Flynn’s friends hadn’t been lying to him when they said the new Ponypads were the best they’d ever made. Maybe not as nice as the augmented reality headsets, but… impressive nonetheless. He marveled at the immersive sound-projection, which seemed to fill the entire room when he was playing alone, but got quiet whenever he looked away or someone else came in. Even more impressive was the passive 3D, like Nintendo’s old handhelds but far more effective. The effect was so natural he hadn’t even noticed he was seeing it until he’d been playing for hours.
Gina introduced him to the other privateers of the Broken Chain, each of whom had suffered atrocities at the hooves of Equestria or its tyrants. Gina herself had scars and a sightless eye she attributed to their abuses—many others were even worse off. A small part of Flynn’s memory balked at the image of Equestria these privateers painted. Nothing they said even resembled the place he’d once known, back when Celestia had tricked him into being her friend.
Ultimately, he didn’t care. Equestria deserved every bad thing the privateers had to say and more. He would fit right in.
“So, what do you all do?” he’d asked, when they had finished with introductions, armed him with his own cutlass and old-fashioned blunderbuss, and they’d moved to the front of the ship. There he could look over the edge, at the barren land zooming past below them. This was the Badlands, the southern border of Equestria. At least it was in this shard.
“Important work,” Gina said, as though daring him to question her. “We help people get out from under their hooves.” She glared off the front of the ship, up north. Towards Equestria. “Equestria is always finding new ways to grind people down. We get them out, get them to safety. A few stick around. Like you, Vector?”
“Yes,” he agreed, nodding. “I didn’t know it was even possible to get out of Equestria. I kinda thought the world was flat, and if you went too far you’d fall off the side.”
A male griffon twice his size, who had introduced himself only as “Talon”, laughed. “Typical pony lies,” he said. “They fill your mind; your brain goes soft. Soft, weak. Not like us.”
“So, what’s out there?” He turned away from Equestria, pacing back towards the stern. “If we get away from Equestria, from her…”
“Everything else,” Gina said, like she was talking to a child. “The planet’s big, Vector. Equestria isn’t the only part. It isn’t even the biggest part. Down there… we’re helping to set up our own country. Made up of everyone who won’t live under Celestia’s tyranny.” The longer she kept speaking, the prouder she sounded. “Not just birds! The ones living there are like us up here! Griffons, minotaurs, dragons… even a pony or two.”
“Quite a few ponies,” someone else said. A burly minotaur named “Hotcakes.” “Lots of aliens got tricked into coming to her. Then they realized how much they hated her, and…” He shrugged. “They needed a way out. That’s us. No ship is better at getting ponies out than the Broken Chain.”
Flynn’s mouth fell open as he considered the implications of what he was hearing. “Y-you… said…”
“Aliens?” They’d reached the stern of the ship, on the raised deck with the helm, Captain Blackbeak, and all their navigation equipment. Still no sign of what kept the airship in the air, but that was Equestria. “Like…”
“From the Outer Realm,” Gina said. “Maybe you’ve heard of them? Strange monsters… like minotaurs, only naked. They get tricked into making a deal with the tyrant, and then…” she shook her claws a little, rattling the heavy iron of the chains against each other. “Suddenly they look like you and they’re her slaves.
“Oh, the ponies pretend to love them back… but it’s all a lie. They’re all in on it, all working for her. Even though she makes things comfortable for them, they’re really locked in her box.” She stopped, turning back to face him. “You ever meet a pony like that, Vector?”
“Yeah,” he whispered. “Maybe a few.”
“Good!” Blackbeak said, making his way over and resting one claw on his shoulder. In true privateer fashion, his other claw had been replaced with a peg-leg. “We’re making good time for Dodge Junction. Our friends up in captivity have been helping the latest group of slaves make their way towards the border. We’ll fly through town, steal the train they’re riding, and none of them will know it wasn’t just robbery.” He grinned. “You ever rob a train?”
“No,” Flynn said. “But it sounds awesome.”
“Good.” Blackbeak’s smile got wider. “Because you’re a pony. You’ll have to use that—earn your keep aboard my ship.”
“Sure.” Flynn nodded, and his window into the virtual world seemed to nod up and down as well. Not fast enough that it was nauseating to look at. It was just the right speed. “They’ll just let us fly right in and do it?”
“No Wonderbolts in Dodge Junction,” Gina said. “We’ve got friends there, making sure. By the time ponies hear about us, we’ll already be gone. They never follow us much past the border. That’s where the world ends, remember?”
He nodded. He hadn’t gotten that idea from nowhere. Even in the old Equestria he’d known, ponies thought that. Or something like it. It wasn’t that the world ended with Equestria, rather that the idea of a world beyond Equestria was difficult to conceive of. But he was human, and humans were too smart to fall into intellectual tricks. Celestia couldn’t fool him.
The plan was simple, really. Vector would fly into town, get aboard the train, then find his way to the car holding the slaves. From there all he had to do was wait until the train got far enough from town, then disengage the locks on both sides of the car. Once he started, the Broken Chain would fly in with reinforcements, since there were bound to be guards aboard.
He was a little reluctant to leave his new friends behind—if he let them get out of his sight, Celestia might realize she’d made a mistake by letting him get to know them, and take him away.
But how could he refuse? They were saving humans from Celestia! Was he supposed to just leave them trapped in Equestria forever? True, there was nothing the privateers could do to get the former humans back out of Celestia’s world. Everyone knew that was impossible. But at least they could help them get to a part of it she didn’t rule.
Dodge Junction wasn’t a part of Equestria he’d ever visited. Even so, it looked much like he remembered. Earth ponies, subdued colors, old-fashioned construction. Exactly the sort of old-western setting to stage a heist.
He bought a ticket for the passenger car of the express, and boarded without the guards giving him a second look. Flynn didn’t remember so many guards… but it makes sense. Celestia has been tricking so many people I’m probably not the only one who hates her. She has to put soldiers out to stay in control, just like bad people in the real world did. It made sense.
The train left Dodge Junction right on schedule, and Flynn made his way towards the front of the train—as though he were going to use the facilities. But when nopony was looking, he slipped out into the mail car instead.
There were half a dozen sorter-ponies hard at work inside, going through packages and letters and scrolls. Most didn’t even look up from their work as his character walked confidently down the center.
It was nice to be able to walk again.
At the end of the mail car was a gruff-looking pony with a black mane and huge curly mustache, who watched him coming with annoyance and suspicion. “Who are you?” he asked, as soon as he was close enough to shout. “You’re not one of mine. Get back to the passenger car.”
Flynn played dumb, wandering forward as though he were a lost passenger. At least until he got close, and punched the stallion in the face.
The pony didn’t see it coming. He crumpled, but not before one of the workers looked over. She screamed, pointing with one hoof.
The mail car descended into chaos. But Flynn was prepared for that—he reached into his coat, and pulled out the large smoke-bomb he’d brought, held the fuse towards the gas-lamp, then tossed it behind him.
Thick white smoke filled the car, along with what he assumed was a noxious, horrible odor. He could only guess about that, based on the sounds of revulsion the ponies made before he slammed the door shut behind him, and jammed a piece of metal in the mechanism. They wouldn’t be getting out of there anytime soon.
He made his way into the next car, which was transporting cargo. Helmets, spears, and armor were arranged in sections here, freshly made and glittering. Like she’s making an army. On a whim, Flynn ditched his coat, tossing it back behind the shelves while he shrugged into some fresh armor.
He hadn’t played in ages, but it didn’t matter. His character seemed to know his intentions no matter what button he pushed. And it wasn’t playing for him—he stopped at one point, and his character stopped too, looking confused and overwhelmed by the situation.
But Flynn wasn’t overwhelmed, he was excited! He charged into the next car, eyes widening as he saw who it contained. A troop transport, with a dozen Royal Guards scattered about. Most were resting, but a few were watching the door he’d come through with concern.
“What’s going on, private?” one of them asked. “What’s all that screaming?”
“Robbers!” he shouted, pointing back with his spear as energetically as he could. “A dozen ponies are back there, robbing the passengers! I think they brought guns!”
Flynn was practically forgotten in the charge of ponies to get back and “help.”
Only the pony with the red plume on his helmet who had stopped to question him remained. “Why aren’t you coming?”
He reached into his armor, pulling out a blunderbuss. “Because I’m the one robbing the train.” He blasted the soldier right in the chest, where his armor was thickest. Even so, the force of the shot sent him flying into the far wall, smashing so hard he fell limply to the ground. There was a little blood, another first for Equestria.
He’ll be fine. Flynn tossed the gun aside, continuing forward out of the car. The next car in line was made of thick metal and had rusting bars over its windows. The slave car.
Flynn hopped the divider between cars, then smashed his hooves down on the linking mechanism. It didn’t budge right away, and his character started to struggle. Something was coming from back down the hall—apparently the soldiers had heard his gunshot. He began to struggle desperately with the lever, pushing with all his might.
Well, Vector did. If Flynn had really been there, he would’ve been doomed. He could barely lift ten pounds these days.
The door banged open, and a pair of royal guards looked up at him, shocked and angry. One threw his spear. Flynn ignored it, pressing on the controller as hard as he could. The train finally gave way with a satisfying screech of sparks, even as his character fell back, crying out in pain. The spear had gone through his wing.
Of course, Flynn didn’t feel anything—the tablet wasn’t that advanced, but the simulated scream was intense enough that he recoiled anyway. He’d never heard his own voice make a sound like that before. I will though. Soon. He had longer than Jose, maybe longer than Caroline. But not forever.
His character was tough, and he managed to pull the spear all the way through, tossing it aside. There was a little blood, not as much as he expected. That was good—Flynn wasn’t a fan of blood. The soldiers screamed at him as the front of the train left them behind, powerless to stop him. Flynn tossed the uniform aside, tearing the cloth from around the base and wrapping it around his wing. It wouldn’t stop the pain, but at least it would stop the bleeding.
That done, he pushed open the final door. Well, tried. It was locked, and he didn’t have a key.
A second later, something thumped on the train beside him. He turned, and wasn’t entirely surprised to see Gina standing there, grinning at him. “Hey.” She held a large gun in both claws, the biggest one he’d ever seen. Bigger than his character could’ve fired without getting thrown backward off the train. “Out of the way!”
He moved, and a second later the lock disappeared in an explosion of white light and gunpowder. The rifle went flying out of her grip, off into the void behind the train, but it didn’t matter. They had the doors open.
Flynn made his way in, looking around urgently. Exactly how bad was it going to be?
There were three cages on either side of the room, each one with a few ponies or other creatures inside. All were looking down, but brightened as Gina came in behind him. “It’s you!” someone called, he didn’t see who.
“Yeah.” She pointed. “Vector, get us unhooked from the other car! Any second…” there were several loud thumps on the roof, and the sound of griffons shouting. The privateers had arrived at last.
They weren’t stuck so badly from the front, and soon the car was starting to slow. The back half of the train was far in the distance, some of the guards running but not with any chance of catching up in time. Griffons had nearly finished running ropes as thick as his torso through the whole length of the car.
“Can we really lift it?” he asked Gina, where she was busy helping tie off one of the ropes. “Don’t they fill these with cement?”
“We lifted a whole bank once,” she answered, tying off the last of the lines. “Here, you do the honors. You lost blood for this.” She eyed his wound, which had soaked through the makeshift bandage already.
“Sure.” He reached forward and yanked twice on the rope with both hooves. He could never tell how ponies did things like that, but the rope moved. And clearly the ship above had the message, because there was a sudden, gut-wrenching jerk. Instead of rolling forward, the ground lurched out from under them. They kept swinging forward for a second, and he had to wrap his hooves around the bars, holding on desperately. That explained why Gina hadn’t opened the cages. They were rising fast, leaving the tracks and the angry ponies behind. Their mission was a success.
And so it went. Flynn didn’t put the Ponypad away after his requisite hour of play was over. Didn’t put it away until after his nurses came later that evening, to prepare him for bed. Wouldn’t have put it away then, if they hadn’t put it out of reach, on the top of his bookshelf.
Maybe there are some things worth doing in Equestria after all. Celestia was the stupidest evil overlord ever, putting him with people who were fighting her. Maybe she thought they would give him someone to talk to… well, they had done that, and more. We’re gonna beat you, Celestia. You don’t stand a chance.