMT instinctively reared his head back though his snout wasn’t anywhere close.

“Well?” demanded Klinger. “Are we staying and playing or are we loading and going?”

“The ...uhh ...fluid is here,” stammered the shaking rookie.

“Her water broke. Stay and play it is. Ready to deliver, ‘Doctor Ace’?”

The EMT snorted in retort. Klinger had that mischievous gleam in his eye, and Ace knew he would never live this down. Until the next call like this. He placed his hooves on either side of those gates, but not touching. Sometimes mothers can push so hard the foal can fire out. Or so he was told.

“Spitfire,” Ace said, trying not to make his voice shake. “Your water broke so you’re going to have this foal here. Klinger and I will help you, but you need to do most of the work.”

“DO NOT TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB!” screamed the writhing Wonderbolt. “I AM THE CAPTAIN OF THE WONDERBOLTS! THIS FOAL WILL LISTEN!”

“Ok ok,” Ace said in a defeated tone. “I’m seeing some… bulging… uh… down there. I should see the forehooves soon. Do we know if it’s a filly or colt?”

“FIGURE IT OUT!” panted Spitfire.

“Alright, Soarin’ did you want to see the birth of your foal?”

“Hmm?” the pegasus jumped as his name was called again. “Oh, uh, but the pot..”

“The pot can wait. This won’t happen again,” Ace reminded.

“YOU’RE DARN RIGHT IT WON’T!” Spitfire spat.

The light behind Ace grew dimmer as it was blocked by the awkward father-to-be. He moved into close to those life giving doors to get a better look. More fluid tickled out, along with a strange, white, membrane which thrust its way out. Spitfire didn’t scream so much as growl at the effort.

“I CAN DO THIS! I’M A WONDERBOLT!” she cheered herself on.

“You’re doing great!” Ace encouraged.

“I KNOW!”

“Umm, well we have… something,” Ace said, resuming his vigil. The white membrane enlarged and he could see hooves through its translucent sheen. “Hooves presenting.”

“Gaaahhhh!” Spitfire screamed. It looked less like a struggle and more of a battle. Ace had seen the same face on ponies trying to finish a set of sit-ups. This one produced a tiny snout out the doors.

“I see its head,” Ace excitedly informed. The fear of danger was starting to give way to the joy of discovery. He wondered what the little pegasus would look like.

“OK LITTLE PONY,” the grounded Wonderbolt began to order through clenched teeth. “IT’S TIME TO SHAPE UP AND SHIP OUT! NOW YOU GET OUT OF THERE! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!”

Ace nearly hid behind Soarin until he realized she was shouting at the foal. He wondered what a mother like that would turn the little one into. The foal obediently listened to its mom and jumped into Ace’s awaiting hooves.

“Gaah.” The exhausted pegasus finally placed her head down onto the cold ground. She panted and felt the hoof of Soarin grab hers.

Ace quickly began running through his trained procedure. He wiped the infant clean of the sticky, foul smelling fluid and suctioned the pony’s nose with the bulb syringe. The little colt, he deduced, began to cry as soon as the mucus was clear. Its dull grey color changed to a brilliant white. Its little electric blue tail whipped to and fro in distress. Ace knew that the distress was merely the overwhelming feeling of suddenly having to deal with all the information the world was now dumping on him.

The EMT handed the foal off to Klinger’s hooves and placed the clamps from the bag on the umbilical cord. He placed the pair a few inches apart, then used the scalpel to cut through the fibrous tether.

“Not done yet, Spitfire,” Ace reminded with a wink.

“Huh wha?” the new mother asked in confusion.

“There is still the afterbirth, the rest of the placenta to deliver.”

“YOU WANT ME TO DO MORE?!”

“Well, the placenta will come out. Just might need a little push,” Ace said as his lips went dry. Spitfire’s gaze was somehow pushing the moisture in his mouth out to his face.

“Give me a moment with my son,” Spitfire said as the heat drained from her voice and was replaced with a glowing warmth. She held onto her little bundle of sog covered towel that began to coo.

Ace noticed the scene had changed. The room was beaming with a light of giddiness and excitement. The Apple family began to filter in with Rainbow Dash looking rattled and squeamish.

“Looks like he did alright,” Applejack said to Rainbow. “And you wanted ta rush in there thinking she was dying.”

“Well I thought that… she sounded so… he seemed a little fazed. I guess it was okay you held me back,” the speedster said with a sigh.

“Darn tootin’. Ah didn’t want ya messing up the place,” the cowpony agreed.

Ace filled with wonder as he saw the glow of new motherhood pass to all those present. Even he started to feel lighter and more at ease. The world seemed brighter. The fear had fled entirely. Klinger looked at him with a large smile and held up a small bag. The medic’s mouth moved and Ace realized he hadn’t been listening at all. He was drawn in by the ethereal happiness that had ensnared the rest of the room.

“You did good,” Klinger repeated. “Now put the placenta in this bag.”

Finally, the words reached Ace’s ears. They didn’t make any sense. How could a moment of wonder be marred by something as unearthly as a placenta in a plastic bag?

Ace’s head swiveled back to his patient’s area. In front of the birthing canal opening was a blood soaked, mushy, gelatinous mass. It laid there like a gooey deflated ball. Ace looked at Klinger in disbelief. The medic shook the plastic bag and waited.

The EMT reached down with his snout to begrudgingly grab the horrid mound of flesh when annoyed sound from his medic stopped him.

“Not with your mouth,” Klinger hissed, in a harsh whisper. “With your hooves. You know. Those things covered in gloves.”

Ace felt his face flush and hoped his red coat would hide it. It normally made it worse. He looked at the family in front of him, but they were all cooing over the foal. A sigh of relief escaped him and he reached out to the slimy mass with his hooves.

The second he gripped it it tried to escape. It slipped, slithered and oozed its way through his hooves. Ace performed a strange juggling act to keep it from the floor. Each time he touched it it felt like his hooves were placing more holes into its delicate strands. He quickly dumped it in the bag while Klinger smirked.

“Let’s get moma and her little foal to the hospital for his first check up,” the medic suggested.

“Fine. But I will fly to the wagon,” Spitfire relented.

“Sorry to have ruined your dinner party, Crash,” Soarin apologized as he followed the entourage out. “It was really nice of you to invite us. Most of our friends were kind of letting us have our time. Spitfire was going crazy with nothing to do. She should be back in the air shouting orders in no time.”

“Thank goodness,” Rainbow sighed in relief. “These last thirteen months have been tough trying to be her. No pony listens to me. I was hoping she could give me some training on it tonight, but family comes first. Do you guys have a name picked out so I can tell the rest of the squad?”

“Shadow Work,” the Head Wonderbolt shouted back. “From what I just went through. He’s going to need a lot of work.”

Ace had restrapped himself to the wagon and began the softest trot to the hospital he had ever done.

Death

Snowheart returned from her memory. It had taken milliseconds to recall the whole ordeal. Klinger had teased him for nearly using his mouth. The nurse wondered how bad the medic hazed him this time.

“No, it wasn’t the Spitfire thing,” Ace sighed. “A call came in during the day. It was… much much worse.”

“Please illuminate me,” requested Snowheart. She shimmied closer. The studies had shown that stallions preferred close contact within courtship situations. Perhaps the ensuing endorphin release would remove his fear and sadness. Or so Snowheart hoped.

“Ok, but it’s a little messy…

Ace began to relate the story and Snowheart’s mind filled in the details.

Ace was sitting in his normal comfortable chair. It was the day shift, and that meant that the chair was outside. Klinger was flying around, excitedly talking about his date with the nurse Ivy Push.

“So then we went to a club,” Klinger called down. “Man, that filly can dance. She can kick back a few too. How did your date go, Ace? I heard you and Nurse Snowheart really hit it off. I didn’t think a pony like her would be interested in dating at all.”

“Well,” began Ace, his cheeks a bright fire truck red, “a lot of ponies misjudge her. She only seems cold. But underneath all the facts and figures she memorized is a pony that truly cares. She learned all that stuff to help others in the best way that she could.”

“D’awww, you little romantic. I bet you didn’t try anything on her yet.”

“Of course not. She’s too cultured for that. And I wouldn’t press a mare to do anything she wouldn’t want to,” Ace declared solemnly.

“Ha ha ha. Mr Noble. Well, fair Ace, while you were being all chivalrous, I was getting some.”

A snort brought both their attention to a large earth pony female. Siren laid on her back, staring at the sky.

“So little miss tease finally gave it up, huh?” she said with a piece of wheat sticking out of her teeth. “I was trying real hard too.”

“You try hard for everyone,” reminded Klinger. “You’ve made a pass at anything that moves.”

“I can’t help it,” whined Siren, “ponies are so cute!”

“But you are a pony yourself,” said Aloe as she walked around the corner of the wagon bay.

“Yeah, I guess I’m cute too,” Siren giggled. “Oh, but Kirins are very cute.”

“You have mentioned,” sighed Aloe.”Repeatedly.”

“Hello Aloe,” Klinger called down as he landed on a cloud. “Care to join the conversation?”

“Most mares do no like such talk. I am sure Ivy would not like your constant boasting.”

“That’s why I’m staying quiet,” stated Ace. He tried to return to the book he was reading on medical terminology. If his girlfriend spoke the way she did he would have to do some research to understand her.

Before he could more than glance at the page, tones rang through the air. A call. The speaker squawked to life.

“Ponyville Ambulance and Fire, respond to 26 Alder Court for a self inflicted cannon wound to the head, repeating Ponyville Ambulance and Fire, respond to 26 Alder Court for a self inflicted cannon wound to the head. Twelve thirty two.”

“A cannon wound to the head?” Klinger echoed in disbelief. “How do you do that?”

“The broadcast said self inflicted,” Aloe explained flatly. “I would assume it was a suicide attempt.”

Ace didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. A suicide attempt. He couldn’t fathom why a pony would take their own life. But they need his help as quickly as possible. He hitched his wagon and began to barrel down the road.

“Siren,” commanded Aloe, as she passed by, “get a hold of the flight crew from Canterlot. Have them launch.”

“Yeah, uh, ok,” Siren answered.

Ace noticed Klinger’s shadow pass over him as the medic flew off to the scene. Aloe’s form galloped in the air next to him. Kirin’s magic seemed to be elemental based. Aloe had explained it once but the very principle went over his head.

“I am coming to assist,” the galloping medic yelled through her created breeze. “Please expedite.”

The Kirin floated by, running on unseen puffs of air. She wasn’t as fast as Klinger, but she would make it there before the wagon.

Ace tried not to think about what this would be like. Cannons came in all forms, sizes, and types. He hoped this was merely a party cannon. The worst the pony would suffer is a blackened face and smoke in the airway. A party cannon would make a poor suicidal attempt.

Ace doubled his speed. It must be bad if Klinger didn’t make a snide comment about the flight team. His partner hated the flight medic. Dee Fibs was a ball of energy that teleported around and generally got in everypony’s way. She talked incessantly and most of what she said made no sense. Gurney Gales, the huge grey pegasus that pulled the flying carriage, must be a saint to deal with that little blue unicorn.

Ace’s consciousness slowed its rambling as he approached the scene. The door was wide open ,and bystanders or family members huddled around each other propping themselves up in their grief. Ace unhooked and walked carefully through them. He didn’t like the raw emotion. It was awful to look at ponies’ faces contorted in pain that he couldn’t help.

The scene was qu…eerily devoid of sound. Ace walked through the door and found some fire department ponies standing around. They looked at him and stepped back allowing him to pass.

Ace turned the corner and saw a sight that remained with him for a long time. The patient lay on the floor. He thrashed his pale body as Aloe tried to start an IV line. The pony’s hooves moved away from her at every attempt.

The floor was filthy. Blood and something crunchy spread all the way to the door. Ace walked closer as he tried to figure out what he could do. Klinger was by the head.

As Ace approached, Aloe’s body moved and allowed him to view the true trauma. The pony’s head was smashed. His face was opened wide with blood filling the numerous nooks and crannies that were made by the muscle tissue. A large lump of skin lay next to the gaping hole that used to be his face. Ace could see the destruction had begun with the lower jaw and pulled away from the head towards the top of the skull. The brain would still be functioning, he thought.

On closer inspection, the pile of skin he saw contained the outline of snout and eye holes. It was a deflated face staring back at him. The EMT put the thought from his mind and tried to figure out the best way to carry the patient out without the pile of face separating completely. He thought it might be best to wrap it in a pillowcase and cut a hole for the breathing tube to stick out.

Ace looked to Klinger for guidance. He saw yet another sight that would continue to haunt him. Klinger looked pale and terrified. The mouthy medic was silent. He trotted back and forth looking at the meat pile that pooled with blood.

“I don’t know which bubbling hole is his throat,” the medic finally admitted. “I can’t place a tube if I can’t find his throat. Uhh, Ace, could you get me a7.0 size tube?”

Ace lept into action. He found the medic bag, crunching through the debris. The duffle of endotracheal tubes was right on the top. The medic could slide one in and pass air directly into the lungs, hopefully. Ace worried that, even breathing, this pony wasn’t looking good. He had no idea how much surgery it would take to repair the head and wondered how the pony had survived at all. He handed the tube over to the frantic medic.

“Yeah,” Klinger said more to himself. “I could just… maybe it’s right… Dee Fibs is on the way, right? She’ll know what to do.”

Klinger was waiting for Dee? Dee Fibrillation. The medic that Klinger said was as smart as a box of wool. The medic that he said was more hassle than helpful. The medic Klinger had repeatedly dismissed on calls when she gave her opinion. This medic would know what to do?! Her!

Ace realized in that moment that the medic was panicking. The pegasus had always been an example of strength and calm. He had joked on calls that Ace had been terrified at. He said what he wanted with no care who heard. That mentor of Ace’s was now panicking in front of him.

Ace was about to say words of comfort, when the air near the doorway exploded. Well, not so much exploded as popped. A bright blue unicorn with yellow pigtails appeared.

“Alright everypony what do we have…” the enthusiastic flight medic began, but stopped as she beheld the gore. The air popped and popped again next to Klinger at the head. “Sweet Pickles! What happened here?!”

“A suicide with a cannon, Dee,” Klinger informed her.

The tiny medic glanced at the tube in Klinger’s hoof. “You can’t put a tube in that, it’s all fhfhfnf.” The unicorn explained sticking out her tongue. “There’s no lower jaw. Does he still have a pulse?”

“It’s faint, but it’s there,” Aloe informed with her hoof on the pony’s thigh. Ace noted the pony had stopped thrashing and the pool of blood around the head continued to increase.

A thought occurred to the frantic EMT. If he had no lower jaw it means the cannon had blasted it to bits. He looked down and realized the crunching things he had walked through were pieces of bone from the patient’s face. A cold feeling filled his stomach. He found himself unnerved, but not horrified. He wondered if this was a bad sign.

“Alright,” the perky little flight medic exclaimed. “If we can’t pass a tube through the trauma, we can go underneath it.”

“You mean tracheotomy?” Klinger said his mouth open wide. “It will get under all this trauma, but I’ve never done one in the field.”

“Oh,” squeaked Dee. “Now is time to learn.”

There was a pop in the air and a pop as the flight medic left and returned with her bag. She began to sift through its various contents while muttering about how messy her bag had become. Then her eyes alighted on a white piece of plastic with a sharp metal edge on the bottom.

“Ok, one trached pony coming up,” she said as she used her magic to float the device in place. “Now look for your landmarks. The bumpy spot is thyroid cartilage and ring underneath,” she indicated with her hoof, “is the cricoid cartilage. The ring goes in between. Ok, the soft spot.”

The magic of Dee’s horn increased in brilliance as the ring sunk into the pony’s neck. The metal bracket slid out in a field of lime green.

“There, now bag through that!”

Klinger attached the bag valve mask to the patient’s trach and pushed air in. Ace looked for the chest to rise but it didn’t. Instead large bubbles appeared under the skin on the pony’s neck.

“Oh horseapples! It didn’t go through right,” Dee swore. She looked for the cutting ring quickly in her bag.

“It is no use,” sighed Aloe. “There is no pulse. We have no airway. It looks like he has bled out.”

“S-s-sorry,” Dee stammered as she looked at the corpse. “I failed. Stupid ring didn’t do it’s job.”

“It’s ok, Dee,” Klinger said as he looked the unicorn in the face. “There wasn’t much chance anyway. He would have bled out anyhow. But thanks for your help.”

“You’re welcome,” Dee returned. “Call me anytime you need anything. I’ll tell the family we did all we could.”

Dee Fibs disappeared in flash with a pop. The rest of the crew slowly began to put their instruments back. Klinger looked pretty shaken. Aloe was unreadable. Ace just had that odd coldness in his stomach. They left in silence. They were at the exit when the wailing of the family began. Ace had only been working a few months but had heard his fair share of wailing. It never seemed to get any easier. The EMT wondered if he truly wanted it to. He looked at Klinger who was still pale and looked like a foal that had been scolded. He placed a comforting hoof on the medic’s shoulder as they left.

Snowheart listened with keen interest. She felt her mind swarm with a million different questions about the scene and patient. She knew those questions were not something to ask yet—if Ace would even know the answer.

Ace seemed to shrink on her. As if the story escaping him had physical mass, and its departure left him emptier. Snow just turned and held him. She waited until she was sure the story was over. No tears fell from him but his demeanor indicated a morose state.

Something within Snowheart’s calculated countenance shifted. She looked at the sad pony in her forehooves and felt a warmth within her she had no experience with, but had studied through her sisters.

“I believe I am experiencing love,” she said mostly to herself, but Ace’s head rose to look at her. “I must assist with your problem,” she quickly inserted, looking away from that inquiring face. “Firstly, the feeling of cold within you is a natural response to the release of adrenaline. Your body is attempting to aid you from danger. You saw something that is not typical to your life and your body reacts as if it is in danger. Tonight, you might experience feelings of tension or crushing chest pain in response to the stress finally reaching you. But ….”

The well informed nurse trailed off. She could see the glazed look in Ace’s eyes. This was not the information he needed at this moment. She would need the softer approach.

She remembered one of her own bad experiences. A young three month old foal was rushed to her hospital. It had been subjected to intense heat and increased carbon monoxide. Its home had caught fire. The little’s father had desperately pulled his other children from the home, but could not get close to this one in time. The little foal lied still and unmoving as the emergency wagon rushed in.

Snowheart quickly tried to ventilate the child, but it was no good. Her nursing experience and instincts informed her it had already fled for the gates of light. Still, her need to try overtook her sense. She ventilated the tiny patient for much longer than was needed. Finally, a hoof touched her shoulder. Redheart looked at her older sister with knowing eyes.

“The foal is gone, Snow,” the younger sister said.

“But we have not tried alternative treatments or any medicine interventions!” shouted Snowheart.

“Snow, she’s gone.”

“I am aware. I just felt as though… I had to try.”

“That’s all we can do. We try,” Redheart wrapped a foreleg around the distraught nurse. “We stand in front of the golden gates and try to keep ponies from entering before their time. But there is always a time. We don’t do this job to feel good. We don’t do it for praise or bits. We do it because it’s calling. Because most ponies can’t do what we do and stay sane. You see how quick the turn over rate is here. There is a reason. We are strong enough to do it. We can be kind hearted enough to connect with others, but cold enough to survive.”

Snowheart repeated these same words to the pony in front of her verbatim. She hoped that they would provide the same comfort to Ace as they had to her. Ace just stared at her. For once her fact filled mind had trouble deducing his thoughts. She cleared her throat and tried again.

“If you are floundering perhaps you should inspect your flank. The cutie mark upon there reminds you that this is your calling. You are strong enough to handle the life of medicine,” she clarified.

Ace glanced at the white cross on his flank then looked back at Snow. She felt the capillaries upon her cheeks dilate in excited emotional response to that stare. She felt… different in front of those sad eyes.

“Do you comprehend?” she finally asked. She invited the reddened state her face had become.

“You love me?” Ace finally inquired.

“You are not responding to the question I asked. Do I have to repeat my sister’s words?”

“Oh, yeah. I mean I understand. I think I’ll be ok,” Ace struggled to say. “It was just kind of unnerving. We never found out why.”

“Yes.”

“Hmm?”

“It appears I am developing a love-based reaction to your presence,” Snowheart said with a little quiver. She did not like the feeling of shame or embarrassment. She was always forthright and honest, yet for some reason, admitting this to him had been more difficult than informing a patient of their imminent demise.

“Wow, it just felt like a one-eighty here,” Ace said, scratching the back of his neck. “I mean, I love you too. Just odd to come off of one of the goriest scenes Ii’ve been at and hear it for the first time.”

“No,” Snowheart sighed. “It is common. Within our profession these scenes will occur. There will always be a pony in trouble that we can not save. But there is balance. There are always more pleasant things that can spur our emotions forward. Things like love. “

Ace hugged his nurse and she returned it. “I think I feel better now.”

“If you wait until my shift has completed we can return to my domicile together. We can rest together in this new blossomed physical experience.”

Ace’s face turned red but he nodded. “I’ll, uh, wait in the crew room.”

Snowheart nodded in affirmation. Then turned and trotted back to her post. She glanced at the clock in the wall. Her break was over.

“Welcome back, Snow, did you have a good… whoa,” Tenderheart cried, staring at the logical pony.

“I was useful,” explained the nurse.

“Your face is so red right now. Did you, uh, uplift your boyfriend?” Tenderheart’s tone betrayed another double entendre. As did the wide smile that spread across her face.

“He is much better,” Snowheart agreed.

“I’ll bet. So, uh, how was it?”

“What you are insinuating has not occurred.”

Tenderheart giggled. “I know. I was just…”

“But may occur tonight,” added the stoic pony.

“What?! I was just a.. I didn’t mean…” stammered the flushed younger sister.

Snowheart turned and looked at her. A small smirk graced her face.

“You…” Tenderheart threw her hooves up in disbelief.

Snowheart remained smirking as the other nurse was called to deal with a patient. She found herself smiling the rest of the night.