Breaking Down

“This world sounds awful!” Princess Cadance said as she walked through the Crystal Empire’s market district. Flurry Heart was swaddled comfortably in a carrier on her chest, sleeping soundly as the princesses discussed the situation amid a street full of busy ponies. The local papers had already published stories about the away team’s situation. Though not all of the details had been foreclosed, the important ones were made public. The journalists who had spoken with Joan had missed several key questions in their interviews, such as the nature of the humans who had turned on Joan and what the streets of Gotham were like. This kept some of the more graphic information out of the public eye. The ponies knew enough to know that there was nothing to worry about, yet.

Equestria was still untouched by the problems their monarchy faced, as the ponies wished to keep it. The princesses had been coming together in weekly discussions, but the atmosphere of their castles had begun to grow old after a while. They had chosen to have this discussion while shopping for the baby as a way to relieve stress. Cadance hadn’t needed anything, but the other princesses had insisted.

“’Awful’ is an apt description, I fear,” Princess Luna said, calmly. She pulled a bit from the money pouch in her saddlebags and paid for a small, pink bow from a nearby vendor that she then fixed to Flurry Heart’s mane. Celestia bought a small, plush rabbit with buttons for eyes that she slipped into the swaddling cloth of the sleeping child.

“You don’t have to spoil her so,” Cadance said, as she watched her friends give Flurry Heart their gifts. “You’ve already given her so much attention today.”

“We don’t have to, but we want to,” Twilight Sparkle said as she took a picture book from a shelf several stands down and placed a couple bits on the table in front of the sales pony. “What do we know of these ‘Parademons’ and this ‘robotic enemy’ that’s shown up out of nowhere?”

“The Cybertronians gave several Parademon specimens to the Slowking College,” Celestia said. “Joan delivered them when she returned, though they claimed these to be the only specimens they had managed to retrieve from the battlefield. Joan, Welshi, and Spitfire were forced to lead their teams into hiding, away from Metropolis, before they could gather their own specimens. Moon Dancer and several of my other students will begin dissection of a Parademon corpse this afternoon. Apart from the information they might gain, we know that these creatures are barbarous and destructive. They enslave what they do not kill. They could very well give the daemons of Chaos a run for their money.”

“I would hope not,” Luna said with a shiver. “Though I wouldn’t be surprised. Their appearance is vile enough.”

“I’d love to know more about those daemon swords in my trophy room,” Cadance said casually, with a sideways glance at Luna.

“I have tried to draw that information from your memory,” Luna said, in a long-suffering tone and a grin. “If you remember, you and Shining Armor were among those who volunteered to test the chances of those thoughts returning when we first came home. I had no success in retrieving your memories. That was a success in itself.”

Cadance sighed, and Twilight gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

“It was worth a shot,” Twilight Sparkle said. “At the very least, you can stop bringing that back up in casual conversation. It’s almost like you’re taunting us.”

“That’s not it,” Celestia said, softly. She had stopped mid-stride to share an important look with her sister, who had mirrored her almost perfectly. “We’ve been talking about this since Arceus brought us its problem. We can’t help but feel that our experiences in those other worlds hold some importance to our current mission.”

“Are you thinking of returning?” Cadance said with a raised eyebrow. Flurry Heart shifted slightly in her sleep and the Princess of Love brushed her hair subconsciously. After more than two months away on some death-defying adventure that she couldn’t even remember, she felt a greater need to be close to her husband and child than ever before.

“Heavens no,” Celestia said, with a look of disgust at the memory of those months of conflict. “But there were humans in the Octarius Sector and throughout the galaxy it inhabited. There were also humans on Battleworld. Though our interaction with them was limited, it was still a vital chance to learn something that might aid our quest.”

“We have been writing down as much information as we can remember,” Princess Luna said. “It’s not a pleasant process though, and there isn’t much we were able to gather by ourselves. The Slowking College has only a little more information than we do.”

“How is Joan doing?” Twilight Sparkle asked after a brief silence. The princesses continued down the street, doing their best to stay nonchalant and relaxed. Ponies talked excitedly. It was a very rare sight for all of the princesses to be in one place.

“She’s doing well,” Celestia said, smiling regally at a small group of Crystal Ponies who stopped their discussion to watch her pass, mouths agape. Cadance gave them a friendly wave of her hoof. They were more used to the gossip and stories that would follow this meeting than the others were. “Her faith in humanity was shaken a bit, but she still holds to her beliefs. Luna and I have sent Gil, Sasha, and Potpourri through the portal to aid Welshi in unifying our forces.”

“Will Sasha and Potpourri be able to do that without bickering?”

“It’s not as bad as Potpourri and Lorna, though their entourages aren’t happy to work with one another. Gil and Welshi can moderate between them, if needed.”

“But it’s because of the city they’re entering that we send them together like this,” Luna added, shifting nervously as another group of ponies watched their approach to the palace. She glanced their way. They blushed and hurried down the street. The guards saluted as the princesses passed through the doors and into the front hallway. Sunburst stood a few paces ahead of them. He bowed, his face concerned and urgent.

“What is it, Sunburst?” Princess Cadance asked as they approached.

“Majesties, there is a problem with the research you have assigned me,” Sunburst said, as he readjusted his glasses. “The Slowking College sent me the data they gained from dissecting that human’s gauntlet and I plugged it into the core equation of Starswirl’s General Theory of Dimensional Calibration. The results are disturbing, to say the least.”

“Take us to your laboratory. You can explain the situation there.”

Sunburst nodded, turned, and led the way deeper into the Crystal Palace.

The ponies walked into the palace library and through a set of doors in the back that led to a large room. The smell of cinnamon and fresh roses filled the air from the candles that lit the study. Three assistant ponies stood around a large, circular mirror. Four ponies from the Royal Guard stood at the back of the room, with Shining Armor at their center. They bowed to the princesses as they entered. Shining Armor walked forward to greet his wife and sleeping child.

Sunburst led the princesses and the prince to a desk on the far side of the room. It was covered in papers, which were in turn covered in various scribbles and writings. Sunburst cleared off the desk, pulled a long map sheet from the shelves above, and laid it flat on the wooden surface.

“Here,” he said, pointing at a small circle on the map with the word ‘Equestria’ written next to it. “This is a map of our local universe cluster, as we theorize it to be. Our knowledge of it is far from perfect. Most of it is speculative, really, except for the world Princess Twilight visits on occasion.”

He pulled a piece of paper out of the pile he had created a moment before and laid it on top of the map. Then he withdrew a pencil from a drawer in his desk and drew a large circle on the side opposite of the circle representing Equestria.

“We discovered something strange,” Sunburst continued, pointing at his drawing while checking the calculations on the paper he’d withdrawn. “This circle is what we discovered. It is a universe that seems to be moving within bulk space devouring other universes as it goes, similar to how a black hole devours anything that gets too near. At least, that’s how it is according to the predictions made by Starswirl’s equations. It could very well be reaching out toward our own universe, as well as the universe where our away teams are currently exploring.”

“Bulk space and universe clusters are speculative theories,” Princess Celestia said, calmly. “We should assume as little as possible without the appropriate proof. Have you spoken to the Slowking College about this?”

“I’ve been in contact with them since we discovered this anomaly late last night. They aren’t sure what to make of it, either, though they agree with our predictions. At least, they said our math is accurate. They used the technology in that gauntlet to reverse-engineer the psy-disruptor that human was using to attack Lady Joan. They couldn’t replicate the results. The psy-disruptor they created, while fully functional and properly made, had no negative effects on the psychic-types of God’s Breath. They heard nothing but simple static, though not with their minds but their ears. Their minds were completely untouched.”

“Where is their psy-disruptor, then?” Princess Luna asked.

“It’s here,” Sunburst said, motioning toward a small, round device on his desk shelf. It was silver and metallic, with a series of buttons on it. “Lady Dorris brought it over just moments ago. She’s already teleported herself to Canterlot. She didn’t speak much. The notes she gave me explained the situation for her. The one thing she did tell me was that this device seemed to work in our world. I assume she appeared somewhere outside of the palace and tested it herself.”

“I knew she was coming, but I’m surprised she left so quickly,” Princess Cadance said.

“It was my impression that she thought you were in Canterlot. I barely got a chance to say hello before she teleported away. She gave me no time to tell her you were here.”

“There will be time to speak with her later,” Princess Celestia said. “For now, we must understand the importance behind this new information. Is that mirror meant to make contact with this strange universe?”

“Yes, your majesty. I believe we can travel there if it exists.”

“Then I will be leading the Royal Guard in exploring this place,” Shining Armor said, confidently.

“Shining, I’m not sure about that,” Princess Cadance said, nervously. “We have no idea what might be on the other side.”

“This is the kind of job the Royal Guard was made for. We’ll take every precaution.”

“No!” Cadance said, a little too loudly. Flurry Heart shifted in her bundle, but continued sleeping. “I don’t want you leading this personally.”

“I’m obligated to. I can’t ask my soldiers to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. I want to lead the away team.”

“But…” Cadance said as she racked her brain for an alternative.

“What if we see if we can use the portal for simple observation purposes, for now,” Princess Twilight said. Cadance gave her sister-in-law a grateful look and sighed. “I don’t want you running off into danger either, big brother. We should try and gain an understanding of this place without direct interaction first. Then, if needed, we can use the mirror to pull out a specimen without going through the portal ourselves.”

“I agree,” Princess Luna said.

“As do I,” Princess Celestia added. “It’s settled, then. We’ll create a portal with Sunburst’s coordinates and run preliminary tests before we resort to an away team.”

It took two days of preparation, but the group was now ready. The chances of something going wrong were slim according to Sunburst’s predictions, but they chose to operate under the assumption that anything could go wrong. As such, precautions had been taken.

Three dozen guard ponies stood in a circle around the mirror, dressed in full armor and armed with spears, lances and long pikes. They were in a field several miles outside of the city. Farms had been built along the road here, still within range of the protective magic of the Crystal Heart. As they had set up their experiment, groups of Crystal Ponies had flocked to the scene to see what was going on. Princess Cadance had ordered them to return to their daily tasks, though a group of excited children had tried to stay and watch. Their hushed discussion had given them away. The princesses had forced them out of hiding and given them a stern talk. The test had been delayed for two hours as the Crystal Guard escorted them home. Now the ponies were ready to resume their experiment.

Sunburst led his assistants in casting the spell that would turn their mirror into a portal. He had managed to catch Starlight Glimmer just before her departure for some last minute brainstorming. She had given him her insights on how to best approach alterations to Starswirl’s spellwork, and he had used it to craft an incantation that they hoped would accomplish their task.

“I-I think it’s working,” Sunburst said, as he and his assistants focused their magic on the mirror. It began to glow with a pale light. For a moment, the ponies thought they could see the faint outline of stars shining in a dark void. Then its glow faded. It now looked like a normal mirror, with one exception. Its surface was rippling like waves on a pond. It did so for several minutes before slowly coming to a stop. A dark, grotesque, insectoid face appeared in the mirror as a metallic buzzing filled the air. Something slammed against the portal, and the mirror almost fell off of its stand.

“It’s not supposed to do that!” Sunburst yelled in shock. “It’s supposed to be a one-way window! Neither side is supposed to be able to interact with the other!”

“All of you, get back!” Princess Twilight Sparkle yelled as the mirror turned pitch black. Sunburst and his assistants stumbled backward, Shining Armor led the Crystal Guard forward, and a large, metallic claw burst forth from the portal. It rent the earth as the guards braced themselves. It dug its fingers into the ground, and the mirror shook as if whatever was on the other side was trying to pull itself through. Yet the claw was gigantic, and the beast it was attached to was too large to fit.

“Help me dispel this magic, sister,” Celestia said as she stepped forward. Luna nodded her head in agreement and joined her sister before the mirror. Together, they cast a spell at the portal, dispelling it and returning the mirror to its original state. The claw was severed from whatever creature it had come from, and it fell limp to the ground.

“That buzzing was the same I heard from Lex Luthor’s psy-disruptors, majesties,” Joan said from behind the congregation. She and Dorris strode forward to bow before the princesses. “Yet it seemed more terrible when transmitted directly into my mind.”

“You said you began to hear a name spoken within that sound,” Princess Luna prompted, as she looked cautiously at the mirror.

“I heard the name ‘Unicron’ repeated over and over. It was so soft at first that I could barely make it out through all the noise. After some meditation, I have come to the conclusion that this name is not a warning, but an announcement of the coming of this ‘Unicron’. It even sounded worshipful.”

“I’ve had some bad premonitions, lately,” Dorris said, as she looked at the mirror and scratched behind her left ear nervously, her golden earrings bouncing around as she did so. The Mewostic took a moment to continue her thought, though her face remained passive. “I haven’t been able to meditate calmly for two weeks. I don’t know what this ‘Unicron’ is, but when Joan told me of it I felt that it was connected to my recent anxiety.”

Princess Twilight Sparkle began to reply, then stopped as a sound came from behind her. It was the same buzzing noise as before, but louder now. The mirror’s frame began glowing. Its surface turned black once more, save for the faint light of stars in the distance. The air filled with the feeling of death and despair. The light from the mirror frame began to expand, and the dark surface with it. In a matter of seconds, it was a portal again, though many times larger than it had been previously. The ponies took several steps back as a giant, metal beetle crawled out.

The creature’s massive mandibles quivered as it approached the line of Crystal Guard ponies surrounding it. Each step was slow and calculated. The robotic claw that had been separated from the closing of the portal twitched, jumped into the air, and dived for Shining Armor.
The unicorn grabbed hold of the claw with his magic and threw it at the approaching beast. The claw flipped, landed on the monster’s face, and crawled to its underside where it reattached itself. The robot’s eyes glowed with a purple light filled with bestial rage. It lowered its single, gigantic horn, screamed and charged.

Shining Armor met it, creating a shield before him large enough to match the monster’s size. The unicorn guards followed his lead, forming their own shields to block the creature’s pathway forward. The two sides collided at full speed. They pushed against each other with all of their might, though the Guard Captain, who stood directly in the monster’s path, was quickly being driven back. Shining Armor dug in his hooves as he took the brunt of the robot’s assault, struggling to hold his ground. His earth pony guards stepped forward, stabbing at the joints in the monster’s legs with their pikes. It screamed as its wiring components were pierced and it pushed harder against its foe.

The pegasus guards dive-bombed the beast, stabbing at the sections between its wings with their spears and lances.

“Close the portal!” Princess Celestia yelled as a second insectoid head appeared out of the swirling vortex. Another metal beetle crawled out of the portal, a sinister purple liquid dripping from its mandibles as it climbed over the body of the first creature. The princesses ran to Shining Armor’s side and began firing concentrated beams of magic at the portal. Joan gathered her power and launched a continuous Fairy Tempest at the swirling vortex, while Dorris surrounded it in a Psychic field and tried to force it closed. It shuddered under so much force, and began to collapse as a third creature’s face appeared in the background of the portal’s surface.

The second beast screamed and took to the air. The guards scattered, barely avoiding the insect’s thrashing legs. With surprising speed, it flew behind the princesses, transformed in mid-air, and landed with a ground shaking crash. It was now a hunched, stocky, bi-pedal warrior bot. Its clawed hands dripped with the same purple fluid as its mandibles. With a cry of bloodlust, it swiped at the ponies.

Its claw was stopped short by six pegasus guards that had crashed, back legs first, into the monster’s arm. Three more emerged from the robot’s right, driving their pikes into its neck with all of the strength and momentum they could muster. The weapons pierced the insect’s metal carapace, and drove home through its lower jaw. The pegasus guards released their pikes, pulled back from the beast, and withdrew small vials of bottled lightning from pockets beneath their armor.

They broke these vials on their pike shafts, sending millions of volts of electricity through the monster’s system. The portal closed as the robotic life form fell backwards and died. Steam rose from its melted circuits. The first robot screamed in fury and bucked against the magical shields that were trying to force it to the ground. It quickly overpowered the unicorn guards, only to be grabbed by Lady Dorris and shaken like a ragdoll in her psychic grip. Instead of succumbing, it spit a glob of purple liquid at Dorris. She backpedaled to avoid being hit, but it exploded upon impact with the ground.

The unicorn guards raised their magical shields around the impact zone of the liquid just before it landed. Even so, the detonation made a large crater in the ground and sent the group flying backward. With another scream, the robot flew away as fast as it could.

“Pegasus guards, with me!” Princess Cadance yelled as she took to the air. The pegasus guards immediately followed, Joan and Lady Dorris close behind, propelling themselves through the air with their minds.

“I want that thing dismembered,” Princess Celestia said, grimly as she looked at the fallen robot. “I don’t trust that it will stay down forever. It strikes me as similar to other creatures we’ve faced.”

“You heard the princess,” Prince Shining Armor shouted as he took hold of an arm with his magic. “Crystal Guard, get this thing pulled apart, now!”

The remaining ponies began the process of dismembering the fallen monster. It twitched here and there as they removed pieces from its body, and its eyes glowed dimly even after its head was separated. Yet it gave no fight. Princess Twilight looked back at the mirror as the last pieces of the robot came apart. It looked normal, but she still had a bad feeling about it. With a sigh, she threw the mirror on the ground and shattered it. Shining Armor set his soldiers around the robot pieces. Carts would be sent from the Crystal Empire to gather the remains, alongside reinforcements from the Crystal Guard.

“What must it be like on the other side of that portal for these creatures to exist?” Princess Twilight said as she looked at the shattered mirror.

“Whatever it is, we won’t be trying to interact with it again,” Princess Luna said. “On the other side of that portal waits death. Nothing more.”