Goldenseed slowly opened her eyes, the sky swimming around her in a brown and orange blotch of color. She was far warmer, though not as much as she'd like, and laying on something quite soft and comfortable. She closed her eyes and took a few slow, steady breathes before opening them again.

The world came into focus and she realized she was looking at the roof of a tent. She craned her neck to the right, cringing as sore muscles resisted, and saw a small fire pit in the center of the room. It warmed her enough, though the scent of smoke lingered heavily in the air.

She was laying on a small cot, covered in thick furs. It took her a few moments to realize they were animal furs. She couldn't identify what kind, though she hoped whoever, or whatever, had rescued her didn't use the owners for food. If they had, would that mean she was next on the list? She quickly shook her head at the silly notion.

The tent held half a dozen other cots, all about a pony's width from each other and surrounding the fire. More furs were stacked on top. There was a small stack of jugs near the back of the room as well, lined up. They were solid colors, so she couldn't begin to imagine what was inside them.

She closed her eyes and lifted a hoof up, gently feeling the back of her head. Padding was pressed against it, wrapped in a thin bandage that went around her head. A smile slowly spread across her face. She had been saved! Somepony had found her and saved her. Now she just had to find out where she was and call Aetherbind and the others, maybe they could help her get home before the month was out.

She reached for her side, but felt nothing there. Her coin purse was gone. She felt panic rise inside her, but quickly shook it off. Obviously whoever had saved her, had just removed it to better take care of her. Her robe was gone too, so they must have removed them at the same time. The zebra took another deep breath, before reaching out with her magic and poking at the land.

Her entire body went still, pain shooting through her skull as she struggled to hold back the pain. She quickly cut herself off, though she was already covered in sweat from the shock and pain. Her head was throbbing again, though fortunately not as bad as it had before.

The pain subsided and she took another deep breath, opening her eyes and turning to look at the flames. She wondered who had saved her. Perhaps an adventurer. Somepony traveling through these harsh, cold lands in search of lost treasures, dangerous monsters or ancient relics. Probably somepony who knew all the tricks of the trade and wouldn't hesitate to take her as an apprentice. Why, with her healing magic they'd be fools to say no to her. In fact, judging by how many beds there were, it was a whole company of them. She relaxed and started listening, she could hear ponies off in the distance talking, though she couldn't make out the words. They sounded happy though, and loud.

She heard something heavy pushing its way through the snow outside and excitement began building through her. She slowly lowered back down and watched the doorway, waiting to see her savior coming to save her. The skin covering the tent was shoved aside and white hot terror filled her.

A centaur stood in the doorway, holding a tall bundle of wood in its thick, blue arms. From over the top of the bundle she could see two long, powerful horns. Its lower half was like a pony, with four hooves and red fur. She closed her eyes and feigned sleep, hoping the creature would go away if she pretended to have never seen it. She felt it walk by her, gently rocking the cot as it pushed between them, but didn't stop to examine her. It dropped the bundle besides the fire, only tossing a few inside, and then left, not noticing as she slowly opened an eye to watch it leave.

The moment she heard the tent flap close behind, she let out a soft sigh of relief. Her hoof went up to her chest, her heart beating so fiercely she thought it would burst from her chest.

She was in centaur lands. Centaur lands. She'd have been better off if she landed in the middle of the ocean. Was she in the middle of their empire? If she was, she was as good as dead. Possibly worse. There were horror stories about what happened to ponies captured by the empire.

Goldenseed supressed the despair rising inside her. She wanted to be home, to be safe. She wanted to go on adventures, but this wasn't an adventure. This was being dropped into a manticore den with broken hooves, before the exit is sealed behind. It took a few moments before the panic began to flow away and she, with difficulty, crawled out from her cot. She considered leaving the blanket here, but quickly decided she'd need it and folded it and tied the ends around her neck, making a crude cape. It wasn't much, but it would be better than nothing.

There was a dull pounding in the back of her skull, though she suppressed it as best she could. She slowly crawled to the flap of the tent, holding her breath and listening for any sign of the centaur's return. She thanked the stars that she was in a tent, not a house, as the dirt floor covered the sounds of her hooves nicely.

When she made it to the exit, she dropped down onto her stomach and lifted a corner of the flap, looking out into the camp. Her heart dropped into her stomach at the sight.

From the angle she could see plenty of other tents and, unfortunately, hers seemed to be in the center of the camp. A large campfire was burning in front of the tent, surrounded by centaurs of all colors and sizes, yelling at each other in a language she couldn't understand. Most were wrapped in thick furs, though a few were bare chested and seemed unhindered by the thick, heavy snow that covered the land. Those ones were the scariest, as they were the largest and, if the stories she'd heard were true, the most dangerous.

Goldenseed pulled back from the flap and shook her head. Going out that way was suicide. With all that snow and so many centaurs about, she'd be seen for sure. She had to escape another way. She looked to the back of the tent and gulped nervously. Perhaps.

She walked to the back as quickly as she dared, trying not to touch anything lest she make too much noise. She then tugged at the bottom of the tent, but it refused to move. Not surprising, because the tent had to be set up well enough to contain the heat of the fire. She had to get out though, so she couldn't give up. After a few seconds of struggling she finally managed to lift it up, just a few inches, but it was enough to allow her to drop down and peer out.

There were more tents behind her, but she didn't see any more centaurs. Her hoof picked at the ground, trying to make a hole in the dirt. Unfortunately, it was frozen and hard, refusing to give under her attacks. With no other choice, she took a deep breath and put her hoof to the ground, trying to get it to mold under her. Pain shot through her skull, but she tried to ignore it as she pulled on the magic of the land and formed the aether for a simple spell, known only as Stone. Normally it involved picking up a clump of dirt and hurtling it at an enemy, while making the dirt latch onto the target. In this case, all she tried to do was lift the dirt out and away.

When she finally finished, she was covered in sweat and her head hurt so bad even the pain had pain. But there was a deep enough hole for her to easily slide out under. She rolled onto her stomach and froze in place.

There was no longer any chatting going on outside the tent. In fact, aside from the wind, everything had gone silent. A single line from an old scary story Straightlace had told her long ago filled her mind.

”And they can sense your magic, so you can't hide.”

She crawled through the small hole she'd made, barely getting through before hearing the tent flap open behind her. A loud, angry roar tore the air, making her cringe. She didn't wait, however. Instead she galloped away. She didn't even look back when she heard an angry shout from behind, followed by the tearing of tent cloth.

Her hooves slipped and slid on the snow, though she barely managed to keep her footing as she went, the sound of powerful hooves galloping behind her. She wove around tents, heading out from the center as best she could.

Then one of the tents opened ahead of her as a centaur stepped out. She tried to run around him, but the snow was too soft and he was too fast. She slammed into his chest as his arms wrapped around her, pinning him to her and picking her up as if she was a feather. She kicked and screamed, ignoring the pain in her head as fear wrapped around every fiber of her core.

She only stopped when a sudden smack to her head nearly knocked her out, making her head wobble slightly in a stunned daze. She stared up for a few seconds, staring into the centaur's angry eyes before it bared its sharp, deadly teeth. She whimpered softly and closed her eyes, awaiting death.

Instead, the towering creature kept her pinned to his chest and started walking through the camp, back towards the center. She made herself as small as she could, looking between her captor and the one that had chased her. They were both taller than any pony she'd seen, even her father. There arms with thick and muscular, likely able to snap her small body like a twig. Despair began to fill her again as they carried her into the center of the camp.

She stared at the first and shrieked, her eyes wide with horror. “D-don't eat me, please!” she shrieked, staring at the fire pit. She'd heard centaurs were meat eaters, but she'd never imagined they'd go so far. She struggled anew, but her carrier ignored it.

He walked right past the fire and into another tent, making the terror slowly leak out from her. She heard groans and looked around, before paling again.

The tent was quite crude, only used to cover a large wagon with a built-in cage. It helped keep it warmer, but looked far from comfortable. Inside she saw well over a dozen ponies, locked inside the cage and barely moving, aside from curious glances towards the opening tent flap. A second centaur sat in front of the cage, a key dangling from around his throat.

The centaur carried her to the cage, but stopped halfway there as a loud horn blast filled the air. Moments later an explosion rocked the camp ground and the creature turned, allowing her to see a fireball envelop the campfire outside, singing the centaurs around it. He let out a growl and tossed her to the cage guard, before storming from the tent.

The other centaur caught her and pinned her to the ground with one hand, his other reaching for the key. From outside she heard yelling and screaming, as well as more explosions. A hole was suddenly torn into the roof as an arrow pierced through it, landing by her hoof. With nothing to lose, she reached out with a hoof and gripped the arrow, before jamming it into the hand holding her. The centaur roared in pain, recoiling and allowing her to roll away.

She hopped to her hooves and looked back, watching the centaur yank the arrow from its hand. It turned angry eyes on her.

The ponies in the cage were getting up, looking at her. “Help us!” one of them cried. She glanced to the key and the centaur holding it. “Please!” the pony begged.

The centaur took a step towards her and she turned, running out the door. Guilt blossomed in her stomach, but she suppressed it. “Nothing I can do,” she whispered to herself as she galloped away. She looked back, but the centaur wasn't pursuing her past the tent exit.

However, outside the tent was littered with more arrows and small fires. The camp seemed mostly empty, the only centaurs she saw were charging towards her right, weapons drawn. The din of battle could be heard as war cries split the air. Arrows fell from there, streaking through the air and piercing the tents. Fortunately, they were few and far between. Unfortunately, more seemed to rain on the paths between the tents, than the tents themselves. She kept running, veering to the left and away from the sound of battle.

Goldenseed ran past tent after tent until, suddenly, she was out. Or rather, the white ground gave way to white air under her. She flailed in the air for a few moments as she started to fall, letting out a scream of terror. The air rushed by her, ignoring her screams and flails as she fell, before finally ending in a rather soft, but cold pile of snow. More pieces of snow flew around her as she laid still, pain flowing out from her stomach all the way to the tips of her hooves. However, one fact remained, the most important of all.

She was alive. She lay face down, buried under a pile of snow, but she was alive. She slowly pulled her hooves to her body and, shakily, began standing up. There were plenty of aches, but no sharp pains.

“Heh heh. Hee hee hee. Ah hah hah hah hah!” she laughed, throwing back her head and dropping into the snow. “I'm alive, I'm alive, I am the luckiest--” Her mirth was cut short as more pain shot through her head, making her entire body convulse with pain. Tears streamed up her face, freezing before they got past her forehead. Once the pain faded, she rolled onto her stomach and shakily got to her hooves, trembling badly.

“O-okay,” she whispered. “I can... I just n-need to be more careful. Not... not do what I just did...” She felt the back of her head, but the bandages were gone. In fact, her blanket was too. She looked around wildly as panic rose in her chest. “Oh no. No no no,” she whispered. “I must have dropped it when... oh no.”

She looked around. The cliff she'd just fallen off was across from another and she had fallen into the canyon between the two. She moved as close to the cliff as she could, allowing herself very limited protection from the snow, though it covered her in shade, and then looked up and down the canyon. “Where do I--” Goldenseed's words trailed off as a large shadow flew over her. She looked up and her mouth fell open.

A dragon, larger than many of the houses back home, flew overhead. Its powerful wings held it aloft as it glided through the air, before burning into the camp she had just escaped, disappearing from view. She waited with anticipation, hoping to see the mighty creature appear again. However, it didn't come out again. The mare took a deep breath before turning to the right, the direction it had come from. “Okay. Maybe... that way then.” She started walking, excitement allowing her to suppress the pain each step caused.

Unfortunately, the excitement soon gave way as the snow caked onto her hooves and she began shivering. Her head was pounding, each step making her skull feel as if it would shatter and something would burst out. To make matters worse, her stomach began growling as it seemed to compress into a little knot, sticking to the inside of her tummy.

Each step started getting shorter and shorter as more snow caked onto her hooves. She tried knocking it off on the side of the cliff every few minutes, but it just gathered up again quickly. Her only sign of fortune was the fact the wind was weak here, but it still cut into her skin like a knife, chilling her down to the bone as it froze her mane in place. Her eyes squinted through the snow, dry and sore.

She stumbled and fell, her body collapsing into the snow. The cold didn't even seem so bad as she closed her eyes and just rested for a moment. It wasn't so bad, really. She'd only seen snow a few times, but she'd heard stories like this. Even if she died, it would be like falling asleep. She was so tired and cold that a long sleep felt like it would be perfect.

An explosion from behind made her head shoot up, as buckets of snow dropped down on her. She looked back, but couldn't see the source. However, she crawled back on her hooves and shook the excess snow off. She then took a few more steps forward, shaking horribly. Last time she'd fallen asleep, she'd woken up in a centaur encampment. If she collapsed again, she might end up there again. She might not be saved, either.

Stubbornly, Goldenseed took another step. Besides, this was her grand adventure. She'd only been out on it a day. Maybe two. She had ponies back home who would be expecting her in a month. She could NOT give up so quickly.

A sneeze tore from her mouth, making her entire body shake as she nearly fell over, barely stopping herself by gripping the cliff side. She opened her mouth. “I... I can do this...” a hoarse whisper came out. She stood, stunned, and tried again. “I... I can do this.” The words were so soft even she could barely hear them. She tried licking her chapped lips, before trying again. This time they were so soft she couldn't even hear more than a murmur.

She took a deep breath, the cold biting at her from the inside, but tried again. “I can do this!” She finally managed to call out, loud enough to hear. However, it sent pain through her throat and lungs, making her almost collapse again. She lifted her hooves and kept walking, keeping her mouth shut and trying to ignore the cold as best she could.

The pain from the fall wasn't even noticeable any more. The rest of her hurt too much to notice. Her hungry stomach resisted, she kept walking, head hanging and tried to ignore it. It gnawed and chewed at her, begging to be filled. She thought longingly of the feast the night before, where she had barely eaten anything. She imagined she could eat the whole feast now, down to the plates.

The pain tugged at her stomach until she finally gave in and scooped up a hoofful of snow, pushing it into her mouth. Or rather, against her mouth. Her lips refused to part, frozen shut. She let out a whimper and tossed the snow away, trying to suppress the tears lest they freeze her eyes closed.

She started walking again, focusing on her lips, trying to warm them by rubbing her tongue from the inside. She almost preferred this. Focusing on her mouth and stomach, she could almost ignore the icy wind as it pulled against her from all sides and blew snow into her eyes. She just wished she had something to distract her from that pain. She considered going back to the centaurs, if she could find the way. At least there was food.

Her eyes squinted as the sun against the snow nearly blinded her, the only thing stopping her from closing them altogether was the fear she wouldn't be able to open them again.

Goldenseed paused as realizations dawned on her. She looked to the left, then the right. She was out of the canyon. She turned back and saw where she had walked out from, a very slow incline. Her head turned to the left and right and then saw the most wonderful thing she ever thought she would see.

Smoke. It was extremely thin and off in the distance, but it was smoke. It wasn't coming from the direction she came from, so even better. She started walking faster, her legs refusing to gallop no matter how she tried. The land was hilly, filled with rocks, mountains and only the occasional sign of green life. However, the smoke gave her new life and allowed her to push through. She walked up steep hills, ignoring the caked on snow even as her body screamed for her to stop. She more tumbled than walked down the hill, but got back to her hooves and started walking again.

Hill after hill she went over, each one more painful than the last. The steam of smoke getting ever closer.

Then it disappeared. “N-no...” she whispered, her body shaking for reasons other than the cold and even the pain caused by the words not distracting her, though they made her lips bleed. She walked as fast as she could, climbing the next hill and looking wildly.

At the foot of the hill she saw the cause. A campfire. An extinguished campfire. There were marks of travel surrounding it and going off to the distance, but they were already mostly filled in from the snow. She trotted forward, before collapsing and rolling down the hill. She landed on her stomach, more pain shooting through her body. Inch by inch she crawled forward, closer to the camp as she let out a soft, weak sob. She stopped in front of the fire, staring into the few remaining embers. The snow snuffing them out before she collapsed, letting out a soft sob.

She rolled onto her back and stared into a pair of red eyes, attached to a black unicorn. “The tartarus happened to you?”

Author's Notes:

So, I've been thinking. This story is based on an MMO, so why not add a little multi player to it? Anyone has their own little oc they'd use in this world, feel free to tell me about it and I'll see about working in cameos. This story is pretty much for fun, so I can probably get away with just about anything. ^^