Shattered Equestria

Jagged Reflections

By

TheSleeplessOne

This story has been proofread and edited by Icarus720. A big thanks to him! Additional errors should be pointed out in the comments section.

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Prologue

A mirror stood regal, alone in the large room. Once used daily, now reserved for the rare visitor to come through or leave.

But not today, today it would see a traveler it had not in many years.

This particular device was a gateway into another universe or, should one say, universes. Numerous magical alarms protected an artifact of such power and one should have alerted its owner to the intruder. However, an unintended side effect of the orichalcum in its design absorbed the magic attempting to break through it.

The surface of the mirror gleamed gold against the dark room. Cracks formed, racing through the glass like tiny lightning bolts. The fractured image of a hooded pony flashed within and waves rippled across the silver exterior. With each unseen impact, the figure grew clearer. The magic assaulted from inside a final time and all that remained was an outline. A myriad of colors bled outward, creeping across the metal and coming together until the hooded pony was as real as the mirror itself. The transfer had not interrupted the spell he was channeling.

Glass forged upon the fires of dragons could not withstand the growing pressure. More of the surface gave way as energy leaked from the spiderweb of fissures. The stabilizing fixtures, made of curled artistic metal, began to glow red hot and melt.

More golden light poured through and the mirror’s surface now resembled static from the damage. As the spell reached its completion, it caved in. A yawning maw of swirling black awakened inside, tearing at the buckling slivers and consuming all but a single shard. The hooded pony still needed the mirror to function if his plans were to succeed.

With a chuckle, the hooded pony marveled at his work. A mere thought and his horn glowed a soft gold as his magic pulled out a small engraved knife. He began prying each of the magically charged rubies from their fixtures with the care of an experienced practitioner. Sparks danced with each contact, the gems protesting his intrusion. They couldn't resist the strong magic and one by one fell onto the white marble floor. He levitated the knife back into his cloak's pocket, his hood covering the triumphant smirk on his face.

Another pocket in his cloak glowed gold and a yellowed parchment rose to unfurl itself in front of him. His eyes gleamed as he spoke in a language lost to the ages, each syllable guttural. The bright rubies began to crackle and blacken as the words flowed from his mouth and light retreated from the room in response.

The power of the magic burned the parchment away as each word left his lips. With the final word, the rest of the parchment ignited with the resulting ash being absorbed into the abyss.

The cloaked figure shuddered as he began the second part of the spell. His own radiant magic covered the blackened gemstones and faded within. With a pulse of gold that would make a dragon jealous, they regained their lustrous red.

The spell complete, he relaxed his jaw realizing he had been gritting his teeth. A gold glow once again washed over the rubies, tossing all but one into the void. They compromised the careful stability of the gateway and the swirling darkness began to gnash. As the final ruby faded from sight, the inky depth churned and consumed itself.

"Go where there is power. Cursed be any who enters this mirror," He hissed and pocketed the remaining ruby. “I only hope you suffer as long as I have, Celestia.” If any pony had been able to see his eyes, the fire burning within would have caused them to flee.

He sighed in frustration. "This took far too long, preparations must be made." It only took a moment for him to remember the window the room contained. It had been hundreds of years but nothing had changed.

Opening the window with his magic, he leapt out unable to restrain the predatory grin.

******

Rainbow Dash was taking one of her famous naps on a comfy cloud. The rising sound of commerce caused her to wake. Had she overslept again? The day felt later than it should. "I feel like I'm forgetting something... again," said Rainbow Dash as she shook the sleep out of her eyes and let out a mighty yawn.

A quick scan of the town brought the memory slamming back into her.

"I'm supposed to meet Twilight and the others at Sugarcube Corner!" she yelled, facehoofing herself.

It was going to be cutting it close, but she wasn’t flying anywhere until she loosened up and stretched. After each leg gave a satisfying pop, she moved on to her wings. She extended them to their full length, performing the same warm-up routine as the Wonderbolts. A sly smirk splayed across her face as she pondered the fastest path from her cloud to Sugarcube Corner.

******

Twilight hummed softly to herself as she walked towards her appointment at Sugarcube Corner. Always the bookworm, she had a copy of Dazzling Dream's Guide to Proper Sleep opened in front of her face. Spike had chosen it after two long nights of manic reordering of the books in her library. This had left her looking like her favorite stuffed animal, Smarty Pants.

She bumped into something soft and a tiny "Eeek!" rang through the street. Twilight's head jerked up from her book and saw Fluttershy on the ground dazed and staring in her direction.

"Oh hey, Fluttershy didn't see you there," Twilight said grinning sheepishly. Her face burned with embarrassment from walking into her friend.

Fluttershy struggled to get to her hooves. "It's fine, I should have been paying more attention to where I was going." Her voice trailed off into a whisper.

Twilight bookmarked the page and closed the book, moving it behind her with her magic. "How about we walk together to meet our friends? I'd love to hear how you've been doing. I... I haven't been outside much in the past few days." She looked back at her book and shook her head.

Fluttershy matched pace next to her friend on a path to Sugarcube Corner. "Oh, this week has been delightful. I helped rebuild a baby bird's nest and you know Angel, he only wants the freshest vegetables, so I had to go to the market and get some." She turned toward Twilight, her face alight with excitement.

"Discord came by for our afternoon tea and we had the best time, except when he gave my clock and candlestick life. They started singing something about ‘Be our guest’. The candle danced into my curtains and lit them on fire. But, but Discord fixed it right away!" Fluttershy huffed out, covering for Discord as she usually did.

"You have had a bus-" Twilight began before Rainbow Dash flew past towards Sugarcube Corner. The only sign she'd been there was a trail of rainbow followed by a faint "Sorry!" The words trailed off fading into the rush of wind.

"We'd better hurry if we don't want to be the last ones there." Twilight groaned as she began magically fixing her now tattered purple and fuchsia mane.

******

Rarity finished adorning herself with a dress. She considered it the height of fashion design for the spring. It was a dress made from green and yellow silks to accentuate the usual spring colors. Her design finished with an oversized hat covered in various gems that she had arranged like blooming flowers. The soft silks of the dress flowed down to her hooves where they hovered only a breadth above the floor, a credit to her skill in tailoring. Rarity had cleverly tied white silk ribbons at the interlocked pieces creating the illusion of a leaf.

A brisk walk and Rarity was the second to arrive at Sugarcube Corner. Of course, Pinkie Pie beat everyone due to the fact that she spent much of her time at Sugarcube Corner. It was easy for her to wait for her friends outside.

Rarity turned towards the street, and her eyes widened in horror. Rainbow Dash was heading right for her.

"Nononononono, Rainbow Dash, stop!" she screamed trying to back away without her dress touching the dusty ground.

Rainbow Dash's wings flared out to their full span, increasing her drag and slowing her down. She stopped midair, mere inches from Rarity's face, wings beating furiously.

Rainbow Dash burst into laughter pointing a hoof at Rarity.

"It is not funny, Rainbow Dash,'' Rarity straightened her dress and held a pose akin to royalty, puffing herself up. "I could have been hurt! Or worse.. you could have ruined my new outfit!" Her indignity bled into her words.

This only furthered Rainbow Dash's laughter, tears streaming from her eyes. "You, you look like a flower! Why would you even wear that?" she said in between giggles.

"I'll have you know this is proper wear for the springtime. The height of fashion design, if you will, not that a ruffian like yourself would understand." Rarity turned her nose up at Rainbow Dash making a "Hmph!".

Rarity sat down at one of the tables, Rainbow Dash still giggling in the background. Her head jerked up when she smelled cupcakes and heard breathing. She gasped when she saw Pinkie Pie almost nose to nose with her, grinning like an idiot. How had she gotten behind me? Rarity wondered.

Rarity attempted to put distance between her and Pinkie Pie but her dress stifled her movements. "What. Are you. doing. Pinkie Pie?" Rarity yelled, still in shock.

"Trying to give you some of my new cupcakes, silly!" Pinkie bounced over to Rainbow Dash, holding up a plate of strange-looking cupcakes. The frosting was an odd shade of orange with little, jagged sprinkles everywhere. A strong, overbearing odor of orange peel combined with vanilla rose from the strange concoction. They reminded her of the fizzy drinks they served in Sugarcube Corner.

Pinkie popped a cupcake in her mouth with a squeal and a "Mmmm". Frosting splattered all over her mouth and she slurped the edge of her lips, her tongue reaching every inch. This elicited another "Mmmmm" from Pinkie Pie.

"What flavor are those, Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash picked one up, examining the confectionary and sniffing it in various places.

"Only the super yummy nummy flavor made by Gummy!" Pinkie's face got serious and somehow pink zebra stripes appeared on her body. "Oops, I sound like Zecora, it must be the.. flora? I rhyme all the time because it's su... blime?"

In a flash, the stripes disappeared, and she turned to talk to nowhere in particular. "Guess it's harder to be Zecora than it sounds!" Winking before facing Rainbow Dash.

Less sure than when she started, Rainbow Dash hesitated. She did not want to become a rainbow-colored zebra. Her hoof hovered above the table, trying to figure out what to do with the cupcake. She decided upon setting it down and pushing it towards Pinkie Pie.

Twilight and Fluttershy trotted up, staring at Pinkie Pie with suspicion. "Pinkie," Twilight asked, "how did yo- nevermind." She had learned her lesson long ago not to question Pinkie Pie. The last time she did it ended with her being a blazing, white, fiery version of herself. It took her a week to fix the singed mane that resulted from it.

Applejack was the last to arrive, delayed by her chores. She had chosen to take a more scenic route to Sugarcube Corner, taking in the smells of new spring leaves and the array of colors in the trees and plants. The background noise of nature helped her muscles relax. They were tense after putting so much effort into her chores so she could meet her friends on time.

Her first hint she was approaching Sugarcube Corner was the delightful smell of baked goods. Her own family's recipes were hard to beat, they made them with apples after all. Yet, Applejack could still enjoy anything that came from that bakery.

The exception being Pinkie's weekly creations. Some were amazing, comparable only to the finest bakers in Equestria. Others, well others were horrifying in new and spectacular ways. One example being the "Hulkcake". Applejack wasn't sure what it even meant, but Pinkie had insisted she try it with one small exception. Pinkie had asked Twilight to zap it with magic first. Pinkie explained, "It won't glow if you don't Twilight, and it makes it extra tasty!" Twilight had indeed used a spell on the cupcake after Pinkie Pie wouldn’t stop pestering her.

Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes because not only was the spell negated but the cupcake glowed and became larger. This was both alarming and relieving to Twilight. On one hoof she had expected an explosion, at the bare minimum, but instead the strange baked good was more effective at absorbing magic than some shielding techniques!

Twilight had later demanded to know the recipe and why her magic was ineffective on them. This was fruitless because any baker worth their salt never reveals their secrets. As a result, Twilight forbade anyone from eating the cupcakes although Pinkie Pie had been able to sneak a few into her mouth.

Applejack saw that her friends had all gotten here first. A look of confusion sprang to her face. Despite being the self-proclaimed "fastest mare in all Equestria" Rainbow had a habit of oversleeping. On the off chance she arrives on-time, the price is usually property damage.

"Howdy, y'all. Looks like ol' Rainbow Dash beat me here for once, heh." Applejack said, flashing a cocky smirk towards Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash extended both wings, taking on an aggressive stance. "I'm the fastest in Equestria. Anytime. Anywhere. AJ." She backed up her words by darting like an arrow into the sky. As she came back down, she crossed her forelegs and narrowed her eyes.

"Now, now don't go getting your buckers in a twist, I was only jokin'." Applejack's easy smile helped the soothing words.

Twilight was used to the bickering between those two but now was not the time. "Now girls," Twilight said, "we came here because we haven't seen each other in a while. We should enjoy this time together. Right, Rainbow Dash?" Her face held no room for argument.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack held their stares a bit longer. Twilight cleared her throat, and both shrugged moving to take a seat with the rest of their friends.

"S'pose you're right Twilight. Today is a day for being friends, not beating Rainbow Dash," Applejack said, dragging out the last part. She never even spared a glance in Rainbow Dash's direction.

"Hey! I heard that AJ!" Rainbow Dash snorted, her wings rising in response.

"Ok, enough! We really don't have time for this." Twilight stood up tall and flared her wings to their full alicorn length. She stood over both Applejack and Rainbow Dash and affixed them with a glare akin to that of a mother looking down on two squabbling children.

They mumbled out an apology and looked down at nothing in particular.

A sharp intake of breath accompanied by stuttering grabbed everypony's attention.

"Oooh, oooh! Whatcha lookin’ at Rarity. Whatever it is, must be preeeety impressive to make your eyes that big!" Pinkie Pie glanced around trying to see the spectacle that had caught Rarity's eye.

"It-it's like from one of my books!" Rarity stammered, pointing her hoof in the direction of the town square. "That's not possible! Is this another prank?" Rarity stood up long enough to pull over her fainting couch and collapse into it, hoof on her forehead. "If so, it is not very funny to make a lady faint and mess up her dress," She followed it up with her trademark whine.

Twilight and the others looked around struggling to find the source of Rarity’s distress.

Applejack's gaze stopped, and she started trying to gasp out a sentence. "W-wh-what are those. They look like when we pretended the cookies Rainbow Dash was givin’ out were tainted and turned us into zombies.

"OoooOoo, I remember that, it was fun! And yeah, they do kinda look like zombies. I'd say they had some kind of Fallout." Pinkie giggled.

Twilight whispered to herself, each sentence sounding more frustrated than the last.

Rainbow Dash looked on in awe. "Those. Are. So. Cool. Did you do this Pinkie Pie? They remind me of the unraveled mummies from Daring Do's book Daring Do and the Crypt of Zalphamon!"

"Noperoni, besides Nightmare Night is too far away for zombies!" Pinkie replied, her hooves waggling about in the air ominously.

"If this isn't a prank from either of you two, then this is serious. We have to inform Celestia immediately." Twilight inspected area in question. She flew up and around the strange blob trying to get a better view, but it appeared the same from all directions. It was small, the size of a pumpkin, and floated in midair. It held no discernible shape, wiggling and writhing in the open air..

Twilight got closer and peered into the blob. It was like looking through a window made of unevenly layered glass. She could see a blasted landscape with ghoulish ponies wandering about. Their mouths hung open, or in some cases simply hung. They didn't appear to be rotting but their movements were stiff, giving them the gait of a zombie. Degraded hooves dragged with each step and several ponies appeared to be crawling across the ground. Their skin looked like the bark of an apple tree that Applejack had bucked too many times. Some had severe burns, while others were missing limbs or all their mane. Everything was dead or dying with a faint, eerie glow coating the landscape. The plant life was all a shade of gray and the entire area had rocks and debris strewn about.

Twilight considered using magic on the blob. She stopped when she remembered a book she had read by Star-Swirl the Bearded called The Fundamentals of Time and Space: A Guide to Anomalies and Paradoxes. Any magic could make it grow, or worse yet, completely open. She didn't know where it went to but she was sure she wanted nothing inside to come to Equestria.

As she pondered what to do, she noticed something horrifying. One of the creatures was shambling towards her with white sightless eyes.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading! I appreciate feedback on the stories to make them better. A negative or positive comment goes a long way to helping refine the story into the best it can be!