The Trials of Twilight Sparkle

      Twilight Sparkle galloped up the steps to Canterlot castle, reflecting to the note she received from her mentor, Celestia had said that a strange evil had taken nest in Canterlot and that Twilight Sparkle needed to come without any of her friends. This seemed odd to Twilight, as she did almost everything with her friends, they were almost like a family to her. The purple alicorn soon burst through the front door, unknowing of the dangers that would lurk ahead.

      "Princess, what's wrong," she asked before noticing the room that had been shrouded in darkness. Her horn illuminated a small area around her, still unable to make out what was going on. Nearly silent whispers and noises came from around her, and she was completely vulnerable to an enemy that she didn't know, there was no sign of it ending as shadows began swirling around her. "Who are you," she asked, frightened, a large figure soon came close through the fog, it's eyes white and clear. It disappeared as soon as it neared before appearing around Twilight in various locations.

     "You cannot defeat me, Twilight," the force said, it's motive and intention unclear. It continued to play mind games with the lavender alicorn, creating wind inside the chamber, disorienting her. Twilight braced herself, unable to comprehend the gravity of the situation, she awaited what would happen next. The shadow appeared again, rushing Twilight, however this time it didn't fade as it neared her. The shadow's horn began to glow, the room getting brighter, the temperature getting hotter. Twilight let out a scream before her consciousness faded, and the shadows swirled, only to be absorbed into a white being.

     "This is for your own good," The white being said, it was at this point that it seemed to be the spitting image of Celestia. Their horn illuminated, causing Twilight to vanish. A worried expression crossed her countenance, although she knew deeply that Twilight could triumph and return eventually. It felt unnerving that she had to do something of that magnitude to her student, but she knew that she needed to do this, for Twilight.

     Later, Twilight's eyes began to open, she was greeted by a lush, green forest, and she slowly arose from the soft ground. Her hooves were finally stood firmly and she began to notice something about her surroundings, this quickly made her notice that Canterlot was no where to be seen. In fact, she couldn't see Ponyville either, what was going on?

     "What happened, where am I," the lavender alicorn asked herself, unknowing of her current situation. She ascended off the ground, flapping her soft, feathery wings only to see forest for miles. "No, this can't be," she said, looking around frantically, "What am. I going to do?" She descended, still unnerved by the strange occurrences, landing promptly on her hooves before trotting in no general direction, only to see generic trees and no potential landmarks, and as she continued, her sanity only continued to decrease. Her hooves picked up speed, eventually to the point of galloping, the green forest whisking past her, showing no physical end. Twilight stopped, completely out of breath, slumping against one of many trees. "I have to find a way out of this," she exclaimed, her frustration continuing to rise.

     After Twilight rested for a short period, her anger fading, she continued on, but she didn't know how long it would take, or if Canterlot was still in trouble. These emotions complexed Twilight, causing her great confusion and mental tension. She made a vague attempt to disperse the thoughts, only for them to cloud her mind once more. She was completely focused on her thoughts, not paying attention to the time, unknowing that the night would soon arise.

     Twilight had been walking for almost an hour, stopping only because of the change in light, her mind soon focused on the prospect of sleep, primarily where she would be resting. She thought of just sleeping on the ground, however she would need her strength for the long trek ahead of her. She gathered multiple leaves and stacks of lush grass from her surroundings, forming a nest of sorts. Without any further thought, she lied in the makeshift bed without any other thought, going directly to sleep.

     Twilight, however, didn't know of the hardships ahead that she would surely face, the allies she would make, and the enemies soon to come.