Broken Worlds: A Sea Of Tears

Just a few days ago, I was reunited with two of my oldest friends, and I thought that nothing else could go wrong in the world.

Now, I was being shown that happy endings don’t exist in my world anymore, as another old friend was being executed right before my eyes.

I watched helplessly as the dark-coated man fired his gun at Drayke and then ordered his men to escort their prisoners to the factory. Hot tears streamed down my face as I sobbed noiselessly. I could hear Applejack crying beside me, but Fluttershy didn’t make a sound; she just sat in the tall grass, a sorrowful, uncertain look on her face. Spike stared grimly as the BlackTech soldiers dragged the three humans and two ponies away from Drayke’s body, when the teenage dragon suddenly gasped.

“Guys, it’s Rainbow Dash!” he whispered urgently, “she’s with them!”

I wiped my eyes with my foreleg and squinted, and I saw Spike was right; one of the ponies had a bright, six-colored mane and sky-blue pelt. “It is her,” I murmured.

Brave Wind let out a low, appreciative whistle as he peered over my shoulder. “Now there’s a mare I’d like to break the sound barrier with, if you know what I mean,” he said slyly. There was a loud “thud”, and I turned to see Applejack had smacked the stallion upside the head.

“Don’t be saying things like that around mares, especially about their friends!” she scolded him as he rubbed his head.

I turned to face forward once again as the prisoners were escorted into the factory. “But, if Drayke and Rainbow Dash are here, then where’s Pinkie Pie?” I wondered aloud. She, too, had went with my human friend when he left to form his Resistance against BlackTech, but the energetic pink earth pony was nowhere to be seen. “Maybe she’s back at their base?”

Just then, I heard some twigs snapping behind us, and we all turned around to see a human creeping up on us. He was tall and dark-skinned, with a surprised look on his face.

“Damn it,” he muttered as Applejack and Fluttershy tackled him. He struggled to break free, but even a human of his size couldn’t overcome the two powerful mares.

“Get off! I’m not here to hurt you!” he urged as he twisted under my friends’ iron grip. “I’m here to help you!”

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you another member of Drayke’s Resistance?” I asked slowly.

The human sighed heavily. “Not exactly,” he began. “I, too, was hired by BlackTech to assassinate Blackwood, but I was planning on warning him that Victor was hunting him,” he explained quickly.

Applejack snorted. “Yeah, right,” she growled, “Why would you sell out your friend like that?”

The human looked Applejack dead in the eyes. “Victor is not my friend,” he said in a cold voice. “Victor is a raging psychopath who needs to be stopped at all costs. We were in the military together, long ago, but he wasn’t interested in working with a squadron; he was quickly discharged, and I went on to receive many accolades for my service.”

I nodded. “So, you’re against that man, Victor; now tell us why you’re willing to help us,” I demanded.

The man turned his gaze to me. “A few years ago, my squadron was stationed at an Equestrian ruin on a cliffside, far away from here. There was a rockslide, and we were all buried in the rubble. I was the only one still alive when the dust cleared, but I had no way of digging myself out.

“But, a helping hand was sent my way, and it came from the most unexpected of places,” he continued. “A pony happened to wander near me, and it saw that I was unable to move. It was uncertain at first, but it eventually came close and removed some of the rubble that trapped me. Then, it quickly ran off, probably making sure it was far away from me when I finally pulled myself out.

“What I’m trying to say is,” he concluded, “I’ve seen that you ponies don’t want to hurt humanity like BlackTech says you do. So, I’ve vowed to make good on the second chance I was given, and help the Equestrian Empire fight BlackTech.”

I stared at the human for a long time, studying his eyes for any sign of deception. I quickly saw, however, that there was only truth and trust in his hazel eyes, and I nodded to Fluttershy and Applejack, who relaxed their grip and let the human stand. “It’s nice to meet you,” I said kindly. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. These are my friends, Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, and Brave Wind,” I said, introducing my companions one by one.

The human smiled and nodded to each of us acknowledgingly. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, and Brave Wind,” he repeated. “My name is Marcus Ripley. You mentioned Drayke earlier; do you know where I can find him?” he inquired eagerly.

I looked at the field before us sadly, and Marcus saw Drayke’s body lying in the grass, his face falling when he saw what had happened to my old friend. "Oh,” he said quietly, “I am sorry. The children and ponies that were taken into the factory; were they more friends of yours?” he asked gently.

Applejack nodded. “One of them is; the others must have been more Resistance members,” she explained.

Marcus stood up and scanned the field slowly. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do: I have a campsite set up less than a mile away from here; we can rest there for a while, and make a plan on how to break them out of there,” he said, motioning for us to follow him into the forest.

~-~-~-~-~

There was little chat during our walk; watching an old friend die has a pretty negative effect on a group’s enthusiasm. After a long, sombre silence, we emerged into a small clearing, where a tent and a burned-out campfire had been set up. “Welcome,” Marcus said cheerfully as we approached, “mi casa es su casa.”

We all gave him an odd look. “Make yourselves at home,” he corrected himself quickly, realizing we weren’t very familiar with most human euphemisms. “It isn’t much, but I wasn’t planning on having guests.”

I glanced at the firepit. “AJ, could you gather some firewood?” I asked pleasantly. The orange mare nodded as she trotted off into the trees.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Marcus insisted, but I shook my head.

“You’re sharing your campsite with us and helping us rescue our friends; the least we could do is help out a little,” I replied kindly.

Marcus nodded. “Speaking of which, why not discuss how to break your friends out of that factory?” he suggested, and retrieved a small, black device from his tent. It was flat and smooth, and no bigger than one of the books in the Castle Canterlot Library. He tapped the device once with his finger, and it was suddenly lit up with a blue light. I could see the device now displayed a three-dimensional model of the prison that Rainbow Dash had just been taken to.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen magic like this,” I said slowly, staring at the brightly glowing display in awe.

Marcus chuckled. “Humans may not have magic like you ponies, but we can still make some impressive gadgets,” he said humorously. “That’s one of the reasons I agree with the Resistance; our races have so much to offer each other, and BlackTech insists on enslaving or killing you. If we can take BlackTech out of the picture, then we might be able to convince the rest of mankind that they are being lied to.”

Brave Wind nodded stiffly. “Alright, then what’s your master plan?” he demanded hotly. “Because it looks to me that you were planning on having a small army on your side; now that the leader of the Resistance is dead, that doesn’t seem very likely anymore.”

Marcus sighed. “I know,” he said slowly, “I wasn’t expecting Victor to get here so quickly. I do have a backup plan, though, but to be honest, I just came up with it,” he explained uncertainly.

I stared at the human expectantly. “What is it?” I asked gently, “I’m sure any plan you have is worth hearing.”

Marcus glanced at me. “You’re a princess from Canterlot, correct? Once we’ve rescued your friends, we’ll have to go there before we can make our next move,” he explained.

I thought about the human’s plan for some time. “Canterlot is already in short supply,” I pointed out, “but you’re right; there are few other places we can go where help will be given to us so graciously. It will be risky, taking a human to the front gates, but if you’re accompanied by me and a guard, the soldiers might stand down long enough for you to explain your position.”

I heard Applejack approaching from behind, having returned from gathering firewood. Marcus got up and began to set up a campfire as the orange mare spoke up. “I agree that it’s important to get everypony to a safe place,” she said quietly, “but I’ve got my own troubles to worry about, too; every day I spent in that place, I swore that if I ever escaped I’d go find my family. Fluttershy says Granny Smith and Big Mac are…” her voice choked up for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure, “I have to find Applebloom. I’m not sure where she is, but there’s a chance she’s still alive, and that’s all the hope I have left in this world,” she finished sadly.

Fluttershy carefully trotted over to AJ and wrapped a gentle wing around her. “I’m sure Applebloom is okay,” she said reassuringly, “and finding her will be a lot easier if BlackTech is gone. Once the war is over, I’ll gladly help you search for her, but until then… we’ll just have to wait.”

Applejack stared at the ground sadly for a few moments. “Okay,” she said finally. “If we don’t have any choice, then I guess we’ve gotta stop BlackTech.”

As we sat around the blazing fire that Marcus had set up, I came to a realization; I felt a strange sensation, like a chill on the back of my neck. It was a sensation I only felt when I was near a source of magical energy.

I quickly stood up and began to wander around the campsite. “What’s up, Princess?” Brave Wind asked worriedly, “Is something wrong?”

I shook my head quickly. “No, it’s just… I feel something… something I haven’t felt in a long time…” I murmured. I closed my eyes and held my horn in the air as it glowed softly, and I let my magic guide me to the source of the sensation. Now that I was focused on it, I could easily identify where it was coming from; not just one, but five nearby sources. Two of them were incredibly strong, while the others seemed weak, as if they were some distance away.

“Um, Twilight? I’ll have to ask that you don’t stick your horn in my face,” I heard Marcus say politely. I opened my eyes and saw the tall human staring at me, leaning back slightly to avoid touching the light at the end of my horn.

I took an apologetic step back. “I’m sorry,” I said quickly, and closed my eyes as I turned towards the other nearby source. After a few moments, I heard Brave Wind speak up. “Hey, watch the magic, your highness,” he said quickly, and I opened my eyes once again to see him edging away from me and my glowing horn.

“What’s the matter, Twi?” Applejack asked slowly, “Is there something wrong with them?”

I shook my head, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “We’ve just found two of the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony,” I declared triumphantly, “and there are three more nearby waiting to be found.”