Instead of taking the now clearly injured girl to a proper hospital, Doctor Helena insisted that they take care of this in house. Not wanting to jeopardize the program if the public discovered this.

Now they have brought in medical professionals and staff, and set up their little makeshift operation room.

Brimstone was waiting for answers. A part of him was angry at himself that he didn't see that the girl was injured. It would explain her lashing out.

Knowing when a wounded creature gets backed into the corner, more likely they will attack. Or in cases, seen her act the way she did.

The stallion was in his office the program provided him. He tried to get through the rest of the picked candidates but the girl passing out on him took precedence.

Having his teaching and history diploma hung on the wall, a few medals he selected from his personal collection in a case. The table and chair was small so it was a tight fit.

On the desk he had a framed photograph of his daughter Lilysky. It was of her at one of her dance recitals in her ballet school. Image was of her in Equestria's version of The Nutcracker as one of the mice. Even though she should have gotten the lead role, she had a blast in that costume and on stage, ended up being one of his favorite pictures of her.

Next to the photo were Rachel’s items. He had brought them in so he could have a better look. Might help get an idea more of Rachel’s situation before he talks to her again.

He put her items on the desk neatly, organizing what he could so it was out in view. The only thing he didn't have was the bag of drugs. Those were sent out to be processed and see what they were.

Again, Brimstone was amazing at human technology.

So he had the teen’s clothes in one pile, the cash in another, knife, book, makeup products, forge docs and photo in their own piles.

The backpack was up against the desk so the keychain bear was on the floor.

He first examines her bloody shirts. Some of them had blood all over the backside. Seeing the trek pattern going down. Impressions of the wounds.

“Just what happened to you?” Brimstone muttered.

He wondered if when he had shoved her off in her chair did he reopen whatever wound she already had?

The pony sets the clothes down before briefly picking up her book.

There are other ways of getting to the truth, and it's to do a little detective work.

Brimstone held the sketchbook in his hand before he opened it up.

First thing he saw was a ghastly scene done in pencil. A horrific scene of a large man crucified and disemboweled. Brimstone flips another and it was another scene, same male, having his skin peeled off his body. For twenty pages it was the same man dying in rather many creative, brutal ways.

The last one was the man shackled to a table with a large jar of rats glued to his stomach. The jar was on fire so the rats were eating the man alive to escape.

And everything was detailed.

“Sweet Celestia.” Brimstone couldn't believe what he was seeing.

All of them were of the same man.

When the stallion flips to the next page, preparing for the next hellish scene, found himself relieved.

It was a drawing of Rachel and another girl with a mohawk, on top of the Empire State Building. The rest of the sketchbook was a lot more light hearted, imaginative even.

Even the torture art, her artistic skills were quite good.

“This girl's art looks like something my mother would have drawn.” He noted. His mother was an artist as well, a very talented one. Worked in galleries when he was younger.

Rachel's art style was a lot like hers.

The sketchbook was completely filled with art, going to the last two pages where it was a pair of black tattered angel wings expanding out.

Brimstone closed the sketchbook and set it back down.

He was about to grab the bagged up cash when he saw the photograph of Rachel and her mother.

Admittedly, the girl had the guts to lunge out the way she did, just for this photograph.

Brimstone picks it up to look at it. At first glance it was just a pair of humans smiling. The mother and daughter looked nearly identical but the girl was much taller than the older woman.

The more he stared at the photo, Brimstone noticed something…familiar. To both of them, the background and to their clothes nearly.

Brimstone momentarily digs into his pants pocket, grabs his wallet and pulls it out. It was a little heavy as he still had bits in it.

He opens it up, goes through a few of his own pictures before stopping at one in particular.

It was of Lilysky and Darling Rose and of himself smiling at the camera. Besides Lilysky having the red streak in her mane and tail, she also shares a likeness of her mother. Brimstone's single eye softened as he gazed longly at his late wife.

He stared at his late wife and young daughter and looked at Rachel and her mother. Father is absent. Staring at the Humans and Pegasi. Putting the two side by side.

Brimstone looked at the details carefully between the two photographs. “What in the world?” Noticing how closely similar both his loves and Rachel's looked. Light colored hair/mane, warm brown eyes. Lilysky and Rachel have near identical smiles. Filled with pure innocence and bliss.

The girl he interrogated had none of that in her eyes. Nothing but rage and aggression.

Seeing her mutilated back and the torture art of the man. How almost uncanny the photos were of each other.

And now how different the two girls were.

Before Brimstone could ponder this more, a rhythmic knock on the door.

“Come in.” He quickly closed his wallet and put it back in his pockets and stood up as one of the medical personnel came in with files.

A young man in blue nursing scrubs. He jumped in sight of the pony. “Oh!” He yelped in surprise. “Jesus, the other guys were right!”

Brimstone sighed. “Yes yes, talking sentient animal on two legs, what a sight, can I help you?”

The nurse took a second to get the shock out of the way. “Uh yeah, I was told to, um, give you a copy of Doctor Que's report on the girl that was brought in.” He walks over and hands the Professor the folder.

Brimstone takes it. “Thank you, is she alright?” he asked.

The young man frowned and sighed. “It's pretty bad. S-she's fine but…”

Brimstone opened her file and was taken aback.

“Multiple contusions, lacerations, broken ribs, fractured orbital socket on the right side, both shoulders show signs of repeated dislocation, deep bruising on most of her body, infection from the mutilation of her back. This girl absolutely went through the wringer.” Dr. Que explained as he and Brimstone were outside one of the bedrooms the facility provided. Inside was Rachel resting.

“The reports said that you had to perform surgery on the girl?” Brimstone asked.

“We did to repair the broken bones and tissue damage. Not to mention to address her back. This patient was tortured.”

Brimstone tensed up, gripping tightly in the documents. He looks through the small window of the door. Peering inside.

Rachel was awake but she was staring at the ceiling. Her wrists were bound to the bed. The makeup gone to fully reveal her battered face.

She looked completely broken.

“Why is she tied up??” Brimstone asked, trying to control his already boiling anger.

“Because when she was coming out of anesthesia, the patient attacked one of my staff members.” Dr. Que said, directing the stallion’s attention to the next room.

Brimstone glanced at the other door to see the staff member being tended to with a broken nose and laceration to his face and neck from being clawed at.

“We gave her some sedatives to calm her down. I've seen a lot of abuse patients with PTSD lash out.” The doctor continued to explain. “You say she carried drugs, I bet my bottom dollar that she was taking them to manage the pain.”

“Do we know how long she had these wounds?” Brimstone asked, getting angrier and angrier the more he heard of Rachel's situation.

“Majority of it, two weeks old. However I saw signs while working on her that this abuse was repeated. Her back has been repeatedly cut and burned.” He said as he took the file from Brimstone and opened it, flipping through it before showing the pony the picture. Showing off the ghastly scars and wounds they had to seture. “Oldest cut there was two years old.”

Brimstone was beginning to feel sick and that hadn't happened in a long time. “How…how old is she??”

“Fifteen.”

Brimstone felt his heart stop when another voice answered. He and Dr. Que looked to see Dr. Helena approaches them with her own file.

“What…” Brimstone asked, trying to compose himself.

Lilysky just turned fifteen a month ago… Brimstone thought.

Rachel was a child??? Her size didn't give that but how she acted was consistent that of an adolescent!

“Fifteen years old.” Dr. Helena repeated. “Called a friend who works in Quantico for a favor. Managed to hit off dental and medical records.” She then opens the file and begins reading her findings out loud. “Rachel Ophelia Lockhart, fifteen years old, she and her mother, Darline Lockhart were frequent fliers at the ER. Reports made of domestic abuse but no charges were ever filed. Father, real piece of work, Damian Lockhart, works as a mechanic in Hunt's Point. Mother died in a freak car accident two years ago.”

O…Ophelia???

Ophelia was Brimstone's mother's name.

Brimstone felt like he was going to throw up.

“You said reports were filed on the father?” Brimstone asked. “If there was clear sign of abuse, why wasn't it handled???”

“Yup, but none were ever filed. Social services made visits to the home but like the police reports, nothing happened after.” Dr. Helena said. “Sad to say, cases like this happen. Some kids just fell through the cracks of the system. I might be wrong on my initial statement, she wasn't trying to infiltrate the Program.”

“The child was escaping Tartarus.”

Rachel stared blankly at the ceiling. Looking at the fan go round and round.

Her life was over. She knew it. She would get sent back to that bastard and that was the end. She blew it.

She was tired, Rachel was so tired. Tired of running, tired of fighting.

Her father won….

The door to her room knocked. “Rachel??”

Rachel's hands balled up tightly when she heard his voice. Tugging at the restraints.

He was here.

However, when the door opened, Brimstone came in with her backpack.

She turns her head to look at him. “Holy shit, so I wasn't hallucinating you?” her gaze remained lifeless and cold. “You're an actual talking pony.”

“So it seems, child.” Brimstone said as he approached her. “How are you feeling?”

“What do you want?” She asked him. Not wanting the pleasantries.

“We have unfinished business.” He responded as he set the backpack down. “I'll make a deal, I'll undo your restraints, you answer my questions. I want to help you because I know you've been hurt, deal?”

Rachel closed her eyes and shook her head. “It doesn't matter. It's over.”

Brimstone analyzed her body language. He has seen other creatures when in the Royal Guard like her. Those who have given up.

Those he dealt with were adults, never a child.

With the similarities he discovered, it easily could have been his baby girl in Rachel's state.

Brimstone went ahead and undid her restraints. “I'm sorry, Rachel, but I am not the type to take no for an answer.” He released both of her hands before stepping back.

Rachel lay on that bed for a moment before pushing herself to sit up. Grunting and wincing with each movement.

Brimstone watches her as he hands her the backpack.

“Thanks..” Rachel muttered, holding her backpack before unclipping the keychain, setting the bag aside on the bed and holding the small bear.

Brimstone grabs a chair from the otherside of the door in the hallway. Dr. Helena tried to talk to him but he waved her off. Still a little salty of her reasoning for bringing him here.

But in this case, he was glad.

Brimstone pulled the chair over to the teen and sat down. Pulling out a pencil and notepad out of his pocket and flipped it to a clean page. His legs did stuck out a bit, having him crossing them.

Rachel looks at his hooves. Still amazed that this Professor was a pony. Shame that she doesn't like his fur color and voice. And the one eye thing.

“Now, shall we begin?” He asked.

Persistent fucker, she thought. Rachel doesn't trust him.

But she has zero choice.

Rachel sighed, messing with the bear. “What do you want to know?”

“Just the truth.” Brimstone said. “What's your name?”

“Rachel Lockhart.”

Brimstone nodded. “How old are you?” He asks as he writes down her information.

“Fifteen.”

“Day of birth?”

“December 25th. Christmas Day.” Rachel's voice added a layer of venom and disdain when saying that. Hands tightened around the bear.

The pencil in Brimstone's hand snapped in two. His brief learning about humans when crossing over, Christmas was the human equivalent to Hearth’s Warming.

Lilysky was born on Hearth's Warming…..

Brimstone looks at Rachel, breath taken away.

For a split second, he was seeing his daughter on that bed.

What is this universe????

Author's Note

Round 2