Prevention

by Mind Matter


Peroration

“Well that doesn’t sound good…”

Applejack voiced the general feeling of the room. Twilight and Celestia had just finished relating Broken’s accounts of his past, and while they had, at Celestia’s discretion, skimmed over the more ‘detailed’ parts (for both time and to prevent unnecessary reactions), there was still enough to give the others some worry. Each bore a brow-furrowed look of contemplation; Rainbow, as usual, was the first to emerge from it.

“So, wait, everything that happened to us over there was different?” The prismatic pegasus asked.

“Well, just about everything that was ‘over there’ was different from how it is here, skewed in a more extreme direction. I’m not sure that that applies to, say, the boiling point of water, but it certainly applies to such things as the opinions of ponies on species relations.” Twilight shook her head, and Rainbow was quiet for a few seconds.

“But doesn’t that mean that he’s kinda useless?” The pegasus asked. Both Twilight and Celestia tilted their ears.

“What do you mean, my little pony?”

“Well, if things didn’t happen over there like they did over here, then we don’t even know that anything he said about his own timeline would match up with ours. I mean, just the differences between our meeting Zecora and his versions of us; The Poison Joke nearly killed AJ and her sister, without the rest of us actually touching it because Fluttershy knew about it back when we were going after Nightmare Moon, and we actually encountered it then as well. That alone is, like, five or six differences that majorly affect the story.

“And Zecora wasn’t even a jerk! He killed the buffalo, he killed the Changeling Queen and all the other Changelings, I think I heard somepony say he killed Discord, somehow! Who knows what happened to Flim and Flam, or Lighting Dust, or, or Trixie! If he did something like arrest Trixie after the Ursa thing, then she probably wouldn’t have gotten that amulet, wouldn’t have come back and taken over Ponyville! Maybe the town wouldn’t have supported Dawn if they’d had Trixie’s takeover as a reminder of what happens when crazy unicorns with super-magic get into power around there!”

Both Twilight and Celestia stared with wide eyes at Rainbow Dash, as did everypony else present except for Pip.

“That is… surprisingly well thought out, Rainbow Dash.” Celestia finally said. Rainbow gave a small grin.

“You don’t have to sound surprised…”

“Yeah she does.” Applejack retorted, elbowing Rainbow in the ribs joshingly. “But y’make a good point. Princess, Ah know we settled this, but this only adds t’why Broken shouldn’t come back t’Ponyville. If he’s gettin’ everythin’ wrong, then…”

“Firstly, Applejack, even an overestimate can tell you that you have a crop.” Applejack nodded slowly, but Celestia continued for the others. “Just because the events and reactions that Broken experienced are more extreme than the ones that we can expect, they still tell us that something in that area will happen. Broken has mentioned several times the deteriorating relations between Gryphonia and Draconia; we can thus prepare for possible diplomatic fallout between the two nations, if not necessarily going so far as a war. We can also prepare to enforce our interests in Zebrica and the surrounding area, thus discouraging any violent expansionist plans Gryphonia has for the nation.

“My sister has been investigating the claims Pip made about the current conditions of Equestria; while they are not as dire as he made them out to be, there are still several points of his that we can adapt and apply to our leadership, ones which we would likely never have thought of without his observations of their possible extreme outcomes. Hence the ‘Citizen’s Court’ that she had to miss this occasion in order to attend.” Celestia turned to Pip and gave him a smile. “I must thank you for the suggestions on how to ‘keep our heads attached to our shoulders’, Pip.”

“I did not bring your failures to your attention for your benefit, Princess. My duty is to the wellbeing and safety of her Ladyship, and through her Lady Dawn, and through her all Equestrians.”

“Nonetheless, I must thank you. I hope that whatever happens in our future, we can resolve any unpleasantness without violent conflict.”

Pip blinked. “While I am aware that you likely meant that as a threat against the Revolution, I am required by her Ladyship’s request for civility to accept the sentiment and return it. May the future of Equestria be peaceful and directed towards a new, greater day.”

The two ponies stared at each other for a few moments. Twilight slowly slipped between the two.

“Er, and what was the second reason, Princess?”

“Oh, of course. The second reason, my little ponies, is that he is one of my little ponies. Just as you are and just as Pip is. He is a very damaged, very angry pony, but he is still suffering and in need of our help.” Applejack raised her hoof, but Celestia continued speaking. “I am aware of his past actions, Applejack, but Twilight has specifically requested that she be allowed to be the one to help him; with the increased security we’ve placed upon him, I believe that she can aid him without risking any more than she would with any other traumatized pony.”

“An’ y’just go ‘round grantin’ custody t’anypony who wants t’‘help’ somepony like Broken?”

“Of course not. This is a unique case, and I am simply going with my own knowledge and the recommendations of the assigned psychologist. Broken has gotten better, even in the short time he was down there before being brought back, and the rules I have placed upon him will both encourage his integration into proper pony life and lessen the probability of his attempting to harm Twilight.”

Applejack looked the diarch up and down before sighing. “Ah’m not gonna pretend t’know better than you, Princess, but like Ah said before, Ah’m just tryin’ t’keep my friends and loved ones safe. Broken… Ah get that he’s not tryin’ t’be bad, but he is bad, an’ Ah’m not gonna stand fer lettin’ him just waltz around waitin’ fer an opportunity t’kill Twilight.”

“With his new oaths, any attempts to harm her will be-“

“Sorry, Princess, but he’s already said that he’s plannin’ t’die. Even if y’don’t tell him about his condition, he’s still perfectly at peace with the idea a’killin’ himself so long as Dawn is dead. Ah know that there are spells that can cause instant death, faster than any oath can activate, an’ if he gets it in his mind t’use one…”

“Applejack, if Broken wanted Twilight to die, don’t you think he’d have killed her the second he saw her?”

The farmpony’s (and everyone else’s, bar Pip’s) eyebrows rose. “Princess-“

“Applejack, I want an answer. If Broken Shield truly wanted to kill Twilight Sparkle, especially given that he thought that she was already Rising Dawn on at least three occasions, would or would he not have used a death spell the moment he laid his eye on her?”

“Er… Ah don’t…”

“Given that he didn’t, I can presume one of two things about him. The first is that he is far more mentally unstable than my investigation, Twilight’s records, and Dr. Path’s testimony have placed him, to the point where he began enjoying the suffering and despair surrounding him in Dawn’s Equestria and has actually been purposefully allowing Dawn to survive in order to perpetuate that suffering for his own pleasure. Given his interactions with us, I do not believe that this is the case.

“The second is quite different, based on his behaviours, coupled with Dr. Path’s and Twilight’s observations: While he puts up an aggressive and callous front, he is in reality a mentally fragile, self-loathing stallion who blames himself for the death of his family and the suffering of everypony around him. His mind has desperately latched on to the idea that Dawn is the cause of all of his ills, and in that respect he is probably correct. However, his focus on killing Dawn has built her death up as the entire base of his existence. When she dies, he will have nothing left, no justification for his continued life.”

Twilight gave a small smile, somewhat glad and surprised that Celestia had come to the same conclusion as her on Broken’s mental state. Applejack continued her query.

“Given that he wants t’die, Ah’m not seein’ where yer goin’ with this, Princess…”

“In Broken’s timeline, he had nothing left; his wife and child had been brutally murdered, his parents killed, his sister gone and replaced by a madmare… the Equestria that he knew was destroyed. He had no hope, no reason for being other than to exact revenge on she who had taken everything from him. In that context, I have no doubt that he would have used a death spell should he have been able, then ended his own life soon after.

“However, it is my belief that when he discovered the capability to travel between timelines, to an Equestria, our Equestria, where everything was ‘as it should be’, a desperate hope developed in his mind, hope that he does not need to die because Dawn has not yet ruined this world, not yet stolen from him what she had in his own timeline. Broken himself likely doesn’t recognize this; he has played the role of a cruel, hateful stallion for so long that he seems to see himself as incapable of holding happiness or any truly positive emotion. While his conscious mind still tracks towards violently ending any chance of Dawn’s rise and with it his own life, that small amount of hope for a different path is stopping him from acting upon his plans. There have been three times now where Broken has held Twilight’s life in his hooves, and in each he refused the simplest, most direct path to her demise.”

When it was clear that Celestia was waiting for a response before continuing her tract, Applejack cleared her throat. “So y’think he doesn’t want t’kill her? Er, he does, but his brain don’t? Ah’m getting’ confused, here.” Applejack glanced at the others; only Twilight seemed to show any solid understanding of Celestia’s words.

“That is likely the case. I don’t think that he wants to die, not when he has me, my sister, his sister, his wife all alive, and his daughter soon to come. His death was a way of escaping from an existence where he had nothing left. Now that he has those things back…”

Celestia allowed herself to trail off, leaving the end of the statement unspoken. Once again, Applejack replied.

“Y’think he ain’t killed Twilight yet because he doesn’t want to die? What’s stoppin’ him from killin’ her an’ not killin’ himself?”

“For one, I’ve promised to make good on your wish should he attempt to harm her again, along with a few extra stipulations.” Applejack blinked, but nodded. “Secondly, he still thinks that he needs to kill himself after she’s gone. His mind doesn’t want to die, and thus, because it is also thinking under the condition that Twilight’s death must be followed by his own, has been stopping him from killing her.”

“So… Broken wants t’kill Twilight an’ then kill himself because he doesn’t have anything to live for after she dies, but there’s a part of his mind that’s been stopping him from actually going through with it because it wants him to live and see everythin’ go like it was ‘supposed’ to, even though he still thinks he has to kill himself when he kills Twilight.” Applejack asked.

Celestia nodded. “I believe that that is an accurate summation, my little-“

“Ah’m sorry, Princess, but Ah really, really, don’t get this.”

“I do!”

A pink pony appeared, very suddenly, next to Applejack. The farmpony dug her hoof into her face.

“Alright, then, Pinkie, go ahead an’ explain it. Please.”

“It’s easy, silly! Broken’s like me when I’m all frowny-face-straight-hair sad, and he has a part of him that’s like happy-bouncy-curly-hair me, but that part’s inside his noggin instead of on the outside like I am! Broken, being the frowny-face-sad part, is all mopey and sad and mad at Dawn for making him like that, so he thinks that after he gets rid of Dawn he should go away too because that way she can’t make anypony sad like him and he doesn’t have to be sad anymore because he’ll be dead and you can’t be sad when you’re dead. Buuuuuut, he doesn’t know that he still has a happy-part left, and that happy part’s trying really really hard to say ‘Hey! I’m still here! Killing yourself is a bad idea!’ and even though he doesn’t know that he still has a happy-part he’s still kinda listening to it and not wanting to kill himself, so then he can’t kill Twilight/Dawn either because both parts still think he has to kill himself when he kills Twilight/Dawn even though the happy-part really doesn’t want him to do it!”

Applejack gave a narrow-eyed stare at Pinkie before turning her gaze to Celestia.

“An’ somehow, that made more sense t’me than what you said.” When the Princess shrugged and smiled, Applejack continued. “So Ah’m guessin’ what y’were tryin’ t’say was that we don’t need t’worry about Broken killin’ Twilight cause he’s never gonna be able t’actually go through with it?”

“That is what I believe, yes.”

“An’ there’s that word again. Apologies that Ah’m skeptical, Princess, when y’can’t give me reason not t’watch him other that y’‘believe’ he won’t hurt her…”

“I remind you, Applejack, that that ‘belief’ is based on both Dr. Path’s and Twilight’s observations, as well as my own experience in… dealing with ponies like him over my millennia of rule.” Celestia gave a soft smile as the addressed mare put her ears back. “I’m not going to stop you from keeping a suspicious eye on him; to do so would be naïve to the point of likely causing harm. But my entire point in sending him back down is to grow that hopeful sense that I know he has; to be rather crude, I’m hoping to shove enough love and kindness down his throat that he’s unable to maintain his callous façade and opens up, so that we can truly begin healing him rather than dealing with his symptoms. As such, I must ask that you treat him civilly, even if you don’t trust him. He’s already going to be feeling somewhat oppressed by my conditions on his being down there, and having another pony be openly opposed to him, the one of you that he was closest to in his own world, isn’t going to encourage him to drop his guard.”

Applejack looked like she was about to say more, but a loud bang sounded from down the hallway. Everypony turned to see a rather-narrow-eyed doctor stalking up towards them, an armoured, blue-maned stallion trotting next to him.

“I kept him out as long as I could, Princess!” Shining called. Celestia laughed, waving a hoof.

“Do not worry, my little pony.” Her gaze shifted to the doctor. “Last I checked, I had fifty-seven seconds left. That was seven seconds ago… now.”

“You weren’t supposed to go for the full thing, Princess, the bucking time limit was meant as a bare-scraping-by measure, and you just…” He gave a rough sigh.

“As I have said, I am well aware of my limits, Dr. Shelter. I promise you that a few extra minutes will not harm me.”

“Oh f-buck no, Princess, you’ve been skirting just over the limit this entire week, I know how long ‘a few extra bucking minutes’ really is! It’s not like I want to keep you bedridden, Princess, but you are a pony, and I shouldn’t need to remind you that you’re just as susceptible to exhaustion as anypony else! Have you even thought about what might happen if you had collapsed in front of one of the commoners?! The whole country would be panicking about their ‘dying’ Princess within hours!”

“Shelter, your concern for my health and the mental well-being of my citizens is admirable, but-“

“The Princess isn’t an idiot, you feather-mouthed suture-sticker.”

Most eyes turned to Shining, who himself appeared surprised at the words his voice had said. Then the sound of hooves hitting tile echoed up the hall, and everypony turned to see Broken walking – somewhat shakily – down the hallway. Shelter’s eye twitched.

“Broken Shield, you are not authorized to be-“

“Shut up, doc. I’m well enough to move, I’m well enough to leave this place. I’ll come back for checkups, I promise, but right now I want to go out. Preferably to Ponyville.”

Twilight flicked a glance at Celestia. The Princess tilted her head.

“Broken, you are aware of your conditions-“

“Yes, Princess, I am, no matter how misguided I think they are. I’ll keep to them.” His gaze fell to Twilight. “And you…”

“I’m… I’m sorry, Broken, I went…” She took in a breath. “I went too far, with what I said. I mean, you did need to hear most of it, and I won’t apologize for that, but what I said about Ca-“

“Ninety-six.”

The number cut Twilight’s speech off. “What?”

“You asked me how many I killed. With my magic, my hooves, or my horn… it was ninety-six. Directly, not counting bombs or fires or…” Broken let the rest out in a sigh. “I promise you, Twilight, that there was only one death that I enjoyed. The rest were… a necessary evil.” He put his eye up to face hers. “I’m under no delusion that I’m not evil, Twilight. I’ve done horrible things in an attempt to destroy Dawn’s grip on Equestria, and none of it ended up mattering anyway.” He blinked, and there was a dull fire behind his eyes. “But Dawn, Dawn was… she was worse. I was evil, she was… monstrous.”

“I know, Broken.” Twilight said. “What happened to you…”

“It wasn’t an excuse. Cadance, she would have hated what I’ve become.” He flicked a panicked stare at Shining before shaking his head. “But I can’t, I can’t just stop, I can’t just let things happen again-“

“They won’t happen again, Broken.” Twilight said firmly. He gave a weak laugh.

“Nopony thought Pip would kill Luna, either…” His eye shifted to Pip. The latter stallion hadn’t moved, but Twilight could almost feel the tension of his muscles as he stood, coiled and waiting to spring on whatever hair Broken set out of line. Broken set his jaw.

“I’m going to go steal a carriage. Anypony coming with?”



Twilight, Spike, Broken, and Pip sat in one (Princess authorized) carriage. The other carried Twilight’s friends, and the two were coasting down to Ponyville at a steady, comfortable pace. Broken sat on one side of the transport, the other three directly opposite him and all watching him with differing levels of interest. The scarred stallion glanced out the window.

“Feels like months since I’ve been out of that place…” Broken mumbled.

“You’re spending the night in the guardhouse, right?” Twilight asked. He nodded.

“And the whole next week, bar a few hours where I’m supposed to go out and ‘experience a calm, peaceful Equestria’. Knowing you, that means a dragon’s going to come out of the Everfree and try to eat everypony.”

“Dragons aren’t carnivores…” Spike muttered. Broken laughed.

“The one on that mountain was, from my memory. Celestia sent down some guardsponies to escort all of you up, but when they found pony bones around the entrance… well, Celestia dealt with him rather thoroughly. And everypony got a tax rebate from the ‘newly-discovered’ pile of treasure, so there’s that.” He gave a glance and a smirk at Twilight. “Let me guess, here Fluttershy just talked him into moving, right?’

Twilight nodded. “All of our efforts failed, and Rainbow went in and just made him mad, but Fluttershy flew right up, landed on his snout, and Stared him down.”

“Oh, yes, the ‘Stare’…” Broken trailed off.

“I would point out that the ‘tax rebate’ was itself taxed. The lower classes only gained ten bits per pony.” Pip said. Broken glared at him, and a thought struck into Twilight’s head.

“Oh, I’m such an idiot!”

“No argument, but about what?” Broken asked. Twilight levelled a glare at him before turning to Pip.

“Pip, do you think you could address Rainbow’s questions, from the hospital?”

“I am unsure as to how you would wish them addressed, Milady.”

“Well… do you what happened to Flim and Flam?”

“Film Flimflam and Flam Flimflam were discovered attempting to market a supposed metal-detecting device in Hoofington shortly after their forced exodus from Ponyville. They were arrested and charged with several dozen counts of fraud, theft of property, false advertising, disturbing the peace, one count attempted illegal aqusition of a land deed, and six counts of attempted ponyslaughter from the food poisoning that some ponies developed from their ‘apple cider’. I am unsure as to their final fate, Milady.”

“They were both killed in prison, during a riot that we were fairly sure they started.” Broken interjected. Twilight, Pip, and Spike all glanced at him.

“Okay… how about Lightning Dust?”

“Dishonourably discharged from Wonderbolt Academy for neglect in dangerous weather duties, amongst other offences. After the Revolution she joined with the Shadowbolt pegasus resistance group and was killed during an attempted assassination of Rainbow Dash.”

“Pegasus supremacist, same as the rest of the Shadowbolts. She was trying to kill Rainbow because the airhead was ‘betraying’ them to the ground walkers.” Broken snorted. Twilight blinked.

“Trixie?”

Pip took in a breath. “Disappeared for approximately a year after attempting to draw an Ursa Major into Ponyville, only to call an Ursa Minor that proceeded to destroy much of the town, as well as injure a dozen ponies. Reappeared after attempting to buy an alicorn amulet; she and the dealer were both arrested, and the shop was destroyed after being stripped of anything valuable. Trixie was thrown in the Canterlot dungeons, where she remained-“ Pip blinked. “My apologies, Milady, but I can’t remember what occurred to her after her imprisonment.”

Twilight and Spike turned to Broken, who was shaking his head.

“That’s a blank for me, too. Dawn set a bunch of prisoners free, but…” He shrugged.

“Lady Dawn set free those who were unfairly confined. Any true criminals were left in or brought in to replace the innocent.”

“Right, because fighting to protect your family was a crime under her, wasn’t it?”

“Only when you murdered innocents merely trying to protect theirs.”

Broken bared his teeth, his brow furrowing. Twilight tensed, but Pip put his hoof out in front of her. Broken closed his mouth, swallowing several times. His eye locked on Pip’s.

“I’m not going to forgive you.” Broken said, towards the stallion. “And if she hadn’t expressly forbidden it, I would still be trying to kill you.”

“I cannot expect otherwise from y-“ Pip began, before Broken cut him off.

“Did you understand what you were doing?”

“I do not know what you are referring to, Broken Shield.”

“When you drove that dagger into Luna’s back.” Broken stated flatly. “Did, did you even know what was going to happen? Did you get that Luna was going to die? Could you even understand that? Faust, I can’t believe I’m even bothering with this…”

“Yes, I understood exactly what would happen when I stabbed Princess Luna.” Pip had taken a few seconds to respond, and Broken pressed.

Why would you do it, then? If you knew that she was going to die… you were just a foal, how could you-“

“Princess Luna was the pony responsible for my parents’ deaths.” Pip said, a small edge beneath his voice. “I was avenging them.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she glanced at Broken. His stare hardened further, and he opened his mouth.

“Did you know what would happen to Cadance? To… to Dazzle?” Broken’s voice cracked somewhat on her name, exposing a mix of fury and pain. Pip’s ear flicked back.

“No.” he answered, another few seconds of silence preceding the word. “I can assure you, Broken Shield, that neither the death of Princess Cadance nor the death of Princess Dazzle were intended; Lady Dawn had intended to show them the glory of the Revolution and allow them to join everypony as equals.”

Broken tensed, not bothering to hide his anger. “That’s not what I saw-“

“Broken Shield, Princess Dazzle was my friend both before and after the Revolution, and Lady Dawn loved her niece despite the events that preceded Princess Cadance’s death. She constantly expressed wishes that you would return to her, and I personally escorted her to her mother’s grave every week to lay flowers, on Lady Dawn’s order and my own request. I swear, on the life of her Ladyship, that I know nothing of any conspiracy towards Princess Dazzle’s death.”

Broken blinked, his eyebrow low but his eye wide. He opened his mouth, gave a small rush of breath, then turned his head back to the window. A few seconds later, Twilight quite clearly saw a tear edge its way down his face.