In a Far Away Land

by TheReaderAndWriter

White Haven

The thing Spike loved most about returning up from the dusty old mine was the scent of cool fresh air. Having spent what must have been more than a whole day deep under the foundation of Haven was always tiring, not matter how well it could go. As he exited the enormous cave of Haven's mountain, he waved goodbye to his fellow miners.

"Great work Spike, couldn't have done it without you," said Soarin.

"You too, Soarin," said Spike, focusing on what he held in his claw. It was a rough diamond; it looked more like a shiny rock than jewelry, but Spike knew more than he cared to admit about precious stones. This had been one of a few fortunate finds in a mine thought to have been depleted of anything of value. It also served as his reward. He focused on using his Intent, putting both the diamond and a sword in his other claw into storage. It felt nice to finally be able to relax, to not feel a need to grasp his weapon. He wasn't quite able to stop being vigilant, he had lost that ability a long time ago, but at least he could relax and ease his posture.

"Just out of curiosity, what are you going to do with that?" asked a fellow miner walking alongside him. Spike turned to his friend.

"Swift Digger said he had managed to find a recipe in one of his old books. He needed a diamond. He said he would pay me a lot for it," said Spike to Rainbow Dash.

"I still don't get why he's allowed to try to decipher those things," said Rainbow Dash, looking towards the finished tower where Swift had made his home.

"It helped us with using that redstone dust right," said Spike.

"I'm just saying it might be better to be ignorant," said Rainbow Dash. Spike knew exactly what she meant as he walked out from under the cliff's overhang. His feet walking on a thin layer of cold soft snow. It was so strange how just mere knowledge seemed to be able to affect the fundamental rules of the universe. At least the day was nice, a clear blue sky with the sun still high. The cold air was getting a bit too much however, so he took out a few pieces of clothing. It was made from a purple wool, something Rarity had given him. That was another thing Swift's book had taught them to make, something Rarity had been quite pleased with as she could finally use her creative talents again.

"To be honest, I don't mind us having winter again. It makes it feel more like home, you know? And the kids are liking it," said Spike, looking over at a few kids playing in the snow. "Me too actually, I've missed snowball fights."

"Well, I guess. Well, whatever. Spike, I'm going to go hang out with Soarin, and maybe Rarity too if she has the time. I also have to give Big Mac some of the ore we found."

"For swords or for armor?"

"Armor this time. His platoon was attacked by zombies last week. They need repairs," said Rainbow Dash.

"Well, alright. I'll meet you at Rarity's place, does that sound good?"

"Sure," said Rainbow Dash. They then parted ways, Rainbow Dash taking a shortcut in the school's direction and Spike taking a street leading to the tower.

***

While Spike never really liked Swift Digger, he had to admit that whenever Swift wanted to see him something interesting was bound to happen. One of the perks with having such a shut-in among them was the fact that he rarely wasted anyone's time. He and Spike had discovered how to make maps together, which had been a huge help to the population of Haven. Spike hoped this request for a diamond would be something similar.

The stairs leading up to the tower were always the worst part. Spike absolutely hated having to walk flight after flight, going up and up until, finally, he reached the top. There was nopony to be seen inside the small but comfortable living room. The wooden floor was of a particularly dark hue, and most of it was covered with a red carpet. There was a small table, a couple of wooden chairs and a wooden box for playing rare disks in the corner. It was all very small, but only one of four rooms, not that Spike had actually seen anything except the living room and study.

Spike decided to wait for Swift, so he walked over the soft rug to one of the windows to look outside.

The view at the top was nothing short of breathtaking, especially with all the snow covering every single roof in the town. All four walls of the finished home at the top had gigantic windows which very clearly allowed one to see everything that was going on in the town at any one time. It was almost enough to give Spike vertigo, but the wonderful view of the town, white and brown, like gingerbread-houses, made each trip up the tower worth it. Every home of 727 ponies visible in front of him, a testament to how well they managed to survive. The children playing in the snow, the adults drinking hot coco at cafés, it all showed that they were not only surviving but actually living.

"Oh, hey, you're back. Did you find anything?" asked Swift.

"Yeah, a diamond, just like you wanted," said Spike, tossing over the precious stone. Swift caught it.

"Great. I've wanted to try this ever since I found out about it," said Swift, turning around, leaving the room. "Come on, I'll show you."

Spike followed, up a single stair block and into the next room. He stepped into the study, seeing Swift work at a crafting bench, using some blocks Spike rarely saw above ground.

"Obsidian? Why do you have obsidian? How?"

"I lent a guy my diamond pick to get some," said Swift. "I had to actually, well, give him it, but whatever. If this works it could be worth it," said Swift. "A book I decoded mentioned something about magic," said Swift.

It had been with casual interest the dragon was even there, but Spike's attention had suddenly been fully grabbed. "Magic? I... I haven't seen magic in... wow... four years. Time flies."

"You're telling me. And... done," said Swift, turning around from the crafting table to look at Spike. He was holding something in his hoof, a small strange block. Swift quickly placed the block near a desk, allowing Spike to get a better view of it.

The block looked like some sort of table, with a red cloth covering the top. The block was without a doubt largely made from obsidian, one of the strongest blocks Spike, or anyone, had ever encountered. Shiny diamonds could clearly be seen in the corners of the stone. Of course, Spike only noticed this secondary, as something else caught his eye very quickly. A regular book was hovering just above the middle of the block, gently rotating above the cloth.

"Okay... if Twilight really did help me translate this right, I just need to..., " said Swift, taking out an iron sword, approaching the table. The levitating book quickly turned to Swift and opened. He didn't seem to care as he put his sword right above the book. The blade immediately started to hover above the book where the pages started to quickly flip until it stopped at the beginning of the work. Before Spike's eyes, words in strange characters started to form. They were characters just like those Twilight had tried to research a few months before.

"Those are just like-"

"Yeah, I know. I lent a copy of Twilight's notes," said Swift.

"Wait, when did you do that?" asked Spike. It didn't seem possible, had he actually stolen them?

"The day before Twilight left. That's how I could decode a book I have. Let's see... These characters should read..." said Swift as he examined the pages before him. He started to speak some strange words, sounding more like nonsense to Spike than anything. Once Swift finished they both stood silent in the study, just looking at the sword, waiting for something to happen.

Nothing did.

"Er, maybe I'm doing it wrong?" asked Swift. He tried to read from the book again, and again once that didn't work. He tried touching the sword, removing it, putting it back, touching and reading from the floating book. He kept trying several things for a few minutes before he started to actively struggle with it. He flung the sword at the ground and kicked the block, hard.

"Oh come on! I've worked on this for weeks!" said Swift with a furious look.

"You've never really handled setbacks well, have you?" asked Spike, not really able to stop smirking a bit.

"Screw you, Spike!"

"Whoa, watch the attitude, dude," said Spike. Swift looked at him with an angry look, but he eventually closed his eyes, took a deep breath and turned away.

"Sorry. You're right. Listen, about your reward... how about you just take this stupid thing off my hooves? I didn't know it would be a block and I don't really have room for it up here. I'll look into the book a bit more, parts are still not decoded. If I figure out how to use it I'll come by your library to borrow it, sounds good?" asked Swift.

Spike looked at the strange block, considering the reward. Sure, it seemed useless, but on the other he was sure nopony in Haven had a block like that one. "Sure, I'll take it. When Twilight comes back, she'll love it," said Spike.

"You mean if she comes back."

"No. When," said Spike with a stubborn tone. Swift just shrugged and broke the block with surprising ease, tossing it over to Spike who easily caught it. "Thanks. I'll leave now, have to get over to Rarity's. Bye," said Spike, turning around to exit.

"Careful with the-" Spike hit his head on the frame above the "door," said Swift. Spike just gave Swift a nod as he massaged his forehead, walking out the study.

***

If I get another growth spurt, then I might need to start living in the cave. I mean, what if I grow larger than a house in twenty years? Spike thought to himself as he walked the snow-covered street. He suddenly just stopped dead in his tracks, realizing just what he had thought for a moment. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable. He kept walking. For just a single second he had considered the possibility of living his entire life in this world. No, Twilight will find a way. She said she would.

But, it had indeed taken quite a while for them to get even this far, if you could even call it that. And Twilight's journeys out into the wilds were just getting longer and longer. Most of the time she would return with nothing, once or twice with more strange tomes like those Swift Digger had, but never a way home or even any ideas. For Spike the lack of progress didn't mean that much to him, he was much more worried about Twilight herself. Constantly having to be out in the wilds alone, having to hide from monsters and avoid pits wherever she went. And whenever she returned home to Haven she barely stayed more than a few weeks. Without a doubt this latest journey had broken all records. Four whole months away, and it was possible she hadn't managed to prepare enough for the winter. Spike was convinced she would return, but that didn't keep him from worrying.

"Hello, Spike," said a familiar voice. Spike turned to the side to see Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, all having paused from playing in the snow to come up and join him.

"Hey there, girls. Are you all having fun?" asked Spike.

"Sure are!" said Applebloom.

"That's great. So... how's school going?" asked Spike.

"Pretty good, I guess. Sometimes it feels like the teachers are struggling to come up with stuff to teach us, though," said Scootaloo.

"Yeah, but that red dust stuff made them pretty happy. We are constantly trying out new ways to use it, that's pretty fun," said Applebloom.

"I like it when we make paintings, but, it's true the teachers don't really know what to teach us," said Sweetie Belle.

"You three are getting pretty mature, soon you'll be all grown up," said Spike.

"Like you!" said Applebloom.

"Still technically a child, remember?" asked Spike.

"Oh, right."

"But, I wonder, what do you want to be when you grow up? What is there really to be anyway?" asked Spike.

"I want to be a guard, just like you, and a miner just like Rainbow Dash!" said Scootaloo. Spike chuckled, both at the strange feeling he got when somepony actually looked up to him, and when thinking about the irony that a pony that had spent her whole life with her head in the clouds, literally, would be so good at staying so far beneath the earth.

"I'm going to meet Rainbow Dash at Rarity's. Are you three coming?" asked Spike. They looked at each other before quickly nodding.

"Sure!"

"Great!" said Spike.

***

Spike entered Rarity's clothing shop and immediately stepped upon a wooden pressure plate. Through redstone-wiring that he himself had helped install, a ringing noise went off in the store as he walked in.

"I made those noteblocks in school, we started to have music-classes!" said Sweetie Belle.

Spike looked at the new clothes Rarity had made with the wool, all displayed on a nearby wall. While her options were quite limited, she still managed to create some impressive pieces by just using different colors and hues. The entire shop was very colorful, unlike most other residents in Haven. Wool and carpets covered basically everything except the floor. The room was very large and open, and thankfully quite warm. Spike felt like he could finally take off his garments. Spike caught a glimpse of Rarity through the door in the back. Spike and the three fillies, or young mares, walked over and entered the room.

Inside the small but cozy room Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Soarin were sitting around a table, drinking some hot coco. "Oh, there you are, Spike," said Rarity. "And welcome home, girls."

"Wait, home? Didn't you and Scootaloo live with Big Mac?" asked Spike as the girls sat down at different spots in the room.

"He's had to move to the ocean outpost while they work on the railway there. He'll be back in another month or so."

"I still don't get why they decided to make an outpost there. We don't need a beach," said Soarin.

"I wouldn't mind a trip to the beach in the summer," said Rainbow Dash.

"Eh, me neither," said Soarin.

"It's actually more for exploration. Boats and mine carts travel quicker; who knows what we might find out there in the ocean? We also need clay. Not to mention it's close to a desert, and we need a steady supply of glass," said Spike.

"Oh, okay. Well, the mine cart thing is true," said Soarin.

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe how much that has helped us in the mines," said Rainbow Dash.

"I'm glad something can ease all that labor for you. I just can't stand mining. You are much more suited for it," said Rarity.

"Excuse me?" said Rainbow Dash.

Rarity almost coughed up her hot coco as she lost her composure. "No, no, I didn't mean to offend you or anything! I'm just saying that you're much stronger and braver than I am. I know I couldn't stand being underground every week," she said.

"Oh, okay. For a moment there I-"

"I know, I know. I didn't mean anything by it, Darling."

"Oh, wait, I forgot," said Spike. "Speaking of mining. Rarity, while I was down there I managed to find you a little something." He pulled out something green and shiny.

"Is that an emerald?" asked Soarin. "Where did you even find that?"

"Pure luck while I was down there, beneath Haven Mountain. I figured that since I helped you find some gold, you wouldn't mind me keep this one to give Rarity," said Spike.

"I thought we had mined everything under Haven Mountain already. You really did get lucky," said Rainbow Dash as Spike walked over to Rarity with the gem. He placed it in her hoof.

"Oh, Spike, this will look fantastic as a decoration, but, don't you want to eat it?"

"Diamonds taste better. Besides, since most of what we have is in town storage and can't be used until we figure out what they do, if anything, I thought it would be nice if you could have one. It's about time you get something pretty from someone else," said Spike.

"But, Spike, isn't this the property of the town?" asked Rarity.

"Actually, since Spike is not currently employed as a city miner and was just asked to help protect us down there, it's under the rules of finders, keepers," said Soarin.

"Yeah, sounds about right," said Rainbow Dash.

"Rarity, just keep it. You've earned it," said Spike. Rarity looked moved, she eventually gave a gentle nod and thanked Spike with barely contained joy before putting the gem away.

"So... what are you going all going to do tomorrow?" asked Applebloom. "You're all free, right?"

"Tomorrow, I have... well, I had some plans," said Soarin a bit awkwardly, glancing at Rainbow Dash.

"What?" she asked.

"I, um, sort of wondered if maybe a certain mare and I could... you know, hang out tomorrow," said Soarin. Spike noticed a slight blushing on his cheeks.

"Oh, I get what's going on here... You're planning on asking Spitfire out on a date, aren't you?!" asked Rainbow Dash.

Spike's claw hit his own face behind Rainbow Dash's back.

"Right... right," said Soarin.

"Well, I'm going to take a cart along the track as far as I can and see if I can't visit my big brother," said Applebloom.

"Out in the wilds, all on your own? Darling, absolutely not!" said Rarity.

"But I haven't seen him in forever!"

"No means no, Applebloom."

"Yeah, kid, before you know it, you'll be ambushed by monsters and won't have anywhere to go, except to... you know."

"The void," said Spike, accidentally forgetting just who was in his company. Rainbow Dash didn't even seem to notice that she shuddered for just a moment. Fortunately she did not seem overly bothered by it. Her previous demise, while terrible, had become little but a distant memory.

"So, how about that new park they want to make?" asked Soarin, wisely avoiding any topic of death.

"They are still voting on it, but I don't think it's a very good idea. It would take up too much space," said Spike as he sat back down. "I'm going to tell the pony filling in for Big Mac that I don't like the project and why. I hope others have done the same," said Spike. "I think we should make a long-distance communication thing instead."

"Oh, there you go again. Spike, the council is so not going to start doing that in the middle of winter! It will be vetoed without a doubt," said Soarin.

"I meant after winter-"

"And we still won't have enough resources for it by then. Mining in the winter takes time," said Soarin.

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe how cold it was down there. You would think it would get warmer deep underground, or something, but no, it's cold as ice," said Rainbow Dash.

"Even cooler than you," said Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash winked at her with a confident smile.

"All I'm saying is that we don't need to make a park right now, and we don't have space for it," said Spike. "We need to be efficient during these troubling times. Maybe I should make a list to better present my argument, what do you think?" Rarity tried to keep herself from giggling with her hoof in front of her mouth. Spike turned to her. "What?"

"Oh, it's just amusing how much you remind me of Twilight sometimes," said Rarity.

"I do?" asked Spike. Oh Celestia, no!

"Yeah... You've really matured, Spike," said Rarity. "Times flies."

"Time flies," said Spike, nodding slightly.

***

Having spent some quality time at Rarity's, Spike returned to his otherwise empty home. He entered the fully furnished library, glancing over the filled bookshelves. The stigma of killing a few cows to get their leather hides had disappeared fairly quickly once it had become painfully obvious that the animals were incredibly stupid. Everyone handling them made sure to treat the animals with kindness and respect, but in the end the need of ponies had to come first.

Oddly enough Twilight, who had the most to gain since one needed leather to make a book, had objected for the longest time before finally giving up. It was her who had suggested a law to regulate both how to treat them and the times of... slaughter, so that each and every animal could live a fuller, healthier life. Personally, Spike agreed with what they were doing and how they were doing it. He didn't really consider the animals to be much better than monsters. At least the monsters never ate any of their crops.

In any case, Spike stopped looking at the bookshelves and determined to go upstairs to place his new strange table in Twilight's room. He entered it and immediately walked towards her desk where he removed a piece of the red carpeting. Placing the new block there, Spike was hoping that if Twilight came back before Heart's Warming Eve, or what some had guessed would be that date, she could get a pleasant surprise.

Spike looked around the small cozy room. It was a good thing that dust didn't gather in the world, as he would have had to clean it quite throughly otherwise; nopony had been in there for far too long.

The dragon quickly left the room, along with the library. He couldn't stand the emptiness of his own home. He just put on his warm clothes and went back out into the street. It had started to snow, those little strange shapes of snow gently falling down to touch the streets below. Spike loved it when it snowed. Usually a darkened sky was a bad omen, but the falling snow managed to relax him; he was actually able to reflect on some things as he walked the somewhat busy streets.

He had thought about Twilight a bit much lately.

I really do miss her, don't I? I guess I've always sort of thought of her like a sister, always there for me, and I always there for her. Whenever she's gone I just feel much more alone, I feel like I just have friends left, but not a family. Spike sighed. Technically being an orphan wasn't always this hard.

Why was he thinking these things, and why now? The answer was simple, selfish, and a secret: he wanted Twilight to stay with them. A part of him just wanted his... sister, to stay safe. He was just so tired of not knowing when she would return. By now the hundred of missing ponies were either dead or doing fine. Whatever they could do for them wouldn't help at this late stage. Again a part of Spike started to think he had figured it out: there was no way back to Equestria. Haven was their home now, and they had to make the most of it. He looked to the left, catching a glimpse of something interesting through a window. Inside there was a stallion and a mare sitting in a wool couch together in front of a fireplace. Between the couple was a tiny little foal resting soundly against its mother. That foal was one of the first, but not the first foals having been born into this world. Spike had almost convinced himself it would not be the last.

As Spike was deep in thought, he had barely realized he was standing in front of Haven Twilight Academy. The founder had hated the name, but her own push towards democracy had made it impossible for a single pony to veto the vote. Spike both loved and loathed the name. It meant Twilight, in a way, still had a presence in all the students loving to learn.

The school was quite tall, almost looking like the school back in Ponyville, simple, but with several smaller details. It was the first building in Haven having been built with mostly red bricks, a sturdy material good at isolating warmth. Spike opened a little wooden gate and went inside the completely empty area, passing the detailed garden with it's large hedges and hidey-holes serving as a playground for the little ones. Bushes with holes and passages along with tall grass made for good, safe little adventures in a world where slides were not possible.

The lack of children made Spike a little depressed. They were all most likely at home, enjoying the warmth of hot coco with their families. Their families... Spike just shrugged, and shivered, in the cold as he walked up to the main entrance. The two iron doors, as the safety of children was worth everything, were not open. Spike just took out a simple lever, used his Intent on the side of the entrance and opened the door from the outside. He managed to retrieve the lever and slink inside with ease.

The hallways were at least three blocks wide, having to allow many students to get plenty of space. He passed some chests, with the names of familiar names of children written on signs above them. He barely glanced over them, instead peeking inside some of the empty classrooms. With no blackboards available they had instead used several signs with text on them, and in some cases a few simple, blocky, paintings for illustration. The rooms were a bit dark, and slightly cold, but not to the point of posing any danger for anyone. Spike, as well as many others, had developed a keen eye for when there was or wasn't enough light; it was natural for a lifestyle where every mistake could cost you a visit to the void, at least.

Spike walked to a seat he had once sat in, if only for about a year of his school time, and sat down. He looked to the front desk, remembering the first day of the school. Twilight had been standing just behind the desk, looking at each and everyone. She had been trying to give a speech, but had been a bit nervous in front of all the children. Twilight was not bad with being in a position of authority, but she had always been terrified of real responsibility, though Spike considered her always being able to rise to the challenge.

"Where are you?" asked Spike silently to himself as he slumped down onto his old desk, looking at the carefully planned room's design. It was efficient, both in size and layout. It had a touch of Twilight to it as a whole.

Spike wasn't even sure why he had ended up inside the school. Perhaps he just wanted to reminisce of more optimistic times, back to a moment where he had only killed a few monsters, instead of hundreds. A time where he could with conviction say 'we'll be back home by tomorrow'. He only knew that all this visit did for him was to cause him to be depressed and miss Twilight to the point of it being painful. He didn't want to be miserable, so he just sucked it up, walked to the exit and left the chilly school to again walk out into the cold snowfall. The day was almost over, and he was tired. It was time to go home.

***

"So, anyway, I really think Timey has matured," said Derpy as she walked next to Spike towards the library.

"That's... great," said Spike, not really understanding what Derpy was talking about. All she said this evening had just confused him.

"Sure is. He's still not really ready to tell me, I just know, but I'm sure everything will be fine," said Derpy.

"Do you think he'll propose or something?" asked Spike, surprised.

"Oh, no, nothing like that. Haven't you been paying attention?"

"Sorry, I'm just a tad distracted by... stuff, I guess. Say hi to... Timey... for me," said Spike as he walked up a little stair to the library door.

"Sure! Bye, Spike! Have a nice night!" said Derpy before continuing on her way. Spike waved goodbye and then opened the door to walk inside into the warmth, closing the door behind him. He took off his clothes and put them inside a chest by the door. The young dragon was tired after more than a day in the mine. He had spent most of his time either mining or keeping watch, even during the hours they were supposed to rest. He wisely decided to go straight to bed.

After a quick walk up the stairs he was about to enter his own room, but he stopped dead in his tracks as he walked past a door in the hallway. He slowly turned his head, realizing who had just turned around to look at him. Without hesitation Spike lounged through the door for the pony.

"You're back! You're finally back, Twilight!"

Comments

[nighters]

i wonder what the ponies would do to the npc villager and there golem security when they find them? so any new monster or twilight herobane gonna show in this story?

[The Warrior Scholar]

The time jump threw me for a loop

[verypeeved]

He entered the fully furbished library

*cough*

[TheReaderAndWriter]

7133316 *cough cough*
Seriously, though, thanks for pointing that out. Since english isn't my first language, I overlook these things. Oops.