//------------------------------// // Bad Future I // Story: Pony Trigger // by Pinklestia //------------------------------// JANUARY 13, 2300 AD "OOF!" The three landed in a heap. "Twilight Sparkle, um, would you mind trying to fix this sometime soon?" said Fluttershy at the bottom of the pile. Dusting themselves off, the three ponies looked around. "Well... it seems we're inside a building this time." Rainbow Dash observed. Twilight Sparkle was more interested in the details, the room they where in while crude looking, was all made of metal, and white crystals in the walls illuminated it. It was basically a big metal box, yet there where broken machines in the walls, that Twilight had only dreamed of! But for her friends, they must just look like a pile of junk. "The technology here is so advanced... I'd say it's quite obvious we're in the future, that or an alternate universe, but the chances of that happening are highly unlikely." "The Future? How far?" Fluttershy murmured. The other two shrugged. Dash noticed a strange door in the back. Black, with silver markings all over it and having a crescent moon symbol in pink. "Hey, that looks like it could have some treasure." She tried to open it. The next thing the blue pegasus knew, she was flat on his back. "Uh... what hit me?" Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy were both standing over her. Twilight responded first. "There was this flash, and the door was covered with a pyramid of pink light. You got thrown back, and this weird yet familiar voice said 'This door is protected by the seal of the moon, silly." "Huh." Rainbow Dash grunted as she sat up. "Can't you force it?" Twilight Sparkle looked around, that door seemed like the only exit, yet the place was full of breathable air, she walked close to the walls, and found an air current coming from behind one of the big machines. Her horn glowed and she moved the massive object away, revealing a hole in the wall, big enough for them to get outside one at a time. But outside it was dark and the wind was strong, carrying a lot of dust. "No, but I found a way out." "Girls, can't we stay here a bit longer? Outside... is hard to explain but... I fell like everything is dead." Fluttershy sat down and was strangely scared, is like all courage she had got before was gone, even worse, she feared they all would die if they went outside. Twilight nodded and moved the machine back in place, then sat down to rest "For what I could see, we seem to be in some kind of desert, maybe we should wait until the morning." "I don't think is going to be morning any time soon." Dash said with a sad face "What are you talking about?" Fluttershy asked, to see her courageous and brave friend like that scared her further. "It's part of my training as a weather mare," Rainbow Dash explained "I can sense subtle changes in the weather, and know when the solar circle has been altered. When Princess Celestia decided to make the longest day to be the day of the start of the Millennium Fair, the sun have me a strange felling. When we where in the past, that felling was gone. Now, I sense something similar, but is like the opposite, is like a void, like something is missing, we didn't get here during the night, is supposed to be day, but the sun is not there!" "And you can know all that being inside? I thought you had to be outside for that." Twilight Sparkle said, then finally noticed how scared Fluttershy seemed to be. Maybe the princess who lacked weather mare training; was still able to feel what Rainbow Dash did, only in a more instinctive way? "I didn't until you let the wind enter, all pegasi are naturally connected to the wind, like earth ponies are connected to earth, it sounds bizarre, but... the wind told me." "So, I know I should not ignore you two being freaking out by all this, but we can't go back. If we go back Rainbow will be executed, I will probably be put in jail, maybe executed too, and our loved princess here will be grounded for life." Rainbow Dash stood up firm on her four hooves "You're right, we defeated a robot dragon, I am sure we can take whatever is outside!" Fluttershy stood up, she was still scared, but she was not going to remain there if her friends where going to risk their life. "Let's go then, nothing gonna stop us now!" Twilight nodded then moved the machine away, and she went outside first, then looked at the sky. It was a beautiful sky full of shinning stars, the moon was full giving them light, but the wind and the dust soon forced her to look down. Equestria... was destroyed. She looked at the place where the portal had landed them, it was a metal dome. Twilight Sparkle then looked around, they where in the ruins of what once had been a great city made of metal. Nothing grew anywhere, and there were no animals. The only signs of life was a dome to the south similar to the one they had just exited, and a junked area that seemed to be a passage through the dead, gray mountains of the west. The unicorn guessed they where the once beautiful Dragondorado Mountains. Twilight then stood in silence until her two friends where outside too then she said "...We're bucked." "What happened here?" Fluttershy murmured, almost on the verge of tears. "What happened to the world?" Rainbow Dash looked grim. "I don't know, Fluttershy. But we'll find out. And when we do, we'll make whoever did this pay." "Yeah! No way anybody gonna get away with this!" Twilight Sparkle agreed. "Now, I think we should go to that second dome down there first." Inside the dome, the three discovered the sorrowful remnants of ponykind. Filthy ponies in brown rags, huddled around aimlessly. A gloomy fog hung over the mess. As soon as they walked in, a colt yelled out "New ones here!" They were met with bored glances, then ignored. Rainbow Dash decided to try and talk with the gray earth pony colt at the entrance. "Hey, bud. What happened here, anyway?" The colt looked at her incredulously, then laughed. It was a short sound, completely humorless. "Where you been, under a rock? Same thing that happened everywhere else. Welcome to Tartarus, girl. Where ya from, anyways?" Rainbow Dash thought, then responded. "Ponyville." The guy blinked. "Ponyville Dome? Where the buck is that? I've heard of Flim & Flam Domes, and then there's Apple and Orange Domes, but they're deserted. And there's that other place..." He shuddered, then continued. "And there's the Psycho's dome near Death Dragon Peak. But I ain't ever heard of no Ponyville Dome." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Hey, where can we get something to eat?" The colt laughed again. "Eat? You crazy, pegasus? Ain't nothing to eat anywhere." He suddenly looked at Rainbow Dash sharply. "Wait... did you have food at this Ponyville Dome of yours?" Rainbow Dash thought fast. "Er... we did, but we ran out. That's why we came out here." The gray colt sighed, depressed. "Shoulda known. We ain't gonna get no breaks in this life." "Er... just asking, but how do ya live without food?" Twilight said The earth pony pointed at the far end of the dome. "See that machine? It's an Enertron. It restores you energy in an instant, but you stay hungry." He grunted. Twilight sure looked interested in the device, to the point Rainbow Dash had to hold back the unicorn by her tail to prevent her for going to examine it. It seemed something rude, but knowing Twilight Sparkle, it was for the best. "Once, I was the best fighter in the world. I even made it to Eris Dome and back once. But now..." He snorted mockingly. "Wanna buy anything?" Twilight Sparkle stepped up, forgetting her interest in the Enertron for the moment. "OK, let's see what you've got, " It turned out he had an assortment of hammers. The unicorn selected one big yet strangely light one, then payed him. He looked at the money doubtfully. "You sure this is money? Never seen this strange symbol before. Ah, well, I need to lighten my stock anyways." Twilight found strange the colt did not mention the symbol was the sun, but said nothing. As they turned to leave, he yelled, "Hey! Where ya going?" Rainbow Dash turned halfway as she walked. Then the pegasus looked at her two companions. “Good question, where are we going?” Fluttershy hid her head in her mane then looked at Twilight Sparkle “Well?” Twilight looked around nervous, then took out the gate key From her saddle bags and have it a good look. “Uhh... well... taking into account the time passed, the fact the tectonic plates move and...time Wimey stuff! Ehh... maybe... if we get to that ruined passage to the east, we will find another time gate?” The colt looked shocked, then took a long look at the mares, and his expression changed. He then started to laugh, it seemed he was having fun this time. “You sure are an odd bunch! My hammers are good, but taking out Mutants with them? That's a good one!” “Mutants?” Fluttershy asked scared “What... what are those?” The earth pony stooped laughing and took small short breaths to calm itself “You really don't know? Well, is hard to say. Some say they are just monsters, other say they are ponies who ate things they should have not, personally, I think is what happens when the night is eternal. The creatures who used to hide of light, don't have to do it anymore.” Twilight fixed her eyes on the colt “Any way to beat those Mutants?” “Well, weapons hardly have any effect on them, why else we will be here if that wasn't the case?” The colt said, he seemed slightly depressed now, more than when they first saw him. Rainbow Dash gave him a confident smirk “Well, I am sure we can take them.” The yellow pegasus confidence seemed to raise the princess spirit “Yes, we can do it, let's go! YAY!” Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy left, with Twilight Sparkle reluctantly following, there where so many things in the dome she wanted to disarm and see how they worked! But then, she didn't know if the time gate would wait for them, better hurry. As they walked inside the passage, Rainbow Dash saw a sign that said "Lab 37". There were piles of junk everywhere, and giant rats ran rampant. One of them jumped into Rainbow Dash's pack and pulled out a Potion. "HEY!" Rainbow attempted to give chase, but tripped over a rock and fell on her face. "OUCH!" Twilight Sparkle started laughing hysterically, while Fluttershy did her best to prevent her own laughter from even leaving her lips. "Oh, haha, that was worth, heehee, a Potion from Zecora any day! Hahaha, Rainbow Dash tripping over, hoohoo, and there is a houseplant! WAHAHA!" Fluttershy then kicked Twilight's flank, it was so rare of Twilight to laugh like that, maybe there was something in the air? She barelly noticed a weird and faint smell and flapped her wings really fast, Twilight seemed to calm down as the air got clearer around them. Then she looked at Rainbow Dash screaming “BE CAREFUL!” Rainbow Dash looked, wondering what was the whole deal about, she felt a bit funny. In front of her was a plant, yeah, but not any houseplant she'd ever seen. Two vines grew out on opposite side of the main trunk almost like arms, while a large purple blossom was positioned at the top like a head. Suddenly, a green octopus jumped out of the blossom and latched onto Rainbow Dash's head. "YOW!" Quickly, Fluttershy pulled out her crossbow and fired a shot which hit the slimy thing straight through the head, it felt and died. “Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash looked at her pegasus friend in shock, had it just killed something in cold blood? That was so unlike her... Unfortunately, the plant took the chance to atack Dash with her vines. Rainbow Dash reflexes salved her, she quickly jumped out of the way, picked her sword, and made a a salad out of it. “What... was...” Rainbow Dash feel strangely tired, Fluttershy flapped her wings close to Dash, and the blue pegasus head cleared. "Okay, it seems anything around here could be an enemy or a trap. Be on your guards." Fluttershy said “And, If you feel funny flap your wings or ask somepony close by to do so, it seems plants like those release a polen in the air, and that thing is bad news. " Her friends nodded, and on they went, this time Fluttershy being the one leading the party. Thanks to Nitz_X from #fimfiction for editing this story