Twilight Goes to Dalaran

by Leila Drake

Level 1 - First Contact

Tak Rivermane took a deep breath as he emerged from the pool of water. Panting, he crawled out of the water, using the strong tree roots that surrounded him as support. A creaking sound made his ears perk up and ready his weapon.

It was those sun-forsaken trees. Probably one of their more dangerous, tentacle-like roots had caught another animal, dooming it to die on the spot.

This strange patch of land was starting to become his personal hell. Since Tak had lost his mount, things had gone downhill.

Literally.

He was way too far east now, struggling through the Overgrowth and trying to stay awake while strange fumes and exhausting steam clouds filled his lungs.

If he had to keep this up much longer, Tak would fall asleep and never wake up again.

He would not be the first. Many had tried to cross the Barrens after the Cataclysm but not all of them had returned. Tak blamed the orcs for not building a proper bridge across the Great Divide, the valley which had formed when the earth got scorched by the giant flames of the deadliest dragon of Azeroth. But maybe they didn't do that because they were using up their resources for their stupid war on another continent. Also, a bridge like that would be easy to attack from above.

This way or another, Tak had to get to Hunters' Hill, the sooner the better. Sunset was only four hours away and who knew what fights would break loose after nightfall.

Tak shook his mane dry and wiped his face clean. He never should have bought that stupid kodo. The mischievous beast, a descendant of the stegodons and a common mount for the tauren, had run off when Tak picked some herbs. He was out of sight before Tak could catch him again. Now his food was gone, along with most of his other supplies.

Good thing he still had his weapons and herbs. Without them he might as well lie down and die.

Rule number one: If you want to survive in the Barrens, bring a weapon, water and something for trade. Rule number two: Tak could not remember number two but he was sure it was something about first aid. He groaned and stood up, wiping some more water plants off his chest. Then he looked around, always ready to swing his hammer down on vines and roots that crept around his hooves.

As he made his way uphill and to the west, he heard a distant scream. He sighed heavily. The terrified shout had come from the same direction as the creaking.

Great.

So it was not an animal but a sentient creature. Reluctanty, Tak ran back to the pool.

- - -

Twilight Sparkle screamed as loud as she could when a vine entangled her, took her off the ground and swung her around. The root tightened its grip around Twilight and for some reason her magic did not work on it.

The only thing she could do was to pick up stones with her magic and throw them at the plant. This was getting harder, too – she could barely breathe as she struggled to break free. This was supposed to be another counterpart to Equestria? These vines were worse than the ones from Discord's plunder seeds and the terrible... heavy... fumes...

Twilight's screams died as she slipped into a void.

- - -

Tak hesitated as he saw the strange purple creature in the vine's hard grip. Was this the one that had screamed? It seemed that way, even though it looked more like an animal. He tried to make out its features but the root swung around so fast it made him dizzy just by looking at it.

Now that he was here, we wanted to help it even more. Those screams had been filled with terror, more like those of a female tauren rather than an animal's.

With a warcry, Tak charged and asked the Spirit of Fire to aid him. As he single-handedly swung his hammer, dark clouds gathered above him and a lightning bolt struck the vine. He just hoped that the Spirit would be considerate enough to leave the creature unharmed. Tak hit the root again and again with hammer and lightning, dodging its attacks, and finally the plant loosened its grip and dropped the purple thing.

It fell to the ground with a soft thud and Tak grabbed it around the barrel before the plant could change its mind. He ran without further hesitation and soon he arrived at the path that lead up to Hunters' Hill.

- - -

Everything was dark.

No, it was not. Her eyes were closed.

Twilight opened them slowly and gasped.

She was still in the strange world. And across the fire, sitting under an almost leafless tree, a huge Minotaur stared at her.

Seriously, Iron Will seemed feeble compared to this guy. He had big muscles and massive hooves and his face showed curiousity and a hint of anger. His armour was made of steel and leather, lightweight but sturdy, as far as she could tell. Next to him there was a hammer with a head as big as her saddlebags.

Wait, who was he anyway? Did he save her from that root? And – oh no, her saddlebags were gone!

"Oh Celestia, I'm so stupid!" groaned Twilight. "I can't keep my things with me for one lousy day... ugh, my head!" She held a hoof to her head as a sharp pain shot through her temple.

Great. Just great. Her saddlebags gone, no way to get back to Equestria and a minotaur who – wait, what was he doing there?

- - -

Tak leaned closer and watched the creature awaken. This one was unlike anything he had ever seen. At first, he thought it resembled one of the humans' horses but it was smaller than them. Even ponies were bigger. If both of them stood up its head would probably be at the height of his knees. On its head there was a single straight horn, reminding him of the zhevras from the Northern Barrens. But how was it possible that this creature had wings like a bird? On top of that, its mane looked well-groomed, with colors the goblin girls would die for.

This creature made no sense. And still, it looked almost regal. Its lavender-colored fur was mostly clean and the symbols on its flank intrigued Tak. There was an aura around it that made him feel at ease even though it was such a small thing. Strange.

Then he realized it had spoken. He cleared his throat and said, "Don't worry, little one, I won't harm you."

The... pony? ...arcane zhevra-bird-horse? ...froze and lifted its eyes. Tak could see the fear in them and lowered his hands even though he felt the need to comfort it and stroke its mane or something. Somehow he realized it was a female when their gazes met.

"Th- Thank you for saving me", stuttered Twilight. "It you had not been there, I-"

"I am sorry, I can't understand what you are saying. I'm surprised that you can actually... um, nevermind. But I can offer you some herbs if you are hungry."

Twilight did not know what the minotaur said but she understood when he took some green herbs from his small pocket and offered them to her. She noticed that he had three fingers on each hand.

When she hesitated, he put them on the ground next to her and leaned back against the tree, crossing his arms expectantly.

Slowly, Twilight took the herbs with her magic and put them into her mouth. Wow, these were not bad at all. As she chewed on them, she looked up and her eyes widened.

The minotaur had a flabberghasted expression on his face, his big mouth agape and eyed wide open. He looked as if he had never seen magic before.

Twilight swallowed and looked at him guiltily.

"Sorry," she said, "but if we want this conversation to work, I think I'll have to cast another spell."

Comments

[Mocha Star]

Lol.
Tak, u so crazy.