//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13: Luna’s Plan in Motion / Entering the mind of Broly 
// Story: The Legend of Broly 
// by I-C-U-P 
//------------------------------//

In the battle-torn valley on the outskirts of Canterlot, the excitement had died down. As soon as Broly left with Celestia back to the castle, the large crowd of citizens started to disperse. Some even escorted back to their homes by the royal guard ponies. All the while a development occurred in the heart of the valley where the Mane Six, Spike, Starlight, Cadence, Shining Armor and Luna were. As soon as an idea formed in the mind of the blue Alicorn, she shared it with the group. The anthro ponies and dragon were initially surprised at the very idea, but it came with the promise of answers to all their questions about Broly. Since the Saiyan was either hesitant or refusing to answer their questions, it seemed that it was the best way of finding out for themselves.

After Luna left to assist with the crowd clearing, the group and a selection of the royal guards were left to clean up all the mess that was caused in the battle. One of the guards approached a body of one of the Pegasi that was killed by Turles. Prince Shining Armor joined his comrade while thinking about those who had fallen. It was a tragic loss.

“Be sure to let his family know. He had fought bravely to the end,” Shining Armor said to the stallion guard. Of which the latter silently nodded in agreement.

Not too far away from him, Princess Twilight, Starlight and a royal guard were standing among the fallen bodies of the aliens that made up the Turles Crusher Corps. Their task was to clear away the mess while the princess supervised the task. As Starlight picked up the broken remains of the wrist blaster that Rainbow Dash used, she turned to her friend in uncertainty.

“Hay Twilight, so what do you think of Luna’s plan?”

Twilight was silent in thought before responding.

“I don’t know. It… feels wrong to do it behind Broly’s back.”

She continued after looking down at the scouter in her hand. The same one that Turles gave her.

“But if this continues, if we encounter another invasion, we really need all the information we can get. And if this works, we could get a much better understanding of Broly. We can help him.”

Starlight could see a small smile on Twilight’s face. She truly was the Princess of Friendship if she’s perfectly willing to help someone like Broly. She then looked down at the scouter in Twilight’s hand.

“I take it that you’re keeping that?” She asked as she pointed at the device.

Twilight put the scouter on the side of her head before looking through the red screen. She then answered Starlight’s question.

“I am. This is advanced alien tech after all. I could also use this to check the status of the royal guard and help improve those who need to be stronger,” She said as she pressed the side button to activate the scouter.

As she looked over to the royal guard to check his power level, the Earth Pony lifted up on of the dismembered robotic arms of Cacao. As he walked away with it, one of the hidden compartments in the arm opened up. And a tiny green object dropped out of it and landed on a small piece of metal. Twilight instantly saw the object and walked towards it in curiosity.

“Huh?”

As she knelt down to take a closer look, Starlight joined her. Wondering what had caught the princess’s attention. As she looked over Twilight’s shoulder, she too saw the object and made a guess of what it was.

“What is that? It looks like some sort of seed.”

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a small green seed. Seeing its appearance made Twilight remember all the things that the Saiyan pirate said to her and her friends.

“Wait. Turles said that he wanted our world to grow the Tree of Might. And all trees… come from seeds.”

Both the eyes of Twilight and Starlight widened from realising one possibility. Their expressions showed complete horror.

“Wait! Could that be… the SEED of the Tree of Might!?” Starlight shrieked out. With Twilight thinking of the exact same thing.

As the two girls looked at the tiny seed, they were shocked to see that it was starting to move. Despite resting on a shard of metal, the seed acted as if it knew that it was near the soil beneath it. One of its roots started to grow as it tried to reach the nearby ground.

The magic casters knew exactly what was going to happen. If the seed so much as touches the ground, the Tree of Might will grow. And when it does, it will drain all life on the planet they live on. Not wanting another catastrophe to happen soon after their victory over the invaders, Twilight immediately sprang into action. Using her forcefield spell, the Alicorn encased the seed within the transparent purple barrier and levitated it off the ground. As soon as it was clear from any soil, Twilight brought it closer to her to inspect it. With no soil to feed upon, the root retreated back into the body of the seed. The princess letting out a sigh of relief.

Starlight too took a breath of relief as she stood beside Twilight.

“That was a close one. But what are you going to do with it?”

The very same question pondered around Twilight’s head as she let the seed rest in her left palm. Looking very carefully at it while thinking of what to do with it.

“I don’t know. But for now, it’s best if we keep it secure and away from the ground.” She said as she carefully slipped the seed into her pocket. She knew she had to put it in a much secure place once she returns to Ponyville.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Some time had passed and within one of the inner chambers of Canterlot castle, Celestia had successfully escorted Broly to one of the bed chambers without any issues.

As the white Alicorn stood there looking at the door that lead out of the room, her mind was full of thoughts. Already she could foresee that there would be problems. While some were from the Saiyan himself, most of the others were in fact were the citizens. They had seen the Saiyan in action. They saw what he was capable of. And furthermore, witnessing his power ascending to even greater heights when he transformed. While the citizens seemed to be grateful of his actions at first, the problems would lie in the questions they would ask around. While they had overheard that Broly was an alien from another world, some might get the wrong picture entirely. With the overwhelming might that not a single soul had ever seen before in the history of Equestria, Celestia feared that some of the ponies would see Broly as some sort of god. An entity sent from the heavens to punish those who dare threaten the innocent. It especially didn’t help from the fact that from a distance, Broly’s Super Saiyan form looked like an angelic being. His powerful golden aura certainly looked the part. It would end up with a portion of the ponies worshiping Broly, which would lead to even more problems.

Celestia hoped that the citizens would be sensible minded and see Broly as not a god, but a saviour. An alien that simply wanted to help.

As the Sun Princess looked over her shoulder, she could see Broly inspecting the large bedroom around him. From seeing his curious expression, he clearly was interested in his new surroundings. It was his calm demeanor that once more surprised her. She still found it hard to believe that the calm alien was the very same one who was incredibly violent when in battle. As Broly continued to look around the room, Celestia decided to make conversation.

“I… I hope that the bedroom is to your liking, Broly.”

“It’s fine. I like it.” Broly responded. His mind half absent as he turned his attention to the large bed.

As he walked over to the bed, he placed his hand on the mattress. His eyes widened from the comfort on his skin.

“So soft.”

Celestia was about to respond to what the Saiyan said. Finding it odd to see him act as though he had never seen a bed before. But only to remember that he was in his stone prison for a thousand years. She never imagined being frozen on the spot for a very long time would be comfortable in the slightest. But as Broly continued to feel out the bed, Celestia took a moment to look at the Saiyan’s waist. As she looked, she started to remember the conversation between Broly and Great Ape Turles. She even tried to imagine Broly with the missing appendage. She found the image of it rather odd. But that in turn was odd, considering that every pony and dragon had one.

“Umm… Broly.” Celestia said, successfully gaining the Saiyan’s attention as he turned to face her in curiosity. She continued.

“Is it true what you said earlier? Don’t you… have your tail?”

Rather than answering, Broly decided to show her. Moving his hand to the back of his waist, he started to move the top of his red sash. Celestia let out a surprised gasp as she quickly faced away in embarrassment. For a second, she thought that Broly pulled down his trousers. But as she hesitantly looked back, she saw that it wasn’t the case at all. Broly only moved down the back of his sash slightly. To her surprise, revealing a tiny brown stump at the bottom of his spine. Exactly where a tail was supposed to be.

Celestia stared at the tiny stump in shock. It was true. His tail really was cut off at one point.

“What… happened?” She asked him.

After a moment of thought, trying to remember exactly what had happened, Broly was able to piece together what had happened in his past.

“It was when… I was little. One night, I looked at a moon by accident. After I transformed…. I couldn’t control myself. I became a danger to my father and everything around me. Even myself. And after it was over, my father made the decision to cut off my tail.”

Celestia was stunned at Broly’s story. Not only he already had transformed into a Great Ape at an early age, but apparently had no control the form. Turles became the monster but was fully in control of his actions. She couldn’t comprehend the amount of devastation that would be brought by an out-of-control Great Ape. What’s more was the removal of the tail itself. While she had never seen a tail cut off before, she could only imagine that it would be incredibly painful.

Then as Broly put his sash back to where it was, he added more information.

“And without my tail, I no longer had access to my true power. But that never bothered me.”

“Your…true power?” Celestia asked with a shaky voice. Realising that if Broly had his tail, he would be much stronger than he already was. But it was the latter part of what he said that puzzled her.

“You… don’t mind it?” She asked, trying to figure out why Broly was ok to not have his tail. But then she remembered the battle with Turles. Once again amazed that even without his tail, Broly was far stronger. Furthermore, possessing a transformation that was even stronger than the Great Ape.

It was when the image of Broly in his transformed state entered Celestia’s mind. Compared to the Great Ape transformation performed by Turles, Broly’s form hardly changed at all. The only major change was a different hair style. Yet despite the minimal changes to his physical body, the power behind it was truly staggering. And he was already strong enough in his base form without a tail.

Despite feeling as though he wouldn’t answer the question, Celestia gained Broly’s attention by asking another question. A question that was tied with one of the very first questions she always wanted to ask him.

“Broly. That transformation of yours. Turles called it a… Super Saiyan. What exactly is it?”

After a moment of silent staring at the princess, Broly decided to answer the question to the best of his knowledge.

“The Super Saiyan… is a legend of my kind. My father described it… as a powerful warrior that appears every thousand years.”

The princess was stunned. She had no idea that the legend had that deep of a meaning. And that with Broly possessing the power, it somewhat made him all the more special.

“Wow. So that’s why Turles was so afraid of you. And is this the reason why you’re called the Saiyan of Legend?”

Celestia’s question caused Broly to think for a moment. The answer he gave was not what the Alicorn was expecting at all.

“No. It’s not.”

Celestia stared at the Saiyan in surprise. The way Broly described the legend of the Super Saiyan sounded as if it was the very pinnacle of Saiyan strength. A power that transcends beyond the expectations of a normal Saiyan warrior. Yet, Broly claimed that the power was NOT the reason why he was called the Saiyan of Legend.

The tone in her voice reflected her confusion.

“Really? It’s not the reason? Then… what is it?”

Broly chose not to answer as he stared back at the large bed. Him being a Super Saiyan wasn’t the reason. In fact, there were others that had the power to transform. But what gave him the title was a power that no one else had. A power that put the Super Saiyan legend to shame. He remembered the power. He had it on the day of his birth. Which was awakened the moment his home world was on the brink of destruction. It wasn’t just the power he was remembering, it was also how he acted. If the ponies thought that him in his regular Super Saiyan form was a terrifying sight, he couldn’t think of what would happen if they knew about his ‘other’ form. The one that gave him his legendary status.

From feeling that he was on good terms with the inhabitants of Equestria, he felt that it was best if they didn’t know about what he could truly do. He already left quite the impression on them already. Celestia could tell from his long pause that he didn’t want to tell.

“You don’t want to talk about it?” She asked him. In which Broly gave a strange answer.

“No. You wouldn’t like it.”

The white Alicorn was taken back by his reply. She always thought that Broly’s Super Saiyan form was one of the most terrifying sights she had ever witnessed. But to see that he was fine talking about it, it meant that his title as the Saiyan of Legend meant something else entirely. Something that might possibly be a lot worse. It was a mystery that made her felt uneasy. As if there was more to Broly’s power than he showed as of late.

As silence filled the room, the princess began to think back to the time before the big fight between the two Saiyans. From what Turles said, he and Broly were possibly the very last remnants of the warrior race. She also remembered Luna’s words. That it would make complete sense for Broly to join the evil side when Turles gave him the invitation. So for Broly to outright reject the offer continued to leave the Alicorn puzzled. What’s more, Broly showed that he not only had a dislike to Turles, but to his own kind as a whole. For whatever reason, he hated his own race. Not even caring about him being one of the last remaining survivors.

Desperately wanting an explanation, she turned to Broly once more.

“Broly. Please answer me this.”

Both her sentence and tone was more than enough to gain the attention of Broly as he turned to face the puzzled princess. He could see the desperation on her face as she spoke what was on her mind.

“When Turles wanted you to join him, I was afraid that you would agree to him. But you refused to be his ally. Please, tell me why.”

For Broly, he thought that his actions towards Turles was obvious.

“I thought you already know. His face reminded me of… him.” He said, choosing not to say the name of his hated foe. Glaring angrily at the floor.

Celestia perfectly knew who Broly was talking about. But she knew that there was more.

“I’m… aware of that. But I couldn’t help but feel that there was more to your reasoning to refuse him.”

Her choice of words caused Broly to look at her in wonder. Curious as to what she was trying to say. In which she revealed.

“Before you said no to him, you looked at all of us in deep thought. I know you did. So please… what was it that you were thinking?”

Broly looked away as he tried to think back before the fight. And after a moment of silence, he spoke what his mind told him.

“When I was thinking, as I looked down at all of you, three of you appeared in my mind.”

Celestia let out a stunned gasp of surprise. It turned out that in the moment where Broly was thinking whether or not to join Turles, he was thinking about them. As if they had already done something to make him connect with them, and that they hadn’t even known it yet. The revelation peeked her curiosity. Her tone risen from the excitement.

“Really? W-well… which of us were you thinking of?”

Broly kept looking away as he tried to remember which of the three he thought of. Then in random order, he revealed the three anthro ponies that came to his mind.

“Well… one of them was that pink one. The one who gave me those things she called cupcakes. I don’t think any other planet would have food with that kind of taste.”

Celestia knew that Broly was talking about Pinkie Pie. But she didn’t think that by introducing the Saiyan to a tasty treat would end up being a big deciding factor in his decision to rebel against Turles’s wishes. But it did solidify a fact that she figured out about the Saiyan race. They do love their food.

Then as Broly mentioned the second pony that came to mind, his tone made a complete shift. It carried a deeper meaning. Showing that to him, it was personal.

“Another was the purple one. Twilight.”

The second Broly mentioned her former student, Celestia paid full attention to him. Listening to what he had to say. Even surprised from the fact that Broly remembered her name.

“She’s… different from everyone else. She was the one who helped me calm down and acted friendly to me. No one had ever done that to me before. Even now, I can still remember what she said to me in my head. I don’t know why, but I find her voice… soothing.”

Celestia was taken back by what Broly said. But his tone sounded genuine. Out of all the ponies who were present at his awakening, it was Twilight that he seemed to have grown attached to the most. She then grew a proud smile for what Twilight had done. It seemed that the magic of friendship could spread to even powerful beings from another world.

As she recomposed herself, she made an enquiry to Broly.

“Well… who is the third pony you thought of?”

Broly stared at Celestia before he gave his reply.

“You.”

Celestia was taken completely by surprise. Out of all the ponies in the group, she never thought that she herself would be one of the three that Broly would think of. She took a small step back from shock and confusion.

“M-Me!? But… but we… fought each other a long time ago. It was me and my sister that put you in a stone prison. And…”

“And you freed me,” Broly said, interrupting Celestia.

The princess again was stunned at what the Saiyan said. Plus, with the sincere tone in his voice, he appeared to be grateful that he was released. But as Broly took a single step closer to her, he revealed something else that surprised Celestia even more.

“But it’s not just that. There’s something else about you. I don’t know why, but you… remind me of someone.”

Celestia couldn’t be any more surprised than she currently was.

“I…I do? Who?” She asked. For whatever reason, the startled Alicorn was mentally determined to know what or who Broly was talking about.

But the look of uncertainty formed in the Saiyan’s expression. After inspecting Celestia some more, he looked away as his mind couldn’t find the answer.

“I… don’t remember.”

Though it wasn’t the Saiyan’s fault, but Celestia felt let down. She was exploring new territories with Broly. In ways that she never thought would even be possible. But it seemed that knowledge was lost even to him. But it didn’t take away from the fact that to her, the conversation they were having was truly amazing. If she still knew Broly as a cold-hearted savage warrior that wanted nothing but destruction, she never would’ve imagined that there would be a whole other side of him. The more they talked, it was another step closer to the two getting over what happened at the Crystal Empire. It could even be possible for them to be friends. Celestia smiled at the thought. Never in her life has she forged a friendship with an alien.

Despite Broly’s lack of answers behind his reasonings, Celestia felt that she learnt enough about him for one day. He did look very tired.

“It’s ok, Broly. I’m sure in time you’ll remember.” She said to him with a supportive smile.

However, it was her friendly tone that questioned Broly as he looked back at her.

“Why do you keep doing that?”

Celestia was stunned at the question which was asked. She looked at Broly in confusion as she replied.

“Doing what?”

Broly then revealed why he was briefly insecure.

“That. You said so yourself. We have fought each other in the past. I nearly killed you. So why… are you being so nice to me?”

The Sun Princess was taken back by the question. But after some thought, she could understand why Broly was insecure. From the way he talked and acted since his release, he didn’t seem to be the social type. As if the only company he ever had before their meeting was his own father. Broly never mentioned anyone else. But that was probably because there was no one else. It was very clear that the Saiyan wasn’t used to being surrounded by a lot of people. In a way, it was somewhat similar to Fluttershy. But then again, she was constantly surrounded by her animal friends.

After several moments of intense thinking, Celestia couldn’t think of an answer. She didn’t know why she was being nice. While she was one of the friendliest ponies around, she did have her moments where she was angry. Especially to villains out to take over the world. Yet with Broly, it was different. For a very long time, she always viewed him as one of the greatest threats Equestria had ever known. But ever since the battle with the Frieza Force, or even the moment when he saved her and Applejack from an alien solder, she felt differently towards him. Despite the past, she no longer saw him as a villain. Which in turn made her act differently towards him. But what she was feeling, she found it very hard to put it in words. However, she still needed to answer Broly’s question.

“To be honest, Broly, I don’t know why. Maybe… there’s something about you. Something that’s different from before,” She replied, her answer almost identical to the one Broly said earlier.

The Saiyan stared at her in stunned silence. It seemed even she didn’t know all the answers. But he had a second question he wanted to ask.

“Do you… fear me?”

Celestia was stunned at the question. But saw sense in his question. She was one of the few who had shown the most fear towards him upon his awakening. But after some more thought, she gave her reply.

“When we first met… it was. I was terrified of you. No matter what me or my sister could do, we could do nothing to you in a fight. But… ever since you calmed down… that fear is gone.”

She gave Broly a smile as she continued.

“So… no. Now I’m not afraid of you.”

Broly didn’t know what to say or how to feel. Ever since he and his father traveled planet after planet, his immense power terrified all that saw him. And as he grew older, even his own parent was scared of him. It was not just his power, but his appearance alone struck fear to those who gazed their eyes upon him. So to see that a soul look at him and admit that they were no longer afraid, the revelation was new to him. Celestia could see his expressions as clear as day. She was surprised to see it. But couldn’t figure out why.

But before she could ask him about it, she realised that it was getting late and that many ponies were going to sleep. Seeing how tired Broly was earlier would mean he would be sleeping too.

“Well, I should leave you be. Goodnight,” She said as she walked towards the door. Leaving Broly to remove his golden wristbands.

But before the Alicorn could leave the room, she glanced back and took a final look at the tall Saiyan. But more importantly, the golden necklace that he was wearing. On the surface, it looked like an ordinary accessory to go with his outfit. Much like his wristbands, boots and belt. But the way he reacted when one of Turles’s henchman grabbed it before being killed off, it showed that the necklace had a far deeper meaning to Broly. Almost as if it was something he cherished.

She was about to ask about it, only to realise that despite being in the room with him, Broly was getting undressed. After taking his boots off, he took off his golden belt before reaching the top of his red sash. Celestia quickly left the room and shut the door before Broly continued to undress. Standing outside the door, the shocked princess stared blankly at nothing with wide eyes as a blush appeared on her face. Broly knew full well that she was still in the room with him, yet he was ok to strip down with no hesitation. She couldn’t believe it.

‘That’s… probably a Saiyan thing,’ She thought to herself before walking down the corridor. Trying to get her mind off what Broly was doing and leaving him to get some sleep.

As she silently walked down many corridors for several minutes, she made it to her bed chambers in her own tower. Afterwards she went to bed. Where she quickly dozed off from reality. After releasing Broly from his stone prison, she originally thought that the idea of him living under the same roof would cause her to have trouble sleeping peacefully. But after her chat with the Saiyan, the opposite happened.

But just as she was about to fall into a dream, Celestia’s subconscious felt as though something was off. Rather than being in a place she was familiar with, she found herself in a vast expanse that looked like the night sky. There was nothing else around her.

“What? What’s going on?” Celestia asked. Unsure what was happening.

But before she started to worry, the Alicorn heard a very familiar voice.

“It’s ok, sister. It’s me.”

Turning to where the voice came from, Celestia saw Luna approaching her. Much to her relief. But it then gave way to confusion.

“Luna? What’s going on?” The puzzled Celestia asked her little sister.

“I apologize for disturbing your dream. But everyone else is asleep. We don’t have time to waste. We can get started. Follow me,” Luna said as she turned to move away.

“Started? What are you talking about, Luna?” The Sun Princess asked as she followed the blue Alicorn.

Luna said nothing. Then after a short while moving in the Dream Realm, the two Alicorns were joined by all the other familiar faces. The Mane Six, Spike, Starlight, Cadence and Shining Armor.

“Yay! With Celestia here, now everyone is present!” Pinkie Pie cheered.

While Celestia found it pleasant to see her friends and family once again, she found it very strange to see all of them within the Dream Realm.

“W-What is all this?” The confused Celestia asked. Puzzled from what was transpiring.

“You haven’t told her yet?” Starlight asked the Moon Princess.

“No. But I will now,” Luna answered before turning to face Celestia.

“Luna?” The tall Alicorn asked. Addressing her sibling.

After a brief pause, Luna went straight to the point.

“Sister. The reason I brought everyone here, is because of Broly.”

Celestia’s eyes slightly widened from Luna’s words. But continued to listen to what she had to say.

“You’re not the only one who wants answers. We all have questions for him. But he either doesn’t know the answers, or outright refuses to tell us. Surely you know that too.”

Celestia was about to object to Luna’s claim. But paused when she realised that Luna speaks the truth. She looked to the side before admitting it.

“I do see what you mean. There were some instances where he was being secretive.”

Shining Armor supported the claim.

“Yeah, I got that feeling too. He’s clearly hiding something from us.

“And that’s why I brought you all here,” Luna said before turning back to Celestia. Revealing her plan.

“Sister, if Broly refuses to tell us what we need to know, then we will find the answers for ourselves.”

Before Luna could carry on unveiling the plan, Celestia made her reply. She knew perfectly what Luna’s scheme was.

“I see. So your plan, is to go into Broly’s mind. To find answers through his memories.”

Luna wasn’t surprised that her older sister figured it out. 

“That’s right. This is our best chance to find out more about him and his kind. I brought all of us because we all need to know.”

“I see.” Celestia said as she closed her eyes. Creating a moment of silence.

Luna felt unsure. With Celestia’s pause and her facial expressions, it appeared that the white Alicorn didn’t want to take part. But her response dismissed those doubts.

“You are right, Luna. This is the best way to find out more about him without confrontation. We could even use this to find a way to get a better understanding of him.”

“So that’s a yes?” Rainbow Dash asked. Finding the reply long and complicated.

“Yes, it is,” Celestia answered. The princess wanted to admit it. But the idea of exploring the mind of an alien and discover his past life was an exciting one. Most of the group would also agree. Exploring Broly’s mind would also be their only opportunity to see different alien planets. Something not seen by Equestrian eyes.

Luna smiled from Celestia’s acceptance. With everypony on board with her idea, she prepared her magic.

“Good. Then let’s get started,” She said as her horn glowed bright with blue magic. Engulfing everyone in its bright light.

By mentally controlling her dream magic while asleep, Luna started to connect the channel of magic to the sleeping Broly. Moments away from having full access to his mind.

But completely unaware what they were about to discover.

“We should be in his mind any moment now,” Luna said as she concentrated her spell.

“Ooooh, I can’t wait to see what his mind is like,” Pinkie Pie squeaked in excitement.

“I bet it’s going to be cool,” Spike joined.

Despite not being in the Dream Realm for a long time, Celestia knew what to expect.

“Don’t get your hopes up. His mind will be just like ours.”

Then as the light faded around them, they had entered the mind of Broly. But the second they laid eyes on his mental state of being, it was completely opposite to what they were expecting. As for Celestia’s prediction, she was dead wrong. A regular mind of a being would be a wonderful blue expanse. Almost like floating in water or in the sky. Much like the Dream Realm itself. From her constant travels into dreams, Luna knew that it was the same for everyone. Even to different species like dragons. But what they were seeing was something very unfamiliar. They could see some remnants of the usual Dream Realm, but Broly’s mind was dominated by dark cracks and distortions. Usual pleasant sights were twisted and unsettling. Sparks of energy crackling all around the group. The sight of it all was almost sickening to look at. Most of the group all frowned in deep concern and confusion.

“W-What is all this? What’s happened?” Twilight asked. Hoping for an answer from someone.

“It looks so horrible,” Rarity added.

Out of all the group present, Luna was the only one who was the most in shock.

“I… don’t believe it.” 

Despite her quiet tone, Celestia heard her voice and brought her attention to Luna.

“Luna? You’ve seen this before?”

When Luna answered the question, her voice was very shaken from the realisation.

“Yes, very rarely from our citizens. But even then, I’ve never seen it to such an extent as this.”

She then revealed what troubled her.

“His mind. It’s… been damaged.”

The whole group gasped from what they heard. They had no idea that Broly was suffering in such a horrid fashion.

“D…Damaged!?” Fluttershy said in fear. Concerned for the Saiyan’s mental being. Something of which she never thought she would be concerned off.

Rarity meanwhile had a brief suspicion.

“Don’t suppose this explains his freak-outs?”

Most of the group looked at the white Unicorn in shock. They saw that she had a point. Because whenever Broly got angry, his mindset rapidly degrades to a singular motive. In his case, was to become furious of someone he hated the most and strike out at the world.

The group then looked at their surroundings in deep thought. Trying to figure out what the cause of it all was.

“But why is his mind like this? Was he born with it?” Cadence asked.

Luna briefly had the same thought. Thinking that it was just brain damage. But after using her magic to get a better readout of the Saiyan’s mental condition, she found that the cause was not of Broly’s own. But at the same time, she couldn’t find the cause of the anomaly. Where it came from. How it started. Or even how long Broly had the mental disorder.

“I don’t know, Cadence. But I don’t think he’s born with it.”

Luna then surprised the group by letting out a gasp of shock. By using her magic as a check-up, she detected something else. Something that wasn’t supposed to be there.

“What is it, Luna.” Celestia asked. Concerned to what made Luna gasp.

The blue Alicorn then revealed what she had discovered.

“You’re not going to believe this. But I can sense… traces of magic!”

Once again, the group gasped in surprise and disbelief. Staring at Luna in shock.

“H-How is that possible? Broly doesn’t use magic,” Twilight pointed out. But what Luna said next made the situation all the more unsettling.

“It’s not that. This magic… it’s not Equestrian magic. But… it feels familiar.”

She then looked to Celestia in uncertainty.

“It’s similar to the mind control spells that King Sombra uses.”

The group were stunned at what Luna said. For her to mention the former king of the Crystal Empire, it was almost never a good thing. But what was very unsettling was what most likely had happened.

“You mean… someone tried to mind control Broly?” Applejack asked.

When Celestia replied to Applejack’s comment, her tone was both of dread and sadness.

“Not tried. But had.”

The group looked to Celestia in confusion. To which the Alicorn expressed her thoughts. Revealing more of her vast knowledge of magic.

“With the amount of left-over magic there is, even after being in stone for thousands of years, Broly was fully under the control of someone.”

She paused when she looked at the damage caused to Broly’s mind. Then continued afterwards.

“And if the magic caused Broly’s mind to be like this, then the magic that was used was artificial.”

Twilight, Luna and Starlight were taken back at what the white Alicorn said. Shocked that such a thing had happened to Broly.

“Artificial magic? But… isn’t that dangerous?” Twilight asked, her voice shaken from the thought of such thing.

Luna then revealed her knowledge of the subject.

“It is. Magic that is created artificially is very unreliable. It often leads to terrible side effects.”

Fluttershy was the first to piece together what had very likely happened in the past.

“Wait! You’re saying that this magic… caused the damage to Broly’s mind!?”

“It’s a possibility,” Celestia replied. Though she didn’t have the true answer. But with the evidence around them, it was highly likely.

The yellow Pegasus looked at the non-existent ground in sadness. Trying to imagine the pain that was inflicted on the Saiyan.

“The poor thing.”

It wasn't just the fact that Broly’s mind was damaged, but the fact that someone had successfully mind controlled him. To discover that such a force that could wield the power of someone so strong was a stuff of nightmares. Broly had the power of countless armies. So if someone tried to control Broly to conquer and destroy, they would. It was something that unnerved the group. Even Luna.

After being the first to get over the shock, Spike asked Luna a question.

“So… do we continue with your idea to see his past?”

The question was enough to remind the Moon Princess about the mission at hand. Undiscouraged by the mental devastation.

“Yes. We shall continue with the plan.”

After using her magic, Luna was able to access the memory pathways of Broly’s subconscious. Opening orbs of light that acted as doorways into the past. But as soon as Luna summoned the memory orbs, something was wrong.

Usually when arranging the order of the orbs, the white balls of light would all be beside each other in a horizontal pattern. Like a big line-up. But while the pattern was there, the group noticed that most of the orbs weren’t bright in the slightest. Instead, they were dull and grey. While the rest of the group were puzzled at what was going on, Luna frowned in disappointment.

“It’s just as I feared.”

“What is it Luna?” Twilight asked. To which the older princess gave the answer.

“With Broly’s mind damaged, some of his memories were affected too.”

“You mean… you can’t see into them?” Starlight asked.

“No.”

Most of the group began to feel bad for the Saiyan. Discovering something else that explained his behaviour.

“Could this be why Broly couldn’t remember much about his past?” Applejack asked. Hearing the possibility out in the open only made the group believe that it was the most likely answer.

“So it wasn’t from the fact that he refused to answer our questions. It was because he could no longer remember them.” Twilight said.

Feeling that they could do something to help Broly, Celestia turned to Luna with a question.

“Luna? Do you think you can use your magic to fix all this damage?”

After a brief thought, Luna was sceptical of the idea. Given at how messed up the Saiyan’s mental condition was.

“It’s possible. But I can’t do it right now. With his mind in such a state, it would take me a long time to fix. But I’m not even sure I could fix everything. His mind might be too late to mend.”

As most of the group frowned at the very likely hood that Broly would never be back to his original self, Luna took a good look at the line up of memories. Mostly the distorted ones.

“It seems quite a lot of his memories are lost. But… I’ll try to repair them.”

With a blast of her magic, Luna tried to restore the memories that were lost to Broly. But the process was not a successful one. While most of the memories remained unchanged. Possibly irreversibly damaged. She was able to extend some of the already existing memories. So, the operation was not a total loss.

“I did all I could for now. But we have no time to waste.”

While the group felt bad from the fact that there would be parts of his past that Broly would never get back, they still had a plan to enact.

“Yes. But where should we start?” Shining Armor asked.

Luna gave the prince a questionable look before answering.

“Isn’t it obvious? We start from the very beginning.”

Using her magic, Luna moved the orbs of light until she and the others were face to face with Broly’s earliest ever memory. But as soon as they saw it, something about it threw them off.

“Wait. This is first ever memory? But it’s so bright.” Pinkie Pie mentioned. Seeing that the memory orb was shining brightly. It was something that Luna felt very puzzled about.

“This is strange. Usually the earliest memory would be the one that’s very hard to access.”

Rainbow Dash then made a guess.

“Maybe there’s something that the big guy doesn’t want to forget?”

Luna felt uneasy from the blue Pegasus’s statement. If there was something that Broly never wanted to forget, then it most likely had something to do with his youth. But given the amount of memory orbs there were, then something must had happened when he was young.

But all the questions the group had only reminded them the reason they were in Broly’s mind to begin with. They were going to find the answers. After shaking the uneasy thoughts from her mind, Luna gave a confident glare before speaking.

“Ok everypony. Let’s finally find the answers to our questions. To find out who Broly really is.”

With their minds set on the task at hand, the group walked into the orb of light. Once they emerge, they would be in a completely new place that would be alien to them. Uncharted territory that no pony had ever seen.

But unbeknownst to the innocent souls of Equestria, what they were about to witness… would be something they would never forget. No matter how hard they would try.