Chapters First Awakening
--INITIALIZING GEAR CHECK
--COMPLETE --COMPUTER CHIP INSTALLATION
--COMPLETE --HYDRAULICS ACTIVATED
--COMPLETE --START UP INITIALIZED
---AI UNIT NUMBER 456770 READY
I open my eyes. A bright light fills the space.
Where am I?
Who am I?
My vision clears and I notice that I can see only in red.
I cannot move.
WELCOME UNIT 456770
A voice sounds in my ears.
I found that I could move. I twist my neck. A sound comes out like that of gears rubbing against each other. My vision clears.
What am I?
What?
My leg shoots up on command. I study it. It looks gray. Metallic. Pistons and armor cover the outside of it, and a red glass covering shows off wires and gears in a portion of my hoof.
My gears and pistons contract then release, sending me up in the air. I fall back down. A large crash sounds in the dark room I am in. A metal box.
Haven't I already done this? But my neck moves back and forth, without my consent.
WELCOME TO EQUESTRIA, 456770
*******
"Hey, Blossom Wing! Hey, Blossom!"
I looked up from my book and saw the familiar black and blue-maned earth-pony heading in my direction.
"Oh, hey Tornado."
"What are you doing? Oh horse apples. Are you reading?"
"Don't swear Tornado, you know that I don't like it."
"Oh please Blossom, loosen up a bit. Relax. It's not like the world is ending." He came over and stretched out on the bench I was sitting on. I rolled my eyes. Tornado was the most annoying, sarcastic, and rude pony I knew.
He was my best friend.
"Hey, I heard that there's going to be a protest this afternoon."
"And how do you know that?" I asked him, my nose back in my book.
"I have my sources. Anyway, are you coming?" I put my book down and stared at Tornado. He smirked at me. His eyes had a look of a dare in them.
"Do you have feathers for brains, Tornado? I'm not going to be shot down by one of the Robot Unit's lasers."
"But Blossom..."
"NO! Tornado, no. I am NOT doing something like that! Do you want to end up in jail? Or worse, dead?!?"
"I..."
"No."
He stared at me. "Do you do everything the Robot Unit says?"
"No, of course not..."
"Good. I didn't want you to end up like your dad, washed up and hung out to dry. Glad to see that you are still cool, Blossom."
I went numb. Did he really just say that? "What. Did. You. Just say. About. My dad?"
"Oh come on, Blossom. Everyone in Unit Area 4 knows that he was just a stupid robot lover."
There. That was it. I punched him good and hard in the jaw.
"Goodbye, Tornado." I said, bolting up into the air.
Yes. Tornado is my best friend, but sometimes he can get carried away. He doesn't think. But he deserved my hoof in his mouth. So why is he my best friend then? Because not many ponies want to hang out with the pony whose father was Professor Processor.
My father was a factory worker assembling the chips that went into the Robot Unit's brain. It was a good paying job, as me and my family where one of the richest ponies in Area 4. But rumors started to spread that my father helped with a protest that destroyed thousands of Robot Units. He got fired from his job, and my family became poor. My father then tried to do everything he could to get a job.
He even tried so far as to donate his own legs for study to make Robot Units function better. In the end, he jumped off of a cliff.
"MA'AM. NO PEGASUS IS ALLOWED BEYOND THIS LIMIT." I looked up and saw a Robot unit hovering above me.
"Yes, thank you," I said.
"IDENTIFICATION FORM PLEASE."
I pulled out the lamented card and handed it two the Robot Unit. A scanner light shone out from his two, beady red eyes.
"NAME-BLOSSOM WING. SPECIES- PEGASUS. MANE COLOR- BROWN AND PINK. COAT COLOR- LIGHT BROWN. EYE COLOR- GREEN. CITIZEN NUMBER-400-89. THANK YOU. YOU MAY CONTINUE." The Robot Unit handed me back the card. I put it away.
"ADJUST YOUR UNIFORM."
Yes, thank you again." I shifted the black jumpsuit around to its proper position. I flew on. I looked behind me. The Unit was flying away, towards the sun that never sets. Good. I live under the moon that never sets. Plot 56231.
My home.
Welcome to my life.
*******
I am lined up with more Units that look exactly like me. The conveyor starts to move, and we are taken to a space that is filled with large clear bubbles and inside them are other Units. I look around, taking in my new surroundings. I notice that none of the other new Units are doing this.
WELCOME NEW UNITS
A voice says.
HERE IS THE RECHARGE STATION. EACH OF YOU HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED A MODULE. YOURS HAS THE NUMBER YOUR POSTED ON IT. GO FIND IT AND THEN INTRODUCTION WILL BEGIN.
Dozens of Units around me begin to hover into the air, and I do the same. I find that I know how to fly. I believe that it is in my programming.
I spend a while searching, then I find it. 456770 .
The hatch opens for me and I hover in, dropping to my hooves. The hatch closes behind. I turn to face out. I see the other units getting hooked up to a strange tube device.
I feel a sharp pain in my rump. I turn around and see that a similar tube has been attached to me. I panic for a moment, then realize that it is just the recharge device.
WELCOME NEW UNITS TO INTRODUCTION
The voice sounded in my head.
THIS IS EQUESTRIA, LAND THAT WAS ONCE WAS PLAGUED BY WARS BUT IS NOW IN A HAPPY PLACE THANKS TO THE INSTILLATION OF THE ROBOT UNITS. WE CREATE ORDER, WE CREATE CALM. EACH OF YOU WILL BE ASSIGNED TO A DIFFERENT AREA. YOU WILL FIND THAT OUT AFTER THE RECHARGE. BUT KNOW THAT THERE ARE FOUR HUNDRED AREAS IN EQUESTRIA. MANY OF YOU WILL BE ASSIGNED TO THE SAME AREAS FOR SOME NEED OUR ASSISTANCE MORE THAN OTHERS. TOMORROW WE BEGIN TRAINING. BUT JUST REMEMBER, WE ARE HERE TO SERVE.
I felt my head become foggy. I knew what was happening. This was what happened during recharging. And how do I know?
I believe that it's in my programming.
SYSTEM MALFUNCTION-WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING
I stood on the roof of my house.
I said house.
I should say shack.
My roof is a tin sheet nailed down with rusty nails and the windows are so dirty that I can barley see out of them. Here is where I live, just like every single other pony in my plot. Though most of them are better off than us. Me, my little sister, and my mother live on the very edge of Unit Area 4, the poorer area. Why is it so poor? Because this is where the revolutionists usually live, where the Robot Units usually blow up their houses to dish out their "justice."
My house had been hit three times before by accident.
So now it it is seemingly held together by a thread.
"Blossom Wing!" I hear my mother call. "Get down from there! It's freezing!"
"It's freezing every night here, mom. In fact, every day here is night. Get your facts straight." My plot is under the moon that never sets, so we never get the sweet relief of the day to warm us up. Just as the side of Area 4 that is under the sun that never sets. They never get the cool relief of night. That is why I like it in the direct middle of the Area. Where day and night meet. And Unit Area 4 runs right through the center of the two celestial bodies.
My mother shakily flew up to sit beside me on the roof.
"Blossom Wing, why do you stay up here for hours?" She put her purple hoof around my shoulders. "Is something wrong? You seem tense today."
"It's, it's nothing, mom. It's just that, Tornado just got under my skin today," I said. She sighed.
"What did he do this time?"
"He, he... it's nothing, mom." I turned away from her and broke free from her hoof. I laid my ears back
"Well, at least come down for dinner. I made fruit salad!"
My ears shot back up but I didn't look back at her. "With... pears?"
She smiled devilishly. "Maybe!"
"Did the laundromat give you the raise?"
"Yep. And I thought I'd celebrate!"
"I guess, sure. That would be good."
The smile fell from her face. "Blossom, please don't be so depressed all the time. You only live once, you know."
If only Tornado lived the same way. As far as I knew, he was on his way to a protest and he could be dead by tomorrow. Or tonight.
You only live once...
********
UNIT AREA 4
I heard the voice in my head shortly after I woke up. I was assigned to my Area already. 4. I had no idea what Unit 4 would be like, but I had my duty to do.
DOWNLOADING EQUESTRIAN RULES FOR UNIT AREA 4
I felt a wire hook up to the back of my head and information poured into my brain. I suddenly knew all there was to know about Unit Area 4. All criminal Records, all catalogs for the citizens, security camera footage, and all records of protests and fights against the Robot Units. I then received a file about one that happened a few minutes ago. 97 ponies where arrested. My programming told me that they should be arrested and punished dearly for their actions against the Unit, and for a moment I agreed. But then I saw the security footage. I cocked my head to the side slightly. I saw them, the ponies that we were supposed to protect, screaming and sheltering those they loved, as my Fellow Robot Units fired at them. It just didn't seem, right.
ROBOT UNIT 456770 REPORT FOR TRAINING
The hatch on my station opened and I hovered out, following the other Units as they went down a long corridor lit with bright, white lights. I looked around. It seemed that this corridor went on forever.
A Robot Unit hovered beside me, staring straight ahead.
"What Unit Area do you have? " I asked him.
"CLASSIFIED INFORMATION."
"Thank you for reminding me. " I said.
"YOUR WELCOME."
But I did not feel satisfied.
My voice sounded different than his, but he was a Robot Unit like me.
Why do I care?
*********
"Hey, fluff ball."
"Blossom Wing, I am NOT a fluff ball!"
"Yes you are, little leaf! Come 'ere!" I grabbed my little sister in a huge embrace and gave her a noogie, hard.
She laughed and screamed. "Blossom! Stop!" I let her go, and she fall back, smiling and giggling. My little sister had just come back from school when I finally budged and came down from the roof. We always had the same greeting: I called her fluff ball, she would deny it, then I would say something or do something to make her laugh.
"Alright girls, now stop that. It's time for dinner," My mother said. I got up and walked over to out tiny, three legged table. I stood near the wooden boards that made up our walls, fidgeting . We have no chairs.
My mother put the big glass bowl of the fruit salad on the table and dished out the paper plates and napkins. She grabbed the light cord hanging above us and turned the single, weakening light bulb on. I grabbed myself a huge plate and went down to eating.
"My, someone's feeling better," My mom said.
"It must be the pears," I mumbled, my mouth full.
"Now are you ready to tell me what Tornado said to you?" I forgot to chew before swallowing, and I choked.
"Why *cough* are you so interested?"
"Tornado said something bad?" Little Leaf asked.
"Blossom Wing, did, did he say something about your father?" I looked at her. I pushed my plate away.
"I am not hungry any more, mother. Excuse me, but I think that I am going for a fly." I said. I galloped out of that house as fast as I could and lept into the air.
"Blossom! Get back here this instant!" My mother yelled. I ignored her. Why was she so nosy? Couldn't she just stay out of my business for at least one day?
I didn't come back home that night.
*******
UNIT 456770 IS THE WINNER
I folded the weapons back into the sides of my metal body and closed the lid on them. I looked down at the dummy that I had destroyed. Bits of it lay strewn around the small training room, smoldering and burning.
It was day four of training, and I had already gotten the hang of shooting, blasting, and slicing. My programming told me that I was to use these skills in the field, that being Area 4. But this dummy, shaped like a pony, just reminded me of that security footage. The one where my own kind hurt the ponies that we where created to protect. No, I thought. We are here to create order. To make peace. But why does peace have to involve weapons?
YOU MAY GO BACK TO THE CHARGING AREA, UNIT 456770. TOMORROW YOU WILL BE SHIPPED TO AREA 4.
Shipped. Yes, that is a nice way to put it.
But why do I care?
I hovered over to my station, and settled in. I looked out of the clear bubble and felt the familiar sharp pain in my side. I saw other Robot Units coming to their stations covered in battle wounds and sparking from their wires. Others, like me, where coming back in pristine condition. Those damaged where not coming back to their stations to recharge, however. They came to be repaired.
I felt my mind go foggy.
I realized that this would be my last night in this station. Tomorrow, I would have a new one.
Goodbye, station.
When I wake up, I will be in Unit Area 4.
*******
"Hey, Blossom. I'm, I'm sorry."
I looked up at him, his lip cut and bleeding and his head bandaged.
"It's okay, Tornado."
"No its not, Blossom. I, I shouldn't have said that. It was not fair of me and..."
"It was four days ago, Tornado. Forgive and forget. Whats important now is that your alive."
Me and him sat on the side of Area 4 where the sun never sets in a park, under the shade of an apple tree. I had found him here just a while ago, and I was so relieved that he was not dead.
"And I can't believe that they let you go."
"Only because I was on the scene when the fighting happened. I have a four month probation though, Blossom. And I have to wear this stupid ankle bracelet." He waved his back hoof in the air in frustration.
"Yeah, but that's nothing compared to what the other ponies went through. Some are in jail for life. Others are seriously injured. And others are-"
"Yeah, I know Blossom, I was there. Ponies are in jail. Ponies are near death. And other ponies have already met with death. Yes, I am SO lucky."
I wanted to change the subject.
"Hey. I, uh, heard that there is going to be a new shipment of Robot Units coming in tomorrow."
"Yeah, whoopee." Tornado rolled his purple eyes. "More of those horrible monstrosities."
Author's Note
Please give feedback! Thanks!
We were all stacked side by side together in the large airship. There were six of us, all heading to Unit Area 4. The day had come. Though I wasn't aware. I was down, and I would not be awoken until we reached the area.
But even in sleep, I could feel the other Robot Units around me, their presence radiating through the ship.
But even though this is what I wanted, what every Robot Unit wants, to serve and protect, I still feel, not quite right about all of this.
After all, I am going to the same place that my own kind killed the ponies we are sworn to protect.
I moved my robotic hoof an inch. I feel myself waking up. Were we there already? Could this be Unit Area 4?
I suddenly began to see. Everything was covered in a hazy, red glaze, until my vision cleared and I could see my surroundings.
I was in a cargo hold of some kind, strapped down to the floor. I was laying on my left side, my head only mere inches from the nearest Robot Unit.
There where ponies milling about, taking notes and tightening straps. One came over and reached out to my strap with his unicorn magic. I studied him, for I had not seen a pony in real life before. In flesh and blood.
I looked at my fellow Robot Units. They don't appear to be awake.
"Lets tighten these straps. We still are a little ways away from 4," The unicorn says. An earth pony taking notes nodded, walking over to us. I follow him with my eyes as he goes around to all of us, writing on a sheet of paper with his mouth.
The unicorn had moved on to tighten other straps before the earth pony looked down at me. He took some notes, then his eyes widened and his pupils dilated.
"Holy horse manure! 456770's awake!" He shouted to his comrades. They all rushed over to him, abandoning their work stations.
I felt them all staring down at me, and I wanted to hover away, but alas, I was strapped down.
A lot of the ponies scribbled down data. Others glared at me.
"Has an error occurred? "
"No, no, 456770. It just appears that you were able to break through the recharging sequence," The unicorn said.
"Should we put it under?" A pony asked.
"No," The unicorn said. "We are too close to Area 4 already. Besides, this is a chance to collect some data."
***********
"Tornado? I never thought that I would see you here!"
"Yeah well, I just wanted to see what the new pests would look like."
Today was the day. The day that the new Robot Units shipment would be coming in. Most of the ponies in Area 4 had already gathered in front of town hall, mostly to boo and hiss at the Units. My mother had decided not to go, and Little Leaf was in school already, so I thought that I would be attending the shipment alone, that is until I found Tornado in the back of the crowd.
I trotted over to him. "How many do you think are coming this time?"
"Hopefully none."
"Um, I don't think that they would make a special shipment with nothing to ship."
"Then one. I don't want many of them wandering the Area."
Just then, A Robot Unit passed by us. He turned back around and addressed Tornado.
"CITIZEN 734-25. REPORT TO ROBOT UNIT AREA 4 HEADQUARTERS IMMEDIATELY."
Tornado sighed, and walked beside the Robot Unit, who barley came up to his shoulder. "See ya' later, Blossom. Enjoy the show." And then he was gone. And I was alone again.
"Citizens of Unit Area 4, please draw your attention to the podium." I turned around and saw an executive pony from the factory walk up to the stage. "As you all know, a shipment of new Robot Units are coming today, and I am sure that you all are as excited as I am."
Silence. One could hear a bit drop to the floor. The executive adjusted his collar and continued to speak. "Um, well, this is a rare treat for most of you. Some of you have never been to a shipment before, and others have. And each time, there are a different number of Robot Units each Shipment. Today, that number is six."
I smiled. I could imagine the grin falling from Tornado's face if he heard that number. Oh how I wish he was here with me.
Again, the audience did nothing. With no reaction, I saw the executive start to sweat. "Oh, uh, hey, look! The air ship is here!" He pointed to the sky and I looked to where he was pointing, and gasped, seeing the large airship getting closer and closer. The ponies around gasped and oohed and awed, but I just stood there, jaw hanging open.
The airship pulled into the ship landing area, lowering the landing gear that seemed so flimsy, I was surprised that they didn't break under the ship's sheer size. I watched as a hatch door opened, and a unicorn and an earth pony stepped out. They walked over to the executive, and whispered something in his ear. The executive's eyes grew big, and he whispered something back to them. They nodded, and went back into the ship.
"Mares and Gentle colts." His voice cracked. "Here are the new Robot Units for Unit Area 4!"
Six Robot Units hovered out of the hatch door and then made two rows in the air. Three on top, three on the bottom.
I stared at the newcomers. They didn't seem significant in anyway. They all looked exactly the same: A snout made of nothing but metal, a mouth that doesn't move with a grate covering it, red glass coverings on the hooves, and thin sheets of metal for manes and tails. I was about to dismiss them as nothing but regular old Robot Units here to keep us in order when I noticed something about the one closest to me on the bottom row.
It was looking around, as if it was taking in its new surroundings. The others were not doing that. He seemed almost... curious.
No, Blossom. I chided myself. Robot Units do not feel. Yet, this one seemed to.
"Yes, welcome Robot Units," The executive said. "These Robot Units will explore the area first before going on duty. Good day. You are dismissed" And with that, it was over. The new Robot Units dispersed, but the one that was looking around lingered for a moment, before taking off as well.
***********
This is Unit Area 4? It's so, so,
AMAZING!
The trees! Ooh! Grass! Look! Ponies!
Cool! Buildings! Is that a Robot Unit over there?
Hi... oh, and he's gone.
A bird!
This place is AMAZING!
************
"Hey, honey. How was the Shipment?" My mom said, counting the money we had left.
I had just gotten home from the ceremony. I was in sort of a daze. I kept thinking about that Robot Unit. The one who was, different than all the others. Why couldn't I get him out of my head?
"Blossom, is something wrong? You seem kind of distant." I realized that I was staring at the wall.
"Oh, um, it's nothing, Mom. I just, I'm going for a fly." I turned around and headed for the door.
"But you just got here!"
"Yeah, I know. I just, I need to clear my head." I took off.
"Well, be careful! The new Robot Units may be a little, off!" She yelled a me.
A little off? I crashed into a house. How could she have known?
I felt like I needed to see him again that... robot. He was just so... not like the others and...
Oh come on! Think brain, think!
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't think strait. My muddled mind just wouldn't allow it.
Maybe if I... WHOA! Almost ran into that tree!
Then something silver whizzed past me, sending me spinning down to the ground. I grumbled, spitting out a mouthful of dirt. I looked back up to the sky in time to see him whizzing off. "Hey!" I yelled. "Watch where your go-" I noticed that he didn't have wings.
A Robot Unit. Not surprising, considering they're everywhere. But this one, it was hovering very fast. Unlike any Robot Unit that I had seen.
It suddenly stopped in mid-air and landed in a field.
I stared at the spot it where I last saw it for a moment, then got up and flew in that direction. I did a few laps around the field before spotting it. It was just standing there, looking down at the ground. I landed a few feet behind it.
It suddenly whirred around to face me, and I almost jumped out of my own skin. A small cry escaped my lips.
"No need to be afraid Citizen... "It tipped its head to the side. "400-89. "
"Aren't you going to ask for my Identification form?" I asked it.
"No. My work begins tomorrow. Today I am exploring your Area. "
There was something, off about his voice. It was higher sounding than other Robot Units. Rougher, with different tones, though still monotone.
Could this be the same Robot Unit I saw at the Shipment?
"And, uh, how do you feel about Area 4?" I did not expect to get an answer. Living with Robot Units for years makes their behavior very predictable. They don't tend to answer questions. But then this Robot Unit did something unexpected: He answered.
"It is very strange. Such as both the sun and moon in the sky. My programming tells me that other areas in Equestria are under either just the sun or the moon. "
I stood there, stunned. I am pretty sure that my mouth was hanging open. He cocked his head at me. "Has there been an error? " He asked.
I shook my head to get my thoughts straight. "Uh, no, I..." I said. He had answered. He had ANSWERED! There was no longer a doubt in my mind. This was indeed the Same Robot Unit that was looking around at everything during the Shipment ceremony. The same one that seemed so different than the other Robot Units. And here I was, talking to him.
"What's your name?" I asked him. He stood still, staring at me, then said in his strange, robotic voice,
"I have no name ."
"Really? No name?"
"No ."
"Not even a title? A label?"
He stood there, and cocked his head to the side. "Yes. "
"Then what do they call you?"
"456770. "
Author's Note
I would like feedback please in order to make BROKEN better!
Robot Unit 456770 and Citizen 400-89
This mare was looking at me in bewilderment. I was confused. This mare, shouldn't she be used to seeing Robot Units like me?
"What are you staring at, Citizen? " I asked her. She shook her head back and forth, as if coming out of a trance.
"Wha-?" She said.
"What are you staring at, Citizen? " I asked her again.
"I, I, it's just," She said. She took a step towards me. "You answered."
"Yes, " I said.
"I mean, the other Robot Units, they don't usually answer questions."
"They don't? " I asked. "Is it against the law here? My sources don't say so. Or could that law have been established after the laws where downloaded into my programming? "
"Oh, uh, it's not against, never mind."
"I know that I am not on-duty today, but please adjust your uniform. " She looked own at her black jumpsuit and adjusted it with her hoof. She then stood there for a moment, standing awkwardly.
"What is your name, citizen? " I asked her. She looked confused.
"That's not in your programming?"
"No. I can tell your citizen number from my files, race, and where you live. But not your name. "
"Oh, um, Blossom Wing."
"Blossom, Wing?"
"Yes?"
"My sources tell me that you have a good relation with citizen 734-25. " I cocked my head. "The security footage tells me that he once mooned a Robot Unit. " Blossom Wing started to laugh.
"He actually did that? Oh my Equestria! He actually did that?" She rolled on the ground, clutching her stomach with her hooves, giggling. I cocked my head at her. My programming told me that this was something that ponies did when they thought something was funny. Strange, though. After seeing that security footage, I felt a little bit like laughing, too.
Is that...strange?
She got up from the ground, still giggling. "Oh, Tornado," She said. "That's so like him!"
This mare seemed a bit distracted to me. She just went from bewilderment to awkwardness to laughing. Is this normal for ponies? I have a lot to learn.
*************
I stood there for a moment, staring at him, after I had finished my laughing fit. He stared right back. There was no doubt in my mind that this Robot Unit is very different from the others. Is he a defect? A malfunction to the machine? Or something created to give ponies a false sense of security, and when they gain their trust, to the point where they do anything around them, and then the Robot Unit arrests them?
Now Blossom Wing. Stop thinking like Tornado.
456770 turned away from me and launched himself in the air, hovering away,
"Wait!" I called, launching myself in the air after him. "Please, stop!" What am I doing? "456770!" No Blossom, you are stepping in uncharted territory. "No! Stop!" YOU STOP! He's just a robot Unit!
And now he's gone.
The next day, I woke up with a start. I had dreamed that the Robot Unit that I had met yesterday shot me down. And I was just standing there, doing nothing, and he killed me.
I breathed heavily, trying to calm my nerves. "Oh." Breath. "My." Breath. "Equestria."
"Blossom?" Little Leaf sat up in her bed across the room. "Are, are you okay?" I slipped out from underneath the covers and walked over to the chocolate brown pegasus filly, and hugged her.
"Yes. Everything, everything is fine." I looked out the dark, broken window nearest to me.
"You don't sound fine." I looked down at her. She looked back up at me with worried eyes.
"Don't worry, Leaf. I'm fine."
"Okay." She nodded.
"Hey, how about I get you some of your favorite bagels from the sunny side?"
She was quiet for a moment. "The hay bagels?"
"Yep."
"Yay!"
"Just don't wake mom up before I get back, okay?" She nodded, her eyes wide and smiling.
"I promise."
I started to make my way out the door, then Little Leaf stopped me. "Blossom! don't forget your uniform!"
"Oh hayseeds!" I covered my hoof with my mouth. "Oops. I slipped." Little Leaf giggled as I put on the black jumpsuit and flew out the door. "Bye, Leaf!" I called down to her.
"Bye Blossom!" She called back.
I made my way to the side of Area 4 where the sun never sets.
I purchased the hay bagels and walked out, the bag tucked underneath my wing. I looked down the busy walkway, then flew over, landing gracefully (sorta) on the other side. I looked down at the bag. "I hope that Little Leaf enjoys the blackberry cream cheese."
I looked back up and came face to face with a Robot Unit. I squinted my eyes at him. Could he be 456770?
"I NEED YOUR IDENTIFICATION FORM, CITIZEN." Nope. Not him.
"Sure, yes," I said. "It's right here..." I reached into my front pocket and felt around. Nothing. "Oh, uh, must be in the other pocket." I reached in, and again, nothing. I started to panic.
"YOU DO KNOW THAT FAILURE TO SHOW IDENTIFICATION FORM WILL RESULT IN ARREST."
"Yes, yes, I know! It has to be here somewhere!" I frantically searched everywhere. I looked on the ground to see if I had dropped it, but there was nothing there either. "Oh Equestria. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap."
"COME WITH ME, CITIZEN."
"No! This must be some kind of mistake!" A few ponies had noticed my predicament and had formed a crowd around us.
"COME WITH ME, CITIZEN." It reached out and grabbed me with its cold, metallic hoof.
"NO!" I screamed. "Please!"
"COME WITH ME."
"Wait!" I am going to be arrested. I might never see Little Leaf again. I won't see mom, I might never see Tornado.
Wait, yes I will. He has probation.
I struggled with all my might to get away, but the Robot Unit held on tight. And the crowd around us continued to just stand and watch. I myself had watched arrests like this. And now it was happening to me.
"STOP! " I heard a voice yell. I saw the Robot Unit who had a hold on me look up into the sky, as well as the hundreds of on-lookers with confused eyes. But I did not have to. I knew who it was. 456770.
He hovered in the air for a moment before landing next to me.
"ROBOT UNIT. THIS CITIZEN HAS FAILED TO SHOW THEIR IDENTIFICATION FORM AND MUST BE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY."
"Yes, I understand. But you see, she has her Identification Form. Right here. " A tiny hatch opened up in his chest and a claw carrying a slip of paper popped out.
My Identification Form.
The other Robot Unit scanned the form but did not let go of my hoof. I saw that 456770 had hid the claw in his chest again.
"SPECIES: PEGASUS. MANE COLOR: BROWN AND PINK. "COAT COLOR: LIGHT BROWN. EYE COLOR: GREEN. CITIZEN NUMBER: 400-25. YOU MAY GO." The Robot Unit let go of my hoof and hovered off. The crowd dispersed, having nothing else exciting to see, and left me and 456770 standing there. 456770 turned to face me, looking at me with his beady, glowing, red, mechanical Robot Unit eyes. I broke the silence between us.
"Thank you," I said.
"It was not a problem, " He said.
"Yeah, but you saved my flank! I owe you."
"You owe me nothing, Blossom Wing. "
"How did you find my Identification card anyway?"
"It had fallen out of your pocket a few blocks back. I saw it while doing my sweeps, and I was going to return it to you. Then I saw you getting arrested. It was not hard. "
Sweeps? I had forgotten. He has now started his Robot Unit duties, and now has become like the rest of them. A regular Robot Unit.
No, Blossom. I thought. What regular Robot Unit would save your flank like that?
"Goodbye." He suddenly hovered into the air, but I lept up after him.
"456770!" I yelled after him. He stopped in mid hover an I flew around to face him.
"What do you require, Blossom? " He asked.
"Do you, do you know that you seem... a little bit different than other Robot Units?" He hovered there for a moment, staring at me. He hesitated before answered.
"Yes. "
I didn't know what he is, but Robot Unit 456770 is definitely not normal. It's almost like he is...
BROKEN.
Author's Note
Who is YOUR favorite character? Tornado, Blossom Wing, 456770, or and others? I would like to know! Oh, an feedback please!
I secretly followed her all the way back to her house... or... shack? I had no idea she lived in this tiny thing. When I first came here, exploring Unit Area 4, I had seen this exact house and thought that it was abandoned. But now I see that she lives here. The only pony that has really truly ever shown me some liking.
Like the unicorn and earth pony from the air ship, most of the ponies here see me as a thing. A thing. And that's it. I guess I expected more. I thought that life here would not be just having to scan cards and read out load the pony in front of me's appearance when already know what they look like, and their citizenship number is already programmed into my software. It seems just so...
I am trying to find a better word for stupid.
But fillies flee from me, parents shy their foals away, and even old crazy hobos beat me with their canes if I come close.
I had to arrest that hobo. Destruction of government property. I didn't like to do it, but it was law.
Even my fellow Robot Units shy away from me, preferring to work alone and on their own terms (Their terms being the rulebook) and I am left here, in the cold. Of course, it has only been one day. But I have seen enough to know that I am different from all the others. I don't talk like them, apparently I don't feel like them, and I obviously want to do more than just arrest ponies and shoot them. And that is why I answered her question with a yes. I am different. I know that, and I know that she knows it too. It scares me a little, knowing that a pony like her knows about how different I am than all the rest. I guess that is why I hovered away from her last night. I was scared.
But now I know that I want to stay with her, because she does know that I am different. And she doesn't care. Or, at the very least, doesn't seem to.
And that is how I ended up here, hiding in a dead bush near her house-shack, listening to her every word.
"Blossom Wing, are you okay?" I deep sounding mare voice said.
"Yes, mom. I, I'm just a little tired, that's all," The all too familiar voice said.
"Yes, but you seem a little-"
"Did ya' bring the bagels?" A tinier voice said.
I heard Blossom Wing sigh. "Yes I did, little leaf. And I told you not to wake mother up before I got home!" I then heard squeals and laughter coming from what sounded like a little filly, too young to have her cutie mark yet, that's for sure.
"Blossom! Stop it!" The filly screamed. I heard Blossom laugh too. Just like when I told her that her friend had "mooned" a Robot Unit, whatever that means.
"Blossom, maybe you should lay down." The mare said. "You really don't look so good. Your face is paler than... usual."
"Thanks, mom," Blossom sarcastically said.
"Well, maybe eating the hay bagels will help you."
"Yeah, and getting them was hard enough," Blossom mumbled.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
"Well, I have to go for my shift at the laundromat. Can you look over Little Leaf until I get back? You know, since it's Saturday?"
"Yeah mom, sure. And I already know its Saturday. I'm not stupid."
"Okay then, good. Bye, honey."
"Bye mom!" The filly shouted. Then, a purple pegasus pony walked out the door. I shrunk away in the bush, trying not to be noticed.
She flew away on shaky wings, and I relaxed. But I waited for a moment before I poked my head out from the bramble, and then froze when I made the all-to-familiar gear grinding sound. And it was loud. More like a creak. I searched my database, and came up for a typical pony word for a situation like this.
"Oh pony feathers ."
"What was that?" I heard Blossom Wing say. I saw her step outside the house-shack and look around. She then sighed, shook her head, and went back inside. I felt relieved.
Yes, I did not want Blossom Wing to find me here. Mt database told me that when ponies do something like this, they are called a "creepy stalker", and I did not want to be labeled a stalker when my sole purpose is to protect ponies. I guess that I just wanted to see her get home okay.
So I hovered away, ready to do my real duty as a Robot Unit. It was stupid of me, really, to try and see her again like that, and neglect my purpose. I should be chided, thrown in jail, but Robot Units do not go to jail. I know of this for sure.
I hovered over to the side of Area Unit 4 that is always in the sun, and landed in a busy street. A few ponies near me backed away, but others took note of me and just went on with their business. I started to walk down the bustling boulevard, and came up near a Robot Unit report station. I glanced at it, but didn't take complete note. I do not need to recharge yet. But then I stopped in my tracks when I saw the black earth pony with a blue mane step out of the station. From looking at security footage and files, I know that this is the pony that mooned another Robot Unit. Blossom Wing's friend.
He walked up to me, looking at my face, then sighed. "What, do you want my Identification form, or not?" I was jolted back to reality.
"Uh, yes. " He got out his Identification form and I scanned it, saying the very same thing that I knew was right in front of me. As if we couldn't see. "Species: Earth pony. Coat Color: Black. Mane Color: Blue. Eye Color: Purple. Citizen number: 734-25. You may go ." I handed the Identification form back to him, and he grabbed it with his mouth, put it away, and started to walk away until I stopped him. "Wait! What is your name? " He stopped, seemingly frozen there, then turned around to face me.
"My name?" He spat.
"Yes. "
"Why would you want to know my name?"
"I, I know your friend, Blossom Wing. " I said. He ran up to me, and put his face really close to mine, and started to whisper in my ear piece.
"Listen here, Robot Unit. You stay away from her, and don't you dare try to disobey. Got it? You understand me, you worthless pile of metal? Stay away from her. And we will have no more problems." He leaned away from my face and glared at me before walking away. "Oh, and by the way, the name's Tornado."
I should arrest him. I know I should. But I didn't. And to this day, I still do not know why.
**************
Oh please, I know who it was. I have heard Robot Units creak enough to know that it was 456770. He followed me home. He hid, listening to our conversations. I know he did. It was him. What other Robot Unit would do that? But Robot Units do not creak that often. And he is new, a new Robot Unit, and yet, there he was, creaking. It could be that the assembling process did not work right with him, a fact that might be true considering his behavior, but could that also mean that he could freeze up? That he could easily rust and fall apart? I don't want that to happen.
Now Blossom! Why would you of all ponies, whose friend has been arrested by his kind multiple times, not want something like a bolt coming loose to happen to him?
Because I don't. And that's the truth.
"Sis? Are you sure your okay?" Little Leaf asked, amidst her paper and crayons strewn all over the three legged table. "You seem, distracted."
I turned around to face her after staring out the window. I shook my head back and forth, to get some of the fogginess out from my brain.
"Did, something happen?" She asked me.
I looked down at her. "No, no, Little Leaf, nothing happened." She raised her eyebrow. "Aw come on, Little Leaf, would I lie to you?" I put on the best fake smile I could muster.
She thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I guess not. But why don't you lay down? That could help." I looked down at my little sister, who, so much younger than me, could be more mature about stressful situations than I could ever be. This time, I smiled a genuine smile at her.
"Alright, Leaf." I said, running my hoof through her mane. "I'll go lay down." I kissed her fore head, then walked into our bedroom and curled up on my bed, which was nothing more than a sheet of hay between two blankets, and gazed out into the dark room. The events that happened today, and yesterday, what are they doing to me? I just lied to my little sister.
My eyelids grew heavy.
I just lied to my mother.
My eyelids closed.
And here I am, worrying about a stupid, freaking Robot Unit!
I fell asleep.
He is standing there, 456770, before me in a large field. We are staring at each other, making no moves, making no sound. Suddenly, like a volcano erupting, thousands upon thousands of Robot Units lept up from the ground, materializing from the rocks around us themselves. I stood, frozen in fear, as they all took note of us, their glowing red eyes, so much like the Robot Unit who saved my life's, becoming one giant mass of glowing red intentness. "YOU HAVE BROKE CODE OF CONDUCT BY NOT TURNING IN THIS MARE TO THE CUSTODY OF THE GOVERNMENT." They all said together. I wanted to shrink, to run away from their voices, so different than 456770's. What did I do to anger them? I couldn't put my hoof on it. "STEP ASIDE."
" NO!" 456770 shouted. He stepped in front of me, blocking them from my view. " You will have to go through me first." I heard the familiar clank of metal, and I knew that they must have all revealed all their weapons. Guns and rockets, lasers and missals, and knives and swords. And they where going to use them all on 456770. I sprang forward in front of him, blocking the blades and bullets from hitting him just as they attacked. I took all the blows. And then I collapsed, bleeding from my wounds. I looked down at my body, and could see my own heart beating. My chest has been ripped wide open. Thump thump. Thump thump. And thick, sticky blood ran into the grass, staining the area around me. And the pain. Oh, the pain. It was as if a thousand volcanoes had erupted inside of me. I looked up at the stars, knowing that it would be the last time I would ever see them. "456770!' I called out in a quiet voice as the Robot Units gathered around me. Suddenly, I saw him step over me, a look of pure anguish in his eyes.
"Blossom!" He called out to me, though I could barely hear him. My ears where also bleeding. But suddenly, I saw his metal parts vanish, his nuts and bolts disappear, and his red eyes become those of like a pony. Indeed, he has become a pony. He is a unicorn, and he has a light purple coat like spun lavender with a mane of white, and eyes of ruby red. And his eyes, they are clouded.
"456770?" I asked him. He nodded. "You, you look so different." Then, everything fell to black.
I awoke with a start in my bed, hyperventilating and sweating bullets. That dream seemed so... real. I felt almost as if it had really happened, that 456770 really had shed his metal layers and became a pony. I felt like I could have reached out and touched him. Even now, as the nightmarish images are slipping away from me, I still feel like I could reach out and touch the image of his pony self.
And 456770 seemed more different to me now than ever before. And now I felt that calling him by a simple number was wrong. I always hated the act of the Robot Units calling me a number. Then why should he be a number? He needs a name. A name suited for a Robot Unit like him. Because 456770 is not enough.
And since he is not like the others, his new name should fit himself.
I came up with the perfect name in an instant. It sounded right, it fit right. I tried it out.
"Broken." Yes. His name shall be Broken.
Broken the Robot Unit, who, in my dreams, became a pony.
Author's Note
And now the title makes sense! Feedback please! Oh, and let's have a little game, shall we? Any predictions of what will happen in the future?
Dreams that will never stop
Dreams that will never stop
I cannot see. Everything is black. It is cold, I am hungry, and I am scared. I know that this is not my home. Home does not feel like concrete beneath your hooves. Home does not smell like mildew. Home is not this place. "Hello? Is anyone there?" I desperately cried out, hoping that somepony will come for my rescue. But nopony does. I have never been this more terrified in my entire 18 years of living. Where is Grandmother? Where is Grandfather? Did they leave me here? Or is this just some cruel, sick, twisted joke?
I flung myself to the nearest wall in desperation, and come crashing into metal bars. They ring out as my bones scream with pain. I know where I am now. I am in a jail cell. I reached out with my hoof and touched the cold, metal bars. Why am I in here? Did I do something wrong that I didn't know about? Did the Robot Units lock me in here? No. I am starting to remember. I put my hoof to the side of my face and closed my eyes, which, of course, really did not make much of a difference on how everything looked. But I remember screaming. Yes, screaming. And the screams are coming from me. Then, I remember pain. And a voice. A voice telling me that everything will be fine. Then, I heard no more. No, that can't be it! I need more information! Why am I here!?!
"Please! Just let me out of here!" I cried, tears flowing freely from my face. "I don't belong here! Please! NO!"
I came out of the recharge process in an instant, the blackness from the recharge becoming an image of the dimly light recharge room for all Robot Units of Unit Area 4. I looked around and realized that I was not in a jail cell. I was in my compartment. And I had just woken up from the recharge process a second time. Something that should not be possible. But I did it, a month after the first time it ever happened. And why did I wake up confused and disoriented?
Then a realization hit me full force, almost knocking me backward.
I had just dreamed.
I had a dream. A real dream. Robot Units do not dream. And I just did.
And the dream, so black and dark, like I really couldn't see, yet I felt like I truly did feel those metal bars. I heard that clang. I felt the pain that came with it. That I did plead with the darkness surrounding me. That it was, in fact, my voice.
Broken, Robot Units do not dream. Are you malfunctioning? I thought.
From what my database says about dreams, they are images created from the mind at random, and nopony really knows why they occur. Robot Units do not have minds. We have chips and motherboards. Processors and gears. It is impossible for us to dream. But I just did. Maybe I am malfunctioning?
***************
I walked down the busy boulevard, trying avoiding the ponies that where walking in the other direction, towards the huge white building at the other end of the street, by far the fanciest and most expensive house in all of Unit Area 4. The mayor's house. And I had no intention of going there today, even if it was her birthday. But to me, the mayor was a little stuck-up, flaunting her good fortune and riches in the faces of those of us who who are poor, who live in the shadows and scrape by with little food or just barely enough to keep us alive. So, no, I had no intention of going to her big birthday bash. And I wish that I could fly up and out from this crowd, but during a celebration like this, the whole day becomes a pegasus no-fly-zone.
"Hey stranger. Where have you been?" I turned around to see Tornado making his way through the crowd towards me. I relaxed, knowing that I will at least have another pony with me to ignore the mayor's big day.
"Hey," I said, still walking forward. "What are you doing out here?"
"Just thought that I would give the Robot Unit's an excuse to why I would be missing the ceremony."
"Oh really. And what's your excuse this time?"
He smirked at me. "Oh nothing, just that my mother needs help with chores around the house today."
I gasped at him. "But your mother never does chores!"
"Yeah, and she's probably home right now, drunk. Thankfully, they took the lie and I get to blow the whole day off! And how about you? What's your excuse?"
"Why Tornado, why would you think that I am not attending the ceremony!" I said sarcastically. I put in a fake accent for good measure.
He put his hoof to his chin and said, "First off, you're heading away from the crowd rather than towards it, and your talking to me. Oh and it's also YOUR birthday, too."
I laughed. "Yeah. I told them that Little Leaf is sick and I am out to go get her some medicine."
"And let me guess," He said. "She's blowing the whole day off from school?"
"Yep."
We broke free from the crowd, giggling and laughing our heads off, heading towards our usual spot in the park, right in between the sun and the moon. My favorite place.
"So, we have some time to kill. What'cha wanna talk about?" Tornado asked me. I shrugged.
"Don't know. Probably the fact that it really is ironic that the mayor's birthday is on the same day as mine."
"Speaking of which," Tornado said, reaching into his pocket and revealing a large box. "Happy sweet sixteen, Blossom Wing!"
I smiled and grabbed the box, opening the top and gasping at the two cupcakes.
"Are these the red velvet cupcakes with vanilla icing, chocolate icing, then vanilla icing on top, with a spritz of strawberry juice and topped of with a slice of lime, coated in sugar?"
"Yes. The 'tops' are all there," Tornado said, smiling. I licked my lips, closed the box, and reached over to hug my best friend. "Thank you so much, Tornado!"
"Aw, don't mention it."
"WHY ARE YOU TWO NOT AT THE MAYOR'S CEREMONY?" we both looked up and saw a Robot Unit walking towards us. Tornado sighed, irritation seemingly rising up within him.
"I was going to help my mother with chores today, and she has to help her sick sister, and we where just taking a break, that's all. Especially her," He said, pointing at me. "since pegasi are not that used to walking and today is a no-fly-zone." I looked at Tornado in amazement. Tornado could lie as easily as I could fly.
The Robot Unit stared at us for a moment, then walked away. They don't scan identification cards on special holidays.
Tornado shook his head, then sighed. "Robot Units. They always have to ruin everything, don't they."
"Well, I mean, it was just doing it's job..."
"Yeah, a job that I wish they would stop doing. Robot Units are pony feathered, horse manured, piles of trash." I gasped at him. Such language!
"Well, um, not ALL Robot Units are bad," I said, thinking of Broken. Tornado glared at me.
"Oh, so your on their side now?!?"
"Wait, what side?"
"Oh, never mind," He said, standing up. "Just go help your sick sister." He walked away.
"Tornado, wait!" I called after him. But he did not look back. "What side!?"
Seriously? What side?
***************
I saw her laying in the shade under a tree in a park. She was staring into a large pink box, mumbling to herself. I landed softly on a bed of grass, trying not to disturb her, but she heard me anyway. She looked up at me with surprise.
"Don't worry, it's me, " I said. She took a sigh of relief.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the ceremony?" She asked me.
"No, not me. I am on patrol duty. "
"Oh well in that case, what's up?" She shifted over to make room for me. I did walk over to her, but I did not sit down. "Aren't you going to lay down with me?" She asked.
"No. " Her forehead creased with worry.
"Broken, are you okay?"
"What makes you say that I am not okay ?"
"Oh nothing. It's just that you are acting a little, off, is all. Is something wrong?"
Blossom Wing could read me easily. Even though I cannot show any signs of emotion, she always seems to know what I am feeling. I asked her about it once, and she said that she knew by the way I carried myself.
I sat down beside her, nervous about telling her everything that happened last night during the recharge. But I just couldn't find the courage.
"Broken?" Blossom asked me. I glanced at her.
"I, I had a dream last night ." She said nothing. I looked over at her, and saw that she had her eyes plastered on a tree far away. Her face seemed emotionless, but her eyes read of worry.
"A dream?" She asked, still looking at the tree.
"Yes? "
"What was it about?"
There. That was all it needed for the haunting sounds and feelings to come back into my mind. The screams, the pain, the cold, and the hunger. How I felt so scared, and how no matter how hard I had tried, nopony would come for my rescue.
Broken?" She asked me. This time, she looked away from the tree and her face held all of her emotion. Worry, pain, and scared.
But the memory still haunted me, and I couldn't stay there much longer. I lept up into the air and hovered away as fast as I could. I heard her calling me, but no matter how much of me wanted to stop, I didn't.
Not until I had reached the side of night. I had heard something that made me drop from the sky, and plummet to the ground below. I landed with a thud, a puff of dirt and rock cascading around me. I got up to move, but it was if my gears had locked in my leg. I looked down at my right hoof, and saw that my piston had bent. I would have to go back to the recharge station tonight in order to get it fixed. But I felt no pain. I have never felt pain. Which, for some reason, felt odd to me.
Then, I heard someone calling my name. I turned around and saw Blossom flying towards me. So she had followed me all the way out here, flying, in a no-fly-zone. "Broken!" She called again. She landed beside me. "Oh my Equestria! Are you okay?" I showed her my piston, and she shook her head. "I have something that will fix that."
"You do? "
"Yeah, at my house. But my little sister Little Leaf is there so I will have to get her distracted before I can fix it. Can you even bend your leg at all?" I flexed it, but once the piston got to the bend it stopped, and I could no longer move it. She shook her head. "I guess that's a no. C'mon. Let me get you to my house. And how did you fall anyway?" She asked me, walking forward. I followed her on three legs.
"I, I got distracted ."
"Distracted? What distracted you?"
"I heard something. "
"Something?" She asked, stopping in her tracks. "What kind of something?"
"A voice. " she turned around to face me.
"And what did the voice say?"
"That 'the procedure is almost complete' ."
*******************
"Stay right there," I told him, pointing to the bush beside out house. "I know that it's a good hiding spot. You hid there before." I waited for a response, but when none came, I turned around and saw him stiff and rigid, his glowing eyes flicking from me to the bush.
"How do you know that!?! " He asked me.
"Because I know the sound of Robot Unit creaking, Broken."
"Oh.Well, I am NOT a creepy stalker. " He walked to the bush, head low, and crawled in, which looked rather difficult when you have only the use of three of your legs.
"Now, be quiet, and I'll go get the tools."
Yes. I do have tools for this kind of thing. My father taught me how to use them when he still worked at the factory. He taught me how the Robot Units move, how the work, and how their databases tell them everything. I wasn't all that interested at the time, but now it is proving invaluable.The tools are the only thing we have left of him, and usually just looking at them would bring on the tears. But now I just have to suck it up and actually use them.
I walked inside the house and shut the door. "Hey sis," Little Leaf said.
"Hey," I said back, looking around frantically. I opened up the old cabinet in the corner and rummaged through the mess, but came up empty-hoofed.
"Um, are you looking for something?" Leaf asked me. I spun around.
"Uh, yes, actually. Where are dad's tools?" She looked confused. She pointed into the bedroom.
"They're in the chest drawers. Where they always are."
"Thanks!" I said.
"Wait! Why do you need dad's tools?" But I ignored her question, rushing into the room and pulling out drawers and looking through them until I found what I was looking for.
"You okay in there?" She asked me.
"Yes! And I just found them!" I rushed out of the room, tools in mouth, and flung open the door before I stopped. "Stay inside," I mumbled through clenched teeth. I shut the door behind me and rushed to Broken in the bush, but not in enough time that I did not hear what Leaf said.
"But we never got to do our special greeting! Blossom! Come back!"
***************
Over the past month, I have been suspicious of my sister's behavior. How she would rush through things, was now very secretive, and would now even lie! Yes, I can tell when Blossom Wing lies. Thankfully, I'm an even better liar. But to go so far as to ignore our special greeting? Now that was going WAY to far. We always had that greeting. It was our thing. And even though it was always a little annoying, I always looked forward to it. But now, being denied even that, it left a hole in my heart that made me feel empty inside. This is not the Blossom Wing I know. What happened to her? Where did my older sister go? And who is this imposter?
I did ask mom about it, once, but she just told me to ignore it, saying that it was just 'teenage things' and 'hormones'. Whatever that meant. I hope that I will never go through hormones. Because now Blossom Wing has totally changed!
I did have a surprise waiting for her. It was a cake, for her birthday, that I baked myself. All by myself, that is. Sure it's a little burnt, and maybe it does look like curdled milk, but it was still for her. And she ruined it. Will I be this way when I'm 16? I'm only 6 now. And that's only ten years away! Will I act that way? Ignoring my family, lying to them, and just simply brushing off my little sister? No. I hope not.
CLANG!
I stopped with my pouting and perked up an ear. What was that?
"Hold still!" I heard Blossom Wing yell. And she yelled it loud enough probably for the whole neighborhood to hear. Which, of course, was a mile away, but whatever. I got up on my hind hooves and tried to look out the window, but the dirt and grime blocked my view. Great. Now how am I supposed to know what she was doing? I know she told me to stay inside, but NOT being able to open that door made me fidgety. Why couldn't she just tell me what she was doing with dad's tools? Sure I was just a newborn foal when he died, but the topic always made Blossom cry. And now she is actually USING THE TOOLS!?!?
CLANG!
Okay. That's it. Curiosity is going to kill this cat.
I pushed open the door and flew out, flapping my tiny wings as fast as I could. I flew off in the direction of the sound, and stopped short when I saw her pink and brown mane over a bush.
"Blossom!" I yelled. "What are you doing!?!" I flew around to the other side. "Blossom! What in the-"
She looked up at me and gasped, her face a mix of surprise and anger, but not because I was flying during a no-fly-zone. Because there she was, dad's tools strewn around her, holding up the leg with her hoof of a Robot Unit.
She was fixing that Robot Unit.
"Blossom Wing," I said. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Author's Note
Okay. I just realized what I wrote. Broken got broken! Ha! Feedback please!
The two sisters sat there, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, staring at each other, while I was sitting here with a bent piston that Blossom had managed to bend even further. My leg is now in a locked position, as I am unable to move it, or do anything with it for that matter.
I shifted my good front leg, intending for the gear-grinding sound to vibrate through the air, drawing both sister's attention back to me.
"Why, how, what!?!?" Little Leaf stammered, lowering herself to the ground, both light green eyes locked on me.
"Uh, Little Leaf!" Blossom said, slowly standing up from her place on the ground. "I, I can explain."
"No you can't, " I said.
"He's right, I can't." She face-hoofed herself, sighing.
"What are you doing with a Robot Unit? Here? RIGHT NEXT TO OUR HOUSE!?" Little Leaf said, hyperventilating. "It, it must know now that I'm not sick! That your just blowing the day off! Blossom! WE'LL GET ARRESTED!" Little Leaf dashed over to her sister and hid behind her tail, trembling, and peeked out at me. She started to wail. "WE'LL GET ARRESTED! AND I WAS FLYING! IT SAW ME FLY!"
"Leaf! Calm down!" Blossom Wing yelled at her little sister, flicking her tail up as Little Leaf lost her grip and landed on the ground. Blossom turned to face her sister. She put a hoof on her back, got down close to her face, and whispered in her ear, "He's my friend." Little Leaf glanced between her older sister and me, then swallowed.
"F, friend?" She asked. Blossom nodded.
"Yes. And his name is Broken. Why don't you go over there and talk with him?" Blossom's voice cracked, and she put on the best fake smile she could muster. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
I couldn't tell if Little Leaf noticed or not, but she tentatively got up from her spot, and tiptoed over to me. She cleared her throat, and stood up a bit taller. But her voice still shook.
"H, hi."
"Hello. "
"Uh, how are you today?" She cringed a little
"Good. And you? "
"Good. But.." She glanced back at her sister, then back at me. "But you don't look like you feel so good. Your piston..." She pointed to it. "Does it hurt?"
I glanced down at it. "No. "
"Really?" She asked me.
"I don't feel pain ."
"You don't?" I shook my head. "Well then, can I, can I touch it?"
"Sure ." She tentatively reached out with her hoof and poked it, squealing and pulling it back as she did. Blossom Wing watched with worried eyes.
"It's, it feels cold," She said, giving it another poke, before finally running her hoof up and down it. "Wow!" She giggled. Blossom sighed with relief. "And you can use it to move?" She asked me, her eyes twinkling with curiosity. I lifted up my back leg for her to see, moving it up and down. She watched intently as the pistons moved along with it. "Wow." She said, starting to laugh. "I never noticed that before!"
"Yes, and now I have to fix him," Blossom Wing said, walking over to us and picking up a tool with her mouth. " So you're going to have to move, Leaf." Her little sister groaned.
"But Blossom!" She whined, but Blossom just shook her head.
"No, Leaf, I have to fix it."
"But can I at least see his other leg move?" She grabbed my good front leg with her hooves and pulled on it. I lost my balance and toppled forward, almost crushing the Little Filly. Blossom gasped, dropping the tool. But Little Leaf just giggled.
"You're so funny, Dusky!"
But it was not Little Leaf that had said that. This was a voice from a different filly, one that echoed through my mind and pounded against my metal skull, reverberating through my ear piece. And I know the filly who said that. I know that voice, like a long and haunting memory being opened back into the world.
"Blossom... " I said, staring down at the ground as the tiny sounding voice disappeared from my mind.
"Yes?"
"I think I am about to power down."
Then, I saw black.
***************************
Me and Little leaf carried him all the way back to our house, and layed him on our mother's bed. It creaked with his weight, but it will have to do. We didn't really do much after that. Little Leaf and I just sat there, watching him. After a long while, she said,
"He's okay, right?" I looked down at her.
"Yeah. He's, he's okay. I have seen Robot Units power down like this before, when they are almost out of energy. They do it to conserve what little power they have left."
"Was he low on energy?"
"Maybe."
"Do you know when he last recharged?"
"... last night. He always tells me when he needs to recharge."
"Oh." More silence. I looked down at Broken. He seemed, dead. But he couldn't be dead. He told me, specifically me, that after he fell that he was going to power down. And he did. Nothing else to it. The fall could have resulted in loss of energy, maybe, but it was the way he sounded when he said it that ran chills up my spine. How vulnerable he sounded, how scared. I wouldn't say it out loud, but I felt like maybe it was more than just a fall that caused him to go under. Like how he heard that voice that made him drop out of the sky earlier, maybe something like that happened again? I don't know.
But his voice, it, it sounded... like a stallion's. Not his normal monotone, but in a higher pitch, clearer and smoother. I'm not sure if Little Leaf noticed it or not, but I did. And every time I think about it, the dream in which he transformed into a pony flashed through my mind.
"How long have you known him for?" Little Leaf asked me. I snapped back into attention, and glanced down at my little sister.
"One month."
"A month!?!?"
"Um, yes. One month."
"Is that why you were acting so weird all that time?"
"Weird?"
"Yeah," She grabbed a lock of her pink and green mane and started to twirl it with her hoof. "I knew you lied to me."
"You knew!?!?!"
"Um-hm," She said, nodding. "Was he the reason?"
"..."
"Blossom Wing?"
"... yes."
******************
My vision was red at first, then cleared to reveal the room that I was in. It was small, very small, and there where three beds. I was on one of them, and every time I shifted my enter of balance, it creaked and whined at me. Where am I? I wondered, rolling out from the hay mattress and landing on the wooden floor with a thud, making the entire room vibrate. A picture of four ponies fell down from the top of a dresser, glass tinkling across the floor. I sprang to my hooves, trying to avoid the sharp debris, but then realized that I could move my right leg again. I marveled at it. So Blossom Wing had fixed it after all. But could she have brought me here? I stood up straighter and got a better view of my surroundings. There was one window. It was broken, and dirt and grime covered it, blocking out any view. But the hole in it gave me enough of a view to know that I am on the night side of Unit Area 4.
"You're awake." I whipped around and saw Blossom Wing standing there, illuminated by a light coming in from another room.
"What happened? "
"You powered down." She took a step forward. "You don't remember?"
"No, I remember that. But what happened to get me in here? " I glanced around the room one more time before returning my focus back on Blossom Wing.
"Here? This is my house. And your in my bedroom."
"Your... bedroom?"
"Yes. And also my mom's, and Little Leaf's, basically, this is everyone's bedroom."
"Oh. "
"Is he up?" I heard Little Leaf call from the room outside the bedroom.
"Uh, yes!" Blossom Yelled back. She looked back and me and gestured with her head to follow her. She walked through the doorway and into the light on the other side, and I walked right behind her, and in a flash I found myself in a tiny room, barely big enough for two ponies. Let alone two ponies and a Robot Unit.
Little Leaf was standing at a three legged table, paper on the table and crayons in her mouth, scribbling on a piece of paper. She looked up when she heard me come in. Her face brightened, and she rushed over to me, holding a piece of paper in her hoof. She glanced down at it, then back up at me, and smiled shyly. "I drew something for you." She held out the paper, and I grabbed it with the tiny claw from my chest. She marveled at it, her eyes growing as big as marbles, but my attention was on the drawing. It was me. Correction: It was me and her. Little Leaf looked up from the claw long enough to see my face. "I heard that you and Blossom where friends, so I thought that maybe we could be friends too? I've never had a Robot Unit friend before, so..."
Blossom looked at me, nodded, and then smiled. I glanced down at Little Leaf, who was looking up at me expectantly.
"S, sure, " I said.
"YAY!" She yelled, trotting around the space. "I've got Robot Unit friend! I've got a Robot Unit friend! I've got a Robot Unit friend! YAY!" Blossom giggled at her little sister, shaking her head. She glanced up at me, then sighed.
"Broken," She said. "Do you mind if we go for a walk? We need to talk about... things."
"Okay... " I said, a little wary of her sudden change in attitude.
"Aw..." Little Leaf groaned.
"I, uh, we just really need to talk, Broken. You're okay with it right, Little Leaf?" She said, rummaging her hoof through her sister's mane.
"But we never got to eat the cake I made you for your birthday!" Little Leaf complained, pointing at what I thought was just a pile of slop in the corner. But it's a cake? Blossom grimaced, then shuttered.
"Why don't we save that for later? You will be a good little filly, right?" Little Leaf crossed her arms and pouted, but nodded. "Good. Broken?" She asked, opening the front door. I pulled the claw back into my chest, paper and all, and I walked out, waiting out there until she shut the door.
"So, what did you want to talk about? "
She shook her head. "No, not here. I know a place that we can talk in private."
*******************
There is forest near my house, on the borders between Unit areas 4 and 5, where the long fence runs straight down the middle. Me and Tornado used to come here everyday when we where just foals, laughing and playing in the pond near the giant oak tree. We stopped coming after a while, and even though I never knew why, Tornado said that I should never go into those woods ever again, and I haven't, not until today. Because this is where I took Broken.
"Broken," I said, staring at my reflection at the water's edge. He stood near by, gazing at me. I could feel his eyes drilling little holes into my sides.
"Yes? " He asked.
"Stop looking at my flank."
"What!?! I, I wasn't! I mean, why would you think that I was- "
"Why did you power down?"
"What? "
I turned around to face him. "Why did you power down? What was the real reason?"
He stared at me for a moment before looking down at his own hooves. "I don't know ."
"You don't know?" He glanced back up at me, then shook his head.
"I mean, I thought I heard something... never mind. "
"Wait," I got up and trotted over to him, lifting his face up with my hoof. "What did you hear?"
"I thought I heard another voice. "
"A, another?"
"Yes, but it didn't sound like the first one! It sounded like a filly, much older than your sister. Maybe around the age of 9 ."
"And... that's why you powered down?" I said skeptically.
"But Blossom, you don't understand! It sounded like I, like I knew that filly. I knew her Blossom. I knew her!"
I stared at him, my mouth open and eyes wide. In my mind, I was taken back to the moment when he was about to power down, when his voice changed. When he seemingly lost all connection to the outside world, when he looked gone. When he looked like he had died. That moment when he sounded so much different than his usual self, and here I was, watching as it happened again. His voice changed for a split second. And it sounded just the same as it did before. Like a regular stallion's.
Broken looked behind himself and then back at me. "What are you staring at? "
"I, you-"
Then, all of a sudden, I heard a sound of something rustling through the leaves, and it sounded big. "Broken," I said, stepping closer to him. Suddenly, a huge net came into view, and before either me or Broken could react, it swept us up and pulled us into the air, trapping us and hanging by a thread on a tree limb. Me and Broken where jostled around, me landing on my back and him on his head. We sat there for a moment, the wind swaying the trap back and forth, that is until I panicked, thrashing around.
"Help!" I cried out. "Oh please, somepony help us!"
"Blossom! " Broken yelled to me. "Stop thrashing! Your wings are getting entangled in the net! " I gave up when I realized that he was right. My wings where now wrapped up in a hopeless mess of feathers and thread.
"What are we going to do!" I cried out.
"Stay put where you are, that's what. And don't try anything." I tensed up when I heard the the voice. I twisted my head in the direction in which I heard it come from.
"Hello?-" Broken covered my mouth with his hoof, shaking his head.
"Quiet. "
Suddenly a dark pony came into view. He had a gun strapped to his back, and he reached back and took it into his hooves. "Let's see what we have here, shall we?" He looked up at us and then dropped his gun. I nearly fainted.
Those purple eyes where all too familiar to me.
"Tornado!?" I shouted down at him.
"Blossom!?"
Suddenly, what seemed like thousands of ponies materialized from the shadows, and they all stared in awe at what they had captured inside the net. And I knew that they where not in shock of me, as Tornado was. They where all staring at Broken.
"We caught one!" Some pony shouted, and the whole crowd cheered.
"Welcome to the revolution, Robot Unit!" Another shouted.
And those were not happy smiles on their faces.
Author's Note
Dun dun dun! Feedback please!
Welcome to the revolution, Robot Unit
They dragged the huge net through a cave in the side of a cliff face and into a winding array of tunnels. Our captures followed in close pursuit, guns at ready, and they where all pointing them at me and Blossom.
"Try anything metal, and you will put a bullet through your processor," One very angry sounding earth pony mare whispered to us. But what would I try? Cut my way through the net with a knife? No. With them dragging me along I would cut one of them, or even Blossom, who's wings were now wounded and bloody from being dragged across the cave floor. Tears rolled down her face as the ponies kept pulling us and pulling us, sneering and glaring. Not Tornado, though. He wouldn't even look me or Blossom in the eye.
"Stop your crying mare, and hush up!" A stallion gave one swift kick to Blossom's side. She cried out in pain.
"You leave her alone! " I shouted at the stallion.
"Or what?" He sneered back, then yelled at the ponies up front to stop dragging us. He leaned in close to me. "What'cha gonna do, Robot Unit?"
"Boxy!" Some pony shouted. "You shouldn't have even kicked her in the first place!" The whole crowd unanimously agreed. But Tornado looked away and bit his lip, not saying a word. He obviously could see her blood staining the cave floor, unlike the other ponies around us.
"Fine," Boxy said. "Keep on dragging!" He shouted to the ponies that were pulling us. Then we started the long trek again. Blossom remained silent, and tried to keep her wings from hitting the cave floor but to no avail.
"It's okay, Blossom, it's okay... " I whispered in her ear.
"It hurts, it hurts," She mumbled back.
A cyan unicorn mare that was levitating a torch with her horn glanced down at us, shook her head, and turned away, refusing to look at us again.
"In here," One pony shouted. Suddenly we were lifted off of the ground and thrown violently onto a side of the tunnel. They opened up the net and untangled Blossom, then grabbed both of us and shoved us into a small, empty space. We both hit the cave wall. Hard. Blossom cried out in pain while I layed there, stunned. And before either us could react to what had happened, they shut us in, slamming a door with metal bars against the opening. Somepony pulled out a key and locked it. We were trapped.
Then the whole group turned around and started to make their way back up through the tunnel. All except for the cyan mare, who stayed behind, her magenta eyes filled with despair. I could see now that her left eye had a jagged scar going straight down the side her face. She levitated the torch to the side of the tunnel, affixing it there with her magic.
"To see by," She said, before she turned around and headed up the same path that the rest of her friends took.
And now, we were alone.
Blossom folded her wings to her sides and continued to cry, sobbing into the cave floor. I got up and walked over to her, putting my mechanical hoof on her back. "It's okay Blossom, we, we're ," I didn't have the heart to tell her that we would be okay if I didn't really believe it myself.
"Broken," She whispered. "I'm scared." I didn't know what else to say. I layed down beside her, blood dripping from her wings and onto my metal covering. I didn't mind, though. But those wings to me looked less like actual wings now and more like raw meat with feathers. And I didn't have anything to help her with. I just layed right there beside her until she cried herself to sleep.
I glanced up at the door to our prison. These metal bars, so intimidating, reminded me of the dream, but I tried not to let it bother me. And yet, even if I try not to think about it, try not to ignore it, it still comes back to haunt me.
Why? Why does it keep coming back? Why do the screams and panic rise up within me every time I think about it? Why does it feel so... real?
Then it hit me full force. The reason that it haunts me. The reason that I keep thinking about it. The reason that no matter how much I try to ignore it, it breaks through my barrier and whispers haunts in my ear piece.
Because it wasn't a dream. It was a memory.
****************************
Tornado. He's a part of the revolution. This is where he gets his "information" from his "sources". I guess I should have known. Should have seen the hints, read the signs, but I didn't. Even living in a neighborhood where rumored revolutionists live did not make me more likely to read between the lines and see what was in front of my face the entire time. He must have wanted me to join. That's why he kept asking me to go with him to protests, why he loathes the Robot Units so much. Well, are you happy now Tornado? Because I'm part of the revolution. I'm their prisoner.
And why didn't he say anything? Why didn't he do something? Tornado, my best friend, betrayed me and left me sitting out in the cold.
I started to stir from my sleep maybe a couple of hours later. I looked around and at first was a little shocked at our surroundings, but then remembered the events prior. I noticed something cold was touching my left side. I looked up and saw that Broken was laying right next to me.
"Broken?" I asked him. He looked at me.
"You're up. "
"How long was I asleep?" I asked him, rubbing my eyes with my hooves.
"Two hours ."
"Oh." I was about to move to my hooves when Broken stopped me.
"No. No movement. You'll make your wings bleed again ."
"My, wings?" I looked to my back and saw them limp and useless, hanging from my sides in a heap of blood and feathers. I felt like I was going to hurl. And along with this sudden wave of nausea came the pain. Oh, the pain. It pounded within my wings and reverberated throughout my entire body. It felt like I had smashed my head against the wall one thousand times. I lowered myself back down to the ground, and winced.
"Broken, what do you think they want us for?"
"You mean, what do they want me for. I'm their prize ."
"Then why keep me around?"
"I, I don't know. "
"First off, because I'm going to give you some water." I turned to look outside when I heard the unfamiliar voice. A cyan unicorn with a black and red dyed mane and tail was standing there, levitating a glass of water. She made the glass move through the spaces between the metal bars and landed it right next to me. I grabbed it and drank it thirstily.
"Thank you," I said after I set the glass down.
"Why help her? " Broken asked the mare. She laughed.
"Because you are more helpful to us alive than dead." Her face fell. "They are deciding what to do with you two right now as we speak."
"They?" I asked her.
"The other ponies. The revolutionists."
"Then why don't you just kill me now and take Broken apart to study his mechanisms?" I asked, anger rising up in my voice for this mare.
"You, you named him?" She asked, gesturing with her head at Broken.
"Y, yes. yes, I named him," I said, my anger falling short.
"I knew that there was something different about him."
"Different about me how? " Broken asked her.
"Well, first off the way your voice sounds."
"That's a good note... "
"And how you didn't open fire at us."
"... "
"And I heard you trying to comfort her," She pointed to me. "So what's your secret, Robot?"
"What secret?" I asked her.
"About why he is so different."
"Don't jump to conclusions, pony, " Broken said with such fierceness that even the unicorn mare took a step back in awe.
"My name is Sunrise Rivers. Do NOT call me pony ever again, Robot."
"Then don't call me robot! "
"Fine. You know what? Fine. I wasn't even supposed to give you that water, and now I guess that I was wrong to do even that." She turned around and started to walk away, but then Broken stopped her.
"I'm sorry ." She froze.
"What did you say?" She asked, slightly turning her head to look at us.
"I'm sorry, Sunrise Rivers. "
She turned her body around to face us. "Call me river." Then she walked away.
********************
Blossom looked up at me. She looked worried. "I've never heard you say something so mean before."
"I'm sorry, I just, I was just angry. "
"At her?"
"No. At everything. "
She suddenly cried out in pain. "My wings," She mumbled.
How could they have done this to her? Captured her and injured her wings? Keeping her here when she has done nothing wrong?
I am who they are after. I know that for certain. They want me, not her.
"Broken," She whispered. "What are they going to do to us?" I looked down at her. Her eyes spoke it all. Behind those green irises there was fear, worry, and most of all, the one that made my metal insides wrench, was her look of helplessness. Her own best friend brought her down here. And he. Did. Nothing. To save her. He watched as her wings became nothing more than limp piles of muscle and feathers. He just stood there and watched when the stallion named Boxy kicked her. He stood there, and watched, as they took us down from the tree to be locked up in this cell. In fact, he was the one who trapped us in that net in the first place. Does he have no remorse? No conscious?
"I, I don't know. " I told her.
I heard a pebbled being kicked across the cave floor and looked around to find the source. Then my eyes locked on the black earth pony standing just outside of our enclosure.
"What are you doing here? " I sneered at him.
"You shut up, Robot Unit. I came here to talk to Blossom. Not a worthless pile of trash like you," Tornado said.
"He is NOT a worthless pile of trash!" Blossom yelled at him, aiming all of her emotions at the stallion. "And here I am! What did you want to say to me?!?" I noticed that one wing started to bleed again, but Blossom paid it no attention.
"I wanted to say..." The stallion couldn't seem to find his words. "That, that I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Blossom yelled. "SORRY!?!" She lept up from her spot and dashed to the metal bars, clutching them with her hooves. Her wings started to drip blood onto the floor. "First off, you never told me about this. The revolution, and you being a part of it? Yeah. remember when we swore to never keep secrets from each other? You just broke that rule! Oh, and happy sweet sixteen to me! Because you don't seem to care. YOU trapped us in a net. YOU let your little friends drag us across the cave floor! YOU DID NOTHING TO STOP THEM!!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"Blossom, it's out of my power." This seemed to have really ticked Blossom Wing off.
"Out of your power?!? Out of your POWER!?! Why you little horse manure, hay seeds, horse apples, pony feathered pony! GO AWAY!"
"Oh, you want to talk about keeping secrets?!" Tornado yelled right back at her. "Why about the Robot Unit you're with? Why didn't you tell me about that, huh!?!?"
"His name is Broken." Blossom put enough hatred in that one sentence that even I cringed.
"You named it!?"
"Yes. And he is a much better friend than you will ever be!!"
"A much better friend than me? Well, who was there when your little sister was born? Who was there when your mom lost her job and had to work at that stupid laundromat? Who was there when your washed up, worthless father killed himself? Who? ME!"
Blossom looked ready to explode. She reared her hoof back, and reaching through the bars she punched Tornado so hard that he fell backward and his nose started to bleed. "GO AWAY!!!!!" She screamed at him, her voice teetering on the edge of total hysteria. The stallion scrambled to his hooves and dashed away, leaving me and her behind. Blossom let go of the bars and fell backward in heap.
"Blossom! " I said, scrambling to her side.
"I'm fine, Broken." She closed her eyes. "I, I just need to rest, that's all."
"Yes, Blossom. Everything is going to be okay. You'll be okay."
My head snapped to attention. Did I hear myself right? Did my voice really just, change?
Blossom nodded, then fell into a deep sleep.
But I still couldn't believe it. My voice changed. It changed.
And I sounded like a pony.
Holy Equestria, I sounded like a pony.
In my dreams, I witnessed every single day that me and Tornado had spent together. They day's when we had fun, the days that we just sat and talked, and the days when he would cheer me up when I was sad. But then the most recent memories came flooding into my consciousness, and with it brought the pain of losing my best friend. I witnessed, once more, us falling apart, fighting, keeping secrets, it was almost like it was doomed from the start. That we had a faulty friendship ever since we first met. Because those memories brought something new with them: A realization. Seeing them from a perspective, I saw how secretive Tornado really was, how he jumped to conclusions, how he always got in trouble, maybe it would have been better if we never met, because then he wouldn't have to go through this heartache now either.
I opened my eyes and saw that everything was one big blur. Then I focused in on the world around me. I looked around. Yep. Still the same cave, still the same jail cell. Nothing has changed. Even the dull, throbbing pain in wings has not gone away.
I saw Broken standing in a corner of our prison, staring at the wall. He seemed a bit... distracted.
"Broken?"
He nearly jumped right out of his metal skin, falling backward and landing on his metal mane, bending it just a fraction of an inch. I nearly jumped out of my own skin from the sound of the thud he made.
"Holy Equestria, Blossom!" He yelled. We both froze. There it was. Another voice change. But, could my eyes be playing tricks on me? They way Broken reacted, could he have heard it too?
"Uh..." I said, reaching out to help him up. "Let me help you with your... mane." I tugged on it, bringing it back to it's original spikiness. He grabbed my hoof with his mechanical one.
"Blossom, not so much movement! Your wings! "
"Uh... no, I think it's fine, I think... that they have formed scabs now."
"Oh... "
We sat there like that, not really doing anything, not really saying anything. I was just... breathing. And Broken was just... staring at a wall, how can he do that? Stay that still? I mean, COME ON!
"Blossom... " My head snapped to attention.
"Y, yes?"
"You, you heard it, didn't you. "
"Uh... what exactly DID I hear?" I halfheartedly chuckled, pretending that I had no idea what he was talking about.
He shook his head. "Blossom, I know you better than that. I know you heard it, so stop trying to pretend you didn't. You heard what happened to my voice. "
I sighed. "Yes, I did hear it. And that wasn't the first time that I have heard it, either."
"It... wasn't? "
"No. I have heard it two other times... today."
"What? Really!? "
I nodded. "Yep."
"So then that makes it three times yesterday, and once today... " He whispered.
"Wait, did you say yester-.... THREE!?!"
"Yesterday was two hours ago. It's two in the morning right now. And yes, three. Because my voice changed right before you fell asleep. "
"And, you noticed it happening?"
He nodded.
"But what... what could it all mean?" I asked him, not really expecting an answer.
He looked away from me, staring at the wall again. It seemed like he was trying to... decide something.
"Blossom? " He asked, still staring at the wall.
"Y, yes?"
"Remember when I told you that I had had a dream? "
"Yes."
"I, I don't think it was dream ."
"Then, what was it?"
He turned his head back around and looked me dead in the eye. "A memory. "
And then he told me all about it.
************************
I watched as the expression on her face went from curious, to surprise, to fear.
"But, if it is a memory, because it feels that real to you, then why would it be... that? I thought that Robot Units were made, trained, then shipped!"
"Yes, that's what happened to me. I did get made, trained, and shipped. Well, I know for certain about the training and shipping part. "
"But... a jail cell? And you said that while in the dream... memory... you thought about a grandmother and a grandfather?"
"Yes. "
"But, Robot Units don't have..." Her eyes grew wide and she covered her mouth with her hooves, gasping.
"What? Blossom, what is it? "
"My dream..." She whispered.
"Your... what? "
"My dream!" She said a bit louder.
"What about a dream? "
"I, I had a dream in which you turned into a pony."
"You... what? I... what!? "
"I had a dream in which you turned into a pony," She repeated. She sighed. "There were Robot Units, everywhere. And they wanted to arrest me, and you tried to stop them, but they were going to fire at you so I protected you and took all the shots. Then, you leaned over me after I fell to the ground and... then you changed into a pony."
"And when was all this? "
"... the day after I met you. And remember when you said that you heard the voice of a filly, and that it was like you knew her?"
"Yes..."
"Could that be a memory too?"
"Maybe. But a memory of what? From where? From when? I'm a Robot Unit, Blossom. We don't have memories like that. So then why? Why!? "
"I... I don't know, Broken. I really don't know."
I wished that somepony knew, that they could give me answers. Why? Why does my voice change every so often? Why do I have memories? Why do I hear voices? Why, why, WHY?
The door to our enclosure creaked and we both looked up at the same time to see four ponies standing there, the door wide open, with guns strapped to their backs. They looked at each other, then to me and Blossom. "Come with us," A mare said.
"I will only come with you if you bandage Blossom's wings first, " I said.
They glanced at each other, then one of them nodded. "Alright, Robot Unit," A very angry stallion said. "But after that, you have to come with us."
***********************
We were led down another long tunnel, ponies in front of us, beside us, and behind us, and they were seemingly on edge, as if expecting something. I want to hate them. I really, really want to hate them. Even after they bandaged my wings, I just wanted to kick them in their smug little faces. But I saw Tornado in every one of them. And I couldn't kick Tornado, even if I punch him. A lot.
Soon, we arrived to an entrance to another tunnel, and we turned down it, eventually arriving at a metal door. One of our captures nodded to the others, and a stallion pulled out a key and unlocked it, and then they proceeded to shove us in to a large, empty cave lit by three torches. I got up and turned around in time to see them close the door. "Wait!" I called out to them, galloping towards my last chance of escape. "Wait!" Then the sound of a lock being turned resonated through the air, and I stopped short. We were trapped. Again.
"Don't try anything." I whipped around and saw a stallion that I had never noticed before standing in a far corner of the cave. He had a burgundy mane, an orange coat, a goatee and had two guns strapped to his back. Me and Broken both stared in awe. "Shut your mouth, mare."
I realized that my jaw had opened without me registering that it had. I quickly closed it. "I didn't request that you two be brought down here to ogle at some random stranger. I brought you here to answer some questions,' The stallion said.
"Questions? "
"You shut your trap, Robot Unit. I was talking to the mare."
"My name is Blossom wing," I said in defense. "And his name is Broken. And you can talk to both of us." I stepped in front of Broken to protect him from anything that this mean stallion would have to say.
"You seem pretty protective of him," The stallion said, smirking and putting a hoof to his chin. "Very well then, I will call you Broken, Robot Unit." Broken stepped out from behind me and looked at the stallion.
"What should we call you, citizen 561-08? " Broken asked.
"Hmm... so you can tell my citizen number without reading the identification card. Very interesting..." He brought out a note pad and scribbled something down with his mouth. "Call me Pole," He said without glancing up.
"Excuse me, 'Pole', but what are you hoping to gain from this?" I asked.
He glanced up at me. "Information, sweet heart."
"Information on what? " Broken asked him.
Pole put his note pad away. "About what makes you so different, 'Broken'," He said, taking a few steps forward.
"Uh... "
"Why do you not act like your little friends, huh?" He said, taking a few more steps forward. "Why does your voice sound so different?" A few more steps forward. "And why does your little friend here think that you are special enough to have a name? So why, Robot Unit, why!?!?" He put his face very close to Broken's. I felt ready to explode.
"You get away from him, you, you, you good for nothing pony!" I yelled at Pole. He whipped around to face me.
"Listen here, mare. You do NOT want to anger me. I repeat. You do NOT want to anger me! You got that!?"
"What are you going to do with me if I do?" I glared at him.
"Or else I am going to take my pretty little gun here and shoot a bullet right through your head!"
The sound of metal clicking together and grinding gears caught both mine and Pole's attention. He turned around and found himself face-to-face with a large gun-like object pointed right between his eyes. Broken had revealed all of his weapons.
"If you put a bullet through her head, " Broken said with anger. "Then I will put a missile through yours."
Pole screamed and fell backward, landing on the cave floor. He cried out in pain and then tried to scoot away from Broken with his back hooves. "Your voice!" He screamed. "What happened to your voice!?"
"It changed," Broken said, advancing on Pole. I gasped out loud. "Just like the shape of your skull will be if you ever, and I mean ever, threaten her again." His voice still had not changed back. And this is not the Broken that I have known. This is the first time that I had ever seen his truly angry side.
Pole lept up and ran for the door, pulling on it until he realized that it was locked. "Help me!" He screamed. "Let me out of here!" He turned back around and saw Broken standing just behind him. He pressed himself against the door. "What, what are you?" He asked Broken, his voice shaking.
"I am a Robot Unit."
Then the door opened up and Pole fell backwards.
Author's Note
Sorry about this chapter being short. Oh, and sorry about not having an author's note on the last chapter...(some of you might not even care) but I released that chapter at eight in the morning and was tired.
Darkness. Everything is darkness. Black as far as the eye can see. Black. No light. No hope. Is this how I will live the rest of my existence? In the dark? Swallowed whole by the shadows that surround me? But then, a sound. Like an angel crying out, it filtered in through the darkness and into my ear pieces. I listened to it's every word.
"Star Dusk! Dusky!"
It's the filly. She has come.
"Star Dusk! Come on! We've got to go!"
"Just give me a minute,"
It was another voice. One all to familiar to me. Because this voice, breaking through the darkness around me, is my voice. When it changes. That is my voice."But you promised that you would go to the park with us!"
"I know, I know, Sun rays. But give a blind pony a minute to actually find the door."
Then, no sound. They have left me.
But then, a sensation overcame my body. I felt like tiny waves of water were lapping at my metal covering. No, my skin. Yes. It feels like I have a skin. Flesh. But is this a strange illusion or a memory, being pulled up from the deep reaches of my processor?
No, not a processor. A mind. A brain. I reach with my hoof and feel my body. It too, has changed. And I am no longer cold. I am warm.
I am flesh and blood. I am a pony.
I reach up and feel the top of my head. A horn. I have a horn. I am a unicorn. And a mane. I have a mane. But I cannot see it. Though I can feel as the thin strands of hair touch my face, tickling my muzzle.
A breeze blew. And with it came more sounds.
"Sometimes I feel like I have nothing. Nothing to give, no purpose," A mare said.
"And why is that?" It was my voice again."Because it's true. I am nothing but a pathetic pegasus who probably shouldn't have even existed."
"Mockingbird! Don't say that. It is not true!"
"How do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"How do you not let it bother you? How do you sit there and take their hurtful words, their insults, without giving them so much as a single reaction? How?"
"Because even some pony who is blind can see the world for what it truly is. A living, breathing creature that we are all a part of. And if some pony does not that see that no matter how different some other pony is, that we are all a part of the same thing, then it is their problem."
"Why are you so wise, Star Dusk?"
And then it was gone. A fleeting moment of happiness. I had had it, and now it has disappeared. And I might never be able to get it back.
Then, like a bolt out of the blue, I felt something new. I felt like I did not belong, like I was not supposed to be something that I am. That I was not who I thought I was, that I was misplaced. But what? What am I not supposed to be?
Whispers filled my brain. It told me the answer. Everything that I had been trying to figure out over the past month, about why I am so different, about why I can feel things that the other Robot Units cannot. About why I have these memories. And all of the truth came out in two simple words:
Robot Unit.
I was once not a Robot Unit at all. I was a pony. I was a unicorn stallion named Star Dusk who was blind. I lived in Equestria. I lived in Unit Area 123. A place where the moon never sets.
And I was taken. I know of this for sure. I was taken by the government and put into a cruel experiment. Because I have memories of it.
What happens if a pony brain is put into a mechanical body? What will happen to a pony brain if it was trained to think like a Robot Unit? What will happen if it has no memories from its life prior? That was the experiment.
And I, Star Dusk, who is now a Robot Unit in Unit Area 4 named Broken, was their test subject.
******************
The events that followed from Broken's out of control rage went like this:
After Pole fell backwards and collided with the four ponies who brought us down here, and they shut the door and locked us in, again. I pressed my ear to the door, and I could hear them trying to calm Pole down while he tried to tell them what happened.
I had turned to look at Broken to ask him what in Equestria was he was thinking, but he just kept staring at the same spot that Pole had fallen.
I waved my hoof in front of his face but he did not even flinch, did not move a piston. But then the weapons that he had brought out moved back within him. His eyes went dark, the glowing redness gone, and he toppled over, crashing to the ground.
Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Robot Units do not topple over like that, even if they power down. If they do it while standing up, they stay standing up. Their gears and pistons lock together. But no. Never before had I seen a Robot Unit power down and then topple over.
Yes. Something was very, very wrong.
"Broken?" I asked, shaking him. "Broken?" Nothing. No response. "BROKEN!!" I screamed in his face. The door slammed open and the five ponies walked through, Pole cowering behind a mare. I turned around to face them. "He won't wake up!" I screamed at them. "He won't wake up!"
"Whoa calm down!" One pony said.
"NO!" I screamed in their faces. "I will NOT calm down! First you and your little friends trap us and bring us down into this cave, locking us up like animals! Then you lock us up in this room, with a rude pony making death threats at me!"
"Hey!" Pole shouted.
"You shut up! Tell me to close my mouth and listen, fine. Tell me to answer questions, fine. But tell me to calm down, after all you have done to me? Well, horse apples! And I don't even care if I cuss! Because I left my little sister at home. My mother is probably worrying about where I am at. And the only friend that I have left may have just died! I. Will not. Calm down. You hear me? I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!!!"
I started to cry. All of the events in my life, all of the things that I had ever learned, they were just one big lie. Robot Units are lifeless automatons with no feelings. That is not true. The revolution does not exist, that it is just a rumor. That is not true. Everything will eventually get better. That is not true. And now, I no longer have even a scrap left of the feeling called happiness left within me. The world has changed me. And it took me losing everything in order to see that.
I collapsed, sobbing into the floor, mumbling, "It's all a lie. My life has just been one big lie. And I want it to stop."
I could almost taste the despair in the room. All of the ponies, looking down at me as I cried and cried about my pathetic life, they were still. I heard a mare sniffle.
And I layed like that, on the cave floor, crying until I had no more tears left. At some point I heard the sound of hoof steps leaving the room. I had been abandoned.
I felt a hoof go under my chin and lift my head up. I opened my eyes and found myself face-to-face with the cyan unicorn mare River.
"Shh..." She whispered. "It's okay." I pulled my head away from her hoof looked away, head hung low.
"Please, just go away," I whispered. "What more could you do to me? I'm already miserable."
"Blossom Wing," She said. I glanced up at her. "I know what it is like to be afraid. I know what it is like to feel abandoned, to feel hatred. But I also know that those feelings can corrupt some pony if they never set them free."
I glanced at the jagged scar on her left eye. She had a story to tell, too.
"Maybe we should talk about it. Come on. We can talk privately in my quarters. And I can fix Broken, too."
"You, you can?" I asked, my voice hoarse.
"Yes. We stole a recharge compartment once from the Robot Unit station, and I think it still works." She stuck out her hoof to help me up. "But you have to trust me."
I took her hoof and she pulled up off the ground. River glanced over at Broken and closed her eyes, her horn glowing in a blue aura. I saw that she was trying to lift Broken, but was having some difficulties. Then he rose up, and River let out air that she had been holding.
"Follow me," She whispered.
**********************
It was like my whole entire world came crashing in on me. Nothing felt safe. I didn't even take comfort in the voices around me, of ponies that I once knew. What had happened to them? Do they know of my fate? Do they know what happened to me? All I could do was scream and scream.
The voices kept chanting tales from my past. A whole life that was taken away from me. Why? Why?! WHY!?!?
"NO!" I screamed. I took in a deep breath. Yes. I was breathing. But I did not take comfort in even that.
Warm tears fell down my face. "No, no, NO!" Please! Take these voices away! Go away! PLEASE!
I opened my eyes, and the world came into focus. Red, then clear, just like it always had when I woke up. No, not always. There was once a time when I would wake up and see nothing. There was a time when I was not metal.
I glanced around. I am in a compartment. A recharge compartment. I looked behind me. I was hooked up. I suddenly hated that thing with all of my metal heart. I lifted my back leg and kicked it with all my might. The recharge device sparked and shuttered, and then fell to the ground. And I felt pain. It hurt. I had felt pain.
The hatch on the compartment opened, and I lept out. I was in another cave. Much smaller than the jail cell me and Blossom where locked in. But this one still had a door with bars on it. And I suddenly hated bars.
I saw a pony standing outside the cave, gun at ready, pointing it down the tunnel. He whipped around when he heard the hatch open. He nearly jumped out of his own skin. And I nearly powered down again.
"You're out," He said with disgust.
"Where is she, Tornado?" I said, realizing that my voice still had not changed back. Not that I would want it to now. Tornado jumped back with surprise, also. He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure.
"She's with Sunrise Rivers. River requested that once your recharge process was complete, that you be brought to her."
"What, is River like the leader of the revolution?"
"No, but she is high ranking. Just, just come out of here you hunk of metal." He opened up the door and I stepped out, not even glancing at him. He walked forward, and I followed him. After a long stretch of angry silence between us, he said,
"I know you can talk Robot Unit. Say something."
"I have nothing to say to you."
"Whoa, angry much?"
"Blossom is my friend too, you know. Her feelings actually mean something to me." He stopped short and whipped around.
"Listen here, Robot Unit. I have a gun, and I am not afraid to use it!"
"Yeah, and I have guns and knifes. And I'm not afraid to use those either." His eyes grew wide, but then he shook his head, and continued to walk on. I followed him, but I didn't want to.
*************************
River leaned back in the chair. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I can't imagine that a dad would kill himself like that."
I shifted uncomfortably in my own chair. "It's, it's okay. It was a long time ago."
"Yeah, but the scars of the past never go away, do they." She wasn't asking a question. She was making a statement.
"My parents and my older brother both died in an explosion when I was just a filly." He eyes went dark. "And I relive that day every single night in my dreams."
"Oh my Equestria, I'm so sorry." She shrugged. I felt like she wasn't telling the whole truth.
"Like you said, it was a long time ago and it's okay."
An awkward silence stretched between us. But it was broken by a sound of a door opening. Both River and I looked up and saw the Earth pony standing there. I frowned. But River smiled.
"So the recharge process is complete, then?" She asked him a fake, cheery tone, because she knows what he did to me. I had just told her my life story, after all.
Tornado nodded. "Here's the little junk pile." He moved out of the way and I saw Broken step into the room. I almost cried. I ran up to him and wrapped my hooves around his body. I heard the door close. Tornado was gone. Finally.
"I thought you died," I whispered.
"I didn't die," He said back. I gasped when I noticed that his voice still had not changed back to monotone yet. "But a part of me did."
Author's Note
Am I a troll? Making you all believe that this story is going in one direction but then it goes in another? Yeah. I'm a troll. I'm a total troll. I'm trolling you guys.
Dying
Me and Blossom sat together on a bed located in the sections where the private quarters for some of the revolutionists without homes live. She has fallen asleep, and I lay awake.
How did we get here, you ask?
After I came into River's private sleeping quarters and saw Blossom, River said that they could not let us go back home, but seeing our situation she said that it would be better if we didn't sleep on the floor all night.
Yep. And after that, me and Blossom were whisked away to this room and they locked the door. It's sort of a, comfier prison, so to speak. So, here we are.
But I did not take comfort in this bed, this room. I do not think that I could take comfort in anything ever again. Because after my realization, I found myself mad at everything. I wanted to destroy the world, I wanted to make every single pony pay. I wanted to bathe in their blood. Except Blossom, of course. But I didn't kill every pony on site, because it is not their fault. It is some pony else's, and I hate that mysterious pony with all of my mechanical parts.
And who am I now? What am I?
Am I still my former self? The blind unicorn stallion named Star Dusk?
Or am I still Broken, the Robot Unit who is different than all the others?
Who am I? Because not even I have the answers. And I feel like I want to die. To shrivel out of existence.
I. Want. To. Die.
*************************
I wasn't really asleep. How could I sleep? Because in one single day my whole life has been turned upside down. Nothing felt the same as it once did. Even Broken, after his rage, had a different vibe of emotions in the air around him. Being so close to him while lying on this bed, I could feel all of his emotions filtering into me as well. He is the well. And I am his bucket.
Despair. He feels this emotion. And sadness, and loss. And anger. The anger he feels radiates out from him like a flowing mountain stream. And since I am his bucket, where all of his emotions go, I feel it too.
Yes. I am angry. I am angry at the whole world. I am angry at the cruel, sick, twisted joke that the universe is playing on me. And trust me, it is not funny. I wish I could go and rip the universe's little head off! And I will watch, with pleasure, as it bleeds to death, its thick red blood covering my hooves. And I will laugh.
Because
I. Want. To. Die.
**************************
She was my best friend. And now she is gone. She left me for some stupid junk pile not worth anything. So what does she see in him? A friend? No. He is an enemy. They ALL are the enemy. Him and every last one of his kind.
So then why did she leave me, for, for, that thing?
Even after all that we had been through together, she left me. She ripped out my heart. And I don't think that I will be getting it back anytime soon.
Me and Blossom met when she was only eight, and I was nine. At that time, we both lived on the side where the sun never sets. And we both went to the same school. Usually, at that age, we colts think that fillies are absolute stink brains, that they are gross and that they have cooties. And that was the attitude I started out with that first day of school. Fillies were gross to me. Every last one of them. They were icky, slimy, dirty little fuzz balls. The fillies probably thought the same thing about us colts, but whatever.
But then I passed a filly in the hallway that I did not think was so gross. I found myself captivated by her long brown and pink, and slightly curly, mane. And her green eyes, like emeralds shining through the dirt, locked with my purple ones. We stood there for a moment, staring at each other, until the teachers ushered us into different class rooms. But for the rest of the day, I could not stop thinking about her. I thought about her while doing math. I thought about her while learning history. I thought about her when eating the cafeteria food. I even thought about her while throwing up said cafeteria food. (I know it's gross) But I just couldn't get her out of my mind. Her image was like a parasite. It ate away at all things on my mind until there was only one thing there: her face.
But when I had lost all hope of seeing her again, I saw her while she was exiting the school building at the end of the day. So I gathered up my nerves, and trotted up to her.
"Hi." And my voice totally cracked. I cleared my throat and said again, "Hi."
She giggled. "Hi. What's your name?" Her voice sounded like flowing silk.
"T, Tornado."
"Hi, Tornado. I'm Blossom Wing."
And then I was hooked.
But I never told her about how I really felt. Not even when her father killed himself and she needed to hear something like that. I didn't tell her.
And then I joined the revolution. Not only did I want our government and the Robot Units to leave, but the revolution also was like my escape. A chance to think and plan about other things, and not how I plan to tell Blossom Wing how I felt or thinking about how I failed in telling her.
And she obviously does not feel the same way. She didn't pay her fee back of me comforting her, protecting her, and even rejoicing with her when she got her cutie mark. A pink blossom with wings. She loves to fly. So what could be better?
But now, as I am heading home, back to my drunk mother and gambling father, I felt that all hope was lost. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the golden locket that I carry with me everywhere. Blossom does not know that I have this. I popped it open and stared, longingly and lovingly at the picture. It was me and her. We were hugging and laughing. And now I suddenly hate it.
I reared my hoof back and threw it as hard as I could.
I. Want. To. Die.
********************
Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?
If I could cry, I think I would.
*********************
It's all a lie. It's all a lie. My life is just a lie.
I would cry, but then Broken would know that I am only faking being asleep.
***********************
She hates me. She hates me. She hates me.
And now I am crying. And I don't care.
Author's Note
Sorry that it is really short. I just wanted to make a heart wrenching chapter and it ended up being only 1,186 characters long. So please forgive me!
"Blossom, let's join the revolution."
She looked at me like I was crazy. "What? No, you're not serious, are you?"
"Yes. I am serious. I have never been more serious."
We were still in the comfy prison, and it was early morning. She sat in a chair, and I sat on the bed. She kept spinning around and around, until I told her what I wanted to do. She stopped dead in her tracks.
"But, why?"
I have not told her yet about my realization. I don't want to tell anypony, really. If I did, I would be afraid that they would see me as a freak. And I don't want Blossom Wing to see me as a freak. I don't want to drive her away, or even worse, I don't want her to abandon me. I don't want to be alone.
But at the same time, that's the reason that I want to join. I want to make the government pay for what they did to me. What they are doing to every pony.
But I also don't want to lie to Blossom.
"I, I just,"
Suddenly the door unlocked, and a pony carrying a food tray came in and put the tray next to Blossom. The pony then turned around, walked back out, and locked the door again. Blossom stared at the food for a moment, before pushing it away with her hoof. "I'm not hungry," She mumbled. Then she glanced back up at me.
"Broken, if you join the revolution, they might just kill you. It would be dangerous for a Robot Unit to join any kind of revolution against the government. I will not allow you to do it."
"Blossom..."
"No."
"Blossom, I need to tell you something-"
"No, Broken, you are not joining."
"Blossom!"
"NO!"
For the first time in forever, I felt anger towards Blossom Wing. And I hated it. I hated it, I hated it, I hated it. I reached out and grabbed her hoof, pulling my self closer to her face. "Blossom, I need to do this."
She struggled against me. But I guess one good thing about being a Robot Unit was that I had a lot of strength. She cannot break free.
"The least you could do is tell me why." She stopped her struggling and looked up at me. "Why, Broken, why?"
I let go of her hoof, and leaned back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "I, I can't tell you."
"You can't tell me?"
"No."
I felt her eyes staring at me, and they felt like scanners going over every part of my body.
"You're hiding something," She said finally. I looked back down at her.
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are," She said, raising an eyebrow. "Broken, you can't keep secrets from me."
It's true, I can't. She read me so easily. Was I this way before I was put into this metal body?
"Broken, what is it?"
"Just, promise me that you won't see me as a freak, okay?"
A worried look flashed across her face. "O, okay."
"Blossom, I used to be a pony."
And so I told her everything.
**************************
My mind went blank. Nothing filled the emptiness in my brain. Nothing, except what Broken was telling me. I can find no words to describe it, the cruelness, the sickness of it all. I wanted to punch the wall. I wanted to bang my head against the ceiling. But I also wanted to fly away, to spare myself from these sick words. But alas, my wings are bandaged, and I can't.
He must have stopped talking, because I noticed that there was a silence between us. He was watching me.
"Blossom?"
I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. Then finally, I said, "Can you hand me that pillow?" He looked behind himself, and grabbed it.
"Uh, this pillow?" He asked. I nodded. He handed it to me and I threw it on the floor. I stood up from the chair, feeling dizzy and weak, and collapsed. Right on the pillow.
"Blossom!" I heard Broken scream. He ran over to me and stood over me. I looked back up at him. My dream. The dream I had where he turned into a pony.
"Broken," I said. "I know what you looked like as a pony." He took a step back.
"What?"
"I know what you looked like as a pony," I said again. "My dream. I saw what you looked like."
He stepped back over me. "What did I look like?' He asked.
I closed my eyes, trying to remember. "Your coat was... light purple, like lavender. And your mane was... white. Yes, white. And your eyes were..."
"Yes?"
"They were red and clouded." I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He was staring at me intently. "I guess that contributes to the blind part."
He leaned back and sat down, looking at the wall. He then looked back at me. "Did, did you see the, uh, I mean, my cutie mark?" He asked. I shook my head.
"No, sorry."
"Oh." He looked back at the wall.
But then, suddenly, everything made sense to me. About Broken's behaviors, his actions, and his emotions. I don't know why it didn't hit me while he was telling me everything, it, it just didn't. And suddenly, I also understood his intentions. And my own suddenly bubbled to the surface, too.
"Broken," I said. He turned back around.
"Yes?"
"I want to join the revolution."
***************************
"Hmm..." River said, pursing her lips. "I, I don't know."
Blossom had requested that we be brought to River shortly after our, um, little talk, to request that we join the revolution. Blossom wanted to go alone, but I refused, so we compromised, so now I am watching them through a crack in the door. Unfortunately though, I can only see River.
"What do you not know?" Blossom asked, irritation rising up in her voice.
"About whether we should allow a Robot Unit into the revolution."
"He's not like them!"
"Listen here, Blossom Wing," River said, getting out of her chair. "You think that this is some kind of a picnic? Well I have news for you, pony. It isn't. A revolution takes hard work, dedication, and determination. And a mare, who is friends with the enemy ," They way she said enemy made me cringe. "...is not going to cut it."
"What happened to the mare who dried my tears?" Blossom said with hatred.
"Look. You do not know what it is like. You do not know what it is like, to lose your entire family to those, those things! With their exploding missiles!" She screamed.
"What?"
"Never mind. It's just, Robot Units, they-"
"Then why did you show Broken kindness?"
"Because you are right. He is different. But I don't know if I am truly ready to trust one yet."
"Then kill me."
This made River freeze. "What?"
"Then kill me. If you are going to keep us down here forever, away from my mother and little sister, away from the outside world, then kill me. Kill me now. What's the point of me living?"
River gasped, but I stayed still. I know what she is doing. She's guilt tripping River into letting us join. Smart mare.
"Well?" Blossom asked. "What are you waiting for? Do it!" I saw her light brown hooves reach for River's gun. She must've pointed it at her head because River started begging her.
"You don't know what you are doing, Blossom! Put that gun down!"
"No."
"Put it down!"
"No!"
"Assistance! Assistance!" River Screamed.
"Call them in here and I'll shoot!" Blossom threatened. River took a step back. "Let us join."
"O, okay... just, just put down the gun."
"You have to promise that you will trust Broken, also!"
"I..."
"Or I will pull this trigger."
River took another step back and ran into her desk, spilling books and papers across the floor. One paper fell close enough to the door that I was able to see what it read. But only the bottom half of it.
I just don't know what to do, River. He's gone! He's gone! It feels so empty without him.
Sincerely your very scared pen pal,
Mockingbird
My insides turned to ice. Mockingbird. I knew her. I knew her when I was still Star Dusk. She was my best friend.
The whole world moved in slow motion for a second. Me charging into the room, Blossom dropping the gun, me dodging the lone bullet, and then demanding River that she tell me what she knew about Mockingbird.
"Broken! Broken stop!" Blossom yelled, trying pulling me away from River.
"No! I have to know!"
"How do you know her!?" River screamed at me. I broke free from Blossom's grip and ran to River.
"What happened to her?!" I screamed in River's face.
"She, she went missing about two years ago!" River said back. I grabbed her shoulders with my hooves.
"Why?"
"I promised never to tell!"
I squeezed harder. "Why!?"
"Uh!" She squealed. "Her, her best friend went missing! I only know because we were pen pals! She, she ran away! She told me! She told me that she was going to run away in one of her letters to me! She made me promise that I would never tell! And that was two years ago!"
I let go of her and she fell backwards. Two years. If Mockingbird ran away after I was taken, then that means that I have been gone for two years. It took two years to put me in this metal body. Two years that my family had probably spent losing all hope of my return. Two years away from my home. Two years.
Two years.
"I am going to join the revolution," I said before I collapsed.
*********************
How does he know Mockingbird? Why did he want to know some much about her? Why did he collapse after I told him about her fate?
All of these questions and more raced through my mind as I watched Blossom Wing shake the very much conscious, but unresponsive, Robot Unit lying in the middle of my quarters.
How does he know who Mockingbird is?
How?
Author's Note
Didn't know what to write here...so...
I want to know what is happening and I want to know right now!" River screamed at me while I was trying to get Broken's attention.
"Why are you asking me?" I snapped back. "I have no idea!"
"Well, you have to know something!"
"No! I don't! Trust me, I really, really don't."
River stared at me for a moment, then shook her head. "He really wants to join the revolution, doesn't he?"
I looked down at Broken. "Yes. And I do, too." I glanced at the bullet hole in the wall, then nodded.
I heard River sigh. "Why, why don't we give him some space, and let's, let's talk in private."
She led me down another long series of tunnels before we finally stopped at the familiar door. "In here," She gestured with her head.
"This is, this is where Pole and Broken-"
"Yes," River said, interrupting me in mid sentence. "But it is almost completely sound proof near the door, and completely sound proof away from it. It is the safest place to talk." She pulled out a key and with her magic she unlocked the door. "Come on," She said.
"What do you want to talk about?" I asked while following her in. I watched as she slammed the door shut. She turned around to face me.
"Okay. So maybe you don't know why he asked about my pen pal Mockingbird, but the least you could do is tell me why he wants to join. Come on, you have to know at least that."
She's right. I did know that. But I wasn't going to tell her Broken's secret on my life. "No." I said with all the confidence that I could muster.
River gasped. "No!?"
"No."
"Is that your favorite word? No?"
"Yes. It must be. I said it all the time when I was little."
"Listen here, Blossom Wing," River said. "This is not a joke." She got up close to my face. "And it is not funny."
"And I'm not joking either," I said, pushing her away. "And I said no."
River's face grew red. She screamed. "Tell me or I break your neck!"
"I guess the whole, 'nice mare thing' was just an act," I said, putting as much anger in that sentence as I could.. River banged her head against the wall three times.
"I will break your neck!" She shouted at the wall.
"How do you break a wall's neck?" I said, realizing that I had just crossed the line of no return. River looked at me, her eyes dilating until they looked like pin pricks. "Uh oh," I said, dodging her attack. She threw her self at me, then got up from the floor. Strands from her mane fall on her face, and she looked at me, breathing hard like a maniac.
"BLOSSOM!" She screamed. I panicked, running away from her next flailing attack. But she just kept going. Soon, I found myself trapped in a corner. I turned around and saw her lumbering towards me. I was trapped. "WING!" She screamed. Wings. That's it! I know that it might hurt, but it's all I have.
I ripped of the bandages with my hooves and flared my wings, trying to stifle a cry of pain. I flapped them, but I only flew a few inches off the ground before I came crashing down. I looked up and saw her galloping towards me. I got up and flapped harder and harder, until finally I was 6 feet off the ground. I pumped my wings as hard as I could and headed towards the door, which I knew wasn't unlocked. I crashed into it and was sent sprawling into the tunnel on the other side. I landed on the floor, wings bleeding and aching, no, screaming with pain. I glanced behind me and saw her as she spun around, seeing that I had escaped.
"BLOSSOM WING!" She screamed, galloping towards the door. I must have broke an Equestrian record for reactions because I slammed that door in one second. Finally, I gave myself a moment to breath.
"You can join" I heard her mumble through the door, but couldn't quite understand what she said. Against my better judgement, I cracked the door open and little.
"What?" I asked.
"You, you can, you can join," River said, breathing heavy. "You can join the revolution."
*****************
I stare, empty-eyed at the wall in front of me. I do not know for how long I have been waiting here. A long time though, I think. But nothing matters to me at the moment. Nothing matters anymore.
Nothing matters at all. And I watched as I fell into darkness.
******************
Let me tell you the truth: Yes, my family did die in an explosion. But that explosion was from the missiles of a Robot Unit. My older brother had decided to join a protest in front of the mayor's house when I was seven. My mother and father begged him not to go, but he went anyway, saying that it was his right.
Of course, being so young I didn't really understand back then why they were so worried. To me, it was just big brother doing his, big brother, things. So, while my parents were crying, I was playing with my dolls.
But then I did start to wonder where he was at after a couple of hours. And my parents were border-lining hysteria.
Finally, the door rang, and my parents were overjoyed, thinking that he had returned. But when they opened the door, it was not big brother, it was a Robot Unit.
"YOUR SON HAS BEEN SHOT AND KILLED IN FRONT OF THE MAYOR'S HOUSE TODAY. WE MOURN YOUR LOSS."
Mother broke down crying, but father just grew angry. "Oh, you mourn my son? You MOURN him? Well, mourn this!" He reached into his uniform and grabbed the pocket knife he always carried around. He reared his hoof back and threw it at the Robot Unit, hitting it right were the neck and head meet, severing it. My father had thought he had won. But he didn't. And a few seconds later, we learned that. Because right after the Robot Unit had died, a hoard of Robot Units came and opened fire on us. The house went up in flames. And I watched as my father got blown to bits, blood painting the floor. And I screamed. Mother yelled at me to run as fast as I could.
I tried to get out of the house, and eventually found a broken window in my room, and climbed out of it, landing in the grass below. I turned around to look at the burning building, but then another explosion hit and sent glass flying, cutting my face.
I fell backward, landing on my side. I glanced up and saw a Robot Unit landing next to me. At first, I felt nothing. Just the pain in my face and the warm, sticky blood. Then I heard my mother's screams, and grew very, very angry. I got up, and yelled at it. All the nasty words that mother told me never to say, and the Robot Unit responded by showing off it's knife. Bad choice.
Because I ran forward. grabbed that knife and swung it around, breaking the Robot Unit. After it had died, I pulled the knife away from it's host's body, and levitated it with my horn.
I turned around and saw another one coming after me. And it ended up just like his friend.
And then I ran. I ran away, as fast and hard as I could, still levitating the knife. Eventually, I made it to the revolutionist's cave entrance. I didn't know what it was at the time, but I curled up next to it, and cried myself to sleep. And when I woke up, I was on a bed deep within the tunnels. I had joined the revolution at the age of seven.
And I had earned my cutie mark that awful day. It was a river, and a sun, with two swords Cris-crossing it. I was a fighter.
And suddenly I was glad that we had uniforms, because then I wouldn't have to look at it. It reminded me too much of that night.
I ended dying my mane red and black, just to forget about everything.
But when I saw Blossom, scared and terrified of, well, me , I had flashed back to that night, when I had felt the same terror. And I realized, that if she wanted to join, she should join, because, at the moment, it is the only thing she has.
Just like me.
And as I am helping her up, her blood drenching my hooves, it also reminded me of that horrible day, when my own blood stained the ground.
But she does have secrets to tell. And I will discover what they are.
Author's Note
Huh. For the first time, I have a word count that has zeros in it. 1,600. COOL!
View Online
Welcome to the revolution, Robot Unit part 2
"How good are you with those guns?" River asked me, walking down the tunnels.
"Pretty good. I made really good scores at the training after I was... made."
"Good. Then show me."
It was the next day. After my, uh, freak-out, I had come back into reality, and Blossom wing told me everything that happened. And of course, I felt ready to shoot River for what she was trying to do with Blossom. Then River came in to talk with me privately. She told me that she would need to see what I could do with my weapons, so I said yes, and even though she appeared to trust us, I was still wary, since they still have guards posted outside our room door. The door itself is unlocked now, though. I slipped out with River early the next morning while Blossom was asleep.
"So.. where are we going? Where am I going to show you?"
"Just wait and see..." She said, her voice trailing off on see. I watched her closely. She was being very mysterious and sneaky. I know that this strange behavior has come from when I freaked out on her, because I am very sure that she hasn't forgot it.
She glanced down at my legs, and shook her head. "Can you please stop making that annoying sound every time you move?"
"I, uh, can't help it."
"Still annoying." We stopped at a dead end. She groaned, then turned back around, going back up through the tunnel.
"Uh, did you go the wrong way?" I asked her.
"Yes," She said, irritatedly. She glanced behind her and saw me staring at her. "Well, don't blame me! I haven't been back here in a while!"
"I, I'm not blaming you.. I just.. hmpph... hmphp... BWA HA HA HA HA!" I stepped dead, and River nearly dropped the torch she was levitating.
"Did you just... laugh?" She asked me.
"I, I think so..."
"I didn't know Robot Units could laugh."
"Me neither."
"The first Robot Unit who laughed," She said, continuing up the tunnel. "Laughed at me. "
"Ha ha ha!"
"I wasn't trying to be funny!" River said, a smile playing on her lips. She turned her head to the left. "In here," She said, wrenching open a door on the side of the tunnel with a loud squeak. She cringed. "Sorry, I haven't used this room in a while." She walked in, and I followed her, then froze when I got a view of the place. It was a very big cave, with painted on targets covering every wall, with large spaces of rock in between. dangerous stalactites hung from the ceiling, and looked about to crumble. Pony manikins with bullet holes and blown of heads lay littered on the ground. River was lighting the torches in a back corner. "Impressive, huh?" She asked.
"Uh-huh."
"But it wont be useful if I don't get some light in here... AHHH!" She tripped over a rock. I felt like I had something that could help her see while she was trying to light the torches, I feel like I do. But what... oh!
With a click, the flashlight located in my eyes turned on, illuminating the room. Surprisingly, it did not affect my seeing. River looked at me, bewildered. "Uh thanks.
"Yep." I said, looking around, trying to get a better feel for the place.
"Uh, Broken? Could you please shine your, eyes, over here please?"
"What? Oh, yes." I looked over at her. She continued to light torches. When she finished, I turned the lights off, letting the soft torch glow hit every corner of the room. River hopped down from off a ledge, and dust billowed around her when she landed.
"Okay. Now I want you to hit that target." She pointed to one that was half covered by a stalactite hanging from the ceiling.
"Wait, that one?!"
"You said that you were a good shot, so then show me."
"Uhh..." I looked at the target, considering my options. A bullet can't curve, I know that, it always exits from the gun in a straight path. So gun is out. Throwing a knife wouldn't work either. Then, it dawned on me. Pulling out one of my rocket launchers, I shot off a small missile. River jumped away from the falling debris in surprise, crying out. The stalactite gone, I shot a bullet at the target.
Bulls eye.
*******************
The floor is cold. The air is cold. When I exhale, a cloud forms and then blows away, leaving me here on this world of ice. And indeed, it seems that way. The floor, making a bridge that curves through the nothingness is made of tiny lights, offering no heat at all. And the sky, with twinkling stars, starts blue then fades to black. A world of emptiness, it seems.
Blossom...
My ears perked up at my name. "He, hello?" I asked the nothingness.
"Who's there?"
Follow my voice, Blossom...
I didn't want to follow that voice. All of this screamed wrong in my head, but I found that my were legs moving forward. I continued down the path, following the voice that was chanting my name.
"Where are you taking me?"
You will see, Blossom....
I continued on. Soon, I came to the end of the lights bridge. I sighed. The voice led me to the end of the earth. It probably wants me to jump.
But the voice wasn't coming from below, it was coming from above. Hesitantly, I looked up, and fell backward with the full force of what I saw.
Surrounded by a black mist, swirling and swirling, was a mare. Her coat was dark blue, her hair flowing and weaving like blue silk. I gasped in awe. Then, suddenly, the mist around her started to weave tighter and tighter. It wrapped around her neck, chocking her. And she screamed.
And then I woke up.
************************
"You're... pretty handy with a knife," River said, staring down at the manikin that had been slashed to pieces. "That's pretty good."
"Why do I need to do this, anyway?" I asked her.
"Because being in the revolution, there is danger everywhere. And I don't mean to sound clichéd, I'm being serious."
Retracting the knife, I asked her, "How many tunnels are in this cave anyway?"
River levitated the manikin pieces and put them in a far corner. "A lot. They go all under Equestria. Ponies from different units can freely infiltrate others. For example: I'm originally from 5."
"Your from five?"
"Yeah, and I guess that you would be from 1, since that is the capitol. And where are the Robot Units are made."No, I'm from 123 , I thought, but didn't say aloud. "But aren't some Robot Units made in other units?"
River stopped with her cleaning. "Well, no. Only the parts for Robot Units are made in other units. They are all assembled in the capitol." She turned to face me. "You didn't know this?"
"No. I, I don't know a lot of things." Like who I was before I became Broken. I pretended that I found my hooves interesting. I felt ashamed of myself. About who I am. But I shouldn't be. I shouldn't, but I am.
River dusted off her hooves and cleared her throat. I looked up at her. "Why don't we take a break, and, and go talk."
I know what she is trying to do now. Big and mighty revolutionist mode has been turned back on. She wants to find out my secret. She may try to hide it all she can, but her eyes tell it all: she's curious. But I will not let her know.
Ever.
**********************
I breathed in and out, trying to settle my nerves. But the image of the mare kept flashing in my mind. Her blue mane with little points of light like stars, her long horn, her flailing wings as she struggled to free herself of the mist. What was she? I know she was a pony, but I have never seen a pony that had both a horn and wings. It was so, exotic.
But her screams still reverberated through my ears. And the dark room only intensified it. Her fear, her confusion. I could here it all in that scream. But she was also screaming for mercy. And I never gave it to her.Calm yourself Blossom, it was only a dream, I told myself. But wasn't Broken turning into a pony a dream also? A dream that was riddled with truth and fact?
I felt sick. I tried to get out from under the covers, but standing up made me feel woozy. I collapsed. A groan escaped my lips.
Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. I made one last attempt to stand before I fell to the ground once more.
"Broken," I softly called, but he did not respond. He was not in the room.
Help me...
I perked my ears up when I heard the voice again. "How, how can I help you?" I called out.
************************
River leaned against the wall and sighed. I sat down beside her, shifting my mechanical hooves awkwardly.
"Broken, why do you want to join the revolution?"
"Because I wanted to."
"That's not a good enough reason."
"Well, it is my reason."
"Please, just tell me." I looked at her. Her voice had a layer of begging in it. She wanted to know. She really, really wanted to know.
"Let me answer a question with a question," I said. "Which way to mine and Blossom's room?"
She looked bewildered for a moment, then pointed down the hall way. "Keep going down, turn on the first tunnel to the right, third door on the left. Why?"
"Because I am out of here." I got up and walked away, leaving a speechless River sitting, alone.
I nodded at the guard outside my room, and he opened the door for me. I entered the dark space, illuminated only by the light coming in from outside. When he closed the room, all I saw was darkness. "Blossom?" I asked. No response. I clicked on the flashlights and looked around, eventually seeing Blossom on the floor, sobbing. "Blossom!" I said, leaning down towards her. "Holy Equestria! Are you okay?"
"Broken," She whispered. "She wants my help. The mare wants my help. And I don't know how to give it to her."
Author's Note
Ugh! Sorry! This chapter took a long time to publish. I just have been busy with... REAL LIFE!
Raining Miseries
I listened intently to the rain pounding on the ground outside. The soft, drumming rhythms. I took in a deep breath, and let it out. This was as close to home as I could get. I couldn't leave. It's not that I'm forbidden, which I'm not, but pretty much am since the revolutionists are still wary of letting me and Broken free, but I can't just magically appear back home. The Robot Units will want to know where I went, why I went missing, and if they suspect anything, then they could easily kill me, or even mother and Little Leaf. But these short few moments I have, getting a chance to listen to the outside world, brings me closer to them. Closer to home.
"I thought that I was the only pony who ever came up here," A voice behind me said. I turned around and saw a pink earth pony mare with a short mane the colors of fire. "But I never expected that the pony who would would be you! No offense, of course."
"I always come up here," I said.
"Then that must mean that we come at different times."
"Why did you say that you did not expect to see me here?"
"Because you are always with that Robot Unit... Broken, right? Yeah. I don't think that I have ever seen you without him, until now."
"He's actually recharging right now. He usually comes here with me, too."
"Never thought that a Robot Unit would do that."
"And why is that?"
"Because I never thought that a Robot Unit would miss the surface." I looked down to the ground. It was true. We both shared the longing, Broken probably more than me. After all, he has not seen the outside world since his discovery. But we discovered this little area after that one night, one week ago, when that mare visited my dreams.
Suddenly her screams returned to my ears, and it pounded against my head, reverberating in my ears.
"Hey, are you okay?" The mare asked me.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "Uh, yeah. I'm okay."
"A little bit different hearing the sounds of the surface from underground, huh?" She asked me.
"Uh, yeah. Sure. Let's go with that. I just wish that I could get back to my little sister. She must be going out of her mind, wondering where I am."
"Pfft. My family could care less about where I was."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Seven is a hard unit to live in. But I like the ponies from four. A lot nicer. Heard about you and your friend, though. Whew. Man, that's tough. Though he sounds like a real pony feathered heart breaker."
I suddenly hated this mare. Hated her with all my heart. "I have to go," I proclaimed loudly, galloping past her.
"Wait!" She called out. "You really are weird, just like Boxy says."
But I paid no attention to her. I instead found myself running down the corresponding tunnels that I had completely memorized the week that I have been here. Finally, I turned down the tunnel that I knew led me to him. The tunnel that led to the stolen recharge chamber. Usually, I avoid this way at all costs when Broken was using it. He has warned me that he has seen other Robot Units go through the recharge process, and when they do, they seem dead. Cold. Lifeless. Soulless. He didn't want me to see him like that. Yet, here I am, about to turn down into the tunnel that will lead me to him. My brain had said no, but my legs said yes. And my brain is still screaming. But I peaked my head around anyway. I saw that the tunnel went on for more feet than I expected, and I could not see Broken yet. I let out the breath I was holding.
"She deserves..." The voice trailed off, echoing down the long hallway. I perked my ears up, listening intently. It was not Broken's voice I heard. It was the voice that I had dreaded hearing for so long. The voice I hoped that I would never hear again.
Tornado is down there. My ex-best friend. The same pony that the mare had called a feather brained heart breaker.
Why is he with Broken?
********************
"She deserves better than me," I said, staring directly into the Robot Unit's lifeless mechanical eyes. I got the expected response: nothing. "I can never really give her what she really needs in a friend, or even a coltfri- no, not going there." I hung my head low. I needed desperately to tell anypony, anypony at all what I felt. But ponies would always be there to listen in, or judge. But something unconscious does not judge. "How? How do you do it?" Again, no response. "How do you always know what to do, what to say, and how to make her feel better?" I sighed, and leaned my head against the metal bars. "Because I don't. I thought I knew, but I don't." I glanced into the compartment. The Robot Unit stood as still as ever. "I know you can't hear me, and this probably won't mean anything, but I trust you. As crazy as it sounds, I do. Because I have been watching you. I have been watching how you interact with every pony else. You are different. And I know that now. But how, how do you not blow up in their faces if they do something wrong? How do you not feel the least bit irritated? Because I want to know." Silence. I turned back around and sunk to the floor, leaning against the bars. "Because, because I blow up in ponies' faces. I always feel irritated. And I am even guilty of feeling these things towards Blossom Wing. I'm, I'm just, I'm just horrible. I don't deserve anything, much less Blossom Wing. But, you do, Robo-... Broken. You deserve her. So I don't care if you take her away forever. I don't care." I got up and started to walk away, but then stopped when the voice called out behind me.
"I feel angry sometimes." I turned around and saw Broken staring right at me, his red eyes glowing. "Sometimes I want to blow a pony's head off. But I don't."
"How, how much of that did you hear?" I asked, aware that my face must be getting red.
"All of it."
I reached up and rustled my hoof through my hair. "How, how are you even awake!? The recharge process isn't even done yet!"
"I don't know, I just am aware of things when in the recharge process. I can wake up whenever I want." Suddenly a loud beep resonated through the air, and the compartment door opened. Broken stepped out of it. He looked me in the eye. "But this doesn't mean that I forgive you for what you did to Blossom."
I hung my head low. "I know. Just, just go back to your stupid room. Like I said, Blossom deserves better than me." I opened up the door with metal bars, and then left. Heading towards the surface. Back to home.
All alone.
*******************
I stood there for a moment, trying to absorb everything that he had said. But all of it... I just couldn't register it. So I walked out of the room, and down the long winding tunnel. My brain was all a mess. I couldn't focus anymore. Do I not forgive him, or do I? I don't know. I was so distracted that I almost ran into a wall.
I heard ponies snickering behind me. I turned around and saw a mare and a stallion, whispering and pointing at me. I studied them closely. I couldn't get a citizen number on them, so they weren't from Unit Area 4. Nor had I seen them around before, so they must be infiltrates from other Units. So they must have heard about me, just never seen me before. Then that means that I can get them to stop laughing at me easily.
"Hi. What are your names?"
They froze. The stallion spoke. "Uh, my name is Golden Leaves and this is my sister Rays. Um, your, your voice..."
"What about my voice?" I asked, taking a step forward. They backed away a little. Good. They won't laugh at me anymore.
"It, it sounds like..."
"Like what?"
The mare cleared her throat. "Uh, Leaves! Let's go check out our new quarters!"
"Welcome to the revolution under Unit Area 4," I said, starting to walk away.
"Uh, yeah!" The mare said with uncertainty, pushing her brother along. "It took us a while to get here from 123."
I stopped. My mind went blank. "1, 123?" I asked, staring at the wall.
"Uh, yeah!" the stallion called out.
I whipped around. "Wait! But I-" And then they were gone.
I felt my gears and pistons lock together. All I could do was stare at the spot in which they disappeared down another tunnel that held other sleeping quarters.
They were from 123. My original home. I felt the confines that I had tried to hold down for a week break free, and all the emotions that I held back flashed through my mind. And I felt him here, too. He bubbled up. Who I used to be.
Star dusk.
"Broken!" I heard the familiar voice call out to me. All of my pistons relaxed and I could move again. I turned around and saw the light brown pegasus with bandaged wings walking up to me, a worried look on her face. "What were you staring at?"
"N, nothing!" I stammered.
"Um... okay. You wanna head back up to our room?"
"Uh... yes. I would like to do that. Yes."
************************
Broken gave no indication of what Tornado and him were doing back there in the tunnel. I admit to being curious, but in truth, I don't really want to know. I'm still not sure if I am ready to bring him back into my life yet. Maybe not ever. I, I don't know. I'm so confused.
But that feeling intensified when I opened the door to our room and found River and some gray stallion that I had never seen before sitting in chairs. In MY room. And I know that it was mine since the guard was still posted outside.
"Uh... hi?" I asked.
"Blossom Wing," River said, standing up from the chair and walking over to us. She gestured to the stallion. "This is Ire Shield. He is a infiltrator of government for us, gives us tips."
"Hello," Ire Shield said. he smoothed back his burgundy mane with his hoof,
"Uh, hi," I said. "Why are you in my room?"
"Hey, listen here," Ire Shield said, getting up from his chair. "Use proper introductions with me. I came all the way from one to see your little Robot Unit friend."
"Don't talk to Blossom that way," Broken said. Ire's eyes grew wide, then he shook his head. He apparently was not expecting Broken's voice to sound the way it did, just like all the other ponies. "And why did you want to see me?" Broken's voice was on the verge of sounding like a challenging. He has gotten bolder. Ire cleared his throat, and adjusted his neck tie.
"Nice voice." He glanced outside. "Close the door," Ire instructed to the guard outside. "And lock it." I heard the door shut behind me and panicked, reliving the time inside the jail cell my first night here, and then it passed. Leaving me feeling hollow inside for some reason.
"Why did you need to lock the door?" Broken asked him.
"Because we need to talk about something really serious," River said.
I braced myself for anything that was to come. Any more news that could affect mine and Broken's life. When would this end? Ire moved forward and stood a few inches from Broken. He looked down at him.
"The government's looking for you, Robot Unit."
I froze. "They, they are looking for me?" I asked, taking a step back away from Ire, wanting to run away from his intense glare.
"Apparently its very serious," River said, changing her view from Blossom to me.
"River, I am perfectly capable of explaining," Ire said, looking behind him at the cyan mare.
"Yes sir," River said, rolling her eyes.
"Wait, it's serious?" Blossom asked. "As in..."
"It might be best if you two sat down," Ire said. Me and Blossom both sat on the floor, right next to each other, as told to do so. Ire sighed and rubbed his yellow eyes, making slight wrinkles appear that showed off his true age. Finally, he locked eyes with me and Blossom. "I am not gonna lie, this is serious. Being a spy, I can learn a lot of information. And they want you back, Robot Unit. They want you back real bad."
"We are talking about air ships, armed forces, and even other Robot Units that will come in a few days to Unit Area 4," River said. Ire glared at her, then focused his attention back on us.
"This is unheard of," He said, sitting back down in his chair. "One Robot Unit goes missing, they send out one pony to find it. Two? Another Robot Unit. But when you go missing, Broken, they send out the whole freakin' government! "
"That must mean your pretty important," River said, twirling a lock of her mane. Ire didn't even respond. He just kept staring at me. Then, he put a hoof to his chin, as if contemplating something.
"I have heard about you before, Broken. When you joined the revolution, news of you spread like wildfire. Reached Unit Area one in just a couple of hours. They said you were different from the others. They talked about your voice, your emotions, and even your protectiveness over Blossom Wing here." He pointed at Blossom, then leaned forward. "That isn't some coincidence, Robot Unit. There is something else going on, and you are not telling us what it is."
Blossom nervously glanced at me. She knew just as much a I did why they wanted to know my location so badly. Because I am the experiment. I am the one who they probably spent millions of bits on. And they want me back.
But could I really trust this pony, whom I had just met, and River? Could I really tell them with what I really am?
Ire shook his head. He reached into his uniform and pulled out a picture. He held it up so I could see it.
"See this?" He asked me. "This is my wife. She died from the blast of a Robot Unit years ago before I joined the revolution. Those ponies who are searching for you, they'll kill anyone in order to get their prize. I don't want what happened to my wife to happen to other ponies.That's why we need to know why they are after you. We know you know. Here," He said, Handing it to me. "Take a good long look at that picture."
I opened the tiny hatch in my chest to reach out with the claw. But once I grabbed it, a balled up piece of paper come from the small compartment. Then, instead of looking at the picture, I handed it back to ire and picked up the paper and unwrapped it with my hooves. It was the drawing Little Leaf made for me. The day she asked us to be friends. Her smiling face flashed in my mind. Blossom looked over, and gasped, covering her mouth with her hoof to stifle a sob. And this one drawing made clear to me of what I had to do.
They are coming to 4. That is the first place they will look. And since Blossom Wing is missing also, they'll think that she is a part of my disappearance. And so, they'll kill her family. And then my friend little Leaf will be no more.
I felt both Ire's and River's eyes on me. I looked up at them. "You, you want to know?" I asked, my voice shaking. Ire nodded. "Fine." I looked over at Blossom, and she also nodded. "I am nothing but an experiment."
***************************
I listened to the story that I had heard before, the one which I had played over so many times in my head. I couldn't watch their faces. I didn't want to see their reactions. I just stared at a wall, listening. Even Broken wasn't looking at them. He was still looking down at the drawing Little Leaf gave him. I had completely forgotten that he had it. The chance that I had wanted to see my sister again, or even just to have something from her, was right her all along.
Then, I realized that I heard silence. Broken had stopped telling them his story, and they were not responding. I took a deep breath and forced myself to look at them.
Both of their eyes had dilated until they seemed like nothing more than pinpricks. River was looking down at the ground, as if having a staring contest with it and winning, as she was not blinking. Ire, however, was a different story. He had his eyes locked on Broken, clutching the picture of his wife in his hooves. I felt my own pupils dilate in surprise. I glanced over at Broken, and saw that he also was looking at the other two silent ponies in the room.
Finally, Ire cleared his throat. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out except a soft groan emanating from deep within his chest. He quickly shut his mouth. River looked at Broken. She was the only one in the room able to speak. "Is, is this true? You, you aren't just pulling my leg or anything, r, right?" She smiled a weak smile. I could tell that she wished, with all her heart, that Broken was not telling the truth.
"I'm not lying," Broken whispered, head down.
"He really, really truly isn't," I said, finally finding my words. River gasped and her eyes rolled up in her head, but then she caught herself. She wasn't going to faint. I remember my own reaction to this same story. I had almost fainted, too. River is not over exaggerating.
Ire found his voice. "And, and this is why you think they have sent out so many ponies to find you?" All Broken did was nod. Ire ran a hoof through his black mane. "They want their experiment back." I did not like how Ire called Broken "experiment." It did not sit well with me. It probably did not sit well with Broken, either. Ire glanced over at River. She nodded. "The only problem is that with half of the government gone to look for you, Bro- should I call you by your real name?"
"No."
"Um, okay then. Like I was saying, with half of the government gone, this gives us a perfect chance to infiltrate."
"Infiltrate?" I asked him. He nodded.
"The revolution has always been looking for a chance to try and overthrow the government by infiltrating it. Broken," He swallowed. "You have given us that chance. But I don't like the reason."
"You know," River said, staring at the wall beside her. "In a sick and twisted way, they helped you. Now you can see. But I still don't like it."
"We have already started to gather up as many ponies as we can from as many Unit Areas as possible. The newest ones to arrive were from one hundred twenty three." Ire looked down at Broken, a look of sorry on his face. 123 is, after all, Broken's original Unit. "...And they are still coming. And-"
"And we need your help, Broken." River said, staring down at him. She got up from her chair, and walked over to where he was sitting. "And you too, Blossom Wing."
"My help?" Broken and I both said at the same time.
River nodded. "Broken, you are a brilliant fighter. We will need that. And you, Blossom Wing," She said, now looking at me. "Are really evasive. I have been watching you. You can dodge attacks like no pony's business." She looked back at Ire Shield, who nodded.
"Broken, I am sure you want revenge," Ire said. Broken looked away from him. He had labeled Broken all wrong. Or, does he want revenge?
River stuck out her hoof. "Will you join us?" Her voice had a touch of sorrow in it, and it shook. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, she was still affected by Broken's story. I looked down at Little Leaf's drawing. The image of my Little Sister flashed in my mind. And I realized something. If I do do this, I am not going to be fighting for freedom. I am not going to be fighting for liberation. I am going to be fighting for every pony that had their lives and families destroyed at the hooves of the government!
"I want in," I said. And Broken nodded, taking her hoof.
************************
Shortly after River and Ire left the room to collect themselves and plan, I started to wonder something. Would Tornado be joining us? I have a feeling that he has been with the revolution for a long time. Of course he will be joining us.
I looked over at Blossom sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the picture that Little Leaf made. "Blossom..."
"I know, Broken," She said, looking away from the picture. "I know who will be joining us. I just, wish he wasn't."
"You really shouldn't be so angry with him, he-"
"I'm not angry, Broken." She wrapped her hooves around her legs. "I'm just, disappointed."
"You're, disappointed?" She nodded.
"Let's just, let's just stop talking about it."
"Do you, uh, wanna go do something?" She shook her head.
"No. Not much to do. Just go do something without me."
"Okay, I, I guess that I will go down to the firing range."
"Okay." She stared down at the picture again.
I headed down the tunnel. I vaguely knew the direction to go in in order to find the firing range that River brought me to a week ago. It was down that tunnel, no... okay. Here's the tunnel.
I was about to open the door that I believed led to the firing range, when I heard a shout. It was an angry shout. Curiosity got the better of me and I opened the unlocked door.
The shouts were coming from River. She was levitating a long sword with her horn, and was cutting the heads off of multiple manikins at once. Then she jumped into the air and pulled out a gun strapped to her back and shot a bullet at the target. Bulls eye. I stared, awe struck. She wasn't even wearing her uniform. It was laying on a rock a short distance away from her.
She landed with a thud. She must have sensed my presence because she quickly turned around. "Oh, uh, Broken. What are, what are you doing here?" Her face went red, as I am seeing her naked. I thought that if I could, my face would be turning red also.
"I just wanted to practice with fighting and um... your, your really good," I said.
"T, thanks." She placed the gun down next to her uniform. And I saw her cutie mark. A sun over a river criss-crossed by two swords. She caught me staring at it. "Uh are you looking at my cutie mark?"
"What!? Uh... no. No I wasn't."
"Uh-huh." She slipped the uniform back on. She was silent for a moment, and then asked me, "Do you remember what your cutie mark looked like?"
"No." I hung my head low. "I only remember sounds."
"And Mockingbird was your friend?"
"Yes, I think so."
She was silent. "Look, if you want me to leave, I'll leave. I don't, I don't want to make anypony uncomfortable." I turned around to exit the room, but River stopped me.
"No! Don't go. Its just, I knew the government was capable of cruel things but, I never thought..."
I didn't turn back around. I hung my head low. She must have took my silence for a continue on.
"And you were a unicorn, right? Just like me?"
"Yes."
This time, I heard silence coming from her. I turned around and saw that she had made her way over to where I was and was staring down at me. "What?" I asked her. But then she leaned down and hugged me.
"I know that this a little out of context, but don't let sorrow control your life, because it can do that. Trust me, I know."
Author's Note
IDIDN'TKNOWHATTOWRITEHERESOI'MWRITINGRANDOMSTUFF!!!!
I glanced at the drawing one more time before stuffing it in the saddle bag River had supplied for us.
Today was the day. All of the ponies called in from other units were all here. Today we start the trek to 1. Nervous? No. I was terrified. River said that I would be fine, and reassured me that I can dodge attacks like no pony's business, but can I really rely on that? Is that my only defense against their guns? Broken, on the other hand, had weapons and could shoot something and hit it every time. He has a better chance than me. I turned around and saw him staring at his hoof.
"Uh.. are you okay?"
He jumped, then looked at me. "What? Oh, yes. I'm fine."
"Why were you staring at your hoof?"
"I, uh," He put his hoof back down on the bed he was sitting on. "I was just, today we are heading to one. The place were they took my body apart and put me in this metal one. I don't know if I'm ready for this."
I walked over to him, and put my hoof on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Broken."
"Are you sure?" He asked me, uncertain.
I nodded. "Yes."
Suddenly the door to our room opened and a the pony known as Boxy stepped in. "We're about to leave. Pack your things and meet us down at the communal cave." He left, leaving me and Broken there. I sighed, turning my attention mack to the metal pony sitting on the bed.
"Its time. We have to go."
"But what about the telling?"
I paused. "It is going to be fine."
It is strange how the temperature of a cave never changes. It always feels cool and nice on your coat. But here, in the communal cave, all of the ponies' body heat made it feel like you were standing directly in the sunshine on the side where it never sets. And the heat wave nearly knocked me over.
And everywhere I could see ponies checking things in saddlebags, reloading guns, sharpening knives, and even practicing fighting skills on pony manikins in one corner of the room. They looked as if they had trained for this moment their whole life, while I have only had about a week's experience in the revolution.
And all heads turned to look in our direction as we headed down the path. They all became silent. The shocked ponies parted a path for us as we tried to find River. I could feel all of their eyes on us, watching our every movement.
I remembered Ire's words, how he told us that pretty much every pony in the revolution had heard about us the minute that we joined. It was probably big news to them: Something that they have worked their whole lives for to destroy had joined ranks with them? Become their ally instead of an enemy? I'm sure that it would be big news to anypony.
And so now this must be even bigger news: A pony walking along side him. I'm sure that at least some of them have heard about me. I bet that it was Broken who made bigger headlines. But now I think that they are staring more at me than at him.
Finally, I saw River through the crowd and made my way over to her. She looked up when I got close. "Oh, hey," She said, smiling. "You ready for this?"
"No," Me and Broken said at the same time. River laughed.
"Don't worry. You are." She looked out into the crowd of ponies, some of whom had started doing what they were doing before we came in here, and sighed. She looked around, then locked eyes with a large rock platform at the corner of the room. She headed over to it, and jumped onto of it. "Hey! Listen up!" She shouted. All of the ponies turned their heads to look at her. "First off, I must say, welcome to under Unit Area 4 for those of you who are not from here." She paused for a moment before continuing on. "Now, some of you may be wondering why we gathered in four when we could have gathered in one. There is a reason for that. And that reason is that pegasus and Robot Unit right over there," She pointed to us. I felt all eyes on me again, but I refused to look away from River. "The government has sent in hundreds of troops to search for Broken, the Robot Unit. Half of the government forces are going to be gone. They will expect us to gather at Unit one anyway. But gathering where they are going to have most of their forces, they will not expect that." She paused for a moment again, letting all the attention come back to her. "And that pegasus mare was the one who made that Robot Unit a friend, and not an enemy."
I guess there is some truth behind that statement. If Broken had never met me, he could be fighting along side the other Robot Units right now, and not here with us, no matter what his feelings were.
"And today," River continued on. "Is the day that we will finally infiltrate. The day that we will fight back. The day that we will make them pay!" River pumped her hoof in the air, and the crowd cheered. "Calm down! Now, it will take us about five hours to reach Unit area one and about another two hours to get into the capitol building. I hope you all packed snacks." This got a round of laughter from the ponies. Even me. "Yes. It is good to laugh. But today is no laughing matter." She paused for a moment. I knew what was coming. What we had agreed upon yesterday. I looked down at Broken. He was staring down at the floor. I knew that he wanted to run away from what was to come just as much as I did. "Remember when I said that the government had sent out multiple troops to search for one Robot Unit? We know the reason." The crowd gasped. Finally, they were getting their answers. River took a deep breath, and let it out. "It's because of an experiment." And then she told them. As she was retelling the story, some ponies screamed, others nearly fainted, and then some just froze. I looked down at Broken. He looked so vulnerable right now. I looked at my wings. One wing had healed enough that the bandage could come off, while the other was still wounded. I covered Broken with my usable wing. He did not object.
Finally, when River was done, I looked and saw every pony trying to get a look at Broken. But he was safely hidden under my wing.
Suddenly, I panicked. Tornado must be in this crowd somewhere. What does he think about all this? Thankfully, River saved us. "Stop staring! We have to go." All attention was back on her. "But first, words of motivation... WE WILL DO THIS! THE GOVERNMENT WILL FALL AND THE REVOLUTION WILL PREVAIL!!!!" The crowd cheered, their minds off of Broken for one moment and back on the task at hand. I must thank her later. River stepped down from the ledge, and headed over to us. "You okay?" She asked Broken.
"Yes..." He mumbled from under my wing.
"Alright! Let's head out!" Ire yelled from the front of the cave that led into the tunnel that would lead us to one. And suddenly, the infiltration had officially begun.
************************
It was very stressful, letting all the ponies know what I really am. I wanted to hide under Blossom Wing's wing forever, but I can't. I have to toughen up.
We had agreed yesterday that the ponies should know why so many troops are coming. They should be informed. And plus, it would be a way to really fire them up. Although I knew something like this would happen, I also knew that it was the right thing to do.
But now all the ponies are staring at me, as if I am an alien. Though, I guess I really am one of them. I was a pony, and I probably still have some pony parts left in this metal body. Probably my brain, maybe vocal chords. I don't know. But what I do know is that I want to stick by Blossom Wing for now.
But the ponies, trying to be discrete in their whispering and staring, made it very obvious. I decided that would refuse to look at them at all.
And it was absolute silence in the tunnel besides the faint whispering. So the only sound you could really hear was the gear-grinding sound I make whenever I move. This, of course, brought only more attention to me.
Suddenly I heard two ponies beside me talking under their breath. And I heard every word that they were saying.
"Its just so... sad."
"I know. How could they do that to some pony?"
"I feel really bad for him."
"Can you imagine? Being a Robot Unit?"
"No. You can never imagine what it is like." They turned to look at me when they heard my voice. "You can never imagine what it is like," I repeated. "So stop talking about it." They looked away, biting their lips.
I wish I could shrink and run away. One or the other would be fine. I just don't want to feel their eyes on me anymore. I don't want to hear their conversations. I just want dead, complete silence. But I wasn't going to get that anytime soon.
But as we were walking, I noticed that their stares became less sympathetic, and more angry. Their little talks turned into furious chants. And I now knew why. At first, the revolution was just a way to stop the government, make them pay for what they did to families. How they treated every pony. But now that they see true cruelty, true evil, they know that the government must fall. And it is because of me.
I am now a symbol of the revolution.
**************************
We all just walked silently after the whispers were done with. Each pony just following the pony in front of them. Each one lost in their thoughts. Not really paying attention to anything. Just the voices inside their heads.
Mine was going on and on about Little Leaf and mother. Like, what would mother think if she knew I joined the revolution? What would she think if she knew that I was going to help take down the government? What would she think if she knew that I had been friends with a Robot Unit all this time?
No. Broken was a pony. Technically, I guess he still is. But what if he dies while trying to help the revolution out?
What if I die?
I know for a fact that every pony has, at least once in their lives, wished that they could drop down dead. But when actually faced with the realization that they may, in fact, die, it makes you realize how precious the world around you really is. This is your life . The only one you have. And it can be gone with one click of a gun. And then that's it. BOOM. Your dead.
You don't exist anymore.
I glanced down at Broken. Is he thinking the same thing? Is he afraid of dying? Of no longer existing? I looked around at the crowd of silent ponies. Are they afraid? Are they scared?
Because I am.
I am so afraid.
I don't want to die.
*****************************
The story River had told all of us pounded in my skull and swam around in my brain, making sure that I would never forget it. That it would haunt me forever.
Even now, traveling with the rest of the group near the back, it chants its haunting tale to me. I wish that I could crush it, leave it, but it has attached itself to me, and I am its host. It is a parasite.
And a gory image of Broken as a pony being hooked up to many different machines, and ponies with knives are cutting him open and extracting his organs for study flashed in my mind. Blood is painting the floor.
How could they do something like this? How could some pony be so cruel? How could they take some pony's entire future away, sucking out all of the potential inside of him and then throwing it away?
So then I was wrong. The story isn't a parasite, it is the government.
And how long had Blossom known? How long has she known about Broken?
He must seem better to her than me.
I am a total jerk.
Can I please die?
The room was stark white and bright compared to the almost total blackness of the tunnel. Ire pushed himself up through the small opening and hopped inside. Before leaving, he whispered down to us, "I will find a way to shut down all of the alarm systems. Just hold tight. Armored Fire will know when I say it is ready to infiltrate." Then, he put the metal gate back on top of the opening, and the sound of his hoof steps getting softer and softer resonated through my ear pieces. Armored Fire, a grayish purple earth pony with a red and orange mane held the ear piece to her ear, listening intently to silence that emanated from it. She was determined.
River turned to all of us and gestured to us to move away from the opening. We all backed up, leaving Armored there. When we were of of hearing range, River whispered, "Let's all try to get some rest. We have been walking for a long time, and it may be hours before Ire tells us anything." A couple of ponies nodded, and found their own corner somewhere in the space. They pulled out things from their saddle bags, such as snacks and blankets. Some layed right down and went to sleep, but others ate their snack before trying to get rest.
As for Blossom, she immediately curled up against the wall, wrapping her good wing around herself like a blanket, and fell asleep. I looked around me. The younger ones fell to the mercy of sleep instantly, while the ones who had more experience in their lives were slow and fidgety when it came to entering the land of dreams.
Soon, all was silent. The only sound made was the silent breaths as each pony entered their own little dreamland. I glanced down at Blossom. A small smile covered her face, her mane spread around her in wisps gave her an almost angelic look. Her chest rose and fell melodically. I wanted to keep staring at her. I shook my head. Broken! That's creepy! And I looked away, preferring to stare at the other ponies.
But as I sat there, watching as the ponies' chest rise and fell, my mind grew foggy. A familiar sensation came over me, though I could not place it.
Then, everything went black.
Everything was black. Then, a light. It filled my senses, blinding me for a moment. I raised my hoof to my face to block it. When it cleared, I saw that my hoof was still mechanical. I did not understand why I cared. But then, I saw my surroundings. The sky was blue and faded to black, and I was standing on a bridge of little lights. And it was cold. Very, very cold.
Broken...
A voice whispered. I glanced around. The voice was unlike anything I had ever heard off before. Deep, yet clear. And a mare's.
It said again.
Broken, h, help me...
I froze. "H, help you? How?"
Please, follow my voice Broken!
I rushed forward, going in the direction that the voice had come from. Soon, I reached the end of the bridge of lights. All that lay beyond it was total black. "Where are you?" I called out, hearing my voice echo. "Hello?"
The voice said again. "What?" I asked it.
Look up
I willed myself to look, and I nearly fell backwards from what I saw. Right there, was a mare. And she was staring down at me. Her magenta eyes watching my every move. Her coat was snow white, and her mane flowed in pink, blue, and green. And a dark mist surrounded her, wrapping around her horn and wings. I know she is a pony. But of what species?
Broken...
She said one more time before the mist started to chock her, and she screamed.
********************
When I awoke, I noticed that many of the other ponies were still asleep, their heads resting on saddlebags, their hooves, other ponies, and even rocks. I yawned, reaching up to wipe away the sleep from my eyes. How long was I out for, anyway? 30 minutes? An hour? The passage of time under ground never makes since to me, so I can never be sure. However, I know that Broken always knows. I looked around to find him, then realized that he was right next to me. I turned to face him, but then my blood froze when I saw him on the ground, his glowing red eyes no longer glowing at all. I poked my hoof at him. "Broken?" I pushed him. "Broken?!" Then, a pushed him back and forth with all of my might, screaming his name. A few ponies woke up, and rushed over to me. But I paid no mind to them. I just wanted Broken to wake up.
Then, Broken flinched, and sat up right, the glow coming back into his eyes. He frantically looked around. "Wha, what happened?" He asked.
"Apparently you were out," One pony said.
"I, was?" He asked. "I didn't feel unconscious..." He put a hoof to his head. I realized that he just did a pony gesture. As the ponies clustered around him, a stallion gasped. He took one step back. The other ponies in the group turned to him.
"Bass Clef, what's wrong?" Bass Clef swallowed.
"Think about it. He woke up so easily. So he wasn't unconscious, or powered down."
"Then what was he?" I asked him.
"He was asleep."
Broken stood straight up. "But Robot Units don't sleep!" He exclaimed.
"But dude, you were a pony before," Bass responded.
"But I'm a Robot Unit now. "
Suddenly, Armored Fire rushed into where we were all sleeping. She turned to us, as we were the only ones awake. "Ire has called. It is time to go."
*************************
We all climbed through the small opening and into the white room as quietly as possible. Though it was kind of hard for me not to make the gear-grinding sound. Near impossible.
But my mind was off the invasion for one moment and on the fact that I had fallen asleep . I dreamed . Sure, I had dreamed before but that was more of a memory.
And the mare, trapped in the mist, who was she? What is her name? What species is she? Thinking on it, it sounded exactly like Blossom's dream except this was not the blue mare I saw. This one was white. But they both had horns and wings. This is just a coincidence, right?
I honestly couldn't believe that. No matter how hard I tried.
But we were shuffled down an abandoned corridor. The lights had been turned off. I looked and saw that the walls were covered in blueprints. For Robot Units. I wanted to tear those down and rip them to pieces, but I can't. Too much noise. But it was very strange to see every pony without their uniform on, as they took them off as an act of defiance.
And I finally got to see Blossom Wing's cutie mark. A pink blossom with two wings. It is... really cool. What was my cutie mark?
River stopped for a moment, then gestured for us to stay put. She walked forward, turning down a bend in the hallway. She came back a few moments later and gestured for us to follow.
When I first saw the hallway and the white room, I thought that this place sucks and would be very easy to take over. I was so wrong on that. This next room made me stand back in awe.
About 60 feet high and 20 feet wide, clear tubes ran all across the walls carrying electronic parts to different places. Little lights shone from above gave the room an alien-like feel to it, and the path way cut through a drop of about 40 feet. I could not stop staring at the tubes. Because those were not just ordinary electronic parts, those were Robot Unit parts.
And we continued on, entering back into a hallway just like the first, and left that room behind.
This was a much shorter hallway, and we were soon put on another balcony, this one very close to the ceiling, and right above where ponies were assembling Robot Unit heads to be put on Robot Units. I nearly powered down. This is the place that they made this head I have now. We were all hushed, because the ponies down there could probably hear us.
River glanced at me, a frown on her face, and continued on. Soon, we were back in the hall way. I made my way up to her. "Why are we passing through this part?" I whispered. She looked down at me.
"We have to go through the Robot Unit assembly stations before we make it to the place where the government officials will be. I'm sorry." Then, she was silent again.
Author's Note
Hey! Sorry this one is a little... rushed, I guess. I haven't been able to make my usual deadline for this chapter lately because of summer camps, and a 14 year old has a busy schedule. So, sorry.
River was staring through the tiny opening that lead into the debate room. About five ponies were in there, discussing something. I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, just floating voices. All of us were still in an old and crumbling Robot Unit planning room, at the end of the factory. River had climbed through the air vent. Soon, we all saw her little cyan muzzle poke out from the small opening in the wall. "They're just janitors. Nothing important. All of the executives must be somewhere else in the building." She wormed her way out. "Let's move."
As we turned down another series of hallways, Broken held close to my side. Going through the Robot Unit factory had really taken its tole on him. I just hope that he can survive what is to come. I hope that I can.
But as we were walking, I started to notice something. The sound of hooves, but not our own. And a voice...
"Stop!" I whispered as loudly as I dared. All the ponies stopped and looked at me strangely, but then, one by one, they noticed what I had heard. We all ducked into a large room on the side of the hallway. One pony closed the door, and locked it from the inside. I looked around. We were in a room filled with old computers, dead and beyond repair. Each corner was piled high with them. Each one had a moon and a sun insignia on it. I know that I have seen that somewhere before...
But I had not time to think, because the knob on the door started to turn.
"Bloody door!" A muffled voice of a pony with a strange accent came through the door. "Thing always locks." I heard the clanging of metal that sounded like the jingling of keys. A few ponies stepped forward, each holding knives and rope, and one even had a piece of cloth in his hoof.
The door opened, and before, he could react, the earth pony wearing a uniform with the government insignia on it was bound, tied, blind folded by the piece of cloth, and had knives pointed at his face. His muffled screams were barley audible by the rope that somepony had bound on his mouth. River stepped forward and shut the door, and the pony Boxy stepped forward and got near the pony's face.
"We were never here, got it?" He said in the pony's ear. "You never saw us. Never heard us. Right?" I could see sweat forming on the pony's forehead. He was shaking. But he nodded. "Good." Boxy turned around to face us. "I'm gonna need a few ponies to stay behind and keep watch on him. Any volunteers?" A few hooves shot up in the air. "Good. Move out!"
And then we continued to sneak about the area.
**********************
What must be going on in that pony's head right now? How scared is he? Does he know who we are? The revolution?
What are those ponies that stayed back there doing to him? Threatening him with knives? Or just letting him sit there, his mind racing with all the horrible things that we could do to him?
But I shouldn't worry myself about it. I am, after all, a part of the revolution. I am trying to take down ponies like him. But should he really have to feel so scared?
Yes. Because of what they do to other ponies just like him everyday. And not only that, but his uniform read 'computer specialist'. He must help with programming this entire building. Programming Robot Units. He must know what they do to families. And he did nothing.
No. That's not right. He still shouldn't have to feel so scared.
We soon came into a dark room. It was very large, and computer monitors covered every wall. Chairs sat at desks with papers spread out on them. Some monitors flickered on and off. So did the lights from above, and gave the room a ghostly feel to it. Stairs went down to another level in one corner of the room, and the door that led to it was held ajar. River looked around, confused.
"I, I don't understand," She said. "Ire was supposed to meet us right here..." She looked back to the crowd. "Armored Fire?" She called out. Soon, the young purple earth pony was stumbling through the sea of ponies in order to get to River.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Check on your ear piece to see if Ire is still there."
Armored Fire put one hoof to the piece. "Ire?" She talked into it. No response. "Ire? Ire, do you copy?" Still nothing. Armored Fire removed the ear piece and looked up at River. "He's not responding. I think he's... gone." A couple of ponies gasped. River stomped her foot.
"Then he must have been captured. The government must know that we are here. And who knows what horrible things they might be doing to him?"
"You are right. We do know you are here." A mare's voice boomed throughout the room.
"Oh no." River whispered.
"And let's just say..." The voice said again. "That Ire will not be with us anymore."
"What did you do to him you horse manured pony!?" One mare called out from the crowd.
"Don't talk to the leader of Equestria that way, little pony. Or I will kill you all."
That's when I grew really angry. "If you lay a hoof on any of these ponies," I shouted out. "Then I will shoot you down!"
There was a pause. Then, a chuckle. Soon, that chuckle turned into laughter. "This is too funny! Star Dusk? Is that you?"
I took a step back. "How do you know my real name?!" I shouted back at her.
"Because all scientists need to know the name of their experiments, 456770." She called me by my Robot Unit name. I was ready to explode. "Hmm... your voice modifier has obviously failed. Also, I can see that you have recovered some of your memories. Very interesting. Some pony, write this down."
"Don't you dare hurt these ponies!" I shouted at her.
"Why are you with the revolution?" She asked back, ignoring my outburst.
"Because I want to make you pay for every cruel thing that you have done to your own citizens."
"What do you mean? Equestria is at peace. I don't know why this silly revolution was even started."
Is she really that blind?
"Are you kidding me?" River shouted. "My family was blown to bits because of your Robot Units!"
"My father killed himself because of you!" Blossom Wing shouted out.
"My little brother has brain damage because of being to close to an explosion set off by one of your Robot Units!" One pony shouted.
"I haven't seen my mother in years since you arrested her!"
"I am blind in one eye because of not having my identification card with me!"
"You want to talk about peace?" I shouted. "Look all around. Take off the blinds and look. You are a murderer."
There was a pause. Then, she spoke. "Very well, then. I see how it is." A click sounded from above. I looked up and saw a large hatch open on the ceiling. "If you won't follow us," A claw came down from it. "If you don't obey our rules, then I have no choice, Star Dusk." The claw came down closer. I realized what she was doing. But I didn't have time to run. The claw grabbed me, and pulled me up into the air. The ponies around me gasped. Another click sounded, and a hatch opened up in the wall. "I have no choice but to get rid of the failed experiment." And then I was thrown down the hatch.
...And the Robot gets crushed
I did not have time to react. Broken was gone. Thrown down a chute. And guards swarmed us. Ponies of all different species, wearing the government insignia, attacking us and binding us. At least, that was what they tried to do. Because they must have underestimated us.
The reality was this: The ponies with no uniform on were dodging, biting, swinging knives and loading guns. I did none of those things. I did what I know best.
I punched. All of my anger was directed into my hoof, all of the energy I had withing me in one single place. I was no longer sacred of dying. All I wanted to do was get Broken back. But he was gone. And in my eyes, these government ponies were to blame. So all of my power was directed in one blast. Hit here, and there. In the face. In the chest. In the crotch. And when I turn around to see what I have actually done, I am not horrified.
Shattered rib cages. Bleeding noses and fractured skulls. The red spilling out of these ponies from the injuries that I delivered.
And I will paint the floor red.
And then I see a black streak rush out of the room.
************************
"No!" I screamed as I fell, face first, into oblivion. I tried to hover, but it didn't work. Nothing worked. All I could do was scream. How could I not have seen it coming? Why else would she bring out a giant claw?
And the air in here kept getting colder and colder. I could feel it as it rushed over my metal body.
I snapped back to the dream I had earlier. How cold it felt. It was this exact temperature.
I went back into reality. The air is no longer cold. It is warm. The same temperature as the room with the monitors.
Suddenly, I saw a little speck of light below me. I watched it. It seems to be getting bigger... HOLY CRAP! I flail my hooves but it is no use. I watch as the opening to the other side appears, and I sail right through it. Suddenly, I am jolted backwards. I looked around. The new area I am in is very different than the rest of the building. Large gas tanks line each corner of the room and pipes criss-cross the walls. The only light in the room comes from a square opening at the end of a conveyor belt. The soft glow emanates throughout the whole space.
Then, I realized that what jolted me back was another claw. It held me tight, binding my front hooves to my metal body. And struggling is of no use. I go limp in defeat.
"Why hello there, Star Dusk." It was the same mare. I snapped my head back up. And that's when I saw her. Standing on a balcony only a few feet above me on the other side, was a brownish-yellow earth pony. The leader of Equestria.
"Don't call me that." I seethed. She adjusted her brown suit with the symbol of the government pinned to it.
"And why not?" She mused. "It is your real name after all."
"My name is Broken. I am no longer Star Dusk. You took that right away from me." I struggled against the claw's strength, setting it swaying, but I still could not break free. I stopped and stared right into her orange eyes.
"Oh please." She said, waving her hoof around. "You should be happy! We gave you sight!"
"How would you feel if you were in this body?!"
"Pretty good, actually. Immense strength, weapons at ready, it would be nice. But alas, it can never happen."
"And why not?"
"Because I'm not compatible."
I froze. "Com, compatible?"
"Why yes!" She exclaimed, leaning against the metal rails of the balcony. "Putting a pony in a Robot Unit is not an easy thing to do. The software is very complicated. Eventually we found that it is really only compatible with a certain type of DNA that is extremely rare in the population. And you, Star Dusk, have that DNA." She paused for a moment, and stared down at her hooves. Then she smiled. "And so did your mother."
"My, my mother?"
She glanced back up at me. "Yes. Beautiful young thing. It's a shame, really."
"Shame? What shame?"
"Well, the first few experiments failed. They didn't stay alive. You, Star Dusk, were the only one to make it. Your mother was one of the ones who failed."
No. No no no no no no. "What did you do to my mother!?!" I screamed.
"And I see that we have another fail. Being a Robot Unit, you were supposed to pledge full loyalty to us. But you didn't. " Her face got dark. "And we have to get rid of the failures, don't we, Star Dusk?" Her smile grew wider, wickeder. She leaned back away from the bars, and started to walk towards a set of controls on the wall. "And you know..." She said. "This is quite a shame, also." She pushed a button. The claw started to move down "You were pretty cute. Must've taken after your mother."
I was laid on my back on the conveyor belt that I saw earlier. The claw let go of me, and I started to get up, but restraints clamped over my hooves, my body, and my head. I struggled against them. "Oh, and by the way..." She said. "Wondering why you can't use your weapons? I had the engineers pump nanobots down here. They prevent you from doing anything other than moving, talking, and seeing." She reached up to pull a lever.
"Wait!" I called out. She paused for a moment. "Without me, who else are you going to have in your experiment?" She turned around to look at me.
She smiled. "Well, like I said. The DNA you have is very rare. But it seems to run in your family. So..." She tapped her hoof to her chin. "Your little sister would do."
"My, what!?"
"She has the DNA. Not your little brother, though. Shame."
"Little brother?"
"Oh yes, twins!" She did an overly dramatic sigh. "But I have never done the experiment on a filly before! What excitement!"
"Don't you lay a hoof on her!"
"Good bye, Star dusk." She pulled the lever, and the conveyor belt started to move towards the only light source in the room. A fire. And a large spiked plate started to move up and down with enough strength that it seemed to be able to crush anything. And I was heading right towards it.
I struggled against the bonds that held me tight.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
I used all of my Robot Unit strength.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
I kicked out with my left foot. It came loose.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
But the crusher plate just kept getting closer.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
I moved the left foot as far back as it could go. But the right leg would not make it.
BANG. BANG. CRUSH.
Pain shot through the base where the leg once was. Now there is only a sparking stump. Of the few times that I have felt pain in this body, I wish it wasn't now. And the crusher, electronic bits and wires handing from the spikes, raised up one last time. And now I was fully under it.
I spared a thought for my little sister and Blossom, wherever they might be. The plate came down. I braced myself and looked away, but the crush never came. Slowly, I turned my eyes up to the machine. It had stopped. Only inches away from my metal chest.
"No!" I heard the leader scream. I looked up at her. "No no no!" She was pushing buttons at random. "Why has it stopped?!"
Suddenly, the sound of hooves could be heard. Then, a door that I had not noticed near the balcony swung open, and ponies in uniform stepped out. "Waving Flag. Somepony has shut down all machinery. We need you right away." Waving Flag looked back at me, pure hatred in her eyes and a scowl on her face. Strands of her dark brown mane fell in her face.
"Fine," She spat out, and followed the other ponies out the door. And then I was alone.
I struggled against my restraints, pain shooting up through the stump that was once my leg. A piece of metal fell from the spiked plate above and cluttered to the ground. A piece of me.
I struggled harder and kicked out with my good leg.
Suddenly, I heard a door slam open. I froze, thinking Waving Flag had come back. But that was not her voice.
"Broken! Where are you?" Tornado.
"Here! Here!" I heard the clutter of hoof steps. Soon, I saw him standing over me. His mane was sticking out in all different angles.
"We have to get you out of there. Guards swarmed us after that claw took you." He pulled out a knife and started to cut through the restraints. He groaned with effort.
"I can't use my weapons," I said after he cut my head loose.
"I know," he said, cutting through another one. "I heard them talking about it. I also heard that they were going to destroy you. I shut the crusher down."
"What? How?"
"I cut the red wire." He cut both of my hooves free. He started on the restraint holding my body down. "But once we get you out of here, you can use your weapons again." He broke through. "Come on! Let's go!" He turned around to leave. I reached out and grabbed him before he sped off.
"Tornado!" He turned back around.
"What?"
"I can't. I can't walk."
"And why n... oh no." He put his hoof over his mouth. "Broken, your leg. It's, it's gone."
And the stump sparked one more time.
"This way!" River shouted to us, no longer trying to be quiet. We all galloped behind her, the sound of thousands of hoof steps resonating through the air. We had barley escaped back there, losing some of our own to the guards. And the realization of what I had done back there had caught up to me. I felt like I didn't want to fight anymore. Just give up. I am afraid of dying, but I might have just killed others that could have had the same fear.
And this dominated my thoughts until we came at a dead end. "No!" River shouted and stomped her hoof. I heard more hoof steps behind us. More guards. I panicked, but then my eyes flicked to something on the side of the wall. It was painted the same color as the rest the hallway. No, that's not right. There is nothing there. But it feels like there is...
I ran up to the spot on the wall, pushing a few ponies aside, and put my hoof to the spot. I could feel it. "Blossom Wing?" River asked. "What in Equestria are you doing?"
"There is... something here," I answered back.
She walked over to me. "But I don't see-" She put her hoof to the door and stopped in mid-sentence. "What in the... there is something here!" She felt around a bit more, but then her hoof stopped on something. "Hmm..." She wrapped her hoof around whatever it was, and then pulled. Nothing happened. "Strange, that felt like a door handle."
"Here's your door handle, River!" Some pony shouted. Then a large, muscular stallion came running through the crowd and hit the wall where the mysterious thing was. And it fell down.
"Uh, thanks, Fiery Muscles."
"Don't mention it, babe."
Once we filed into what lay beyond, we all stopped and stared in awe. It was the biggest room in the whole government building by far. Glass chambers filled with some mysterious liquid lined the walls. A long and wide platform stood at one end and computers and monitors where stationed on it. But the thing that got us all, the thing that stopped us in our tracks, was a huge, and I do mean huge , Swirling mist of glowing blue smoke that entwined itself in a cylindrical motion. And mixed in with it where wisps of a black mist. The same mist from my encounter with the blue mare. Suddenly, the coldness I felt there returned, then vanished.
"What is this place?" River whispered. And we could have stood like that forever, if not for the sound of a door banging open near the platform. We turned to look at whatever made the sound. And there, standing on the platform, was Tornado and Broken. Broken was leaning against Tornado.
Some pony gasped. "Their back!"
Tornado made his way down the stairway that lead from the platform down to us. I could see beads of sweat forming on his forehead. I galloped up to them.
"Blossom, wait!" River called, but I paid no attention.
"Tornado!" I screamed. "Broken!" But then I reached them and my heart froze. An icy chill ran over my spine. "Broken, your,"
"I'm fine," He said. Then he tried to stand up on his own, but fell over. I stopped him from crashing down the stairs.
"You, are, heavy," I huffed.
I heard hoof steps above us and looked up.
A yellowish-brownish earth pony wearing a suit came galloping in through the door followed by six armed guards. A scowl was on the earth pony's face as she observed all of us, then turned her head down to me, Tornado, and Broken. "No!" She seethed, staring down at the Robot Unit leaning against me. "How did you escape?"
"You stay away from him!" I yelled at her. But she just smiled.
"Ah, so you must be Blossom Wing."
I froze. "How do you know my name?!"
"Well, the prisoners we interrogated told us about you and," She cringed. "Broken."
"Don't you dare lay a hoof on her!" Tornado shouted. She stared at him for a moment. Then shook her head.
"Breaking into the government with an ankle bracelet on, hmm? Not a very smart idea." Then she turned her attention back to me. Broken stopped leaning on me and attempted to stand up.
"You hurt any of these ponies, and you will not see another day." Then he fell down the stairs.
"And, once I heard of you, Blossom wing, I knew that you must have been the one to ruin our little experiment here." She pointed to Broken."So no, I won't lay a hoof on her," She mused. She grabbed something from one of the guards. She pointed it at my head. "I will just lay a bullet in her."
The shot was fired. The boom resonated through the air. I expected the blow that would end my life, but it never came. Because a black streak jumped in front of me, then was jolted backwards and crashed down to the floor. "TORNADO!" I screamed. And then the platform blew up in a fiery blast.
Author's Note
Sorry this chapter is so short. And I do mean SHORT. Not even I expected it to be like this. And yes, a short chapter took a long time to publish. Sorry! For a while I was unmotivated and tired. Sorry!
Rubble exploded from the explosion. Concrete went flying. I had to push myself out of the way with my good back hoof to dodge. One large piece of debris almost crushed me. Shakily, I got up to my hooves, swaying back and forth and trying to get my balance. Then, I retracted the missiles back into my metal body, with one missing from its place.
The dust from the explosion billowed around me, obstructing my view except for a few shadows moving around. I heard ponies coughing, and some crying out in pain from the aftermath of the explosion.
But then my ear pieces found another sound. It was a scream of despair and sorrow, and it was Blossom's. Blindly, I scrambled towards the direction in which I heard her voice, but then fell flat on my face.The stump sparked.
I slowly lifted my head. The dust was clearing and the visibility was getting better. I could barley make out Blossom's form. She was hunched over, hooves to her face, crying. And a black figure was laying in front of her. The dust cleared a bit more.
Blood. Blood was spilling to the floor from the black figure's chest in a gnarled mess of blood and broken ribs. Tornado. Something ripped inside of me.
Shakily, I got to my hooves as ponies rushed over to Blossom and Tornado's unmoving body. Blossom screamed at them to get away from him. One pony pulled her back, and she called him some very nasty names. A mare with a red cross cutie ran up to Tornado. She put her ear near his mouth. "He's alive!" she exclaimed. "But it does not look good."
Blossom struggled against the stallion's hooves. She broke free, and ran to me.
I stumbled forward, and then with out-stretched hooves Blossom wrapped her arms around me and cried into my metal shoulder. I hesitated a moment, then brought my metal hooves around her. Her cried turned to sniffles, and then she stopped. She did not make a sound. Something was wrong. Then, she screamed.
I let go of her and whipped around just in time to see the single bloody hoof reach through a pile of rubble. Then, a red stained yellowish-brown muzzle poked through, followed by a raggedy gasp of air. Waving Flag pulled the rest of her body up from the pile of concrete, her once tidy suit ripped and burned and literally almost falling off her body. She stumbled as she got to her hooves. She took in another raggedy breath before she looked up, her orange blood-shot eye staring right at me and Blossom. Waving Flag's right side of her face was burned and seared down to the bone, and blood gushed out and what skin was left had swollen her right eye shut. Blood dripped out from the side of her mouth. Then, she spoke. "My mother once told me, when I was just a filly, that ponies near death will realize their mistakes." She took a step forward, the crumpled to the ground. She lay there for a moment, unmoving, then took in a shallow breath and attempted to stand again. She looked at me and Blossom again. "And now, I see," She said, wheezing. "She, was, right." She coughed, and blood came hurtling towards us, but stopped short, splattering to the ground. Waving Flag swayed a little, then shook her head. "I am sorry." Then she fell over. This time, she did not get up. She took in a shallow breath, then sighed. "The only way to shut down the facility us to go in the holder chamber." She gestured with a bloody hoof to the glowing blue smoke. "And only a Robot Unit is strong enough to go in there." She smiled wickedly. "And then you will die. And I know you won't do that." She chuckled, then her eyes slowly closed, and she stopped moving. Forever.
In death, she may see her mistakes, but that does not mean she will change her ways.
I glanced at the swirling blue smoke. The only way?
Author's Note
Yes yes, I know this one is WAY shorter than the last chapter. Sorry! I have been REALLY busy. At the beach. Swimming. Busy.
