In my dreams, I witnessed every single day that me and Tornado had spent together. They day's when we had fun, the days that we just sat and talked, and the days when he would cheer me up when I was sad. But then the most recent memories came flooding into my consciousness, and with it brought the pain of losing my best friend. I witnessed, once more, us falling apart, fighting, keeping secrets, it was almost like it was doomed from the start. That we had a faulty friendship ever since we first met. Because those memories brought something new with them: A realization. Seeing them from a perspective, I saw how secretive Tornado really was, how he jumped to conclusions, how he always got in trouble, maybe it would have been better if we never met, because then he wouldn't have to go through this heartache now either.
I opened my eyes and saw that everything was one big blur. Then I focused in on the world around me. I looked around. Yep. Still the same cave, still the same jail cell. Nothing has changed. Even the dull, throbbing pain in wings has not gone away.
I saw Broken standing in a corner of our prison, staring at the wall. He seemed a bit... distracted.
"Broken?"
He nearly jumped right out of his metal skin, falling backward and landing on his metal mane, bending it just a fraction of an inch. I nearly jumped out of my own skin from the sound of the thud he made.
"Holy Equestria, Blossom!" He yelled. We both froze. There it was. Another voice change. But, could my eyes be playing tricks on me? They way Broken reacted, could he have heard it too?
"Uh..." I said, reaching out to help him up. "Let me help you with your... mane." I tugged on it, bringing it back to it's original spikiness. He grabbed my hoof with his mechanical one.
"Blossom, not so much movement! Your wings!"
"Uh... no, I think it's fine, I think... that they have formed scabs now."
"Oh..."
We sat there like that, not really doing anything, not really saying anything. I was just... breathing. And Broken was just... staring at a wall, how can he do that? Stay that still? I mean, COME ON!
"Blossom..." My head snapped to attention.
"Y, yes?"
"You, you heard it, didn't you."
"Uh... what exactly DID I hear?" I halfheartedly chuckled, pretending that I had no idea what he was talking about.
He shook his head. "Blossom, I know you better than that. I know you heard it, so stop trying to pretend you didn't. You heard what happened to my voice."
I sighed. "Yes, I did hear it. And that wasn't the first time that I have heard it, either."
"It... wasn't?"
"No. I have heard it two other times... today."
"What? Really!?"
I nodded. "Yep."
"So then that makes it three times yesterday, and once today..." He whispered.
"Wait, did you say yester-.... THREE!?!"
"Yesterday was two hours ago. It's two in the morning right now. And yes, three. Because my voice changed right before you fell asleep."
"And, you noticed it happening?"
He nodded.
"But what... what could it all mean?" I asked him, not really expecting an answer.
He looked away from me, staring at the wall again. It seemed like he was trying to... decide something.
"Blossom?" He asked, still staring at the wall.
"Y, yes?"
"Remember when I told you that I had had a dream?"
"Yes."
"I, I don't think it was dream."
"Then, what was it?"
He turned his head back around and looked me dead in the eye. "A memory."
And then he told me all about it.
************************
I watched as the expression on her face went from curious, to surprise, to fear.
"But, if it is a memory, because it feels that real to you, then why would it be... that? I thought that Robot Units were made, trained, then shipped!"
"Yes, that's what happened to me. I did get made, trained, and shipped. Well, I know for certain about the training and shipping part."
"But... a jail cell? And you said that while in the dream... memory... you thought about a grandmother and a grandfather?"
"Yes."
"But, Robot Units don't have..." Her eyes grew wide and she covered her mouth with her hooves, gasping.
"What? Blossom, what is it?"
"My dream..." She whispered.
"Your... what?"
"My dream!" She said a bit louder.
"What about a dream?"
"I, I had a dream in which you turned into a pony."
"You... what? I... what!?"
"I had a dream in which you turned into a pony," She repeated. She sighed. "There were Robot Units, everywhere. And they wanted to arrest me, and you tried to stop them, but they were going to fire at you so I protected you and took all the shots. Then, you leaned over me after I fell to the ground and... then you changed into a pony."
"And when was all this?"
"... the day after I met you. And remember when you said that you heard the voice of a filly, and that it was like you knew her?"
"Yes..."
"Could that be a memory too?"
"Maybe. But a memory of what? From where? From when? I'm a Robot Unit, Blossom. We don't have memories like that. So then why? Why!?"
"I... I don't know, Broken. I really don't know."
I wished that somepony knew, that they could give me answers. Why? Why does my voice change every so often? Why do I have memories? Why do I hear voices? Why, why, WHY?
The door to our enclosure creaked and we both looked up at the same time to see four ponies standing there, the door wide open, with guns strapped to their backs. They looked at each other, then to me and Blossom. "Come with us," A mare said.
"I will only come with you if you bandage Blossom's wings first," I said.
They glanced at each other, then one of them nodded. "Alright, Robot Unit," A very angry stallion said. "But after that, you have to come with us."
***********************
We were led down another long tunnel, ponies in front of us, beside us, and behind us, and they were seemingly on edge, as if expecting something. I want to hate them. I really, really want to hate them. Even after they bandaged my wings, I just wanted to kick them in their smug little faces. But I saw Tornado in every one of them. And I couldn't kick Tornado, even if I punch him. A lot.
Soon, we arrived to an entrance to another tunnel, and we turned down it, eventually arriving at a metal door. One of our captures nodded to the others, and a stallion pulled out a key and unlocked it, and then they proceeded to shove us in to a large, empty cave lit by three torches. I got up and turned around in time to see them close the door. "Wait!" I called out to them, galloping towards my last chance of escape. "Wait!" Then the sound of a lock being turned resonated through the air, and I stopped short. We were trapped. Again.
"Don't try anything." I whipped around and saw a stallion that I had never noticed before standing in a far corner of the cave. He had a burgundy mane, an orange coat, a goatee and had two guns strapped to his back. Me and Broken both stared in awe. "Shut your mouth, mare."
I realized that my jaw had opened without me registering that it had. I quickly closed it. "I didn't request that you two be brought down here to ogle at some random stranger. I brought you here to answer some questions,' The stallion said.
"Questions?"
"You shut your trap, Robot Unit. I was talking to the mare."
"My name is Blossom wing," I said in defense. "And his name is Broken. And you can talk to both of us." I stepped in front of Broken to protect him from anything that this mean stallion would have to say.
"You seem pretty protective of him," The stallion said, smirking and putting a hoof to his chin. "Very well then, I will call you Broken, Robot Unit." Broken stepped out from behind me and looked at the stallion.
"What should we call you, citizen 561-08?" Broken asked.
"Hmm... so you can tell my citizen number without reading the identification card. Very interesting..." He brought out a note pad and scribbled something down with his mouth. "Call me Pole," He said without glancing up.
"Excuse me, 'Pole', but what are you hoping to gain from this?" I asked.
He glanced up at me. "Information, sweet heart."
"Information on what?" Broken asked him.
Pole put his note pad away. "About what makes you so different, 'Broken'," He said, taking a few steps forward.
"Uh..."
"Why do you not act like your little friends, huh?" He said, taking a few more steps forward. "Why does your voice sound so different?" A few more steps forward. "And why does your little friend here think that you are special enough to have a name? So why, Robot Unit, why!?!?" He put his face very close to Broken's. I felt ready to explode.
"You get away from him, you, you, you good for nothing pony!" I yelled at Pole. He whipped around to face me.
"Listen here, mare. You do NOT want to anger me. I repeat. You do NOT want to anger me! You got that!?"
"What are you going to do with me if I do?" I glared at him.
"Or else I am going to take my pretty little gun here and shoot a bullet right through your head!"
The sound of metal clicking together and grinding gears caught both mine and Pole's attention. He turned around and found himself face-to-face with a large gun-like object pointed right between his eyes. Broken had revealed all of his weapons.
"If you put a bullet through her head," Broken said with anger. "Then I will put a missile through yours."
Pole screamed and fell backward, landing on the cave floor. He cried out in pain and then tried to scoot away from Broken with his back hooves. "Your voice!" He screamed. "What happened to your voice!?"
"It changed," Broken said, advancing on Pole. I gasped out loud. "Just like the shape of your skull will be if you ever, and I mean ever, threaten her again." His voice still had not changed back. And this is not the Broken that I have known. This is the first time that I had ever seen his truly angry side.
Pole lept up and ran for the door, pulling on it until he realized that it was locked. "Help me!" He screamed. "Let me out of here!" He turned back around and saw Broken standing just behind him. He pressed himself against the door. "What, what are you?" He asked Broken, his voice shaking.
"I am a Robot Unit."
Then the door opened up and Pole fell backwards.