Chapters Chapter 1
The library was silent. Broken shards of glass and torn book pages littered the floor and scorch marks from magic blasts peppered the walls and ceiling. At the edge of the carnage, slumped against a bookshelf and lying in a pool of her own blood, Twilight Sparkle stirred. A dull feeling of pain hit almost immediately but wasn't serious enough to cause Twilight to black out again so she slowly pried her eyes open a bit.
Huh? Why is the floor wet? And shouldn't Spike be cleaning up this mess?
Twilight’s eyes snapped open the rest of the way in shock as she realised she was lying in a pool of blood and leapt to her hooves. Or, she tried to. In actuality her limbs merely unfurled like a wet flag in a breeze, the movement causing her to whimper as it sharpened her pain.
Why am I so weak? Is this my blood? Oh please Celestia don't let this be my blood! It is isn't it? Help! Spike! SPIKE!
“Ssssppike…?” Twilight’s breath gurgled in her throat and she coughed, bringing forth another splatter of blood. She tried again to call for Spike but only managed a squeak before remembering Spike was staying at the Carousel Boutique for the night. Twilight desperately tried to cast a healing spell as her throat started to fill with blood but her damaged horn sputtered and died, magic leaking away uselessly.
Must be a neck wound, nothing else could cause the blood in my throat. I can't heal myself, and there's nopony around to help. Sweet Celestia, I won't even get to say goodbye before I die.
Twilight’s eyes filled with tears and she blinked, sending them running down the side of her face in streams as the implications of her situation started to sink in. She was going to die. The pain had been steadily fading away for minutes, leaving behind a sad acceptance of her passing. Twilight’s breath caught as her airways were finally blocked by the blood in her throat, she coughed but only cleared a tiny amount of blood out. She coughed again, but her rapidly weakening body couldn't clear her lungs. The unicorn shuddered and went limp as she slipped from consciousness and left the waking world for the last time. The library was silent once more.
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A harsh light assaulted Twilight’s eyes as she opened them, squinting and looking around herself but seeing only an eye-searing white nothingness.
That's odd, my books said the afterlife was another version of Equestria, only with all the dead ponies rather than the live ones as residents. Guess they were wrong.
“Hello?” Twilight called into the void. “Hello?” Her breathing sped up as the stifling silence continued and she nervously started trotting forwards looking for something, anything to fill the void. “Maybe they live somewhere else?”
A tiny dot of black appeared in the distance and rapidly closed in, stopping Twilight in her tracks as it slammed into her chest, coating her front in a black tar-like substance that burned everywhere it touched. Twilight let out a shriek of surprise and pain as more black balls splattered on every exposed part of her body, sending her nerves into a frenzy as her brain tried to comprehend the sudden burning sensation. Just as the pain got too much for her to bear, all feeling in Twilight’s body cut out and she looked down in confusion.
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Her eyes widened in shock and fear as she watched her hooves dissolving into the void, streamers of black magic floating away before disappearing into nothingness. Twilight clamped her eyes shut in the vain hope that it was all a dream and she could wake up if she tried really hard. The magical decay continued unabated, and Twilight faded from existence.
~~~~~~~~~~
When Twilight finally worked up the courage to open her eyes again she noticed she was in a huge forest, with massive trees even taller than the ones in the Everfree forest, and leaves and branches covering the ground everywhere she looked. Very little sunlight made it through the thick canopy of trees, creating a gloomy environment.
Although, now that I think about it, this does look like the Everfree… It can't be though, the trees weren't this big when I was here last.
Determined to explore her new surroundings, Twilight scrambled to her hooves, then promptly fell over again. Letting out a growl of frustration Twilight tried again a little slower and made it to her hooves without falling. The more she moved, the more it felt like something was wrong with her body.
Maybe that black stuff did something to me?
Twilight stumbled over the uneven ground towards the nearest tree and found a small hollow tucked under one of its roots. The hollow had a thin layer of rotting sticks and leaves coating the bottom, and numerous insects making a feast out of them.
Ugh. Gross, even the bugs are bigger than normal! Wait...Is everything oversized, or am I smaller than I used to be? That would explain the massive size of everything, and if that's true that means this IS the Everfree forest! Now to prove my theory.
A quick study of her surroundings outside the hollow yielded no puddles or streams to see her reflection in, so Twilight set off in a random direction in the hope of finding a water source. The forest was eerily quiet with the only sounds being the occasional bird singing in the distance and a light wind setting the trees swaying and dancing. As Twilight pushed through a particularly thick clump of bushes she felt a sharp pain in her side, like she had snagged a clump of her coat on the bush. She turned her gaze on the offending bush and her mouth dropped open in surprise and confusion.
Since when have I had feathers?
If I have feathers, that means I have wings right? Twilight looked back and sure enough, there were a pair of lavender wings folded tight to her barrel. Her forehoof immediately shot up to her forehead and found the reassuring point of her horn. Thank Celestia, I'm not a pegasus, although my horn feels smaller than usual. It took a full three seconds for that thought to blossom in all it's importance in Twilight’s mind before sending her into a panic.
Oh my goodness I'm an alicorn! Why am I an alicorn!? But I'm a unicorn! No wait that can't be right because I died! DIED! Did I seriously have to die and leave my friends just so I could be an alicorn?! It doesn't make any sense!
Okay Twilight, calm down. You can figure it out later. For now, priorities. You need to make a list. First, find out any other changes to your body. Second, find water, that's what all the survival guides say. Third, sleep. Fourth, get back to Ponyville, wherever it is from here. Twilight's breathing slowed as her mind restored order, and she set off again on unsteady hooves, the events of the last couple of hours having sapped her energy significantly.
Author's Note
Well I hope you all enjoyed my first foray into writing. The next two chapters are already written, but I'm pacing the release, so that hopefully I have a buffer between the chapter I'm releasing and the one I'm writing.
Constructive criticism is welcome, but please be gentle
2) Forests and Familiarity
Chapter 2
Exhaustion had set in hours ago, but as Twilight plodded along she could feel the ambient magic in the air sustaining her past the point of collapse. What little sunlight that made it through the forest canopy was rapidly giving way to darkness and Twilight had yet to find water, though she knew she was close due to the sound of running water she was following. She pushed past yet another bush into a clearing, losing another feather to its thorns, and would have screamed had she not clamped her muzzle shut around the sound. Twilight started slowly backing away, her eyes glued to the unaware manticore seated in front of her.
The moment Twilight thought she was far enough from the manticore she ran as fast as she could, forgetting that her legs didn't work quite the same way they usually did, and tripped over herself, rolling to a stop with a series of thumps. A loud grunt from the clearing alerted her to the manticore’s imminent arrival, and she scrambled to her hooves and started running again, crashing through bushes and leaves alike in her haste to escape.
If I can just get to that stream the sound of running water should mask my movements, and I can get away from the manticore!
Twilight sprinted toward the stream again with her tail streaming out behind her and burst out of the trees into another clearing, this one winding its way through the night time forest alongside a large stream. Stopping for a moment, Twilight caught her breath and listened intently with her ears at attention, searching for any sign of the manticore. Twilight stood silently for several minutes staring at her reflection in the stream before drinking deeply, soothing her parched throat. Ahhh...water tastes much better than blood. NO! Bad Twilight! You can't think about that right now! Moving on, why am I a five year old alicorn filly? I look exactly like I did when I was five, only with wings!
A thunderous roar derailed Twilight’s train of thought as the manticore came sailing out of the trees, landing with a thump where the tiny alicorn had been mere seconds before. The manticore whipped its head around and glared menacingly at Twilight before once again leaping impossibly quickly towards her, claws outstretched. Twilight dived aside and unknowingly flared her wings to give herself a boost, catching the air and throwing off her balance. The manticore’s return swipe came too fast to dodge and carved three deep gashes along Twilight’s right flank. A bloodcurdling shriek of pure agony tore itself from her throat and her muscles spasmed in protest, leaving Twilight sprawled helplessly on the ground. The manticore lunged forward, intending to make a snack out of the tiny alicorn, but Twilight lit her horn and forced as much magic as she could into it. In the last second before she was eaten the energy vomited from the end of her horn with a thunderclap of sound and light, burning straight down the manticore's throat and skewering it on a horizontal pillar of magical power.
Twilight let out a small squeak of surprise.I didn't put that much power into the blast. I- I didn't mean to kill it! She cut the power to her horn and the manticore slumped to the side, leaving Twilight to check the seriousness of her injuries. Steeling herself for a gruesome sight, she craned her head around to gaze at her flank. Huh. As if things could get any weirder, now I'm bleeding magic. Maybe this is a dream after all. Slashing horizontally down her side were three parallel claw marks, but as well as blood oozing from them as Twilight expected, a dim light shone through along with wisps of a pure white mist seeping out into the air.
I need to find something to patch this up with before I bleed out. For the second time.
Pushing aside the morbid thought, Twilight folded her wings down to her sides, wincing as her right wing came into contact with her wound. For now I suppose I can use my wing to stem the bleeding, not sure what to do about the mist though. She pressed her wing tighter against her barrel, letting out a hiss of pain before heaving herself to her hooves, nearly collapsing as she put weight on her right side. The smell of smoke distracted Twilight, and she noticed a blackened groove cut into the ground behind the dead manticore, bordered by still smoking trees and bushes.
Did I do that? I really need to get my magic under control if I do that by accident. Turning her gaze skyward she noticed a not-insubstantial amount of smoke drifting towards the clouds above. The Ponyville weather team have probably noticed that by now, I can just wait here until they turn up and hitch a ride back to Ponyville. Twilight sighed. Wishful thinking. The alarming rate blood was soaking her feathers and the way her vision swam told her time was running out until she passed out from blood loss.
Limping towards a nearby patch of relatively soot-free moss, Twilight pulled a large chunk from the ground with her magic and placed it on her back for future use. Levitating a large stick behind her to gouge a trail for the weather team to follow, Twilight set off again in search of something to bandage her side with. If I can find some vines, I can tie the moss to my side to soak up the blood better than my feathers can. She lifted her blood-soaked wing and gave it a look of disgust before folding it to her side again. And hopefully I can clean my wing of all this blood soon. Ugh.
Several minutes of searching yielded only a single vine, and Twilight estimated she had maybe minutes before she collapsed. Guess this will have to do for now. Taking care not to pull on her wound Twilight sat down and lifted her wing away from her barrel, exposing her still bleeding injury. Using telekinesis she swiftly pressed the moss against the wound, laid her wing over top to hold it in place, and tied the whole lot tight against her flank with the vine.
With barely any energy remaining, Twilight stumbled over to the base of a tree and flopped down against it, letting out a small grunt of pain as it jarred her tied up wing.
Author's Note
Chapter 2. Bit more action, bit more pain. Poor Twilight can't get a break!
On a side note, chapter 4 is being a pain in the butt to write, so I decided to post this anyway. Hopefully chapter 4 onward will be more along the lines of 2k - 4k words. Again, constructive criticism is welcome. I can't get better if I don't know what i'm doing wrong.
Chapter 3 - Homeward
A sharp spike of pain jolted Twilight awake, her bound wing spasming painfully against the vine tying it down. An inexplicable sense of confinement surged through Twilight's mind, speeding her breathing as she fumbled with the vine to untie her wing. The vine came loose and Twilight breathed a massive sigh of relief as her wing shot out to join the other in a few test flaps. The alicorn re-tied her moss-and-vine bandage, taking care not to tie her wing down again to avoid a repeat of the situation.
Her urges satisfied, Twilight laid back down to think. Why did I panic? I think Rainbow Dash mentioned pegasi hate having their wings tied because it takes away their freedom. Maybe because I'm an alicorn I've inherited some behavioural aspects of the other two pony races? Twilight sat up and spread her wings, examining her feathers. Also, the state of my feathers is horrendous! I have dried blood and dirt all through them! Twilight stuck her muzzle in the feathers of her left wing and started straightening them out, moving them into place with uncertain tugs and nudges.
I'll do my right wing once I've cleaned it up. Also, what happened to the weather team I was expecting? Maybe they missed my trail? I'll just have to go and look.
Estimating she’d only been unconscious for a couple of hours, Twilight stiffly got to her hooves and started limping along the trail she'd made earlier to take her back to the clearing where she'd defeated the manticore, wincing every time she put weight on her right side. At least the forest is calming when nothing's attacking me.
By the time the alicorn filly made it into visual range of her destination she was panting heavily and her side was burning with pain, once more dampening her right wing as blood soaked through her moss bandage. I really need to get this checked out, it shouldn't still be bleeding this badly. Maybe I keep reopening it with all this walking.
Reachingthe clearing, Twilight looked about for any ponies and, upon not seeing any, sent a bright magenta flare into the sky to attract attention to her location. Sitting down again, Twilight gave herself a look over and determined that nopony would notice her coat or mane colouring through the streaks of mud and blood covering her body. My wings are almost invisible in all this muck too!
A bright rainbow coloured trail drew Twilight's attention as it streaked towards her, marking Rainbow Dash’s arrival as the first pony to respond to the flare. Rainbow touched down in front of Twilight with a flap of her wings.
“Hiya kid! Whatcha doing out here…?” Rainbow’s voice trailed off as she took in the state of the filly seated in front of her. “Whoa. What happened to you?”
“A manticore.” Twilight stated flatly before changing the subject. “Can we go back to Ponyville please? I'm tired, sore, and sick of this forest.”
“Uhhh okay, just lemme tell everypony where we're going and then we'll be right off.” With that, Rainbow leapt into the air again with a powerful stroke of her wings and flew off for a minute before returning. “Hop on, I'll get you to a hospital ‘kay?”
“Thanks.” Twilight mumbled, struggling onto the cyan pegasus’ back, who had thoughtfully crouched down to make the climb easier. At least she hasn't asked for my name, I don't feel ready to tell her yet. Suddenly feeling faint, Twilight fell asleep, lulled by the steady beating of her friend’s wings.
Twilight opened her eyes to the sight of a very confused looking unicorn stallion wearing a Ponyville doctors uniform. The alicorn giggled nervously. “Umm, can I help you?”
“Indeed you can young miss. Would you mind telling us how a filly your age managed to find herself in the Everfree forest?” The doctor levitated a notepad and pencil over from a nearby table and prepared to take notes.
Twilight’s eyes roamed around as she started talking, noting she was in a room in Ponyville hospital, with equipment lining the walls and a constant beeping emanating from a heart rate monitor. “Well, I guess I just woke up and I was there, I don't really know how I got there in the first place.” Twilight intentionally left out the part where she died, thinking he didn't need to know. The doctor arched an eyebrow at her, a disbelieving look flitting across his face before a mask of neutrality closed over his features.
“Very well. If you need anything or remember anything new, press that button-” the doctor pointed with a hoof at a red button on the wall beside Twilight's bed “-and somepony will be along shortly. Get some rest, you only arrived here a day ago and are still recovering from your ordeal.” He promptly turned and walked out, shutting the door partially behind him.
With a sigh, Twilight turned to the meagre collection of books on her bedside table and resigned herself to a day of boredom. Even I get bored of reading eventually. Especially hospital books. Without warning the door to her room swung open again and none other than Princess Celestia stepped in, closing the door completely behind her and regarding Twilight with an unreadable expression.
Twilight shrank back against the wall behind her, something in her teacher’s expression sending a small spark of fear shooting through her body. “H-hi Princess.” The Princess’ expression softened and she took a seat next to Twilight's bed.
“Hello my little pony. How are you feeling?” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief.
“I'm fine Princess. A little sore, but I can handle it.”
“Indeed. The doctors tell me you were attacked by a manticore. Is this true?” The Princess’ gaze bored into Twilight's own, seemingly searching for something.
“Yes?” Where is she going with this?
“What is your name, little one?”
Twilight stiffened. “I -uh...I ca-” Princess Celestia’s stare sharpened, cutting through the alicorn filly’s resolve. “I'm… Twilight.” Celestia’s eyes widened in shock.
“Twilight? Twilight Sparkle!?”
Twilight blinked and tears welled up in her eyes, quickly overflowing and becoming a flood as she threw herself into her mentor’s hooves, her body shuddering with the force of her sobs. Celestia started, catching the tiny filly in her hooves before pulling Twilight close to her chest and wrapping her in a warm embrace, tears beginning to stream down her face as well.
Twilight cried for a full five minutes before her cries subsided into the occasional sniffle, the last two days of emotional turmoil having finally found release in her tears. When Twilight finally pulled back from Celestia’s embrace her muzzle suddenly split in a massive yawn.
“Oh I'm sorry Princess, I'm still a bit tired due to my recovery.” Celestia gave a light chuckle in amusement.
“Go back to sleep Twilight, you've had a long couple of days. If you don't mind though, I think I'll stay for the night after I've taken care of a few things. We can figure out everything else in the morning.”
Yawning again, Twilight mumbled her acceptance and received a soft nuzzle from Celestia as the Princess rose to her hooves and left the room, pausing briefly to speak to a waiting nurse in the doorway before striding down the corridor. Twilight sighed and looked down at her clean, heavily bandaged body. It's gonna take at least a couple weeks for this to heal enough for me to be able to walk unassisted again. I did serious damage moving around after I got injured.
Burrowing further under her blankets, Twilight promptly fell asleep, her energy depleted by the healing process and physical young age.
Author's Note
Unfortunately, I have completely, miserably, and utterly failed to keep any semblance of a working schedule due to a combination of lack of motivation and school. That being said, don't expect another chapter within the next six weeks or so (although it may happen).
Anyway, feedback is appreciated, especially around the whole emotional thing (I've always sucked at that).