Rainbow Dash kept her arms crossed, tightly hugging her gilded chest-plate as a gust of wind blew past her. Of course the human would have picked tonight to ask for a walk outside; the night that she had decided to wear a light sleeveless shirt under her armor. Gust after gust of wind came at her in the colder-than-normal summer night as she escorted Blackburn through the hospital courtyard. She found herself wondering why he would want to take a night walk, and why the hell her sergeant had actually agreed to it. When she was ordered to watch over Blackburn as he took his little late-night stroll, of course she protested, to no avail. The doctor had convinced the sergeant somehow, so that was that. She had her orders, and would follow through, no matter how much she disagreed.

Dash gritted her teeth as another gust of wind assaulted her body, her thin pegasus fur doing little to stop the chilly air. She found herself wrapping her wings around her body as an added layer of protection as the two continued walking. It helped a little. She looked over at Blackburn, a bit jealous. The doctor had returned his military jacket. It had been cleaned and repaired, and looked good as new. As if it had never been through an explosion in the first place. He was also wearing the matching pants, completely replacing the patient's scrubs he had been in for the duration of his stay. He actually looked like the soldier he was; a sight which gave Dash pause when she first saw it. He looked so... professional, and carried himself that way as soon as he put the uniform on. Even now, he was walking like a well-disciplined warrior, his limp barely noticeable.

Suddenly, he glanced back at her. It was then that she realized she had been staring at him. She quickly darted her gaze away, shifting it to the ground as her face heated up just a bit. She hoped her blush wasn't noticeable in the dim moonlight. That prayer was quickly forgotten as yet another strong gust of wind picked up, chilling her to the bone. She gritted her teeth again, noticeably shivering. Why the hell was it so cold tonight? It was summer!

"You alright there, rookie?" she heard him ask. When she looked back up, he was looking at her with seemingly-genuine concern. Though, she could do without the new nickname.

"Who're you calling a rookie?" she shot back, her low-temperature environment momentarily forgotten, "Do you know who you're talking to?"

"Take it easy," he said, holding his arms up defensively, "I just wanted to know if you're okay. You don't look too hot."

"That's because I'm the exact opposite right now," she said as more wind blew past her. She shut her eyes to shield them from the biting cold.

"You picked a bad night to go topless, huh?" Blackburn replied, his sense of humor finally showing itself.

"I'm not topless, it just doesn't have sleeves!" she shouted. Her words were loud enough to echo a bit, causing her to clasp a hand over her mouth as her eyes shot open wide. Goddess, she hoped none of the other night guards had heard that. She would never hear the end of it. She closed her eyes again, this time from embarrassment, and her hand moved from her mouth to her low-hanging forehead.

She heard Blackburn stop, prompting her to do the same, but she kept her eyes closed. She then heard some shuffling noises - like Velcro being ripped - and a zipper, before she heard Blackburn say, "Here."

She opened her eyes and looked up to see what he had meant, and they immediately went wide again. He was standing in front of her, holding out a piece of clothing colored like his uniform. She wasn't focusing on that, though. Her gaze was focused on Blackburn, who was completely bare from the waist up. His heavily-scarred, very toned chest glistened a bit under the light of Luna's moon. The wind picked up yet again at that moment, causing Dash to recoil and shiver yet again, but Blackburn didn't even flinch.

"Hey, rookie, I know I must look amazing right now, but you're going to get sick out here. Take it."

Rainbow Dash shook her head violently, casting away her trance. She forced herself to break her gaze and look down at the item in his hand, which she could now see was his military jacket.

"A-are... Are you serious?" she stuttered, trying hard not to look back up at his chest. Her face burned from embarrassment.

"Completely," he responded flatly. He extended his arm, getting the jacket closer to Dash. She reached out a hand to take it, but stopped herself.

"A-are you crazy? I can't wear that!" she exclaimed.

"Do you want to catch a cold?" he asked.

"No... b-but..."

"Then just take the damn jacket. It's not going to bite."

"But.. what about you?" she asked after a second of silence.

He smirked at her and replied, "Please, this is nothing compared to a night in Iraq. I'll be fine," he took a step towards her and held out the piece of clothing, "Here. Put it on. It'll help."

She hesitated a moment before another gust of wind made her decide. Oh, for Celesita's sake... She reached out and took the jacket. Blackburn loosened his grip on it as her's tightened, and a moment later it was securely wrapped around her. It was big enough to accommodate her wings, though she had to press them against her back. Not uncomfortable, but noticeable enough that she couldn't get used to the feeling. She wasn't able to zip the jacket up, but it didn't affect her too much. It was still very warm, still radiating with the human's body heat. She noticed a slight smell to it; the most identifiable was the smell of cheap hospital soap, but there was something else there she couldn't place. It didn't smell bad, just... unique. Intriguing.

"Is that better?" she heard Blackburn ask, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Y-yes," she replied, "Th-thanks."

After that, they continued their walk around the courtyard. Dash's face felt warm the entire time, and she couldn't hide the small smile that appeared on her face.

The moonlight shined off of the guard's gilded armor as he walked along the rooftop of the hospital. His gaze was fixed outward, centered on the human prisoner as it enjoyed a walk outside, its first in weeks. The guard watched intently as it moved and occasionally glanced behind itself at the mare guard following it. The guard kept his rifle pointed in that direction, ready to drop the human should it try to run or attack it's escort. The guard was so intent on watching the prisoner, he didn't notice the movement above him. He didn't hear the soft thud of lion paws on the concrete behind him. He didn't sense the tall, dark figure approach him. He didn't see the glint of the knife in the figure's hand. At least, not in time. Not until he felt himself get grabbed and pulled back. He didn't even have time to call out before the knife was plunged into his neck. The only noise he managed to make was a low gurgle as he drowned in his own blood.

The griffon slowly lowered his downed prey to the concrete. Once the guard had stopped making sounds, the griffon pulled out a small, handheld device the humans had called a "radio" and pressed down on one of the buttons.

"We're in," he spoke into the device.

"Copy that. We're in position as well," came the recipient's reply, "Proceed as planned."

"Understood," the griffon said with a devious smile.

"Ready to head back?" I asked the cyan mare behind me, turning my head to look at her. She glanced up at me from the ground. She was still wearing my MultiCam ACU top, keeping it wrapped around her as tightly as she could. The wind had died down, but it was still fairly cold outside, so much so that it even started to bother me.

"Yeah," she replied to my question.

She led the way this time as we began the trip back to my hospital room. We walked almost side-by-side, with Dash having a slight lead on me. She kept her back to me, not looking back at all. In fact, as soon as we entered the building itself, she seemed to actively hide her face behind her short, rainbow-striped hair. We walked down the quiet halls of the hospital, neither of us saying a word for what seemed like forever. The skeleton crew of the hospital staff went about their business, apart from one or two nurse mares who gave us quizzical looks as we walked by. I saw Dash shrink even more into her hair and my jacket at each glance.

We must have been quite a sight. A known human prisoner, half-naked and being led by a uniformed guard mare who was also wearing said human's clothes. Hell, I'm surprised we didn't turn more heads than just the few we did. But most of the staff just went about their business, more occupied with patients who needed actual help. The few guards posted in the halls at night kept their gazes forward, looking professional. Whether they kept their gazes forward after we passed, I had no idea, but I wasn't going to turn around and find out.

Dash remained silent until we reached an elevator. She walked up to one and tapped on the button. Once she did, the number above it lit up, and started slowly counting down from twelve, which was the top floor of the hospital. It was kind of strange seeing the elevator being up that high, and a little off-putting. I had heard the doctor say once that, due to the Royal Guard being stretched so thin since the start of the Manehattan Campaign, only the first four floors of the hospital were in use. The hospital didn't have the manpower - or, ponypower, in this case - to keep the entire building patrolled effectively. The only reason I could think of for the elevator to be that high was the rooftop snipers changing shifts, which had happened hours ago.

Dash finally speaking up broke me out of my train of thought, "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead," I said, keeping my eyes on the slowly-descending counter above the elevator.

"Why did you want to take a walk? And at night?" she asked. She was still hiding behind her hair, but she was directly next to me now, so I could see her face out of my peripheral vision. She looked like she was... blushing a bit? Weird.

"I just wanted out of that goddamn room for a bit," I replied, "And I always preferred night to day. Besides, I didn't want to freak out any of the other patients. The doc said more than a few have come to the hospital shell-shocked. The sight of an enemy soldier walking around might trigger them."

"How... considerate of you," she said with a bit of disbelief in her tone, "Though, now I'm curious. Why would you care whether you freak somepony out? Aren't we your enemy?"

I took my gaze away from the counter and looked at her, "Have you ever... seen someone having a PTSD attack?" She shook her head. I sighed, and said, "Well, I have. Trust me, it's... not something you want to experience firsthand. Me being around them would only make their condition worse. I wouldn't wish that on anybody, no matter what they've done."

After a pause, during which the counter hit the number four and stopped, Dash asked, "Have you ever had an... 'attack?'"

I nodded, "They come and go. Never while on a mission, though. Hell, that nightmare I had your first night here? That was one."

"Shit..." she mumbled, barely audible.

The elevator resumed its descent, finally reached our floor, and opened up. There wasn't anyone else on it. We stepped inside, and Dash hit the button labeled with a three. The metal doors slid closed, and the elevator slowly lurched upward. There was another awkward silence. It stayed until, right before we reached the third floor, the elevator stopped. A second later, the light illuminating the small metal box went out, replaced by a dim red emergency light.

"What the hell?" I said. Dash reached over to the control panel and pressed a few buttons, but nothing responded.

"Great! Completely dead," she sighed and stepped away from the panel, crossing her arms.

I sighed as well, and tried to think of a way out. I mean, I had no problem waiting for someone to fix it, but I didn't feel like just standing there for God knows how long before they did. My eyes quickly fell on the emergency hatch on the elevator's top. Well, if this couldn't be considered an emergency, what would be?

"Hey, Dash, could you give my jacket back?" I turned to the rainbow-maned mare and reached out my hand. To my surprise and utter confusion, she recoiled and tightened her arms.

"Wh-why?" she asked.

I sighed and pointed up to the hatch, "We're going up there to see if we can get out. I'd rather not be half-naked while doing so."

She held back a moment before nodding, "Okay. Here," she slipped off the garment and handed it back to me. I donned it effortlessly and zipped it up, then turned back to Dash and gestured towards the hatch.

"Come on, boost me up," I said.

"Why you?" she asked, "I have wings, I can just fly up."

Okay, she had a point there, "Alright. Just pull me up afterwards."

So, she hopped up once to open the emergency hatch, and then dashed up into the elevator shaft. A second later, a cerulean-colored hand reached back down into the elevator. I jumped up and grabbed it, and between the two of us, we were able to pull me up easily. Once I was standing in the shaft, I took a look up. The third-floor doors were just a meter above my head, and were sealed shut. A bit further up, I saw the doors to the fifth floor were actually ajar. Strange. Why were they open?

Dash seemed to notice as well, "Why the hell is it...?"

"Who knows," I cut her off, "But hey, It's a lucky break. We just gotta get up there, and we're out."

"Okay, but how do we both get up there from here? You can't fly."

"You're just going to have to haul me up," I said.

Her eyes went wide, "W-wait... you mean... C-carry you?" She stuttered. I could see a clear shade of red appear on her otherwise-blue face.

"Yes, Dash." I nodded, giving her a deadpan look. When she didn't respond, I added, "Do you want to be stuck here until they get the power back on?" She shook her head, "In that case, we gotta get up there. The only way for that to happen is for you to fly us both up. Unless, you can't lift me..."

"Of course I can lift you!" she snapped.

"Well, then let's see it," I said, smiling deviously. I knew that would get her.

"O-okay..." she sighed, "T-turn around."

Though confused, I did as she asked. After a moment of hesitation, I felt her arms wrap around me, her hands linking at the base of my chest. I heard a fluttering sound as she extended her wings, "You ready?" she asked. I nodded, felt her grip around me tighten, and she took off.

Seconds later, we were up at the open door. She flew into the hallway before touching down and letting go. Looking around, I could see that this floor was down to emergency power as well. So it wasn't just the elevators. This being the fifth floor, there were no guards or hospital staff in sight. We were out of the shaft, though, and the stairs were nearby. Dash took the lead, and we slowly navigated our way through the dimly-lit hallways.

"You know, I gotta say I'm impressed," I told her halfway to the stairwell, "You're a lot stronger than you look."

"Really?" she asked in a bit of an excited tone. Immediately after she said it, she seemed to take it back and return to her usual cocky attitude, "I mean, uh... you're really impressed by that? Please, I could lift you in my sleep, no problem!"

I just stifled a laugh in reply. We reached the door to the stairwell, and went inside. We walked down two flights of stairs and reached a door labeled with a four. Our destination was the next floor down, so Dash began descending the next flight. I was about to follow her, when I heard something beyond the door. Something... familiar. It sent a chill down my spine.

"Dash, hold up," I said, grabbing her by the shoulder.

"What? What are you..." she stopped. She heard it too.

Pop... pop... pop...

"What the hell is that?" Dash asked, approaching the door.

Pop-pop...

"Gunshots," I replied. I walked up to the door and wrapped my hand around the handle. I held up my other hand to signal Dash to stay back, and eased the door open just a crack. I peeked out, and what I saw was nothing short of horrifying. There were bodies everywhere, of both hospital workers and guards. I saw small glints of light here and there on the ground; light reflecting off of shell casings. From the way the bodies were sprawled onto the ground, most didn't even have time to react to their attackers. Most had been killed while they were doing their work. A few guards had their weapons drawn, but they either hadn't fired them or didn't hit anything. There were no stray bodies.

I saw something stir within a pool of blood a few feet away. A stallion doctor with light grey fur was trying to pick himself up. There was a large red spot on his white coat, on the back. He had taken a hit, but was alive. I was about to step out to help him, when his gaze shot upwards, fear evident in his eyes. At first, I thought he saw me, but no. He was looking out into the hallway. I heard faint footsteps on the other side of the door.

I saw the stallion raise an arm towards the unknown beings in the hallway, and he began pleading with them, "Please... no..."

His words were cut short by a bullet tearing through his left eye and blowing out the back of his skull. As he slumped back down, I closed the door as quietly as I could and grabbed Dash's arm.

"What the hell are you...?" she exclaimed.

"Shut up and come with me," I said quietly but sternly. I took her back up the stairs behind us and hid us both in the corner, out of sight of the door.

"James, what the hell are you doing?" she asked, much quieter than she had been before. I didn't respond, other than holding a finger up to my lips and shushing her.

Seconds later, the fourth-floor door burst open. I heard more footsteps as what I thought were four figures entered the stairwell. I didn't peek out, so I didn't see who they were. But I heard them. Not only were their footsteps audible, but they were talking quietly, in a language I didn't understand. It sounded vaguely European, but not one I recognized.

I held Dash close, partially out of fear she would try something stupid, but to my surprise, she just sank further into it. Her breathing was short and irregular. It then occurred to me; she was still green. This was likely her first combat situation, and instead of going through it with a squad of soldiers she knew and trusted, she had to do it with an enemy prisoner.

Practically alone, with no rifle. No intel. No backup.

Lucky for her, that's the way I prefer it.

The figures in the stairwell luckily headed down, to the third floor. Once I heard the door open and then shut again, I stood up, taking the scared mare with me. Her hands were shaking, and she had a look of shock on her face.

"Dash?" I called to her, "Dash, you with me?" she mumbled something I couldn't hear, "What?" I asked.

"Griffons," she replied. She looked at me, the shock never leaving her expression, "They were griffons."

"What? How do you know?" I asked the cyan pony.

"When they were talking, I... recognized a few words. I used to be close friends with a griffon. She taught me a bit of their language."

I nodded, "Well, at least we know. It raises more than a few questions, but let's focus on one thing at a time," I thought for a moment, trying to think of a next move. There were griffons roaming a hospital, gunning down the staff. We needed help, and fast, "Let's go find your sergeant. Or, any guards that are still alive."

She nodded back, and we began walking down the stairs. When I looked at her, I noticed her weapon was still holstered at her side. She hadn't drawn it, which is usually the first thing to do in a combat situation. Guess I would have to take the reins for this one.

"Dash," I tapped her shoulder, making her jump, "This is going to sound bad, but I need your weapon."

"What?!" she exclaimed in a loud whisper, "Do you seriously think I'll fall for that?"

I sighed. I should have seen that coming, and I didn't blame her, but we needed to do something, "Look, we're facing God knows how many of these guys. They've already slaughtered an entire floor, and they're working on another right now. Unless you're comfortable with killing them, give me the goddamn pistol and let a professional handle this."

Dash stayed silent for a moment. In the silence, we heard more gunfire below us, louder than before. The Royal Guard had figured out what was happening, and they were fighting back. This seemed to make up Dash's mind, and I saw her draw her weapon - a Russian Makarov PM. She turned it around in her hand, gripping the barrel, and held it out to me. I took it carefully before gesturing to a pouch on her belt, "Hand me that suppressor, too," I said. She did, and I snapped it onto the pistol. I then started back down the stairs, with Dash trailing very close behind.

The third-floor door opened up into another massacre. More bodies lined the floor, but it was mostly hospital staff. Only one or two guards were dead, and there was even a griffon on the ground at the far end of the hall. I stepped out cautiously, checking both directions with my weapon pointed forward. Both ways were clear. There was heavy gunfire to the right, but it wasn't in this hallway. It sounded like the equines were putting up a hell of a fight. I made a mental note to be extra careful if we went that way. I didn't want to catch a stray bullet.

"Which way now, Dash?" I asked her. She knew the layout of the hospital; she would know where her sergeant would most likely be.

She didn't respond for the longest time. She was busy staring at the bodies in the hall. I had forgotten how green she was for a moment. I tapped hard on her shoulder, bringing her out of her trance, and repeated my question.

"We... we can head this way and loop around," she said, pointing left, "We might be able to link up with some of the guards. If there are any left when we get there, that is..."

"There will be," I squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, "You guys are some tough bastards."

I led the way this time, keeping my gun forward. Dash and I carefully navigated around the bodies and blood pools until we rounded the corner to the next hall. It was lined with even more dead ponies, making me wonder just how many griffons we were up against. I took three steps before noticing movement up ahead. In a very large pool of blood was a slow-crawling, baby-blue mare in a nurse's outfit. I recognized her immediately as the nurse who always brought my meals when I was bedridden.

The two of us quickly made our way over to her, with Dash calling her by name. I knelt down and turned her onto her back, looking for a wound of some sort. I found it easily; there was a clear hole in her abdomen, slowly trickling blood. She was breathing irregularly, huffing out every exhale. I unbuttoned the lower half of her top to get a better look at the wound, and my heart dropped. The bullet had definitely pierced at least one major organ. Without serious medical attention, she would die very soon. And I doubted there was anybody readily available. I still didn't want to just do nothing, so I set my gun off to the side and pressed down onto the wound.

"You're going to be fine, Blue," I lied, trying to keep her calm, "You'll be fine, just hang on."

Surprisingly, she just huffed a laugh, "Don't bullshit me, sergeant. I'm not gonna make it."

I should've known not to lie to a medical professional. So I just nodded, and kept applying pressure. I wasn't sure what else to do, and I couldn't just do nothing. Though, when I pressed down, the nurse just grabbed my wrists and pushed them away.

"Don't waste your time, sergeant," she said. She sounded tired, "I'm not going to make it. Just leave me here. You have to..." Dash wrapped her arms around the mare as she lurched up suddenly, making a pained sound. As she was eased back down, she continued, "You have to find the doctor. Leave this place. They... they can't be stopped here. Find the doctor... and leave..."

As she went on, her eyes slipped closed. As soon as she uttered the last word, she went limp in Dash's arms. Out of instinct, I reached a hand up to her neck and felt around for a pulse. I cursed to myself when I didn't find one. She was gone. I wiped my bloodied hands on my pant legs and stood back up, grabbing my weapon as I did. I then turned to Dash, "Come on. We gotta keep moving."

Dash didn't move though. She was staring at the dead mare in her arms, fighting back tears. When I said her name again, she looked up at me with a pained expression, "Why?" she asked, "Why did they do this?"

I knelt back down and placed my free hand on her back. I tried to keep my voice low and calm as I said, "This is going to sound harsh, but we can't dwell on that right now. We have to focus on getting out of here alive. We can mourn them later. Right now... we need to find the doctor and your sergeant and get the hell out of this deathtrap."

Her tears flowed freely now, but she nodded and began to set the nurse down.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," I took hold of her wrist and led her down the hallway. She didn't resist.

We walked in silence down the hall. I tried not to look at the number of bodies on the ground. Some of the hospital rooms were open, and a peek inside revealed patients still in their beds, riddled with holes. Not even the sick were spared. Were griffons really so callous? Could the doctor really have survived all of this so far? And Dash raised a good point, why were the griffons suddenly attacking a hospital, of all places?

At this point, there was really only one thing I knew for sure. This was going to be a long fucking night.

Author's Note

Well, that escalated quickly...

So, finally getting back to the action. Thank God for that. The hospital stuff was really starting to get boring to write. And I know that when that happens, it's probably boring to read. Thanks for sticking it out for this long. The story really takes off from here, so look forward to it!

Also, how do you guys like Tsundere Dash so far? I've been kinda iffy on how I've been writing her, and I know I've been a bit inconsistent. Hopefully I'll find a good balance to her personality once the two get to really know each other, but from what you've seen so far, what do you think? Am I writing her well enough?

As always, thanks for reading. Constructive criticism is welcome.