For Tomorrow
Chapter 1: The Year all Hell Broke Loose
"Are you sure you want to do this, Twily," Shining asked his younger sister.
Twilight stared at her brother with an intense, focused gaze.
"Positive. I have to get stronger."
"You've always managed to stop any threat to Equestria before. What's different now?"
"I know now how things could've gone. Every battle I've fought, I was barely ready for. My magic, my intelligence; it's not enough. I have to be ready for the worst."
"What's worse than Discord or Chrysalis?"
"Hey," Discord said, "I resent that."
"Knock it off you two," Twilight demanded.
"Sorry sis," Shining apologized.
"Think about it, Shining; how much of the world have I actually seen?"
Shining did think about it, and he thought about it long and hard.
"You're right."
Twilight smiled at her older brother.
"You should know better than to argue with me at this point."
"Yeah," Shining said as he laughed, "I guess so."
"I'll be alright; I promise."
"…Okay."
"Take care of Spike for me."
"He's been escorted to the throne room with the princesses."
"Good."
"I'm gonna' miss you."
"I'll be back before you know it."
Twilight hugged her brother, and boarded the train waiting for her.
Twilight stared out the window by her seat. She was the only passenger on the train. The train was headed to the rainforest of dreams; the first of four forests marked on the map given to her by Princess Celestia. The events that led up to this point played back in her mind.
"Twilight, are you sure?"
"Yes."
"You realize the wilderness is dangerous."
"I do."
"Very well. You will be allowed three pieces of equipment. I shall assign you a map. Please, use caution my former student."
"I will…"
Over the last few months, Twilight had begun to recognize how dangerous going into battle without thinking through the potential consequences was. She had requested that Princess Celestia allow her to train in the wilderness, where she would learn to survive with minimal resources available. The training was to last for a year. Now, here she was, alone on a train, headed miles from home.
Her equipment consisted of a survival knife, a crossbow, and a water filter. If she needed anything more, she would have to make it herself. Celestia had neutralized her magic as part of the training, as it was meant to improve her physical strength, endurance, agility, and quick thinking under pressure.
After she'd gone over everything in her head, Twilight fell asleep.
Celestia was currently busy with her own task. Because Twilight's friends could not be there to see her off, Celestia was charged with writing letters to them explaining where she had gone. After the letters were completed, she stared out the window.
"Twilight, I hope you know what you're doing."
Twilight awoke several hours later. It would take at least two days to reach her destination. She'd brought two books with her to help her pass the time. One was a fiction novel about a dragon warrior, and the other was a survival guidebook which contained enough tips to help her make it through the conditions she was preparing to face. She started reading the novel first.
"I wonder if Spike will have wings when he's older…"
She read for a little while, becoming more immersed in the book with each page.
"Come to think of it, the character in here started out with a similar personality to Spike's. Maybe the author actually knew a dragon."
Twilight continued reading until nightfall. The more she read, the more she found herself thinking about her assistant. Spike was surprisingly strong for his small size. She supposed it was in part because of all the things she'd had him carry over the years. Though he was still young, his abilities in battle could easily rival her own.
"I'm going to have to push myself as hard as possible."
She was determined to be even more powerful than Shining Armor, which would be no small accomplishment. She looked out the window once more.
"Guess I'd better go back to sleep until daybreak."
Twilight closed her eyes and let consciousness slip away again.
"I have a strange feeling about this," Shining told Cadence.
"Strange feeling? About what?"
"When I talked to Twilight before she got on the train, something seemed…Different."
"How so?"
"There was a strength in her eyes and voice. I've never seen that from her before."
"Maybe she's just learning something new about being a princess. After all, she is responsible for everyone's safety"
"Maybe, but I don't think so."
"Why not?"
"What I felt sent chills up my spine."
"You worry too much."
"I have a good reason to."
"I can't argue with that, but I think she'll be fine. She's your sister."
"I hope you're right."
Twilight awoke the next morning to a dark sky.
"Looks like it's going to rain…," she said to herself in a groggy tone.
After getting something to eat, she sat back down in her seat. She pulled out the survival guide and began reading.
"Good thing I'm not there yet. The weather conditions aren't exactly ideal for a fire right now."
Twilight carefully studied each page. With the small amount of equipment she had at her disposal, she needed to be extremely cautious.
"I should probably make a shelter first, then look for a water supply. Food shouldn't be too hard to come across. Once the weather clears up, I can make a fire."
She stopped to think for a moment, and then continued.
"I have my water filter. If I can find a suitable substitute for a pot, I can boil the water."
She turned to her satchel and grabbed the survival knife. Her crossbow was settled next to her.
"Please forgive me Fluttershy…"