Civilization
“…And then there was that time I got my mane stuck in a book for a week because I didn’t want to harm either the book or my hair, that was fun. In the end, I tripped and ripped out the page and my hair; karma, amirite? Just goes to show that lesso-“
“Found something,” Twilight said, pointing to the left.
Pinkie and Twilight were standing atop yet another sand dune, only this time they weren’t looking at an endless expanse of sand. Nestled between two dunes was a town. No roads led in or out as far as they could see, but the town itself was paved with stone and had a few specks of green here and there. The largest source of green was a field of cacti arranged in perfect lines that took up about half the surface area of the town itself. The buildings were constructions made of stone and glass, all of which were immensely dusty and pale colored. A few ponies could be seen trotting to and from different houses, heads turned toward the ground.
“Finally,” Twilight groaned. “I was beginning to think there was nothing but sand in this stupid world.”
“Most of that looks like it’s made from sand.”
“True. I’m curious how they provide for the cacti in such conditions.”
“Why don’t we just ask?”
“We’re going to.” Twilight trotted down the sand dune toward the town.
“We’re walking there?”
Twilight shot a coy smirk back at Pinkie. “Already too comfortable with teleporting?”
“Yes! It’s so easy! Why would anyone ever travel on hoof if they could do that?”
“Because the scenery is beautiful?”
Pinkie raised an incredulous eyebrow. “It’s more sand.”
Twilight chuckled. “All right, you got me. I just don’t want to make a scene.”
“You!?”
“Yep! We’re just ordinary ponies who’ve been wandering the desert, looking for some water.”
“We’re too clean for that.”
Twilight lit her horn and instantly both of them were covered in dust and grime, completing the look with bags under their eyes. “Now we’re not.”
Pinkie shivered at the direct application of magic to her body but she didn’t object. Not like objecting would have much effect on Twilight anyway, the mare hadn’t demonstrated much care for Pinkie’s personal comfort on the trip.
The two descended the sandy slope to the town, arriving in a small dust cloud due to their haste. Now that they were closer, they could make out a few more details. All the buildings had extended roofs, ensuring there would always be shade for the inhabitants. There was a large well in the center of town that a mare was currently drawing water out of, and Pinkie spotted a few ponies carrying little brown mushrooms around, presumably an alternative food source to the cacti.
Pegasi roamed the streets, but absolutely none of them were flying. Their wings looked sickly, like they were almost never used…
“This world is dying,” Twilight said, for once no hint of a smile on her face.
“…Really?”
“Not even enough magic to give pegasi flight…”
Pinkie chose not to dwell on the fact that, apparently, pegasus flight required magic. “How terrible.”
“It really is a tragedy.”
“Then that must be why we’re here,” Pinkie said, setting her jaw. “We need to fix this.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Okay, first, why would you think that? Second, how?”
“I don’t know; you’re the wizard!”
“I do not ha-“
“Enchantress…?” one of the townsponies asked. “Is that… is that you?”
Twilight realized he was addressing her. “…I could be considered an enchantress, yes.”
The pony instantly bowed, keeping his head pressed as far into the ground as he could. “We beg of you, use the power within your horn to restore magic to this small, insignificant town… we are barely hanging on as it is. Your appearance almost makes one believe the gods are back…”
Twilight smirked. “You could say that.”
“Will you grace us with the power of the final hope for the world?”
“I think he’s talking about somepony else,” Pinkie whispered.
“I know.” Twilight responded, lighting her horn. “But I can do what he’s asking, easy.” She touched her horn to the earth pony’s forehead. All Pinkie could see was a soft purple glow that enveloped the pony and vanished within two seconds. “There you are, your connection to the earth has been restored.”
The stallion stood up. Physically, he looked no different. But his face told of a pony healed – for there was a tremendous grin on his face that stretched his mouth in directions it had not gone in years. “EVERYPONY! THE ENCHANTRESS HAS COME TO SAVE US!”
Instantly Twilight was mobbed by earth ponies and pegasi, each clamoring to receive magic from the “savior of the world.” Twilight laughed. “So much for not making a scene.” She didn’t seem to mind the attention in the slightest, lowering her horn to the scrambling ponies with more flair each and every time. After six ponies had been restored, she started dancing between each restoration.
“I thought the Enchantress was a Queen…” one of the foals asked. “She’s not very Queeny.”
Pinkie shrugged. “I wouldn’t complain if I were you. She’s giving your magic back.”
“And I thought the last unicorn was white! Not… whatever color that is!”
“Kid, let’s say she isn’t the Enchantress. Does it really matter?”
“Uh…” the foal cocked his head, unsure what to make of the question.
Pinkie rolled her eyes, tousling the foal’s hair. “Never mind. Hey, while she’s doing… whatever it is she’s doing…” Twilight had summoned a few tables with her magic and was setting them with various foodstuffs. “Do you know anywhere I could rest up? Like a hotel?”
“…Huh?”
“Right, probably don’t get any visitors, uh… Is there anypony who’d give me and Twilight a place to sleep for the night?”
“The creepy place is over there…”
The foal pointed at a house that looked just like all the others – sunbleached and dry. With a shrug, Pinkie left Twilight to entertain the locals, walking through the open door to find that the house contained only one room. It was mostly empty, containing only two tables, three stone constructions with tattered rags on them that were probably beds, and a small fireplace with a few glass pans on it that served as the kitchen. Considering how Twilight had the entire town eating out of her hoof, Pinkie was more than a little surprised to see a pony inside, staring at her hoof.
This pony clearly didn’t belong. She was an orange earth pony wearing clothing that wasn’t made for the desert – the cloth was too loose and didn’t cover every part of her coat. She wore a hat with goggles, but those goggles were far too delicate for wandering the wilds and she didn’t even have the goggles over her eyes at the moment. She wore four metallic boots with elastic straps at the ends, a material Pinkie had not seen any sign of her entire time in this town. And then there were her tools – wrenches, screwdrivers, nails… things that a mechanic working on heavy machinery carried.
This mare did not belong to this world, plain and simple. She was staring off into space, tapping her hoof on the table in perfect rhythm. Clak. Clak. Clak. She had a small cup of water strapped to her other hoof with the elastic band, and occasionally she would take a sip from it.
Why isn’t she just holding it with her hoof?
Pinkie sat down across from the mare. “Hi.”
“Do you know about the Mesh?” the mare spoke with a no-nonsense tone that was well articulated. Had she not been so deadpan in her delivery, Pinkie would have considered the way she spoke the syllables to be musical.
“Nope. That your home?”
“Yep.”
“Then we’re both lost in an endless desert.” Pinkie extended her hoof. “My name’s Pinkie.”
“Applejack,” the mare said, stopping her tapping to shake Pinkie’s hoof. The moment she released, however, she continued tapping with the same timing as before, as if she hadn’t missed any beats. “I never thought there was anything outside the Mesh.”
“I didn’t think magic was a normal thing either, but look where we are.” She pointed out an open window at Twilight’s little show, giving sparks of power to everypony. A few pegasi were actively flying now, laughing.
Applejack refused to look where Pinkie was pointing. Pinkie frowned. “Are you…”
“There’s too much out there. Or too little. I’m not sure which.”
“How s-“
“I can’t hear it,” Applejack interrupted, shaking – but still tapping with perfect timing. “It’s gone. All of it’s gone. There are no cycles here. It just is. The green things. The glass. Even the dirt’s gone. Wrong.”
Pinkie put a comforting hoof on Applejack’s – careful not to interrupt the one that was tapping the table. “Hey. You can handle this. It’s different, yeah, and it’s scary. But you’re Applejack! You’ve survived everything life’s thrown at you so far, you can get through this!”
Applejack’s next words came out with great emotion behind them, adding the musical quality her words had been missing up to this point. “There’s a giant ball of fire sitting in the sky destroying everything! How can I deal with that!?”
Her world has no sun, okay, how am I going to work with that…? “That ball of fire gives light and life to what survives. The green things outside need it to grow. Without it, we would freeze. And you want to know something else?”
“What?”
“It can be extremely beautiful.”
Pinkie took a risk, grabbing Applejack’s head with her hooves and pointing her gaze out a window.
The sunset was spectacular. A soft, red light filled the sky as the sun dipped below the horizon, leaving only the crests of distant sand dunes fully lit by the cosmic flame. It was not the best sunset Pinkie had ever seen – no clouds, no wildlife, no mountains…
But it was the best sunset Applejack had ever seen. She stared, slack-jawed, at the light show as it played out before her. Her hoof never stopped tapping, but she didn’t seem aware of it anymore.
“Would you like to see the whole sky?” Pinkie asked.
“Yes,” Applejack breathed. She stopped tapping only long enough to stand up. Leaning on Pinkie, she walked out – her hooves falling in time with the beat only she could hear. Stepping out into the arid desert air, she looked up. While the sun was disappearing on one side, the other lit up with stars peeking out of the darkness. Applejack couldn’t decide which end of the sky she wanted to look at, so she circled around, rotating in time like she was part of a clockwork machine. Pinkie released her, allowing her to absorb the beauty of the world she found herself in all on her own.
“I have never…” Applejack couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Ah, looks like you found another one,” Twilight said, walking up and startling them.
Applejack jumped back, looking at Twilight’s horn. “First wings and now a spike? What will they think of next?”
“Both at once?” Twilight suggested with a chuckle. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. Given your expression, you’re not from this world either?”
“I… guess not.” Applejack admitted, shaking Twilight’s hoof. “Applejack.”
“We’re getting a pretty good party set up!” Pinkie said with a grin. “We do seem to be missing a pegasus, though…”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “You seem to have a habit of assuming things will line up in specific patterns.”
“It’s what I’m good at!”
“Not sure it’s a skill…”
Applejack coughed. “Do we know why we’re in this desert?”
Pinkie shook her head. “No idea.”
“I have no idea why you’re here,” Twilight said.
“So you know why you are?” Applejack asked.
Twilight grinned in satisfaction. “Observant, if I had a gold star I’d give one to you.” Pinkie doubted Applejack had any idea what that meant. “I have some idea why I’m here, but your presence is an unknown. I’m working on it, trust me.”
“Can you get me back to the Mesh?”
“I don’t know yet,” Twilight admitted.
“But she’s gonna try!” Pinkie declared.
Twilight shot Pinkie a look. “…Yes. I am.”
Pinkie grinned. “We’re gonna fix this world and get everyone home!” She held out a hoof. “Who’s with me!?”
Applejack and Twilight stared at her, bewildered.
“Okay, fine, we don’t have to have the big team moment right now, geez. Guess we could sleep first…”
Applejack nodded. “When the… ‘sun’ goes down… that signals the end of the waking cycle, yes?”
“I’m going to assume that ‘cycle’ means ‘day’ and say yes. Our beds await!”
Applejack and Pinkie returned to the house – but Twilight hung outside for a bit.
“Hey! Twilight! You coming?” Pinkie called.
“…Yes, soon,” Twilight said, eyes narrow.
“You sensing something?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure yet.” She shook her head. “Bah, whatever it is, it can wait for morning. There better be a third bed in there.”
“Conveniently, there are exactly three beds!”
“…Huh.”
~~~
Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy gathered around a fire they had created in the mouth of a cave. Rarity had set up a simple ‘light breeze’ spell that blew all the smoke out of the opening, to keep them from suffocating. The cave itself was dry this close to the surface, but they had explored deeper down and found some mushrooms in semi-organized lines that suggested farming.
They had tried to eat the mushrooms and decided food from Rarity’s magic was vastly superior to the slimy taste of the brown nubs.
“So, how do you recharge your magic energy?” Rainbow asked, looking up from her still-unhelpful dimensional device.
Rarity blinked. “Recharge?”
“You have to get energy from somewhere, and you can’t be getting it from the world if it really is dying.”
Fluttershy looked up from the daisy sandwich Rarity had conjured for her. “That’s right… magic artifacts from my ‘world’ seal ambient energy within themselves. But, wait, if there is no magic, how come I’m able to cast spells?”
“There is ambient magic,” Rarity answered. “It comes from the ground beneath us. That magic is dying too, yes, but not as quickly as the internal magic of ponies, the land, and artifacts that aren’t the Runes.”
Rainbow perked up at the mention of Runes. “Runes? What kind of Runes?”
“You’ve encountered Runes before?”
“Yes, yes, definitely, now tell me what kind of Runes?”
“Large black pillars that rise out of the earth engraved with angular symbols that glow an amber color.”
“…I need to see one of those,” Rainbow decided.
“There’s one less than a day’s walk from here,” Fluttershy said. “We could probably fly there and back in a few hours.”
“Good. That’s the immediate goal for the morning. After that… uh… find something, I guess.”
“We may wander the desert for weeks and find nothing,” Rarity pointed out.
“Yeah, unlikely. When ponies start meeting like this, the ball has started rolling. I’d be surprised if we go a day without something bizarre smacking us upside the head.”
Fluttershy and Rarity glanced at each other with uncertain glances.
A cocky smile appeared on Rainbow’s face. “You’ll see.”
“If you’re so certain,” Rarity said dismissively. She wasn’t sure if she liked this Rainbow mare all that much. Her face was one of brash overconfidence and pride. Every time she spoke, she carried with her words a tone of arrogant superiority occasionally mixed with exasperation at the ponies she was talking to. Part of this was no doubt due to her having to explain things, something that was not “in her job description,” as she liked to put it. However, Rarity was sure that ego of Rainbow’s went down to her core, quite unlike Fluttershy.
No, Fluttershy just had brain damage. Which was inconvenient. What did a mare with that kind of condition think she was doing being a weaponsmith? It sounded reasonable, but Rarity was able to pick up on the subtext: the buttery pegasus regularly walked into battle with hunters, serving as a stationary weapons platform. She was insane in more ways than she realized.
Fluttershy’s heart was pure, though, Rarity was sure of that. She was a humbled mare.
Rainbow…
“Hey, wanna hear about the time I took down a centaur?” Rainbow asked.
“Sure,” Fluttershy responded, against Rarity’s wishes.
Rarity had doubts she would have allowed herself to put up with Rainbow were she not the only source of information on the topic of other worlds. That artifact of hers, if it started working, would get Fluttershy home.
And while she doubted it could bring magic back… Rarity was already considering the logistics of removing everypony from the Crystal Sea and placing them in another world. The gears they had seen clearly weren’t an option, but Fluttershy’s world would work. Full of magic – and monsters, but monsters were preferable to mass death.
Rarity might not even have to do anything. Rainbow’s device might solve the entire problem on its own.
Rarity let out a bitter laugh. Should have known the solution wouldn’t involve me…
“What’s so funny?” Rainbow asked.
“Nothing about your story.”
“I figured. What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“I take great satisfaction in keeping my deepest thoughts from your prying eyes.”
“…Sure. Why not.” Rainbow leaned back, trying to get comfortable at the edge of the cave wall. She continued her story, and that was all Rarity needed to tune her out.
Maybe they could find a world where a Rarity had successfully brought magic back, and have her do the same here. If there even was a Rarity who had succeeded. Which, admittedly, seemed unlikely.
She had run through the possibilities thousands of times…
“Woah!” Rainbow shouted, sitting bolt upright, startling Rarity out of her thoughts. “Got another one!” She pulled the dimensional device out, eyes wide with excitement. “Dimension number two! Or three. Four? I’m not sure how to count anymore. Hiiiiya!” She activated the device, creating another white-rimmed portal in the air.
The view on the other side was dark, though not as dark as the night outside. A street dominated their view, lit by metal poles with lights resembling gas lamps hanging from the top. Dark, horseless carriages with small lights on their fronts rolled slowly across the pavement. Tall, rectangular buildings rose out of the ground and scraped the sky, many of their windows aglow with soft light. A few building edges sported glowing signs made of bright neon-colored lights that flashed on and off to draw attention.
Above all this was a moon that filled a third of the sky.
“…That’s impressive,” Rainbow whistled.
“That’s not my home…” Fluttershy said, disappointed.
“It feels wrong,” Rarity said, backing away from the portal. Her horn was vibrating uncomfortably. She could feel the city on the other side watching her. “Close it.”
“Wh-“
“Close it!”
Rainbow did, the pop signaling the end of Rarity’s unease.
“What was that all about?” Rainbow asked.
“The magic was wrong over there.” Rarity was still shivering, even though she knew the foreign magic was no longer present. “It felt… hostile.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “I don’t think magic can be hostile.”
“It totally can,” Rainbow corrected. “I’ve seen worlds where magic itself wanted to kill everybody just because it was bored.”
Neither Fluttershy nor Rarity knew how to respond to this.
“Don’t worry about it, the magic can’t hurt us here.” Rainbow leaned against the wall, relaxing. “We just don’t open that portal again.”
“Agreed,” Rarity said. “Shall we sleep in shifts?”
“I may not be able to raise the alarm…” Fluttershy cautioned.
“Then Rainbow and I will do it.” Rarity stood up tall. “I’ll go first.”
“Thanks.” Rainbow closed her eyes. “This mare needs her beauty sleep.”
‘Need’ is such a strong word, Rarity thought. She walked to the entrance of the cave and sat down, observing the cold night. The spires of rock were claws of darkness against the brilliant, starry sky.
She could never bring herself to appreciate the stars. Their ethereal glory taunted her world with what it couldn’t have.
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Huh. You'd think her world would've researched that. Or at least understood that pegasi weren't playing by the same rules as most flying species. Of course, it's not like she has a reason to follow the cutting edge of biothaumic research.
... Of course, if her world's magic actually is hostile, then I can understand the reluctance to look into it.
The gang's all here, albeit in separate parties. And I quite like this Pinkie Pie once she's adapted to the local circumstances. Let's just hope she's savvy about the right genre. Likewise Rainbow Dash.
Rarity is definitely in for a surprise if she enters the town!
Good chapter, I enjoyed that. Interested on the hostile magic thing though, will have to read the Pinkie chapter soon.
I'm interested to see Rarity's reaction to Twilight being an immortal Alicorn with lolhueg amounts of magic. At least I assume that Twilight's got far more magic, though Rarity hardly seems to be a normal unicorn in her own right, what with her own apparent immortality.
Actually, I'm interested to see Pinkie's reaction to Twilight's true nature, as well as how she deals with Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow's magic as well.
Hmm... I got to say, it sort of is weird to have Applejack without her accent. And since that accent is sort of, well, a critical part of her character, it, I don't know, the character you say is Applejack doesn't feel very much like Applejack at all, other than the obvious reference to her work with tools. Even so, I'll be interested in seeing how you make Applejack still a bit of her self by using other defining traits stick out since I'll be paying a bit more attention to the rest of her character. Other than that, the story is pretty good, I can't wait to see what happens next.
9825814
I know what Manga she used for AJ. Clockwork Planet.
9760298
Which Twilight? The one that teleported with Rainbow or the one with Pinkie and Applejack
10483260
Theyre the same one
Yep, AJ was definitely elsewhere. And her mind is indeed blown by the world outside. Or, rather a different world. Not sure if the Mesh is literally everything or just a supermassive construct located somewhere.
Her reaction to being removed from the Mesh reminds me of something I think I remember hearing before about people who spend their their entire lives living by the ocean hearing its rhythmic waves going slightly crazy when removed from it for an extended time. Not sure about the authenticity of it but it's a similar reaction from AJ for sure.
The world Rainbow opened a portal to sounds like Pinkie's world. Interesting that whatever magic is there is hostile and malevolent.
Speaking of Pinkie, maybe I'm reading into it a bit much but kinda strange she wouldn't understand the mechanics of pegasus magic for being in someplace really close to a story she wrote.
Well, the parties have 3 and 3 grouped now. Next thing for them to do is find each other get together.