The arrival of the truck back at the base brought problems of its own, let alone a sky blue Pegasus. How would we explain Rainbow Dash to the rest of the company? What if the government found out? Would they try to take her? Would they do horrid test or other things on this beautiful creature? The best option we had would be to keep her away from the prying eyes of our superior officers and subordinate soldiers then nurse her back to health. Fireblitz ordered the driver to drive to the loading dock of the medical unit, that way we could get into the facility with minimal contact and get to a room to treat Dash’s wounds. I handed my gun to her so she could hold it as I cradled Dashie in my arms. As soon as the medical truck had backed into the loading bay, I thrust open the doors and sprinted down the hallways getting to the closest open hospital bay as quickly as possible.
Fire was not far behind me when she said, “I’m going to go get Chris to help me. I’ll be right back.” And with that she took off running through the halls yelling for him.
I sat on a gurney and waited for them, continuing to stroke Rainbow in my arms as she nuzzled my chest where I was holding her. “I’ll take care of you… I promise nothing will happen to you while I’m around.”
Approximately forty-five seconds later, both of my friends swung open the door. Any color that Chris had in his face was soon gone. “What…but how…am I dreaming…is this possible…?” he stammered clearly as shocked as I once was when I found her.
“Chris, this is real. We need to fix her leg up. Let’s get to it.” I said with as much assertiveness as possible, but obviously I was just as confused about the situation as he was.
“We will need an X-ray to check what type of injuries she has sustained,” he continued, “Without that we can’t be sure about where the shrapnel is or how to remove it.”
“I’ll get the mobile X-ray machine!” Fire exclaimed and dashed out the door again.
Chris walked closer then reached out towards Rainbow and stroked her brilliantly colorful mane as he sat at a bedside chair. “I’m so confused…” he said softly.
“Me too, but we just go with it,” I sighed then asked, “Did I lose any men…?”
“No,” he replied, “Only broken bones and burns which were easy enough to patch up compared to what usually happens during I.E.D. blasts. You all were extremely lucky. My guess is that the full charge of the I.E.D. didn’t go off.” He stared me right in the eye, “You scared Fireblitz to death… when she heard your distress code she flipped out.”
I sighed and patted Rainbow’s side as she looked up at me. “Thank you…” the blue Pegasus said softly. Again, any color that Chris had was soon gone once again upon hearing her words.
“You’re welcome.” I said with a smile while hugging her closer against my chest.
Chris stood and began to unfasten the straps of my vest saying, “Jason let me get your body armor off. No sense in drawing unnecessary attention to yourself. I think you should do your best to keep Rainbow a secret.”
I nodded once again as my Kevlar slid off while he removed my helmet and visor, “Yes, I know. But that is going to be obviously easier said than done.”
Fire returned once again rolling in an X-ray machine.
I stood up and looked to Dashie once again, “Okay… just relax. We will fix you right up. Stay still.”
I gently laid Rainbow down on the gurney making sure to place her right front leg protruding out so Fire could get a good X-ray. I stroked her mane slowly making sure she stayed calm and still. The machine clicked on then off and the procedure was done.
Fireblitz scratched her head saying, “How are we going to develop these without anyone noticing the images in the system…?”
I grinned knowing exactly what to do, “Send the images to a ghost file with a secure password that only you know and can open. Then delete the file under the D.O.D. protocol so it can never be recovered.”
Chris grinned at my answer, “Excellent. I’ll get right to it.” He exited the room heading to the development room taking the X-ray machine along with him.
Dashie spoke up, her voice seeming a bit nervous as she did, “What…is going to happen…”
I looked to her and crouched next to the stretcher looking her directly in the eye, “Nothing is going to happen to you. We are going to make sure you are all better then go from there.” She seemed a bit more relaxed after that as her gaze softened while now beginning to examine her surroundings.
I stood again and looked at Fire, and upon eye contact she grabbed my shirt and pulled me to her while saying sternly, “I thought I was very clear to be careful…” I could have sworn she was going to rip my shirt clean off before she finally relented and let go of me, only to pull me into another hug, “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”
“I-I’m sorry…” I said while embracing her in my arms.
I could tell she was fighting tears as her short shallow breaths were tangible against my shoulder. After more than a few moments she let me go and walked to the door, “I’ll be at my bunk, you and…Rainbow can both come visit whenever you feel like it.” She stepped out leaving me alone with the brightly colored Pegasus.
I pulled up a chair and sat next to the stretcher where Dashie was laying. She was lying on her left side facing me as I gently stroked her mane with a smile, “Okay… here is our plan. You have to hide from everyone except me and the two other people you saw here… alright?”
She nodded in agreement, “Okay…”
I continued to look at her as a sudden rush of questions entered my head. Apparently the shock of not only the blast and firefight, but also the shock of finding her had worn off. How did she get here? Did she know who, or what she was? Why was she here? How is all of this even possible? My thoughts were interrupted by Chris re-entering the room. He carried in a few bandages and a sterile wound dressing,
“Flesh injury. Shrapnel went in then out. No bone or nerve damage at all. All she will need is a clean bandage every day and new sterile dressing.”
I sighed in relief, “Good… I’m glad that’s all.”
Chris proceeded to apply the antiseptic to her leg then wrap it in a clean white bandage, “There. The covering should be good until tomorrow, but it will have to be replaced every day until it heals.”
I nodded and picked her up into my arms, cradling the Pegasus against me, “Now we have to get out of here…”
Chris sat down and rubbed his chin thinking, “We could wrap her in an empty gillie suit. It would mask her colors but be ventilated enough to not make her hot or suffocate her while you walked to the bunk.”
“What in the hell would I be doing with a gillie suit?” I asked.
“It doesn’t matter. Just do it. It is your best shot.” He said sternly.
I looked down to Dashie and shrugged, “Guess it’s the only option so far. Don’t worry. It’s not a far walk, and you won’t be wrapped up for very long.”
Apparently the numbing agent in the antiseptic had begun to work, because Rainbow’s attitude had begun to match the one in the show, “Sure, I can handle it. Don’t you worry about me.”
I grinned at her sudden enthusiasm then looked back to Chris, “Alright. Let’s do it.”