The day Twilight had gotten the message was a lively one. Towards noon around five more ponies found their way to the cave, and another ten had been found after organizing a search party. While the situation was still dire, Twilight couldn't help but to notice a shift in atmosphere. Ponies were hopeful again. The newly acquired food made them feel like they would be alright. It was like everyone thought they were making progress on getting home again. Knowing a stranger would come, perhaps with answers, made everyone able to chat with that extra hint of excitement instead of dread. Without much danger, thankfully, the day passed. The night was peaceful, and with much less crying. Every moment was filled with the question. 'Would this stranger be able to help them?'
***
On the morning of the meeting, Twilight was waiting at the entrance of the cave. She would go out within a few moments.
"Twilight, are you sure about this?" asked Spike.
"We don't have a choice Spike. Don't worry, I can do this. He saved my life and gave us food and torches, I have to at least give him the benefit of the doubt." said Twilight.
"But let another one do it, Rainbow Dash is stronger and faster than you. If things go bad, she can handle it better," said Spike.
"I'm the Princess, I will have to do things like this a lot in the future. I might as well start now," said Twilight. She took a deep breath. With a light grip, a little claw tugged on her wing.
"Be careful," said Spike, with big eyes.
"Stay safe. I'll be back soon," said Twilight.
"Hey, Twilight. We won't be far behind you," said Rainbow Dash.
"Be careful, darling," said Rarity.
Twilight just left, too impatient to stay much longer and too nervous to get out a heartfelt goodbye. Walking out, she realized that it was the first time she had actually exited the cave. A faint feeling of home just vanished as she took just a few steps out into the sun's warm rays. It didn't take long until Twilight noticed something far off in the distance: a pony looking at her.
Not wanting to waste time, Twilight started to pick up the pace. With nervous steps she approached the stranger. When she looked back, the cave was at least two hundred blocks away. Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Big Macintosh were all standing about halfway, obviously tense.
"Hey," said the pony. Twilight turned her head forward, looking at the stallion. He was slightly taller than she was, and his mane was short and bright orange. His light gray coat was slightly dirty and his hooves muddy. While it seemed he had gone through a lot, his eyes were still lively and sharp. One wouldn't describe him as gruff, but there was definitely an impression of seriousness on his face.
"Hello, Sir, I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle," said Twilight.
"Okay, alright, er, Ma'am. I'm Swift Digger. Just, just Swift Digger... Alright, I'll be honest, I did not think you were a princess, Ma'am," said the stallion. He sounded a bit uncomfortable.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, just stuff like, I'm not really decent. Dirty and stuff," he said.
"If it's alright asking-"
"Totally fine."
"-could you please get right to business and tell me what you want?" asked Twilight.
"Oh. Oh! Right! I, I want to know just who you... Alright, sorry, I'm not used to company. I'll just try to be clear, okay? I'll tell you what I know and what you need to know. Questions can come after," said Swift.
"Seems fair, Mr. Digger," said Twilight.
"Alright. Okay. My name is Swift Digger, but you knew that, of course, because I told you." He shifted a bit awkwardly. "Well, I saw you a couple of days ago, falling into water, and I helped you out. At first I thought you were just another pony like me, someone who was stuck here, but then all of these other ponies started showing up, and now you're all in there. I've helped you out with the food, because I know how dangerous this place can be if you don't know what you're doing. So, now, I want to be able to teach you the basics, so you don't all die, you know? Because, I've been alone a long time, and it would be nice to know I'm not all alone anymore," said Swift. He took a deep breath. "And that's pretty much all I wanted to say... Ma'am."
"I see, I think."
"Who are you ponies, where did you come from?" asked Swift. "You aren't here to come get me, are you?" asked Swift.
"Well, no. We were all teleported here by my- some weird cubic thing we found in Ponyville," said Twilight.
"Ponyville?" asked Swift.
"Yes, that's correct, although almost half of us are missing," said Twilight and nodded.
"Wow, bummer. But what's Ponyville?"
"It's the town where me and my friends live," said Twilight.
"Oh, so you're their leader."
"Well, actually, the mayor is that."
"But I thought you were a Princess... Ma'am," said Swift confused.
"You can stop calling me ma'am. You can just call me Twilight, if I may call you Swift," said Twilight, trying to sound kind.
"Seems fair, Twilight."
"Where are you from?"
"I, I don't want to say. It's nothing bad, but it's a bit painful, you know what I'm saying?"
"I... see."
"This cubic thing you're talking about, I've never heard of it," said Swift.
"Are you sure? It was very difficult to see, it gave you a headache if you looked at it," said Twilight. Swift Digger shook his head firmly.
"I've never seen or heard of anything difficult to see," said Swift. "Now, I want to teach you how to use something really important. I'm not even sure it'll work, but what the hay, right?"
"What is it? No, wait, I want to ask you if you know a way home, or if you know much about this world."
"Sorry, I don't know any way from this place. But listen, this is important, it's the thing that will make you able to survive in this world," said Swift. He looked passed Twilight, at her friends. Looking back, Twilight saw them hiding, very poorly, in the tall grass. Big Macintosh's flank was sticking up too much. "Since you seem alright, I think I feel safe with a few more of you around. Besides, this lesson would go better with more to learn it. Everypony in your group has to learn it, but it's easy to teach, I think, I haven't actually tried it with anyone," said Swift.
Twilight waved to her friends to come closer.
"This is Rarity, this is Rainbow Dash, this is Big Macintosh," said Twilight. Suddenly someone looked out from behind Rarity. "And... that's Spike," said Twilight, hardly approving of Spike's presence. He should have been back in the cave, where it was safer.
"Hey, Swift Digger, call me Swift. Alright, I'm going to teach you something. Oh, wait, I don't have a name for it. Okay, something... Will? Nah. Let's call it... Intent. That's a pretty cool word for it," said Swift.
"What is it?" asked Twilight. Focusing, Swift was deep in thought until he looked up at them with inspiration.
"I think I need to show you it. Look at this patch of dirt," said Swift, looking down on a cube in the ground between them. "See what happens when I try to kick it." He stomped his foot on the grass. "Nothing." He kept kicking, and kicking, and kicking. "It doesn't budge. Not one bit. Nothing in this world can be destroyed by just trying to harm it. Even leaves are like a rock," said Swift.
"Hang on, that's not true. What about when Twilight ate some grass yesterday," said Spike.
"Oh, right, I saw that... I- I mean," Swift said, receiving some odd looks. "I've been spying on you. After all, you came here from out of nowhere and I needed to know more before I talked and stuff. What? It's not like that's weird, not with something like this," said Swift.
"I can see why, but you should see why we're not amused," said Twilight.
"Totally. I'm sorry. I'll be more open if we meet later," said Swift. "Anyway. When you ate, I was actually a bit impressed. Without thinking about it, you used your hunger as Intent. Intent is what make it so you can afflect-"
"'Affect'," said Twilight.
"Right, affect the world. Look at me, now I use Intent," said the stallion, looking at the patch of dirt again. He took a deep breath, then started to stomp on the cube. Before their eyes, cracks started to appear on the surface. In a short moment the cube disappeared. In its place only a large cube shaped hole appeared. Dirt was visible on all sides. Twilight could clearly see a small cube of dirt, about the size of her hoof, lying on the ground inside the hole. It looked strange, like the small block was fading away in a non-existent breeze. "Very few things can be affected without Intent in this world. Some can, but not much at all. That little cube can be picked up without Intent, but it will disappear completely in a few minutes without it," said Swift. He snagged up the cube, it was like it was glued to his hoof.
"But, what about the dirt then? What now?" asked Spike.
"Now, with Intent, I can put it down somewhere else," said Swift, flinging the block down beside him. In the blink of an eye a large block of dirt appeared next to the stallion. Twilight was amazed, not at the stallion, but by the phenomenon. Mass vanishing and appearing, it broke laws of physics. It just hammered home how different the place was. "That's the basics, I think. Blocks and stuff have, like, counter-Intent, or something. Your Intent can't do more than max Intent, some blocks go quicker, some slower. Some you need axes and picks and stuff to even make cracks in. Some will just vanish if you try to force it without tools."
"How do you use Intent?" asked Spike.
"Well, alright. Whenever you do something, like destroy a block, picking it up, pushing it in a direction, you have to imagine really hard on what you're doing, and what you want to do. If you want to break a block, focus on it breaking. Imagine that your Intent is coming from your brain and flowing into your hooves or tools or whatever you're using," said Swift.
"Like this?" asked Spike, starting to pound on the ground with his claws. Cracks were appearing.
"That's right, but little dude, never-" Spike fell down in a hole. "... dig straight down," said Swift Digger as Spike climbed out of the hole, slightly dizzy. He was holding a block in his claw. It was fading away, becoming dust in an nonexistent wind. Closing his eyes, focusing, he managed to make it stick to him, keeping itself intact. "The little guy has got it!"
"I've got to try this," said Twilight. Now this was something she was familiar with, learning new things and using them. She started to dig at the ground, and it was cracking, but then Twilight heard a gasp. She looked up straight ahead. Just two block away, Swift was standing on his two hind legs, holding something in his hooves. It was curved and drawn. A bow, with a sharp arrow ready to fire. He pointed towards her. He let go of the string.
"Twilight!" yelled Rainbow Dash. Twilight could feel the arrow zip past her with a sharp whistle. She heard it hit something behind her, with a crunch. Turning around, Twilight saw something large and green stand just a few blocks behind her.
"MOVE!" shouted Swift, surging forward with great speed. In the chaos Twilight saw something strange almost materialize in Swift's mouth. It was a sword made from wood. He slashed at the large green creature, it was standing upright. Its mouth and eyes were hollow and dark as night. It had no other features on its face. Swift pushed Twilight back as the monster flew back with great force from the attack. A faint sound could be heard, like from a fuse. The next moment the creature exploded, leaving behind a large crater in its wake.
Twilight saw Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh pounce on Swift, pinning him to the ground.
"What was that?! Are you trying to kill the Princess?! Answer me!" said Rainbow Dash, twisting Swift's leg.
"That hurts," he said with a cold voice.
"Answer me, jerkface!" said Rainbow Dash, twisting his leg even more.
"I call those green little bastards Creepers, because they always creep up on ya. If I hadn't shot it, then your Princess would have died in a fiery explosion," said Swift.
"I don't trust you, I think it was a setup."
"Whatever," said Swift, giving her another cold look. Twilight was a bit disoriented. "Let me go, right now. I'm warning you," said Swift.
"Yeah, right," said Rainbow Dash. Swift started to bash his head on the ground below, within a second the ground vanished, and they all three fell into the hole. Quickly getting out, Swift made another object appear in his hoof, replacing the sword, he tossed it to Twilight. She gripped it like by instinct, holding on to it with her Intent.
"I've written down all you need to know. Farming, how to craft your first tools, when monsters appear and where. All the basics are there, and reminders. If you ever need me, go north. The sun goes up in the east," said Swift Digger, before he started to run.
"Wait, I believe you, don't mind my friends. They are just being careful!" said Twilight. "You can live with us," said Twilight. Swift Digger turned to the group.
"Sorry, but even if my best stuff wasn't back at my place, I still wouldn't go with you. I remembered that I don't like crowds. Good luck, Princess. I think we'll see each other again," said Swift, before running north. "I'll keep an eye out for more of your Ponyville-friends!" he yelled as he disappeared into the forest.
Twilight quickly turned to her friends, walking over to help Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh up out of the hole.
"Rainbow Dash, wasn't that a bit extreme?" said Twilight, finally having calmed down.
"That green thing could have been on his side," said Rainbow Dash.
"While it's not completely unreasonable to be suspicious of Swift Digger, making claims like that certainly is. If that 'Creeper' really was on Swift's side, why would he shoot the creature in the face?" asked Twilight.
"I..."
"All I'm saying is that if that pony saved my- our lives, then we should show our appreciation."
"I think Rainbow Dash did the right thing, but not because of that Creeper," said Spike. "Twilight, that pony had weapons hidden somewhere on him, or he suddenly made them. If he was really trustworthy, would he really bring weapons to a meeting like this?" Twilight realized that her assistant had a point.
"Mm, that is actually worrying. I'll have to be careful around him, but, we should still act civil. Both parties need to show at least some trust if we're going to become friends," said Twilight. "I just want you to know that I love how much you care about me, Rainbow Dash. I completely understand why you did it. It was a chaotic moment, after all," said Twilight. "And thank you for being so quick to act with her, Big Macintosh," she added with a polite nod.
"Hey, let's go back and teach the other ponies about this Intent-thing. Even if he is dangerous, this could come in handy," said Spike, holding onto a small cube of dirt.
"You do that, I'm going to read this book," said Twilight, walking back to the cave with the group.
***
Doing what she loved most, Twilight sat on a block with the book almost pressed against her muzzle. Somewhere off to her right, Spike was standing in the middle of a crowd being the center of attention for once. He was yet again explaining the simple principle of Intent as best he understood it. Some ponies in the crowd started to pick up the skill. When they tried it, the mayor eventually told them to test it outside of the cave, unless they had plans on sleeping in holes later.
"Hm, this one looks interesting," said Twilight, looking at a paragraph.
"What is it?" asked Rarity. For once, she was just as curious about a book like Twilight could be.
"Apparently, we can use intent, materials, and an idea to create, or 'craft' small objects, such as sticks, buttons and ladders," said Twilight.
"Oh," said Rarity, sounding disappointed that one particular tidbit of information wasn't as interesting as some of the others.
"Unless he's just bad at writing, it seems we have to just try to put things together, and the Intent will sort of make it happen, eventually. He writes it can take a while to get the hang off," said Twilight.
"Well, it does take a while for some to get this stuff," said Spike.
"For your information, I am struggling as much as I possibly can to grasp this skill," said Time Turner defensively.
"You've been trying for an hour! Almost everypony has gotten it within ten minutes! It's not that hard!" said Spike.
"Well, pardon me," said Time Turner, rolling his eyes.
"Hm, Big Macintosh, could you go out and get a block of wood from a tree? I need to test this creating business," said Twilight with her eyes focused on the page, not even willing to stop reading.
"Twilight, maybe we should get a lot more than just one," said Spike.
"What?" asked Twilight, a bit distracted.
"If that book is right, monsters appear and comes out when it's dark. What if they come around here? We should make a wall around the cave entrance so everypony can be safe," said Spike.
Twilight finally looked up from her book. "You're right! We need to start preparing. The trees are pretty close by, if we remove some of them, then we'll also get a clear view around us."
"We might be in trouble if several of them comes along and decide to blow up that wall for the rest to come in," said Spike.
"Do you think those ghastly creatures can make up plans?" asked Rarity.
"I don't know, Rarity. I sure don't hope so," said Spike.
Twilight flipped a few pages back, stopping on Creatures and Monsters. "It doesn't say anything about them being intelligent in this at least," said Twilight. But, the book was badly written. The spelling was below average, the prose wasn't scientific enough and it lacked details. It was usually 'This works like that. That creature does this.' If Swift Digger hadn't called the green creature a Creeper, then Twilight would have been unable to recognize one by the text alone. The truly important things were more clear, though, such as farming and getting food.
"In any case, I want the rest of you to know that if I could use this skill, I would have helped you with the fortification," said Time Turner.
"Hey, if Twilight wants me to watch my language, you should watch yours!" said Spike.
"It refers to us making this dwelling more protected, Spike," said Time Turner with a deadpan tone.
"Oh."
***
Twilight helped the mayor and Time Turner to overlook the creation of the walls. It was a slow process, mostly due to the fact that the hundred or so ponies with the energy to help didn't quite know how to use Intent properly. Often they dropped the small cubes, or aimed it wrong so they had to replace it. During the hours of labor small cubes of wood were scattered all over the plains, often disappearing into nothingness. Also, the workers could only carry one at a time, two if they didn't mind just walking with three legs over the blocky landscape. The forest was not as close as Twilight had remembered it to be.
Still, a great wall, three blocks high, was slowly taking shape a certain distance from the cave. They needed enough space for all the ponies. At least they would not be so incredibly cramped that night, if they could build the wall in time. Surprisingly, the project had a positive effect on some of the ponies there. It made them think just a little less about Ponyville. Having something to do and focus on was just what some of them needed. If the wall could make them all feel safe, then it was possible none of them would be hearing another pony weep that night.
"Make sure you don't miss the overhang, spiders can climb walls according to the book. We don't need to be boxed in with a dozen spiders," said Twilight to a couple of workers.
"It seems to be coming along well," said the mayor.
"Though, I must say my fellow friends are quite uncoordinated. It's a pet peeve of mine," said Time Turner.
"It's fine. No, Big Mac, focus on building over there where the other side is lower. We can finish that last if we have to," said Twilight. The large red stallion just gave her a puzzled look. "It will still be three blocks high from one side. The sun will set soon, we can't focus too much on details," said Twilight.
Spike walked up next to her and sat down on the ground, exhausted. "Okay, this is pretty hard. I just need to take five," he said, taking big breathes of the cooling evening air. He noticed Twilight's book next to her and started to read with some curiosity.
"I just wish we had more materials. We need more wood," said Twilight. Suddenly Spike yanked on her wing.
"Twilight! We did it all wrong," said Spike.
"What?" She turned to face him.
"According to this, we can make four plank-blocks out of one wooden block," said Spike, holding up the book. He had a claw pointing at the page of the chapter entitled 'Crafting'. Twilight quickly skimmed the chapter, it did indeed say something about creating more material from one wooden block.
"If this is true, then we'll be done in time for sure," said Twilight.
"Big Macintosh! Get a block over here! Take one from the wall if you have to!" yelled the mayor.
A few moments later Big Macintosh came along to give Twilight and Spike a piece of the wall.
"I think I'll do this," said Spike, taking the block.
Twilight read the page more carefully. "I think Swift says that you're supposed to focus on the materials in your grip, and imagine it turning to something else. In this case, more wood. With Intent, of course," she said.
Spike stared intently on the block in his claw. No matter how much he focused, it simply would not change. "I'm a bit lost. Does it say anything else?"
"Just that you're supposed to craft something, that's it."
Spike started to fiddle around with the object, twisting and clawing at it until he started to bash it in frustration. "Come on! Work! Become more! Split! Something!"
Big Macintosh looked on with interest, eventually he reached out his hoof. Spike handed it to him with a sour look on his face. Big Macintosh started to hit the object himself, but his strength didn't do anything. Then he did something different, he took a grip with booth his hooves, his Intent enough to grasp it, then pulled them apart. Suddenly the block was split along the middle with the sound of a large branch being broken apart, then four blocks fell out of his grasp, landing on the ground with a light thud.
"You did it!" said Twilight with joy. The four wooden cubes' surface reminded her a bit of planks. They were the same size as the block they had sprung from. Spike picked one up and tested placing it. The large block appeared in front of them. "Great! Time Turner, could you go tell the rest of the ponies they don't have to walk to the forest anymore? We have more than enough now."
"At once, Princess," he said, immediately leaving them.
"Spike, maybe you should get back to work now. And take this block with you," said Twilight.
"Er, right," said Spike, starting to punch the block. He shook his fists in pain. "Darn, forgot to use dirt on it! Ouch, ouch, ouch!" He started to hop on the spot. "We need some tools or something!" Twilight started to skim through the book again.
"Hang on... didn't I read about...? Oh, here's something I think will make you very happy," said Twilight.