I tried to scream, but I couldn't. The pain was indescribable. but I suppose that was to be expected with a tree branch stuck through my chest and coming out the other side. But the pain from the wound itself was nothing compared to what was happening in my chest. I felt like I was being strangled from the inside with barbed wire. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

Gretchen did the last thing I ever expected her to. She said a curt. "It's going to be fine, stay still." and left me to go rooting around in the garbage.

I stared at her. I could barely think through the agony and she was digging in the trash? What was she-

She turned to me and flicked out her talons, "You're going to feel a pinch." Then she stabbed me in the chest and stuck a bendy straw in me.

The relief was immediate. I mean, I was still in horrible, agonizing pain, but I could breathe again. I stared at Gretchen "Wha... What was that?"

The griffon had a steely look in her eyes. "A hack job. Please stay very still. I'm going to cut you out." To my surprise, she used her claws and snipped the end of the tree branch sticking out the window.

My jaw dropped. "Gretchen! Get this... Ugh..." I felt a shaky, chilling wave wash over me.

The Gryphon shook her head. "We aren't removing that outside of an operating room. Don't worry though, it's our next stop." She eyed my sides and I turned to follow her gaze. There was blood seeping out of me. A Lot of blood...

I felt woozy.

She grabbed my bedsheet and tore it neatly into strips. wrapping them evenly around my sides and the branch. "Don't worry. I've got you. Stay with me, talk to me if it helps you focus."

I had way, way too many questions and the thunder and rain pouring in weren't helping my already taxed concentration. Maybe I could take a nap? Yeah, a nap sounded good. My eyes were already drooping. "I... I'm cold."

She grabbed my blanket and wrapped it around me. "Don't worry, we're going to keep you warm, and we're going to a nice warm hospital bed right bucking now."

"But the thunder..." I mumbled. The rain was already seeping in. I remembered her hiding, shaking....

There was another crack and I saw the faintest of winces, but she held firm "This is way more important. Here, I've got you. On the count of there. One... two... three!" She lifted me up. The jagged branch in me sagged as my stomach lowered and my wounds flared up slightly, but Gretchen's improvised bandages held it mostly steady. I found myself on top of her, nuzzled into the warm feathers on her back.

"Hold on as tight as you can okay?" She tied me down with the blanket for good measure, then flew out the smashed window, right into the storm.

The rain poured down us. I could feel the hen beneath me, shaking as she flew. With the lightning flashing and the rain pouring down I couldn't tell if the prickling in her feathers was from cold, or fear. She was repeating something under her breath. "Red to red, white to white, and everything will be alright. Red to red, white to white and everything will be al..."

I had no idea what it meant, and even with the blanket I was cold... So cold.

Finally I asked something. I wasn't sure why it popped into my head, I didn't even think she would hear it with the buffeting winds and soaking rain. "Where did you learn first aid?"

She fell silent. "I saw a lot of people die. I got tired of it." She said finally.

And then she flew us to the hospital.

I was sitting in the hospital waiting room, staring at a cup of water when a certain nurse came up to me. She was pure white with a red cross cutie mark. She was the last person I ever wanted to see.

But she did have information. I looked up at her. "How is she?"
'
The medical pony nodded. "She's stable. Your field dressings were good. She should be out of surgery shortly and the doctor expects her to make a full recovery."

I let out a breath I had no idea I was holding. Thank the heavens. I looked away from the pony. "Good... That's good."

The nurse sat down next to me. It was funny how silent an emergency room could be when you really didn't want to talk to someone. "You shouldn't be here." She said finally.

I glared at her. "Redheart, my friend just got hurt. What did you expect me to do? Let her bleed out on the couch?"

She sighed. "I expected you to go home. Gretchen, I expected you to go home months ago."

My beak clenched. I felt myself tearing up. "I thought you were my home. The only one I had left."

She shook her head, her little pink bun bobbing as she did. I used to think that was cute. "Gretchen our relationship wasn't like that. I was only in Griffonstone to help with the outbreak."

I felt my claws trembling, but there was a fire in me. "So I was what? Vacation sex?"

She sighed. She looked exhausted. "You were someone who needed help... and I needed help too." She looked at the floor. "But we were just feeding off of eachother's pain. You can't judge someone from that, and you certainly can't build something from it."

That was bullshit and she knew it. I felt a tear fall down my cheek. "I loved you." I said, weakly.

She looked me in the eye. She was sad, genuinely sad. "I'm sorry... but just I never felt the same way. This isn't the place for you Gretchen, and I think tonight proves that you could be doing a lot of good in Griffonstone. You need to accept that we're not going to happen and go ho-"

"I don't have a home!" I spat. I got up and got right in her adorable little face. "Griffonstone is a crater, and apparently all my real friends are dead." I pointed to the far door. "Everyone, except for the pony in that operating room. Now could you stop trying to boot me for five bucking minutes and go save some lives? You remember? What we used to do when you weren't between my legs?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Don't make this difficult Gretchen. Frankly, I think I've been pretty reasonable so far. All it would take is a call to security."

I stared at her. I stared at those pretty blue eyes and flowing pink tail. She was cute as a button, but there was steel there. I had no doubt she'd have me deported in a heartbeat. There was nothing stopping her but propriety, a cold need to keep things civil.

Suddenly the fear was back. I needed to run. I needed to get away from this place as fast as I could...

But if I did that, then Pepper would wake up alone.

I felt my claws tremble. "Red please..." I whispered. "She's all I have."

The nurse flinched. Then let out a breath. "The second she's released, you're gone."

And then she left.