Gary’s group walked down the stairs before reaching the hallway that led to the offices on the second floor. Davin, Schneider, and Powers kept their weapons drawn and at the ready. Applejack stayed alert, and Fluttershy helped Rarity walk underneath the dim lighting. To their left were three large broken windows, showing a view of the destroyed environment below.

“Any idea what we’ll find on this floor?” Schneider asked.

Gary shrugged. “I’m not too sure, never came up here much. Sometimes I’d head to the cubicles to hand off research notes, so that’s a good place to start.”

“That so,” Applejack added with a yawn. “Well hey, what ‘bout that?” She pointed to a knocked-over cabinet next to the broken window at the end of the hall. She started to walk towards it when Fluttershy flew in front of her.

“Wait!” she said before taking the time to use her tail in order to dust away the many glass shards on the floor. Fluttershy touched down next to Rarity. “We don’t want you hurting yourselves now.”

The soldiers walked on, spare glass shards crunching beneath their boots, while Applejack took a second to understand as she slowly blinked her eyes. “Oh, yeah. Thanks, Fluttershy.” She walked towards the cabinet, where the humans were already getting to work digging through the files. “Where should we start lookin’?”

Davin looked at the ponies. “This isn’t a job for you. You three can go somewhere else. Wouldn’t want you chewing up any important papers,” he said while shooing them away.

Rarity huffed in frustration. “He probably wouldn’t tell us that if I could see,” she whispered. “Can we even sit anywhere? All of this running has been torture on my hooves.”

“We can sit against the wall fer a bit,” Applejack replied.

“But... shouldn’t we find some way to help?” Fluttershy asked.

“As much as ah’d love to, sugarcube,” the farmpony stated as she helped guide Rarity to an open spot near the cabinet, “it ain’t gonna do us much good if we wander off n’ some specimen catches us unawares.” Applejack and Rarity leaned against the wall, Fluttershy sitting in front of both ponies.

“Oh, you’re right. But shouldn’t we still think of something?” Fluttershy queried.

“I don’t know if there’s much we can do,” Rarity answered. “Perhaps we should take a moment to rest until we’re needed.”

“What about the others? Do you think they’ll be fine?”

Rarity stifled a giggle. “With Twilight’s persistence, Rainbow Dash’s tenacity, and Pinkie Pie’s... being Pinkie Pie, I’m sure they’ve got things handled up above.”

“Well, okay. I guess taking a minute to rest would be good for all of us. What about you, Applej-” Fluttershy stopped as she saw the farm pony’s eyes closed and heard a small snore. She leaned in close and gently poked her sleeping friend, which made Applejack shoot awake with a sharp gasp.

“Wh-what? What happened?” she asked frantically. “Is somethin’ comin’?”

Fluttershy tilted her head. “Were you sleeping just now, Applejack?”

The pony in question’s face began to redden. “Well, uh... it’s not like I was tryin’ to or anythin’, I just, uh...”

“That’s right,” Rarity responded. “You haven’t slept at all, have you?”

Applejack hung her head as she let out a sigh. “Not a wink.”

Fluttershy worriedly looked at both of her friends before she said, “You know, I could try healing you two.”

Rarity and Applejack quickly brought their attention to their friend.

“Ah dunno,” Applejack replied. “Didn’t Twilight say somethin’ ‘bout it bein’ awfully risky to use that power o’ yours?”

“Well, I...,” Fluttershy’s ears folded back. “I just... thought I could help...”

All three ponies were silent before Rarity spoke up. “She should try, Applejack. If Fluttershy’s able to help us, we’ll be of much more use to everypony. I don’t enjoy feeling helpless, you know. Also, think about it. If an emergency happens, you and I are not in fit condition.”

Applejack hummed. “Ya have a point there.” She turned to her winged friend. “Do ya think you can control it?”

Fluttershy looked off to the distance. “I’m not sure, but I can’t just sit while you’re both like this. I’ll just stop if it starts to hurt, I promise!”

Applejack looked at the humans, who were still busily examining each document. “If they’re gonna be here a bit, ah s’pose tryin’ just once couldn’t hurt. Ah gotta ask ya somethin’ first. Both of y’all. How d’ya do it? Yer powers, ah mean.” Fluttershy tilted her head, enticing Applejack to continue. “How did y’all come around to findin’ out ya had these powers? Ah figure that maybe if ah know how y’all did it, ah can find some way to get my power sooner than later.”

Rarity rested her chin on her hoof. “I discovered my power when we were looking for you, Fluttershy. I remember that we all were very worried and wanted to find you as soon as possible, so I used my gem finding spell, wishing that it would help us find your necklace. I hadn’t realized it then, but that was my Element reacting to my thoughts. I guess you could say it granted my wish.”

“That’s like what happened to me,” Fluttershy added. “When Mr. Briar was hurt really bad, I was sad and thought that I didn’t want anypony else to die, then my Element glowed and he was all better.”

Rarity couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s ironic, don’t you think? Your Element granted you the ability to heal, but healing too much could cost you your life.” The sullen smile on her face slowly disappeared as a look of realization dawned on her face. “That’s right. I was going to mention that to Twilight earlier.” She turned in what she hoped was the direction of her friends. “Think back to when Rainbow Dash used her Element. She became faster than anything I’ve ever seen, and appeared indestructible, but later kept dropping out of the sky for no obvious reason. Then there’s myself. I pushed myself to my limit to try seeing what lay in wait for us, but doing so resulted in my going blind.” She looked to the ground. “While these Elements can aid us in ways we never thought possible, they can lead to our demise if improperly used.” Rarity lightly brushed her hoof against her necklace. “It’s no wonder why the Princess insisted on the Elements being locked away. They’re a danger even to those with noble purposes.”

Applejack swallowed the lump in her throat. “The Elements are doin’ this to us? Maybe... maybe rushin’ to get mah Element’s power ain’t the smartest thing to do.” She shook herself out of her daze and turned to Fluttershy. “Oh, ah’m sorry. You’ve been waitin’ fer us to finish talkin’, haven’t ya?”

Fluttershy quickly shook her head. “N-no, it’s no trouble. It’s a little scary to think about, but still something we need to know.” She sat closer to her friends. “I’ll try to heal you two. If it’s okay, that is.” Neither of her friends objected. She quieted herself before activating her Element, ensnaring all three ponies in her healing field. Applejack and Rarity visibly tensed up during the process. When it was over, Fluttershy looked at both of her friends, who had their eyes clamped shut. “All done.”

Applejack was the first to relax, peeking out of one eye before opening both eyes up. She flexed her legs before standing up. “Shoot, ah feel like ah got a good days’ rest. What about you, Rarity?”

The pony in question also slowly opened one eye before both were open. However, her expression took a sour turn as she sighed. “I still can’t see.”

Fluttershy’s ears drooped. “I’m so sorry, Rarity.”

“It’s okay, really,” the fashionista replied, trying her best to appear happy. “I do feel much better, so it’s not like your effort went to waste. But enough about us, are you alright?”

“I feel-” Fluttershy stopped herself and looked at her forelegs. She raised them before her eyes, showing two trembling limbs. She and Applejack looked at each other, staying silent.

“What’s going on?” Rarity asked. “Are you alright, Fluttershy?”

“Her forelegs are shakin’,” Applejack replied. “Do ya feel weird or anythin’?” Fluttershy shook her head, enticing a sigh of relief from the farm pony. “Well, ah’m sure the others could use a pick me up, but that outta wait ‘til we know ya won’t get hurt from usin’ yer power.”

A cabinet drawer slammed shut, bringing everypony’s attention forward to their human companions. “Nothing,” Powers remarked.

Gary crossed his arms. “It was a bit of a stretch to think there’d be anything we’d need in this one drawer.” He turned to the end of the hall, facing a wooden double-door. “We’ll have better luck in the actual office itself.”

“Are we going to be digging through much?” Schneider asked.

After a moment’s thought, he answered, “I’d guess maybe twelve other desks and cabinets.”

“Great,” Davin added. “It was boring enough going through one cabinet.”

“Ya know,” Applejack chimed in, “it might go a bit quicker if ya let us help. Just sayin’.” She couldn’t help the smug grin on her face.

The Police Sergeant rested his face in his palm while he quietly groaned. “Fine, whatever. Just don’t rip anything up.”

“You act as if we’ve never dealt with holding papers in our mouths,” Rarity stated.

Briar just shook his head. “Hurry up and lead the way,” he commanded as he lightly pushed Gary forward. As the ponies got up to merge with the group of humans, Fluttershy noticed a giant picture on the wall to her right and froze. Rarity felt her guide stop. “Is something wrong?” she asked, earning Applejack’s attention. She caught on and saw what kept Fluttershy in place. On the wall was a large portrait of Kevin Clamely, and next to it were the words ‘You killed’ sloppily smeared on the wall in blood.

“Just somethin’ unsightly.” Applejack rested her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, which startled the timid pegasus. “It’s okay, Fluttershy,” she cooed. “It’s dry. It ain’t worth lookin’ at.”

As Fluttershy took several deep breaths to calm down, Davin sneered, “Are you done now?” earning him a glare from Applejack. “We can’t keep babysitting you lot if you’re just going to freeze up all the time.”

Gary turned back to the doors and pushed them open, revealing several trashed cubicles and many overturned filing cabinets along the floor. “Would you like to start from the left, or the right?”

**********

A loud thud was heard on the third floor. “God damn it, Pinkie Pie!” Agent Wilkes shouted. “What the hell was that for?!”

The party pony tilted her head to the side. “You said looking looking at file after file was boring, so I thought it would be more fun if all the files you needed were right in front of you!”

“I never told you to dump all of them on the floor! Help me pick them up!”

“But if I pick them up, you’ll be bored again, silly filly!”

The two continued to argue until Twilight walked into the room both beings were in. “What’s going on here?”

Wilkes turned to her. “Your brain-dead friend here decided to throw all of the files I was sorting through on the floor!”

Pinkie Pie began snickering. “How could I be brain dead? My noggin’s working fine!”

“Have you found any important files yet?” Twilight asked before another argument could break out.

Wilkes shrugged. “Unless stock reports and company picnics are code for secret experiments, no. Now if you’ll excuse me,” he turned to Pinkie Pie,” and if you’ll leave, I’ve got to get all these papers sorted out, no thanks to you.”

When both ponies were outside of the room, Twilight commented, “You know, Pinkie. You really should’ve asked him before throwing all of those papers on the ground.”

Pinkie’s eyes grew wide. “But, Twilight! You should’ve seen him standing there. He looked so bored, and I couldn’t stand to see him stand so boredly! Besides, now all of the papers will be out at once and he can look over all of them faster!”

Twilight sighed. “Pinkie, you really can’t just go and assume somepony wants you to do something to make their job more fun. It could make things even more bothersome.”

“I’m sorry, Twilight, I just can’t help it,” Pinkie Pie replied as her ears drooped. “Seeing anypony bored just makes me antsy.”

“Well, why don’t you try finding Rainbow and help her? I’m sure she could use some help.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Pinkie quickly zipped away.

As Twilight was about to head for another area, she spotted Briar in the corner, intently studying the papers within a file. Her curiosity piqued, she approached the officer. “Did you find somethi-”

Briar immediately shifted his attention to Twilight as he promptly closed the file, placing it back within the drawer. “No. Go away.” He then ignored the magician, resuming his file examinations. She tried not to think much of this instance and did her part to look around. When she was out of sight, Briar dug back into the cabinet and pulled out the file he was looking at. After a moment’s contemplation, he hid the file underneath his uniform and resumed his search.

Rainbow Dash flew around the area, scanning it until she found—

“Twilight!” The speedster flew to her friend before touching down. “Schneider and I found Clamely’s office!”

“You did?” Twilight queried.

“Yeah! Pretty sweet, huh?”

Twilight had a nagging feeling. “Have you looked inside it yet?”

Rainbow shook her head. “Schneider said we should get everypony to the room before we bust down the door.”

“Bust it down?”

“Yeah. It’s locked, and I was all ready to knock it over, but Schneider was telling me that it would be better to get everypony here first.”

With that point established, Twilight and Rainbow Dash set about gathering everyone from the second and third floors. When together, they walked down a long, daunting hallway towards his office. Only a small wooden door with the words ‘Kevin Clamely: CEO, Founder of Horzine Laboratories’ printed on it in gold eloquent lettering separated everyone from what they hoped would be the answers to this catastrophe.

“Stand back, everypony,” Rainbow said as she hovered in the air.

“Wait,” Twilight commanded. “We don’t know what’s inside. You could really hurt yourself.”

“That’s not all,” Gary added. “For as long as I’ve worked here, I can’t remember Clamely ever having an office up here.”

“Perhaps he got another office for himself in the renovations?” Wilkes answered. “God knows the bastard was becoming a regular narcissist.”

“True, but I don’t like this.”

Twilight looked around until she saw Rarity, who was still relying on Fluttershy as a guide. She called to her and asked, “Has your eyesight improved?”

Rarity shook her head and sighed. “I still can’t see a thing. Fluttershy even tried her hoof at sprucing us up, but it-”

“Wait. ‘Spruce you up’? What are you-” It clicked. The librarian looked at Fluttershy. “Did you use your Element?”

The accused pony nodded.

Twilight opened her mouth to chastise Fluttershy, but Applejack spoke first. “Ah know ya said otherwise, Twilight, but we figured it was fer the best. Rarity can’t see, Fluttershy ain’t exactly fightin’ material, and ah was near tuckered out from not gettin’ a wink of sleep. If somethin’ showed up and caught us off guard, we might not’ve been prepared.”

Twilight sternly looked at Fluttershy, who tried hiding behind her mane. “Okay, you have a point, but what you did was still reckless! Didn’t you listen to what I said about these powers? What if Fluttershy’s body reacted violently and none of us could do a thing about it?”

“We talked ‘bout that, Twilight, but Fluttershy was insistin’ that she could handle it. And she did, that’s all that matters.”

“That’s not the point, Applejack,” Twilight argued. “Until Rarity and I teach the four of you how to control magic, using your powers is too dangerous! You should’ve let me know before you even tried something like this. Did anything happen to Fluttershy after healing the three of you?”

Applejack momentarily looked away. “W-well, her front legs were shakin’, but that’s it!”

“You see? It’s her forelegs now, but it could’ve been so much worse!”

“But she-”

“You know, you guys,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, “Fluttershy is sitting right next to you two, if you wanna stop talking like she isn’t.” She looked at Twilight. “Yeah, I get that you don’t want to see anything happen to Fluttershy again. I don’t want that either, but getting on her and Applejack’s case like this won’t help anypony.” Then she looked at Applejack. “Still, Twilight’s right. One of us is blind and two of us have nearly kicked it because of the Elements. We could try to wait a bit before using them again.”

“Says the one who turned herself into metal twice,” Davin quipped.

Rainbow nearly turned around to argue, but decided against it and continued. “I get that it’s so you can be more alert and all, but we can’t go and turn Fluttershy into some sort of quick fix for us all.” Applejack and Twilight remained quiet as they took Rainbow Dash’s words to heart.

Twilight was the first to speak. “You’re right, Rainbow. Applejack, Fluttershy, I’m sorry. I know you had good intentions, but I just...”

Applejack held up her hoof. “Ya don’t need to say anythin’ else, Twilight. Ah’m sorry too.”

Fluttershy intervened. “But you don’t need to apologize for that, Applejack. You were the one who thought me healing the three of us was a bad idea in the first place.”

“Let’s not make this any more complicated than it is,” Rarity chimed in. “We’re all sorry for not completely seeing the other pony’s point of view, but we understand that now. We could sit here apologizing all day, but nopony would be getting anywhere.”

With a chuckle, Twilight added, “You’re right about that.”

“Okay!” Briar interjected. “If we’re done with melodrama hour, we’d like to open this door and get the hell out of here. How does that sound?” He looked at all of the ponies, who either paid him no attention or gave another glare. “No objections? Good. I nominate Wilkes to go inspect the office first.”

The security guard flinched. “What? Why me?”

Briar pointed to Gary. “Shit-For-Brains over here was saying he didn’t like how this was looking, right? So if we’re going to inspect this room, wouldn’t it make more sense to first send in the fellow who’s wearing the most armor?”

Wilkes hesitated for a moment. “Okay, fine, I’ll go in.” He grabbed the AA12 off of his back. “Get ready, everyone.” He gingerly reached for the door handle, slowly turning it until he could feel the door open. He opened the door a hair’s width, but couldn’t see anything inside. Using the muzzle of his weapon, he slowly pushed the door more open until he had a perfect view of the office’s interior. Only a sliver of light shined in, so he turned on his weapon’s torch. He checked the two corners visible to him and saw no signs of imminent danger. He slid his feet along the floor as he checked the doorframe for any signs of tampering.

With nothing dangerous present, he made his way inside. The room was quite spacious for one person, but still seemed that it would be a bit small for eight humans and six ponies. Papers were littered all over the floor, some of which had the word ‘classified’ stamped on them in the usual red ink. Several of what appeared to be Kevin’s possessions were left on the floor, some of which were in shambles. Wilkes used his light to scan the walls until he came across the light switch. With the utmost caution, he flipped the switch on, illuminating the room. Another quick look later showed that nothing dangerous resided on the carpet floor, the auburn colored walls, or the white, plastered ceiling above. The only other object in the room was Kevin’s wooden desk, furnished with a shining coat of sealant. Nothing on the desk seemed to have been disturbed. “All clear,” Wilkes announced.

Everyone squeezed their way into the room, leaving only a minimum amount of breathing room between each of the occupants. “Careful not to step on anything too important,” Masterson pointed out. Everyone gathered as many papers as they could off the floor and assorted them on top of the desk. At least everyone except for Twilight, who was busy observing her surroundings.

“Something wrong?” Corporal Lewis asked, snapping Twilight out of her trance.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Twilight quickly replied, “but... something just doesn’t seem right about all of this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kevin Clamely is the human behind all of this, so why isn’t he here?” Twilight looked around the office. “The only part of this room that stands out is the mess on the floor. Otherwise everything else looks like nothing happened.”

Lewis rested his head in his hand. “That is true. Don’t know where he could be, but-”

“What’s this shit?” Davin’s outburst attracted Twilight and Lewis’ attention towards the desk. “Were you trying to kill us all?!”

“As I’ve explained, they were prototype designs, they never came to fruition.” Gary explained at the opposite side of the desk from the Police Sergeant.

Davin waved a piece of paper in his hands. “Prototype my ass! Who in their right fucking mind gives a zombie a chain-gun?”

“They’re not zombies, they’re-”

“Fuck you and your specifics!” Davin fired back. “You’re off your rocker if you think you’re sane enough to listen to. Especially for these...” he paused to read over another paper on the desk, “these bleeding RPG zombies. Rockets?! Are you kidding me?”

Gary sighed hard. “We wanted to make the best soldiers for England’s military.”

“And a bloody good job you did there!”

Briar put his hand on his fellow officer’s shoulder. “Oi, ease off. The lackey’s not worth your breath.”

“Like hell he is!” Davin retorted, brushing Briar’s hand away. He lifted his mask and placed it above his face. “Shit-for-brains over here thinks tha-”

Gary yelled. “And stop calling me that! I have a name, you know. It’s-”

“I know what your sodding name is, you fuck!” Davin yelled back. “I just figured a better name for someone like you! For all we know, you’re one of the bastards that started this whole mess and wanted to kill everyone!”

Gary clenched his fists as Masterson bellowed, “That’s bollocks! Both of you sto-”

“No! I’m not one of your military sheep! Fuck off!” Davin’s response caught nearly everyone off guard. “I know we’re all thinking it! Who’s to say he’s not in league with Clamely? You expect me to stick to someone who’d throw his friends into the fire, you can-”

Davin never saw it coming, as Gary leapt across the table and delivered a solid punch to the officer’s face, knocking him off his feet and into the wall behind. As Davin shakily got onto his feet, he attempted to lunge towards the scientist, but was held back by Schneider and Lewis. Gary was also being held back, but by Masterson and Wilkes. Powers and Briar looked at each other, silently agreeing that this debacle wasn’t worth their time. “You don’t know a fucking thing about me!” Gary cursed. “A lot of my friends died here, don’t you ever accuse me of sending them to their deaths!”

Davin attempted to wrestle himself free. “What happened, did he pay you to do all of this? I wouldn’t be surprised!”

Masterson decided this had gone on long enough. “Both of you-”

“Quiet!” a piercing voice shouted. Everyone looked in shock at Fluttershy, who looked unusually angry. “You both should be ashamed of yourselves! Arguing and fighting like this. How is this going to help anypony?” She turned to Davin. “Whatever mean thing it is you’re calling Gary, he obviously doesn’t like it, so stop calling him that! Accusing him of setting his friends up for death, too? I can’t believe you’d be so mean! He’s been through so much lately, been nothing but nice to us, and you’re being nothing but a big bully to him!” Then she looked at Gary. “And you, I’m disappointed in you! It’s okay to be angry at somepony, but that doesn’t give you the right to hit them! If Davin makes you angry, you talk to somepony who can deal with the problem, not make things worse for the two of you!” She paused to take a breath. “Now I want you both to apologize for your behavior.”

Gary protested, “But-”

“Don’t you ‘but’ me, mister! Now apologize!”

Everyone stared in shock at Fluttershy’s new attitude. All except Powers, who also stood back and nodded in silent support. Pinkie Pie began to hop without notice.

Reluctantly, Gary was the first to speak. “I’m sorry for hitting you.”

Davin looked off to the side, staring at the wall. That was when Fluttershy said, “Now it’s your turn.”

With a sigh, Davin looked at Gary and mumbled something nopony could pick up.

“We can’t hear you,” Rainbow Dash taunted as she appeared before Davin’s line of sight with a small grin on her face.

“I’m sorry for calling you shit-for-brains... on numerous occasions.”

“And?”

“... and for saying you killed your friends.”

Both men looked at each other for an uncomfortable moment. “Can we go now?” they both asked at the same time.

Fluttershy looked at Gary and Davin. “Yes, but I’ll be keeping an eye on you two. Please try to be friendlier, for everypony’s sake.” She then accepted a high hoof from Rainbow Dash.

Davin shook himself free from both soldiers, while Gary was released from Wilkes’ and Masterson’s grasp. Briar walked next to his fellow officer, but before he could say anything, Davin uttered, “Not. A. Word.” His attention was then caught by Pinkie Pie, who was still hopping in place. “Why... why are you jumping?” he asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” the party pony replied.

“No, not really.”

“Maybe she’s got tourettes,” Briar suggested.

Pinkie Pie laughed. “No, silly! I thought that the beeping noise was pretty cool, and then I started to come up with a jam to go along with-”

“‘Beeping noise’?” Twilight asked with a piqued interest, bringing Rarity along. “What are you talking about?”

“The one that started up just a few seconds ago!”

The immediate group quieted down before Rarity spoke up. “Wait... she’s right. I hear that beep too.”

Twilight looked around to see everyone in their own separate discussions. “Everypony, please be quiet for a second!” Soon, the room was quiet, and only then could she hear it. Just as Pinkie said, it was a collection of beeps spaced a little more than a second from each other. “That noise, it’s coming from that corner. What’s over there?” she asked, pointing her hoof to the back-right section of the office.

Wilkes was closest to the noise, so he looked around and listened intently until he tracked the noise to the trash bin. He picked the object up and noticed it was rather heavy for the few papers within. Then it hit him. He hoped that it was just a coincidence. He started to dig through the trash while he hoped that it was a watch or a timer and certainly not that. As he got closer to the bottom, he started to wonder how he didn’t catch it sooner. The way the room was perfectly set up. All the information they needed was practically handed to them on a silver platter. But maybe this time would be different. Maybe he would find something trivial at the bottom and everyone would have a good laugh about this. Then he found the pipe bomb strapped to the bottom of the bin. Judging from the automated timer, everyone had about eleven seconds left.

He turned the bin upside down and slammed it on the floor. “Bomb! Get out now!” Nearly everyone stood frozen in shock for an instant before bolting out of the room. Masterson, Wilkes, and Rainbow Dash worked to usher everyone safely outside, lest they get crammed in the doorway and die. When everyone was outside of the office and away from immediate danger, the three remaining squad members retreated. Wilkes was at the rear of the three and once he was outside, stopped to shut the door. The door slammed shut when the bomb detonated, sending debris into Wilkes and launching him backwards.

Everyone stopped running and turned around. They saw the security guard lying on the floor with debris covering his body. “Wilkes!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew back to check on him. “Are you okay? C’mon, say something!” The group ran back to their downed comrade and started to clear the door fragments off his body when be began coughing. The speedster heaved a sigh of relief. “He’s alive, thank Celestia!”

Wilkes blearily looked at the people and ponies standing in a rough semicircle around him. “Is... is everyone alright?”

“We all got away in time, but what about you?” Rainbow had then moved every large door chunk away, revealing no visible harm to the security guard. “You look fine, but...”

“The armor took most of the blow,” Wilkes grunted. He slowly sat up. “My right side’s a bit sore, but that’s hopefully the worst of it.”
“That’s a relief,” Twilight sighed. “Good job, Pinkie Pie.”
This made Pinkie stop hopping in place. “Why me?”
“If you hadn’t first heard that ticking noise, we’d all be done for.”

Nearly everyone was silent, letting that fact sink in. Davin eventually spoke up. “If Clamely’s got any other traps lying around, there’s no telling how prepared he is for us. Let’s just get out of here and teleport back.”

Twilight shook her head. “It won’t be that easy; I’ll need a few minutes to gather the magic I need. Teleporting all of us here took a good amount of my magic to pull off. I need to make sure nopony gets left behind this time.”

Briar threw his arms in the air. “Well, this would’ve been good to tell us before we walked into the dragon’s den!”

“It’s not going to take us that long!”

Rarity loudly cleared her throat, getting everyone’s attention. “If Twilight says we need to leave, then we need to leave. There’s no point in debating the matter.”

“Then are we just going to keep coming back here again and again?” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “Nothing’s gonna change unless we shut this place down. How are we gonna do anything if this place is still up and running?”

“She’s got a point,” Schneider agreed. “We leave now and nothing will have been accomplished.”

“Not true, we have the specimen documents. That’s at least a start and can give us some insight on Horzine’s next move,” Masterson countered.

“All that aside, we’re going to be busy for quite some time,” Briar added as he turned to look at Gary, “isn’t that right?”

“Why are you looking at me?” the scientist asked.

“Because I know what you’re keeping from us.” Everyone looked at Briar in confusion. “If you’re not going to say it, then I will.”

Schneider turned around, shaking his head and mentally groaning as he expected another pointless argument to take place. At that moment, he saw it. A shadow. It was creeping along the floor, and it couldn’t have been a meter or two away from Rarity. His instinct took over as he un-holstered his Handcannon and fired. Rarity and Fluttershy shrieked as everyone whipped around to see a stalker stumble before falling to the floor.

“W-what just happened?!” Rarity stuttered. “What is this?!” she quaked as she rubbed her hooves over the blood splattered onto her coat.

The ponies immediately went to calm their friends, except for Twilight, who turned to the Private. “How did you know that specimen was there?”

“I... I saw the shadow move on the floor, and I just...” he stammered. “I had to do something.”

Twilight looked back at her friends. That was too close. We’re lucky Private Schneider happened to see that shadow, otherwise we’d—” Her eyes grew wide and she turned to the remains of Clamely’s office. “We need to leave... now!”

“We know that already,” Davin replied. “What’s the rush?”

“The explosion! It shook this entire complex, and I wouldn’t be surprised if every specimen in the immediate area heard it. We’ll be completely overwhelmed if we don’t hurry!”

Lewis started to step towards the end of the hall. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get out of here!” The Corporal led the pack as everyone ran out of the hall. As soon as everyone was out, however, three clots and two Gorefasts were there to greet them. Lewis quickly un-holstered his Bullpup and fired, but his aim was rushed, and missed nearly every shot. Behind him was Briar, who readied his shotgun and decapitated two clots with one shell. One of the Gorefasts swung its blade at Applejack, but she dodged the blade and kicked the specimen into the wall, giving Schneider enough time to approach and fire his Handcannon from point blank range, painting the wall with the clot’s brains.

A clot nearly caught the Private off guard, but Rainbow Dash barreled into the specimen, making it roll on the floor several times before trying to stand back up. It never did, however, as Powers rushed forward and stomped his boot onto the clot’s head, caving in its skull with minimal effort. The last Gorefast attacked Gary, who fumbled his pistol as he fired off three shots, only one of which did any damage. He began to backpedal, but felt his back hit the wall. As Gary put up his arms to instinctively protect himself, several bullets from Davin’s AK-47 rang out and grated the specimen before it fell to the floor.

“Keep moving!” Masterson yelled. Everyone was nearing the office they arrived in when Schneider ran to the left. “What are you doing, Private?” the Lieutenant yelled.

“Twilight’s magic will take time to charge, right?” Schneider asked. “If we get to the first floor before any other zombies reach us, we might have a chance of making it out of here!”

Masterson stated, “Negative. If we run downstairs and find ourselves face to face with a horde of those things, we’ll have wasted time that could’ve been used getting us out of here! We’ll have to hold this position while Twilight gets ready, understand?”

Though there was a tint of dissent itching to leave the Private’s mouth, Schneider swallowed it down and barked, “Yes sir.”

Being back in the office, Twilight got another look out the window. To her relief, the outside yard had yet to become crawling with specimens. “If I get started now, I should be able to gather enough magic before it’s too late.”

“Then get to it!” Masterson replied as he began to set up a defensive perimeter.

In the meantime, Applejack moved to the window and looked out front, then to Twilight, then to the everyone else, who was ready for battle. She suddenly began to piece together an idea that quickly formed in her head. “Twilight, wait!” she chirped as she gently shook her friend out of her trance. “Ah’ve got an idea! Ya said ya need time ta zap us all outta here, right?” Twilight, though appearing agitated, nodded, which dragged a small smile out of the farmpony. “What about a way out that don’t need no teleportin’?”

Twilight raised a brow. “What are you talking about?”

“A slide! You make one of ‘em, we can git everypony on outta here, and ya don’t need to blow all’a yer magic fer it!”

This made the librarian’s eyes light up. “Of course! It’s such a practical solution.” After a moment’s concentration, she used her magic to create a transparent slide that was clamped onto the window frame. “Everypony gather in here! We’re heading out!”

The news attracted everyone inside the shambled office space, while Briar, Wilkes, and Powers attentively stood watch outside the door, taking down any approaching threats. “I can’t keep the slide up if I go on it,” Twilight informed everyone, “so I’ll head out last; everypony else, go!”

One by one, the humans began to slide their way to safety. During a pause in the gunfire, Wilkes got away from the action and took his turn. Briar and Powers stepped back into the office, standing a toppled bookcase before pushing it in front of the door. The Police Constable took his turn sliding down first. Powers silently urged Fluttershy to go first, who helped Rarity along as they both went down. Powers then took off after them. There was suddenly pounding at the barricade. Twilight began to sweat, but wouldn’t allow herself to falter. “You girls go next,” she stated to her remaining friends. Pinkie Pie and Applejack looked at each other before nodding and sliding towards the awaiting group. “Rainbow, get going!” the librarian groaned.

“No,” Rainbow Dash responded. “You look exhausted, Twi. Your magic’s nearly shot, right? I’ll carry you down.”

Twilight stared at the distance from the floor to the ground, her breathing slightly quickening. “A-are you sure you can?” There was a loud slam against the bookcase, momentarily interrupting both ponies.

“I’ve carried Rarity and the Wonderbolts on my back before, Twilight, don’t worry.”

“I’m talking about your Element!” Twilight clarified. “If you black out and we’re in the air...”

Rainbow looked down to everyone then back to Twilight. She took a deep breath and said, “I know I can. I only used my Element once, early this morning.”

“Are you—”

“I don’t care how we do it, but we’re both going back down together!” She lowered herself into takeoff position. “Do you trust me?”

There was another loud slam, forcing out any doubts forming in Twilight’s mind. She cooled off her horn. “Yes, I do.”

“Climb on, quick!” Rainbow commanded. If her friend’s grip around her neck become vice-like, it wasn’t made apparent. As Rainbow took several steps back to prepare her launch, she could feel Twilight trembling on her back. “Are you ready?” When she noticed the librarian nod quickly, she galloped before taking off into the sky. With the added weight their descent was faster than Rainbow had anticipated, but it was nothing she couldn’t correct, as she gently touched down on the ground. “Okay, you can let go now,” Rainbow croaked.

When Twilight finally opened her eyes, she noticed Rainbow’s face turning a darker shade of blue than usual. Upon realization, she quickly let go and got off of the speedster, who started coughing as air re-filled her lungs. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that...” Twilight continued to apologize, but Rainbow chuckled and shrugged.

“Don’t worry, we’re all fine and that’s what matters.”

Suddenly, the sound of smashed wood came from above. Masterson insisted, “Won’t mean a thing if we stay here. Time to get running!” Everybody quickly ran away.

Rainbow flew right next to the Lieutenant. “So where do we go now? Should we head back to the house from before?”

“Negative. Rarity’s blind, so navigation’s useless. We’ve got to find shelter elsewhere. Besides, Clamely could be waiting for us at the house.”

“Waiting for us? What makes you say that?”

“I’ll talk about it later, but let’s focus on getting out of here for now.”

There was no clear idea where anyone was headed. They continued to run through the alleys and streets, hoping for some sort of sign when Masterson stopped dead in his tracks, causing everyone behind him to skid to a halt.

“What’s... what’s wrong?” Lewis gasped.

“Here,” was all that Masterson replied as he started walking towards a relatively intact multi-story car park before them.

“Are you’re sure about this?” Gary asked.

Masterson nodded his head. “If we stay here, there aren’t many ways the zombies can follow us, and we’ll be at a high enough elevation to see any danger coming.”

“Unless there are stalkers,” Twilight added.

“... Right, that too. Well, no use standing about. Thin red line, right here.” While the humans began walking in, the ponies looked at each other, perplexed expressions on all of their faces. Masterson quickly caught on. “It means we’re taking shelter here.”

Everypony gave a unanimous, “Oh,” and followed the humans inside the structure. The car park had concrete support beams scattered throughout the level. Cars were scattered about the blacktop area, some totalled, others ransacked and abandoned. The structure itself, however, seemed to have suffered no damage, which pleased Masterson greatly. After finding a stairwell at the back end of the lot, everyone traveled their way up to the third level, scanning the area for any undesirables. No threats were found, leaving the group more at ease.

Wilkes asked, “Oi, Twilight. Think you can whip up a barricade at the entrance so nothing comes up here?”

“We’d need a few barricades, actually,” Masterson piped up. “These sorts of parks have more than one way up and down. If we’re staying here, we’re going to need something to block the doors.”

Though nearly inaudible, the Lieutenant heard Davin mutter, “Just box us in, why don’t you?”

“That reminds me, before we go any further, I need to know where you two stand,” Masterson stated, looking at both of the officers.

“What are you going on about?” Briar asked.

“Before we went into the offices, I told you two that if you went along with us, you could decide after if you wanted to stay or not,” Masterson reminded them. “If I’m going to trust you two, I need to know you’re supporting us, one-hundred percent.”

Davin started to chuckle. “Trust, eh? That’s rich, coming from you.”

“What are you talking about?”

The Police Sergeant pulled out a file from underneath his coat. “Know what this is?”

Masterson started to pale.

“What is that?” Twilight asked.

Davin stared at Masterson. “Cat got your tongue?” After several eyes darted back and forth, Davin revealed, “This is all the information gathered from your stay at Horzine.”

"Wait, what? What the hay are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Exactly what I said. If you don't believe me, then read these files," Davin responded, holding out the folder to any curious eyes.

For a moment, nothing happened, but Wilkes was the first to accept the folder. He leisurely scanned the folders contents until something seemed to catch his eye, then it happened again and again. "Impossible," he uttered. "Project: Archangel was you?!"

"Archangel?" Gary repeated. "I thought that was just a rumor."

"Not for security, Clamely wouldn't tell us what exactly what we were dealing with, but he'd only say that it was a classified experiment to be guarded it with our lives."

"So... you're really not human?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Then what are you?"

"Yes, please, tell us what you are," Davin sneered. "If you're going to talk about trust so much, then it's time you came clean."

As all eyes began to bore into Masterson's perception, he let out a sigh. "I'd hoped we could've avoided this, but... it's true. I'm human in sense of appearance, but I wasn't born the way everyone else was. I was created in... in the Horzine laboratories."

Rarity gasped. "So... you're a..."

"Yes... I'm a Horzine specimen. One of those zombies."

Applejack started to shake her head. "No... but how? Ya don't look anythin' like those things!"

"I was created after the line of specimens you see now. I should've looked more like those things, but I guess Horzine got lucky when they made me."

"So spill it," Briar demanded. "Tell us why we shouldn't off you like the hundreds of other specimens running around town."

"Because you need me," Masterson flatly replied. "If I really worked for Horzine, I'd have killed you all before you even knew what was going on."

After gulping, Rainbow Dash asked, "I don't get it. If you're a Horzine specimen, what's your story?"

Masterson took a seat, subtly insisting that everyone else do the same. "The earliest thing I remember is Clamely looking down on me as I tried to move on an operating table. Seems I have an advanced rate of learning, so I breezed through a vast majority of my general education. When I was deemed 'ready', they fed me information: my name, where I went to school, my high school crushes, everything. I was taught the information so much that I could repeat it forwards and backwards.

"Then military life began; Every day was the same: become blindfolded on the way from the lab to the army base, train relentlessly for hours, then get shipped back to the laboratories so Horzine could assess what I learned that day. I quickly rose through the ranks, both thanks to my natural talent and some of Horzine's influence, I suspect."

"Why would anypony want to listen to an organization as terrible as Horzine?" Twilight asked.

"Parliament contracted our laboratories to conduct these experiments," Gary answered. "It's not unlikely that Horzine could have had some influence over Masterson's stay in the army."

"Parley-what now?" Applejack asked.

"Like a government." He received confused looks in response. "Oh, right, you don’t know the lingo. It's the sort of organization we use to establish law and order here."

After the brief political lesson, Masterson continued. "Things progressed as smoothly for me as they could, I suppose. I was forbidden from speaking to any of the other soldiers unless spoken to first, so as to avoid confusion with my lack of social skills. The people under my command listened to my commands without question, so things kept moving smoothly."

"So what changed all of that?" Schneider asked. "You could’ve been a General. What happened?"

Masterson started to rub his hands together. "One day I came back from my training and started to hear talk of how I was next in line to be cloned. It was my reward, they told me. I had no idea what was in store, so the procedure began. I was stuck with needles, probes, and scanners. Then they flipped a switch, and the procedure began. The pain was... indescribable. I began to writhe around, struggling against the straps I was restrained with. When it was over, I struggled to breathe for quite some time. When I regained control of my senses, I looked to my left, expecting to see a replica of myself, but instead saw the shell of a man. It looked so outlandish, so fragile; it was as if this twin of mine had been ripped straight from the womb."

“What happened next?” Fluttershy cautiously asked.

Just as the Lieutenant was about to answer, all soldiers held their ears in pain as a booming voice came out of their headsets. “As entertaining as your backstory is,” The Trader remarked, “my employers aren’t supplying you with our weapons so you can gob on all day.”

Briar yelled, “Fucking bitch nearly blew my ears out! Can’t you give us a warning before you do that?”

After recovering, Lewis looked to his right to see the concerned looks of each pony staring in worry at the soldiers. “Be glad you don’t have to suffer through this.”

“I’ll think about that warning,” The Trader answered, “but there are more pressing matters to attend to. Tell me, how many of you, aside from Mr. Glover, are familiar with Saint Filth’s General Hospital?”

A few of the soldiers took a quick moment to look at Gary, who flinched on sight. “I’m... somewhat aware of the place,” Schneider stated.

“The name certainly speaks for itself, believe me,” Davin added with a chuckle.

“What of it?” Masterson flatly asked.

“There’s a survivor complex not too far from the hospital,” The Trader informed them. “Some military folk are holed up there. However, the specimens seem to be converging on that location, so they’re getting hit pretty hard. You lot mentioned you wanted to help the people, and here’s your golden opportunity. It’s not too far from the Offices, so heading back shouldn’t be a problem.”

“A survivor complex?” Lewis repeated, attracting everypony’s attention.

“Does somepony need our help?” Twilight asked.

“You can explain to them later,” The Trader intervened. “I know you lot have gone through hell while achieving close to nothing, so I’ll give you a chance for a breather. Go on ahead and ask those questions you’ve all been itching to ask.”

Briar asked, “Such as?”

“Oh, you know. Asking Mr. Glover for the reason as to why nearly all of the specimens are going to Saint Filth’s Hospital, and asking Mr. Davin about the second file he took from the office.” There was a click before communication ended.

The humans slowly turned to look at the two men in question, causing the ponies to look around aimlessly. “So who’s going to go first?” Masterson stated.

“What about you?” Davin inquired. “We still don’t know your full story!”

The Trader interrupted the men once again, but this time there was a chime that rang once through everyone’s headset. “There’s your warning, hopefully you’ll stop whining now. And no, there’s no time for your story. Now make with the small talk, you’ve got places to be, people.” Another chime later, and her voice was cut off again.

Davin and Gary looked at each other for a moment. The Police Sergeant jerked his head towards everyone else, causing Gary to shake his head. “You first,” Davin insisted.

“Why me?”

“Because... just fucking go!”

After shaking his head, Gary crossed his arms and began to pace. “Well, you see... um... The science team rationalized that in order to get the specimens we need, we’d require human DNA, which isn’t exactly easy to find. This whole operation was supposed to be under the rug... and... well... Saint Filth’s was a short walk from Horzine, so-” His explanation was interrupted by groans of disappointment.

Schneider yelled, “Are you kidding me? Did those people even know that their DNA was being swiped?”

“It-it’s not that bad!” Gary defended as he inched away and held up his arms. “Besides... they were terminal!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Briar responded. “You’re seriously one of the worst people I’ve had the misfortune of meeting, do you know that? Those people don’t even know they’re zombie farms, do they?”

Gary huffed. “First of all, I don’t know how you all got the idea they’re zombies. They’re just specimens. The two aren’t even remotely alike!”

“Do the specimens eat human flesh?”

“W-well, yes.”

“Then they’re zombies! Tom-ay-to, tom-ah-to.”

Gary threw his arms up. “Okay, fine, moving on! What do you have to say for yourself, hm?” he demanded, looking at Davin.

The officer put his hands in his pockets. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“What are you talking about?”

He paused to remove the second folder from underneath his vest. “Tell me something... oh, and this question is posed to everyone, by the way.” Davin waited until he had everyone’s attention. “Tell me... what’s worse than one Horzine facility?”

Immediately, Twilight’s eyes grew wide as her ears drooped. Her lips trembled as she weakly answered, “T... two facilities?”

Davin shook his head. “So close... try three.” Looks of shock registered all around. “Best part is where they’re all located. We’ve had the pleasure of visiting the first facility here in London. The second facility is hidden away in the Wyre Forest in Shropshire. Then the third... Plymouth.”

“Is that... far away?” Applejack managed to ask.

Masterson answered, “It’ll take at least a week or so to travel to Shropshire on foot, if we’re lucky. Even longer from there to Plymouth. Then an even longer time back here.”

Davin looked at Gary, who kept his shocked expression as he read the files. Eventually, he asked, “You really didn’t know, did you?”

Rarity seemed to slump. “We’re not going back home for a long time, are we?”

Everyone’s mood visibly dipped, except for Rainbow Dash, who looked at everyone. Her teeth gritted as she stomped a hoof and shouted, “No! We’re not doing this!”

“Rainbow?!” Twilight exclaimed in shock. “But we can’t just leave the humans like this!”

The speedster tilted her head to the side before making her realization. “Oh! Uh, well yeah, of course we’re going to help fight and all that. I’m talking about this whole moping thing, that’s not going to happen!” She began to walk around as she continued. “Sure, we all hoped that this would be over in a jiffy, but we can’t give up just because of it. Those humans at the hospital? They’re counting on us; all of us! If for nopony else, we have to do this for them!”

“Rainbow’s right!” Applejack added. “Better we take this in stride than think o’ what could’a been.”

Within moments, the rest of the ponies agreed and banded together under their new resolve.

At that instant, the humans heard another chime in their earpieces. “Now why can’t any of you get along that well, huh?” The Trader sneered. “All I hear is pissing and moaning, get your act together!”

Briar groaned. “Do you want something?”

“Now that everything’s on the table, it’s time that you get moving. Same rules as last time, boys. I’ll be expecting you.”

After one more chime, Masterson could hear beeping in his vest pocket. He pulled out the navigator to see another arrow on the screen. Above that was a timer actively counting down from twenty minutes. “Alright, everyone, we’re on a time crunch. Let’s gather ourselves up and-”

“Wait!” Rarity exclaimed. “What am I supposed to do? I still can’t see!”

Masterson began to quickly rub his chin. He brought his hands to his face as he grew lost in thought. Suddenly, he clapped his hands. “Got it. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Powers, Schneider, you’re all with me. Everyone else, hold the fort here, got it?”

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow Dash shouted. “There’s no way in Tartarus I’m leaving my friends behind. We were all in the same place earlier, but now you just expect me to up and run off, leaving Rarity behind?”

“We really don’t have the time for this, Rainbow! She’s not being left behind, she’s in good hands.”

“But-”

Schneider chimed in, “What about when Applejack and Wilkes went on guard duty? It was just the two of them being the only line of defense. How is this any different?”

Rainbow was at a loss for words, simply looking away as she grimaced.

“It’s okay, Rainbow,” Twilight commented. “Truth be told, I don’t think I’m in any condition to go fight right now. I’m not exactly an athlete, and using so much of my magic is really putting a strain on me.”

“Please listen, Rainbow,” Masterson pleaded. “Your skill makes you a heavy contender against the specimens. Where we’re going, we’ll need all the offense we can get.” Just as Rainbow opened her mouth to object, the Lieutenant continued. “Applejack’s as much of a heavy hitter as you are, but we’ll need some proper defense if we’re leaving anyone here. I can’t afford to spread ourselves too thin, which is why this is the best we can do.”

“So why are Briar and I getting stiffed?” Davin asked. “Eager to get rid of us, now that I exposed you?”

“It has nothing to do with that!” Masterson quickly parried. “I still haven’t heard an answer from either of you, and I’m not about to run into battle with two men who continue to doubt my integrity. I can’t leave you two alone either, in case you run off, and Wilkes hasn’t slept a wink, which is why I’m leaving Lewis and Gary here.”

“And you honestly think Gary is capable?”

“He survived in the heart of Horzine for nearly eight hours on his own, and all he had on him was an axe. I think he’s more than capable.”

Davin shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head before walking a few paces away.

Masterson turned back to Rainbow Dash. “I’m sorry, but I need you to accept this as how things are. Your loyalty is commendable, Rainbow, but there comes a time when you’re going to have to let go of your friends. Now are you in or out? We’re running out of time!”

After a moment’s contemplation, Rainbow nodded her head.

Masterson’s group quickly assembled themselves, saying goodbye to each other before heading to the stairwell at the back of the park. Every able bodied member followed after, beginning construction of the barricades. Applejack walked over to Twilight, who seemed distressed. “Ya okay, sugarcube?”

Twilight sighed. “Do... do you think they’ll really be alright?” she muttered.

With a snort, Applejack tilted her hat back as she flashed a confident grin. “Rainbow’s as hot-headed as a bull in Chineigh, and ah doubt she’d let anypony near those she holds close to her heart. They’ll be fine.”

“But... that’s a common misconception. Bulls don’t hate the color red, they—”

“What ah’m tryin’ t’say, Twilight, is don’t worry. Believe in ‘em. Ah’m sure they’ll come back pleased as punch!”

The librarian got up and stood at the floor’s edge, seeing the small forms of her friends run alongside the humans as they left for the hospital. She took a deep breath, allowing a small smile to surface. “You’re right, Applejack, They’ll be okay.”

Author's Note

I now realize that the title for this chapter could be a good thing to call this space of time that it took. Ahahaha...hahaha...haha...ha......