//------------------------------//
// Nonsense Tech. 
// Story: Crossed 
// by OneOverTwo 
//------------------------------//

Derpy was relaxing at home, she was just about to eat a turkey sandwich. The doorbell rang. Derpy’s mom answered the door.

“Another guest so soon?” said Derpy’s mom, “Derpy! It seems like your amount of friends is growing.”

Derpy put down the sandwich and walked to the front hall.

“Actually, miss, we were hoping to stay the night,” said Sunset. Apparently she really did know where Derpy lived.

There was another person with her, a purple boy wearing taped up glasses and suspenders. He had an atom symbol over one of the straps.

“I don’t know,” said Derpy’s mom, “you do have a boy with you.”

“Don’t worry ma’am, Atom here’s too weak to try anything,” said Sunset Shimmer.

Atom, as he seemed to be called, didn’t seem too pleased that he was being called weak. He didn’t retaliate in any way though.

“Well, I suppose it’s alright,” said Derpy’s mother.





Derpy had led the two visitors into her room. Atom began setting up some sort of frame made of old soda cans.

“Where’s that thing you had yesterday,” said Sunset, “Nevermind, I found it.”

She picked up the object sitting in the corner of Derpy’s room and carried it over to the other corner where Atom was setting up.

“Um… who’s that guy?” said Derpy pointing at Atom.

“Oh?” said Atom, “I’m Atomic Adam. You can call me ‘Atom’ for short.”

“...Why?” said Derpy.

“It’s cooler that way,” said Atom.

“How come you’re helping Sunset Shimmer?” said Derpy.

“I admit that I was reluctant at first to help the she-demon, the prospect of making first contact with an alien species was too great to pass up,” said Atom

“Okay,” said Derpy.

“As for why I need his help,” said Sunset, “I’m not yet completely familiar with how the physics of this world operate and some things that would work on my world might not on this one.”

“Huh,” said Derpy.

“And Done,” said Atom.

The contraption looked like a bunch of broken soda cans stuck together, except for the part that Derpy had bought from the pawn shop which stuck out from the rest of the machine like a sore thumb.

“So how does it work when it’s made of soda cans?” said Derpy.

“The cans are really more just there to hold all the wiring,” said Atom.

“They’re just cans because we have no budget,” said Sunset Shimmer.

“I had to sacrifice a laptop to make this thing,” said Atom.

“Don’t worry, he has several,” said Sunset when she saw Derpy’s look of concern, “Now, since we finished setting up the machine way sooner than expected, we just have to wait for you to fall asleep and hook it up to you.”

Derpy remembered something.

“Hey! maybe you don’t have to wait!” said Derpy.

“Hm?” said Sunset Shimmer, raising an eyebrow.

“I was just about to test to see if eating this would make me fall asleep,” said Derpy holding out the turkey sandwich before eating it.

“A turkey sandwich?” said Sunset Shimmer with skepticism.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to use sleeping pills or something?” said Atom.

Derpy promptly fell asleep at the moment she completed her sandwich.

“Dang it,” said Sunset Shimmer, “I wasn’t quite done talking to her.”





Twilight Sparkle was sitting at the foot of her guest bed reading a book. To her left was a tall pile of books, some of which related to the guest sleeping in the bed while others were there for when she would take breaks from her studying.

She was reading a book about the history of eye-glasses when she heard a bed creaking.

Derpy woke up. She blearily looked about the place until she spotted Princess Twilight. A big smile crossed her face.

“Twilight, two things,” said Derpy, “Sunset’s setting something up at my house in the human world, and I found a way to make me instantly fall asleep.”

“That’s great, Derpy,” said Twilight Sparkle.

“I can only really get it in the human world though,” said Derpy.

Twilight pondered for a bit before speaking again.

“That’s a shame. I thought we could set up a rudimentary message system between the worlds,” said Twilight Sparkle, “but that can’t really happen if we can only reliably make you wake up in this world.”

Twilight’s head snapped up as if she had just remembered something really important.

“By the way, Derpy…” said Twilight Sparkle, “I think I should show you how the glass-breaking spell sounds, it would probably help you on the human side.”





Sunset Shimmer looked at the display again. Something was obviously bothering her, her brows were furrowed, her mouth stretched in a grimace, and her hands grasping at either side of the display; crushing two of the cans.

Everything the readings showed were simply awful and discouraging; everything the readings showed read that everything about Derpy was perfectly normal for a sleeping teenager.

‘Could she really be crazy thinking she’s a pegasus when she sleeps?’ thought Sunset Shimmer, 'No, that seems too unlikely to me.’

Sunset made a motion as if to throw the machine on the ground, but luckily it was heavy enough that it stayed in place.

Sunset walked over to Atom, who was messing around on his phone’s web browser, and the sleeping Derpy in her bed next to him.

“You said you had some smelling salts,” said Sunset Shimmer, “I think you should use them now.”





Broken glass littered the floor;  pools of red liquid seeped into the wooden boards. It was an absolute mess in the library. Twilight Sparkle looked over the mess, distraught. Tears dropped to the ground like rain. 

"I was saving that for later," said Spike,  crying. 

"Spike,  you shouldn't hide things like this," said Twilight Sparkle. 

"This is a dramatic for a broken glass of tomato juice," said Derpy.

"It was really good tomato juice," said Spike. 

"I'm going to have to cast the spell again," said Twilight Sparkle,  "listen carefully,  Derpy."

Twilight Sparkle's horn lit up and the spell was cast. The sound produced was not very high pitched, but was rather a low rumbling noise. It was surprisingly quiet. Then it gradually raised in pitch and volume then abruptly stopped. 

“Huh,” said Derpy, “Not sure I can describe that.”

“You’ll have to try,” said Twilight Sparkle.





Sunset Shimmer was kneeling at Derpy’s bedside, waving smelling salt in front of her. She was swishing it back and forth as quickly as she could as if doing that would make it work better.

“Why aren’t you waking up?” said Sunset Shimmer, screaming at the top of her lungs.

She held the smelling salts to Derpy, her hands shaking as much as the could get away with.

“Hey, easy now!” said Atom as he took the smelling salts from Sunset and put them away, “Exposing her to this for too long could be harmful.”

Sunset’s head smacked into Derpy’s gut, she slammed her fist down hard right in front of herself.

“Is this girl in a coma or something?” said Sunset Shimmer, voice muffled.

“It certainly seems that way,” said Atom.





It was hours before Derpy woke up in the human world again. It was noontime, the next day. She woke up to what was probably the most horrifying thing she had ever seen in her life. Sunset Shimmer was glaring at her just half an inch away from her face. 
Derpy jolted up quickly.

“Ow!” said Derpy.

“Son of a…” said Sunset Shimmer, her head back and hands to her face.

Derpy had caused her and Sunset’s foreheads to collide. Atom snickered slightly when that happened.

“Blerg, why does my tummy hurt too?” said Derpy.

“Wow, Sunset, you hit her hard,” said Atom.

“Shut up,” said Sunset Shimmer, still rubbing her forehead. She turned her attention back to Derpy.

“You slept thru everything we did to try and wake you up. Including the bucket of water, the maximum volume radio put right up against your ear, and the smelling salts,” said Sunset Shimmer, “When we told your mom that you were still asleep after that onslaught she said that it was ‘normal for you.’”

“Yeah,” said Derpy, “I’m a deep sleeper.”

Sunset’s left eye twitched, her lips tried to move into a scowl, and she shook all over.

“Yes… I see… that,” said Sunset.

“Is there anything that can wake you up?” said Atom.

“There is one thing,” said Derpy.

Sunset perked up when she heard that. She was still shaking and she didn’t smile, but she let herself gain just the smallest glimmer of hope.

“WHAT IS IT?!” said Sunset Shimmer as calmly as she could.

“There’s this sound…” said Derpy.