My Little Pony: Starving Is Tragic

Black slime bubbled out of the cold damp earth, pooling into a large puddle of foul scented liquid. The sky a bleak grey hue that stretched endlessly for miles into the horizon, the land a blur of monotone colors and indifferent settings. Nothing in this reality stood out, nothing was truly alive or blessed with vibrance.

The world was dark and cold, a icy chill caressing the dew ridden grass with a delicate touch. The puddle soon tripling in size before starting to harden and calcify into a molded object, curves blossoming and muzzle forming out of the abyss, as if being shaped by expert hooves.

The sky darkening high above suddenly as shadows of the void engulfed the area, two large eyes of fiery orange coals burning through the nothingness. Razor sharp fangs forming out of the abyss mockingly, curling into a large devious grin full of mischievous glee.

“My such a gullible little filly!” A dark voice of malicious intent spoke loudly, the coals gazing down to Twilight sleeping upon the wet grass, the last few droplets of the ooze seeping into her coat.

“Enjoy the calm while it lasts, you'll have much to do instead of reading!” Dark orange flames engulfed her tiny book of secrets, absorbing it into a distant realm with a sly giggle.

“The Codex is far beyond your comprehension, how about you do some exploring first!?” The voice dripped with hatred and a sadistic sense of madness.

“Would be quite a shame if you starved, fufufu!” The shadows lifted high into the sky above, absorbing into a swirling vortex of orange flames as demented laughter filled the area.

Vanishing just as quickly as it appeared, Twilight slowly opened her dull violet eyes in confusion while the world seemed to spin around her mockingly. Those fiery words of warning pulsing painfully inside her mind, she had to find a way back home or perish trying.

Twilight suddenly swung up to her hooves wobbling in place uncontrollably, her eyes quick to survey the surrounding area with ease. Miles of dull grey grass stretched to the east seeming to taper off into a miniature desert of sorts, the west more a less the same boring landscape, except it was quite easy to spot towering hills over the horizon.

Her two options of travel seeming quite pointless at the moment to be honest, her eyes glancing down to the odd looking grass her haunches sat upon idly. This small patch of nothing seemed decent enough, flat with a good reach of visibility and all the grass she could graze on.

“Ha, you desire me to feast!? So be it!” Twilight snorted warm air out of her nostrils in a loud huff of annoyance, standing on all four hooves, she lowered her head to the earth calmly.

Her tiny muzzle opening wide before she sank her teeth deep into the wet dying grass, her eyes widening in horror as she began to chew upon this terrible treat. The moist grass becoming extremely dry as if turning to dust, the taste foul and rancid much like a mouthful of spoiled milk.

Twilight gagged in disgust vomiting out a wave of this mysterious black slime, a small puddle of bile forming at her hooves as she shivered in horror. Droplets of the dark liquid dripping off her lips slowly, grazing completely out of the question at this point.

“I think the land demands to be worked, not to be squatted upon.” Spike exploded his head out of the warm puddle of bile, grinning with glee.

“But I've never toiled before in my life, I couldn't phantom where to begin!?” Twilight gagged up a tiny bit more of ooze, spitting it in the eye of her companion softly.

“Good for you I can help, if you don't mind looking a bit crazy!” Spike shook the foul ooze off his scales, scanning the west with much interest.

“Who could judge me, that foolish rock?” Twilight scoffed sarcastically, flaunting her hoof towards a tiny pebble to her right.

Though oddly enough, it did have an air of smugness about it.

“I say you go to the west towards the hills, best to gain the high ground eh!?” Spike was quick to go dashing off into the distance giggling, his swift little feet not even leaving footprints behind.

“Wait for me Spike!” Twilight hurried to her aching hooves in quite a bit of pain, galloping off towards the west with paranoia in her eyes.

That cursed dragon nowhere to be found as she sped across at least a block of wet grass in haste, her lungs on fire as she collapsed into the dew ridden earth with a wet plop. Eyes scanning to her right to see a odd sight, a tiny white rabbit chewing on a large carrot in his paws, mere hoofsteps away.

“Phst, little bunny!” Twilight folded her ears back ever so slowly, locking desperate gazes with the pathetic animal swiftly.

“Aroo?” The bunny tilted his head to the side curiously, twitching a small pink nose cutely in place.

“Mm-hmm, would you like to share that carrot?” Twilight forced a smile across her lips painfully, her lower jaw nearly cramping.

The rabbit glanced down to the vegetable in his paws then back to the helpless mare, quickly shaking his head in a definitive no manner. Twilight feeling her heart sinking deep into her chest cavity, a sense of spite filling her soul at an alarming rate.

“Come now love, don't be despicable!” Twilight narrowed her eyes slowly, hooves inching forward ever slowly in the damp cold dirt.

The rabbit sensing the growing hostility in this odd little creature, taking half a step backwards in a preemptive strike to flee. Holding the oversized carrot in his mouth, ears twitching side to side frantically.

“Don't you dare…” Twilight hissed in a growl of anger, pouncing forward at the woodland creature in a flash, missing her mark by a mile as it darted off into the distance.

The mare quick to gallop off after her prey in blind anger, her hooves burning with soreness as she nearly closed the gap in the chase. The rabbit screaming loudly in shock as it flung across the open field, barely sliding into a hidden hole on the ground with a whoosh.

“Don't think you can hide, I know magic!” Twilight cackled out in ecstasy of the hunt, her horn covered in black goo lighting to life with a vibrant purple glow.

The odd substance not agreeing with her inner magic, suddenly causing a large shockwave to blast the mare clear across the open field. Her frail body rolling through the dirt wildly as agony filled her hooves, the sky seeming to darken above her, as what little light begun to fade in the horizon.

“I'll not forget this bunny, one day I'll slaughter you!” Twilight whimpered in despair, her limp head lifting towards the hole weakly.

“I won't even give you the courtesy of being eaten, I'll simply have you spoil!” The unicorn collapsed in the muddy soil with a thud, her stomach growling loudly from malnutrition.

“It's getting dark.” Spike sighed with a shake of his head, popping into Twilight's view casually.

“What of it!?” The mare groaned aloud in defeat, the tiny dragon frowning as he pointed off towards the left.

Twilight watched in growing terror, puddles of that cursed liquid bubbling out of the grass in multiple patches. The unicorn lifting up to a kneeling position as she witnessed with concern, inky black hooves reaching out of the abyss of the ground, lifting towards the sky with loud screeching howls of agony.

Twilight shivering in fear as odd shadow like beings began to blossom forth into existence, the mare closing her eyes to count to ten with a trembling voice. Slowly creeping her eyes open to this horrible world, noticing the puddles and creatures had vanished for now.

Yet she could feel their presence extremely close by.

“They claim the lazy or unprepared.” Spike gave a large shiver, extending a claw to help his mistress back to her hooves.

“I don't have much time, what can I do!?” Twilight forced herself to stand, eyes flashing around the clearing in fright.

“Quick grab a rock!” Spike spoke in a calm collected manner, his very existence on the line.

“That smug bastard!” Twilight was a blur of purple stampeding back towards her starting point, that small full of itself flint stone still loitering about.

The mare quick to snatch it up, grinning in delight like a crazed pony.

“Next find some dry grass!” The dragon ushered the mare along in haste, the light in this world beginning to dim into bleak darkness.

Twilight searched the moist wet grass in utmost horror, not a patch of dry grass anywhere to be found. Her eyes spotting a small group of large trees off in the distance, her weak frame rushing off to investigate as time dwindled away.

“It's all wet!” Twilight screamed galloping betwixt the group of trees in a panic, running straight into a shielded patch of dry grass, protected by the treetops from the elements.

“Thank you nature!” Twilight sobbed with glee, scooping up a large hoofful of cut grass quickly.

“Now place it somewhere safe, hurry!” Spike screamed with a stern voice, the land plummeting into the abyss with ease.

Twilight was out of time and resources to survive the night, her dull violet hues barely catching a glimpse of a rotting stump a few paces away. The unicorn flinging herself into the air rolling over to its side, tossing the grass upon the decaying surface.

“Take this nature!” Twilight screamed in fright as the dark abyss swallowed her up with ease, the howling of the void ringing loudly in her ears.

Her hoof slammed the rock down in one fluid motion against the tip of her horn, to her absolute surprise a spark of fire splashed forward onto the stump. A sudden explosion of light engulfing the immediate area gently, a tiny orange campfire glowing warmly against Twilight's wet coat.

“We did it!” Twilight sighed in relief, her gaze looking around the empty circle of light in dismay.

Her only friend once more vanishing into the darkness, a sense of regret and sorrow building deep inside her soul. Twilight allowing herself to fall to the ground with a loud plop, ears pinning back as she watched the flames dance before her in silence.

Her stomach growling in hunger from this wild depressing night, she had a few more blades of grass near her hooves to try and nibble on if she pleased, yet thought it safest to use them for fuel instead.

This night would be her longest.

Cold, weak and hungry.

If she didn't take this seriously in the morning, then perishing tomorrow night would be a real possibility.

At first light she'd start anew, forge ahead and build a foundation of survival.

She just prayed that no more surprises would rear their ugly heads, after all...

Starving would be tragic.

Twilight Eclipse.

Sanity: 30/100
Health: 75/100
Hunger: 40/100
Deaths: 0