“Uhng,” I groaned, rubbing my forehead with my hoof. That creep must have drugged me, or maybe I was just too tired, I could never tell with what I have to deal with.
“Oh, you’re awake!” a familiar voice called out to what I can assume is me, not another hallucination, please not another. Opening my eyes slowly to observe my surroundings, this was Fluttershy’s hut! How?! When?! It feels so real! Those covers, the ticking of the clock, Angel’s fussy squeaks in the kitchen.
Laughing with glee, I cuddled into the thick covers of the extra bed Flutterhsy kept around the house in case of guests. “Yeah, I am!”
She came in with her usual kind smile, holding a tray of tea and biscuits in her mouth. Placing it on the table she cleared her throat and said in a stern tone,”You could have gotten yourself killed, Twilight, what were you thinking racing Rainbow Dash in such horrible weather?”
Blushing sheepishly I slunk back into the covers, my ears flat against my skull. “Sorry,” I replied with a nervous giggle. I had no idea what this was about, but I might as well just roll with it.
Through the covers I saw her roll her eyes with the same smile you’d see from sompony saying “foals will be foals”, as awkward as this situation is, I’m happy to know this isn’t a dream. And if it is, I I hope it’s heaven. “You got a letter while you were knocked out, from Trixie.”
Perking up, I never thought I would be so happy to hear that name. “Do you have it with you?”
“Spike took the liberty of looking after your home while you were here, he read it out to us,” Fluttershy replied, certainly something Spike would do.
“What was it?” I enquired, taking a bite from one of the biscuits after dunking it in the tea.
“She moved somewhere far east, Japony I think?”
Japony…
Japony…
Japony…
Opening my eyes, I stared up at the white roof of the infirmary, the curtains draped around the bed. Was this another dream? Please no, no, no.
“NO!” I screamed at the top of my lungs in a rage, crushing a section of the steel frame at the foot of the bed with my magic. “FUCK! WHY?!”
With nothing to do now but weep, I buried my face in my hooves, sobbing hysterically. This isn’t fair! Just let me dream! Just let me fucking dream!
After exhausting my tears on the relatively clean sheets, I raised my head, wiping the last few tears off of my cheeks with a sniffle. I just realised. How long was I asleep, and… my shoulder’s fine, and my wing? No time to complain or sit here wondering. Heaving myself off the bed, I pulled back the curtain, nightfall. Possibly the worst time to be out. Just to make sure, I stared at the red sky. Definitely a darker shade of crimson, how the day and night cycle still works without the princesses is a mystery to me. But it does let me know when to explore and when to not explore, so no complaints.
The distant clouds though worried me, I should get out of here. Fast! I should be fine so long as I stay above ground. Levitating a chair I threw it at the window, shattering it. Without a moment of hesitation, I grabbed my bag and threw myself out, extending my wings and flapping furiously to gain enough speed. After a few good flaps, I was gliding. With Canterlot being in the direction of those clouds, I can’t take a direct path. Looks like I’m headed east around the world.
Now that I think about it, this dream might be a message to me… not like I have a choice, but, to Japony.
Huh, another forest, the Coco Pine forest is I’m not mistaken. If I hadn’t memorised maps through books and began gaining experience from travelling all over Equestria thanks to the cutie map, I would be so lost. I have no idea what Vlaew did, but it seems to have given me renewed stamina. I should thank him when I see him again, maybe when the mirror portal is about to open in a few months. That reminds me… I might really need something faster than my wings. Good thing Japony excels in technology, might be able to repair a one pony jet there provided the tools haven’t been demolished. If that doesn’t work, I might need to meditate for a long distance teleportation spell. This could take weeks or more to gather enough stored magical energy to keep me from dying of exhaustion after the trip.
Gazing over my shoulder, the clouds were over the horizon. Wow, now that’s farther than I have ever flown away from the Exmortis without cramping my wings. Better not exert myself, just to be safe.
On second thought, that town down there might have some supplies.
Holding my wings outward, I glided downward to the small town. The buildings up close looked untouched, as if ponies still live here. Really pristine, too pristine.
My horn glowing at the ready, I landed near the town store. Whatever or whoever’s there, I’ll make sure they show themselves before I leave. "Come out or I'll weed you out!" I called out to whoever may still be there No response, that's to be expected. "I'll say it again, come out! I'm armed and not afraid to blow somepony's head off!"
No answer, this is getting ridiculous.
"I said, come out!" Losing my temper, I blasted a nearby shop sign with a beam, a smouldering hole remaining where the beam had struck.
I finally got a response, a fearful whimper. Animal perhaps? Following the sound to what appeared to be the bakery, my mind raced as to what I would encounter. Exmortis Scavengers? Animals? Survivors? Hopefully it's the animals. Poking my head around the corner through the door, I caught the scent of... freshly made bread? Did Vlaew stop by here? Taking my first step in, I was suddenly struck by a blur of magenta aura pinning me down. Struggling against it, a figure planted their limbs on my wings.
"Got you now, monster!" a voice screamed, it sounded so familiar. "I won't repeat myself again!"
My vision cleared from the assault, I was left face to face with the one pony I would not have expected to also survive this. "Trixie?" I weakly questioned.
Trixie's eyes narrowed at me, her magic choking me. "How dare you take the form of Trixie's friend!"
"Wait!" I gasped through pained breaths. "It's me, the real Twilight!" Weakly struggling, my vision was getting dimmer by the second. Thankfully she released the majority of her grip to give me a quizzical glare. "R-Remember back in Ponyville? When you had the Alicorn Amulet? I tricked you into removing it using a doorstop and my friends using paint."
"Anypony would know that, it was all over the news!" she growled, tightening her grip on me once again.
"T-Then how about way before? When we were...a-acting like jerks to you for doing your job." A cringeworthy memory of mine, but I have no choice but to mention it again. I don't want to die after finding a survivor who I can trust!
Releasing her grip completely, Trixie stepped back, covering her mouth with a hoof. "You're alive...?" she took a moment to probably take in the fact I'm the first survivor she found in years. Without warning he embraced me, sobbing hysterically.
"C-Can't breath!" I gasped, her physical grip stronger than her magic.
"Sorry," Trixie said, releasing me and wiping the tears from her eyes, trying to stop crying. I couldn't imagine what she's been through. "Sorry about nearly killing you, the last 'survivor' I met turned out to be another one of those monsters."
"How did you escape?"
Staring at the ground, Trixie tried her best to keep her composure. "Come inside, I'll tell you how."