//------------------------------// // A World Unknown // Story: Her Mistake, His Resolve // by Sacred Blade //------------------------------// The forest was almost silent, except for the occasional groan of various branches blown by the frigid wind. Snow, too, had fallen heavily upon the bare foliage, blanketing the landscape in the purest of whites. The birds have since fled south and left only a handful to stick around throughout the wintry season. An eerily silence persisted within the environment. Suddenly, a flicker of light began to coalesce at a single point a few feet above the ground. Its magenta glow grew in intensity as a translucent bubble began to surround the flickering light. It radiated such an intense heat that melted the snow upon contact. Once evaporated, it revealed the dead leaves and grass below the snow’s buildup. The light began to grow, filling the bubble with its radiance. A moment later, the light filling the bubble vanished. It left behind a bright, illuminated orb in the middle of the forest. The orb was able to maintain its form for no longer than a few seconds before it collapsed. A roaring shock wave burst outward from where the orb once was, stirring the snow and dead leaves into the air. The eruption left behind a mass of lavender with a few momentary flashes of light. The mass of lavender left behind was equine in form, but not one of this plane of existence. It was a pony, but only in appearance. Her name was Princess Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes were closed initially and her horn glowed with a magical intent but soon sparked out. That alarmed her. Immediately, her eyes shot wide open as anxiety washed over her senses. She breathed heavily with a thin coat of sweat draped over her body. The spell she used required intense concentration since it was one that careened her from her own reality. “What?” was her first inquiry. Her brows knitted in confusion as the scenery before wasn’t what she expected. “Why am I in the Everfree Forest?” came her follow up question. Twilight licked her lips as she contemplated. “Did I make a mistake? No, that’s impossible! I made three checklists so I wouldn’t!” While attempting to calm herself, she began to observe her surroundings. Her head tilted curiously towards the side whilst her eyes narrowed to take in the finer details. She thought out loud, “No, this place hardly looks like the Everfree Forest. It’s more sparse in general in comparison. Whitetail perhaps?”   Twilight then noticed there was something off with this place, but she wasn’t sure about why it was off. The more she looked, the quicker her surroundings began to set in. Twilight concluded this place had much more color than the Everfree or anywhere for the matter. One indicator was detail upon the trees. They were uncanny by comparison. That simply did not make sense to the mare. Only then did Twilight look down at herself and what she found brought a soft gasp from her lips. Her coat was no longer a simple, plain lavender color. She now had proper shading. From her view, Twilight could make out the short, fine hairs within her fur coat. Even her mane and tail possessed hairs that were not brushed perfectly, in complete detail. Thus, many ends stuck up in subtle fashion and made it seem more, well, natural. Even her wings were wonderfully detailed and lined with soft purple feathers and were no longer blanketed in a single color. Cautiously, the mare lifted a hoof to touch where her horn should be. Finding it, she exerted a sigh of relief.  However, when Twilight tried to cast her teleportation spell or any spell for that matter, she realized nothing happened. She blinked a few times before her tongue hung limply out the side of her muzzle. She concentrated on a more simple spell. Nothing happened, including the glow from her horn when attempted to cast the spell. The mare began to hyperventilate, but Twilight quickly caught herself. She began her breathing exercises, calming herself down just as quickly as the panic had begun to set in. Level headed or as close to as she will get, Twilight cried out, “No! No, no, nonono! Why can’t I feel my magic? ...Or ANY magic!?” She huffed, “Am I so magically exhausted to the point that I can’t even cast a simple light spell?” She wasn’t able to come up with any other explanation towards what was going on. The mare quickly pulled out of her reverie as a single howl was heard in the near distance. Her natural instincts made her tense up immediately. “Timberwolves!?” she screamed. There was no way she could fight them off in her current state, but she had little time to pick her brain for ideas. The form of a timberwolf came into view, except it wasn’t a timberwolf at all. It was a real eastern timber wolf.          “What is that!?” Twilight panicked, “I’ve never seen, wait no, it looks like a dog?” Yep, surely that is what it was. A friendly dog that bared its teeth and snarled at her. The hungry wolf had apparently found an easy meal. Saliva practically oozed from its muzzle. It had a pack mate with it. The other circled around the mare, but Twilight didn’t give either the pleasure of boxing her in. No sooner did she hear the guttural, hungry growl from the creatures did she bolt! Despite the exhaustion, Twilight found a second wind from her desperation to survive.  As she ran, Twilight extended her wings and tried to fly. However, she found them to be just as useless as her magic. "Ponyfeathers!" she yelled, galloping at full speed through the forest. As the two wolves chased their prey, Twilight was at a loss for what to do besides running. She had no magic or methods of self-defense. Her combat skills relied solely upon her magical ability and quick thinking. As for running and sprinting, it wasn’t her strong suit. What also didn’t help her was the fact she was lifting the actual weight of a hoof per step with an already magically drained body. Yet, she persevered since her life depended on it. Trees passed by quickly as she galloped ahead. Her hooves kicked up the powdery snow in droves. She weaved through trees and bushes in an attempt to slow down her would-be attackers, the wolves’ meal doing everything she can to stay alive. It didn’t seem to work since the predators continued to gain on her. Suddenly, a new scent struck Twilight’s senses. Smelling smoke, she saw no fire, nor a glow of one in the distance. Perhaps there was a camp of ponies nearby? A house even. Yes, shelter, it had to be! she thought. A single glance behind her urged her onward as she broke through the forest and into a clearing. Snow was thicker here and it managed to slow down the mare to a mere awkward canter if one could call it that. Terrified out of her mind, Twilight saw the fanged predators approaching her at full speed. The mare kicked up the snow and desperately tried run faster but to no avail. Through watering eyes, Twilight realized her fate was being sealed, but then she saw the log cabin near the treeline. Smoke billowed out of its chimney. It seemed so close to her that she tried and tried once more. It was in that desperation when she suddenly felt additional weight upon her back leg. One of the wolves had lunged on her, grasping a hold and biting down upon her flesh. Streaks of blood flowed from the wound, but Twilight didn’t register the pain. The adrenaline coursing through her veins seemed to temporarily numb it. Offset by the weight of the wolf, the mare tripped on her front legs and crashed into the snow. She scrambled desperately to get back up as the wolf sank its teeth deeper into her flesh.  With the second wolf closing in fast, Twilight managed to work a hind hoof under the biting wolf, kicking it off her and leaving it briefly disoriented. Taking advantage of the presented opportunity, Twilight attempted to jump back up to her hooves. Flinging snow and mud, her limbs scrambled to gain traction from the ground. It was when she began to rise, Twilight felt a jolt of pain that forced her back onto the turf. The wolf had torn a chunk of skin out of her right hind leg and scratched-up her muscles. She cried streaks of tears that flowed down her cheeks. The inevitable began to flash before her. She was a dead mare. Both wolves slowed their advance. Their growls were still present. The one that bit her down earlier leaped to finish the job it started. Twilight could only look in horror. Her front hooves were up and ready to make one last ditch effort for survival. She begged, “No! Please don’t-” Her words died in her mouth. A piercing sound of metal whizzed past her. A crack of thunder followed instantaneously. The wolf that had leapt toward her landed limply across her hooves. It was dead. The other, startled by the sound and the sight of its brethren falling, turned tail and ran back toward the forest. The mare pushed against the lifeless body until she was freed. She slowly got back onto her wobbly hooves despite the pain, making sure to not put any weight on her injured leg. She began slowly to limp toward the cabin grunt after grunt. Surely, whatever it was that killed the wolf wouldn’t do the same to her. Right? Twilight shook her head. She had no time to conjure up her intelligent thoughts. She needed to survive. Twilight got no more than a few dozen paces before she collapsed again. Her adrenaline had receded and with it came more excruciating pain. Only then, through gritted teeth, did she look at the damage the wolf caused her. “Oh sweet Celestia, there’s blood everywhere!” she said to herself in shock. As she tried to comprehend her chances of surviving, Twilight suddenly felt lightheaded. Her vision began to blur and it took everything she mentally had to keep herself conscious. She had lost enough blood in the struggle to cause her body to weaken. All she could think about doing now was resting her head upon the powdery snow for a good nap. She dropped head onto the snow finally, heaving quick, shallow breaths. Besides her huffs, Twilight heard the crunching of snow in the distance. She knew it wasn’t from a four-legged animal since the sound was too even. Sadly, Twilight was in no position to see the coming threat. Her body had given up and she was on the verge of passing out. The approach ceased and the two legs stopped just in front of her vision. Fighting with every ounce she felt left in her body, the mare turned her head to allow her eyes to follow up the legs of the bipedal creature who, apparently, was clad in heavy winter gear. Upon reaching its face, Twilight could only comprehend how flat it was compared to the bipedal creatures she knows of. To her brief relief, she could find no ill intent, but its expression appeared stoic at best. Twilight didn’t care anymore as the pull of unconsciousness began to overpower her senses. However, before she could seek the refuge within the coming darkness, she heard a single spoken word. “Damn…”