In a Far Away Land

by TheReaderAndWriter

Extra: Skyblock

Every single night Twilight had the same dream. It was always just her, standing atop what amounted to just a few blocks above a never ending abyss. Her footing always felt a little too loose as she walked from one side to the other, desperately seeking something new, anything different in the vast emptiness, but she never found it.

Just the thought that the ground she walked on would fall apart, letting her tumble down towards the dark unknown, was enough to make breathing difficult. Bit by bit she would get more secure, but never quite enough to feel properly safe. She felt like this vulnerable insignificant thing in a world that could easily swallow her up, all it needed was for her to take a wrong step, or simply roll over in her sleep. Wings couldn't help her here; they just didn't work, and neither did magic. Sometimes the whims of the dream caused her to fatally misstep, plunging her towards the horror of nothing below, just to wake up in a cold sweat.

Towards the end of the dream she would always gravitate towards the single thing standing out, a simple short tree, barely enough to shelter her from the burning sunlight.

Why am I here? How did I even get here? was often her thought, or about the most lucid thought she could have in a dream. There was never quite an answer for her. Whenever she would be awake and remember her half-forgotten nightmare, she often pondered if it was just some way for her to deal with past conflicts and trauma, but it didn't feel quite right. There was this feeling, like she had lost something.

Tonight she would do her best to find out what that 'something' was; she was going to use her magic to make herself completely lucid in the dream.

While the darkness of her room no longer made her uncomfortable, like when she had been a filly, the thought of experiencing that dream made her tense up in the shadows. Hours passed as Twilight lied in her bed, the ticking of the clock continuing along with her steady heart. Knowing she wanted to fall asleep as quickly as possible just made it impossible. Details filled her head, thoughts and wishes about experiencing the dream. Focusing on the silence just made her hear her own heartbeat, which simply made her uneasy as it just reminded herself about the blood flowing in her veins, her mortality, and how much time had passed.

The thing was that she could have forced herself to slumber. Magic, medicine, or just a friend with a frying pan would have been enough, but there was this dread... What would she actually find out?

Her eyelids grew heavy, and then quite light as she opened them to look out over an endless abyss, standing on some grass. She immediately backed away from the edge, seeking shelter under the tree.

So what was it? Was there something she just didn't remember as she woke up? What?

She didn't get an immediate answer.

There was a chest containing some simple items, things that seemed familiar, but nothing she hadn't seen other times she dreamed. She had expected something new, but it was just more of the same: very little.

While she could for once lie beneath the tree's leaves without constant fear, her dream continued for hours much like it did every other night. No amount of introspection could help her figure out the meaning of it all. Instead of being fearful, she just found it to be dull.

Turns out being bored was just what she needed.

To pass the time she started to break bits of her little island to pieces, arranging it a bit. There was a sense of relief to just make it look different, to finally have something new, so she continued. Taking care as to not let any one block fall into the void beneath, she gave herself a bit more space, and with some clever use of materials she managed to make more out of nothing, to give herself room. Water started to flow off one side, like a nice little infinite waterfall, making calming sounds in what would otherwise be complete silence.

Before long she started to plant and grow trees! She built a cabin out of planks! There was a table! Bread and apples in a chest, not quite as tasty as when one would be awake, but quite welcome. An extra room! She made double doors!

Did she hear animals outside? Yes! Sheep, appearing out of nowhere, eating some of the grass, suddenly she had wool! Beds! Carpets!

Expand! Fences at the edges! More stone, enough to gallop on!

Twilight actually laughed! She climbed one of her trees to look at what she had made. It was a proper floating island, at least eight times larger than when she had started, she was proud of it, and couldn't quite stop glancing at her little cabin for the rest of the dream.

Then, morning came, and she woke up, or, rather, opened her eyes. For the first time she felt sorry about having left the dream, but she didn't quite know why...

So, she simply went back to sleep, and this time it wouldn't be quite lucid.

Immediately Twilight looked around, once more seeing what she had made, but with the perspective of a new her... and she felt this sense of fulfillment... She smiled, happy to be there.

Finally knowing what that 'something' was, so she simply trotted over to the fence, sat on top of it, glanced back one final time, and then jumped over the edge, waking up feeling well-rested and satisfied.

It was her creativity that had been missing, not quite having been used for quite some time. It felt good to finally create again just for the sake of creating.

"Good morning, world!" she shouted.

Good morning, Twilight.

Author's Note:

Well, wanted to make this little side bit. I had an idea of making a story about skyblock, but I didn't quite think it deserved a full story, as much of what I could have done with it has already been done in this fanfic. Instead I felt it could be better used as a nice little short, an extra as part of this story.

Comments

[Keruda]

Good bye world.

[Mocha Star]

I haven't started this yet, but what's it a crossover with?

[michaelb958]

6873395 Minecraft. (I was going to be snarkier, but then I realised that, while the short description says so, the long description doesn't )

[Legioner8]

derpicdn.net/img/2015/1/4/799433/large.jpeg

[RedvsBlue327]

6873395 Gears of Halo Theft Auto 5

[Mocha Star]

7022246
I actually am about ten chapters in and just went 'meh'.

Not a minecraft fan and the story kinda feels one note to me right now.

Unless it gets way awesome I think I'll be done.

[Architect Ironturtle]

I've reviewed this story. You can find it here. Also, have a ribbon.
s13.postimg.org/5a2dthj87/Giz_Vyc0.png

[Gatekeeper]

7133289
Ye and wow! that's some old comment... Forgot i even made it

[hawkehunt]

It's funny. I knew without doubt that this was a Minecraft crossover despite only reading the long summary. Couldn't figure out why for months. All of a sudden my perspective on the cover art changed, and I could only facepalm.

[Keywii_Cookies55]

You know, for something that started out 4 years ago. The was one of the better uses of characterization I've seen. I'm glad you wrote it. Thank you ^-^

[Yutah123]

7179875
I just realized that I also somehow knew that this was a Minecraft crossover. Huh, our subconscious sure does weird things.

[Truthseeker]

9745679 I just meant in general. If you are stupid enough to let a hardened enemy live, it will always come back to bite you in the ass.

[Natt]

When I found this story I didn't think it would get so deep. But I'm glad that it did. It was a blast to read and kept me hocked till the very end.

[Blaster M]

10030859

Punching bag of the fandom? This why she's the Worf of the group?

[Derpy_DragonV1]

That ending is pretty dark lol

[Derpy_DragonV1]

10234883
By magic I meant actual magic. Y'know? Spells.

[Average Gamer Fox]

This is a great story, do you think you could do more in this universe?