Big Daddies: The ultimate protector of the metal city of Rapture, guardians to the Little Sisters. For years they patrolled the underwater streets of the distopia, keeping their little ones safe. But with the fall of Rapture and the death of almost all of the Big Daddies, where does one go from there? To the land of Equestria, where peace and Harmony reign. Does this peaceful land need a silent protector? And can the Big Daddy find a place to call home?
A few quickies: Little Sister's word is law. The Big Daddy will also be a bit more like the Alphas, but that will be explained later. You might be a little lost if you haven't read the other stories, but only for a certain character.
The silver mare shook her head as the memories of the past flashed through her mind again, causing her to sit down in the empty tower--empty except for the four items that sat on four of the six pedestals. A golden crown with a lightning bolt, a green armband with a radioactive symbol, a necklace with a bat in the center and a tiara with an azure wand.
'I must stop myself from looking into the past so often,' she thought to herself as she stood back up, cutting off her spell that allowed her to see into the past. 'Nothing good can come from reliving those memories. I must focus on the present and the champions.' Just as she said this, the tower shook from an unknown power and one of the pedestals was shaken to its core. When the shaking stopped, the silver mare looked at the stand to see a golden shoulder pad with a grey drill in the center of it.
'I wondered if he was going to ever give that up,' she thought to herself with a smile as she looked out the window, remembering the first time she had met "Mr. Bubbles."
==K>
The flash of the gun barrel. The scream of a child. The pain as the shotgun round tore through his helmet and pierced his skull. And the blackness that follows such a wound. The sweet embrace of death, death for a creature whose life was stripped away from it and replaced with a life of servitude. An escape from the pain. For what seemed like an eternity, the metal behemoth floated in nothingness, free of all pain and suffering. Free...wait, it felt something, something pressing against its chest. The behemoth reached out with its hand, feeling the ground resist its push. Was it alive? It had been certain that it had been killed, why was it alive? The monster took a chance and opened its eyes, not sure what to expect.
As the Big Daddy regained consciousness and looked out of the eight view ports on its helmet, he was met with a sight before it that was not to be expected of one that was dead. The Daddy was surrounded by pure white, a room made of solid white. It turned its body to the left to see more white for miles. A look to the right resulted in the same view, utter whiteness for infinity. It was while it was looking out at the endless white that the Big Daddy realized that its ports and helmets were no longer damaged as they had previously been. It moved its right arm in front of one of the view ports, examining itself for any other signs of damage. The drill on its right hand was its first priority, as the weapon was his greatest asset. Using the mental command embedded in his mind, the Big Daddy ordered the drill to begin spinning. Gears began to move, circuits began to operate again, and after a few seconds the drill finally began to spin at full speed.
He let out a small moan of approval and began to examine the rest of his suit, which seemed to be in satisfactory condition, besides a few dings and nicks. There were no holes or leaks in the brass armor, the most important aspect of a suit designed for underwater movement. A full test of the oxygen and the gas showed that nothing was out of the ordinary. With all systems green, the Daddy began to lumber forward and try to figure out where it was.
'You are in the space between everything and nothingness.' The Big Daddy spun around with a wail of rage, spinning the drill at full speed and taking a defensive stance. But while it had been expecting a splicer or a person in general, even it was confused by the sight in front of it. A small, ponylike creature stood before it, with a long flowing mane of pure white that complimented its white, empty eyes. The pony's body was as white as the area around it, and against the white background it was practically invisible. Daddy let out a warning moan, informing the creature that attacking it was a bad idea.
'Do not worry, I mean you no harm,' she said in a careful tone, slowly walking up to the behemoth. 'I bet you are wondering how you got here...or why you are even alive to begin with.' The Daddy lowered its drill slightly, waiting for the pony to finish speaking. This creature knew how he had come to this land, if he could call it that. The pony began to circle him, looking at him in interest. The Big Daddy turned to keep the pony within sight, never allowing it to escape its field of vision.
'You are quite different from the creature that I had heard you were. I was led to believe that humans had heads on top of their bodies and that they had pinkish skin--well, at least the one I knew did. My spell was designed to bring a regular human to this land, not a titan such as yourself. However, I got you instead,' she said with a slight shake of the head. The Big Daddy growled at the pony and took a threatening forward step. The silver mare barely flinched at his movement, but took a step back as a precaution. 'I did not mean to offend you, but you were not what I had expected. I also found that there have been many modifications to both your brain and being in general. I tried to remove as many of the more animalistic ones as I could, but there is still a lot in there. Apparently, what Tenenbaum said about you varies depending on the reality." The Big Daddy kept his eyes on her as she said this, noticing that he felt a bit different than before.
'However, you are here now.' The Big Daddy spun around to the pony which had somehow managed to get behind him in an instant. He roared and tried to drive his drill into the pony's chest, but it had simply vanished again. 'I see that you have a temper, but I have used most of my magic to bring you here. You will have to do.' He spun to find her standing behind him again, eyes glowing with power. He rushed forward and brought his drill to her chest level, when his vision faded to white.
==k>
The sound of the waves crashing against the shore greeted the Big Daddy as he woke up staring at a blue sky. He forced himself back to his feet (an impressive feat for him) and found himself standing on a beach by the ocean. He stared at the water for a while, memories of the past flooding his mind--memories of Rapture, his Little Sister, and of what had happened to the city. Was Rapture still down there? Had he just surfaced after a bad dream? Maybe it was just-
Find Little Sister.
The Big Daddy shook its head and looked behind to see an old Vita Chamber behind him, with what seemed like silver energy channeling through what remained of it, which was weird to him because the chambers were supposed to run on electricity. Was that how he was alive? The last thing he remembered was being shot...
Find Little Sister.
He shook his head and growled, wondering where that errant thought had come from. He looked in front of him to find that there was only one path off the beach. So with no other real option, the Big Daddy began to lumber forward to the next destination. Once he had left the beach, he found himself entering some sort of forest. It had been so long since he had seen trees that he had almost forgotten what they had looked like in general. It was a nice forest though, with light shining through the trees and creatures playing in the woods. He looked up through the trees to see the sun directly overhead. The sun...how long ago had he last seen the sun? He couldn't remember. But while the light gave warmth to everything in the forest, he felt none of it. He lowered his head and continued to walk through the forest, in awe at the beauty of it.
'It's beautiful, isn't it?' The Big Daddy's drill started up and it spun around with a roar, recognizing the pony's voice. But to its confusion, there was no one behind him. He continued to look around when the voice once again spoke, seeming to come from the inside of the helmet.
'I noticed that you had a radio of sorts placed inside your helmet, so I figured I'd keep you company and explain a few things to you. First, don't bother asking for my name; that's not important. What is important is where I want you to go. Go to the town north of here, if you please.' The Big Daddy growled and started to head west, not caring for the pony on the radio. '...Okay, that's not north. Are you lost? Look, I know that this must be weird for you, but going to that town is in your best interest. Besides, it's not like you have anywhere else to go.' The Big Daddy stopped, taking in the pony's words. He hated the way she ordered him around. It was like that Ryan guy, but she was right in saying he had nowhere else to go. Plus, he might find his little sister there. So with a groan, the metal behemoth turned and started to head to the north.
'Glad to see you're taking my advice. The reason I brought you...well, any human in particular here was to help. I feel a dark presence on the horizon, seeking the destruction of Equestria and the Elements of Harmony...which you probably know nothing about. Okay, the land you're in is called Equestria and the Elements are...crap.' The Big Daddy knew the reason why she had stopped talking. On the road in front of him were two ponies standing in the road, with bandanas on their heads and an eyepatch covering the brown one's eye. They hadn't noticed him, but he didn't care.
'Those are bandits. Trust me when I say you do not want to fight the bandits here. You should probably try your best to go around them and-' The Big Daddy ignored her advice and started to move forward, heading towards the two bandits. Their ears flicked at the sound of his heavy footseteps and they turned to face him, surprise written on their faces. The surprise quickly turned to smiles and they advanced towards him, drawing weapons with magic.
"Well, well, what do we have here? A pony in a tin can, eh?" the one with the eyepatch chuckled, starting to circle the Daddy. "Your suit must be worth a fortune to the right buyer. How about you take it off and we let you keep your life?" Instead of answering, the Daddy continued to walk forward, pushing the pony's partner out of his way.
"HEY, I'm talking to you?" the bandit roared, smacking his club across the Daddy's back. A metallic clang echoed throughout the forest, scaring off some of the woodland creatures. The bandit looked at his weapon, which had snapped in half, and slowly up to the monster. The Daddy slowly turned to face the pony, eye ports changing from yellow to the bloodiest red. It let out an angry roar and started the drill on its right arm, using its left hand to lift the pony into the air. His partner had just woken up from the slap the Big Daddy had given him and turned around, rubbing his head.
"Don't just stand there, you fool! Help me-AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!" he cried out as the massive drill went straight through his torso. The Big Daddy let go of him and the bandit started to spin around in the drill, blood spraying everywhere. Once he was thoroughly destroyed, the Big Daddy stopped his drill and pulled it out of the dead horse's gut, dropping the carcass to the forest floor. It was about to move on when a bolt of electricity surged through its body, causing him to roar in pain.
"Fry you freak!" the other pony yelled at him, firing more and more electricity. But just to the Daddy's surprise, the pain began to subside and the electricity began to move to his left arm. He clenched his fist as bolts of electricity began to fly from it. As he got back to his feet, he heard a female's voice over his radio.
"Thank you for purchasing the electro bolt from Ryan industries. We hope you have a shockingly good time using it." The Big Daddy turned around to find that the pony had gone. But he could still hear the pony crying behind one of the trees, doing its best to remain quiet.
"Don't let it get me. Dear Celestia don't let it-" his words died in his mouth as a shadow covered him. He looked up through tear-stained eyes at the giant monster, with its eight eyes still glowing red. The bandit started to cry as the drill started up once more and the monster slowly advanced towards the pony.
==k>
The Big Daddy had left the forest behind and had found his way onto a grassland, with rolling hills and waves of grass as far as he could see. The new scenery was nice, and even better, the pony on his radio had stayed quite since the bandits. Odd that the bandits would look like ponies, but he had seen far stranger in Rapture. Maybe they were so spliced that they didn't even resemble humans anymore. None of that was important, as he was getting closer to the town. At the top of one of the highest hills, he could see the small town in the distance. While he continued walking, he looked up at the rising sun. A night had come and gone while he had walked, but the lights from his helmet had illuminated his path. But now that he sun was back up, he didn't need the lights.
'...What are you?' The Big Daddy growled in annoyance, the pony's voice flooding back through his radio. 'Those bandits may have been mean, but there was no need to do what you did to them. The last one even begged for mercy, yet you...tore him apart.' The Big Daddy did not respond, only continued to head for the town in the distance. He looked to his left hand and watched the electricty flood through it. He had never been able to utilize offensive plasmids before, so how could he now?
'If you're wondering about the electricity, when I was going through your memories I found traces of others like you with these kinds of powers. I simply used my magic to activate yours, but to unlock more you will need to absorb more magical energy,' she said through the radio. 'If I had known that you were this violent, I would have reconsidered.' The Big Daddy growled and continued his march, turning his hand over and watching the electricity run through it.
He eventually reached the edge of the town, walking into another small forest. He trooped through it, scaring away any and all animals that crossed his path. His walk took him closer and closer to the town, and in the distance he could see what looked like a red farmhouse as well as a huge tree near the center of the town. But another building that caught his attention was a red schoolhouse near the forest--or at least it looked like a schoolhouse from the books his Little Sister used to look through. And the book had said that's where little girls went to learn, so his best chance of finding a little sister was there.
'Alright, I see your destination and I know what you are thinking, but let me say this to you now. If you harm any of those foals, I will bring you down myself,' the silver mare threatened in his radio. The Big Daddy ignored her and continued to walk towards the building, but then a faint voice caught his ears and he turned slightly to where it was coming from. He turned his massive frame and headed for the voice, the pitch and tone of it reminding him of one from his home. He eventually reached a small clearing that allowed him to look through the trees--to reveal a small horse standing at the base of a tree. And the moment his ports allowed him to look at her, only one thought went through his mind.
The Big Daddy looked at the creature in front of it through his ports, a bit confused by what he was looking at as he watched the creature in front of him try repeatedly to get up a tree. The creature was a greyish color and had a head of yellow hair, just like his little sister had. And when he saw her eyes, he also noticed that they were a golden color like his little sister. But what confused him was how she looked. Little sisters did not walk on all fours, nor did they have the needle that gathered the Adam coming out of their heads. He was almost certain that he had made a mistake when the creature talked.
"Come on, you stupid ball, get down from there!" That was it. Her voice sounded perfectly like his little sister. Angelic, caring, and one that he would know anywhere. He could see now that she was a little sister. It had to be. But he could also see that something was causing her distress. He looked up at the tree under which she stood to see a ball resting in the branches, well out of her reach. And from the sound of her voice, she couldn't get to it. Time for daddy to step in.
"Stupid ball! How am I supposed...suppose..." Dinky's words, along with any thinking she was doing, died on the spot when she saw the behemoth that was walking towards her. Her eyes did notice the drill on one arm and the hand glowing blue on the other, but what gained her full attention was the eight green glowing eyes the beast had. The ground shook under her while she stared dumbfounded as the creature approached her. Her flight or fight response was completely shut down and all she could do was simply stare as the giant walked up to her, coming to a stop right in front of her with a thud. The beast then tilted its body so it could look down at her, and she slowly lifted her head to look into its eight eyes. She sat there waiting for it to kill her, knowing that no amount of running or screaming would help her.
The Big Daddy was having different thoughts. He wasn't used to the little sisters going all quiet on him like this, and normally they would have taken him by the hand and led him off to where they smelled the Adam. He tilted his helmet slightly as he waited for her to move, but all the little sister did was sit there and stare up at him with terrified eyes. Daddy then began to look around, figuring that the little sister wasn't moving because there was something she wanted in the area, and he naturally looked up at the ball stuck in the tree. The reason now exposed, Daddy walked under the tree and reached up to pick the ball out of it, before he turned back to the sister and got down on one knee to present the beach ball to her. Still, it took her a few minutes before she looked down at the ball, then back up to the behemoth in front of her, and only after a few minutes more did she finally reach out and take the ball from him.
"Um, thanks?" she whispered as she took the ball and slowly backed away a bit, her eyes on the behemoth the entire time. She stopped dead when the Big Daddy got up and began to follow her, but he came to a stop again when he was only a few feet from her. "Um, is there...something you want?" she asked before looking down at the ball. "Do you want to play ball?" She shrieked as the creature let out a low moan, and she threw the ball at it as she covered her head with her hooves, expecting the thing to kill her. She kept her eyes closed until she felt something soft hit her in the head. She opened her eye again to see the ball at her hooves, and she looked at the creature, figuring that it had knocked the ball back to her.
"Do you want to play?" she asked in a scared voice as she picked up the ball again. The creature let out the same moan, and while she did cower at first, after a moment she realized that it wasn't attacking her. So, with slightly less fear-filled eyes she looked back to the behemoth. "O-okay, I'm going to hit the ball to you now." She gently lobbed the ball into the air towards the beast and watched as it caught it with its non-drill hand and pushed it back to her just as gently. She repeated the throw and to her amazement, watched as the creature knocked the ball back just as gently.
'I don't get it,' she thought to herself as she hit the ball back. 'If it's a monster, shouldn't it have attacked me by now? Maybe it's not a monster? Heck, I've never even heard of anything like it.' Her eyes moved to the eight eye holes as she thought this, thinking of how a spider was the only thing she could think of that also had eight eyes, but it obviously wasn't that. it was as big as a manticore, but it had no fur. While she was thinking, she didn't notice that the creature had hit the ball back with a bit more force this time and the ball landed right on her horn, popping the moment it impacted.
"No...that was my only ball," she sniveled as she looked down at it, but backed away with a scream as the creature began moving towards her. She continued to back away as it knelt down next to the ball and watched as it began picking up the pieces with its hand, trying to put the ball back together with no success. Dinky watched as the creature failed repeatedly to fix the ball, beginning to realize that whatever this thing was, it wasn't going to hurt her. She continued to watch as it apparently got more frustrated with each failure and then, to her amazement, noticed that its eyes went from green to yellow.
"It's okay, you don't have to do that," Dinky said as she walked forward with all of her courage. And much to her relief, the creature backed away a bit as she picked up the pieces of the ball. "It's only a toy; you don't need to get mad." And just like before, she watched as the eyes went from yellow to green. 'So when it's happy they're green, and when it's not they're yellow.' "Um, if you want to play more, I have more toys over here." Dinky began to walk towards where she had placed her other toys, feeling the vibrations as the creature began to follow her. She knew that she should tell somepony about the creature, but at the moment she didn't know if running to town would anger the creature. And with that giant drill on its right arm, she was too afraid to try.
"Um, here are all my other toys," she said as she came to a stop, Daddy stopping as well as he looked around. They were now in a small clearing where he could see a little red building in the distance, with what looked like a playground behind it. As for the toys, he noticed that she had a jump rope (which he couldn't use), a toy needle (something he was very familiar with) and a bottle of bubbles that sat on a rock. "Uh, you can play with whatever you want," she said as she sat down, waiting for him to move. But he just stood there and watched her, waiting for her to move.
"Oh wait, I didn't introduce myself, did I?" she said with trepidation. "I'm...Dinky. Dinky Doo...what's your name?" The creature moaned again, but this time she noticed that the tone was different from the previous one. "Um, I didn't quite catch that." This time the Big Daddy looked to the bottle of bubbles and pointed his drill at it. Dinky turned to look at it once she stopped cowering. "You're name is Bubbles?" The Big Daddy let out a moan that Dinky recognized as the one he had used earlier.
'Does that mean, yes?' she thought to herself. "Okay then Bubbles, it's, uh, nice to meet you." The creature said nothing and Dinky sat there for a moment just looking at him before a realization came to her. "You can't talk, can you?" He let out the same moan as earlier and Dinky frowned at his 'yes.' How was she supposed to ask him what he was, then? "That's too bad. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't talk. How would my Mom or my friends understand me?...Not that I have any friends; only other ponies that like to pick on me," she said sadly, looking up to see the creature tilt his body to incline his head. "It's not that I'm weird or anything, it's just that they like to tease me because of my Mom. She's a bit...derpy." The creature let out an odd sounding moan and Dinky had no idea what he was saying, but as she looked up at the sky she realized that it would soon be time for class.
"Um, I'm going to play a bit more if you don't mind," she said as she slowly stood up. "Would you like to play with the bubbles?" The titan moaned what she thought was 'yes' and followed her over to the bubbles, where she opened them and pulled out the wand, blowing a few bubbles to the titan. With all the bubbles floating around him, The Big Daddy began to poke them with his drill, popping them with ease. Dinky watched the scene with a hint of a smile, trying not to laugh at the giant, scary monster popping bubbles with his drill. "Okay, here come some more." This time she blew as many as she could out of the wand, watching with a slightly bigger smile as the creature became covered in bubbles, but he still tried to pop them all.
"Hey, that looks kinda fun," she said as she began to move closer, wondering if he would attack her. "Can I play too?" He moaned yes and so she jumped into the swarm of bubbles, popping them with her horn while the Big Daddy popped them with his drill, careful to keep it away from her. When they were finished, Dinky let out a small giggle as she moved onto her jump rope. "Okay, do you want to play with this next?" she asked before realizing that Bubbles was way too big for her jump rope. And he couldn't turn it for her by himself unless...
"Hold onto this end," she said as she hoofed one of the ends to him, and he grabbed onto the tiny handle as best he could while Dinky placed the other end on the ground, concentrating with all her might. "If I can just use my magic," she growled as the rope began to turn a yellowish color, before it shot out of the Big Daddy's hand and up into the tree above them, with both her and Bubbles looking up at it.
"Think you can get that?" she asked him as he stood up to his full height, reaching up for the rope but finding it out of his reach. He moaned in frustration and Dinky was immediately worried, not wanting Bubbles to get angry. "Hold on, maybe if you lift me up I can get it," she suggested, steeling her nerves as Bubbles bent down to allow her into his hand, which was nearly as big as she was. She stepped onto the leather hand the smelled slightly like the sea and tensed as it lifted her up to the point where she could grab the jump rope with her teeth. The moment she had it though, her hoof slipped and she fell out of Bubbles' hand, heading for the ground. But faster than she thought he could move, he had moved his hand and body underneath of her and caught her before she had hit the ground. He then placed his hand on the ground so that she could get out, which she did while dropping the rope.
"Thanks," she said with a bigger smile as she sat back down, watching as Bubbles simply continued to look at her. "Um, I don't want to be rude, but are you a monster?" Bubbles never answered and she wondered if he had actually been saying yes, or if he that was the sound he responded with the most. "I'm sorry if I've been acting all scared around you, it's just that you look...terrifying." Bubbles continue to say nothing, although Dinky noticed that he had tilted his body again. "But even though you're terrifying, you look nice enough and you did save me there. I guess I was...wrong about you." She closed her eyes and mustered up as much courage as she could before opening them with a smile.
"I guess that I should start over then. I'm Dinky. Nice to meet you Mr. Bubbles," she said with a smile as she offered him her hoof. Mr. Bubbles looked at the hoof for a minute before he extended his hand and gently grabbed her hand with his, letting her shake his hand. "So...thanks for spending some time with me. Like I said earlier, I don't have many...any friends, and Mommy's too busy to play with me...and I don't have a daddy. So it's just nice having somepony to play with me, even if they are a giant. I'm...not very good at these kinds of things but...would you be my friend?" Mr. Bubbles let out the moan that she now believed meant 'yes,' and she let out a little squeal of happiness as she began to bounce up and down.
"Oh thank you so much! I can't wait 'til I introduce you to...everypony," she said as she looked him over, wondering how she would explain him to everypony in town. With the town's history of giant monsters attacking it, she wondered if he would be classified as one and attacked on sight. And she also worried about what he would do if attacked. But her thoughts were quickly sidetracked as she heard the ringing of a school bell in the distance, causing her to shriek as she hurriedly ran around and picked up her stuff as fast as she could.
"'Bye, Mr. Bubbles, I got to go!" she yelled as she took off for the school, leaving the Big Daddy there. "I'll see you later." She had turned around to focus on the road to the school, but if she had looked behind her she would have seen Mr. Bubbles chasing after her...right towards the school house.
Dinky had run half way to her school before she realized that Mr. Bubbles had been following her the entire time. She came to a stop and waited for him to catch up at the edge of the forest, looking up at him in confusion as he came lumbering up.
"Um, I don't want to be rude, but I really can't play any more," she said nervously as he moved his body to look down at her. "And also, I really don't think that the ponies in my class will want to met you...not that you're bad," she added quickly. "They can just be really mean to me sometimes." Dinky had looked away as she said this, so she never noticed Mr. Bubbles eyes flash from green to red as he glanced at the building, but they were green again when they looked back to her.
"So, um, maybe you should just stay here for a few hours or so while I'm in class?" she suggested as she began to walk away, but stopped when she heard the lumbering behind her. "No, stay here. Trust me, the ponies aren't ready to meet you yet. Once I've talked to Twilight maybe, but until then you can't be seen." The Big Daddy tilted his body to the side and Dinky let out a sigh. "Look, the ponies in that town are afraid of everything from a stampede of bunnies to a zebra in a cloak. So imagine what a giant, metal...whatever you are would cause them to do." Mr. Bubbles showed no signs that he understood what Dinky was talking about, so she sighed again and sat down in front of him.
"Stay here," she said slowly so that Mr. Bubbles could understand. He let out one of his moans and Dinky shook her head, not understanding what he was trying to say. "Please stay here. I promise that I'll play with you more after school," she promised, once she heard the warning bell. She then got up and headed back for the school, but stopped again as Mr. Bubbles began to follow. "NO! If you keep following me, I won't be your friend anymore." Much to Dinky's surprise, these were the words needed to stop the Big Daddy in his tracks. He let out a sad moan as she slowly began to walk away again, but noticed that he wasn't following her anymore.
"Don't worry, I'll be back after school," she said as she ran towards the building, knowing that she was going to be late anyway. Mr. Bubbles watched her go, feeling the desire to chase after her, to never leave her side...except that desire was no longer as strong as he remembered it being. He didn't feel like he would die if she left his side, it just hurt him emotionally. But he knew that the tone she had used with him meant that she had been upset, and he never wanted to upset her. So with eight sorrow-filled ports, he watched all the foals pile into the red building, knowing that something bad was going to happen. He could see Dinky through the window, but he could barely hear her. Barely.
===k>
"...And that concludes our look at the mythology of the dark times," Cheerilee said as she turned away from the chalk board, groaning as she looked at the foals in her class who weren't paying attention. Three little fillies she knew well looked like they were talking about their Cutie Marks again, while Diamond Tiara was trying to brag about something to anypony that would listen. She sighed again before asking if there were any questions, only to find to her surprise that a hoof did go up. "Yes Dinky, you have a question?"
"Um, since we're talking about mystical creatures, I wondered if you could tell me if you knew anything about titans?" she asked hesitantly. The other students had stopped talking to hear her question and while Tiara scoffed at her, the others looked to Cheerilee with interest. She figured that this was the most attention she was going to get out of them all day, so she flipped through her book until she came to the creature.
"Yes, the Titans, giant creatures made of stone or wood," she read. "Not much is known about these creatures since they are believed to be mostly extinct. But back when they were around, they were giants of creatures that towered over ponies and caused terror throughout the land."
"So they were evil?" Dinky asked with a hint of worry in her voice. Cheerilee thought about it for a moment before she answered.
"Well, some of them may have been, but like with ponies, you had both good and bad ones. The bad ones were believed to be more of a redish color while the good ones were more green. But since there's so little on them it makes it hard to tell." Dinky thought about what she said before her hoof went up again. "Yes Dinky?"
"Were the Titans only made of wood and stone or could they be made of metal also?" she asked. Tiara made another remark that required Cheerilee to give her a look before she looked through the book on ancient myth again.
"Um, it does say that there were rare cases of metal titans, but they were the most dangerous and reclusive of the bunch," she said before looking at Dinky. "Why are you so curious, by the way?"
"Because I like weird things," she said innocently.
"Of course she does. She'd have to, with her mom being so weird," Tiara said just loud enough so that Dinky could hear.
"And with that little remark, you'll be staying inside for recess," Cheerilee said, giving Tiara a look when she tried to complain. "And speaking of recess, I think that I've kept you all in here long enough. Go have..." She never got to finish as the foals shot out of her room, just leaving her alone with Dinky, Tiara and Pipsqueak, who had been late. "Dinky, you can leave if you want."
"Actually, I was wondering if I could look over the book on titans?" she asked, smiling when Cheerilee gave the book to her before heading outside when she heard a foal crying. She flipped through it until she found the parts on titans, frowning as she looked at the illustrations of them, since none of them looked like the thing that she had met. She began to read about the titans until a certain pink filly walked over to her.
"Wow, with their weird eyes they look just like your mom," Tiara said with a smirk. Dinky turned her head to try to avoid looking at the filly, but Tiara walked in front of her. "What's the matter, too ashamed to say anything? Not that I blame you, if I had a failure of a mom with no dad, I wouldn't want to bring any attention to myself either." Tears began to form in Dinky's eyes, but she did her best not to cry out loud. "Of course, you're not much better than her. Unable to do anything magic related and can't do anything right either. Must suck being you." Dinky was trying to stifle her sobs as much as she could, but she didn't know how much longer she could. "And worst of all, you'll grow up to be just like you mom. Worthless, a klutz and-"
"Hey Tiara." Diamond Tiara turned around to get a face full of water, causing her to scream as she was drenched from head to hoof by a certain small colt.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" she shrieked at Pipsqueak, who gave her an innocent look in his defense.
"I was just trying to help you clean up your act," he said with an innocent smile. "And a bath. Both you and your attitude stink." Tiara roared in rage and tackled the colt to the ground, but the fight was quickly stopped by a very angry Cheerilee.
"Both of you stop this right now!" Cheerilee said as she placed herself between the two of them. "Alright, who started this?"
"HE did Ms. Cheerilee!" Tiara said with a scowl as she pointed a wet hoof at him. "He threw the bucket of cleaning water on me."
"Is this true?" Cheerilee asked Pipsqueak.
"Guilty as charged," Pipsqueak said with a shrug. "Just couldn't stomach what she was saying to Dinky, so I figured I should wash her mouth out. No soap in the bucket though." Cheerilee looked to Tiara at this point, who shrunk under her gaze.
"So, Tiara, just what did you say to Dinky that would provoke Pipsqueak to throw water onto you?" she asked. When she refused to answer, Cheerilee looked to Dinky. "Dinky, what did she say to you?" Dinky looked down for a moment before she looked back up at her teacher.
"She insulted me and my mom, calling us failures," Dinky whispered. Cheerilee looked towards Tiara with a cold stare before she turned her gaze to Pipsqueak.
"Tiara, what you did was unexcusable and your parents will certainly hear about this incident. Now go wait outside for your punishment." Tiara walked off with a growl as Cheerilee looked to Pipsqueak.
"I don't regret it," he said before she could speak.
"Pipsqueak, what you did was also unacceptable...but noble," Cheerilee said. "You will also be punished, but not the same as Tiara. Dinky, you can go home for today if you don't want to stay. All the rest of class will be is a movie."
"No, it's okay. I should be able..." She stopped talking as she said this, because out the window she could see eight green eyes coming from the forest and if she could see them, so could the other ponies that were at the school. "Actually, Miss Cheerilee, I'd like to leave early. I don't want to be around her for today."
"That's fine Dinky, you can go," Cheerilee said as she turned to go talk to Tiara. "Pipsqueak, I will speak with you in a moment. Please wait here." Pipsqueak did as she asked as Cheerilee left, leaving him alone with Dinky as she packed up a few things.
"Thank you," she said softly as she walked by him. "But you didn't have to get into trouble for me."
"No trouble at all; Tiara needed somepony to rain on her parade," he said, chuckling at his own joke. "And I also know what's it's like to be picked on for being different, so I feel for you." Dinky smiled at him as she walked out of the room, trying to ignore Cheerilee's conversation as best she could.
"...One day that mouth of yours is going to get you into serious trouble," she heard Cheerilee say as she passed.
"Yeah, right. My Dad pretty much owns this town. What pony would be foolish enough to mess with my family?" Tiara shot back, having no idea how close she had come to finding that out. The moment she was certain that no pony was looking at her, Dinky full on sprinted towards the forest to Mr. Bubbles, breathing a sigh of relief when she turned around to see that she hadn't been followed. The Big Daddy let out a happy moan when she ran up to him.
"Shhhh! Are you trying to give yourself away?" she whispered to him as she motioned for him to follow her away from the school, which he did so without hesitation. Once they were back in the forest clearing, she pulled the book that Cheerilee had given her and opened it to the page on titans. "Okay, I'm going to show you a number of images and I want you to tell me...or moan, whatever you do when I get to the one that most looks like you. 'K?" Mr. Bubbles moaned in response and she held up the first one, which was the wood one.
"Okay, that's not it," she muttered when he didn't respond, flipping the page. "How about stone?" He made no sound again, but this had been what Dinky had been expecting. She knew that he mostly resembled the metal one, but as she looked at the picture she had no idea if he even was a titan. The titan in the books was huge like him, but only had two glowing eyes while he had eight. Not to mention that the titan in the picture had both hands, while Mr. Bubbles had one hand alongside his giant drill on the other.
"Is this you?" she asked, getting silence at her answer once again. She frowned as she began to mindlessly flip through the pages, until a certain figure caught her attention. It was a massive stone and metal creature that wore the helmet of a knight, but light shown between its eye slits on the helmet. In place of one off his hands was a sword that extended from his wrist, almost mirroring Mr. Bubbles. "How about this? Is this you?" she asked as she held up the picture. He let out a small moan at this, and Dinky smiled as she looked into the book to see what the creature was.
"An Iron Golem, huh?" she mused to herself as she read the description. "Beings made of metal that are normally two to three times the size of ponies and are know for being very strong fighters that will protect all they hold dear to the death. Said to have been rumored to exist in the time of humans, if they exist at all, but vanished along with them. Weird, but it does look a little like you," he muttered as she looked from the picture to him. "But it also says here that they are champions of protection, so maybe you are related. You did save me after all." Mr. Bubbles let out a moan that caused Dinky to look up from the book, before an idea came to her.
"Hey, there's a place that might know what you are, but it involves us going through a dangerous place. Would you mind taking me there?" she asked him, perfectly fine if he said 'no.' But Mr. Bubbles let out a moan and grabbed Dinky by her waist, lifting her over onto his head as best he could until she scrambled onto him. "Okay, we want to go that way," she said as she pointed into the forest. Mr. Bubbles groaned and began walking forwards, Dinky looking ahead as well until something on his helmet caught her eye.
'Somepony wrote something here,' she thought as she looked down at the small writing on his helmet. 'It says...My Big Daddy. Wait a minute, was Mr. Bubbles a dad at some point? And if so, where's his daughter?' She pondered these questions silently as Mr. Bubbles continued to walk.
Dinky wasn't much of a fan of heights, but that didn't stop her from enjoying the ride as she sat on the head of Mr. Bubbles while he moved through the forest. Her mother had told her multiple times to stay out of the Everfree Forest, but she figured that with Mr. Bubbles there she'd be safe enough.
"You just want to stay on the path for now," she said to him as he walked, occasionally moving to the side to look into the woods. He didn't like this place, it felt dangerous. And while the Big Daddy felt no regards for his own life, he was always thinking about the precious cargo on his back--and if anything were trying to get to her. He was used to his Little Sister leading him into dangerous places, but that didn't mean he liked it. He came to a stop when the path branched off in different directions as he awaited orders from Dinky, but she looked at the path in confusion as well.
"Um, maybe we should try the left?" she suggested, which made Mr. Bubbles turn towards the left. "Wait, right actually looks safer. Let's go there." Mr. Bubbles then turned his body to the right, but Dinky made him hesitate once again. "Actually left. No right. Argh! I can't decide." He stood there patiently while she decided, but he roared in rage when he heard a voice in his ears.
'So this is where you have gotten to. I wondered if you had killed anypony yet, but it seems you make home in the forests of monsters.' He roared and spun around, causing Dinky to scream as she held onto his helmet. 'And is that a filly you have with you? I hope that you have not forgotten my warning,' she said through his radio with a hint of a threat.
"Mr. Bubbles, what's the matter?" Dinky asked as his eyes went yellow, looking around for the voice.
'She calls you by a name? Does she not fear you?' the silver mare asked through the radio, only getting another roar as response. Dinky let out another yell and Mr. Bubbles eyes went back to green as he let out an apologetic moan. 'And you care for her for some reason? I cannot read you beast, but know that I am watching. Tenebaum said that there was more to you than the rage and the killing, but I have yet to see it. But it is for her that I am willing to give you a chance.' Bubbles groaned in response as he turned and went down the left path, planning on blocking her out if she tried to talk to him again.
"Care to tell me what that was all about?" Dinky asked him as he walked through the forest, getting frustrated when he gave her no response. "Hey, are you listening?" she asked as she banged on his helmet. "I don't get you. Do you listen to me or not?" Bubbles came to a stop and slightly moved his head up, Dinky figuring that he was trying to show her that he was listening. "I wanted to know why you got mad all of a sudden?...Right, you can't talk. Was there something there?" She got the moan that she figured meant yes, so she looked behind her but saw nothing.
"Okay, maybe you can see things I can't," she said with a shrug as she looked down off the top of his head. "You do have eight eyes after-" Dinky's words died in her throat as she heard a sound that all who entered the forest dreaded to hear. It was the sound of howling, and since there was only one kind of creature that howled in the Everfree Forest, it only took her a second to begin panicking. "Mr. Bubbles, we need to get out of here right now!" she yelled at him as she looked at the open area in which they found themselves. Bubbles slightly tilted his body before he began to continue moving forward.
"Didn't you hear what I said?!" she half yelled at him before she heard the sound of dogs snarling all around her. She lifted her head so that she could see, with horrified eyes, the wooden wolves that began to emerge from the underbrush, circling the two of them as they sniffed the air. "Mr. Bubbles," she whispered to him with her eyes on the dogs. "You need to run. Now." But instead of running, Mr. Bubbles looked at the Timberwolves that were encircling him, before he let loose a loud roar to the sky and slammed his drill into the ground, knocking all the wolves off their feet.
"Mr. Bubbles?" Dinky asked as he slowly lifted his drill out of the ground, deliberately beginning to spin it until its power vibrated through his body. His eyes changed to yellow once again and he stuck his drill out at the dogs, letting out a low roar in warning. Dinky crouched down as far as she could on Mr. Bubble's head as she looked at the dogs, expecting one of them to start the fight. But much to her surprise, one of the dogs barked to the others and slowly backed away, the others following its lead as they all vanished back into the brush.
"They...left?" she asked in confusion as Mr. Bubbles stopped his drill, his eyes remaining yellow as he kept alert, waiting for the attack. "Were they really that afraid of you?" Mr. Bubbles didn't respond, but began to move forward again. Dinky never saw his head move, but she was aware that he was keeping one of his eyes out for the wolves. "Hold on, I think I recognize this area. Yeah, Zecora should be around here somewhere. There!" As she said this, she pointed to a hut that wasn't too far away before asking Mr. Bubbles to put her down, running ahead of him up to the door, knocking against it. After a moment, the door creaked open to reveal a zebra.
"Well, if it isn't one of the fillies from the town," Zecora said with a smile as she looked at Dinky. "What are you doing in my...GET DOWN!" Zecora pushed Dinky behind her as she said this and grabbed her staff, eyes locked onto the giant metal beast that stood outside her hut. The moment that she laid her hooves on Dinky, however, Mr. Bubbles let out a terrifying roar and revved his drill to full speed, his eyes turning red as he charged right towards her. Zecora threw herself out of the way as his drill splintered her front door, rolling to her hooves as she struck at the back of his knees with her staff. The fortified wood shattered against his leg, causing her to gasp in surprise, before she was grabbed with a speed she wouldn't associate with a creature like him. He lifted her up as he brought his drill back before Dinky tackled his leg.
"NO! PUT HER DOWN!" Mr. Bubbles looked down at her--and the rage in her face--looking back to the struggling zebra before trying to impale her again, but this time Dinky threw herself onto his drill arm to stop him. "I said put her down!" she yelled again. Mr. Bubbles looked into her eyes for a moment before, very angrily, he dropped Zecora to the ground, his eyes going back to yellow. Dinky tried to run to her, but Mr. Bubbles scooped her up in his other arm before she could reach her.
"I am so sorry about this, Zecora," Dinky said from atop his head as she slowly got to her hooves. She rubbed her throat as she looked up at the monster before her, gazing into its eight yellow eyes with fear. "I just wanted to know if you could tell me what he is. I didn't think that he would attack you like that."
"So, you have seen this creature before it attacked me?" she asked as she backed away from it, not knowing if it would strike again. "Yet it is not bothered by you, is...he?"
"No, I thought that he was friendly," she said before she banged on his helmet with her hoof. "Bad Mr. Bubbles, trying to hurt Zecora like that. Bad." Mr. Bubbles let out a moan before he looked back to the zebra, his eyes briefly flicking to red before changing back to yellow. "I know I shouldn't ask, but I wanted to know if you had a book that could tell me what he is. I've never seen anything like him."
"It is not your fault, and you did save me from his wrath," she said as she very slowly walked back to her house, knowing that its eyes were on her the entire time. "I'll see if there is a book that speaks of his past." She walked through what remained of her door, leaving Dinky to start scolding Mr. Bubbles while she was gone.
"That was very rude of you. We don't attack friends like that," she scolded, but she was also now a bit more afraid of him than she had been previously. She wasn't certain why he had attacked Zecora, but at least she knew that he would listen to her if she got angry enough. Zecora emerged from her hut a moment later, looking more interested in the metal behemoth than she was afraid of it.
"While there are no records of this beast in my books, I can't help but be amazed by its looks," she mused as she looked upon him from afar. "A suit of metal that covers him completely, but a weapon that can be used most dangerously. Yet he only engaged me when I attacked him, so could there be something I am missing?"
"Like I said Zecora, I'm really sorry about that," Dinky said as she banged on his helmet again, getting a moan out of him. "But maybe you're right. We ran into a pack of Timberwolves on the way over and he didn't attack them despite being dangerous." Zecora pondered what the filly said, thinking that he might have just been protecting himself. But then an idea came to her.
"I must ask you to get off of him. There is something that I must begin." Dinky did as she asked, although she had to fight with Mr. Bubbles for a moment before he let her off. Zecora then took in a deep breath and slowly began to walk towards the monster, waiting for any sign of movement. But to her confusion, he made no effort to show he was interested in her. She thought about it for a moment before another idea came to her and she turned and started to walk towards Dinky.
"That is what I thought," she muttered as he let out a groan and pushed her back, stepping between her and Dinky. "It is for you that he fought. When I pushed you behind me to keep you safe, that was when he wanted to rip off my face."
"So, he did that because he thought I was in danger?" she asked as she looked up at Bubbles, who refused to step to the side.
"That is what I believe, but if it happened again things might go differently. He came at me ready to kill, so what would happen in Ponyville?" she asked Dinky. "You must tell the Elements at once, for only death can come from silence."
"I will tell them, tomorrow," Dinky said as she looked up at the setting sun, getting worried about going back home. "The Elements will return from Canterlot along with the princesses, so it should be the best time. The other ponies might try to drive him out by force and then he'll attack them. Remember how they were when they first met you?" Zecora couldn't deny her point, although she wasn't too fond of this plan. Dinky, on the other hoof, still had to think of how to get Mr. Bubbles back into the town without being seen. Now that she knew he could be dangerous, she had to keep him away from others until the princesses could be there to keep them safe.
"While I do not like this plan, it will have to suffice," Zecora muttered before looking back to the Big Daddy. "And if I tried to force you, my life would be the price. Return to your home and get some rest, but keeping him hidden will be a test."
"I know, Zecora, and thank you for everything," Dinky said as she told Mr. Bubbles to pick her up onto his head. "Maybe tomorrow you can come to see how everything goes." Dinky then told Mr. Bubbles to leave the forest, causing him to turn and walk away. Zecora watched both of them go before resting against the side of her house, breathing heavily.
'I cannot believe such a being is real,' she thought as she placed a hoof at her throat. 'But this wound will take time to heal. I wish I had a way to talk to Twilight, but where they are has been locked up airtight. Hopefully nothing happens before they get back, because I fear for anypony that makes that beast attack.'
===k>
Dinky's house was on the edge of town, where few ponies came unless they had to. But that didn't stop her from scouting the area out completely before she allowed Mr. Bubbles to get close to town. The sun had set completely and darkness had been cast over them, but that didn't help her since his eight eyes glowed.
"Okay Mr. B, I've thought about it and I think that you can sleep here for tonight," she whispered to him in the darkness as she brought him over to a large stack of broken objects that rested against the side of her house, ranging from small pictures to wardrobes and bed frames. "Since mommy has a habit of breaking things, the garbage ponies always come here first. So other ponies asked if they could dump the big stuff here to make the trip for the garbage ponies easier...and get their destroyed things away from their houses." She said as she motioned for him to come into the pile, which he did so without hesitation. "Okay, can you sit down please?" He did that as well and she began to move some of the items around until he was almost completely covered by trash.
"Perfect!" she exclaimed with a smile as she took a step back, thinking that ponies that glanced at the trash wouldn't notice his rusty armor amongst the trash. "Now just stay there for tonight, I'm going to go to the house." She backed away as she said this, keeping her eyes on him the entire time. Every time he tried to get up, she would order him to stop until he eventually stopped standing up. Once she was certain that he wasn't going to move, she ran to the front door and unlocked it, noticing that the lights weren't on as she closed the door behind her. She flipped on the lights to see a note on the table for her.
"You're going to be late again?" she muttered to herself as she read the note from her mom. She sighed as she placed the note back on the table and got a chair to reach the candy she wasn't supposed to have. Once she had placed everything back the way it was supposed to be, she ran up to her room and opened her window, looking down at the trash pile. "Hey Mr. Bubbles!" She saw the eight eyes turn towards her, but she had to yell at him to stop when he tried to get up.
"You're so lucky Mr. Bubbles. Tomorrow you get to go talk to royalty," she said to him before she whispered him goodnight and laid down on her bed, already having figured out how she was going to introduce him to the princesses. She would warn them about getting near her of course, but then she'd tell them all the good he had done for her. She fell asleep with a small smile on her face, while Mr. Bubbles remained awake, constantly looking up at her window. He hated being this far from her, but she had said to stay and he didn't want to upset her. So he sat there the entire night, ever diligent in case she called out for him, like a good father would.
Dinky woke up with a yawn the next morning, looking out the window as the sun cast its rays down upon the land before she remembered her special guest sleeping in the trash. She threw her windows open and looked down towards the trash with worry, before she let out a sigh of relief when the trash moved to reveal some of Mr. Bubbles' eyes.
"Morning, Mr. B," she said to him as the rays of the sun shown on her face, before her door opened and a gray mare walked into her room.
"Dinky, who are you talking to?" Ditzy asked her daughter as Dinky slammed the window shut behind her, smiling at her mom in the innocent way that told Ditzy that her daughter was up to something.
"Nopony mom, just saying good morning to the world," Dinky said with a smile, causing her mother to raise an eyebrow while she looked around her daughter's room for anything that looked out of place.
"Well, when you're done saying good morning to the world, come on downstairs and I'll fix you some breakfast," she said as she looked around her daughter's room one more time, but she left with a shrug when she found nothing. Dinky let out a sigh once her mother had left her room, before she turned back to the windows and opened them, looking down at Mr. Bubbles, who was trying to get the trash off of him.
"Hold on a few minutes Mr. Bubbles, I'll be down to meet you soon," she said to him once he had looked up at her, letting out a soft moan once she had closed her windows again and ran down the stairs. Ditzy was in the kitchen trying to make breakfast as best she could, but unfortunately for her the cereal kept catching ablaze every time she tried to pour milk onto it. "I got that, Mom, don't worry," Dinky said as she raced by her mom and took the milk out of her hooves, pouring it into both their bowls before she skidded to a stop in front of their table.
"Thank you Dear, I just have no idea how that happened," Ditzy said with a sigh as she sat down in front of her daughter, watching as she inhaled her cereal, until Dinky noticed that she was watching her.
"What's the matter, Mom? Trouble at work again?" Dinky asked her.
"No, it's your school," Ditzy replied, causing Dinky to lower her head a bit. "Your teacher told me about what happened the other day, and how it almost made you cry. And this isn't the first time this has happened either, Dinky. Are you sure you don't want to try the school in Canterlot? Twilight says that it's a very nice place for unicorns who are still trying to figure out who they are."
"Mom, we can barely afford the house we're in right now; how do expect us to be able to move to a place like Canterlot?" Dinky said before taking another bite of her hay flakes, causing her mother to sigh as she looked out the window.
"I'll think of something, Dear, but what I want best for you is for you to have a good education--where you aren't being attacked by your peers," Ditzy said as she looked over at a picture on the wall, that showed Ditzy when she was younger and standing next to her was a purplish unicorn, with a grey mane who held a tiny little Dinky in his hooves, all of them smiling at the camera. "It's been nearly seven years already, hasn't it?"
"Yeah, it has," Dinky said with a sad sigh, when she saw where her mother was looking. "So, since I have the day off, is there anything you need me to do while you're at work?"
"Yes Dear, I have a list of groceries that I need you to grab for me," Ditzy said as she picked up a list off of the table and hoofed it over to her daughter, before grabbing a mail hat and bag full of letters. "There's a few bits on the counter in case you get hungry while you're out, and I want you home before sunset. Okay?"
"Okay, Mom," Dinky said with a smile. "Good luck at work today. Love you."
"Love you too," Ditzy said with a soft smile before she flapped her wings and flew out the door, giving Dinky time to look over the list, before she heard the inevitable sound of her mom crashing into something.
"And today starts just like any other day," Dinky said with a shake of her head, before she looked out the windows to make sure that nopony was around. She ran out the back door towards the trash heap, arriving just in time to see Mr. Bubbles push the last of the trash off of himself. "I thought I told you to stay still." Mr. Bubbles let out a moan and Dinky rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I get that you want to be near me, but you can't be seen until the princesses get back. I don't want any trouble caused in town today." Mr. Bubbles moaned and started to walk towards her, but Dinky held out a hoof to stop him. "No, you have to stay here for now. Stay."
Mr. Bubbles moaned, but sat back down for her, causing Dinky to smile as she waved goodbye to him and took off towards the town, while whistling to herself. The moment she was almost out of sight, Mr. Bubbles got back up to his feet and began to follow her. He was afraid that something would happen to her if she wasn't within his sight. That had been the only reason he had slept outside, because her room was right above him, much like when the little sisters went into those pipes. He couldn't see them, but he knew that they were safe.
Dinky came to a stop in the center of the market, looking from her list to the stands to try and find what her mom needed her to get. She stopped by Carrot Top's place first and said 'hi' to her, buying a number of carrots, before running off to her next shop with a smile. Next was something from Rarity's, but her store was still closed since she was in Canterlot. So Dinky had to head back across town to the Cake's store, but on her way she happened to see eight green eyes looking out at her from an alleyway.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed at him, once she had run over to him and pushed him farther back into the alley so no other ponies could see him. Mr. Bubbles let out a moan in response, and she rolled her eyes with a growl. "Don't give me that, I told you specifically to stay at the house until I came to got you! Now you might cause a panic." Mr. Bubbles tilted his body to look at her, causing Dinky to sigh again as she looked around. "Okay, just...stay here for now while I finish up shopping. Okay?" Mr. Bubbles let out a moan and she figured that he would listen, but as she went back to the market she wondered how he had managed to get here in the first place without being seen.
"Just one container of orange juice, please," she said with a sigh as she placed the bits on the pony's counter, taking the bag and adding it to her others as she turned around, right into a group of ponies that she knew all to well. "Oh great, what do you idiots want?"
"Hey, who you calling an idiot?" the one named Dumb-Bell asked her with a snort.
"You, obviously," Dinky shot back. The other two pegasi, Hoops and Score, chuckled at their friend before looking down at her. "What do you want, I'm kind of busy?"
"We were just wondering where your mother was," Hoops said with a snicker. "I mean, we haven't seen any ponies being taken to the hospital, and that's generally where we find her."
"Ha ha, how long did it take you to come up with that one?" Dinky asked in a bland tone as she tried to walk around them, but Score held out a hoof to stop her.
"The other reason we want to see her is because she broke a very important package that I sent to the office, and I want her to be held accountable," he said with a grim look, causing Dinky to back away from him. "So, either you go get her or..."
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" The three idiots looked up with a snicker to see Ditzy land in front of her daughter, snorting with rage as she placed herself between her daughter and them. "How DARE you threaten my daughter!"
"Naw, we weren't threatening her," Dumb-Bell said with a smile as he walked up to her. "We just wanted to get you out here so we could give you...a piece of our mind." Ditzy refused to move as the three began to surround her, but before anything could begin, Dinky threw herself in front of her mom and grabbed onto Hoop's leg.
"Leave her alone!" she yelled at him. Hoops growled and shook her off his leg as best he could, flinging her into the side of a stand where she grabbed her head before passing out.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Ditzy roared as she tackled Hoop to the ground, bringing one hoof back to strike him.
"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!" All of the ponies in the square stopped as they heard the massive roar that echoed throughout the area, all of their heads turning to the alleyway where a massive beast in metal armor stood, with all eight eyes glowing red. Before any of them could say anything, it let loose another roar and charged at the four ponies closest to Dinky. Hoop let out a scream as he threw Ditzy off of him before flapping his wings, barely getting out of the way of the charging creature.
"What the Faust is that thing?!" Score yelled in fear as it slowly turned around to face him, his fear reflecting in all eight of its red eyes. Ditzy wasted no time in throwing herself over Dinky while Score backed away from the creature in fear. It roared again and slammed into him, dragging him across the ground before driving both of them through the side of a building. "Get off of me!" The monster started up its drill and drove it right through the midsection of the pony, who didn't even have a chance to cry out before he went limp on the end of the drill. The Big Daddy threw him off the drill and to the ground before he slowly turned and walked back out of the building and into the streets, where the ponies were in full panic now.
"Holy...it killed Score!" Hoop said with a scream before, faster than he could fathom, the creature charged into him from across the street, grabbing him by his head and slamming it repeatedly into one of the stands. He then tossed the body aside as he turned to the last one of those who dared to try and hurt his Little Sister, the Pegasus that was floating in the air above him.
"W-what kind of monster are you?" Dumb-Bell asked in fear as he floated far away from the Big Daddy's reach. Mr. Bubbles let out a roar and began to concentrate into his left hand, watching with rage as the electricity began to crackle all around it. Dumb-Bell figured out what he was doing a second too late before the lightning connected with his chest, sending his burning body to the ground below. Those ponies that weren't running for their lives watched in horror as the creature roared again before turning towards Ditzy, making the ground shake as it walked over towards her. She looked up from her daughter to the giant creature, fear flashing in her eyes before she growled at it.
"Y-you get away from my daughter. NOW!" she yelled at him. The Big Daddy's response was to swat her to the side with his hand, knocking Ditzy into the side of a wall, where she slumped to the ground silently. Mr. Bubbles then bent over and scooped up the little filly into his hand, slowly looking around at all the ponies that were staring at him with horror. He then began to walk to the forest where he had first met the little sister, all of the ponies moving out of his way as he walked by them. When he got to the edge of the town, he looked behind him one last time and gave a roar before heading into the forest.
===k>
The ponies did their best to clean up the destruction that had been caused by the creature, even though some of them questioned what had just happened. They had never seen a creature like that before in all their years, and the way it had ripped those three ponies apart had been horrific, to say the least. A doctor and two other ponies were doing their best to tend to Ditzy, who fought them with all of her strength to break free of their grasp.
"Let go of me! That thing has my daughter!" she screamed as the three held her down, trying to tell her that she couldn't go after a thing like that. Then a shadow spread on them, and they all looked up with wide eyes when they saw who was standing beside them.
"Who has taken your daughter?" she asked in a regal voice as she looked down at them.
"S-some kind of monster, unlike anything I've seen before," Ditzy said as she pointed towards the forest. "That's where it took her. Please Celestia, get her back." The princess nodded and spread her wings, taking to the sky as she flew towards the forest.
'Another monster has come to try and tear apart my peaceful land,' she thought with a growl as she let her magic crackle along her horn, heading in the direction of the forest. 'But I will show it what happens when it messes with my subjects.'
Dinky groaned weakly as she opened her eyes, blinking a few times before covering her face with one of her hooves. Once she could see properly again, she realized that she was looking up into the eyes of Mr. Bubbles, who was looking down at her with worry. She groaned and slowly sat up in his hand, looking around to realize that they were by a lake in the forest.
"Mr. Bubbles?" she asked him as she tried to get down, but he tightened his grip on her. "Ugh, what happened? Last thing I remember is those Pegasus bothering my mom and..." Dinky's eyes widened as she slowly looked around with fear. "Wait, where is my mom? Where is everypony?" Then she slowly looked up at him and realized what must have happened. "Please Mr. B, please tell me that you didn't get involved." Mr. Bubbles said nothing, he only stood up and placed her on top of his helmet as he began to walk deeper into the forest.
"Put me down!" she yelled at him after a moment of walking. Mr. Bubbles came to a stop and knelt down so that she could get off and she jumped down before turning to give him a look. "I told you to stay in the alley way! Now that the ponies have seen you, they're probably all panicking and...and..." Her eyes went as wide as they could as she looked down at his drill, which she just now noticed was covered in blood and from how it looked it was still fresh. "You didn't...please tell me you didn't..." Mr. Bubbles said nothing in reply, he only held out his hand and made a small moan to her.
"NO! I won't go now!" she yelled as she slowly backed away from him, tears forming in her eyes as she figured out what he had done. "You didn't have to go that far! You shouldn't have!" Mr. Bubbles let out a moan and walked towards her, but stopped when she screamed at him again. He looked down at her in confusion, never having this kind of reaction from a little sister before. He didn't know how he had upset her, but he knew that he had and it made him hurt. He flashed his green eyes before getting onto one knee again, trying to show that he was sorry. But before Dinky said anything, a blast of magic struck Mr. Bubbles in the back and caused him to roar in pain and rage. His eyes changed to a crimson red as he spun to face whoever dared to attack him.
"So you are the beast that killed three ponies and stole this filly from its mother," the white alicorn said as she floated above him, glaring at him with a look of rage that was matched by the Big Daddy. "You must be new to this land. So let me show you what happens when you slaughter the innocent and foal nap." Her horn crackled with power as she fired a spell right into Mr. Bubble’s chest, sending him staggering back as the magic flooded through him. He looked back up at her with a roar, but his attention shifted from her to Dinky, who was trying to get Celestia's attention. He had past experience with ranged foes and he knew that there was a chance his little sister might get hit in the fight. So he spun around with a moan and scooped Dinky into his arms before running off into the forest.
"Get back here you monster!" Celestia roared in rage before she took off after him, firing magic down from above as she tried to hit the metal monster. 'This thing is much faster than I would have given it credit for. But it is still a danger and it must be stopped.'
"Mr. Bubbles stop!" Dinky yelled at him as he weaved in between the trees to dodge the spells being fired at him, trying to get the flying creature down to a point where he could get it with his drill. It was obvious that this splicer wanted his little sister, but this kind of splicer was new to him. Not that it mattered, all splicers ended up the same when they fought him. Celestia fired a spell that shot up a wall of flame in front of the Big Daddy, forcing him to turn and deviate from his path. "Mr. Bubbles, you have to put me down and surrender! It's the only way that she will stop!" Instead of stopping, Mr. Bubbles slammed his drill into a boulder and sent it flying up at the alicorn, who blasted it out of the air with her magic.
"Hold still beast and I may just spare you!" Celestia roared as she began firing to the sides of the creature, trying to corral him to go in a certain direction. 'The Elements and my sister will be in Ponyville soon and with their help I should be able to capture the beast. For the time being I just need to keep it contained.' But Mr. Bubbles had no interest in being contained and as he saw the town out of one of his ports, he turned on a dime and ran towards the town, enduring the spells that hit him as best he could. Ponies screamed as he came barreling down the street, knocking carts and ponies to the side as he looked around.
"What are you doing?" Dinky asked him as he untucked her from his arm and placed her under a staircase, turning his eyes green for her before he turned back to face the white alicorn as she floated down in front of him.
"So now you decide to stop?" she asked with a growl. "Where others could be hurt? You are a monster." Mr. Bubbles roared and charged at her, his drill whirring menacingly as attacked. Celestia threw up a barrier to protect her, smirking as his drill bounced off the shield before she shot him in the chest with a spell, sending him skidding back. "I know not what kind of beast you are, but your reign of terror ends here."
"Princess Celestia," Ditzy said as she ran up to the princess, looking past the monster to see Dinky under the stairs. "DINKY!" She tried to fly towards her daughter, but Mr. Bubbles saw where she was looking and quickly spun around to where Dinky was, picking up the struggling filly and placing her on top of his head. "Celestia, that thing has my daughter. What do we do?" Celestia narrowed her eyes at the beast before a small smile crossed her face.
"It's trying to use her as a shield, but I think I can get around it," she said as she began another spell. "You will have to trust me on this one, but your daughter will be fine." She fired her spell as she said this at Dinky, but much to her surprise the monster turned his body so he intercepted the attack, roaring as he staggered to one knee. "Hold still!" This time once she had fired the spell, it did hit Dinky, who blinked twice before falling off the creature. Celestia caught her with her magic and gently lowered her to the ground.
"What did you do to her?" Ditzy asked with fear in her voice.
"Worry not, it is only a freezing spell," Celestia said. "It is designed to give the impression that she is dead. Now he will not use her as a shield." Celestia braced herself for the monsters next move, but to her shock the creature completely ignored her and walked over to the frozen filly, kneeling down as he tried to get Dinky to move. It gently placed a hand on the stunned filly's face, trying to get some kind of reaction out of her and when it finally gave up it let out a moan to the sky, causing Celestia to feel a bit...guilty. Then it slowly turned towards her, all eight of its eyes glowing with red rage.
"Alright, creature, you should just-" Her words were cut off as the creature slammed its drill into the ground with enough force to knock all the ponies off their hooves, Celestia included. The moment she hit the ground Mr. Bubbles charged towards her with his drill at full speed, barely giving her enough time to throw up a shield to protect herself. The creature slammed its drill into her shield, barely making a dent. But to her horror it continued the assault, hitting the shied with such force that bits of the drill began to break as it slammed the drill into her shield over and over again.
"W-what are you doing?" she growled before the barrier began to crack. The Big Daddy brought his arm back and waited until he was at full rotation before he drove the drill into her barrier, shattering it with a roar of rage. She caught the drill with her magic and struggled to keep it from reaching her face, shocked by how strong this creature suddenly was. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw it raise its left hand, a hand that had electricity crackling all along it. She realized what it was going to do, but knew that with all of her focus on the drill she couldn't stop the electricity.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" The Big Daddy was blasted off of Celestia by a bolt of darkness, sending him staggering back as he roared in rage. Celestia shakily got to her hooves as a dark alicorn landed besides her, looking at the metal monster with the same rage as Celestia had. "Are you alright my sister?" Luna asked Celestia, who shook her head.
"I am fine, but I would not have been had you not shown up," Celestia said before she heard another roar, turning to see the beast attacking the both of them. Celestia and Luna combined their magic and fired it at the creature in one blast of power, but the Big Daddy thrust his drill into the magic and spun, causing the magic to fly off at angles that struck the town around them.
"What is this thing, sister?" Luna asked as she and Celestia took to the sky.
"I do not know nor can I understand it," she said before flying out of the way of multiple lightning attacks. The creature then roared and pointed his hand at them again, but this time it was bolts of ice that shot towards them. "I was managing it just fine until I froze the filly so it couldn't use her as a shield, then it suddenly became this wrath induced beast I am fighting!" Luna had no idea what this thing was, but she had an idea on how to learn about it.
"Can you keep it busy while I try to get inside its head?" she asked her sister, who nodded and re-engage the metal monster, giving Luna the time she needed to prepare a spell. She turned into a wisp of darkness and slipped through one of the creature's eye ports, barely making it through. Celestia pounded it with her magic, but quickly found that spells that had previously hindered it now only made it angrier. Luna, on the other hoof, had just managed to get inside the creatures mind.
"Alright, let's see why this creature is attacking," she muttered before she got swarmed by the creature's emotions, causing her to gasp as she felt them. She could feel its pain as Celestia bombarded it with her spells, causing it to roar. She could also feel its rage, the rage that it was directing at her sister with such resolve that Luna knew that only death would stop it. But then it felt and emotion that dwarfed the other two, an emotion that was so great that she quickly forgot about the other two. That emotion was the beast sorrow, the sorrow and grief it felt at the loss of the filly. Sorrow that it had failed to save her life.
"How...can this be?" she asked herself as the grief continued to wash over her. "How can it feel so strongly for a filly that it was using as a shield?" She then realized what she had to do to stop the creature and she exited its mind, finding herself on the battlefield again as Celestia tried blasting the Big Daddy with her magic, only to watch as he charged through it with rage. "Celestia, I know how to stop the beast!" Luna called out to her sister, who flew over to her quickly.
"I am glad you do, because nothing I hit this creature with seems to hurt it," she growled as the creature charged towards her again.
"You used a freezing spell on that filly right?" Luna asked as she looked over towards the stunned filly with her mother kneeling next to it. "You need to reverse the spell and quick, or else I believe that this creature will not stop until it has killed you." Celestia looked at her sister in confusion before she nodded and flew over to the filly. The Big Daddy tried to follow her, but Luna landed in front of him. "Not yet. You must get be me first!" she yelled. The Big Daddy roared in reply and slammed into her barrier, sending ice and lightning from his hand into her barrier while his drill began to pierce the shield.
'How can this creature feel such emotion for that filly?' Luna thought before her barrier was ripped open by the creatures drill. It punched her in the face with its left hand and knocked her to the ground, placing a boot on her chest as it brought the drill back, all eight of its red eyes glaring down at her.
"MR. BUBBLES, STOP!" The creature stopped it's drill right in front of Luna's face as it slowly moved its body up, looking across the street at the gray filly that stood there. He let out a moan before removing his boot from Luna and walked over to the filly, his eyes changing to green as he knelt in front of her. "It's okay Mr. Bubbles, I'm fine," Dinky said with a smile as she held onto his hand. "Just please stop fighting." The creature let out a small moan and gently picked her up to place her on his shoulder.
"How did you know that would work?" Celestia asked as she walked next to her sister, who was trying not to think of what would have happened if the filly hadn't stopped the drill in time.
"When I went inside his mind, I found that he felt an insane amount of grief for the filly, which it believed to be dead," Luna explained with a sigh. "So I figured that the filly might be the only way to calm it down and it seems I was right." The two princesses then slowly approached the creature, whose eyes flashed red as they approached and it roared.
"No! Bad Mr. B!" Dinky yelled as she jumped on his helmet, causing the eyes to change to yellow before it stopped growling.
"Little one, why does the beast listen to you?" Celestia asked Dinky, who looked at them with hesitation before her mother came running up again.
"Why does that creature still have my daughter?" she asked the princesses before looking to Dinky. "Dinky, you need to get away from that creature right now!"
"Actually mom, I need to stay here," she said as she looked around at all the panicking ponies and the destruction. "I think I'm the only one who can keep Mr. Bubbles calm." Luna and Celestia raised an eyebrow at the name, but they knew that they had bigger things to discuss.
"Dinky...why does this beast listen to you?" Celestia asked her. Mr. Bubbles turned and took up a defensive stance, causing the filly on its back to sigh.
"Let's go home. There's a lot I need to tell you guys about."
Once the Elements had arrived back in Ponyville, Celestia took a moment to explain to them what had happened while they had been riding on train back. Fluttershy had immediately run off to check on her animals while Applejack went to check on her family. The other four followed Celestia to the back of the woods, where Mr. Bubbles had taken Dinky for the time being.
"It's...amazing," Twilight muttered with awe when her eyes rested upon the Big Daddy. "What kind of armor is it wearing? And why is it bipedal?" Twilight smiled as she said this and would have walked right up to it if Celestia had not stopped her with one of her wings.
"I would not recommend approaching it, Twilight," Celestia said in a very serious voice, glaring at the metal monster that in turn glared at her. Dinky had been resting on top of its head and she tried to hop off, but Bubbles caught her and gently lowered her to the ground.
"Hi Twilight, hi Rainbow!" she said with a smile at the two Elements she recognized before smiling at Pinkie and Rarity, who were both looking at the Big Daddy with a similar look that Celestia had given it. "Mom and Luna will be back in a minute," Luna said she wanted to talk to mom in private before you guys arrived."
"And they just left you alone with this...thing?" Rainbow asked in disbelief as she looked up at Bubble, who let out a moan that caused the ponies to jump back as he walked in front of Dinky, his eyes a yellow color as he looked at all of them. "Why would she do that? This thing looks like it could rip apart a manticore and she just-"
"Actually Rainbow Dash, that is one of the topics we have brought you and the others here to talk about," a voice said from the darkness, causing the Big Daddy to groan as he place himself between the voice and Dinky. When the voice was revealed to be Luna, the ponies sighed in relief but the metal monster didn't move. Ditzy also followed Luna out of the darkness and she immediately tried to run over to her daughter, but once again Mr. Bubbles placed himself between her and the mare.
"What is it doing?" Twilight said as she slipped by Celestia with a notebook in her hoof, starting to take down notes as she examined the Big Daddy. It let out a groan and tried to grab her with its left hand causing her to 'eep' as she teleported herself back. "Well, it certainly doesn't seem to have any manners. I wonder if-"
"I wonder if it likes cupcakes!" Pinkie exclaimed as she tried to run over to the beast as well, but Celestia put up a barrier around all three of them to keep them from moving closer to the creature. "Hey, why'd you do that princess? I want to see if he likes parties," Pinkie said with a frown.
"Alright, let me tell all of you this right now," Celestia said in her most serious tone. "This creature does not want to be friends nor does it have any interest in parties. My sister and I know very little about this creature, but here is what we do know. If you get close to it or try to get close to Dinky, it will kill you...just like it did three Pegasi in the town market." All of the excitement that was in Twilight and Pinkie's eyes vanished at those words and they looked at the metal creature with fear and anger. He paid them no mind as he went back to seeing how Dinky was doing. She was looking at her mother nervously, wanting to go over to her but was afraid of what Mr. Bubbles might do if she did.
"Alright Dinky, now that most of us are here, can you tell us everything that you know about...Mr. Bubbles?" Luna said with a sigh, not taking her eyes off the creature.
"Well...I don't know where he came from, but all I know was yesterday before class he showed up when I was playing by myself and helped me to get my ball out of a tree," she began as all eyes were on her. "I was scared of him at first, but after a while it seemed like he didn't want to hurt me, so I played with him a bit. Then it was time for class, so I went to the school and he followed me, but after a few tries I finally got him to listen to me."
"Hold on a minute," Celestia interrupted. "You said that he listened to you? Does he take orders from you?" Dinky went to answer before placing a hoof on her chin to think about it.
"Yes...and a little no," she eventually responded. "He will listen to me if I get serious enough and most the times he will do what I ask, but there are times when he won't listen to me completely."
"And what are those time?"
"Well, those times were when Zecora accidently threw me out of the way when she saw Mr. Bubbles for the first time and he tried to kill her. It took a few yells before he stopped. Then the other one was getting him to stay in one place so I could go to school." Celestia and Luna looked at each other with worry as she said this, both of them thinking along the same lines.
"Do you know why...he...wouldn't listen to you in those situations?" Luna asked.
"Um, Zecora said something about him wanting to protect me," she said. "She tried this thing where she got close to Bubbles and he didn't do anything, but when she got close to me he got between us. I don't know why he's so protective of me, but it's getting to be annoying." The princesses looked at each other again with a look of worry before Twilight stepped forward with a smile.
"Well that answers simple," she said as her horn started to glow. "He won't let any of us get close, so all we have to do is grab Dinky with magic. Bubbles will think that she's moving on her own and won't react." Twilight pointed her horn at Dinky as she said this, but in a blink Bubbles was between the two and fired a bolt of ice out of his hand, freezing her horn solid. Twilight screamed as she tried to thaw her horn while Dinky tried to calm Bubbles down.
"I say we just take this thing down," Rainbow Dash said once Twilight was fine and Mr. Bubble’s eyes had gone from red to yellow. "He's a monster that's already killed some of the ponies and is stopping Derpy from getting to her foal. That should be easy enough."
"It should be, but the problem is that we cannot do that Rainbow," Celestia said with a sigh. When the others looked at her in confusion, she motioned to Bubbles. "That creature is only malevolent whenever a pony threatens it or Dinky, meaning that it is generally harmless the other times. Plus, it is the only one of its species that I have ever seen before, meaning that it is probably endangered."
"And that's your reason for why we can't just beat this sucker into the dirt?" Dash asked in disbelief. Celestia pulled out a book as Rainbow said this, a book that Dinky recognized from the other day.
"The Iron Golems. Beings made of metal that are normally two to three times the size of ponies and are known for being very strong fighters that will protect all they hold dear to the death. Said to have been rumored to exist in the time of humans, if they exist at all, but vanished along with them," Celestia read to the others.
"I know of that legend, but I thought that it was just that. A legend," Twilight said.
"Yes, but it seems that this legend is true," Celestia said with a frown as she looked at Bubble once again, who was trying to get Dinky to climb onto his hand with no success. "And it mentions that they will protect all they hold dear to the death. So I assume that this golem holds Dinky dear for a reason. But until we know why it cares for her and how we can split them apart, I think it best that we don't do anything to anger the golem, for our own safety." Rainbow growled at this before she walked over to Derpy to comfort her, her friend looking at her daughter with tear filled eyes.
"Please tell me that we aren't leaving that beast alone with Dinky," Rarity eventually said, having trouble processing what they had just been told.
"No. With the night coming soon, I will stay in Ponyville to watch over the filly and the monster," Luna said with conviction. "I will monitor them until morning where my sister can take over. Twilight, I know that we would normally give this task to you, but we are dealing with a creature with a hair trigger. I want you to keep as many ponies away from it as you can." Twilight nodded somberly while Pinkie frowned at the creature, trying once again to sneak close to it before Rainbow stopped her.
"Alright then ponies, that is our plan for now," Celestia began before looking to Dinky. "Dinky, you have the most important role of all. You have to keep Mr. Bubbles from getting angry or trying to attack other ponies around him. If he only reacts to you being in danger, then please try to avoid dangerous situations at all cost." Dinky nodded nervously as she told Mr. Bubbles to get up, which he did without complaint. Luna waited until the two of them had walked away a bit before she nodded to her sister and followed after them. Ditzy said goodbye to the other ponies as well and ran after them, staying close to Luna.
"Celestia, is there something that you're not telling us?" Twilight asked Celestia, knowing the look she had on her face.
"...I am worried," she said eventually. "If a creature like the golem is back, then what other creatures from the past may come back to the land of the living?"
"You mean...like the humans?" Rarity asked. Celestia thought about it for a moment before she shook her head at the others with a calm smile.
"No, I am certain that the humans are gone for good," she eventually said before heading to the exit of the small forest, the four Elements looking at her in confusion before following her out.
===k>
Ditzy did her best to focus on the meal she was making, but her mind kept moving back to her daughter and the fact that she was being kept by that monster. Even though princess Luna was sitting across the table from the monster and the creature had shown no hostility to her daughter, it was almost too much for her to handle. Not to mention Mr. Bubbles had torn the door and the door frame off the front of her house when he had entered, adding to her financial woes. He had sat in her house silently for hours, not letting anypony near her daughter and not letting Dinky more than a few feet from him.
"Um, I apologize princess if this isn't the best of meals," she said nervously as she moved the food from the pan to Luna's plate, wishing that she had bought better food when she had went out. "We've been a little short on money lately so we can't afford the best. I'm really sorry..."
"There is no need to apologize, you are doing the best you can under these conditions," Luna said with a warm smile, before looking back to the Big Daddy, who was sitting next to Dinky with his eyes all yellow. Luna had figured out that green meant Bubbles was happy, yellow meant he was precautious and red meant he was in kill mode. So as long as his eyes were green or yellow they were safe. "And considering what has happened to your family today, I admire your strength of will." Ditzy smiled at these words and went to serve food to Dinky, but got a growl from Bubbles.
"Bubbles, stop it," Dinky said as she took the meal from her mom, sighing as Bubbles watched her the entire time.
"So Dinky, you have been around Bubbles the longest. What do you think of him?" Dinky looked down at her food and took a few bites for a minute before she offered a bit to Bubbles, who looked at the food wordlessly.
"I don't know what to think of him. He's really kind to me and he protects me, but what makes me afraid is when others are around me," she said nervously. "I mean I've jumped on his head and he did nothing but if a pony looks at me the wrong way he'll attack them." Luna thought about what she said for a minute before an idea came to her. She had been considering sending the creature away from the land, but come back from the brink of death protect Dinky she wasn't certain if any spell could stop it. But if it listened to Dinky completely...
"Dinky, I may have an idea on how to stop Bubbles from attacking everypony," Luna began. Ditzy and Dinky both looked to her and she also noticed that Mr. Bubbles looked at her as well. "If you're the only one he will listen to, maybe you can teach him not to attack on assumptions alone. I cannot say that I’m mad at him for attacking whatever would attack a filly, but he has to learn how to tell friend from foe and I think that you could teach him that."
"And you think I can do it?" she asked. Luna nodded with a smile that caused Dinky to smile before she let out a yawn and placed her head on the table, letting off some soft snores a moment later. Ditzy tried to get to her, but Mr. Bubbles scooped her up into his arm and walked with her into a corner of the room, sitting down in a way so that he could see everything in the room.
"And I can't even kiss my daughter good night," Ditzy said sadly as she looked up at Luna. "You can have my bed if you want and I'm sorry that I have nothing nicer for you."
"What you have is fine, but I will not be sleeping tonight," Luna said as she looked at Mr. Bubbles in the corner. "Because tonight I find out what he is." Ditzy nodded and with one last longing look at her sleeping daughter before she headed upstairs, leaving Luna alone to glare at the beast that glared at her.
"Alright Mr. Bubbles, let us see what you are," she muttered before activating her magic, allowing herself to see inside the Big Daddy's mind.
When Luna opened her eyes again, she gasped at what she saw. She was in a city that was unlike any that she had seen before. This city was filled with bronze and lights, making everything glimmer and shine in the darkness. She then turned to look out a window, only to have her jaw drop when she realized that he wasn't in a city on the surface, but instead thousands of leagues below the sea. It was only then that she realized that she was not in a room, but in a giant tube that connected one of the buildings she could see through the glass to another.
"It cannot be, but could this be Atlantis?" she asked herself as she looked around. She came to a door and placed a hoof on it, only to watch as her hoof went right through the bronze door. 'Of course, I am not really a part of this world, so its laws do not apply to me. But if I am in Mr. Bubbles mind, then where is...?' Her question was answered a moment later when she heard the sounds of feet running down the tube she was in. A bipedal being came running by her only to slam into the door and it began to throw itself into the door before the sound of more feet running could be heard.
"Halt! Or we will shoot!" one of the voices called out. The person (Luna assumed that this was a human due to it being the memories from a creature from human times) turned and pulled out a small grey item from his vest, waiting until the other voices had come into the tube before he smiled. There was a loud crack that made Luna jump and one of the humans fell to the ground dead. But the blood had barely began to pour from his wounds before the other humans pulled out weapons of their own and shot the human in front of her down, leaving him cursing on the ground as the other humans surrounded him.
"So what do we do with this bastard then?" one of them asked before they kicked the downed human in the hand, sending his weapon skittering away from him.
"We could just kill him here. No one would miss him," another one of them said. Luna made sure to take careful mental notes about everything the humans said and the way they said it, figuring that this was the closest thing she would ever get to taking with a human.
"No, we can take him to Ryan," another one of them said with a cackle in his voice. "He's been looking for...volunteers for that project of his. And from the looks of it this guy would be just perfect." The other humans chuckled along with him as they reached down to grab the human before everything around Luna went black.
'He must have passed out at this point,' she thought to herself as the room around her began to change, this time taking on what looked like a science laboratory. She looked around to find the human that she had previously seen strapped to a table, with a number of humans in lab coats looking over him.
"You bastards can't do this to me! I have rights!" the human yelled before the guard standing beside him hit him in the head with the butt of his baton, causing the human to groan as a doctor walked over to him with a long needle.
"Maybe at one point, but then you chose to become a parasite," he said as she stuck the person in his right arm with the needle, causing the guy to panic when as he looked down at his arm.
"W-what did you do to me? I can't feel my arm!" he yelled at them, only to watch in horror as another doctor brought out a giant blade, which he slowly moved over to the person.
"And trust me, you will thank me for that in a minute," he said as he placed the blade on the humans arm, right below the elbow. Luna had to avert her eyes as she heard the human scream, trying her best not to vomit as she heard the sounds of metal going through bone. The scene changed before her again and this time it showed her in front of another machine, with the human standing in it with one less arm. His eyes were glazed over, but the bandages on his arm had little blood, allowing Luna to guess that this was some time after the surgery.
"Now hold still, this might hurt a bit," one if the doctors said as he placed the human in the machine, Luna averting her eyes again as a small claw like object grabbed onto his throat. "Now come on, we need to begin the grafting." Everything went dark again, but this time when Luna opened her eyes, she was standing next to the figure she had come to hate, a massive metal beast with the eight eyes and the drill for a hand, although now that she knew how it got that drill it made her sick. She also noticed that his suit was a lot whiter than she remembered it, but the metal was still the same.
"Now then, this is going to be a bit of a testing for you," a voice said over an intercom. Luna looked around the room to see that it was filled with bodies that were laid in a weird order that made it look like it was some kind of...test. "Now then, for this exercise you will need a little sister, so please knock on the vent next to you." Mr. Bubbles did as he was asked and hit the vent with his fists a few time. Luna could hear the sounds of something moving through the pipe inside, but she never expected what came out of it.
"It...looks like a child," she muttered to herself as the small human crawled out. Luna couldn't believe that humans got this small, but what stunned her most was the fact that it had a yellow mane along with gold, glowing eyes. Its skin was also grayish, but what really hit her hard was its voice.
"Hi there Mr. Bubbles," it said to the Big Daddy with a smile as she ran up and hugged it's leg, before taking his hand with another smile that melted Luna's heart, despite how the girl looked. Luna couldn't believe it to be true, but its voice had sounded almost identical to Dinky's. Then, after looking again at its hair and eyes, she began to realize why Mr. Bubbles was so attracted to Dinky in the first place.
"So this was your little girl," Luna muttered as she began putting the pieces together.
"This will be your little sister. Protect her as she goes about gathering the Adam. Of course, I doubt that we needed to tell you that." Luna was beginning to hate the humans that were speaking to the giant, but he paid them no mind as the little sister began to move forward, humming to herself as the Big Daddy followed her closely. Luna wondered what these two would do before the little sister bent down next to the one of the bodies and revealed a giant needle that she had been holding.
"Look Mr. Bubbles, it's an angle," she said as she stuck the needle into the corpse stomach. "Looks like he needs our kisses." What the sister did next once again almost brought Luna to the point of revulsion as the little human pulled the needle from the body and began to drink its blood.
"What kind of world did you live in?" she asked the Big Daddy, who walked by her with the little sister like she wasn't there, which she wasn't. Luna walked with them for a while before running across something else that terrified her: another Mr. Bubbles was walking through a room in front of them. "There are more of you?" she muttered before realizing that this one looked different. This one had both its hands and only had a solitary eye on top of its head. But by the way it moaned it was still a Big Daddy and that made Luna all the more nervous.
"Now that the two of you have gotten to take the time to know each other, it's time for you to go out into the world," the voice said as a pair of doors opened for the little sister and the Big Daddy. The images flashed before Luna's eyes again and she was beginning to wonder how many times this was going to happen before she came to a stop and looked around the room they were in now, noticing that it looked completely different from the one she had just previously found herself in. The lights were all busted or barely working and many of the chairs and tables were overturned, but what made her frightened most of all was the fact that there was blood everywhere...along with the bodies.
"W-what happened to this place?" she asked herself before she heard a familiar humming, turning to see the little sister from earlier sitting next to a body, apparently singing to herself as she drank it's blood. Luna watched the child for a moment, wondering if she too had been experimented on for her to be this way, when Luna and the little sister both heard the sounds of whistling.
"Well, what do we have here? A little one who lost her way," a menacing voice said with a cackle as it seemed to come from everywhere. The little sister whimpered as she heard this and stood up to run, only to turn around right into one of the humans. The human wore ragged clothes and had some kind of mask on, but Luna could still see his eyes and he wasn't all there. The little sister shrieked as he grabbed her and lifted her up, holding the screaming girl as she kicked. "Oh, you look like you've got a lot of Adam in you. Let's just find out how much," he said with a chuckle, holding her by the throat with one arm as he pulled out a knife.
"Release her!" Luna yelled as her instincts kicked in, firing a spell at the human only to watch it pass through him with no effect. All she could do is watch as the human pulled his arm back to stab the little girl. But before he could, the little sister bit down on his hand, causing the human to curse as he threw her to the side and held his bleeding thumb. He cursed her and went to raise his knife again, but not before the girl yelled out,
"MR. BUBBLES!"
"RRRRRRRRRR!"
The creature didn't even have time to scream before a massive boot came down on the back of his head, crushing his brains into mush. The little sister let out a happy yell and threw herself into the Big Daddy's arm, but then there was the sound of more laughter, followed by more of those demented humans. She could hear their whispers all around them and she looked to see if Mr. Bubbles would run, but all he did was pick up the little sister and placed her under a flight of stairs, before letting loose a roar that meant war.
"Get the girl!" one of the humans roared as he charged the metal man, only to be swatted away by Bubbles drill as his head left his shoulders. Another one of the humans attacked, but this one had hooks on its hands that allowed it to leap onto the Big Daddy's back, trying to tear through his suit to get to him. The Big Daddy roared and reached up to grab the human, slamming him into the ground before crushing him underneath with his boot.
"Behind you!" Luna yelled at him, even though it was pointless. One of the humans pulled out a weapon from earlier and fired it at the back of the Big Daddy, only to watch his shot ricochet off somewhere else. He never got the chance to fire again as Bubbles lunged towards him and drove him skull first into the wall, sending his dead body sliding down. More of the humans attacked him and he continued to fight them off, even though they outnumbered him completely. And all the while Luna stood by the little girl, who cheered for the "Big Daddy" as he fought. And secretly, so was Luna.
"Yeah! Way to go Mister B.!" the little sister yelled once all of the humans had been dealt with, running out from behind the stairs and over to him, where he got down to one knee and offered a hand to her. She grabbed it with a bow and allowed herself to be picked up and placed onto his back, where he walked off with her into the destroyed city while Luna looked around with realization.
"This place used to be a utopia, didn't it?" she asked herself as she eyed the incredible technology and the posters that showed what the city used to look like, compared to its bloody state it was now in. "But now it is where animals fight each other for blood, even if that blood comes from children." She looked across the room as she said this and found the remains of a baby in its crib, forcing her to look away to where Bubbles had vanished. "So what does that make you? Do you protect the little ones because you don't want them hurt? Or is it because others trying to hurt them is all you know?" Luna stood still as the room changed again, the memories showing how the city fell deeper and deeper into chaos, all the while Mr. Bubbles and his little sister went along like they had, she looking for blood and him fighting off the creatures, which in one memory she found to be called splicers, whenever they tried to attack her.
'So this is how you lived for years,' Luna thought as another memory of him fighting off the splicers passed, the last image before it vanished being him and the little sister again. 'And she was your reason for fighting.' Then the image changed again, but this one was different from the past ones she had seen. This one began with Mr. Bubbles already in a fight but the human that was firing a longer version of the gun at him didn't look like a splicer. He was wet, but other than that his clothes were fine and the only thing that made him stand out was the chains tattooed on his wrists.
"Get him Mr. B.!" The little sister yelled out from behind a table as the Big Daddy charged at the human, drill whirring as he approached. Luna expected this fight to be over quickly, but to her surprise the human pointed his left hand at the Big Daddy and...froze him solid. He broke free a moment later, but Luna recognized it as the freezing power that Bubbles had used on Twilight. The human snapped his fingers this time and Bubbles erupted into a torrent of flames, causing him to roar in pain as he still tried to fight to the human.
'Why do I have such an...ominous feeling?' Luna asked herself as she watched the battle continue, the human running up some stairs and backing himself into a corner that he couldn't get out of. 'Well, I guess this battle is over. But I wonder...' She stopped her train of thought when she saw the glowing objects at the tops of the stairs, right where Mr. Bubbles was heading. "Bubbles STOP!"
The Big Daddy never heard her as he ran up the stairs to kill the human, stepping on the glowing objects as he did so. A number of explosions went off at his feet, hurling the Daddy down the stairs, where he landed with a groan of pain. The human snickered as he walked down the stairs to Mr. Bubbles, who was struggling to get up. The human pointed the gun right at Mr. Bubbles head and pulled the trigger.
"NO!" the little sister yelled as the shot went off, the lights in Mr. Bubbles eyes going out as he fell over, one last wail escaping his suit. The little sister ran out from behind her hiding spot and ran to Mr. Bubbles side while Luna stayed stunned, watching as the little girl cried over the Big Daddy's corpse. Then the human turned his attention to her and grabbed her, one of his hands glowing as he reached towards her head.
"No..." Luna whispered as he grabbed her with her hand, causing her to scream before the light in her eyes went out and her head went limp. Luna fought down the bile as he ripped what looked like a slug out of her, throwing her corpse to the ground before the human let out a sigh and walked towards the exit, leaving Luna alone to look down at the dead child. "How could the humans do this? How could they do this to a child?" She closed her eyes as she said this, barely knowing this human yet still feeling sorry for her death. But her eyes snapped open when another sound reached her ears. It was the sound of metal scraping across the floor. She looked back to where Mr. Bubbles had lay, amazed to see that he was pulling himself across the floor to the little girl, his eyes barely glowing as he did so. Once he had gotten as close to her as he could drag himself, he reached out for her hand one last time...before his own hand went limp, landing just an inch from the child's.
"Oh Faust..." Luna whispered to herself as his eyes went out again. The room began to vanish at this point and she felt herself leaving his mind. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself back in Ditzy's house, standing across from the Big Daddy like she had earlier in the night. All eight of his yellow eyes were on her as she looked at him, horror and sorrow in her eyes.
"I...I had no idea..." she whispered to him as she stood up, feeling very nauseous all of a sudden. Mr. Bubbles tightened his grip on Dinky and moved his body so that he was shield her from Luna. "I...I'm so sorry," she said to him before running through the front door, finally vomiting all over the front yard as she tried to get those images out of her mind. But with each attempt they only grew stronger and finally Luna let the tears began to fall, tears for a father that had lost his child.
Celestia watched the horizon with relief as the moon lowered over the hills, the lowering of the moon telling her that Mr. Bubbles had not run his drill through her sister and that all had gone according to plan. With a burst of her magic, she began to raise the sun, only stopping once it had built up enough momentum to continue through the sky on its own.
"I am glad to see that you survived the night," Celestia began as she looked behind her, having heard her sister's wing beats. But much to Celestia's surprise, she found that Luna eyes were red and swollen, not to mention that she looked to be in a bit of shock. "Luna! Did something happen?" Celestia asked as she raced over to her sister. "Did the monster do something to you?"
"It is what he failed to do," Luna replied in a whisper as she looked out across the land, shaking her head as she did so. "Sister, we have been so wrong about Mr. Bubbles, so wrong."
"What do you mean?" Celestia asked her, wondering what Luna could mean. Luna stayed quiet for a few moments before she turned back to her sister, not sure how to tell her.
"I went inside his mind. And I saw the horror's that he had to face," she whispered. Celestia draped a wing over Luna and helped her inside, sitting her down in front of her tea stand as she poured a drink for both of them.
"Can you tell me what you saw?" Celestia asked her.
"I can try," Luna responded as she took a drink. "But first I must show you the little sister. Only then can you understand Bubbles."
===K>
Ditzy got up that morning around the crack of dawn, silently walking down the stairs as best she could without trying to ditz up. She knew that what she was doing was foolish, but she had to see her daughter safe. She descended to the bottom of the stairs and looked around the corner, only to find to her frustration eight pairs of yellow eyes looking at her.
"So the watchful guardian never sleeps, huh?" she muttered angrily as she walked by Mr. Bubbles, who watched her every step of the way. She could still see her daughter wrapped up in his arms, sleeping peacefully under his protection. "I don't know why you find such comfort in him Dinky, but he's dangerous. Why can't you see that?" A letter from Celestia rested on the table and after said read it she left it there for Dinky to read. She went to the stove and began to cook breakfast, causing her daughter to wake up a few minutes later sniffing the air.
"Is it morning already?" she asked as she hopped off of Bubbles and ran to the kitchen. Mr. Bubbles stood up to follow her, barely missing one of the support beams as he did so. Dinky tried to run over to her mother, but Mr. Bubbles let out a moan and pulled her away from Ditzy, causing the gray mare to scowl behind his back. "Okay Mr. B., we really need to get you over this whole keeping me away from others thing," Dinky said with a growl as she began walking back to her mother, sticking out a hoof at Mr. Bubbles when he tried to stop her. "No. She is my friend. Do. You. Get. That? Friend?" She hugged her mom’s leg as she said this all the while glaring at Mr. Bubbles, daring him to make a move. His eyes went red as she did this and he took a step forward...before stopping and standing still. Why would his little sister call this...thing a friend? It wouldn't protect her or care for her like he would. She'd see.
"Can't believe that worked," Dinky muttered as she looked into Bubbles still red eyes, wondering why he hadn't tried anything. Mr. Bubbles was wondering that same thing himself, but this time was different from the others. He could feel the desire to attack the thief that tried to steal his little sister...but he was also vaguely aware that he wasn't the one doing the thinking entirely. It felt almost like something else was compelling him to attack and he didn't like it. Plus, he hated to see his little sister cry and if she wanted to hug the strange thing, he wouldn't stop her...yet.
"Um, Mr. Bubbles, you okay?" Dinky asked as she walked over to him and poked his leg, snapping him out of it and turning his eyes yellow as he looked down at her with a friendly moan. He then looked up at Ditzy with suspicion, wondering a bit why she hadn't taken the little sister while he had been distracted. Why? "Well, now that that's out of the way, let's have some food." Dinky sat down with a smile, laughing out loud when Mr. Bubbles tried to sit down and shattered the chair under his weight. He made no signs of being annoyed though as Ditzy got her daughter her food.
"So then Dinky, what do you have planned for today?" Ditzy asked, watching Bubbles more than her daughter. "I hope you don't plan on going to school with him around?"
"No way...although I would like Tiara to meet him," she said with a bit of evil laughter as she rubbed her hooves together, stopping only when he mother glared at her. "Just a joke mother, I wouldn't do that to anypony."
"Good," Ditzy said with a sigh as she looked at the time.
"Need to go to work?" Dinky asked.
"Yes, but I'm afraid to leave you alone with him," she said as she looked at Mr. Bubbles who was looking at Dinky's cereal. "I can miss a day of work and be fine." Dinky narrowed her eye at her mom, before shaking her head.
"You're a bad liar, you know that?" she said with a smile. "We can't afford to miss a day of work, can we?" Ditzy shook her head with a sigh before looking back to Bubbles. "Don't worry mom, I'll take him out of town so that he's far away from the ponies. You can trust me." Ditzy looked hesitant for a moment before Dinky hopped out of her chair and ran to the door as she grabbed a small doll, the Big Daddy following her out of the room, breaking the recently repaired door once again. "By mom, see you after work."
Ditzy watched them go sadly, before she slowly walked over to her mail bag and hat, putting them both on as she walked out of the hole in the side of her house. Dinky took Mr. Bubbles out of Ponyville, making sure to take the long way around to avoid others. She hadn't told her mom, but today she was going to try and visit a place that her mother had told her not to.
"Don't worry Mr. Bubbles, I'm sure we'll be fine as long as you're with me," she said to him as she let him lift her onto his head, pointing him in the direction that she wanted him to go. The two of them headed into the Everfree forest, where most ponies seemed afraid to enter with go reason. "I suppose you should know why I want to go in here," she began to say as they walked, Bubbles saying nothing. "My mom said that back when she was pregnant with me, she and daddy went to Canterlot one day to see the sights. But during that time there was a terrible storm that was knocking pegasi out of the air left and right. And she got caught up in the storm and was flung to Everfree."
Mr. Bubbles said nothing, but he slightly turned his body to the side as he heard something moving in the forest.
"So daddy flew down there to try and save her, but she had been cornered by a pack of Timberwolves," Dinky said softly as tears began to form at this point. "He gave her time to escape, but...he didn't make it out of the forest alive. I never even got to see him." Mr. Bubble's eyes flashed yellow as he looked into the forest, hearing what he thought was faint laughter. "So there is a grave in the Ponyville Cemetery, but this is where he died. Right up here." The two of them walked out of the forest at this point into a clearing where a single stone stuck out of the ground, meaning nothing to Mr. Bubbles but meaning the world to Dinky.
"Hey dad, it's me again," she said softly as she pulled out a raggedy doll, looking at it with tear stained eyes. "I know that mom and I are supposed to visit your grave tomorrow, but I just had to see you today. I still have the doll you were going to give me when I was born, even though it needs some patches...we both miss you. Especially mom. I can hear her crying to herself at night when she thinks I'm asleep."
Mr. Bubbles had been looking around while she had been speaking and thought that he had seen yellow eyes off in the distance. His own eyes flashed yellow and he moved closer to Dinky.
"I made a new friend...of sorts," she said before motioning Bubbles. "He's really odd, but I think he cares about me deep down. He's very protective though and we have to be careful not to set him off. He also...killed some ponies the other day, but I'm not even sure he knows he did a bad thing. I don't even know if he can tell right from wrong. But I want to help him to learn, because he's the last of his race. I know it's weird, but I feel like I need to help him. That's all for now, I’ll talk to you more tomorrow." She placed a flower at the stone before turning away, gasping at what she saw.
'So you can see me. Darn, I still can't get this spell to work,' a silver mare growled to herself as she flickered, vanishing for a moment before reappearing. Dinky looked at the weird markings on her body to her flowing silver mane with awe, before a loud roar caused her to yelp and a wall of metal ran past her with its drill at full power. 'Still angry I see,' the silver mare muttered as she vanished, causing Mr. Bubbles to skid to a stop as he looked around for her. A spell of silver struck him in the back and knocked him to the ground, causing him to roar with rage as he got back up.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Dinky asked the silver mare, who was glowing with power as three spheres of silver floated around her.
'I warned him if he dared to kill any of the ponies when he got here that he would answer to me,' she said before shooting a beam of silver into him. 'And it time to answer for what he did.'
"Wait a minute!" Dinky yelled as she threw herself between the two, stopping the silver mare's assault for the moment. "I know what he did was wrong, but he did it to protect me!" The silver mare seemed taken aback by this news.
'Explain,' she eventually said.
"My mom and I were being bullied by some of the pegasi from Cloudsdale. One of them kicked me into a crate and I lost consciousness," Dinky explained, the silver mare already knowing how this story would end. "But according to my mom, Mr. Bubbles came charging out the moment that I had been hurt and attacked those responsible...then he took me to safety." The silver mare stopped for a moment and thought about what the young one had said. She despised watching ponies die, but according to this one Bubbles had killed for a noble reason. Plus...
'Very well, I will cease my attack for now,' she said before throwing up a barrier to deflect the ice that had been shot her way by the Big Daddy. Dinky did her best to stop the rampaging beast while the silver mare tried to get her spell to work again.
"Um, why are you trying to become invisible so much?" Dinky eventually asked her once Bubbles had calmed down to the point where his eyes were yellow.
'Because for my mission it is best that I remain in the shadows, where nopony can see me,' she said before vanishing again, only to reappear a few feet from them.
"Then why don't you wear a hood? That's what all ponies who don't want to be seen wear," Dinky suggested. The silver mare stopped for a moment before chuckling to herself.
'A hood, huh? That idea never crossed my mind. Not that it would work for me, since I am clearly identifiable even with a hood, but thank you for the suggestion.'
"Also, giving ponies’ advice would be a lot easier if they can actually see you. I don't think that a voice out of nowhere is the best way to help," Dinky suggested. The mare looked at the ground for a moment before she nodded her head.
'I guess I can do it that way, but mother always said that a voice out of nowhere was how it was done in the stories,' the silver mare muttered. 'Now I suggest that you return home for the day and have fun,' she said before vanishing in a flash of silver, leaving the two alone.
"Come on Mr. B., let's go home," Dinky eventually said, letting Mr. Bubbles pick her up onto his shoulders as the two began to leave the forest.
'Dinky.' Dinky turned around quickly on Mr. Bubble’s head, certain that she had heard somepony say her name. But since she couldn't see anypony, she shrugged her shoulders and let the Mr. Bubbles take her home.
'Dinky.'
===K>
"...I still cannot believe it to be true," Celestia said with a sickened look in her face as the last of the memories vanished from her mind, leaving both her and her sister in a disturbed state. "How could the humans have sunk so far as to go after children? It...It is nothing like what I have read in the books at all."
"Yet his memories do not lie," Luna said as she took another sip of tea. "He was the defender of a little girl back when he lived with the humans, yet they attacked him for her relentlessly...until one of them finally managed to bring him down."
"And that would explain his behavior whenever another tried to get close to Dinky," Celestia muttered as she stood up and looked out the window towards the land below. "Given his past experience with humans, it's no surprise that he views all who get close to her as an enemy."
"But there is only one thing that I wonder about," Luna muttered as she walked beside her sister to look over the land. "He was experimented on heavily to become the monster we see today. What I want to know is did they do something to his brain to make him act and think this way."
"What are you suggesting?" Celestia asked. Luna lowered her head for a moment before she decided to answer.
"I am suggesting that he is only looking after Dinky because it is all he knows, not that he truly feels anything for her."
Dinky had been mostly quiet since the grave, slightly concerning the Big Daddy as he ushered her around the town. She had wanted to stop back home and once they were back there she just laid on the couch for a few hours, only occasionally sitting up quickly and looking around before sitting back down. Mr. Bubbles thoughts were on the silver mare still and every once in a while his drill would start up with a flash of red before he would calm down again.
"Did you have a daddy?" Dinky eventually asked him out of the blue around lunch. Mr. Bubbles turned his eyes towards her before letting out a small moan, which wasn't much of an answer for Dinky. "Sorry if that question just seems out of the blue, I was just wondering. Do humans even have daddies? Heck, I don't even think you're human." Mr. Bubbles let out another moan and Dinky sat up, a small smile on her face.
"But I know somepony that would be able to tell me. Come on Mr. B., we're going to see Lyra," Dinky said as she jumped off the couch, the Big Daddy following her as she ran out the door. While she tried to avoid the more crowded portions of town, some of the ponies did come face to helmet with Mr. Bubbles, an encounter that sent them away screaming. She eventually made it to Lyra's front door, where she knocked twice before the mare with the lyre on her flank answered.
"Dinky? What are you doing...?" she began before her voice trailed off as she looked past her to see the metal daddy standing behind the filly. A normal pony would have run for their life at the site of something like that, but Lyra was not a normal pony. "Well, you brought the talk of the town as well. Please, come on in." Dinky followed her inside, but both of them flinched when they heard the sound of a door getting ripped off its hinges.
"I am so sorry," Dinky said as Mr. Bubbles threw the door to the side and walked over to Dinky, before looking down at the mare that was looking up at him. "I can pay for the door eventually, but you can't get too close to me. He doesn't like it."
"Think nothing of it," Lyra said, barely paying the filly any mind as she studied the tin daddy in front of her. After a moment of staring she ran off into the back, bringing back one of her books a moment later. She sat down in front of him and began to search through the book, smiling when she came to a certain page. "Engravings that show where the parts were made, check. Use of technology that would be around that era, check. Five fingers on both hands...half check." Lyra closed the book as she said this and went back to looking at the Big Daddy, confusion in her eyes as she looked at him.
"Lyra, what's the matter?" Dinky asked her eventually, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"I can't figure this guy out," she muttered. "He's not a human, at least not like one I've ever seen. But despite looking like one of the machines from the past, he's a living creature, so he can't totally be manmade."
"Um, Lyra? He's an iron golem," Dinky said, which only gained her a look from Lyra.
"No, he is not whatever those teachers are telling you in school," she said as she pulled out a book and showed it to Dinky. "This is what a human is supposed to look like. Very similar to your friend, but notice the key missing factor. He has no head on top of his body." Dinky looked from the picture to the Big Daddy, seeing the semi-resemblance. "And this is what their machines looked like back in the day." She then showed her a picture with a giant drill, but this one had treads and was a lot more box like, not at all like Mr. Bubbles.
"So what you're saying is, you don't know what he is?" Dinky asked, getting her a sigh from Lyra as she put the books back.
"What I'm saying is, he definitely is from the human era, but I'm not sure where he would fit," Lyra said as she looked through her books. "He's too complex to be from the knight area and not modern enough to be from the gangster era or else he'd have a gun. I just can't place him in a time. Of course, if I had that book..."
"Well, thank you for trying, but I have to go," Dinky said with a thankful smile as she walked back out what remained of the front. "Sorry about the door."
"No need, but to pay me back, I want to be able to see...him whenever I think I figure out what he is," Lyra said as the two left. Dinky looked down at the ground the entire time they walked back to their home, Mr. Bubbles looking down at her the entire time as well.
"Come on, princess Celestia said that she was going to meet mom and me today some time," Dinky said as she walked, barely paying attention to where they were going. Mr. Bubbles followed her blindly for a few minutes until he realized that they were on the outskirts of town, close to the Everfree forest. He looked down at Dinky to see that she seemed out of it, with her eyes looking glazed over a bit. Then she shot up and looked towards the forest.
"Dad?" she whispered slightly. Mr. Bubbles followed her gaze to see a pony standing at the edge of the forest, although from the distance he couldn't see who it was. "Dad!" Dinky yelled before taking off. Mr. Bubbles took a step forward to chase after her before a voice behind him caused him to stop dead in his tracks.
"Mr. Bubbles." He slowly turned around towards the voice, turning to see a small child standing at his feet, looking up at him with a smile. She had a yellow head of hair and yellow, glowing eyes. But he knew her all too well. He slowly reached out a hand to touch her, but the moment he did pain flooded through him, causing him to roar as he fell to one knee. He looked up at her face for a brief moment before he collapsed to the ground, her voice ringing in his ears.
"We'll be together again soon Mr. Bubbles. Soon."
===K>
"...and I found him laying here just like this, but I didn't know what to do. He's far too heavy to move, not that I would try to get close to him..." The softness of the voice was new to Mr. Bubbles as he let out a soft moan, causing a number of yelps around him. He slowly got back up to see a number of ponies around him, some he remembered, others he didn't. The purple one, the white tall one, rainbow and the grey one with the eyes that was always trying to take his little sister. Two others he didn't recognize, but he didn't care about them.
"So you've awake," Celestia said to him as he got back up. "I wonder what kind of beast could knock you out like that. But I have a more important question. Where is-?" Celestia was cut off at this point by Ditzy, who flew right into Mr. Bubbles face with rage.
"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!" she screamed at him. Anything else Mr. Bubbles had been thinking of vanished at that moment as he looked around for Dinky, before looking up at the sun to realize that it was close to sun down. He roared in rage and spun towards the forest, heading towards where he had last seen her. The ponies said nothing to him as they began to chase after him, but they did whisper amongst themselves.
"What kind of creature could do that to him?" one of them asked. "His head's made of metal. Even I don't think I could punch through it."
"Whatever it is, I feel for it when he finds it," Celestia said as she flew. Mr. Bubbles tore through the forest, causing all sorts of wildlife to flee at his approach. Trees, rocks or anything else that got in his way were pulverized as he ran, until he came to a stop at the clearing where Dinky had taken him earlier. But much to his rage, he found the single stone alone. He let loose his roar into the sky as he began to look around, unable to feel her presence like he could his sister in the past.
"He doesn't know where she is," Twilight said before looking to Celestia. "What do we do now?"
"We split up into groups and search the forest," she said. "He was certain that she was in the forest at least, so we'll begin our search here. Twilight, Rainbow, and I will take the skies. Applejack, Fluttershy, talk to the animal life that won't kill you and see if they know anything. Ditzy...Do what you feel is right." The group split off at this point into different directions, leaving Ditzy to glare up at Mr. Bubbles with wrath in her eyes.
"She was under your protection," she seethed. "As much as I hated what you did in the past, at the very least I knew that you wouldn't hurt her. But now she's gone off to Faust knows where and it's your fault!" Mr. Bubble felt all of her words upon him and knew them to be true, but that didn't stop him from looking around to see if he could still find her.
'This is why I never leave you alone for more than a day,' a very annoying voice said over his radio. 'Because you get others into trouble.' Mr. Bubbles roared at her voice, but she laughed at him. 'Can you afford to yell at me now, especially since I can lead you to Dinky?' He still continued to rage at her, causing the mare to sigh.
'Look, I get that you don't like me and I probably haven't done the best job showing you that I'm on your side. You're only the third potential champion I've tried and I'm still new at this whole outside help thing. So please, for Dinky's sake, just listen to me.' The Big Daddy stopped raging and stood still, waiting for her to talk. 'That's better. Head east of here and look for a cave where the entrance glows green. There is a barrier that prevents magical beings or spirits to enter, so there is-" He stopped listening after hearing where Dinky was and he tore off to the east, Ditzy yelping before following after him.
"So you know where she is? What changed?" Ditzy asked as they ran, Mr. Bubbles giving her no answer. Only a minute later did Twilight fly down from overhead, not that it stopped Mr. B. at all.
"So now he knows where she is?" Twilight asked as the two flew behind him. "Why would he only pick now to-?" Her words were cut off when a roar sounded from the trees and a manticore burst out from the foliage, roaring at the group before charging towards them. "Crap, a manticore. We're probably on his turf and-" She never got to finish that sentence as Mr. Bubbles ran right up to the manticore and drove his drill through the beasts brains, hardly even slowly down as he left the almost headless beast on the ground. Twilight and Ditzy both took a moment to look at the dead creature before they continued to chase after him.
"Great, now I know they'll be nothing left of whoever took my daughter for me to beat up once he gets his drill on them," Ditzy muttered as they flew. The three then came upon a cave that glowed with an eerie green light, causing two of the three to approach it with caution.
"Now we don't know what's in there, but we need to be..." Twilight began before Mr. Bubbles tore into the cave with his drill spinning at full power. The others ran in after him to find Dinky...being tickled by magic. "What the heck is that thing?" Twilight asked as she looked at the thing that had Dinky caught in its magic. It looked humanoid, had two hooves instead of four and had horns on its head. Its body was covered in leaves and twigs, while its beard was made of moss.
"You don't know what that thing is?" Ditzy asked. "Then how are we supposed to-?" Mr. Bubbles roar cut off whatever she was going to say next as he went barreling towards the creature. It let out a horrifying cry as Mr. Bubbles approached and in a swirl of leaves turned into a massive gray bear that would have scared any pony. But all it did was make Mr. Bubbles angrier and he slammed into the side of it, driving it into the cave wall as he swung its drill towards the creature. But much to Bubbles surprise, it quickly shrunk down to a small mouse and scampered towards the exit. Mr. Bubbles retaliated with blasts of ice that almost hit the others.
"Watch where you're firing!" Twilight yelled at him, only to yelp as she dove out of the way of another blast. The creature grew back to its regular size and began firing its own brand of magic at Mr. Bubbles, but these spells bounced off of him and began to ricochet around the room. One of the bolts headed for Dinky, who would have been hit had her mother not dove in front of the spell right before impact. She yelled out and fell to the ground, Twilight running to her side as Bubbles charged forward and rammed into the creature, sending the both of them tumbling out of the cave and to the ground below.
"Leave me alone!" it said in a voice that sounded remarkably similar to Dinky's. Mr. Bubbles froze for only a moment, but after that moment passed he rushed forward with his drill, swinging at the creature as it changed into a number of animals to escape him.
'Looks like you need a little fire power,' a voice said from his radio. A weird sensation washed over him and he looked down at his hand to see flames dancing from his fingertips. With a roar of approval he sent the flame crackling towards the creature, which howled in agony once it had been sent ablaze. It didn't cry for long, as his drill punched through its chest, allowing Mr. Bubbles to rip it in half and throw it to the floor, where he stomped the flames and the rest of it out of existence. With the foe vanquished, he turned back towards the cave and walked up to it, where Twilight was helping Ditzy back to her hooves.
"You...didn't think...that I'd just rely on you to protect her...did you...?" she asked Mr. Bubbles as he walked up to her. "I'll...fight to the death...for her safety," she muttered before passing out. Mr. Bubbles said nothing as he walked over to where Dinky lay breathing heavily on the ground. He scooped her up and placed her on his head before turning to where Ditzy lay. He looked down at her for a few moments, remembering what she had did for Dinky. Then he picked her up as well and carried her in his arm, much to Twilight's amazement.
"Wait, what are you doing?" she asked him as he walked out of the cave and into the light of the setting sun, letting out a moan before he began to head for home.
Ditzy wasn't sure why Mr. Bubbles had the sudden change of heart about her, but since it allowed her to get close to her daughter again she wasn't complaining. The group had met up again on the way out of the forest and they decided to head to Twilight's to take care of the unconscious filly. The other ponies had noticed as well that Bubbles wasn't attacking Ditzy, who was busy caring for her daughter and wondered if he had realized that they weren't enemies. That was until they tried getting close to Dinky.
"Oh great, he has fire now?" Celestia asked as she put up a shield to protect her from the flames shooting from Mr. Bubbles had as he roared angrily at her. "When did he learn how to do that?"
"Back in the forest, when we were fighting the whatever it was," Twilight responded as she shot water out of her horn to douse the fire. Bubbles quickly switched over to electricity and Twilight found herself receiving a face full of lightning that sent her crashing into her bookshelf, knocking all of the books off. "Oh that does it buster, you're in trouble now!" she yelled. Mr. Bubbles roared in response and had just started his drill up before a voice stopped the fighting.
"Will you all cut it out!?" Ditzy yelled at the top of her lungs, causing all in the room to look at her. "I am trying to take care of my daughter and she needs rest! Twilight, you were supposed to be looking for what that creature was and what it was doing to Dinky, so GET TO IT!" The combatants looked at each other for a moment before Twilight turned with a growl, heading back to the shelves to continue looking. Mr. Bubbles made a threatening moan at Celestia before he turned and stomped over to where Dinky was resting.
"Is this how it is always going to be like with him around?" Celestia asked with a growl as she walked over to Fluttershy and Applejack. "So, I believe that this is the first time the two of you have met Mr. Bubbles face to face when he wasn't out cold. What are your first impressions?"
"I've never seen a creature like him," Fluttershy said from behind Applejack. "So scary. Yet so...intriguing."
"Yah find him intriguing?" AJ asked her friend in disbelief.
"Well, I've never seen a beast or pony like him and according to the princess, he's the last of his kind," Fluttershy said as she gazed at Bubbles, who was standing guard next to Dinky and Ditzy. "I wonder what he looks like without the helmet." Celestia said nothing as AJ and Shy began to speculate, having seen what he looked like without the helmet...and what he was like before the humans had turned him into that Big Daddy. She also understood his undying devotion to Dinky, but what she couldn't figure out was why he now allowed Ditzy to get close to her.
"Whelp, I'm stuck," Twilight said after another minute of searching. "None of the books I have on creatures in Equestria have anything that looks remotely like what we saw. So either it's a creature like Bubbles over there or something new entirely. Either way, it's not good."
"Agreed," Celestia said as she looked out the window at the rising moon. "It is getting late and I am sure that those close to you are beginning to worry about your safety. Applejack, Fluttershy; the two of you should head home for the day. We may need you at your best in the morning. Twilight, we can had back to Ditzy's for the night if you do not wish to up with us."
"No, I couldn't do that," she said as she looked over at Dinky. "She needs to be looked after, especially since-"
"Actually Twi, I think it's best that we head back to our place," Ditzy said as she placed Dinky onto her back, only to have the filly lifted off her back by Mr. Bubbles, who placed her on top of his head. "I don't want to cause you trouble."
"Oh, the two of you would be no trouble at-"
"I wasn't talking about the two of us," Ditzy said as she looked over at Bubbles, who was trying to get through Twilight's front door. "It's best that we keep him away from others that he doesn't trust...or like. It's for your own safety." Twilight nodded to show that she understood and waved to Celestia as she left with Ditzy, Mr. Bubbles having already ripped the door off its hinges and thrown in across the room. With the moon out now, Celestia lit up her horn to light the way, not that she needed to given that all of Mr. Bubbles eyes shown like spotlights.
"So then Ditzy, do you have any idea why Mr. Bubbles suddenly allows you to get close to your daughter again?" Celestia asked the mare.
"Maybe it has something to do with way I threw myself in front of that creatures attack to protect her?" Ditzy offered. "Maybe he sees me as a protector now. Also, earlier this morning Dinky did tell him that I was a friend. He does listen to her, so that also could be it." Celestia wasn't sure what the reason was, but she also had a few guesses of her own, the biggest one being whatever sort of brain washing had been done to Bubbles was beginning to fade. If not, then it had somehow slipped a bit and he was thinking, more so that before.
"It matters not right now, all that matters is that your daughter is safe," Celestia said with a smile as they reached Ditzy's house, which was still missing the front part of it. "I will do my best to repair the wall, but you should get some sleep. It has been a long day for the both of you." Ditzy nodded before following Mr. B. inside, where he sat down in his usual spot while tucking Dinky into his arm. Ditzy laid down on the couch next to them and slowly fell asleep looking at the peaceful face of her daughter.
"And now that we are alone," Celestia began once the wall was up, looking at Bubbles who shifted so all his eyes shown on her. "I still cannot figure you out. But my sister says that the only reason you care for that filly is because it is all you know, all your programmed to do." Bubbles said nothing, but she saw his eyes flicker and knew that she was on the verge of angering him. "Do you protect her because you care about who she is? What she may one day become? That she has a smile that makes all around her smile? Or is it simply because she was the first filly you came across?" Mr. Bubbles said nothing once again, so Celestia turned and sat down on another couch across from the one Ditzy rested on.
"Why do you care so much for the filly?" she whispered. "Is it because you care for her because you love her. Or is it because she reminds you of your little girl and you are trying to make up for what happened in the past?"
===K>
Celestia had left during the night, but once again Luna had taken her place to watch over Mr. Bubbles. Ditzy once again served her what she believed to be a lackluster meal, but Luna enjoyed it the entire time.
"It has been far too long since I had a home cooked meal," she said with a smile. "I need to come here more often." Ditzy smiled at her kindness when a small yawn could be heard from the other room and Dinky came bounding in a moment later, Mr. Bubbles following her. "Hello, Mr. Bubbles. Any pleasant dream?" Luna asked. Something that had been bothering her was that a pony normally knew when she was in their dream or going through their memories, but if he knew she had been in his mind, he wasn't showing any signs of it. The thought was banished from her mind the moment the door was kicked open and a plum colored pony staggered in, the smell of alcohol reaching the ponies before the pony did.
"Wassup Ditzy?" she slurred as she walked up to the mare and went to pull her into a hug, missing wildly and falling flat on her face. Luna and even Mr. Bubbles looked at her laying on the floor as she pulled herself up, smiling as she hit her mark and hugged Ditzy. "Hey ya sis, been a while since I've seen you."
"Hiya Berry Punch," Ditzy said as she returned the hug. "Sorry about not seeing you for a while, but I've been so busy with Dinky and work that I-"
"You don't need to explain it to me, I know you mean well," she slurred before looking up at Princess Luna. "Hello there princess," she said with a bow, which resulted on her falling on her face again.
"I was not aware that you had a sister, Ditzy," Luna said as Berry picked herself off the floor.
"We're not related by blood, but she's been one of my closest friends since school and after the death of...we've been as close as sisters," Ditzy explained as she folded her ears down. Berry Punch saw Dinky eating at the table and walked over to her, but a massive metal frame placed himself between her and the filly.
"And you must be the talk of the town," she said with a small smile as she looked up at the eight yellow eyes. "Well aren't you a big one? You this...protector, I've been hearing so much about at the bars?"
"His names Mr. Bubbles, but I wouldn't advise getting too close to Dinky," Luna suggested when Berry tried to get around the Big Daddy. "He tends to impale anything that gets too close to her that isn't her mother." Dinky hopped off her chair and placed a hoof on Mr. Bubble’s leg, calming him to the point where he let her get somewhat close to the mare.
"Hey auntie Berry," Dinky said with a smile. "What are you doing here so early?"
"Well...I figured that since I hadn't seen the two of you in a while that we could do something today?" she offered as she pulled a small bottle of booze out of a pouch on her back and downed it in one go, causing Dinky to laugh as Luna raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I must be taking my leave then," Luna said with one more look at Mr. Bubbles. "Ditzy, Dinky, let me know if ANYTHING changes with Bubbles. We still do not trust him."
"Will do princess," Ditzy said as Luna walked out of the larger front door and flew off towards Canterlot, leaving the three ponies and one giant alone. "So what were you thinking sis? I hope you're not trying to get me to go drinking again?"
"After the spectacle you put on last time?" she asked with a smile before shaking her head. "Naw, on a day like this, we should do something fun for all of us, like a picnic...unless brass ass over there doesn't like to have fun."
"Language around Dinky please," Ditzy whispered quickly. "And yes, a picnic sounds nice. Celestia knows I could use a break from all my work." Berry smiled and helped Ditzy pack a lunch for the group in the kitchen, while Dinky went to grab a few things from her room, leaving Bubbles alone in the front room for a moment.
"Alright, I think we're ready to go," Ditzy said as she and Berry walked out of the kitchen with a picnic basket. Dinky came bounding down the stairs a moment later with a few toys and the group walked out of the house, the door having been modified by Celestia so that Bubbles could get through it without breaking it.
"So sis, still single?" Berry asked on the way to the park, causing Ditzy's face to flush.
"No, I have more important things on my mind on the moment," she snapped back. "Like the metal monster that has attached itself to my daughter." Dinky didn't hear what her mother was saying, having been distracted by a group of butterflies that had gone by. The group reached the park in a few minutes where Dinky found a spot under the shade for them to sit.
"Hey mom, can I have a piggyback ride?" Dinky asked almost the moment that they had sat down. Ditzy stopped for a moment to think about her answer, but before she could speak Mr. Bubbles picked up Dinky and placed her on his head before charging off into the park, terrifying the other ponies that had been relaxing there.
"That's supposed to be my job," Ditzy said with a sigh.
"So sis, back to the whole coltfriend thing," Berry began as she reached into the basket and pulled out the only thing she had packed, more alcohol. "Are you seriously thinking about spending the rest of your life alone? I know with the whole thing about your past husband, but you have to let the past stay in the past."
"And if I get a colt friend, will you listen to your own advice?" Ditzy asked her with a look, shutting Berry Punch up as she looked down at her bottle before looking back up to Mr. Bubbles, who was still romping around with a laughing Dinky on her back as they ran.
"He really seems to care for her," Berry noticed.
"Luna told me that something happened to him that turned him into that metal monster...and that he had been instructed with protecting another who he considered his daughter," Ditzy said with a shake of her head.
"What do you mean, tasked?" Berry asked, afraid of how Ditzy would answer.
"According to Luna, he fought hundreds of humans in his lifetime to protect that little girl," Ditzy said. "But he only needed to fail once." Berry looked back towards the green eyed creature that was walking back over to them with a look of sympathy now, but she said nothing as Dinky hopped off his head and dropped down next to them. She ate her sandwich quickly before looking back to her mom with a worried look.
"Hey mom, can I ask you something?" she asked. Ditzy raised an eyebrow, afraid of what that question might be.
"The answer is no, Dinky," Ditzy said with amazement, not believing that her daughter had even considered asking her that.
"Aw come on, he could handle it," Dinky complained while Berry watched the two argue, downing the rest of the booze she had packed. "Why don't you ever think I have good ideas?"
"Dinky, you can be an intelligent filly at times, but what you're asking right now is foolish," Ditzy said with a look. "Mr. Bubbles cannot go with you to your school tomorrow. He might scare the foals, but more importantly he might attack the students there if they are mean to you. I know about the bullying you go through and I know what would happen if they tried it with him around."
"But he listens to me now! And tomorrow is really important! Plus, I already went to school once with him following me and he didn't do anything then, even though Tiara bugged me," Dinky argued, gaining her a look of shock from her mother.
"You let him near other foals? And you didn't tell any of us about him before you did so?!" she asked in pure disbelief as she sat down. "What were you thinking?"
"Well...at the time I was thinking that I had finally found a friend," Dinky said softly. "And he didn't seem dangerous and he spent time with me, so I thought he was nice...which he still is, he just has issues."
"That foolish talk, Dinky and you know it," Ditzy replied with a sigh. "I still can't believe that you want to bring him to your school."
"Why not let him go, I'd love to see this Tiara's face when Bubbles came charging at her," Berry said with a laugh and a hiccup, getting her a glare from Ditzy. "Besides, she has to go back to school eventually and I'm not going to be the one to tell Mr. Bubbles that he can't go with her."
"The point I'm trying to make is that he's too dangerous to allow around other students," Ditzy said with a growl as she placed a hoof to her head. "It's just too dangerous."
"Well, why not let one of the princesses go with her to school that day as well and let them get keep an eye on him while Dinky's in class?" Berry suggested. "That way he has somepony keeping an eye on him and there's a pony whose presence will keep the foals in check as well. It's a win-win." Ditzy lowered her head as she thought about what Berry was saying while Dinky went back over to Mr. Bubbles, who had been standing there watching them.
"I still don't think that it's a good idea, but it might be the best option," Ditzy said sadly as she looked at Bubbles, who had picked Dinky up so she could get into the branches of the tree above them. Ditzy could hear her daughter laughing in the branches above before a sharp snapping sound could be heard. But Dinky had barely begun to fall before a gloved hand grabbed her out of the air, gently placing her to the ground as she shook her head.
"Plus, you can see that Mr. Bubbles had nothing but the safety of your daughter in his mind," Berry said, causing Ditzy to sigh in frustration. She shook her head again and began to pack up the blanket for the picnic, not feeling like being outside right now. Dinky ran over to her, followed by Mr. Bubbles as Berry got up as well. "So, we done for today then or are we going someplace else?"
"I need to go back home and head into work," Ditzy said with a sigh. "I only took half the day off."
"Okay then, guess I’ll look out for Dinky the rest of the day then," Berry Punch said with a smile as she walked over to the filly, but Bubbles put himself between the two of them. "Or not. Welp, since I can't be here, time to go grace the local breweries with my presence." Berry waved goodbye to the three of them before she staggered back into town.
"Okay Dinky, I need to head to work so I want you to go right home," she said in her most serious tone. "No stopping at any stores, okay?"
"I promise that I won't head to any stores," Dinky said as she placed a hoof on her heart. Ditzy nodded before she gave the basket to her daughter before shooting off into the sky. Dinky waited until she was out of sight before she tossed the basket to Bubbles before running towards the town. "Come on Mr. Bubble, I got a few bits that I want to spend and I know the places I want to go spend them." She took a few steps forwards before she realized that Bubbles wasn't following her. "What's the matter Mr. B.?" Mr. Bubbles let out a small groan before he made the cross symbol on his heart that Dinky had made just a moment ago.
"What? I'm going to keep my promise," she said with a sly smile. "I'm not going to any store. I'm heading to the arcade. See, they're not the same thing." Bubbles let out a moan and for a moment Dinky believed that he was shaking his head at her before he began to lumber after her, both of them heading into the town. They reached the arcade half an hour later, mostly due to the fact that Bubbles had trashed a carriage that had almost hit Dinky.
"Okay, here is the game I've been wanting to play," she said as she ran over to a game that had a blue pony that fought against the evil Dr. Willy. "This is one of the harder games to play, so I'm going to need a lot of tokens for this one." She ran over to the token machine as she said this and put five bits inside, waiting for the tokens to come out. "Oh come on, the stupid machine ate my bits!" she growled as she started pounding on the machine. "Stupid crummy...give me back my-!" She yelped as Bubbles drill slammed into the machine, ripping it open so that all of the bits and tokens inside the machine came pouring out. He then bent over and picked up five bits, which he then offered to Dinky.
"Oh...thanks Mr. B., but you didn't have to go that far," she said with a worried look at the machine as the sound of a door being slammed could be heard.
"What in the Faust is going on out here?!" the manager pony said as he came running out, stopping when he saw the destroyed machine. "What did you do?! You..." His words died in his throat when he saw the figure that was standing next to Dinky, his eyes shrinking as they looked from his eight eyes to his giant drill. "Um, miss. I am sorry to tell you this, but I am going to have to ask you to leave." Mr. Bubbles let out a moan and took a step towards the pony, but Dinky grabbed his leg to stop him.
"Come on Mr. B., I think we should leave," she said with a look that said sorry as she and Bubbles left, leaving the pony to look at the destroyed machine with a sigh. "Let's see, next on my list was that cool glass making store down the road, but I think bulls would be less destructive in there then you would be. Soooo...next is the library then." The library wasn't that far, but Dinky wasn't too keen on bringing Mr. Bubbles to Twilight. She knocked on the door once she had gotten there and waited for somepony to answer.
"Oh, hey there Dinky," Spike said as he opened the door. "What brings you to...so that's what Twilight has been talking about," Spike said as he looked up at the giant metal man standing behind her.
"You're not afraid of him?" Dinky asked as Spike ushered the both of them inside.
"Of course I am, but Twilight told me what to do and what not to do to keep him from attacking me," he said as he stood a good ten feet away from Dinky. "So, you here looking for a particular book or are you looking for some spell?"
"The newest issue of Mare-vels' newest series please," Dinky said as she began to look around the room. "So I take it Twilight isn't in?"
"Nope, she's out with the princess," Spike said as he walked over to the comic section, something he had begged Twilight to add to the library. He fished out the issue Dinky was talking about and slid it across the table to her, staying as far away from Bubbles as he could. "That will be three bits."
"I swear the prices are going up," she muttered as she placed three bits on the table, waving to Spike as she went to leave but stopped once she realized that Bubbles was looking at something. "Bubbles, what's the matter?" she asked as she walked over to him. She found him looking at a poster on the wall, the poster talking about the Wondetbolts doing a show that night at the Apple orchard with fireworks.
"I wish I could go to that, but I've got to watch the library," Spike said with a groan as he saw where they were looking. "Of course it wouldn't matter, place is going to be packed so I doubt I could get in." Dinky looked at the flier to the bits in her pocket with a smile before she ran out of the library, Mr. Bubbles following her this time. "Come on Mr. B; let's see if we can get to the place later tonight. Mr. Bubbles let out a groan and followed her out of the library.
===K>
Dinky had spent the rest of the day reading her series to herself, occasionally showing the characters to Mr. Bubbles and joking about how some of them looked while she waited for when she'd head to the show.
"Okay Mr. Bubbles, I think it's about time for us to head out," she said with a smile, looking at the clock as she placed her book on the couch. "Let's get going before all the good seats are taken." Mr. Bubbles followed her out of the house and towards the Apple farms. But only once they were halfway there did Dinky realize that it was going to be a lot harder to get in than she thought.
"Man that's a lot of ponies," Dinky muttered as she saw the massive crowd in front of them. "I don't think that we're going to be able to get through all of that in time. Might as well turn back and-" Mr. Bubbles let out a moan and picked her up, placing her on his head before he began to wade his way through the crowd, pushing ponies out of the way as he made his way closer to the entrance to the farms. Occasionally a pony would yell at them only to be roared down by the Big Daddy. Once they were at the front for the tickets, Dinky hopped off Bubbles and looked up at the stunned sales pony.
"Two please," she said with a smile. The ticket pony slowly gave her the tickets, never taking his fear filled eyes off Bubbles who also kept his eyes on the pony. "Come on Mr. B., the shows about to start," she said as she picked their spot for them, two seats that a pair of ponies had donated when they saw Bubbles approach. Bubbles towered over all the other ponies, allowing him to look across the crowd. He spotted the rainbow pony at the front of the crowd looking like she was about to fall over, while the purple one with the wings and horn sat beside her.
"The show's about to begin!" a pony from the front of the crowd yelled. Sure enough, a moment after they said this three blur's flew over crowd. The ponies in the crowd cheered as the Wonderbolts flew overhead, trails of different colored smoke following behind them as they flew by.
"This is so cool!" Dinky said with a huge smile as she watched the ponies, flying overhead. The Wonderbolts did a particularly cool trick that caused the ponies in the crowd to stand up and cheer, blocking Dinky's view. "Um, could you please move?" she asked the pony in front of her, not getting a response. Bubbles saw this and picked her up, placing her on top of his head so that she could see the whole show. Dinky sat upon his head with a huge smile as the crowd continued to cheer, Mr. Bubbles watching them with cautious eyes during the entire performance.
"Hey Bubbles, you see anything to eat?" she asked him a thirty minutes later when the group was taking a break. Bubbles spied a pony about to eat a carrot dog and he grabbed the dog out of his hooves, roaring at him when he turned to yell at Bubbles. He then offered the food to Dinky, who ate it with a huge smile on her face as soon as the Wonderbolts came back out.
"And now for the fireworks!" a pony yelled before a number of colored missiles shot into the sky, exploding into a multitude of color once they were in the now night sky. "Isn’t this cool Mr. Bubbles?!" she yelled over the explosions, cheering along with the rest of the ponies. "Thanks for taking me to see this! You're the best!" Mr. Bubbles said nothing in reply and he didn't really care about the explosions, but there was only one thing that bothered him. And that was the other explosions. And the screaming. The screaming that never seemed to leave his mind.
===K>
"Something troubling you sister?" Luna asked once she was done raising the moon and watching the fireworks off in the distance. Celestia was sitting on her sister's bed reading a letter, her face telling nothing.
"It is a letter from our most recent associate Ditzy," Celestia said as she finished the letter.
"Who did Bubbles kill this time?" Luna asked with a sigh as she levitated the letter over to her and began to read it.
"Nopony, but Ditzy asked one of us to come watch over him while he's with Dinky at her school tomorrow," she said. "She states that Dinky has to go back to school eventually but she also knows that Bubbles will follow her there. So she's wants one of us to be there in case something happens."
"Should we really be getting involved in something like this?" Luna asked as she floated the letter back to Celestia. "I mean, keeping an eye on the Daddy is important, but following a filly to school?"
"This is the beast that tore three ponies apart and gave us a run for our bits," Celestia reminded her. "So yes, I'd say that this is something we should concern ourselves with. Unless you would rather stay here and do more interesting activities like paperwork and meetings with our tax representatives?"
"Point taken. Very well, I will go down to Ponyville tomorrow and watch over Mr. Bubbles," Luna said as she pulled some parchment off of her table and began to write a return letter to Ditzy. "I just wish that we could figure out what those humans did to Bubbles to make him act this way...and if possible, how to reverse it."
"Well, wishing won't get us anywhere," Celestia said as she stood up to leave. "I will retire for the evening, but I will talk to you tomorrow before you leave. Goodnight sister." Luna waved to Celestia as she left before looking back at the fireworks, thinking again about what she had seen in Bubbles mind. She knew that his actions were not entirely his own, but that didn't make it any less worrisome. "At the very least I wish we could reverse what makes him attack others. Then we might be able to relax a bit." Luna went back to thinking as she said this, never noticing the silver outline that listened to her every word.
'They are so different here, not like the ones I remember,' the silver outline said to itself before vanishing. 'But I wonder if Tenebaum will know how to fix what has been done to the Bouncer.'
Ditzy sighed and breathed in as calmly as she could as she walked down the stairs to her living room, where a large assortment of ponies and other sat there. Dinky was bouncing around in place as she waited to head off to school, with Bubbles keeping a tab on all the ponies around him. Luna sat on her couch, nodding to her when she came down and Berry Punch was passed out on the floor.
"Alright, I think I'm finally ready to do this," she said to herself as she looked up at Luna. She had received a letter from the princess in the middle of the night that had informed her that she would look over Mr. Bubbles while he was at Dinky's school and she would be prepared for anything. "Luna, I hate to take time out of your busy day, but..."
"You are worried for your daughter and for the safety of the other foals, that is clear," Luna said with a smile as she looked to Bubbles. "Besides, my sister asked me to keep observing him and that is what I will do. The town knows to stay away from him unless me or my sister is with him, so I do not expect too much trouble as long as Dinky keeps him in line."
"Can we go now? I'm already late for today as it is," Dinky said as she paced by the door, Bubbles standing beside her. Ditzy looked at her daughter again as Luna stood up and walked over to the pair, getting as close as she could before Bubbles stepped between them. "By mom, I'll talk to you later!" Dinky said as she rushed out the door, Bubbles pushing Luna out of the way as he walked by her.
"Well, that was rude," Luna muttered as she followed the pair, leaving the nervous mother with her drunken friend on the floor. The three walked towards the school at a fast pace, with Dinky almost running ahead, but slowed down every time Bubbles moaned at her. Luna floated along behind them, wondering why Dinky had waited till this day to try and return to school. The school house appeared on the horizon after ten minutes and from what Luna could see in the class room, it was a crowded class.
"Okay, now I want you to wait out her with the princess until I call you," Dinky said to Mr. Bubbles as she approached the door, waiting until Bubbles had moaned in agreement before she headed in. The room was filled with foals, but there were also a large number of stallions in there, along with Ms. Cheerilee.
"And that's what my dad does when I'm staying with Rarity," Sweetie Belle said from the front of the class, her father standing next to her with a smile. Tiara yelled out how boring that was and while Sweetie fumed, her dad laughed at it with good graces.
"Thank you Sweetie Belle and...Dinky, what are you doing here?" Cheerilee asked once she noticed the small filly standing by the door. "I thought your mother told me in the note she sent me that you wouldn't be at school for a while due to family issues?"
"Oh don't worry, they've been taken care of," she said with a smile as she ran over to her seat and sat down, looking around the room with a smile. "I'm not too late for what today is, right?"
"Um, it is still bring your father to school day, but I don't know why you would be excited for that," Cheerilee said with hesitation. "But if you want to stay..."
"Oh, I'd love to," she replied with another smile, ignoring the snickering by Tiara and Silver Spoon in the back. Another pony went ahead of her and another after them while Dinky bounced in place the entire time, eventually gaining her the attention of her teacher once all the other students had finished.
"Yes Dinky, is there something you wanted to show us?" Cheerilee asked, wondering why she was so excited. Dinky jumped out of her chair and shot to the front of the class, waiting until they had all stopped talking before she spoke up.
"Friends and Tiara," she began with a look at Tiara. "There is somepony that I wanted you to meet today."
"What, is it your mom?" Tiara asked with a smirk. "Because I know you don't have a dad and no other pony would dare be caught with you." She chuckled at her own joke, but quickly stopped when Dinky began to laugh as well.
"Oh, you're somewhat right Tiara," she said with an evil smile. "No PONY would come with me. But that's who I want to introduce you to right now. Mr. Bubbles!" The class froze as they heard a moan from outside followed by the sounds of heavy footsteps heading towards the door. Most of the foals shrunk under their seats when the eight eyes on the metal helmet poked their way in, but they screamed when all of Mr. Bubbles pushed his way through the entrance, breaking the frames in the process. Cheerilee had no idea what to do as the metal monster walked into her classroom, but her fears were slightly alleviated when Luna walked in behind the monster.
"Don't worry everypony, I am here to make sure HE doesn't try anything," Luna said as she stood beside Mr. Bubbles, sighing as she watched a wave of relief spread across the ponies faces at her presences. Dinky waited once again until they had all calmed down before she began to speak.
"Now then, this is Mr. Bubbles. He might not be my real father, but he's done a decent job of filling in for one," she said with a smile up at him, causing him to moan in a way that caused the class to shriek again. Luna carefully watched Bubbles the entire time, but he looked over at the little ponies with interest.
"W-what is that thing?" Tiara eventually choked out, causing Dinky to laugh.
"This is Bubbles. He keeps me safe and has fun with me...and he also protects me from anypony that tries to hurt me," she said with an innocent smile, but Bubbles revved his drill to drive the point home. "But he won't hurt you unless you try to hurt me." No pony in the room knew what to say next, except for a small brown and white colt that raised his hoof. "A question? Shoot."
"Um, where is Mr. Bubbles from?" Pipsqueak asked with as much courage as he could muster.
"Hmm. I actually don't know myself, but he's believed to be from the era of humans," Dinky said with a smile, causing a few of the older ponies to laugh.
"Humans are a myth, something that mares tell their foals as a bedtime story," Filthy Rich said with another chuckle, only to yelp as Bubble moaned and turned his gaze towards him. "Of course, there's nothing saying that they might not be real." Scootaloo was the next pony to raise her hoof.
"Is he really your foster father?" she asked.
"Well, he is called a Big Daddy, so I'd assume he's a father of sorts, but I don't know if he's had any other foals before me," Dinky said, not noticing that Luna looked at Bubbles with a hint of sympathy. "So, any other questions?" No pony else said anything, so Dinky looked up at the clock. "Oh cool, it's time for recess!" she yelled as she ran out the door, Bubbles following her out and leaving a speechless class behind them.
"What was that thing?" Cheerilee eventually asked out loud once the creature was gone.
"That was a Big Daddy, a being that protected the children of humans back in the forgotten days," Luna said with a frown, causing the ponies in the school to gasp. "But I have no idea how it got here. What you need to know is that Bubbles as Dinky calls him in non-aggressive until you try to get close to Dinky, then he becomes protective of her. And if you hurt her..." She didn't finish that sentence as the bell for recess rang, the foals hesitantly leaving their chairs to head outside, Cheerilee walking over to Luna.
"Why did she bring that thing here?" she whispered to Luna. "She's putting the children in danger!"
"Maybe..." Luna replied as she watched the parents head out with their kids. "But I have a theory about Bubbles." Back in the schoolyard, Bubbles was sitting on the ground near the swings, with Dinky holding onto his drill. All the other ponies were watching the two, but were far too afraid to get close to them to say anything.
"Okay Mr. B., spin me around!" she said with a smile as she tightened her grip. Bubbles began to spin the drill, but kept its speed slow enough so she wouldn't be flung off or injured. After a few rotations, Dinky let go of the drill and staggered around, laughing to herself as her eyes spun. "Whoa, that was weird. Let's go again!" Bubbles allowed her back onto the drill and begun to spin her around again, leaving the ponies near the school to shake their heads.
"What is that filly thinking, bringing a monster like that near the school?" Filthy said with a scowl. "I will be talking to the mayor about this."
"Yeah, why is she even friends with that thing!?" Tiara said loud enough so that Dinky could hear. "That thing isn't a father, he's a monster!"
"He's only a monster if you treat him as one!" Dinky yelled back as she tried to see straight. "If you gave him a chance, you'd see that he's actually a kind pony...person...Bubbles." The ponies all scoffed at her except for the small foal with the brown and white coat, who looked up at all the parents before walking slowly over to Mr. Bubbles. "Hey Pipsqueak, you want something?" Dinky asked.
"Well...y-you said that he's not a monster, right?" he said with all of his courage barely keeping him from sprinting away as he looked up at the eight eyes. "S-so, I wanted to meet him."
"Okay then! Mr. Bubbles, this is Pipsqueak. He's a friend." Bubbles looked down at the small colt in front of him with eight yellow eyes, confused by the colt. He looked similar to a little sister, but he wasn't a sister, so did that make him...a little brother? And his sister called him a friend and he was smaller than her, so he wasn't a threat. Pipsqueak stared into the eyes with his courage quickly giving way to fear before Bubbles let out a moan and his eyes changed green, causing Dinky to gasp with a smile. "I don't believe it, he likes you! And you didn't have to save my life!" Dinky said with a smile. "See if he'll let you on his head." Dinky told Bubbles to pick him up and much to her shock and amazement, he did so, picking up the frozen Pip and placing him on top of his head.
"I don't believe it," Luna whispered to herself as Dinky got Bubbles to pick her up and carry the two around. "He' being...nice." The entire time she had been watching Bubbles eyes, waiting on pins and needles for them to change. But they remained green as Dinky got him to jump, causing the ground to shake as he landed. "Why is he being so nice now?"
===K>
"I wish that we could figure out more about him," Celestia muttered to herself as she looked over the notes about Bubbles for the hundredth time. Luna had written down everything that she had noticed when she had looked through Bubbles mind, but she still wished that she had more information. She sighed and looked to her door where she noticed a shadow against the wall. She slowly got up and walked towards the door, wary due to the fact that nopony should be in there with her. She opened the door to find nothing on the other side, but a book was now on a table that had been empty before.
"Where did this come from?" Celestia asked herself as she looked down at it, seeing a hint of silver magic coming off of it. She looked at the title of the book before gasping, her eyes going wide. "The Big Daddies? Why would here be a book about them?" she asked as she began to flip through the pages, realizing that each page was filled with notes and images of how the Big Daddies worked and how they had been created. She took the book with her and sat down on her couch, looking through it with blazing speeds.
"This is incredible...and yet at the same time, mortifying," she muttered as she skimmed the part on how the Daddies were brainwashed and their wills repressed. "How could the humans do something so cruel to another human? But where did this journal come from? And who is Tenebaum?" She shook these questions from her head as she opened her wings and flew out the window with the journal, knowing that her sister had to see this immediately. She knew that her sister would still be at the school at this time of day, but she wasn't ready for what she saw when she landed.
"Sister...what is going on?" Celestia asked as she landed beside Luna, looking at the yard filled with foals in confusion. They were all playing around, but instead of climbing on the bars or swings, they were all crawling and climbing Bubbles, who sat there with his green eyes showing from under the sea of foals. Some of the foals were holding onto his drill and were spun around by him, dropping to the ground after a few seconds as they staggered away with smiles on their faces.
"I am not sure myself what is going on," Luna said as she gazed at the scene. "But it seems that Bubbles is harmless to children, as long as they don't play too rough. It's been like this and nopony has been hurt. He actually caught another filly that fell of the jungle gym."
"That is...interesting, considering what I found inside the castle," she said as she gave the book to her sister who flipped through it as well. "It has everything on Big Daddies, from how they are made to what happened in the city called Rapture." Luna's eyes widened much like Celestia's did as she read the book, horrified by it.
"Where did you get this" she eventually asked.
"I know not as it just seemed to appear, but I do know one thing. We must study this book," she said as she looked at Mr. Bubble who had as many foals as he could carry on his back as he walked around, eyes still green. "Because this might be the only way we can figure out what is Mr. Bubble." The two turned their gazes to the metal man, who seemed perfectly fine being surrounded all of the foals around him.
"And I found out what kind of Daddy he is," Celestia said. "And the name fits his personality perfectly."
"I cannot believe that they would go so far as to graft the organs to the inside of the suits," Celestia said with a shake of her head as she finished the section of the journal she was on, still turning green despite having read the book a number of times over the past week. "But this book gives me hope on how to fix what has been done to Bubbles."
"And what has been done to him is something that I would not wish upon any pony," Luna said with a shiver. "Could you imagine, having your very personality stripped away from you so you could become a monster?"
"With all that has been done to him both by the scientist and the splicers, I think we should be thankful that the death toll is so low," Celestia said as she flipped to the chapter where Tenebaum explained how to alleviate some of the brain washing done to Bubbles. "And that he is a protector instead of one of those splicers. They sound like a horrid bunch."
"That leaves us with a problem though," Luna said as she looked at the book over her sister’s shoulder. "We do not know what Bubbles will be like if this...plasmid is removed. Plus, how can we get him to sit down long enough so that he will allow us to relieve the plasmid? He doesn't trust us and will probably attack us even with Dinky there." Celestia flipped back to the page with all the number of plasmids and what they could do to a being if they overdosed, which seemed to be what nearly every person in Rapture had done.
"This Rapture does interest me though," Luna said after a few minutes of silence. "How did this Ryan believe that a world with no morals or leaders would work? Disaster is the only way it could have ended. But those pictures," she muttered as she looked at the bathysphere and the structure of Rapture. "It reminds me of something, but I cannot think of what."
"So then, how soon until we tell Dinky the real reason that Bubbles is loyal to her?" Celestia said, tired of avoiding the question. "Because without this plasmid that draws him to a little sister or something close enough, odds are he won't stay with her for long. He'll be different then." Luna looked out the window down at Ponyville, where the sun had once again risen over the horizon. She had grown to like Dinky in the short time she had known her and she knew that the news would hit her hard.
"When we bring him in. That way, it will be quicker," Luna said with a sigh as she turned away. "Bubble should be free though. No pony should have their very soul erased."
===K>
"Look Dinky, there's nothing wrong with me taking my daughter of sorts out every once in a while," Berry slurred as she staggered down the streets, a concerned Dinky following her with Bubbles lumbering after her. Berry had waited until Ditzy had headed off to work before she asked Dinky if she wanted to take her to school. Dinky, afraid that Berry might hurt herself if she didn't, allowed her to.
'Plus, todays a field trip and I need a guardian to go with me,' Dinky thought to herself as Berry said hello to a street sign. 'And for some reason Cheerilee doesn't want Bubbles to be alone with us despite him showing last week that he likes all the foals in my class. Why can't they just trust him?' The three arrived at the school after only a few accidents, where all the ponies were outside waiting excitedly to head out, but another pony was there with them.
"What's the princess doing here?" Berry asked as she saw Twilight looking at Mr. B.
"Don't know, let's ask," Dinky said as she walked up to Twilight, some of the foals greeting Mr. Bubbles as he passed by them. His eyes turned green briefly as he saw them, but they turned back to yellow as Twilight approached. "What's up princess, didn't expect to see you here?"
"There are reports of a creature I ran into a while back being spotted in the area," Twilight said as she looked towards the forest. "It's called a Tatzlwurm and Cadence and I had a run in with it a while back. So to ensure this groups safety, I'm going to be with you on your trip." She smiled as she said this, but Dinky's face remained unchanged.
"That's cool, though I doubt I’ll need any extra protection," Dinky said as she smiled up at Bubbles, causing Twilight to pout. Cheerilee began to round up here students and the four walked over to her.
"Alright foals, today we're going to go see the mines near Ponyville," Cheerilee said with a sigh as the foals continued to talk. "I know there was once a threat of Diamond Dogs, but they've been said to be gone for a while now. So if we could please hurry, it's a bit of a walk to get there." The foals all began to move even though some of them wanted Bubbles to carry them, but Dinky told them that he wasn't going to. Once they had left her alone, she sought out a certain foal amongst the group and ran over once she spotted him.
"Hey there Pip, how ya doing?" she asked the colt that was smaller than her, causing him to jump since she had snuck up on him.
"H-hey Dinky, what's up?" he stammered before looking up at the Big Daddy. "Um and how are you doing?" Bubbles let out a low moan that caused Pip's eyes to shrink.
"Don't worry, he won't bug you," she said with a smile. "Thanks for being brave the other day. I knew that Bubbles wouldn't hurt anypony. He's actually a big softy underneath all that armor." Pipsqueak took her word for it since he figured that armor had no soft spots and that there was nothing soft under it.
"It was no problem," he said in as manly a voice as he could muster, which came out as a squeak. Dinky giggled to herself as his face turned red. "So, think that they'll be any Diamond Dogs in the mines? I hear they snatch up unicorns."
"For their sake I hope they don't try," Dinky said as she patted the leg of Mr. Bubbles. "Hate to see what he would do to them," she said as Bubbles let out another moan. Berry was at the front of the class, talking to Cheerilee who was doing her best to put up with Berry's drunken antics.
"Why do you constantly let yourself get into this kind of shape?" Cheerilee asked her as she slumped against the teacher. "You could be setting a bad example for the kids."
"It's a long, boring story that I don't feel like telling," Berry said with a bit of heat. "And it doesn't concern you at all." Cheerilee took the hint and stopped taking about Berry's drinking, their talk drifting into stallions and how chaotic things had been as of late. Time flew and before they knew it they were at the entrance to the mines.
"So, we'll be going in there, right?" Tiara said with a scornful look at the entrance that led into the mines.
"Yes, but one of the ponies that works down there was supposed to meet us here," Cheerilee said as she pushed Berry off of her. "Wonder where he went?"
"I should probably go in first," Twilight said as she looked into the dark entrance. "I have a bad feeling about this." She walked into the mines with her horn glowing, shining the light all around as she walked deeper in. Bubbles was looking around as she did this and his eight eyes fell upon a workers hat that was left discarded off to the side.
"RRRRRRRRR!" he roared as his eyes burned with a crimson red. All of the ponies turned towards him as he did this before the ground began to shake and a massive worm burst out of the ground, collapsing the entrance to the tunnel on top of Twilight. She vanished under an avalanche of stone as the worm looked down at the group, who were all staring at it with fear. It roared and charged towards them, only to be tackled in the side by the tin daddy.
"Mr. Bubbles!" Dinky cried out as the worm swatted him away, roaring again and slithering towards him. Bubbles rolled as he hit the ground and came charging back towards the worm, firing shots of electricity and fire from his left hand into the creatures head. The Tatzlwurm diverted from its path as the plasmid's burned it's skin, causing it to dig into the earth. Dinky tried to run to Mr. Bubble’s side, but he held out a hand to tell her to stay where she was. His eyes were scanning the ground, waiting for any sign of...
"Behind you!" Bubbles roared as the worm burst out of the ground and caught Bubbles in its maw, trying to crush him with its three jaws. Bubbles started up his drill, but one of the tongues wrapped around his drill and caused it to spark as it tried to move. The worm dove back into the ground head first, driving Bubbles through multiple layers of rock and stone, cracking his armor as he was used as a drill. The worm then burst out of the ground and threw Bubbles against a wall, causing him to collapse to the ground.
"Mr. Bubbles!" Dinky cried out as she tried to run to his side, but once again he held out a hand to stop her as he got back to his feet, barely acknowledging the pain that coursed through him. He roared again and tried to start up his drill, but quickly found out that the gears had been broken by the worm. He turned in time to see the creature barreling towards him, maw spread wide as it charged. He planted both feet into the ground and waited, grabbing onto the worms face as it slammed into him. His boots dug into the ground as he was pushed back, but with the worm now in his grasp he allowed the plasmids to flood through his left hand. He grabbed the worm's tongue with his fists of fire, causing it to shriek as it tried to get away from him. The worm tossed him off eventually and slammed its tail into his head, breaking a number of the ports on his head.
"Mr. Bubbles isn't doing so well, is he?" Pipsqueak said nervously as Dinky watched the battle with a horrified expression.
"He can't lose. He's a Big Daddy," she whispered to herself. But despite his enhanced strength and durability, Bubbles was struggling to keep the worm from overwhelming him. Every time it seemed like he had the upper hand, the worm would dive into the ground to retreat, only to attack moments later. He had just gotten back to his feet after other attack when the worm burst out of the ground from behind him, charging towards him with a shriek. He raised his drill to intercept, only to realize a second later that some form of magic was holding the worm in place.
"Now Mr. Bubbles! Hit it while I halt its movements!" Twilight yelled out from the skies above them, using her magic to lasso the worm and pin it to the ground. Bubbles looked at her for a moment before he let a roar loose to the skies, charging his left fist with ice. He growled at the worm before unleashing the flurry of ice into its head, freezing it over until the worm stopped moving. Then Bubbles looked down at his drill and willed it to move again, causing it to spin with sparks and smoke shooting from it. He roared once more before charging into the creature, slamming his drill into its head. The drill shattered the worm's skull, which resulted in the rest of it falling over as blood began to seep out.
"RRRRRRRRR!" Bubbles roared to the sky before a cracking was heard and he fell to one knee, looking out of his remaining ports at his covered leg, seeing the red that was seeping through his suit.
"MR. BUBBLES!" Dinky cried as she ran over to him, the rest of the ponies following suit as he tried to get up again before another cracking could be heard and he fell to one knee again. "Oh my gosh, you're hurt," she whispered as she looked at his blood stained leg and his broken eyes. Small flames were coming from his drill and a gas was slowly seeping out of his helmet, but his eyes still turned green at Dinky's approach.
"What do we do Twilight?" Dinky asked Twilight, who was looking at the scene with as much shock as Dinky was.
"I...I don't know," she said.
"Then it is fortunate that we do." The ponies all turned to see the two princesses landing next to them, Luna looking from the wounded Big Daddy to the dead Tatzlwurm, making the connection. "But from what we have found out about Mr. Bubbles, we need to get to Canterlot immediately. He is in danger."
"What do we need to do?" Twilight asked them.
"Dinky, would you please tell Bubbles to allow him to pick us up?" Celestia asked her. Once she had done so and was resting on his head to comfort him, Celestia placed a barrier of magic around the Big Daddy and slowly lifted him off the ground. He growled only once before Dinky patted him on the head, comforting him to the point where he allowed it.
"Hold on, if you're taking my niece of sorts, then you have to take me as well," Berry said to the princess. The three looked at each other before Luna erected a barrier around Berry and picked her up.
"Twilight, inform Ditzy and the other Elements of what has happened," Luna said to Twilight as the two princesses turned to leave. Twilight nodded and opened her wings to fly away, leaving the two princess to say farewell to the class before taking the wounded father back to their home. "I hope we know what we are doing sister," she said to Celestia.
"For all their sakes, I hope so to," Celestia replied as she looked at Dinky. "I just hope one day she can forgive us."
Twilight had never been to the Canterlonian hospital before, but she had read and heard that it was not a place that a pony wanted to end up. This was where ponies go when they were struck with an injury or affliction that was severe, so severe that only the best of the best medics could hope to cure them. So as she and the princesses walked through the rooms filled with the sick and dying, it didn't take long before she began to get worried.
"Where are they taking Bubbles?" Dinky asked Twilight, a look of worry on her face as the two princesses in front of her levitated Mr. Bubbles through the room.
"Hopefully to someplace that can fix him," Berry said as she staggered along behind them. "What do you know of this place princess Twilight?" Twilight shook her head as she looked around the room, seeing all the sick and wounded that she had no idea had been in here. Bubbles let out a small groan and Dinky ran over to the sphere that the princesses were keeping him in, pressing her face against the shield.
"Don't worry Mr. Bubbles, I'm here," she said to him as he tilted his helmet to look at her, his five remaining eyes becoming green as he saw her. The two princesses walked up to a wall and placed their horns against it, opening the wall to reveal a large staircase that went down into the darkness.
"Um, Princess Celestia? Where are we going?" Twilight asked her mentor. Celestia looked back at her for a moment before they continued down the stairs, waiting until they got to the bottom of the stairs to answer Twilight's question.
"This is a place that we have rarely come to in the past thousand years," Celestia said as she placed her horn against another wall at the bottom of the stairs, backing up and allowing for Luna to do the same. "But if there is any place that can save and repair Bubbles, this will be the place."
"Um, where are we Princess Celestia?" Dinky asked as the wall opened again. Celestia looked back at her with a smile as she and Luna walked in.
"This...is where we kept every single piece of human technology and artifact that we have unearthed over the years," she said with a smile as they walked through the room, Dinky and the others gasping at what they saw inside. Giant machines that had treads on them, weird metal birds with glass heads and so much more met their eyes as they walked into the room. "It is amazing how impressive the human’s tech was, but we still don't know for certain what happened to them."
"Princess, why is all of this technology under the hospital?" Twilight asked as they walked through all the relics. "Shouldn't these be in the castle under lock and key?"
"Twilight, after what happened with Chrysalis and Sombra, I highly doubt that castles are the safest place to hide anything anymore," Luna said with a chuckle. "Sunset Shimmer stole your Element right out from under our noses as well, so my sister and I agreed that we should hide these relics in a place that nopony would think to look."
"Under a hospital?" Berry asked as they reached the room Celestia and Luna had been walking towards. It was a massive room filled with even more advance looking pieces of technology, but in the center of the room sat a massive table with a number of operating tools sitting on it, with five scientist ponies waiting around the table for the patient. Celestia placed the Big Daddy on the table, where he groaned and tried to get up, forcing Dinky to place a hoof on him to comfort him.
"And the only way to repair something created by the humans is with technology by humans," Luna said as she brought out the journal on Big Daddies out and placed it on the table before she told the scientists to go grab some material from certain piles. "Now then, we will use our magic to place Mr. Bubbles into a state of sleep. Dinky, please keep him call while we do this." Her horn began to glow as she said this and Bubbles eyes immediately turned yellow as he struggled to get up, but once again Dinky comforted him.
"Don't worry Mr. Bubbles, it's going to be alright," she said to him with a smile. "They're just going to help you feel better, so please get some rest." Bubbles eyes turned green as he looked at her before they dimmed a bit and he went limp on the table. Luna let out a sigh as she continued her spell, surprised at how much magic it took to put him to sleep.
"Berry and Dinky, would the two of you please go wait back up in the waiting room in the hospital?" Celestia asked as the scientist brought over a number of supplies. "This room is still off limits to regular citizens, which mean you should go. If Bubble's comes to and tries anything, we can go grab you if needed, but for now..."
"I understand princess, just make him feel better," Dinky said sadly as she looked down at the resting Bubbles. "He means a lot to me." Berry and Dinky left the room so that the princesses could begin repairing him, Berry collapsing into a chair in the waiting room while Dinky paced back and forth.
"You're really worried about him, aren't you?" Berry asked, Dinky nodding as she continued to pace. "Why is that? I know that I haven't asked this, but I really want to know why you care for him so much. He's not exactly the nicest of ponies."
"Because he's the closest thing I've ever had to a father," she said with a sigh as she sat down next to Berry, hanging her head. "He was also my first friend, even though I had no idea what he was at the time. But he's always been nice to me and protected me...and it's just so nice to have somepony like that, who listens and doesn't judge me or my family." Berry wrapped an arm around her little niece as she said this, pulling her into a hug.
"Dinky!" Ditzy yelled as she burst into the room, looking around until she saw her daughter and ran over to her. "Oh Dinky, I heard the news and came here as fast as I could. Is it true that a Tatzlwurm was spotted in Ponyville?"
"Yeah mom, but Bubbles dealt with it," Dinky said as she hugged her mom. Berry walked up to Ditzy and hugged her as well. "But Bubbles is hurt and the princesses are trying to heal him."
"But none of you were hurt?" Ditzy asked as she looked over her daughter for any sign of injury. "You're safe?"
"Yes mom, he saved all of us. None of the foals were hurt," Dinky said. The three sat with each other for a few hours, Dinky trying to talk with her family but she kept looking back at the door ever few seconds. After the third hour, the doors opened and Luna walked out, a nervous look on her face as she saw Dinky running towards her. "How is he princess? Is he alright?"
"We have repaired the damage done to his suit and his body, but...there is more damage done to him, from when he walked around with the humans," she said with some hesitation.
"What kind of damage?" Dinky asked. Luna sighed as she looked up at the ceiling, not wanting to tell her this.
"Dinky, do you know why Bubbles attacks anypony that gets close to you or will do anything that protect you?" Luna asked her. When Dinky looked at her in confusion, Luna sighed and looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "Because he's programmed to. Because the humans went in and did something to his mind to make him think that way. He doesn't really have free will and he can only follow what he has been programmed to do. Now some of the...things used to make him this way slipped a bit when he got here, hence the reason he hasn't been as brutal as the book on him says he should be."
"Wait a minute...so that's why he has been following me around?" Dinky asked with realization.
"Yes, the humans created Mr. Bubbles to protect little human girls who possessed a...power within them," Luna said with a sad shake of her head. "They were called litter sisters and Bubbles was created to protect one that looked a lot like you Dinky, if you were a human." Dinky wondered about what she'd look like as a human, but then a thought came to her.
"What happened to that little sister?" Dinky asked. "What happened to her and Bubbles?"
"Bubbles...failed to protect her," Luna sadly said. "A human eventually killed him and the little sister. I have no idea how he got here, but I do know that the first thing he did was seek out his little sister...and then he found you."
"What are you implying?" Ditzy asked, causing Luna to sigh again.
"He cares about you Dinky, which is why I wanted to ask this question. We can remove the plasmid that is affecting his brain to free him from its control," Luna began. "But what we don't know is what he will do once the plasmids are removed. He could be the exact same or he might be a completely different being."
"So what...are you asking my niece to do?" Berry asked.
"I'm asking her to choose," Luna said with an emotionless face. "Do you want us to remove the plasmid and free Mr. Bubbles? OR do we keep it in and keep him the way he is? And I am asking you this because Mr. Bubbles has always gone along with what you have said, so I figure that he would be happy with whatever you choose." Dinky lowered her head as she began to think, wondering what the right answer here was. She liked Mr. Bubbles being around her and enjoyed having another pony...person that was a good friend for her and a guardian for her. But...
"So he's been a slave to this...plasmid...for as long as he's been a Big Daddy?" she asked Luna, who nodded. Dinky thought about it a bit longer before she looked up at the princess. "Get rid of it." Luna nodded again and walked back into the room, while Ditzy and Berry looked at Dinky with confusion.
"I know what you're going to ask," she said with tears in her eyes. "And I know that he might not be the same once the plasmids are removed. But...he's been so kind to me, patient with me and kept me safe in dangerous situations. But he's been trapped by this plasmid for years and he has suffered so much in that time. I want him to be free."
"But he may not be the same once they do," Ditzy said with worry. "He may not be your guardian anymore."
"Maybe. But he'll be free of the plasmids that made him fight for so long. I just want him to be at peace and no longer have to always worry about keeping me safe," Dinky said with a smile. "Because I love him, so I have to allow him to be free." Ditzy walked over to her daughter and pulled her into a hug before the doors opened, Princess Celestia walking out to see the three of them looking at her.
"It is done." That was all she needed to say for Dinky to jump off the chair and rush down to where Bubbles had been. She came to a stop when she saw him and let out a sigh of relief. His armor had been patched up (not to mention looked cleaner than it used to be) and he was spinning his drill perfectly, but his repaired eyes were yellow and they remained yellow even once Dinky had run up to him.
"Mr. Bubbles!" she yelled as she tackled his leg, hugging him with relief at the fact that he was safe. Bubbles then picked her up, but placed her on the ground in front of him instead of on his head. The princesses stayed to the side so that Bubbles wouldn't focus too much on them while Twilight watched from the background, waiting to see what would happen. "I'm so glad to see that you're alright. I was so worried after the worm hurt you." Bubbles said nothing as he looked down at her before he looked past her to the exit, where he let out a moan and began to head towards it, stepping over Dinky as he did so.
"Mr. Bubbles? Where are you going?" she asked him. He didn't even turn around as he headed to the exit as Ditzy moved to the side to allow him to pass, but Berry stood in front of him with a look on her face.
"So that's it, huh? Now that you're free you're going to simply walk away without saying anything to her?" Berry asked her. Bubbles said nothing again as he pushed past her and headed up the stairs. He exited the hospital and looked around at all the ponies on the streets with slight confusion. He was confused, unable to figure out what he was supposed to do. For the first time in his life he felt neither need to follow a little sister nor the need to fight off all the ponies that he saw on the street.
And he didn't care. He could feel the thoughts racing through his head, able to finally choose whether or not he would rip apart the ponies in front of him or he could just leave them alone with no thought. But he still felt empty, but he couldn't think about it long as he saw the same little girl that he saw a few days ago standing at the end of a road, beckoning him.
'Come on Mr. Bubbles. Let's go play together.' Bubbles let out a moan and began to follow her, but by his own choice.
Bubbles followed the little girl for the better part of an hour, only coming to a stop on the edge of the city to find that she had vanished once again. As he stood there looking out over the edge to the land below, he waited for the inevitable desire to return to the little sister, but it never came. He let out a moan and turned to head back to the little one, but he stopped himself as he looked back out over the land. He didn't know what to do. He had no desire to return to Dinky, but it was all he knew how to do. Stick by her and protect her. But now the one thing he was certain of in his life was gone from his mind, but it only left him feeling empty.
'So what will you do now?' Bubbles eyes flashed red as he spun around to see the silver mare standing behind him. 'Sorry if I keep meeting you like this, but the radio in your head was broken in the fight and I cannot communicate to you unless it is in pony.' Bubbles started up his drill, but then he realized that he had no reason to fight her, which confused him because normally he'd feel immense wrath at any splicer like her. 'And I see that you have reins on your temper now. That is interesting. Does that mean you are finally thinking clearer now?' Bubbles said nothing, figuring that if she wasn't going to attack him then she wasn't worth his time.
'But I have something that I need to tell you,' she said as she teleported in front of Bubbles, causing him to roar at her. 'Something important about the future of this world. There is a-'
"HEY! BRASS ASS!" The silver mare muttered something under her breath as she vanished into thin air, leaving Bubbles to turn to see a normally drunken mare walking towards him with fire in her eyes. "So what was all that about back at the castle? You get an operation to make you smarter and suddenly you think that you no longer need Dinky? That you no longer care about her?" Bubbles groaned at her and threateningly spun his drill, but she sneered at him.
"Nice try, but I know what makes you tick and I haven't done anything to warrant attack," she said as she glared up at him. "So, after all she's done for you, you're just going to up and leave?" The Big Daddy moaned in a threatening way again and picked her up, but her face remained unchanged as she looked into his eight yellow eyes. "The princesses probably would have killed you if she hadn't stood up for you. Plus, she was the one who treated you like another living being when everypony else saw you as a monster. Does all that mean nothing to you?"
Bubbles said nothing as he dropped her to the ground, stomping past her as he headed back into the city. He moaned in annoyance when he heard the pony following him, but he did his best to ignore her as he began to look around, although he wasn't sure for what.
"So what are you going to do now, Bubbles?" Berry asked him as she quickened her pace to walk alongside him, much to his annoyance. "Are you going to buy a house and live a regular life? Yeah right, you might be able to think more now but that doesn't mean that you're going to fit in." Bubbles growled in annoyance, but Berry simply yawned at his attempts to intimidate her. Bubbles moved past her once again, but her words were starting to get to him. What was he going to do? He was free of the plasmids now, he knew that much, but that didn't matter. He still barely knew who he was and he had even less of an idea of what to do now.
"Here's a suggestion for you, how about you head back to Dinky?" Berry suggested again, getting another growl in response. "So what, you don't like her now that you're free? Faust, talk about an egotist." Bubbles had come to the edge of the city once again, barely paying attention to where he was going now. All he was doing was walking.
"Okay, that's enough avoiding me," she said with a snarl as she ran in front of the Big Daddy, staring him down despite the drill starting back up again. "I'm going to ask you a point blank question and I am not leaving until I get an answer. What does Dinky mean to you now?" Mr. Bubbles looked down at the pony that was not afraid of him with no response, simply because he didn't know. For as long as he could remember he had always protected the little sisters, always listened to his instincts. But now his instincts were gone.
"Rrrrr..." he moaned as he stood looking over the edge of Canterlot, looking down upon all the land. Berry looked up at him with more rage for a moment before she let out a sigh and sat down on the edge of the city, pulling out a flask of booze and began to drink it down.
"Look...Dinky already lost her father once and she never even got to know him. Because of his death though, Ditzy has had to work longer and harder to support the two of them, meaning that she isn't there for Dinky as often as she wants to be. And with her mom’s condition, she's constantly targeted by bullies and nopony wants to be friends with her," Berry began as she downed another shot. "And then you showed up, the giant metal man that everypony fears. Everypony but her. And in return for her not being afraid, you gave her a friend, something she has needed for the longest time."
She finished the rest of the flask as she said this and reached inside her bag to pull out another flask, which she also began to drink down. Mr. Bubbles stood beside the pony, wondering why she was bothering telling him this.
"But you became something more than a friend. You became like a father to her, even if you're a bit over protective sometimes," she muttered. "And all this time you've seen her as a daughter, never leaving her side and fighting to the death to protect her. But was all that simply because you had a goo in your head telling you to? Or do you love her like a father should?" Bubbles continued to look down at her as she said this, processing her words. Berry took another drink as she gazed off into the distance, memories coming back to her.
"I made the same mistake you're making now a few years ago," Berry said with sorrow choking her voice. "Her name was Merry and she was my everything. We did so much together. I helped her study, helped her with sports. But she helped me so much as well, especially with my...problem." She took another shot as she said this and the tears began to fall from her eyes. "But then one day we had an argument, a big one. She was mad at me for doing something that I can't even remember. We said some things, tempers flared...and then I remember her storming out of the house and I did nothing to stop her." She finished off the flask and reached inside her bag again, this time pulling out a full bottle of booze.
"And then the next thing I know the guards are in my house to tell me of the news, that she had caught by a pack of Timberwolves...and that she was gone. Because of me. Because I let her go for some stupid reason." She pulled the cork out of the bottle in one motion and began to chug, hiccupping twice. "And this is the state I've been in ever since. At the bottom of a bottle trying to forget the mistakes of my past. But there's no bottle that can keep from forgetting my failures. Just like the plasmids can't keep you from forgetting about the little sister that you had."
Bubbles moaned at her words as he began to stand up, his head a torrent of thoughts that before today he had never even bothered to have. Berry was far to intoxicated to try and follow him this time, but she did say one last thing to him before he left her.
"The reason I told you my story is so you don't make the same mistake as me, so that you don't abandon the one you care about," she said before laying her head on the ground. "Of course, I could be wrong and you could care nothing for her now that you're free. But even monsters hate to be alone." She passed out once she had said this, leaving the Big Daddy to his thoughts as he trudged through the streets. He looked around through his ports at all the ponies who were together, feeling something odd beginning to fill up his heart, which confused him more because he had only felt wrath and love before...and he began to wonder if those had been real.
He let out a moan and looked towards the hospital, where he had walked away from Dinky without as much as a thought for her. But he wasn't sure if he had even loved her or if it had been the plasmid.
'Just because the plasmids are what made you care for her in the first place does not mean that the feelings are not real.' Bubbles never bothered to turn to the voice as he gazed at the hospital, trying to decide what to do. He thought of all the things he could do now that he was free, now that he had no desire to follow a little girl around and listen to her...and then he remembered Dinky's laugh and her smile and the way she always saw the best in him. She was the only one who saw the best in him.
'So then, what will you do now, Mr. Bubbles?' Bubbles looked towards the hospital with a roar of determination before he began his march towards the place, never deviating from his path as he marched on. Dinky may not be his little sister, but she had accepted him as her Big Daddy. And if she was willing to allow him to be family...then he knew he could repay her in kind. And even though she wasn't the little sister he had come to love back in Rapture, that didn't mean that he couldn't treat her as one. Once he had arrived at the hospital he threw the doors open and lumbered inside, scaring the ponies that worked there as he marched up to the counter and looked at one of them with a growl.
"W-what do you want?" the pony stammered before her eyes widened. "You were the patient that the princesses brought in earlier. What are you doing...?" Her words died in her throat as he growled and pointed to the seats where Dinky and the others had been sitting. "T-them? They left a while ago and headed towards the castle with-" Bubbles turned away from her the moment her heard where Dinky was, walking out of the hospital and marching towards the palace. The guards drew their weapons on him when he approached, but one of the smarter guards recognized him as he approached.
"Hold on, this is the Big Daddy," he said to his troops. "Celestia said to let him in if he came back. Stand aside." The guards did as they were told and moved to the side, allowing Bubbles to walk past and enter the castle, looking for a single foal in particular.
===K>
Dinky looked out the window down to the streets of Canterlot and while she normally would have loved the view, she felt only sadness inside of her heart. Her mother sat on a bench next to her, hating to see her daughter this way but knowing that there was nothing she could do about it.
"Do you think he's happy now?" Dinky eventually asked.
"What do you mean?" her mom responded.
"I mean now that he's free of the plasmids control. Now that he can choose where he goes and how he thinks," Dinky said with as much happiness as she could muster, but the sorrow rang through the loudest. Ditzy looked down at her daughter with loving eyes as she pulled her into a hug, looking down from the balcony that they were on.
"Dinky, you were willing to give up something that made you happy for the sake of Bubbles. I don't know whether or not he's happy, but I know that I am proud of you," she said as she nuzzled her little foal. Dinky returned the gesture before looking out into the sky.
"Think I'll ever see him again?" she asked her mother in a whisper.
"I don't know, but there's an old saying that your father used to tell me back when we dated," she began. "If you love somepony, set them free. If they come back, they're yours."
"What does that mean?" she asked her mother in confusion.
"It means that if Bubbles truly loves you the way you care for him, then he'll come back to you even though the plasmids aren't in his head anymore," she said as she gave her daughter another hug. Dinky returned the hug and closed her eyes before she snapped them open again as she felt something. It was a familiar sensation and one that made her gasp. It was the feeling of the ground shaking beneath her feet, shaking caused by heavy footsteps. She turned around as a giant metal titan exited the hallway he had been walking down, letting out a moan as he saw her.
"MR. BUBBLES!" she yelled as she let go of her mom and raced towards him, tackling his leg as she began to bawl. He let out a soft moan and gently patted her on her back while Ditzy watched on with a smile. When Dinky could see through her tears, she looked up into Bubbles eight eyes, all of which were a bright green as he looked down at her. "You came back."
"Rrrrr..." he moaned softly as he gently picked her up and placed her on his head, turning back to the exit as he began to leave. Then he stopped and looked back at Ditzy, gazing at her a moment before motioning for her to follow as well. Ditzy smiled and walked alongside the giant as he moved through the castle, having no idea where he was going but not caring in the least. Dinky was on his head and Ditzy stood beside him.
"I knew you come back...daddy," Dinky whispered to Mr. Bubbles so that only he could hear. He moaned in return as one of the doors to the throne room opened. Bubbles looked inside to see the three princesses waiting for him, so he marched on in, unafraid of what would come next.
"So I see that you have returned to Dinky after all," Celestia said with a small smile as Bubbles walked into the throne room, Luna and Twilight looking down upon him next to Celestia's throne with their own smiles. Bubbles let out a moan in return as he knelt down so Dinky could hop off of his back, where she stood beside her mother while looking up at the princesses.
"You knew that he would do so?" Dinky asked her in confusion.
"Yes, my little one. Or rather, Luna knew that he would," Celestia said as Luna stepped forward. "With her ability to enter the memories and dreams, she can tell what a pony is like due to their past and what they dream about."
"But it was a bit different with Bubbles," Luna began as she walked down the steps toward the Big Daddy, who watched her closely as she approached him. "His past had been completely wiped from his mind, leaving only the programming that the humans had placed within him to make his personality. But that is where I came to see that he would return. He cares deeply for you and once I was in his mind I saw that there was no threat that he wouldn't face to keep you safe...with or without plasmid." Dinky smiled up at the Big Daddy as she said this, but then Luna's face took on a more somber expression.
"But that loyalty is not to you alone," she said, gaining back the fillies attention. "He still longs and misses his first little sister, the once that he had defended for years before a human finally got the better of him. Despite the plasmids still being gone, he still cares for her and feels guilty over her death."
"You mean the human killed him," Dinky said sadly as she looked up at him, Luna nodding in response.
"But doesn't he know that she's gone?" Ditzy asked. "I understand what it means to lose one that you love, but now that he's free of the plasmid, can't he decide to move on...like I have?"
"He does have the choice to move on, but he doesn't," Luna said before turning back to the other princesses. "However, that is not a talk for today. After discussing with my sister and the princess of Ponyville, we have decided to tell the three of you information that we have kept quiet for as long as we have been in rule." Dinky and Ditzy looked at each other nervously while Bubbles continued to look ahead at the princesses. Before they could speak, the doors to the throne room opened once again and a certain mare staggered inside of the room.
"Hey...brass ass...why'd you go and leave me passed out there?" she slurred as she stumbled into the room. "Yeah, it's not the first time it's happened, but it was still rude all the same." Berry then noticed that he was standing next to Dinky and Ditzy, a smile spreading across her drunken face as she put the pieces together. "So, I guess my words did manage to strike a chord with you after all. Glad to see that your feelings were your own." Bubbles ignored her as Celestia left her throne and walked down to the group, motioning for them to follow her as she walked out of the room. Berry collapsed when she tried to walk out and Ditzy lifted her sister onto her shoulders, helping her out as the four walked out of the room. Luna and Twilight followed closely behind them, as they headed deep into the castles basement.
"Where are we going princess?" Twilight asked Celestia as they descended into a dark section of the castle that Twilight had not been into.
"We are heading to the science wing," she responded as they reached a large chamber where a number of ponies in lab coats were doing multiple tests or experiments, some of them being done on very weird looking devices. "This is where we explore all of the more interesting inventions made throughout equestrian history. Some of these items were created by Star-Swirl himself." Twilight's eyes grew huge at these words, but Bubbles eyes were locked onto a single item that sat in the center of the room.
"I figured that would interest you, Bubbles," Celestia said as she walked over to the machine, the ponies studying it backing away while slightly bowing and allowing the princesses to get closer to the machine. It was a goldish color and had a strong lock on the front door with a small window that allowed Bubbles to see into a red leather room on the inside. He let out a snarl as he figured what it was.
"Princess, what is this?" Dinky asked as she looked over the machine.
"This is what we've come to know as a Bathysphere," Luna said, smiling slightly when Bubbles let out a moan at the name. "This was what the humans used long ago to explore the sea. It is in bad shape and we cannot get it working, but we know how it works to some extent and some of the materials used to make it have interested us. But until recently, it was just a piece of manmade tech."
"What happened princesses to make it so interesting?" Twilight asked as she looked over the machine with interest.
"He showed up." All of the ponies looked to Bubbles, who continued to gaze at the bathysphere with memories coming back to him, ones that he didn't like to see. "My sister and I compared the material of the sphere to the material that Bubbles wears and we found that it is exactly the same, designed to withstand the pressure at the bottom of an ocean."
"Wait, are you saying that Bubbles and this sphere came from the same place?" Berry asked, having recovered some of her sense.
"That is exactly what we are implying," Luna said as she looked at the sphere. "And thanks to Bubbles, we now know of what that place was called. Rapture."
"What's Rapture?" Dinky asked.
"Rapture was a city that the humans built at the bottom of a great ocean," Celestia explained, causing all of the ponies to gasp. "I admit, I did not think it was possible for the humans to do this either until Luna shared with me some of Bubbles memories with me. He was a protector of his little sister in the city of Rapture, even once it had fallen into chaos."
"Wait a minutes, this could be the biggest find since the ruins of Atlantis!" Twilight exclaimed as she looked up at her mentor with excitement in her eyes. "There have only bee traces of human cities for the longest time, but one at the bottom of the ocean might be where it remained untouched by time! We need to get looking immediately!"
"Calm yourself Twilight, I am fully aware of that fact, but my sister and I have already tried," Luna said calmly. "But the seas have risen since the time of humans and the city was at the bottom of the sea in their time, which means it is even deeper down now. Not even our magic can withstand that much pressure and even if it could we have no idea where to look. We had no idea it was called Rapture, but do to legend we were vaguely aware of a sunken human city. But without somepony who knows exactly where it lays, we cannot find it."
"What about Bubbles?" Dinky asked. "He lived down there and maybe he knows where it is?"
"That would work if his memories of his time as a regular human weren't all but erased," Luna said with a shake of her head. "I could barely look at the memories of who he was before a Big Daddy and even then they were shaky. Any further than then and I doubt I would see anything. And he does not care for Rapture any more now that he has found you."
"So we're just going to give up on one of the greatest finds in all of Equestria?!" Twilight practically shrieked, not being able to fathom the idea. "Think of all the items that could be down there! The technology, the art...the books!" Celestia chuckled to herself at her former student’s words before looking around the room.
"We have ponies out looking for anything that might lead to Rapture, but we don't expect to find anything for a few lifetimes," she said before looking at Bubbles with a look of interest. "At least, that's what we thought a month ago."
"So why show us this?" Ditzy asked as she looked around the room.
"Because you now have within your family a piece of the forgotten human culture, something that many ponies who study the past would love to have," Luna said. "And we wished to show you so that if the day came that we needed his assistance, you would know why. My sister and I found out the hard way long ago that not preparing for the future ends badly for everypony."
"Then what are we supposed to do while waiting for the call that may never come?" Dinky asked.
"That is simple my young one. Go and live your life, enjoy spending time with your family," Celestia said as she began to lead the ponies out of the chamber. "And try to show the new Bubbles to the ponies of Ponyville. They need to know that he is not a monster to be feared." Dinky and the others began to follow Celestia, all except for Bubbles, who continued to gaze at the sphere from his past.
'A man chooses. A slave obeys.'
Bubbles let out an angry moan as those words echoed through his head as he turned to leave, knowing that he was no longer a slave to any man. And he would never be ever again.
===K>
Dinky and her family took the train back to Ponyville, the sun setting behind them as they slowly rode the rails to their city. They had a bit of trouble getting onto the train since the conductor refused to let the Big Daddy onto the train until both of the princesses had vouched for the tin daddy and even then he only let them sit at the back of the train.
"Ugh, I'm not looking forward to school tomorrow," Dinky said with a small yawn as she gazed out the window at the forest below her. Bubbles sat beside her on the floor, having broken two of the benches in the trains already. "I haven't done any of my homework due to all the Bubbles problems. Cheerilee's going to have me in at recess for a year."
"I'm sure my sister will understand," Berry said from underneath her pillow of ice packs. "And if she doesn't, do you really think that she'll say no to you with Mr. Bubbles standing over you? I know my sister and she has always had a fear of monsters since she was little."
"Berry, we're trying to show that Bubbles isn't a monster anymore," Ditzy said with a groan, tired of having to be the responsible one all the time. "And Dinky, I'll stay up late with you tonight to get your work done."
"But you have work in the morning and your boss says you're already on thin ice," Dinky said with concern, making Ditzy wonder how her daughter knew all of this. "It's okay; I can get it done on my own."
"Will it be pass worthy?" Ditzy asked, knowing her daughter all too well. Dinky avoided her mother’s eyes while whistling to herself, causing Ditzy to sigh as she placed a hoof into her face. "I don't suppose that you know how to do fourth grade math, do you Bubbles?" Bubbles let out a moan that she figured meant no and sighed as she sunk into her chair.
"Keep it down sis, the voices hurt," Berry muttered out from under her ice pillow. "Anypony got a drink?"
"For the last time, alcohol is not what you want when you have a hangover," Ditzy said with a growl.
"Of course it is. Makes the pain in my head go away." Ditzy and Berry began to argue amongst themselves while Dinky looked at the both of them with loving smiles, before giving Bubbles the same smile.
'I love my family,' she thought to herself as she let out another small yawn and curled up on her chair, the soft snores that came from her a moment later let Bubbles know that she was asleep. He gently picked her up without waking her and placed her in his arm, watching her as she slept.
"Attention passengers, we've reached out destination," a voice over the intercom said. "All who are getting out at Ponyville need to get out now." Ditzy had to help Berry off of the train while Bubbles destroyed one of the doors onto the train as he exited, the conductor growling as he left. Bubbles picked up the staggering drunk and placed her on top of his head, walking alongside Ditzy in silence as darkness began to descend upon the land.
"Thank you," she said, causing Bubbles to move his body to het here within most of his eyes. "For coming back. I know this might not mean much to you, but Dinky never knew her father and she's had to live without one all her life. And with me trying to provide for the both of us, I haven't really thought about dating or being with Dinky as much as I should. But you filled the role for her perfectly and now...she has the father she so desperately needed." The four of them had reached Ditzy's home and they all entered, Bubbles dropping Berry on the couch before gently giving Dinky to Ditzy.
"And as much as I hate to admit it, you're part of this small family now," she said with a smile as she placed her daughter on her back and walked up the stairs. "Big Daddy." Bubbles sat down in the corner he had generally sat in whenever he rested for the night and looked out through the window across the land with questions. How did a bathysphere survive all these years and did it have a connection to why he was seeing his little sister again? And why did he have the suspicion that Rapture wasn't as dead as the ponies implied it was?
He let out a small moan before leaning up against the wall, dimming his eyes slightly as he rested, needing to be at his best for when Dinky needed him.
Dinky awoke the next morning with a skip in her step as she ran down the stairs to the living room, ready for another day at school. Now that she knew that Bubbles would no longer be as dangerous as he had previously been, she could bring him without fear of him attacking. She landed at the foot of the stairs and ran to her mom, who was in the kitchen with Bubbles.
"Morning Dinky," Ditzy said with a smile as her daughter hopped up onto the stool at the kitchen table. "You seem peppy this morning. Something exciting happening?"
"Nope," she said with a smile as her mother served her breakfast, saying good morning to Bubbles before she began to chow down. "Just happy to have today be a regular day after so much chaos and uncertainty." Bubbles let out a moan in agreement as he walked over to Dinky's backpack and handed it to her. She took it from him with smile before taking her bread and placing it in her mouth as she headed to the door with Bubbles following behind her. "By mom, see you when I get home!" she yelled as she ran out the door. Ditzy waved as Bubbles left as well before placing her mail hat on her head and heading out as well.
"Today is going to be a great day!" Dinky exclaimed as she ran down the streets, waving to all the ponies that weren't afraid of the tin daddy following behind her. "I can just feel it! Don't you agree that today looks like a great one?" Bubbles moaned again as he looked around, not remembering the last time he had a great day. But that was the least of his concerns as he saw something massive being constructed off in the distance, causing him to pause long enough to gain Dinky's attention.
"Oh my Faust, is it that time of the year again?!" she squealed with excitement as she looked up at the giant wheel off in the distance. "The fair is already here? I have to bug my mom to go when we get back," she said before looking up at Bubbled, who was looking down at her in confusion. "You don't know? Right, you wouldn't. The fair comes here once a year for about a week and it's a place full of fun and excitement and...At least I think it is. I actually haven't been there. My mom normally works those days and I can't go there alone, but maybe this will be the year she finally takes me!"
Dinky began to hum to herself as she walked towards her school, while Bubbles wondered what a fair was. They had events back in Rapture that he guessed were exciting, but those had been for splicers in masks and suits, not for daddy's or their little sisters. He shook the thoughts out of his head as the two of them reached the school, where a number of foals waited outside of the door while waiting for Cheerilee.
"Hey, it's Dinky and Bubbles!" one of the foals exclaimed, causing the group to run over to the two as they approached. "Hi Mr. Bubbles!" Bubbles let out a moan as his eyes turned green and he knelt down on one knee so that the foals could begin to climb onto him. Only two fillies stayed away from Bubbles and Dinky, but they did mutter about him.
"I can't believe that she brought that monster with her to school again," Tiara muttered. "My father had a talk with the principal and he said that they would see what they would do about it, but in the meantime I'm stuck with this mass of ugly." Silver Spoon nodded in agreement and made a remark about the Big Daddy, but both of them shut their mouths tight when the eight eyes looked towards them.
"Hey Dinky," Pipsqueak said as he walked up to her, still looking at Mr. Bubbles with uncertainty as Bubbles turned his frame toward the tiny colt. "C-can I talk to you about something?"
"Sure Pip, what is it?" Dinky asked him. He opened his mouth to answer but Cheerilee chose that moment to show up, the look on her face telling the students that she was in a mood.
"Six bottles of vodka and she's still conscious enough to be bugging me about finding a stallion," Cheerilee grumbled as she walked right past Bubbles without noticing him. "I swear that sister of mine is a right pain in the..." She realized then who she had just passed and slowly turned to look at the Big Daddy, a bit afraid as she saw the eyes change from green to yellow. "Um, Dinky? May I speak with you a moment?" Dinky walked over to her after telling Bubbles to stay, where he remained a jungle gym for the foals.
"What's up?" she asked Cheerilee, who looked from her to the Big Daddy nervously.
"Um...the parents at the school the other day said that they didn't like the idea of their foals being in the same class room as...him," Cheerilee said nervously as she looked over at Bubbles. "So, I've been asked to tell you to leave Bubbles at home from now on." Dinky blinked once at Cheerilee as she processed what her teacher was saying while Cheerilee looked at the titan nervously.
"Sure," she said with a shrug.
"That's it? You're fine with it and he'll be?" Cheerilee asked in disbelief.
"Yup. He should be more prone to separate with me, so it should be no problem," she said as she turned back to Bubbles. "Hey Mr. B., you'll be outside today while I'm in school. Okay?" Bubbles let out a moan that sounded like he was disagreeing, but Dinky gave him a look that broke him. He let out a quick moan before he sat down where he was, knocking some of the foals off their hooves. "See, he listens." Cheerilee figured that it was the best that she was going to get and opened the doors for the foals, where they walked in with less enthusiasm than before.
"Alright my little ponies, today we're going to be talking about..." Cheerilee began once all the ponies were in their seats, immediately loosing most of the class as she began to talk about the past history of Equestria. She went on like this for a few minutes before she turned to see that only a few of the ponies were paying attention, while the others were looking out the window at Bubbles, who had a number of birds all over him as he sat in the sun. "So, the students of my class are more interested in the giant metal thing than my lesson...yeah, I can see that."
"Sorry, Miss Cheerilee," the students apologized when she called them out on it. She looked at them for a moment before she had an idea on how to get their attention back.
"Alright foals, since we're talking about the past today, how about we talk about a subject that you all seem to be interested in...The humans." She smiled to herself as she saw their eyes light up and she placed her current planner on her desk as she pulled out a book on myths. "Now then, since very little is known about humans, we'll need to take this story with a grain of salt. But this tale begins in the final days of humanity, where the humans on the land were supposedly attack by those that had taken refuge in another hidden city, believed to be the Atlantis of the humans."
"Rapture," Dinky muttered under her breath.
"Now the most popular theory is that the humans engaged each other with weapons of mass destruction, believed to be able to dwarf any kind of power the princesses wield," Cheerilee continued. "In fact, it is believed that these weapons were responsible for wiping the humans off the planet, but due to us finding no evidence of these weapons most believe they are just myth. We do not know the exact date as to when they vanished, but we do not it was not long before the first alicorn appeared." The ponies began to mutter to themselves about how the humans could create such a weapon without magic, but then Cheerilee looked at them with a smile. "So, now I want you to open your books to the section of first Equestrian culture and read to yourselves what it says." The ponies all groaned as they flipped open their books while Cheerilee smiled to herself at her ruse.
===K>
The end of the day couldn't come fast enough to most of the foals in the class as they raced for the exit the moment the bell rang. Most of them said goodbye to Bubbles, who had been sitting in the same spot they had left him in. Dinky ran up to him as he stood up to greet her, offering her his hand so that she could climb onto his head. She was about to do so when once again Pipsqueak flagged Dinky down.
"Hey Pip," Dinky said with a smile as he walked up. "Oh right, you wanted to ask me something earlier, didn't you?"
"Y-yeah, there was," he said nervously as he avoided looking at her directly. "Um, I wanted to know...if you wanted to go to the fair with me on Saturday."
"Huh?" was all Dinky could say after a moment of silence.
"Rrr?" Bubbles echoed, causing Pip to swallow hard as he tried to get his courage up again.
"I've wanted to ask you for a while, but with everything going on," he began, Dinky noticing how he looked at Mr. Bubbles as he said this. "I've had trouble trying to. But...if you want...we could go together?" Dinky placed a hoof under her chin as she thought about it while Pip held his breath in silent anticipation.
"Sure, I'm fine with it," she said with a smile after a moment. Pip let out a sigh of relief before Bubbles let out a groan and looked down at Dinky. "Oh no you don't, I can choose whether or not I want to go. You will not stop me." Bubbles moaned again as Pip wiped his brow, wondering if he had made Bubbles angry at him by doing this.
"G-great. So what time do you want me to pick you up?" he stammered nervously.
"Dunno. How about noon? That seems to be a good time," she offered, having no idea on how this was supposed to work, since nopony in her class ever talked to her, let alone ask her out. Pipsqueak agreed immediately and the pair stood in place awkwardly for a moment before Bubbles picked up Dinky and placed her on his head, leaving the school yard as Dinky waved weakly to Pip. "You didn't need to do that, he's a nice pony," she said as she jumped on his helmets. Bubbles grumbled in response as he headed to the house, reaching there in about ten minutes. Much to Dinky's surprise, she found her mother sitting at the table when the pair came in through the front door.
"Mom, what are you doing home so early?" Dinky asked as Bubbles put her down. "I thought you had work?"
"I do, but I've been thinking about how much time I spend working and how that's affected my spending time with you," she said as she hugged her daughter with a smile. "So I figured that the two of us should do something this weekend...unless Bubbles makes it the three of us." Dinky inhaled slightly as she looked around the room, an action that was not lost on her mom. "What's up?"
"Well, that might be a problem because...I'm going with a colt in my class." Both of Ditzy's eyes focused on her daughter as she said this in shock and the room went quiet for a minute, before Ditzy turned on Bubbles with rage.
"A colt asked her out and you didn't flatten him?! What kind of father are you if you don't do even that?!" Ditzy roared in rage as Bubble's eyes flashed yellow and he moaned in response. "She is way too young to be dating anypony and yet some colt convinces her to while you're there?! Useless!" Bubbles roared angrily in his defense, but Dinky entered the fray at that moment.
"Hey, Pipsqueak is a nice colt and one of the only ones in my class that didn't pick on me," she said in his defense. "Plus, it's not a date; the two of us are just going as friends."
"That's what all mares tell their mothers," Ditzy said with a sigh. "You should have talked to me first before you made this decision."
"Why? It's my life?" Bubbles let out a moan and nodded his massive head in agreement with Ditzy, causing Dinky to turn her frustration towards him. "Oh don't you start on me too! Ugh, parents!" She walked past the both of them and headed up the stairs, leaving Ditzy and Bubbles alone in the living room. Bubbles figured that he had upset her and he tried go up the stairs to comfort her, but they broke under his weight. Ditzy sighed but knew what he was trying to do and she placed a hoof on his leg.
"Thanks, but I'll go talk to her," she said. "We overreacted a bit, didn't we?" Bubbles sunk his helmet a bit as she said this, telling Ditzy that he agreed. She patted him on the leg before floating up the stairs to where her daughter was laying on her bed. "Honey? Look, I'm sorry about the way the two of us reacted."
"You should be," she said in a tone that told Ditzy that not all was forgiven. "A pony in my class finally bothers to talk to me in a way that isn't insulting and you want Bubbles to crush him."
"That was my parental side talking," Ditzy said as she sat down on her bed next to her daughter. "I'm sorry about that, but ever since your father passed...I've been afraid of some colt coming to take you away from me and that seems to becoming a reality."
"Please mom, no colt could take me from you," Dinky said. Ditzy chuckled a bit at that remark, but stayed silent. "Plus, it's only as friends. It's nothing serious."
"Alright dear, but I want you to promise me something," Ditzy began, causing Dinky to roll over a bit to look at her. "Promise me that you'll take Bubbles with you."
"I thought that you just said that you didn't want Pip crushed?" Dinky muttered.
"Please? Just so I know you're safe." Dinky sighed and agreed begrudgingly, wondering how in Equestria she was going to explain this to Pip. "Now come on. I want to take you out for ice cream." Dinky perked up at that and jumped off her bed.
"Fine, but only if Bubbles gets some," she said. Ditzy agreed, although she wondered if Bubbles could even eat anything with that helmet on. The pair went down the stairs to find that Bubbles had tried to climb the stairs again. Ditzy made a mental note to call somepony to fix those as the three left the house, each thinking different thoughts about the future.
For the rest of the week, Dinky was bouncing around her house in pure excitement as the anticipation for the fair began to get to her. Bubbles had no such excitement but he was happy that she was happy. Ditzy had spent the week teaching Dinky proper dating procedures and how to answer to certain questions, but she forgot them almost immediately. So when the day of the fair finally arrived, Ditzy was a bit on edge.
"Okay, do remember what we talked about?" she asked her daughter nervously as she paced the floor, waiting for the doorbell like it was a tolling bell.
"Not a word," Dinky said with a smile as she sat on her couch, bouncing in place. "But I haven't been to the fair in like, ever, so I'm really too excited to remember anything you told me." She had a huge smile on her face as she waited for the doorbell, while Ditzy had gone back to pacing in place with a look of worry on her face. Bubbles sat beside his little one until the doorbell eventually rung, causing Dinky to shoot out of the chair and rush to the door at speeds that Bubbles couldn't keep up with. She flung the door open to reveal a nervous colt standing there with a flower in one hoof.
"H-hello there Dinky," he stammered at the sight of her, trying his best to maintain his composure when she smiled at him. "I hope I didn't get here too earlier."
"Not at all. I was actually waiting for you," she said with another smile.
"Then, shall we go?" he asked her with a nervous smile. She inhaled sharply as she looked behind her, causing Pip to wonder what was going on before the ground began to shake beneath him.
"There's just a small little something that I need to tell you," she began with a nervous smile as Big Daddy walked up behind her, looking down through his eight eyes at the colt. "If we're going, he wants to come with us." Pipsqueak let out a squeak as she said this, his face reflecting in the eight eyes of Bubbles as he tried to figure out what to do. On one hoof, this was his chance to finally spend some time with the filly he had liked for a while. On the other was the terrifying mass of metal that attacked anything that tried to touch Dinky. Pip stared up at the metal man for a good minute before a nervous smile finally broke out on his face.
"G-g-glad to have you with us," he said with as much courage as he could muster. Dinky smiled and ran out the door, Bubbles following her. She waved to her mother as Pip followed after her, the three of them heading to the fair while Ditzy watched with a sad smile on her face.
"My little girl is growing up," she whispered to herself before closing the door behind her. Pipsqueak walked as close to Dinky as he thought he could without invoking the wrath of Bubbles, while Dinky hummed to herself on the way. Pip was also aware of the eyes on the back of his head and his paranoia wasn't helped by the fact that Bubbles eyes cast a light onto him as he walked.
"I am so excited!" Dinky said happily as the three walked, the fair coming into view off in the distance. "I have never been to one of these before! So what do we do first? Ferris wheel? Bumper carts? Gator wrestling?"
"Um, I don't know right now, but you can choose whatever you'd like when we get there," Pip replied as the three reached the main entrance to the fair, where a pony was selling tickets.
"Howdy there. Hold on a sec, I’ll get the tickets for ya," he said as he pulled out three tickets for them. "That'll be twelve bits."
"Twelve? But it's only four per pony," Pip complained.
"Yes, but there's three of you," the pony said as he pointed to Bubbles. Pip sighed and reached into his pockets, only to find that he didn't have enough. He looked at Dinky with worry before she took the initiative.
"He's not with us," she said with a smile to the ticket pony. "He's just in line behind us." Both Pip and Bubbles responded to this statement with confusion as Dinky took the bits from Pip's hoof and paid for their tickets, grabbing his hoof to drag him inside with her and leaving Bubble outside.
"Well then, its four bits for a ticket," the pony said to Bubbles, who's eyes turned yellow as he glared at the pony. "What, I don't make the rules, I just-" His words and the pony both froze on the spot as Bubbles unleashed his ice plasmid upon him, freezing him solid. Bubbles walked past the ice pony and into the fair, where he found to his annoyance that Dinky and Pip were nowhere to be found. He let out a moan of annoyance and began to wade through all the ponies there, determined to find them.
===K>
"Avast me hearty, prepare to be rammed!" Pip yelled as he pushed his cart forward, slamming into the side of another foal who shrieked. He laughed as he backed up only to see out of the corner of his eye a gray filly heading for him at top speeds. "No Dinky! Wait-" He yelled as she slammed her cart into his, sending him backwards. He groaned as he tried to stop the world from spinning while Dinky laughed in delight, which turned to a groan when a pony said that they were done.
"You're vicious lass, you know that?" he asked her as he staggered out of the bumper carts, while Dinky hopped along excitedly.
"Yup and I love it," she said to him before looking at a booth with a huge smile. "Oooo, that stand has giant, stuffed ursas. I need to get one!" She ran over to the booth and looked at the bottles stacked up in the back, while two similar looking ponies with reddish manes and funny hats looked at her.
"Well hello there little one, welcome to the Flim Flam stand. Knock down all the bottles and win a prize," one of them said as the two of them looked at each other with coy smiles. "One bit for three balls." Dinky placed a bit on the table and picked up one of the baseballs, aiming carefully before chucking it. She went wide left and hit the back of the stand, snarling as she picked up another and threw it with all he might. She missed once again and her third throw wasn't any better. "So sorry kid. Why don't you try again?"
"Dinky! Stop running off like that," Pip said as he ran up beside her, barely getting a glance from her as she finished around for another bit. Pip looked to the top shelf to see the Ursa that she wanted up there. He sighed as he pulled out one of his two remaining bits and placed it on the table.
"Here you go kid, three chances."
"Good luck," Dinky said as she stepped back. Pip picked up the first baseball and threw it with perfect accuracy, smiling as the ball collided with the bottles. But then to his surprise, the bottles remained standing despite the hit. "The heck is that?" Dinky asked. "That should have knocked them right over." Pip growled and tried twice more, experiencing the same result twice more. Dinky began to argue with the ponies behind the stand as Pip took out his last bit and placed it on the table, determined to get this. He reached for the first ball before a giant hand grabbed the ball instead.
"Mr. Bubbles!" both Dinky and Pip exclaimed in confusion as they turned to see the yellow eyed Big Daddy standing behind them where he let out an annoyed moan as he looked up at the bottles. He brought his arm back and let the ball fly, yet to the surprise of everypony the ball bounced off the bottle, though the force of the throw did crack them
"Okay, what's going on?!" Dinky asked with rage, the brothers putting on an innocent face as Bubbles tried again, this time breaking pieces off of the bottles instead of knocking them over.
"So sorry big guy, but you've got one more throw," Flim said with a smile that turned Bubbles attention to him. Bubbles let out a moan before her grabbed Flim by the throat and hoisted him over Bubbles head, throwing the screaming pony at the bottles. The bottles shattered on impact and Bubbles threw Flim with enough force that he went through the back of the tent and hit the pony at the dunk tank, sending them both into the drink.
"Um," the brother began before Bubbles reached up and grabbed the Ursa, growling at the pony before he gave the gift to Dinky, who smiled as she accepted it. Then he picked her up and placed her on his head before motioning for Pip to follow them, which the colt did so without hesitation.
"Thanks Mr. B., I'm fairly certain those ponies were cheating," Dinky said as she stuck out her tongue at Flam.
"Sorry I couldn't get that for you," Pip said, a bit disheartened.
"Like I said, they were cheating," Dinky said as she jumped off Bubbles head and climbed down his back. "Not your fault. So, where to next?"
"How about the house of mirrors?" Pip suggested, pointing to the entrance that had a clown face hanging over it. Dinky agreed and the three of them headed inside, both Dinky and Pip gasping as they saw all the separate mirrors that changed the way they looked. Dinky let out a squeal of delight and took off, laughing at all the different reflections of her. Pip chased after her, not wanting to be left alone with Bubbles. He let out a moan and went to follow them before he heard a laughing from his side. He turned to see in the mirror...
'Come on Mr. Bubbles, let's go play,' a golden haired little girl said as she ran off through the mirrors, giggling to herself as she ran. Bubbles let out a moan and began to follow her down a separate path, trying to keep track of her through separate paths as she ran through the mirrors. He ignored his reflections as he ran past the mirrors, despite the fact that some of his reflections showed very odd versions of him. He followed the laughing if the little girl until he came to a part of the maze that surrounded him with mirrors on all sides. He moaned in confusion as he looked around for the little sister before a voice began to speak to him.
"A man chooses and a slave obeys," the voice said as Bubbles turned to face one of the mirrors, seeing a man in a suit with a pencil mustache looking at him. "But despite being freed you're still a slave to a little girl who is gone, still a slave to your past." Bubbles let out a threatening moan and began his drill, but the person never budged. "But that's all you Big Daddies are. Slaves to your programming, slaves to the whim of a little girl who is no longer human. It’s so pathetic it makes me sick." Bubbles let out a roar and charged the mirror, shattering the mirror with his drill. He backed away from the broken glass before spinning around to see another person standing behind him in another mirror. This looked like a regular person...except for the chains tattooed on his wrists.
"You still follow her despite being freed?" the person asked him with disgust in his voice. Bubbles immediately reacted by revving his drill once again and slamming it into the mirror. The person appeared in another mirror however and snickered at the Daddy's rage. "Still chasing after a ghost that died all those years ago when the smarter person would CHOOSE to let her go. But you can't make that choice, can you? You'll always be loyal to the thought of her as your little girl, when all she was a freak experiment. Hell, so are you."
Bubbles started up the drill again, but the mirror shifted again from the man with the chains on his wrist to the blonde haired girl that he loved with all his heart. She smiled at him as he lowered his drill, extending her hand and motioning for him to join her. He slowly walked forward until he was in front of the glass, where he placed his hand on the glass and against hers.
'Don't worry Mr. Bubbles. Soon we'll be together again,' she said to him with a smile, before a flash of light went off, blinding the Big Daddy. When he could see again, he found himself surrounded by a horde of splicers, all of whom cackled as he started up the drill again. The first few attacked him and took a drill to their faces, but that only bought Bubbles a moment before the next wave came at him. Switching up his attacks, he shot ice into the floor so that the splicers slid towards him, leaving them helpless as his drill made short work of them. But one of the spider splicers got him from behind and began to tear out his back, causing him to roar in pain.
"Kill the Daddy! And find the sister!" one of them yelled from the crowd. Bubbles mind immediately thought of his little sister and what the splicers had done to her last time, causing his fury to shoot to new heights. He tossed the spider splicer off of his back as he raised his drill into the air before slamming it into the ground with all of his might. The shockwave caused by the impact shattered all of the mirrors around him, leaving the Big Daddy alone in a room filled with broken glass. He looked around in confusion as the sound of hooves running got closer to him, noticing that the wounds he had suffered at the spider splicers hooks were gone.
"Mr. Bubbles! What's the matter?" Dinky asked him in concern as she saw his red eyes looking all around the room, afraid of getting too close because of the broken glass at his feet. "Did the mirrors scare you? What happened?" Bubbles gave her a moan of reassurance as his eyes switched over to yellow and walked over to her and Pipsqueak, who had just caught up to Dinky. She looked up at him with worry before looking back at Pipsqueak. "I'm sorry Pip, but I need to get home. The princesses will want to hear of this."
"That's fine," he said with a bit of sorrow in his voice, but it was drowned out by the moan Bubbles gave as he began to follow the two out of the hall. But before he left, he looked back one last time, seeing one mirror that hadn't been shattered by his slam. And just like before, the man with the chains on his wrist stood there looking at him.
"You'll always be a slave. To your past and to the girl." Bubbles let out a moan of rage before turning back to the pair of foals, following them back home.
===K>
"I take it you have important news for me sister?" Celestia asked with a bit of heat as she walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her mane, having just begun to relax in the bath when Luna had knocked on the door. "You know how much I need this alone time."
"I assure you I wouldn't interrupt you if it wasn't important," Luna said with a serious face as she pulled out a letter. "This is from our ponies in Mareiland. Something showed up on one of their beaches while they were cleaning them." She floated the letter over to Celestia as she said this, waiting for Celestia's eyes to widen in shock as she saw what it was. "A golden sphere, about the same size as the one we have. And there was one more thing emerging from the sphere. Footprints." Celestia looked at her sister with fear in her eyes as she placed the letter down, picking up a piece of parchment and a quill.
"We need to head out to Mareiland in the morning," she said as she finished her note and sent it into the wind. "But I worry about if something will happen while we are gone. I have a bad feeling. Have you finished the book on the Daddies yet?"
"Yes and it seems that we will have to do more than repair Bubbles when he's injured," Luna said with a shake of her head. "I'll try to get the scientist working on replicating the items in this book in the morning. But after Mareiland."
A few days had passed since the fair and Dinky had been keeping a closer eye on Bubbles ever since. He seemed more protective than usual, but he also seemed more distant and lost, like he was trying to make sense of something. She wished that she could help him, but since he couldn't speak he couldn't tell her what was wrong. These were the thoughts on her mind as she walked home from school with Bubbles at her side.
"Is it anything I can help with?" she asked him for the fifth time, only getting a distant moan as a response. She sighed in frustration as she looked around the town. She and her mother had also received a note from the princesses saying that something strange had happened in a far off city and that they should be on guard, just to be safe. Dinky assumed that Twilight also had gotten this message since she had been seen using scanning spells around the town from time to time.
"I just wish you would let me help you with your problems," she said with a sigh as the two of them reached her house. "I know you're supposed to take care of me, but I want to help you in any way I can to. That's what family does." Bubbles gave her an appreciative moan before she opened the door, both her and Bubbles being stopped by what they saw. "Um, mom? What are you wearing?"
"Oh, hi honey," Ditzy said as she spun around with a bashful smile while Berry Punch stood beside her sister with a smile on her face. "Um, this is just...um..."
"This is a going out dress," Berry said with a smirk as she wrapped a hoof around Ditzy's shoulder. "Your mom here has a BIG DATE tonight and I helped her pick out a dress for the occasion." Dinky had to pick her jaw up off the floor as Ditzy hid her face behind her hooves, too embarrassed to show her face to her daughter. "It took weeks of nagging and even longer to get her to even think of the idea, but I finally did it. Now all that's left is to see how it goes."
"I hate you sometimes, you know that?" Ditzy said with a huff as she removed her face from her hooves and walked past Berry to Dinky, who was still trying to comprehend what she had just heard. Bubble's was a bit surprised by the news as well, but his mind was still on what he had seen the other day. "Okay honey, I'm going to be out tonight, so I want you in home and have the house locked up before the moon rises, okay?"
"Why are you so worried about me going out at night?" Dinky asked once she had regained control over her mouth. "It's not like there's a giant, metal daddy that follows me around and tears apart anypony that tries to hurt me...oh wait," she said with a smile at Bubbles. "There is." Ditzy sighed as she looked at the time, her nerves getting the better of her despite the date not being for a few more hours. Her daughter saw her face and simply sighed in defeat. "Fine mom, I’ll do as you ask. But in return you have to tell me who the pony is."
"His name is Time Turner," Berry said the moment Ditzy hesitated, getting a growl from Ditzy. "The two have been friends for a while, but both have been too nervous to ask each other out. So with the power of liquid courage running through my veins, I did it for them." Dinky began to laugh at the look of sheer rage Ditzy was giving Berry, who looked like she could care less. Ditzy sighed and muttered something about going to lie down while Dinky decided that she should give her mom some space, so she and Bubble headed off to see what trouble they could get in.
"Well that didn't end well," Dinky muttered ten minutes later as she used a hose to spray the cement off of Bubbles, making a note to not take him through a construction yard again. "So, what do you want to do now?" Bubbles moaned in response before looking up at something, Dinky following his gaze to see two fillies pulling a wagon that was much too heavy for them. "That's Applebloom and Scootaloo. What are they doing with all those supplies? Let's find out." The pair walked over to the two fillies, both of who stopped what they were doing when Dinky and Bubbles approached.
"Hey Applebloom. Hey Scootaloo. Why are you two lugging around such a big load?" Dinky asked as she looked up at the giant pile of material in their wagon.
"Cheerilee asked us to do another comedy sketch for the talent show again this year," Applebloom answered, but her eyes were on Bubbles the entire time he loomed over them. "So we needed to get this stuff to our clubhouse to rehearse for it and since we can't rehearse without a stage..."
"But Sweetie Belle is nowhere to be found," Scootaloo grumbled, not at all afraid of the giant metal man. "She said something about heading to the forest to get something for her sister. Probably got lost again."
"Well...if the two of you need help with the wagon, I'm sure Bubbles would love to help," Dinky said with a smile to the Big Daddy. "Wouldn't you Bubbles?" Bubbles let out a groan as his eyes turned green, walking over the wagon and grabbing the handle. He then bent down so that the fillies could jump onto his head. Dinky was the first up and the other two followed only after she assured them that they were safe. She then pointed Bubbles in the direction of the clubhouse and the four headed off, talking about past endeavors and the Big Daddy while he walked them there.
"...So then we blew up half the library and Twilight hasn't let us in since," Applebloom said as she finished her story, leaving Dinky stunned by the amount of destruction the CMC could cause. She had seen Bubbles do less damage. "So yeah, pyro isn't in our list of cutie marks."
"I wonder why," Dinky said with a shake of her head as she noticed that they had arrived, telling Mr. B. to let them down. He did so with a moan and once they were off, began to unload the materials from their wagon. "So then, how long will it take to build this?"
"Dunno. Few hours?" Scootaloo guessed. She was about to start working when Mr. B. picked up a piece of the stage and slamming it into the ground, keeping it in place long enough for him to attach another piece of the stage. Within an hour he had the stage frame completely built, much to the shock of the three fillies.
"I didn't know he was so good at building things," Dinky muttered. "I thought he could only destroy."
"Thanks for the help," Applebloom said to him. "If you want, when the play comes around in a week you two can be in it." Bubbles let out a content moan as he walked back over to the materials and picked up the actual stage, but dropped it once a sound reached them from over the trees. It was the sound of screaming, screaming coming from the town. Dinky immediately ran over to Bubbles and was just about to tell him to get them to town when another sound reached her ears.
"...rrrrrrrrrrrrr..."
"It can't be," she muttered before she had Bubbles scoop her up and run towards the town, AB and Scootaloo following him as fast as they could. Dinky and B. reached the town before them, but both were stopped dead by what they saw. In the center of town, with a terrified Sweetie Belle on its back was a giant metal man with copper armor and a single glowing red eye in the center of its cracked helmet, which was gazing at all the ponies around it with a rage. Dinky also noticed that this creature had both its hands and was carrying some strange weapon in its hands, though what gained her attention was the items that were going into its helmet, items that didn't look right. But that didn't stop her from knowing what it was.
"Another Big Daddy," she whispered to herself as she looked around, noticing a number of the Elements being treated by doctors far away from the battle. Even Twilight had been injured and had a hole in the side of her leg, though she was still trying to get back up. Dinky watched as the Big Daddy pointed the weapon at a pony before a loud snapping sound could be heard and blood exploded from the pony, who fell over without another sound. Dinky gasped in horror as she looked back to the Big Daddy, who had put another pony in its sight.
"Somepony help me!" Sweetie yelled from its back, tears running down her face as the Daddy killed another pony. Dinky wiped the own tears out of her eyes as they steeled with resolve. This wasn't like her Big Daddy; this one was killing everything in sight and had taken Sweetie against her will. And despite knowing what the Big Daddies had all gone through, this one was simply killing. And to protect her friends, she knew what needed to be done.
"Bubbles," she said to her big Daddy, who looked at her as she hopped off his head. "Put an end to this." Bubbles let out a roar of rage as his eyes turned red and he threw himself at the other Daddy, who turned at the roar just in time to see the metal man slam into him, knocking Sweetie off of his head. She hit the ground and scrambled to her hooves, running as fast away from the creature as she could. The other Big Daddy tried to follow after her, but all it took was a drill to the side of its head to tell him he wasn't going anywhere.
"What's going on?!" AB exclaimed as she and Scootaloo finally caught up with Dinky. "What's happening?"
"Daddy's working," was all Dinky said as she watched Mr. Bubbles lifted the other Big Daddy over his head and threw him into a building, his drill starting up as he marched towards the Daddy. The other Daddy raised its weapon and began to fire into Bubbles, who roared in pain as the rivets began to tear into his skin. His armor prevented anything vital from being hit, but his arms and legs were still susceptible to the rivets. Bubbles collapsed to one knee as the other Daddy swung his weapon into the side of his helmet, sending him to the ground. Bubbles rolled out of the way as the other Rosie tried to stomp his helmet it, driving his drill into the Rosie's leg.
"He's not doing so well," AB muttered before she was silenced by a look from Dinky.
"Bubbles! Use your plasmids!" she yelled out to him. Bubble's eyes flashed green for a moment before he shot a column of fire into the Rosie's face, causing it to back away with a roar as the fires consumed its helmet. Bubbles shot back to his feet and switched over to electricity, sending the torrent of lightning into the Rosie. With the Daddy rooted to the spot by the electricity, Bubbles was given the chance to get his drill rotating at full speed before he drove the weapon right into the gut of the stunned Rosie, piercing its armor and causing it to roar with pain as the drill mixed up its insides. But the Rosie slammed its weapon into Bubbles helmet and shattered some of his ports before it reached down and pulled the drill out of its gut.
"What does it take to keep one of these things down?!" Scootaloo asked as the Rosie began firing at Bubbles again, who was forced to take shelter behind a wall to avoid being damaged further. The Rosie looked to have the advantage until a sheet of ice shot out from behind the wall and froze it's feet to the ground, making the Daddy looked down as it tried to escape it's confines. The moment it looked away from where he was, Bubbles came charging out from behind the wall with his drill revved up again, but this time he drove the drill right through the single port on the other Daddy's helmet. The Rosie let out a gurgle of pain that also turned out to be its death cry before the light in its eye went out and it fell backwards to the ground, blood pouring from the wound.
"RRRRRRRR!" Mr. Bubbles roared as he lifted his drill into the air with eyes glowing a crimson red, before they turned green again at the sight of Dinky running towards him.
"You're hurt again," she said with worry as she looked at his bleeding wounds, pushing his hand away when he tried to lift her up.
"Where the heck did another Mr. Bubbles come from?" Scootaloo asked with confusion. "I thought that he was supposed to be the last of his kind?"
"Perhaps we can be of some assistance in that regard," Celestia said as she landed beside the Big Daddy, who looked up at her with yellow eyes. "And I must thank you Bubbles for protecting my subjects. I owe you for this. But as for the other Big Daddy, allow me to explain..."
"There's no time!" Dinky yelled at the princess. "Bubbles is hurt again and he needs care. Please help him!" Celestia let out a sigh as she looked at the wounded father, knowing that she had to help him. Not just because he had fought off another one of his kind, but because of the terrible discovery that she and her sister had just made.
"Very well Dinky, but then I must return here and help with the repairs," she said as she looked around at all the destruction. "And then I must help the Elements and gather them as well. They will need to hear what is going to happen." Dinky didn't have time to ask what she meant as a sphere of light enveloped three and they vanished, leaving two confused fillies amongst a mess of destruction with a dead Daddy in the center of town.
===K>
'How can I be certain that he will succeed? He is nothing like the heroes I have heard of, the ones who can overcome any odds to save their worlds. He is less of a monster now, but he is still fragmented, still torn,' a silver pony asked herself as she watched from a distance, having just arrived back in this world to see the battle end. 'The one known as Superman would have been able to defeat this monster without breaking a sweat and yet so many are dead here. But even if I can’t reveal myself, I can still help them heal.' A small stream of silver left her as she said this and went down into the town, healing the wounds of the ponies there. 'But I must have been mistaken. There is no way that Bubbles could be one of my champions. If he cannot overcome his own past, then how can I hope for him to overcome mine?'
Three hours after the battle in the town, The Elements and Dinky all waited around the familiar hospital until Mr. Bubbles came walking out of the door to operations with Celestia behind him, his armor shining in a way it hadn't done in years. Dinky tackled him while Celestia motioned for the ponies to all follow her, which they did so with a little confusion.
"Um, princess? Not to be rude, but why did you summon us so suddenly?" AJ asked as they walked down the stairs into the room where Bubbles had been. "There were a lot of preparations going on for...something." Pinkie glared at AJ as she said this but said nothing as the princess let out a sigh.
"Because my sister and I needed to fill you all in on something very important," she said in a no nonsense voice as she opened the door to the room with the human technology, causing the ponies that hadn't already seen it to gasp in awe. Dinky's eyes weren't drawn to the amazing tech, but instead the lunar princess that stood in the center with a few bandages around one wing. "We will be adding what remains of the other Big Daddy here later, but that topic can wait."
"Princess Luna?" Dinky asked her in confusion, the others looking to Luna when they heard Dinky speak. "What happened to you?"
"The damage that you see before you is due to a battle that I had once my sister had left me to return to Ponyville," she said with a pained sigh as she looked down at her side. "With a creature that I am sure that Bubbles is familiar with. A splicer." The ponies let out a sound of confusion before yelping at Bubbles, whose eyes had turned red and his drill had begun to spin. "I see you still remember them. Yes, one of them managed to get the better of me simply because I had not been expecting to see one. They are tougher than I thought they would be."
"What is a splicer, princess?" Fluttershy asked.
"A splicer is a human that has injected itself with too much plasmid and has become corrupted by the power," Luna said, causing the ponies to once again gasp.
"Humans are still alive?" Rarity asked.
"No, they shouldn't be," Celestia said with a snarl as she walked over to something that had a tarp over it. "Humans have been gone long before the time of ponies. But in Mareiland, we found something that proved us wrong. This, my little ponies," she began as she pulled off the tarp to reveal another bathysphere, but one that was much larger and could fit at least ten ponies. "Is a bathysphere and a new one at that. I say as in this is one that was not on the surface when I last went to Mareiland." The Mane six all looked at each other in confusion, not sure what the princesses was saying.
"Princess, while this is cool and all we really have no idea what this all means," RD said as she turned her head to look at the sphere. Celestia let out a sigh before looking to Mr. Bubbles, whose eyes were still a blazing red.
"You know what this means, don't you?" she asked him, getting a moan in response. "It means that the underwater city of Rapture somehow managed to survive all the years that humans have been gone." All of the ponies let out a gasp at this and Dinky moved a little closer to Bubbles for comfort. "For those of you who do not know, Rapture was...is an underwater city that the humans made long ago, but the exact location has been lost. We thought for years that the humans had all died out, but with the Big Daddy that showed up here and the splicer my sister fought, it is very obvious that Rapture somehow has survived all these years."
"But how is that possible?" Twilight asked with confusion. "That would mean that they have been underwater for over three thousand years at least! They would have run out of food and oxygen and-"
"We do not know, but my sister and I will devote as much time as we can to figuring out why and how the denizens of Rapture are back," Celestia said as she turned towards the sphere. "But for the meantime, be on guard. I have no idea if any more of these creatures managed to make their way to the surface, but they are extremely dangerous." Twilight figured that the princesses were done talking for now and she led her and her friends out of the hospital to the train station, where they caught a train back to the city.
"Hey Rarity, how's Sweetie Belle doing?" Dinky asked once they had all sat down, Bubbles once again crushing the benches beneath his weight. "After everything that happened to her, I was just wondering if...?"
"She's with my parents right now and they're taking care of her," Rarity said with worried look. "But she's still terrified of what happened and refuses to leave her room. I wish I could be there for her, but there is nothing I can do at the moment. The poor dear is terrified."
"And after what happened to her, I'm not surprised," Rainbow Dash said with an angry growl as she folded her arms. "She got foal napped by a giant monster that killed a number of ponies in town and almost completely wrecked the place. I'd be more surprised if she wasn't terrified by what happened to her." Twilight had been looking out the window the entire time, but at the mention of the other Big Daddy brought her back to reality.
"There's just one thing I don't understand," she began, turning all heads towards her. "That Big Daddy, I assume, saw Sweetie and thought of her as it's little sister and that's why it took her, just like how Bubbles did with Dinky. But what confuses me is why did this one straight up foal nap Sweetie while Bubbles listened to everything that Dinky said and became friends with her first? I thought all Big Daddy were brain washed to think the same?"
"Maybe he took a hit to the head, who knows?" Rainbow said as she placed her arms behind her head and relaxed against the seat, but Dinky was aware that Twilight was looking to her for an answer to her question.
"I don't know. Maybe because he lost his little sister the first time he only cared about finding her again?" she suggested. "Or maybe because he was dead he lost some of the plasmid that messed up his mind. I don't know the reason, but all I know is that he protects me and cares for me, like a daddy." She hugged his arm as she said this and he let out a moan as he pulled her close, causing Twilight to put her hoof under her chin with thought as the train pulled into the station. Dinky and Bubbles were the first to get out and found that they had been met by a massive mob of ponies that had apparently had been waiting for them.
"Well this doesn't look good," Twilight muttered as she looked at all the faces of the ponies, all of whose eyes were on Bubbles. He had just begun to start up his drill when he heard a sound that he was unaccustomed to. It was the sound of cheering.
"Anypony have any idea what is going on?" Dinky asked as she looked up at Twilight, who shrugged in response just as the mayor of the town pushed her way through the crowd.
"What is going on my dear is that the ponies of Ponyville are thanking that metal monster over there for defending their homes and lives," she said with a huge smile as she pointed at Bubbles, who let his confusion be known with a moan. "Not just for defeating the other him, but for protecting those foals that were attacked by that nasty Tatzlwurm a few days ago."
"Um, you're welcome?" Dinky said for Bubbles, who had placed himself between the foal and the mayor.
"And that is why I wish to invite him to the party we have set up for him at Sweet Apple Acres tomorrow," Mayor Mare continued without listening. "We know that he hasn't exactly been...the best behaved since he got here, but the princesses explained everything to me and after what has happened with the other him we believe that he has earned another chance. Hence the party."
"And guess who's throwing you the party!" Pinkie said from on top of Bubbles helmet, startling the Big Daddy to the point where he grabbed her and chucked her into the crowd, where the ponies caught her and moved her back up to the front where she could jump onto Bubbles head again. "Now I had no idea what kind of party to throw for you but then I heard you came from the sea, so I made you a sea based party!" Bubbles was about to drill the pink pony to teach her the meaning of personal space, but Dinky took that moment to run up to Bubbles with a huge smile.
"Oh my gosh, I've never been the star of a party before! We have to go!" she said to him with such joy radiating from her that Bubbles forgot about the pink pony on his head. He looked around at all the ponies that had waited for him to join them and with a moan of defeat he accepted going to the party later.
===K>
Bubbles didn't really know what to think or how to act at parties, mostly because the last one he had gone to had been on the eve of nineteen fifty nine and that had not ended well. So all he did was stand in the center of the room while the ponies all came up to thank him or to try and make conversation with him, none of them seeming to get that he couldn't talk. Dinky stayed by his side for the first half of the party, but she went to have fun after a while.
"And you should try to have some fun as well," she said to him as she walked away with a huge smile on her face. "Don't let them just think that you're a pretty face." He watched her go silently as he stayed in place, continuing to let the ponies come up and talk to him or thank him. He didn't know why they were thanking him when they had hated him a few days ago. They confused him. When he got tired of the talking he walked over to a corner of the barn and stood there silently, watching the party from where he felt comfortable. In a place where he could observe everyone.
"Do you like the party?" a pink pony said from his side, which turned out to be the one from earlier. "I put as much sea based stuff as I could find, but most of it is for a foal’s party. I still think it looks good though." Bubbles remained silent once again as he looked around at the decorations that she had used. Sea turtles, merponies; it was hard for him to look at. "Do you like it?" Since he couldn't answer, he walked away from her and towards where Dinky was talking to the two little ones from yesterday, who backed away from the giant.
"Oh hey Mr. B., what's up?" she asked him with a smile as he approached her. He moaned before pointing to the door, causing Dinky to sigh. "I know you want to leave, but the ponies took a great deal of time to set this up so can you at least pretend that you're enjoying it? All of them are here to thank you after all. See how nice they can be when you're not drilling them?" Bubbles moaned in response, but at that moment everypony in the room gasped as Princess Luna entered.
"Please don't bow, I will not be here long," she said to them as she saw Bubbles and walked over to him. "We need to talk." She led Bubbles and Dinky out of the barn and towards the fence, where she leaned against it and looked up at the starry sky. "We have found something of interest near the place where we have found the bathysphere. We know that it is a human building but there is more to it than that, so we would like it if you would be prepared to have a look...and by that I mean let Bubbles have a look."
"Sure we will," Dinky answered for them. "I'd love to see whatever it is that you've found." Bubbles groaned as he looked up at the sky, noticing how late it was. He picked up Dinky and placed the confused foal on top of him before walking off, leaving the princess there to continue to gaze at her sky. He walked the two of them home, where they were greeted at the door by Ditzy.
"And right on the hour," she said with a whistle as she looked at the clock. "When I tell you to be on time, you are on time."
"You told Bubbles to take me home?" Dinky asked in confusion as Bubbles lowered her to the ground. "Why would you do that? I was having so much fun!"
"Because it's late," she said in a motherly tone as she pointed to the clock that read eleven. "And you need to get some sleep. You have school in the morning."
"But tomorrow Bubbles and I are going to Mareiland to see the remains of one of the human buildings!" she complained, causing Ditzy to raise an eyebrow. She looked over at Bubbles and frowned when he nodded to confirm Dinky's story.
"That's even more of a reason why you should go to be now," Ditzy said as she pointed up the stairs. "Now no more arguing young lady. Get to bed."
"But...but..." she complained before looking at Bubbles, who followed Ditzy's action and pointed towards the stairs.” Oh not you to," she grumbled as she walked to the stairs, Bubbles entering the house as Ditzy sat down.
"Thanks for backing me up," she said as she sat down at her couch, Bubbles sitting in the same spot that he had sat in for days. "She can be stubborn sometimes...so she was telling the truth about tomorrow?" Bubbles let out a moan and Ditzy sighed, lying back on the couch. "I would say that I'm surprised, but when you live in Ponyville, you expect the weird. All I'm worried about is whether or not Dinky will make it home safe...or if you will to." Bubbles looked to her as she said this in confusion, wondering where the sentiment came from. "I know that I shouldn't like you, with your temper and killing anything that looks at you funny. But, despite it alone being about a week, you've managed to win my daughter over and prove to be a more caring father than some of the others I know, so...I can't bring myself to hate you too much."
Bubbles let out a moan of approval before resting his back against the wall, allowing himself to slightly let his guard down as Ditzy walked by him and walked up the stairs to her room.
"She needed somepony like you," she said before she reached the top of the stairs. "I just never thought it would be...you." Bubbles figured that she was trying to compliment her as she headed up the stairs, resting his head once again before he heard a sound in his head.
'The time draws near for you to prove your loyalty, Mr. Bubbles.' Bubbles scanned the room as he heard the voice, looking around for the mare. When he couldn't find her, he assumed that she was in his head again and allowed his eyes to shift back to yellow. 'You have proved yourself to be a good father, but will you be a champion?' The voice went quiet after that, so Bubbles turned his mind away from her words, thinking back to the days of Rapture.
Dinky was woken early the morning a few days after the party by a loud knocking at the door, one that caused her to fall out of bed and walk down the stairs still half-asleep. She grumbled about it being way too early for this as walked by Bubbles, who stood up to follow her to the door, which she opened to see the princess of the day and the princess of the night both standing there.
"Luna...Celestia?" she grumbled tiredly as she rubbed her eyes, looking at the two serious faces before moving to the side to let them in. "What brings you here so early? Or in Luna's case, so late?"
"Remember when we told you that we had found something very important? The building?" Celestia asked with airs of worry as Ditzy walked down the stairs to see what all the commotion was, before she rushed to the kitchen to grab the princesses something to drink. "Well we now know what is in it. Near the city of Mareiland, about fifty kilometers north of the city, there was a building full of splicers. Since we have...dealt with them, we now need your help. Care to guess what's inside?"
"Is it another Big Daddy, because I only want this one," she said with a yawn, still not fully awake. Luna smiled at the little one before getting up to go help Ditzy with the drinks, allowing Celestia to finish what she was saying.
"No. It was filled with items," Celestia said, still not getting much of a reaction from the sleepy filly. "Items from Rapture." That snapped Dinky out of her sleepy state and both her eyes widened in shock as the news hit her, with even Bubbles giving Celestia a stunned moan. "We do not know when it surfaced, but Luna says the designs on it match the buildings she saw within Bubbles mind. Plus, certain parts of the building look like something we have in the book on Big Daddies, so we are certain that this building came from Rapture."
"How can this be?" Dinky asked herself before looking up at the princess. "And you have a book on Big Daddies and you didn't tell the only filly with a Big Daddy?" Celestia thought that she might have made Dinky mad at her, but the filly then smiled at the princess with excitement. "Can I see it when you're done with it?"
"Maybe another time," Luna said as she and Ditzy both came into the living room, Luna carrying the drinks despite Ditzy's protests. "Right now though, there is something more important that we need to talk to you about. In the building, there is a door that is locked insanely well, so well that our magic cannot force it open or blow it apart."
"So what could I possibly...oh, you want Bubbles to see if he can get through it," Dinky said with realization as she looked up at him. "Yeah, I think he could do it. I'm free today anyway."
"You have school," Ditzy reminded her, causing Dinky to grumble while the princesses looked to the mother.
"This is a matter of great importance. I am certain she could miss a day," Luna suggested. Now it was Ditzy's turn to grumble, but she didn't want to go against the princesses...and she knew that Bubbles might be the only way in to get whatever was in there.
"How important are we talking about here?" she asked the princesses.
"Remember the Big Daddy that attacked town the other day" Celestia asked, waiting for her to nod before continuing. "There could be hundreds of those in the city of Rapture. We need to get down there and stop them." Ditzy sighed and figured that there was no point in try to stop Dinky, since she was the only one Bubble's completely listened to.
"Alright, just bring them back before dinner," Ditzy said with a defeated look, putting her drink down and heading back up the stairs. "I'm going to bed and sleeping this off like a bad dream. Bubbles, keep her safe." Bubbles let out an assuring moan as Dinky and the princesses all got to their hooves, Dinky bouncing for the exit with Bubbles right behind her.
"Alright Dinky, hop on," Luna said as she knelt down so that Dinky could hop onto her back. "You're going to be flying with royalty today." Dinky let out a squeal as she hopped onto Luna's back, which turned Bubbles eyes yellow as Celestia out a barrier around him to carry him. "Alright then, let's go!" The four of them took to the skies, with Dinky yelling with excitement as they flew off.
===K>
"It's much bigger than I expected," Dinky said with awe as she looked at the outside of the building. Once the group had landed, Celestia had released Bubbles from the bubble and he had immediately taken Dinky off of Luna's back and placed her on top of his head. A number of guards had been stationed around the building, but they parted once the princesses walked by and straight up backed away when Bubbles walked by.
"This is the entrance," Luna said as they walked up to a sigh that said welcome. Despite having washed up on shore, the building was miraculously staying up right. The four entered and Luna told them to expect the worse, which only took a few seconds for Dinky to see why. There were bodies of what she assumed were humans everywhere, some of them looking like they had been ripped apart. "This is the way to the door. Please do not fall behind." Dinky looked around in both horror and amazement as she looked around the rooms they walked through, seeing all of the interesting things that humans had created back in their time. Then to her surprise she saw a dead Big Daddy lying in a puddle, its eyes having gone out.
"Is that what happened to you?" she asked Bubbles, who said nothing as he walked right by it without any indication of caring. Luna walked the three to a door that was much larger than the others they had seen and looked to be reinforced heavily.
"This is the door," she said as she banged her hoof on it. "Can you open it with your drill? Maybe one of those plasmids?" Bubbles looked at the door for a few seconds before he walked to the side and knelt down next to a small box on the wall, tearing the cover off of it to show a number of small tubes. He fiddled with those for a few minutes, occasionally getting zapped, before he stood back up with a moan of approval as the giant door swung back.
"How did you do that?" Celestia asked him as he walked by her and into the room, looking around it to see that it was a command center of sorts. The ponies followed him in, but they were so engrossed by the room that they never saw Bubbles turn to leave, not that they would have been able to stop him from following the yellow haired girl. Celestia had been investigating a machine that dispensed drinks when a crackling could be heard and a suave voice could be heard in the room.
"Hello...horses," it said to them with no warmth in the voice. "Finally I am able to speak with the creatures that now...temporarily...rule this land."
"Who are?" Luna asked as she scanned the room.
"By now you are probably trying to talk to me, but this is only a recording that I set up in here when I...decided that I no longer needed this buildings or the splicers inside," the voice continued on, Celestia and the others listening carefully in case there was more than just a voice. "I set up this recording to tell you that your time is limited. Humanity will soon take back what belongs to them."
"Does he mean the surface?" Luna asked Celestia, who shushed her as the voice started talking again.
"You might be wondering how we have survived these thousands of years and I while I normally don't speak to the dead...I have spent most of my time down here being lied to and I will tell you the truth, not that it matters. You see, thanks to a certain wench with powers to ignore all rules of reality, I obtained a plasmid that allowed me to freeze my city, my utopia in time while the irradiated world above burned, waiting for the right time to strike. And all I had to do was give her one man's head. I have sent my spies to the surface and I have seen your best, so I do not expect a length battle. The rest of the splicers in the city are under my rule now. As well as the Big Daddies down here, what few that remain. Did you enjoy the one I sent you?" The voice began to chuckle slightly at the statement.
"Soon my forces will swarm your shores, taking back the land that our fathers foolishly abandoned for this sunken death trap. If you are wondering why I have told you this, it is because we have developed new weapons to fight against your magic and my splicers are many. Do not worry though; I will make sure that all of you are...taken care of. You have my word. And Ryan never breaks his word. Farewell." The voice cut out there, leaving three dumbstruck ponies sitting in the center of a silent room.
"He means to start a war with us," Luna whispered to her sister, who nodded with fear as well. "But just Mr. Bubbles alone was enough to fend off you and me. How are we supposed to defeat an army of them?"
"I do not believe that the others are like Bubbles," Celestia said with a grim face as she stood up. "But we must head back to Canterlot and summon Twilight. Quickly." Bubbles on the other hand had heard none of what was going on, but he had followed the little girl to a small room with two beds and drawings of little Big Daddies all over it. On one of these beds sat a little girl with yellow hair, who looked up at the Big Daddy as he entered.
'It's almost time to come home Mr. Bubbles,' she said to him with a smile. He reached out his hand to touch her, but then he remembered what happened the last time he did and hesitated. The little girl smiled at this and jumped off the bed, running to the window that showed the sea. 'It's almost time to be with me again. All you have to do now is find your way back to the city.' Bubbles let out a moan and she turned around with another smile. 'Oh don't worry Mr. B., getting back to the city is easy. As easy as taking a bath.' Bubbles wondered what she meant before she took off running again, making him chase after her. He quickly found that she had vanished again, leaving him alone until the ponies found him.
"Sightseeing or looking over your old home?" Celestia asked him as she placed him in the bubble again. "Now is not the time for that. Now, we are at war."
===K>
"Are you sure that we are at war, princess?" Twilight asked with worry as she looked at Celestia from across the table in the room filled with the human tech. This is where the ponies had gathered after they had returned from Mareiland and Celestia had told her everything that had been learned while they were in the building.
"Certain," Celestia said in her most serious tone, eliminating any thoughts to the contrary. "The voice spoke to us directly and while it may have been a recording, there was no mistaken that it was recent."
"So what do we do then?" Twilight asked. "We're going to attack right? Strike first and all that."
"We would, but there are two problems," Celestia said with a sigh, a sigh of a pony who had been in this situation before. "The first is that we do not know where the city is to strike. It could be anywhere in the entire ocean and by the time we find it the splicers could be already at our door." Bubbles looked around the room before his eight eyes rested on the bathysphere and then he knew what his little sister had meant by taking a bath. He walked over to it and slammed his drill onto it, gaining himself the attention of all the ponies in the room.
"What's the matter Mr. Bubbles?" Dinky asked as she walked over to him. Bubbles hit the sphere again and then walked over to the map Celestia had placed on the table, driving his drill into the center of the ocean.
"What is he saying?" Twilight asked as Luna's eyes widened in shock.
"He's saying that the sphere can take us to Rapture," she deduced as Bubbles moaned in approval. "But we could never get it to work...right; the newer one might be able to return."
"Alright, that obstacle out of the way, so what's the other one?" Twilight asked, causing Celestia to sigh.
"The splicers are far too gone to be reasoned with," Luna said for her sister. "I fought one and tried to enter its mind...and it was gone. All it was concerned about was Adam. Not lives, not what it had to do to get it. Only Adam. What my sister is trying to say is that they are too dangerous to leave alive. That they have to be-"
"That is not what I am suggesting," Celestia said in her defense, but Luna gave her a look before levitating an item out of the tech that had been recovered.
"Then why did you ask this to be brought to us?" Luna asked her, pointing at the small item. "You know that this is one of our most powerful weapons and could probably wipe out Rapture completely. With it they would lose the war before starting it."
"You're talking about wiping out a species," Celestia said. "We do not have the authority to do that!"
"We've done it before," Luna reminded her calmly. "And these ones will be even worse."
"That was different! Those were monsters that only sought to wipe us out!" Celestia yelled back, before she realized what Luna was telling her. "Still, these are sentient beings. As rulers, we should only have to do this as a last resort and I will not be the one to-" Bubbles slammed his fist onto the table to interrupt the princesses, all of whom turned to him as he paced his hand on the weapon. He had been listening long enough and had sided with the one called Luna. Celestia figured at what he was suggesting, but she still couldn't believe it.
"Are you certain about this Bubbles?" she asked him. "This is your race. If you do this, the last of them could be completely wiped out. Can you do this?" Bubbles looked from her to Dinky at his side and knew that it was no choice at all. Celestia saw how he was looking at Dinky and knew what he was thinking. "Very well. But only if you are certain. I will have my scientist repair the bathysphere and then the three of us will..." Bubbles growled at her and pointed to himself, telling her that he would do it alone. "Very well."
"I will escort you out of here," Luna said as she walked Dinky and Bubbles out of the room, leaving Twilight with Celestia. "My sister hates to do this. When we were just young rulers a species that consumed everything in their path attacked the land. They could not be reasoned with and would only stop if killed. It broke my sister’s heart, but it was the only way to stop them...just like now."
"It's sad about what happened to the humans," Dinky said. "But aren't there at least some that might be nice?"
"I'm fairly certain that the only nice one left is standing next to you," Luna replied. "But if there are, they were probably killed by the splicers long ago. And the splicers cannot be reasoned with; they only seek Adam and will wipe out everything in their path to get it. That is probably how Ryan managed to get them on his side, by bribing them." Luna placed Dinky on her back before placing Bubbles within a sphere and flew them back to Ponyville, looking up at the noon sun, amazed at how fast the day had gone. "Get some sleep. We will come for Bubbles when we are ready."
She took off as she said this, leaving Dinky and Bubbles to enter the empty house alone. Dinky lay down on the couch and Bubbles sat down beside her, where she crawled onto his lap with a sigh.
"I wish we didn't have to do this," she said sadly. "But you've fought the splicers before, so I guess if anypony knows how dangerous they are, it would be you. Are you going to be okay going down there alone?" Bubbles let out a moan to comfort her and placed his hand on her head, gently ruffling her mane. Dinky closed her eyes while Bubbles looked off into the distance, knowing why he had to do this alone.
A week had passed since the meeting with the princesses and the pair of Dinky and Bubbles had spent it mostly thinking about what would happen when the princesses finally did decide to come calling on Mr. Bubbles. But Dinky on Friday she could only think about one thing as she ran around on the backstage of a giant set, her nerves getting the better of her while Applebloom tried to calm her down.
"Look Dinky, there's nothing to this," she said as calmly as she could, but that didn't stop the grey filly from panicking. "All you have to do is go out there and talk. No magic, no acting: nuthin'. Just let the three of us handle the rest."
"But what if something goes wrong?!" she half yelled, causing the giant metallic tree behind her to moan with concern and a drill punched its way through the cardboard that had been set up all around him. "Something like that?!" Scootaloo sighed in frustration as AB tried to calm Dinky down, wondering how this had gone from an easy day to difficult a difficult one. While she and the other members of the CMC owed Dinky and Bubbles for their help last week, she wished that AB hadn't offered to let them join their play. Re-enacting Rainbow Dash and the other Elements victory over the changelings was hard enough without the giant monster.
"Can we get a move on? The play starts in few minutes!" she yelled at the two of them, AB and Dinky both looking at her before they both sighed. "Come on now, we need to get this done."
"I agree," Sweetie Belle said as she came onto the stage, looking like the spitting image of a little Rarity. "We've been practicing for weeks! And since our other Twilight got sick, we needed you to fill in. You remember your lines, right?" Dinky gave her an embarrassed smile that caused all three of the CMC to sigh. In the chairs on the other side of the curtain, Ditzy sat next to the Apples and Sweetie Belle's parents, who had their cameras ready for when their little foal was on stage.
"I can't believe that Dinky is doing this," Ditzy muttered to herself. "A few weeks ago she would have never had the courage to stand on stage in front of a crowd full of ponies. How the times change."
"Well, she has a metal guard with her at all times now," Sweetie's father said with a smile as he fiddled with the camera. "That would be a huge ego boost to anypony. Plus, she has such a wonderful mother that has supported her through all this time." Ditzy smiled at the praise, but began to wonder if he was right in saying that Bubbles was the source of her newfound courage. Dinky had always been an explorer, but she had never really begun to talk to other foals her age until he had entered the picture. She heard his moan from her seat and thought about how quickly things had changed in the past weeks...and how grateful she was that he wasn't the monster they thought he was.
'When he first showed up, I thought he was trying to take Dinky from me,' she thought to herself as the lights began to dim. 'But after seeing the other Daddy that attacked town, I'm glad we got this one. I just wonder what makes him so different from all the others.' She didn't have long to ponder this as the lights went completely out and a giant spotlight shown on the stage, where a nervous little colt came out and began to speak, telling the tale of when the changelings attacked.
"I just wish ma Applejack could be here to see this," Granny Smith said next to Dinky. "But with her Element duties and all, she has to be off in Canterlot talking to the princesses. Girl always works herself so hard." A pony behind Granny shushed her and immediately found out why nopony did that while the curtain rose and revealed the ponies in the play. On the right were the Elements, consisting of Dinky (Twilight), Sweetie (Rarity), Scootaloo (Rainbow Dash), AB (AJ), Pumpkin Cake (Pinkie and who also got the best reaction out of the crowd) with Fluttershy's stand in being too shy to get on stage.
'Glad to see those two got what they deserve,' Ditzy thought to herself as she saw that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were the changelings, with Snips and Snails as the backups. The play continued with botched lines and stammering actors, but the parents all seemed to be having a good time, but Ditzy could see that one of the trees in the background occasionally moved and she quickly figured what had become of Bubbles. The same Bubbles was watching the foals play fight on the stage with some interest since he had never seen any of his little sisters act this way and they were the only children he remembered being around. But he still enjoyed being there as the play went on, right up until the point where a blast of silver went off on the stage and all of the foals shrieked along with the audience. Bubbles tore off the tree and rushed forward to see the silver mare standing there, looking up at him with a hooded face.
'The princesses need your help,' she said to him as she quickly began to glow. Bubbles reached out and grabbed Dinky before the light consumed the both of them, where they vanished much to the shock of the crowd and ponies on the stage. Ditzy's first response was to fly onto the stage to search for her daughter, but at that point her daughter and Bubbles had been transported to a beach far away from Ponyville, where they appeared in a flash of light. Bubbles looked around to realize that it was the beach that he had woken up upon, but he quickly turned towards the mare with drill spinning. 'Down there,' the mare said before Bubbles could attack her and he when he turned all thoughts of killing her left his mind. On the beach were the two princesses, fighting off what looked like a massive swarm of splicers.
"Bubbles, you have to-!" Dinky began before Bubbles went charging into the fray, impaling one splicer on the end of his drill before beating another one to death with said splicer. His fist crackled with lightning that he sent flashing into the rest of the splicers, watching as the lightning leapt from splicer to splicer in a chain. With all of them stunned, all it took was a snap of his fingers to set them ablaze and ending the fight. Celestia and Luna made sure that the splicers were all dead before they walked over to Bubbles.
"Thank you for coming to our rescue," Luna said with a bloodied smile as she looked at Bubbles. "But how did you get here so quickly?" Bubbles looked back at where the silver mare was only to find that she was gone, leaving him to shrug in his defense. Celestia sighed at this, but thanked him as well as she walked over to Dinky.
"The two of you must come. We have much to discuss," she said as she pulled Dinky onto her back and took to the skies, with a Bubble's carrying Luna not far behind her.
===K>
"As we have told the six of you, there have been a number of humans...splicers that have surfaced in the past week," Celestia said to the Elements of Harmony, who looked at the princesses with amazement as they heard this story. "And with each new appearance only comes more death and pain."
"So what do we do?" RD asked as she took up a fighting stance. "Beat them whenever they show up? Trap them in stone?"
"The Elements of Harmony will do nothing," Celestia said, causing the Elements to look at her with confusion. "A plan has already been formulated and has been left to Bubbles to complete."
"And what plan is that princess?" Rarity asked.
"That plan...is to have Bubbles destroy Rapture, once and for all," she said with hidden regret. The ponies all gasped at this and began to voice their own opinion, which made Celestia's decision even harder on her.
"But aren't there living creatures down there?"
"The humans should be allowed to speak for their actions!"
"We just can't-"
"That is enough," Luna said in a calm voice that silenced them all. "You may think that these humans are sentient beings, but my sister and I have fought them three times now and each time we saw the same thing, a desire, an obsession with killing all in their sight. We have tried reasoning with them, we have tried force, but each time we were met with the same actions. Only our deaths would satisfy them." The Elements looked aghast at what Luna was saying, but her tone made it clear that she wasn't joking. "I wish this were no so, but it is. So we have only one option left and that is to defend ourselves. And we will attack first."
"But princess, I thought you said that Rapture had been lost to time?" Twilight asked. "Have you found it?"
"No Twilight, but we have the next best thing," Luna said as she pulled down a tarp to reveal the newer bathysphere, which was prepped for launch. "This has a beacon in it that will lead it down to Rapture. But it is the only working one we have and Bubbles will be going down alone."
"Alone?" Dinky spoke up, turning all heads towards her. "You're not going with him? But what if he needs help? What if-?"
"Dinky, we know what we are asking you is hard, but you must understand...we lost a village by the seas to the splicers two days ago," Celestia said with bitter remorse. "By the time my sister and I got there they had already gutted most of the ponies there. They are mostly immune to pain and are so far out of their minds that only death stops them. And there is a city full of them down below the surface. Bubbles has asked to do this alone and we need to act now." Dinky could see the fear and worry in Celestia's eyes and knew that she was at the end of her rope, so with a sigh she agreed with what she was saying.
"The reason my sister and I brought the six of you here is incase Bubbles fails," Luna continued on. "For if he does, then Equestria can expect to be at war very soon. And the ponies of the land will look to its heroes for comfort and strength. That is why none of you are going." The Elements grumbled to themselves, but none of them disagreed with the two who looked back to Dinky again. "With everything prepared, all that is left is for my sister and I to get the sphere to the edge of the water. From there it will do the rest. It will probably take a day, so spend that time with your family...and him." Dinky looked up a Bubbles, who gave her a gentle moan to let her know that it would be fine.
"We'll take you home," Luna said softly, kneeling down for Dinky, but she climbed up Bubbles legs and rested on top of his head. Luna smiled slightly at this and once again placed Bubbles within the sphere, taking the two of them back to their home.
===K>
"...And tomorrow he heads downs into Rapture to put a stop to the human once and for all," Dinky finished, looking across the table at the stunned faces of her mother and Berry, who had no idea what to say.
"And you're alright with this?" her mother eventually asked. "You're fine with Bubbles heading down to Rapture where he might die?"
"No," Dinky said with fear before she looked up at Bubbles. "But it isn't my call to make. If he feels like this is something he needs to do, then I won't...or can't stop him." Berry looked at the Big Daddy with a new sense of respect while Ditzy looked at him with fear in her eyes. Dinky had lost one father already, but what had saved her from the full force of the pain was that she hadn't been born yet. But if he were to lose Mr. Bubbles...she didn't know how Dinky would react.
"So then, tonight might be the last night we have together with him," Berry said as she stood up. "Is there anything that you want to do before tomorrow?" Dinky thought about it for a moment before she ran up the stairs and came back down a moment later with a book in her grasp, which she gave to her mother before running to the couch.
"Can we read this story one last time?" she asked her mother, letting out a small yawn. Ditzy looked down at the book with a sad smile, knowing that this had been the first book that her husband had bought for their daughter. Ditzy sat down on the couch and opened the book, Bubbles sitting down next to her while Berry took her usual spot on the floor.
"The story of the Knight and the Dark Dragon," Ditzy began as Dinky rested her head on Ditzy's lap. "Once upon a time there was an evil dragon that flew over the land, where he cast down a fog of smoke upon the land. The ponies hated this smoke, since it prevented them from seeing or growing their crops. The princesses could do nothing to stop the dragon due to a spell that kept out all magical beings. The dark days would have continued indefinitely. But, a brave pony in a suit of armor galloped to the lair of the dragon and stood his ground against the beast, prepared to drive it out of the land.
"Oh ho, what do we have here?" the dragon said. "A single pony thinks that it is a match for me alone?"
"I am not alone," the brave pony said back. "With me are my friends, my family and all those who need me to stop you. And with them on my side, I cannot lose." The dragon laughed at this and breathed fire at the single pony, but much to his surprise the flames did not stop the pony, as his armor and the love of those who believed in him prevented him from being burned. The pony jumped onto the dragons head and lassoed his mouth shut, believing that he had won. But then the dragon's mouth began to burn with flames and..." Ditzy looked over at Dinky to see that she was fast asleep. Ditzy smiled and closed the book, gently picking her up and placing her on the leg of Mr. Bubbles, who watched as Ditzy turned towards her room.
"You'd better come back," she said to him over the snores of Berry. "You're part of this crazy family now and even if it kills you, you have to come back. For her." Bubbles looked down at the sleeping filly who had a thin smile on her face, conflict within his soul for the first time. He knew that he had to protect her, that he cared for her...but he wasn't sure that once he was in Rapture, he would be able to escape once again. And if she was down there...
Bubbles didn't notice Ditzy head back up the stairs, but he was aware of the fact that a silver light filled up the room once she had left.
'Tomorrow is the day of decision, Mr. Bubbles,' the silver mare said to him in her normal mystical voice. 'Will you shatter the chains that still hold you at the bottom of the sea for her? Or will you be dragged back down to the depths that I found you in?' Bubbles never answered as she vanished, but he did wonder what she was talking about before he drifted off a bit. In his dream, he saw Dinky sitting on the ground in front of him, looking ahead with a blank look. But when he went to go to her, a giggle came from behind him and he turned to see his little girl standing behind him looking away from him.
'So which will you choose?' the voice of the mare said. 'Where do your loyalties lie?'
===K>
The sea. He had spent all of his rememberable life under the sea, so to be looking at it from above still made him nervous even though he knew that his suit could survive the pressure. Dinky stood beside him looking out at the sea while the princesses behind him attached the weapon to his back carefully while explaining how it worked to him.
"Now remember, once you push this button you will have only thirty minutes to get back to the surface," Luna said as she set the timer. "This is a combination of human tech and our own, so it will be hard for the splicers to mess with it. All you have to do is plant it in the heart of Rapture and then get out of there. Simple." If Bubbles could laugh he would have as he felt the extra weight before turning to look at the princesses, each of whom looked at him with uncertain eyes.
"Bubbles, if you do not wish to do this, then one of us can," Celestia offered, but Bubbles groaned and held out a hand. He then turned to the open bathysphere in front of him and gazed into it, knowing that this sphere would take him back to Rapture. Would take him home. "It's ready for you, whenever you are ready." Bubbles nodded and took a step forward, but Dinky stopped him before he could enter.
"Bubbles...I want you to take this with you," she said as she held up a small doll for him. it was a small pony with grey hair and tiny wings, looking like Ditzy. "My dad made this for me before I was born. Mom says that as long as I had it, my family would be with me. As long as you have it, then I'll be with you. All of your family will." Bubbles felt something in his chest as he reached down to gently take the doll from her, gently placing it in between the bars on the top of his helmet. Then with one last gaze at her he stepped into the waves where he could get inside of the bathysphere and pulled the lever, watching as the door closed behind him. He watched Dinky through the window until the sea had completely swallowed him. the sphere then turned around and he looked out the window into the depths, where Rapture lay.
'Allow me to help speed up your journey,' a voice in the sphere's radio said as the sphere began to go at a much faster speed. Bubbles could barely make sense of what was going on outside of the sphere as everything rocketed by is a swirl of silver, until the lights told him where he was. 'Rapture.' It didn't look like it had changed a day. All the lights were still on, all the buildings still there. But it was a dead city; the residents just hadn't realized it yet. His sphere caught onto one of the guidance rails and brought him into a building marked Proving Grounds. Once inside, the sphere opened up to reveal a small emergency bathysphere exit that the section had, but now it was his entrance. So as he stepped out of the sphere into what was his old grounds, it was ironic as it was fitting that one message played on his radio.
Bubbles kicked open the locked door in front of him, steeping into the hollowed grounds where many a Big Daddy had trained to protect the little ones to the best of their ability, which was absolute protection. He wondered for a moment about how long it had been since he had fought in this ground before he shook his head clear of those thoughts and turned to the mare next to him.
'This is the way you want to go,' she said to him as a silver arrow appeared at his feet for a few seconds, pointing him in the direction he needed to go. 'This is where you find the center of Rapture, where everything is.' He let out a moan the reverberated off of the walls and through the pipes as he walked through the ground, not paying any heed to the dead bodies or the fallen Big Daddies...though he avoided the bodies of the few little sisters as best he could.
What surprised him the most was the lack of splicers in the immediate area, since back when he was alive he could barely go ten feet without at least seeing a splicer. But the halls of the sunken city were as empty as they were dead and the only sound that could be heard for miles was the sound of his heavy boot steps upon the metal floor. On the annoying side, the silver mare walked along beside him as he progressed, even when he though he lost her by slamming doors behind her.
'I understand that you do not like me, but I will be necessary if you wish to achieve your goal,' she said to him, sighing when he tried to hit her with his drill. He did his best to ignore her after that as he walked the way the arrow pointed him, but then there was a laughing sound that put him on guard instantly. The silver mare also looked up at the ceiling as the sound of metal on pipes could be heard echoing around them.
"What do we have here? A...tin daddy? Well well, we haven't seen one of you in so long," the evil voices cackled from the shadows. Bubbles drill started up as he placed in the center of the room, spinning around as more and more voices added themselves to the laughter that surrounded him.
"Where is the little one?"
"Where is the girl?"
"WHERE IS MY ADAM!?"
Bubbles let out his most dangerous roar to let them know that they shouldn't mess with him, but that warning was lost on them as one jumped down from the ceiling and landed on his back, out of the range of his drill or his other arm. But to his surprise, a bolt of silver slammed into the splicer and sent him skidding across the floor, where Bubbles set him ablaze before turning to the silver mare with confusion.
'Humans like this have taken much from me as well,' she said as she ripped the pipe that a spider splicer was on off of the wall and slammed it against the ground. 'This is as much my fight as it is yours.' Bubbles drilled a lead head that thought it was safe from him off in a corner before sending a lancing column of electricity into three splicers, freezing them in place long enough for the silver mare to impale them on any sharp objects that she saw lying around. 'Despite you not liking me Bubbles, we both want the same thing here. We want them stopped.' Bubbles moaned in agreement as another spider splicer jumped onto his helmet, but this time he was ready. He grabbed her leg the moment she landed on him and whipped her head first into the floor, where he introduced her head to the bottom of his boot. The rest of the splicer fled for their lives and while Bubbles began to give chase, the silver mare erected a wall of silver to stop him.
'They are beaten. Let them leave,' she said to him with no emotion. 'They are dead anyway.' Bubbles moaned at her with annoyance but broke the chase as he followed the silver arrow as it pointed him back to his task. 'If you are wondering how I know so much about you and Rapture, in another reality similar to this one I am friends with a woman named Tenebaum. She helped me to find out about the Big Daddies and how one of them might be...what I need. I was not certain about you and I still not am. But if you are the champion I need you to be, then the time has come to show me.'
Bubbles ignored her rambling as he kicked down another locked door, finding himself heading towards the exit to the proving grounds. But then once again he heard laughing coming from behind him, but as he turned around to see what it was a small moan escape his suit. The little sister was once again standing behind him a good fifty feet away, at another doorway. He let out a moan as he turned and began to follow her, gaining the silver mare's attention.
'Where are you going? There is nothing there,' she said to him, but her words were lost on the Daddy as he continued his march towards the girl, who motioned for him to follow her as she ran through the door. Bubbles sprinted to the door only to see that she was already on the other end of the next room, still motioning for him to following her. 'Bubbles, that is enough,' the silver mare said as she materialized in front of him. 'I do not know what you are chasing, but it-' She never finished her sentence as a blast of his ice froze her in place. With his plasmids being powered by a bit of her magic, she found that it would take her much longer to get free of this ice.
Bubbles would have laughed at her if he could, but the little girl was once again his biggest concern. He chased her down once again, but this time he found himself out on a balcony, with a huge number of splicers in the center of the room, apparently having surrounded the little girl. He let out his roar of rage before he leapt off the balcony and landed on two splicers head, causing them to explode under his boots as the other cursed at him.
"It's a tin daddy! Kill him!" One of them with a tree mask yelled as he teleported out of Mr. Bubble’s sight, so the splicer that was standing behind him took the drill instead. Bubbles ripped the corpse off of his drill and set it ablaze before throwing it into the face of another splicer, who howled in agony as he too was set ablaze. Bubbles first thought was to protect the sister, but as he looked around he found that she was gone. He couldn't think about it long as a bolt of fire struck him in the back and he spun to drive his drill into the splicer, only to find that he was gone again. The other two splicers with guns weren't as lucky as Bubbles got both of them on his drill with one powerful impact, tearing them in two as he spun them off his drill.
"You're different than the other tin daddies, aren't you?" the splicer asked him from the shadows, causing Bubbles to look around for him. "But we've killed plenty of you and we'll do so again. Oh Dredger." Bubbles turned as he saw two massive hands grab the door behind him and rip it off its hinges, a massive wall of muscle entering the room with a bowler hat on its head. The brute splicer let out a guttural roar and slammed into Bubbles, picking the heavy Daddy off his feet and driving him into the glass window, causing cracks to break all along its sides. "That right Dredger, rip that tin daddy apart. Maybe there's a prize inside."
Bubbles roared as he slammed his helmet into the splicers nose, causing it to bleed but not breaking its grip as the splicer lifted Bubbles over its head and threw him across the room, sparks flying as he skidded across the ground. The splicer roared and began to charge towards Bubbles, but stopped when Bubbles shot lightning into its face.
"Hey! You Daddies aren't supposed to be able to do that!" the Houdini splicer yelled as Bubbles charged towards the brute, driving his drill into its gut and spinning. Blood sprayed the front of his suit as the splicer roared with pain, but with its dying act it reached onto the Daddies head and ripped some of his machinery off his back, causing Bubbles to stagger back as mist began to emit from the ripped pipes. Another drill shot to the face was all it took to put the splicer down and then Bubbles turned his attention to the last splicer, who was standing across the room from him. "You ain't a regular Daddy. You something else." Bubbles punctuated his point by hardening his ice plasmid into an icicle and sent it flying right in between the splicers eyes, putting him down for good.
'Good job Mr. B. Now come join me in the garden,' a voice behind him said, a voice that turned out to be his little sister. He took a step forward before his vision blurred for a moment, telling him that he had sustained damage. But it meant nothing to him as he continued to lurch forward, driven on by the image of the little girl running along in front of him. He was halfway down a hallway when he realized that there were plants growing on the walls around him, with little flowers growing out of them. Then there was another sound that reached his ears, a sound that he hadn't heard since the early days of Rapture. The sound of laughter.
'We're almost there Mr. Bubbles!' the little sister said to him as he reached the end of the hallway, two massive doors swinging open to reveal...dozens of little sisters and Big Daddies all playing together, with flowers and picnic sets all around them. He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't been seeing it with his own eyes, but he couldn't the truth in front of him. 'Come on Mr. B., come play with us.'
'No Bubbles!' the silver mare said as she appeared beside Bubbles, her eyes glowing green like his. 'You have to remember why you are down here! You have to stop Rapture once and for-!' She was silenced once again by a blast of ice, leaving Bubbles to look upon the scene with awe. It was...paradise to him, a place where all the little sisters and Big Daddies could finally be together without worry.
'Come and join us Mr. B.,' she said to him with a smile as she offered him her hand. He moaned slightly as he took a step forward, only to have his leg give out and he fell to one knee, the small doll on his head shaking loose from its place and fell to the ground in front of him. He looked at it for a moment before her reached out to pick it up, another sound replacing the sound of the laughter all around him. It was the sound of Dinky laughing and when her laugh reached his ears, so did the images of her smile and her bright yellow eyes. He let out a soft moan as he closed his fist around the doll and he slowly got back up to his feet as he remembered what he was down her for....who he was down here for. The one he had sworn his loyalty to. And when he looked back up the little sister opened her arms to him, but he could no longer see her.
'Mr. Bubbles?' the little sister asked as Bubbles looked through her, his green eyes now a crimson red. He let out a moan of rage before he turned away from the little sister, marching down the hallway away from her even as her pleas followed him. 'Please don't go Mr. Bubbles! Don't leave me again! Come back! Come...!' While he was walking away, the silver mare had once again freed herself from the confines of the ice, allowing her to look at the sister that Bubbles was leaving behind with confusion, the sister looking like a ghost. Then to her shock the image before her began to melt away, the flowers and bright colors turning to grey, dead vines and brown petals on the ground. Then the big Daddies with eyes full of life turned into empty, dead shells that lay with no light on the ground. And finally, the little sisters went from laughing and smiling to skeletons, that were as quiet as the room now was. And the little sister that Bubbles had been following was the last to go, vanishing as if she had never existed at all. The silver mare could also see the bodies of splicers lying in the room as well and she was able to figure out what had happened.
'This could have been their last stand,' she said to herself with a shake of her head as she looked away. 'But like all last stands, it only ends in death.' She glided along the ground until she had caught up with Bubbles, who was trying to break down a massive door in front of him, the arrow pointing to it.
"Well well well, so you managed to make it all the way down here to me, didn't you Mr. Bubbles?" a voice said from over the radio, causing Bubbles to growl as he heard the voice. "You remember me? Odd, I killed all Big Daddies I came across. Now I don't believe that I've met you before, but you and those pony friends of yours found my recording that I placed on the surface. No need to answer, I have eyes everywhere. But I dislike talking across these infernal radios, so come on in to my office." The door in front of the Big Daddy opened at this point to show a single room with a single vending machine, as well as one elevator on the far side of the room.
"Don't be afraid, just come on up," the voice said as Bubbles began to march towards the elevator, wondering if he had heard this voice before. "Come on up to the office of Jack Ryan."
The elevator came to a stop and Bubbles stepped out of it into what looked to be a large laboratory, with odd machines all around and some sort of electrical device hanging from the ceiling. But none of the interesting machines really grabbed Bubbles attention as he stared with rage at a desk in the center of a room, where a person was sitting in a chair with his back to the Big Daddy.
"So you've finally made it," the voice said, the same voice that had been in the recording and from the radio. "You've caused me some trouble, what with killing some of my better splicers just a few minutes ago. But that isn't of any concern, since now we can meet face to...face." The chair spun around as he said this and Bubbles got to look at the man behind the voice. He was clean shaven with a suit on and he looked like someone who held himself in high regard, despite living in a sunken world full of death. His hands were clamped together on his desk, but Bubbles could see into his eyes. Eyes of a remorseless man who had killed many to get where he was.
Bubbles let out a moan and took a step forward, but a bolt of lightning shot out of the device on the ceiling and struck at the Big Daddy's feet. Bubbles looked up towards the man with red eyes of rage as he rose out of his chair, narrowing his eyes at the Big Daddy in confusion as he began to walk towards him.
"Have we met before?" he asked, Bubbles roaring at him as another bolt shot past him. "I really don't know, all you Daddies look the same to me. So do the little sisters and God knows how many of them I've killed since I've been down here." Bubbles roared again and charged towards the human, ignoring the bolts as he went to drive his drill into his skull. But much to Bubbles shock, the human reached out with his left hand and lifted Bubbles into the air without touching him, before sending him flying across the room with a flick of his wrist. Bubbles slammed into the wall and slid to the floor, where he got back up with a growl. Then he spotted something on the human that made him roar with unbridled fury.
"Wait a second, I know that roar," the human said with a smile as he pulled a collapsible shotgun out from behind him, aiming at the Big Daddy's head with a smile creeping across his face. "Oh yes, I remember setting up these same sights all those years ago. Hello, Mr. Bubbles." He pulled back his sleeves as he said this to reveal two chain tattoos on his wrist. The silver mare realized who this man was as Bubbles allowed fire to crackle along his fist before he sent a torrent of flames toward the human, who used his telekinesis to pull the desk in front of the fires path with a sneer.
"So you managed to come back from the dead only to die at my hands once again," the human said with a smile as his left hand began to flash between multiple plasmids. "Which is interesting because I remember death being permanent. But then again, you might not be the same Bubbles. You could be a similar one from another reality. Oh yes, I know all about those since Elizabeth was kind enough to tell me about them." Bubbles wanted to just drill him in the face right then, but he was wary of the machine above Ryan.
"Yes, many worlds are out there, each with different paths or choices. Whereas I live in a sunken dystopia others live in a city above the clouds. Where I killed you in one reality you're still alive in another, presuming you are the one I killed," Ryan said with a chuckle as he walked down from his desk with a smile. "You know what's funny, Elizabeth told me in one reality I became a Big Daddy to save all the little sisters from this place. The other me must have been more jacked up than the splicers to do that. Because who would want to be one of you?" Bubbles answered with a bolt of ice he shot towards the human before shooting lightning towards the device on the ceiling, sending it crashing down on top of Ryan. Ryan teleported out of the way and reappeared behind Bubbles, smacking him in the back of the helmet with wrench. Bubbles spun around to hit him with his drill, but Ryan was once again gone, replaced by a swarm of insects that lashed at Bubbles
"What's that you have on your back?" he asked as a swarm of insects consumed Bubbles vision, the Big Daddy growling in annoyance as he swatted away at all the insects. "Some sort of bomb? Are you truly trying to destroy the last center of humanity? The last great art piece created by our fathers!?...Can't say I blame you, this place has become a city of the dead. But that is why we shall take the surface world, so that once again humanity can flourish under my rule!" Bubbles took this moment while he was monologueing to send an icicle towards Jack, who caught it with his telekinesis once again. But when he went to fire it back, Bubbles burst through the ice with his drill and drove it into Ryan's left hand, the man screaming in pain as blood sprayed along the floor. He vanished in a cloud, appearing by a health station on the other end of the room.
"I don't remember you being able to do that," he muttered as he healed his wound, flexing his hand as he looked towards Bubbles with a less than friendly glare. "I suppose I have been a gracious enough host long enough. I've killed you before, so it will be easy to do so a second time." Bubbles braced himself as Ryan switched over to a grenade launcher, firing explosives all around the daddy. Bubbles shielded himself from the blasts with his arms, even though he could feel his suit taking damage. With a roar he went to charge Jack, but stopped when he saw the lights all around his feet.
"So, you aren't as stupid as the last time we fought, are you?" Jack asked as he pulled out a crossbow and fired a bolt right into the center of Bubbles helmet, smirking as it exploded and the daddy roared in pain. Bubbles waved away the smoke to reveal that two of his ports had shattered, allowing the gas inside his helmet to start leaking out. "It doesn't matter though. You're a dead man. But then again, that's what you were even before we met." Jack had switched over to his flamethrower at this point and was shooting a column of flame at the daddy, who was trying to counter it with his ice plasmid. "That's what the scientist did to you. They killed the soul of a man then stuck his corpse into a suit, making you into a slave. I was once asked to choose between being a slave or a man and I chose man. But you," Jack said as he pulled out a green, bubbly plasmid. "You have no choice." He threw the plasmid into Bubbles face, causing the Big Daddy to roar as the plasmid began to control him. After a moment the roaring stopped and he looked towards Ryan with green eyes.
"That's a good slave," Jack said as he walked towards the daddy. "Now then. Kneel." The Big Daddy did as he asked, getting down onto one knee as Ryan smirked, but the smirked vanished as he noticed a small doll on top of the daddy. "What do we have here?" he asked as he plucked the doll from the top of Bubbles head. "Some sort of doll? Don't tell me that the ponies up there actually think of you than anything more than a monster? If they are that foolish, then they shall be easy to conquer." He threw the doll onto the ground as he said this and stomped on it, grinding it into the floor with his boot. And all the while he did this, he never noticed Bubbles eyes slowly changing from green to yellow to red. He may have been under the control of the plasmid, but what he saw in all those eyes was a splicer that was crushing a token of love from his little Dinky. And he didn't like it.
"RRRRRRRRRR!" he roared as he lunge onto Ryan off of his knee, taking his drill and driving it at full rotation into the leg of the man, who screamed in pain as the drill tore through the bone. He fired another shot of the green plasmid into Bubbles face, only to watch with horror as the eyes remained a crimson red. Bubbles picked up Jack with his right hand and threw him across the room, gently picking up the ripped doll before stalking towards Jack with venom in his eyes.
"Alright monster, that is enough!" Ryan roared as he pressed a button on his grenade launched, blowing off a number of vents covers. An evil smile crossed his face as spider splicers began pouring in from all of them, all looking towards the Big Daddy with greed in their eyes. "That Daddy has a little sister! Kill him and it is yours!" The splicers all shrieked at the thought of the plasmid in her and all rushed Bubbles, who struck down the most eager with a blow from is drill. But the numbers quickly got the better of him and he was swarmed by the splicers to the point where he couldn't move. Jack laughed at his pain and began to fire grenades into the cluster of splicers, killing them as he tore pieces of armor off of the daddy.
"You really thought you could walk into MY home by yourself and kill me?" Ryan asked with an insane laugh, throwing in some fire plasmid along with the grenades. "You're just one Big Daddy! I've killed dozens of you by myself! And yet you believed that you could finish me by yourself! I took everything this city could throw at me and survived, becoming the top of the top! And when the people above tried to stop me when I invaded, I destroyed their world! I stand tall over a mountain of corpses that became my staircase to the throne. And all you've done is failed to protect a freak of nature. How can you beat me?!"
Bubbles heard his words as he tried to shake off all the splicers, but there were too many for him. Not to mention that he could feel himself starting to bleed out from all damage done by the grenades. The spider splicers also tore into him with their hooks and he could feel them tearing into his skin and through his armor, puncturing his innards. With his vision starting to go in and out, it took a great deal of strength for him to throw of a splicer on his left arm. Then he looked at his hand to realize that he was still holding onto Dinky's doll, a doll that she had given to him while telling him,
'As long as you have this, then I’ll be with you. All of your family will.' Bubbles clenched his fist over the doll as he could feel the power flowing through him, not the power of rage but an emotion that he had not felt in its truest form for years. Love. It wasn't his love for Dinky, but instead her love for him. The love that no other had shown him. With that power flowing through him, he roared and threw all of the splicers off of him, letting loose another roar that shook the entire chamber to its core. The splicers that hadn't been killed got up and rushed Bubbles again, but this time he braced himself. He knew that he was not alone this time, that there were those back home that supported him. Dinky, Berry, Ditzy and all the other ponies who had come to call him friend. He had his friends, his family and all those who depended on him to stop this foe. All of those who he was truly loyal to. And with them on his side, he would not lose.
"Kill him!" Ryan roared as the splicers once again dog pilled Bubbles, but this time they were blasted off by an explosion of white light that disintegrated all of the splicers that were on him. Ryan staggered back as he looked upon Mr. Bubbles, who was now glowing with a white light, a golden shoulder pad on his shoulder that had a grey drill in the center of it. The Big Daddy looked down at himself with awe, but nowhere near the level of awe that the silver mare held.
'He called upon its power,' she whispered to herself with sheer amazement in her voice as she backed away. 'He...he summoned the Element. But none of the other heroes could...'
"What...kind of power is this?" Jack asked as he raised a hand towards the golden aura, but placing his hand near the light caused it to burn with a pain far greater than fire.
'He cannot even get close to it. It's power is poison to one as evil as him.' Bubbles only spent a moment looking at his new color scheme before he turned towards Ryan, his white eyes glowing with power as he gazed at his foe.
"Where did you get this power?! Why has it chosen you over me?!" Bubbles said nothing in response. Instead, he simply raised his drill and began to spin it.
"This means nothing! You still can't-" His words were cut off as Bubbles let loose a roar of rage before driving his drill into the floor, causing a shockwave that blew the human off of his feet and to the ground. As he struggled back up, Bubbles rushed towards him at unbelievable speeds, driving his drill right through Jack's stomach. Jack coughed up blood before vanished, reappearing in front of the health station once again. But as he accessed it, he found to his dismay that instead of healing him, it poisoned him.
"What the?" he asked weakly before being slammed into from behind, Bubbles picking him up and throwing him across the room. "Why didn't it...?"
'It seems that somepony went and hacked the health station,' the silver mare said to herself with a smirk. 'Now I wonder who did that?' Bubbles didn't care as he dashed over and picked up Ryan by his throat, holding the human out in front of him.
"This changes nothing," he spat as the blood continued to drain from him. "You'll never make it out of this city in time. You'll die before-" Bubbles had enough of his talking and threw him onto the ground, waiting until he had almost got up before throwing him into the air and driving his drill straight through his chest, spinning him around until the screams had stopped. Bubbles threw the carcass of the great ruler to the side before letting out a roar of victory, a roar that terrified any splicer around him and caused them to flee for their lives. The golden light faded after he did this, leaving Bubbles to collapse to the ground with pain. His vision was dimming due to the lack of blood and he could barely feel anything, but he knew that he had to finish this. So as he dragged himself to his feet, he followed the white arrow one last time to the machine behind Ryan's desk, which was the power source to everything in Rapture.
'I was wrong about you,' the silver mare said as he knelt down in front of the machine and pulled the bomb off of his back, placing it on the ground. 'You are more than a monster. Deep down, you are greater than some of the heroes I have met.' Bubbles gave her a weak annoyed moan before he primed the bomb, finding out that the timer had been damaged and could no longer be used. The only thing that could set off the bomb was a manual detonation. 'You don't have to do it. You could still get out of here. With Jack dead, Rapture will collapse upon itself. I can get you out of here.'
Bubbles thought about taking up that offer, but then he thought of what would happen if Rapture did resurface again. More ponies would die, more pain would be wrought and Dinky might be in danger. So as he pressed down on the button, the silver mare nodded sadly
'Remember what that splicer said?' the silver mare asked him as she motioned to the corpse. 'A man chooses and a slave obeys? Well he left out what a father does. A father...protects. Thank you, Mr. Bubbles.' The silver mare vanished as she said this, figuring that the magic bomb might be enough to do her in. So Bubbles sat there alone, with his finger pressed down on the device that would kill him. Not he knew that he wasn't truly alone, the doll that sat next to him told him so. Dinky would always be with him and he would always be with her, in spirit. So as he pulled his finger away from the detonator and saw the timer hit zero, he knew that she and the rest of his family would be safe. And he was content.
'So here we are again,' the silver mare said to Bubbles, who groaned as he picked himself off of what he assumed was the ground, since it was made of silver and blended in perfectly with everything else around him. He got to his feet to see the silver mare standing in front of him, her hood down again so that her mane was resting on her shoulders. 'But this time I have the feeling that you are fine with being dead, are you not?' Bubbles let out a small moan as he looked at his body, noticing that all the wounds he had were gone and his helmet had been repaired. He looked to the mare, wondering if she was the one behind his miraculous repairs.
'No, the reason you are in your old state is because you have passed on,' she said to him, looking around the room with her silver eyes. 'Well, you should have passed on, but for a strange reason, you came here instead, to where I was created. But I know why that is. It is because of that golden item on your shoulder.' Bubbles looked down at the shoulder pad as best he could, noticing that power was still flooding through it despite it no longer glowing. 'But that is what confuses me. It is said that item will only choose a pony or person who is of the truest good and the embodiment of what it stands for. Yet you are nothing like the heroes of the human world that I have read about. Why did it pick you?'
Bubbles shrugged as he looked around the silver room, wondering if this was the afterlife. He didn't care what the silver mare had said, but he figured that she was right about this being a place in between life and death. After all, death couldn't be this boring. The silver mare noticed that he was looking around at the empty room and she sighed.
'I think the reason you came here instead of heading straight to the afterlife is because you have the will to make that choice,' she said as she looked behind her, where Bubbles could see far off in the distance a golden kingdom filled with beauty, a place that he never thought he would have the choice to go. But then he noticed that the silver mare was also looking behind him and when he turned around he saw something else. It was Ponyville and not just the entire town, but also he could see Dinky. She looked sad and depressed, not to mention he could tell by her red eyes that she had been crying. 'Of course she has. It has been a week there since you gave your life to destroy the city of the dead. Time moves differently here than it does in other places. But she is also another reason you haven't moved on. Because that doll,' she said as Bubbles looked down at the doll. 'It is your tether to life. It is your tether to her.' Bubbles looked back from her to the portal behind the mare, knowing what she was asking him to pick.
'So here is my question. Do you choose to go back and be with her, even though it prevent you being reunited with your little sister for even longer?' the silver mare asked him. 'Or do you choose the afterlife, where you will be free of all...' She stopped talking when she realized that Bubbles had ignored her and was walking towards Dinky, causing a small smile to spread on the face of the mare. 'A good choice. Very well Bubbles, I will assist you in returning to her. You have earned your happiness.' Her whole body glowed with silvery power as she said this and with one flash, everything was consumed by silver energy.
===K>
Dinky had barely any life in her the past week, having spent most of it at home with her family and friends mourning. She had waited for hours on the edge of that beach after Celestia and Luna had felt the weapon go off, but as the hours turned to days, she and the princesses knew what had happened. So she had to return home with the knowledge that she hadn't been there for him, that he had to face his city alone. Ditzy had kept her from going to school for a while, but she had to move on, no matter how hard it was. He died so that she could be happy; she had to honor his last wish as best she could. So that is where she found herself on this gray day as she and the other foals left the school, walking home with her head down as her friends did the best they could to comfort her.
"Are you sure you don't want to come hang out with us?" AB asked her, getting a small shake of Dinky's head as her answer. "We don't have to do any crusading, we can just do something fun." Dinky shook her head once again and AB backed off, giving Sweetie a chance to try.
"How about a movie? There are some really good ones coming out now," she suggested, but got the same answer as AB had gotten. Scootaloo didn't bother to try, since she knew that she would get the same reaction as well, but that didn't stop Pip.
"Dinky, if you want to be alone we'll respect that, but if you need a pony to talk to, we're all here for you," he offered her. She smiled slightly at his offer but shook her head as well. She then stopped in the street and looked into the distance, looking at a small forest that she hadn't been back to in a few weeks despite it being her favorite place to play. She then waved slightly to the others and began to walk towards it, trying to keep her mind of the Big Daddy.
'He's gone Dinky, you have to accept that,' she thought to herself, but instead of comforting her all it did was cause tears to fall from her face. She hadn't been paying attention to where she had been walking and found herself in the forest she had wanted to go to quicker than she thought. 'He may not have been here long, but in the short time that he was he was already a father to me. He was kind...to me and patent...for me at least, but just because he wasn't perfect doesn't mean that I didn't love him. I wish that I had told him that. I wish I had.'
'He knew.' Dinky spun around to see the silver mare standing behind her, this time wearing the hood Dinky had suggested for her. 'He held on to the doll you gave him no matter what he went up against. In fact, your love was what gave him the strength to overcome his greatest weakness and to stand up to his greatest foe. Without your love, he would have failed.'
"Thank you for the kind words," Dinky said softly as she sat down on the ground, more tears falling from her eyes. "But that confirms what I feared, doesn't it? He's dead." Then to Dinky's surprise, the silver mare began to chuckle to herself slightly, which was creepy since her mouth and body didn't move.
'Did I say he was dead? I don't believe I did,' she muttered with a smile as Dinky looked at her with some confusion. Then she looked down and realized that the ground was shaking slightly, shaking as if something...heavy was heading her way. She turned around in desperate hope as she heard something moving through the trees behind her. 'He may have died, but a will like his never stays down. Trust me, I know.' Dinky's eyes widened in shock as she saw the eight glowing eyes through the darkness of the trees, a smile spreading on her face while more tears streamed down her face as the metal man walked out of the trees.
"MR. BUBBLES!" she yelled as she threw herself at him, banging into his armor and falling to the ground with an "oomph." She got up quickly and wrapped herself around his leg, sobbing and laughing at the same time. "You're alive! You're alive! Come on, we have to go show mom and auntie Berry. Heck, let's show the entire town!" She climber up onto Bubbles head while still laughing as he headed to the town, both of them forgetting the mare that watched them go with an inner smile.
'I am glad to see that he has found happiness,' she thought to herself as she looked up at the sky with some confusion. 'But I do not understand why he was able to access the item when the more noble champions before him couldn't? I was beginning to think that I was simply running in circles, but then he showed me that they can be re-forged. But how could the other heroes fail? Could it be that they weren't as noble as I thought?...Or maybe...it is not the perfect ones who can access their power, but those who are flawed, those who have to overcome their weakness to truly be strong? If that is the case, then I will have to change my approach to who I consider for being a champion. But I know that the Kryptonian is one that I must try.' She looked back towards Bubbles as she said this, who had just reached the edge of town with Dinky telling all who were close that he was back.
'Enjoy your life Bubbles. Hopefully one day I will be able to call on you again.' She vanished into thin air as she said this, leaving Dinky and Bubbles to be swarmed by the ponies of the town.
===20yrs===
In a small home on the edge of town, a grey mare with equally greying hair was in the kitchen fixing up a new recipe that she had been wanting to try. With a wipe of her fore head she took a break for a moment, looking out the window across the small town that she had spent all of her life in. It had been a quiet life, but not an uneventful one. But those thoughts were striped from her head as she heard the sound of heavy feet walking towards her house, telling her that her family had come to see her.
"Hey mom!" a voice called out from the living room as the door opened and as Ditzy turned around a small filly with a grey coat that had brown spots on it came running into the room, tackling the aging mare with a huge smile.
"Hi grammy!" the little one said as she hugged Ditzy, who returned the hug.
"Hello there Dippy, have you been a good girl?" Ditzy asked as she walked out of the kitchen, looking upon her small family that sat upon the couch with a smile. Dinky had grown into a fine mare and was Ditzy's pride, while Pip had grown into a giant of a stallion in twenty years. And then there was Bubbles, who stood next to the couch in his golden armor and his polished drill. When the years had finally taken their toll on his armor, the princesses had forged him a new suit and a better drill, but that didn't stop him from being the guardian of her family. And once Dinky had grown too big for her protection, he had become the protector of her and Pip's child Dippy Doo, who know bounced up and down on her couch excitedly.
"So what do I owe this pleasure?" Ditzy asked as she sat on a couch across from Dinky, who smiled at her.
"Do I need a reason to visit the mare that raised me?" Dinky asked with a smile before pulling Dippy off of the back of the couch and next to her. "We just came to see how you were doing. It's been almost a year and we were thinking that you might be getting a little lonely."
"It has been hard to schedule any free time with work," Pip said in their defense. "But I love visiting Ponyville every once in a while and it's always great to see family again. Dippy, get down." Dippy huffed and jumped off of Ditzy's cabinets and sat down on the floor for a second before falling onto her back and rolling around.
"Well I know I'm glad to see my family," Ditzy said with a smile as she looked over to Bubbles. "How have things been with you? I assume that it's been all good or I would have read about how you flattened somepony in the paper." Bubbles shrugged in his defense before all four of them turned when they heard a breaking sound, looking at Dippy who was standing next to a broken window.
"I didn't do it."
"Why can't you just sit down and talk to your grandmare?" Dinky asked with a sigh as she placed her face in her hoof.
"I love grammy, but I want to go PLAY!" she said in desperation, bouncing up and down in place as she tried to contain herself. "We never come to Ponyville and I want to go to the clubhouse! PLLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEE let me go!" she begged, throwing herself on her mother’s hooves. Dinky and Pip looked at each other before both of them sighed and allowed her to.
"But," Dinky said quickly, stopping Dippy at the door. "Only if Mr. Bubbles goes with you." Bubbles got up at the sound of his name and followed the tiny filly to the door, where she looked up at him with a smile before shooting out the door, forcing Bubbles to stride to keep up with her. "Faust she has a lot of energy," Dinky said with a sigh.
"Just like a little filly that I used to raise," Ditzy said with a smile. As Dippy sprinted through the streets, Bubbles looked around at all the ponies, waving to those who waved to him. Even when Dinky had move to Manehatten, the ponies here had never forgotten him or Dinky, not that anypony would forget coming face to face with Bubbles. Dippy had come to a stop twenty feet in front of him in the field as he stood in place looking back at the town around him, feeling the sun on his suit as he thought about the past years and how kind they had been to him. His little Dinky had grown up, become happy and given him a little Dippy to look after now. So as he stood on a hill outside of the town thinking about his life here, he felt something in his chest that he hadn't felt in the longest of times.
He felt...happy.
"Hurry up Bubbles, you can be soooooo slow sometimes," Dippy said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Come on, the clubhouse is just over here!" Bubbles let out a moan as he followed her towards the clubhouse, a smile in his heart as he prepared for their next adventure.
