>You take a deep breath and inhale the fresh, jungle air of the lush forest surrounding you
"Ah, the great outdoors!"
>You are Anon
>You have been tasked with collecting plant and mineral samples from and mapping various, uncharted locations deep within the Everfree Forest
>Only you had the strength, swiftness, cunning, and...who were you kidding?
>The only reason you got this job is because you were the only one stupid enough to take it
>Hell, pretty much the first thing you learned when you first arrived in Equestria was "don't go in the spooky forest"
>Sure, a lot of the dangers of the forest itself were based largely upon superstition from what you gathered, but in reality, there were plenty of things that go bump in the night lurking within the dense undergrowth
>Your natural curiosity (and questionable safety habits) made you perfect for the job
>Not only that, but you had a special "talent" that allowed you to traverse the forest with relative ease.
 
>Thinking about how you came upon your unique gift elicits a small giggle
>Awhile back, your inquisitive nature finally got the better of you
>You decided to take a quick hike through the forest, and you quickly stumbled upon a patch of incredibly aromatic blue flowers
>Naturally, your first instinct was to pick up as many as you could carry and bring them back to your home
>Channeling only the most mystical of monks, you decided there is only one course of action to take:
>You had to make this into tea
>After a short period of preparation, your beverage was ready
>The aroma was just absolutely divine
>The heady of wisteria and the soothing smell of jasmine, you couldn't wait to taste it
>You slowly brought the mixture into your mouth and...
>You had to choke back tears of happiness
>There were no words to describe how truly magnificent this brew was
>You quickly summoned several of your friends to try your creation
>You doled out several cups of the stuff to your new-found companions and waited to see their reaction
>The looks of unmitagated pleasure upon their faces was a sight to behold
>And you thought you were overreacting
>They quickly set upon you, asking for the secret to the special tea
>You gladly accepted to show them
>When you produced a handful of blue flowers from your pack, you heard nothing but silence, followed by the collective sound of six porcelain cups hitting the ground in unison
 
>After a quick visit to the local witch doctor to cure your friends of what is actually a deadly, magic flower, one of your friends, Twilight Sparkle, noticed your body had received no adverse side effects whatsoever
>I know what you're thinking: what kind of a name is Twilight Sparkle right? Well if you're a talking, purple unicorn, Christina doesn't exactly seem like an appropriate name
>Nonetheless, she was the sciency-bookish type, and quickly deduced that you simply aren't affected by anything magical in nature
>Spells seemed to fizzle bounce off you or fizzle out, highly dangerous plant matter didn't even cause a rash
>Even the effects of other species can't hurt you
>Still, you made sure to not to tell her and the rest of the ponies the fact that you've been feeding a small snake-chicken ,what you now know is cockatrice, that comes around your home every night
>Twilight pressed you about how far you had to go in to discover the flowers, you were a bit taken back
>You looked out the window of your home, and pointed into the forest
>You could literally see the flowers peaking out of the forest from here
>Apparently even going a couple feet into the Everfree Forest is risky business
 
>She was stunned you didn't so much as flinch after you said if was no biggie
>With new knowledge of your anti-magic affinity and "bravery", Twilight offered you a preposition: to bring her back samples from the forest to study.
>In need of a steady job to actually, you quickly took Twilight up on offer
>You covered dozens of miles of terrain and discovered numerous new flora and fauna, but even so you wanted to see more
>After all, you didn't travel more than a half a day away at Twilight's behest
>But today was a special day
>She and her friends would be away at the capital city to attend her brother's wedding
>Leaving you free reign to do as you please
>You think she'll be a little upset with you at first for putting yourself in danger, but you're not too worried
>If you can find something interesting to bring back, it could mean a new discovery for her to attach her name to, and a hefty pay increase for yourself
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxAVRcq8soQ
 
>Night has fell quickly in the Everfree, but that didn't deter you from venturing forth
>As soon as the soon sank below the the horizon, the forest became pitch black
>However, as soon as light had drained from your vision, the forest lit up like a Christmas tree
>Various fungi and flowers started to glow in the dark, and even the trees looked as if someone had splashed incandescent paint all over them
>Fireflies occasionally appeared in and out of your vision
>Various nocturnal creatures you've never seen in Twilight's various books scampered about
>The forest was even more alive during the night than it was during the day, it was magical
>This is exactly what you have been waiting to see, and it is truly a sight to behold
>You set about collecting small amounts of various pieces of plant matter, and charting your location on your cloth map
>After you finish, you grab a large mushroom to serve as your torch and press on through the forest
 
>You come to a giant tree, covered in large pieces of star-shaped fruit, pulsating a deep golden light
>You start towards the tree without a moments hesitation
"Well, I am just a hairless monkey after all."
>Setting down your pack, you work about scaling the tree to grab a few for yourself
>As you pull yourself up to the upper branch, you pluck one of the fruits from the tree
>You carefully sit yourself on the enormous branch and begin peeling the fruit
>Upholstering your pocketknife, you section off a piece of your fruit and toss it into your mouth
>Delicious
>Succlent, briming with flavor, like a mango, orange, and pineapple all in one
>Wiping the juice from your mouth, you muse on how you're probably the only human, let only pony, to ever taste it
>You gaze out to the stars and observe the blanket of stars covering the night sky
>It was beautiful, but you couldn't help but feel a tiny pang of sadness within your heart
>You hadn't bothered to learn more than where to find the North Star or Orion's Belt
>And while this sky was indeed magnificent, the foreign constellations filled you with regret
>Regret for taking so much for granted about your own home
>Looking up at these stars made you realize you had plenty of chances to bask in the majesty of everything around you, but had simply forgone them to do other things
>And you may never have the chance to do so again
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFIj8T4iArY
 
>But hey, you aren't one to dwell on the past
>You've determined to make of this situation
>As first of your kind to make contact on an alien planet, you have a duty to race to explore this world
>A pioneer, yeah that's what you are! Louis and Clarke have nothing you!
>You're practically an astronaut!
>Without the equipment
>...or actually exploring the space
>Regardless, with renewed vigor, you once again gazed into the twilight, finding solace in practicing naming new constellations
"...and that one's Sleipnir, over there's Buraq, and that's...wait, what is that?"
>You squint your eyes to make an out of place star in the distance
>It's oddly bright, and that color...green?
>You can't believe you overlooked it for this long, has it always been there? And why is
>Wait
>Yeah
>It is
>It's getting closer
>As what you know realize is a comet hurtles toward your exact location, only one thing to say comes to mind
"Oh Shit"
 
>The meteor sails toward you at incredible speeds
>There's no other option to avoid a direct collision
>You quickly dive all the tree and begin free falling to the ground below
>The meteor just barely misses, you sailing clean through the branch above you with a thunderous crack
>You land roughly onto the hard ground below you
"Ungghffh"
>You clutch your chest in pain, gasping for air
>Suddenly, you here a groaning sound, like tearing metal
>To your horror, you look above the entire tree starting to fall directly on top of you
>You scramble out of the way as quickly as possible, desperately trying to avoid being crushed
>You roll out of the way at the last possible minute, spiraling headlong into the dirt
>Taking a minute to catch your breath, you survey the damage done by the foreign object
>The tree is toast, the meteor took the top half completely off, litering the jungle floor with the glowing fruit
>Grunting to pull yourself up, you feel a little soreness in your leg, but nothing major
>Glancing down at your body, you notice a few cuts and scrapes, maybe a bruise or two, but nothing a good night's rest wouldn't cure
>As for your pack, well, for lack of a better word, you won't be taking anything back to Twilight with you
"All that work and now I have nothing to show for it..."
>You notice a faint glow coming just a few meters from the clearing, just where the meteor landed.
>Maybe this expedition wasn't a total bust
>You grin with anticipation of your quarry and set off into the undergrowth
 
>Stumbling out of the thick brush, you fix your eyes upon the glowing figure lying lifelessly before you
>One thing's for sure, it wasn't a meteor, in fact, you're not even sure what it was
>It was vaguely pony shaped, but it's frame was far larger and lithe than the short, stocky ponies back home
>Upon its head sat a gnarled horn far longer than any unicorn you've ever seen
>Not only that, but it seemed to possess wings unlike any you've seen on a creature this size
>Instead of the normal feathers, they looked insectoid in nature, almost fully transparent
>Its body was jet black, but its underbelly, and the top of its shoulders had an almost teal hue to them
>Its hair and tail a be a tangled mess of cerulean
 
>What was most distressing was the source of the green glow that had led you to the creature
>Blood pooled on the forest floor with which ragged breath it took
>Holes littered the body of the poor thing
>You weren't even aware of such a weapon was capable of such a thing damage in Equestria
>Whatever sent this thing hurtling out of the sky must have packed quite a punch
>Your shocked this pony is even still breathing
>If this had been earth, you'd at least try to put it out of its misery
>But you took a shot in the dark
>You yell, trying to get its attention
"Hey!"
>No response
>Break into a sprint and rush to the side of the creature
"Are...are you okay?"
 
>Its emerald eyes slowly trailed upwards to meet yours
"You can understand me though"
>It didn't move its head, but the message seemed to get through
>Its breathing seemed to get steady, its chest slowly rising and falling at a normal rate
>But it was still clear that this thing was in need of help
>You looked around for anything at all to help patch it up, but nothing of the sort was just going to be lying around
"Dammit, if I had my pack, there was an emergency medkit, I could've...just dammit!"
>You pound against the ground in frustration
>The creeping suspicion in the back of your mind had come into reality
>The gravity of the situation hit you like a freight train
>You realize you are powerless to help the injured figure lying before you
>You're not a medical genius, but any idiot could see that it'd be a fools errand to preform even the most drastic of surgeries
>Solemnly lowering your head, you whisper to the creature
"I'm so sorry"
>In your crestfallen state, you fail to notice a faint maelstrom of pink swirl away from your body and encompass the creature
 
>”C-compas...sion”
>You lift your head
>Did this thing just speak?
>”Give me… more”
>Your mind is definitely not playing tricks on you
>This creature-- no... woman? The voice you heard was definitely feminine
>And, wait? Had her bleeding stopped?
>Upon further examination, the holes you had thought were injuries were clearly part of her normal anatomy
>As you continued to study her body in utter disbelief, her eyes started to slowly drift close
“Hey wait, stay with me alright! HEY!”
>But it’s not use. She’s out cold
>Still, she may be unconscious, but at least she's alive
>Miraculously, all her wounds had seemingly stabilized all by themselves
>Still, you knew that she wouldn’t make it through the night in the forest in this state
>You needed to set up camp and fast before any of the forests predators got wind of her wounds
>You quickly begin gathering scraps of wood and brush to build a fire to ward away any unwelcome visitors
>You take a small stick in the palms of your hands and began to furiously rub them to together into a piece of bark
>A small ember appears in no time
“Come on baby, start, yeah! Now we’re cooking!”
>After a few soft breaths, you have a small fire going, filling you with pride
>You begin to add more and more pieces of timber in order to keep the fire going
>With the fire roaring, you can’t do much more than try to keep watch over yourselves to the night
>You glance over at the pony lying next to you
>A soft smile graces her face as she sleeps
>She looks more like she’s simply enjoying a nap at this point
>You lean back against a fallen tree and stare into the fire, meditating over the pony's mysterious appearance
>Who was she? What was she? How why did she fall from the sky?
"I guess I'll just ask her myself in the morning..."
>Your eyelids become heavy as sleep beckons you
>Slowly, but surely, you drift off to sleep, wondering about what next morning will bring