//------------------------------// // Landscapes // Story: In a Far Away Land // by TheReaderAndWriter //------------------------------// Twilight couldn't see anything in the endless darkness. Light didn't exist and neither did sound. In that void, she couldn't even feel her own body. Not even her heartbeat seemed to exist. She couldn't breathe but it didn't feel necessary. Suddenly, with a deafening explosion, a light pierced through the darkness, giving her the ability to see again. She could see the black silhouette of her own legs in front of her. Everywhere around her in the dark gray void, against the rays of the strong light in the distance, she could see the outline of hundreds of different ponies. They were in front of her, behind, above and beneath. All of them faced the light. Some of the black shapes looked afraid while others seemed confused. When trying to speak she couldn't even hear her own voice. The light suddenly expanded to envelop them all. As Twilight, with great force, got back the ability to feel, the brightness blinded her. Without warning she felt a strong wind hitting her face. Her teary eyes couldn't see much except something blue rushing towards her. Once she hit the surface she tumbled down into the darkness. It didn't take long before she came to a halt in the water's cold embrace. Her head felt like it was spinning uncontrollably, she couldn't even feel which way was up. She just swam straight ahead in panic. Without warning something grabbed hold of her wing and pulled. The first thing Twilight did when she breached the surface was to gasp for air and cough up water. Whoever had helped her patted her roughly on the back while dragging her towards shallower water. "Come on, come on, not another one. Breathe, come on," said an unfamiliar voice. Twilight turned around to face the stranger, but she was so disoriented she turned in the completely wrong direction. She lost her balance and fell down into the water. For a few short moments she lied on her back, trying desperately to make sense of what had just happened. Frightened, she barely realized her head was lying against a flat sandy, warm, surface. In the corner of her eye, the shape of a pony gazing down at her. The sun was right above them, she couldn't see anything clearly. Within the moment the pony looked up at somewhere in the distance, and then fled. Less than a minute later something familiar and smaller rushed to Twilight's side. "Thank Celestia you're okay," said Spike. Twilight coughed again as he supported her head. "Spike, are, are you alright?" asked Twilight. Spike nodded, his form slowly becoming clearer and sharper. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm a lot tougher than I look, you know." "Thick scales," said Twilight. He smiled at her. "Spike, who was that pony?" "Who?" "There was someone who, he helped me. I would have drowned." Spike helped her up. Twilight finally felt the fog filling her mind clearing. She looked around for the pony, but nopony was visible anywhere. "Um, Twilight, where are we?" asked Spike, sounding worried. Twilight took a good look around, the only thing she knew was that they simply could not be in Ponyville anymore. It was like the universe had just thrown its hooves up in the air and decided the laws of everything had been a mistake and rebuilt everything from scratch. Everything was made out of cubes or cubic shapes. Everything. The ground itself was a repeating pattern of variedly colored squares. It seemed Twilight was lying on the edge of a beach, next to a large body of water, possibly an ocean. The landscape was clumsily made from squares, hard edges were visible everywhere. Up the beach, again made of large identical cubes, were a landscape that looked roughly like a forest. The trees' wood and even leaves made from cubes the same sizes. All the cubes the large landscape was built from had sides of exactly one meter in length. Standing up, Twilight was only two heads taller than the cubes right in front of her. "This is so weird. I saw some ponies in that darkness, wait, you saw that too, right?" asked Spike. "Yes, I did. There were so many." "I recognized Rarity among them, her pretty mane is hard to miss," said Spike. "Spike, I think... I think the whole population of Ponyville are here somewhere," said Twilight, dreading the possibility. "We can't know yet, but we have to hurry and make sure. Somepony might be hurt." "Maybe. You're right. Come on, I saw, a mountain somewhere in that direction. We can see more from up there," said Spike and pointed in towards the forest. "Come on, up you go," said Twilight, spreading her wings. Spike jumped up on her back. Twilight needed to take the fastest route. She took a running start, hoping what she had been taught had actually stuck with her. She started to flap with her wings, and then she took the leap... Only to fall headfirst into the sand. Spike was launched several blocks, rolling until he hit a sand dune. Twilight stood up quickly, flapping her wings in confusion. "Great flying Twilight, you're a regular Wonderbolt," said Spike as he got back up on his feet. "It's not my fault, there's no air resistance. Nothing could fly like this," said Twilight. She couldn't help but to feel amazed; the rules of physics were just wrong. Twilight looked over to the water, while it did move, it too was a surface that flowed with the linear waves, going between steps instead of anything a normal liquid would do. "Come on, we're walking," said Twilight. She was about to pick Spike up with her horn, but to her shock she realized it was impossible. There was simply no magical energy to use. It was gone. Without noticing, Spike climbed up on her back again. While certainly troubled, Twilight couldn't let it affect her. Friends could have been in trouble. Climbing up one of the large cubes, easily of a larger mass than both of them, Twilight and Spike rushed into the green forest, leaving the ocean behind them. The large blocks were rushing past them as Twilight just focused on continuing forward. "A bit to the left, yeah, there it is," said Spike, pointing at a mountain at least thirty blocks high, visible between the trees. The hill was at least thirty cubes high. Twilight rushed in and out of shades of the trees. So many of the trees looked the same, a few were much larger and a bit more unique, but with so few possible variations, she quickly got a sense of déjà vu. The ground under her hooves felt a bit weird. While it did feel like she was walking on grass, the surface seemed mostly unyielding. It had been obvious on the sand. Sure, she sunk down a bit, but it had been like sinking into a sandy marshmallow. At one point she had just stopped sinking; the cores wouldn't give. "It's sort of empty, isn't it?" asked Twilight. "And quiet," said Spike. "If you add 'too quiet', you'll have to walk," said Twilight. As the blocks were a head taller than Spike, he quickly did a zipping gesture over his mouth. Still, he was right. So far Twilight had only heard herself, Spike, and the ocean. Then Twilight remember the voice of that stranger. "Spike, are you sure you didn't see anyone else with me? Anyone?" "What? No. Nopony," said Spike. "Who did you see?" "I don't know. I think he saved my life. Hopefully he'll be fine," said Twilight. "For now I just hope we'll be okay," said Spike. *** As Twilight reached the large hill, she climbed up just she could see above the trees. The landscape stretched far out below them, reaching the horizon and beyond. "I think there's some fog far away," said Spike, standing near her head, peering out into the wilderness. "Don't look at the fog, look after our friends, or something that can tell us where we are," said Twilight as she looked in every direction. "Hello!?" Is there anypony there?!" yelled Spike. His roar seemed awfully lonely in the silence, but then his shout was met. "Spike!? Is that you!?" yelled someone else. It was close. Twilight turned around. A rainbow stuck out from the green forest. Somepony was running on the, surprisingly solid, leaves. "Rainbow Dash!" said Twilight with relief. Another familiar face was both terrible and great. Sure, Rainbow Dash was trapped there too, but at least they were not alone. Together they could pull through, Twilight was sure of it. The blue pegasus with the rainbow-colored mane noticed them both. "Twilight! You're alright! Awesome!" said Rainbow Dash. Twilight carefully climbed down the large blocks. She reached the foot of the mountain as Rainbow Dash jumped down from the nearest tree. They both ran towards each other and embraced each other in a hug. "Noticed I didn't get one of those," said Spike as he jumped off Twilight's back. Twilight wrapped her wing around him with care. He gave a little smile. In an otherwise completely unfamiliar situation, a warm embrace with dear friends can really calm the senses. Twilight let go of them both. Before speaking she took a deep, calming breath. "Alright. What do you know?" Rainbow Dash just shrugged. "I don't know what's going on! I can't fly, I can't find anypony, everything is just wrong! I was just resting above Ponyville, then this weird pyramid or whatever covered everything, then everything got dark and then I was here. And I couldn't fly! This is whole thing is just screwed up! Did I mention I can't fly!?" yelled Rainbow Dash. "Calm down, Rainbow. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this. How did you get here?" "I just fell down on the ground, it hurt a lot, but I'm used to crashes. I- I mean, I woke up on the ground after this darkness was everywhere and everything was fine. Totally fine," said Rainbow Dash. "How far away? Where did you wake up?" "Not far, in the middle of this forest," said Rainbow Dash. "I knew I heard something," said a different voice. All three in the group turned to the left. From behind the thick trunk of a tree, a brown stallion with spiky hair walked out of the forest and into the open. "Time Turner! You too?" asked Spike. "Yes. I saw Lyra and Bon Bon too not far from here, I'm glad I found you three, Princess," said Time Turner. "Are you alright?" "A bit bruised, but fine otherwise. I landed on one of these... 'trees'. If it's alright with you, Princess, I have something to say. It's from the mayor," said Time Turner. "The mayor? You've met her?" "No, not yet, Princess, but Lyra had. Apparently, the Mayor and around ten other ponies found each other immediately. She's quickly organized a type of search net. I'm not sure it's of good design, but what do I know?" said the stallion and shrugged. "What's the plan?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Well, the sun is quite high. The plan is to make every pony go out in several directions, calling out for other ponies. When those ponies meet, they go out in other directions to search for more, meeting back where they first found each other when the sun sets, then go back with that group to the other group, and then the other, and finally meeting back at a cave the mayor found." "Sounds dangerous, I'm not sure it's a good method either. Maybe a grid would be better," said Twilight. "Probably, but to her credit we are facing a potential crisis, are we not? We need to find as many ponies as possible and we currently don't have much time to think. It would be best if you all make sure to be back here by sunset and wait for me if I'm not here first," said Time Turner. "Um, alright. I guess that's better than nothing," said Twilight. "Right now we have nothing, so what else is there?" asked Time Turner, continuing in another direction. Before long, he disappeared among the trees. "Well, alright. Let's do it," said Rainbow Dash. "Alright, I'll go with Spike. You go that way. Keep shouting for others," said Twilight and pointed towards another part of the woods. "Sure thing!" said Rainbow Dash. She jumped up on the nearest tree and started to run over the treetops. Without wasting time, Twilight and Spike started to walk in another direction, within a short amount of time, they started to yell out to others. *** "Hello! Is anypony there?!" yelled Twilight. "Please answer me!" "Hello?! Is that you, Twilight?" a high-pitched voice responded. Immediately Twilight and Spike picked up the pace. In the distance, the sun was slowly coming down. They had been out for hours, but they couldn't find anyone. They had almost decided to turn back, but then something had moved in the distance. "Applebloom!" Twilight broke into a run towards the little filly, walking into view. Twilight stopped right in front of her to give her a hug. "Thank goodness you are alright!" said Twilight. "Twilight, I'm so glad to see you. I was so scared! I can't find my brother," said Applebloom, crying into her embrace. "Big Macintosh? Is he here?" asked Spike. "I don't know, Spike. I was playing with him at home, but then something weird happened. I fell down into a pond. Twilight, I'm hungry," said Applebloom. Twilight could relate far too well. She was starving, they all were. They had seen plenty in the past few hours. Snowy pine forests, plains, even deserts, but not a single piece of food. "We found you, that's all that matters. Come on, Applebloom. We'll go back. We might find your brother with the mayor," said Twilight. "Can you find your way back?" asked Spike. "Yes, we'll just go right back. I mean, it's hard to get lost when you only have four directions to follow," said Twilight. Applebloom dried her tears and looked up at Twilight. "Do you really think my brother is there? Will my sister be?" "I don't know, I'm sorry," said Twilight. Spike suddenly jumped off Twilight's back. He walked towards a little dark crevice on the side a hill. It was just two blocks wide but seemed very deep. "Hello? Who's in there?" asked Spike. Applebloom walked over to him. "What is it?" "I saw something, there's someone in there," said Spike. Twilight was hopeful. It was lucky timing. She looked over at the sun, it was slowly setting. The shadows of trees started to cover them all. It was getting darker as the sky got redder. Applebloom looked into the hole with a curious look on her face. Things were quite red in the fading light of the square sun, but as the light faded, something else stayed crimson, something inside the crevice. "Spike, what is that?" asked Applebloom. With a screech a large eight-legged creature shot out of the darkness. Its eight flat red eyes bright with a terrifying ferocity. The spider was hideous. While one would think a creature made from blocks wouldn't be terrifying in the least, one would be proven wrong. It's not in the way something looks that makes it horrible, it's how it moves. The monster moved with precision, its limbs stretching and shooting out with precision and speed far too quick for such a large body. It moved just like any spider, and it was without a doubt a cold-blooded predator. Nothing caring would try to harm a filly like that. It wanted to slaughter them, and it cared for nothing else. Spike jumped out of its grasp, but it quickly took a grip around Applebloom, it's fangs fully visible and ready to strike right into her neck. Twilight hadn't had time to save her. "Applebloom!" yelled Twilight in shock as she rushed to help her, but she would never make it in time. With an impact that could crush diamonds, a hoof struck the spider between its many eyes from above. Within moments it ceased to move. Completely. It was dead. Twilight looked up at the stallion's face. It was a large red pony. "Big brother!" shouted Applebloom. Big Macintosh pulled his sister close to him, looking so very relieved. "Are you okay, Big Mac?" asked Spike. He was still shaken up from the ordeal. "Eeyup." Twilight walked closer to the dead animal. It was crushed and its head had been smashed into dozens of smaller cubes. For a moment its body flashed red, then every part of it picked itself apart and vanished. There wasn't a single trace anything had even happened. "Come on, let's get back before anymore of those things show up," said Spike, climbing up on Twilight again. "Right. Come on, this way," said Twilight. They turned around and started to return. *** "The spot where I met them is just up ahead. Hopefully they have already arrived," said Time Turner. As they walked past a hill, Twilight saw Bon Bon and Derpy Hooves standing in wait by a tree. They both perked up when they saw the group. "Finally! I thought you'd never come back." "Another flaw with the search net. It increases waiting times every level up. If Lyra has found many, then we might be here for quite some time," said Time Turner. "I guess. But hey, at least we found some," said Bon Bon, looking over at the group. Twilight had waited for Time Turner and Rainbow Dash quite a while, but it had been worth it. Rainbow Dash had found Scootaloo, two other fillies, Mr. Cake and his foals. Time Turner had found two stallions. Applebloom and Scootaloo had been quite happy to see each other. Bon Bon had returned completely alone. Twilight looked at the still setting sun, it was just at the horizon. The night would fall completely within a few short minutes. "By the way, did Lyra's magic work?" asked Twilight. Bon Bon looked confused. "I don't know. She doesn't use it that often. Why?" "Twilight's magic doesn't work," said Spike. This drew some surprised gazes Twilight's way. "Peculiar," said Time Turner. "It stopped working after I-" but before Twilight could say anything else Spike covered her mouth with both claws. He gave her a very serious look. "Twilight, ix nay on the aused cay his thay," he whispered with a stern voice. Twilight realized he could have been right. Since it was a crisis they needed to stay focused on solving it, instead of being angry at her. She would tell them when the time came, another day. "Well, I can't use magic, I wonder if anypony else can," said Twilight. She hoped that was the case, otherwise others would start wondering why Twilight of all ponies couldn't use magic. It was the last thing she needed. "Twilight, I'm still hungry," said Applebloom. Twilight couldn't help but to worry about the little filly. Their situation was bad enough as it was, hungry babies and children certainly did not help her feel any ease of mind. "Can't you just eat some of that tall grass?" asked Spike. "But it looks so blocky and weird. What if it's bad for you?" asked Applebloom. "Then don't," said Bon Bon. Twilight didn't approve of her voice, it was too harsh for speaking to a worried filly. At least it was understandable, some of them couldn't quite handle it as well as, say, Rainbow Dash did. "Bon Bon, I know you're a bit stressed, but don't worry. We do this sort of thing all the time. Stay with us and everything will be fine," said Twilight. "You do, yeah. Not me, ever. I want to go home," said Bon Bon. Time Turner cleared his throat. "... Princess." Time Turner nodded his head in approval. Twilight Sparkle felt a bit of a relief that the stallion managed to keep a cool head, it felt reassuring that, yes, she had ponies around her who seemed dependable, or at least collected. Big Macintosh was a shining example of such a pony, but for the moment he didn't have the roll of a leader. He was only concerned with being a protective brother. Like a hawk he kept looking around himself with a very fierce look Twilight rarely saw on him. Applebloom was sitting very close to her sibling. "So, Bon Bon. I heard the mayor is in a cave. Is that true?" asked Spike. "It's more like an overhanging cliff. It's nothing impressive," said Bon Bon. "Where?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Towards the sun." Twilight took one last look at the sun, as it disappeared over the horizon. Night had come. Within a few short moments something could be heard in the distance. It was yelling voices, rapidly coming closer. "Run! For the love of Celestia, run!" yelled a familiar voice. It was a good friend: Rarity. Suddenly at least a dozen ponies came into view as they rushed between the many trees. Lyra was running in front of Applebloom. "Bon Bon, go! Run! To the mayor!" she gasped. Twilight heard a familiar screech in the distance. Spiders. A lot. "Go!" roared Big Macintosh. They all took off as fast as they could, following Lyra towards the mayor. "How fast are they?!" asked Spike from Twilight's back. "Quiet! Just keep going!" said Rarity in a panic. While Twilight certainly felt a bit of panic, she couldn't help but to feel glad Rarity was among them. The group kept running, finding the way without bumping into each other was far too hard in the darkness. Twilight made sure to keep her pace up, but she also stayed behind everyone, making sure nopony split off from the group. "Twilight, I think they are getting closer," said Spike. "Look! Another cave! We can hide in there!" said Bon Bon. Twilight didn't have time to think it through or object, before she knew it ponies were struggling to get into a dark crevice in the side of a hill. Twilight got inside, realizing there was plenty of room in the darkness. Whatever light shining down from celestial bodies didn't reach far into the darkness. Only silhouettes were visible. Big Macintosh was last, rushing in. "Quiet," said Rarity tensed. While the noise of their collective breathing seemed to almost echo into the cavern, Twilight still kept her mouth shut. They waited. Before long Twilight started to hear a disturbing clattering noise of several legs rushing over the grass. For just a moment she expected the creatures to pass, but then several sets of eight eyes started to peer into the opening. Legs and fangs started to reach into the hole, their movements so deadly and precise. "W- will that hold?" asked Spike. Twilight just made sure to keep him steady on her back, in case they needed to flee. "Big brother, can't you do anything?" asked Applebloom. Big Macintosh shook his head, his look was worried. Sure, he defeated a single spider with ease, but that had been from above, unannounced. Attacking several of them at once while they were aware was suicide even for someone as strong as him. "We're dead, we're dead, oh we're so dead," said Bon Bon. "Hey, at least things can't get any worse," said Lyra. "Don't say tha-" and that's when the lightning struck somewhere far away. Without warning rain started to pour, droplets seeping through the natural roof above them, dripping on their heads. "I knew it. That always happen. Always. I literally think Discord magicked up those words just for fun," said Spike. "Spike, it's pretty dark in here. Could you breathe some fire?" asked Twilight. In short order, Spike took a deep breath and started to spew out wild green flames. When the green fire left the immediate vicinity of the dragon, they turned to green blocky circles, projectiles, hitting the ceiling with a small bang. Green fire, just with the same cubic characteristic of everything else, started to burn for just a second before disappearing. "Whoa, it's never done that before," said Spike. "Shoot them, then, Spike!" shouted Rarity. Aiming at the spiders, Spike spew several other bits of flames. While the projectiles took several seconds in between, the spiders caught fire easily, which they spread to the rest. Within moments, the cave lit up with the green light of the flames. The rain wasn't enough to put it out, and to Twilight's relief the monsters eventually retreated into the woods. The moment the flames went out among the trees, Twilight half expected them to return, but there was only silence. "Awesome, Spike!" said Rainbow Dash. In the incredible relief of the moment, several ponies expressed their happiness with joyful cheer. "Lyra? Is the mayor far?" asked Twilight. "Not much, I think." "Then we better get going."