During the night Twilight had not slept well. Constant nightmares of screaming friends being devoured by vaguely defined creatures with big teeth had been the norm. Several times she had woken up from her nightmares, slowly regaining composure as she remembered there was hope for Rainbow Dash. Once Time Turner had accidentally disturbed her sleep by failing to sneak out, needing to find a bathroom. Her constant failed attempts at a good night's rest had finally come to a stop when Swift Digger burst into the bedroom. The sun was barely up.
"Up and at them. I've made breakfast. Come on," said Swift very bluntly.
"Five more minutes, mommy," Soarin mumbled in his sleep. Swift just glared at him with a slight frown. He walked up to him, and then kicked him right in his side, with great force. "Ow! What the heck?!" Soarin asked, wide awake.
"You're going to get up now. Rainbow Dash will probably be starving when we get to her, so get up and get ready," said Swift.
Twilight looked at him disapprovingly. "That was too extreme, Swift Digger. We're supposed to be your allies. Don't be a jerk. We should be getting along."
"This guy is up so that we can save Rainbow Dash quicker. If I was really a jerk, would I help you find the temple?" asked Swift.
"I'm grateful for that, but acting like this is not helping anyone," said Twilight. Swift glared at her.
"What if I just keep my mouth shut?" asked Swift.
"Please talk how much you want, just don't kick me again," said Soarin, standing up to face Swift with an disgruntled look in his eye.
"Breakfast is down in the kitchen, in the chest. If you don't eat in five minutes, you don't eat at all. I'm not joking," said Swift, then he walked out the door.
Twilight made sure to wait until Swift was out of earshot before she talked to her companions. "That Swift Digger is so much more different now. He was a bit blunt when I first met him, but he was more pleasant. Now he just glowers all the time and is rude. Threatening ponies by the cave, kicking you, if it wouldn't have been for Rainbow Dash's situation, I wouldn't have put up with this unacceptable behavior."
"I agree, but to be fair, Princess, this Swift Digger character seems to be under quite some stress. He did say he lost something precious of his, not to mention that he tried and failed to save our dear Rainbow Dash from a grim fate. Perhaps he is simply under a lot of stress. Imagine, being alone for Celestia knows how long, then suddenly meeting so many new ponies. He might feel he is responsible for us. He did help us understand how to use tools and to grow our own food. If I was in his situation, I would have felt like I failed to perform my duty."
"I'm not saying I'm not grateful, it's just that... I don't know. Hopefully we'll sort this all out."
"Look at it this way, if he keeps being a jerk, we'll just never talk to him again. He would probably like that," said Soarin, groaning slightly as he rubbed his bruised side.
Not wishing to waste any precious time, Twilight got up from the bed and walked out into the hallway. The way was only one block wide. Hm, one block wide. I'm starting to think in new terms already, she thought. There was a few paintings on the wooden walls. They looked like portraits, but Twilight was unable to make out details. She walked down the short hallway to turn left, walking down a flight of blocky stairs. She came down to another hallway, walking in through an open wooden door, glancing to the side to see a shiny metal door at the end of the two block wide hallway.
Twilight entered what could only have been a kitchen. A darker shade of planks seemed to be used as a kitchen board, and a two by two collection of logs were used as a table. In the floor around the makeshift table there were several blocks of wool, obviously as a type of seating. Every room was three blocks high and the kitchen was no exception to that rule. The kitchen was so far the largest room in the house. The red brick wall of the outside made up about half of the walls in the kitchen. Between a couple of shelves there was a lonely window, two by two cubes of obvious glass.
Twilight couldn't help but to be curious where Swift had found some of the cubes. How did one make glass? Where could red bricks be found? Her eyes were drawn to something that was an anomaly to her. There was a single cube that was only half a block high. It was part of the kitchen board.
Whatever question Twilight had wasn't as important as the well-being of her friend, so her curiosity had to wait. For the moment she, along with Soarin and Time Turner, simply went to a large chest by the wall, opening it up to reveal a large amount of food. Without saying much, Twilight and Soarin picked up a few bits of bread and apples. It would be enough for a breakfast.
"Time Turner? Aren't you going to eat something?" asked Twilight.
"Oh, I will eat later, Princess. I have some food stored inside me."
"What?" asked Soarin.
"In my intent, in my 'inventory'. I brought a few extra rations along for the trip, in case I would get lost," said Time Turner.
"Oh, smart. I didn't really have time to pack anything after all that happened yesterday," said Twilight.
"You won't have to pack anything. I have enough food for us all in my inventory. Just eat this so we can start running," said Swift Digger, just passing by out in the hall.
"We'll be right there," said Twilight.
***
Not wishing to waste any time, Twilight had finished her meal very quickly. When she got outside, Swift Digger was standing on the lawn. The entire area around the homely house almost seemed like a garden, surrounded by the thick forest. There were several types of flowers Twilight hadn't seen before. There was even a little pond with lilypads.
"How did you create that lever and button at the door?" asked Twilight.
"Do I have to tell you that now? I just want to get going," said Swift.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's just go!" said Soarin.
Without saying anything else, Swift Digger started to run into the forest. Twilight, Time Turner and Soarin quickly followed.
"Did you make sure to properly calculate how much food we would need?" asked Twilight as she ran.
"What? I just took as much food as I could," said Swift. Twilight didn't mention that his answer actually managed to annoy her. Still, as long as they had enough...
"You didn't forget anything, did you?" asked Twilight.
"No, I- Wait, did... nah, I don't think so," said Swift.
***
"Stop," said Swift suddenly. Twilight welcomed that greatly and followed the command. For the last hour the only thing that had managed to keep her going was the thought of Rainbow Dash. Twilight was simply exhausted, gasping for air. Constantly running through dense forests, dodging low-hanging leaves, jumping over holes and passing dark threatening caverns had managed to really take the breath out of her. Soarin and Time Turner were far more athletic than her, fortunately.
"Are we going to eat now?" asked Soarin.
"We've been running for hours. I wouldn't mind a breather," said Time Turner, chuckling, quite winded.
"No, this is different," said Swift. He started to look around the area, his eyes were cold and scrutinizing. "Someone's been here, just a few minutes ago."
"Isn't that a good thing?" asked Twilight.
"How can you tell?" asked Soarin.
"Some of the trees have been taken down. This area is usually much thicker. Also, there are blocks of leaves above us that aren't touching any trees. Without a tree they usually disappear in a little while."
"It couldn't have been Rainbow Dash, could it?" asked Twilight.
"No... she's too far... But, something's wrong. Where are the apples and saplings?" asked Swift.
"What do you mean?" asked Twilight. Swift turned to face her.
"You see, when leaves, or some other stuff, are destroyed, somepony's intent, if close, bring out items from them. Leaves usually leave apples or saplings. Without anything here, someone couldn't have been close, but still removed things. It's almost as if... Oh, no," said Swift, his eyes staring straight at Twilight, or, no, he was staring past her. "Enderponies." Twilight was about to turn around when Swift grabbed her leg. "Don't! Don't turn around. Okay? Don't look directly at it. Just, just keep your eyes on the grass. Just straight down. I'll, listen, I'll deal with this, okay? Just, you three, keep going in the direction. When you reach a bridge over a hole, you know you've found the road. Just go," said Swift.
"What's happening?" asked Soarin, standing completely still.
"Don't look at it. We can't make this wors- no don't!" Swift yelled as Time Turner turned.
"What is this all abou- what is that thing?!" yelled Time Turner, turning to Swift in shock.
"No, don't look awa-" Suddenly, appearing amongst a few glimmers of purple, a large, tall figure was standing right in front of Swift. It was like a pony with fur blacker than coal. It was at least twice as tall as anyone of them. Its legs just a bit too long to look proper. The eyes were less than that, appearing more like empty tunnels leading to bright indigo stars. It was horrifying, too familiar to be a monster, but so alien to be unsettling.
With a strike so quick Twilight could barely see it, the creature lashed out with its hoof and hit Swift in his face, launching him several blocks back, spinning by the sheer force.
"Find water! You have to find-" but before Swift could say anything else, the creature appeared in front of him again, kicking him right back to where he started. Swift was basically beaten to a pulp. "Find... find water... I knew I forgot something. Sorry," said Swift, just a few blocks away from Twilight. Before she could reach out to help him, the creature appeared over him, stomping with its leg once. Only once.
What Twilight heard was so physical and far too real. It was a loud crack that quickly stopped. Swift's skull had been completely annihilated under the force. Time Turner screamed in terror. Swift's body, what was left, flashed a bloody red color, before disappearing in a cloud of dust. Without a doubt, dead.
"We- We have to run, get out of h-" Twilight yelled, but when she turned to Soarin and Time Turner, she saw something even worse than this one Enderpony. It was at least two dozen of them. Slowly walking closer towards the group, the monsters approached. When Twilight looked at them, they froze. Their jaws unhinging from their heads with a snap, their black sharp teeth clearly visible. Whatever sounds they made were so horrible,impossible to describe. Twilight missed hearing the, in comparison, sweet music Rainbow Dash had shrieked the night before.
"We're dead, so dead," said Soarin, basically panicking.
"I believe, we too will- experience the void soon enough," said Time Turner, his voice trembling.
"Water, water, water," said Twilight, looking around, barely able to keep her cool, but there was nothing in sight. She turned to the front, now suddenly surrounded by the horrors. "Please don't let it hurt," said Twilight, closing her eyes, taking an unstable deep breath.
***
Waiting for what could just as well have been minutes, Twilight stood completely still. This was yet another moment where she had felt powerless. No magic, no experience, no frame of reference. Nothing. All she had was to wait for the end, or rather, the void. Next time, next time I will be much stronger. I won't be helpless ever again. Feeling her heartbeats while waiting for the first strike was simply excruciating. She was so tense that when something finally touched her, she shivered and flinched.
Then she shivered again, but not because of fear, she was simply cold. It was just starting to get a bit chilly. She open her eyes. The creatures had disappeared. Both Soarin and Time Turner were unharmed, looking just as confused as herself. They were safe, and an explanation presented itself immediately. It started to heavily rain.
"Thank you, Deus Ex Machina!" yelled Soarin, reaching his front legs and wings to the darkening sky. He was laughing in relief.
Twilight just took a deep breath. "Okay, we're without a guide, but we still have to help Rainbow Dash. Swift is hopefully there too. Let's go find them both, and get back home." She noticed several types of foods and tools on the ground, where Swift had died. "Grab his things. He'll want them back," said Twilight.
"Do you think those enders are going to follow us?" asked Soarin.
"They don't like the rain, obviously. Maybe we'll lose them. We have to be quick about it in any case. Come on. No matter what happens, we are not stopping until we're done. Are you with me?" asked Twilight. Both stallions nodded with conviction. They all helped to carry Swift's belongings, and then they were on their way again.
***
After a while of quick travel, Twilight and her two comrades arrived to the top of a large ravine, lying wide and open beneath them. A sturdy-looking stone bridge led them over to the other side. Just peeking down into the depths below made Twilight feel a bit ill. On the other side of the bridge was a stone path, no doubt leading them to the temple.
"So what were those things?" asked Soarin.
"I believed they were called 'Enderponies'?" said Time Turner.
"No, I mean, what were they? I mean, so far I've seen spiders and zombies. But those are things, things I know about. What are these large purplish black monsters?"
"Haven't you seen the green exploding ones?" asked Twilight. Soarin looked both troubled and confused.
"I have seen one, at a distance. Creepers. Personally, I didn't think something would be more horrible than those. I was wrong. An Enderpony is far more terrifying," said Time Turner.
"I don't know what either of them are. I'm curious, but I have no rush in finding out more about them. None whatsoever," said Twilight.
"What if there are more kinds of monsters? Even worse ones?" asked Soarin.
"Then... I'd rather not think about what could happen. I think Swift Digger have to tell us about a lot of things. We've been in the dark for too long. We need to know this stuff."
***
After what had felt like hours, following the stone road, the rain finally stopped. While they were all tense for a few moments, it seemed like nothing had followed them. Without the harsh weather, Twilight finally caught a tiny glimpse of something very large beyond the trees. The first thing she could make out in the otherwise barely noticeable fog was a tall tower. It must have been at least thirty blocks high and was quite wide. The sun was at its highest, so if they could find Rainbow Dash and Swift Digger quickly, then they could turn back, reach Swift's house and return to their cave the next morning.
Twilight, Soarin and Time Turner rushed up a set of stone stairs, reaching the top of a hill. It was there that they simply had to stop. The view was simply:
"Whoa," said Soarin, stunned.
"Indeed," said Time Turner, almost with the same level of admiration.
Twilight agreed. It was without a doubt the largest construction any of them had seen so far. Inside of some sort of metal bars, an entire, surprisingly round, area was spread out before them. It was like it was sunken into the earth itself, surrounded by stone walls below the protecting bars. Inside the protected area there were very few trees, instead it was like a sea of flowers, bushes, fountains and brooks. Between the large patches of precisely laid out flowers and grass there were gravel paths, often leading to stone benches or large fountains pouring out fresh cool water. It was a stunning display of gardening in an otherwise foreign world. It was well-lit, literally thousands of torches placed upon wooden poles, making it a safe-haven even during the darkest nights.
And in the middle of this wonder laid a single building. It was a mix of different styles, together making something look sturdy and old. The building had dozens of large windows displaying large halls on three whole floors. The material looked like different types of stone blending together extremely well. Twilight was surprised it could look so detailed, with stone posts and stairs being used very creatively to make a building that looked much more real that most other constructions. The large tower sat on top of it all, it casting a majestic shadow into the garden below.
"I don't see anyone, do you?" asked Soarin.
"No. How about you, Princess?" asked Time Turner.
"Let's just go inside," said Twilight. They kept following the path, arriving at two metal doors. There were a stone button on each side. Twilight used her Intent to press it, quickly going inside the calming garden. At least, it would have been calming if they didn't have a mission. They rushed over the gravel path straight to the entrance of the tower. It was a large opening at the top of another flight of stone stairs.
In a way, it reminded her of stepping onto Canterlot Castle. The sheer size of the archway and the halls inside was a grim reminder of what she possibly wouldn't see for quite some time. While the garden had been filled with the calming noises of running water, the inside was just as desolate and empty as the wilderness outside the haven, perhaps even more so.
"Where is everypony?" asked Soarin, sounding suspicious.
"Keep your eyes open. This has got to be the place," said Twilight.
"What makes you say that?" asked Soarin.
"What else would this be?"
"I guess," said Soarin.
"Twilight!" yelled a voice from deeper into the castle.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight shouted, her own voice finally sounding joyful again. She took off, rushing as quickly as she could to find her friend. She ran straight ahead, entering a large chamber. It was the base of the tower. A few large pillars reached the ceiling three floors above them. There were several walkways around the walls. It was a massive chamber, and in the very center of it there was a little raised platform. At the very top, lying atop a soft bed of blue wool, was Rainbow Dash. "Thank Celestia you're alright!" Twilight cried out in tears, embracing her friend.
Rainbow Dash hugged her back, but it was instantly clear that something was different. Her grip was far from as tight as it usually was and her look wasn't confident, it just seemed barely somber.
"I knew you would find me again," said Rainbow Dash. Letting go of Twilight, she just sort of slumped back down onto the wool. Right next to Rainbow Dash lied Swift Digger. He looked like he was in complete shock, his eyes barely aware, his breathing short and weak. Time Turner caught up with them, immediately checking in on Swift. Soarin came up to Rainbow Dash.
"What's wrong with you two?" asked Twilight.
"I just, everything is so beautiful, you know? I don't even care if we're not in Equestria anymore. This, this place is good enough," said Rainbow Dash, obviously avoiding Twilight's eyes.
"Rainbow Dash, what did you experience?" asked Twilight with a serious tone in her voice. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"Don't ask me. I don't, I don't want to think about it. Please don't make me," said Rainbow Dash. A faint but noticeable tone of panic could be heard in her voice. It would lead to nothing good to pry that moment, so Twilight ignored her own curiosity. Her friend was more important. Still, that otherwise brave Rainbow Dash could be torn down into what amounted to a wreck in comparison to her old self was unsettling.
"Come on, we're going back. Can you stand?" asked Twilight.
"Can't we just stay here? There's monsters out there," said Rainbow Dash. It was obvious what her real fear was.
"Rainbow Dash. It won't happen again. We're better prepared now. You're not alone. Come on," said Twilight.
"Soarin, you should carry her. I'll carry this one," said Time Turner, struggling with getting the almost catatonic Swift up on his back. "They seem perfectly healthy, but, unfortunately, I'm not the doctor here. We'll need to check them when we get back."
"Shouldn't I carry the heavy guy?" asked Soarin.
"Well, um, I am stronger than I look," said Time Turner.
Twilight walked up to Swift, gently nudging his side. "Swift, Swift, are you alright?"
"Minny..."
"What?" asked Twilight.
"I'm... I'm... Fine. Fine. Go. Just go."
"Is there anything here we can use?" asked Twilight.
"Just go. Just go," said Swift, losing consciousness.
They started to walk down the stairs. They were on their way back, which was a relief to Twilight. The whole last hour had been one big relief after another; it was a welcome change of pace. Among Swifts items was a single metal bucket. Twilight made sure to fill it with water from one of the fountains. If any Enderponies returned, she would be ready.
Still, Twilight realized that there wasn't a single other pony there. She wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. Where they all alive and well? Even the lost children? Or had it been too late to save anyone? For the moment, Twilight just focused on staying calm and collected. She had managed to save at least two. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
"Rainbow... Dash...," mumbled Swift, barely even there.
"Yeah?" asked Rainbow, her exhausted head resting against Soarin's neck.
"I'm sorry I threatened... you. I'm sorry for being... so awful to you all..." then he simply fell asleep again.
***
Twilight never let her guard down on the long, but fortunately uneventful, journey back to Swift's house. It wasn't until she was inside that she could finally stop focusing so intently on keeping everyone safe.
"Get them to the beds," said Twilight. Time Turner and Soarin immediately complied, going upstairs to leave the two victims. Twilight looked out through the door. The night had almost arrived. They had made it just in time. Twilight felt quite guilty over how absolutely terrified her other friends must have been over her and Rainbow Dash. Just imagine, following a stranger into the forest, not returning the next day as was the plan? Horrible. At least they would get the relief of them returning safe and sound tomorrow. It was a small but welcome comfort.
Thinking about how her friends would react made Twilight realize an almost crippling fact: that ponies back in Equestria was probably fearing for them, horrified of what could have happened. It had been days. How many siblings had to face their brothers or sisters being lost? How many had friends they feared they would never see again? How many had... their entire family gone. There was no telling what Twilight's mother, father and brother went through. The same worry Twilight had been able to block out of her mind simply because of her focus on facing one day and one hardship at a time.
She wasn't sure if those whole families gathered together back at the cave were more or less fortunate than her. On one hoof, having close ones facing danger and uncertainty, on the other, actually knowing they were safe.
Focusing on the present again, Twilight turned her head towards the stairs, Soarin walked down.
"Rainbow Dash is sleeping like a foal. Swift Digger jerks around a bit, but seems fine otherwise. Time Turner is keeping an eye on them," said Soarin. His eyes were tired and his walk was sluggish. Even someone who didn't know about it could have guessed he had worked too much.
"Thanks, Soarin. Get some sleep, alright?" asked Twilight.
"I would, but there aren't any beds for you and Time Turner," said Soarin.
"Well, I can sleep on the floor tonight. With the bed Swift slept in last night we should have enough," said Twilight.
"I looked but I could only find three beds upstairs," said Soarin.
"But, then what did he... Didn't he sleep in one? I know he took the room opposite ours."
"I don't know. I'll just go up and take a nap. If I have to, I'll sleep on the floor later. Good night, Princess," said Soarin.
"Sleep well," said Twilight. Walking into the kitchen to get something to eat. Letting us use the only beds last night. He's not perfect, but an alright fellow, thought Twilight as she started to nibble on yet another loaf of bread.
***
Despite being quite tired, Twilight stayed awake quite far into the night, sitting in the kitchen, keeping watch. Once or twice she walked upstairs to check on the four ponies. Rainbow Dash rested comfortably, Swift Digger seemed more restless, but still sleeping. Time Turner and Soarin had decided to share a bed, looking oddly uncomfortable even in their sleep.
Once or twice in the night, Twilight could hear the rustling of a creature outside. At times it was a moan of a zombie, other times it was the clicking sounds of a spider, she even heard somethings she didn't recognize. Not wanting to anger whatever it belonged to, she didn't peek out through the windows.
It was a bit tense, but Twilight otherwise felt very safe inside the strong walls. At least until she heard something lurk in the hallway. She instantly turned around. Through the open door she simply saw Swift walk past at a slow pace. He didn't see her in the dark. He turned and opened a door on the other side before going inside.
"Swift?" Twilight followed him. When she walked in she was surprised to see that he had disappeared. The room was a sort of study, with several blocks of shelves holding several unmarked books along with some marked ones. Then Twilight noticed a faint light over in the corner, right behind a bookshelf. She got over and peeked around the corner. Hidden from plain sight was stairs leading down into a basement. Twilight's curiosity was too strong, hadn't been satisfied in some time, so she walked down. It was brighter down below.
At first the stairs led her down to a surprisingly large underground farm, at least four times the size, in both width and height, as the house above. There were many familiar crops they were growing back at the cave. Twilight had been wondering where all of his food was coming from.
In any case, Twilight continued to follow the stairs, which led her deeper and deeper. Eventually, after walking for several minutes, she could hear something faint. It was something both unexpected and familiar. It was music. It was actually soothing, just regular instrumental calm music, but with an almost grainy filter to it, like an old record.
It didn't take long for the music to become clearer as Twilight continued down into the earth, torches casting their eternal lights down upon the steps from the side of the stone walls. At long last she reached to bottom of the stairs, being faced with two wooden doors next to each other. One was already open. She was about to step inside when the music suddenly stopped, something else being heard.
It was the voice of a mare. "Okay, first off, I'm so sorry for ruining your favorite disc, Swift, but I knew you would listen to this sooner or later." The otherwise gentle voice gave out a heavy sigh. "I knew you just wanted what was best for me, and, maybe even us, but I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't. I've decided. I'm going to go look for them. I don't know if I'll be back or not. Sorry. It's crazy, isn't it? It seems just like yesterday all eight of us were together," said the voice, giving out a faint chuckle before a pause. Twilight walked inside the small room, a very dense library and storage. Slumped in a chair in front of a bench was Swift, listening to the sound of a record in some sort of large music box next to him. "Listen, if anything happens to us, be happy, alright? Don't, don't give up hope. I'll be in your heart and all that stuff. Keep looking for that way out, but smile at least once everyday. Never give up hope. Stay happy. Oh, wait, almost out of disc space. Sorry, in a rush. They're almost too far for me to catch up. I'm sorry that I had to leave you. I also want to tell you that, well, l-" then whatever disc it was stopped playing.
"Please don't go...," said Swift, fidgeting with the machine.
"I also wanted to tell you that, well, I- I also- that, well, I-"
"Why did you have to go?" asked Swift. Twilight realized it wasn't a good time, so she quietly started to walk out. "It's alright. You don't have to leave," said Swift, turning around to face her.
"I'm sorry, I was just curious, and a bit worried. After everything that has happened, I wasn't expecting you to be up so soon," said Twilight. Swift stared at her for a few long seconds.
"No, I'm sorry, about how I've been behaving. Princess, I've been, I've been really stressed. I'm not used to you. I've been alone for a very long time. I forgot to count the days after the second year. It's weird. Now that you're here I have this duty to help you however I can, but I've kept trying to still be this strong loner, because that's... that's all I really know how to be. It's easier to just fight things head on, be blunt, but not with other ponies," said Swift.
"It's alright, Swift. We make mistakes and we learn. Your heart's in the right place," said Twilight, pausing slightly. "If you don't mind me asking, who was that pony on the tape?"
"That was Minny, Minny Miner. She was... When I first came to this place, barely even remember that anymore, she was the first pony I met. She was much better at living in this world than I was, came here about the same time too. She figured out how to use Intent and create things within, like, a couple of days. If it wouldn't have been for her, we would have all starved."
"Who were the others?"
"You probably heard there were eight others. Good ponies, reliable. We were best pals, watched each others' backs, built things together. But, this place is real dangerous. One after another, we just sort of... died off. We tried to figure out how to get back home but nothing worked. After a while the last ones got desperate. Planned to go out into the world, further than ever, to find anything that could help. I didn't want to risk it, and they had died too many times already, so I asked them to stay put. Minny was the only one who seemed to agree. But, when I was out gathering wood, she made that disc," said Swift.
"They, they could still be out there, can't they?" asked Twilight.
"It's... No. They are dead, as dead as you can be in this place, anyway. I hope they aren't stuck in the void forever. I hope they are just dead, or fine back home, or something. Anyway, I regularly checked in at the Temple of Return. Heh, haven't used that name in a long time. After about a week, I found Minny there. She had said that they had all died. It had been some sort of monster we hadn't seen before. She was the only one left. I remember being so... so really very upset, but still sort of happy at least one was alright. In this place, any good thing has to be appreciated, even in bad times. But, she... she was killed by an Enderpony on the way back to the home. I waited back at the temple for a whole four days, but nothing came back. Then I was alone," said Swift.
"Swift, I had no idea, I- I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry," said Twilight.
"Hey, I've survived this long. Still hurts, but I'm alright. You know, you look like you have some questions," said Swift.
"Well, a few. It's sort of who I am."
"It's okay. Ask."
"Well, why did you call it the 'Temple of Return'?"
"Because that's what we named it when we built it."
"You built that thing?"
"I mostly just gathered stuff to build with. Minny was the one good with making things. The most I've ever built is this house. It's simple compared to her things," said Swift.
"Why did you build that temple? To keep new ones safe?"
"Basically. And, to show them that they weren't alone in this place. We even left some signs there, talking about Intent and monsters and stuff. I don't know if it has ever helped anypony, but I don't care. We tried."
"Where are the other's old homes if this is yours?"
"After... After they died, I eventually tore down their things to use to build my stuff with. Looking at it was too... it hurt, you know? I kept old pictures and stuff I found though. Most of it is in here, in storage. Some are up in the hallways."
"Where did you live, here? Doesn't seem like a great spot for several ponies, I mean. Too much forest," said Twilight.
"No, I moved here. I couldn't live back at that place. Not, not then at least. It was actually back at your cave. That is a very good place. Open, visible, lots of space. That's where I spent the first night here too. Just like you I remember being afraid and confused."
"Oh, I see. What are these books?" asked Twilight.
"They are filled with a weird language, me and the rest of my friends found them way, way back. Most were underground. I've tried to read- I mean, desi- de... decipher, them. But I'm not that smart, despite the fact I should be able to. It was always someone else who did that. This place has some strange rules. Some things you can guess how to make, like an pickax or sword, but others you simply have to know how to make to actually make them. You can't guess them. New rules, new things. I only know about four, every single one is useless, but at least I really like how to make coco," said Swift. He laughed to himself a bit. "We spent days trying to come up with new things at times. We managed to make armor one day. That was a good day. I don't have materials for it though, we barely did."
"I often try to learn. Maybe I can get some information from these books?"
"No, no. I'll do it, or I'll get your help and do it. But, anyway. I wanted to talk to you about something important, ever since just before that Enderpony killed me," said Swift.
"What is it?"
"I've realized that no matter how much I want things to stay the way they are, it's just not going to be of any help to anyone. With you here, I need to take risks again. I have to go out into the world to help. So, now, I can't live the way I have lived for so long. Twilight, I've made a decision and I hope you will allow it." Twilight waited patiently for him to muster up courage to ask. "Am I allowed to live with you and your ponies? I will teach you everything I know, and help you build, gather, and all I can do. I will learn what are in these books, if there is anything at all. I will find more books. I will learn stuff. I can't be on my own anymore. It's like... Nothing good would come of it. I hope your offer is still up," said Swift, his tone even more serious than usual.
"Swift, I'm sure you would be of great help with your knowledge and we'll be happy to protect whoever we can. Of course you can join," said Twilight. "I think it would be good for you."
"After being in... that place again... the void, I think you might be right. Just a warning, sometimes, you get panic attacks after being in the... void. Rainbow Dash is going to have problems getting used to it. Don't worry, though. She'll be back to normal in a few days, weeks at most. Tomorrow we leave this place with as much food and seeds as we can. We can come back later for my things. There's no rush."
"Sounds like a good idea," said Twilight, nodding.
"Although... something is just wrong. I can swear that I saw Rainbow Dash down here a few days ago, stealing this disc I'm listening to. But, when I woke up and got down here, it was back. I mean, I was happy... but I don't understand it," said Swift.
"Maybe it was never stolen? Maybe you hadn't slept well and just imagined it? I mean, Rainbow Dash and you didn't get off on a great start."
"I know you're, like, protecting her, but... I did lose her a few minutes when I chased after. I now think she, had problems with the zombie-bite, maybe, but then felt guilty and walked back and returned it. Those bites make you crazy, even forget about things."
"It's possible. Are you still mad at her?"
"No. To be honest, I'm just happy she's not very hurt. She's strong, isn't she?"
"She sure is," said Twilight, smiling. "Come on, let's get back upstairs and get some sleep. I can't wait to see the rest of my friends again."
"Yeah. I'm coming, just have to put this disc back into its chest," said Swift.
"Alright. I'm going upstairs. Good night, Swift," said Twilight.
"Good night, Twilight." And then Twilight turned around to walk towards the door.
"Twilight, thank you for talking to me. Feels good to finally have someone to talk to again, you know? Though, I guess you don't really know how it is to be all alone without friends," said Swift.
"Hey, I know how it feels to be all alone, believe me. You've got my sympathies... friend."