When Twilight woke again, the immense pain in her bones she'd felt such a small time ago had been reduced to a slight ache. She could breathe easy, and her heartbeat had quieted. Her body no longer felt cold or numb, and she was surrounded by the comforting warmth of a mass of blankets. Twilight sighed into the soft layers of coziness, tightening her grasp and shoving her nose into them. And then a realization hit her like an anvil.
She sat right up with a gasp. Clenching her eyes shut, she lifted a shaky hoof to eye level, praying that she wasn't what she thought she was. A daring eye peeked open, expecting to see a fuzzy, lavender hoof. Nope.
In place of her hoof was a long, black arm.
Twilight squeaked, she was human, but she was different from the Canterlot High students. Opening both eyes, she examined her surroundings. She was in a large tent, a lantern providing an eerie, but sufficient lighting. Besides the bedding she rested on, the tent had a tiny, crude desk, notes pinned everywhere, a clunky lighter, and...a hoof-er-handmirror.
Still weak, Twilight futilely reached for the mirror, and a very familiar spark of energy ensnared it for a moment. Relief overwhelmed the girl, happy she at least had some magical control over her situation. Curiously, she reached behind her back, feeling the comforting touch of her feathery wings.
Turning her attention back to the mirror, Twi focused every bit of energy in her body on grabbing it. Her horn sparked up, slowly levitating the mirror towards her. As soon as it was within reach, she desperately gripped it in her strange, thin fingers, eager to reveal her face.
It was so much more different than what she had seen in the school.
Her skin wasn't purple, rather a shade of white that mirrored the color of bleached bones. Her eyes were more rounded, and filled with white and a faint gray dot that would make her seem blind anywhere but here. Her horn and wings retained their color, but it was much more pale than it was in Equestria. Her ma-hair was darker, to the point where it was nearly black, and her highlights were the only real color on her body.
With a trembling hand, she tenderly touched each facial detail, feeling the different curves and shapes of the skull underneath.
Throwing off several layers of blankets, Twi looked down at her new body. It was tall and sylphlike, like at Canterlot High, but the clothing was much different.
She wore a white button-up shirt, with sleeves that opened up at the elbow. Tied around her waist was a black ribbon, which was done into a bow in the back. Below it, Twilight had been dressed in a sapphire skirt that reached just beyond her knees. Her legs were covered by viridian tights embellished with white stripes. Next to the bedding, she noticed that a pair of white slippers with short, tapered heels was set next to her bedding.
The princess felt a wave of nausea rush over her. What happened? How was she here? All she remembered was that she was in her castle, with her notes and-
Wait a Second...
Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight noticed that the lantern on the desk was unlit.
She nervously looked around the area, and behind her was a most peculiar sight.
A ghost, just about half Twilight's size, had been the source of the strange glow. It watched her with wide, unblinking eyes. It had the appearance of the bed sheet ghosts Spike would dress as to scare people. He always failed, but this one succeeded in that area. On its head was a dead, drooping rose. Fitting.
The princess shrieked at the top of her lungs, panicked at the spirit.
A woman burst into the tent, a rough-hewn spear in her dark hands. "What? What? What?"
The woman's voice, she was one of the two who found her.
Her build was a little more wiry than Twi's, almost anemic. Her hair was black, and jutted out from the sides of her head. The woman wore a shirt was like Twilight's, but it was as red as an apple. She had black tights and a rigid, black skirt.
Unthinking, Twilight pointed at the undead creature. "GHOST!" she screamed.
The woman dropped the spear, her lips curving into a smile. She snickered and covered her mouth, stifling her laughter.
The ghost glided over to the woman, but it kept its staring eyes focused on Twilight.
"Hello, Abigail," She said.
The woman approached Twilight. "You don't need to be scared of Abby. She's friendly."
"Abigail?"
The ghost waved her wispy tail in greeting. "Yeah, she's a friend. She won't touch you unless you harm her sister. I will say, something about you caught her attention."
Twilight wanted to ask more questions about the ghost, about everything. Then she noticed the woman's eyes piercing through her, as though she was looking right through her. "You've been out since we found you three days ago. We were scared you weren't gonna wake up. I'm glad to see you did. When it comes to this place, the more the merrier. I'm Willow, and you are?"
Twilight bit her lip. "T-Twilight."
"Well met. You good to stand?"
Her bones creaked with weakness. "I don't know."
Willow offered Twilight her hand. "C'mon, I'll help you. If need be, I think we can have a walking cane."
She took her hand, her wobbly legs whimpered from disuse and her knees kept buckling beneath her, and Willow practically had to carry the girl to keep her from falling.
"We..." Twi grunted.
Willow smiled. "I know, right? I remember seeing Wendy for the first time. Thought...thought I was alone a long time before her. Others just...trickled in. We found each other, made a camp."
Outside, Twi was grateful for a fresh breath of air. It was the middle of the night, a fire blazed in the center of a circle of tents. Different people were scattered about, each doing different things.
Willow set the princess down on a log near the flame. "I'll find a cane, get some food in you. Look around if you can. You've got a day or so to rest up, acquaint yourself with the others. Then we'll get you doing...survival stuff."
The former mare sighed as Willow and Abigail ran off. She hadn't even been conscious for a half-hour, and she already missed her home.
She'd kill to go home.
And she'd still be there if it weren't for that experiment...
It hurt her head to think of it right now.
"Hiya, miss!" The voice was tiny. Like a little colt's, but mixed with a noise comparable to crumpling paper.
Twilight turned and squealed. Eight, yellow eyes peered at her. The creature was the size of Abigail, maybe a bit taller. It was fuzzy and black, with a head like a spider. With its color blending it into the background, she didn't even notice it was there.
"What are you!?" Twilight squeaked.
The creature tilted his head, as if confused by her question. "8 and a half." he replied. A child.
"What's your name? Mine is Webber. Why do you have wings? What is that thingie on your head?" It was question after question. Twilight smiled. His appearance may have scared her half to death, but his demeanor reminded her too much of the crusaders.
The second their little faces popped up in her head, she felt sad again. What if she couldn't replicate the experiment's results? If she could, what if it led somewhere worse? This place, it was unlikely to have any portal to Equestria as the school did. What if she couldn't ever get home?
What if she never saw any of her friends again?
Twilight's attention was swayed towards a mauve flower beside Webber. It was similar to Abigail's, but in full bloom and...floating.
"What's that flower for, little one?" Twilight asked, interrupting Webber's barrage of queries.
He lifted it up. "It's Wendy's. It makes Abby come and protect us. She always said she'd "cut me" if we touched it, but she went missing just before we found you. So did Mr. Wilson. We don't want her to lose it, so We're watching it until we find her. Abby seems fine with it, though. She likes us, and always protects us along with Wendy."
Willow came back with a fancy, gold walking cane and a bowl of something hot and fragrant. Twi's stomach groaned with hunger, and her mouth welled with saliva.
"Run along, kid. She's probably tired, so maybe save the questions for later. Okay?"
"Yes, Miss Willow." and Webber ran off with his flower.
"What happened to him? Why does he have a spider for a head?" Twi gagged.
The woman sat down next to her, passing the bowl of stew onto Twi's lap. "He was eaten by a spider, and he...well, he died. Wigfrid found his skull, buried it with the rest of him after some searching. She thought it would put him to rest, but..." She glanced at the child, who played with a yoyo some yards away. "The kid's a miracle, or freak if you want to say it that way. I'm not sure whether I should call it science, magic, or both, but his grave was struck by lightning. Just like that, he was up and about."
"Tha...That's sad." Twilight scooped some of the warm goo up in her hand and ate it. Her mouth filled with a savory, coppery taste that she's never tasted before. "So, you didn't start out here? None of you?"
"We're just like you, from another world. Tricked by Maxwell, and thrown in here for his amusement."
Was he the man that warned her? The princess was about to ask about him, only to catch herself. They'd think she was crazy if she told them all about Equestria, even with her embellishments. She needed to prove she was capable. Maybe find some things out about these people, and the world they hailed from. Not to mention get used to her new form.
Then she'd say everything.
Everything about Equestria,
and who she really was,
and about the experiment...
Twilight sipped away the last few drops of the stew, glad she had something to fill her belly.
"Hope you savored that meal, hunting all the different creatures here isn't easy. Gonna have to live off berries and carrots, for the most part."
Meat. Twilight gagged. "Th-that was-"
"Honestly, I'm not sure what was in it. Rabbit, maybe."
The mare leaned over and vomited.
Nevermind, Willow should know now. Like, right now!