Lost in Mysticia

Many hours later...
In the cell Pipp was looking at a stone bowl in disgust. It was filled with soggy oats, mushed vegetable and bread. Well, the guards did try serving her meat, but she threw it out the window in disgust. The food was tasteless and had a lumpy, sticky texture, and she hated it but she had to eat.

“Why me...” She sobbed. She had recently tried texting Sunny, Zipp or Haven... The message was saying it was sending and loading but it never did. But Pipp wasn’t giving up! She was going to find a way home, somehow!

Her face was soaked with tears. Mane was a total mess, coat was mattered and filthy. She let the tears fall as she looked at photos of her friends. Then her phone dinged. Indicating a message was sent to her.

”Wh-how?” Pipp questioned. “How is that possible!?” She exclaimed then realised she should be grateful! It must be someone from home! She went into the message to find it was from the group chat between her, Jazz and Rocky. “Huh?” She questioned then realised the incoming message was still loading.

“C’mon! Load!” Pipp grew impatient as she watched the ‘message loading’ icon on her screen. She never had to wait for a message to load this long before. Well, it should be worth it, right?

Earlier...

The pain was long gone now as Jazz walked, it seemed the sun was setting. She was scared still, odd noises filled the air as the sky darkened. Clouds were gathering, indicating rain. Hopefully the rain wasn’t going to be too unpleasant. She looked up slightly at the clouds. Strangely they had a blue glow to them. It was odd, everything here was odd.

She had no shelter, and it was going to rain! But on the bright side it would be like having a shower, and she dreaded those twigs, leaves and mud in her mane.

Her legs were so muddy, she couldn’t bear it but she knew she had to. Her fur was dirtier than she ever remembered it being. Her sash was rubbing dirt against her as she walked. Jazz hated every second of it but knew she had to keep moving.

Soon a drop of water hit her withers, and it was oddly colder than she expected.

”What the?” Ethan muttered under his breath.

Jazz felt the rain as it came down, it was freezing! Colder than any rain she had even felt! Like someone was pouring icy water on her, minus the ice. She decided to run for it. Ethan followed her, worried. It felt like snow in the form of rain! There was a hallowed out tree up ahead, so that’s where she ran into to get out of the rain. Her body shivered from the cold as she sat on dirt in the hollowed out part of the tree. She leaned against the dirt wall. Here she didn’t mind the dirt, she was already filthy.

She was cold, wet, scared and dirty! She cuddled the clam on her forelegs. She wanted comfort, she felt like she was fighting hopelessness.

“Pipp... Izzy... Where are they....” Her voice cracked like she was about to cry.

”We might find them soon...” Ethan responded as Jazz looked at an image on her phone. Her eyes watered as she stared at the screen with concern for herself and her friends.

She soon sighed, wiping her eyes. But then a bit of hope sparked within her as she gasped. Maybe there was a way to contact them!

Jazz quickly went into the video app on her phone and made the view face her. After a deep breath she started to film.

“Hey, you may be wondering where I am? Well... Izzy showed me and Pipp this thing that she had found. Out of curiosity we opened it up, and we seem to have been transported to some strange world... The clam isn’t sending me back for some reason... But I’ll try and find Pipp and Izzy and get home, okay?” She sighed, “I miss you...” She said softly as a tear formed and went down her cheek.

She stopped the video and went to send it to her contacts. So she went into a group chat in the texting app that involved her, Pipp, Rocky and a few others. Ethan watched as she sent it to the group chat. Both of them watched it load. But it kept loading...

“Please send...” Whispered Jazz as she watched the message load. It just kept saying It was loading but it wasn’t sending.... Defeated, shhe put her phone down as she cuddled the clam box. She curled up, stomach on the ground, tail around the clam and forelegs under her muzzle.

”Guess we’re stuck here...” Ethan responded before curling up against Jazz.

Jazz started to sniffle a little as tears ran down her cheek. She dug her muzzle into her legs, hiding it slightly as she felt the tears come. Her stomach hurt as she felt homesick, she didn’t know how to get home. Or if she could even get home. More tears came as images of home came to her.

Places and ponies she feared that she would never see again...

She never got to say goodbye...

Izzy had more luck. She found herself wandering down the hall of an ancient looking castle. The walls were marble lined with gold. The grounds was beautifully polished and shiny, she could even see her own reflection in it! In the centre was a red rug that went down the hallways. Each door had glowing crystals on either side. The windows were tall, some were even stained glass!

A strange reptilian creature led her through the hallways to a single door. The creature’s muzzle was long and resembled a raptor’s. It was wearing a gold chest plate and a guard hat. The body of the creature was like a raptor but it stood more upright. On each cheer was a tusk. There was a spike on the back of its legs and arms, also it had two antlers on the head. The hair was covered by the helmet.

Izzy knew the species in the place were called ‘leviters’. The guard was one of many of his kind. Apparently Izzy was the first sapient ‘non-leviter’ that entered Antletopia for generations. Antletopia was the name of the city, by the way.

“This is your bedroom, Mrs Moonbow. Enjoy your stay,” The guard bowed as he opened the door for her.

“Thank you!” She thanked as she walked in, “Oh my gosh!” She squealed, “It’s amazing!”

There was a large bed in the middle. The pillows and blanket seemed to have been made from a fine silk. The floor was marbled, but it was also covered by an aquamarine mat. The walls were printed with paintings of trees and plants over a concrete wall.

A window was on each side of the bed. The windows had pure white curtains decorated with flowers. Beneath the window were some drawers. There was even a bookcase in the space on the right wall, it was filled with plenty of books.

On the left wall was a large glass door that opened up to a balcony that gave a view of the kingdom and the surrounding land. Not as much of a great view as the King’s- Well, the History Master’s balcony but it was still a breathtaking view.

Izzy was too busy admiring the room that she didn’t notice the guard had left after saying, “Let any of us know if you need something. Dinner is coming shortly.”

”I love it!” Screamed Izzy as she jumped onto the bed. She then took out her phone in the bag she had with her, she was worried about her friends. The king said he didn’t know where they were, and he seemed really surprised to see her, he even smiled. But on the bright side he said he’s send some leviters out to search for them.

Izzy, still feeling guilty walked onto the balcony. She looked into the night sky. It looked far different from back home. The moon was a slight lavender colour and had a smaller purple moon orbiting it. But the smaller one was more the size of earth’s. It was odd, but Izzy thought it was interesting.

But deep inside she felt some guilt. Her friends weren’t with her, what if they were in danger? She heard how dangerous the outside world is. She just hoped they were somewhere safe and okay.

(Sung in the tune of “Got to find a Way” since it’s a parody of that song)

I must go on my way

Cause my plan went astray

Why the magic clam make this mistake

Could’ve it had some sorta headache?

Alone, alone

Division upon us

Where did you guys go to?

Throughout Mysticia

I fear I’ll get lost searching for you

Alone, alone...

The sun rose peacefully, Pipp was laid in the cell, sniffiling. Her eyes were red, as well as having bags under them as she was crying most the night. She shook as she got up, scared for what was going to happen for her. She heard the creak of the door and gasped as her ear twitched. Sweat went down her face as the door opened slowly.

It wasn’t Bloodfist. It was a different skyter. This one was shorter, burgundy with pink feathers and wings. She wore a yellow jacket that was opened up reveling her reptilian chest, the hood was up hiding her hair. Also, she had a duffle-bag with her. “Uh... Hello?” She greeted, strangely she didn’t have any tusks.

Pipp didn’t trust her at all, she looked like him. Her breathing was rapid as she stared at it. She opened her mouth, trying to speak.

”Who are you!?” Pipp shouted, “You aren’t using me for anything!”

The Skyter took a step back, shocked but concerned. “Hey, hey... It’s okay, Pipp is it?” She asked as she moved her hands to gesture Pipp that it was okay and that she was safe.

”How did you know my name!? Who are you!?” Pipp shouted.

”My brother, Bloodfist told me. My name’s Skybreaker. You may call me Sky if you wish. It’s a pleasure to meet you...” She said softly.

”Likely story!” Pipp scoffed, “I just want to go home, you understand?! You and your stinking ugly brother won’t enslave me any longer!” Pipp’s voice cracked. “I-I just wanna see my friends and family again! I hate it here!” Pipp cried, “It’s ruining me!” She screamed.

Sky sighed, she reached into her pockets. “I offered to bring you breakfast. You don’t deserve to eat such bad food...”

Pipp scoffed and nodded, “Exactly!”

Sky took some stuff out of her bag. Weird looking fruits and vegetables. They were in many different shapes and colours. She even took out some mushrooms and what looked like cheese but purple. “I heard that you threw your meat out the window last time, so I assume you don’t eat that?”

Pipp nodded slightly as her mouth watered. She was starving! That food looked far better than her dinner.

Sky continued speaking as she slipped the food through the bars, “They were gonna give you gross mush but... I offered to deliver it. But of course I threw that out and gathered food from the kitchen instead.”

Pipp hungrily grabbed what looked like a fuzzy orange but it looked like three circles stacked together. She was about to bite it but then looked at Sky with suspicions. “What’s the catch?” She asked.

Sky put a concerned face, ”There’s no catch. I don’t want to see you suffer. I want to break you out. You deserve to be free.”

Pipp nodded, “Uh-huh! You speak the truth!” Pipp exclaimed as she took the bite, she chewed it up. Tasted like jelly but with edible seeds that tasted like peanuts. She swallowed her bite, ignoring the taste. It felt satisfying to eat decent food after a long time!

Sky got on her knees to the same level as Pipp, “I know you’re scared and I know you don’t trust me... But I won’t hurt you, okay?”

”I suppose..” Pipp sighed, “But I still don’t trust you...”

Sky wanted to get to know her a bit more, “So... What are your friends like? I’m sure they are as amazing as you!”

“They are-“ Pipp was about to say something but then she shook her head, “Wait! Why should I have to tell you? You’re just going to hunt them down! Well you almost got me there but nope! All I wanted was to go home!”

Sky looked down, “You’re right. I don’t blame you, sorry for asking...”

Pipp also sighed, she didn’t say anything. Then a loud voice shouted, “Skybreaker!?”

”Oh!” Sky popped up, “Sorry Pipp, I gotta go! I’ll visit you as often as I can! I promise!” She said before rushing out the door.

Pipp hungrily ate the food, satisfying her hunger. She was thankful Sky was kind but can she really be trusted?
Deep inside Pipp hoped Sky was on her side. She dearly hoped she wasn’t faking her kindness. Any help would be appreciated but she knew to be careful about who she trusts in a place like this. That’s what Zipp would do... Right?

Ethan was the first one up. He moved as he detected something large outside. Jazz was still asleep, looking peaceful so he was cautious to not wake it her up.

His long needle peaked out from the hallow just to a massive creature. It looked like a butterfly, but it had large spikes down its back along with a tail. Also, it was sucking blood out from a smaller creature.

”Ew...” He responded, slightly surprised as it flew away.

Jazz let out a yawn as she stretched, “Good morning...” She rubbed her eyes and sighed, “Still here... Well, at least we survived the night...” She yawned again
Wishing she had packed some of those mushrooms from yesterday. “Suppose we should get going, eh?” She asked Ethan.

”Yeah...” He softly agreed.

She snatched the clam, put her phone it its place in her sash and started to walk. Of course she moved slowly and cautiously, hoping it would be easier. Noises of creatures in pain were everywhere. But she kept moving hoping it would be safer.

Jazz was getting tired of this place. She had to run from another giant fluffy snake thing!

After a long walk, and a quick snack on some food that she knew was safe from seeing other creatures from eating it. She found herself looking at some mud. No way around it or over...

Her hooves were already filthy but she despised walking through it. She hated the noises and how it feels against her fur.
“Gross...” She mutted under her breath as she put her hoof down. She watched her whole forehoof get submerged in the mud. It was so cold and squishy.

As soon as the cold wetness soaked through the fur just above her hoof she quickly took it out. “It’s all wet, cold and squishy-“ She complained to herself as she looked down at the gloomy, bubbling mud. Knowing she had to pass through to try and get home.

“Ugh-“ Jazz shivered at the thought of walking through the mud. She couldn’t see where it ended. “C’mon Jazz... This is not the first time you walked through this stuff...“ Jazz groaned as she lowered her hoof into the mud, her breathing was heavy as she felt nervous. What kind of dangers could be hiding in the unforgiving mud?

Knowing she had to deal with it she walked farther in. Forcing her last three legs into the wet, cold, squishy mud. It covered her hooves completely. She loathed it so much! But knew she had to keep going. Standing there and being grossed out was not going to get her home!

Each step felt worse. Wanting to get out as soon as she could, she picked up her pace. Her hooves splashed mud upwards as she walked as quickly as she could. Splatters of mud hit her stomach and occasionally her face as she hurried through, wanting to be out as soon as possible!

Much to her dismay the mud slowly got a bit deeper to the point it was almost halfway up her leg. Jazz was about to wipe some mud from her face before pausing at that sight of her leg. It was hard to even see her fur colour, it was so wet and thick!

She could not believe the wet, mud-covered leg she was looking at was her very own! Mud dripped from it as she stared in disgust. Not wanting to see her muddy hoof anymore, she put it back down.

“How am I supposed to-“ She whimpered in distress, “I have to keep going!” She told herself.

After about ten minutes of transversing some muddy and rocky ground the mud got more watery to the point it was just dirty water.

She had walked through the wet for a while before she stopped under a low branch and looked into the distance. The clam was on her back, so she could walk properly. Ethan sniffed around for something familiar. Nothing was familiar.

“Seems the rainforest ends... Here?” She questioned, there was no rainforest seen up ahead. Just water with long grass poking out in some points. A marshland, but with muddier looking water. “I hope we find some help soon... I don’t know how much longer I can handle the wild unknown...”

Jazz then felt something small grab onto her leg. “Huh?” She questioned as she lifted it. It was a strange frog-like creature with a long tail and a long anteater-like snout. As soon as she saw it, she let out a-

“Eeek!” Quickly she shook her hoof in shock until it fell into the water as her heart raced, “Ew-ew-ew!“ She didn’t know if it was harmless or not but she wasn’t taking chances! It was terrifying! “Ew!”

”What was that thing!?” She shouted to herself, heart racing as she looked into the filthy water. Jazz’s ears drooped as she looked into the distance after a nervous gulp. Then she looked down to observe the reflection of her staring back, scared and filthy. After letting out a few breathes she looked back into the distance.

“Here we go...” She told herself as she started walking. Ethan watched the clam as she walked, to make sure it wouldn’t fall off her back. Water splashed around as she walked. Wasn’t as bad as the mud but was still unpleasant. It was cold and she could feel things touching her legs.

Harmless small fish bumped into her a few times, and plants life tickled her legs as it brushed past. But she kept moving. But the water was getting deeper and deeper as she progressed. That was not a good sign.

“Thats...Thats not good...“ Jazz commented as soon as the water-level reached just below her shoulder. It only seemed it was going to get deeper further on. Too deep to walk through.

She looked around, there were a few trees around, but not many. They resembled willow trees, but taller with thicker branches. Also, the leaves were more of an aquamarine or turquoise colour.

Jazz didn’t waste much at them, she required a way across the deep water! Well, with her luck she found a log casually floating near some fallen trees. Looked as if a storm hit them, gee, how convenient to the story.

She hurried over to it and placed the clam on it before holding on with both forelegs. Jazz struggled to balance a little, the log rolled, and she almost fell off. But after a bit she managed to get a good enough grip on it where it was totally stable and wouldn’t roll due to the weight on it.

“Please work...” She whispered.

Hoping the plan would work she started to kick her hind legs as if she was galloping. It was working! It was slow, but it was working! She didn’t need to worry about the deep water anymore!

After a while of kicking, she stopped for a break and catch her breath. Nearby the water started bubbling, the water there started to get a bit muddier too.

Jazz took no notice as she looked around her. Took a while before she noticed the rapid bubbling just in time to see the massive creature suddenly emerge from the water.

Holding her mouth open in surprise was a mistake as it spewed out mud into the air from its mouth as it went up. Mud went everywhere, including on Jazz and in her mouth.

”Ack- ugh-“ She spat out the muddied water, “I’m covered in- Oh yuck! It’s in my mouth-“ She kept spitting it out.

The large creature did not seem hostile. It was very spiky tho, and the body resembled a slug with its lower half emerged in the water.

Ethan hissed at it and spat goo as Jazz wiped the mud from her face the best she could. “That was extremely unpleasant...” Jazz stated, wishing she knew that it would spit mud out.

The mud tasted all grainy and just plain gross. Soon some buzzing could be heard, loud buzzing.

“Uh...” Ethan went to get Jazz’s attention by tapping her.

”What is it, Ethan-“ Jazz gasped as soon as she noticed what it was. She let out a small scream, “Uh-uh-oh!” She exclaimed, some sweat ran down her face as her heart raced.

They looked like wasps but had legs like a spider and two sets of eyes. Plus a beak-like mouth. Plus they looked absolutely vile! One of the mud slug things jumped up and swallowed one whole but the wasp things were targeted on Jazz and Ethan!

“We gotta get moving!” Ethan shouted as Jazz started kicking as hard as she could, breathing heavily and loudly as she did. Ethan swam alongside her in his blue form. Jazz went as fast as she could, whimpering and exclaiming in fear! The buzzing got louder and louder! A few of the slug things jumped up, eaither distracting Jazz or eating one of the wasp beasts. As she kicked her hind legs one of the slugs jumped up so close to Jazz that it knocked the log, causing her to almost fall off!

”Aah!” Jazz exclaimed as she quickly got it balanced agin. “Woah!” It was hard and her heart raced as she felt horrified but she didn’t stop.

“Eep!” She kept kicking! Until she felt a sudden sharp pain in her back. “Ack!” One of them had gotten her with their stinger!

”N-no...” Jazz whimpered as she kept kicking. Getting slower and slowly as her vision got fuzzier and fuzzier. Her body started to feel heavy as her grip on the log weakened. “M-must stay ... Awake...” She said before fainting. Allowing her to go under the water as she passed out. Just as that happened, an arrow impaled It. In shock, the others flew away, scared.

”Yeah, you buzzwings! Get away!” The voice belonged to a reptilian creature that stood on his hind legs. He had no wings or horns. But he had short brown hair and wore a baggy blue shirt, plus loose white shorts. Also, he was a greenish colour with a dark green back. He seemed young, about 9-13.

He went to jump in the water, “I got you!” He went it and grabbed Jazz and pulled her up, so she was above the surface, “You okay?” He asked before noticing the stinger. “Ugh, you were stung!”

He grunted as he struggled to haul her on some land that was out of the water. He then grabbed the buzzwing he shot. Ethan stared and growled at him.

“Your friend is gonna be okay, the stingers only cause their victims to faint. Never seen you around, are you lost? You’re not from here, are you?.”

”Hmm...” Ethan thought to himself as he observed him, “How do I know you won’t eat her?”

There was a pause.

“Good question... But I’m not really dumb, I don’t hunt critters if I don’t know what they are, or if they aren’t safe to eat. I have no idea what she is, so I don’t know if she’s safe to eat! Also, she has hooves like a Hooftrot... And we don’t eat anything with hooves since they are like livestock-“

He whistled, and a bigger critter ran towards him. It was horselike but had a horn on the muzzle. Also, it had large hooves. Spikes were along the back legs and the tail was long with feathers . Instead of a mane it had feathers down the neck and head.

At the bottom of the jaw, it had another just of feathers. It was a white colour with lavender feathers and pink hooves. Ethan curiously got out of the water, turning back into his white form.

“Good girl...” He reached into the saddle bag and took out one of those weird tailed frog things with the long snouts that Jazz encountered earlier.

“Thank goodness she’s still alive...” Reef said in relieved as he monitored her breathing. “This should help the injury...”

It splurged gel onto her back, where the stinger was. Almost immediately she violently started coughing up the water in her. It hurt in the chest badly, and she was confused on what had just happened.

She wheezed as she tried to process where she was and what had happened. She slowly looked at the mysterious creature that saved her. Jazz blinked a few times before stepping back in shock, wondering what he was. “Uhhhh-Ahhh!?”

He grinned slightly, showing Jazz his sharp teeth. Then she looked at the weird horse-like creature next to him. “Uh...” At a loss of words, she looked at Ethan hoping for some sort of explanation.

She finally found some words. ”Wh-what’s going on? Who are you?” Jazz asked, nearly shaking in fear.

”It’s okay, I’m not gonna eat you, I just saw two sentient critters in trouble-“ He , not realising he used a wrong word. “My name is Reef, what’s yours? And what are you? I ne’er seen your kind before.”

Ethan responded to the question that was meant for Jazz before she could answer it. “For me, I have no idea, to be honest. As for her she can explain...”

Jazz explained, a bit confused. “Well... Uh... Jazz- and... That’s Ethan...” She said before she sighed, “We’re actually not from this world... At least I don’t think so. My friend, Izzy showed me this thing that she found. I opened it and now where I am... Trying to find out if I can get home or not...”

Jazz had been reaching for the box as she spoke. Thinking it was next to her before she looked. “Eh-“ She looked around her for the box on the floor somewhere. She let out a loud scream, “Wh-where-“

“N-no-“ She then gasped as she frantically looked. “Uh-oh- no!“ she started to sweat, “No, I lost it!”

Tears appeared in her eyes. Believing she had just lost any chances of getting home. “That was likely my way home! What have I done!?”

Jazz looked into the distance, eyes opened wide in horror. Breathing heavily as she held her hooves on her head in panic.

”I’ll get it!” Ethan exclaimed before jumping into the muddy water. Jazz watched nervously, hoping for the best.

”Interesting...” Reef noted as he looked at Jazz, she looked so odd to him. “So, you and Ethan were transported here together?”

“I-I-“ Jazz gulped, ears flat in fear. “W-Well yeah...” She paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. “A-and two others, actually- W-well, I assume Pipp and Izzy ended up here like I have-“

Her voice cracked a bit as she nervously brushed a hoof against the dirty grassy ground. “But it seems we were separated from each other somehow... I’m looking for them...” She shouted in panic, “But I don’t know where they are! Or where to look! Or if they are even here!”

Reef felt remorse... “Gee... Sounds serious... You’ll be facing a world you aren’t familiar too... Assuming you’re telling the truth, of course.” Reef started to think, “I know! You can stay with us for a while! Until you find your friends and a way home!” He exclaimed.

”Really?” Asked Jazz, “Are you sure your family would be okay with that?” Her breathing was still panicked, “I don’t wanna mess with anything.”

”They have to be! It’s far too dangerous for someone like you out there!” He stated before noticing something on Jazz’s ear as she was taking deep breaths.

“R-really!? Thank you so much!” Then realised he was staring at her. “Why are you looking at me like that? You’re freaking me out- even more than I already am-” She started to look more stressed as she stepped back in fear.

”There’s a little something on your ear...” He noted as he pointed with a slight smile.

Jazz swayed her head, she was wondering why one ear felt heavier than the other. She assumed it had something to do with almost drowning. The weight wasn’t going away, she started to panic more as she tried getting it with her hoof.

“Hold still,” He said softly as he approached Jazz. He gently took it from her ear. It was kinda small.

The head resembled an oyster. It had four crab-like claws and six spider-like legs on its long worm-like body. She stared at it, kinda confused on why it was on her ear.

“This creature loves to eat ears!” Reef exclaimed and chuckled when Jazz’s jaw dropped. “Nah, just kiddin’” Reef tossed the whole critter into his mouth, chewed then swallowed it. “Hmm, fresh Oystorm!”

Jazz slightly cringed at the loud crunching noise of the poor thing’s body. Ignoring it. After some deep breathes, “Breathe in...” She told herself, “Breath out...” She did it until she had calmed down a bit.

She decided to ask a question. “So...” She noted, “Would anyone in the town help?”

Reef shrugged, “No clue.”

Soon enough Ethan retuned with the clam box. “Found it!” He exclaimed before a pause. “Found a dead body too!”

“Uh...” Jazz responded, slightly disgusted. She felt bad for the victim too.

Reef got on the hooftrot, “C’mon, I’ll lead the way!”

Ethan nodded and got on with Reef, and holding clam before it started to walk. Jazz followed after, looking around curiously. She hoped that Reef would let her borrow his shower, if he had one. The fields looked vast. To the north Jazz could see mountains, especially a silhouette a large one in the far distance, looked so far that it would take days to get to it. Also, behind her was the rainforest and marsh, she didn’t miss it at all!

Up ahead was going to be the key to getting home. She could just feel it!