Chapter 1
Two hours after entering the portal
With her back against a rock and her knees pulled up to her chin, little Apple Bloom shut her eyes against another harsh blast of wind that threatened to blow her hair ribbon away. She reached up and held onto her hair to keep it from whipping about her face, and reluctantly resigned herself to having to just sit and wait it out. There was nowhere to take shelter; stretching out all around her were endless fields of grass that grew in hues ranging from the standard green, to blue, and even red. In the distance were great mountains that pierced the sky like jagged fangs, but trying to travel to them was out of the question until the forces of nature decided to stop pummelling her.
The wind finally settled down and Apple Bloom was able to release her hair. Her eyes settled upon her hand as it moved away from her head to rest on her lap. She wasn't sure why she had allowed herself to hope that she might finally return to her former pony self upon travelling through the dimensional portal that Discord and Princess Luna had created. Not much had gone right for her lately, but she couldn't help it. There had been a small buildup of anticipation as she had stepped into the shimmering light of the portal, and an unspoken wish that wherever she ended up, she might at least arrive there in her proper body.
She frowned slightly at her hands, then looked down to the unconscious man beside her. Her eyes settled briefly on his bearded face before moving away, but she hadn't been quick enough. She didn't like seeing what had been done to him: dried blood caked his face, and one of his eyes was swollen almost completely shut. She thought that maybe his jaw had been broken as well. He had taken a vicious beating just before the two of them entered the portal, collapsed soon after, and had been unconscious ever since. Apple Bloom had stopped the bleeding, but any further medical attention was far beyond her capabilities. All she could do was watch over him and wait until he woke up.
The man, whose name was Doug, was one of several humans who had assisted Apple Bloom and her friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, after they had found themselves trapped in human bodies and transported to Earth: the result of an enormous explosion of chaos magic that had engulfed nearly all of Ponyville. Doug had not been the first human to find and help her, however. That honor went to a young man named John, but he was no longer with her. None of them were, not even Sweetie and Scootaloo. They'd each travelled through separate portals. Perhaps the others were also on this strange new planet she found herself on. Perhaps not; she had no way of knowing. All she knew was that she was not in Equestria, and that she was scared and alone.
Apple Bloom lied down and curled up next to the rock, pulling her knees up to her chest. She looked up into the pale pink and violet sky, so unlike that of either Equestria or Earth, and stared at the large, cratered planet that loomed large overhead like the dead eye of some great dragon.
It's all a dream, she thought. None of it was real. She'd never been caught in that blast of chaos magic because it had never happened. She'd never become a human – they didn't exist and were just imaginary things she'd dreamt up.
She looked over at Doug's unconscious form. Was everything they had been through together just that: a dream? If she could close her eyes and just wake up from it all, would it be worth it?
She stared at him for a long time, and she was uncertain whether her tears were from the wind stinging her eyes or from something else. Eventually though, she made her decision. She closed her eyes, and wished to return home to Sweet Apple Acres.
..o0o..
Apple Bloom slowly opened her eyes, and felt her heart sink as they focused on a small patch of blue grass growing nearby. It seemed that Sweet Apple Acres would have to wait.
It was difficult to tell if it was day or night when she woke up. Though the sun – or rather, a sun – still cast its pinkish-purple hue upon the land, other stars could still be seen far above in the places where the sun's light wasn't quite bright enough to block them out. She turned her head and looked over to where Doug was still lying, and was relieved to see his chest rising gently with his breathing. She wasn't sure what she would do if she were stranded alone. A cold gust of wind hit her then, and she wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm.
She looked over at Doug again. "I'm sorry I wished you were just a dream," she mumbled. Though she knew he couldn't hear her, saying it out loud somehow made her feel more secure. The near-silence of this world was unsettling. In this strange land she found herself in, the only other sound to be heard was the wind. There was no buzzing of insects, no chirping of birds.
Are we all alone here? she wondered. Isn't there anything else out there?
Her answer came in the form of a rumbling stomach. She and her friends had been on Earth the last time she'd eaten, and it had been at least a full day since then. It seemed more like an eternity. She checked her pockets, then checked Doug's. There was no food; the only things they had brought with them were Doug's phone and wallet.
She shivered and looked out at the land around them. There were plenty of grasses around, but no flowers that she could see. There were some of what looked like small trees with red or purple leaves on the other side of the valley. If there were trees, perhaps there were bushes and shrubs... and berries.
Apple Bloom placed her hands on Doug's shoulders and gently shook him. "Would ya wake up, already?" she asked. She didn't want to be alone. Anything could be out there, and everything about this place made her nervous. She looked back over to where the little trees were, then back to Doug. She gave him another shake. "Please?"
But he would not wake. Apple Bloom knew then that she would need to be brave. There was no food, no water, and she had no idea how long Doug would be unconscious. If they were to have any chance of surviving in this place, she would need to go out and explore. She trembled at the thought of going out there alone, but what choice did she have?
"I-I'm going to leave ya now," she said quietly. There was no response from Doug. She looked up at the sky, but quickly looked away at the sight of the planet looming large overhead. She closed her eyes. "I'm gonna be alright. I'll just head on over there and get us some food, okay?" She opened her eyes, but Doug still was not awake. She kneeled down and tapped him one last time. "Please answer me?"
After a moment, Apple Bloom sighed and stood up. She took one last look around, as if she might find some food she had somehow overlooked. Finding nothing, she turned around, wrapped her arms around herself, and headed out into the wilderness alone.
Chapter 2
Four hours after entering the portal
Apple Bloom froze and listened intently. She was certain she had heard something else moving nearby, but the only sound she heard now was the wind, which was as constant as her hunger. Her instincts told her to kneel down low, though she knew that anything that had been following her would know exactly where she was. She narrowed her eyes and scanned behind her, but all she saw was a carpet of blue, green, and red grasses swaying in the breeze. There was no sign of any other living thing nearby; there were no birds in the sky, and no ants or insects crawling upon the ground.
She decided her ears were playing tricks on her. The lack of noise wasn't something that she was going to get used to any time soon. It was just unnatural, and it gave her the chills. Still, if she wanted to find anything to eat she would need to keep looking. She doubted she was going to find anything edible in the middle of a giant field of grass, even if it was as colorful as candy. With no other choice, she forced her legs to keep moving.
Apple Bloom's mind wandered as she stepped over rocks and pushed her way through the taller patches of grass. It had been just over two weeks since she'd last seen Ponyville, or any of Equestria for that matter. Things had been much simpler back then, before Discord had come along and decided he wanted Ponyville as his plaything once and for all. He'd hidden the Elements of Harmony away and had made a complete mess of the town. It'd been... well, chaos.
Applejack and Rarity had gathered up Apple Bloom and her friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and taken them into the Everfree forest to await their return once they'd dealt with Discord. Apple Bloom had known things weren't going well when the Everfree was considered to be safer than Ponyvillle, but in the end it hadn't mattered. Some kind of enormous explosion of chaotic energy had come from the center of town, and her last memory of Equestria was watching as everything within the explosion's shockwave vanished before her very eyes. When she'd woken up, she had been on Earth.
A heavy gust of wind caught Apple Bloom off guard and knocked her down onto her hands and knees. She winced in pain as she moved her hand and saw fresh blood beginning to form on her palm. Frowning, she picked up the small rock she'd cut herself on and hurled it away as far as she could. It sailed through the air and landed a good distance away.
She was tired of being hurt. Back on Earth, she'd taken the full brunt of a rogue blast of energy that Sweetie Belle had inadvertently released during her struggles with trying to control her budding magical powers. The result had been serious burns, and cuts that still covered most of her chest, arms, and face. There was a tense night in which she had remained unconscious while Doug and John watched over her.
Sweetie Belle had blamed herself, but Apple Bloom knew it wasn't her fault. Sweetie had been under a lot of stress with being stuck on Earth in an unfamiliar body, and she'd been all panicky because she missed Rarity. Apple Bloom knew how she felt; she missed Applejack and the rest of her family more than anything.
She stood up and brushed herself off, then blinked and looked around. She was nearing what she guessed was a forest... of sorts. There were hundreds of small trees up ahead. The grey and brown trunks rose to about six, maybe seven feet high. Bright purple and red leaves sprouted from the branches, and the ground below was littered with even more branches that had broken off in the wind.
It was the shortest forest she had ever seen.
Apple Bloom approached one of the trees and studied it. This one had a grey trunk, but upon closer inspection she saw that it shimmered in certain places. Some kind of sparkling, translucent tree sap oozed out from between fissures in the bark, making it seem almost as if the trunk was covered in ice. She pushed a few branches out of the way to get a closer look, but she saw no sign that any insects or woodland creatures had ever disturbed it, and a quick inspection of the leaves showed no signs that anything had ever eaten any parts of them. She had to admit that the leaves themselves were beautiful. The ones on this particular tree were a gentle violet, partially see-through, with bold purple veins spreading from their center. It was like the leaves were made out of crystal, though touching one proved that they most certainly were not, as it bent just like any other leaf would.
Unfortunately, none of the trees bore any kind of fruit. Still, she felt like there must be something edible nearby. If there are plants, then there should be fruit or berries or... something! She'd just have to keep looking until she found something worth taking back to Doug.
She left the tree behind and made her way further into the forest, staying alert for signs of anything she might be able to eat. The surrounding trees did a decent job of shielding her from the wind, and though they were short they were still tall enough to mostly obscure her view of the strange planet that remained suspended in the sky above her. Leaves crunched and twigs snapped beneath her feet as she walked, the noise punctuated by the silence of the surrounding forest.
After a long while, she came upon a fallen tree, probably blown down by the wind, and sat down upon the trunk, being careful not to sit in any sticky sap. Her legs were getting sore from walking for so long. How much time had she spent out here? She wasn't sure, and the sky above was no help, either. It never seemed to be day or night in this place; it wasn't bright out, nor was it really dark. The sun just didn't provide much light, though she could see it up above in a gap through the trees. It looked as if it hadn't moved at all since she'd first arrived.
Maybe this place is like Equestria, but whoever's in charge of moving the sun is no longer here, Apple Bloom thought. She looked around, grimacing as she had a thought. It looked as if no one had ever been there.
She sat in silence for a while, studying the ground beneath her feet. The grass here was a pale blue color. Sighing, she bent down, picked one of the blades and held it in front of her face. She wasn't a big fan of eating grass, though it was nutritious enough... for a pony. She thought she remembered John or Doug mentioning that humans needed a much bigger variety of foods to stay healthy and, like it or not, she was still a human for now. Still, she needed to eat something. She put the blade of grass in her mouth and chewed.
She immediately spit it back out.
"Gross!" she cried out loud. The sudden loudness of her own voice startled her, and she took a quick look around as if someone, or something, might appear at any moment, attracted by the noise. Eventually, the hairs on her neck settled back down and she was able to relax again.
It was no good. Even if the grass was the most nutritious thing on the planet, she doubted she'd ever be able to force herself to choke enough of it down to matter, and she imagined Doug wouldn't be able to, either. They needed fruit, not bitter, horrible-tasting stuff.
Her thoughts drifted to Applejack. She had seen her sister just a few hours ago, but it had only been for a brief moment. She had been in a place on Earth called Australia with John, Sweetie, and Scootaloo. They had recently been reunited with Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Angel Bunny, all three of whom had been found by Doug, and with Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna, who had both been found by a man named Nathan and his wife.
Doug had had a plan. Everypony had lost their magic when they arrived on Earth, but he thought it could be regained if the Equestrians were all reunited. He'd said that maybe if that happened, they could rely on Princess Celestia to use her magic to find a way to get everypony back to Equestria.
It seemed to be working, too. Every time another Equestrian was found, Sweetie Belle's magic became a little stronger, Fluttershy could communicate with more animals, and Pinkie became more like her usual self. But something bad had happened. Someone that Doug seemed to know had shown up out of nowhere and... well, a lot of things she didn't understand had taken place. All she really knew was that Discord had shown up and, with a snap of his fingers, had brought everypony together. It had been that simple – a quick snap and Applejack had appeared right in front of her eyes. It hadn't lasted long, though. Applejack had gone through some other portal with Rainbow Dash and a human she had never seen before. Her sister could literally be anywhere.
She never even found out what had happened to the rest of her family.
Apple Bloom unclenched her fists and stood back up. Dwelling on the past wasn't going to make her any less hungry, and she had no idea how long she'd been out looking for food. If Doug were to wake up and find her gone, he might try to look for her.
No, scratch that. Even though she hadn't known him for very long, she knew that Doug would go looking for her. There were no 'mights' about it.
She set off at a brisk pace, determined to find something edible, and soon. She had only taken five steps when the ground beneath her went from solid to liquid, and she fell, screaming, beneath the surface of the leaves.
..o0o..
Prologue: Worlds Apart
It all began on April 13th, 2012 – Friday the 13th.
The sky over various parts of Earth suddenly flashed pink. News agencies were quick to pick up on the story but, as with most curiosities, the phenomenon was eventually forgotten and people moved on with their lives.
With the exception of a few.
Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Discord had returned with a vengeance. The town was in shambles, and the Elements of Harmony had been hidden away. The Mane Six, along with princesses Celestia and Luna, attempted to stop him, but something went terribly wrong. When two opposing spells collided, an enormous explosion of chaotic energy was released, engulfing all who were in the vicinity of the battle.
When the dust had finally settled, the Equestrians found themselves trapped on Earth in unfamiliar bodies. They would quickly be found by various humans across the world, each of whom would eventually vow to protect them and help them to return home. Many Equestrians found that having to adjust to a human body was difficult, but that was just one of many obstacles they would each face. In time, however, the humans who had found them were able to make contact with one another. A plan was set into motion to reunite the Equestrians on Earth and, using the magic of friendship to bring Princess Celestia back to full power, help get them back home.
The plan did not succeed.
Trickery and betrayal forced the Equestrians to split up and enter portals that led to unknown lands. Defeated both physically and emotionally, they find themselves forced to find a way to survive though they are now worlds apart.
This is Apple Bloom's tale.
