Delta Machine

DELTA MACHINE

Twilight Sparkle paced nervously, her hoofsteps making quiet noises on the floor. She was waiting for her friends to arrive at the library, and she could wait for them patiently much longer. Pinkie Pie had promised Twilight that she would round everyone up. Twilight knew that Pinkie Pie would never break a promise, but they were supposed to have been at the library over an hour ago. Being the punctual pony that she was, Twilight couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at her friends.

"Relax, Twilight, Rainbow Dash was probably napping again," Spike said, patting Twilight on the shoulder comfortingly.

"Maybe something is wrong!" Twilight fretted, stamping a hoof, "After all, Pinkie Pie never breaks a promise!"

"Everything is just fine," Spike said, rolling his green eyes. Twilight wasn't sure that she believed Spike, but she did have the tendency to worry. Twilight had many times over-thought things and over-reacted.

Suddenly Twilight heard knocking at the door. She quickly bounded towards it, flinging it open with a swift and eager motion. There stood all of her friends. Pinkie Pie was bouncing in place, excitedly, and she immediately bounded head-first into Twilight's library.

"Twilight!! Guess what!! We stopped at the cotton candy stand and they were selling it for half off!! HALF! OFF! I ate so much I almost puked!"

Twilight chuckled, immediately cheered by Pinkie Pie, and turned to her friends. She gestured a hoof, beckoning all of them into her home.

"Welcome to my world, step right through the door!" she greeted, and her friends entered. Applejack tipped her hat off to Twilight, then threw it onto her coat-rack with precision. Fluttershy and Rarity smiled at her, and Rainbow Dash took another bite of cotton candy. She yawned widely, looking very tired.

"This stuff fills you with energy, at first, but then it's like tranquilizers or something..." Rainbow Dash said to no one in particular and Twilight took the bag away from her.

"Next time leave this stuff at home. You're an athlete Dash, you don't need this anymore."

"I am SO glad to be out of town square!" Rarity announced as Twilight shut the door, "There are so many drama queens!" The white mare flipped her mane and took a seat on the floor with dignity.

"Yeah...ALL the drama queens are gone..." Applejack chuckled. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie broke into laughter and Rarity looked annoyed.

"Applejack, you are a devilishly poor sport!" Rarity cried, rolling her own eyes.

"Ah'm the devil, am Ah?" Applejack rolled her eyes, "Well, Ah tell ya what, if Ah was the devil Ah'd have it made. Ah'd probably even delay all my master plans and leave this lil' town. Devils like big towns, Ah s'pose. Ah might like one, too."

"Don't even think about leaving us!" Rarity shrieked, hugging Applejack affectionately. "This may be a little town, but we need you here!"

"Ooh! Ooh!" Pinkie Pie cried, bouncing, "If Applejack where the devil she would apple-buck with eye lasers! And penetrate souls! And bleed into dreams! And-"

"Dude, Pinkie, relax!" Dash barked, "Stop losing control!"

"Girls!" Twilight finally decided to speak up and called her friends attention quickly. Their heads all turned immediately and she smiled at them happily. She was proud of herself, very proud of herself. Today she would show them all that she had learned one of the greatest magics of all...

The age reversal spell.

"I've gathered you here today because I have mastered one of the most frustrating, infuriating, and difficult spells of all time."

The girls all looked extremely intrigued, especially Rarity, being a unicorn herself.

"Is it a color spell? Can you change my coat color? That would be so cool! Then I'd be Purplie Pie! Or Orangie Pie! Or Greenie Pie! Or maybe even Rainbow Pie! GASP- Then I'd be a lot like Rainbow Dash! We could be sisters, Dashie! What do you say, Rainbow Pie and Rainbow Dash?! Twilight!! Did you learn a color spell?" Pinkie Pie screamed, running around the room excitedly and pointing out objects of special colors.

"No, Pinkie, I didn't learn a color spell," Twilight calmly replied.

"AUGH! NO! NOW RAINBOW DASH AND I CAN'T BE TWINS!" Pinkie screamed, seemingly agonized. In all reality, she was only slightly disappointed.

"Actually, Pinkie Pie, and everypony, I've learned the age reversal sp-"

Suddenly the loud, piercing scream of a foal rang through the air. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy suddenly flew into the air, alarmed, and everypony else rushed to their feet as well. The scream suddenly became louder and was immediately accompanied by a loud, hollow thud directly outside of Twilight's library.

Twilight and her friends immediately ran out of the library and towards the sound. The screaming continued, screams of a filly who sounded extremely tortured. Following her keen ears, Twilight listened for where the sound could be coming from. It was located to her left, and Twilight followed her ears briskly. Racing towards the sounds, a sickly sight soon came into view.

Screaming and crying feverishly, a tiny whitish-pink filly with silky red mane. The aforementioned mane was tangled and clearly very windblown, and the filly's body was covered in cuts and bruises. Most alarmingly, however, she had two broken wings that were cracked at the bone. Blood poured from her open wounds and the filly wailed louder and louder as short time passed. Her crimson red eyes looked all around, alarmed. She had a broken foreleg, and it hung limply. She wobbled in place and seemed extremely dizzy.

"Celestia!" Twilight Sparkle cried out, alarmed. She thought carefully, wondering if she knew any healing spells. None came to mind, but Twilight would look at a few books once she made it inside. Rainbow Dash quickly swooped and gently lifted the tiny filly up and looked to Twilight for answers.

"Twilight, do you have any bandages?" Fluttershy asked, "I'm very good at taking care of animals who need help."

"We don't have any!" Spike cried, shaking his head.

"I don't! There aren't many injuries that could possibly happen in a library!" Twilight panicked, feeling hopeless. There had to be some way to help the filly.

"Ah've got bandages at Sweet Apple Acres, but Ah suppose that town square is nearby enough. Ah could go pick up some for ya, Twilight," Applejack offered, urgently, "Ah'll even take Pinkie Pie with me."

"That would be excellent!" Twilight responded, grateful for Applejack's offer, then turned to the rest of her friends, "Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, we'll help this filly."

The filly had not stopped crying and tears were soaking Rainbow Dash's shoulder. Suddenly, with one heave of her entire body, the filly vomited all over Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash jumped, crying out, and held the filly a little away from her.

"Let's get her to the hospital!" Dash exclaimed.

"Darling, please, that Emergency Room takes hours and we clearly have no time to lose! Let's get her into the library and see to her personally!" Rarity exclaimed, running back to the library immediately. Pinkie Pie and Applejack quickly ran towards town square and the rest of the friends ran into the library. Rainbow Dash hovered quickly, taking the filly with her own hooves.

"You can lay her on my bed," Twilight told Dash, "I'll clean the sheets later."

Rainbow Dash nodded and flew quickly to the bed. She put the filly down gracefully, laying her delicately atop the sheets.

"What's your name?" Rainbow Dash asked the sobbing filly.

"Delta Machine," the filly replied, her sobs beginning to quiet down into moans.

"Your wings are broken!" Dash cried, not sure what else she could say.

"Welcome to my world," the filly sobbed. Rainbow Dash took a step back, not sure what to think, and looked at her friends for some sort of answer. They couldn't help her.