"Alright, James, are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's do it."

Almost a week had passed since the nightmare, and the subsequent late-night talk with the new guard, Rainbow Dash. For some odd reason, I couldn't remember exactly how the conversation had gone, just like with my interview with Captain Shining Armor when I first got captured. It actually pissed me off a bit, since I normally had an excellent memory. So why the hell couldn't I remember two really important conversations, apart from the fact that they took place? I had actually brought it up with the doctor, who figured it might be a side-effect of the pain medication. He had promised to let the rest of the staff know, so it could be looked into.

Speaking of the doctor, he was currently helping me off of the bed, being assisted by Greyhound. Rainbow Dash was across the room, leaning against the door in her usual lax posture. She was technically off-duty, but had decided to stay for a bit, "Just in case." The reason I was being let off of the bed was to test my legs again. The last few times had started off promising, with me able to stand sort-of-upright, but the moment I had tried to take a step, my bad leg would give out. This time, though, the doctor had a good feeling. Today was the day I would walk again.

Or so he promised. Me? I wasn't getting my hopes up.

"Alright, on three," the doctor said. Both he and Greyhound braced themselves against me on either side, ready to lift me off of my sitting position on the side of the bed, "One... two... three!"

They both began lifting me up, and I extended my legs to meet the ground standing up. Soon, I felt my feet lightly impact the tile floor, and I did my best to work my weakened leg muscles. The two equines at my sides kept themselves braced against me as I eased myself up straight, before they slowly backed away. My bad leg twitched for a moment, but didn't give. The first hurdle was completed. Now for the hard part: walking.

The stallions stayed close, in case my leg decided not to work again this time. If they saw me buckle, they would grab me and put me back on the bed, just like every other attempt before this one. While I took a second to let my legs get readjusted to my weight, I noticed Dash raise an eyebrow, and intrigued expression on her face. Even she was curious to know if it would go well this time. Not wanting to make them wait in anticipation too long, I slowly, carefully, tentatively took a single step forward with my good leg. It wobbled a bit, but held. So far so good. Now, for the bad leg...

I took a beep breath, held it for a second, and let it out slowly. The room was deathly silent as the three ponies watched me lift my bad leg and hesitantly moved it forward. The action that only took a couple of seconds felt like an eternity. Another eternity went by as I lowered my foot down towards the floor, and felt it connect. My weight shifted onto the appendage, making it wobble and bend. The stallions readied themselves to catch me as they saw my leg wobble... wobble...

And hold.

All three of us sighed in both relief and disbelief. Dash remained silent, but both of her eyebrows were raised in surprise. With renewed vigor, I took a few more steps forward, in Dash's direction. This time, I moved a bit faster, akin to a slow walking speed. I noticed a limp coming from my bad leg, but it kept going. With each step, my legs protested the weight bearing down on them less and less. Within moments, I was doing circles around the room at a normal walking pace. Finally, after about four wide loops, I stopped and looked at the three Equestrians in the room. The doctor was smiling widely. Greyhound had a smaller smile on his face, but he was nodding. Dash had her eyes closed now, but she was nodding her head a bit, and I could've sworn she had a very faint smirk on her face.

"Congratulations, James," the doctor spoke up first, "It seems you have fully recovered."

"Well, mostly," I replied, pointing out the limp.

"Oh, that's not too bad," the doctor waved his hand dismissively. He seemed to do that a lot, come to think of it, "That limp should be gone in a couple of days, especially if you stay on your feet as much as you can."

"I don't think Dash would like that, doc," I said, shooting her a smirk.

"Nope," she replied flatly, her eyes still closed.

"Come now, you two," the doctor warned, narrowing his eyes at us, "Be civil. Anyway, like I said, that limp should be gone in a few days. Probably around the time Captain Armor returns from Canterlot."

"And after that, it's off to jail for you!" Dash added, a sly smirk of her own on her muzzle.

"Can't wait," I replied as I made another loop around the center of the room, "I'll finally get out of this fucking room!"

"Aw, come on, it's not that bad in here," she said.

"You try staying in here for three weeks straight!"

"Both of you, enough!" the doctor snapped, stopping both of us immediately. I had never heard him shout before.

At that, Dash moved away from the wall, "I guess it's time for me to scram anyway. I need some sleep before my shift tonight."

We all bid her farewell, and she left. I kept pacing around the room, reveling in the feeling of being able to walk again. I never thought I'd feel so accomplished just by being able to take a step. Nevertheless, it felt amazing; on par with my graduation from Ranger school. All of the time invested, all of the suffering and effort, all of it accumulating to that one moment where I felt like I've finally done something with my life. Like I've finally realized my true purpose. I'm finally able to live. How I got this feeling just from walking was amazingly confusing, but I wasn't about to complain. I just rode the high as I kept moving.

I don't know what it was - probably the high from finally feeling useful again - but I felt bold. Bold enough to ask something I had been wanting to mention to the doctor since my leg had healed, but never had the courage to. Until now.

"Hey, doc?" I began cautiously.

"Yes, James?" he looked at me curiously. I just then noticed that Greyhound had returned to his favorite spot by the door, staring straight ahead. Ever the professional.

"This is going to sound... bad, potentially," I continued, choosing my words carefully, "But I've been meaning to request something..."

"What is it, James?"

"Well, I was hoping that... I could... maybe... take a stroll outside," I said before quickly adding, "Not... right now, exactly. Some time tonight, actually. If... if that's possible."

"Hmm," the doctor raised a black hand to his chin and stroked it absently, "Well, I certainly don't have a problem with it, but I'm not allowed to make that decision on my own. I'll have to clear it with the sergeant."

"Does that mean you'll try?" I asked hopefully.

The doctor nodded, "Yes. I'll bring it up with him the next time I see him. Since it's at night, he might approve, actually. Nopony will be roaming around that late, and as long as you have a guard with you, it shouldn't be much of an issue."

I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Thanks, doc."

Rainbow Dash walked down the halls of the hospital towards the barracks, trying to hide the smile on her face. She didn't want to admit it, but she was a bit proud of the human. To be forced to do nothing but sit in bed for three weeks straight, not only unwilling but unable to walk, must have been torture for him. Dash herself would sooner charge a human tank with nothing but a bayonet than have to suffer through something like that. Being immobile for three weeks? No thank you.

She had to admit, she was kind of glad she had stuck around to watch him finally start walking again. Seeing that smile on his face was more than worth the loss of sleep. She didn't understand why, but ever since that first night - where he opened up to her and told her things even the doctor didn't know - she had become a bit protective of him. She knew not to let it get in the way of her duties, but she felt that she better understood her duties because of it. She had heard the whispers of the hospital staff, seen the anger in the other guards' eyes when the human was mentioned. Most of the ponies here either feared him or hated him. That information led to her realizing that she wasn't just there to keep him from harming anypony; she was there to make sure nopony harmed him.

And Rainbow Dash always took her job seriously.

Author's Note

Really short chapter, I know, but I promise the next one will be longer. It's also where the action finally picks up again, so look forward to that.

Sorry this one took a bit to come out. I just wasn't sure which direction to take it. I had a whole different idea for it in mind, but my attempts to write it ended up falling flat, so I just scrapped it and came up with this. Again, I know it was short, but I needed to wrap this hospital stuff up soon to get on with the rest of the story.

Hope you enjoyed. As always, constructive criticism is appreciated and welcome.