"No no no..."
Pinkie Pie paced in the small clearing she'd woken up in, sniffing the air as the rain fell around her. She didn't care that she was in a strange place. She didn't care that she didn't remember how she got here. It wasn't often she felt this concerned, but... something tugged at her heart. Somebody, somewhere, needed a party--no. A party was not enough. Ten parties were not enough.
She could feel the sadness. Whoever it was needed to be hugged and healed and...
Her eyes went wide as she stared at the grass.
"...no..."
Applejack's eyelids snapped open, ears perked as she jumped to her hooves. "What in tarnation?!"
This wasn't the palace. This wasn't where she'd put her head down after the coronation.
What was worse, though, was the sound. The mare looked around, trying desperately to pinpoint it, before a horrifying realization dawned on her.
It was an old and often forgotten fact that the children of Epona could hear the land. When asked, most earth ponies would shrug; the land usually felt as though it was slumbering peacefully, they'd say. Like a filly in her cradle. Sometimes, in darker parts of the world, there were rumbles as though of nightmares.
The farmer had never heard the land screaming before.
Fluttershy glided through the woods, looking at the trees. They were... familiar, in one way. Birch, and oak... but... they were wrong, too.
Square. As though they were made of blocks. The leaves grew out in square patterns as well.
She shivered, grateful to come to the edge of the forest... but then she stared, wide-eyed, at the vista before her. All edges and corners and perfectly right angles. Like something out of Twilight's fantasies, she supposed, all organized and simplified. Even the sheep were cubeular.
The pegasus fluttered over. "Um... excuse me... could you tell me were I am, please?"
The sheep looked at her with uncomprehending eyes.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Something was wrong with the clouds. Something was wrong with the STUPID clouds!
Rainbow Dash had tried bucking. She'd tried pounding. Zipping, slicing, even that tornado maneuver that had nearly cost her so much. AND THE CLOUDS HAD STAYED.
"Stupid square clouds. What am I going to have to do, WAIT for it to stop raining?"
As if to give her brief respite, the weather chose that moment to clear up. Rainbow snorted. "That's right, clouds, I'm the pegasus. You obey me, or so help me Celestia--!"
As she looked at the sun to emphasize her point, the words died in her throat.
"....how?"
Rarity stared at the sky. She'd been most grateful once the downpour had stopped ruining her coiffure, of course, but what it had revealed unnerved her.
It made a sort of sense, oddly enough. Square ground. Square chickens. Square flowers.
But...
"How... how is that... how is the sun...?" She blinked, staring high into the sky. "How is it square?"
Checklist. She wouldn't panic before she ran through the checklist.
Was she injured? Leg, leg, leg, leg, wing, wing, horn, head, neck, body, tail.... No injuries.
Did she recognize anything? Nope.
Could she use her magic? A glow illuminated as she cast a basic light spell. Interesting... she could use her magic, but the ambient thaum field was a bit looser then she was used to. Best to tread lightly then.
Were her friends around?
....no.
But! That didn't mean anything, right? She was in a strange new world, yes, but they could ALSO have been teleported here... somewhere! With a nod, she cast a tracking spell.
A smirk formed on her face. "Hey there, girls."
All of them were here. Spread out, but that wasn't too much of an issue.
All that meant was she had an excuse to really exercise her new wings.
Twilight Sparkle jumped off the mountain.
New.
Something new, in the Mortal realm.
Send watchers.
The end comes to all.
"....most intriguing." The queen shifted in her throne. "Most intriguing indeed."
"My lady?"
She turned to one of her courtiers and smiled. "No, I'm sorry. I felt something in Great Fulcrum. Nothing to worry about."
The courtier rustled her wings. "But... if intruders were to come to the empire, surely it would be our duty to protect the One?"
"Oh, most certainly. But they are a long ways away yet." The Queen smiled, walking down to her child. "And somehow, I feel we would be paper before water when they got here. Best to let His Majesty deal with them... if they ever do come."
"...I feel it would be unwise to lower our guard, nonetheless."
The Queen leaned out of the temple, stretching her wings as she gazed at the sky below. "Tell me, can you remember when you had your last child?"
"What? Well... no."
"...I remember mine."
"FEED THE BEAST!"
The slaves complied. There was nothing left in them that could resist. The masters watched them, nonetheless.
"TEND TO THE FLOW!"
Without fear, without hate, without anything, the slaves adjusted the river of lava. Several caught fire. The masters did not care.
In the fortress, soldiers patrolled for their lords. The memories of those long dead manifested in the spirits of fire, floating about in their pass at business. At the center sat the ones who thought they dominated this land.
The true inhabitants endured. They were patient. They knew the truth.
The ones who called themselves Kings tilted their heads. "Something rises in the lands above. Something new. SCOUTS! Make yourselves ready!"
They obeyed without question. Soon, the sun would fall, and the ancient land fade.
Soon they would search again.
"...I was so scared, I could hardly even walk! But then that dragon pushed my friends against a rock with its smoke breath. And you know what?"
"Baaaaaa."
"I just can't stand bullies. Not after I fell out of Cloudsdale. So I mustered up my strength and flew right up to that red meanie. I gave him a piece of my mind, staring him right in the eye! And then, well..."
"Baaaaa."
"...he started crying. And... and I realized I was so close to becoming a bully myself. I had to think about why I was... Why was I so angry with him? Because he'd hurt my friends, and could have hurt Equestria, but.... he didn't mean to. He was only trying to have a nice nap. So I calmed down and reassured him that he wasn't a bad dragon, persay. He just made a mistake." The pegasus sighed. "And you don't understand a word I'm saying, do you."
"Baaaaaaaa."
Fluttershy nodded. "I thought so." She hadn't left the herd of... cubesheep, she supposed, because even without the ability to talk they were at least company. Something familiar, kind of, and friendly, sort of, in this strange world. Not that anything else was frightening... in the way she usually was frightened. It was just....
....wrong. Somehow.
Her stomach grumbled, and she blushed slightly. "Um.... excuse me. Do you, um, mind terribly if I eat some of that grass?"
"Baaaaaaaaaaaa."
"Well, thank you." Fluttershy lowered her head, cautiously pressing her lips against the blades before opening her mouth and scraping the ground with her teeth. She contemplated the taste; while not as skilled as Zecora at judging a plant's dangers, she did have basic herbal skills and would, at least, be able to tell if it was safe to ingest this new form of grass.
Eventually, she let herself swallow, rubbing her tongue against the roof of her mouth thoughtfully. "A bit... sharp tasting, more spicy then bitter... not very filling." Still, this herd of sheep seemed to survive, so there was probably enough grass to eat. Now she needed to find a source of water... preferably before the square sun in the sky set behind the horizon. After that, she could build a shelter, or perhaps just find a small cove...
"Fluttershy!"
The pegasus snapped her eyes skyward, flapping up with a joyful smile. "Twilight! Is that you?"
The purple alicorn grinned back, darting to her and wrapping her forehooves around her in a warm hug. "Oh, Fluttershy, I'm so glad I found you!"
"I'm glad to see you too! I was worried that, that I'd been teleported somewhere without anypony knowing about it and I'd end up all alone..." Fluttershy looked around at the cubical landscape. "Do you know where we are?"
"...no." Twilight glided to the ground, shutting her wings and glancing away. "I... I'm sure we'll find a way home. Maybe these sheep could tell us!"
"The sheep don't talk Twilight."
"Don't be silly. Excuse me, ma'am, can you point us to the nearest settlement?"
"Baaaaaaaaaaaaa."
The alicorn blinked. "O...kay."
Fluttershy sighed. "I've been hanging around them for a quarter of an hour and--"
"Nonono, let me try a translation spell." Twilight's horn glowed, and she smiled awkwardly. "Excuse me, ma'am. Can you understand me?"
"Shiny."
"Huh?" She crossed her eyes. "Oh, yes, my horn is shiny. Now, could I ask, do you know the way to the nearest settlement?"
The sheep stared at Twilight for a moment.
"Shiny purple."
Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "I told you, Twilight. These aren't like the sheep back home. They're... they're more like my animal friends, to be honest."
"Um, okay, you try talking to them." The alicorn stepped aside. "The translation spell should work."
"...alright." With a bit of trepidation, the pegasus stepped forward. "Um... excuse me miss... sheep?"
"Nice Yellow."
"That's right, I'm the nice yellow. Um... do you know if there's any place where ponies like us live?"
"Nice Yellow noisy."
The sheep bent down to eat the grass, oblivious to the sudden smirk on Twilight Sparkle's face. "I've never heard you called noisy before, Fluttershy." She couldn't help but giggle a bit when the pegasus blushed. "Maybe, hee, maybe you should... quiet down a... biheehehehehit!"
"Oh hush. The poor dears just haven't heard ponies talking before." Fluttershy stroked the sheep's head gently, earning an appreciative bleat. "I don't think they've.... seen ponies before."
For a moment the two friends simply stood in silence, staring at the cubical sheep in contemplation.
"....I cast a tracking spell when I woke up in this world. The girls are all here. Maybe we should go find them."
The pegasus nodded, flapping into the air. "You're right. I guess, um, you should lead the way?"
Rainbow Dash glided low over the land, hoping to find something, anything familiar. A road, a house, a farm... anything. She passed over a swamp, a large flat field, and a strangely blocky forest before hearing a familiar voice.
"Right, thar's that cleared out... now, if Ah got some wood, Ah could make a door or somethen'."
The pegasus pulled up, searching the ground. "Applejack? Applejack!"
"Rainbow Dash?" After a moment, the orange mare emerged from the side of a hill. "RAINBOW! Down here!" She waved her friend down with her hat, waiting until the pegasus had gotten all of her hooves on the ground before jumping into a warm hug. "Ah didn't know if anypony would come looken' fer me here!"
"Hey, whoa!" Dash hugged the farmer back with a chuckle. "Never figured you to be one that would get all sappy."
Applejack blushed, backing off hurriedly. "Ah... sorry. Ah just haven't ever been alone... really alone. This place gets ta ya really fast."
"Yeah, I get you. All the cubes and... really, that covers it."
"More than that, Rainbow..." The farmer looked around cautiously. "Ah know how this is going ta sound ta ya, but... tha land here is screaming."
Rainbow Dash gave Applejack a flat look. "...The land is screaming."
She nodded firmly.
"...is this some weird earth pony thing I'm just now hearing about?"
Once again, Applejack nodded.
"....ooooookay. You know what, I'll just take your word for it." Quietly, Rainbow Dash decided to take AJ to a shrink as soon as they got back to civilization. "The land wouldn't be able to tell you where Equestria is, would it?"
The farmer's face fell. "Ah was actually hopen' ya'll knew tha way back... seeing as ya were sent here to find me..."
"I just woke up here and started flying." Dash glanced at the sky. "The clouds are weird here too. I could barely touch them..."
"It gets stranger." Applejack walked up to the hillside she'd stepped out of, gesturing at the small cavern she'd managed to carve out with a few well-placed bucks. "Ya see how the inside's square?"
"Yeah?"
"Watch." The earth pony pressed against the cavern's opening, dragging one of the cubes of dirt partway out of its slot. With a significant glance at Rainbow, she released the pressure.
The pegasus's eyes widened as the cube slid back into place of its own volition. "What...?"
"Far as Ah can tell, everythang here works like that. Ya have ta be exactly square."
Rainbow Dash nodded vaguely, prodding the dirt curiously. "That's just weird.... I passed a forest while I was flying here. The trees were just... big square pillars with square bundles of leaves."
"Really?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Ah wonder what happens if ya buck'em. Tha dirt sorta breaks into smaller cubes."
"That makes sense..."
"Cept they don't really break. They kinda... implode."
The pegasus blinked. "Uuuuh.... implode. Is that like explode?"
"Exact opposite." The farmer rolled her eyes. "Explode goes out, implode goes in. Look." She grabbed one of the smaller cubes from inside the tiny cave, showing it to her. "This used ta be as big as all these blocks."
"Whoa. So if you take it away from the other blocks, it shrinks?"
"Eeeeyup."
"...that's just freaky."
"But it makes craften' a shelter easy." Applejack gestured at the cave. "Ya know, to keep out of tha rain and such."
Rainbow Dash nodded vaguely. "Right..."
"Girls!"
Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash turned at the new voice, the pegasus flying up to greet the speaker. "Twilight! Fluttershy!" She smiled as she circled the approaching ponies, guiding them down to AJ's cavern. "It's good to see you two!"
"It's good to see you too." Fluttershy glided in for a landing. "I, um, hope nothing bad happened while we were looking for you."
"Not bad, persay... Ya'll have any idea what's going on?"
Twilight shook her head as she clipped to the ground. "Not really. I know all us girls are here, I cast a tracking spell to find you, but, um..." She shrugged hopelessly. "The magic here is looser. And I can't find any familiar sigils... we're not in Equestria anymore. Or even the same world."
"We kind of figured," Dash deadpanned. "The cubes of everything was a bit of a clue."
Applejack sighed. "Well then. Ah've set up a small shelter here, could probably stand to expand it a bit... Why don't you and Fluttershy handle that, Rainbow?"
"You want me to dig? With what, my bare hooves?"
"Worked for me. If anything comes up, you and Flutters can just come flyin' after me and Twi."
Twilight gave Applejack a look. "Um... not that I don't appreciate the company, but... why do you need to come with me?"
"...If Pinkie is goin' through what Ah went through when we first got here, you're gonna need help calmin' her down." Applejack snorted. "Aside which, Ah don't know how Rarity'll react to bein' in another world. Might have to drag her back here."
"I have been feeling a little off," Twilight admitted. "I assumed it was just because of the weird magic. You saying it's an Earth Pony thing?" She gestured at herself awkwardly. "I'm still getting in touch with my pegasus side...."
"Right." Applejack shook her head. "Let's get going. Ah don't want those two to wander bout blindly for any longer than they have to."
