//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Meeting Her 
// Story: My Little Portal-Break: Portal-Broken 
// by shieldgenerator7 
//------------------------------//

	18 or so hours later, Shield’s eye lids open and he sees nothing. He rolls over and tries to go back to sleep, but he knows it’s futile as he’s already slept long enough. Finally, he opens his eyes to see what he can. The only thing he can make out for sure is the shield cover he made. It had a faint light blue glow to it, but not enough to light up the rest of the room.
Shield generated a small shield stone, and modulated its properties for maximum light output. The room was filled with blue light, and Shield could make out what looked to be a stasis machine, a door, and more importantly right now, a light switch. Going over to flip the switch, he checked the ground periodically to make sure he wasn’t going to step on anything. The floor was clear enough, but Shield still checked as a matter of habit. Finally, flipping the switch, he absorbed the energy from the light stone and it went out.
The overhead lights flooded the room with white light, making Shield’s shield cover look almost non-luminescent. Drowsily stepping over to it, he absorbed the shield’s energy and it faded away. Underneath, Heartbreak looked up at Shield.
“Good morning, Heartbreak,” Shield said groggily.
“Shield?”
“Yes?”
“What took you so long to wake up?! I’ve been waiting a whole half a day! I’m super hungry and stained from my own waste! Not only that, but my muscles are cramping up from not being able to move!” Heartbreak was rather angry.
“Lay off, will you?” Shield responded. “I needed to recharge. I didn’t know what was over here and didn’t have time to explore it yesterday.”
“Where are we?” Heartbreak tried to turn her neck, but found it very painful to do so.
“The room where the connection led to. Do you recognize it?”
“No. The room I left planet Earth from was dark. Very dark. This place is well-lit.”
“Well it was dark before I turned on the lights.”
“I can’t move! Shield! I can’t move!”
“What do you mean you can’t move? I released the shield.”
“I’m stuck because my muscles have frozen in this position, thanks to you!”
Shield stared blankly at her for a second. “Oh yeah, sorry about that. I wasn’t thinking straight last night. I should have left you some wiggle room.”
“Fix it!”
“What?”
“Don’t just stand there! Help me move! Fix it!”
“I don’t know what I can do…”
“Just do something, like with your magic or something…”
Shield gave a quizzical look as he tried to come up with a plan. “You think that’s magic. Well, it’s not.” Shield would have laughed if he wasn’t so tired at the moment. “But here, I’ll try using an EMP.”
“What’s that?!”
“Electro-Magnetic Pulse. Makes all sorts of interesting side effects. Mostly on electronics, which seem to fill this room. I’ll keep its area of effect in this vicinity to avoid destroying any equipment here.”
Before Heartbreak could protest, Shield sent a wave of electro-magnetic pulse energy towards Heartbreak. Heartbreak felt a tickling sensation like she was being electrocuted by a AA battery. 
“Hey! That hurt!”
“Did it work?”
“No!” Heartbreak said without even trying.
“Oh come on!” Shield grabbed her head and rotated it to the right. “Is that better?”
Heartbreak shook her head back and forth. “Yeah, actually, it is. But I still can’t seem to move my limbs. 
Shield pushed her on her side and moved each limb one by one. “There, try it now.”
“Much better. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m still wet.”
“Do you want me to change your diaper too?”
“At least have the courtesy to give facilities to use while you take your time beauty sleeping!”
“Hey, don’t yell at me!” Shield’s face scrunched up in anger, and he realized what he was doing. “Whoa. Ok, let’s not get angry here. Anger creates irrationality. And oh man oh man am I terrible when I’m irrational. Hold on, let me get my bearings…”
“I can’t believe you! Lock me under some magic blanket while you just lay there and snooze!”
“Heartbreak, I’m not going to listen to unless you talk in a normal voice.” Shield stared at no position in particular as he tried to process the situation.
“I mean what kind of idiot—”
“So, Heartbreak,” Shield breathed in to change the subject. “Do you know this place? Does it look familiar?”
Heartbreak finally decides to take a look around. Eyeing the “stasis tube” she runs up to it and gasps. “Oh!”
Shield follows her. “I think that’s a stasis chamber of some sort.”
“Stasis chamber? No! That’s the device they used to eject me from this world!”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“Yeah I’m sure! Do I look like I’m lying to you?”
“Ok, let me examine it… no space-time distortions are around it anywhere. Either it’s not what you think it is—”
“Which it is!”
“…or they’re really good with fixing their space-time distortions.”
“I think the answer is rather obvious.”
“Yeah, judging by the hard time opening that portal, I think it’s gotta be the ladder.”
“Speaking of the portal, can we go back?” 
Shield probed around for space-time distortions. The only ones he could find were the small ones he created by making shields. “No, there are no portal space-time distortions. The connection is gone.”
“So we’re stuck here then?”
“Hmhm,” laughed Shield, mouth closed. “Yep, but not to worry. I know Equestria’s coordinates, and last night I figured out this place’s coordinates relative to Equestria’s when I stepped through. I could make a portal back.”
“Hmm…” Heartbreak looked at her hoof. “Wait, I’m still a pony! I thought I’d turn back!”
“What? Turned back to what?”
“Don’t you remember? A human! Here, in this room, the Fae stripped me of my humanity and turned me into a pony! I should have turned back when I stepped through that portal!”
“Portals aren’t magic, Heartbreak. They don’t transform you like that.” Shield thought for a second. “Except Equestrian inter-world portals. They have some kind of behavior where they change the passer-through into another form when they pass through.”
“Why couldn’t you have made one of those?”
“I don’t have magic, Heartbreak. I can’t transform people—or ponies—when they walk through my portals.”
“But what about the Equestrian portal? Can’t we go there and then use that one?”
“It’ll turn you human, yes.”
“But it won’t bring my past identity back?”
“No, it won’t. Whoever you were in your past life is gone.”
“But you said you could bring me back!”
“And I did. We did. Back to the alternate universe where you originated.”
Heartbreak started to cry. “So I’m stuck like this? I can’t ever go back to being who I was?”
“No, but there is something we can do…” Shield stated, rubbing his beard.
“What?”
“Go find someplace to eat breakfast. I’m starving.”
“Why didn’t you mention it sooner?”
Shield hurried over to the door and opened it a crack. Peeking through, he saw nobody was in sight. He opened the door all the way and snook out, lighting his own way down the dark hallway that grimly greeted him.
“Where are you going?” loudly whispered Heartbreak.
“I don’t know. Out. Follow me, and be quiet.”
“Why don’t you just portal out?”
“One: because I don’t know where in this world we are. Two: I’m still recharging. Can’t use portals yet. Three: stay quiet and keep walking.”
After looking both ways in the dark hallway, Heartbreak begrudgingly left the safety of the lit room to follow the hallway where Shield led with a rather dim light. Shield crept through the hall, and suddenly stopped and backtracked. Heartbreak crashed right into him.
“Hey! Watch what you’re doing!”
“Sorry,” stated Shield, obviously distracted by something. “There’s something in that room.”
“What is it?”
“A space-time distortion of some sort.”
“Where to?”
“I don’t know, but there appear to be lots of them.” Shield tried the door. “It’s locked, we’ll have to come back another time.” He kept moving. Soon he came upon a bathroom. “Hey, you can go in there and wash up.”
“But it’s dark in there,” complained Heartbreak as Shield pushed the door open.
“You want to wash up right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, go wash up!” Shield generated another light stone and threw it into the bathroom.
“But I’m still not used to washing myself as a pony… and all the facilities are made for humans!”
“Fine, I’ll help you…” Shield said, annoyed. He hated washing things. Using paper towels and water from the sink, he washed the waste off Heartbreak’s coat. “There? Better?”
Heartbreak just grumbled.
They continued on down the hallway. Finally they found a stair case and Shield walked down it. Realizing Heartbreak wasn’t following, he stopped. “What’s the matter?”
“Stairs.”
“What about them?”
“Don’t you get it?! I’m not used to being a pony! Stairs are scary!”
“Here, I’ll carry you then.” Shield knelt down on the stairs to pick Heartbreak up.
“No, I don’t want to be babied.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I want—”
“Nevermind, I’ll just carry you with my shields.” He generated shields around her in a harness shape, which locked on and dragged her down the stairs in mid-air.
“Let me go! This isn’t right!”
“Stop complaining! This is what you wanted!” Shield generated a shield around her mouth so she couldn’t talk. He continued all the way down the stairs. Luckily, at the bottom, there was an exit door. Pushing it open, Shield and Heartbreak were finally free. Shield released his electro-magnetic hold on Heartbreak.
“You didn’t have to go and do that!” yelled Heartbreak.
“Shhh! You’re not meant to be in this world in your current form. I’ll have to hide you while I go get some food.”
“And put me in a cage again?! No way!” 
“Sorry, but there’s no other option.” Shield pushed Heartbreak up against a wall and made a comfortably-sized box shield around her, and then changed its color to match that of the building’s.
He walked down the nearest street and conveniently found an internet café. “What luck. Nice.” Walking up to its doors, he quietly said to himself, “Man, that Heartbreak sure lives up to her name. I’m afraid it might be starting to affect my psyche.” Opening the door, he could smell the sweet smell of bakery pastries. “Or, then again, maybe I’m just hungry.”
After ordering his breakfast, and some for Heartbreak, he sat down at a table with his food and logged into the café’s wifi with his phone. “Let’s see if this guy exists in this alternate universe…” Shield tried to think about what to search for, but he completely blanked. “Wait, I don’t know anything. I don’t know her past name, or anyone that might know her.” He then got up and took the food to Heartbreak.
After being released, Heartbreak verbally attacked him. “What took you so long?” She would have continued, but then she smelled the sweet smell of donuts. “Are those… donuts?”
“Yes, they are.”
“Do they have hay in them?”
“Not that I’m aware…” Shield stated, handing her one. 
She took it with her mouth and chewed happily. “Hmmm! So tasty! And… no hay!”
“Anyway, I was going to google you to see if you exist in this universe, and then I realized that I don’t know anything about your life here.”
“Well, I don’t remember my name either. But I remember the names of people I knew.”
“So, is there someone we could go to to see if they remember you?”
“I guess… but how would that help? I’m a pony, in case you haven’t noticed!”
Shield just gave a blank stare as he ate a donut.
“Ok, google this name,” Heartbreak whispered it in Shield’s ear. “And don’t use it too much! It’s special! If I ever hear you say it out loud…”
“Ok, ok,” replied Shield, typing in the name. “Ok, so here’s the address. Do you know where that is?”
“Idiot! I already know where she lives! I thought you were going to try and prove I still existed here!”
“Well, I thought we could go speak to her. Or, you know, that I could. With you being a pony and all. If she remembers you, then you’re not wiped out from time.”
“As if I could remember my own name! How is this going to help?!”
“Quiet… let me think,” Shield demanded, rubbing his chin.
“I can’t believe how much of a disappointment you are!”
“Quiet, I have to think!”
“I mean, seriously!”
“Seriosuly, Heartbreak! Shut up!” Shield straight outburst at her. Then realized what he just did. “Oh crash. I’m sorry. I’m getting bent out of shape. I shouldn’t do that.”
“No, I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t rag on you like I’m doing.”
“Apology accepted. Moving on, thinking of a solution.”
Heartbreak sat quietly eating donuts while Shield thought.
“Aha! Maybe she would realize you’ve been missing! Is she someone you saw fairly often before you disappeared? Maybe she’s worried about you and will mention you by name!”
Heartbreak mulled it over in her mind. “Yeah! That just might work! But then what? I still can’t see her. Not like this.”
“No, but that would prove that you haven’t been erased from history. And I could deliver a final message from you to her.”
“Ok, but what if she doesn’t remember me?”
“Well, we’ll think of something.” Shield stood up and threw the donut box into a nearby dumpster. “So, where do we go?”
“But I can’t walk around town like this! I’ll look weird!”
“True,” Shield thought, rubbing his beard. “I can hide you with shields, but the disguise needs to be clever. I would just portal us there, but…” Shield tried to make a portal between his hands. Space-time distortions formed, but no portals emerged. “I still can’t use portals yet.”
“How about a…” Heartbreak winced at the idea even as she spoke it. “…leash and collar?”
“Um… I don’t know…” Shield uttered. “How about an ice cream cart? I could put you in there and wheel you there!”
“But then how am I going to point you in the right direction? Wouldn’t it sound weird if an ice cream cart started talking?”
“Hmmm… I guess so…”
“So then let’s do the leash and collar idea. I can easily lead the way without attracting any attention.”
“But you’re still out of this world. People will recognize that your form isn’t completely pony-like. Unless… I could make a shield drape for you, which would cover most of you, and could also keep out the sun.”
“Keep out the sun? I like that idea. Let’s do it.”
Shield generated a drape over Heartbreak to disguise her a little more. Then they set out to go to the one person that might have missed her during her past life.
Once they got there, Heartbreak told Shield her message and waited at the edge of the sidewalk. Shield went up to the door and knocked.
After a moment or two, Shield heard the door unlock, and a beautiful woman stood staring at him. “Hello.”
“Hello, are you the resident here?”
“Yes?” She gave him a weird look.
“Ok, would you happen to know of a certain missing person?”
“What kind of certain missing person?”
“Anyone that may have gone missing in the past week or month.”
“Yes, actually. Two people.”
“Two?” Shield looked surprised.
“Yes, two.”
“Well, who are they?”
“First, a couple weeks ago, my boyfriend Anthony  moved out, and I never heard from him again. I fear something bad happened to him. And then, not long after, my husband Dave disappeared. Went to work one day and never came back.”
“Have you called the authorities?”
“Yes, of course. Wait, aren’t you one of the authorities?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Then who are you? What are you doing at my door step asking me these personal questions?”
“Calm down, miss. I’m just a messenger. I am hear to break to you some good news and some bad news.” Shield stretched out his hand to calm her down.
She tried to hold back a tear. “Ok, tell me. What’s the bad news?”
“I’m sorry, but your friend is gone. He won’t ever be coming back.”
She covered her face with her hands and started quietly weeping.
“The good news. The good news is that before he left, he left me a message to take to you.”
“Message? From you? Why would he deliver it to you? Why wouldn’t he deliver it to me personally?”
“It’s complicated, but that’s not important. What’s important is that he has a message for you.”
“No, no! You’re lying! He’s not dead! He’s still alive! You’re holding him captive!”
“Mommy?” a little girl tugged at the woman’s pants. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, sweetie. Just go back to your room and play with your dolls.”
“Just let me tell you the message!”
“No, I won’t! I won’t accept it!”
“Please, you have to listen—” Shield was cut off by a forceful shove off the porch. He landed in the flower garden.
“Hi,” Heartbroke came up to her to give the message in person. A tear was dribbling from her eye.
“What is this? Some kind of elaborate prank? A talking pony?” she slammed the door shut, and audibly cried on the other side.
Shield looked at Heartbreak and Heartbreak looked at Shield. Shield was still lying in the flower bed, not knowing exactly what just happened.
“What do we do now?”
“I don’t know, Anthony,” Shield said as he got up out of the dirt.
“Who’s Anthony?” Heartbreak then gasped. “Is that me? Is that my name? Is that really my name? How could I not even remember my own name?”
“Well, if it was stolen from you, and erased from your memory, then I guess that’s how. But really, Anthony was the guy who lived here, correct?”
Heartbreak nodded.
“And you’re Heartbreak, a pony who lives in Equestria. The name “Anthony” does not really suit you anymore.
Heartbreak started to sob. “So even though I have my old name back, you’re saying I can’t use it?”
Shield nodded.
“Well, forget you! Anthony is my name and I’m going to use it! Whether or not I’m a pony who’s been stripped of everything I’ve ever had! It’s my choice to have a name, and I choose ‘Anthony’!”
The door opened and the woman looked down at the pony. “Anthony? Is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me!”
“But how?”
“The Fae did this to me,” muttered Heartbreak. “They stole everything I ever had. My life, my body, my name, my very existence. They even attempted to erase me from history.”
“Oh Anthony, I’m so sorry…” she came out and hugged Heartbreak. “I’m so sorry this has happened to you. I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too,” Heartbreak echoed. They cried in each other’s embrace for a while. Tears of sadness, tears of joy, tears of regret, tears of hope. As much as she wanted to be back with her again, Heartbreak couldn’t think of how to reintegrate with this world or how she could ever go back to being her past self. She came to the realization that she must say good bye. “But…” Heartbreak stuttered. She knew what she had to say, but she couldn’t get it out. “But I… I’m not…” As she attempted to say it, her eyes watered up and her throat clogged with tears. She could barely say a word, let alone a sentence. “I’m not An…” She choked again as she tried to say it. “Not Anth…” The tears overtook her and she hugged her former girlfriend even harder. “I love you,” she squeaked under the strain of the tears.
“I love you too,” she choked as she hugged Heartbreak tighter with her arms. She could sense what she was about to say. She didn’t like it, in fact she despised it, but she knew it needed to be said. “I… I under… understand.” She finally let out, tears streaming down her beautiful weeping face.
Heartbreak sobbed even more. She could feel a terrible burden being lifted. “You know…” She breathed in and out trying to talk through the tears. “I’ll always… remem…. remem…” Her breathing pattern fluctuated rapidly as the tears continued to pour out.
“I know, I know,” she answered.
Heartbreak continued, as best as she could, “And I’ll… I’ll always… always love… love… love you.”
“I know, I know,” she hung on tight for fear of Heartbreak vanishing.
They shared their embrace as long as they could, crying their sorrows away, wishing things could change, that they could be undone. But there was no going back, there was no way to undo the terrible evil that the Fae had inflicted upon Anthony. They both knew it, but neither wanted to accept it yet.
Finally, Shield interrupted. “We’ve got to go, Heartbreak.”
“No! No! No!” Heartbreak held on. “I don’t want to go! Can’t I just stay here?”
“Anthony…” she choked through her tears. “Heartbreak… you have to…”
“I don’t want to! I want to stay with you! Can’t I stay with you?” *Sob* “Can’t I at least be your pet or something? As demeaning as it would be, it would be better than going back to that other world!”
“No, Heartbreak, you know…” She sobs. “You know that you must go. You don’t belong here anymore. I’ll love you and I’ll miss you forever, but you must go.”
Heartbreak continued crying. She knew it. She knew she couldn’t stay. She knew she had to go. She just didn’t want it to be that way. She wanted her old life back. She wanted Anthony’s life back.
“We’ve really got to go, Heartbreak,” Shield urged.
She continued sobbing, as her former lover pushed her away. The embrace finally broken, they looked at each other’s tear-stained cheeks. “I love you, Heartbreak.”
“I love you, too!” She jumped to hug again, but Shield intercepted and pushed her off the porch.
“Heartbreak, we’ve got to go.”
“I’ll always remember you!” Heartbreak said to her.
“I’ll always remember you!” She called back.
Shield put the disguise back onto Heartbreak and they walked away towards the point in spce that they had entered through.
On the porch, Heartbreak’s friend continued to cry as she waved Heartbreak goodbye.