Two Brothersby FrostRainChaptersMoving To PonyvilleBrotherly LoveEventful Day Followed By RestMoving To Ponyville"Its so nice to be out of Canterlot. Now mom and dad can't stare over our shoulders." A gray pegasus with black and white mane spoke. "Yes, and with a small settlement like Ponyville, maybe I could get some research done." A white unicorn with black and white mane smiled at his brother, "Though with you around, that might just be impossible." His smile faded. "Oh come on Broken Shard!" The pegasus groaned, "It won't be so bad living with your brother." He grinned. "Light Speed, you are living destruction." Broken Shard retorted. The two brothers continued to walk down the streets of Ponyville. They had just gotten off the train from Canterlot and were looking for their new house. Broken Shard was looking at his map with concentration. Light Speed however was trotting down the path with the same stupid grin he always has on his face. "So we take a right turn here..." Broken Shard mumbled as he turned almost mechanically. Light Speed bounded after his mumbling brother without a second thought as he looked at the different buildings. "Then a left here." Broken said after a few more minutes. Light Speed was gazing at the houses with interet as he trotted after his guide. "I wonder what our house will look like. It's so exciting!" Light hummed to his companion. Broken ignored his brother's comment and kept studying the map. "Another right turn here and... We should be home!" Broken Shard looked up from his map with an excited smile. Before them stood a beautiful house made from the finest wood. The sturdy structure was complimented by a marvelous coat of paint and there was a beautiful view just behind the small hill. The brand new house practically glowed in the sunlight! ... It was literally glowing. The house was consumed in flames. The two ponies flicked their eyes from the house to each other and then back at the house. In a panic, Broken Shard galloped towards the burning home while Light Speed jetted off in the opposite direction. Broken levitated a blanket from his saddle bag and used a spell to make it grow larger. He then draped the blanket over the house. The fire seemed to die and Broken wiped the sweat from his brow in relief. Almost instantly, the blanket exploded in a ball of fire that engulfed the house once more. "F*$#!" Broken Shard shouted in surprised fear. Light Speed sped through the air and came back with a hose. He twisted the handle and began spraying the house. It didn't take too long to douse the raging fire, but so much damage had already been done while it was left unattended. There were large holes in the roof and ashes littered the ground. The walls were scorched and the ceiling beams had crumbled. The two ponies stared in amazment and disbelief as the smoke lifted itself higher and higher. "Oh nononononono!" Broken Shard panicked as he paced, "It's destroyed! Completely destroyed!" "Well, not completely." Light Speed muttered as he placed a hoof on his chin. "What am I going to do? What am I going to do!?" Broken Shard cried out. "Bro, calm down." Light hovered next to his panic stricken brother. "Calm down? CALM DOWN!? My house is destroyed!" He screeched. "Ahem, you mean our house." Light crossed his hooves. "You can just live on a cloud!" Broken yelled up at his brother as he pointed at the sky. "Touché" "Ugh, I can't even buy a ticket back to Canterlot. You spent all of our bits on ice cream!" Broken complained. "I was hungry." Light shrugged. "Because you ate all your traveling food in the first few minutes..." Broken mumbled as he placed his hooves over his eyes. "Our house is destroyed..." He repeated. As if in response to his words, the entire roof of the house caved inward. "So then fix it." Light smiled as he flapped his wings. "Fix it? How would I go about fixing it Light Speed?" Broken asked in annoyance. "Well your special talent is making beauty out of what's broken. Sooo fix it with some kind of magical spell or something." Light waved his hooves towards the house mystically as if to prove his point. "First of all, the house isn't broken, it's burnt. Secondly, I don't know of any spell that turns your house into Maretha Stewart's personal beach house. It's not that simple Light." "Fine, sheesh what do I know?" Light crossed his hooves and frowned. "Nothing... You know nothing." "Maybe put in an order? For a new house?" Light asked himself as much as his brother. "Oh of course! Here, I'll write a letter now." Broken levitated paper and a quill from his saddle bag. "Hello, as I came upon my new house in Ponyville, I noticed that it was burning down in into a firey ball of ashes and smoke. So, I'd like to request a new one. Preferably one that doesn't come in the 'Smoking Hot Home' package of your catalog. This time, I'd like to add on the extended warranty." Broken read aloud as he stabbed the paper with the last period he wrote before crumbling it up and stuffing it into his bag. "It was just an idea..." Light frowned, dejected. "It was a stupid idea." Light chuckled, "Yeahhh, it was pretty stupid." "You're having fun with this aren't you?" "Just a little." Light flew into the sky leaving his brother wondering where he sped off to. Before he could do anything else, the pegasus soon returned with a puffy white ball. "Don't worry, I have a place to sleep." Light hopped onto the cloud happily with his hooves behind his head. "Thanks buddy." Broken lowered his ears in anger. "I'm going to go find something to make us a profit." Broken began to walk away. "You mean like a job?" The pegasus rolled over so that his hooves hung off the front of the cloud. "No- Wel- ...Maybe." "Well if you need anything, I'll be on my comfy bed." Light mocked playfully. "Don't talk to me." Broken walked around the town thinking of what he could do. 'What are my strengths? Magic, crafting, cooking, and I love books. Good. What are my weaknesses?... Celestia, do I really need to get into that long list? This day was depressing enough.' He wandered around the town trying not to think about the disastrous situation he was in. He needed to stay calm and just think of the solution instead of the problem. He turned a corner and his eyes drifted towards a gleam at his left. He saw broken glass scattered across the ground. Curiously, he made his way towards the sharp pieces and began to inspect them. They were in many different shapes and sizes that looked almost pattern like. An idea formed in his mind and he began to move the pieces in different positions as he formed a figure. It was spikey and rigid, though it did make a distinct shape. He moved a few move pieces around and took another look at it. Now some of the edges were smoothed out while others spiked in new places. It began to look faintly like a dragon breathing fire. Perhaps he could make something out of this after all. He gathered the glass in his magic and placed the pieces in an empty part of his saddle bag. He was busy thinking of his new project as he returned to his property. Once he noticed the sun was setting, he realized the lack of ponies around town. In fact, he couldn't recall seeing anypony else other than his brother or the ponies at the train station. This was very weird indeed. He supposed that he was too caught up in finding his new home to notice... Before being too caught up in losing his new home to notice. Then he heard a noise that seemed to originate from the other side of town. He turned his head and saw lots of lights along many different colored objects in the distance. He couldn't quite tell what it all was from this distance, though he expected some type of celebration. He soon neared his sleeping brother and dropped his saddle bag before proding Light Speed with his hoof. "Huh? What? Oh Broken Shard, what's up?" Light yawned. "Do you hear those noises?" Broken asked as he levitated a sandwich from his saddle bag. Light perked his ears and nodded, "Yep, sure can." "And you've noticed that we haven't seen anypony since the train?" "Well now that you mention it, yeah. That's strange." "Yeah... So go check it out!" Broken pushed Light off the cloud and heard a loud thud. "Ow!" Light rubbed his head. "I was not ready for that Broken Shard!" "Too bad. Go find out what all that noise is." Broken bit into his sandwich. "Why me?" Light pouted. "Because you have wings." Light Speed sighed before taking off in the direction of the commotion. Broken took out his crafting kit from his saddle bag along with the glass he found. He then began to construct his little glass dragon with his materials. It had been a while since Light Speed had left and Broken began to wonder what became of him. "Ugh, where is that airhead?" He asked aloud. The unicorn continued to work into the night, thankful for the brightness of the moon. As he worked, he noticed the noises were becoming louder and louder. Now he was positive it was cheering. Just then, Light Speed had finally returned and landed next to his brother. "Broken Shard! There's this awesome party going on. We're practically the only two ponies in Ponyville that aren't there right now, which would explain the lack of townsfolk." Light grinned widely. "What took you so long?" "I got a bit carried away at the party." Light smiled guiltily. "But I got you a cupcake!" Light thrusted forward a small frosted cake in font of his brother. "Er, thanks." Broken hesitantly took the treat in his magic before biting into it. "Hey, what's that?" Light Speed pointed at the glass. "Oh, just my new project. Hopefully I can sell it once I'm finished." As if the pegasus wasn't listening, he jumped straight into the next topic, "Hey, let's put our stuff in our... Um... Burnt Shack and go to the party!" Light hopped up and down excitedly. Broken Shard debated the idea before realizing it could be a good chance to get some food in. Who knew when their next meal would be. Besides, a party could help his morale. "Okay, I suppose." Broken answered finally. "Hooray!" Light shouted in glee before rounding up all of their things and placing them in the newly named shack. Broken approached the shack and made an unintelligible noise before halfheartedly locking what was left of the door. He then took another bite of his cupcake and began walking towards the noises. "Dude, you are not going to walk to the party." His brother frowned. "What do you want me to do? I can't fly." "You should try this new energy drink I've been hearing about. It's supposed to give you wings. But seriously, c'mon!" Without warning, Light had lifted Broken into the air and started to fly towards their destination, causing his brother to drop his cupcake. Broken Shard flailed his hooves around as he swung around in the sky, "LIGHT SPEED! This is HIGHLY dangerous!" "It's only dangerous if you keep floundering around like a fish out of water! Just calm down you big baby, I won't drop you." "But I am a fish out of water!" Broken wailed. As they neared the party, Broken finally started to get his breathing under control and observed the area. He noted the amount of ponies present. It was true, the entirety of Ponyville seemed to be here. "Is that an inflatable pool?" Broken pointed at the large mass of contained water. "Looks like it." As Light halted his advance over the pool, Broken caught on all too quickly at what was about to happen. "Oh no. No no no. If you drop me in there, I'm taking you with me!" Broken threatened. "And just how will you do that?" Light Speed challenged evilly. As Light released his grip, Broken let out a terrified yelp as panic surged up his body. Mid air, he turned on his back and shot a blue bolt at his laughing brother's wings. The magic exploded in a colorful light show as Light Speed's wings froze up. "Me and my big mouUUUUTH!" The two of them began to plummet towards the icy water below. "IT'S TOO COLD FOR THIS!" Broken screeched with a mixture of annoyance, fear, and anger before they made contact with the cold water. Broken Shard felt himself sink into the water quickly after impact. He saw as the water leapt out of the pool in response to the sudden disturbance. It was a large splash, and even larger when Light cannonballed into the pool. Broken felt his bones turn to ice and swiftly swam to the surface. He erupted from the water and took in large gasps of air while coughing up excess water. Despite his boiling rage at his brother, the cold was stronger and forced him out of the water hurriedly. He quickly exited the pool in a shivering mass and huddeled with himself, rocking back and forth while his teeth chattered. "WOO-HOO!" Light Speed flew out of the water and shook himself. "That was so cool! Oh Broken, let's do that again!" "NO!" Broken spat in fury. "You can dive all you want, but I need a towel." "Aw, you're just mad because we moved into a fire ball." One of the staring ponies had approached them with a wide grin on her face. She was a pink earth pony with darker mane. She stood next to Broken Shard and held up one of his shivering hooves to his own surprise. "We have a winner!" The pony called out. Her cheer was met with the excited roar of the crowd. Now he was really confused. "I- huh?" Broken asked through chattering teeth. "You won the contest. Whoever could make the coolest cannonball into the pool wins a thousand bits and a new house." She smiled. "H-h-house? I won a house?" Light Speed for once was speechless as he stared at the pink pony and then at Broken Shard. "You sure did!" The pony hopped excitedly. "I- I just... No- ye- I- we- house... Gahhh." Broken somehow forgot how to speak. "I know right! This must be amazing news considering the house you were going to move into burned down a few hours ago just as you found it." She finished happily. "H-how did you know that?" Broken managed to communicate. "Just a hunch." Broken Shard slowly lowered himself to the ground and hugged himself. "I think you just gave a new meaning to my brother's name..." Light Speed spoke nervously. Brotherly LoveBroken Shard flicked his ears and shifted. He felt a presence above him, but hadn't bothered to open his weary eyes. He moved his head to the side and heard the presence move. He was warm and felt cushioning bellow him. Where was he again? He didn't care. There was a sound of movement followed by voices. Broken Shard was too tired to recognize them. He felt himself drift off. Broken woke up again. He gave off a soft exhale and finally decided to open his eyes oh so slowly. His vision was very blurry so he waited for it to adjust and clear up. He saw brown. The ceiling was brown and covered with gray cobwebs. He looked around and saw yellow. Yellow hay littered the ground. He looked down and saw navy blue. A blue blanket covered his body up to his shoulders. He lifted his head and suddenly felt light headed and drained of energy despite his long rest. He let his head fall back down. Where was he? Where was Light Speed? What happened last night? He couldn't remember anything after falling into the pool. Eventually he had gained enough consciousness to realize that he was in a barn and resting opon layers of blankets on top of hay. He tried to stand, and after stabling himself, looked around. He saw another nest of hay and blankets that lay empty next to his own. He assumed it belonged to Light Speed. Where was that air head? Broken Shard approached the barn door and slowly cracked it open. Instantly, the bright light of the sun blinded him, causing his dizziness to return for a moment. Taking a second to recover, Broken opened the door fully and cautiously stepped outside. His eyes drifted along the landscape in awe. Everywhere he looked, there were beautiful and strong trees that stood out as shining trophies of the rolling hills before him. Broken pryed his eyes from the orchard and found a home to glance upon. It was a large house, capable of holding a decent sized family. He took a few steps forward and tried to find a sign of intelligent life. He had questions that needed answering by somepony. Broken took his time as he looked upon the beauty of nature and inspected his surroundings. It wasn't long before he finally decided to walk up to the house and knock on the door. He neared the door and took a few hesitant moments before finally banging his hoof on the wood gently and stepping back. A while passed before he heard the faint tap of hoofsteps inside. The door handle twisted and opened. There standing before him was a large stallion with an emotionless expression. Broken Shard suddenly had no idea what to say. How was he supposed to talk about how he slept in the residents' barn and wanted to know why? So instead of having a normal interaction with somepony, he simply stared at the large stallion awkwardly while he stared back. It felt as if an eternity had passed before the stallion had turned around and shut the door. Broken Shard was left there speechless and confused. After a bit more pondering, he finally pushed himself to try again, this time with a plan of what he would say. However, before he could knock again, the door opened. This time he was greeted by an orange mare with a light brown hat. "Howdy there sleepy head! Mah brother told me you were out here so Ah'd like to welcome you to Sweet Apple Acres! Ah know you must have questions, but why don't you come on inside and everything will be explained. Your brother has already made himself at home." The mare spoke up. Broken Shard felt a bit nervous but nodded his head anyways. "Oh where are mah manners? Mah name's Applejack." She extended her hoof to him. "Broken Shard." He shook her hoof and smiled. Broken Shard followed Applejack into a large room inside the house that consisted of a few chairs and a table. Sitting around the table, Broken saw Light Speed and a filly playing cards. He also saw various pieces of candy in the middle that acted like poker chips. "You have got to be kidding me..." Broken muttered under his breath. "Oh hey there Broken Shard! I was beginning to wonder when you'd finally wake up." Light Speed waved at him. Broken Shard walked around the table until he found a seat next to his brother. "You're just in time to watch me beat this filly and win all the candy in this nasty game of Go Fish!" Light boasted. "Uh uh! I'll be the one that wins." The filly argued. "We shall see." Light squinted his eyes. "Ahem. So now that Broken Shard here is awake, we can properly discuss a few things." Applejack said as she sat down. "Firstly, Broken Shard, this is mah sister Applebloom." "Nice to meet'cha!" The filly waved. Broken nodded at Applebloom before he looked at his brother, "Care to fill me in on what happened?" "Weeelllll since you asked." Light Speed began. "After we fell into the pool, I had to rescue you from drowning like some awesome super hero. You breathed in lots of water from being so panicked, so I had to preform CPR. Which is actually something I'm certified in. That didn't really work, so I just jumped up and elbowed you in the gut. After your agonized wail of pain, you sprayed out a stream of water. And just like that, you fell unconscious again. Not a few moments later, a pony named Pinkie Pie came over to us. She said she could help and considering we didn't really have anywhere else to go, I hauled you onto my back and followed her. She took us to a different area of the party where we met Applejack and a few more of her friends. They all gave the two of us very strange looks. Which was understandable considering the way I was carrying you. Then Applejack took us here to let us sleep in her barn. And now here we are! So sorry for that bruise." Light smiled as he poked at the large purple spot on Broken Shard's flank. Broken cringed and pushed Light's hoof away. He then glared at him. "So first you drop me from the sky, drown me, and then pulverize my stomach. All in good fun, right Light Speed?" Broken asked angrily. "Exactly! Well... Up until that pulverize part. That was when I saved your life." Light replied. Broken Shard would've hit his brother if there weren't other ponies watching. "Yeah..." Applejack added. "So after careful discussion with mah family, we've decided to help y'all build a house." She finished. Broken Shard forgot his anger and blinked at the mare. Did he hear correctly? "Light told you about our... Situation?" Broken felt as if he was about to melt away in embarrassment. "Yeah, he did. Ah understand that might make you uncomfortable based on your reaction, but Ah'd like to help you if you'll let me." She replied. Broken Shard silently cursed Light's loud mouth before letting out a sigh. "It's... Really okay with you to do this? You don't even know us." Broken asked. "Why not? We've got all the materials here on the farm, and it'd probably be easier then for y'all to save up bits." Applejack smiled. "Th-that's quite kind of you." Broken Shard smiled. "Got any threes?" Light asked. "Go fish." "Aw shucks, it's just the honest truth." Applejack scratched the back of her head. "Do you have any sevens?" "...Yeah..." "So when do we start?" Broken Shard asked shyly. "Any twos?" "Go fish." "I was thinking that today we could go out and visit your property. I can get all the measurements and we could start tomorrow." Applejack nodded. "Got any... Fives?" "Darnit!" "That's what I'm talking about! The candy is mine!" Applebloom cheered. Light Speed shrunk into his chair and crossed his hooves as he pouted. It was evening when the three ponies returned to Sweet Apple Acres and the only thing that Broken Shard wanted to do was sleep. It seemed like a reasonable request considering he almost drowned the day before. Broken and Light headed to the barn after saying there goodnight wishes to Applejack. "Light Speed?" Broken asked after a few moments. "Yeah?" "How do you think we'll be able to build this house?" Broken asked in uncertainty. "That's easy! We use faith, trust, and saw dust!" "That's not what I-" Broken sighed. "Never mind." "Oh c'mon Broken. Have you forgotten that you're basically a master at building things? It's woven into your destiny for crying out loud." "Yeah... But I've never taken on a challenge this big before. I don't know how it'll turn out." He sighed. "We do have Applejack. She seemed pretty good at these things." Light remarked. Broken Shard didn't answer. "Don't... Don't you trust her?" Light questioned. Broken Shard sighed. "It's hard for me to trust anypony Light. You know that." Broken opened the door to the barn. Light Speed frowned and followed Broken into the barn. The two of them settled into their makeshift beds and closed there eyes. Moments passed. "Hey Broken?" "Hm?" "Are you still mad at me for all those things I put you through yesterday?" "Yes." "You know you love me." Eventful Day Followed By RestIt had been five days since the four ponies began construction of Broken Shard and Light Speed's new house with a little help from Applebloom on certain days. The entire project was going very smoothly and it was beginning to look very nice. The brothers appreciated the help of Applejack and her two siblings greatly. Light Speed however would occasionally sneak away and goof off with Applebloom until Broken Shard would drag him back to the construction site. Sometimes Broken couldn't tell if his brother was still a foal or not. Despite the low attention span of Light Speed, Broken was impressed with the amount of work that everypony was able to do. Big Macintosh was a great help in lifting the heavy things, Applejack was also very hardy and strong, while Applebloom would help out with the little things when needed. Light Speed could reach up in the high parts of the construction and Broken, himself, would apply his magic when he wasn't helping Applejack form the design. Today was another day of work, until Light Speed noticed something strange. "Hey Applejack! How do you get your cutie mark to do that?" Light asked in awe. "Pardon?" Applejack turned her head. Everypony looked to see Applejack's cutie mark was glowing. "Looks like Ah've got to go. Sorry Broken Shard, Light Speed." Applejack sighed. "We'll have to pick up tomorrow Ah'll see y'all later!" Applejack said hastily before dashing away. "Bye Applejack! Good luck with whatever you have to do this time!" Applebloom called. Broken Shard just looked at his brother to see that they mirrored the same look of confusion. Then Light spoke up. "Do we know when she'll be back?" "Nope." Big Mac replied. "Is she gonna go do something super important?" "Yup." "Oh oh! Wanna play twenty questions?" "Nope." Broken covered his brothers mouth before he could ask anymore questions. "Okay, what's going on?" Broken asked. "You mean you don't know?" Applebloom asked. The brothers just looked at the filly in confusion. "I know you guys are new to Ponyville and all, but this is like basic info. Applejack is one of the elements of harmony an-" Broken's eyes widened, "What?!" "Mmff!?" Light Speed repeated. "Yeah, best friends with the princess of friendship and everything!" Applebloom stated proudly. "So because of her role, she has to go solve friendship problems. When her cutie mark glows, it means she's summoned to the castle to meet with Princess Twilight. There, she finds out where she has to go. Same thing for the other elements." "Wow..." "Mmf..." "So in other words, it's Tuesday." Applebloom finished. Applebloom said something about meeting with her fellow Crusaders and Big Mac decided to go home leaving Broken and Light to cruse around Ponyville for a while. After all, they hadn't seen much of the town yet. "So Broken, what do you wanna do first?" Light hopped around his walking brother. "I'd say we could go to that shop called Sugarcube Corner, but we don't have bits." Broken replied. "Anywhere we can go without spending bits?" Light asked. "Don't think so, no. Our only real option would be to browse. We should get to know Ponyville anyways considering ya know, we live here." "Good point." The two of them walked around Ponyville for a few hours, taking in all the sights. " -so when we finally found our house, it was on fi-" Light Speed was talking to another pony before Broken Shard had tackled him to the ground and covered his mouth. "Eheh, sorry 'bout that. Little brothers ya know." Broken dragged Light Speed away from a very confused stallion. "Always saying crazy things. Ahahaha." "So you're telling me... That you spent that bit I found on the ground... On ice cream...?" "Yes." Light smiled before licking his chocolate ice cream cone. Broken Shard's eye twitched before he raised his hoof in the air and slammed it on Light's cone, causing it to fall on the ground and break. "Awww..." "When my brother was a foal, he was really lonely. So one day he started collecting rocks and naming them. It was so adorably sad." Light Speed chuckled. The three mares that Light was talking to all let out an endearing 'Awww'. "LIGHT SPEED!" Broken's cheeks turned a shade of bright red. "YOU SPENT THAT SECOND BIT I FOUND ON ICE CREAM?!" "I sure did! And you aren't knocking it out of my hooves this time!" Light yelled as he flew into the air. Broken Shard used his magic to obliterate the ice cream cone into ashes. "NO! You killed Kreamy! You bastard!" "We should probably head back to Sweet Apple Acres." Broken Shard spoke "I like that idea. I've had enough of you crushing my flavoured frozen dream." Light agreed. Before Broken Shard could retaliate, the ground started to shake. "What the..?" Broken mumbled. Light Speed flew in the air to get away from the unstable ground. Broken Shard braced himself and looked around. Ponies everywhere were alarmed and panicked. It wasn't a big earthquake, but it was still unnerving. Suddenly, ponies began to scream and run away from something ahead. Light Speed flew higher to see what it was. "Hey Broken Shard?" Light spoke. "Yes?" "Remember when I was talking to some ponies about your old rock collection?" "...Yeah.." "Well, I think Rocky grew up." Broken Shard heard a loud crash and whipped his head around to see a cloud of dust where a house should've been. "Graaaaaah!" A loud roar was heard. Just then, after the dust cleared, a large monster made of stone was in view. "It's a g-g-golem!" Broken yelled. "I told you that Rocky would be mad at you for abandoning him all those years ago." Light Speed remarked. "Shut up!" The air was filled with the sound waves of screaming citizens; "Where's the Princess?!" "She left hours ago with her friends!" "We're doomed!" Broken Shard closed his eyes. The elements of harmony were gone. Nobody was left to protect Ponyville. He knew about golems, he read all about their rare species. He took a deep breath and exhaled before opening his eyes. "Light Speed, I know what to do. Follow my lead." "Aye aye Cap'n!" Light Speed saluted fearlessly. The golem's body had glowing plates scattered on it, and the plate on it's head shot a laser at another building. "You see those glowing discs on it's body?" Broken asked. "I do." Light nodded. "Those are its weak points. Shatter them all, and the golem turns to dust." "Got it, aim for the discs. Anything else I should know?" "Just be careful." "Pfft, don't be getting all soft on me Broken, I'm the soft one in this family. And besides, my talent is dodging things. So that helps." Without another word, Light Speed dashed off towards the golem. "Hey Rocky! Long time, no see buddy!" Light greeted the golem cheerfully. "GRAAA!" "Oh I know. I told Broken this would happen." The golem swung it's arm at Light Speed angrily, but was too slow for the pegasus. "That block head is going to get himself killed one of these days." Broken muttered before looking around to see if there was anything he could use that might help. His eyes fell upon a rope that was cast aside in the panic. He galloped towards the rope with all haste and used a strengthening spell on it. It would be ten times harder to break... At least that was the idea. Broken hadn't practiced that spell often. "Distract it Light!" Broken yelled at his brother. "So I bought an ice cream cone right?" Light spoke to the golem as it kept swinging at him as if he were a fly. "And he just knocks it out of my hand! What's up with that?!" "I guess you already are..." Broken muttered before galloping towards the golem's legs. Carefully, he tied the rope around the golem's right leg three times. "Pssh. Who needs coltscouts now mom?" He muttered before gripping the end of the rope in his mouth and running around the golem's legs. "Waahhaaahhhaaaa.... I just still can't believe he killed Kreamy.." Light bawled as he continued to dodge the golem's onslaught. "GrrrraaaaaAAA!" The golem roared in rage before letting loose a laser that took out another building. "Huh... Violent, aren't you?" Light asked. The golem roared again. "I'm starting to think you don't enjoy my company." Light crossed his hooves before dodging a laser. Broken Shard tied the rope around itself another three times before galloping to a safer area. "Light Speed! Lead it this way." He called. "You know, I'm getting antsy just staying in the same spot, wanna go for a walk Rocky?" Light asked as he flew in Broken Shard's direction. The golem tried to follow the flying menace but as it tried stepping forward, it's leg caught onto something. The momentum was to powerful, and the golem fell forward and onto the ground. Broken Shard felt the earth under him shake dramatically. "Attack now!" Broken sped forward, charging a spell. Light Speed had gripped a shovel from the ground and was jetting towards a disc on the golem's back, "For Celestiaaaa!" Broken Shard shot spell after spell at one of the discs before it broke and aimed for a new one. Light Speed however was slamming his shovel onto one disc over and over again. "Why.." Light hit the disc, "Won't..." He hit it again, "You..." He hit it once more, "Break!" He slammed the shovel onto to the disc again, this time shattering the stubborn weak point. "I need a new weapon." Light panted. The golem soon recuperated and lifted its arms up before placing its palms on the ground. "Hurry!" Broken cried as he moved to the next disc. Light Speed returned from his weapon hunt with a wood chopping axe before unleashing his wrath onto his second disc. The golem let out a furious roar and pushed against the ground, lifting itself up. Broken Shard continued bombarding the rock creature with various spells. His energy however was draining rapidly. He was running on fumes at this point. Never before had he used so many spells all at once. He had formed a headache and his vision blurred, but he had to keep fighting! The golem rose to its knees and looked Broken Shard in the eye. Broken heard a loud smash followed by an exasperated 'Finally!' from the other side of the golem. The golem suddenly froze and the last glowing disc upon its head seemed to lay dormant. All was silent. Light Speed landed softly next to an exhausted Broken Shard. "Did... Did we win?" Light asked. "I don't know... I haven't read anything about golems that speak of this occurrence." Broken Shard replied, still dizzy. Cautiously, Broken approached the creature and inspected it with more detail. Then a bright blue florescent light shone from the last disc and the gray stone body of the golem turned black. Broken Shard stumbled backwards and looked up at the awakened golem in fear. "GRAAAAAAA!" The roar echoed out of the rock monster. The golem rose to its feet with blinding speed, the rope snapping as easy as floss. "It- it's faster?!" Light Speed quivered. All Broken could do was stare at the impending doom before him. The golem then lashed out its foot, kicking into Broken Shard and launching him a long ways through the air before landing on the ground and skidding a few more feet, finally stopping against a house. "Broken Shard!" Light Speed wailed in distress and jetted in the direction of his hurt brother. In his carelessness, Light Speed didn't see the the laser beam that was heading straight towards him. The beam collided with his wing, causing Light to cry out in pain and fall to the ground harshly. Broken Shard opened his eyes. He could feel the crimson warmth run down his mouth. He could barely breath. His chest felt as if it had imploded. He saw how his brother crashed in a very rough manner. He flicked his eyes back at the golem. It had increased speed and was even more enraged then before. How could Broken have forgotten? When you break too many discs, the golem freezes and generates a large amount of energy. It then releases the energy all at once, causing it to have increased speed and a greater rate of attack. Broken coughed and spit up a bit more blood. The outraged monster continued to rampage and destroy Ponyville. If Broken Shard didn't finish what he started, Ponyville would be in ruins! Using his last bit of strength, he charged a homing attack spell. It was very complicated, and he had almost forgotten how to use it, but he couldn't risk missing. He had to do this, he had to. With one last grunt, Broken Shard shot his attack. The blue bolt crossed the sky gracefully before making contact with the last disc that resided on the golem's head. The disc broke. The golem halted its previous attack. It swayed in place for a few moments before falling to the ground. The creature was reduced to dust. Broken Shard let out another fit of coughs. Movement caught his eye. Light Speed was trying his best to hurriedly make his way towards him. His right wing hung limp from his body and was bloodied. The way he was limping caused Broken to assume that the fall must've hurt him pretty badly. "Broken... Shard." Light panted. Broken couldn't respond. The last thing that Broken Shard remembered was his brother calling for help and the ponies that rushed to aid them before he passed out. Broken Shard felt his awareness return to him slowly. He remembered what the golem had done to him. He dared not to move for fear of the damage that had been inflicted onto him. Then he heard two unfamiliar voices "Light Speed will be fine. He suffered minor injury compared to his brother." "And what of Broken Shard?" "His rib cage is crushed, and one of his lungs was punctured. He's also suffered a concussion. Fortunately, he is in stable condition, but we don't know if it'll stay that way. We're doing all we can, but currently have no way of knowing if he'll make a full recovery." "I understand... Thank you Doctor." "Of course Princess." Princess?! Broken Shard opened his tired eyes slowly. What happened again? He was tired of waking up in a strange place. He shifted slightly but the pain that surged up his body prevented him from adjusting himself further. He at least caught on that he was in the hospital. "Broken Shard?" Broken carefully turned his head to see Light Speed gazing at him thoughtfully. His eyes lit up with his usual happiness when he saw Broken's eyes. "L-Light-" Broken croaked. "Shh. Don't speak. You need to conserve as much energy as possible." Light interrupted. Broken Shard got a good look at his brother. There was a splint on his wing and a cast on one of his front legs. Despite these things he was sitting next to him. How long had Broken been passed out? "You've been sleeping for three days now. You took a pretty hard hit there big brother." Light smiled weakly. "We've been having visitors these past couple days. Funny how whenever Applejack's friends are around, you're passed out." Light laughed. "It's not just them either. All sorts of different ponies have dropped off flowers for us. I guess you do get a little bit famous for destroying a golem that would've crushed a town." Broken Shard blinked tiredly. "Anyways, they're all pretty worried about you. You became the big hero that I always admired." Light remarked warmly. "The doctor says you're doing good by the way. You just need as much rest as you can get. " Broken Shard found it very hard to keep his eyes open. "Get some good rest brother." Light Speed gently nuzzled Broken Shard before rising from the chair he was in and carefully walking towards his own hospital bed. And with that, Broken Shard closed his eyes.
Moving To Ponyville"Its so nice to be out of Canterlot. Now mom and dad can't stare over our shoulders." A gray pegasus with black and white mane spoke. "Yes, and with a small settlement like Ponyville, maybe I could get some research done." A white unicorn with black and white mane smiled at his brother, "Though with you around, that might just be impossible." His smile faded. "Oh come on Broken Shard!" The pegasus groaned, "It won't be so bad living with your brother." He grinned. "Light Speed, you are living destruction." Broken Shard retorted. The two brothers continued to walk down the streets of Ponyville. They had just gotten off the train from Canterlot and were looking for their new house. Broken Shard was looking at his map with concentration. Light Speed however was trotting down the path with the same stupid grin he always has on his face. "So we take a right turn here..." Broken Shard mumbled as he turned almost mechanically. Light Speed bounded after his mumbling brother without a second thought as he looked at the different buildings. "Then a left here." Broken said after a few more minutes. Light Speed was gazing at the houses with interet as he trotted after his guide. "I wonder what our house will look like. It's so exciting!" Light hummed to his companion. Broken ignored his brother's comment and kept studying the map. "Another right turn here and... We should be home!" Broken Shard looked up from his map with an excited smile. Before them stood a beautiful house made from the finest wood. The sturdy structure was complimented by a marvelous coat of paint and there was a beautiful view just behind the small hill. The brand new house practically glowed in the sunlight! ... It was literally glowing. The house was consumed in flames. The two ponies flicked their eyes from the house to each other and then back at the house. In a panic, Broken Shard galloped towards the burning home while Light Speed jetted off in the opposite direction. Broken levitated a blanket from his saddle bag and used a spell to make it grow larger. He then draped the blanket over the house. The fire seemed to die and Broken wiped the sweat from his brow in relief. Almost instantly, the blanket exploded in a ball of fire that engulfed the house once more. "F*$#!" Broken Shard shouted in surprised fear. Light Speed sped through the air and came back with a hose. He twisted the handle and began spraying the house. It didn't take too long to douse the raging fire, but so much damage had already been done while it was left unattended. There were large holes in the roof and ashes littered the ground. The walls were scorched and the ceiling beams had crumbled. The two ponies stared in amazment and disbelief as the smoke lifted itself higher and higher. "Oh nononononono!" Broken Shard panicked as he paced, "It's destroyed! Completely destroyed!" "Well, not completely." Light Speed muttered as he placed a hoof on his chin. "What am I going to do? What am I going to do!?" Broken Shard cried out. "Bro, calm down." Light hovered next to his panic stricken brother. "Calm down? CALM DOWN!? My house is destroyed!" He screeched. "Ahem, you mean our house." Light crossed his hooves. "You can just live on a cloud!" Broken yelled up at his brother as he pointed at the sky. "Touché" "Ugh, I can't even buy a ticket back to Canterlot. You spent all of our bits on ice cream!" Broken complained. "I was hungry." Light shrugged. "Because you ate all your traveling food in the first few minutes..." Broken mumbled as he placed his hooves over his eyes. "Our house is destroyed..." He repeated. As if in response to his words, the entire roof of the house caved inward. "So then fix it." Light smiled as he flapped his wings. "Fix it? How would I go about fixing it Light Speed?" Broken asked in annoyance. "Well your special talent is making beauty out of what's broken. Sooo fix it with some kind of magical spell or something." Light waved his hooves towards the house mystically as if to prove his point. "First of all, the house isn't broken, it's burnt. Secondly, I don't know of any spell that turns your house into Maretha Stewart's personal beach house. It's not that simple Light." "Fine, sheesh what do I know?" Light crossed his hooves and frowned. "Nothing... You know nothing." "Maybe put in an order? For a new house?" Light asked himself as much as his brother. "Oh of course! Here, I'll write a letter now." Broken levitated paper and a quill from his saddle bag. "Hello, as I came upon my new house in Ponyville, I noticed that it was burning down in into a firey ball of ashes and smoke. So, I'd like to request a new one. Preferably one that doesn't come in the 'Smoking Hot Home' package of your catalog. This time, I'd like to add on the extended warranty." Broken read aloud as he stabbed the paper with the last period he wrote before crumbling it up and stuffing it into his bag. "It was just an idea..." Light frowned, dejected. "It was a stupid idea." Light chuckled, "Yeahhh, it was pretty stupid." "You're having fun with this aren't you?" "Just a little." Light flew into the sky leaving his brother wondering where he sped off to. Before he could do anything else, the pegasus soon returned with a puffy white ball. "Don't worry, I have a place to sleep." Light hopped onto the cloud happily with his hooves behind his head. "Thanks buddy." Broken lowered his ears in anger. "I'm going to go find something to make us a profit." Broken began to walk away. "You mean like a job?" The pegasus rolled over so that his hooves hung off the front of the cloud. "No- Wel- ...Maybe." "Well if you need anything, I'll be on my comfy bed." Light mocked playfully. "Don't talk to me." Broken walked around the town thinking of what he could do. 'What are my strengths? Magic, crafting, cooking, and I love books. Good. What are my weaknesses?... Celestia, do I really need to get into that long list? This day was depressing enough.' He wandered around the town trying not to think about the disastrous situation he was in. He needed to stay calm and just think of the solution instead of the problem. He turned a corner and his eyes drifted towards a gleam at his left. He saw broken glass scattered across the ground. Curiously, he made his way towards the sharp pieces and began to inspect them. They were in many different shapes and sizes that looked almost pattern like. An idea formed in his mind and he began to move the pieces in different positions as he formed a figure. It was spikey and rigid, though it did make a distinct shape. He moved a few move pieces around and took another look at it. Now some of the edges were smoothed out while others spiked in new places. It began to look faintly like a dragon breathing fire. Perhaps he could make something out of this after all. He gathered the glass in his magic and placed the pieces in an empty part of his saddle bag. He was busy thinking of his new project as he returned to his property. Once he noticed the sun was setting, he realized the lack of ponies around town. In fact, he couldn't recall seeing anypony else other than his brother or the ponies at the train station. This was very weird indeed. He supposed that he was too caught up in finding his new home to notice... Before being too caught up in losing his new home to notice. Then he heard a noise that seemed to originate from the other side of town. He turned his head and saw lots of lights along many different colored objects in the distance. He couldn't quite tell what it all was from this distance, though he expected some type of celebration. He soon neared his sleeping brother and dropped his saddle bag before proding Light Speed with his hoof. "Huh? What? Oh Broken Shard, what's up?" Light yawned. "Do you hear those noises?" Broken asked as he levitated a sandwich from his saddle bag. Light perked his ears and nodded, "Yep, sure can." "And you've noticed that we haven't seen anypony since the train?" "Well now that you mention it, yeah. That's strange." "Yeah... So go check it out!" Broken pushed Light off the cloud and heard a loud thud. "Ow!" Light rubbed his head. "I was not ready for that Broken Shard!" "Too bad. Go find out what all that noise is." Broken bit into his sandwich. "Why me?" Light pouted. "Because you have wings." Light Speed sighed before taking off in the direction of the commotion. Broken took out his crafting kit from his saddle bag along with the glass he found. He then began to construct his little glass dragon with his materials. It had been a while since Light Speed had left and Broken began to wonder what became of him. "Ugh, where is that airhead?" He asked aloud. The unicorn continued to work into the night, thankful for the brightness of the moon. As he worked, he noticed the noises were becoming louder and louder. Now he was positive it was cheering. Just then, Light Speed had finally returned and landed next to his brother. "Broken Shard! There's this awesome party going on. We're practically the only two ponies in Ponyville that aren't there right now, which would explain the lack of townsfolk." Light grinned widely. "What took you so long?" "I got a bit carried away at the party." Light smiled guiltily. "But I got you a cupcake!" Light thrusted forward a small frosted cake in font of his brother. "Er, thanks." Broken hesitantly took the treat in his magic before biting into it. "Hey, what's that?" Light Speed pointed at the glass. "Oh, just my new project. Hopefully I can sell it once I'm finished." As if the pegasus wasn't listening, he jumped straight into the next topic, "Hey, let's put our stuff in our... Um... Burnt Shack and go to the party!" Light hopped up and down excitedly. Broken Shard debated the idea before realizing it could be a good chance to get some food in. Who knew when their next meal would be. Besides, a party could help his morale. "Okay, I suppose." Broken answered finally. "Hooray!" Light shouted in glee before rounding up all of their things and placing them in the newly named shack. Broken approached the shack and made an unintelligible noise before halfheartedly locking what was left of the door. He then took another bite of his cupcake and began walking towards the noises. "Dude, you are not going to walk to the party." His brother frowned. "What do you want me to do? I can't fly." "You should try this new energy drink I've been hearing about. It's supposed to give you wings. But seriously, c'mon!" Without warning, Light had lifted Broken into the air and started to fly towards their destination, causing his brother to drop his cupcake. Broken Shard flailed his hooves around as he swung around in the sky, "LIGHT SPEED! This is HIGHLY dangerous!" "It's only dangerous if you keep floundering around like a fish out of water! Just calm down you big baby, I won't drop you." "But I am a fish out of water!" Broken wailed. As they neared the party, Broken finally started to get his breathing under control and observed the area. He noted the amount of ponies present. It was true, the entirety of Ponyville seemed to be here. "Is that an inflatable pool?" Broken pointed at the large mass of contained water. "Looks like it." As Light halted his advance over the pool, Broken caught on all too quickly at what was about to happen. "Oh no. No no no. If you drop me in there, I'm taking you with me!" Broken threatened. "And just how will you do that?" Light Speed challenged evilly. As Light released his grip, Broken let out a terrified yelp as panic surged up his body. Mid air, he turned on his back and shot a blue bolt at his laughing brother's wings. The magic exploded in a colorful light show as Light Speed's wings froze up. "Me and my big mouUUUUTH!" The two of them began to plummet towards the icy water below. "IT'S TOO COLD FOR THIS!" Broken screeched with a mixture of annoyance, fear, and anger before they made contact with the cold water. Broken Shard felt himself sink into the water quickly after impact. He saw as the water leapt out of the pool in response to the sudden disturbance. It was a large splash, and even larger when Light cannonballed into the pool. Broken felt his bones turn to ice and swiftly swam to the surface. He erupted from the water and took in large gasps of air while coughing up excess water. Despite his boiling rage at his brother, the cold was stronger and forced him out of the water hurriedly. He quickly exited the pool in a shivering mass and huddeled with himself, rocking back and forth while his teeth chattered. "WOO-HOO!" Light Speed flew out of the water and shook himself. "That was so cool! Oh Broken, let's do that again!" "NO!" Broken spat in fury. "You can dive all you want, but I need a towel." "Aw, you're just mad because we moved into a fire ball." One of the staring ponies had approached them with a wide grin on her face. She was a pink earth pony with darker mane. She stood next to Broken Shard and held up one of his shivering hooves to his own surprise. "We have a winner!" The pony called out. Her cheer was met with the excited roar of the crowd. Now he was really confused. "I- huh?" Broken asked through chattering teeth. "You won the contest. Whoever could make the coolest cannonball into the pool wins a thousand bits and a new house." She smiled. "H-h-house? I won a house?" Light Speed for once was speechless as he stared at the pink pony and then at Broken Shard. "You sure did!" The pony hopped excitedly. "I- I just... No- ye- I- we- house... Gahhh." Broken somehow forgot how to speak. "I know right! This must be amazing news considering the house you were going to move into burned down a few hours ago just as you found it." She finished happily. "H-how did you know that?" Broken managed to communicate. "Just a hunch." Broken Shard slowly lowered himself to the ground and hugged himself. "I think you just gave a new meaning to my brother's name..." Light Speed spoke nervously.
Brotherly LoveBroken Shard flicked his ears and shifted. He felt a presence above him, but hadn't bothered to open his weary eyes. He moved his head to the side and heard the presence move. He was warm and felt cushioning bellow him. Where was he again? He didn't care. There was a sound of movement followed by voices. Broken Shard was too tired to recognize them. He felt himself drift off. Broken woke up again. He gave off a soft exhale and finally decided to open his eyes oh so slowly. His vision was very blurry so he waited for it to adjust and clear up. He saw brown. The ceiling was brown and covered with gray cobwebs. He looked around and saw yellow. Yellow hay littered the ground. He looked down and saw navy blue. A blue blanket covered his body up to his shoulders. He lifted his head and suddenly felt light headed and drained of energy despite his long rest. He let his head fall back down. Where was he? Where was Light Speed? What happened last night? He couldn't remember anything after falling into the pool. Eventually he had gained enough consciousness to realize that he was in a barn and resting opon layers of blankets on top of hay. He tried to stand, and after stabling himself, looked around. He saw another nest of hay and blankets that lay empty next to his own. He assumed it belonged to Light Speed. Where was that air head? Broken Shard approached the barn door and slowly cracked it open. Instantly, the bright light of the sun blinded him, causing his dizziness to return for a moment. Taking a second to recover, Broken opened the door fully and cautiously stepped outside. His eyes drifted along the landscape in awe. Everywhere he looked, there were beautiful and strong trees that stood out as shining trophies of the rolling hills before him. Broken pryed his eyes from the orchard and found a home to glance upon. It was a large house, capable of holding a decent sized family. He took a few steps forward and tried to find a sign of intelligent life. He had questions that needed answering by somepony. Broken took his time as he looked upon the beauty of nature and inspected his surroundings. It wasn't long before he finally decided to walk up to the house and knock on the door. He neared the door and took a few hesitant moments before finally banging his hoof on the wood gently and stepping back. A while passed before he heard the faint tap of hoofsteps inside. The door handle twisted and opened. There standing before him was a large stallion with an emotionless expression. Broken Shard suddenly had no idea what to say. How was he supposed to talk about how he slept in the residents' barn and wanted to know why? So instead of having a normal interaction with somepony, he simply stared at the large stallion awkwardly while he stared back. It felt as if an eternity had passed before the stallion had turned around and shut the door. Broken Shard was left there speechless and confused. After a bit more pondering, he finally pushed himself to try again, this time with a plan of what he would say. However, before he could knock again, the door opened. This time he was greeted by an orange mare with a light brown hat. "Howdy there sleepy head! Mah brother told me you were out here so Ah'd like to welcome you to Sweet Apple Acres! Ah know you must have questions, but why don't you come on inside and everything will be explained. Your brother has already made himself at home." The mare spoke up. Broken Shard felt a bit nervous but nodded his head anyways. "Oh where are mah manners? Mah name's Applejack." She extended her hoof to him. "Broken Shard." He shook her hoof and smiled. Broken Shard followed Applejack into a large room inside the house that consisted of a few chairs and a table. Sitting around the table, Broken saw Light Speed and a filly playing cards. He also saw various pieces of candy in the middle that acted like poker chips. "You have got to be kidding me..." Broken muttered under his breath. "Oh hey there Broken Shard! I was beginning to wonder when you'd finally wake up." Light Speed waved at him. Broken Shard walked around the table until he found a seat next to his brother. "You're just in time to watch me beat this filly and win all the candy in this nasty game of Go Fish!" Light boasted. "Uh uh! I'll be the one that wins." The filly argued. "We shall see." Light squinted his eyes. "Ahem. So now that Broken Shard here is awake, we can properly discuss a few things." Applejack said as she sat down. "Firstly, Broken Shard, this is mah sister Applebloom." "Nice to meet'cha!" The filly waved. Broken nodded at Applebloom before he looked at his brother, "Care to fill me in on what happened?" "Weeelllll since you asked." Light Speed began. "After we fell into the pool, I had to rescue you from drowning like some awesome super hero. You breathed in lots of water from being so panicked, so I had to preform CPR. Which is actually something I'm certified in. That didn't really work, so I just jumped up and elbowed you in the gut. After your agonized wail of pain, you sprayed out a stream of water. And just like that, you fell unconscious again. Not a few moments later, a pony named Pinkie Pie came over to us. She said she could help and considering we didn't really have anywhere else to go, I hauled you onto my back and followed her. She took us to a different area of the party where we met Applejack and a few more of her friends. They all gave the two of us very strange looks. Which was understandable considering the way I was carrying you. Then Applejack took us here to let us sleep in her barn. And now here we are! So sorry for that bruise." Light smiled as he poked at the large purple spot on Broken Shard's flank. Broken cringed and pushed Light's hoof away. He then glared at him. "So first you drop me from the sky, drown me, and then pulverize my stomach. All in good fun, right Light Speed?" Broken asked angrily. "Exactly! Well... Up until that pulverize part. That was when I saved your life." Light replied. Broken Shard would've hit his brother if there weren't other ponies watching. "Yeah..." Applejack added. "So after careful discussion with mah family, we've decided to help y'all build a house." She finished. Broken Shard forgot his anger and blinked at the mare. Did he hear correctly? "Light told you about our... Situation?" Broken felt as if he was about to melt away in embarrassment. "Yeah, he did. Ah understand that might make you uncomfortable based on your reaction, but Ah'd like to help you if you'll let me." She replied. Broken Shard silently cursed Light's loud mouth before letting out a sigh. "It's... Really okay with you to do this? You don't even know us." Broken asked. "Why not? We've got all the materials here on the farm, and it'd probably be easier then for y'all to save up bits." Applejack smiled. "Th-that's quite kind of you." Broken Shard smiled. "Got any threes?" Light asked. "Go fish." "Aw shucks, it's just the honest truth." Applejack scratched the back of her head. "Do you have any sevens?" "...Yeah..." "So when do we start?" Broken Shard asked shyly. "Any twos?" "Go fish." "I was thinking that today we could go out and visit your property. I can get all the measurements and we could start tomorrow." Applejack nodded. "Got any... Fives?" "Darnit!" "That's what I'm talking about! The candy is mine!" Applebloom cheered. Light Speed shrunk into his chair and crossed his hooves as he pouted. It was evening when the three ponies returned to Sweet Apple Acres and the only thing that Broken Shard wanted to do was sleep. It seemed like a reasonable request considering he almost drowned the day before. Broken and Light headed to the barn after saying there goodnight wishes to Applejack. "Light Speed?" Broken asked after a few moments. "Yeah?" "How do you think we'll be able to build this house?" Broken asked in uncertainty. "That's easy! We use faith, trust, and saw dust!" "That's not what I-" Broken sighed. "Never mind." "Oh c'mon Broken. Have you forgotten that you're basically a master at building things? It's woven into your destiny for crying out loud." "Yeah... But I've never taken on a challenge this big before. I don't know how it'll turn out." He sighed. "We do have Applejack. She seemed pretty good at these things." Light remarked. Broken Shard didn't answer. "Don't... Don't you trust her?" Light questioned. Broken Shard sighed. "It's hard for me to trust anypony Light. You know that." Broken opened the door to the barn. Light Speed frowned and followed Broken into the barn. The two of them settled into their makeshift beds and closed there eyes. Moments passed. "Hey Broken?" "Hm?" "Are you still mad at me for all those things I put you through yesterday?" "Yes." "You know you love me."
Eventful Day Followed By RestIt had been five days since the four ponies began construction of Broken Shard and Light Speed's new house with a little help from Applebloom on certain days. The entire project was going very smoothly and it was beginning to look very nice. The brothers appreciated the help of Applejack and her two siblings greatly. Light Speed however would occasionally sneak away and goof off with Applebloom until Broken Shard would drag him back to the construction site. Sometimes Broken couldn't tell if his brother was still a foal or not. Despite the low attention span of Light Speed, Broken was impressed with the amount of work that everypony was able to do. Big Macintosh was a great help in lifting the heavy things, Applejack was also very hardy and strong, while Applebloom would help out with the little things when needed. Light Speed could reach up in the high parts of the construction and Broken, himself, would apply his magic when he wasn't helping Applejack form the design. Today was another day of work, until Light Speed noticed something strange. "Hey Applejack! How do you get your cutie mark to do that?" Light asked in awe. "Pardon?" Applejack turned her head. Everypony looked to see Applejack's cutie mark was glowing. "Looks like Ah've got to go. Sorry Broken Shard, Light Speed." Applejack sighed. "We'll have to pick up tomorrow Ah'll see y'all later!" Applejack said hastily before dashing away. "Bye Applejack! Good luck with whatever you have to do this time!" Applebloom called. Broken Shard just looked at his brother to see that they mirrored the same look of confusion. Then Light spoke up. "Do we know when she'll be back?" "Nope." Big Mac replied. "Is she gonna go do something super important?" "Yup." "Oh oh! Wanna play twenty questions?" "Nope." Broken covered his brothers mouth before he could ask anymore questions. "Okay, what's going on?" Broken asked. "You mean you don't know?" Applebloom asked. The brothers just looked at the filly in confusion. "I know you guys are new to Ponyville and all, but this is like basic info. Applejack is one of the elements of harmony an-" Broken's eyes widened, "What?!" "Mmff!?" Light Speed repeated. "Yeah, best friends with the princess of friendship and everything!" Applebloom stated proudly. "So because of her role, she has to go solve friendship problems. When her cutie mark glows, it means she's summoned to the castle to meet with Princess Twilight. There, she finds out where she has to go. Same thing for the other elements." "Wow..." "Mmf..." "So in other words, it's Tuesday." Applebloom finished. Applebloom said something about meeting with her fellow Crusaders and Big Mac decided to go home leaving Broken and Light to cruse around Ponyville for a while. After all, they hadn't seen much of the town yet. "So Broken, what do you wanna do first?" Light hopped around his walking brother. "I'd say we could go to that shop called Sugarcube Corner, but we don't have bits." Broken replied. "Anywhere we can go without spending bits?" Light asked. "Don't think so, no. Our only real option would be to browse. We should get to know Ponyville anyways considering ya know, we live here." "Good point." The two of them walked around Ponyville for a few hours, taking in all the sights. " -so when we finally found our house, it was on fi-" Light Speed was talking to another pony before Broken Shard had tackled him to the ground and covered his mouth. "Eheh, sorry 'bout that. Little brothers ya know." Broken dragged Light Speed away from a very confused stallion. "Always saying crazy things. Ahahaha." "So you're telling me... That you spent that bit I found on the ground... On ice cream...?" "Yes." Light smiled before licking his chocolate ice cream cone. Broken Shard's eye twitched before he raised his hoof in the air and slammed it on Light's cone, causing it to fall on the ground and break. "Awww..." "When my brother was a foal, he was really lonely. So one day he started collecting rocks and naming them. It was so adorably sad." Light Speed chuckled. The three mares that Light was talking to all let out an endearing 'Awww'. "LIGHT SPEED!" Broken's cheeks turned a shade of bright red. "YOU SPENT THAT SECOND BIT I FOUND ON ICE CREAM?!" "I sure did! And you aren't knocking it out of my hooves this time!" Light yelled as he flew into the air. Broken Shard used his magic to obliterate the ice cream cone into ashes. "NO! You killed Kreamy! You bastard!" "We should probably head back to Sweet Apple Acres." Broken Shard spoke "I like that idea. I've had enough of you crushing my flavoured frozen dream." Light agreed. Before Broken Shard could retaliate, the ground started to shake. "What the..?" Broken mumbled. Light Speed flew in the air to get away from the unstable ground. Broken Shard braced himself and looked around. Ponies everywhere were alarmed and panicked. It wasn't a big earthquake, but it was still unnerving. Suddenly, ponies began to scream and run away from something ahead. Light Speed flew higher to see what it was. "Hey Broken Shard?" Light spoke. "Yes?" "Remember when I was talking to some ponies about your old rock collection?" "...Yeah.." "Well, I think Rocky grew up." Broken Shard heard a loud crash and whipped his head around to see a cloud of dust where a house should've been. "Graaaaaah!" A loud roar was heard. Just then, after the dust cleared, a large monster made of stone was in view. "It's a g-g-golem!" Broken yelled. "I told you that Rocky would be mad at you for abandoning him all those years ago." Light Speed remarked. "Shut up!" The air was filled with the sound waves of screaming citizens; "Where's the Princess?!" "She left hours ago with her friends!" "We're doomed!" Broken Shard closed his eyes. The elements of harmony were gone. Nobody was left to protect Ponyville. He knew about golems, he read all about their rare species. He took a deep breath and exhaled before opening his eyes. "Light Speed, I know what to do. Follow my lead." "Aye aye Cap'n!" Light Speed saluted fearlessly. The golem's body had glowing plates scattered on it, and the plate on it's head shot a laser at another building. "You see those glowing discs on it's body?" Broken asked. "I do." Light nodded. "Those are its weak points. Shatter them all, and the golem turns to dust." "Got it, aim for the discs. Anything else I should know?" "Just be careful." "Pfft, don't be getting all soft on me Broken, I'm the soft one in this family. And besides, my talent is dodging things. So that helps." Without another word, Light Speed dashed off towards the golem. "Hey Rocky! Long time, no see buddy!" Light greeted the golem cheerfully. "GRAAA!" "Oh I know. I told Broken this would happen." The golem swung it's arm at Light Speed angrily, but was too slow for the pegasus. "That block head is going to get himself killed one of these days." Broken muttered before looking around to see if there was anything he could use that might help. His eyes fell upon a rope that was cast aside in the panic. He galloped towards the rope with all haste and used a strengthening spell on it. It would be ten times harder to break... At least that was the idea. Broken hadn't practiced that spell often. "Distract it Light!" Broken yelled at his brother. "So I bought an ice cream cone right?" Light spoke to the golem as it kept swinging at him as if he were a fly. "And he just knocks it out of my hand! What's up with that?!" "I guess you already are..." Broken muttered before galloping towards the golem's legs. Carefully, he tied the rope around the golem's right leg three times. "Pssh. Who needs coltscouts now mom?" He muttered before gripping the end of the rope in his mouth and running around the golem's legs. "Waahhaaahhhaaaa.... I just still can't believe he killed Kreamy.." Light bawled as he continued to dodge the golem's onslaught. "GrrrraaaaaAAA!" The golem roared in rage before letting loose a laser that took out another building. "Huh... Violent, aren't you?" Light asked. The golem roared again. "I'm starting to think you don't enjoy my company." Light crossed his hooves before dodging a laser. Broken Shard tied the rope around itself another three times before galloping to a safer area. "Light Speed! Lead it this way." He called. "You know, I'm getting antsy just staying in the same spot, wanna go for a walk Rocky?" Light asked as he flew in Broken Shard's direction. The golem tried to follow the flying menace but as it tried stepping forward, it's leg caught onto something. The momentum was to powerful, and the golem fell forward and onto the ground. Broken Shard felt the earth under him shake dramatically. "Attack now!" Broken sped forward, charging a spell. Light Speed had gripped a shovel from the ground and was jetting towards a disc on the golem's back, "For Celestiaaaa!" Broken Shard shot spell after spell at one of the discs before it broke and aimed for a new one. Light Speed however was slamming his shovel onto one disc over and over again. "Why.." Light hit the disc, "Won't..." He hit it again, "You..." He hit it once more, "Break!" He slammed the shovel onto to the disc again, this time shattering the stubborn weak point. "I need a new weapon." Light panted. The golem soon recuperated and lifted its arms up before placing its palms on the ground. "Hurry!" Broken cried as he moved to the next disc. Light Speed returned from his weapon hunt with a wood chopping axe before unleashing his wrath onto his second disc. The golem let out a furious roar and pushed against the ground, lifting itself up. Broken Shard continued bombarding the rock creature with various spells. His energy however was draining rapidly. He was running on fumes at this point. Never before had he used so many spells all at once. He had formed a headache and his vision blurred, but he had to keep fighting! The golem rose to its knees and looked Broken Shard in the eye. Broken heard a loud smash followed by an exasperated 'Finally!' from the other side of the golem. The golem suddenly froze and the last glowing disc upon its head seemed to lay dormant. All was silent. Light Speed landed softly next to an exhausted Broken Shard. "Did... Did we win?" Light asked. "I don't know... I haven't read anything about golems that speak of this occurrence." Broken Shard replied, still dizzy. Cautiously, Broken approached the creature and inspected it with more detail. Then a bright blue florescent light shone from the last disc and the gray stone body of the golem turned black. Broken Shard stumbled backwards and looked up at the awakened golem in fear. "GRAAAAAAA!" The roar echoed out of the rock monster. The golem rose to its feet with blinding speed, the rope snapping as easy as floss. "It- it's faster?!" Light Speed quivered. All Broken could do was stare at the impending doom before him. The golem then lashed out its foot, kicking into Broken Shard and launching him a long ways through the air before landing on the ground and skidding a few more feet, finally stopping against a house. "Broken Shard!" Light Speed wailed in distress and jetted in the direction of his hurt brother. In his carelessness, Light Speed didn't see the the laser beam that was heading straight towards him. The beam collided with his wing, causing Light to cry out in pain and fall to the ground harshly. Broken Shard opened his eyes. He could feel the crimson warmth run down his mouth. He could barely breath. His chest felt as if it had imploded. He saw how his brother crashed in a very rough manner. He flicked his eyes back at the golem. It had increased speed and was even more enraged then before. How could Broken have forgotten? When you break too many discs, the golem freezes and generates a large amount of energy. It then releases the energy all at once, causing it to have increased speed and a greater rate of attack. Broken coughed and spit up a bit more blood. The outraged monster continued to rampage and destroy Ponyville. If Broken Shard didn't finish what he started, Ponyville would be in ruins! Using his last bit of strength, he charged a homing attack spell. It was very complicated, and he had almost forgotten how to use it, but he couldn't risk missing. He had to do this, he had to. With one last grunt, Broken Shard shot his attack. The blue bolt crossed the sky gracefully before making contact with the last disc that resided on the golem's head. The disc broke. The golem halted its previous attack. It swayed in place for a few moments before falling to the ground. The creature was reduced to dust. Broken Shard let out another fit of coughs. Movement caught his eye. Light Speed was trying his best to hurriedly make his way towards him. His right wing hung limp from his body and was bloodied. The way he was limping caused Broken to assume that the fall must've hurt him pretty badly. "Broken... Shard." Light panted. Broken couldn't respond. The last thing that Broken Shard remembered was his brother calling for help and the ponies that rushed to aid them before he passed out. Broken Shard felt his awareness return to him slowly. He remembered what the golem had done to him. He dared not to move for fear of the damage that had been inflicted onto him. Then he heard two unfamiliar voices "Light Speed will be fine. He suffered minor injury compared to his brother." "And what of Broken Shard?" "His rib cage is crushed, and one of his lungs was punctured. He's also suffered a concussion. Fortunately, he is in stable condition, but we don't know if it'll stay that way. We're doing all we can, but currently have no way of knowing if he'll make a full recovery." "I understand... Thank you Doctor." "Of course Princess." Princess?! Broken Shard opened his tired eyes slowly. What happened again? He was tired of waking up in a strange place. He shifted slightly but the pain that surged up his body prevented him from adjusting himself further. He at least caught on that he was in the hospital. "Broken Shard?" Broken carefully turned his head to see Light Speed gazing at him thoughtfully. His eyes lit up with his usual happiness when he saw Broken's eyes. "L-Light-" Broken croaked. "Shh. Don't speak. You need to conserve as much energy as possible." Light interrupted. Broken Shard got a good look at his brother. There was a splint on his wing and a cast on one of his front legs. Despite these things he was sitting next to him. How long had Broken been passed out? "You've been sleeping for three days now. You took a pretty hard hit there big brother." Light smiled weakly. "We've been having visitors these past couple days. Funny how whenever Applejack's friends are around, you're passed out." Light laughed. "It's not just them either. All sorts of different ponies have dropped off flowers for us. I guess you do get a little bit famous for destroying a golem that would've crushed a town." Broken Shard blinked tiredly. "Anyways, they're all pretty worried about you. You became the big hero that I always admired." Light remarked warmly. "The doctor says you're doing good by the way. You just need as much rest as you can get. " Broken Shard found it very hard to keep his eyes open. "Get some good rest brother." Light Speed gently nuzzled Broken Shard before rising from the chair he was in and carefully walking towards his own hospital bed. And with that, Broken Shard closed his eyes.
