Author's Note

I’m sorry for the poor quality lately, I’ve just been so stuck on this story.

Be Unbroken (Mild re-work)

Celestia nervously watched the human take a seat on the couch, the draconequus slowly stepped up behind him, arms crossed, a scowl on his face. Together, the two had a brooding delinquency about them. Luna looked crestfallen.

“Did you just not know, or did you think I was better off not knowing?” Jared asked. Celestia looked shocked, as if she’d been slapped in the face.

“What are you talking about?”

“The others. The dead ones. My father disappeared when I was three, they never found him. His truck is now parked on Twilight’s lawn. There’s been others.” Jared tried to keep his cool as he spoke, his face’s expression showed anger and frustration that betrayed his tone of voice.

Celestia looked as though staring right through him. Discord looked at the floor, almost ashamed. He nudged Jared, whispering in his ear.

“She’s remembering, forgive her, she’s 10,163 years old this year and... I may have helped her forget.”

“I-I’m so sorry...” She almost choked. She looked to Jared and her eyes welled. “I.. I’d completely forgotten.. I..”

“Didn’t want to remember.” Jared filled in her sentence. “The strange creatures that kept dying on your lands...”

He sighed, tilting his head back and cover his face with his hands. “I wanna be mad. I want to be angry and just yell at you guys and storm out dramatically with some emotional music playing as the rain comes down or some shit... I want to give a speech while music plays in my head."

"But it's pointless to." He brought his hands down, setting them on his thighs. He smiled broadly, but sadly.

The princesses slowly looked to Jared.

“Sister..?” Luna looked befuddled. She’d never heard of such incidents, she’d been imprisoned on the moon, after all.

“You’d have every right to...” She sniffled.

“Nah... I wouldn’t... I can’t do that anymore, such an insignificant thing to you would understandably be forgotten to the annals of history... Why be angry. It’s gone and over.” Jared slowly uncrossed his legs and scooted to the edge of his seat, leaning forward, setting his elbows his knees. “But now we have a starting place.”

“Wha-what are you saying?” The deity slowly wiped her cheek, cocking her head gently.

“Man I haven't been as excited as I am today in years. I’m saying... There were others... Every single man on my dad’s side of the family has gone missing or been killed awfully young... Missing in action... Dead on the side of the highway.. Nothing but an arm left in a cotton field...” Jared’s gaze didn’t falter from the princess, and he began to smile again, bigger. “We’ve got the fact that at least myself and my father have ended up here, we’ve got some symbol I saw on the mountains before the wreck, we know it’s been happening for hundreds of years, and we have this guy.”

Jared slowly pointed to Discord.

“You want ME to help YOU?” Discord looked almost shocked, before giving a smirk. “What’s in it for me?”

“A lesson in friendship or something I’m sure.” Jared sarcastically waved his hand. The room froze. Jared could feel his face flush, but didn’t give it any notice. He wanted to power through like he knew what he said, and meant it differently than how he'd obviously meant it.

“...What did you just say..?” Celestia asked. Without missing a beat, he thought of a brilliant counter.

“Cmon, from what I’ve seen, your people are all about friendship.” Jared explained.

“Smooth.”

“Will you help me or not?”

“...Yeah, fine, I guess.”

“We’ve got a team, we’ve got places to start, how hard could it be?”

————————

The green Ford sat on the grass, ponies slowly gathered around the beast. Water dripped from it’s back, it made soft, quick ‘tickticktick’ing noises as if hot metal was contracting.

“What do you think that sound is..?” One pony asked.

“Maybe it’s trying to communicate!” Another replied.

“Quick, go get Featherweight, he can transcribe the code!” A filly yelled.

————————

Celestia sniffled gently, nodding quickly at Jared. “With this new information, we’ll be sure to get progress... Given you’re the only living human on Equis.. May we have your permission to exhume the gardens, try to make parallels with DNA if nothing else?”

“Sure!” The words caught in Jared’s mouth. He never got to bury his father, now he was giving his blessing to dig him up? “S-sure..”

The draconequus slowly reached his paw across Jared’s shoulder, comfortingly, the somber expression was back. Like a father consoling his son, Discord’s face read nothing more than ‘I know how you feel, it’ll pass.’

“We will begin work immediately... I am so sorry, Jared.” Celestia spoke gently, rising from the floor. The princesses made their way to the door, quietly. “You have my condolences.”

The heavy door shut quickly.

“Thanks...” Jared said to the empty room, he turned on his heel. “Discord?”

No reply, silence was his only answer.

He stood alone in the room. The conversation was over so fast. They were gone like it was nothing.

He slowly stepped across the oak floor, gripping the brass doorknob. He twisted it, pulling open the door. A crowd was surrounding the Ford, and his pace towards it picked up.

“Alright, what's the big deal, nothing to see.” Jared called, waving his arms. Then he spotted it. The broken glass, the hole. His right headlight was decimated. “Aw, what the fuck, guys?”

The crowd scampered away, dispersing at his displeasure. Jared knelt, picking up the glass shards. He walked around the driver’s side, and opened the door. He hopped in and dumped the glass into the ashtray. As he turned to look at his gages, there was a cassette tape and a note, taped to the dash.

“The hell?”

“Figured you could use this! -D” Jared read the note aloud, then sighed as he turned the key and pushed the clutch in, noticing the word scribbled on the tape. ‘Wallflowers’. “I fucking hate you.”

The engine roared to life, and he pushed the cassette into the tape deck on the dash. Turning the volume up and pressing the play button, he shifted into gear and idled down the street, a familiar drum and bassline filled the cab. When the organ sounded, he knew the song.

Jared sighed, and gave a stupid smile. He waited for the chorus, before loudly and incoherently singing along.

“COME ON TRY A LITTLE”

He stepped down hard on the gas pedal, clearing the city limits.

“NOTHING IS FOREVER”

He grabbed fourth gear, the Windsor motor screamed, the sound of dual Cherry-Bomb glasspacks filled the air.

“THERE’S GOT TO BE SOMETHING BETTER THAN IN THE MIDDLE”

He rested his right hand on the bench seat beside him, longingly.

“BUT ME AND CINDERELLA”

His right hand returned to the steering wheel, as he dodged potholes and ruts in the path.

“WE PUT IT ALL TOGETHER” Jared slammed his fist on the dash twice, in tune with the beat. He crested the hill overlooking his shop, a large cloud of dust following his wake.

“WE CAN DRIVE IT HOME”

Jared whipped the wheel aside, slamming on the brakes, shoving the clutch pedal in unison. The truck slid across the grass to a stop, the radio and CB Radio antennas whipping back and forth with the force.

“WITH ONE HEAD-light.” He let the words quietly die off on his tongue, the music blared and he leaned back in the bench seat, listening to the melody that he didn’t know he needed.

He shut off the pickup, and turned the key to accessory, the music loud enough to hear from a good distance away, he shut his eyes.