Hearth’s Warming in Reality

by Mist

Segment 0.3

Segment 0.3

/Is there such a thing as fate? Are our actions predetermined, or do we set our own destiny? If you knew the results of your actions were already decided, would you give in to despair or would you fight definitely even knowing it was pointless?/

Standing before the massive portal, Ruby looked over at Buck with curious eyes. The moment they stepped through it, there would be no going back, there would be no way to back out of this adventure. Ruby reached over and grabbed Buck’s hoof, the stallion locked eyes with her. He could tell she was scared, just the look in her eyes alone told him that. With a smile on his face, he squeezed her hoof in his own.

He could see her face light up, a smile decorated her face that he swore seemed so familiar to him. A smile that felt like he had seen it at least a hundred times before. Buck blinked and he could swear he heard her whispering, but he couldn’t confirm it.

Ruby tilted her head in confusion, his expression made her wonder what was going on in his head, it was one of wonder and intrigue. “Something wrong, Buck?”

Snapping back to reality, he grinned and shook his head. “No, in fact, everything is just right… We’re going to do this together, right?”

Ruby blushed and looked away bashfully. “Buck, we’ve only known each other for a short time, but somehow I just knew you’d do this with me. I know it sounds dumb, but I feel like… We were meant to meet… Like we’ve known each other our whole lives even…”

Grinning, Buck nodded. “Yeah, likewise. Anyway, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?”

Chuckling, Ruby agreed. “Then together.”

With those words, the two jumped through the gateway to another world.

-

/The chances of being in base reality are less than 1%. Therefore it’s more likely we are in a simulation rather than actually existing. If that is the case, we’d be better off not knowing the truth of our existence, right?/

Ruby’s hooves felt heavy. Like something was weighing her down. She couldn’t move, but she could see a slight stream of light through the darkness. A ray of grey sunlight illuminated the way. She struggled to move once more, but it was no use, she was pinned down.

Her efforts weren’t in vain though, as just in the distance she could hear voices muttering. As they got closer she could hear some of the words they were forming. “I think I hear something over here!”

Involuntarily, Ruby’s voice exited her throat calling for help, but it was muffled.

The sounds of the others in the distance came closer, and before Ruby knew it, they were in her vicinity and lifting large pieces of rubble off of her. She coughed as more light poured in, and her eyes winced in pain. She felt a hoof grab her and pull her out of the wreckage. She coughed and hacked as two ponies brushed her off, a third checking her for injury.

“Are you alright, Ruby?” One of them asked.

Ruby had never met this group before, but she noticed she moved involuntarily and spoke without thinking. It was as if she was reliving a foreign memory. “Yeah, just a bit scuffed up…”

“I tried to tell the site administrator that these tunnels weren’t safe, but figures he wouldn’t listen to a one like me…” The smallest of the group frowned, his yellow coat was stained with black soot.

Ruby shook her head and placed a hoof upon his shoulder in comfort. “It’s okay, they didn’t listen to me either, I’m a two. I tried to tell them that excavating here would be an issue, but all that did was make them think we couldn’t use explosives… High-powered drills seem to have the same effect though…”

“Sombra’s cronies don’t ever listen to reason or logic anyway, not a single brain between the lot of them. They’re all the same…” The only female besides Ruby spoke.

The one who pulled Ruby out placed his hoof in front of his face and hushed them. “Quiet, they might hear you. I think I saw the foreman heading this way. We should look around for others who got buried by the rubble before they get here, you know what’ll happen when they arrive after all…”

The entire group nodded in agreement until Ruby remembered something important. “Wait! My dad was near the other drill site! I have to go make sure he’s okay!”

“Are you crazy, Ruby!? We can’t abandon our post! We have to be here when the foreman inspects the place. He’s going to want a full report and you’re the one overseeing the drilling!” The small one spoke.

The female from before chimed in. “The same site she advised not to dig at?”

The yellow stallion rolled his eyes. “Okay, we’ve established that the ones in charge don’t listen to reason, thus all the more reason we should be here to report.”

Ruby brushed herself off some more and gave a concerned look as she noticed her glasses were cracked. “I just need a little time. It shouldn’t take me more than ten minutes. Just stall the foreman for me until I get back.” Ruby raced off before they had a chance to even protest her suggestion.

With a sigh, the largest of the group smirked. “Not even Sombra’s hierarchy can tame that girl… I feel bad for the poor stallion who tries to wrangle her…”

“He’d have to have the patience of a saint.” The female giggled.

-

/Infinite. A number far beyond our mortal comprehension. Never ending, never beginning. It simply is./

When Buck came to, he stretched his hoof out and could see it in front of him. The room he found himself in was similar to the cavern they had left through, except this one had a dark red glow to it, making it difficult to see. Glancing around, he saw a portal behind himself which he assumed they could use to return home. Blinking, he glanced around and noticed Ruby lying on her stomach next to him.

Taking a step toward her, he nudged her gently with his front right hoof. The mare stirred for a moment before she opened her eyes. Looking up from her crooked glasses, she smiled at Buck who offered her a hoof to get up. She accepted it, and he brought her to a stand.

Right away, she fixed her glasses and brushed herself off as she looked around the room. She blinked a few times until her eyes fell onto the large portal before them. She stared at it and let out a sigh of relief. “I guess that means we can get home through this at least… But now this brings me to another question…”

The redhead approached the portal and looked up in thought.

“What of it?” Buck blinked.

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “If the portal worked both ways… Why didn’t my parents come back? They could have used this to come home…”

Buck was about to propose the idea that they couldn’t, but he didn’t want Ruby thinking down that bleak line of thinking. Instead, he proposed another theory entirely. “Maybe they didn’t actually come here. Maybe they’re back in our reality somewhere?”

Ruby’s tone almost sounded disappointed. “Maybe…”

Buck approached and tapped her shoulder. “When we get back, I’ll help you look for them, promise.”

Her mood softened a bit at his words. “Thank you, Buck. You’re too kind. I’m glad you’re here with me.”

He smiled back at her and nodded. “No one should be alone, especially doing something as crazy as this. Still… I guess you proved your theories were all true.”

Ruby rubbed her head and looked into Buck’s eyes. “I think you were right before about memories bleeding in from the other side… I had a weird dream before I woke up here, it felt almost real…”

Buck could feel a soft blush on his face as he cleared his throat, wondering if her visions were similar to his own. “Oh? What did you see?”

Ruby looked up in thought as she recalled her dream. “Something about being buried under a pile of rubble. A few ponies I didn’t recognize dug me out, and then I went looking for my dad… Maybe that means my dad is here somewhere!”

Her stallion companion felt a gentle wave of relief that they wouldn’t have the awkward discussion of the two of them talking about getting married like in his own visions. He wondered where these visions were coming from though. Perhaps they were visions of another reality that could be? Or maybe something else entirely. At first, he suspected there was just a chance they were random dreams designed to deter them from getting closer to the portal.

“I guess it’s possible. We should focus on getting out of here first though…” Buck suggested.

Nodding in agreement, Ruby gestured toward the entrance. “Well, I think we will need to move that gemstone away from the entrance like we did in our reality. Looks like Sombra had the entrance covered up in this world too. I imagine most of the caverns will be similar, I mean this world is supposed to be the same as ours except it diverged from the original timeline some thirty years ago.”

Shrugging, Buck shined his light over at the entrance, and sure enough a large gemstone was in front of it. “Guess we should get moving then, we don’t have a lot of time left.”

“You’re right, let’s move this thing.” Ruby nodded.

Taking a quick stretch, Buck prepared himself as Ruby did the same. The two after a few moments of stretching, stood in front of the cave entrance and placed their shoulders on the enormous gem. The duo took a deep breath and began to push with all their might. As before, Buck did most of the heavy lifting, with Ruby mostly just offering support. With a bit of teamwork, the two managed to gain their freedom from the sealed chamber. Panting heavily, Ruby gripped her chest as she stepped out of the chamber and looked up. Unlike their own reality, the cave hadn’t caved in in this reality. Breathing a sigh of relief, the mare smiled and gestured for Buck to look. “Check it out, Buck, the way out is still intact.”

He looked up with her and felt a wave of gratitude wash over him. “Thank Luna for that.”

She nodded in agreement, and the two began to prepare their equipment to climb out. After a few minutes of readying themselves, they managed to make their way to the top of the cavern, making it back to the lift they had previously broken. This time, not trusting it, Ruby looked it over and blinked a few times in confusion.

Sensing something wrong, Buck tilted his head and approached. “Something wrong?”

Ruby fixed her glasses and spoke up. “This lift… It’s been serviced recently…”

“Maybe Sombra is keeping tabs on the portal?” Buck suggested.

Ruby didn’t appear convinced. “Maybe…”

“Can we use it to go back up, that’s the important question.” Buck changed the subject.

Checking it out, Ruby nodded. “Definitely. It looks like most of the working parts are only a few years old at best. Almost no rust to speak of.”

“Finally some good luck.” Buck chuckled as the two hurried inside.

Activating the lift, the two stood silently as it ascended. It wasn’t as long of a journey as it was going down, as the lift moved far more efficiently this time around. Within minutes they were at the ground level of the mines. Ruby was shocked to see the path to the main entrance had been cleared. The two looked at each other in confusion.

“Guess Sombra tried to reopen the mines…” Buck shrugged.

The two headed toward the light coming from the entrance and upon stepping outside they were met with a gloomy overcast. They looked up at the obsidian sky and for miles, all they could see were gray rain clouds covering the sky. The only sunlight was strangled through the clouds, desperate to keep the world coated in an eerie gloom.

The entrance to the Crystal Mines that were outside the castle had been sealed off to the public for decades back in their own world, yet now they had emerged from the forgotten relic of the past through that very entrance.

Stepping out a bit more, the two observed their location. They were just on the outskirts of the empire, which was now a shadow of its former self. Large black shards of enormous gemstones protruded from the ground, giving a sinister look to the once-gorgeous city. Most of the buildings inside were in various states of disrepair, but sitting at the center in pristine condition was a twisted version of the castle that Buck and Ruby knew. This one was decorated with black onyx stone, and a red halo of smoke surrounded it.

“Sombra definitely has bad taste in real estate…” Buck joked.

“Bad might not be a strong enough word here…” Ruby replied.

“Horse manure then?” Buck suggested.

Giggled, Ruby nodded as she covered her mouth to contain herself.

The two wouldn’t get to laugh for too long, as another voice spoke with authority to them. “Hey! You two! What’re you doing over here?”

Both ponies flinched and turned to see a straggly-looking stallion with a brown coat, covered in stains and desperate need of grooming. Strapped to his neck was a whistle and a red collar with a dog tag attached. It had the number “3” etched into it.

The two of them tilted their heads as he addressed them. “I said what are you doing over here? The mine has been closed off for a year, and I told everyone not to stray from the dig site.”

Ruby rubbed her neck, trying to explain their situation. “Well… Umm…”

The brown stallion blinked and looked them up and down. They seemed far cleaner than what he was used to seeing in his line of work. He then noticed the lack of collars on either of them. “Hey, where’re your tags? Are you ones or twos?”

Ruby and Buck both were clueless about what he was talking about but played along. “We ummm…” Buck began.

“Come on, out with it.” The stallion said.

“We lost them.” Ruby lied.

The stallion groaned in annoyance. “We’ll get back to base camp and have them issue new ones. Clearly, you’re ones if you'd lose your tags…”

“Sorry about that… we’re new…” Buck added to her lie.

“Clearly… Base camp is that way, I don’t need to remind you how to follow the signs do I?” He grumbled to the two of them.

“No sir.” Both Ruby and Buck said in unison.

“Get moving then, and don’t let me catch you without your tags again! If any of the privileged agents came through here you two would be shipped off to hive prison.” The brown stallion shook his head.

“It won’t happen again sir,” Ruby responded.

“See to it that it doesn’t, now get a move on so you can get back to work, I expect you both to still make your quota regardless, so hurry back.” He stomped his hoof to hurry them.

Buck and Ruby gave a quick salute before going to do as instructed. As they were told, a series of directional signs pointed the pair toward the base camp. They followed the path, noting other ponies all working, excavating various rocks in search of precious metals of varying degrees.

Each pony they saw was sporting the same collars, though most had ones and twos etched on them. Ruby whispered to Buck as she observed. “Buck, I think the threes are like supervisors or something… There’s far less of them than the others.”

Buck nodded in agreement as he noticed that same detail himself.

Arriving at the base camp, the two wandered into the huge tent. There at the front sitting behind a makeshift table was a mare with a series of clipboards in front of her. She had a yellow mane trimmed short, but the two of them instantly noticed her collar that had a “3” on it.

As they stood before her, the mare seemed to not notice them. Ruby cleared her throat to get the mare’s attention. Blinking, the blonde looked up at them with an annoyed expression. “What do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“Uh…We lost our tags and were told to come here?” Buck said.

The young blonde let out an exasperated sigh. “Dear Sombra… Let me guess… Ones?”

Given the two didn’t know the significance of the numbers, they both shrugged and nodded. “Yeah that’s us, a couple of ones…” Ruby said.

“Color me surprised…” The blonde spoke sarcastically. “You two idiots chose the worst time. We have an inspection from the privileged agents today. Fives crawling all over this place. Go to the security checkpoint where you see the fours stationed, request a reissue of your tags, and don’t blame me if some fives take you for additional screening.”

Ruby spoke up. “And they would be…?”

The mare smacked her own face in annoyance. “The ones in the uniforms, you know the ones that have the number four on their tags? The ones who checked you in? I swear you ones are useless. Now get going before I waste any more time on you two. If I don’t get this garbage finished it’s going to be my neck on the line when the authority bureau audits this place… And I’ll make sure it’s not just mine on the line if that happens.”

“We’ll get out of your hair, sorry.” Buck apologized.

“First intelligent idea I’ve heard from a one… Now get moving.” She ushered the two to leave her alone.

Giving into her demands the two started heading in the direction she pointed them, keeping an eye open for any ponies who matched the description the mare gave the two of them. Sure enough, a good several meters away was a set of ponies sporting militaristic-looking jackets and caps. Ponies were lined up in front of some of them having their tags checked.

“There’s some kind of authority structure in this reality… I think higher numbers command more authority…” Ruby whispered her inference to her friend.

“If that’s the case we should have lied and said our numbers were higher…” Buck frowned.

The two hushed up though as they came up to one of the officials. She had a vermillion coat, a wavy black mane, and a name tag that told them her name was “Order”. The two ponies stood before the official and gave a salute. Order waved for them to stop.

“That’s fine… Now, what do you work horses want?” Order asked.

“We were sent here because we lost our tags,” Buck explained.

Order muttered something under her breath as she shook her head. After she pointed to a group of armored guards all sporting collars in the shape of stars, each with the number five finely etched in, far higher quality than those of the ones and twos, even the threes. Their bodies were covered completely with complex armor. Buck gulped as they approached.

One of them held up a hoof and spoke through some kind of voice modifier in his helmet. “Halt. State your business.”

Another one pointed to the two’s necks. “Looks like a couple of no tags.”

The first one sighed and shook their head. “You want these two? I’ve got enough paperwork…”

Before either of the two could say anything a third one spoke up and stepped forward. “I’ll take them. I’m behind on my quota anyway…”

The first two laughed and nodded in agreement and the one they originally talked to spoke up. “Fair enough, they’re your problem now. Make sure you show them plenty of…” He glanced at Buck and Ruby before finishing his sentence. “Hospitality.”

Both of them laughed heartily before leaving Buck and Ruby with the third guard who volunteered to take them. Shaking his head, the guard gestured for the two to follow him. “Okay, this way. No funny business.” He commanded with the same distorted voice the others had.

Not seeing any other option, Buck and Ruby accepted their fate and followed in silence. After a short walk, they came to a small building outside the tent and were guided to what they assumed was an interrogation room. The guard opened the door and gestured for them to enter. “Get in, now.”

A cold sweat ran down Ruby’s neck, but Buck reassured her by taking her hoof in his own. She smiled at him as they both entered the room and heard the door close behind the guard. Buck gulped as the guard stood next to the door chuckling.

They watched carefully as they reached for their own helmet and pulled it off of their head. After setting it on the floor, they revealed a rainbow mane trimmed sloppily, yellow eyes and a light pink coat. They flicked their messy mane and grinned as they made eye contact with the duo. Her raspy voice was very feminine as she spoke up. “Sorry if I scared you guys, have to keep on a show for them.”

Buck and Ruby looked at each other in confusion before looking back at her. “Umm… Who are you?” Buck asked.

Blinking, the mare realized she hadn’t introduced herself. “Oh right, my name is Prism Dash! I’m with the Rebels!”

“Wait, are you related to Rainbow Dash by chance? The same Rainbow Dash who saved Equestria with Twilight?” Ruby blinked in astonishment.

Prism puffed out her chest with pride. “You bet! She was my mom. She used to be with the rebels back in the day. Now I’m kind of keeping the dream alive in her stead.”

“Who are these rebels you refer to?” Buck asked.

Prism tilted her head. “You don’t know about the rebels? What site did they ship you here from? Everyone knows about the rebels, Sombra and his goons are always trying to sniff us out, so our numbers are far smaller these days, but that’s where I come in.”

“Okay, so what do you do then?” Buck questioned.

“Recruitment. Welcome to the rebellion…” She paused and waved her hoof ushering the two of them to tell her their names.

“Buck.” Buck tapped his own chest.

“Ruby,” Ruby said after looking at Buck for a brief moment.

Prism nodded. “Right, well now that we’re acquainted, you two should really head for the rebel hideout…”

“Hey! Wait a second! What if we don’t want to join your rebellion?! You can’t just assume we want in!” Buck grunted.

Prism shrugged. “I mean, if you prefer I can send you back out there, but you both were supposed to go straight to the hive. No pony comes back from there, I figured you’d prefer fighting for our freedom over imprisonment.”

Ruby covered Buck’s mouth. “Sorry about him! We’re grateful, really!”

Prism made an awkward face and looked the two ponies before her up and down. “Well… Regardless, we have to get you two out of here… I have some spare tags for you, they should be enough to fool any who sees you, but they definitely won’t pass under scrutiny. Stay away from any security checkpoints, and don’t talk to any fives…” The mare retrieved a set of collars from her uniform pocket and passed them to Buck and Ruby.

Both ponies took them and fastened them on their necks, noting the number three etched into each. They blinked in confusion as Buck questioned the numbers. “Why threes?”

Prism rolled her eyes. “That’s as high as I can give you without you two arousing suspicion. Fives would stand out if you’re somewhere where it doesn’t make sense for officials to be, and fours usually rarely leave their station. If you’re threes, it’s normal to see you heading to work sites and passing through certain checkpoints, and they wouldn’t expect you to be in any kind of uniform…”

Ruby nodded on Buck’s behalf. “We really appreciate it. So where do we go?”

Prism smirked as if she was eager to show off her cunningness. She wandered over to a nearby tile on the floor and reached down with her wing and pulled it up. There was a ladder going down with an illuminated tunnel. “Take this path out of the camp, you should come out in the abandoned quarry area. Patrols are less frequent there. You’re going to meet up with some rebels who can take you to the base of operations when you get to the quarry. I’ll let them know you’re coming. Now get moving before they start wondering why I’m taking so long…”

Buck headed ahead of Ruby and already started making his way down the ladder before he popped his head back up and tilted his head as he questioned the young Prism, she didn’t look much older than himself. “What if they notice we went missing?”

She dismissed him with a hoof wave. “I’ll just spin them a story that I sent you off to the hive with the next group. Don’t worry, we’ll meet again, I’ll slip off to the rebel base when I get a chance.”

Ruby smiled and bowed to the uniformed mare. “Thank you so much for helping us…”

Prism gave a salute. “Welcome to the rebels.”

Not wasting any more time, the two began to descend down the tunnel as Ruby closed the hatch above them, only vaguely hearing Prism begin to exit the room above them to go and rejoin the other officials. Once in the illuminated tunnel, the two began to head down the long narrow passageway in single file.

“At least in this reality ponies don’t just take Sombra’s rule laying down… There are still those who would fight back…” Buck stated.

Ruby nodded in agreement as the two could see a light at the end of the tunnel. “It’s in our nature to fight oppression… So long as there is evil, there are those who will rise up to stop it, I suppose…”

Buck said nothing as the pair stepped into the light and exited the tunnel. They both glanced around and noticed a pink mare with a bandana covering her face standing not far from the tunnel entrance. Removing their face cover, they could see her lip had a small scar across the bottom right corner.

Her eyes were a vibrant purple, and her pink coat was complimented with a bright red mane rivaling Ruby’s own. The mare gave a gentle head nod at the two as she spoke up with a rather high-pitched voice. “You the new recruits Prism mentioned, I take it?”

Buck gave a sheepish smile. “Yeah, that’s us I guess…”

She squinted at the two of them. “You two don’t look normal… Where did you get moved here from? Don’t usually see ponies as clean as you two…”

Ruby looked at her companion, thinking of how to explain their situation. Finally, she decided it was best just to tell them the truth. “This is going to sound really crazy…” Ruby began.

“Try me…” The pink mare raised a brow.

“Well… We come from another reality…” Ruby explained.

There was a short silence before the mare replied. “Okay, you were right… That does sound crazy…”

“I know it sounds like I’m making this up, but you have to trust me on this… We came through a gate from another reality entirely… We’re here to stop Sombra and save our world…” Ruby explained.

The mare’s unimpressed expression didn’t change. “How are you two going to stop Sombra? A couple of average-looking ponies?”

Buck reached into his saddlebag, sensing Ruby needed help, and retrieved a photo he had brought with him. A part of him knew one of the issues they would encounter would be ponies might not believe them if they said where they were from. He presented the photo to the mare.

Taking the photo from him, the mare’s eyes widened as she gazed at what was in it. Standing next to Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor was Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Empire, restored to its former glory. Next to her was a dragon wearing a gold medal.

“You’re telling the truth…?” The mare blinked.

“In our world, Sombra was defeated over thirty years ago and the kingdom was restored,” Buck said.

Shaking her head, she offered the photo back to Buck who took it and packed it away. She offered her hoof. “I’m sorry I was so skeptical before… Allow me to apologize, my name is Cupcake Blast, I moved here to help the rebellion after Pinkie Pie, my mentor wanted to join the rebellion…”

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Buck, and this is Ruby.” Buck gestured to his friend who gave a smile.

“We really need to take you to the rebel leader, they’ll definitely want to hear all of this…” Cupcake insisted.

“Lead the way.” Ruby gestured.

Nodding, Cupcake began to take the two along an abandoned pathway out of the quarry as the two kept by her side and conversed.

“So, since we’re a bit out of the loop… What’s with the numbers we keep seeing on these collars?” Ruby asked.

Cupcake kept her eyes on the path as she spoke. “Sombra created a number system to rank his slaves. Ones are considered the lowest of the low, manual labor that requires no thinking or skill of any kind, disposable, and zero authority. Twos are only a hair higher than ones, still considered labor class but capable of operating machinery and other more complex tasks…”

“That’s dreadful…” Buck commented with a frown.

Cupcake nodded before continuing. “Threes are supervisors to the labor class. They report to the higher-ups. Fours would be those higher-ups. Fours are considered a liaison between the labor class and the trusted agents…”

“Trusted agents?” Ruby blinked.

“Yeah… Fives. They’re above everypony else, they work directly for Sombra, we have only a few within their ranks spying for us, Sombra isn’t that trusting after all…” Cupcake stated.

“How far does Sombra’s rule reach?” Buck asked.

A frown came to Cupcake’s face. “Well… Shortly after I was born he pushed past the Crystal Empire once he had control over all of it and began conquering cities left and right. Within ten years after the empire’s fall, he managed to defeat Celestia and Luna and now he controls all of Equestria. In recent years he’s been expanding to other territories too. It’s only a matter of time before he takes over the world… However, I think it’s a stroke of Hearth’s Warming miracle that you two showed up… We may be able to finally turn the tide of this rebellion in our favor with your knowledge.”

“We hope so…” Ruby smiled sheepishly.

Approaching an old cellar hatch to a rundown home, Cupcake grinned at the two new recruits. “We’re here…” She then tapped on the entrance four times, spaced out in some kind of pattern. Before they knew it, the door opened and Cupcake gestured for the two of them to stay put as she entered.

Ruby and Buck stood awkwardly for a good few minutes until Cupcake returned and gestured for them to enter. “Come on in.”

Nodding, the duo entered and walked slowly as several guards near the entrance gave them a stare-down. As they passed the entryway, they could see the interior was adorned with old furniture that had been cleaned up and made into a rather large living space. Dozens of ponies were inhabiting the area, and it looked like the underground sanctuary stretched for a good distance.

Around them, they could see ponies watching television, listening to old beaten radios, and fillies and colts playing with toys that looked like they had been pulled out of rubbish piles.

Near the back of the main room that they had entered, they could see what they assumed was some kind of bar.

Cupcake gestured them toward a hallway in the far back. “Come on, our leader is this way, they’ll definitely want to meet with you!”

As Buck and Ruby passed, many ponies stared in their direction, clearly noticing that they didn’t appear underweight, sickly, and dirty like the rest of them. Ignoring their stares though, the two made their way to the hallway where they were led to a door at the very end. Cupcake stood at the side of the door with two guards and nodded at Buck and Ruby. “This is as far as I go, you two go have a chat with her, she’ll know what to do.”

“Her?” Buck blinked.

Shrugging, the two pushed through the door and heard it shut behind them.

They flinched at the sound of the door but then noted the room around them smelled like a hospital almost with the scent of disinfectant filling the air. Glancing around, they could see various pieces of medical equipment surrounding them. They blinked a few times and saw a large pillow in the center of the room with a blanket over it.

The two stepped closer as they noticed the blanket move slightly. From behind it, a reptile stepped. His legs were powerful-looking, and his arms were covered in what the two could only assume were battle scars. As he glanced in their direction, they could see one of his fangs was broken. His green and purple appearance looked faded like all of his scales had lost their sheen.

He coughed and raised a brow. “I think these two are here to see you…” He spoke with a deep voice. They instantly recognized him as Spike the dragon, though he looked far different from the one they knew back home.

Ruby and Buck both bowed before him, but he rolled his eyes before tugging at the blanket on top of the large pillow. “Don’t bow before me… It’s her you want…”

From under the blanket, a purple snout poked out, and finally, a head covered in a long dark grey mane. As they rose up, Ruby and Buck could see their body was frail, skinny, and malnourished. Their eyes and coat had lost any luster they once had, and her face was haggard with age and anguish.

She coughed a few times as she finished sitting up, and it became visible that she was hooked up to all kinds of IVs and health monitors.

“So what brings your new faces here?” She asked.

The pair of friends bowed respectfully before speaking. “We’re sorry to bother you… I’m not sure what you were told already…” Ruby began.

“I was told you came from another reality entirely…” She replied.

“Correct…” Ruby nodded.

“May I see some kind of proof?” The old mare asked.

Buck retrieved the photo he had shown earlier and passed it to Spike. Spike took it carefully and brought it over to the old mare. He held it close to her tired eyes to see. She examined it carefully for several minutes before a gentle smile came to her old lips. “I can’t believe it… There I am… Full of youth… And still a princess…”

“Wait… You mean you’re…” Buck couldn’t even finish his sentence as the old mare cut him off.

“Twilight Sparkle. Another lifetime ago, I was the Princess of Friendship, but now I’m just an old mare trying to lead a rebellion…” She coughed.

Author's Note:

Really fun getting this out. I'm hoping I can put out the entire story before the end of the holidays. (Maybe ending sometime around January 1st?)

I really enjoy being able to evolve on the story I wrote as just a simple one-shot last year for Jinglemas. :P