“So it wasn't a dream,” Rarity muttered bitterly.

The unicorn lay there, staring at the slightly darkened world, noting that it must be night here. Peeking out revealed that it looked to be twilight but there was no visible source of light in the sky. The physics confused her, but she ultimately gave the entire thing little thought and pushed it from her mind.

Whatever was going on in this strange place was beyond her comprehension, but that was okay. She focused instead on the things she could figure out, like what food was edible, and if she could drink the water. So began much testing, weaving, and general exploration of her new surroundings.

She wasn't ready to leave the valley, but she did look around until she located a particularly tall hill. Standing atop it she found that there was absolutely no sign of civilization anywhere. Her valley sat to her right, with snow-capped mountains and rolling greenish-blue hills a dozen miles away. Outside of that, there was a rolling mass of forest that stretched on in every other direction, creating a brightly colored sea of mostly orange.

“At least it's pretty, if a bit gouache,” Rarity murmured.

From there she started to test the local flora and fauna, starting with finding a way to boil the water. It wasn't easy, but thankfully the jar-shaped flowers hardened upon being picked. After being left out to dry for a few hours they were nearly rock hard, and had gained a crystalline sheen to them.

Lugging one of these down to the water’s edge, Rarity awkwardly filled the thing and made her way back up to her camp. From there she spent several hours testing what could burn, and what couldn't before finding that the smaller cactus plants worked perfectly. A few angry sparks from her horn as well as a bit of waiting, and Rarity had a roaring fire with which to boil some water.

Several more hours of cursing, as well as trial and error, went by before she had created a system that worked. The bucket, which had sat atop the still sizzling hot coals, contained what she hoped was drinkable water. A sip confirmed that it didn't taste bad, containing only a slightly bitter twinge that Rarity couldn't quite place.

After a bit of waiting as well as some silent panicking, Rarity confirmed that her process worked. Moving on to locating edible food, Rarity silently wished she had listened during one of their escapades into the Everfree where Twilight spoke extensively on how to determine which plant is safe to eat. Without that knowledge, she had to rely on trial and error, a process that she was not looking forward to.

Thankfully she had water, and after a bit more work, a better place to rest. For as it turned out, gently braiding the spongey appendages of the bush created a cover so thick that it blocked out the light. Meaning she could enjoy a good night’s rest without having to worry about the sun shining into her eyes.

Not like that had happened, as it turned out that it never got terribly bright, nor terribly dark. Stranger still, the odd twilight lasted for only a few hours before brightening back up to what felt like mid-afternoon. Either way, it was a weird place, though one thankfully devoid of any real predators, or company.

Laying with her head on the ground, Rarity wondered if she would ever return home, or if that was even a possibility. Discord and Tirek’s words rang in her head, making her hope flicker and nearly die. A firm shake of the head and some light slapping of her cheeks dismissed it, however.

“I will not give up. My friends would never stop looking for me,” she told herself. “Besides, it's only been a day or… so. I can't rightly start panicking yet.”

Though the words rang a bit hollow, she chose to believe them and stick it out on that weird alien world. Her eyes closed, and though her stomach rumbled angrily, she was not so hungry that she couldn't sleep. For once she was glad that the process of just purifying water had been so arduous as she was too exhausted to care about how dirty she was.

Mostly.

She awoke the next day to an urgent need to use the washroom. After doing so, she set about finding some more water and beginning the dreadful process of finding out what she could safely eat. Careful to cook everything she put in her mouth, Rarity slowly boiled, fried, or accidentally burnt a little bit of everything.

The tubelike, and slightly spongey grass took a bit of boiling, but after a while, it had the consistency of noodles. They tasted like boiled dirt and were tougher than half-petrified carrots, but they were easy to keep down. Unlike the large mushroom which was foul no matter what Rarity did to it, causing the mare to violently expel her lunch.

Days passed with thankfully no life-threatening, or unpleasantness to speak of. Just a lot of gross food, slimy water, and a slowly improving domicile. The wildlife was growing more curious about her, but they still kept their distance, and Rarity was happy for it. She really didn't want to find out if something was poisonous so far from a hospital.

Her ability to cast spells was still nonexistent, but thankfully gave her less and less of a headache when she tried. Wherever it was that she had been sent, had stuffed her inner wellspring with foul energy that overcharged her own internal magical circuits. She could feel her body slowly expelling the foreign power but it would take time, and more patience than Rarity feared she had.

She cried a lot because of that, but slowly she fell into a routine of survival, and slow exploration. The pain of loneliness was constant but still distant, only striking Rarity when she laid down to sleep. The rest of the day she sang, hummed, or talk to herself in order to drive away the bad thoughts that tried to plague her.

Nearly a month passed before something out of the ordinary occurred.

It had begun normal enough, with Rarity waking up and clambering off her bed of carefully cultivated moss grass. Though not as soft as her bed back in Ponyville, it was surprisingly comfortable. Standing up in her one-room hovel made of sticks, and braided mushroom bushes, Rarity walked over to the fireplace.

After stoking the coals with a bit of dried bark, and taking a long sip from the water pot, she walked outside. Pushing past the large leaf she used as a door, Rarity looked up and took a deep lungful of slightly sweet air. Like every day, it was warm but not hot, with a gentle breeze rolling from the direction of the mountains. There was the usual number of sparse pinkish clouds overhead, and insects zipping about through the trees.

“This would make for a wonderful vacation spot,” Rarity thought aloud. “Every day is nearly identical to the last, and it's always fairly nice if a bit dull.”

She had yet to see any manner of meteorological phenomenon at all. No rain, snow, or anything just an eternal springlike day that never quite seemed to end. It was pleasant enough, Rarity decided so she didn't complain about the lack of variety in things.

Slinging a pair of bowls strung together by braided branches of the mushroom bushes, Rarity began her morning routine. Down to the lake, she went, her hooves thumping against the now well-worn path she had charted through the foliage. Along the way she stopped to pick a few leaves from a brow and purple bush, tucking the fern finger like hunks of plant into a pouch hanging from her neck.

With that done, she began to hum a song, while making her way down to the water’s edge. There she began to fill the buckets, taking care not to disturb the fish, or get too much of the top slime into her containers. After filling one, and placing it on the lake’s edge, Rarity was about to repeat the process, only to stop when a strange feeling struck her.

Hastily, she ducked back behind one of the white pillars of saltlike stone, peering out from around the corner. She was about to chastise herself for being jumpy when she noticed something dark brown move in her direction. Hidden beneath the water, Rarity couldn't make out exactly what it was, only that it was large, very large.

Shaped vaguely like a crocodile, the mass grew larger until suddenly it breached the upper layer of the lake. Sharp, boney protrusions pierced the goo, making way for a thick hide of brownish-green scales. A pair of red beady eyes peered out from atop a mostly flat head, inspecting the water’s edge closely.

Careful to not move an inch, Rarity observed as the crocodile thing sat motionless, waiting for something. Stuck between an intense desire to run, and a fear so powerful she couldn't move, Rarity felt conflicted. Left with little else to do, she merely observed the creature, hoping against hope that it would just leave her alone.

Nearly times as large as Rarity, sporting a crown-like arrangement of spines, that also went down its back, the creature was quite imposing. It also looked completely at odds with everything Rarity had seen so far on this planet. Here everything was small, mostly harmless, and had either bulbous bodies or a thin, whiplike appearance. This… thing, was clearly a predator, something Rarity had yet to find on this oddly peaceful planet.

Rarity’s thoughts were interrupted when the creature exploded into motion, revealing an enormous maw filled with wicked teeth. Each one was jagged, razor-sharp, and nearly as long as Rarity’s hoof. They were also easily able to slice through one of the larger frogs that had swum too close to the creature’s head.

The poor curious critter soon found itself in the reptile’s belly, dead before it could even realize what had happened. That seemed to satisfy the predator, who slipped back into the deeper parts of the lake, soon becoming invisible. Though it was gone, Rarity remained motionless for several minutes longer, waiting just in case it returned.

When it didn't, Rarity gathered her buckets as quickly as she could, and took off back the way she came.

“Where do I go, what do I do?” she whispered to herself. “I have to leave, but can I take that chance? What if there is no other water for a hundred miles?”

So frazzled, and confused was the mare that she didn't even notice that there was a different set of hoof prints in the mud. Only when she neared her home and saw a group of five bipedal creatures standing near her hut did she realize that something was wrong. Stopping, and ducking behind one of the larger trees, she took several long, deep breaths in order to still her beating heart.

With her burgeoning desire to panic now quashed, Rarity was able to think logically. She wanted to go out and greet them immediately but decided to observe them a little closer first in order to get a better judge of them. Peeking back around the side she noted that four of them were standing there, inspecting her hut rather closely.

The largest of them was a towering creature with strange greenish skin, a powerful-looking jaw, and quills instead of hair. They had sharp, avian-like features, four clawed fingers, and an equal number of pointed toes on their feet. Vaguely masculine, he wore what looked to be tightly bound rags and a necklace of teeth taken from a predatory animal. Outside of that, he also had on a backpack bulging with supplies and a large staff like object with a tube at one end that he was currently leaning on.

The creature was leaning down, and touching one of Rarity’s hoof prints, tiny nostrils flaring as if inhaling her scent. His narrow, beady eyes then flicked up to her sleeping quarters, taking in her rather primitive setup. He was joined in this task by another of his kind, a much stouter, slightly shorter variant of the same species.

Next to him were a pair of creatures that seemed to be of a completely different species, who were presumably of higher intelligence. While the birdlike quill-headed creatures were more bestial in their garb, these two were more civilized. Though one had the bearing of a warrior, the other carried himself much the way Twilight did when struck by a bout curiosity.

The taller of the two wore what looked like plate armor, only it was of a design that Rarity had never seen before. Thick, yet not overly so, they had an elegance to them that the fashionista couldn't help but find intriguing. She pushed that thought out of her mind though and focused on his appearance, namely the weapons he had on him.

The most notable of which was another long tube-like thing that he had slung casually over one shoulder. The other was more easily recognized as a sword though it was slightly bent and longer than any Rarity had seen before. Both of these items bore the same symbol his armor did, that of a circle with a smaller circle and a line through it.

Thankfully his helmet was held loosely at his side, allowing Rarity to see that he had grizzled blue features. He had the kind of appearance one only gained after spending years in the royal guard and fighting plenty of bad folks. His eyes were dark, and his face was scarred, though Rarity could sense that the slit running down the center where his nose should be was natural.

He shared his overall appearance with the shorter, unarmored companion currently crouching down inside Rarity’s hut. A heavy brown work outfit of some kind covered nearly every inch of his body, from his short neck to his hooved feet. Rarity wondered if it also hid his face, though she couldn't see for certain given her current angle.

Deciding to make her first appearance a good one, she straightened her spine, ran her hoof through her mane, and stepped forward. She only managed the single one, however, as a rough-clawed hand gripped the back of her neck. The pony was then yanked into the air with a confused yelp of surprise, a water jug spilling out in the process.

A flurry of yips, whistles, and deeper noises that sounded more akin to the type of speech Rarity knew was shouted. In an instant the young pony found herself dangling above the ground, held in the rather cruel grasp of one of the avians. She also had several of the tube-like things pointed at her, and a rather intrigued-looking short, hooved creature peering at her.

The shouting died quickly, and all eyes went to the shorter-hooved one as if waiting for orders. He then stepped forward, pulled a small metallic device from his pocket, and began to speak into it. After a moment, the device spat out a blurb of what sounded like words, only in a completely different language. Not like it helped, as Rarity didn't understand any of what had been spoken until that point.

“I don't know what in Equestria you are trying to say but it had best be an apology for rifling through my things and handling me like a sack of potatoes,” Rarity demanded somewhat nervously.

The eyes of the lone non-warrior lit up, and after a few swift clicks, the machine in his hand spoke.

“State your name, profession, and planet of origin,” spat an uncomfortably monotone voice.

“Rarity Belle, fashion designer, and Equis. I think,” Rarity paused. “I don't think there is much agreement on the name amongst the various races of the world.”

There was a long pause, where the two hooved bipeds spoke to one another in their own language. During which Rarity caught very few words, though one of them was gue’la. It was spat with disdain several times by the larger of the two while the other used gues’vesa in a much softer tone.

“Would you kindly unhand me?” Rarity asked, squirming. “Your nails are really starting to hurt.”

The smaller one waved at the avian creature dismissively, prompting Rarity to get dropped to the ground. The fall wasn't far, but it served to dishevel the already bitter mare even more than she had been. She glared up at the towering creature before harumphing and beginning the process of fixing the disaster that was her mane.

She didn't get far before the shorter-hooved creature spoke into the box. Which then paused, before spitting out what he had presumably said, only in a language that Rarity understood.

“What is your species, and how do you speak low gothic?” Asked the machine.

“I am a pony, but to be more specific, I am a unicorn. As for your other question I do not speak gothic. I speak Equestrian,” Rarity declared while continuing to fix her mane.

The two hooved creatures spoke for a minute, pausing to converse with the tallest of their avian companions. After a bit of back and forth, they seemed to decide on a course of action. The smaller hooved creature stepped forward and knelt down to Rarity’s rather diminutive level.

“What do you know of humans?” asked the box.

“Only that they supposedly lived on our planet thousands of years ago, but I find the entire theory rather preposterous,” Rarity replied. “If they did live there, then we would have found some trace of them.”

That seemed to confuse, and intrigue the male, who spoke quickly.

“Is your species related to that of the equine?” Inquired the machine.

Rarity scoffed. “We are equines. Is that not obvious?”

The moment Rarity stopped talking another question was launched her way by the monotone voice. “What is that tattoo on your side?”

“It is not a tattoo, it is a cutie mark. Which I received from harmony for realizing my true purpose in life,” Rarity declared.

Upon her words being translated, several of the creatures snickered or shared barking laughter. The more inquisitive of them merely leaned forward, his brow tightening.

“How did you get here to Ankila Three?” asked the box.

“Long story short, Discord, the god of chaos flung me across space at the behest of his new friend Tirek,” Rarity explained.

That seemed to garner confusion, amusement, and alarmingly, fear. Mostly from the avian creatures who tightened their grip on what Rarity assumed was some manner of weapon.

“What is Discord?” pressed the machine.

“He is a bully, a ruffian, and a jerk,” Rarity declared, puffing out her chest. “He thought to defeat us by throwing me through some horrible dimension of lightning and monsters but I survived. And eventually, I will find my way home so I can help my friends best him as well as his new ally.”

That seemed to take a bit longer to translate, and once it had been completed, the meaning was seemingly debated for a while. Thankfully it didn't take long, and when the issue was settled, the avian creatures were a bit more relaxed.

“How long have you been here?” Rarity was asked.

“A few weeks, I think,” Rarity hummed and scratched her chin. “The days here are very short, so it's hard to mark the passage of time.”

“Have you seen a large green reptile?”

Rarity nodded and pointed down in the direction of the lake. “In the lake. Only a few minutes ago. I’ve only seen it the one time.”

That made the group a bit happier, and a pair of the avians exchanged a grin.

“Could you point us to where you saw it?”

“I could, though I’m curious as to why you wish to locate such a fearsome creature,” Rarity inquired back.

“It is what's called a crotalid in the gue’la tongue. It is also invasive, and has evaded our trackers for weeks using the deep underground tunnels that connect the majority of the lakes on this moon,” explained the smaller-hooved biped.

“Then it must be relocated to its natural habitat immediately,” Rarity proclaimed.

“Yes, relocated,” murmured the box, as if the speaker had not intentionally said that.

“Perhaps you would like some assistance in this matter?” Rarity inquired, smiling widely. “I could point you in the right direction and in return maybe you could bring me back with you. I was getting ever so lonely out here all on my own.”

Though her charms went ignored by everyone present, the offer of assistance piqued the avian creature’s interest. The ensuing conversation was brief, and one sided with the taller hooved biped reluctantly agreeing with his companions. The smaller of the two creatures stood back up and spoke one last time into the machine.

“That is agreeable. Lead the way, Rarity Belle,” announced the box.

Author's Note

This is part of the 12 days of christmas, head over here to keep track of all the cool stuff coming down the pipes. If you want to ensure I can afford to keep doing stuff like this, consider backing me over on Subscribestar or Patreon.