Broken Mirror

by GMBlackjack

XXII - Breaking Into the Nightmare

>>They're off! They're finally going to do it! The climax is here, I can feel it in my bones! They are going to face the evil and save the world! The end is nigh!

To which I say, hold your horses and calm yourself. The labyrinth that is this perceived 'climax' will have many twists, turns, and unexpected consequences. Much will be answered, much will be left unsaid. But it is never as close as you think it is.

Prepare for the long haul.<<

~~~

The Concretion looked exactly the same as the last time Rarity had seen it. Tall, ominous, and gray. There were a few more drones flying around - and the drone conglomeration ships were definitely new. However, their presence was minuscule compared to the tremendous skyscrapers that made up the angular skyline.

"Not a mark..." Minuette observed. The skyscrapers still shone with amazing cleanliness.

"Not a single successful attack...?" the Inspector said, hoof to her mouth.

"We really are bein' really stupid," Applejack added.

The nine of them were standing on a hill alongside the Starshell observing their goal from afar. They were less than a mile away from the Concretion's edge.

"We should do it now," Twilight said, gesturing to Pinkie and Applejack. "I have the spell all channeled and ready, it should only take a couple minutes to actually cast."

Applejack gulped. "Ah... Okay. Ready."

Twilight lit her horn, surrounding Applejack's head in a purple aura. Applejack's entire face went slack and her eyes rolled around in their sockets without any noticeable rhyme or reason, not even moving in relation to each other. It was, needless to say, unsettling to watch for the two minutes it took to finalize the spell. But once it was done, she twitched slightly and returned to normal. She shook her head as Twilight dropped the spell. "Well... That was weird but Ah don't feel different..."

"That's the point. Even if I had changed your mind you wouldn't feel any different. Not at first."

"That's reassuring."

"No, it's not. Pinkie, you ready?"

Pinkie nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Pinkie felt the magic surround her head - and then everything went black. She 'yawned' in the inky blackness. "Well, I wonder how long I'll have to wait..."

Another Pinkie appeared in front of her, starting out fuzzy, but slowly coming into focus. "Hi!" She said. "I'm going to take over now!"

"Okie dokie lokie!"

"Try not to be angry when the Nightmares get to you."

"I'll try!"

Pinkie felt herself get locked in a box while the new one waved at her, a sad smile on her face.

Back in the world of the aware, the newly-conditioned Pinkie shook her head. "Yeah, that was weird Twilight."

Twilight dropped the magical aura. "I expect so. Feel any problems?"

"Nope!"

Fluttershy nodded. "Good. Starlight, load ups back on the Starshell. Time to go in."

"Aye-aye!" Starlight performed a salute and soon everypony was back inside the Starshell, the outside grass still visibly blowing in the breeze. Starlight hit a screen and the Starshell rose into the air, drifting towards the Concretion. She made sure the shields were up and the cloak was on - which they were. "Here goes nothing..." She pressed a screen again and the Starshell launched into top speed, blasting over the remaining grass between them and the Concretion quickly. "Seventy-second north... Twenty-eighth west..." She took in a sharp breath, hovering her hoof over one of the screens. The moment the Starshell got within a hundred meters of the Concretion, the tops of the two nearest skyscrapers folded open, revealing two gigantic guns that hummed with a faint red glow.

"They see us!" Minuette said.

A laser shot by the Starshell's port, missing them by several feet.

"No, they can't," Starlight said. "They just know we're somewhere nearby. But they won't be expecting this..." She executed a teleport, throwing the dual lasers off for several seconds - enough to execute yet another teleport. By the time the guns aggroed onto them again, they were already in the Concretion. They were moving far too fast to see what they were passing, but they could see red lights blaring everywhere behind them.

"They feel us!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, stupid air..." Starlight grunted, pressing more screens, executing a few more teleports. But that wasn't enough to lose them - the drones began to pursue, aiming their lasers carefully at the source of all the displaced air.

The lasers went off, lighting up the back of their view. "Well, those hit us," Starlight muttered. "The city can detect us..."

"Magic shadow!" Twilight said. "Can the Starshell create one to throw them off."

Starlight kicked her back hoof, bringing up a giant mirror screen behind her. "I can make one, but somepony needs to drive while I do that."

"I will!" Pinkie popped up. "I-"

"Using your powers is a bad idea!"

"Me," the Inspector said, rushing to the control screens and pressing some buttons. "Make the spell."

"Okay!" Starlight whirled to the smaller screen, tapping it rapidly, moving blocks, arranging circular magic connections with her hooves, crafting larger and larger magic circles on the display...

"Are you... Programming magic from individual vis?" Twilight asked.

"Need to for magitech - Rarity do you mind dodging the lasers!?"

The Inspector twitched. "I am trying, Starlight, you didn't really train any of us for this!"

"Just do it! Execute a teleport!"

The Inspector did as asked, and they appeared inches from the ground.

"Too low!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"I know!" the Inspector sniped back, pulling the Starshell up.

"Rarity, calm. Breathe," Applejack said.

The Inspector obliged, breathing in and out slowly. She became much better at teleport-dodging, keeping the shields at an even 64%.

"Got it!" Starlight announced. "Casting!" She pressed a button, turning her screen green. They heard a soft humming noise- but saw nothing. Evidentially the drones saw something because two of them pulled off instantly.

"I'm going to have to take care of that last one..." Starlight said. "We're getting too close to the teleport point."

"What weapons do we have?" Rarity asked.

"Well, we have the standard drone laser, gun, etcetera - but we also have this." She pressed a screen with 'EMP Spell' on it. They saw a blue sphere of energy appear above them and blast right into the pursuing drone. It lost all power and fell into a nearby building.

"...Cool," Rainbow Dash said.

"Holy shit that's effective, what was that!?" Minuette said. "The army needs that spell!"

"EMP. A specialized electromagnetic pulse spell. Developed it after I studied drones, figured out how to disable their systems." She began to decelerate the Starshell. "Here we are." She hit teleport, the Sharshell appearing precisely thirty-two meters under the ground in a wide tunnel lit by dull electronic bulbs. A set of four conveyor belts rolled down the tunnel carrying large metallic boxes, presumably filled with products that needed shipping across the city. Starlight set the Starshell down between two boxes, keeping it hidden. "Setting two minute and twelve second timer... Okay. Now we wait."

"They probably can track us," Minuette said.

"Not down here," Fluttershy said. "There's a reason Maud told us to teleport here. These are the supply tunnels. Concretes have no reason to come down here, and it's all automated, so they have no reason to put in extensive magic sensors."

"Well, that's good," Minuette glanced around. "Still, it's... Weird being inside."

"Yeah, it is," Pinkie said. "It feels like a dark horror pulling at your - wait. I don't feel it."

"Ah was wonderin..." Applejack added.

"We're in the Starshell," Starlight said. "Our bodies don't exist right now. I'm sure you'll feel the Nightmare Fuel as soon as we exit."

"Great..."

"What do you suppose is in these boxes?" Rarity asked.

"Food, mostly," Fluttershy answered. "They grow it in deep labs and ship it to the entire city through these tunnels, constantly."

"Maud really did tell you a lot, didn't she?" Pinkie asked.

"Indeed she did."

"Drone," Minuette said, pointing. "There's a drone down there. Shit."

A blue drone floated lazily down the corridor, scanning the boxes that passed by one by one, approaching the Starshell at a steady pace.

"Bootstrap," Starlight swore. "Okay... I'm going to have to move us..." She lifted the Starshell up, moving it to the side, off the conveyor belt, drifting forward in time with the boxes. The drone flew over box after box, scrutinizing each and every one. Predictably, it moved over the box closest to them. Rarity could see the numbers on its hull, it was so close. It performed its scans and turned directly towards the Starshell.

Starlight reached for the EMP button.

The drone turned and floated on. Everypony let out a sigh of relief, and the Starshell sat back down onto the conveyor belt.

The drone heard it land. It whirled around, scanning again, this time with a wider scope. The two minutes and twelve seconds timer rang in that moment.

"Get us out!" Rainbow Dash shouted. Starlight didn't even need to be told - she took a hard right, flying down a maintenance vent before the drone's scan could fully register their presence.

"Okay... there." Starlight shook her head. "Now we just follow this to the end and teleport up."

"That was not as smooth as I would have liked," Fluttershy admitted. "There were so many moments everything could have fallen apart."

"Well, we're in the Concretion, what the buck did you expect?" Minuette asked.

"I was hoping. Guess it paid off, in the end."

"There's the end," Starlight said. The Starshell slowed down its pace, coming to a stop at a peculiar dead end. The ponies looked upwards - there was a series of vent grates through which light could be seen. Starlight performed another teleport and they appeared in a large and empty white room with a single large door and numerous other vents.

Maud was standing right there, air from the Starshell's appearance whipping her short mane. "Effective invisibility spell. Drop it and come out, we have little time."

Starlight dropped the cloak, setting the ship down on the ground. The cylindrical extension popped out and deposited the nine mares in a flash of orange.

"Non-physical storage," Maud noted.

"I try," Starlight smirked.

Applejack toppled to the ground. "Oh my apples..."

Pinkie breathed in and out slowly. "Yeah, it's something isn't it." She could feel the familiar pull of the Nightmare Fuel on her, crawling up her hooves, tearing at her soul, sucking the life from her. However, it was... slightly different. She only felt her magic slipping away, not the evil screaming in her mind. The spell must have been working.

Maud spoke up. "It has already begun. Pinkie, before you lose access completely, we will need to make full use of your powers. Take everything you can out of that pocket dimension of yours. Fill this place if you are able."

Rarity put a hoof on Pinkie. "Are you up to that?"

"I... yeah. I'm going to set up the best party." She gritted her teeth and reached behind herself, pulling out the party cannon. She slammed her hoof into it, spraying confetti, balloons, cake, and firecrackers around the room. She hit it again - presents, sweets, and fireworks. She ran around the room, feeling the pain crawl up her legs, filling the room with as many things as she could. Within a few minutes, the storage room began to look like her party cave back home - cabinets, sweets, slides, and even a chocolate fountain on the ceiling busy defying gravity. She tossed her party cannon into one of the piles and started pulling less cheerful things out of nowhere. Dual swords, axes, hammers, guns, a flamethrower, a scythe. She set these by the abundance of cream pies. She also pulled out pictures of home, stuffed animals of her friends, and a huge book filled with the birthdays of everypony she knew. She breathed in and out, clutching her burning chest. "Is... That enough?"

"It should be," Maud said. "Your powers are intense. Unfortunate that we cannot make use of them for much longer."

"Yeah... It's getting harder. And harder." Pinkie winced, falling to her knees and standing still - no twitching or bobbing whatsoever. "...What now?"

"We make you two Concretes," Maud said. "Specifically, you need to be Diane. Here." She picked up the swords and a dual scabbard, tying them to Pinkie's back. "That's the first step."

"Okay..."

"Need to remove your cutie marks and straighten out your hair."

"I know how to do the marks," Starlight said, lighting her horn. Soon both Applejack and Pinkie were blank flanks. "They're still there, they just won't appear unless I tell them to."

Applejack's legs wobbled. "Ah... still don't feel so good..."

Starlight quickly undid Applejack's ponytail, letting her mane lay flat. "Concretes can stand without magic, you can too."

"We don't have magic to stand either," the Inspector pointed out. "It's not that bad. Just prepare to hold yourself with just the physical legs you have."

"O... kay..." Applejack nodded, removing her hat and setting it on a pile of things Pinkie had produced. "How do I look?"

"Like a Concrete with a smile," Maud said, wrestling with Pinkie's poofy mane. "Lose the smile."

"Understood," Applejack said, blanking her face. "How's this?"

"Adequate. Anger - or a scowl - is also acceptable. Annoyance is as well." She pressed Pinkie's mane down again, to no avail. "Your mane is uncooperative."

"I have to be sad or crazy to make it flat," Pinkie said.

"Ah, no, you can tell it to be flat," Starlight said. "It's in your power."

"Oh. Right. O hair, I suggest you fall flat!" Instantly the cotton candy puffs fell to the ground, straight as her days at the rock farm. She stroked it. "This manestyle looks kind of cool actually..."

"It's unnerving, dear," Rarity said.

"Oh, I'm not going to keep it!"

"Once your magic's gone it will take effort to 'poof' it up again," Maud said. "Now, you can't just give yourself a blank expression. You are Diane and you are not a normal Concrete."

"I'm... Not?"

"No. You can think in ways the others can't. You were part of the Square-Circle Project along with myself, a program designed to create outliers. You can think and understand the reasoning behind others actions, almost instinctively. You have made many breakthroughs in the Concretion because of this freedom of mind. You will walk around with a scowl, and you will think you are better than all Concretes. Being Diane would be impossibly complicated - but you just need to sell that you are her for a short time. Scowl. Look down on everypony you meet. You can afford to be odd - Diane is. She has even been known to obfuscate smiles and smirks, just to get reactions. Even laughs, at times, but avoid trying that if at all possible."

Pinkie scowled. "Fine."

"Good. Now one more step." She turned to Twilight. "I need you to download the Concrete language from my mind into theirs."

Twilight nodded. "Of course." She lit her horn, touching Maud's mind and connecting it to Pinkie and Applejack. All of their eyes went wide - and then the spell was done. "There."

"Can you understand me?" Maud asked in Concrete.

"Oh my gosh that's so cool!" Pinkie said in Concrete, giggling. "Rarity! I can speak Concrete!"

"Lose the grin," Maud said. "We need to move quickly. They know something's in the city. They will find this room eventually, though likely not for a day or so, which gives us the time we need. Applejack and Pinkie need to come with me to investigate Project M, see what we find on the Elements. We will then return here and plan from there. Understood?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Understood."

"We will leave immediately."

"Now!?" Applejack blurted. "Ah'm not even walkin' straight yet, and Ah'm still bein' drained here."

"The walk will be hard for you. But we are so far from Project M that by the time we get there I expect your magics will be drained to negligible levels."

"...Why aren't we takin' one of those flyin' things?" Applejack asked.

"We want to stay off the grid for as long as possible. We're walking. Let's move." Without any further words, she made her way to the exit.

Pinkie shrugged - then winced in pain. "Ow... Do not shrug like that..." She shook her head. "Let's do as she says, I guess."

They walked out, the door sealing shut behind them.

The seven remaining ponies stood in silence.

Rainbow Dash coughed. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to sit down, put up my hooves, and enjoy this bucking party cave."

"This is not a bucking party," Minuette muttered.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Great mental images girls. Really."

Comments

[Keywii_Cookies55]

And now we get to the interesting bit. The part that is essentially Chemical Plant Zone from Sonic. The city that shall not be named. The automation station that is not only comparable to earth in terms of technology, but actually surpasses us.

Also, I couldn't help but think about Applejack in this Chapter, As an Earth Pony, she's probably had vivid nightmares of exactly everything that's been going on in this chapter. Growing up in terrible Equestria, from birth to adulthood she'd heard about the Concretion, about what it did to ponies, and what it *could* do to her. I can imagine limitless rumours about the city itself stealing your magic, turning you against your friends, all sorts of things. And here she is, listening to her friends saying she needs to enter that very place, to risk losing herself.

Suffice to say I don't think it's just the loss of magic that's making her legs shake.

[Ponygood11]

Will our gang of heroes successfully find the Rainbow Laser Power Necklaces? Will Applejack stop thinking about apples for one second? Will Pinkie and Pinkie have an epic dance-off to the death? Will the Starshell be pulled into an alternate universe? Will Maud reveal her forbidden love and marriage to Tom? Tune in next time to Broken Mirror to find out the answer to at least one of those questions, same pony day, same point hour!

[GMBlackjack]

8410829
Not saying, yes, no, unknown, no.

-GM, master of rapid-fire-answers

[BleedingRaindrops]

*sigh*
It feels like Act 3 has officially started.

[Twilight Connor]

I was worried when Maud said Pinkie needed to become Diane. I'm still worried.

[Keywii_Cookies55]

8413678

Welcome to the mirror, Conner.

[Twilight Connor]

8417249
Thanks. And it's ConnOr, not ConnEr.

[FridayPie]

Highlyunlikely that with all that telepathy Twi still complains. She should be already desensitized to this mental e621. unless she brain-bleach herself

[My name is R]

"Good. Starlight, load ups back on the Starshell. Time to go in."
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