Snow slowly melted from the leaves of plants that clung precariously to the sides of the rocky mountain. A light but still bitterly cold breeze wafted through the peaks and troughs of the environment. The wind created a whistle that echoed through the land. It was serene and yet uninviting at the same time.

Two ponies wandered through the land. They appeared to have no purpose in where they were going but they were definitely prepared for the trials the region threw at them. The pair both had equipped big saddlebags loaded with a manner of vital supplies for their journey.

One traveller chose not to walk, instead flying gracefully above the ground. She had a grey coat with a yellow, spiky mane and tail. Her flank bore a cutie mark of several bubbles and she had a content smile on her face.

The other hiker was forced to travel by conventional means, as she lacked wings that her companion possessed. Her coat was colored in a light yellow and her mane and tail were orange and curled. She had emerald eyes and her cutie mark was that of three carrots.

The earth pony, Carrot Top, walked carefully along the narrow mountain path. To her right, was a tall mountain side. The rock was brown and in between the cracks, a few simple plants grew and reached towards the sunlight. To her left, was a big and hazardous drop. She didn’t dare to even give it a passing glance.

In Carrot Top’s saddlebags were food and water rations, a notepad and pen and several other tools useful for survival. She had no idea what was in her friend’s saddlebags because she never saw her pack them but she assumed she had roughly the same.

She was hiking with the pegasus called Derpy Hooves throughout the mountains simply for the enjoyment of doing so. The sights you could get in this area amazed Carrot Top. You could see the vast stretch of Equestria: it’s rolling, lush green plains, its dense forests and even the little settlements that dotted the land. It was simply breathtaking for her.

Another breeze pushed past her, making the earth pony shiver. Thankfully, her coat did protect her from most of the cold, although now she was mentally kicking herself for not putting on a warm jacket earlier.

“Are you okay?”

Carrot Top blinked, looking up at her friend who flew alongside her. “Oh? Yes, I’m fine. Just a little bit chilly but we’ll be out of the worst of it soon.” she smiled.

Derpy nodded in response. Silence fell again onto the pair but they didn’t mind it. It allowed them to take in the surroundings as well as think.

Carrot Top’s thoughts concentrated on her plants back home. She did get her friend Bon Bon to look over them but that didn’t erase concern for the greenery.
Carrot Top lived alone but she preferred it that way. She lived in a picturesque cottage in Ponyville. It had a lovely thatched roof without a chimney; when you have a house full of plants, having a fireplace isn’t a smart move. She was fortunate enough to have a sizeable front garden as well as a back one. Both were surrounded by white, wooden gates.

Covering the gardens were rows of plant life. Flowers, shrubs, vegetables and even trees all thrived there in perfect harmony. Carrot Top had grown each one of them by her own hoof, her only assistant being the weather.

Inside, she had plants in pots on shelves and window sills. It may sound obsessive to some ponies but those who were lucky enough to get a full look at her home were always entranced by the beauty of her plants.

As well as having a gorgeous appearance, some of the plants served an economical role. Carrot Top would sometimes sell the fruits and vegetables she grew at market. It was a fun way to earn some extra bits but she’d never make a fully fledged business out of it.

A single, small flower snapped her back to reality. It was growing from a tiny crevice in the rock wall and it immediately grabbed her attention. She trotted up to it, much to the confusion of Derpy.

It was a beautifully simple flower: just a thin stalk with a blue flower on the end. To anypony else, it would’ve been a nice sight and nothing more. But to Carrot Top, it was amazing how such a plant could thrive in such a perilous habitat.

“Er, what is it?” Derpy asked, her eyes trailing off in different directions as she followed her friend.

Carrot Top pointed at the lone flower that wafted slightly in the breeze.

The pegasus smiled. “Blue is my favourite color.”

Carrot Top snickered. “You’ve told me that before Derpy.” She smiled lightly. “I just find it amazing how it’s growing here...” she trailed off, peering at the flower for a little while longer before walking again.

The narrow path seemed to trail forever, which annoyed the florist. “We can’t set up camp here...we need to find a cave, at the very least.” she uttered.

Derpy didn’t respond. Presumably she was lost in her own thoughts or she merely nodded again in reply. In this hike, Carrot Top took the role of leader. Purely because she was better at camping out than Derpy. She had often wandered away from Ponyville to see an exotic plant, for example. Despite this, Derpy wasn’t useless at all. Far from it, in fact. She provided excellent company and served as a useful scout thanks to her ability to fly.

The thought of setting a campsite didn’t worry Carrot Top just yet though, as the Sun still hung up high in the sky, covering all the land it could in a radiant glow.

The rocky path slowly started to become more cracked. Carrot Top quickly noticed this and made sure to tread carefully. She didn’t tell Derpy about it; she flew after all.

A few more plants grew out from the cracks in the ground but these were simple grasses at best. There was nothing that enticed Carrot Top like the earlier flower had.

The wind eventually died down, creating an eerie silence. Carrot Top kept her composure though, as it seemed to be perfectly natural that the wind would stop at some point.

Then, the ground began to rumble. Carrot Top froze. She remained still for a little while, calming herself down.

She took a deep breath and resumed walking. Derpy slowed down her flight and kept a watchful eye over her friend, easily noticing the sudden anxiety taking over Carrot Top.

Oddly enough, the two hadn’t noticed until now that the view to their left was blocked by another rock wall. Sunlight poured in from above, however, so the path didn’t darken up much.

Suddenly, Carrot Top felt one of her hooves sink into the ground. Her heart rate skyrocketed, as fear began to take its hold over the pony. She hurriedly took another step, her other hooves beginning to sink too.

“D-Derpy--”

She was interrupted by the ground, which was now caving in on itself. The once flat path was now a horrible mess of rubble and the occasional uprooted plant, all tumbling towards their fate below. Carrot Top quickly lost the ability to stand upright. Not that it mattered anyway, for soon she was free falling amongst the debris towards the ground, which was completely obscured by darkness.

“DERPY!! SAVE ME!” she screamed, flailing her limbs helplessly.

Through all the chaos, she saw the pegasus bravely maneuver herself through collapsing rock. A look of fierce determination was painted on her face. Carrot Top had never seen Derpy this determined or amazingly adept at flying ever before.

The falling mare felt her body get bruised and battered by smaller rocks but her fear overpowered any pain she would have felt. She reached out towards her saviour but fell short of even brushing against her.

Carrot Top closed her eyes. She had accepted her inevitable fate now. This was it. Her final moments.

Blackness clouded her vision. Silence surrounded her.

And yet...a strange aroma of luscious flowers pervaded the air...

She didn’t have time to fully take in the smell, as consciousness soon slipped away from her.

~~~

Carrot Top coughed harshly, the jerking movements it caused woke her up. She slowly opened her eyes, but her vision was blurred. She moved her limbs to check they were still in working order. They all responded. She was lying on her side but couldn’t find the energy to stand on her own hooves just yet.

“D-Derpy?” she coughed again.

She could hear a faint buzzing, but nothing more.

“Derpy...where are you?”

The buzzing continued. It sounded like it came from an insect.

“Oh no...no no no...” she shook her head and curled up on the floor. Even when most of her strength and senses had returned, she still lay there.

She could hear the buzzing again. It was more clear and louder than last time.

Slowly but surely, she climbed back onto her hooves. Her first course of action was to inspect her surroundings.

She was under a huge, green plant that was extremely basic for a plant of that size. It would’ve at least taken three of her to match its height. It was little more than a stalk with two big leaves that provided her with shade. The ground was light brown and quite hard to tread on but it appeared to be far from infertile. The big plant next to her proved that much.

She felt lighter than she was on the mountain. She soon discovered why though. Beside her was her saddlebag. It was battered and open, meaning it had spilled its contents. Food and water littered the ground but thankfully, they were all in containers. Other items of note were her notepad, pencil and a trowel.

She sighed and began to put all of her items back in her saddlebag and put it back on her again. Once that was done, she started to look at her surroundings beyond the plant beside her.

Everything dwarfed her. High above, she could see a vast canopy of massive tree branches criss-crossing each other. They blocked incoming sunlight, creating patches of light and shade onto the forest floor.

Other plants similar to the one that she was standing under grew nearby. A pool of water was also located to the left of her. It looked clean and pure, but she was reluctant to leave the safety of her cover.

She could hear more buzzing now. What terrified her was that she could not see the source of the sound. She heard rustling nearby...

She jumped around, looking behind her. She was met with a rocky wall that moss had decided to grow on. Even the moss was bigger than her. That is, if it was even moss at all. It certainly looked like it.

The terrified earth pony began to pace about under the shade of the tall plant. Her mind was bombarded with questions and fears.

An idea stuck out from amongst the rest of her thoughts. She laid down and opened up her saddlebag. From within, she retrieved her notepad and pencil. With the pencil in her mouth, she began to write onto the pages of the pad. Luckily, the paper wasn’t too worse for wear.

I need to write down my thoughts.

She paused, unsure of how to start from there.

My name is Carrot Top and I have found myself in a strange, nightmarish world that is certainly NOT Equestria. I do not know how I got here but I shall do my best to detail my actions prior to my arrival here.

I was simply enjoying a hike with my best friend, Derpy Hooves, on Mount Repose. Everything was fine. Lovely, in fact.

But then as I was walking along a mountain pain, the ground collapsed. I fell into a deep chasm and blacked out...then I awoke here.

She looked around.

Everything here is huge. What would appear to be a tiny sapling in Equestria is as tall as a fully grown tree here. I hear buzzing from insects...I pray to Celestia they do not dwarf me as well.

The buzzing, as if on cue, sounded again.

The buzzing reminds me of what I’ve lost: Derpy is gone. Now I am alone and my thoughts can only be shared with this notepad I have. I don’t know if she is back in Equestria or in the same realm that I am in. I hope dearly that it is the latter.

She stopped writing to grab her water bottle from the saddlebag. She took a big swig of it, taking comfort in the fact there was a water source nearby. Although she wasn’t too sure if it even was water.

Water seems to exist here, much to my relief. That means I just have to conserve food. I heard that ponies can live for days without eating anything. That better be the case.

She dropped her pen and rested her head on her hooves. She re-read what she had wrote. Her mind was clearer now and she had started the process of calming down. But where panic left her, sadness returned to fill her.

She looked up the sky. It seemed so far away and the forest canopy certainly didn’t help. She held out hope that she could see Derpy flying in the air, looking for her. But there was only thin air.

She then looked at the body of water nearby. If there was one thing she needed to do right now, it was to confirm if it was indeed water. She stood up and reluctantly left her things behind as she headed to the pool.

She looked down and saw herself staring back. She looked tired already. Stray hairs were protruding from her mane and she was covered in small bruises.

Yet that was the least of her worries. She lowered her head towards the liquid and after mentally preparing herself, took a quick drink. She swallowed hastily, nearly causing her to choke. It tasted of water but she waited to see if she dropped down dead from poisoning.

It was apparent that she had nothing to worry about.

She slipped into the water, immediately feeling refreshed from it. The water reached up to her neck, so she was able to keep her head above the water line in order to breathe.

It then became starkly apparent just how clear the water was. She could see almost everything under water. Her hooves, the mud that she kicked up as she trudged through it and small pebbles.

Then she heard a splash.

She gasped and leapt out of the water. She quickly searched around, trying to find the source of the splash. She soon found it. In the near distance, were a group of tadpole like creatures. The odd thing about them was that there were almost the size of Carrot Top.

They seemed to be fleeing from her, so she entered the water again and observed from afar.

The beasts were eerily similar to tadpoles. Most of their body consisted of a large, blue head with small gills jutting out and two bulbous eyes, one on each side. They also possessed a tail, that had pale yellow, slightly transparent edges with bold yellow spots.

They seemed to look at her for a while, then resumed their normal activities. Carrot Top was surprised that something was afraid of her in this world full of huge plants but she decided not to press her luck. She left the water and found a spot of Sunlight and basked in it to dry herself off.

She smiled lightly, enjoying the warm sensation. “Thank you Princess...” she whispered. She entered a calm state but was careful to avoid dozing off. Once she was dry enough, she shook herself up and returned to her things.

Thankfully, they were still there. She lay down again in front of the note book and resumed writing.

Not everything here seems to be doom and gloom. I have confirmed that water is present here and Celestia’s Sun still watches over me. Does she know of my current situation? Either way, I am thankful that her Sun watches over me still.

I have just encountered the first animal here. They resemble tadpoles but are almost equal to me in size. That said, they seem to be afraid of me. I shall name them Wogpoles for easy reference.

Still...I do not know if, like tadpoles, they will mature to a frog like creature. If they do then...the size of it is too horrifying to comprehend.

She peered around once again. The wogpoles seemed to be the only animal around this area, so she deemed it as safe. Despite this, she was afraid to stray too far away.

She then exhaled deeply. The biggest, most worrying thought hung about in her mind and was refusing to go away.

I do not know if I’ll ever get home. I don’t even know where to begin living in this world. But...

I will make it my mission to return home somehow. Something within me tells me that it is entirely possible. Could this be just denial? I am not sure but I am thankful that even now, I still have hope.

However, for now I shall rest here. There must be food nearby, so I will begin to search for that soon enough. I’ve also deemed it fit to name this area, just to make it feel more familiar. I shall name it...

Departure Pond.

I won’t stay here forever, after all.

I shall make this notepad my journal and document all my thoughts and activities on this world. It helps to combat the loneliness somewhat but...nothing could ever replace Derpy...

Carrot Top sighed, putting away the notepad and pen back into her saddlebag. She then gazed up at the canopy above.

“Derpy, please....please be safe, wherever you are.”

Now read Chapter 2 - Budding Friendship to find out how Derpy is doing!