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.
The Trials of Twilight Sparkle
Birds chirped as the forest came to life under the early morning sun, these noises awoke the sleeping alicorn. Twilight groggily opened her eyes to be greeted by the forest around her, looking much more beautiful now that she had a clear mind, the bright and vivid scenery amused Twilight as she promptly got onto her hooves. Twilight's stomach growled as she stood, she needed to find some sustenance to keep her on her way, however it didn't seem like there were any apple trees or anything of the like in the area.
"I need to find something," She said, talking to herself while looking for something to eat. She continued wondering around as her condition worsened, but it seemed that her efforts would be in vain. "There has to be something out here," Twilight said hastily, her focus increasing as she constantly analyzed the area in hopes of finding something.
She continued to trot around the vast forest until hearing a bright, older voice in the distance, "Oh, I do love the forest!" Twilight stopped in her tracks, sneaking around for a better view of the stranger, he was a yellow stallion with a big bushy beard, and his cutie mark was something similar to a walking stick.
Twilight saw this as her only chance to find her way out of the forest, "Hello, mister?"
The old geezer jumped in shock before seeing Twilight, "Hello there, what's your name?"
"My name is Twilight Sparkle," she replied, prompting the stallion to reply with his own.
"My name is Nature Breeze," he said, holding his hoof out, shaking Twilight's. She smiled at his gesture before he put his hoof back onto the soft ground.
"Do you know if there are any towns around here," She asked Nature with a hopeful look.
"Yes there is, just follow me," he said, flailing his front hoof forward. Twilight had a happy expression on her countenance, knowing that everything would be alright soon enough. They walked through the forest, this time Twilight noted the scenery, it was spectacular to see so many shades of green. The trees varied in heights and appearance, this piqued Twilight's interest as she hadn't seen some of those trees before.
There walk was fairly silent, Twilight was too focused on getting to their destination, hoping that it was Ponyville, but she hadn't seen the stallion around before, so she could safely assume that it wasn't. They duo picked up there pace, getting to a fast trot. Twilight wondered which town it was, from there all she'd have to do is ride the train back to Ponyville.
Eventually, they approached a clearing in the forest and Nature soon exclaimed, "This is Forest Junction!" Twilight was confused, she knew every place in Equestria, and Forest Junction wasn't one of them. She looked down on the town, seeing multiple ponies bustling throughout the busy streets. Twilight was unsure and unnerved by this event, she needed to find out where she was.
