"Remind me why I had to come along?"

Rainbow Dash had been quiet until we parted from the group and rounded the corner. Now, she was walking alongside me, to my right. Her newly-procured AK-47 was in her hands, and she kept the barrel pointed downwards as we walked. Both of us kept our eyes forward, weary of the many hostiles that now filled the building.

I answered her question with one of my own, "If I had told you to stay put and taken Flare with me instead, would you have stayed back?"

She scoffed a bit, "Heh. Guess not."

"Exactly," I said with a smirk.

As we ventured further into the laboratories, I noticed the structure of the rooms change drastically. Where the rest of the hospital had closed-off rooms with only one door into each, most of the lab rooms were far more open. Many interior walls were made either mostly or entirely of glass, making it much easier to see what was beyond each turn. It reminded me strongly of a forensics lab; the kind you see on those C.S.I. shows on television, shows that I watched religiously as a kid. Even the rooms themselves were full of island counter-tops littered with sheets of paper, beakers, and microscopes. Some of the rooms had much larger machinery as well. It made me wonder if it was more equipment gifted by Russia and China, or if the ponies developed it themselves. Surely the former, right? I'd seen plenty of pre-portal Equestrian tech, and it was nowhere near on the same scale as the machines around me now.

At each intersection we passed, I stopped to mark which direction we had gone, leaving a trail for the others to follow. I used a red-colored marker I had found on one of the dead French commandos. It was a fairly new tactic that most NATO armies had adopted within the past year or so, and one I had originally been hesitant to implement within my own Ranger company. It came in handy now, though, especially since all of the markings were standardized. An arrow indicated a unit moved in that direction, an "X" meant a sector had been searched and cleared, a circle indicated a need for a re-sweep, et cetera.

The spin I put on it now to ensure we weren't followed by any hostiles was by using the "X" to indicate where we went. After I roughly explained the markers to them, only the group of ponies behind us knew what the "X" would mean in this instance. Any French forces that came across one of my X's would take it at face value and its normal meaning, thus ensuring we weren't followed. That was the hope, anyway.

The only real issue now was that both Dash and I were basically going in blind. She had never been in this wing of the hospital, so not even she knew the layout. We were banking on finding a sign that identified the location of the stairwell, but six intersections later, we were still looking. Dash eventually spotted what looked to be more direction signs, beyond a large room surrounded by plate-glass windows. The fastest way to the signs was to cut through the room.

Dash led the way as we slipped through the locked-open glass doors into the room. It was labeled as the "Experimental Chemicals" laboratory, and there were signs posted on the glass warning of unauthorized entry and the presence of armed guards supposedly always on watch. At first, I merely made passing glances at the strewn-about research papers around the room, but the cerulean mare ahead of me made a comment that caused me to do a double take.

"Jeez, look at this place," she said, waving her head back and forth to take in the entire room, "It looks like a tornado went through here."

When I looked again, I noticed she was right. Whereas most of the labs we had passed by earlier were very clean and tidy, with nothing out of place, this room had papers flung all around. They were scattered on the counter-tops, on the floor - some even ended up flying through the doors and out into the hallways. Glass beakers and bottles were everywhere as well, some of them crushed or shattered. There was only one stack of papers that seemed even remotely in order, spread out evenly along the center island. Despite our surroundings, curiosity took hold and I stopped to take a look.

The way the entire file was spread out so evenly told me that whoever had torn this room apart had found what they were looking for, and had left it sitting out. Like they wanted it to be found. The first word to catch my eye was the bold red letters on a number of sheets reading "CLASSIFIED. My eyes scanned the finer print below the stamped warnings, looking at what the research was about. My eyes immediately locked onto the chemical's common name and purpose: Truth Powder.

"Hey, Dash," I found myself saying, "Come look at this."

She was by my side immediately, looking at the same page I was. She mouthed the chemical's name as I handed her the sheet to peruse and began looking though the others. They were detailed reports of the experimental tests and the subjects under them, all in order. The first few were controlled, consensual tests to find the correct dosage and measure it's effectiveness. The ones after that was where it got interesting - the next few tests were on domestic Equestrian prisoners. Murderers, rapists, gangsters... all given this chemical and coaxed into confessing their crimes.

The researcher's notes quickly revealed the scientist had a theory she called the "Mental Wall," and that the chemical would allow an interrogator to work his/her way past this "wall" with careful wording. It didn't force the truth out, just made the subject more open to conversation. The researcher also noted a side effect she couldn't find a fix for: after the chemical wore off, the subject experienced bouts of amnesia that made it impossible for them to remember the details of the conversation. They knew that one took place, but not what it was about, aside from the general topic in a select few cases. I could feel a chill run up my spine as I kept reading.

The research immediately moved on from criminal test subjects to military subjects. Prisoners of War. There were five, all names I recognized from one time or another. I had even served beside a couple of them. Specialist Dan Meyer, a Ranger from a different platoon, and Private Jacob Pullman of the U.S. Marine Corps. were the two I had fought beside at least once. I wasn't sure why I remembered their names, but seeing them now brought back a heap of combat memories. Besides those two, there was also Corporal William Pennyfeather (just "Penny" to his friends, according to his file) of the British Special Air Service and Vadim Mirov - a supposed traitor of the Russian Army. The last name I also recognized. It was someone I had fought beside for every battle I had every fought in.

The last subject was me.

"Left up ahead," Crimson Flare called out each marker as he spotted it, leading what little remained of the survivors through the maze of laboratories to what they all hoped was a way out.

By this point, they had all come to terms with the fact that they couldn't stay any longer. Sergeant Blackburn had finally gotten through to them, with the unwanted help of the helicopter attack that wiped out most of their numbers. Flare could still see their bodies, the images burned into his mind. He didn't stop though. He kept going, using the horrid images as a reason to not stop. He would keep going, for them. He owed them that much.

He kept his weapon pointed down the hall as he walked, waiting for a chance to drop another attacker. It scared him a bit, how fast he had taken to killing other beings. Though, he had to admit that the sight of his friends and comrades dead on the ground might have helped with that. Every enemy killed was a friend avenged, and he was more than willing to be one to do it. Unlike some ponies in his unit. Ponies like Rainbow Dash.

Flare had noticed it. He was sure the sergeant had noticed too, but just chose to ignore it. Flare didn't, though. He just kept his muzzle shut for now. It didn't change the fact that he knew, though. He knew how Dash hadn't fired a single shot all night. She had barely even pointed her weapon at the enemy. Most of the time, she just ducked behind cover until the shooting stopped.

He knew he had to mention it. If not to her directly, then to Blackburn. He would know what to do. Flare had only known him for, what, a few hours? But in those few hours, Flare saw how good of a soldier he was. He was a leader. Someone who Flare wanted to be like. It was kinda funny, getting a feeling like that about a human. A human that was - for all intents and purposes - an enemy soldier. A prisoner of war. He didn't let that stop him, though. He still helped the Equestrians when they were under attack. All because the griffons had changed the rules. They were attacking civilian targets, and killing without mercy.

Crimson Flare saw no reason not to return the favor.

"Go right up here," Flare informed his comrades as he spotted another marker. As he approached the intersection, he made a passing glance to the left, down the hallway going in the opposite direction. What he saw made him stop and look harder.

There were two human soldiers, wearing what Blackburn had identified as French military camouflage. They looked lost and confused - they were somehow separated from their team and were now in the process of trying to contact support using their radios. As soon as Flare had rounded the corner, one of the humans noticed the movement and turned his head to look. As soon as he laid eyes on the red unicorn, his eyes went wide with fear. He threw his hands up, and began pleading in a foreign tongue Flare couldn't understand. This caused the Frenchman's partner to turn and look, and he immediately copied the first soldier's gestures.

*Ra-ta-tat... Ra-ta-tat!* Two short bursts blasted out of the barrel of Crimson Flare's AK-47. Both of the Frenchmen dropped to the floor in a bloodied heap, the bullets tearing through their unarmored chests. The young private didn't even flinch.

He continued on, either unaware or ignoring the cross looks aimed his way by the doctor and his lieutenant.

"Straight now."

"Jay, I swear, I didn't know!" Rainbow Dash was quick to redirect my anger away from her. The thought wouldn't have crossed my mind anyway, but she felt the need to reassure me. Not that I could blame her - even I was sure my ears were physically steaming.

I had to force myself to calm down, leaning against the counter-top and taking deep breaths to try and slow my rapid heart rate. It took a moment, but eventually my anger subsided enough for me to focus on the task at hand. Though I made sure to gather up the Truth Powder file and stow it beneath my jacket. Someone had some explaining to do. Hopefully, the doctor could provide some answers. If not, I would just have to start tearing through the rank-and-file of the Equestrian military until I found someone who could. That was an issue for the future, though.

After securing the file, I took one last deep breath before we continued on. We exited the room on the other side and closed the distance to the signs. For once, luck was on our side. There was a stairwell to the right, actually visible from our position. It was another open staircase, and looked clear of hostiles. We had found our way down. I pulled out the red marker and placed a series of three small X's around the sign for the stairs. A bit improvised, but Flare was smart. He would figure it out.

"Looks like we finally caught a break," I heard Dash say. She was looking at me, a small smile on her face.

I returned the smile, but played it cool, "We're not out of the woods yet, rookie. Let's keep moving."

She nodded, "Alright. You lead the way this ti-"

We both stopped to listen. The building was deathly quiet now, but I was sure there was a noise. The fact that Dash stopped too told me she had heard it as well. Someone was moving. The noise had been muffled, but originated from behind the wall in front of us; the wall that held the directional signs. There was a wooden door just to the right, closed. I brought my MP7 up to my shoulder and inched over to the door. Dash was right behind me, her own rifle held up in her hands - though her's was shaking a bit. As my left hand wrapped around the doorknob, I prayed that we had run into another survivor. A pony who had been smart enough to keep their head down when the shooting started and was lucky enough not to get caught.

The door opened up to a closed-off laboratory. The far wall was covered in plate windows, while the other three were lined with cabinets and counters. There was also a large island counter in the center of the room that easily took up half of the limited space. The room was dark as well, with nothing but my weapon's flashlight and the moon shining through to illuminate it. I did notice that it had stopped raining. The storm had finally passed, making it much easier for the moon's rays to shine. It would have been a very picturesque sight, had it not been for the spattering of crimson on one of the windows and the crumpled mass of a dead scientist mare in the far corner of the room.

"Dammit," I muttered under my breath as my eyes fell on the dead scientist. So much for finding survivors.

For a moment, my judgement slipped. My weapon lowered, and I began walking across the room towards the body. My eyes never left her bloodied form. Not until I caught movement in my peripheral vision. As soon as it registered, my eyes flicked over to the side. I was just in time to see the glint of the knife's blade as it swung in a wide arch towards me. My instincts took over, and I threw my arms up to parry the attack. I was partially successful; instead of digging into my flesh, the knife and the arm holding it knocked mine to the side. I felt my weapon fly from my hands and heard it clatter onto the floor.

I immediately prepared for my attacker's next attempt, and managed to catch his arm as he tried a downward strike. We fell into a lock, with the blade of the knife the only thing in my vision. His momentum during the move pushed me back, and I found myself arched back onto the center island as I tried to push the knife out of my face. He was strong - strong enough that i had to put everything I had into just keeping his knife from getting closer than it already had.

We went back and forth for what felt like an eternity. The knife went closer, then backed off. Forward, back, forward, back. It started staying closer for a bit longer each time. He started gaining ground. I was losing this fight. I could feel and hear my own heartbeat, thumping hard in my ears. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping me going, and it was running out.

I felt the tip of the blade poke at my neck, sending a bolt of pain through my body. My arms were growing weak. I couldn't fight him anymore. The blade inched closer and closer...

*Blam!*

My attacker's feathered head exploded in a mist of blood and brain matter. His entire body went limp and practically flew to the side, with a little help from my now-uncontested push against him. He plopped onto the linoleum floor, dead before he hit the ground. For a second, I just stared at him as a puddle of blood oozed out of the new hole in the side of his head. Then, my mind and gaze turned to my savior. Rainbow Dash was standing a few feet away, her rifle still aimed at where the griffon had been standing. The barrel of her weapon was smoking from the recently-fired round. Her eyes were widened as much as I had ever seen them. Her ears were drooped down. At first, she was steady. As if she was frozen. Then, I saw her entire body start shaking and tears begin to form in her wide eyes.

Without a word, I rushed over to her. I used one arm to lower her weapon, which she quickly let fall to the floor. In the same motion, I wrapped my other arm around her and pulled her close. She didn't respond at once. For a moment, she just stared down at the body of the griffon she had killed. I felt her arms wrap loosely around me, then tighten as she buried her muzzle into my chest. Her tears flowed freely now, and were accompanied by soft whimpers. I used my free hand to stroke her mane soothingly, and whispered reassurances into her ear, telling her that it was over. She did good. It was over...

*****

"Truth Powder Research Log number sixty-two, Dr. Sunnyside recording..."

The audio log I had found on the deceased scientist mare played on, filling the otherwise-quiet room with noise. The name - Dr. Sunnyside - was the same one as on the Truth Powder file. She was the head of the project; the chemical's designer and top researcher. I let the log play in the background, half-listening as I tried to comfort the still-living mare in my arms. It had taken a few moment to coax Rainbow Dash over to the other side of the room, getting the corpse of her first kill out of her sight. I was a difficult decision to move her, seeing as I now had bodies on both sides of the room to worry about. She seemed to calm down a bit, though. She stopped crying. Now, she just nestled the side of her head into my chest as she stared at the floor, not saying a word. We were sitting down against one of the plate windows, facing inward. I used one hand to keep stroking her mane as the other held the audio recorder that was playing the log. I wondered if Dash was actually listening, or if she was mentally miles away.

"The first test of the chemical on Subject Thirteen was a success, the recording went on, "Captain Shining Armor conducted the interrogation this time, and he proved successful. The subject's answer pattern matches that of the other human test subjects perfectly. I went ahead and gave the Captain permission to pursue more direct lines of questioning. With any luck, the remnant effects of the drug in Subject Thirteen's system will make the second session easier. I have already instructed his caretaker to keep giving him the treated painkillers, even without scheduled interrogations. The more his body gets used to the chemical, the easier it will be."

The recording skipped for a second before continuing, "Update on Subject Thirteen's reaction to the Truth Powder. He is also experiencing near-complete amnesia once the effects of the drug have worn off, just like all subjects before him. This is upsetting - I had hoped this newest batch fixed that issue. We'll just have to keep working on it. In the meantime, I guess it might be better if he doesn't remember. From what his caretaker told me, I don't think he would react well with some of the answers he gave to the Captain. He's a pretty patriotic guy. Figuring out he had said such... neutral things about his country wouldn't sit well with him... I have instructed my team to keep tweaking the formula. With any luck, we'll sort out this side effect before Subject Thirteen's transfer to the military prison in Cloudsdale."

The recording finally ended with a resounding *click*. I tucked the recorder away in one of my ACU jacket's pockets. I then looked down at the cerulean pegasus next to me. The fur around her eyes were matted from tears, and her eyes were bloodshot. Her breathing was unsteady, alternating between short and quick breaths to long, drawn out sighs. I wasn't sure if she was even with me right now, but we couldn't just sit here. The rest of our group was more than likely almost caught up to us, and we still needed to clear a path downstairs and find an exit. I had to get her moving.

"Dash," I began gently, not bringing my voice above a whisper, "We need to go now."

She didn't respond; didn't move. Even her eyes were fixed open, staring at a spot on the floor. Sighing, I decided to try something a bit more direct. I began to pick myself up, carefully bringing her with me. She didn't resist, but didn't actively help, either. Even when she was on her feet, her thousand-yard stare didn't waver. It was starting to scare me. The loud, confident, cocky mare I had met two weeks ago was nowhere to be found, replaced by a near-lifeless shell of her former self. Despite how many times I had seen friends in similar conditions, it was heartbreaking. Even more so considering how innocent she had been up until tonight. Sure, she liked to talk big, but I knew better. She had never wanted this; she wasn't prepared for it. And I had led her through it like she was a grizzled veteran. It was my fault she was like this.

With a fresh feeling of guilt washing over me, I desperately tried to get a response out of her. In my clouded judgement, I grabbed her shoulders forcefully and practically shouted her name. It seemed to partially work; she jolted out of her daze and turned her gaze to me, looking into my eyes with an expression of shock and fear. I immediately realized my mistake, and opened my mouth to apologize when she spoke up for the first time since entering the room.

"I-I... I k-killed him..." she started shaking again, but no tears came this time. She just let her body go limp and continued to stare into my eyes.

Thankful for the progress, I carefully chose my next words. Now, I was in familiar territory; I knew what to say, "Dash, you didn't have a choice."

"I... I could've pulled him off..." she started. She had obviously been thinking about it all this time.

"No, Dash," I replied, returning her dazed look with a stern one of my own, "He just would've turned that knife on you. He would've killed you and me both. You did what you had to do. You saved us both."

"I... I saved...?" her expression turned confused. I nodded in response.

"If you hadn't have stopped him, he would have killed you, me, and God knows how many others."

She nodded, slowly coming to terms with the necessity of her actions. Though, I could still hear the hurt in her voice as she asked, "Why do I still feel so... dirty?" She had trouble finding the last word.

I knew the answer to it, though, "Because you're a good person, Dashie." I brought the point home my wrapping her in an embrace. She hesitated a moment before returning it. While close to her, I whispered, "You won't have to do anything like that again. I promise."

For a slight second, I heard her laugh. Just a huff of an exasperated chuckle, barely one syllable's worth, "You're a bad liar, Jay."

"Yeah. I know."

Author's Note

Wow... kinda dark at the end there, huh?

So, how do you guys think I did this time around? I'm asking because... that ending... I feel like it went a bit too fast. What do you guys think? You think Dashie recovered too fast? I have no idea.

Next chapter should be the last for the hospital arch. Then we get to move on to somewhere new, which I can't wait for. I really should start planning ahead and mapping out the story a bit instead of going in blind like I have been so far. But what can I say, I'm a lazy bastard.

As always, constructive criticism is appreciated!