Prologue
This wasn’t Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle looked up from her reflection in the lake. This was nothing like Ponyville. She looked so… out of place, like she was a filly’s drawing. Her lavender coat stood out against the muted browns and greys of this place, wherever it was. She stood. A strange dizzying sensation began to afflict her. She had only felt this once before. She knew what it was all too well. Her magic was almost gone. She still had her horn, Discord hadn’t taken it away like the last time she felt like this, but it was almost useless. She took two steps back, her hooves muffled against the soft grass.
Snap!
She jumped. It was just a twig, thank Celestia. She seemed to be in a swampy area. The mosquitoes buzzed incessantly. Dragonflies flew around the small pond where she was standing. Her thoughts began to drift. Where was she? But more importantly, how much magic could she perform? She looked at the small stick she broke, and concentrated on levitating it. She could without much trouble. She turned her attention to a log that was floating near the edge of the pond. She took a deep breath, and tried to levitate that as well. Her horn began to glow, and her heart began to pound. This was much more difficult than usual. Suddenly, her horn cut out. Pain began to rack her brain in waves.
A migraine. That was new. That only happened when she tried to do several difficult magical things at once. Suddenly, the realization hit her. Magic was non-existent here. Sure, a unicorn could do magic anywhere, but there was always a magical field in Equestria. Here, it felt drained. A unicorn’s horn held a small magical force, but only enough to power small things, like levitation. Larger spells relied on the magic field that surrounded her home. She was powerless. Teleportation. Almost impossible without a decent magical field. She wished she could leave this place. The insects wouldn’t stop biting, and it was beginning to hurt. The wind bit through her fur, and she realized that it was fall.
It wasn’t horribly cold, like Ponyville in the winter. But it was still chilly, and she wished she had her trusty scarf. Her mind changed back to the location problem. Where was she?
‘Okay. I’m in a swamp. That’s obvious. The only swamp I know is in the Everfree Forest. But… this doesn’t feel like the Everfree. It doesn’t feel as chaotic.’ Her mind began to spin.
She looked up, and noticed the clouds moving by themselves. That confirmed her false suspicions that she was in the Everfree.
“But why doesn’t my magic work?” she spoke aloud.
Wherever she was, she was scared. She didn’t want to be here. Not at all. She wanted to be at home, in Ponyville, with Applejack, and Rarity, and Spike…
‘Spike! Oh no, what if he’s alone from now on! Oh, I’ve got to get back!’
Twilight began to canter away from the small body of water in a blind panic. She ran through rows and rows of tall cypress trees. Spanish moss hung from the high boughs, and got in her face, confusing her. She had to leave. Spike couldn’t live by himself. He may be a dragon, but he was only a baby, after all. The sky began to darken slowly. The buzzing of the insects got louder.
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The alligator stalked his prey in the water. His eyesight was poor, like most other alligators, so he relied on smell. And he smelled food. He hadn’t eaten in days. Ever since those fleshy creatures had taken away part of his home, he’d been hungry. And he smelled food. He had never encountered such a tempting aroma such as this. It smelled of blood and fur. Deer? He hoped. Deer were becoming increasingly hard to find. Most of them had been run over by the roaring metal beasts. He stuck his head out of the water. The smell was getting close. And he could see it! It was… purple?
This confused the gator. There were no purple animals in the swamp. Except those fleshy creatures, but they only sometimes came in purple, and they usually stayed away from him. No matter. Food was food. And it was getting close.
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Twilight quickly became aware of the loss of daylight. That was never a good sign in the Everfree. Scary things lurked at night… cockatrices and worse, Timberwolves. Those things scared her to death. They could easily blend in to the wood backdrop. But those lurked in the FOREST part of the Everfree. No, in the swamp there was… a hydra. She had seen it before, and she hoped to never see it again. So she started to gallop.
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It was getting ever closer. He could almost taste the flesh now. Winter was coming. And he needed to hibernate, but he wanted to eat first. Nay, he NEEDED to eat first. He didn’t want to die just yet. The purple creature was coming. And it smelled delicious. And he wanted to taste it.
“Oh, Celestia why?” Twilight whispered in the dark.
She was now thoroughly terrified. Strange noises assaulted her at every corner. Suddenly, a small light caught her attention. It seemed to be ready to lunge. To snap-
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The purple thing was getting closer, and he was exited. So he took the plunge and lunged for it-
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Twilight saw it coming and veered toward the right. She galloped faster than she ever had before. Her hooves striking the ground forcefully.
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FOOD! COME BACK FOOD!
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Twilight began to feel tired and disoriented. Her fetlocks began to ache. But she pushed on, right over a ledge. She felt a sharp pain, and heard a snap. Her vision was tinged red thanks to the excruciating pain. Suddenly, she stopped. Tears began to fall from her eyes. She didn’t want to die here. The world began to slowly dim.
“Spike…” was the only word she could conjure, until she fell into the arms of unconsciousness.