It was the smell she noticed first, the distinctive scent of saltwater rubbing against the rocks. She supposed her ears must have grown accustomed to the steady sound of the ocean's waves, but her nose could not filter out that briny air. As her mind roused, Twilight gradually became aware of her own discomfort. Her muscles were stiff where they pressed against the rock. The sun's warmth was beginning to grow uncomfortable on her side. The seabirds' shrieks began to grate on her ears, and she could feel salty accumulations creeping past her lips, brushing against her tongue.
It was time to move on, and quickly, before she became lost again.
Twilight stood slowly, ensuring her hooves found purchase on the rock on which she lay before she placed weight on them. She squinted against the sunlight, letting her mouth open wide in a yawn. Vision still slightly sleep-blurred, she peered out across the sea, where Celestia's sun peeked above the horizon. Fluffy clouds drifted across the sky.
Twilight focused her attention on the water below her, still lapping against her bed. A shimmer of magic brought a ball of ocean above her head, and she braced herself. The splashing water was cold on her fur, and she couldn't help a slight gasp. Feeling revived, she stepped carefully across the rocks until she reached the beach. The soft sand still felt cool beneath her hooves, and she resumed her trek.
She still had a long way to go.
The beach gave way to jungle, and soon Twilight's coat was soaked in sweat, rather than seawater. At first she used her magic to move the draping vines out of her way, but doing so left her feeling drained and shaky. A part of her knew this was wrong; a simple levitation should have been a breeze. She kept that part silent for the moment, though. Now was not the time to dwell on such things.
The day wore on. Trees provided her with near-constant shade, but at the cost of pressing through dense, humid air. Her breathing became labored; her vision blurred. More than once she nearly lost her balance, and she only just succeeded in catching herself. If she fell over, she may not be able to get back up, and the rest of the day would be wasted.
She didn't have a day to waste.
She guessed it was around mid-day when she stumbled upon a pond choked with bushes. She began to slurp from the pool, momentarily abandoning all awareness of her surrounding except the exquisite feel of the cool liquid running through her mouth and throat. She drank until her stomach began to ache, then rolled on her side and panted for a minute while her body acclimated to the sudden influx of water. The throbbing in her hooves became more persistent, and she forced herself to stand and walk away from the pond.
She knew she might not find another one, but waiting here would mean letting them catch up. It was an option she refused to take.
Twilight found herself at the edge of a great plain as early evening set it. She took a deep breath and shook herself of excess perspiration, relieved to be free of the jungle's claustrophobia. After determining the grass was edible, she had her fill, savoring the taste of what she knew, under normal circumstances, she would consider a bland variety of vegetation. The wind whisked the heat away from her body, and she steeled herself with renewed vigor. She set off at a brisk trot, toward the mountains she could see just on the horizon. If she was quick, she would reach the mountains before they could spot her in the open.
Then the temperature began to drop.
A part of her realized then that she was more fatigued than she previously thought. She should have known the night would be cold, and her sweat-soaked coat would only make that chill more pronounced. Yet despite the obvious predictability, she had done nothing to prepare for it. As the sun began to set, she realized she had no plan to survive the night. Her efforts to magically conjure even a simple shelter failed. Panic rose in the back of her mind, but she forced it aside. Only one thing mattered, and that left only one option.
She had to keep going.
In the dead of night, Twilight found shelter at last in a cave.
She shuddered and curled herself tighter as the wind howled outside. Her innards were knotted, and the salt from the ocean now mixed with the salt of her tears. It was hopeless. She was trapped here, alone, in a cave in an unknown mountain range just out of sight of anyone who might wander by.
Why did you leave that rock on the beach? a voice in her head asked. Twilight shuddered. You could have been safe there.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to the darkness.
She first heard the thunderous hoofbeats entering her pitiful shelter. Barely holding terror at bay, she turned to see a huge shape standing over her, momentarily silhouetted in a flash of lighting. It spread its wings, blocking any chance of escape, and its glowing red eyes narrowed before it spoke.
TWILIGHT.
Twilight was on her hooves, pressing herself against the back of the cave. "G-Get away!" She flailed weakly with a hoof. "Leave me alone!"
The beast's hot breath came out in a snort that battered her fragile frame. EXCUSE ME?
Twilight whimpered and collapsed. More shapes joined the first, and they closed in around her, leaning in, speaking words she could not comprehend. She flailed her hooves, but she could not hold them back. She felt them begin to tear at her sides, her head, threatening to pull her apart. Her whimpers turned to cries, her cries turned to screams, but her protests fell on deaf ears. The tearing became unbearable, until finally her mind gave way, and she sank into darkness.
