Land of Misery

by UnKnownSalvation

Problematic

Ch. 5: Problematic

As Twilight and Zero began their trek through the cave, with only the light of the red orbs Zero summoned to help them see, Twilight decided to ask Zero more questions.
"Zero, how do you know so much about where you're going?"
"I don't." Zero replied.
"But you know the names of towns and cities?"
"Yeah, I read the map." Zero took a map out of his bag and showed it to Twilight, as he continued to walk with her on his back. The map was the entirety of Adaptus, with every town labeled on it and the Hitchalayan mountains where they were. It also had labeled the mountain entrance Zero blocked up. "Without this map, we wouldn't know where to go."
"But we're in a cave."
"Oh really?" Zero said sarcastically, prompting Twilight to scowl at him. "But I get what you mean. Yes, I don't know where to go… yet!"
"Yet?" Twilight inquired her companion.
"Right now, I'm looking for a wind current. We're getting fresh air from somewhere, so that means there should be a way out. If we follow the wind, we should find our exit." Zero said, as he looked back at Twilight.
"Yeah, you're right! So all we need to do is follow the air currents and we'll get out of here!" Zero nodded, as Twilight understood what he was doing.
"As long as we can feel wind, we'll get out of this Light."
"Light?" Twilight asked.
"Quicker to say your name, right?" Zero said with a smile, at Twilight rolled her eyes, even though she didn't mind the name. After five minutes, Zero decided to ask Twilight about herself and the life she had before.
"So Light, it's your turn."
"What?" Twilight asked.
"I told you about myself, but I know very little about you. If I'm going to help you get home, I'd at least like to know a bit more than your name." says Zero.
"Fair enough Zero. You've told me a lot more than I thought you would, so I think it's only fair that you know more about me."
Twilight began to talk about herself and slowly, Zero started to understand her life in Equestria: Her friends Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy; Her parents and brother, Shining Armor and his wife Princess Cadance; her teacher, Princess Celestia and sister Princess Luna and all the adventures she's had in her home of Ponyville, from Nightmare Moon to the Crystal Empire, to the point Zero only listen intently and not speaking beyond the occasional questions and jokes.
Eventually, they started talking about minor things: tastes in music, foods, arts and even hobbies. As the conversation went on, Twilight, bit by bit, began to feel more comfortable and more trusting with Zero. It was like they were on a first date, yet it didn't feel like that to either of them.
After an hour or so, they came to a crossroad with three ways they could go.
"Three paths to choose from; what do you think, Light?" asked Zero.
As Twilight looked at all the paths, she noticed a sparkled glow coming from the orbs was flowing slightly towards the right. The air current they were looking for was now apparent, though neither one of them could feel it yet.
"Let's go left!" answered Twilight.
"Are you sure?" Zero asked with uncertainty.
"Positive!"
Zero nodded, praying that Twilight was right. As they continued for about five minutes, the wind became more noticeable.
"This is strange." Twilight said unsurely.
"What?" Zero asked
"Why is the air all warm?"
Zero began to notice that the air was getting warmer as they continued onward.
"Yeah, you think the air would be a little colder."
As they progressed further, they started to hear rumbling.
"What's all that rumbling?" Twilight asked
"I think it sounds like a waterfall." Zero said with uncertainty.
As they got closer to the sound, they could see a light coming from up ahead. The light was coming from the entrance of an enormous cavern. They walked out right onto a narrow walkway, supported by huge pillars alongside the waterfall. Both Twilight and Zero noticed the glimmer of multicolored crystals all around the cave lit up, prompting Zero to cease using the orbs. They both look down to see a glistening lake underneath the walkway.
"It's beautiful." Twilight remarked, as she looked around the crystal cavern.
"Yeah Light, it is." Zero agreed.
Twilight looked at Zero smiling, as he looked at every detail of the cavern, except for one thing in particular.
"Twilight, look!" Zero shouted, pointing to the other end of the cavern. "That could be our way out!"
"We'll know soon enough! Come on!"
Zero took off, with Twilight hanging onto his neck. Just as they made it to the end of the narrow walkway, the ground began to shake. Around the corner in the cave, was a humongous Cyclops, with a huge wooden mallet on one hand. Zero and Twilight quickly hid behind a giant crystal to avoid being seen.
"ANOTHER LONG DAY, MAKING TUNNELS JUST TO FIND SOME CRYSTALS. IT GETS PRETTY BORING AFTER A WHILE. OH WELL, I JUST WANT TO SLEEP IT OFF."
The giant laid himself down on a bed, made entirely of crystal, as he grabbed a piece of the ceiling to eat. He soon went to sleep and after a while, began to snore, much to Zero and Twilight's relief.
"Ok Light, I'm going to sneak for the exit. Ready?" Zero whispered to Twilight, as she nodded her head in agreement. Zero took a few steps before…
*Crash*
A loose crystal fell from the ceiling, landing on top of another crystal, causing an extremely loud crash. This was followed by multiple crystals, all coming loose from their place in the ceiling.
*crashsmashcrashsmashcrashsmash*
Zero and Twilight winced from the noises the crystals were causing and thanks to Zero, shield themselves from them, remaining unscathed. When it all finally ended, they opened their eyes to see a multicolored crystal floor. They look over to see the giant hadn't even budged, much to their astonishment.
"How did Fatty sleep through all that?" Zero whispered to Twilight.
Suddenly, the Cyclops woke up and sat straight up from his bed.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" The giant turned towards their direction.
"Y-You can't be serious..." Zero said in disbelief.
"I'M NOT FAT! I'M BIG BONED!" The giant angrily shouted. He began swinging his club at the two.
"Light, forgive me."
"What?" Twilight asked.
Before Twilight could react, Zero used his magic to throw Twilight onto the walkway.
"AHHH!" Twilight shouted, before landing roughly on the walkway.
Zero then summoned a shield around himself, protecting himself from the full blow of the club. The force sent Zero flying on the other side of the room, landing onto a cluster of crystals, with the giant between him and Twilight.
"Wow that hurt!" Zero muttered.
The giant then turned his attention to Twilight. He wound up his swing to strike Twilight down, who was immobile from the pain she was already in.
"NO!"
"AHHHHHH!" Zero focused a shield off towards Twilight and bounced the club back into the giant's face, stunning him.
"OW!" The Cyclops shouted in agony.
Now mustering all of his power, Zero picked the giant off the ground, albeit with much difficulty.
"It's time for you to SIT DOWN SON!"
Zero motions to the wall and throws the giant into it, shaking the entire cavern. Without warning, the walkway Twilight was on gives way and falls out from under her, sending her falling into the water below.
"ZERO!"
"TWILIGHT!"
Zero throwing caution to the wind and dives into the water below after her. He quickly realized that it wouldn't be easy, as the debris had made the water murky and hard to see. After two long minutes, Zero finds her at the bottom of the lake, nearly unconscious. The pain she was in made it almost impossible to swim, as she sank like a rock. With little time to spare, Zero realized he had to take a chance.
"I hope she doesn't hate me for this." Zero then kissed Twilight on the lip, to give her enough air to breathe. After what seemed like forever, Twilight regained enough of her consciousness to react to Zero's kiss. He breaks away and then brings her to the surface for air.
"Twilight, are you ok?!" Zero asked, gasping for air.
"Zero, Why did you kiss me?!" Twilight demanded while holding onto Zero to stay above water, all the while blushing heavily.
"I need to give you air so you didn't drown!" Zero reacted defensively. He then noticed a current in the lake, as they were heading for wall with an opening underneath.
"Light, take a breath!"
Twilight and Zero quickly took a deep breath, as they went under the wall and resurfaced to see raging white water rapids, much to their horror.
"Hang on!"
Zero and Twilight rode the current, trying desperately to keep their heads above water. After what seemed like an eternity, the water finally began to settle and they could rest.
"What is with this country? It just wants us dead." Twilight said, gasping for air.
Zero looked towards where the current is taking them, to see an end to the tunnel. As Zero and Twilight finally reach the end of the tunnel, they noticed that they have finally reached a town. Even though it was now close to sunset and it was cold out, the water was still warm from being inside the mountain, away from the cold. Zero used his magic to get them onto dry land, the first they have seen for a long while. Twilight's bandages had fallen off in the rapids so her patchy fur was clearly visible. They lay under a bridge to rest and as a makeshift shelter from the cold winter day. They took a look around to see a decrepit town that looked like it was falling apart underneath all the snow that covered it.
"Zero, where are we…?" Twilight asked stunned.
"We're in Shutter." Zero replied.
"How can you be sure?"
"Because this place is a wreck of a town. If we're going to get some answers, this is the place. From what I've heard, the ponies here have suffered much more than anywhere else."
"Why?" Twilight asked
"Let's find out, shall we?" Zero stood up and looked to Twilight. "It will draw too much attention for me to carry you around. I'm going to give you another pain neutralizer spell, so you can walk." Twilight nodded as Zero's horn lit up red and the pain began to vanish. "How do you feel?"
"Much better, thanks to you." Twilight said, as she finally was able to stand and walk on her hooves.
"Why didn't you do that while we were in the cave?"
"Because I didn't think about it at the time…" Twilight was not amused with this answer, but let it go as she was glad to finally feel less helpless and dependent on Zero.
"One more thing." Zero's horn lit up as he shot a small beam at Twilight. When the beam hit Twilight, her color patterns changed from her normal lavender and pink and purple eyes to a fully pink mane and tail, yellow eyes, and cyan fur coat. Her cutie mark changed to three daisy flowers as well. Her patchy fur had been covered up by the spell so her burns didn't alert anyone. Twilight looked to Zero to see his fur green, eyes red, and his mane and tail now blonde. His cutie mark looked like a pickaxe. "Now we are anonymous. With the entire royal guards looking for us, we need to disappear."
Twilight nodded slowly as she understood. "I also recommend thinking up a name if we get stopped." Twilight took a look at her cutie mark as Zero moved to just under the bridge to look around.
"Call me Daisy." says Twilight.
"Works for me." Zero said as he shrugged
"What about you?"
"Valor will work. No one in this country knows my real name so, I think it will do." Zero said not looking towards Twilight.
"Not very creative, are you?" Twilight jokingly remarked, causing Zero to look back to her.
"Who saved you from drowning again?" Zero asked with a smile.
"Who forgot to give me a pain neutralizing spell so I could move my legs?" Twilight rebutted. Zero blushed as he knew he had been beat.
"Let's go." Zero muttered
Twilight couldn't help but laugh. As the two traveled through the town, drawing almost no attention, they watched guards terrorizing a poor peddler pony, who was just trying to make a living selling what he had.
"You trying to rip me off?!" One of the royal guards shouted.
"No sir! I wasn't trying anything in the slightest!"
"This is terrible." Twilight whispered to Zero.
"If I could disguise myself, I could do something." Zero and Twilight look towards a nearby alley to see thrown away brown winter clothes.
"These should work nicely."
After dressing up in the clothes to the point where he was unidentifiable, he turned to Twilight. "Hide while I take care of the guards. Once I knock them all out, I'll come find you."
"Be careful." Twilight said, showing genuine concern. Zero hid a smile under the scarf he was using to cover his face and climbed up a fence, as he entered into another alley. He crossed the street and climbed some boxes to get up to a higher vantage point, just above where the guards terrorizing the peddler.
"Someone help me!" The peddler pleaded
"Go ahead and beg for help! No one is going to help you!"
"Take another guess!" said Zero, as he jumped from his vantage point and tackled and knocked out the main guard taunting the peddler. The rest of the guards all attempted to blast Zero, but he countered by putting up a shield and then breaking it, sending shards in their direction, incapacitating them. "Royal army huh?"
"Thank you stranger! What is your name?" The peddler asked. The peddler was a gray middle-aged earth pony with a silver mane and pale blue eyes.
"Surge. That's all you need to know."
With that Zero took off towards the alley that he left Twilight in.
"Daisy, it's safe!"
"Hello Zero." Zero quickly turned to the voice to see a black armor-clad alicorn stallion…
"Blacklight!" Zero said, getting his horn ready to fight.
"Uh uh uh… you wouldn't want anything to happen to this lovely thing, would you?" Blacklight said mockingly as he pointed to the shadows, where two unicorns were holding Twilight hostage in a magic bond.
"Light!" Zero stood down without hesitation. "How did you find us, Blacklight?" Zero demanded calmly.
"That covering to the cave you made. Next time, make the rock match the area around it. I know this land better than you do, so once I figured that you were heading for Shutter, I just had to watch the two entrances from the tunnel network. I saw you come out of the river and your little palette swap and followed you. I knew taking you in a head on fight would be irresponsible and reckless, so I decided to create a scenario that would bring out the hero in you. It worked better than I could have ever hoped!"
While Blacklight continued his explanation, another unicorn came up and slapped a collar around Zero and Twilight, linked by a blue energy cord that faded away after it appeared. With the two collars in placed, Zero's magic disappeared, returning them to their normal forms.
"With these collars on, your magic is now useless." Blacklight chuckled evilly. "Take them away."
"You think you've won? This isn't over Blacklight!"
"I'm afraid you're quite wrong Zero. After all, your public execution will make the prophecy false."
"Prophecy? What prophecy?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Wouldn't you like to know? Take them away!" Zero and Twilight were thrown into the back of a carriage made of pure metal. "Send word to the Queen. We have the princess and her companion and will depart tomorrow with the prisoners."
"Yes sir!"
"Looks like the prophecy's a dud, just like the other twenty thousand that seer gave when our Queen took power. I wish she was alive today to see how they have failed her."
With that, Blacklight walked to follow the carriage, satisfied with what he's done today…

Author's Note:

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