>The Heart is an odd quantum-locked object
>In every timeline, whether or not Cadance is there, it still exists and can be used
>Glimmer's Wasteland Timeline
>1007 ADE
>Seven years since the battle between Celestia and Nightmare moon destroyed everything
>A small raider encampment stumbles upon the remains of the Crystal Empire
>Aside from remnants of Sombra's armies gathering dust on the ground, all that stands is the castle
>A few of the lower-ranking raiders stayed outside the castle to keep watch for mutants or dragons or anything else
>Three of them sat around a small campfire
>One was bent backward over a crystalline pillar sleeping
>Another was looking into the darkness
>The third was flipping through an old romance novel
>"And here we have Bloodshed, getting herself all soaked over some gay book." the sleeping one woke up to take a drink from a bottle of whiskey
>"Shut the hell up, Nightshade. Nopony wants to hear your dumb ass talk." Bloodshed scowled up from her book
>"Hah! Good luck finding a stallion anywhere." Nightshade laughed
>"Both of you shut it." Carnage cut in
>Bloodshed closed the book and hugged it
>"There's gotta be a stallion out there for me."
>Nightshade snickered, "He's probably six hooves under."
>>31841518 (You)
>"Well *I* still believe in love." Bloodshed huffed, opening her book up again
>A moment later, a nearby pile of rubble shook violently, a bright pink light shining through the cracks
>Pieces of stone and black crystal fell to the ground, clearing the way for a large heart-shaped crystal to shine brightly
>It was heavily damaged, and missing several pieces and edges
>Pink arcs of electricity flew off of the heart at random before honing in on Bloodshed
>The constant pillar of lightning struck the mare's chest, burning a hole in her improvised armor and picking her up off of the ground
>Carnage took a few pot shots at the heart to no effect while Nightshade tried to pull Bloodshed back to the ground
>The magic flooded through Bloodshed's body, her eyes and mouth lighting up
>Bloodshed no longer could move her body, she was unaware of the outside world
>Every dream she'd ever had, even those she'd forgotten, flashed through her mind's eye
>Every friend she never made, every crushshe was too scared to talk to, every sappy novel she'd ever paged through all flashed with acute clarity
>Bloodshed became immensely aware of how alone she'd always been, as if she were looking down on herself from the sky for her entire life
>Suddenly the heart stopped shining and dropped Bloodshed to the ground, tears streaming down her face as the memories faded but the crushing emptiness stayed
>For now, the artifact was dark
>Bloodshed was left on the ground for several minutes before she regained enough consciousness to prop herself up against some rubble
>Nightshade and Carnage went back to their business keeping an eye on the perimeter
>"Ugh... What happened?" Bloodshed groaned
>"Well shit, guess you're still alive." Carnage noted
>Bloodshed got up
>"Fuck this, I'm going to bed." she began to walk towards the tent-like shelter she'd improvised with mutant leather
>Carnage picked up the book and threw it near the tent, "You forgot this!"
>Bloodshed took it with her and opened it up, reading in the ambient light of the nearby campfire
>The mare in the book was off on an adventure in a far away land
>She kept running into this charming stallion who occasionally helped her out of trouble
>And the fool she was, this mare would exchange a few words before parting ways with him, possibly forever
>Bloodshed reached the beginning if the final chapter and shut the book, hugging it to her chest as she lay in her cot made of assorted animal furs
>Who knows how long it'd be before she stumbled upon the next one
>Bloodshed wished she could meet a stallion like the one in the book
>Or really any stallion, she wasn't going to be picky
>The current leader of the gang was kind of always on some heavy drugs, so the last time she'd even seen a non-raider pony was several months ago
>He was in a blue jumpsuit one moment, and in pieces the next
>He was cute, then Carnage put a bunch of holes in him
>Fucking Carnage
>Stupid dyke
>Bloodshed looked outside the tent and frowned at Carnage
>She climbed back into bed and redirected her thoughts to her book
>Suddenly a pink glow lit up her tent
>That crazy crystal was acting up again!
>Bloodshed hid under her blankets as the wind began picking up
>The ground rumbled as the electric hum of the heart turned to static hissing
>Right next to the heart a split in space opened up
>A large form fell from the pink vortex in a pile on the ground
>Bloodshed peeked out from her tent at the body on the ground
>It wasn't moving
>Bloodshed stepped out of her tent to investigate
>Carnage kept her gun trained on the form as the portal closed up and the heart turned off again
>Nightshade sidestepped away from it
>Bloodshed was just a step away
>The strange creature was green, wearing clean clothes, and had not a single scar
>How oddly sterile
>Bloodshed looked at the creature
>No claws, spikes, or other weapons
>It definitely wasn't meant for the wasteland
>Bloodshed gave it a firm kick to see if it would wake up
>Nope, nothing yet
>"Is it dead?" Carnage called out
>Bloodshed saw the chest rising and falling
>"Nope."
>"Tie it up, we'll deal with it in the morning."
>Carnage tossed down a length of chain
>Bloodshed wasn't able to figure out how to tie it up, so she just wrapped the creature tightly
>Bloodshed drug the chained creature back to her tent with her
>Carnage noted, "You gonna fuck it?"
>"What?! No!"
>>31857903 (You)
>"Would ya look at that? The moon's out tonight." Nightshade says, laying back
>"I get a smoke break!" Carnage pulls out a small glass pipe and a lighter
>She takes a long breath from it, staring out into space blankly
>"I looove crack!"
>"Lemme get some, Carnage."
>"Fuck off!"
>In the morning, Bloodshed woke up as the sun came out and her cold tent warmed up into a scalding oven
>The tent was empty when Bloodshed kicked the covers off
>She looked outside and saw a path in the sand
>Bloodshed followed the marks for a short distance
>She came upon the creature lying in the dirt
>Looks like it managed to inchworm itself a short distance
>Bloodshed walked up behind the panting hostage
>"Yeah, that sun really takes it out of ya."
>"Where am I?"
>"I don't know, this is all desert to me."
>Bloodshed sat down on the creature's back, straddling it
>"So, I've got some questions to ask, and you can answer or I can let you cook out here until tonight."
>>31858586 (You)
>"Name?"
>"Anon."
>"What are you, and where are you from?"
>"I'm human, and I'm from Canada."
>"Ain't heard of either, what brings you here?"
>"I don't know."
>"Carrying any weapons?"
>"No, can you just let me go?"
>"No can do, we gotta let boss decide what to do."
>Bloodshed rolls Anon onto his back, looking into his eyes
>They both found themselves entranced by the intense love gaze
>Bloodshed was overtaken by an odd feeling in her chest
>Like when she was reading that novel and the stallion showed up, only stronger
>Like her heart was going to burst, and not from a food parasite
>Bloodshed closed her eyes tightly and looked away
>She drags Anon back to the tent and lays him in the shade
>Anon still struggles against the chains
>"Anon, is it? Can you stop, I'm trying to read." Bloodshed looks up from her book
>"Listen, I get it, you need to let the leader take care of this, but you can let me go. I won't even remember this place, I'll be gone forever."
>"Seriously, shut up."
>Anon keeps trying to get out of the chains
>"You won't ever hear from me again."
>Bloodshed shuts her book and picks up a heavily dented aluminum bat
>"You might be cute, but one more word outta you and I'll make sure you shut it for good." she goes back to her book, occasionally glancing up at Anon, who was closing his eyes
>As Bloodshed reaches the end of her book, a vehicle screeches to a stop by the castle
>Crazy Pills steps out, one eye looking forward, another keeping on her left
>She looks at Anon briefly, then to Bloodshed
>"The fuck is this?"
>"He showed up last night."
>"Why ain't it dead yet?"
>"I was waitin' to ask you."
>"Yeah, you're supposed to kill, not wait for me."
>Bloodshed sighed and looked at Anon
>"You found him, you kill him." Crazy Pills went into the castle