War games

"You sure about this, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"If this goes as planned, I'll finally be able to tell Princess Celestia that I made a whole new spell all on my own," Twilight explained, "So yes, I'm sure".

Twilight had spent the past week developing an advanced time travel spell to allow her to learn more about the history of Equestria and the Princesses. Now, it was time to test it out. As her horn lit up, Twilight became engulfed in a magenta orb. White stripes swirled around the orb, growing in size until the whole orb had grown white. After another minute, the orb exploded, flooding the room with light for a few brief seconds. When Spike opened his eyes again, Twilight was gone, replaced with a big scorch mark. His cry could be heard all around Ponyville.

When Twilight opened her eyes, she had no idea where she was, but she knew that she wasn't in Equestria anymore. All around her were the remains of a strange, gray city. Tall buildings were torn down, the roads had craters everywhere, and the atmosphere tasted like old clay. The whole place was devoid of life, which really put Twilight in a state of severe unease. She wanted to go home, but the experimental spell left her mana reserves dry, so she'd have to wait for a while... in this horrid place... all alone... scared out of her wits.

BANG

Twilight heard the noise, but her mind didn't focus on it. Her focus, instead, was on the pain in her forehead. She didn't know what hit her, but she knew it hurt worse than anything she'd ever felt before. Her focus shifted, however, when something impacted the rubble mere inches from the tip of her muzzle. Self preservation kicked in, and she dove behind the closest cover. While not much to look at, the gray wall was her best option at the moment, and it worked. Feeling at least somewhat safe, Twilight decided to try and figure out what to do about her sudden major headache. Her first thought went towards magic, but it didn't work. Instead, attempting to cast a spell only resulted in more pain. It took but only a minute for the pain to die down enough for Twilight to focus again. When her focus DID return, she figured out what was wrong.

Laying in the road next to the rubble pile was just beside a little bit ago was something that contrasted with the surroundings so much it was the easiest thing to spot, ever. It was the same shade of Lavender as Twilight herself, and it was conical in shape... Twilight lifted her right fore hoof to her forehead, only to have her fear confirmed. The purple object in the road was her horn. As her hoof fell to the ground, she tried her hardest not to cry.

KABOOM

A nearby explosion caught her attention, and, just like that, her expression changed from one of sadness to one of severe anger, bordering on hatred. She slumped out from behind her little cover and looked in the direction of the source of the sound from earlier. When she caught sight of her target, she took to the sky, throwing off its aim. She then did a skydive to close the distance... and ran head first into her target, knocking it to the ground and taking away its breath.

"Here's a little tip for you, buddy," Twilight growled, "Don't EVER take away a unicorn's, or alicorn's, horn".

She then proceeded to deliver a small batch of punches to the creature's head until it was unconscious. Satisfied, she walked away, leaving her assailant there to sleep. While Twilight was not known to be violent, she was not immune to becoming so if one pissed her off enough. Severing her horn was enough to do just that.

"First hour in that world, and my horn got shot off," Twilight said, "Bastard got was coming to him. Actually, he deserved more, but I was merciful back then".

"I can only imagine that was most unpleasant," Celestia said, "However, I'm quite confused as to how you didn't die from a building up of mana. You were without a horn for tens years if I'm not mistaken, so how you survived like that baffles me".

"With some help from a friend later on, I was able to manufacture a prosthetic horn," Twilight explained, "My reserves had reached a dangerous point by that time, though, so I DID get quite lucky".

"And what happened to that horn?" Celestia asked.

"I can only guess it was knocked off by the explosion that threw me through the portal that brought me back here," Twilight said.

Celestia sat in silence for a couple moments before an all too familiar growl caught her attention.

"Hungry?" Celestia asked.

"It would appear so," Twilight said semi sarcastically.

"Well, anything in particular you're craving," Celestia asked.

"I haven't had a good steak in a few days," Twilight said.

"S-steak?" Celestia asked, fear in her voice.

"I'm a strict carnivore now, have been for ten years," Twilight admitted, "The only thing safe for consumption was meat in that world. Even beings that are supposed to be herbivores are carnivores there because healthy vegetation is so rare. Have you ever seen a doe hunt a bear? It's quite impressive".

"No, I can't say I have," Celestia said weakly, her own stomach churning.

"I know it'll take you a bit to get used to this, but it's just part of who I am now," Twilight pointed out, "But anyway, I'm craving a good steak at the moment".

"Then... um... I uh... Steak it is, then," Celestia said, trying to keep down the bile rising in her throat.

"Oh, and one question before you go," Twilight said.

"Alright, ask," Celestia said.

"How hard is it to get a hunting permit as a pony?" Twilight asked.

Unable to take any more, The solar diarch fainted at that question.

"Welp, so much for a good steak right now," Twilight said, rubbing her forehead and silently scolding herself.