A few days had passed since the fair and Dinky had been keeping a closer eye on Bubbles ever since. He seemed more protective than usual, but he also seemed more distant and lost, like he was trying to make sense of something. She wished that she could help him, but since he couldn't speak he couldn't tell her what was wrong. These were the thoughts on her mind as she walked home from school with Bubbles at her side.
"Is it anything I can help with?" she asked him for the fifth time, only getting a distant moan as a response. She sighed in frustration as she looked around the town. She and her mother had also received a note from the princesses saying that something strange had happened in a far off city and that they should be on guard, just to be safe. Dinky assumed that Twilight also had gotten this message since she had been seen using scanning spells around the town from time to time.
"I just wish you would let me help you with your problems," she said with a sigh as the two of them reached her house. "I know you're supposed to take care of me, but I want to help you in any way I can to. That's what family does." Bubbles gave her an appreciative moan before she opened the door, both her and Bubbles being stopped by what they saw. "Um, mom? What are you wearing?"
"Oh, hi honey," Ditzy said as she spun around with a bashful smile while Berry Punch stood beside her sister with a smile on her face. "Um, this is just...um..."
"This is a going out dress," Berry said with a smirk as she wrapped a hoof around Ditzy's shoulder. "Your mom here has a BIG DATE tonight and I helped her pick out a dress for the occasion." Dinky had to pick her jaw up off the floor as Ditzy hid her face behind her hooves, too embarrassed to show her face to her daughter. "It took weeks of nagging and even longer to get her to even think of the idea, but I finally did it. Now all that's left is to see how it goes."
"I hate you sometimes, you know that?" Ditzy said with a huff as she removed her face from her hooves and walked past Berry to Dinky, who was still trying to comprehend what she had just heard. Bubble's was a bit surprised by the news as well, but his mind was still on what he had seen the other day. "Okay honey, I'm going to be out tonight, so I want you in home and have the house locked up before the moon rises, okay?"
"Why are you so worried about me going out at night?" Dinky asked once she had regained control over her mouth. "It's not like there's a giant, metal daddy that follows me around and tears apart anypony that tries to hurt me...oh wait," she said with a smile at Bubbles. "There is." Ditzy sighed as she looked at the time, her nerves getting the better of her despite the date not being for a few more hours. Her daughter saw her face and simply sighed in defeat. "Fine mom, I’ll do as you ask. But in return you have to tell me who the pony is."
"His name is Time Turner," Berry said the moment Ditzy hesitated, getting a growl from Ditzy. "The two have been friends for a while, but both have been too nervous to ask each other out. So with the power of liquid courage running through my veins, I did it for them." Dinky began to laugh at the look of sheer rage Ditzy was giving Berry, who looked like she could care less. Ditzy sighed and muttered something about going to lie down while Dinky decided that she should give her mom some space, so she and Bubble headed off to see what trouble they could get in.
"Well that didn't end well," Dinky muttered ten minutes later as she used a hose to spray the cement off of Bubbles, making a note to not take him through a construction yard again. "So, what do you want to do now?" Bubbles moaned in response before looking up at something, Dinky following his gaze to see two fillies pulling a wagon that was much too heavy for them. "That's Applebloom and Scootaloo. What are they doing with all those supplies? Let's find out." The pair walked over to the two fillies, both of who stopped what they were doing when Dinky and Bubbles approached.
"Hey Applebloom. Hey Scootaloo. Why are you two lugging around such a big load?" Dinky asked as she looked up at the giant pile of material in their wagon.
"Cheerilee asked us to do another comedy sketch for the talent show again this year," Applebloom answered, but her eyes were on Bubbles the entire time he loomed over them. "So we needed to get this stuff to our clubhouse to rehearse for it and since we can't rehearse without a stage..."
"But Sweetie Belle is nowhere to be found," Scootaloo grumbled, not at all afraid of the giant metal man. "She said something about heading to the forest to get something for her sister. Probably got lost again."
"Well...if the two of you need help with the wagon, I'm sure Bubbles would love to help," Dinky said with a smile to the Big Daddy. "Wouldn't you Bubbles?" Bubbles let out a groan as his eyes turned green, walking over the wagon and grabbing the handle. He then bent down so that the fillies could jump onto his head. Dinky was the first up and the other two followed only after she assured them that they were safe. She then pointed Bubbles in the direction of the clubhouse and the four headed off, talking about past endeavors and the Big Daddy while he walked them there.
"...So then we blew up half the library and Twilight hasn't let us in since," Applebloom said as she finished her story, leaving Dinky stunned by the amount of destruction the CMC could cause. She had seen Bubbles do less damage. "So yeah, pyro isn't in our list of cutie marks."
"I wonder why," Dinky said with a shake of her head as she noticed that they had arrived, telling Mr. B. to let them down. He did so with a moan and once they were off, began to unload the materials from their wagon. "So then, how long will it take to build this?"
"Dunno. Few hours?" Scootaloo guessed. She was about to start working when Mr. B. picked up a piece of the stage and slamming it into the ground, keeping it in place long enough for him to attach another piece of the stage. Within an hour he had the stage frame completely built, much to the shock of the three fillies.
"I didn't know he was so good at building things," Dinky muttered. "I thought he could only destroy."
"Thanks for the help," Applebloom said to him. "If you want, when the play comes around in a week you two can be in it." Bubbles let out a content moan as he walked back over to the materials and picked up the actual stage, but dropped it once a sound reached them from over the trees. It was the sound of screaming, screaming coming from the town. Dinky immediately ran over to Bubbles and was just about to tell him to get them to town when another sound reached her ears.
"...rrrrrrrrrrrrr..."
"It can't be," she muttered before she had Bubbles scoop her up and run towards the town, AB and Scootaloo following him as fast as they could. Dinky and B. reached the town before them, but both were stopped dead by what they saw. In the center of town, with a terrified Sweetie Belle on its back was a giant metal man with copper armor and a single glowing red eye in the center of its cracked helmet, which was gazing at all the ponies around it with a rage. Dinky also noticed that this creature had both its hands and was carrying some strange weapon in its hands, though what gained her attention was the items that were going into its helmet, items that didn't look right. But that didn't stop her from knowing what it was.
"Another Big Daddy," she whispered to herself as she looked around, noticing a number of the Elements being treated by doctors far away from the battle. Even Twilight had been injured and had a hole in the side of her leg, though she was still trying to get back up. Dinky watched as the Big Daddy pointed the weapon at a pony before a loud snapping sound could be heard and blood exploded from the pony, who fell over without another sound. Dinky gasped in horror as she looked back to the Big Daddy, who had put another pony in its sight.
"Somepony help me!" Sweetie yelled from its back, tears running down her face as the Daddy killed another pony. Dinky wiped the own tears out of her eyes as they steeled with resolve. This wasn't like her Big Daddy; this one was killing everything in sight and had taken Sweetie against her will. And despite knowing what the Big Daddies had all gone through, this one was simply killing. And to protect her friends, she knew what needed to be done.
"Bubbles," she said to her big Daddy, who looked at her as she hopped off his head. "Put an end to this." Bubbles let out a roar of rage as his eyes turned red and he threw himself at the other Daddy, who turned at the roar just in time to see the metal man slam into him, knocking Sweetie off of his head. She hit the ground and scrambled to her hooves, running as fast away from the creature as she could. The other Big Daddy tried to follow after her, but all it took was a drill to the side of its head to tell him he wasn't going anywhere.
"What's going on?!" AB exclaimed as she and Scootaloo finally caught up with Dinky. "What's happening?"
"Daddy's working," was all Dinky said as she watched Mr. Bubbles lifted the other Big Daddy over his head and threw him into a building, his drill starting up as he marched towards the Daddy. The other Daddy raised its weapon and began to fire into Bubbles, who roared in pain as the rivets began to tear into his skin. His armor prevented anything vital from being hit, but his arms and legs were still susceptible to the rivets. Bubbles collapsed to one knee as the other Daddy swung his weapon into the side of his helmet, sending him to the ground. Bubbles rolled out of the way as the other Rosie tried to stomp his helmet it, driving his drill into the Rosie's leg.
"He's not doing so well," AB muttered before she was silenced by a look from Dinky.
"Bubbles! Use your plasmids!" she yelled out to him. Bubble's eyes flashed green for a moment before he shot a column of fire into the Rosie's face, causing it to back away with a roar as the fires consumed its helmet. Bubbles shot back to his feet and switched over to electricity, sending the torrent of lightning into the Rosie. With the Daddy rooted to the spot by the electricity, Bubbles was given the chance to get his drill rotating at full speed before he drove the weapon right into the gut of the stunned Rosie, piercing its armor and causing it to roar with pain as the drill mixed up its insides. But the Rosie slammed its weapon into Bubbles helmet and shattered some of his ports before it reached down and pulled the drill out of its gut.
"What does it take to keep one of these things down?!" Scootaloo asked as the Rosie began firing at Bubbles again, who was forced to take shelter behind a wall to avoid being damaged further. The Rosie looked to have the advantage until a sheet of ice shot out from behind the wall and froze it's feet to the ground, making the Daddy looked down as it tried to escape it's confines. The moment it looked away from where he was, Bubbles came charging out from behind the wall with his drill revved up again, but this time he drove the drill right through the single port on the other Daddy's helmet. The Rosie let out a gurgle of pain that also turned out to be its death cry before the light in its eye went out and it fell backwards to the ground, blood pouring from the wound.
"RRRRRRRR!" Mr. Bubbles roared as he lifted his drill into the air with eyes glowing a crimson red, before they turned green again at the sight of Dinky running towards him.
"You're hurt again," she said with worry as she looked at his bleeding wounds, pushing his hand away when he tried to lift her up.
"Where the heck did another Mr. Bubbles come from?" Scootaloo asked with confusion. "I thought that he was supposed to be the last of his kind?"
"Perhaps we can be of some assistance in that regard," Celestia said as she landed beside the Big Daddy, who looked up at her with yellow eyes. "And I must thank you Bubbles for protecting my subjects. I owe you for this. But as for the other Big Daddy, allow me to explain..."
"There's no time!" Dinky yelled at the princess. "Bubbles is hurt again and he needs care. Please help him!" Celestia let out a sigh as she looked at the wounded father, knowing that she had to help him. Not just because he had fought off another one of his kind, but because of the terrible discovery that she and her sister had just made.
"Very well Dinky, but then I must return here and help with the repairs," she said as she looked around at all the destruction. "And then I must help the Elements and gather them as well. They will need to hear what is going to happen." Dinky didn't have time to ask what she meant as a sphere of light enveloped three and they vanished, leaving two confused fillies amongst a mess of destruction with a dead Daddy in the center of town.
===K>
'How can I be certain that he will succeed? He is nothing like the heroes I have heard of, the ones who can overcome any odds to save their worlds. He is less of a monster now, but he is still fragmented, still torn,' a silver pony asked herself as she watched from a distance, having just arrived back in this world to see the battle end. 'The one known as Superman would have been able to defeat this monster without breaking a sweat and yet so many are dead here. But even if I can’t reveal myself, I can still help them heal.' A small stream of silver left her as she said this and went down into the town, healing the wounds of the ponies there. 'But I must have been mistaken. There is no way that Bubbles could be one of my champions. If he cannot overcome his own past, then how can I hope for him to overcome mine?'