In a Far Away Land

by TheReaderAndWriter

From Bad to Good to Worse

And so, several days of uninterrupted building passed. The more ponies managed to finish some parts of the town the quicker others could be built. Twilight had constantly tried to help with the planning but, to her horror, nothing she did was of much help. She tried to help build but constantly made the same mistakes. She tried her hoof at planning the layout but most had already been outlined to great efficiency. When she tried helping Swift Digger with making sure the finished parts of town were lit the proper way he came up to her after half a day to mention that her placement of torches would essentially guarantee monsters.

Eventually, Twilight just decided to help with the most menial tasks including taking notes on their material and handing out food. All she really managed to do was witnessing an entire town spring up around her. Houses towering over her, casting their oddly comforting shadows over the streets. Alleys both wide and thin making it possible to travel pretty much everywhere you wished if you only had the time and knew the way. Wooden and stone archways leading right between some buildings to other streets. It was like a labyrinth not unlike that of Canterlot; it was just smaller. Still, a lot of ponies liked it because it was their labyrinth. It wasn't unusual the first few days to see ponies look upon their newly built home with pride as they moved in, often discussing what to make on the inside. It was nice to finally feel the compact structure of a proper town again.

The fifth day after returning with Swift Digger and Rainbow Dash, every building had been finished and had its residents... except for one project: the tower. Spike had come up with the idea. A tower would make it easier for other ponies to spot their town from afar, something most ponies had approved of. However, the finished design was even taller than the mountain, making construction both dangerous and slow. The grounds beneath the tower had been turned into a type of pool, making sure ponies who fell down would be harmlessly stopped by the odd qualities of the world's water. For the first time, Swift Digger seemed to actually enjoy himself. Twilight saw him stuck to ladder after ladder as he helped the others to build.

"I guess that guy's just happy to be making stuff with others again," said Spike.

"I think this reminds him of building the Temple of Return," said Twilight to her assistant as they were standing at the bottom of the tower, looking up at the three ponies working. Twilight ignored the tower for a moment, focusing her attention on Spike.

"So, Spike, what is the word for today?" asked Twilight.

"Well, our search parties have come up completely empty again. They went over three thousand blocks this time, didn't find anyone. A few managed to find some sort of structure in a desert, but Swift Digger informed me those are basically just part of the landscape. Thirty ponies left four days ago, thirty came back. Sorry, Twilight."

"I suppose it can't be helped. By now we can just hope they made a settlement of their own, maybe they are just a couple of thousand more blocks away?"

"Maybe. On Rainbow Dash's front, she's recovering. The doctor says she started to get that rebel attitude back. She'll probably be out in a few days at the most," said Spike.

"Thank goodness."

"The good news is that the search parties, while they didn't find anyone, they did managed to bring back a few cows and sheep. Swift says we'll be able to make beds and milk now," said Spike.

"Good. Good... Great even."

"He also says, that if we are willing to... kill, a few cows, we can make books," said Spike.

"Wait, what?"

"They don't look like regular cows, we're still sort of talking about if it's alright or not. They don't seem to be smarter than regular fishes," said Spike.

"Wait, does this mean that books...? Oh, gross, I've been reading a few of those... ugh," said Twilight.

"Swift says that if we can find iron, then we can make shears, so we can shear the sheep for their wool without harming them," said Spike. "I've already gathered a few guards to take care of that. They will start a mine back at the cave. The mayor approved it, and Swift Digger even encouraged it. He just told us to never dig straight down, duh, and to always be on our guard down there. Monsters thrive underground, apparently."

"Alright. Great. How is the town's storage doing?" asked Twilight.

"Pretty well. We've had to dig a bit to make everything fit, and about ten percent of everything there is just chests full of dirt, but still. We at least have some things there. Some ponies have volunteered to keep inventory."

"Hm, how about the post office?"

"Getting everything up and running hasn't been easy, but we're working on it. When we designed the town we didn't think ahead, so no real addresses so far."

"It's not like we could do much more than we already are."

"I'm just happy I have something to do all the time. It's... it's been pretty hard whenever I have to think about our friends, if they're okay. I wonder what a party from Pinkie Pie would look like here?" asked Spike.

"Please don't mention them to me right now. Until we find them, I don't want to have to think what could have happened to them."

"Sometimes I wish I could go with the search parties. I want to be able to help more," said Spike.

"Spike, you're too young. But, you're right. I wish I could help too. If I could just get my magic to work again, then I would be right out there with them, helping," said Twilight.

"Maybe you should go anyway? I mean, what's stopping you?" asked Spike.

"I guess I'm... afraid. Not of the monsters, but what I might find, or, not find."

Spike gently patted her on her neck. "Hey, cheer up, okay? Here's something you can do while I go out to help to plant the new wheat: we've got a bit of extra space near the eastern wall that we don't know what to do with, go over there, and come up with something we can build ," said Spike.

"You want me to do it?" asked Twilight.

"Sure! Make whatever you want that you think ponies will have a use of. Plan a house, make a playground, something that will help others and that will keep you occupied," said Spike, giving her a supporting smile. "I know you can do it if you just put your mind to it, Twilight."

"Won't we need more houses to live in?" asked Twilight.

Spike just shook his head and waved his hand casually. "No, no. We even have a few vacant ones. Even if many of the lost ponies return we can just expand the eastern wall, as is our plan if that happens," said Spike.

"Okay... Okay! I'll do it. Yeah, being useful again, that sounds like a good idea, thanks Spike," said Twilight. She was about to leave, when Spike pointed in the other direction.

"It's that way. Just go along the wall until you see a large area of grass with a sign saying 'vacant plot' on it," said Spike, then he walked away, waving to her as he went.

Ever since the days they had started to build the town, Twilight noticed that ponies' worry wasn't about their own survival anymore. The fear of the big dark world disappeared while inside the town's walls, instead they all seemed more agitated about their lost comrades.

"Do you think he's still alive?" asked a stallion to his friend.

"I just don't know, okay! Stop asking me that! I... I just want him to be safe," said the other pony as Twilight passed them in the street.

"Hey, at least he can take care of himself! Think about all of the families who's lost their children!"

"Don't take that tone with me, you started this!"

"It was you who complained!"

"So it's my fault? It's always my fault, isn't it!? You always have to blame me!"

Twilight had to step in between the two strangers. Another few moments and a fight would break out. "Hey, hey! Calm down!"

"Stay out- Oh, Princess," said the first stallion.

"I know we are all very worried-"

"Some of us are more than worried. Ponies are losing hope," said the other stallion, not really wishing to look her in the eye.

"Well, we can't start fights in this town, alright?" said Twilight, looking around them. Several ponies passing by tended to look at them as they walked. "It's not good for morale, okay?" she said, lowering her voice a bit.

"You're, you're right. We're sorry. I just... come on, dude, let's go get an apple to eat. I know a place," said the first stallion.

Before they left, the second one turned to Twilight. "Hey, you might actually be good at this Princess-stuff, didn't know you had it in you," he said.

In many other situations Twilight might have met that comment with a glare, but she couldn't help but to feel just a little bit of pride and a sense of achievement. Someone appreciated what she did! That was simply huge for her, but then...

"Come on, let's go," said the first stallion. "You know, if I find out who's actually to blame, there will be heck to pay."

Twilight didn't say a word as they both walked away from her. She just stood there, ashamed and feeling like a coward. She should have told everyone it was her fault the very first few days, but she dreaded the prospect of seeing their angry faces and hearing their harsh yells. Of course, that wasn't the worst part. If anything happened to anyone, it was her fault. That Rainbow Dash had died, was her fault. That foals were out in the world, maybe alone, was her fault as well. Terrible things could happen to them all, and she would be responsible. The blood of every victim would be on her hooves. That anyone could get hurt was a thought that made Twilight just freeze in place because of fear. That she would be the cause was just the rotten icing on the cake.

Though, one of the things Twilight's mind kept coming back to as she started to walk again was the fact that she had, somehow, managed to push it out of her thoughts. For some awful reason she had managed to forget that fact. What did it say about her? Knowing something so terrible, yet being able to focus on something else and actually smile? Whatever it was, it couldn't have been something Celestia would be proud of. Twilight imagined herself crying at Celestia's hooves, begging for forgiveness for her mistake, for what she had let others endure. If that actually happened sometimes in the future, it would come after she had wept on the ground before all of those she had wronged.

If they knew about this, would they forgive me? The answer was unclear. Ponies were forgiving, but that forgiving? She just didn't know.

Still, she constantly tried to find a solution, or help where she could. For the moment, that would have to be enough. Though, some part of her knew that the only way she could make peace with herself was if she helped them all find the way home. She had to fix it. Remembering Swift's books, she almost turned around, but while they could have held the answer everyone needed, he would be busy and she didn't want to disturb him. Almost all of his books were still back at his old home, waiting to be fetched. There was no way to get them the same day. Twilight would gather a party to go get them the following morning.

While the books represented one hope, she couldn't let the possibility distract her. For the moment, she decided to focus her attention on her project, which she realized she had actually just passed on the street. She gathered her thoughts, walked the short way back and examined the area. It was a plot of grass just smaller than the grounds they had built the hospital on. The large square of grass really stuck out from the rest of the town. The street just sort of awkwardly stopped before resuming uninterrupted on the other end. The houses around the area, not counting the wall, were all at least two stories tall. It seemed one or two ponies had decided to connect their houses, making a walkway about four blocks above the street to the left. Twilight was just about to ponder possible designs when she realized the area below the arch of the walkway was too dark. Before continuing, she made sure to add a couple of torches. Disaster averted.

A slew of possibilities went through Twilight's mind, really allowing her creativity to flow for once. Despite thinking up several possible buildings, from the mundane such as a couple of houses, to something so bizarre as a statue of Celestia. In the end she realized she wanted two things: to make something truly useful, and to make something familiar, something she could have seen back home in Ponyville.

"A library? Well, tempting, but I have plans on making our house into one... Maybe, a swimming pool? No, that's a waste of space, and someone could drown. A farm? Nah, we would need more space than that. Besides, I think Big Mac has already made something similar," said Twilight.

"You really shouldn't talk to yourself. Ponies will think you're crazy," said a familiar voice behind her. Twilight turned around and saw Rainbow Dash standing there. "Hey, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash. Her voice was starting to become more energetic again, it was a relief to hear.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash, are you out of the hospital?" asked Twilight.

"Nah, I snuck out," said Rainbow Dash. Good, that's a good sign in this case, thought Twilight.

"Have you gotten any more visitors?" asked Twilight.

"A few, mostly just you girls. Appreciate it, you know. Oh, and Soarin too."

"Was the doctor helpful?"

"I, I guess. Most of the time I was just looked over by some shrink. I guess that after a while I just got fed up with it. So what are you doing, Twilight?"

"Spike said I could decide what would be built here, but I'm having trouble coming up with something everyone can use," said Twilight.

"How about a gym? Oh, a swimming pool!"

"I think I would prefer something else. What that is, now that's a mystery," said Twilight. "I can't wait until tomorrow, then I can get back to working with actual books again. I've never tried to decipher something before, or maybe it's just a strange language. It will be tough, but I'm up for it," said Twilight.

"Do you think his books will have anything useful in them?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I sure hope so."

Suddenly interrupting their conversation, they heard a large clang from somewhere deeper into the city. Twilight was sure she could hear someone yell in the distance, hushing Rainbow Dash, she listened carefully.

"Hey! Everyone! Ponies to the north! A herd of ponies to the north!" yelled the voice, over the sound of what Twilight assumed was two buckets being smashed together. It was Swift Digger.

"More ponies? Finally! Come on, Rainbow, maybe it's one of our friends!" said Twilight.

"When was the last time anyone got here?"

"Too long ago," said Twilight, rushing to the northern gate, followed closely by Rainbow Dash.

It was one of the most beautiful sights Twilight had ever seen, not just in that world but in her entire life. Everywhere around the now closed gate new arrivals were standing. It wasn't just any ponies, it was colts and fillies. They were all very dirty, but their families couldn't have cared less as they embraced the children. It must have been at least three dozen of them.

"Finally," said Twilight, not really able to keep herself from shedding a tear or two. "I, I was almost... They're here," said Twilight. In the crowd she noticed Cheerilee looking over the young ones with tears of great joy and relief. Twilight walked over to her. "Cheerilee, this is wonderful, but I have to ask you: are these all of the lost children?"

"I've have counted, and yes, Twilight, this is it. We've found the children!"

"I'd say it's more like they found you," said a confident voice. Twilight looked to the side to see what she understood had been the only adult among the children group. The bright yellow and fiery red of her coat and mane made Twilight think about Applejack for just a moment, but it was Spitfire.

"Spitfire? What are you doing here? Why were you in Ponyville?" asked Twilight.

"Don't I... Princess, of course!" she said, bowing down in front of her. "To answer your question, I came with Soarin to Ponyville during. We were flying over the town when that strange magic happened."

"You didn't ask about Soarin," said Rainbow Dash.

"I didn't really realize it until now," said Twilight, noting that Rainbow Dash still had not recovered to the point she could openly gush over her idol standing right in front of her.

"Rainbow Dash, hello there. So Soarin is here too? Is he-" but before she could finish talking, Soarin rushed up to her from somewhere in the crowd, pouncing at her. He hugged her as they hit the ground.

"It's about time you got here! I wasn't worried, not at all! Finally! Oh, Spitfire, I wondered where you were," said Soarin, unable to even contain his joy.

"Get off me, Soarin. I'm glad you're safe, but really, I'm dirty enough, don't need to roll around on the ground," said Spitfire, struggling to get up again.

"Sorry, it's just nice to see you safe, and to see a familiar face," said Soarin.

"Spitfire, Miss, is everyone okay? Nopony is hurt, are they? We have a doctor," said Cheerilee.

"Everypony's fine, hungry, but fine. You have food, right?" asked Spitfire.

"Of course," said Cheerilee.

For quite some time, Twilight just sat at the sidelines, looking at the families who did nothing except spend time together. It was so wonderful to see mothers and fathers embracing their lost children. Siblings grouping together being hugged by their parents and family. Not one child was without their rightful guardians, except...

"I miss my mom and dad," said Scootaloo, sitting next to Twilight.

"You can say that again," said Applebloom.

"Sorry."

"Hey, hey, cheer up, we've found your friends, they are all fine and happy. Before you know it, everything will be just the same as during school. You'll hang out together, chat, just you wait, everything's going to be fine," said Rainbow Dash.

"That's it!" said Twilight, her face lighting up with inspiration.

"What is what? asked Rainbow.

"I'll make a school! We can have classes on important things here as well as normal subjects. We can teach them how to make your own torches, basic survival, we can have the medical staff teach the kids how to properly treat wounds! It will give them knowledge, and give us all some purpose and order again!"

"Did someone mention a school?" asked Cheerilee, peeking around a corner, looking quite interested. "Because me and the other teachers would love a chance to teach again," said Cheerilee.

"That's a fantastic idea, Twilight," said Spike, appearing just behind Cheerilee. "I'll get our top builders on it right away. You'll have to be an advisor, Cheerilee."

"Yes, Miss Cheerilee, gather the other teachers, and meet Spike and I in the town hall. This is going to be great!" said Twilight, for the first time quite excited about building something. Her imagination already ran wild, designs forming in her mind. What was best? How large did it need to be? How many activities could they make for the kids? The possibilities seemed endless!

Several hours later, while the sun was on its way down, Twilight basically skipped down the stairs of the town hall. Spike was closely following her, but hardly with the same enthusiasm.

"Great work today, Twilight," said Spike.

"Thank you. When can we start building it?" asked Twilight, looking at Spike in the warm red glow of the setting sun.

"Well, once we figure out the basic design, we'll get a few ponies to work on it. Once we contact all families with kids, then everything should be ready by next week."

"A week? We made the whole town in less time than that," said Twilight.

"Are you complaining?" asked Spike.

"No, I'm just surprised."

"We have a lot of ina- inf- infrastructure to get ready first."

"Guess school will have to wait... I never thought I'd say that," said Twilight.

"Me neither," said Spike, smiling. His smile suddenly turned a bit grim when the glow quickly faded. Not only had the bright shine of the sun disappeared beyond the horizon, rain had immediately started to flow at its fullest. It had become quite dark shockingly fast.

"Ugh, not again," said Spike.

"It's been pretty nice for a while, hasn't it? I guess it was about time," said Twilight.

"I suppose," said Spike, sighing in frustration. They were on their way home, more often than not under the cover of overhanging bits of houses.

And then, with a bright flash, a deafening sound roared out in the town. Twilight jumped in shock as the very ground beneath her shook. It was lightning. It was a storm, but just not any storm. The mighty bolts, like giant bright serpents in the sky, hit them with great ferocity. It happened again and again, the lightning bolts seemingly trying to outdo the raindrops in number.

"What's going on?!" yelled Spike, having to shout because of the incredible noise.

"I don't know! This isn't just- Come on, we need to get inside!" said Twilight, just a flash of lightning hit just a few blocks from them both. Without hesitation they both rushed inside through the nearest door. Once under a roof, Twilight met the confused eyes of a young couple.

"I'm sorry, Princess, but what are you doing? What's happening?" asked the green stallion.

"We had to take cover, I'm sorry. We'll just stay here until the storm is over," said Twilight. Spike, meanwhile, stood over by the nearest window, looking out at the storm.

"O- of course. Be at home, Princess," said the pink mare.

"Twilight! Fire!" yelled Spike from the window.

"What?"

"Houses are getting lit on fire!" yelled Spike.

"WHAT?!" yelled Twilight, rushing over to him. Indeed, looking outside, roofs were staring to burn despite the constant rain. It spread with unsettling speed.

"Twilight, this is bad," said Spike.

"I'm, sorry but, why?" asked the stallion in the room.

"Because that fire is spreading, and this entire town is made out of mostly wood. If we can't stop those fires, then everything we made will be destroyed!" said Spike.

"No," said Twilight shocked. "It's much worse than that. If the fire spreads, then it will destroy our torches. Leaving us in the middle of a storm, half-blind in the rain, during the night. Monsters everywhere... We- We need to get out there! We need to help!" shouted Twilight.

"But, it's dangerous!" said Spike.

"We don't have a choice, Spike," said Twilight. "Do you have dirt on you?" she asked, walking back towards the door.

"At least a few stacks, why?" asked Spike.

"Just in case we need to make some really quick shelters," said Twilight. Then she opened the door.

Comparing that night to being in the middle of a waging war wasn't so far off, they only really lacked a real enemy. Every moment was spent either running as quickly as they could to get to the next piece of cover, or giving orders to others.

Withing a few minutes, Twilight and Spike had returned to the town hall. They saw the mayor there, standing on top of the stairs, pointing and giving directions to the thick crowd of ponies gathered under makeshift cover. Everyone was freezing in the cold rain and completely soaked. Twilight felt downright heavy with all the water in her fur.

"Swift Digger, how many buckets of water do you have?!" asked the mayor in all the chaos.

"Just eight, it won't be enough!" said Swift.

"Hand them out to the quick and brave! We need to get rid of the fires as soon as possible!"

"Unless this storm stops, then I don't think we have much of a chance!" yelled Swift.

"Don't question me, just do it!"

"Roger," said Swift, starting to hand out different buckets.

The mayor turned to a familiar blue mare. "Rainbow Dash! You're quick on your feet, take a bucket and start putting out fires!"

But, all Rainbow Dash did was crawling up into a troubled mess on the floor. "No, no I can't, I can't. Thunder, I can't."

"You're a weather-mare for crying out loud!" the mayor responded.

"Not again. Not the void. Not again. Not the void..." and she just kept repeating those words.

"Get her inside! She won't be of any help as she is now," said Swift.

"I thought she was getting better," said Spike.

"Not enough," said Twilight, hurt to see her friend reduced to something so fragile. "Sooner or later, she will be ready. I just know it."

Spike looked at Twilight, then out towards the dozens upon dozens of ponies rushing in the rain, barely able to see where they were running, often only hurrying to the closest visible flame.

"Swift is right, this won't work. For every fire we put out, there's five more!" said Spike.

"Mayor, we have reports of monsters inside the walls!" yelled a guard, appearing in the busy crowd. For once, the mayor didn't seem to know what to do.

"I- I- I don't know how to direct orders for this sort of thing," she said. Suddenly, with determination and without fear, Spike pointed his claw right at the guard from atop the stairs.

"Guard, gather your fellow ponies! Divide yourselves up in groups of two, then spread out evenly in the most crowded areas where we are fighting the fires. You are to attack any monster on sight, but take turns to distract it! You are to protect these ponies with your lives, understood?" asked Spike.

"But what about the other mo-"

"We will hunt down the last monsters later when we've made sure we have shelter over our heads! Just do it!" said Spike.

"Um- yes, sir!" said the guard, then quickly left.

"I'm following him. I have to help them," said Spike. To Twilight's shock, Spike left her side, without hesitation running out into the dangerous storm.

"Brave little guy, isn't he?" asked Swift.

"What can I do?!" asked Twilight.

"Don't ask me that! Ask yourself that!" yelled Swift.

What can I do? Twilight did ask herself that question. What could she do? Organize? Read a book? Again the concept of responsibility was at the forefront of her mind, but again she just didn't know what to do. She would have much preferred to read a book, just like she had done back home, in her warm, cozy, safe libr-

"My library," said Twilight, getting an idea in her mind.

"What?" asked Swift, handing out the last of his buckets.

"Back in Ponyville, my library has a lightning rod! Maybe we can use one too!" said Twilight.

"I don't know if that works or not. I mean, I guess it could," said Swift. "But, if we would protect any large area, we would need a really big-"

"The tower!" said Twilight. Swift looked like he had been struck by, metaphorical, lightning.

"It's filled with dirt on the inside! I think it could work! But, how?"

"If we can put some metal up there..."

"I have a few pieces of iron. I can make something that looks like a pole," said Swift. Twilight pointed right at him.

"Get home and get it, then get to the tower as fast as you possibly can!" said Twilight.

"I mean that I have it here!" said Swift, bringing out several ingots of iron. He hurried over to the nearest crafting table, immediately starting to create something. A short moment later, he turned to Twilight, giving her something akin to a metal fence.

"You're giving it to me?" asked Twilight.

"I have to start killing monsters before we are all blown up! Good luck!" said Swift, then running into the storm, out of Twilight's sight.

Turning towards the tower, Twilight looked up at the distant silhouette of the imposing structure. "Climbing up a tower during a thunderstorm holding metal. Good times," she said with thick sarcasm. But, as was clear, houses were already starting to disappear in flames. Ponies everywhere yelled for water, not able to settle for just the rain. Without hesitating she ran as quickly as she could.

Everywhere she looked in the town was chaos. Ponies running around like mad, trying to put out flames, yelling to each other for more dirt or water, taking care of those that had been unable to avoid being hit by the lightning or hurt by the fires. It didn't take long until Twilight saw ponies armed with sword with stone edges, slashing at monster who had appeared in the shadows. In her rush, she almost ran into a Creeper at one point, but someone had rushed in from behind, pushing it away.

"Look out, Twilight!" said Time Turner, jumping back to avoid the blast.

"Thank you, Time Turner," said Twilight, quickly getting up from a sudden fall.

"No problem," said Time Turner. "I'll help you out- I mean, I shall protect you, Princess," he said. "Being eloquent is difficult under pressure."

"Time Turner, just help me get to the tower, alright? No, actually, go help someone else. I will be fine," said Twilight.

"I shall assist you, my princess," said Time Turner.

"I can't talk, I need to hurry. Do whatever you like," said Twilight. She wasn't even sure if Time Turner followed her. All that mattered was that she could get to the tower in time. The entire town felt more like a labyrinth than ever. If not for the fact that she had the tower to follow, then her goal would have taken far too long, especially as some streets had become unrecognizable. She needed a better strategy.

"This is taking too long. Time Turner, do you have an ax?" asked Twilight.

"I'm sorry, but I do not," said Time Turner.

"I do," said a surprisingly calm voice. Twilight turned to her left. Derpy Hooves was standing inside a, fortunately, still intact house. She brought out an ax and held it in her mouth.

"Derpy! Can I have it?" asked Twilight.

"Sure thing!" Derpy said, tossing it over to her. "Good luck with whatever you're doing. Also, hello, Timey," said Derpy, suddenly with a much colder voice.

"My name is Time Turner."

"No it's not," said Derpy, turning away with frown on her face. "Still waiting for that apology, Timey."

"I stand by what I said!" said Time Turner.

"For your information, Time Turner-"

"Timey," said Derpy.

"Derpy is a wonderful baker, and- What am I doing? I have to save the town!" yelled Twilight, returning to her strategy at hand with panic. She ran straight towards the tower, about to hit a wall, when she started to chop it down with the tool in her mouth. She wasn't exactly an athlete, but she still managed to create a series of holes right to the tower. Breaking through the last wall, seeing the almost finished tower up close, dwarfing her in size, it was quite something. Twilight didn't have time to admire the scenery or be intimidated further by the thunder. All Twilight allowed herself to to was to turn towards the ladders and plank platforms Swift Digger had created to easier build it. That was her way up to the top.

Once reaching the first ladder, Twilight started to climb, slowly, steadily, fearfully. The rain felt oddly heavy falling down onto her face, pushing her down. The lack of an actual wind was a blessing, otherwise she would have been blown off. Higher and higher she went, realizing Time Turner had disappeared behind her. She was alone again. About halfway up, she stepped off a ladder and onto a platform that would take her to the other side, allowing her to continue.

After a moment of rare silence, in a sudden strong flash of light, a single stroke of lightning hit the very block in front of her. Twilight had been so focused on climbing her mind was not on the storm. Completely overwhelmed by the noise and and light she lost her balance, too late she realized she was falling over the edge.

"Princess!" yelled a familiar voice. Feeling someone having a strong grip of her front leg, Twilight looked up at her savior. It was the mayor. "That was close."

"What are you doing here?" asked Twilight.

"Swift Digger told me about what you were trying to do. Princess, do you think it can really work?" asked the mayor as she struggled to pull Twilight up.

"Maybe, I don't know if it will, but if it does, then it could at least help a bit. It's worth a shot," said Twilight as she finally got back on her hooves.

"Great, I'll help-" But then it happened again. Lightning struck, but not just near them. It hit the mayor directly. In a fiery blaze, screaming in agony and panic, she was launched off the tower to the stone street below. Twilight had barely managed to look over the edge as the scream stopped dead. The last Twilight managed to see of the mayor that night was a broken burning corpse far beneath her, flashing red quickly before disappearing.

"No... No...," said Twilight.

"TWILIGHT!" shouted someone from far away. Twilight looked up to see Swift Digger below, on a roof. "KEEP GOING!" he yelled. "You can do it! I believe in you!"

"Right... The mayor is fine. We'll get her tomorrow," said Twilight to herself, refocusing. She kept going, unable to really stop her tears, but she had a fierce look on her face. She would do this.

Step by step, as fast as she could allow herself, she climbed higher, until finally, she reached the top, the lightning was worse than ever. Everywhere Twilight looked, there was either lightning or fire.

"Please work, please work. Celestia, please let this work," said Twilight as she quickly added to the tower. Within a few seconds, she had built it. She backed off, looking at the pole. And... nothing happened. Everywhere around her, there was chaos, but not controlled in any way. "It... didn't work... Just... just..." the screams of those beneath just got louder and louder. "I failed again..." Explosions started to go off. "I thought I could just do one thing right in this place on my own, just one..." It had been for nothing, how she had spent her time, the mayor's death. It was all just a mess. Then she became furious. She kicked the pole with all the force she could muster. "Work, you piece of junk!"

Suddenly, everything except the rain just sort of stopped. For a moment, Twilight almost thought she had gone nearly deaf. Then lightning, as in all of it, shot out towards the tower. The bright energy was so thick, so continuous, it looked more like a pillar of light converging right in front of Twilight's eyes. She had to turn away from the, quite frankly, beautiful shine.

Taking a deep breath, she focused on just climbing down. When she reached the point where the mayor had died, she heard a voice again.

"Twilight!" yelled Swift from beneath, she turned to look back at him as he way fighting fires. "I lied! I didn't believe you could do it. I didn't think it was possible! But you did it anyway! You've saved the town!" said Swift.

Before her, Twilight realized that fires were starting to disappear in the rain. No more lightning, no more ignited blocks.

"Swift! Just help me find Spike! I need to talk to him about getting the mayor!"

"Right, I'll think I'll be able to get him!" Swift said, quickly running over the rooftops, down some ruins and onto the streets.

Twilight watched him leave, then when she was alone again, she just collapsed in the rain. She took a deep breath, rolling over on her back to watch the rain fall down to hit her face, cooling her down. It was over, finally.

In an almost triumphant mood, Twilight walked towards the forest with a group of twelve armed ponies in tow. All in all, only seven ponies had 'died' the night before. The town was already being rebuilt, but Twilight was out with an entourage to make sure the victims would be brought home safely. Behind her, being carried and laughing with the rest of the guards and volunteers, was Spike, singing along with the one song Twilight didn't really want to join in on it, despite the cheery tune. The weather yet again being sunny just added to their good mood.

"That's me, I knew I'd get a title!" said Spike.

Twilight just blushed at their kind lyrics, but she would much rather get the mayor back in charge than listen to praise. The mayor would no doubt be very happy that they were able to get back up on their hooves so quickly after a catastrophe.

"So how far is it to this Temple of Return?" asked one of the guards.

"Actually, there it is," said Twilight, nodding towards the horizon, where the temple's highest point just came into view.

"Now this is impressive, so this is where we go when we die?" asked the guard as the group entered the large building.

"Yeah, if we come back at all," said Twilight, leading the group with determined steps towards the same place she had found Rainbow Dash. Suddenly she saw someone, slowly staggering around.

"Rose!" said Twilight, quickly running over to her. The mare fell over as she saw the princess approach. Twilight caught her before she hit the floor.

"So dark... so lonely," she muttered, barely able to keep her eyes on Twilight.

"You'll be alright, don't worry. You're safe now," said Twilight, turning to the closest guard. "Take care of her, the rest of us will go get the rest."

They left Rose and the guard behind. When the group entered the main chamber Twilight quickly recognized the missing ponies. Despite their terrible, trembling, weak state, at least they couldn't wander off.

"Alright, stallions! Gather all the ponies and we will quickly return to the town," said Twilight, looking around for the most important pony: the mayor. She had to be there somewhere. "Wait, where is the mayor?"

"The mayor..." said one of the weak voices among the shocked ponies. It was a blue stallion Twilight didn't personally know.

Twilight turned to him. "What?"

"The mayor... what about the mayor?" asked the stallion.

"She died in the thunderstorm. She should be here," said Twilight.

"I was... the first to... come here. I endured that horror... like a... void. I endured... But she never came here. I don't... I don't think she endured," he said, trembling before he passed out.

Twilight just stood there, unable to really form words, either with her mouth or mind. Her eyes filled with a desperate, terrified look until she finally managed to speak weak shaking words. "Oh no."

That night the town hall was in an uproar. There was chaos that would make Discord himself proud of the little ponies. Yelling echoed in the large building. The hall was filled to the breaking point, even the stairs outside had to make do for ponies wanting to voice their opinion. It seemed everyone not near the town hall was home mourning the loss of their leader. Everywhere Twilight looked ponies pointed, shouted and argued over one simple thing: what would they do now?

"Our leader is dead! She's more than dead; it's like she's banned from existing!" yelled Caramel.

"We relied on her! She knew how to make the important decisions! If not for her I wouldn't have had a hospital to treat the wounded in!" yelled a doctor.

"If not for the mayor we would have still been running around in the wilds, or worse!"

While all of these ponies knew how serious their situation was, it was painfully clear to Twilight they couldn't get anything done with all of this shouting and yelling. When someone said something important, nopony else a few feet away could even hear them, often just repeating the same thing over and over again. They were going around in circles, and she was just sitting there, being quiet, unsure what to say.

"Oh for crying out loud," said Swift Digger behind her.

"Swift Digger, do you have something loud?" asked Twilight.

"Actually, Spike did invent something interesting this morning," said Swift Digger. He climbed up on the large table, the only thing not covered in ponies, and put something down on the ground. In a few seconds a small rocket flew up into the air. The sound of a small explosion went off. Suddenly everyone fell silent. "Ah, that's better. I can hear myself think again."

"Sorry for the interruption," said Twilight. "But we need to do this proper. One at a time. Swift Digger, since you are up on the table already, you will direct who has the word."

"Alright, I guess," said Swift. A hoof went up in the crowd. Swift Digger pointed at her. "You, the purple one."

"Who should take her place!?" asked Cheerilee.

"Twilight, of course!" said Spike.

"Spike, maybe we shouldn't-"

"She might be a princess, but to be brutally honest, she doesn't know a thing about leading a town!" yelled a stallion.

"She knows it too! Remember our Winter-Wrap-Ups? Because of her, Ponyville had- have the record!" said Rarity.

"Hey! I did not give any of you the word!" said Swift Digger. It fell silent again. Another hoof went up.

"Hi, Soarin here, I'm just saying that, well, I know Princess Twilight is pretty good with a group. She's determined and brave. She didn't hesitate when we went off and saved Rainbow Dash," said Soarin.

Another hoof. "Soarin, no disrespect, big fan, but you're not from Ponyville. Does this really concern you?"

"We're all in the same boat. I don't know why that matters," said Spitfire.

"Order, or something," said Swift. A hoof went up into the air, one that caught everyone's attention. "Yes, big and red?"

"I support Twilight."

"Actually, this can be settled quickly. Let's vote," said Spike. "Those who want Twilight to lead, raise your hoof."

"Quite reasonable," said Time Turner.

Here and there hooves went up. It was a minority, but something caught everyone's attention. There was one specific pony who did not vote for Twilight to rule: Twilight herself.

"You can vote too," said Swift Digger, his hoof up.

"I know, but, everypony, may I speak my mind about this?" asked Twilight, looking at each and everyone. She didn't hear any objections. "Great, thank you. I know things are looking down again, and we need some sort of leadership, but I'm terrified of leading everyone in this town. I'm not ready, not yet, but I love that we are doing this. We're voting, we're all voicing our opinion right now. Consider that we are, as you said, Spitfire, in the same boat, I want everyone of us to get our opinion heard. Therefore, I want to make a different type of leadership. I want to create a type of council, with experts on each and every subject and matter. I want this to have a doctor, and a teacher, and an architect, and builder, and a guard, and farmer. At least thirty ponies, each one a figurehead who you can come with with important issues, and the council will have votes to determine what to do." There was a long silence. "If that's alright with you," said Twilight.

"That's... actually a really good idea," said Spike.

"Yeah, might be a bit slower than a leader, but it's fair," said Soarin.

Twilight got a distinct impression that the majority of ponies liked her suggestion. They held a vote, and a large majority agreed.

"We'll figure out the semantics tomorrow," said Spike. "Everyone okay with that?"

"After a ceremony for the mayor," said Time Turner. "She deserves one." Everyone nodded, making a solemn atmosphere fill the room.

"I... I have a suggestion," said a tiny little voice in the room.

"Applebloom, what are you doing up so late?" asked Rarity.

"I... we don't really seem to be any closer to getting home yet, and we've been here for more than a week. So... what about if we name the town after the mayor? She's sort of made things going well, so we should honor her memory," said Applebloom.

"Mareville? Mayorlot?" suggested Spike.

"Gray Mare? Grayholm?" said Swift.

"Actually, the mayor did have a tendency to call this place our safe-haven when talking to me about this area. What about that? What about Haven? Short, easy to remember, and I think she would have agreed," said Time Turner. "It's better than Grayholm, which sounds awful."

"I like it," said Rarity.

"Me too," said Soarin. Several other ponies seemed to agree. Nopony objected to the suggestion.

"Haven it is," said Spike.

"Haven it is," said Twilight. It had been rough, but they had endured the storm, and it seemed they could endure this terrible loss. There had to be a way home. Twilight had made a grim decision, but also a promise to herself. Because it had been her fault they were stuck there it was also her fault the mayor was dead, or worse, trapped in the void, whatever that was. In the mayor's name, Twilight would find a way home. But, brave enough to go into the world, looking for the way out as she would do very soon, she just couldn't dare to tell them her secret anymore, she was too ashamed.

I will tell them when we are out of here, but not a moment sooner. Spike, my friends, everyone, I will get you out. No matter what it takes.