//------------------------------// // The Other Side of the World // Story: Let's Play A Game! // by DagaYemar //------------------------------// Twilight sucked in a quick breath and took a moment to rest, setting down on the rough gravel path. The walkway was very narrow here, rising up around a hill that turned into a natural bridge. Below, the raging waters picked up speed astonishingly fast before roaring over an enormous waterfall. From her perch Twilight could see that it emptied into a vast ocean which stretched as far as she could see. It was a little freaky, actually, how the land simply fell away as if it had been just carved off. Or as if whatever creator built this place wanted to cram as much into it and didn’t care about the natural formation of landmasses. She shuddered, the sound of water bringing back memories of the whirlpool that had overtaken her and Applejack as they’d left the Ice Palace. Applejack had made a break for what looked like a series of caves, but Twilight had been caught up in the initial waves and hadn’t been able to follow. She’d barely been able to swim against the current and reach the center of the whirlpool before her whole world have become flooded. After an indeterminate time she’d clawed her way to the surface to find that everything had changed drastically. Gone was the snow-topped mountains, replaced with what seemed an endless grassy plain split with a couple of paths. “And this,” she muttered, appraising the problem before her. The bridge before her had randomly become clear glass for no discernable reason. Thin cracks said pretty clearly how structurally sound it was, and it seemed like a pretty stupid idea to try crossing it. But just on the other side she could make out what looked a pony-made structure, so… “I suppose I’m not going to get anywhere just waiting,” Twilight said, putting one hoof tentatively forward. A few more cracks spread out from her hoof with a light ‘pik’ sound, but it seemed to hold her weight. She took two more steps and breathed a sigh of relief. “Haa… there! Nothing to be worried abouOAHHH!!!” The glass suddenly shattered under her hooves, sending her howling down towards the waters below. Flailing and screaming, she managed to angle herself so she landed on a thin sandbar she hadn’t seen below the bridge. She landed heavily on her side and immediately started to sink into it like quicksand. “Seriously?!” she shouted, struggling against its sticky pull. She managed to slip a hoof into her saddlebags and rooted around for something to get her out of this mess. Yanking out her net, she awkwardly flung it out and snagged the far end of the broken bridge. She hauled herself out of the muck, every other pull threatening to dislodge the net from its tenuous hold. After the third such slip she bitterly wished she still had her grappling hook. With a final cry of effort she climbed the last rung of the net and collapsed upon solid ground. She lay panting, wet sand plastered to her fur, and focused on just stilling her furiously beating heart. After a while she sat up and glanced behind her at the ruined bridge. The glass was somehow magically growing back together with a sound vaguely like wind chimes. She stood up and tried unsuccessfully to brush the wet sand off. “Well, that’s one way to cross a bridge!” Down below in the quicksand, where it must have fallen out of her saddlebags, her shield bobbed one last time before getting sucked down. Sputtering, Fluttershy crawled out of the water. “What… what was that? I just thought I’d say hello to the friendly fish in that pond and then…” “That’s why it’s called the Kingdom of Worpol!” Pinkie Pie said happily, bouncing from seemingly empty water next to her. “It’s a pun! I’m going to head off this way. Wanna come with?” Pinkie hopped into a rowboat that was inexplicably bobbing in the waters next to them. Fluttershy took one look at the tall, violent looking waves further out to sea and meekly pointed up a stone pathway leading up from the whirlpool. “I think I’m going to go this way…” she said softly. “Okie doki loki!” Pinkie said happily, as the boat turned about on its own and shot off into the distance. Fluttershy sighed and climbed out of the water, shaking herself like one of her dogs to dry off. “Got to strike out on my own now,” she whispered, taking her first steps up the slope. Black smoke poured out of the ground before she’d taken two steps. It pooled up and around her, cutting off any chance of escape. A pair of glowing green eyes floated out of the cloud and closed in on her with an evil cackle. “O-oh, already?” Fluttershy squeaked as King Sombra whisked her away to prison. Meanwhile, Pinkie was making good time on her self-propelled rowboat. She stood on the prow and shaded her eyes like a pirate, humming a sea shanty to fit the mood. The boat bobbed and dipped with the waves like a rollercoaster, which was a ton of fun for a while. But far too soon it was back to the game. “Now, where is it… where is it…” Pinkie stage-whispered, scanning the ocean closely. Directly behind her, the sea bulged up as a large creature rose from the depths. Salty streams poured from the sea serpents’ bright orange hair as it bared its fangs over the little boat. “There it is!” Pinkie shouted happily, leaping out of the rowboat at the exact moment the serpent crushed it to pieces in its purple jaws. She landed on the first of a line of stones randomly in the middle of the ocean and skipped over them one by one, continuing to sing her shanty. The stones led her to a sandy island surrounded by an ugly ring of rocks. Up the pebbly beach sprawled the broken remains of an old fort, its few remaining stone walls bleaching in the sunlight. Its few windows were set with rusty bars and all the doors were long gone. Pinkie grinned and rubbed her hooves together in anticipation. “The Island Fortress! And I’m the first one here! The treasure’s as good as mine! Sorry girls, but I’m not called the expert for noth-” Black smoke bubbled up from the sand around her hooves. It encircled her in an instant and Sombra’s face floated out of the darkness with a throaty chuckle. “Aww… you’re no fun!” Pinkie sighed as Sombra’s smog engulfed her. “Alright… steady…” Rainbow Dash mumbled around the nails clamped between her teeth. The small end of the rickety bridge she’d managed to construct to far swayed dangerously in the heavy wind. Far too far below the waves crashed against rows of uneven rocks. Her wings struggled to maintain their hold on a large disorganized pile of boards as she struggled to nail down the latest plank. “Phew!” Rainbow sighed, wiping her sweating forehead, “There! Two down…” A sudden strong gust caused the partial bridge to sway violently and the remaining planks slipped out of her tenuous grip. They spiraled end over end and smashed against the waves far below. “…zero to go…” she finished, spitting the useless nails out of her teeth over the side, “You know what? I’ve got a better idea.” She spread her wings and flew across the gap with ease, landing smartly on the other side. She took a moment to preen and run a hoof through her hair to get out the ocean’s spray. Turning around, she appraised the island’s only feature. The island itself was a perfect circle, rising out of the sea as if it had been placed here on purpose. Taking up most of the center of the circle, leaving only a small pathway barely wide enough for a pony to use around it, was a conical black tower. It squatted as if it couldn’t stand the sun shining down on it, its black stones absorbing the heat of the day with an intensity Rainbow Dash could feel even from this far away. She knew without even having to get closer that actually entering the tower would be like walking into a furnace. She was about to start circling the tower for an entrance when a voice stopped her short. “Rainbow Dash? That you?” She spun around to see Applejack standing on the furthest board she’d nailed in. “Hey! How’s the adventure going so far?” she asked, shuffling her bags so that the item she’d looted from the Towers was out of sight. “Not bad, not bad…” Applejack said evasively, nonchalantly shoving the bag from the Ice Palace deeper into her saddlebags, “Ah just crossed over a log over a pit full of skulls.” Rainbow’s eyebrows shot up. “Whoa, awesome! Was it dangerous?” Applejack scratched under her hat self-consciously. “Well… not really. Nothing happened.” Rainbow blinked. “What, nothing? No monster burst out of the bones? It didn’t spin and try to throw you into the pit? The skulls didn’t even cackle evilly?” Applejack shrugged. “Nope. Ah just walked over the log and kept goin’.” The two of them stared at each other awkwardly for a moment before Applejack pointed at the bridge. “So… you build this?” “Yeah, but I got bored,” Rainbow said quickly, turning away so her friend couldn’t see her face turn red in embarrassment. Applejack sighed and backed up a little. “Ah think Ah can jump it,” she said, rolling her shoulders to loosen them up. She launched herself over the end of the bridge and time seemed to move in slow motion as she arced over the gap. Then time resumed its normal speed as she fell far too short and dropped screaming into the waves below. “You alright down there?” Rainbow Dash called, leaning over the edge of the cliff and struggling to suppress giggles as her friend paddled to the nearest rock and spat out a stream of water. “Ah’m fine,” Applejack shouted back irritably, “Ah think my torch was put out by the water… the only way back up seems to be goin’ all the way around.” “Well, then this treasure’s all mine! Catch you later, slowpoke!” she taunted, prancing off to find the entrance to the tower. Halfway around the tower Rainbow found an opening shaped like the face of some kind of horrible monster. The inside of the tower was pitch black and just as hot as she’d expected it to be. It seemed like the entire middle of the tower was one large hallowed out chamber, much like the Banshee Towers had been. Rainbow drew out her sword and axe and strode confidently out to the middle of the room, looking for the boss. “Come on out!” she called, “I’m ready for you, whatever you are!” “Oh, are you?” a squeaky voice said, floating out from the gloom. Rainbow spun around and spotted a figure leaning against the far wall. A… very small figure. The creature slouched forward into the dim light from the entrance and she saw that it was bipedal, like Spike, and wearing a moth-eaten blue suit that would have given Rarity nightmares for a week. It had moss green skin and sickly yellow eyes, one of which was covered by its pulled down aged fedora. The creature walked right up to the pegasus and it barely came up to her barrel in height. “I’m the goblin of this tower,” the goblin said with a grin, picking its nose, “You think you’re good enough to steal my treasure?” Rainbow Dash barked a laugh and hefted her weapons. “Oh yeah! This is going to be a piece of cake!” “Well… I thought you did very well.” Fluttershy said, patting Rainbow Dash consolingly on the back. On the other side of the prison bars, the goblin hefted Rainbow’s sword appreciavely. “Hey, this is pretty good workmanship! I’m keeping this!” Rarity ducked behind a new crumbling pillar and reassessed her situation. The glass bridge she’d crossed over had been beautiful enough, in its own way, but the place it had led to was just hideous. It appeared to have been a temple of some kind in the past, but it had been allowed to fall to ruin. The stone pillars that surrounded it were wreathed in wild vines, those which weren’t randomly on fire. There were suspicious stains all over the polished floor and rough stone alter set to one side of the complex. A trap door led to a submerged area that Rarity could only presume contained this place’s dungeon. In the middle of the room she spied Twilight Sparkle darting left and right, firing a steady stream of lasers from her horn. After her was a rather large cockatrice, whose eyes were glowing with a horrid red light. At odd intervals the cockatrice also shot lasers from its eyes, which was something Rarity was quite sure cockatrices weren’t supposed to be able to do. “Not something I want to get in the middle of,” Rarity muttered, making a break for the opposite side of the building, “You can have this one, I’ll just take the next one.” Free of the temple, Rarity took stock of her options. To the right the path split in two directions, both of which led off into what appeared to be an ocean. And to the right… the entire path was blocked by the smoky form of King Sombra. His leering face floated out of the smog at her, but she was apparently just out of his reach. “Well, that certainly makes the decision much easier!” Rarity quipped, turning her back to the villain and marching smartly towards the water. At the fork, a helpful sign informed her that the left branch led to the ‘Broken Bridge’. Indeed, the structure didn’t look very safe and several planks were missing entirely. However, the other path headed straight down into the water where ostensibly she’d have to leap from one slick stone to another. Rarity sniffed. “Hardly,” she said, turning smartly and starting off down the bridge. It turned out to be much sturdier than it first appeared and it was easy to jump over the missing sections. “I do hope this is going somewhere nice. So far I am not very impressed by this so-called enchanted kingdom…” At that moment a rushing sound caused her to pause. Her eye twitched as she felt sure, absolutely sure, that there was something horrible and disgusting behind her. There was a sound like dripping water and a sensation of hot breath on her back. She didn’t want to look, she really didn’t want to look, but she had no choice… She looked. The creature was large, moss green, and slimy. Three bulbous tentacles flailed out of its malformed head. Its mouth took up most of its body, all dripping hooked teeth that spiraled all the way down its yawning gullet. A single rolling eye perched lopsidedly along one side of the maw. The entire thing had risen out of the waters below and was just seconds from engulfing her and the part of the bridge she was standing on whole. Rarity screamed at the top of her lungs and reared back on her hind legs. Her magic dug into her saddlebags and pulled out the first thing it could, her shield, and chucked it down the creature’s throat. Whatever it was flopped back, as if the sudden intrusion had lodged itself and it was choking. Rarity didn’t even pause to check, sprinting for all she was worth for the end of the bridge. Making it in record time, she collapsed on the sand and sat there unmoving until the adrenalin burned itself from her system. “Hi Rarity!” Pinkie Pie’s voice cut through the air, jarring the unicorn from her exhaustion. “What, Pinkie?” Rarity said, sitting up sharply and looking around for the first time. She’d collapsed on the beach of an island in the middle of the sea, surrounded by pointy rocks on all sides. In the center of the island was a stone fortress gone to ruin, much like everything else in this world. On the far side of the beach, waving what looked like the remains of her net, was a very familiar pink pony. “Glad you could make it! I’ve only just broken out of the jail cell, had to lose my net to get out, don’t ask me how one breaks out of a cell with a net, but it’s good to see somepony again, and-” Her usual babble was interrupted as Sombra suddenly poured out of the ground and snatched up Pinkie in his smoky tendrils. “Oh come on, not again!” Pinkie whined as she was carted through the air back into the fortress. “Pinkie!” Rarity shouted, dashing up and after her friend as fast as she could. Inside the fort was brightly lit, as the ceiling was completely missing. There was nothing inside but a door on the far side of the single room, apparently leading to the dungeon Pinkie was locked in. In front of the door, an earth pony sat on a square object as if awaiting her arrival. The pony was dressed up like an extra from a Daring Do novel in full cultist robes and a long cape synched tight with a golden insignia. The pony’s magenta mane and tail were bunched up in a tight weave that made them look like paint brushes, and clutched in one hoof was a long spear adorned with a skull below the tip. “My, my, my… I’d have expected somepony with your fashion tastes to be at that other temple,” Rarity said brightly, sidestepping to try and find a clear path to the door. But the pony stood up and stayed between her and it, lowering his spear in her direction. “You have four tries to get the treasure,” the cultist said in a low voice, “Come at me, or be imprisoned like your companion!” “…If I must!” Rarity declared, using her magic to draw her sword and somehow still lit torch from her bags. She lunged the sword forward with a flick of her magic, but her enemy laughed and easily knocked the sword from the air with his spear. “One!” the cultist shouted, stabbing forward with his own weapon. Rarity leapt back just barely out of range and levitated the sword between them, whirling it about randomly. They traded a couple of blows and the cultist laughed as each half-hearted attack was turned aside. “Two! Three!” Realizing she was far too outmatched in this particular contest, Rarity decided to switch tactics. Pulling the sword back, she held it before her like a salute in an official fencing match. The cultist held back for a moment, confused as to this sudden shift in her behavior, and in that instant Rarity brought down the torch she’d levitated above the two of them. It landed right on the cultist’s head and set his mane alight. Dropping his spear, the pony reared back and tried to beat of the flames with his hooves to no avail. “That’s quite enough of that,” Rarity said, stowing away her sword and fire while the cultist ran wildly around the room in a panic, “I didn’t want to have to do that, you know. Drab though they may be, you do pull of the tribal look very well and I didn’t want to accidentally scorch your attire.” The cultist ran out the gaping door of the fortress and plunged into the water off the beach, disappearing from view. As he did, there was a click from the square object he’d been sitting on at the start. Now that there was no distractions, Rarity realized it was a large chest, and recalling the cultist’s earlier mention of treasure perked her interest. She stepped up to the chest and easily lifted the lid with one hoof. “Ooh…! It’s… beautiful!” Rarity gasped, putting a hoof to her mouth as her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. Inside the chest was a fabulous crown the likes of which deserved to lie upon only the most royal of heads. It was worked in soft gold and plush red velvet, and speckled with emeralds and other shining gems. A delicate pink porcelain rose adorned the top of the magnificent headpiece, shimmering with the sort of soft rainbow hues normally only associated with sea shells. Lying next to it was a black velvet bag adorned with the words ‘Island Fortress’ is elegant script. “Congratulations!” Pinkie Pie shouted from the other side of the locked door, “You got him good!” Rarity snapped back to attention, shaking her head as if coming out of hypnosis and starting for the door. “Pinkie, dear, I’m sorry! If forgot all about you for a second there. Hold on, and I’ll have you right out of there in two shakes!” “Don’t worry about it!” Pinkie said casually, drawing her friend up short. “I’ll get out of here on my own pretty quickly. Anyway, you should take your treasure and get out of here before that happens!” “What? Why?” Rarity asked. “Because,” Pinkie said with an uncharacteristically creepy chuckle, “There’s one part of this adventure I’ve neglected to mention…!” BAM!!!! The impact echoed the empty chamber, rebounding off the pitch black walls. In the far back of the Evil Tower, the door to the prison cell shook in its frame and cracks spread out from its center. BAM!!!! BAM!!!! BAM!!!! CRAAAAASSHHH!!!!!! The door flew off its hinges and skittered several yards across the smooth flagstones. Dust filled the air around the open portal, completely obscuring the insides save for the form of a pony standing with wings spread and a wicked blade aloft in one hoof. The pegasus took a step out of the cell and coughed on the slowly dissipating dust cloud. “Oh… that was a bit more than I expected…” Fluttershy said as the haft of her axe split and the head clattered free to the floor. “WOO! That was incredible!” Rainbow Dash cheered from further back in the cell where she lounged against the bars, “I mean… yeah, I softened it up for you. You were just lucky it was your turn to try.” Fluttershy panted as the excitement caught up to her and stepped to the side. “Aren’t you coming out too?” Rainbow considered and then shook her head, taking a bite out of an apple from her sack of food. “Nah, it’s not my turn. I’ll wait a bit. Besides, you’re at the boss’s chamber; it’s time to fight the boss! You got this! Give that goblin a smack for me!” “Oh… al-alright…” Fluttershy said uncertainly, inching her way further into the cavern-like interior of the tower. She pulled out her shield and cowered behind it as she made her way forward. The tower was pitch black on the inside, with not a single window to lighten up the space. Even the daylight coming in from the far entrance to the tower felt small and far away in the oppressive atmosphere. Suddenly Rainbow Dash noticed a small movement and leapt to her hooves. “Fluttershy, look out!” There was a ‘thwack’ sound and something thunked hard into her shield. Fluttershy squeaked and hunkered down behind it, trying to be as small as she could be. Rainbow strained to make out the figure she’d spotted high up on the wall across the room above the gateway outside. Whoever it was, it wasn’t the goblin she’d faced earlier. While mostly covered in shadows, it appeared to be a grown pony standing on a small ledge on the wall. It had a large bow set up before him and was firing a steady stream of arrows with amazing speed. Arrow after arrow slammed into Fluttershy’s shield with arm-jarring force. The poor pegasus flinched with each blow, her eyes squeezed tightly shut in fear. After an uncomfortable amount of time the barrage finally stopped, although Fluttershy remained frozen in place. “What number did I make?!” a deep voice boomed out. “W-what?” Fluttershy said in a shrill whisper, still trembling with her eyes clamped shut. “My arrows on your shield!” the dark archer roared, “What number do they form?!” Fluttershy jumped a bit at his tone but still couldn’t open her eyes. “I-I d-d-don’t know! F-four?” There was a pregnant pause before the archer gave a slight nod. “Correct,” he intoned, before melting into the shadows. Summoning up the courage to peek around, Fluttershy found herself completely alone in the big room. She glanced down at her shield and noted with dull surprise that the arrows were indeed wedged in the shape of a perfect number four. Rainbow was already at the door to the cells and gaping in mute shock. “Aw, come on! I had to fight my boss, and all you had to do was guess a number? How fair is that?!” But something else had caught Fluttershy’s attention. She tapped her shield on the ground, knocking loose most of the arrows, before slipping it back into her saddlebags as she strode over to the large chest in the middle of the room. It popped open at her touch and she gasped as she saw what was inside. After appraising her prize for a few moments she reached in and swept it into the provided velvet sack, slipping it into her bags. “You got the treasure?” Rainbow asked casually, walking out into the main room while finished off the last of her food. Fluttershy nodded proudly and patted her bags. “Yes, all stowed away nice and safe.” “Well then,” Rainbow said with an evil grin, “Tag! You’re it!” Rainbow Dash shot forward with a surge from her wings and slapped Fluttershy smartly on the back. A glow shimmered to life from her pack and the velvet bag she’d just put her treasure in floated out on its own, its black cloth transformed into bright gold. It hovered for a second before shooting off to the entrance in a glittering comet, to where Rainbow had paused in her flight. The bag slipped into her saddlebags silently and Dash struck a salute towards her friend. “Sorry Shy, but I intend to win one of these games!” she said with a jaunty wave goodbye. “Now let’s see what you had in here…” “YEE-HAW!” Applejack shouted, leaping out of nowhere and slapping Rainbow on the back as she passed overhead. As Rainbow faltered under the blow, one of the two treasure bags floated out of her pack and transferred to the farmer. Applejack landed lightly and offered a taunting flick of her mane as she took off running. “That was for the dip in the water earlier!” she called over her shoulder as she rounded the tower. “Get back here with that!” Rainbow hollered, taking off after her. Applejack reached the end of the trail and jumped for all she was worth, this time managing to just land on the end of the bit of bridge that’d been constructed. It wobbled a little but held her weight as she surged over it. Rainbow cleared the same distance in a flash, striking Applejack on the back as she flew passed and stealing one of her treasures. The two of them raced off into the distance, swerving to trade their spoils back and forth. Meanwhile back in the Evil Tower, Fluttershy sat unmoving and trying to figure out what just happened. “Um… OK. I’ll just… wait here then…” Twilight Sparkle pressed herself against the back of a pillar and peered around cautiously. From what she could see, she’d lost the cockatrice for good this time. The creature had put up quite the fight, but it appeared to lose interest once it had driven her from the premises. Now it was nowhere to be seen, but Twilight wasn’t taking any chances. “Where did it go?” she wondered aloud. She ran to the next pillar and considered her options. The treasure chest was right there out in the open, next to the stone altar. If she was quick enough, she could make it there and back before the cockatrice returned from wherever it was. She concentrated and teleported to the chest with a pop of magic. Her triumphant grin instantly became a grimace as smoke poured out from beneath the chest. She flopped back onto her seat as the smoke boiled up into a very familiar shape. “Discord?” she asked in confusion as the draconequus formed out of most of the resultant cloud. “If you want the treasure in the chest, you’ll have to try and beat my test!” Discord rhymed, using his own magic to lift the princess back up. Twilight brushed herself reflexively as his aura let her go and she looked around the temple in confusion. “Discord, what are you doing here? I thought that cockatrice was guarding the chest?” “And he chased you off pretty good,” Discord laughed, wiping a tear from his eyes with a handkerchief that looked suspiciously like her tail colors, “Ran away with your tail between your legs! But now it’s my turn, and to play you’ve got to bring out your rope and shield!” Twilight sighed and rooted around in her saddlebags with her magic. Her rope quickly floated out into Discord’s waiting claw, but the shield… Twilight dug deeper in her bags, growing more concerned and frantic the longer she looked. “I don’t have all day.” Discord reminded her with an exaggerated yawn. “I can’t find it!” Twilight said, practically turning her bag inside out, “It must have fallen out at some point!” Discord shrugged and snapped his fingers. “Well then, without both items you can’t even try my challenge… but a win by default is still a win! So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu!” Once more Twilight was lifted by Discord’s strange magic and flung through the air. She screamed as she cleared the temple and headed at breakneck speed towards the hard ground. She tried to pull enough magic together to teleport, but she knew she wasn’t going to make it in time and prepared for the worst. At the last second a massive balloon with a bullseye on it appeared and she thumped into it. The balloon deflated with the sound of a giant whoopee cushion as it slowly settled her down to the ground safely. The ends of it flopped down over her as the last of the air escaped and she irritably flicked it off her head with her wings. “And I’m keeping your rope!” Discord’s voice floated through the air from the far off temple, and the balloon disappeared with a pop of chaos magic. Twilight sighed and got back to her feet. “Great. Just great. I bet the others have already gotten their hooves on the other treasures. I don’t have time to waste here. I have to get into the game before it’s too late!”