//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Pomoshch' // Story: Sidejacked // by SurveyShip //------------------------------// "what?..." That was all I could respond to. Was this guy being serious? No, this has to be some sort of twisted joke he is pulling on us. "You heard me, You two got warped into my dimension via a fracture in reality itself. " Cosmo said. "What!?" I issue the same response. Has Cosmo lost his sanity? Is he really insinuating that Silver and I ended up in an alternate reality? I've heard of rumors of some sort of magical mirror portal in Canterlot, but those are simply rumors right? "Hey, you asked me to be blunt and I obliged" Cosmo responded smugly. "WHAT!!?" I answered. I was beginning to question my own sanity now, perhaps whatever happened to me got some screws in my head loose. "Ok then... How about if I put it like this. Have you not noticed all the strange things lately? you somehow ended up in the middle of a snowy wasteland with no previous memories on how you got there, dealing with a language you have never seen before with technology that seems a little bit too advanced and not to mention the ominous horde of lights that were heading your way." He has a point. I have noticed all the weird events occurring and I was trying to find a logical reason for all of it but all of the events seemed so... Disjointed. "H-How? How can you possibly know something like that??" Silver butts in. "Because I was part of the experiment that brought you two here." Cosmo answered. After Cosmo's words all three of us went quiet for around a minute, all of Cosmo's previous answers had some sort of emotion behind it, even if it was subtle. But those words he utters were full of cold straightforwardness. A feeling began germinating in the pit of my stomach, something was telling me that he was telling the truth but I was not going to so readily accept that, I needed to question him more. "No... this is not happening... this has to be some extremely lucid dream I'm having right now!" I simply blurted out, my cognitive processes were about to go into meltdown trying to decipher what he just said, but Cosmo intervened before that could happen. "Okay then, how am I going to convince you?" After his comment I could hear faint mumbling and beeping noises coming from Cosmo's end before speaking up again. "OH! I know, I'm going to ask you some questions, just answer 'yes' or 'no' to them." "Huh?" Silver gave her lively commentary on the subject matter. "Bear with me here, if this trick does not work then I don't know what will." Cosmo answered. I think about it for a second, what could he possibly say to us that will help me not think I'm not having a fever dream right now? Well, what do I have to lose now? Why not give it a shot? If anything it would amuse me what could possibly be my subconscious breaking down and cobbling together what little sanity I have. "Alright, Shoot..." I quipped. The stallion clears his throat, "before waking up here, did you feel like the air around you was full of electricity? Almost as if your fur was about to stand up?" He asked. I recalled my memories from the crevasses of my mind, it did not take long for the memories to replay in my head. I was back in that corridor standing guard at my post with Private Silver in front of me, then I was greeted by a familiar feeling once again. That ugly sense of despair I felt on that day began replaying in my head, that horrible sensation making me feel ill throughout the entire day. As the memory echoed in my head the sensations I felt were also replicated in my mind. In my last moments before blanking out I recall my fur standing up, feeling the air itself charged with static. "Yes..." I answered cautiously, I was suspicious on how specific that question was. I wonder if his next question is about... "Good! Now, after that did you feel weightless? like floating?" Cosmo asked, interrupting my thought process. Weightless. My memories once again recall that feeling, right after the first one. The sense of being lighter than a feather. "Yes..." I echo my answer, I preemptively recall the rest of the memory. Is he going to... "Very good! And after that everything sounded muffled?" he continued. "Yes..." "And just to prove it to you; After that your heart began to accelerate, your muscles seized up, time seemingly froze and finally-" No, no way he knows all that. "-everything went white." He finalized. I just had a vacant stare. It was so much information to process, my head began spinning and I felt lightheaded. The magical grasp I had on the radio's microphone weakened as I struggled to process all of that information. Then it slipped, clunking onto the ground. "Hey! don't break the radio!" Cosmo responded mildly annoyed. I just can't believe it. The reality of the situation was sinking in; The royal guards, Canterlot castle, Equestria, Celestia... My friends and family. All of them are gone from my grasp, locked away in my original world while I'm here stuck in this bizarre alternate reality I'm in. I then look at Silver, the same, blank stare plastered on her face. She was likely going through the same emotions as I was. I tried formulating words to make a response of some kind but none managed to manifest properly, the deafening silence once again permeated around us. "Where... Where are we then?" I asked Cosmo as dread filled my core once again, the radio still on the ground. "Alright, a good place to begin. You two fillies ended up in my world, its called Chevalier. Specifically the Island-Continent of Hoovestroya, It's a wonderful place to live in if you like the cold. That is up until seven years ago, when The Great Fracturing occurred" My ears perk up. "The Great Fracturing? What is that?" I ask. Cosmo remained silent for a moment before answering. "For that I need to give you a little bit of backstory, the great minds of Hoovestroya asked the question if there were alternate realities out there. At first it was simply an idea, then it was a theory, and then it became an experiment. Like I have mentioned before, I was part of said experiment. I was in charge of gathering data for the scientist leading it, nothing too flashy. But one day all of that changed." Cosmo then paused for a moment, faint mechanical noises were heard in the background. "What happened then?" Silver butts in. Cosmo still gave no response, we started to think the radio began malfunctioning but the stallion spoke once again. "There was... There was no warning." Cosmo inhales sharply, He sounded like he was about to choke up. "Honestly I don't know much about what happened down there but something happened during a test, something REALLY bad." Cosmo takes a brief pause, a deep sigh is heard. "All systems were reading nominal and then, boom. It was as if a rainbow the size of a country shattered into a billion fragments. A ball of multicolored fire suddenly engulfed the capital of Hoovestroya, it was so massive that it breached the damn stratosphere..." Both Silver and I gasp. I was struggling to comprehend the magnitude of the descriptions he was giving, I have seen displays of magic that could shock entire crowds of ponies but something like that? I don't think I've ever witnessed something similar. "... that giant explosion created the Fractures and spread them all across the planet. And as ponies struggled to get back on their hooves, The Uprising soon followed." "The Uprising?" Silver asked cautiously. "Remember those metal monsters I warned you about? They have a name, they are called Mechanoids. They used to be mechanical servants, but after The Great Fracturing something happened to them" "Woah woah, now hold on. What do you mean by mechanical servants?" I interrupted him. Cosmo composes himself. "Mechanoids, huh. Perhaps I should quickly explain what they are." The radio gives off a series of soft beeps." It's an automaton in the shape of a pony made out of metal and powered by magic, designed to be a servant for its creators. A completely artificial creation, they were made to be able to do any task a pony could do. Some were as simple as Maids and Greeters or as complex as a Construction Worker or even a Nurse. Of course, with the guidance of a pony of flesh and blood" I took a quick glance at Silver, she just stared at the microphone starry eyed. She seems enthralled by the concept. "Now you know what a Mechanoid is. The Uprising was when the Mechanoids turned on their creators, the ponies." Silver's expression quickly sours. "To this day I'm not sure what even caused it but all of a sudden there were reports all around Chevalier of the Mechanoids beginning to attack ponies. Things were bad because of The Great Fracturing but The Uprising made things several magnitudes worse." I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. "The Mechanoids out of nowhere began attacking ponies? But how? Did the Fracturing have to do something with it?" I rapid-fired questions at the stallion. "That is a popular theory. But still, nopony is sure what exactly caused them to go ballistic all of a sudden." Cosmo answered solemnly. "What happened after was a massacre, those Metal Freaks soon hijacked the very factories that made them to create swarms of bastardized versions of themselves. Even the greatest armies struggled to fight against the sheer number of Mechanoids hurdling at them." The radio went quiet for a moment after Cosmo's retelling. I could swear my jaw dropped to the floor, even my worst nightmares look like a bad school play compared to what Cosmo was describing to us. Silver and I stared wide-eyed at each other in complete disbelief. "W-what happened after that?" Silver inquired. "What happened after?" Cosmo audibly sighs, sadness in his tone of voice. "Chevalier fell" There was only silence after his comment. None of us dared to break it, not wanting to risk offending Cosmo. And also, how do you respond to somepony that just told you that their entire world just fell to a horde of metal ponies? What words do you conjure up to make somepony feel better after they tell you the story of how their home was ravaged? Then the stallion speaks up again. "Yeah, in just seven years Chevalier went from a sprawling blue marble to a desolate wasteland infested with killer robots and fractures in space-time." Cosmo said. "Sweet Celestia, Cosmo..." those were the only words I could utter, it was just so much to process. "But we survived! So at least we got that going for us, hehe." Cosmo remarked lightheartedly, if you can even call it 'lighthearted,' in an attempt to change the mood. I pondered for a second, letting all of that information sink in. In the span of more or less ten minutes I went from barely knowing where I was to discovering I'm stuck in an alternate reality full of bloodthirsty machine ponies. Yet for some odd reason I feel calm, but not the sort of calm you get by laying on your back on the grass on a sunny day. No, this calm was because I knew what was going on now. I still felt dread in my heart but at least I knew where it was coming from. I was about to simmer in the thought for a moment until Silver began speaking. "Uh-Cosmo! I have a question." She blurted out. "Yeah?" The stallion answers nonchalantly, like if he didn't just explain how his world died a few minutes ago. "Are there other ponies like us out there? From other realities I mean." The Private questions Cosmo. Cosmo lets out a pensive 'hmmm' before answering. "As I see it, you two are the first successful interdimensional travelers in the history of Chevalier! However..." My heart skips a beat, I brace myself for his answer. "..I know about you because the Fractures emit a strong magical signature my sensors can detect when a new one appears, you just so happened to be within range of one of them when you got hurled into my reality. But my sensors cannot detect all of those instances for the simple fact that they have a limited range to begin with. So there may be a chance that there are other ponies from your reality lurking about out there, but still, it's a big MAYBE. I've kept a close eye on Chevalier after The Great Fracturing and not one instance of other interdimensional travelers have tripped my sensors. Well, not as of 3-ish hours ago." His answer rattled my mind, the mere possibility that ponies from my world may be out there disturbs me. The chance that, maybe, a fellow guard is out there fending for his or her life against those Mechanoids, possibly alone, does not settle well with me. "Can't you... I don't know... somehow check?" I ask warily. "I've tried Kobylka, but the Fracture's signature weakens after a while. Then they just blend in with the rest of them, nearly impossible to differentiate." Cosmo responds sympathetically. I get a cold shiver, that familiar dread reared its ugly mug again. My heart begins accelerating as an uneasy sensation starts enveloping me. I start breathing more rapidly. "Keep it together Frost Blossom, In and out. In and out." I whisper under my breath. "In... " "...And... " "...Out" Then I feel a hoof on my shoulder. "Ma'am? Are you feeling alright?" The Private asked me. In a faint moment of clarity I'm aware of myself. I am shaking, my jaw quivers and the back of my throat is burning. A tear wants to form on the edge of my eye. How uncharacteristic of a Royal Guard. I raise my foreleg to wipe off the liquid shame and answer. "No Silver, I am not alright. None of this is alright." I tense up. "When I woke up today or yesterday or whenever it was when we got sucked into this horrible place, not once did I think I or you would end up in an alternate reality full of death robots... " I raise my tone, dread intensifying within me. Silver's expression changes to a more worrisome display. I try to hold back my emotional outburst as much as I can. There are about ten things I can do right now that would make me feel better about the predicament I find myself in. One of which is screaming my woes at Silver at the top of my lungs, but that would be uncalled for. Silver is not the problem here, its whatever twisted entity or bad turn of fate that hurled us into this reality is. I can feel tears forming in my eyes. I turn my head away from Silver, I don't want her to see me like this. "And now look at us... we are trapped in this awful place." I say in a shaky breath, The 'tough mare' façade I desperately tried putting up, now crumbling. The dread was bubbling over, I grit my teeth together as hard as I can trying not to have an outburst. Why am I reacting like this all of a sudden? I am a Guardsmare Celestia-dammit! I can not keep it back anymore, I can feel my face burning. I can't- I- I- -feel a pair of forelegs wrap around me? I turn my head and my nose is suddenly tickled by a two-tone pink crest. "S-silver!?" I exclaimed, surprised. The Pegasus simply squeezes me tighter. "Mam, I know it's a lot of stuff to take in, perhaps too much for anypony, really. I too feel overwhelmed by... Well, everything that has happened to us in the last few hours. But I want you to know that whatever happens afterwards, we will pull through. Its just a matter of taking things one step at a time, we will resolve this situation. Perhaps slowly, but resolve it nonetheless." Silver just embraces me. The awful sensation of dread that was harassing my senses seemingly melted away, I stretched a foreleg out and reciprocated the hug. A lump in my throat that formed quickly dissolved as my pent up tension relents, then I realize that noticeable trails below my eyes have formed. "Overwhelmed. eh?... I think I just needed somepony to tell me that 'problems can be solved.'" I said to Silver while stifling a chuckle. Admittedly this little interaction is greatly embarrassing for me, I can't help but blush. We hugged it out for a little longer before separating. "Hey!" Cosmo exclaimed from the radio. "I hope I am not interrupting something, You two good?" I quickly wiped off the damp trails from my face and looked at the grounded radio microphone, Silver too faced the radio. "No, we just...needed to talk something out." I answered coyly, praying that he didn't hear my 'near outburst.' "You do realize I heard all of that, right?" Cosmo somewhat awkwardly responded. If my face wasn't red before it is definitely a very bright crimson now. Silver on the other hoof kindheartedly smiled at me. "Heh, Its alright. I would have been very concerned if you weren't phased by the reality of your situation." Cosmo commented. "Also, you mentioned that you were trapped in my dimension? I'm not sure where you got that but I never said anything about you two fillies being trapped in my dimension." At that moment I felt an immense weight lifted off of my shoulders. Silver turned to me and gave me a 'See? What did I tell you?' face." "Excellent! So you are saying that we have a way of getting back home?" Silver asked the stallion chipperly. "In... a way..." I don't like the tone of that response. Cosmo sighs deeply. "Kobylka... I am not saying there is, possibly, NOT a way back, not by a long shot. I did not spend the last 7 years of my life researching the Fractures for nothing, the science and magic is there and you are the proof!" "How so?" I ask. "Don't you realize it kobylka? YOU are in MY world, do you honestly believe that there wouldn't be a way to make it work the other way around? Fat Chance!" Cosmo stated with a confident demeanor. "Hmmph, I guess I didn't see it that way." I commented as I pondered on my realization. "Besides, many researchers even before The Great Fracturing already had put in the heavy legwork for a proper foundation. All of their methods, their notes, their ideas and theories. All of it has been backed up with me. But even with all that I am having trouble getting substantial progress done." Cosmo stated. "Why is that? you just told us you have all of their... science and stuff." Silver asked. "I'm afraid its not that simple. I do have their research and the methods, but I am short on Data, lots of Data. Gaps in the information that were unfortunately lost during The Great Fracturing." The stallion laid out. "I've resorted to studying the Fractures in order to recover it, but due to my location being horrendously secluded I have to resort to remote surveying, but that is taking a lot of time. With my current estimate, it would take me years to open a Fracture safely, much less make it safe enough for a pony to pass through it." My heart sinks, perhaps we are not trapped in Cosmo's dimension forever but if his words are to be trusted, we're looking at years. The stress was rising within me. "BUT!" Cosmo placed emphasis on the word. "You two can help me make this a whole lot quicker!" "How... How would we help you? we are not even remotely close to scientists." I questioned curiously, wondering just how in Celestia's mane we could lend him a hoof. "In short, I need somepony on the field that can help me gather the Data. They would need special equipment but I would be more than willing to assist them in this effort!" Cosmo enthusiastically explains his plan. "If a steady stream of data is achieved, in around a Year and a half I could get a Fracture stable enough for dimensional travel." My eyes go wide, there is a chance to get out of this dimension, back home. "That's... That's wonderful Cosmo!" Silver's spirit is practically glowing at this point. But there are a couple of things that I need clarified. "Cosmo hold on, aren't you afraid that it might cause something similar to the Fracturing? I interrogated the stallion. The radio went quiet for a moment before Cosmo answered. "Kobylka, what happened back then was a horrible tragedy but after years of researching interdimensional travel, even before the Fracturing, I came to a point where I know how this strange magic behaves. The experiment should have worked and opened a perfectly stable Fracture but something went wrong and with the data I can figure out what was their fatal error." I thought about it, I thought about it HARD. Before I made a decision that can possibly irreversibly change my life and Silver's, I had one last question. "Why us?" It was simple and straightforward. Cosmo remained silent for around a minute and with each second the tension grew thicker, the silence was only broken by the various mechanical noises coming from the radio's speaker. And then, Cosmo gave his answer. "Because I'm your best shot at getting yourselves back home. I am not going to lie, with those Mechanoids out there it's going to be really dangerous and its going to be really hard too. But I will always be one radio transmission away from lending you a hoof or two. I'll always have your back, kobylka." He replied completely honestly. We just stared at the microphone thoughtfully, we had our answer and now we are processing it to make our final decision. Then Silver ushers me closer to her and speaks softly so as to not be heard by Cosmo. "Mam, Cosmo seems to be our only hope of getting back home, at least as of now. He has helped us find somewhere to hide from that run in with those machine ponies and has been completely honest when we questioned him. I think we should 'help-him-help-us' if you know what I mean, because honestly I don't know what else we could do." I analyze her point of view, she does have a point. Cosmo has indeed given us a hoof and has been extremely helpful in clearing up things as best he could. Silver unintentionally summed up my own thoughts on the matter. "Well, its not like we have a choice. We decline and we trap ourselves in this reality." I say coldly. Silver simply nods in agreement. Alright, it's settled then. We help Cosmo with his data, then he gets us back home. I levitate the mic off the ground and near my muzzle, ready to relay our answer to the stallion. "Cosmo, we gave it some thought and we decided to help you-" "Prevoskhodno!" The stallion exclaimed in jubilation, Interrupting me, in what I assume its some sort of happy exclamation in his tongue. "-But I have a condition!" I quickly interjected. "Oh... " Cosmo sounds a little disheartened saying that. "Well, is not to say I didn't expect something of the sorts. What's your 'condition'?" I take a deep breath before I give out my answer. "Promise us you will get us back home." I say in the most clear tone I could muster. I admit it sounded a bit out of character for me that even Silver was caught by surprise by my demeanor. But after going through a rollercoaster of emotions I needed something constant, Cosmo giving his word would give, albeit, little reassurance but if he were to fail in keeping it I can hold it against him. There was radio silence for around 5 seconds before he responded but I could swear it felt like an hour. "Kobylka, I promise you that I will do my absolute foremost performance. I will ensure that whatever happens, you will see your world again." The stallion spoke in a soft but clear tone. "Because you helping me will not only get you on the path back to your reality, it will also help my home too." Cosmo gave his response. I was surprised by the revelation at the end of his answer. "Help your home? How?" I inquired him. "The Fractures make their surroundings unstable for ponies to live or work. If I can figure out how to open one, surely I can find a way to close them too. Granted, Mechanoids will probably still be an issue but success would mean one less major problem for Chevalier." I feel something course through my body. It was like an invisible switch was flipped and gave me the resolve to power through this mess. I look at Silver, she just nods at me with the same resolve in her eyes. I levitate the radio close and speak. "Alright Cosmo, We'll help you." I say with an unusually high amount of determination. "Zamechatel'nyy! Just Marvelous!" He exclaims excitedly. "Ok... Now what do we do? I asked inquisitively. "Ah! Of course, you need the special equipment to analyze them. But don't worry, you just have to set it up near the Fractures, the device will do the rest and then send me the Data automatically." He explained in an almost cheery mood. "So do we head to your place and get this 'special equipment'?" Silver asked. "Oh.. yeah, Uhm. about that." He stammers. "You do know what a Space Station is right?" "A space what?" I responded incredulously. "O, Blin"