Alone

48 hours isn't vert long by any stretch of the imagination, but to Twilight Sparkle, it felt like years. When the train finally did stop, there was a melancholic feeling throughout her body. She made her way through the soul consuming bleakness of the train car. The dark environment had already set the tone for the journey, whether she knew it or not. Car after car went by as time slowed until it was almost completely frozen. The conductor met her before her final departure from the vehicle.

"I know this is probably none of my business, but I think coming here was a mistake. Lots of ponies have met their end here from wild animal attacks and the like," he warned her.

"If I make it out, that won't be an issue anymore."

"Suit yourself."

The stallion returned to his post and left Twilight to vacate the machine.

For summer, it was exceptionally cool. This did not elude the purple Alicorn as she tugged on her new jacket for warmth. She would be eternally grateful to Rarity for her consideration. Rain droplets continued to fall from the sky. Each one reminded her of a teardrop as they pierced through the exposed areas of her fur with ease.

"Guess I should start on the shelter now..."

She went into the forest with what little gear she had. There were stories about ghosts haunting the evergreen trove, but for an analytical mind such as Twilight's, there was no room for superstition. It would have been wise for her not to deny something she could never disprove.

It didn't take long for Twilight to build her campground. Unfortunately, the rain prevented the creation of a fire, but there were plenty of sticks and leaves around. While it only provided so much comfort, the crayon-like smell of the rain reminded her of her fillyhood. If anyone had told her she would be doing functional and survival training in the wilderness, she would've thought they'd had a bit too much hard cider, but this was reality. Knowing as much as Twilight did could be considered a curse by some. Even worlds previously untouched by the mark of cold, heartless murder were corruptible. That was the sad truth of it. Now she was playing on a gamble. There was no telling if the increase in her strength and endurance would be enough.

"Well, here goes nothing."

Without hesitation, Twilight placed her front hooves on the solid ground and stretched out her hind legs. Each foreleg was exactly shoulder length apart. This left her in a perfectly aligned plank position. Slowly, she relaxed her forelegs, lowering herself to the ground. Once she was about an inch from the earth's soil, she lifted herself back up slightly faster than she'd let herself fall. Mentally, she kept track of how many times she would repeat this action.

"1...2...3...4...5..."

Due to her good form, the strain was kept down to a minimum. However, the lack of experience soon kicked in. After only about fifteen push ups, she had to stop and take a 30 second break. Thankfully, she was already expecting this. She never went into a new activity thinking it would be a cakewalk. It was one of her strong points that would make her workouts much more tolerable while she was mastering the process. After decompressing the muscle resistance, she was back at it with determination.

"Ouch. That bites."

It took a little bit of time, but with a few breaks of about thirty seconds in between repetitions, Twilight had accomplished 150 push ups, each one executed with consistent and proper form. Now it was on to the next exercise. After finding a decent-sized and sturdy tree, she placed her hind legs against it at a 90 degree angle. With her front hooves carefully locked behind her ears, she slowly raised her upper body from the ground. As part of her pre-departure studies, she'd learned how to do each exercise correctly. For sit ups, she had to be careful not to tug on her neck or lean forward too far, as it would cause a choking feeling because of the pressure on her windpipe. Just like with the push ups, she kept track of how many sets and reps she did. 150 total reps seemed to be her current limit. Without anything soft beneath her spine, there was a little bit of extra stress, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. As with all calisthenics, form and execution were key. The speed was important factor, because if she went too fast, the rapid motion would increase the pressure even more, putting her at risk for injury, which was the last thing she needed.

After the exercise was complete, it was on to cardio and awareness training. This would help her learn to control her breathing, acclimate to high intensity situations, and boost her speed tremendously. To reduce her body heat, she removed the jacket Rarity had given her. The droplets of rain somewhat rejuvenated her already sore and perspiring body. The first activity was jumping jacks. While the exercise wasn't particularly difficult, it would increase her heart rate and, as mentioned before, teach her breath control to balance out the oxygen and carbon dioxide in her system, supplying her body with fresh blood from the heart so she could go for as long as possible. She stood with her hind legs close together and forelegs at her sides. Quickly, she jumped, spreading her hind legs to side and lifted her forelegs over her head before returning to her original position. In a three minute period she was able to do 90 jumping jacks. This was about average for the untrained pony. Twilight's breath, meanwhile, was still too fast. To rectify this, she inhaled through her nostrils for about four seconds, then exhaled through her mouth for another four and repeated this until her heart slowed down. After about forty-five minutes of simultaneously combining the exercise and breath control, she was able to reach 900 complete jumping jacks with energy to spare. Next up was a sprint to test her stamina and so on. It continued like this until nightfall.

After completing as many exercises as she could for the day, Twilight scavenged around for some of the edible plants that grew here and located the nearest river. It was only about ten minutes from her camping location. The berries would provide her with enough liquid until the next day. She could hollow out a tree stump and use it to purify the water. If at all possible, she wanted to avoid hunting any animals. If she rationed her food, that might just be possibility.

After returning to camp, she stored everything and prepared to turn in for the night.

"So you're the one that's been roaming this world all our lives."

Twilight flipped out at the sound of the other being who had just decided to show up out of nowhere.

"Jeez, you're easily disturbed. How did you even make it this long without me?"

Twilight veered behind her head. She saw only a tenebrous silhouette.

"Show yourself," She barked.

"Would you relax already? I'm not hiding."

Wait a minute. That voice...

"Why do you sound like me!?"

"Because I am you."

A horrified look crossed Twilight's countenance. Though it couldn't be seen, a smirk formed on the murky doppelganger's face.