Broken Mirror

by GMBlackjack

IV - Cartwheel of Expectations

>>There are those who act all tough, who seem hardened on the outside, who it seems like nothing would ever get to them. They seem like the perfect soldier, the kind of person that would stare death in the face and strangle it, determined to the end.

But when actually confronted, they fall apart. Everyone has that one thing they anchor their life on. Their beliefs. Another person. Perhaps even a place they hold dear.

So it follows that the best way to utterly and completely tear someone's mind asunder is to destroy their home, kill all those they hold dear, and challenge their fundamental worldviews. It's not always required to do all three, but if the decimation needs to be certain, why risk it?

Perhaps you find this line of thought sadistic. Perhaps you should. But then, why do we study philosophy?

What is it about minds that we demand to understand how they break?

Perhaps that is a topic for another time.<<

~~~

Front hoof.

Front hoof.

Back hoof.

Back hoof.

Front hoof.

Front hoof.

Back hoof.

Back hoof.

Front hoof...

It was all Pinkie could think about right now. Walking. There was too much swirling around her head to let her mind wander. If given the chance, she'd latch onto the feeling of emptiness inside her... The things she'd done to TS... The words Rarity had spoken to her... The burning camp...

Her mane was dangerously close to completely flat, but the expression coupled with her mane was not despondent or livid like usual. Instead, her face was straight and blank. Her movement was robotic, calculated, methodical. She hadn't said anything all night or morning.

Neither had Minuette, for that matter. She walked ahead of Pinkie, just behind Rarity, head down. Her face had generally remained sour, but occasionally Rarity would see signs of a deeply troubled mare. Rarity herself had enough of her wits about her to know she hadn't the foggiest idea of what to do or where to go. She just kept walking, hoping to see something, anything that could help them. Even an abandoned cabin would be nice - but all she saw was grass and trees. The trees were more prevalent than they were closer to the Concretion, but they were still sparse along the great plains. The only landmark she saw was the Concretion itself, still visible in the distance.

She sighed - she was far too numb to feel anything about that place. She was spent, barely enough energy in her legs to keep moving. She'd expected to collapse into a heap before daybreak, but she somehow managed to pull through, her four legs accessing reservoirs of energy she didn't know she had.

She knew she wouldn't last much longer though. She looked around, frantically, for a place to rest - and then she saw it. There was something in the distance that wasn't grass or trees. It was a dull brown and crossed her vision like a snake... It might have been a road.

She picked up speed slightly, grunting through her fatigue. She stumbled towards the path, dangerously close to falling over with every few steps. It took a few minutes to reach it, but the moment she arrived at the dirt path she decided enough was enough. She let her legs give out from underneath her, letting out a sigh of relief as her body hit the dirty ground. "A road! I found a road!"

"Want a medal?" Minuette hissed, cresting the hill behind her, Pinkie a few moments behind.

Rarity took in a sharp breath of air. "No, I just want to take a minute and appreciate the road. The sign of civilizaiton. Stars... I didn't realize how good dirt felt until today..."

This shook Pinkie out of her stupor. She fixed rarity with a blank look. "...What!?"

Rarity raised an eyebrow at Pinkie. Seeing that Pinkie's mane still hadn't improved, she chose her words carefully. "...Yes, I do suppose enjoying this dirt has ruined my appearance..."

"There's dirt everywhere!" Pinkie shouted suddenly. "If you wanted to roll in the dirt you could have done it at any time!"

Rarity recoiled. "Pinkie... You aren't feeling well... You need to calm down..."

"No, really?" She said, letting out a sharp, fake laugh. "I hadn't noticed!"

"Pinkie... What's wrong? You can talk to me."

"I have no idea! I feel like something was taken from me! Like a part of me was ripped from the earth beneath my hooves! Things hurt now Rarity! Things that didn't hurt before! My hooves hurt when I bounce! My legs hurt when I stretch! I..." She fell silent. "...Ponies died. Something's wrong with this world..."

"Something's wrong with you," Minuette muttered.

Pinkie glared at Minuette with the intensity of a honey badger. To her credit, Minuette didn't recoil in the slightest.

Rarity held up her hooves before the tension could escalate further. "Look, we're all on the ends of our ropes here. But we're also all in this together. So, one way or another, we're going to have to tolerate each other to survive. Okay, Minuette? Pinkie?"

Minuette huffed. "Fine."

Pinkie nodded slowly, face stoic once more.

Rarity forced a smile. "Good! Minuette, where are we going?"

"We're on the road. We should travel along it."

"Minuette..."

Minuette took in a sharp breath. "Closest town is Cartwheel. That way," she said, pointing to the eastern side of the road. "There probably won't be a contact for me there, but it's close enough to Neighagra Falls, where I know one is. Then I'll find out what the frick to do with you two."

"It won't involve being chained to a pole will it?"

Minuette sneered. "I doubt it, but I'll see what I can do."

Rarity balked. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh yes, I would!"

"Why!?"

Minuette jabbed a hoof at Rarity. "Because you've ruined my life, that's why - you bucking minglers!"

"You didn't have to save us," Pinkie said, not even looking at the two of them.

Minuette bristled. "Yeah. Remind me of my failures why don't you, make me want to drive you six feet under the dirty mud you hold so close to your pigged heart!"

"You seem upset," Pinkie deadpanned.

"No shit! I wonder why!"

"Such a mystery."

"I am going to hurt you now. It will be long, excruciating, and devastating."

"Stop!" Rarity yelled. "This is just what I said not to do less than two minutes ago!"

Minuette twitched but backed down. Pinkie did the same.

"Good." Rarity put her hoof down. "Now, we have a Cartwheel to get-"

Part of the ground behind Rarity exploded from a near-miss missile. Minuette quickly raised a shield around the three of them, preventing the three subsequent missile volleys from vaporizing them.

"Drone!" Minuette yelled. "Stupid!"

The drone fired a lance weapon, shattering Minuette's shield. The impact of the metallic rod with the ground tossed the three mares in different directions. The drone flew in low, extending a claw from its underside towards Pinkie. Pinkie elegantly leaped over the drone's silvery shell, landing softly behind it.

The drone took a few moments to turn around for another pass. Minuette seized the opportunity to blast the machine with a few high-energy laser spells. A few sections on the dome began to smoke from the assault, but otherwise, there was no visible damage. It charged them again, this time choosing to ignore Pinkie in favor of unleashing a stream of bullets right at Minuette.

Minuette levitated the bullets in front of her, stopping every last one a meter away from her body. However, she was unable to stop them and the drone itself. She prepared for the machine to barrel right into her.

It never connected. Rarity stepped in, using her own magic to divert the machine's course away from Minuette - and towards herself. The drone continued firing as it pulled up, sending a few bullets Rarity's way. She reacted in an instant - stopping one of the ballistics inches from her forehead. "My... I just stopped a bullet!"

"Not all of them," Minuette shouted, firing more lasers at the drone as it turned to make another pass.

"What do you mean?I don't feel anything..." Rarity looked herself over and froze. There was a red hole in her leg. "Well... Then... I suppose I'm in shock... I think I'll pass out now." Her eyes rolled back into her skull and she tipped to the ground.

Pinkie took one look at rarity and snapped. Her mane flattened completely and a look of rage took over her previously impassive face. "Okay, mister drone-pants! You're dead!" She leaped into the air higher than was physically possible. She landed atop the drone's back with an impressively loud thunk. She produced her party cannon. "Say cheese."

The confetti explosion produced enough downward force that the drone skimmed the ground, kicking up grass and clods of dirt. The drone managed to regain control, rising into the air once more only to have a giant rubber hammer smash it into the ground with a loud squeak. Pinkie grinned. "You know, that was kinda fun!" Her tail began to twitch uncontrollably. "Huh? Haven't had any Pinkie Sense in a while..." She listened to the call of danger, hopping off of the crashed drone just in time to avoid a bullet.

Minuette took the opportunity to blast the drone with a half-dozen bolts of magic in quick succession, blowing the machine to smithereens. She cackled. "Take that clanker!"

Pinkie smiled, her hair poofing up slightly. "Yeah! Take that clanker!"

Minuette laughed - then caught herself and returned to her normal, angry face. "Hey, bucker, no using my lines."

Pinkie smirked. "Oh come on, I know a repressed smile when I see one! Let it out! Let it out! Let it - ohmygosh Rarity!" She rushed over to her downed friend. "Rarity?"

Rarity groaned, the blood from her leg already pooling on the ground, reddening even more of her already disturbed coat.

"We need to move fast or she's going to bleed out," Minuette said.

"I can do that." Pinkie hefted Rarity onto her back. "Try and keep up."

"Cloud rooter, do you have any idea-"

Pinkie shot down the road at absurd speeds, nothing more than a pink streak in the distance.

Minuette stared down the road in shock. Crap, she's going to arrive at the town before me. "Pigger!" She yelled. "Hold up!" She cast accelerado and retenporia on herself in a futile attempt to catch up with the pink pony. Pinkie was rushing her friend to civilization to save her life...

Minuette bit her lip. They might just get themselves killed.

~~~

Cartwheel was so named because the largest building was a giant waterwheel that slowly rotated alongside a large, raging river. There were only a few dozen buildings scattered around, most constructed with stone, though there were a couple wooden abodes and a helping of cloud houses. None of the structures looked to be in good shape, many falling apart or rotting.

Life was slow, silent, and downcast. The earth ponies worked the fields with their heads downtrodden, most watched by unicorns, a small number of which had shiny monocles on their faces. The center of town was mostly occupied by pegasi, all shooting each other death glares as they went about their daily business.

It was in this unsavory town square that Pinkie ran into, Rarity on her back. The wind rush from her momentum blew through the open area, drawing the gazes of all the present pegasi to her. "Is there a doctor in the house!? Rarity needs a doctor! She's been shot!"

The first response was not "I am" nor "I'll go get such-and-such." It wasn't "no" or "what's a doctor?" either.

"What. The buck. Is a cloud rooter doing in our square!?" A tall, black pegasus roared.

Pinkie twitched. "Shove your racist bias elsewhere right now! Can't you see she's hurt?"

The pegasus seemed taken aback. "Did... did you just talk back to me?"

"Yes. So? Doctor! Need! Get it into your thick skull!"

"Calm down, calm down," a milky white unicorn stallion said, striding into the commotion. He wore a monocle on his left eye that shrouded his brilliant green iris. He walked up to Pinkie, examining Rarity with a frown. "Oh. Well, that's something." He lit his horn, stopping the bleeding instantly. He levitated Rarity off Pinkie's back and carried her away.

"W-wait!" Pinkie said. "Where are you-"

"She needs further treatment. If you're still around when she gets better I'll have somepony find you."

"Still around...?" She said. The stallion walked into a nearby building and shut the door. Pinkie's stared at the door for several moments, dragged out of her stupor only by the twitch of her tail. She sidestepped just in time to avoid the black pegasus's skydive attack. He embedded his face into the ground, to the immense amusement of all the pegasi around.

Pinkie giggled. "You okay there?"

"I'm going to kill you," he said, flaring his wings. "No cloud rooter talks back to Thunder, and nopony makes a fool of me!"

Pinkie took a step back, grimacing. It was happening again. They were being attacked. There was evil. It was so sad and depressing and she just wasn't sure if she could take it...

...well, why exactly did it have to be that way? Why did it have to be sad?

Pinkie smiled, her mane suddenly poofing back to its regular state. She leaped onto her hind hooves, gesturing for Thunder to get closer. "Come at me, birdy, let's see how this goes!"

The crowd went wild at this. "You going to take that Thunder?" "You going to let the pig trash talk you?"

Thunder bared his teeth. "You just signed your death certificate." He threw a punch, and Pinkie was suddenly standing on his outstretched hoof.

"I don't think you know what that is." She jumped off his leg and landed squarely on his head.

"Th- what?" Thunder rolled over to knock her off, only to somehow find himself held in her hooves.

"The draw!" Pinkie said, pulling her hooves back. "The calculation!" She squinted her eyes and licked her lips. "The throw!" She tossed the squirming Thunder into the air. "The score!" With a clang, Thunder landed in a garbage can. She held her hooves high, grinning. The crowd went wild, laughing and pointing at Thunder.

Thunder flew out of the dumpster, revealing a knife in his wing. "That's it!"

"Oh really? Your big trick is a knife?" She rolled her eyes, reaching into her mane. "I got dozens of those." She threw a few kitchen and chef's knives out just to make her point. "Kiiiinda boring to use in a fight though, don't you think?"

Thunder roared, flying at her, knife pointed at her chest. A microsecond before he hit, she stepped out of the way. She ripped the knife out of his wing with her tail. "Hrm... Good grip, but the blade could use sharpening." She threw it at a wall - and it didn't stick. "Woah, really poor blade quality there."

Thunder was so angry he was no longer able to form words. He ran right for her, she dodged. He barreled towards her, and she did it again. She dodged. Again, she dodged. Again, again, and again.

She shrugged. "Wow, this is getting boooooring. Do you have any other tricks?"

Thunder responded with another completely pointless lunge - right into Pinkie's frying pan. his eyes rolled back into his skull and he slumped to the ground, unconscious. Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Guess not."

She turned to the town and grinned, her right eye twitching involuntarily. "Victory is mine! What's my prize?"

"Get her!" One of the pegasi yelled. With this, the crowd surged forth as one to pummel her.

"Oh," Pinkie said, "I... don't think I can take you all..." She gulped.

"Stop!" In a flash of blue, Minuette appeared."This mare is needed alive for official Equestrian Military business! Any of you preeners touch her and you will be annihilated by my horn! Do I make myself absolutely clear?!"

"Loud and clear, accas bitch!" a different pegasus yelled.

"If I ever find out who said that they will rot in Tartarus for eternity," Minuette spat. Then she turned to Pinkie. "Where's Rarity?"

"...One of the monocle unicorns took her into that house..." Pinkie said.

"Ugh, I hate Inspectors..." Minuette muttered. "Did they offer to treat her?"

"I think so."

"Okay. You better come with, the crowd looks like it wants to murder you."

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "And you don't?"

"I have orders."

"Ooooh! You don't! Progress!"

A look of panic crossed Minuette's face. She glanced at the crowd for a moment, calculating. She slapped Pinkie across the face - hard. "If I didn't need you alive you'd be rotting in a pit of your own pigger filth!"

The crowd cheered.

Pinkie's mane was returned to its flat state, her eyes watering with tears. A look of uncertainty crossed Minuette's face for the slightest moment, but she buried it quickly. She grabbed hold of Pinkie by the mane. "Come on." She dragged her into the house roughly. Pinkie left a trail of tears along the ground.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

I know I should wait and see, but I have to know: When do the evil versions of the mane six appear?

[Crimson Dawn]

Yea I bet Pinkie would be REALLY affected by Dash and Twilight.

[ferret]

why do we study philosophy?/

Because we're huge assholes. Pretentious arrogant pricks, each and every one of us philosophers. You shouldn't listen to a word we say.

Then I'll find out what the frick to do with you tow."

[GMBlackjack]

8138217

Evil is such a cliche.

-GM, master of vague hints.

[Mocha Star]

Thunder was so angry he was no longer able to form words. He ran right for her, she dodged. He barreled towards him, and she did it again. She dodged. Again, she dodged. Again, again, and again.

She shrugged. "Wow, this is getting boooooring. Do you have any other tricks?"

Trekker responded with another completely pointless lunge - right into Pinkie's frying pan. his eyes rolled back into his skull and he slumped to the ground, unconscious. Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Guess not."

Great chapter and I love Pinkie... But I got confused for a mere fraction of time enough to lose immersion near the end...

[Draco Dei]

This shook Pinkie out of her stupor. She fixed rarity with a blank look. "...What!?"

Capitalization.