Don't Starve Alone

by Amuka

Rating: mature
Tags: Horror, Adventure, Twilight Sparkle, Profanity, Gore, Violence, Crossover, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 6270

Twilight Sparkle was ripped from Equestria and placed in a pop-up-book of hell. After discovering a small Marble Plaza and technology beyond comprehension, she will embark on a journey to uncover the dark secrets of her new home.

Don't Starve Alone

It's been a long time since Twilight Sparkle was transported from Equestria to a strange new pop-up book-looking world. Her first few months weren't easy, but she adapted and learned to survive. Now a seasoned survivor, Twilight had decided to embrace her new home and make the best of her remaining life there. But a single discovery changes the course of her destiny forever. A small Marble Plaza, machinery the likes of which she's never seen, and the revelation that magic exists in her new world send her on a journey of horror and discovery to reveal the dark secrets of her new home. Who brought her to this strange world? What do they want from her? What is the crushing presence in the dark? And most importantly, Is there a chance she can return to Equestria?

Crossover with the game Don't Starve.

Published 2022-09-19 00:20:00 UTC
Last updated 2023-04-12 08:42:59 UTC

Chapter 1

The sun burned proudly in the sky as Twilight wandered down the small hoof path that led to her campsite. The trees swayed gently in the afternoon breeze, butterflies swarmed atop blooming flowers, and rabbits danced in the underbrush.

Twilight was anxious. Soon it would be dusk and she was still quite a ways from home. She really did not want to spend a night on the path. She had been forced to do so before and it had been miserable. The grip her magic had on her spear tightened as a pair of memories fluttered to the front of her mind. She quickly forced them down.

Twilight scanned the brush at the edges of the path for any sign of movement; any note the forest might send in response to her presence. Twilight marched onward in this state of paranoia until her eyes caught site of something bright and orange embedded in the ground.

A few paces off the path sat a bright, orange, juicy carrot. To a normal pony, the site was nothing extraordinary. A carrot? So what, but to Twilight, the sight was akin to staring at a vault of golden bits. It appeared none of the woodland creatures had messed with it, it was practically a perfect carrot.

Twilight anxiously bit her lower lip as she eyed the fresh vegetable. It wasn't that far off the path. If she dropped her spear for a second she could run over, yank it out of the ground with her magic, and return to the path before anything noticed her presence. But was it worth the risk?

Of course, it was. Food was food. She'd be kicking herself in a day or two when she ran out of food and remembered leaving the beautiful carrot to fend for itself on the edge of the path. Steeling her nerves Twilight set her spear down and unbuckled her backpack letting it drop to the ground with an audible thump.

She took in a few deep breaths as her eyes focused solely on the carrot, then she bolted forward. Her horn glowed brightly as she reached out with her magic and yanked the carrot out of the ground along with some of its roots. Having successfully freed the carrot from its dirt prison, Twilight spun on her hooves and galloped back to the path kicking up a cloud of dirt in the process.

Once her front hooves made contact with the path, she spun around again, dropped the carrot onto the path, and positioned her spear in front of her with her magic. Twilight narrowed her eyes and glared intently at the trees, daring them to throw something at her. To make any sudden movements.

A tense few seconds passed before Twilight let out a sigh of relief and lowered her spear. The world had shown mercy this time. Twilight buckled her backpack to her back as her ears swiveled about her head listening intently. There was always a chance something would leap out and surprise her the moment she turned away.

The forest offered Twilight no reply. She cast a weary glance down the path and at the edges of the pathway as she stuffed the carrot into her backpack before. The thought occurred to her that perhaps she was being overly paranoid, but she quickly brushed it off.

Being overly paranoid was impossible in this world and thinking otherwise would more than likely get her killed. After being extra-sure nothing was going to surprise attack her, Twilight resumed her journey down the path toward home.

Eventually, the path sloped upward leading to the top of a shallow hill with a dead Burchnut tree. Lush green grass spread out before her revealing the comforting site of home sweet home. A campfire sat a few paces in front of her. A small pony-like statue with two wooden gears hanging off it hummed quietly next to the campfire.

To her right, a small collection of drying racks held the previous day's catches. Beyond them was a small clump of semi-ripe berry bushes. Twilight remembered when the area was coated with lush trees and foliage. The once foresty biome now closely resembled an open plains.

Twilight approached her campfire and leaned her spear against the mechanical pony she had dubbed the Science Machine. With a small burst of magic, she wiggled her backpack off and dropped it near the edge of the firepit.

With a grunt of effort, she freed her makeshift bed roll from the web of rope pinning it to her backpack. A small smile graced Twilight's lips. As she spread out the bed roll, a pang of sadness attached itself to her heart. She paused and glanced around at her camp. The soft humming of her makeshift machinery, the sad stack of muddy firewood near her campfire, and the leathery meat hanging limply on her drying racks.

Ironically the scene reminded her of Rarity. She could practically hear the fashionista throwing a temper tantrum at the state of her environment. The way she'd critique the cleanliness of Twilight herself, how she'd dramatically collapse onto her red couch at the state of the campfire. The horrified shriek she'd let out when she inspected the sewing work of her sleeping bag. Twilight missed those simpler days.

If it wasn't for Rarity she wouldn't even have a sleeping bag in the first place. If Twilight hadn't taken a few sewing lessons with the prim mare of fashion she would be sleeping on the ground these days. Twilight shook her head. Reminiscing on the past wouldn't change her current predicament.

She finished sprawling out her sleeping bag and tossed two boards of wood atop the fire. The color of the sky shifted from bright blue to an eerie purplish red as the sun began to dip below the horizon. It was dusk. She didn't have much time before night.

Fortunately for Twilight, she had enough food to last roughly two days and she didn't have to sacrifice a warm dinner due to a lack of firewood. Tonight she was going to treat herself.

Twilight trotted over to her small row of drying racks and examined some pieces she knew were almost ready.

After some inspection, she plucked a piece off the rack with her magic and moved it over to the campfire. she had fabricated a makeshift pot hanger out of some thick twigs and leftover firewood. it wasn't the sturdiest device, but all it had to hold was some dried meat.

She stabbed the longer, thicker twig through the dried piece of meat and adjusted the fleshy piece until it was roughly in the middle of the stick. She then laid this across the other sticks to hang it above her fire. Next, she levitated her spear over from the science machine and pulled a carrot she had picked that morning out of her backpack.

It was admittedly a bit dirty and covered in roots, but Twilight didn't care. She wasn't going to pass this opportunity to eat a fresh carrot with meat. Using her spear, Twilight chopped the carrot into slices and dropped them into her crockpot.

Twilight then returned to her backpack and rummaged through a few of the pockets in search of a piece of flint, a rock, and some grass. After acquiring said material, she moved over to the campfire and stuffed the small tuft of grass under the two boards she'd placed there earlier. Finally, she struck the flint against the rock to create a spark.

Soon she had a roaring fire going and enough heat to cook a decent meal. Something she had noticed over her time in this strange world was a peculiar property of fire. No matter how light or hard she struck a rock with flint. The resulting spark ignited whatever was closest to it without fail. she had never had an issue starting a fire due to lack of friction. If the circumstances were different she would love to dissect why that was the case.

After finding a few more ingredients, dinner was served. Twilight laid atop her bed and stared at the sky as the tip of the sun sank below the horizon. The quiet crackling of the fire, the soft humming of the science machine, and her chewing provided the unicorn with a small level of comfort.

As she bit into a particularly tough chunk of meat, she recalled a time when the thought of eating meat repulsed her. At one point even the thought of doing so would've made her throw up. In Equestria at least, such action was practically a crime. But after living in her new environment, she had been forced to choose between her ethics or starvation. Thus she had committed the taboo.

She paused mid-chew as a thought occurred to her. No one was here to judge her. It wasn't like Princess Celestia would descend from the sky and scold her for committing such a heinous act. Fluttershy wouldn't knock on her door with a horrified looked on her face after hearing such news.

Why had she cared so much about the social standards of her previous home?

"Home." She repeated allowed jumping slightly at the sound of her own voice. She didn't hear that often anymore.

Twilight had no way of knowing how long she had been in the strange pop-up world. In all her time spent in this new unforgiving world, she had yet to find another living creature she could communicate with using words.

She scooped another few carrot slices into her mouth enjoying the taste briefly.

She had tossed out the notion of returning home quite a while ago. There was no evidence of dimensional magic, no people to ask for guidance, not much of anything if she was being honest with herself. What did she even gain by going home? Did anyone miss her? Were they even worried about her?

The soft chirping of crickets interrupted the unicorn's internal conflict. It was probably a good time for her to turn in for the night. Twilight scarfed down what little remained of her food, put an extra log on top of the fire, and crawled into her sleeping bag.

Despite how long she'd been here, Night time always made her skin crawl. She felt like something was out there, watching her—waiting for her to make a mistake. It was a feeling akin to claustrophobia. By all accounts, she should be able to wander into the darkness without a torch or the glow of her horn and be fine. She had done exactly that in Equestria hundreds of times, but here she couldn't. The one time she had attempted to do so, was the most horrifying night of her life. It sent a quiver of fear through her body just thinking about it.

It had been a while since the glow of dusk faded and the night had started proper. Unlike the bright starry skies of Equestria, it was pitch black. Twilight couldn't see anything beyond the light of her campfire and as usual, Twilight couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned trying to get comfortable before giving up and choosing to stare at the fire instead.

There was something calming about watching fire. The way the flames danced in the shadows without a care in the world. No darkness waiting for the opportunity to dive in and consume them, nothing to do but burn bright and bold before fading from this world.

Sometimes she wished she could be a flame in her campfire. A simple existence out of her control.

She hated feeling like this. Like somepony was stalking her and she couldn't do anything about it. She pressed the top of her sleeping bag against her chest with a hoof. It was at times like this she desperately wished she had Ms. Smarty Pants with her.

It sounded rather foalish when she thought about it any deeper than surface level, but she didn't care at the moment. She would kill to have something, anything to comfort her. A trinket from home, a motherly voice, anything. Perhaps she could try to make a new plushie for herself. It wasn't like she didn't know how to.

The purple unicorn sighed. having no one to talk with meant she was stuck with her internal thoughts as a conversation partner. A partner that was growing more sporadic and disorganized by the day. She was certain her internal dialogue hadn't always been like this. Memories of calendars and meticulous planning were buried deep in the back of her mind. She supposed at some point it had stopped mattering.

After watching the fire a while longer, Twilight's eyes finally began to drift shut. She could figure out the details tomorrow.

Author's Note

An idea that's been floating around in my head for a while now and I finally got the motivation to write it down.

Chapter 2

Something was coming. Twilight could sense it moving in the inky blackness surrounding her. Black barbed vines slithered in the abyss, the faint echo of high-pitched laughter. Twilight ran through an endless void. White eyes stared her down and laughed at her suffering. The unicorn's ears swiveled about in panic. A deep squelchy bass tone reverberated through the space.

Twilight's heart leaped into her throat. There was something beyond the eyes. Something of incomparable size. The hairs on her back froze over in fear. Twilight felt like her rib cage was going to crush every organ in her barrel as she began to hyperventilate. She was suffocating, she was drowning.

Twilight screamed.

The lavender unicorn leaped out of her bedroll and kicked up a cloud of dust. Her eyes darted about frantically, her horn glowed as she reached for her spear. The handle almost snapped in half from the sheer force of her magical grip. Twilight's heart thundered like a taiko drum in her chest.

A flock of birds soared into the air with delighted chirps causing her to jump. As her eyes examined every inch of the empty campsite a realization slowly dawned on her. She had been dreaming.

Twilight let out a shaky gasp and collapsed. A chill ran through her bones as a few beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. She was terrified.

She lay there for a while, thinking, contemplating what had just transpired, and assuring herself that she was going to be okay. This wasn't a new phenomenon.

Almost every night, Twilight dreamed the same dream. She would be standing in a black abyss, a presence would taunt her from beyond and then she would be violently crushed to death. It always ruined her morning and the consistency of the night terrors shook Twilight to her core.

She took in a deep breath and exhaled before standing up and opening her eyes. She had royally messed up her bed roll. small grass shavings littered the ground around it, and it's usual rectangular layout had distorted into an unrecognizable splattter of poorly stitched grass and broken dreams.

Twilight sighed, she would have to fix that later. With a huff of frustration, she steeled herself and directed her mind toward the day's task. She needed to check her traps.

She had built several makeshift traps using grass, and rope, and had spread them throughout the grasslands. They hadn't been very effective at first, but when she started baiting them with carrots and other vegetables she experienced some success.

The sun had begun to caress the edges of the trees by the time Twilight trotted over to her backpack. She buckled it around her barrel before grabbing her spear with her magic. She was burning daylight.

The ambiance of the forest surrounded Twilight as she trotted down the path. Her campsite became a distant memory as it sunk below the hill behind her. Twilight had no map or reference of where anything was. The only way she was able to set her traps and find them again was by following the path.

When Twilight had first arrived in her strange new world, she had awoken on a path. Since that day, she had never strayed from it. The only times she had, were when a carrot or other food source was barely off of it. Her campsite currently resided where the trail dead-ended and she dared not venture any farther.

The path made navigation simple. It wound through many biomes and resource points as well as her trapping locations. All she had to do was follow the path backward until she reached her first trap; Then turn around and follow it home. The downside was resources were more finite. Eventually, the small collection of, food, flint, tree, and other resources would run dry.

She knew the resource problem was inevitable, however, she had decided to ignore it. Secretly, she hoped it would solve itself.

The journey toward trap number one was mostly a blur for Twilight. The same set of trees she had seen countless times before flanked the path and the familiar array of colored flowers dotted its edges. The birds sang their songs and hummed their detuned melodies.

The songs gave Twilight an eerie sense of tranquility. Almost as if the forest and the horrors that inhabited it paused and listened along with her. Something felt different about the songs today. They felt more Allegro than usual. Twilight scoffed at herself as she realized she was analyzing birds chirping! This wasn't Fluttershy's cottage, she was being ridiculous.

Eventually, there came a break in the forest. A wide grassland spread out before her. clumps of reeds, saplings, and rabbit burrows dotted its landscape. The path divided the grassland down the center for a few hundred yards before curving and leading into a forest on the other side. A few paces in was the location of Twilight's first trap. Just beyond that was a small pond.

Twilight approached the area. A frown etched itself onto her features as she snooped around and located the first trap. It was empty. The carrot she had used as bait lay untouched in the barbaric mechanism. Twilight snorted in annoyance. The trap hadn't been disturbed at all! What a waste.

With a huff, Twilight made her way to the nearby pond eying the large lilypads that hovered over its crystal surface. Sometimes, large frogs would leap out or patrol the water's edges. Today, the frogs were nowhere in sight. The water tasted like honey as it massaged her dry throat. The feeling of relief water provided after a long trek was an experience she could never oversell.

After drinking her fill, Twilight resumed her journey down the path. The sun continued to bare down on her back as entered the forest once more. The occasional squawking of crows and the low rumbling of distant percussion continued to score her trek.

The first trap may have been a disappointment, but there were still three more to check.

Unfortunately, the journey to the next two traps yielded the same disappointment. Trap number two had at least been triggered by something-Twilight didn't know what-but whatever it was had been bigger than a rabbit. The device had been practically shredded to pieces when she eventually tracked down its remains behind a boulder. Trap number three provided similar disappointment.

It wasn't until trap number four that Twilight's efforts were finally rewarded. The unicorn had traveled a fair distance from her camp and her stomach had begun twisting with worry. She had followed this route many times before. and she knew it better than the back of her hoof, however, straying from her campsite for long periods had a way of worrying her.

The chirping of nearby birds pulled Twilight from her thoughts. The mare was halfway through the grasslands containing trap number four. Had she mused much longer she would've risked bypassing the trap altogether.

Twilight's ears swiveled intently as approached the trap. She could hear muffled squeaking and the rustling of rope. Excitement welled up in her chest. Twilight eagerly pushed through a few stalks of tallgrass and broke into a small clearing

A small lump squirmed about in the netting whimpering at each failed attempt at freedom. The purple unicorn gave the air a hoof pump before gently lifting the net and peering under it. The sight that greeted her was that of a small rabbit shriveled up in fear. She could see the remnants of the carrot she had used as bait scattered across the ground.

Twilight gently moved the trap off of the rabbit being careful not to scare it off. The moment the rabbit saw her, It looked up at Twilight with wide hopeful eyes begging her to let it free. To allow it to frolic in the fields once again and return to its underground sanctuary. Twilight was certain Fluttershy's heart would've melted had the pegasus been present.

Twilight promptly shoved her spear through its head.

A wet squelch rang out as the rabbit's corpse flopped lifelessly to the ground. A small murder squawked in the distance as blood pooled around its head. Twilight plucked the deceased rabbit from the edge of her spear and stuffed the corpse into her backpack. There was only one trap left.

Twilight whistled an energetic melody as her body auto-piloted down the path. Her spear hovered gently by her side as she lazily scanned the edges of the path. An array of colorful flowers once again dotted the path's edges.

There was a peculiar quirk of her new world that Twilight had noticed after her first few weeks there. flower patches, tallgrass stalks, vegetables, or any small element of the world appeared to repeat themselves in a predictable pattern. Her best example of this phenomenon was the flowers that dotted the edges of her path.

Every time a bed of flowers showed up on the edge of the path it contained six colors. Red, Blue, Light Cyan, White, and Yellow. Red was always the flower the farthest to the left of the patch and white was always the farthest flower to the right.

It didn't matter where on the path you were, flower patches were always the same. What varied was the location of the colors in between. Sometimes Light Cyan was second to left, sometimes it was Yellow, or it was some other color. It was like the world was recycling. At one point, Twilight stumbled across a perfect mirror placement of a different flower patch.

It had been a fascinating phenomenon to observe; under different circumstances, she would've studied the phenomenon in excruciating depth.

The unicorn's scientific musings were interrupted by something Twilight never expected to hear, silence.

Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. The birds had ceased chirping; she couldn't hear the breeze; even her hoof steps had stopped making noise when they impacted the ground. She pulled her spear close and eyed the trees anxiously. What sorcery was this? Had she finally lost it?

A loud howl pierced the silence. All at once, sound resumed. Twilight's hair stood on end. Panic bubbled up in her chest as a second howl followed the first. What in Celestia's name had just happened? Every muscle in the Unicorn's body began to lock up.

Twilight's mind reeled as she pulled her spear close to her chest. and tried to think through her current predicament. There was no evidence suggesting these unknown creatures were after her, let alone that they knew her current location. As long as she was careful, she could finish this run and return to her campsite long before they noticed her or caught on to her scent.

All she had to do was finish her route quickly and then rush home. With somewhat renewed confidence, Twilight continued down the path at a more languid pace.

Roughly five minutes passed when a loud rustling in the underbrush caused Twilight to stop dead in her tracks. She swiveled her ears listening closely. Another rustle and a low growl. Twilight snapped her in the direction of the sound as she angled her spear toward the brush.

A beat of silence played and then with a loud crash, two figures burst through the bush line behind her. The unicorn's eyes went wide with terror as her breath hitched in her throat. Three large hounds now stood on the path.

The two hounds snarled as their bodies twitched and jerked about. Saliva dripped from their maws and their milky white eyes burrowed into their surroundings. Twilight could see the muscle under their fur and the pure bloodlust in their eyes.

A crushing sensation the likes of which Twilight had only felt by her campfire at night suddenly engulfed her as a realization hit her like a sack of bricks. These creatures were going to kill her.

Twilight's body reacted before her mind could. She bolted down the path. The trio of hounds let out an ear-piercing howl that shook the air as they charged after the purple unicorn. At that moment it didn't matter that Twilight had a weapon to defend herself nor did it matter that she had already been through Tartarus. Pure unbridled fear had taken the wheel.

She could hear the pounding of paws behind her. The snarls and the growls of the creatures behind. Twilight's legs burned crying out in pain begging her to stop but she couldn't. Adrenaline surged through Twilight's body as she poured all of her energy into her legs. The hounds had only been chasing her for a few seconds and she was already panting like a dog.

Another howl shattered the silence causing Twilight to double her efforts. She dared not look behind her.

The outside world began to fade away as Twilight focused on putting one hoof in front of the other. She could hear her backpack flapping in the wind as the forest and the resulting Grasslands zoomed past her in a blur.

She was snapped out of her fear-induced trance by a loud rustle to her right. Her eyes immediately snapped in the direction of the sound only to widen in shock as one of the hounds leaped out of the underbrush.

Reacting quickly, Twilight dug her hooves into the ground and she crouched as low as she could. She skidded along the path as the hound sailed over her and crashed onto the ground behind her. The unicorn flailed her forelimbs wildly and gasped for air as she regained her footing and stumbled back into her run. Twilight felt like her lungs were going to melt through her chest!

Eventually, the pathway weaved into another grassland. The sound of the hounds had grown rather distant now and she collapsed halfway through the grasslands. Her throat felt like sandpaper.

A distant howl told her the hounds weren't giving up the chase. She wouldn't be able to avoid fighting them. Even if she somehow outran the hounds in the next few minutes they would surely follow her back to her campsite and slaughter her.

With a cry of frustration, Twilight dropped her spear and used her now free magic to rip the backpack off of her back. She tossed it behind her. Twilight grabbed her spear once more and steeled her mind just as the hounds burst through the treeline and invaded the grassland properly.

Twilight focused on the hound that was closest. An ear-piercing roar crawled from the creature's maul as it lunged at her spraying saliva and revealing its mouth full of glistening razor-sharp teeth.

Twilight rammed her spear through the hound's forehead and swung it downward with immense force. The hound slammed into the ground with a sickening crunch mere inches in front of her. Immediately the second hound dove at Twilight. She rolled to the side barely dodging a sweep from its powerful claws as it tumbled past her whimpering.

Twilight clambered to her hooves and hissed in pain. Something had happened to her shoulder after that last roll. Before she could dwell on her injury the hound wrapped around her position and lunged at her again. Twilight jumped forward barely dodging the attack as it steamrolled through her previous position.

A prickly tingling sensation shot through Twilight's spine the instant she hit the ground. She coughed and dry heaved in pain. She needed to retrieve her spear or this was going to be an extremely short fight.

Twilight clambered to her feet as the remaining hound circled her position. The Unicorn drunkenly stumbled over to the first Hound's corpse. Twilight's horn glowed as she gave the spear a sharp yank. The hound's corpse briefly lifted off the ground but the spear didn't budge. A low rumbly growl from the remaining hound altered her that it was slowly closing the distance.

She gave the spear another tug. A sharp crack rang out as blood began to spew from the dead hound's head. She was making progress. Twilight closed her eyes in concentration and funneled as much magic as she could into her horn. it glowed brightly causing the last hound to yelp in surprise. She yanked on her spear as hard as she could and with a squelchy pop, the weapon was freed.

That must have been the queue. Twilight whirled around and positioned the spear directly in front of her as the wolf lunged at her face. Her eyes snapped shut in terror as the hound bared down on her. The sound of tearing flesh and a whimper of agony assaulted the unicorn's ears. A few droplets of blood flew into her mane. The next sensation she felt, was that of claws digging into her skin.

Pain coursed through Twilight's face. Her eyes snapped open and were met with the sight of a wall of teeth. Her spear had lodged itself into the Hound's throat and prevented it from chomping her head off. The hound wailed in pain as it writhed around on the tip of Twilight's spear like a parasite who'd lost its host.

In a shell-shocked state, Twilight delicately put a hoof to her cheek and immediately winced in pain. Her face was ruined. Rage bubbled up inside the unicorn as she realized what had happened.

"You ruined my face!" Twilight screeched as she slammed the spear deeper into the Hound's mouth. The hound gurgled as a torrent of blood sprayed from the top of its mouth. The life quickly drained from its eyes as its body went limp.

Twilight screamed in fury as she channeled what little strength she had left into her spear and pushed it forward. The hound's corpse tipped over and collapsed onto its back with a thud. A spaghetti of snapped tendons and misaligned bones poured from its mouth. The battle was over, she had won.

Twilight promptly collapsed as her magic and body gave out. Pain, she felt nothing but pain. She should be dead. That thought bounced around her head for a few seconds before she heaved and promptly threw up. Her legs felt like they were made of jelly and her hips were killing her.

Why was she evening doing this? Twilight wondered as she coughed and rolled onto her back. What was the point of any of it? There was no home to return to, no friends waiting for her back at the campsite. As far as she could tell, she was the only sentient creature in this Celestia-forsaken world.

Another wave of pain washed over Twilight's body as she coughed and gagged. She wanted nothing more than to pass out then and there. To slip into the sweet embrace of unconscious rest, but she knew she couldn't. Soon night would fall and if she was out here when that happened, her struggle today would have meant nothing.

Twilight stared up at the sky and watched the clouds roll by without a care in the world. The soft breeze brushed against her skin and the grass danced in the plains. Not today Death, not today.

Twilight panted as she crawled into the tangled web of her bed roll. She had barely managed to start the fire upon her return. Was stubbornly refusing to die really worth the pain? Where had those strange hound-like creatures come from? Why did they chase her no matter how far she ran? She had thousands of questions and zero answers.

What if the strange hounds came back? She had barely fought them off today. What would she do if more showed up next time? Twilight moaned in frustration. It was all too much, she needed a break. A light at the end of the tunnel. Twilight closed her eyes and tried to recall her happiest memories.

Pinkie's surprise parties, Rainbow Dash's stunts outside her library, Fluttershy's cottage, and Rarity's dramatic fashion rants all rushed to the front of her mind. What she would give to hear their voices one last time. The opportunity to say goodbye or at least tell them she was still alive.

A tear crawled down Twilight's face. She winced as it mixed with the scabs that had formed on her cheek. That was going to take a while to heal and her face would never be the same. She turned her attention to the fire as the sun sank below the horizon. Almost immediately the sky went from purplish orange to pitch black and the soft chirping of crickets became her soundtrack.

No matter how many times it happened, Twilight was certain she would never adjust to the suddenness of nighttime in this world.

Twilight yawned and stared into the flames. Despite her exhaustion, sleep wouldn't come easy. Any second now she would feel it. The creature of her nightmares.

As if on queue, the chirping of the crickets faded into nothingness and Twilight felt her heart skip a beat. It was staring at her again. She swept her gaze across the edge of her fire's illumination. She couldn't see anything dangerous and that was the problem.

She wrapped herself tightly in her bedroll as a shiver ran down her spine. Part of her wished whatever was out there would hurry up and get it over with already. That the creature would reveal itself, break into her campsite, and crush her just like in her dreams. At least then it would be over.

Twilight tossed and turned a few times in her bed role. She was so tired and she desperately needed sleep. But that Celestia-forsaken thing was watching her! She glanced into the darkness again before reverting her gaze to the fire. She watched a pair of ashes soar into the sky without a care in the world only to be swallowed by darkness.

Screw it, she didn't care how foalish it was, she was going to make that plushie! Twilight snorted as she untangled herself from her cacoon of comfort. All of her pain seemed to fade away as she stumbled over to her backpack despite her bones aching in protest. She had admittedly limited material to work with since she couldn't collect more at night, but it was enough to create what she had in her head.

After spending a few minutes sifting through her backpack, Twilight had amassed a small pile of material. A bundle of twigs, a few tufts of grass, and a single button. It was time to begin.

A few minutes later Twilight finished weaving the final section of grass. A smile had wormed its way onto her face. She had decided to make a grass teddy bear with a single button for an eye. He had a few tears in him from her botched knitting job but otherwise, he was the perfect bedtime partner. Twilight had decided to name her new friend, Bernie.

Bernie, what a silly name She had thought of. Although she supposed it was no better than Ms. Smarty Pants.

Twilight couldn't help but giggle as she gave Bernie a few playful squeezes. She needed to ensure she'd built him right after all. He wouldn't be a very good plushie if he fell apart after a few squeezes. To her surprise, Bernie easily repelled her squeezy assault.

Twilight felt a child-like giddiness well up inside her. Now she finally had a friend! Sure He was no Rarity or Fluttershy, but beggars can't be choosers! Alas, Twilight's joy quickly evaporated as her gaze wandered from Bernie to the dark abyss beyond her campfire and she was once again reminded of the creature of shadow.

Twilight took a deep breath to quell the panic that had begun to build in her chest. She was stronger than this. She was going to keep it together for at least one more night. With a curt nod, she carried Bernie back to bed in her magical grasp.

Once she was comfortable, Twilight tightened her grip on Bernie. She didn't understand why, but as she lay in bed with Bernie, The presence in the dark seemed to shrink. It felt weaker; less soul-crushing. A strange sense of comfort washed over her.

Her mind began to question why she was feeling so calm but she quickly realized she was too tired to care. A final yawn escaped her lips and Twilight drifted off into a rare night of peaceful sleep.

Author's Note

Man, this chapter took forever to crack but it's finally done. thoughts critiques etc are always welcome. If you have any edits to point out please DM them to me instead of cluttering up the comments. More chapters are in the works. ^^