//------------------------------//
// What is backwards? 
// Story: My Little Robot Unicorn: Running Is Magic 
// by TheBackgroundBrony 
//------------------------------//

Running.
Running.
The unicorn felt the wind through her mane, the hardness of the ground under her metal hooves.
Running.
Running as she had done a thousand times before, trying to escape a fate she knew was inescapable. She had no idea that this time it would be different.
Running.
"VENGEANCE!" roared the flaming figure behind her.
She ran faster, her mane flying wildly.
Suddenly a star loomed in front of her. With no time to jump, she charged straight at it, her boosters sending out a rainbow behind her.
The star shattered and a dolphin appeared in front of her.
"You can do it, Runner!" squeaked the dolphin, keeping pace with her perfectly.
Runner sighed, shaking her head. She had long ago stopped listening to the dolphins. They never helped her, not really.
"NOW I HAVE YOU!" came the metallic bellow.
She surged forward, fear giving her metaphorical wings.
Forward.
The only direction she had ever known.
As she missed her jump and plummeted towards the sugary ground below, she thought, not just forward- down.
She fell towards a rainbow-coloured patch that had just appeared, hanging in the sky.
That's new, she thought.
Then she fell through it.

***

Twilight Sparkle was enjoying a morning read when the unicorn landed on her.
She was just settling down to read '101 Things You Always Wanted To Know About Teapots But Were Too Afraid To Ask' when the portal appeared.
Twilight stared at it incredulously for a few seconds before Runner fell through, screaming, and crashed into her.
"Ow!" came Twilight's muffled voice from under the robot, "Can you get off?"
"How?" came a slightly sheepish answer from Runner.
"Move back!"
"Back?!"
"Backwards!!"
"What is backwards?"
"What do you mean, what is backwards?"
"Um, well, what I said."
"Oh forget it," huffed Twilight, "I'll move."
Twilight untangled herself from Runner.
"Twi!" called Spike from the upper section of the library, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" replied Twilight.
"Oh, so could you explain the... uh... metal unicorn then?" asked Spike, peering over and noticing Runner.
"Spike," said Twilight, "This is, um..."
"Runner," said Runner.
"...Runner," finished Twilight lamely.
"Okay!" Spike shouted back and ducked out of sight.
"Where did you come from?" asked Twilight, turning to Runner, "And why don't you understand backwards?"
"Well," said Runner, "I guess I should tell you..."
And Runner told her story.