Prevention

by Mind Matter


Perspective

“He’s currently suffering from a broken left metatarsal (not helped by his theatrics yesterday), dislocated right shoulder, compound fractures on his skull consistent with three severe concussions, seven fractured ribs not counting the ones that have been completely removed, horn amputation, pierced lung, ruptured stomach, heart arrhythmia, multiple fractured vertebrae with possible spinal cord damage, and severe internal haemorrhaging. Plus the extended conditions of missing eye (with a patch haphazardly sewn into his face), ten missing ribs, cirrhosis of the liver, heart strain, swollen adrenal gland, scar tissue on his brain, muscular atrophy and tearing, roundworm, tapeworm, and gingivitis.” The doctor glanced up from the clipboard to give a look to Princess Celestia. She blinked as the doctor finished his list; The others (Pip, Shining, Spike, Twilight and her friends) simply stared. The Princess opened her mouth, but the doctor cut her off.

“Princess, please know that I have full respect for you and the fine guardsponies that protect our fair nation, but you are all being a BUNCH OF FAUST-DAMNED-“ He cut off at raised eyebrows from Shining and the Princesses. “Ahem. You have been acting very unintelligently in dealing with this pony. His injuries are severe enough that he’d be a DBT in triage. I’m left wondering how the f-buck he was cleared to go anywhere but the emergency room.”

“DBT?” Rainbow and Spike asked in unison. The doctor sighed, leaning against the door to Broken’s room.

“‘Don’t Bother Trying’ or ‘Dead Body Twitching’; basically, the pony who’s going to die 99% of the time even if you put full effort on him. Which you can’t do in an emergency situation with a dozen other critically-injured but possibly-savable ponies. So we stuff them with painkillers and leave them in a corner.”

Fluttershy whimpered, and Rarity gave a shocked look at the doctor’s bluntness. “Why in Equestria would you just allow a pony to die?!”

“I just said why. If there’s twelve ponies with fifty percent survival chance, they’re more viable for healing than one pony with one percent. I’ll do my damndest to save everypony, of course, but I’d rather save ten than one or two.”

There was silence for a moment. “If Broken was already so bad, how didn’t he get noticed during the medical check the first time?” Twilight asked. The doctor coughed, turning a mild glare at Shining.

That is something that I’m very interested in finding out.”

“We examined him!” Shining claimed. “He checked out fine! Check your records-“

“My records have ‘suspicious magical levels’ stamped on them in a dozen places! Standard procedure is to remove any chance of magical interference from scans, and SML is an indication that the medical examiner suspects that magic is being used to modify the results! You should have shielded him and tried again, but according to the ME on call the minute he gave you a tenuous clear you went straight to tying anvils to his fetlocks!”

“We couldn’t find any magic to block!”

“What kind of incompetent-“

“He channels magic using only the root of his horn.”

The doctor looked like he’d been punched in the face. His remaining breath fell out of his body, and he stared at the Princess in shock.

“He does what now?”

“He doesn’t use his horn to conduct magic unless he wants to. The magical interference was from the spell he used to make himself look closer to Captain Armor’s physique, channelled directly over his body from his root, possibly using the scars as leylines.”

“…huh. That, that, um…” The doctor blinked. “Damn. That’s not supposed to be possible.”

“Neither was using magic at all with a broken horn, but he did so.”

The doctor scribbled a few things on his clipboard. “That’s true, Princess… hmm. Maybe he’ll acquiesce to tests when he’s further healed?”

“I doubt it.” Twilight answered the stallion. “He said ‘No doctoring stuff unless it’s life and death’, and that’s only supposed to count when I’m alive.”

“Damn. He could be valuable, especially if his brain-“

There was a loud shout from inside the room, followed by several large flashes. The doctor instantly bucked the door down and ran inside, the others following him and finding Broken Shield lying unrestrained on his bed, three apparently-unconscious guardsponies piled in the corner, a nurse held down by a magical barrier. Four horns glowed, then cut out as their shields failed to find anything to latch onto. Broken began to giggle.

“Yeah, that’s a bitch, isn’t it?” The stallion rolled out of the bed, apparently not noticing as the tubes in his arm ripped out. A small trickle of blood coursed down his leg to the floor. His legs wobbled, and suddenly there was a spiderweb of rose-coloured magic wrapped around each limb. The one that was broken got considerably more strands around it. Spike stepped defensively in front of Twilight, but Broken paid him no notice. The stallion stepped forward, the magic strands brightening as their respective hooves impacted the ground. “Still, I’d like my horn back, Princess.”

“We shall see, Broken. Let the nurse go.”

“What? Oh, right.” The barrier lifted, and the nurse immediately sprung towards the group and away from Broken. A magical pulse cut the air, and the guardsponies slid over to the door. “I didn’t hurt them or anything, just paralysed them for a bit. They’ll be walking again in an hour.”

The doctor and nurse began removing the guards. Broken flicked his eye at the doctor before grimacing.

“Bloody traitor…”

“Broken Shield.” The stallion swung his attention back to the Princess. “When we first spoke, you seemed interested in the possibility of returning to a normal life. Is that not true?”

“I would love nothing more than to live as a normal pony again, Princess.”

“And yet, you have seemed oddly resistant to any attempts to aid you. You purposefully chose to sequester yourself in a broom closet, and were only willing to leave the library on select occasions.” Celestia’s wings fluttered a small amount. “On the first, you not only left without supervision, but you proceeded to kill several animals and consume parts of them as sustenance. The second ended in a drunken diatribe on necromancy. The third…” Her wings fluttered again. “When I first released you, you swore to me that you would not attempt to harm Twilight Sparkle.”

“I have kept that oath, your Highness.” Spike coughed a laugh.

“Oh? Then would you care to explain the several times that you threatened her whilst in her care, or your attempt to kill her?”

“I never threatened her, Princess. As far as I’m concerned, Twilight is dead.” A strange look crossed his face, and he shook his head. “Was dead, rather. I’m hoping you aren’t stupid enough to let the bitch in here unless my sister’s still in control.”

“So you recognize the folly in your presumption of Dawn’s presence.”

“I recognize that she wasn’t there. Yet. I maintain that killing Twilight is the best option for stopping the Revolution.”

“Do you not recognize how your simply being here lessens-“

“He does, Princess.” Twilight interjected. “He said so himself.”

“Then you have no excuse! If you know that your presence here has already radically deviated this timeline from yours, why do you insist on your sister’s harm?”

Broken flinched at ‘sister’. “It’s a near impossibility that Dawn will emerge and do the damage she did in my Equestria. ’Near’, Princess. Meaning that there’s still a chance. Not one I’m willing to take, if it means losing Ca- Equestria again.”

Luna spoke up. “Do you know the extent of your actions, Broken Shield?! Your attempts to save Equestria have only harmed those ponies dedicated to protect it!” Her gaze swept between him, Twilight, the guards, and her sister before she continued. “Should you have succeeded at any time in your goal, the effects-“

“I know exactly how terrible they would have been. Cotton Candy’s party cannon would not have been enough to express my joy at seeing the life torn from her eyes.” He wasn’t laughing anymore, and Twilight suspected he had shifted into depression again. The claim he made came not with a grin or smirk but a resignation. Behind Twilight, Applejack shivered. “The fact is, Princesses, that I simply do not care. Dawn needs to die because she will destroy Equestria. Twilight must die for Dawn to die. It’s not something that I want to do, but the simple assurance that Cadance will survive, that you and everypony else who will die when Dawn rises will live to what your lives should have been, is enough that I’m willing to risk the loss of the Elements of Harmony.”

Celestia and Luna regarded Broken with cooled eyes and blank expressions; Twilight recognized Celestia’s face from when she dealt with particularly aggravating diplomats. She was trying to discern a way to open him up without directly attacking him. Her eyes flicked to Pip before she addressed Broken again.

“So far, you’ve put me in more harm than he has.”

Broken blinked at this, his face gaining a kind of blank surprise and horror. “I’ve never tried to harm you, your Highness-“

“Pip injured a doctor on his escape, two broken legs that were easily and quickly healed. You have attempted several times to bring harm to the Element of Magic, and in doing so have injured several guardsponies and destroyed a building of extreme historical importance; my attempts to prevent the latter were the catalyst for my exhausted condition. In point of fact, Pip has done more to protect Equestria than you have-“

The floors raked up, loud pulses of magic forcing the tiles from the stone beneath them as Broken released some of his magic. The floor beneath him darkened, almost looking burned. Shining stepped towards him, stopping at Celestia’s hoof. Broken’s eye wrenched open, glaring at the Princess with unbridled fury.

“Don’t you dare claim that that monster has protected Equestria from anything!

“Why? He’s several times prevented you from harming Twilight. That alone places him as having protected more of Equestria than you. Couple that with his aid in stopping the Everfree Castle’s destruction, and he’s rather deserving of a medal.” Celestia gave a tired smirk. “Ironic, really, that the former guard proves more dangerous to his Princesses than the pony who has killed one of them.”

Broken clenched his jaw. Several small pops sounded, and he opened his mouth to spit out a mixture of blood, teeth, and torn flesh. He tried to speak, but what came out was a mixture of growls and small screams. His face grew red under his fur, and his eye pinpricked as his gaze began to twitch between everypony in the room. Celestia spoke again, her voice less edged.

“I do not mean to injure you, Broken Shield. I am trying to get you to recognize that you have gone too far. ‘Protecting’ us in the manner that you wish to is not going to help anypony. What I want, what we all want, is for you to understand that you are not going to be able to help us until you calm your mind and reign in your malice.”

Broken continued to sputter, his eye twitching as it wheeled around. Twilight kept her eyes on him, barely noticing as the room’s shadows began to darken. A low, blurring fog rose from his small pit in the floor. Broken’s eye fixed on Celestia, and he gained a manic grin.

There was a burst of magic, and Celestia disappeared. In her place the fog had grown, reddened in the exact shape the Princess had occupied. Twilight felt something slide down her face, and she brought a hoof up to wipe it off. The hoof entered her vision, and on it was a smear of blood and a clump of white fur.

Broken’s gaze shifted to Twilight, and Celestia’s body – what remained of it – fell from the ceiling. Pinkened feathers and a small length of her mane were all that were recognisable in the lump of flesh that hit the floor without a sound. Twilight tried to scream, to hit him with magic, to turn and run, to teleport out with all of her friends and Shining and the Princess, but now everything she did came so slowly. She pushed as hard as she could, and her head turned an inch over what felt like a minute. Her eyes were in the furthest corner, and soon she would be able to see Shining, see him casting a spell that would save everypony and make everything okay-

Then she saw the red fog, in the shape of a male unicorn, his mouth open as if he was screaming. Out of the corner of her eye, just under where her vision had been fixed moments before, she saw a small dragon shape in the red mist, one of its arms extended towards her, its claw futilely reaching to grab hold of her.

Her head was suddenly facing forward again, staring into Broken’s eye. His grin had somehow widened, spreading off of his face and exposing a blackness behind his swollen gums and rotting teeth. He stepped forward, as slowly as Twilight had turned her head, but suddenly he was ten feet closer to her, and his hoof raised and he was in front of her. He didn’t breathe, but she felt sickness wash over her, spreading from him and trying to take her in, strangle her, turn her into a sick pastiche of herself as Broken was Shining-

Magic sprung from her horn, striking Broken in the mouth, in the blackness. He disappeared, and Twilight barely managed to recognize that her magic had been in some way abnormal before she felt a large weight press into her back. Another wave of the sickness washed over her as Broken leaned closer to her face.

“That wasn’t nice, Twily…” The words entered her head without Broken’s mouth moving. The shadows crept around Twilight, the fog spreading up to her neck, barely leaving her head exposed. “You need to die. It’s Celestia or you. Cadance or you. Dazzle or you. You need to die.”

“No…” Twilight whispered. She felt the shadows, the fog, creep further.

“You need to die.”

“Please…” The sickness swam in her mind.

“Die…”

“I… I need…” The fog, the shadow, the sickness, each growing.

Die…

The fog enveloped her, the sickness took her mind, the darkness took her body, and the three forces grew around her, coalescing into a thing that hanged her over an abyss by her horn. She could see Broken’s face, even further deformed, leaning in, his breath not rotting or disgusting but in some way generally wrong, like it was something that simply should not exist. He was still speaking, a raspy whisper that she couldn’t hear but could still understand.

“…need to… d-“

“BEGONE, ABOMINATION!”

A voice tore through the void, tore through everything. Broken gave a many-voiced roar of anger before he was swept away with the darkness, and Twilight was suddenly free and falling to the floor. A cool magic stopped her, holding her gently, enveloping her in calm and safety against the fog’s coldness and aggression, its glow destroying the shadows, its warmth erasing the sickness. Twilight’s eyes opened – she hadn’t closed them, but she opened them nonetheless – and saw Princess Luna, blurred and fading. The room began to melt as Twilight’s eyes lost sight.



“Twilight? Twilight…”

The voice came into Twilight’s mind, then faded away again. She sighed as she began to awaken, curling her hooves further close to her. The substance beneath her was some sort of soft fabric, and Twilight rubbed her head into it. It felt rather nice, warm and clean, not a dense, cold, warped, cloying fog that grew up her legs an-

Suddenly Twilight was very wide awake, rapidly sitting up, her heart audible in her chest and her breathing quickened. She sensed a large wing near her, and without thinking wrapped both forehooves around it, nuzzling into the familiar, safe feeling.

“Princess…” she mumbled. Regardless of her wakefulness, she was still oddly exhausted. Her thoughts moved cloudily (not fog not fog not fog) and her brain was scattered besides.

“Er… I was unaware that Celestia was so… physical, with you, Twilight…”

Twilight’s eyes opened enough in shock that she could see the deep blue of the wing she was cuddling. She quickly let go of it and slid away, blushing through her coat while giving a guilty look at Princess Luna.

“I-I’m sorry, Princess-“

“Do not fear, Twilight. I was rather unnerved by your dream as well.”

Twilight blinked, patches of her episode coming back to her. “What… what happened?”

“Broken calmed down and spoke properly, muttering an agreement with my sister that, perhaps, he had gone too far. Shining noticed that you seemed distant, and when he tried to gain your attention you began to scream. Loudly.” Luna rubbed a hoof between her eyes. “Everypony was alarmed, of course, and even moreso when you collapsed and began shaking. The doctor examined you and claimed that you were in no apparent harm, that you appeared to simply be sleeping. ‘Having a bad dream.’ he said. I entered as quickly as I could, and came across you.” The Princess paused, clearly trying to articulate the rest of the explanation. “That dream… you’ve had it before, yes? Similar ones, at least?”

Twilight nodded. “A few times… once when Broken left the first time, then when we had just left Sugarcube Corner. And once with Fluttershy-“

Luna shook her head. “The last was simply a nightmare, Twilight, as far as I could view it. The two – now three - with Broken were not.”

“Princess?”

“There is something different, something off, about those dreams in particular. Obviously, they are odd in that they occur while you are awake. But there’s something more to them.” Luna thought for a moment. “I was only able to observe the last few moments of the first two of the… the ‘events’, let’s say, before they ended naturally. Can you give me any information on them, anything that seems unique to them in the nightmares that you can remember having?”

“Besides Broken?” Twilight asked, a weak grin pulling at her lips. Luna nodded gravely.

“Yes. Can you tell me how these ‘events’ often begin?”

Twilight thought back. Her mind still felt sluggish, but she managed to pull up the relevant memories. “With both of the other ones, they just happened. One moment normal, the next I can’t move and Broken’s got this… this evil look, and there’s always just this underlying sense of dread, and he’s always doing something, the one by the lake he was trying to push his horn through my jaw and the one in the alley he’d taken my horn out and he was trying to push his horn into my brain and-“

“Twilight!” Luna yelled. The purple unicorn snapped her jaw shut, only now realizing that she had begun to panic again. Luna gave her a few moments to calm herself before pressing her to continue.

“Er, but yeah, um, there wasn’t any buildup with the first two. The first one looked normal the whole time, which is what scared me so much, and the second was just instantly darker and more shadowed. With this one, the fog and the shadows happened… they were only a few seconds before the ‘event’, but it wasn’t instant.”

“I see. Were there anything about the first two that stand out to you? Moreso than the events themselves?”

Twilight’s chin throbbed. “In the first one, Broken – the one in the dream – he was pressing his horn into my jaw, to go through to my brain. When the dream stopped, the normal Broken pointed out that my chin was bleeding.”

Luna nodded, like a mystery had just been solved. “Let me see.”

Twilight lifted her head, and Luna leaned down. She touched the tip of her horn to Twilight’s jaw for a second, quickly withdrawing it and nodding again.

“Princess?”

“I was simply examining the wound. At least, where it was.” She smiled at Twilight. “It appears that my worst fears were likely unfounded.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Twilight, many nightmares are constructs designed to help a pony work through a stressful situation, such as when they are extremely afraid. Such nightmares would be perfectly understandable for a pony placed in your position. However, these ‘events’ you have had are unusual in two ways. One, they have happened exclusively while you were awake, and do not last particularly long. Unless interrupted early, of course.” She paused a moment, making sure Twilight was still following her. “Second, they appear to be… more solid, let’s say. The first two were over before I could properly observe them, but the third…” she paused again. “With the third, I was able to observe something extremely unusual.”

“Which was?”

“Magic. Not the magic you casted in the dream, mind you, but the entire dream was threaded through with magical energy. It seemed to be maintaining the parts of the dream that you had lost focus on, parts that would normally simply fade away. Your jaw wound holds traces of the same magic as the magic that seems to be strengthening your ‘events’; I would wager that it was magically torn during the first ‘event’.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed. “So, what, has somepony been making me have these? I mentioned one to Broken, but he didn’t take credit for it.”

“Actually, Twilight, I fear that the pony responsible for the magic is you.”

“Oh.” Twilight blinked. “How?”

“That is something I am still unsure on.” Luna admitted. “I worry that it may be a side effect of your loss of Princesshood.”

“You mean my turning back into a unicorn?” Luna nodded. Twilight thought. “Princess Celestia did say that she didn’t know if everything would instantly go back to normal… maybe my horn’s trying to get rid of some of the extra magic that it can’t handle anymore?”

“Perhaps. I would hope that ‘extra magic’ would quickly release, given the effects that it can have…” Luna blinked, raising her head and twitching her ear. “It seems that my sister has finished her discussion with Broken Shield.” Her tone was neutral, and Twilight winced – Luna probably disliked not having been there to see Celestia lay into the scarred stallion. The Princess of the Night turned back to her sister’s student. “I would request that, the next time you have an ‘event’, you weather it as best you can and report as many details as you can recall.”

“’Weathering it’ won’t exactly be easy, Princess…”

“I shall aid you should it prove too great a risk to handle alone, Twilight. In my knowledge, however, it is always beneficial for a pony to heal herself as best she can before obtaining aid to fully eliminate her ills.”

Twilight nodded, not wanting to delay any further. She went to the door of the room (only now noticing how opulent the furnishings were – Twilight realized that she may actually have been in Luna’s private chambers) and opened it.

She was immediately pulled out of the room and crushed in the centre of five ponies and a dragon.



By the time she had finished assuring everypony (and Spike) that she was perfectly fine, giving them a general summary of what had happened, Shining had already come to retrieve them. They quickly made their way back to the medical wing, the high distance confirming to Twilight that Luna’s talk had occurred in a room close to her actual chambers if not actually them. Celestia, Broken, and the doctor (as well as several guards, different from the ‘paralysed’ ones) stood outside of the hospital room. Broken laughed when Twilight was close enough to hear him.

“If you’re gonna keep doing that, do me a favour and just have an aneurysm already.”

If you’re going to keep crying at night, do me a favour and find a whorse to do it with. The words leapt unbidden from her mind, causing her to stumble in shock. What in Faus-

“Twilight-“

“I’m fine. Just… thinking.” Twilight sat down across from Broken and Celestia. She felt a small rush of air from behind her, and was actually grateful for the somewhat-familiar presence of Pip. Broken growled, but didn’t otherwise move. Twilight figured that this was promising.

“I have come to an agreement with Broken Shield.” She cast an eye over everypony (and Spike) before continuing. “He has agreed not to harm anypony without my or Twilight’s express permission, unless he is expressly defending himself or an innocent party from harm. He’s also disallowed from damaging anypony’s property.”

“So you’re basically just askin’ him to follow Equestrian law?” Applejack asked. “Not much of a punishment.”

“I’ve sworn an oath over this, Applejack.” Broken responded.

“Yeah, that really helped yesterday…”

“Yesterday, my oath was to not harm Twilight. Now, I can’t harm anypony, including Dawn, unless they attack me.”

“But y’did harm Twilight-“

“Not from my view, I didn’t.” Broken shook his head. “This doesn’t matter. Princess, if you’d-“

“Jus’ hold on a minute! What’s t’stop y’from breakin’ this ‘oath’ this time ‘round?”

“If I tried, my brain would tear itself in half, liquefy, and ooze out of my face.”

Applejack froze, her mouth open in a now-dying retort. Everypony (and Spike, save Pip) wore masks of horror, the guards doing an admirable job of remaining stoic but nonetheless unable to totally hide their shock. Celestia did considerably better; her eyes merely widened an inch, turning to watch Broken.

“Is that true?” She asked. Broken coughed.

“We took our oaths very seriously, Princess.”

“Oathbreakers here just fall unconscious.” Shining mentioned, slightly detachedly. Broken blinked.

“Hmm. I wonder if that means…”

He very suddenly gained a grin, his eye flicking towards Twilight. She immediately threw a shield around herself and her friends. A bolt of rose-coloured magic still shot towards her, slicing though the shield and nearly meeting her head. Instead, it simply grazed her cheek before moving behind her.

There was a small zap, and Twilight both heard a wheezing cough and felt a splatter of blood hit her in the back. She turned, the useless shield dying as she saw the crater in Pip’s chest.

“PIP!” She screamed. The stallion blinked, a trickle of blood snaking down from the corner of his mouth. He opened his mouth again, emitted a wet growling sound, then closed it again. He continued to stand there passively, his eye blank, his breathing steady, even as the wound began oozing blood.

Twilight heard several voices from behind her, as well as something large and soft hitting the ground. Then she was shoved roughly out of the way by the rapidly cursing doctor.

“Sonofabitching whorsemonger Faust-bucking psychopathic hayplaying ingrown BUCKING FAUST DAMNED-“ The rest of his diatribe was cut off into a frustrated roar as he clenched his teeth, his horn touching to the wound and brightly glowing. He stiffened, staring at the already-clotted bit-sized hole in Pip’s chest, then up at the stallion himself, then back at Twilight. “He has a healing spell on him already.”

“Yeah.” Twilight heard her mouth mumble. “He heals really fast.”

“By Faust, does he…” The doctor muttered. Pip’s wound had already began shrinking, dried blood falling off, skin and fur somehow regrowing instantly. “This is-“

“Doctor!” Celestia spoke loudly. The stallion turned, beginning to curse again as he moved back to the Princess. Twilight glanced over, noticing that Broken appeared to be convulsing on the floor, held down by Shining and another guardspony. Twilight turned back to Pip, somehow unsurprised to see no trace of the wound on him save the blood that had fallen onto his fur.

“Pip, are you alright?”

“I am perfectly fine, Milady.”

“You just got shot in the chest.”

“I have suffered worse injuries, Milady.”

Twilight was about to rebut that when she realized that he had, undoubtedly, suffered worse than a hole in his chest. She shuddered at his blasé expression, turning her eyes to the rest of the group. Fluttershy had shrunken back towards Rainbow; the latter and Applejack were watching Pip with slightly wary expressions. Spike, Rarity, and Pinkie seemed more interested in Broken’s condition, while Luna directly walked over to commune with her sister.

The doctor pulled away from the scarred stallion. “An aneurysm, he had a fuc-BUCKING aneurysm…” His eyes found Celestia. “Princess, if this kind of shi-cra-stuff keeps happening, he’s going to die.

“I am aware, my little pony.” She leaned her horn down, touching the bridge between Broken’s horn and his skull. The stallion shuddered, his eye opening only to roll back into his head. After several seconds, Celestia raised her horn, and Broken rapidly sat up again.

“Whatza hooza what the buck just happened?!”

“You had an aneurysm.” The doctor said.

“I locked your magic.” Celestia said.

Broken blinked, glancing between the two before apparently deciding that Celestia’s statement was more important. “What do you mean, ‘locked my magic’?”

“Simple. You can’t do magic until I release the lock.”

“And that will be…?”

“When you stop trying to kill Pip.”

Broken blinked again. “So I’m a flathead forever, eh?”

Luna sucked in a gasp, but Celestia’s eyes simply narrowed. “I do not understand why you cannot accept that Pip is to be included in your ‘don’t harm anypony’ oath.”

“Simple. He’s not a pony.”

Celestia glanced over at Pip. “He certainly looks like a pony, Broken Shield.”

“Looks aren’t everything.” Broken responded. “That thing murdered Princess Luna, alongside a hundred guardsponies and-“ the stallion stopped speaking. Twilight could almost see the light go on behind his eyes.

“Broken?” Celestia tapped him with a hoof. He gained a manic grin.

“You know what? I’m tired. I want a story. Pip!” the pinto stallion didn’t appear to acknowledge Broken’s call. “Pip, you little bastard, you, why don’t you tell us what happened at the Cutie Mark Freedom Movement?”

“Cutie Mark Freedom Movement?” Twilight said, her brows furrowed. “Was that a resistance group?”

“Oh, it was a very special resistance group. Just ask Pip there.”

Twilight turned, regarding the stoic pony with worried eyes. “Pip… what is Broken talking about?”

“I believe that Broken Shield is referring to the raid on the CMFM headquarters that was initiated to investigate claims that the group was harbouring fugitives and weaponry that could be used to violently rise up against the rightful democratic government.”

“Tell them what happened, you sack of-“

“Tell us what happened, Pip.” Twilight cut off Broken’s growl. Pip nodded. He did nothing for a moment, then Twilight noticed that his eye had dulled even more; he stared into space in much the same way he had when recalling where he had placed the explosives.

Very quickly, Pip opened his mouth and began to speak.

---

“Attention. All non-Guard ponies are to clear the area immediately. This is a Guard action. Please clear the streets until notified. Attention…”

The day was bright, the sun just creaking into its peak as Pip surveyed the building. It was in the standard Ponyville style; wood framed, multiple large windows, large door, thatched roof. These latter traits created a welcoming atmosphere the majority of the time. They also made the building extremely easy to forcibly enter, especially compared to the stone and hardwood of Canterlot.

“Sir?” A guard spoke. Pip turned, staring at the stallion. “The streets around the CMFM headquarters have been cleared, sir. Sewer teams have blocked off any possible escape route, and the shield unicorns have telebarriers in. Pegasi are ready for your order.” Pip nodded, turning back to the CMFM’s headquarters, watching the shadows pass by behind the glass.

“Go.”

A flare shot up from the unicorn beside him. Ten pegasi silently emerged from the roofs of the buildings around the CMFMHQ, five pairs each carrying a unicorn. The unicorns lowered their horns and fired bolts in unison, each magical missile blasting a window’s glass into the building. They aimed higher, again firing in unison and blasting holes into the roof. The pegasi leaned up, throwing the unicorns through the now-clear windows before alighting on the roof and diving through the thatch. In the same moment, unicorns on the ground began peppering the lower floor with bolts of magic, destroying the windows and sending the doors flying into the entrance room in splinters. The shots abruptly ceased after ten seconds, giving way to a wave of earth ponies followed by the unicorns. Pip waited thirty seconds – ordered delay for ponies in command of a particular operation – before walking into the building himself, flanked by two Risen unicorns.

The interior was slightly smoking from the assault; Pip noticed that a guard was stamping out a fire in the corner of the room, and ordered one of his unicorns to aid the pony. She startled as the fire suddenly smothered under a magical block, but gave him a grateful, and respectful, smile and salute when she saw him. Pip nodded at her, walking past and entering into the main hall.

The detainees currently captured were held here, a group of thirty or so lined against the walls in one corner. They each had small damages, from either the initial barrage or their arrests. One pegasus glared at him from behind a swollen eye and cut nose, though most either cried or stared into space. The more injured lay moaning in between the two lines of their able-bodied compatriots. Pip continued his travel through the building, the glaring pony beginning to yell at him. There was a crack, and the pony fell silent.

Pip ascended the stairs to the second floor, one hoof on the flat platforms and the other on the angled ramp that had taken up half the width of the staircase. The rooms up here were still being cleared; one that Pip walked past holding a resisting detainee and several guards beating him into submission. Pip didn’t fear that pony’s aggression catching; any hope of group resistance had been castrated by the initial assault’s suddenness and severity. The door at the end of the hall was the only intact one, Pip’s unicorns simply tearing it out of the way.

Another twenty-five ponies had crowded into this room, about two-thirds the size of the main hall downstairs. Window-dropped unicorns and roof-breaching pegasi held them in a circle in the centre of the room, and Pip was easily able to identify their ringleader.

“Scootaloo.” The purple-maned pegasus raised her head at his voice, her eyes widening as she saw him.

Pipsqueak?!” She gasped. The ponies around her respectfully cleared a path as she stepped forward, the wheels of her cart squealing in protest. The stampede during the First Ponyville Revolution had left her quadriplegic, only actually able to use her forelegs; the four useless limbs did maintain some nerve function, her hindlegs and wings twitching as she moved. “Dear Celestia, I saw the pictures but-“ she cut off as she saw the look in his eyes. Remembering her position, she took in a breath. “Might I ask why the Cutie Mark Freedom Movement is being treated like we’re Loyalists? Last I checked, Twilight wanted groups like us to keep running.”

“Scootaloo. We have received information from multiple sources that indicate that you and your resistance organization are both aiding assaults by terrorist groups and harbouring fugitives. As such, you have been placed under strong suspicion of violating the Rights and Freedoms Act, charged with aiding violent action against the Revolution, and violating the Harmony Order, charged with holding unregistered non-ponies within the Equestrian border. Do you admit to these charges?”

Scootaloo sighed. “We’re a pacifist group, Pip. I lost my two best friends to ‘violent action’. I wouldn’t be stupid enough to encourage Shining and his lot.”

“And on the charge of-“

“They’re in the basement.” Scootaloo said bluntly. Several of the ponies behind her gasped, and she turned to address them. “They would’ve been found anyways, this way they have a chance of surviving.” She turned back to Pip. “Will that be all?”

Pip turned to one of the Risen unicorns. The mare nodded, walking out of the room. His head moved back to face Scootaloo. He stepped forwards, one hoof reaching into his armour to grab the hoofcuffs stored there. He quickly slapped them around her forelegs, tightening them until they bit into her flesh. She winced, and several of her ponies started to step towards her.

“No!” Scootaloo hissed. The ponies backed down, and she looked up to stare Pip in the eyes. He stared back at her blankly, and she averted her gaze. “What did she do to you, Pip?”

The stallion didn’t answer. He turned and walked out of the room, the remaining Risen unicorn grabbing the restrained pegasus and dragging her along.



Ponies were already being loaded into carriages by the time Pip and Scootaloo exited the CMFMHQ. She stared silently at the fearful faces on her ponies before shifting her gaze to Pip.

“What are we waiting for? If you’re going to arrest me, arrest me.”

“Sir!” A guard ran out of the building, his armour damaged and his face bearing several long cuts. “The basement… they have a barricade up, sir! Unicorns are keeping us held back, and whenever we get close gryphons jump out and rip us to pieces!”

“No!” Scootaloo gasped. “Dammit, no, no, no…” She shuffled in front of Pip, giving him a look that begged mercy. “Pip, please, you can do whatever you want to me, just don-“

“RAAAAGH!”

Pip’s head snapped to the side as he focussed on the source of the noise; several ponies in battered golden armour galloped down the street, the one in front bearing a mop of blue hair and a single eye, his mouth opened in wordless rage. Each was a unicorn, and they send cords of magic flying at the guards on the street, cutting through several of them at various points. The injured guard Pip had just spoken to fell with a choked gurgle, his head lolling to one side as his neck lost the majority of the tissue connecting it to his body. Scootaloo screamed, and Pip began moving towards the attacking ponies. Disorganized shots were sent back at the rushing group by guards, and Pip could hear their sergeants ordering them into proper firing formations. The Guard pegasi took flight, preparing to dive bomb the attackers, before they were hit by magic fire and formerly-hidden rebel flyers. Pip dodged around a falling leg, torn from a guard’s body by a rebel gryphon, and that movement drew Shining’s attention to him.

Shining loosed a large blast of energy at Pip’s position, hitting it just as Pip stepped immediately in front of one of the attacking unicorns. The mare reared back, and Pip took the opportunity to buck her in the stomach. She doubled over, allowing Pip to grab her head and twist it sharply around. The pony fell limp, and Pip threw the corpse into Shining before stepping just ahead of the second attacker. He kicked the stallion’s leg, shattering the metacarpal, and swept his leg up to catch the stallion in the chest just as he began to scream. Pip followed this with a punch to the mouth, and the stallion fell back with a wet sound, his lungs filling with blood and shattered enamel as he instinctively tried to draw in breath. Pip grabbed the pony’s broken leg by the protruding length of bone, tearing it off and sending his eyes rolling back into his head as the shock hit him. Pip didn’t bother stepping again; instead, he simply threw the leg at the third rebel, catching her in the neck with the sharp edge, and before she could react he had bridged the distance and bucked the leg further into her neck, the point of the bone severing her spine. He turned to face Shining as she dropped to the ground, but found that the stallion had disappeared.

Pip took a breath, hearing organized blasts of magic firing into the air, followed by several bodies hitting the ground. A few more shots up and bodies down, and the skies were clear. He began walking back to Scootaloo, stepping blithely over the fallen carnage.

The young mare sat staring at the dead guard, her eyes wide and her pupils shrunken. She didn’t even register as Pip stepped up behind her.

“Scootaloo. You have hereby been charged with aiding in the deaths of at minimum four guardsponies, coupled with the harbouring of violent fugitives and providing suspected aid to violent terrorist groups. As First Guard, I pronounce you effectively guilty of all charges.”

She didn’t move, her eyes staring past the guard, seeing some scene beyond Pip’s view. She gained a small smile, opening her mouth to speak.

“Wait up, guys.”

Pip grabbed her mane, pulling her neck straight. Then he drove a hoof into her spine, severing it at the base of her skull. She fell, her eyes glossed over, still bearing a smile.

Pip glanced at the body for a moment before turning to his remaining Risen guard.

“Cordon off the basement. When the upper floors are clear, set the building on fire. Shoot anything that tries to get out.”

The Risen unicorn nodded, holding the same stoicism as Pip. He turned and walked back into the building. Pip gave another look at Scootaloo’s body before moving on to more important matters.

---

“Liar.”

“I have endeavoured-“

“CUT THAT FUCKING CRAP!” Broken roared. He glanced around the gathered ponies, taking in their disturbed expressions. “You want to know what he really did? Princess? Shining? Twilight?”

Celestia took a moment, but she slowly nodded. Broken grinned mirthlessly.

“The Loyalist attack happened, and we were beaten back. But there were no carriages. There was no violent resistance. The guards locked everypony inside the building in the basement except for Scootaloo.” He took a shuddering breath.

“They broke her wheelchair, then set the building on fire. When she tried to crawl towards it, Pip broke her working legs. Then he stepped on her back, holding her on the ground as he tore out her wings with his teeth. He ripped out the flight tendons, tied them together, wrapped them in a noose around her neck, and hanged her after forcing her to watch the building collapse on her followers.”

Broken stood as Pinkie began to cry. Rainbow quickly grabbed her and held her close, rocking her love back and forth in an attempt to comfort her, as she gave a horrified stare at Pip. This stare was matched by everyone gathered there except Broken and Pip himself.

Broken glanced around, happier with the current reactions. As he opened the door to his room, he decided to twist the knife a little further, hoping to hit an artery.

“By the way, everypony in the CMFM was under the age of sixteen. Entrance requirement.

Pip burned seventy foals to death.”

Then he walked into his room and slid the door shut.