A young unicorn wakes up in the basement of the Golden Oaks Library with no memory of the past. With nothing to go on but a strange voice in his head, and a grey pegasus that was unconscious upstairs, they set out to find the truth.
But nopony could have prepared them for what they were going to witness when they emerged from the library.....
(A very special thanks to sierra_seven for being my co-author, helping with storycrafting and editing! Go give him some love!)
I tiredly waved my hoof by my head, trying to go back to sleep.
“Rouse yourself.”
“Ngh, go away.” I groaned.
“WAKE!”
“AHH!” Leaping up, I slammed my head into a wall. “Ow.” I moaned, rubbing my head. “Wait...what's going on?!” I stumbled around, unable to see as the room was in complete darkness.
I was starting to panic. “Okay, I don't know who I am. I don't know where I am, or what's GOING ON!” I reached up and felt a protrusion from my head. “Okay, I have a horn. That's a decent start. I'm a unicorn. Wish I knew where I was though, this room is so dark...” My voice trailed off as I felt a warm glow from my head. Then with a flash, my horn lit up revealing the room.
There was a giant broken machine in the middle. It had a main power box on the ground and a long hose extended from it. At the end of it was a metal helmet. I walked over to it and saw a small inclined table that had two iron hoops on it, as if hooves were supposed to fit inside. After looking and tapping it a bit more, I saw that the main machine part fed out paper from the top and was attached by wires to the colander hat. The part with the hoof clamps sort of faces the main machine so the hat would reach the target.
“What was this used for?” I wondered. “It seems so familiar, but I don't know.” Shaking my head, I carefully maneuvered around it.
My horn started glowing brighter, so I was able to notice stairs. I was going to head up them, but I hesitated. “That might not be a good idea. I don't know what's up there, and I don't think I'd be able to fight.”
Then the voice spoke to me again. “Go up the stairs. You will be safe.”
“Yeah, no.” I responded, not really caring that I was talking to myself. “I don't know what's up there.”
“Go now. You will be safe in this building.”
“Really?” I asked. “How do you know?” I waited for a response, but none came. “Great.” Nervously, I proceeded up the stairs.
. . .
As I walked into the kitchen, I saw that every window was covered with cardboard. A sixth sense told me to not open them, so I didn't. I looked around the kitchen and saw that it was...rather empty. The stove was gone and the refrigerator had a big hole in the door. Every cupboard in the room had it's door torn off, and were bare.
“What happened here?” I said. “Whoever was here, left in a hurry.”
Turning away, I walked out a doorway into the front room of the library. In awe, I started at the shelves. They were all empty, save for a few ruined books lying on the ground. The entire place was also very dusty. But that all changed as soon as I saw the unconscious pony on the ground.
Without a second thought, I dashed forward. I sat next to the pony and rested it's head on my leg. I took the time to examine her. I could tell that it was a mare, and she was a pegasus. She didn't have any injures, save for a bump on the head. She had a gray coat with a yellow mane and tail. Looking at her flank, I saw that she her cutie mark was bubbles.
“Bubbles? I wonder what her talent is.” I softly said. “Wait..” I looked at my own flank, and saw nothing. “I'm sure that I would have my cutie mark by now.” Then I looked over and saw broken glass on the ground. “I wonder...”
I stared at the broken glass and concentrated, trying to use magic. I didn't know how it worked, so nothing happened. Then I heard a giggle in my head and the voice saying, “Let me help you.” The glass levitated into the air and repaired itself into a mirror. It then moved in front of me so I could see myself.
I had a pure white coat and my eyes were golden. My mane and tail were light blue, sort of like the sea. Not only that, they shimmered like they had a mind of their own. I was so shocked by my appearance that I didn't register when the pegasus stirred.
“Ahhh!” She yawned. “Where am I?” She rolled off of my leg and hit the ground as I jumped. The mirror shattered and I moved backwards. “Oh. Hi there!” The mare said, giving me a warm smile. “I'm Ditzy Doo, but everypony calls me Derpy! What's your name?”
“I'm...” I stammered, but then I realized that I didn't HAVE a name. “I don't know who I am, but it is nice to meet you.”
Derpy nodded and as she turned, I noticed that her eyes were crossed. “Wow. I sure don't remember Twilight’s library looking like this yesterday.”
“Twilight...that name sounds familiar.” I said. Derpy turned and was going to say something when I heard the voice again.
“Good, she has awoken. We will come and speak with you both to inform you of your task.”
Before I had the chance to form a coherent response, a dark blue flash appeared before us. Derpy scurried over and sat next to me as the smoke from the flash consolidated into a pony. The pony was dark blue, with stars shimmering in her mane and tail. But what I saw the most was that she had wings and a horn.
Derpy bowed. “Hello Princess Luna!”
The princess nodded to us, then sat down in front of us. “Listen. There is much that I must tell you.” She pointed at me. “What do you remember?”
I shrugged. “Not much Princess. I know about the history of Equestria and stuff like that, but I can't remember anything recent.”
“Nor should you.” Luna said. “Equestria is in grave danger, danger that my sister and I were unable to prevent.”
Derpy frowned. “What happened Princess? Why does Twilight's home look like this?”
Princess Luna sighed. “Do you both remember the tale of the Nightmare, the reason that I was banished.” We both nodded. “Two days ago, the Nightmare returned. My sister stopped it, but was broken in the process. Because of her madness, she split Equestria into seven different dimensions.”
“What do you mean Princess?” I asked.
“A dimension is the same place as another, but with changes. They can be big or small, but it will be different from the original. My sister created six dimensions using the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and one more that we are trapped in.” Luna said. “I am using a spell to inform you, but it will not last long.”
“So, are we in a dimension right now?” I asked.
Luna nodded. “This dimension is the creation of the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle. Equestria cannot survive split apart like this, so I need your help.”
“But wait.” Derpy said. “Where are all of our friends?”
“They are on the seventh dimension.” Luna said. “It is unreachable until the six other dimensions have been saved.”
I was confused. “But Princess, how can we? Derpy's a pegasus and I don't even know who I am. We have no way to defend ourselves, or know what to do!”
Luna calmly rested her hoof on my shoulder. “In her last moment of sanity, you were created. The powers of the Elements created a physical manifestation to go though and repair the dimensions, and that was you.”
“So, I'm a spirit?” I asked in shock. I began to pat myself all over to reassure myself that I was alive.
Luna smiled. “Yes and no. You are as real as I am.” Her gaze was serious again. “But listen here. I have not sent you out unprepared. Ditzy Doo, I wish to give you a gift.”
Derpy grinned. “Okay Princess. I'll take it!”
Luna closed her eyes, and her horn started to glow. A dark blue magical ribbon came out of her horn and wrapped around Derpy, completely covering her. When it was over, Derpy looked very thoughtful.
“What I have given you, is a rare gift.” Luna said. "What I have given you is just a mere taste of the collective memories of the elements. As you travel between their realms, you will be able to understand how they craft their dimensions. You'll understand their thoughts; the way their perfect world would work. This might help you discover a faster way of tracking them down, or avoiding that which you would not confront."
"But, Princess?" Derpy asked. "But Princess, what about when we have to fight? Will we have to fight our own friends?"
Luna smiled at Derpy again. "Fear not, young mare. Remember, it's not your skills that define you but how you adapt to your situations. Perfect wing control might not help you when the situation calls for fancy hoofwork. Remember to adapt, rather than to attack head-on."
She then turned to me. “I do not have a magical gift for you, as the Elements have given you one already. You will have control over reality, but you will be unable to master or control it until the correct times.” I nodded but she continued on. “And if you would accept it, I would like to give you a name.”
“A...name?” I asked.
Luna nodded. “The gift of a name is very precious. It defines you and is the reason parents take great delight in naming their foals. Will you accept my gift of a name?”
I thought about it, but decided that I could trust the princess. So without a second though, I nodded. “Yes Princess. I will accept it.”
“Very well.” Luna said, then she stood up with her horn glowing. “By the power of the moon, I name you Broken Hope. For even though it may be broken, hope is still there.” As she stopped talking, I felt sort of a rush flow though me. It felt rather cool.
“Are you okay Princess?!” Derpy shrieked. I looked and saw that I could see right though the princess.
“The spell is fading.” Luna said. “Listen to me. You must purify the Element of Magic, or this dimension will be lost.”
“How?” I asked.
Luna looked deep into my eyes. “You are the combined strength of the Elements. You will know.” Then without a warning, she was gone.
Derpy and I stared for a few seconds. “Well.” I said dejectedly. “Guess we'll be working together for a while.”
Derpy smiled. “We better get started then!”
“Wait.” I said. “Don't you know about this dimension now?”
The pegasus nodded. “We should take a look outside first.” She bounded over to the door and I followed.
Putting my hoof on the door, I winked to Derpy. “You ready to go save Equestria?”
She nodded back. “You bet, Broken!”
Not wanting to hesitate any longer, I pulled the door open.
“Yeah.” I said, not quite as amazed. “Is this what Ponyville's supposed to look like?”
Derpy frowned, then adopted a sad look on her face. “No Hope. No it's not.”
Derpy and I had emerged from the house into a slum. There were no roads, unless you wanted to call muddy pathways roads. We turned and looked at the houses and buildings. There were in various stages of bad, but I wouldn't call any of them adequate to live in. As the two of us started to walk away from the library, I turned to look at it. The tree had no leaves, and the bark was very old.
I took a glance at Derpy, and saw that she had a tear running down her face. “What happened to Ponyville?” She whispered. “This isn't supposed to be how it is.”
I reached over and wiped her tear away. Stepping back, I said, “Remember Derpy, this isn't your world. The only thing that comes close is Twilight, and we still need to find her. Try to focus and tell me about this-LOOK OUT!”
I rushed at Derpy and slammed into her, knocking us away. A giant tree limb crashed down right where she had been standing. “Keep moving!” I yelled. The two of us ducked and weaved as more tree limbs fell.
When I judged that we were far enough away, we turned to look at the library. “Oh, no.” I softly said. The library that was supposed to serve as Twilight’s home crumbled to dust in front of us. When the dust cleared, all that was left was a big pile of wood.
I turned Derpy away. Dwelling on it would do nothing but bring her more pain. “Come on Derpy. Let's see the rest of town.”
. . .
Some fillies ran in front of us as we continued to explore. Derpy started to use her gift that the princess gave her, telling me all she knew about the dimension.
“Okay, so apparently when Twilight took over, she had two things on her mind.” Derpy said. “Order and technology.”
“Like that machine in the basement?” I asked, skirting around a mud puddle.
Derpy nodded. “Everything is on a strict orderly schedule. Nopony is allowed to veer from it, or...”
“Or?” I asked, tilting my head.
Derpy shook her head. “I don't know. The princess's gift isn't working.”
“Or we aren't allowed to know that yet.” I guessed. Derpy frowned, but she kept walking.
“Look up there, Hope.” I followed her pointed hoof to see a very large purple bubble. “That's Canterlot. Apparently it's the most advanced city in the dimension.”
I nodded. “That's where Twilight is. But why isn't Ponyville like that? Instead it's all...run down.”
Derpy didn't have an answer for the question, but we stopped at a taller building. The outside of it was a faded light blue, with pink and purple on the roof. Two rusty metal horses adorned the roof and the flag at the top was full of holes.
“This place had seen better days.” I commented. “Where are we?”
“This is the Carousel Boutique.” Derpy said. “Rarity's home. I'd be delivering packages and letters to her all the time. I was Ponyville's official mailmare.”
“No kidding?” I asked. Derpy just nodded. “Wow.”
The two of us walked up to the front door and I banged on it. “Come on in!” A weary sounding voice called. After exchanging glances, the two of us entered.
We made our way into a large room that was rather clean. In fact, it was a little scary. There were cloths neatly stacked up in a large bookshelf like object, and ten mannequins that were all lined up. There were two desks in the room, one had sewing utensils on in and the other had a sewing machine, where a white unicorn was hard at work.
While Derpy went over to see the unicorn, I moved closer to check the sewing table, where all the sewing tools were. And that's when I got a major shock.
Every single thing on that table was stacked in a neat vertical line, down to the needles.
“No way.” I thought to myself. “This is impossible.”
“But it isn't.” I slightly jumped as I heard Luna's voice. “This is a different place from the Equestria that we know. Never forget that.” Her voice left my head as quickly as it came.
I flinched as I heard Derpy yelp. “But Rarity, it's me! Derpy!”
“I'm sorry dear, but I've never seen you before.” Rarity responded to her. As Derpy was about to retaliate, I walked in front of the two.
“Excuse us a second.” I said to Rarity, who returned to her sewing.
Derpy looked like she would cry at any moment. “Why doesn't she know me?”
“Remember Derpy, this isn't where you're from.” I said. “You don't belong on this dimension, and I don't have a place on any of them. These aren't the ponies that you know. They are a part of the dimension.”
“They...were created with the dimension?” Derpy asked.
I nodded. “We need to pretend that we belong, such as this.” I turned back to Rarity and tapped her. “I'm sorry about that. My friend thought that you were somepony else.”
“It's okay dear.” The unicorn said with a sigh. “So, who are you?”
Derpy sat next to me as I explained. “My name is Broken Hope and this is my friend Ditzy Doo. We are travelers.”
Rarity sighed again. “I wish that I could help you two, but I can't. My schedule is strict that from now until seven that I must work on clothing.”
“Schedule?” Derpy asked. “Don't you ever do anything different?”
Rarity slightly nodded. “Sometimes, but we rarely ever receive a break from our schedules.”
“How do these work?” I asked.
“We have a set time in the day, mine is from twelve to seven to work on a designated task sent from Canterlot.” Rarity explained. “Every day, some of the Metal Ponies will go to every town and perform a roll call.”
“What's that?” Derpy asked.
“It's a way to ensure that we are doing our tasks.” Rarity said. “It must be a certain spell, because I don't understand how they know if we are, or aren't doing our jobs.”
“What if you aren't doing your job?” I softly inquired.
Rarity turned and looked me dead in the eyes. “Then we get taken to...Her.”
“Her? Do you mean Twi..?” Derpy's voice was cut off as Rarity placed a hoof over her mouth.
“No. Don't say her name. They'll know.” Rarity was about to say more, but we all winced as a loud screeching noise started. “Oh! It's the roll call! Come along!” She dropped what she was doing and made a mad dash for the door. Not having any other choice, Derpy and I followed.
. . .
When we burst though the door, we saw everypony in town lined up in a straight line. Not wanting be singled out, Derpy and I dashed to the end of the line, next to Rarity.
“That was a close one.” Rarity whispered to us. “You don't want to know what happens if you aren't in line.” I was about to speak but Rarity hushed me. “Shh! The Metal Pony's are here!” As we heard a whirring sound, we looked up.
Four pegisi landed on the ground, and looked up and down the line. One of them said, “All residents are here. Begin scanning.”
“They sound like, robots.” I quietly told Derpy. “Could Twilight have created robot ponies?”
“She was the strongest unicorn in Equestria, Broken.” Derpy replied. “What do you think?”
I didn't say anything as the strange ponies started staring into the pony's eyes. A blue light came from the metal pony's eyes into the other pony's eyes. After a few seconds, the light went away and they moved on.
“What are they scanning for?” I asked Derpy. “Can Luna's gift tell you?”
Derpy's face scrunched up in thought, until she smiled. “They're making sure that everypony is doing their job.”
“Derpy.” I said. “We aren't a part of this dimension. We don't have a job.”
Derpy lost her smile. “Uh-oh.”
We hushed up as the metal pony scanned Rarity's eyes. “Everything is clear with this one.” He stepped in front of me and said, “Keep your eyes open.” Then he scanned me. I disliked the feeling. It felt like a cool rod was placed into my mind and given free roam. After a few seconds, he stopped scanning.
He stared at me for a minute, then started freaking out. “Pony with unnatural magic power! Must bring to Princess!”
Another of the metal ponies shook his head. “The great Twilight must not be disturbed! Eradicate magical spike!”
Derpy nudged me. “What does “eradicate” mean?”
“Well, it means to destroy.” I said. “We should probably start running.” Quick as a flash, Derpy shot up in the air and I took off, hearing a buzz as two of the ponies gave chase.
. . .
Derpy and I ran as fast as we could, well I was running. Derpy was flying and trying to distract our pursuers so I could get a little breathing room. Though alleys, jumping in and out of ruined buildings, nothing would shake them.
I glanced up towards Derpy and saw a blue flash. She landed next to me and ran. “They're shooting at me, Hope! Must be some sort of a spell!”
I risked a look back. On each side of the metal pony's, where their wings were was a small metal cylinder. Blue lasers came firing from them and slammed into the walls and ground by us, causing explosions.
“Wonderful.” I groaned. “Somehow, they attached lasers to their sides!” As Derpy and I turned another corner, we saw a building that looked like it was covered in desserts.
“Broken, that's Sugercube Corner!” Derpy gasped out. “Could we hide in there?”
“It's worth a shot!” I felt my hair tingling. “Duck!” The two of us hit the ground as a magical laser shot over our heads and into the shop. The entire inside of the shop exploded.
A rush of heat rushed at us, scorching my face. “Plan, plan!” I thought. Then, out of nowhere, I felt a warm glow deep in my body. I looked up and the entire world except Derpy seemed to shimmer. “Follow me!” I yelled, and the two of us ran towards the building.
“What are you doing?!” Derpy yelled to me.
“Using my gift.” I responded. Even though we were still getting shot at, I focused. I concentrated on the fire.
“I'm not a part of this world. It's not real. My gift. Bend. Bend reality to my will.”
I gasped as the fire rose. But it didn't just rise, it floated. I levitated the fire out of the shop and in front of us. I turned to look at Derpy and her eyes widened at the sight of me. “Get down!”
As she ducked, I consolidated the fire into a spear of sorts. Then I turned and flung it at the oncoming ponies.
BOOM! With an explosion that knocked me off my feet, the metal pony went up in flames. I skidded on my side as metal rained down.
“Broken! There's still one more!” Derpy cried. I looked up and saw that the remaining pony had a large cylinder like object with a place to hold it on it's back. It was connected to the pony's back by a metal rod.
“Derpy!” I yelled. “Have you ever played Frisbee?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but why?”
“Get ready to show me what you got!” Looking around, I saw a large chuck of rock from where a laser had blasted the ground. Casting out with the warm glow still within me, I took the rock and flattened it. Then I made certain parts of the rock extend and sharpen, so it was like a buzz saw. “Now, Derpy!” I picked up the rock frisbee in my mouth and launched it to Derpy. She caught it and spun around and around, until she let go. It was flying so fast that it sheared clean though the rod that connected the device to the pony's back, sending it towards us.
The pony looked ticked and started to run to us. I didn't have the warm feel anymore, so I kicked the device to Derpy. “Use it!”
Derpy looked at it in a panic. “I don't know how!”
I picked it up and pressed into Derpy's hooves, but I didn't let go as he moved closer. “Maybe you go like this, and then I'll move my hoof here, and you put yours there...”
“Hey, what's this button do?” Derpy said.
“No! Derpy wait!” Just as I uttered those words, she pressed whatever she found. A blast from the device sent it flying from our hooves and both of us slamming into the side of the burnt out Sugercube Corner. I looked up just in time to see the blast slam into the metal pony's head, reducing it to nothing but metal and wires.
“Uhh.” I rolled over onto my hooves, raising one to my head. I felt another hoof on my shoulder.
“Broken? Are you alright?” Derpy asked. I looked up and saw worry in her eyes.
“How-how are you not dizzy?” I asked, still attempting to orient myself.
Derpy smiled. “I crash into things all the time. It's no biggie.”
I groaned again and turned, only to see the other two Metal Ponies standing in front of us. “Can't catch a break I see.” I sighed.
Derpy turned and saw them as one of them opened his mouth. “Attention. You have committed a crime of attacking a officer. Prepare to be eradicated.”
As the robot started to charge his laser gun, I noticed the one Derpy had used next to my hoof. The robot was aiming at Derpy, so I only had one chance. Just as the robot fired I yelled, “Heads up!” I kicked the cylinder so that it rose up in front of Derpy. The laser hit the cylinder just as it passed in front of Derpy's face, knocking it into her mouth.
She glanced wildly at me as I crouched. “Go Derpy! Fly away from me and take it out!” Without a second guess my pegasus friend shot up into the air. Immediately, one of the robot ponies sported a large engine from it's back. It fired up and the pony shot up after Derpy. I stood there looking until I almost was shot in the side. “Right.” I said, “You still want to play.” I dashed off, the robot on my tail.
. . .
Derpy flew as fast as she could, the cylinder still in her mouth. The Metal Pony was on her tail, refusing to be lost.
“Gotta get away!” Derpy thought as she flew. “If he catches me, I'll be in trouble!” Derpy was concentrating so hard on flying that the robot got off a lucky shot and singed her wing.
“Ow!” She exclaimed. Derpy started to lose altitude, more from shock then pain. She swerved into a patch of trees hoping to lose the robot, but he was still tracking her.
Derpy flew at a tree branch that was directly in front of her and grabbed it, bending it backwards. As the robot flew by she let go, sending the branch towards the robot. She heard a swishing sound and whipped around to see the robot holding a yellow glowing sword in its mouth.
“Ahh!” Derpy ducked as the robot swung the sword at her. It got stuck in the tree, forcing the robot to let go of it. Derpy flew up and found a good sized acorn. Picking it up, she flung it at the robot, hitting him in the side. He abandoned the sword and flew up to where Derpy was, but she had already moved. She wrapped her forelegs around the sword and started tugging on it. “Come on! Get free!”
The robot shot at Derpy. Derpy gasped and ducked as the bolt whizzed past her and blew a hole in the ground. Derpy gritted her teeth and yanked on the sword harder. She ducked under another laser shot, but was still unable to free the sword.
“No, I can't lose like this!” Derpy angrily said. “I can't leave Broken alone, and...” Her thought was interrupted as a cyan pegasus came up behind her.
“Having a little trouble?” she asked, grabbing the sword as well.
“Rainbow...Dash?” Derpy asked in disbelief.
The pony grinned. “Yeah. Now can we talk later? Pull!” Narrowly dodging another laser bolt, the two mares finally were able to yank the sword out of the tree. Rainbow Dash immediately flew off as the robot flew closer to them.
Derpy's instincts took over as she flew around the tree and bucked the robot in the face. Then she twirled the sword and drove it upwards into the robot's body. Still holding the hilt, she threw the sword and robot to the ground. They landed with a thud. Derpy flew down and landed next to the fallen robot. She reached out to touch it...
“Wha!!” Derpy jumped back as the robot sprang to life. It had a sword though its body, but it didn't seem to care. Frightened, Derpy launched herself into the air again, the robot not far behind.
As Derpy rose above the trees, she saw Rainbow Dash sitting on a cloud. When she noticed Derpy, she jumped off the cloud and kicked it, sending it towards Derpy. Derpy caught it, turned and held it in front of her, causing the robot to get stuck in it. Derpy jumped on the cloud, accidentally sparking it and sending electricity though herself and the robot. The electricity actually flung Derpy off the cloud, but continued to flow though the robot. The gray pegasus watched as the robot shook in the cloud, then finally exploded.
Derpy covered her face, then sighed. “Wow, that was rough. Hey, where did Rainbow Dash go?” She turned to find her friend, but she was nowhere to be seen.
“Oh well, I guess I better go find Broken...Oh no! Broken!” In panic, Derpy flew back in the direction of Sugarcube Corner to find her friend.
. . .
“Why couldn't I have been given wings?!” I gasped out as I ran from the lethal pony behind me. The robot had been shooting at me after I had dashed away. I led the robot into the town, noting that everypony was gone. “Good, they won't be in any danger.” I said.
All of a sudden, the world shimmered and I felt a warm glow in my soul. “Nice.” I said. “Now I can fight back.”
I ran towards Rarity's shop because I had seen a long banner on the roof. I blinked twice at a patch of ground and jumped on it. It acted as a springboard and launched me into the air. I grabbed the end of the banner with my teeth and fell. I painfully swung on the end of the banner until it ripped free and I landed on my back.
I struggled to get up. The robot was getting closer to me and I didn't have time to wait. I felt the glow fading and the world returning to normal but I was still able to toss the banner at the robot and wrap it up. As everything turned to normal, I ran up to the robot to buck it in the face. Unfortunately, at that exact moment, the robot chose to burn though the banner. I reared up to turn, and it blasted me in the chest.
I flew though the air and landed hard on my side. The robot started to stalk closer to me slowly, as if it knew that I was beaten.
“No, no, no!” I groaned. “Need a plan!” Then, the world shimmered again.
From where I was, I saw a patch of grass. Using my reality shifting, I singled out a single blade of grass, and sharpened the point. I also covered it in cement.
Quick as a flash, I stood up and whipped my head around, sending the blade of grass clean though the robots head. For a second I thought that nothing had happened, until the robot started shaking. “Great.. I know what this means.” I ran to the grass and wrapped myself in it just as the robot exploded.
The grass acted as a sort of cushion for me, so I didn't break any bones when I slammed on the ground again. That doesn't mean it didn't hurt, because it still did. “Uhh.” I groaned again. “Stupid robots.”
“Broken!!” I glanced up as I saw Derpy fly at me. She slammed into me, us rolling on the ground as she gave me a big hug. “You're okay!”
“Of course. I am the Element of Harmony.” Derpy grinned and punched me in the side. “Ow, okay. I'm done being cheeky!”
A loud humming noise filled the air causing us to look up, and pale. A very large robot was in the air. It looked like a unicorn and was the length of two hoofball fields.
“Hey Broken?” Derpy asked.
“Yeah?” I replied.
“Should we start running now?” She inquired.
I nodded. “That would probably be a good idea.” We looked at each other, nodded, then dashed in the direction of Sugarcube Corner.
. . .
Surprisingly, the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner hadn't been totaled by the laser. I was able to use a quick reality shift to put the stove and fridge back and Derpy had scouted around for food. I had left the store to go search for any more food and when I had gotten back, Derpy had made blueberry muffins for us. And they were big.
As we ate, Derpy and I talked. “So Derpy, tell me about Equestria.” I said.
Derpy tilted her head. “What do you mean? We're in Equestria right now.”
“No, I mean your Equestria.” I said. “Not this fragment of it. Tell me about your true home.”
I saw a blissful smile come over my friend's face. “It was wonderful Broken. Everyday was something new, especially after Twilight came to Ponyville. I was still the mailmare then. It was my dream really, to be able to help ponies like that. Ponies didn't usually fight, or get into arguments. The sun was always shining, unless we needed a storm, or if it was winter. You'd love it there.”
“So, it was rather peaceful?” I asked.
Derpy nodded. “Oh yes. Ponies were taught from birth to always try to solve problems peacefully. Guess we weren't able to do that here.”
I laughed. “That's true. So, where did you live?”
“I lived in Cloudsdale with my..” Derpy's voice trailed off.
“With who?” I asked, not quite hearing her.
“My daughter, Dinky.” I heard sadness in my friend's voice. “The last time I saw her was when I dropped her off at school. Then I woke up on your leg.”
“Hey, it'll be fine.” I said. “Remember, Luna said that we're the only ones from the original Equestria that are traveling. We'll find Dinky on the last dimension.” Derpy simply nodded, still upset.
Trying to change the subject I asked. “So, did you ever work on the weather?”
“A few times.” Derpy said, smiling again. “I wasn't very good at it. Kept shocking myself on the thunderclouds.” Derpy and I shared a laugh at that.
Then, we heard a thud from behind the stove. I got up and motioned to Derpy to stay sitting. The stove shook and then moved to the side revealing a hole. A cyan pegasus mare with a rainbow mane and tail jumped out, along with a pink earth mare with an equally pink mane and tail. The cyan pegasus looked at me and asked, “What are you doing here?”
Derpy and I just stared at the intruders, not moving. The cyan pegasus promptly walked up to me and got in my face. Poking me on the chest, she barked at me, “What are you DOING here?!”
Luckily Derpy was on hoof, shoving a muffin into the pegasus's mouth. “Here ya go Rainbow!”
Rainbow was going to spit it out, but then tasted it. Her eyes widened and she began to chomp eagerly on the muffin. “Geez! What is IN this?”
Derpy grinned. “That one's blueberry.”
The pink mare walked next to Rainbow and gave us a smile. “I'm Pinkie Pie, and this is Rainbow Dash! But it seems that you already know her!”
Derpy rolled her eyes and giggled. “Of course I do! She's..” I quickly kicked her in the leg to stop her.
“We're sorry. My name is Broken Hope and this is Ditzy Doo, also known as Derpy.” I calmly sat down. “We're hiding out in here until that robot leaves.”
“Oh you mean the Enforcer.” Rainbow sighed. “Whenever there's trouble in Equestria, Twilight sends that thing to 'investigate'. Usually ends with ponies dying.”
“Dying?!” Derpy shrieked.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow at that. “It's natural these days. For some reason, Twilight's been coming down hard on everypony in the rural areas. My friends and I have been trying to think of a way to stop her, but nothing's worked.”
“We can help.” I said, and Derpy nodded.
Rainbow glanced at me. “Well, I have seen her fight.” She pointed at Derpy as she continued to talk. “But I don't KNOW you two. For all I know, you could be spies for...”
“Wait, Dash!” Pinkie said. We all stared at her until her tail twitched suddenly.
“Get down!” Rainbow yelled. They ducked as Derpy and I flung ourselves under the table. A booming explosion shook the shop and blew the roof off.
“What the...” Rainbow started.
“Down the hole!” I yelled. Derpy caught on immediately and launched herself at Rainbow, tackling her and causing the two of them to fall in the hole. Pinkie bounced in herself and I jumped in as fast as I could.
I landed hard and looked to see a long tunnel. Next to me, Rainbow had tossed Derpy off of her and was glaring at me. “What do you two think you're doing?! That thing's going to find our tunnel!”
I was about to respond when the world quickly shimmered. I turned and pointed at the tunnel exit. The exit disappeared, replaced by stone. I turned to see Rainbow's jaw drop. “How did you....?”
Pinkie giggled. “He just played with reality Rainbow. Come on, we need to get back to the others!” As she bounced off, I turned to Derpy.
“Um, how did she know that?” I asked.
Derpy smiled. “She's Pinkie Pie. She did that all the time back home.”
I sighed. “This is gonna be a long day.” The two of us followed after the bouncing mare.
. . .
The four of us walked along the tunnel in relative silence. My horn had lit up by itself again, so I was in the lead. Derpy had decided to walk by me to talk.
“Broken.” She started. “What happens when you reality shift?”
I glanced at her, then focused on keeping my horn lit. “Well, I feel a warm glow in my stomach and the world seems to shimmer.”
“Shimmer?” Derpy asked.
I waved my hoof. “Ya know what it looks like when you toss a pebble in a calm body of water? It looks like that.”
Derpy was quiet for a moment. “Do you ever see anything differently besides that?”
“Not really. Why?” I replied.
She looked at me. “Because your eyes glow pure white.” At that, I was silent. What did that mean? I didn't have much time to ponder it because we reached a dead end.
“Nothing here.” I said, moving my head around to illuminate the tunnel. Rainbow pushed past me and laid her hooves on the wall. She felt around it for a moment and then pushed hard on a certain point. Her hooves depressed two points on the wall, as if she had found buttons. The wall shook and slid downwards, revealing a door.
She turned at us with a smirk. “Coming?”
After I closed Derpy's mouth, I nodded. “Of course.”
. . .
Barns are usually supposed to be full of hay and dust. Sometimes have animals in them. So imagine my surprise when we walked in on a fully technological barn from that tunnel.
It was truly amazing. The walls, floor and ceiling were made out of metal, and there were lights hanging from the ceiling and the walls. The room was extremely large with all types of ponies doing things. There were large and small monitors with different information on them and ponies typing away on keyboards. I also saw that there were different doors which no doubt led to different hallways. There were signs above the doors as well. I read “Food” and “Rest Area” above two of them.
“Wow.” Derpy said in awe. “It's like a big house!”
Pinkie was bouncing along next to her. “Yup! Everypony in town lives here!”
I thought about that for a second. “Wait. If that's the case, then how did everypony immediately come out and line up when the Metal Ponies came?”
Rainbow sighed. “Pinkie means that everypony can live here. Some of us live in Ponyville to advert suspicion from here.”
“But, where is here?” Derpy pondered.
We stopped in front of two large glass cases, big enough to put ponies inside. Two silent pegging were standing on each side. Rainbow and Pinkie walked behind us. “We're at Sweet Apple Acres.”
In two fluid moments the pegasi slid the doors open and the mares behind us shoved us into the cases, closing the doors.
“Hey! Let us out!” I yelled as Derpy tried to break the glass.
“Sorry about this, but we need to make sure that you aren't part of Twilight's forces.” Rainbow said.
“But we aren't!” I yelled, starting to panic. “Just let us explain!”
Pinkie bounced over to a control panel that was next to Derpy's cage. “And you can! Right after this little bitty test! Have fun!” With that, she pulled a lever.
Instantly tiny little holes opened up on the sides and top of our cases and water flowed from them. Derpy and I were soaked to the fur as the water flowed over us. “This part is to make sure that you haven't painted a disguise over yourself.”
“Paint? That doesn't seem like it would work.” Derpy said, blinking hard against the torrent of water.
“It's happened before.” Rainbow nodded to Derpy and she tapped a few buttons. The water stopped and heat started to flow from it. The heat dried us off in a few seconds, but they didn't turn it off.
“Not only is this to dry you off, but it's also to make sure that you aren't wearing any fake skin that the water couldn't wash off.” The heat continued for a few more seconds then turned off.
My coat was slightly puffed up, but otherwise Derpy and I were fine. I smiled at my friend and she grinned back. “Now this next part, it's the final test. I just want to say that...I'm sorry.”
“For..” I stopped as every hole closed up in our boxes and they started shaking. I heard a faint humming sound and saw Pinkie turn away. “No! No, let us out!” I tried to reality shift, but I didn't feel even a spark of my power.
It started with a snap, then electricity surged though the cases. The final test. We were going to be electrocuted.
“AHHHH!!!!” I screamed. I couldn't tell how Derpy was faring because of the pain. It felt like I had been baked in an oven, then dropped in a fire, then set on fire again. Every part of my body felt aflame and I couldn't see straight. Though the haze I saw the world shimmer. In a blast of glass, everything went dark.
. . .
“He better be okay!”
“He'll be fine, I hope.”
“What do you mean, you hope?!”
“We've never had that big of an reaction from somepony. It's an extremely weak voltage that we put in the cages, and it ends very quickly. Somepony programmed it to raise the power and time.”
“Well, I...wait. I think he moved!”
I struggled to open my eyes. When I succeeded in opening them, I was looking into wide teal eyes. “Uhh...”
“Are you alright? You scared us.” The mare said. I could make out that she was yellow and had a pink mane. I didn't move my head, but I heard other voices around me.
“What..?” I started.
I heard Rainbow come closer to us. “It's my fault. Somepony sabotaged the machine and I wasn't paying attention. Your friend almost killed me for it.”
“R-really?” I asked, trying to orient my vision.
Rainbow laughed. “Yeah. Picked up a stun baton and started beating the hay out of everypony that came near you. I was surprised that she knew how to use it. Either way, Fluttershy there was able to calm her down.”
I slowly lifted my head off of Fluttershy's leg and sat up. After my head stopped spinning, I saw Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity sitting in chairs, except for Fluttershy who was still next to me.
“Where's Derpy?” I asked.
“She should be here right about, now!” I turned as my friend and an orange earth pony with a cowboy hat walked though the door.
“Broken!” Derpy cried and dashed over to me. She stopped and gave me a very light hug.
“You've never done that before.” I said, shocked. "Usually you tackle me."
“Do you wanna know why I didn't pass out?” Derpy asked. “I'm used to lightning strikes now. But I know how it felt the first time I was shocked.”
I took the time to thoroughly look around the room. We were in a office like room, above the main floor of the barn. There was a large window behind where Fluttershy and I sat so that ponies could see the main floor. Turning, there was a large computer on the wall. It was off at the moment.
“Okay, let's get started.” Rarity said, moving over to one of the five chairs that were by the computer desk. She took a seat as the rest of the ponies did the same, except for Fluttershy who decided to stay by me until she was sure that I was okay.
“So. You two have met everypony here except for Applejack.” She pointed at the orange earth pony, who in turn dipped her head toward me. I nodded in return. “But who exactly ARE you two?”
“And don't leave out any details!” Rainbow suddenly chimed in. “I've seen you two fight.”
Derpy and I exchanged looks. I opened my mouth to talk...
Do not reveal anything about your true origins or of the dimensional split. If the ponies of the dimension start to question their existence, it will tear the dimension apart. You may reveal about your abilities, but do not mention the Elements of Harmony, my sister or myself. In these dimensions, we have never existed.
I slightly shook my head as Luna's presence left my head. Glancing at Derpy, I knew that she had experienced the same thing. I decided to take a line from Derpy's book....and wing it.
“Derpy and I are...travelers.” I started. “When we were old enough, we set out to stop Twilight's reign.”
“But, why exactly?” Applejack asked.
“We grew up in a rough neighborhood.” I said. “I remember that we would travel into town and see how everypony else lived in luxury.
Derpy chimed in. “So, we thought that if we could stop Twilight's cruel rule over everything, then we could equal out everypony. Ponies wouldn't have to live so poor anymore.”
The ponies were quiet, thinking. Fluttershy was the first to break the silence. “But..if you two are all alone, how did you get this far? Twilight's army is everywhere.”
I had to quickly think about this, so I diverted to Derpy first. “Well,” she started. “I'm naturally clumsy with normal things, but I have an...affinity whenever I'm fighting.”
“That's true.” I added. “She can use just about anything as a weapon.”
“What about YOU?” Rainbow pointed at me. “I saw what you did in the tunnel, and don't say that's just magic, because what you did was impossible!”
I REALLY hoped that I wouldn't have to go though this on every dimension. Taking a deep breath, I gave my explanation. “When I was born, Twilight herself had come to our town. When she did, I don't remember exactly what happened, but she let off a magical discharge. It struck me, and I was affected from it. It turned my coat white and messed with my mane. It also gave me the ability to...play with what's around me...reality itself. I can't control when it happens, it just does.”
As the ponies gasped, Rarity asked. “Did Twilight ever find out?”
I shook my head. “I wouldn't be here if she had.”
Everypony in the room was quiet for about three minutes, then Rainbow jumped up. “Look girls. Not only have they survived against Twilight's robots, but they went though the seeker and told us their story. Hooves up if you think we should trust them.”
Nopony moved for a moment, which worried me. But then I saw Fluttershy tentatively raise her hoof. Then the other ponies in the room raised their hooves.
“Right!” Rainbow landed by me. “Where were you two going next before you stopped in Ponyville?”
“We were on our way to Canterlot, but it's surrounded by that bubble.” I said.
Pinkie slipped over to the computer and started typing. A railway station popped up on the screen. “We can use this! It's Twilight's Equestrian High-Speed Air-Train!”
“That's the official train that flies between Ponyville and Canterlot.” Rarity said. “It uses magic to soar though the air, and is one of the few things that can go though that barrier.”
Applejack tapped a button on the keyboard, panning out the screen. “We have to load a shipment of apples tomorrow. If you two can sneak in by hiding in one of the boxes, then you can get onto the train!
“Only problem is that you have to load them at the station.” Rarity mused.
“We could sneak around while you're loading them!” Derpy said. “I'm great at hide-and-seek!”
“If it's possible, I could use my ability to create a distraction so that we won't be noticed.” I chimed in.
Fluttershy also spoke up. “I'll ask my animal friends if they can help also.”
Rainbow nodded at her. “One condition then, Broken. I'm coming with you.”
I widened my eyes. “But, Rainbow...”
“No buts!” Rainbow snapped. “I'm the leader of this resistance, and I'm not going to send two newbies out on their own. Now, all of you get some sleep! We strike out in the morning.” She turned and left the room. Everypony else did the same, nodding and saying good bye to me and Derpy.
I dimmed the lights, noting that the main floor was starting to die down. “Broken?” Derpy asked.
“Yeah?” I replied, stretching out on the couch.
“Are we gonna be okay though this?” She asked, worried.
I nodded. “I won't let anything happen to you. Promise.” I didn't hear a reply, so I assumed that she had gone to sleep. As I laid down, I saw Derpy slip onto the couch, cuddle up beside me and instantly fall asleep.
I refused to move a muscle, falling asleep as well.
“Alright! Let's go!” Rainbow's voice filtered into my head, signaling the beginning of the day. I slowly woke up, shaking my head and seeing the cyan pegasus in front of myself and Derpy, who was awake and sitting up. “You two looked comfortable. Sleep well?”
I felt my cheeks heat up. “Yeah, it was okay.” Next to me, Derpy sleepily nodded.
Rainbow tersely nodded. “Good. Get ready for the day. Bathrooms are over there.” She pointed. “Breakfast's going on down on the main floor. Come back up here when your ready.” When she was done talking, she left the room. Derpy hopped off the sofa and stretched. “I'll see you downstairs Broken.” She trotted off to the bathrooms.
I sat up and held my head in my hooves. For a brief moment, I wished that none of this had to happen to Equestria. Sure, I wouldn't exist, but at least the place would be safe. I raised my head and smacked myself. This wasn't the time to wonder about what life used to be for the ponies of Equestria. Derpy and I needed to fix it. With a firmer resolve, I trotted towards the bathrooms.
. . .
After I had washed up a bit, I met Derpy on the ground floor to grab something to eat. We both grabbed a bowl of warm oats and went back up to the meeting room. Rainbow and her four friends were already up there and talking. The two of us slipped onto the couch as Rainbow started laying out our plans.
“Here's the thing. We thought that it was going to be just a cargo train, but it's actually a passenger train.” Rainbow said.
“Wait.” I chimed in. “Ponyville is the slums. What would Twilight gain from sending ponies here?”
“I think that it's a tour train.” Rarity said. “Twilight likes to show her esteemed guests every part of Equestria. Usually the buses have steered away from here, but they've been landing more and more.”
Pinkie nodded. “They also like to unload the ponies and have them walk allll around Ponyville!”
I put my food to the side. “Twilight's planning something. What's the plan Rainbow?”
Rainbow sat next to me. “Since it's a passenger train, I can sneak in with the other rebels that coming with us.” She pointed at us. “Derpy can come with us as well.”
“And..” I said, pointing at myself. “How am I gonna get in?”
Rainbow looked sheepish. “Well, you don't exactly look like a normal pony, so you're still gonna have to hide in the apple crate.”
“Wonderful.” I said, sticking my tongue out at her. Everypony in the room cracked a smile.
“Broken, your magical energy is stronger then any other pony around here.” Rarity said. “You'd be found out in an instant if you tried to get into the train normally.”
“And besides, we've coated my wood in some special tar.” Applejack said. “Those guard unicorns will have a hard time detecting any magic though that crate.”
“Once we've loaded everything into the train and gotten in ourselves, we'll come grab you.” Rainbow said. “Then we'll ride the train to Canterlot and be one step closer to Twilight.”
“About that.” Applejack spoke up. “What are y'all gonna do if you even reach Twilight?”
Rainbow talked before Derpy or I had a chance to say anything. “What we planned before AJ! We stop whatever plan Twilight's making and force her to atone for what she's done with Equestria!”
Derpy and I glanced at each other as Fluttershy softly raised her voice. “But Rainbow, why are we going to attack her anyway? When you think about it, isn't everything okay for now?”
“No it isn't.” Rainbow said. “There's towns across Equestria that are well founded and safe. We're struggling down here in Ponyville! Twilight's lived here long enough, and she did nothing when she rose to power.” Angrily, she stomped to the door. “We only have about twenty minutes. Outfit Broken and Derpy and have them meet me near the station!” She slammed the door and flew off.
Rarity walked over to Derpy and Pinkie bounced over to me. “These are special communicators. With this, we can talk to you and you can talk to us.” Rarity said, placing a small gem that stuck to my ear. “Also, we can see what's going on around you.”
“Now y’all better hurry.” Applejack said, hitting a button to turn on the giant monitor. “And good luck. As Derpy flew out the door, Applejack held me back. “Wait a second Broken. Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” I said. “What's up?”
“Rainbow, she took it hard when Twilight forgot about us.” The orange mare said with a sigh. “She's not gonna be thinkin with her head. Could you make sure that she doesn't do anything too reckless?”
I smiled and nodded. “I'll do my best.” With that, I turned away and launched myself out the door.
. . .
Derpy and I took the tunnel that led back to Sugarcube Corner. The normally talkative pegasus was rather quiet on the way back, not even looking at me. I tried twice to strike up a conversation, but closed my mouth. Finally, I was able to speak asking, “Derpy, is something wrong? You aren't normally like this.”
“I'm worried Broken.” she replied. “I know that you're going to try to protect us and so is Rainbow, but I can't help but feel that this is a really bad idea.”
“We should be alright.” I said. “Fluttershy and Pinkie were monitoring that Enforcer thing, and they saw it leave the town. As long as we don't cause any trouble, we'll get to Canterlot just fine.” Derpy turned away from me, quiet.
We reached the end of the tunnel where I had shifted the opening into rock. Fortunately I could reality shift for a quick second and change it back into an opening so we could leave. We peeked out into the ruined building, searching for any life.
Derpy tapped me. “It's about two-thirty, Broken.”
“How did you tell that without a...right.” I glanced around again before pulling myself out of the entrance. Derpy flew up and landed next to me as I surveyed the shop. “Nopony's here.” I said.
“How can you tell?” Derpy asked, flying over to the stove.
I trotted over there and helped her push the stove over the tunnel opening. “It's the Elements. I can tell when other ponies are around because the dimension is created by the Elements. Sadly, I have to concentrate hard for it to work.”
“Why did we come out this way again?” Derpy asked.
I motioned for her to follow as we climbed out of the wrecked shop. “Everypony that has to keep up appearances will be following their schedules. That's why Rarity and Applejack had to leave. Also, we can blend in.”
We hopped out and landed on the ground in front of the shop. “Come on! We only have a few minutes to reach the train!” I said. Derpy nodded and flew in the direction of the train station, me following closely.
We traveled though the town at a good pace, checking for any robots. “I don't see the big one either.” Derpy said, glancing upwards.
“I have a feeling it's still around. Let's just hurry.” As we dashed though the town, we sat that there were almost no ponies outside. “Where is everypony?” I wondered.
“Still though, you'd think that there would be SOME ponies outside.” I thought. “We need to get Twilight to stop this ridiculous schedule idea.”
Derpy landed in front of me, causing me to slam into her. Before I could voice my annoyance, she pointed. “Look!” Rainbow was waving us over to her.
“Right. Let's go!” I said, and we dashed away again.
. . .
We met Rainbow and two other mares behind the station. One was a aquamarine unicorn with a lyre as her cutie mark and the other was a dark blue unicorn with an hourglass.
“There you two are.” Rainbow said. “This is Lyra and Colgate.” The two mares nodded to us.
“What are we waiting for?” Derpy asked. “Shouldn't we get onto the train?”
Lyra shook her head. “Nope. We're waiting for Applejack to get here with the apples.”
I groaned. “I still think that I could slip in there without smelling like an apple pie.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Please Broken. You're the one that's most likely to be noticed. Especially with that mane and tail. And by the way, why don't you have a cutie mark?
“Uh...” I didn't know what to say. The Elements must have forgotten to add that to me when I was created. I quickly glanced over to Derpy and saw that she was just at a loss to say anything as I was.
Fortunately, Applejack showed up then with her crate of apples. We all crowded around to make some last-minute plans.
“Now Broken. You're going to be stored in the back of the train. We'll come and get you out as soon as we can.” Rainbow said.
“What's the plan after that?” Lyra asked.
“We'll land at the station.” Rainbow said. “After that, we'll need to quickly get out and spread around the city. Lyra and Colgate, make sure to follow Broken and Derpy so you can take them to the spot we picked.”
Rainbow then turned to us. “I know you two are travelers, but you have to remember to SPLIT UP. It won't help if Twilight knows that we're all together.”
As Derpy was about to say some thing, we all heard a loud WHOOSH. A gleaming silver and purple train slowly floated down from the sky to land onto the tracks. As the train touched down, I saw that it had ten cars connected to the front. The doors on each door slid open.
“Get in Broken!” Rainbow said. “We don't have much time!”
Without a second thought, I hopped into the crate. I tried to maneuver myself so that I would sink to the bottom. With some final words, the lid was placed over my head.
“Remember Broken. Don't move. One of us will come and get you.” With that I felt myself be picked up, probably by the two unicorns. Concentrating, I put myself to sleep so nopony would tell that something was alive in the crate. Quietly, I slipped into slumber.
. . .
A jolt shook me awake. Somepony was trying to get inside the crate! I stayed completely still as the unknown pony struggled to open the lid. With a final crack, the lid opened. Light flowed in though the breaks between the apples. “Broken? Are you alright in there?”
“Derpy! Yeah, I'm in here.” I said, struggling to pull myself out. I poked my hoof out though the apples and Derpy grabbed it, pulling me out of the crate.
“Phew! Thanks.” I said, looking around. We were in the baggage car. There was luggage piled up and stacked against the walls, leaving a nice little aisle for us. “Uhh, that wasn't fun.” I looked up and saw that Derpy was gone. “Derpy..?”
“Halt!” I jumped and turned to see a ..member of the Royal Guard?
“Hello!” I said. “I was just coming back here to check on my baggage!”
“Uh-huh. Turn around and hooves to the wall!” I did as he said as he walked over to me. Out of nowhere a suitcase landed on his head and knocked him out cold. Derpy landed next to the unconscious stallion and nodded at me.
“You okay?” she asked.
I nodded, “Stupid reality shifting didn't work. I swear if I could control when it happens...”
Derpy smiled as the train lurched. “Come on Broken.” She flew out of the baggage car and I followed closely.
About two cars up we found the rest of our little gang calmly sitting down. Lyra and Colgate were on one side, and Derpy and I slid into the chairs next to Rainbow. She had donned a guard uniform to hide her mane and tail.
“So.” I said “We made it onto the train.”
Rainbow just nodded, so Derpy spoke up. “What's our plan Rainbow?”
“Same as before.” Rainbow said. “Split up. Colgate and Lyra will follow you and we'll meet up later.”
I looked out the window. “We're rather high up.”
“I know.” Rainbow said. “Also, did you notice that there's not a lot of ponies on the train?”
“Twilight has the most advanced technology in all of Equestria.” Rainbow said. “It doesn't matter if it was when we went though the doors, when you were put in the back car, when we sat down. We should have been noticed.”
I didn't know why Rainbow was so jumpy. She had a hoof on her laser weapon. I glanced over and saw that the two unicorns also had a hoof on their weapons. “And we weren't.”
“Exactly.” Rainbow said. “Twilight knows that we're on this train, Broken. This was a trap.”
At that, Derpy reached down under her chair. I sat perfectly still, still looking at Rainbow. “You're sure?”
“Positive.” Rainbow replied.
At that moment, every light on the train went out. Metal windows slammed shut, covering everything in darkness. I felt my power activate and light appeared in front of me. Guess my eyes DID glow.
Derpy grabbed my head and pointed it all around, using my eyes as flashlights. “Don't see anything!” She yelled over the panicking ponies.
Just as she sat back down, the windows opened up and the lights flashed back on. Instantly my power left me as I slumped back down. Then, every unicorn in the train car, including me, screamed in agony.
Derpy grabbed me while Rainbow ran over to Lyra and Colgate. “Broken! What's wrong?!”
“Horn...pain...magic..duck!” I gasped out. Derpy caught the hint and ducked as a burst of magic shot from my horn. But it wasn't only mine. Magic shot from every unicorn and consolidated in the middle of the aisle. Holding my head, I looked upwards.
The magic swirled around in a purple haze until it combined together and created, Twilight Sparkle?!
“What.” I deadpanned.
“Hello, all my ponies!” Twilight said, slowly walking down the aisle. Everypony shrank away from her. Derpy stayed in front of me, rubbing my head as I glared at Twilight.
“I'm sure that you're all wondering why I'm here today. Well, don't worry about it. I'm here for one reason.” As Twilight continued to stalk down the aisle, Rainbow caught my eye and shook her head. She was telling us to be quiet. Twilight stopped walking and looked straight at Rainbow. “You.”
Apparently Rainbow knew that it was pointless to protest, because she squared her jaw and stared Twilight in the eyes. “Twilight...”
Twilight clapped her hooves. “Great, you remember me! Wonderful. And who is that with you? Colgate and Lyra?” She pointed at the two unicorns which must have felt the pull that Twilight's spell was drawing from. It was drawing on me also, but it wasn't as bad because my power came from the Elements.
“I was hoping you'd be here Rainbow.” Twilight said. “You see, this was indeed a trap for you. I was planning on capturing you and your friends and bringing you to me.”
Rainbow snapped at Twilight. “You were our friend also, Twilight! When did that change?!”
“It didn't have to.” Twilight said. “You refused to move forward in the world, and I had bigger plans.”
“But, this? Your strict rules, your hold over food? You aren't helping Equestria, you're hurting it!” Rainbow yelled.
Twilight smiled at that, a truly evil grin. “Equestria will soon be saved, Rainbow. Very soon.” She then turned to us. “And as for you two.”
“What about us?” Derpy asked, still rubbing my head.
“You didn't think that you could just destroy my robots and get away with it, did you?” Twilight softly asked. “No. All my robots I send out have recorders on them so I know what happens if they're deactivated.”
“Great.” I mumbled.
“You are quite the fighter, pegasus.” Twilight said. “I could use you in my guard...what are your names?”
Derpy glanced at me. I motioned for her to tell her, trying to cut the spell that was draining me. “Fine. My name is Ditzy, and his is Broken Hope.”
Twilight nodded. “Well, as I said before, you are quite the fighter. It's too bad though.”
“Bad...for what?” I forced out.
“That I'm going to kill you.” Twilight said. “See, the “rebellion” against me wasn't doing any harm, so I left it alone. But once you two came around, you forced me to send out my only Enforcer. I didn't feel like dealing with that, and I had a hunch that Rainbow would want you with her to come attack me.”
“Wait! You knew we were gonna be on this train!” Derpy said. “Why did you reveal yourself?”
“Because, you're going to die.” Twilight replied. “Destroying my property and inciting rebellion are two serious crimes. That I will not stand for. And besides,” She walked up and put her hoof on my head. “I can't have somepony as strong as you wandering around.”
Derpy and I stayed completely still, even though I knew that my friend was poised to attack her. “Quite the stylish mane you have, Broken Hope. It does symbolize your...power. And I can already assume that you'll refuse to join me, so I'll have to accept draining your magic out though your corpse.
Derpy smacked her hoof off of my head. “You can't kill him!” she barked at Twilight.
“Really now.” Twilight said. “This is MY Equestria, and I'll do as I please.”
“Please.” I hissed. “We've taken on your little “army” before.”
"You know, that really was interesting how you managed to escape my robots in Ponyville.” Twilight replied. “Matter manipulation? Maybe I'll torture that spell out of you before I have you killed..."
“Not if we're supposed to die in here.” I groaned.
The train lurched suddenly, throwing Derpy and Rainbow to the ground. Twilight just smiled and moved back into the middle of the aisle. “All my ponies, I am so sorry for what will happen to you. But know, that your sacrifice will benefit all of Equestria.” With that, she disappeared Instantly, the pull on my horn dissolved.
“What did she mean by that?!” Derpy yelled.
“I don't know!” Rainbow said. That moment, the entire train lurched forward and a loud explosion rang out. Looking back, we saw a few of the Royal Guard, weapons in hoof.
“Duck!” I yelled. As the guards opened fire, Derpy and Rainbow flung themselves behind chairs. Derpy landed on my other side, by the window.
“Laser baton?” She asked.
I nodded, “Laser baton.” Derpy jammed a black cylinder into her mouth as the world shimmered. I poked my head out and pointed at the guards. Their weapons dissolved into bread as Derpy launched herself at them, me closely behind.
Derpy slammed into two of the guards. The cylinder had shot out two glowing green laser sticks. Not lethal, but would hurt in a fight. Rainbow landed next to me as I decked another one on the head. “Careful! Twilight's taught them karate!”
“What?!” I asked, shocked. Just then, I took a hoof to the stomach and was launched into the aisle. The guard leapt at me, whereas I jumped up, grabbed his hoof, twirled him around and launched him out the window.
Derpy flipped the guard she was fighting and brained him with the baton. She jammed the baton into the other one's throat and pulled it out. As he choked, I grabbed a metal bar from the top of one of the chairs. I threw it at him and clocked him in the head. Turning I saw that Lyra had hypnotized some guards to sleep and Colgate was trying to comfort the passengers.
“Lyra! Colgate!” Rainbow yelled. “Get control of the train! Broken's in charge if I'm not with him!” They nodded and ran up the the front. “Come on! To the back!” With that, we ran as fast as we could.
. . .
“Wonderful.” I said when we reached the back. Half of the luggage car was simply GONE. Blown to complete bits.
“Broken!” Derpy said, pointing. Looking up, we saw that the giant unicorn robot was flying after the train, surrounded by smaller robots.
“It's the Enforcer...” Rainbow gritted her teeth. “That's what she meant. She'll kill them all to make sure we die with them.”
“Wait.” I pointed. The smaller robots were flying past us, towards the front of the train. I waited, and saw them fly away from the train, with ponies on them.
“Oh no.” I said. “She's going to go ALL out on us.”
“Incoming!” Rainbow yelled. We jumped back as several robots landed in the broken train car. Derpy jumped on one of the robot and started to ride it. Rainbow fired at them with her laser weapon. I ran over to the side of wall, where there was still luggage. I turned and started slamming my back hooves against it, as my shifting was not active.
“Come...On.” I grunted as I tried to knock the luggage down. I gave it a brutal kick and finally it shifted. I ran out and stood in the middle. As all of it fell, the world shifted. I pointed my hoof and the luggage flew out and slammed into every robot that was flying toward the train car, knocking them away. As I was about to hit one of the robots that was about to attack Rainbow, I stumbled and hit myself with a suitcase.
“Rainbow!” I yelled, struggling to orient myself. Turning at my call, she flipped around and slammed her body into the robot, sending him off the edge.
Hearing a unique humming noise, I broke away from the fight to look up at the Enforcer. The giant robot's horn, was now glowing with a purple light. “Guys? Get out of this train car!” I yelled, pointing at the Enforcer.
My friends looked up, paled, and ran for the door. I was already there and opened it for them. As the Enforcer fired, I slammed the door shut, ran into the next car, which was the kitchen car and yelled, “Hit the ground!”
BOOM!! The explosion actually moved us forward. I slammed into the dishwasher and heard the groans of my friends. Shaking my head, I recovered enough to see more of the robots flying at us. The explosion had taken out the back wall of this car also. “Come on guys! There's more of them!”
Derpy recovered first and snatched two saucepans from the racks and attacked them as I ran over to Rainbow. “You alright?”
Rainbow angrily shook her head. “We're stuck, Broken.”
“Don't think like that.” I said. “We can stop it.”
Rainbow sighed. “Broken, that Enforcer's only testing it's strength. Once it has enough, it's going to take out the entire train in one shot.”
I racked my brain for any ideas. “Once it has enough, we need to stun it. A big one, so that it'll need more time to recharge. But how?”
Rainbow stood up. “I have an idea, Broken. We need to stall until it's fired again though.” We nodded and split up.
I ran over to the stove. It was a gas stove, rather than electric. I quickly turned it on full blast and ducked behind it as several of the robots fired at me. Rainbow and Derpy did their best to direct attention from me.
“Come on...” I gritted my teeth as the stove keep heating up. As soon as I saw the world shimmer, I slammed my hooves on the stove, forcing it to heat faster. The metal plates on the top became red hot within seconds.
“Get down!” I barked to my friends. They fell to the ground as I headbutted the stove and forced the plates to fly off and smack the guards that had landed. I turned and bucked the stove, turning it and causing it to shoot out a rush of fire, roasting the robots and guards alike.
“Here it comes!” Rainbow yelled.
I waved them over to me. “Quick! In the middle!” The Enforcer fired and blew the entire roof off of the train car. The shock wave alone slammed us to the ground.
We slowly picked ourselves off the ground. “Uhh, that one hurt.” Derpy said.
“This isn't gonna work.” Rainbow mumbled. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. “Come on you two. Follow me!” She ran towards the front, Derpy and myself on her hooves.
. . .
The Enforcer had resigned itself to launching smaller blasts at us and sending more robots at us. We had finally reached the middle of the train, or what the middle would be if one car wasn't gone and the other one without a roof.
We stopped, panting and wounded. Rainbow had gotten rid of her armor and had a nasty scratch across her forehead. Derpy had a burn on her side and her legs were scratched. I had a long cut along my flank and my chest was burnt.
“Guys..we can't keep this up.” I gasped out. “It's going to blow up the train.”
“Not just yet.” Rainbow said. She jumped over my head and landed in the sixth car. “Derpy, grab and start cranking that lightning cannon.”
My friend jumped over and picked up the dark blue cannon. She pointed it upwards and started to turn a crank on the side. Sparks started to dance along the sides and the opening of the cannon, but Derpy continued to crank.
“What do you want me to do?” I asked.
Rainbow had picked up a hammer and was whacking the bolt that connected both halves of the train. “When your power comes back, get the Enforcer's attention.”
I nodded, “Right.” At that moment, the world shimmered. I pointed my hoof at the roof of the train. I narrowed my eyes, concentrated as hard as I could. Slowly, ever so slowly, the roof of the train car began to glow. In just a few seconds, it was glowing bright as the sun. I heard a humming sound and cut my power from it. “He knows.”
“Ready Derpy?!” Rainbow yelled, still smacking the bolt. Derpy nodded, a determined look in her eyes.
With an explosion, the Enforcer took out the roof of the train car. “Now!” Rainbow yelled. Derpy let fire from the cannon, striking the Enforcer in the side with a flurry of lightning. We saw an explosion from the side and the Enforcer's altitude dropped until it almost landed. It also lost speed, because it moved backwards a bit.
“Right.” Rainbow said, raising the hammer.
“Wait!” Derpy cried. “What are you doing!”
Rainbow looked up at us, and I saw tears in her eyes. “Ending this.” With a final violent swing, she broke the bolt, sending the back half of the train flying away.
“Broken!” Derpy screamed.
Not missing a beat, I ran over and slammed into the side of the train car. I ran my hooves across it and made a flinging motion. The wall extended and slammed into the back half of the train adhering to it.
I knew that I wasn't going to be able to hold it for long. The prolonged battle we've been in for the last hour had taken a toll on me. “Rainbow! Get back here!”
“I can't!” She called. “The wind is too strong! Let it go! You're almost at Canterlot!”
Derpy came to my side, about to jump before Rainbow stopped her. “No, Derpy! You'll be trapped with me!”
“Rainbow no! You can't die now!” Derpy yelled, her voice breaking.
“Look. This explosion will take out enough of the Enforcer's power so that you can get this train past the barrier.” Rainbow said. “I'll guide it as best as I can so it'll hit what I need it too.
“But...you'll....die.” I gasped out, trying my hardest to hold the train.
Rainbow glanced at both of us, then at the Enforcer. “I know, Broken. I already knew that I wasn't going to live throughout this little fight we've been having with Twilight.” She turned and looked me in the eyes. “Promise me this, Broken Hope. Do not let my death be for nothing. Stop Twilight.”
Unable to turn my eyes away, I nodded. “I promise.”
She then turned to Derpy. “Keep him safe, alright?” Derpy nodded, crying.
“Let it go Broken.” Rainbow said. “The Enforcer's going to recover.”
“I can't..” I said angrily. I couldn't just let her die.
“Then goodbye.” We turned to see Rainbow point a pistol at me. She fired, and a gust of air blew me backwards. I hit the ground and lost concentration on the train, breaking the wall.
“NO!” I yelled.
“RAINBOW!!” Derpy screamed.
As we watched, the remaining four cars slammed into the Enforcer's left side. A enormous explosion took place, knocking us to the ground. “Rainbow,” I whispered. “I'm sorry...”
As I stood up and looked at Derpy, I realized something very important. We had faced killer robots, insane guards, and were flying on a train that was going to crash. But I would gladly take that all again then what I witnessed before me.
Derpy's normally relaxed face was twisted in anger, no complete rage. She was tapping her hooves and was gritting her teeth. But the thing I saw clearly were her eyes. Rage dancing in them, they were completely normal. She wasn't cross-eyed.
At that moment, I resolved to NEVER piss off Derpy Hooves.
Quickly she snatched up an extendable laser sword. Turning to me she said, “Grab me.” Then, jamming the hilt of the sword in her mouth, she threw herself out the train.
Good thing I was still able to shift. I ripped open the cushion on one of the train chairs. Digging my hoof into it I pulled out a bunch of cotton. “This better work.” I wrapped all of the cotton into a long tough rope and ran the the end of the car.
I looked out to see Derpy extend the sword and slam it into the Enforcer's other eye, effectively blinding it. I threw the cotton rope and used my power to extend the rope and wrap it around Derpy's back leg. I clamped the rope in my teeth and reared back to grab it with my hooves.
The force of the wind made it difficult to pull, but I kept at it. “Come...on.” I groaned. Slowly, slowly she came closer to me. With a final yank, I forced her into the train car. She slammed on the ground and rolled over, crying.
Seeing my friend upset, made something inside me snap. Instantly, I ran over to her, picked her up and carried her into the next train car. Laying her down on one of the cushions, I stood at the door, watching the Enforcer hover behind the ruined train car. My vision tinted red and I snarled at the robot.
“Kill my friend? Break my other friend's heart?” I barked at it, rage dancing in my eyes. “NO MORE!” With that, my mane and tail glowed a bright red as I extended one hoof and pointed at the Enforcer. The entire train car shook violently, a red glow covering everything in the car. With a snap, the train car broke free from the front half of the train. Manipulating the car, I proceeded to slam it into the Enforcer's other side, the one that Rainbow didn't hit.
I turned and walked over to Derpy, my power shutting off and dropping me to the ground. I crawled over to my weeping friend and laid a hoof on her shoulder.
“Derpy,” I panted. “I'm sorry. We need to keep going.”
Derpy kept weeping. “She died Broken. She died and we couldn't do anything.”
I had to get her up, or we weren't going to make it. “I know. She knew that she wasn't going to live though this. That's why she did it. So we would have a chance to live. To fix this dimension!”
Derpy looked up at me. “Broken. When we find Twilight, you're going to have to hold me back.”
“I promise.” I said, wrapping her in a hug. I looked up to see the broken body of the Enforcer barreling right toward us. Luna, I'm sorry.
You will NOT die on me Broken Hope.
Derpy and I disappeared and reappeared in the second train car from the front. BOOM! The train gave the worst lurch yet.
Still holding Derpy in a hug, I heard Lyra's voice come though the communicator. “Broken,we've lost main control! What do you want us to do?”
“Lyra...” I started. I knew that Derpy trusted me completely. “Do you trust me?”
There was silence for a few moments before Lyra's voice came back to me. “Yes.”
“Slam the train into the barrier.” I said. “It'll pass though, but we're not going to be conscious to see it.”
“Are...are you sure about this?” her voice came back to me.
“Positive.” I said.
“Then Broken Hope, Derpy, we'll see you at Twilight's castle.” The last two remaining cars on the train shifted as we fell towards the barrier.
“Broken?” Derpy said.
“Yeah?” I replied, still holding her.
“..Thanks.”
With a sickening crunch and a following explosion, everything faded into darkness.
