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// Chapter 2: Lay of the Land// Story: Sunshine and Fire// by BornIn1142//------------------------------//

Chapter 2: Lay of the Land

Think. Think. Think!

Nopony was going to swoop to her rescue here – not Rainbow Dash, not the Princess, not even the Royal Guard. But even with frozen fear in her veins, Twilight knew that this was not the end. She still had her magic, and a few precious seconds of time.

She swiveled around her head to look up and saw the purple hide of her dragon companion flash in the corner of her eye. She hadn't even noticed the pain at the back of her scalp. Spike was hanging onto her mane for his dear life, yelping helplessly in the wind all the while, but that would avail him nothing once they hit the ground. Twilight had to think of something for his sake as well as hers. 

She couldn't stop screaming even if she wanted to. The ground was looming, and she could see nothing but the sandy hills below and the sloping mountainside running along her fall. 

A dozen different spells flickered through her mind. She could give a pony wings, but that required a clear and focused mind, and more seconds than she had. She could turn the ground below into water, but water could be as hard as rock at sufficient speeds. She could teleport, but the landing would be just as fatal wherever she moved herself.

Everything took too much time, and her time was growing ever shorter. 

Think! she reminded herself.

The right spell was on her horn before she knew it. 

When time was too short, she could lengthen it. Affecting its flow was beyond her, but changing her own perception of it was very possible. The magic burst out of her in a flash; the frantic motion all around them grew languid. Her descent seemed to slow down, but Twilight knew that this was only an illusion. It was still imperative to act fast.

She was suddenly aware of just how thick the air whistling past her felt, how it pushed against her snout and stomach. This gave her another idea.

If water wasn't soft enough to land on, perhaps air was? 

There wasn't enough time for a transmutation, but there were others ways to manipulate substances. She reached out her telekinesis as far and wide as she could. She grasped the winds from all around her, and drew them tighter and tighter together. Holding onto it all was difficult – more difficult than anything she'd ever done, it seemed to her, even more difficult than lifting a star-bear – but willing the insubstantial mass to move was worse still. The pressure in her head was horrible, almost painful. 

But it worked. The air was all aglow and flew to catch her at her own command. There was so much of it in such a small space that it was almost tangible. It felt a bit like stepping onto an impossibly soft cushion. Trying to balance awkwardly on nothingness almost broke her concentration, but she managed to hold on until she slowed down enough that she was no longer falling but floating.

She dropped to the ground like a sack of flour anyway when she released her hold on the spell. The gusts of wind flying apart blew up vast quantities of sand. The landing itself wasn't exactly gentle. Twilight tried to come down on her hooves, but quickly lost her footing. Another cloud of dust was kicked up when they bounced off from a hillside and rolled down and around and around and eventually slid to a crashing halt. 

Every bone in her body ached and she'd swallowed more sand than she'd have liked to; her heart was still thundering in her chest, and she was certain that she'd just earned herself a headache from the strain – but it didn't matter. They were alive. She had done it! Twilight allowed herself a pleased smile.

Spike had managed to hold onto her during all this. Now he let go and rolled off, his chest heaving and his eyes wide open. Twilight was breathing heavily herself. Neither of them was in a hurry to get up. It felt good to lie back for a moment after the ordeal, so they waited for the torrents of sand to settle down. 

“Are you all right, Spike?” asked Twilight.
Spike groaned. “There's little birds flying around my head.”
“You're all right.”

It didn't take long for Twilight to notice the heat. It was hotter than on the hottest summer's day she could remember; even Equestria's frontier lands, which she and her friends had visited on their trip to Appleloosa, were more temperate. The heat was positively oppressive. The air was dry and so warm that it was unpleasant to breathe. She was sweating profusely in mere minutes.

The sun was nowhere in sight, but a blinding glare was in her eyes where ever she looked. Something was amiss. They couldn't afford to rest, or they'd be cooked. Twilight stood up, tried in vain to pat out the sand from her coat, and nudged Spike to his feet as well. 

“Oh brother,” said Spike, “Don't tell me we were thrown into another universe?”
“I'm afraid so.”

Twilight's insides were still churning, and not just from the fall and their narrow escape. The gravity of their situation was starting to sink in. 

They climbed one of the taller hills in the area to have a look around. Moving about was difficult – the loose sand shifted under Twilight's hooves, causing her to stagger and stumble. Even worse, her eyes quickly started to water from the bright sunlight. As far as they could tell, no one else was around, but the terrain made it hard to get a good sense of their surroundings. There was no sign of any wildlife or plants, not even cacti. There was nothing but sand.

They found the sun on top of that hill. It peeked out from behind the mountain, looking so much like a golden eye belonging to a giant as big as the sky that it made Twilight flinch. This was not the sun she knew. It was well out of its usual path, and far too huge and far too bright besides. It was nothing but ominous. Twilight had a hard time wrapping her head around the bizarre spread of light. This was magic, she knew. The mountain didn't cast a shadow like it should have. The moment she realized that, she snapped her gaze down to look at the ground. There was no darkness anywhere. Not even she and Spike had shadows. The sense of foreboding in Twilight was growing.

She craned up her head to examine the mountain in more detail. Shadow or no shadow, it looked queer and alien without the city there. The entrance of the tunnel leading up through the mountain was missing as well. There didn't seem to be any ruins on the ground, which meant that this must have been a world where Canterlot had never been built. 

“What is wrong with this place?” asked Spike, “Why's it so hot here? Are we in Equestria?”
“I don't know, Spike,” Twilight admitted.

She had to remind herself not to jump to any conclusions. This was a new, foreign universe, and there was no way of knowing how different or similar it was to her own. There could have been hundreds of explanations for why things were as they were... but one invariably kept suggesting itself to her: something terrible had happened to Princess Celestia, and the world had gone wrong because of it. That seemed like a likely doomsday scenario, but it was a possibility she would rather not have contemplated. 

Twilight licked her lips. She was starting to long for shade.

“The Princess was taken by the portal too,” she said, “I saw it. Princess Luna as well, I think. I don't know where they are now, but they are here somewhere.”

She'd been too disoriented upon entering this world to be able to tell what happened. She could have sworn she'd seen the colors of Celestia's mane streaking past her, but now she was nowhere to be seen. What could this mean?

Spike sighed anxiously. “What are we going to do? How are we going to get back home?”
“The Princess will know what to do. We just have to find her.” Another thought struck her. “Brainy Bright! He should be in this dimension too! He created the portal, so he can build another one and take us back to our own world.”
At the mention of Bright's name, Spike scowled. “He did this on purpose, didn't he? It was some kind of trap, wasn't it? But why?”
“He must have been some kind of radical. It was obviously an attempt to get rid of the Princess.”

But how could this be? Brainy Bright was a respected scientist and scholar, he was a genius. Why would a pony like that commit such a foolish act of treachery? 

“Do you think he had something to do with that death threat the Princess received?”
“Hmm. I don't think so. He didn't try to kill her, after all. And surely he would be too smart to warn Celestia and put her on her guard.”
“You sound like you want to marry him or something,” pouted Spike, “He's a bad guy, remember?” He crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought. “Tell me something, will you? If Brainy Bright wanted Princess Celestia to get lost in another universe, then why would he ever help us get back home?”

Twilight wished she had an answer to that. 

“I saw a city while we were falling,” she said, “It looked to be in the area where Ponyville and the Everfree forest should be. We should head there.”

Saying it out loud only made her feel worse. Both of her homes were gone. 

“Should we wait for night before moving out?” asked Spike.

Twilight bit her lip and glanced back at the sun. That seemed like the obvious course of action, but she had serious doubts about the night. It would do them no good to wait for sunset if it turned out the sun never set. 

Perhaps it was a bad idea to move at all? They had no paper and couldn't make use of Spike's flame to message Celestia, or Luna. What if they came looking for them? If they returned, what would they do if Twilight and Spike weren't there? 

The thought gave her pause, but the fact of the matter was that it was just too hot. Staying here in the heat was out of the question. What if Celestia didn't come? If they waited for too long and nopony came, they'd no longer be able to go anywhere. They had to find shelter of some kind, or their narrow escape falling down the mountain would be for nothing. Once they reached civilization, they could make further plans.

“No, Spike,” said Twilight loudly. She didn't want him to catch on how unsure she was about this. “We can't afford to wait. The sooner we move out, the better.”

So they went.

Ponyville was less than a day's trot away from Canterlot – but that was with a road connecting them. Traveling in the desert was different. It was slow going, marching up one hill and down another. Twilight had to be careful and watch every step, since her hooves kept sinking into the sand. A few times, she stumbled when the ground disappeared from underneath her, sending her tumbling down the hillsides. It wasn't so bad when it happened after they'd passed the hilltop, but falling back the way she came quickly became very frustrating. 

At first, Spike kept stealing glances at her, hoping she would pick him up and carry him on her back, but he let off when he realized she was having a much harder time than him. The heat didn't affect him as badly, but Twilight felt it stinging her head and back at all times. It sapped her strength, slowing her down further. The air was so heavy it was almost like a wall – a wall she had to keep pushing against to get further. Sweat kept sloshing out of her. It flowed from her mane and dripped down her snout; wet strands of hair kept getting in her eyes. Her coat was still matted with coarse sand, so moving her legs was getting more and more uncomfortable. It was tempting to clean herself up with a spell or to conjure up a fan, but she felt it best to conserve her strength as well as she could.

“Spike, take a note!”
“With what?” wondered the dragon dryly, “It's a bit difficult to write without a quill, ink or paper.”
“A mental note then. The instant we get back home, I want you to gather all the books on wilderness survival and desert crossings we have in the library! I want to be well prepared if we ever end up in this sort of situation again.”

Properly keeping track of time was impossible, but it was slowly becoming apparent that Twilight's earlier assumption had been correct. The sun lay unmoving in its place in the sky and the day dragged on and on. Twilight wondered how long it had been since this land had last seen night.

“It's like what Nightmare Moon wanted to do,” she muttered, “Eternal... day.”

The journey was much worse than Twilight expected, but thankfully, things got a little easier as they reached flatter ground. They made much better time when they didn't have to move up and down. Though there were still some low dunes, the hills themselves started to shrink and dwindle the further they got. This was consistent with the geography she knew.

What wasn't consistent with the geography she knew was that there should have been a mountain in front of them as well – the Lonely Mountain, which she and her friends had once climbed to confront a dragon. It wasn't exactly the biggest mountain in Equestria, but it was big enough that its absence raised some serious warning flags in her mind. How could an entire mountain disappear? Had it ever existed in this world to begin with? Or could it be that they were going the wrong way? 

Once the plains opened up before them, they caught a glimpse of white buildings on the horizon. That they were tall was the only thing Twilight could say for sure. It was hard to make out anything more specific because of the shimmer.

“How far do you think it is?” asked Spike.
“It's hard to tell. In deserts, the heat can sometimes create the illusion that distant objects are closer than they really are.”
Spike cocked an eyebrow. “You know, that's not very comforting. I was hoping for something like “Not much farther” or “It won't be long now, Spike.” Besides, I know what a mirage is, thank you very much.”
“Heh. Sorry, Spike.”

By this point, the thirst was getting unbearable. Twilight busied herself with trying to work up some spittle in her mouth. She would have killed for something to eat as well. She couldn't stop thinking of her saddlebags. She and her friends had decided to spend the night at Twilight's parents' place instead of using guest rooms at the palace, so that's where she'd left her bags. There was a bottle of water in it, and one of Pinkie Pie's sandwiches that she'd left uneaten. It was too sugary and would only have made her thirstier, but Twilight would probably still have eaten it. Applejack had filled her own bag with apples, nice green and red apples. They were from last year's crop, but still tasty. Why oh why hadn't she taken the bag along to the Symposium? Why hadn't she asked for a few of Applejack's apples and packed them in? Why had she skipped breakfast?

Her dragon companion was faring somewhat better, at least for now. Spike could live off the sand if he needed to – perhaps there were even some gems to be found somewhere – but even he needed to drink. How long could they carry on without any water? Twilight was already feeling light-headed from the dehydration. Surely they could at least make it to the city.

Suddenly, there was a canyon in front of them. Twilight caught sight of it from a distance, but didn't want to believe her eyes. She must have been imagining things. Surely the canyon was only a delusional vision born from a heat-struck mind? Or perhaps a mirage? As they got closer though, her vision only got clearer, and didn't even think about fading away. There it was – a canyon.

“Aw, nerts!” groaned Spike, “How did this thing get here?”

It stretched forth on both sides as far as the eye could see, and it was at least a thousand hooves wide. At its sides, the ground curved sharply downwards where the sand had continuously spilled into the canyon over the years. The sand looked deceptively solid, but Twilight knew that it would give out under her and drag her into the crack if she edged too close. She could only imagine how deep the canyon was.

“This isn't a natural landmark,” said Twilight, “It was created by magic, I'm sure of it.”

She could smell it. It had been no simple spell that had carved this scar into the land – it had been a discharge of raw magic, wild and furious and powerful. It must have happened hundreds of years ago, but the energies that had torn open the earth then had lingered, fading at places and growing strong elsewhere. It was a foul place, but part of her was excited about being there. In other circumstances, she might have enjoyed studying the canyon to find out what had happened.

“We can't go around it, can we?” asked Spike.
“Nope. Climb on my back and hold on tight.”

Spike looked nervous about the prospect, but did as she said. He didn't much like tagging along when she teleported. The process had been a little unpleasant for 'passengers' when she started out, but she'd gotten much better at it recently. Still, it was a long jump to the other side of the canyon, and Twilight wasn't in top form. Even Spike felt heavier than usual. The headache she had wasn't helping matters any either. She wouldn't have forced herself to do this if there had been any other way to cross.

“You stink,” came a muffled assertion from her back. Spike had his nose pinched shut.
“You don't say? Tell me if you see any bathhouses around here and I'll be sure to step by.”

Twilight picked out a spot on the opposite side of the abyss and concentrated. Spike sucked in a breath when her horn started to glow – but everything went fine. They blinked to their destination with a light blue flash. Twilight staggered a little – fearing for a moment that she would faint – but managed to stay on her hooves. 

“I'm not on fire!” said Spike, and hopped off. Twilight almost felt like she was. The blaze was merciless.

They continued on their way, taking one mechanical step after another. Looking back and seeing how far their hoof- and footprints extended, it was hard to believe that they hadn't yet gotten anywhere. Time passed at a snail's pace, and it seemed to Twilight that they were moving no faster. They'd definitely slowed down since they started out. Without the hills to keep them company, their surroundings were uniform and dull, and the white city in the distance seemed to be getting no closer. It was hard to gauge their progress. For how many hours had they been traveling now?

Twilight was starting to wonder if she'd made the right decision heading out. Seeing Spike panting listlessly at her side, shoulders sagged and his gaze empty, only made her worry more. He might have been a dragon and resistant to high temperatures, but he was still little, and the strain of the march was pushing him to his breaking point. Perhaps they should have stayed back and waited for Celestia after all? The heat was just as bad there, but she could have conjured up some kind of shelter, so they might have been able to hold out. Had she made a mistake? Had she doomed them both?

It was getting hard to focus, as if her mind was stuffed full of cotton. Her vision was getting fuzzier as well. Her wits, like her strength, was pouring out of her like sand from a broken hourglass. 

Twilight tried to imagine what was going on with her friends right now. What did they make of Brainy Bright's surprise attack, and how did Canterlot react to the disappearance of the Princess? Was anything being done to retrieve them? If this whole business hadn't happened, they would all most likely be sitting in a cafe somewhere, sipping lemonade and talking and laughing. Or perhaps they'd all be lying in sleeping bags on the floor of her bedroom, whispering about all that they'd seen at the Symposium. What time was it? Did they miss her as much as she missed them? 

It was far too early to give up hope of seeing her home ever again, but she worried.

Holes begun to appear in the desert floor, first one, then two, then dozens. They were wide, more than big enough to fall in, but not so frequent that they were getting in Twilight's and Spike's way. The openings were unevenly round and did not go straight down into the earth. 

“What are these things?” asked Spike.
Twilight was quite stumped, but then the answer came to her. “They're burrows.” She could hardly believe how hoarse her voice sounded. 

Not long after that, Spike fell. His legs simply gave out underneath him. He got right back up again, but it was obvious he was too weak to carry on much longer.

“Are you all right?” 
“I'm fine,” said Spike, “I just tripped. See? I'm fine.”
“Do you want me to carry you?”
He chuckled at that. “Yeah right, sister! Do you want me to carry you?”

He continued on at twice the speed, kicking up sand from under his heels, but Twilight lagged behind, frowning. 

She no longer thought they would be able to make it to the city, at least not right away. The odds weren't good, and Twilight had lost her taste for risk. They needed rest, and they needed it now. As temporary measures went, she might have been able to shelter them from the sun by magic, but it would take a lot of effort to do that for even a few hours, and she could do nothing for water. 

These holes might have presented a better option. They could crawl inside the earth and hide away where the sun hopefully didn't reach. Perhaps they would even find water underground? There had to be reservoirs here somewhere, and she might have been able to use magic to find them and to dig through to them. It was a fool's hope, but it didn't hurt to try. A simple scanning spell shouldn't be too taxing.

Twilight looked ahead towards the city. How close was it really, she wondered. Did the buildings seem bigger than earlier? She couldn't say for sure.

But...

There was something else. She could have sworn she was seeing a tiny something on the horizon, a  dark figure moving amidst the light. 

“Spike! Do you see someone up ahead?”

Spike lifted his hand to his eyes to shield himself from the sunlight – a useless gesture. After much squinting though, he could see it as well.

“You're right! There is someone there!” He looked back at Twilight and grinned. “I think it's a pony!”

They started shouting as one. They made more noise than Twilight would have thought possible, but the dark figure in the distance gave no sign of hearing them. Twilight wasn't going to let a potential rescuer get away though. A blast of fireworks thundered into the sky from her horn and blew apart in a shower of purple sparkles. It looked rather beautiful.

“Great going, Twi!” said Spike, “Whoever that is must have noticed that for sure!” 

The relief on his face melted away as he looked back at her. His expression showed pure alarm.

“What is it?”
“S-s-s-s-s!” he stuttered.
“Spike?”
“S-S-S-S-S!” He lifted a hand to point.
“Spike,” said Twilight in a small voice, “I hope you're not trying to tell me there's a giant snake behind me.”
“It's a scorpion!”

Twilight forced herself to turn around. What she found behind her back was more horrible than her most horrible expectations, even worse than a snake. The dark gray monstrosity was at least twice her height and three times her length, and that was discounting the hideous-looking, crooked stinger hanging over its back.

The scorpion lurched closer to her – and it was pretty darn close already. Twilight yelped and backed away, but the creature skittered after her, snapping at her with pincers large enough to take off her head. 

Fatigued as she was, Twilight stumbled at the worst possible moment. She dropped flat on her back and the scorpion was on her in an instant. Twilight managed to roll to the side just in time to avoid the stinger snapping at her. 

Before she could get back up, the scorpion dealt her a glancing blow with one of its pincers, pushing her over again. As it loomed over her, Twilight got an unpleasant close-up of the scorpion's mandibles, dripping with a thick gray goo, and its only two eyes, which were black and menacing but also pitifully small.

Twilight Sparkle was trembling.

Magic requires a level head, Celestia had told her more than once, A thoughtless unicorn can wreak great havoc, or fail to take action where necessary.

Think! Twilight reminded herself, but nothing came to her.

A moment before the sting came, the scorpion was struck in the head by a burst of green flame. It leaped away without making a sound and started flailing around in mindless terror. Twilight watched in morbid fascination as the creature spun around. It had far more legs than it should have, some of them tiny and atrophied or hanging out of its back at useless angles. A mutant, perhaps?

A shout from Spike broke her out of her daze. She jumped to her hooves, grabbed Spike's tail between her teeth and broke into a wild gallop to get away from the creature – but others just like it were appearing from the holes all around them. 

Of course there were some kind of dangerous beasties in the burrows! Why hadn't she realized that sooner? Had the sun befuddled her mind that much? 

The scorpions were converging on them, dozens of them. Twilight focused her magic on the two directly ahead of them, and flipped them over with telekinesis. While they were twitching around on their backs, Twilight sped past them. The next ones, she teleported past, only barely managing to stay moving.

But there were too many of them, and Twilight was too tired to outrace them for long, especially on sand. Her lungs were already on fire.

This wasn't something she could run away from, she realized. 

What would a brave pony like Rainbow Dash do?

Twilight slid to a halt. This time, she thought of something. Wreak great havoc.

She let go of Spike. “Stay close to me,” she told him, and started weaving up another spell in her horn. 

The air around her started crackling with energy. The nearby sand was trembling and blowing away. Spike held onto her, afraid to even breathe.

The scorpions were stopping. They clearly had some rudimentary intelligence – enough that they could tell the pony exuding streams of light before them could be a danger. 

The light surrounded her, protected her like a wall. But the scorpions weren't just going to scurry off.

Princess Celestia had always imposed on Twilight the importance of never cutting loose, but there didn't seem to be much of a choice. It was do or die.

She let loose a blast of magic as powerful as she could manage, holding nothing back in reserve. 

The sand vitrified in front of her eyes. A whirlwind of color spread out from around her, caught the horde of scorpions and tossed them away as if they were nothing at all.

And then, amidst her bright castle on the plains of sunshine, darkness caught up with her. It struck her by surprise and enveloped her wholly. She passed out.


It was still dark when she regained consciousness. 

She did not feel well. Her muscles pained, her joints were stiff and the thirst still plagued her. Her headache had only gotten worse and she felt as weak as a newborn filly – weaker, even. Newborn fillies could at least stand up, but she was not at all sure she'd be able to do the same. 

She was lying on a rough-hewn blanket with warm sand underneath it. Once her eyes started to adjust, she saw that there were walls of thick cloth surrounding her. She was in a tent, unless she was mistaken. Hints of sunlight glimmered through the fabric in places, but although it was as hot as in a sauna, the conditions in the tent were infinitely preferable to the fiery hell outside.

Spike was next to her on a blanket of his own, snoring gently. 

“Spike?” she said, without meaning to.
“He's only asleep.”

Twilight flinched. She hadn't realized there was someone in the tent besides them. It took him a second to pick that someone out in the shadows. A lean old earth pony stallion was sitting in the opposite corner of the tent. His coat was pale brown, his mane short and thin and gray. A wide-brimmed hat hung around his neck by a leather cord, and something like a poncho was spread out on the ground under him.

“Oh! Hello!” Twilight struggled to get up into a sitting position. “Did you save us from the scorpions?”
“The beasts were already gone by the time I reached you.” There was plenty of gravel in the old stallion's voice, but he spoke quietly so as to not disturb Spike's rest. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Yes, please!”

Twilight eagerly grabbed the water bottle the stallion pushed towards her – with her hooves, since she didn't trust herself to be able to keep it afloat by magic right now. She told herself she wouldn't abuse the other pony's generosity and only take a little sip, but once she started it was hard to stop. Water had never tasted so good before.

“Thank you so much, for everything! I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't found us.”
“Basic courtesy.”

The stallion's eyes were piercing. They almost seemed to shine in the darkness.

“What's your name, filly?” he asked.
“I'm Twilight Sparkle. The dragon's name is Spike, but I guess you figured out by the fact that I called him Spike and all...” 
“Twilight Sparkle,” repeated the stallion. He pondered over it, somehow judging. “Strange name.”
Twilight chuckled nervously. “And you are?”
“The name's Glint Hardhoof.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Hardhoof. Please, could you tell me where we are?”
“We're in my tent, a couple of miles outside the capital.”
“But what country?”
“Why, Equestria of course. I figured you were lost, but I didn't think you'd be that lost. Where did you come from and where were you headed?”

Twilight didn't think it would be a good idea to reveal that she was a dimensional traveler. That would just have made her look like a lunatic. 

“I was headed for the capital,” she said, truthfully.

Glint met her with a discomforting silence. 

“There aren't many ponies who travel the desert by their lonesome,” he said at last, “especially not unicorns. Beg pardon, but you're blatantly unprepared for such a journey. You couldn't have lasted long out here.”
“I am lost, as you said. I hoped to find my companions in the city.”
“That's a bad idea. Everfree City isn't safe. I'd advise you not to go there. I'm on my way to Trottingham, and you're welcome to join me if you wish.”

It was a gracious offer, and tempting. Trottingham was a familiar name, and she wondered if it was anything like the Trottingham in her own Equestria. Glint's help would be invaluable, but Twilight had to take into account where she was most likely to link up with the others. Surely Princess Celestia would look for her in the biggest city around, especially if it was also the closest one to where they had arrived in this world.

But doubts kept gnawing at her. It struck her as both foolish and dangerous to just bide her time and hold out hope that Celestia would find her and fix everything. But what could she hope to accomplish on her own? Alone but for Spike, she truly was lost. Her trek in the desert had demonstrated just how clueless she was. What could she do? She needed allies, she needed help, and Glint could perhaps be both. Most of all, she needed information.

“What do you mean, Everfree City isn't safe?”
“Strangers aren't looked upon too kindly at the moment. There's been a crackdown lately. Dissidents are getting arrested left and right. Apparently, there was some kind of assassination plot targeting the Queen.”
“The... Queen?”
“Queen Celestia.”

Of course! This dreadful situation with the sun had her half-convinced that Celestia was somehow dead and gone, or even that this was a world where she'd never existed at all. She should have known better. Even if she was using a different title, Celestia was a constant, as eternal as the sky itself. Just the knowledge that she was there took considerable weight off Twilight's shoulders. Perhaps she could seek her out and ask for her assistance? Twilight resolved to head to the capital after all.

“So Celestia still reigns?” she confirmed, “But then why is this land a desert?”
Glint narrowed his eyes. “I hope you're not playing tricks on me, filly.”
“No! Not at all.”

Was that a silly question? Was she just asking why the sky was blue or water wet?

“How can you not know this?” asked Glint, “Is this one of these amnesia things?”
“My memory is perfectly all right, I assure you. I'm just, uh, new here!”

Glint fell silent again. He stared at Twilight so intently that, frankly, it was making her nervous. 

“The land is a desert because Queen Celestia wills it to be. It's always been a desert, ever since the dawn of the eternal day. The Heat and the Light are Celestia's instruments. They're her strings, and we're the puppets. We survive only because she allows it, so we have to obey her.”
“I- I don't understand...”
“Of course not. None of us can ever truly comprehend the mind of Daymare Sun.”

Twilight's heart skipped a beat. She hoped she'd misheard, she prayed she'd misheard.

“Everypony knows of Daymare Sun's regime, because every pony is beholden to it. How is it that you know nothing of it?”

Twilight didn't know how to answer. It didn't even seem to matter. She felt much weaker all of a sudden.

“This can't be,” she said, “Celestia would never be like that. Celestia is kind and wise.”
“Celestia is, by her own admission, a tyrant.”
“What about Princess Luna?”
“Can't say I've ever heard of a Princess Luna.”

They were both quiet then. Twilight had to process everything she'd just heard, and Glint didn't feel the need to interrupt her reverie.

She didn't want to believe it. The idea of Celestia being some sort of dictator was so at odds with the Princess she knew that it was hard to even comprehend. But that was just the thing. This wasn't the Princess she knew. It was somepony else, somepony completely different. It was a Celestia that had gone mad and done something horrific. How? Why? Twilight didn't even want to think about it.

Her world had Nightmare Moon and this world has Daymare Sun. Nightmare Moon had failed, but Daymare Sun had succeeded. The day would last forever.

“How long have things been like this?” Twilight asked.
Glint shrugged. “Since long before my grandfather was born, and his grandfather before him. Hundreds of years, untold generations. A day. Who can tell?”

If Twilight couldn't turn to the Princess for help, who could she turn to?

Five names came to her mind. But were they still the ponies she knew?

“Do any of these names mean anything to you? Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack?”

It was a fool's hope, but she saw Glint stir in the shadows. 

“Yes?”
“I know of an Applejack. Might be I've even met her once or twice. She's an outlaw, pretty famous in some circles. She's one of the leaders of a group of rebels fighting against the state. That assassination attempt I mentioned? I hear it was her people that cooked it up.”

Applejack, a revolutionary? It was too much, the idea was just too strange – but the prospect of seeing a familiar face made Twilight perk up anyway. 

“Do you know where she could be? Could you point me the way?
“Why do you need her?”
“Because she's a friend of mine and I have to find her!”
“How do I know you I can trust you?”

Twilight's answer died on her tongue. Of course, he couldn't. To Glint, she was just an odd stranger. She couldn't expect him to reveal the hideout of a clandestine organization to her. She hung her head, only to raise it again when Glint spoke.

“Might be I'd be able to arrange a meet with the rebels, but I'd have to come along.”
“Why?”
“If I didn't, they might mistake you for someone else.”

Twilight shivered. She felt inexplicably chilled.

“Mistake me for someone else? What do you mean?”
“There is another young unicorn in the realm that looks much like you. She is also exceptionally talented at magic, and accompanied by a small dragon. She's the head of the Secret Police, the Queen's right hand and heir, and one of the rebellion's most bitter enemies. Daylight Sparkle.”


Notes: 

- It didn't take long for me to find a contradiction between the show and the fic. While rewatching "Dragonshy", I noticed tha Rainbow Dash explicitly mentioned that it gets colder at higher altitudes, as it does in real life. However, seeing as I figure that Equestria's sun and moon are both orbiting satellites, I suggested in chapter 1 that it's hotter high in the sky than at sea level. Tsk.


Next chapter: The Prisoner and the Slave.