Chapter 2: New Lands
Sounds of gentle tides beating softly upon the shore drifted soothingly through the breeze. The wind blew softly through the leaves of a tree, creating a quiet rustling noise. In the distance the faint songs of birds could be heard.
“Rainbow Dash.”
Warmth was spread unevenly on the resting body, with the rays of the sun being slightly blocked by the leaves of a tree. This created stripes on the sky blue pony’s body that kept some parts shaded and others illuminated. The sand was warm, but not too hot as to be uncomfortable.
“Rainbow Dash.”
The breeze carried the strong smell of the ocean, brushing briskly through the mane of the peaceful figure. The sand was soft and grainy, making for a soft bed. Warm and moist, the wind was comforting rather than irritating.
“Rainbow Dash!”
Finally permeating her ears, the sky blue pegasus opened her eyes slowly at the sound, allowing for the adjustment from the darkness of sleep to transition to the brightness of the morning. After finally opening her eyes all the way, Rainbow Dash observed the new setting in search of the voice that had awakened her.
Lifting her head from its previous perch in the soft sand, the rainbow flier saw the vast ocean lying in front of her. Crystal blue and peaceful, the water sparkled in the illumination of the sun. It lay still in the morning breeze.
Calm tides found their way up the golden sand, only to be pulled back into the immeasurable ocean moments later. Finally showing itself after days of storm, the sun had become the vessel of the sky. Without a cloud in sight, the sky was bright and clear as the backdrop of a regal sun. Rays of light glazed the top of the sand and the ocean, making both shine with magnificence. The sand had shells sticking out of it every now and then, adding spots of color to the golden canvas.
The palm tree under which the pegasus had been resting was tall and magnificent. Breezes created small, brisk movements in the leaves that swayed back and forth. To the right, Rainbow Dash could see large cliffs in the distance that jutted out over the ocean. Rocks that stuck out of the surface of the ocean beneath the cliff were being slowly eroded by the push and pull of the undying tides. To the left, the beach ran on until it finally met the horizon. The only palm tree that seemed to stand on the entire beach was the one providing shade for the previously resting pegasus.
Still not spotting the source of the voice that had awakened her, Rainbow Dash turned around to see what lay behind her. Behind her she saw Fluttershy standing shyly at a distance as if she was afraid waking up the resting pegasus would reap anger from her.
Behind Fluttershy, the amount of palm trees that stood reaching toward the sky increased significantly. As the beach slowly turned into a more grassy terrain, the palm trees occupied more and more of the area. As the elevation rose, more and more trees could be seen, but nothing behind the trees could be seen. Then, in the far distance, the large and majestic mountains that the island was known for stood tall. It looked as though the sky had been painted on behind the peaks of the mountains. Capped off with white snow, the mountains and the sky blended almost perfectly.
Fluttershy dragged a hoof through the sand, looking down at the line she made while she spoke, “Oh, I’m sorry if I disturbed you Rainbow Dash. It’s just that, well, you’ve been lying there for an awfully long time and I was beginning to get worried.”
“Wait, how long have I been sleeping under this tree.” Rainbow Dash gestured to the palm tree standing above her using her hoof.
“Um, I’m not exactly sure but it’s been a couple hours at least. I’m really sorry if I disturbed you. Please don’t be mad at me.”
“It’s fine, really, I’m not mad at you.” Surveying the area once more, Rainbow Dash added, “How in Equestria did we end up here?”
“Oh, well, after the cables snapped we both got flung pretty far. I was really scared but you weren’t flapping your wings so I tried to grab you and stop you from falling. By the time I finally got the courage to spread my wings and fly we were already pretty close to the island. I grabbed you and flapped my wings as hard as I could, but, you know, I’m not very strong and only slowed us down a little bit. We landed with a crash on the sand and you didn’t open your eyes so I dragged you under this palm tree.”
“How long have you been just watching me sleep?”
“Oh, well, after you were lying under the tree, I tried to look for some better shelter, but it was too dark to see anything so I just sat next to you for a while.”
Rainbow Dash turned her attention away from Fluttershy and back to the scene that this new terrain had brought about. Focusing on her pegasus companion once more, Rainbow Dash asked, “When did the weather become so nice?”
“Well, um, after a while the rain stopped and I decided to get some sleep. When I woke up the sun was rising and the sky was clear. Oh, it was just beautiful! I could’ve looked at it forever.” Fluttershy looked up at the sun again, reminiscing about the beautiful sunrise she had just described.
Rainbow Dash, having all her questions answered, finally began to trot around the beach. Becoming bored with the ground, she decided to take a quick flight and see what was behind the palm trees. After lying on the ground for so long, the blue pegasus decided it would be best to stretch on the sand. Attempting to stretch her wings, she spread them to their full length.
A sudden pain shot through the stretching pegasus as she attempted to spread her wings causing her to yelp in agony. Her left wing shot back to its original position next to the body. Quickly turning to face Fluttershy, the hurt pegasus half asked and half demanded, “What happened to my wing?”
“Oh, well, um…when we crash landed you hit the ground pretty hard and I think you may have hurt one of your wings.”Fluttershy cringed back after she had finished her sentence, preparing for Rainbow Dash to lash out in rage.
“What!? This can’t be happening! I need to fly! I can’t be stranded on some stupid island and not be able to fly!”
“If it makes you feel any better, I can still fly.” With that Fluttershy lifted herself gently into the air, demonstrating her healthy wings. The injured pegasus glared at her, and she regretted what she had said. Fluttershy landed gently on the soft sand and tried to avoid eye contact with Rainbow Dash. Injured and angry, the pegasus trotted slowly to where the tides met the sand and stood, looking out at the ocean.
Fluttershy stood under the tree watching Rainbow Dash, but her eye was caught by something floating in the water. With this new found interest, the animal loving pegasus trotted over to join Rainbow Dash at the shores of the ocean.
After looking at the ocean’s beauty for quite some time, Rainbow Dash had finally cooled off, accepting the fact that she wasn’t going to be able to fly. The calmness of the ocean had somehow poured into the pegasus's soul, transforming her feelings to match the ocean's. This indescribable phenomena was all that was necessary to refocus the sky blue pegasus on the pressing matters at hoof.
Turning her head toward the vast mountains in the background, Rainbow Dash heard Applejack’s voice in her head. It was as if Applejack was reminding the sky blue pegasus to journey to the middle of the island. With the reminder lingering in her head, Rainbow Dash turned and trotted toward the palm trees.
“Come on Fluttershy,” she said commandingly, “We need to get to the middle of the island if we want to find the food we came here for.”
Reluctantly, Fluttershy turned away from her new sea animal friend that was a speck in the distance to follow the commanding pegasus. The sun had reached its peak in the sky and the day was at its hottest. Trotting across the hot sand was a pain for Rainbow Dash, not because it was too hot, but because Fluttershy could easily fly slightly above the sand while the blue pegasus was grounded. Small beads of sweat began to form on both the pegasi's faces.
Finally reaching the line where the beach met the army of palm trees, the two pegasi took their first step in what was going to be the longest journey that they had ever embarked upon. As the sand slowly diminished and was replaced by grass, the pegasi began to worry about how the other four ponies were faring wherever they happened to be. These thoughts lingered with them as they trotted through the tropical scenery.
Only a couple steps into the palm tree forest, Rainbow Dash had already spotted food. Hanging from one of the palm trees was a large, brown coconut. Oddly enough, it was the only coconut that could be found on any of the trees at all. Being the only one able to fly, Fluttershy flew up to pull the delicacy off the its perch.
“I guess they weren’t lying when they said there was food here,” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, licking her lips in anticipation of eating the goodness that lay inside the coconut.
After successfully pulling the coconut off the tree, Fluttershy held it in her hands unsure of what to do. Turning it around in her hoofs with a confused look, she desperately searched for something on the shell. After staring impatiently at the confused pegasus for a short while, Rainbow Dash called out to her, “Well? What are you waiting for?”
Still confused, Fluttershy looked at the pegasus waiting impatiently on the ground, “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
“Smash it.”
“What?”
“Toss it on the ground to break it.”
Looking at the coconut once more, Fluttershy obeyed the blue pegasus’s command. Lifting up the coconut above her head, Fluttershy readied herself to smash the hard shell. Then, in one smooth motion, the flying pegasus brought her hands swiftly down and tossed the coconut directly at the ground with all her might. Closing her eyes and turning away, Fluttershy waited for the moment when the coconut hit the ground and exploded. Time seemed to slow down as the brown sphere tore through the air.
The coconut hit the ground dully and rolled a little. Then it came to a standstill near Rainbow Dash’s hoof, totally unscathed. Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy with an expression as if to say “are you kidding me?” She brought her hoof to her face and shook her head in disappointment.
“You’re going to have to throw it harder than that if you want to break it Fluttershy.”
Before long, the blue pegasus was growing increasingly impatient as failed attempt after failed attempt the coconut remained intact. Impatience got the better of Rainbow Dash and she called out to Fluttershy in anger, “That’s it! Just fly high up into the sky and drop it from a high altitude. I don’t even care if we lose some of the juice inside anymore. Can’t you do anything?”
With this command, Fluttershy picked up the coconut for one last try. She began to ascend into the air, determined to drop the fruit of the palm tree and break it once and for all in order to please Rainbow Dash. She rose above the palm trees and kept going for a short while until she was where she deemed high enough to break open the shell of the coconut. Closing her eyes, she brought the stubborn coconut above her head for one last throw. Just before she was going to let the coconut drop, she opened her eyes and looked out toward the beach.
What she saw froze her in place, unable to speak or move. She had to tell Rainbow Dash.
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Cold wind blew slowly through the morning air. With evergreen trees being the only visible vegetation in the area, the wind had no effect on the terrain except for an extra chill. White snow blanketed the invisible ground. Without a hoofprint in sight, the snow was an almost perfectly flat coat. It was as if a cloud had come down from the sky and blanketed the ground in its white fluffiness. Soft and cold, the snow was unique place for a unicorn’s head to rest.
Slowly opening her eyes, Twilight Sparkle lifted her head from the snow. Having no idea where she was, she looked around at this new territory. Snow covered trees were scattered throughout the area, with only small bits of green sticking out of the white blanket sometimes. In the distance the amount of trees grew larger and larger, until it became almost a forest of snow covered cones. Struggling to pick herself off the snowy floor, she felt dizzy. It was as if all her energy had been drained.
In the near distance, cliffs rose high out of the ground. At the top of the cliffs dark caverns could be seen carved into the jagged cliffs. The sides of the cliffs were the only part of the terrain that wasn’t covered in snow. Icicles hung from the entrances of the caves that opened as the cliffs snaked upwards. The cliffs surrounded the area, intimidating anypony who saw them from the ground. Some overhangs formed dark alleyways where the ground wasn't entirely covered in snow, but still managed to uphold a thing crust of white flakes.
Behind her, Twilight only saw white snow meeting the blue sky. She decided to trot over and see what lay below the snow. Upon arriving, she saw that the snowy cliff protruded out over an icy ocean. Blocks of shiny ice floated on the ocean surface as fragments. Near the cliff the unicorn stood looking down from was a slow decline down to sea level. The slope was covered in snow and where is met the water the inches of snow stood overlooking the tides. Ice blocks that were floating near the shore were close enough to jump from one to another, but as they went farther away from the shore the blocks moved farther apart. Twilight even thought she saw an iceberg in the distance.
Shining brightly, the sun became the holder of Twilight’s eye. It was the first time she had seen the sun for days, and now it was shining brightly in a clear sky. The sunlight reflected off the snow and ice, giving them glossy appearances.
The sound of somepony giggling came from behind the mesmerized unicorn. Turning her attention away from the beauty of the scene before her, she spun quickly around to confront the voice. Sure enough, it was only a pink earth pony making snow angels.
Pinkie Pie got up and smiled, “Hello sleepy head! Nice to see you awake. Wanna make snow angels with me?”
“No thanks Pinkie, I’m fine.” Twilight thought about it for a second and asked, “How did we get here?”
“Oh, well, we were falling really fast and I was really scared and just before we hit the water you did this cool thing with your horn and whoosh! And then we were here.” Pinkie smiled and fell back into the snow to continue making snow angels.
“Well that clears it up. Where are the others?”
Lifting her head from the snow, Pinkie giggled and said, “I have no idea!”
Twilight rolled her eyes at how useless Pinkie could be sometimes. Looking around for the other four ponies, Twilight turned around in a circle twice before realizing it was hopeless. The area was too big and she didn't have the energy to search for her friends. She assumed that while panicking she had managed to teleport herself from the basket to the island and brought Pinkie Pie along for the ride. She then concluded that the spell had exhausted her of energy and that she had been sleeping while Pinkie was up and about playing in the snow. The pedantic unicorn smiled, she loved it when she figured out things.
Something still didn’t seem right. Pulling a hoof gently through the white fluff, the unicorn felt the flakes that she stood upon. After testing out different samples of snow in multiple areas, Twilight eventually came to the conclusion that the island was magic. There was no way a storm like the one they had just flown through wouldn’t have an effect on the snow. It was way too dry to be post-storm snow. The overbearing magic of the island scared the unicorn, but she remained confident in her abilities.
Around a hundred imprints of angels lay in the snow and ruined what used to be a perfect blanket. Hoof prints in pairs of fours covered the area. Obviously, there was only one creature that could make hoof prints that showed up four at a time and far apart from each other. Pinkie’s unique style of moving about had created indents in the once flat blanket, showing Twilight all of the bouncy ponies’ previous movements.
Bending around a nearby evergreen, the hoof prints stayed in the general area near Twilight. Every now and then the prints would stop, leave behind a snow angel, and then continue to snake around. A crude snow pony stood near Twilight, showing off the endeavors of a bored Pinkie Pie while Twilight had been sleeping.
The unicorn decided to turn her attention away from the activities of the hyperactive pink pony and concentrate on the matter at hand. Her stomach growled, and Twilight gazed toward the majestic peaks of the mountains that stood in the center of the island. Suddenly she was reminded of the location of the food that had brought them to the island in the first place.
“Pinkie, let’s get moving, we have to reach the center of the island if we want to get that food. Maybe we’ll find the others, too.” Twilight began to trot forward without looking back, expecting Pinkie to follow her without questions.
“Okie-dokie!” responded a cheerful Pinkie Pie. Springing up from the snow, she began to trot happily behind Twilight. The slow journey toward the center of the island began, leaving a trail of hoof prints behind the two adventurers.
Small flakes of snow that had been torn from their blanket flew idly through the cold breeze. In the distance, slopes of snow were covered in trees and rocks rose precariously high from out of the snow. The landscape was not flat, but rather rose and fell at almost random intervals. Only the surface of untouched snow remained flat.
Icicles were forming on the sides of cliffs, heated by the suns intense rays. Drooping branches of trees and no signs of life made the entire area seem still as the rocks that were strewn across it. Twilight’s mane had stopped moving, signaling to her that the breeze had halted as they passed by a large cliff.
Hoof prints were slowly made their way toward the mountains in the far distance. As they followed behind Twilight and Pinkie Pie they gained a companion.
Indenting the snow, hoof prints crossed the path of the traveling pair, but belonged to neither of them. They went diagonally in front of the two ponies and continued in the same direction. Unable to see where exactly they stopped, Twilight looked up to see where the hoof prints seemed to be headed. As she lifted her head she saw a rock elevating far out of the snow. Caves of all sizes were spread out all over the crag. The hoof prints seemed to go directly toward the massive structure.
“Uh, Pinkie? Did you come trotting over here while I was sleeping?” asked Twilight hesitantly.
“Nope! I stayed right next to you almost the entire time you were asleep, silly. Don’t you remember?”
“Well if you didn’t make these hoof prints, Pinkie, then who did?”
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Sunlight crept through the slightly open eye of the resting pony, causing it to shut once more. Drooping eyelids stood locked to the bottom of the eyes and refused to budge. Behind the lids the sunlight was still able to make it to the eyes, making the eyelid close even harder to avoid allowing even the slightest amount of light in.
Cold and wet, the ground beneath was no pleasant mattress, but even with its uncomfortable qualities it was the only mattress nature knew. The sound of the tide rising upon the shore and falling back just as quick was soothing to the ears of the resting pony. Birds sang softly in the background and spoke back and forth as if they were in casual conversation. Every now and then a cricket would let off its chirp in the distance and would be answered by another chirp somewhere else.
Cicadas buzzed in the distance, keeping a constant sound in the immense forest. The ocean breeze blew softly into the forest and made its way around the trees, continually becoming less and less powerful until nothing was left. Its sound added to that of the tides, and they harmoniously became one sound whenever the tides rose upon the sand. The sun watched the top of the trees, but could not see any further. What happened beneath the canopies of the trees was one of the few mysteries for the sun.
Another attempt to open her eyes. With enough unconscious effort, her eyelids were almost able to open enough to bring herself to get up, but the sun flooded her pupils causing them to shut once more. Rolling over slowly to expose the other side of her body to the sun, the resting pony thought once again about finally waking up. However, her body played a different tune, reluctant to lift itself up and deal with the pressures that morning brought.
Inside the dark world behind her eyelids, the pony relived the moments that she last remembered. After flying through the biting cold wind for what seemed like eternity, her grip on the makeshift parachute was loosening by the second and it didn't help that she had a passenger. Approaching the island but still at a moderately high altitude the duo began to slip. The pony struggled to keep her mouth clenched on the last bits of cloth that kept her parachute with her, but the wind decided otherwise. Just before she fell, the pony took one last look around her but didn't see her dear friends anywhere. It was at that moment she realized she might be doing this without four of her friends. With one final tug the endeavors of the pony were put to the end by the wind and sent her and her rider plummeting toward the ground. Crashing through a tall tree that stood nearest to the banks of the ocean, the pair hit the ground with a thump, unconsciously lying in the rain that continued to poor.
Not too far away from the pony slept the unicorn that had joined in the plummet through the tree, soaking in the sunlight that the morning sun brought to them. Lying in the shade of a tree rather than the glaring sunlight, Rarity was able to pick herself off the ground much more easily and begin her day. The constant buzzing of cicadas wasn’t a symphony of nature to her, but rather dissonant notes that annoyed her ears and caused her unrest. Slowly lifting herself with her hooves planted firmly on the rocky ground, the unicorn gave a quick shake of her head to brush off any of the drowsiness that had followed her from the depths of her sleep.
Staring out into the beautiful scene the sun painted in the ocean, she smiled. It’s like I’m staring in a mirror, she thought. Grinning cheerfully at her mental comment, she decided it would be best to go look at what damage sleep on such filthy rocks had done to her mane. Trotting slowly to the clear waters of the ocean, she leaned in as the tides came rolling up to her hoofs.
Her image was visible to her as the water came up, and disappeared as it rolled back into the ocean. Rarity gave the tides a couple chances to redeem themselves from what she had first seen in their reflection, but what they beheld stood true. Accepting that what she saw before her was the real truth, she released a scream of agony.
A break in the constant sounds of the forest was all it took to jolt the eyelids of the resting pony wide open. Jumping frantically to her hoofs, Applejack blinked long and hard twice before she had completely adjusted to the new lighting. Seeing Rarity staring at the tides and screaming sent Applejack’s eyelids back to a droop. Glaring disapprovingly of Rarity’s overdramatic actions she decided to walk on over and see what all the unnecessary fuss was about.
“Oh, Applejack, don’t look at me it is too horrid for eyes to behold,” exclaimed the unicorn dramatically.
“Rarity, what in Equestria could have happened to you that would be that bad?” responded Applejack mockingly, anticipating an unworthy reason for the disturbance of her rest.
“Oh it’s absolutely terrible! I don’t know how but somehow a gigantic branch managed to make its way into my mane!”
Observing the purple mane of the unicorn, Applejack had to keep from laughing. “Rarity, that’s a twig. And it’s really not a big deal.”
“Are you kidding me? My mane is an absolute mess and I have not a single way to care for it on this barbaric island!”
Deciding it would be best to comfort rather than mock the distressed drama queen, Applejack consoled her, “Look sugar cube, the only pony that’s going to see you with a messed up mane is going to be me. Now stop worrying about it.”
Staring at Applejack with a pout, she refused to accept this. Standing tall with dignity she made her stance clear to the orange pony.
“Fashion is one of the most important things in my life and there is absolutely no possible way I am going to continue anywhere with a mane in such a condition as this one. Now if you would be so kind as to excuse me, I am going to attempt to restore order to my mane.”
With a flick of her tail and a haughty turn back towards her mirror of an ocean, she went to work on her mane. Using magic to carefully remove the twig intertwined with the locks of the mane, she spent roughly ten more minutes making sure every strand was perfectly in place. Turning back to Applejack with a displeased expression, she accepted that this would be the best she could do under these harsh conditions.
Seeing that her makeover session was finally over, Applejack rolled her eyes and made her way to where the unicorn stood on the beach.
“Now that you’re mane is finally presentable,” said Applejack, trying hard not to sneer, “Can we finally get moving. If we want to find the food we came searching for we’re going to have to make it to the middle of this island and we’re going to have to start now.”
Ignoring Applejack’s rude remark about her manetenance, she agreed that it would be best to begin the journey soon. She didn’t want to have to feel the pains of hunger once again.
Both the ponies stood before the overbearing forest that would soon consume them. The trees stood tall, with odd trunks that spiraled up toward the branches rather than go straight up. The branches were wide and broad, making them seemingly simple to walk upon. Vegetation permeated the floor of the forest, with ferns, grasses, and unidentified plants of all sorts growing out of every crevice possible. Vines loomed sullenly from the branches of trees, occupying the space between the ground and the canopies.
Where the forest ended, rocky terrains lead themselves into beach sand for a short while before turning into the ocean. Nearby a wide river flowed into the forest from the ocean, but not much of it could be seen by the ponies from where they stood. The sounds of life came from within the forest, creating a mystical aura about it as the two ponies had no idea what lay before them.
The leaves of the trees blocked out the warm rays of the sun, only allowing small amounts of it to seep through and illuminate lone spots on the forest floor. The green leaves hid anything that moved upon the wide branches, keeping the secrets of the canopies of the tree from both the sun and those who walked underneath. Only the rustling of these leaves could signal the movement of any form of life, and usually those forms of life made sure not to rustle any leaves in an attempt to stay unseen.
Most of the trees stood at about the same height, except for one tree that Rarity had seen while standing near the shore of the ocean. Rising high out of the canopies of the normal trees, it stood almost half another tree higher than the rest. Its branches spread out so wide as to cover what five trees together would. The only thing taller than this tree was the mountains behind it. Standing tall and majestic, the jagged peaks lined the sky with white, snow-covered caps.
Standing before the immense forest the ponies felt as though they were merely specks of dust on the floor of a large room. With hesitation to embark on the journey to the center of the island, both ponies considered turning back and staying on the beach. Thoughts of the pain that the hunger brought changed their minds, and stepping hesitantly into the grassy floor of the massive forest, the two specks of dust began their trek.
Roots snaked all through the forest floor and were difficult to see under all the brush. The untamed vegetation of the forest covered almost every inch of the unexplored area. Rarity constantly cringed away from what she saw as the disgusting plant life that surrounded her. With nowhere to go but forward, they weaved their way through trees and through ferns. It felt as though the forest had eyes, and that it had sensed their presence.
The eyes stared coldly at the backs of the ponies, and the trespassing pair felt the stare. It was inevitable and sent shivers down both their spines. Unknown mysteries were contained in every corner, and they were only seeing the surface of it. They could sense movements behind them, and turning quickly to catch the cause of the movement was futile as they were never in sight. Progress continually slowed as the ponies had to constantly check their surroundings to assure themselves that danger was not lurking behind them, waiting for them to put their guard down.
Overgrown ferns fanned out and blocked the path that the two ponies had decided to take. They stretched out and crossed each other like fans attempting to hide what lay behind them. Carefully approaching the ferns, Rarity and Applejack pushed their heads through the crevice made where the ferns crossed each other.
Poking their heads out on the other side, they stood aghast at what lay before them. Strung between two trees was a hammock. Inside the hammock lay a smirking draconequus.
“Hello again, have you missed me?”