The Elements of Eternity

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Prologue

The sound of thunder momentarily disrupted the maddening monotony of rainfall against the cobblestone road. I looked up from beneath my cloak and glanced around. The streets were empty at this hour, and the only signs of life within the darkness were the tiny flames housed within several streetlamps scattered throughout the town. The closest of these, just several yards away from where I was sitting on the ground with my back against the wall, cast a circular yellow aura that seemed to radiate a power that would repel any evil that challenged its boundary.

A sudden burst of icy wind rushed through the town, cutting through my cloak and chilling me to the bone. I pulled my forelegs tighter against my chest in a vain attempt to generate warmth, quietly shivering as I fell to my side. However, my clothes and hair were soaked through, so any notion of heat was quickly lost in the night air. I recoiled deeper into my cloak, hoping to use my breath to warm my body. Another gust of wind hurried by, and the flicker of my streetlamp left with it.

I was all alone in the freezing darkness. I had no clue where I was, nor any recollection of how I had gotten there. I had only just awoken in the pouring rain several moments earlier, though each of those moments seemed to last an eternity. But with my awakening came an unsettling absence of information. As I thought about it, the realization that I did not have a single memory was beginning to set in, bringing along the cold ache of fear deep within the pit of my stomach. These emotions were only amplified with every passing second of amnesia, and I found myself frantically searching throughout my own mind for those seemingly nonexistent memories.

Then, I felt it.

Within the new-found darkness that accompanied the last gust of wind, I could sense a presence. However subtle, the feeling of eyes regarding me from beyond the shadows was unmistakable. An entirely new feeling of coldness swept over me, making the freezing air seem no more than inconsequential. The presence began to move closer, and I instinctively rose to a standing position. Also on instinct, I could feel my wings beginning to spread out in an attempt to intimidate the presence.

The night's shadows began to bend and twist, dancing on the wooden walls of nearby buildings and seemingly mocking the glow of the remaining lampposts. Slowly, and almost imperceptibly, I could see a single tendril of darkness winding its way toward me from across the road. I involuntarily took a step back, raising one hoof in the air as the shadow attempted to touch it. Apparently insulted, the shadow retreated a few feet, then began to rise from the ground, taking on a three-dimensional form that brought to mind the body of a snake. It started at me for a moment, floating noiselessly in the air before me, then lunged in my direction.

I rolled to the right, batting it out of the way with my left hoof. As it made contact, I was overcome by feelings of sadness and regret, nearly dropping to my knees under the weight of negative emotion. I knew, though, that stopping now would be a fatal error. Instead, I turned tail and ran toward a remaining streetlamp, hoping that I could take refuge within the light.

The ground beneath my hooves shook and a deep rumble droned through the town. As I sprinted for the circular glow, I could see tidal waves of black smoke rising up from the ground on either side of me, crashing in on the area where I had just been. The storm seemed to take the side of the darkness, now pouring down rain harder than ever. Lightning cut through the sky directly above, illuminating the entire town for no more than a fraction of a second. As I had previously discerned, the streets were thoroughly deserted. There would be no calling for help.

An explosion of thunder destroyed my hopes of reaching the light as the glass housing of the lamp shattered into thousands of pieces and the light vanished as it was bombarded with wind and rain. I quietly cursed, turning on one hoof and darting to the left to discover that the only other remaining lamp had suffered a similar fate. My only option would be to keep running until I found help, or until the sun came up. Though, for all I knew, neither occurrence would necessarily guarantee refuge from the darkness.

Hanging wide open immediately before me was the gate that led beyond the town wall, the wilds apparently not threatening enough to warrant shutting it at night. Shadows from the sides began to converge by the gate, blocking my path. I could only conclude that they didn't want me passing beyond the threshold that marked the edge of town. This was the only hint I had gotten that my enemy had any sort of weakness, and it gave me strength. I put everything I had into the last stretch before me, ducking through a tiny gap in the black smoke just before it could close off the road entirely. I chanced a look back, hoping that the darkness would give up its pursuit. However, several figures came bursting through the fog after me.

My leg muscles burned as I galloped down the road, begging for rest. I would not be able to keep this up for much longer, so my only hope was to lose them in the forest to the left. I leaped over the fence and into the bushes, dodging low-hanging branches and jumping over any obstacle big enough to pose a threat. I could hear the shadow-ponies brushing against the leaves behind me, but I had already gained a considerable lead, and I hoped that I would soon lose them for good. I would soon learn from experience not to hope for things.

I jumped over another bush, emerging out onto an enormous overhanging rock that would be beautiful in any situation wherein it was something more than a giant dead-end. I looked over the edge and into the endless black abyss. It looked as though the gray ambient light of the night had attempted to fully illuminate the valley below, only to realize its attempts were useless, giving way to complete darkness about halfway down.

I turned to see two of the shadow-ponies emerge from the bushes, followed by a cloaked figure. While I could sense malicious intent from the darkness, the figure in the middle seemed somehow different. He bore an air of familiarity about him, and he had a concerned expression on his face. It was impossible that he was associated with the shadows. In fact, judging by the way he reacted as they slowly walked toward me, I could go as far as to assume that he couldn't even see them.

I took a step back, nearly slipping from the rock with one of my hind hooves. There was nowhere to run. The low rumbling that had been following the darkness slowly rose to a high-pitched whine, drowning out anything else. The concerned pony seemed to shout something, but I could not hear his voice.

Then, it appeared.

The shadow-ponies stopped as a flicker of light appeared in the air before me. Without their reaction, I would have thought I had imagined it. But however faint, it formed into the recognizable shape of a stallion. Warmth radiated from this glowing figure, and I felt at ease for the first time since before I could remember. I felt as though I had been saved. I stared into the area where the stallion's eyes would have been, and he only stood motionless, returning my gaze.

Suddenly, he turned toward the three other ponies and did the last thing I could have possibly expected. I felt the pain of his hind hooves against my chest as he bucked me over the edge of the rock, and I was airborne.

I flailed wildly in a frantic attempt to remove my cloak, which was thoroughly tangled in my wings at this point. Air and water rushed past me, but it all soon became an incomprehensible blur as I sank deeper and deeper into the darkness. The shadow's whine had been replaced by wind screaming in my ears as I fell. My short existence would soon end as suddenly as it had begun. I closed my eyes and waited to impact the solid ground.

The world around me suddenly became quiet, the rushing wind replaced by a deep splash and the sound of bubbles rising to the surface. Realizing that I was still alive, I attempted to pull myself to the surface of the water. However, I could feel that it was useless as I continued to sink further and further into the depths. Soon, my breath escaped me and I began to panic, until finally I opened my mouth and attempted to inhale.

Just before I could take a fatal amount of liquid into my lungs, the world around me seemed to shatter like a glass window, and I found myself blinded by white light and falling once again. I gasped for air while shielding my eyes with my forelegs. Even as I fell, I could not hear the wind in my ears, nor could I feel it rushing past. I opened my eyes, squinting in the light, and immediately saw the sun before me. I was floating in a brilliant blue sky with no conceivable limit in any direction.

I carefully pulled away my cloak and watched as it floated in the air beside me, spreading my wings and shaking the water from my feathers. Though they would be unhelpful at this point, I felt I should stretch them in case they became useful again in the near future, which wasn't entirely unlikely.

The silence was uncomfortable, considering that I had known nothing but noise for as long as I could remember. The warmth of the sun felt alien to me, as though I had never been warm in my life. The feeling of peace brought with it a sense of unrest that refused to allow me to relax. I could not accept this world, no matter how perfect it was. The world seemed to understand this, and acted accordingly. The last thing I saw before being plunged back into darkness was the mark on my flank: a cloud with sun rays bursting outward in all directions.

Chapter 1

Consciousness did not return easily. My eyes refused to open, and my body was seemingly paralyzed with the stiffness of not having moved for a number of hours. An audible groan escaped me as I attempted to reach an upright position. Every muscle ached, and every bone felt bruised. The only respite from this world of discomfort was the warm, soft grass beneath me.

Though my eyelids were heavy, I slowly opened them, only to find myself squinting against the intense glow of the sunlight. The world was little more than a white haze for the first few moments. Despite my previous experiences, I found myself silently wishing for the darkness of night. Or, at the very least, some sort of protective eye-wear.

I moved to stand, shakily lifting myself from the ground as though I had an elephant or other similarly heavy creature strapped to my back. The surrounding area was beginning to reach a bearable level of brightness, but I was too focused on preventing my legs from buckling under my own weight to notice. It didn’t seem as though I had previously been this heavy, but my recollection left a bit to be desired, so I ignored the thought.

“Walk it off...” I said aloud, pacing in a small circle for a few moments. The more I moved about, the more the stiffness subsided. Before long, I found myself jumping up and down and trotting around, vigorously fluttering my wings in the cool breeze and breathing in the fresh air. I closed my eyes and raised my nose to the sky, basking in the sunlight. I felt strong. My body was overflowing with energy. For the first time that I could remember, I felt alive.

My eyes eventually adjusted to the light, and I was finally able to adequately observe my surroundings. My first glance out into the world was completely overwhelming.

I found myself standing in the dead-center of a staggeringly expansive meadow, surrounded on all sides by a variety of deciduous trees. The sky glowed a deep blue with a few billowing clouds scattered throughout, and the sun radiated vivid, golden light out over the world. A slight breeze traveled softly over the landscape, visible only by the waves flowing across the grass field.

The entire scene was far more beautiful than any words could substantially describe, but there was something else that caught my eye. From the grass, rocks, and leaves all the way to the distant mountains on the horizon beyond the treetops, the world was illuminated by an ethereal glow that couldn’t be entirely excused by the rays of sunlight. The more I tried to focus on it, however, the more I was convinced that it was either a trick of the light or of my own imagination. Regardless, I felt as though I could sit back on my haunches and admire the landscape for the rest of eternity.

* * * *

It wasn’t long before I grew bored of sitting around and staring into space with a dumb look on my face. I began to wander and explore, though every venture that led away from that tiny hill in the center of the meadow always led me back there a short time later. Before long, it began to sink in that I was not simply lost; I was very lost. Not only was I severely lacking in directly applicable geographical knowledge, but I had no recollection beyond a particularly harrowing encounter with an unknown force the previous night. At least, I assumed it was the previous night.

I sat down once again and scanned the edges of the meadow for anything unnatural. Unfortunately, there was no indication that anypony had previously encountered this particular meadow, though I had high hopes for the meadow next door.

I gave a dejected sigh, slightly disheartened by my own sarcasm, then raised my head and shook away the negative thoughts. Logic dictated that the forest couldn’t possibly be infinite, considering that I’d already been to at least one village. If I began walking in one direction, I would eventually have to find something, right? I interpreted that thought as less of a hope and more of a challenge, rearing back and then galloping onward. I would leave that small hill in the center of the meadow and never look back.

Suddenly, I came to a stunning realization. I had wings! Finding civilization just got about twenty percent easier, I thought to myself as I spread my wings and got ready to lift off. I already had a good running start, so it was just a matter of launching myself into the air and soaring into the sky. Without hesitation, I jumped with all of my might and began beating my wings against the air around me.

My vision became filled with green and brown textures as I slammed face-first into the ground. I was torn between frustration and embarrassment, despite there being nopony around to witness my failure. Of course I would turn out to be a pegasus pony who couldn’t fly. Aside from the whole accosted-by-darkness-then-falling-off-of-a-cliff-and-somehow-still-being-alive thing, I had been unimpressed by my luck so far.

I jumped to my feet and frustratedly shook the dust from my feathers. Something about the idea of a pegasus pony walking any substantial distance rubbed me the wrong way. It wouldn’t have bothered me as much if I hadn’t had access to a better means of travel. But in this case, the problem was my own inability. I couldn’t just let that one go.

I braced myself in a stance that served no particular purpose and once again unfolded my wings. I raised them as high as I could, bringing them down lightly on either side of me in a brief effort to practice the motion. Then, with as much effort as I could manage, I flapped them powerfully and jumped into the air, rising for only a split second before falling back to the ground.

I had made progress, and somehow I was already exhausted.

* * * *

My perception of the passage of time, which had already been severely distorted to begin with, was nonexistent as I wandered endlessly into the forest. As my mind jumped from one subject to the next, unable to concentrate on any single idea for more than a moment, I found that the slightest details of nature had become increasingly apparent.

I had initially awakened in a simple, sensible place. There had been a ground with some grass on it, as well as some trees. Above that, there was a sky with some clouds in it, though that part seemed more like a two-dimensional backdrop than any legitimately existent feature of the scenery. Around me were hints at wildlife, including the sound of chirping in the distance, or berries that had been eaten off of certain bushes. All in all, I was in a fairly average forest.

But without any memories to become lost in, I found myself constantly on the surface of my own consciousness, absorbing every aspect of my surroundings and weaving them into something surreal. The bright green grass beneath my feet harmonized flawlessly with the darker leaves above, beginning a vivid visual orchestra that the universe's greatest musicians couldn't even dream of. The clouds in the sky provided a deep blue melody to accent the greens, and with the curtains of golden sunlight piercing the canopy and billowing with the leaves in the breeze, the whole forest became a colorful symphony playing along to the metronome of a thousand songbirds.

The dreamlike world, however, was as fragile as a world can be. Just as quickly as I had imagined this reality, I began to pick it apart until nothing was left. Most were subtle, but certain details didn’t make sense to me. Despite that my idea of how the world should be had no recognizable basis due to amnesia, I still found myself recognizing errors all around me.

Lush, beautiful grass appeared to flourish on the forest floor, despite most of the sunlight it would need to grow being blocked by the trees above. The birds were not just plentiful, but it sounded as though there were many more than there should have been. I couldn’t even begin to explain how I might have known how many birds was normal for any given area, but that knowledge as well as a number of other random bits of information was somehow floating in from the void around my fragmented consciousness.

Another error; for someone with amnesia, I sure seemed to know a lot. Not just a lot, but I could feel a vast wealth of information looming just beyond my reach. I couldn’t access this knowledge consciously, however. It needed a trigger to break free, such as the grass and the birds. I glanced about, torn between wanting the world to remain as perfect as possible and wanting to find more irregularities that would drive back the darkness in my mind. Something else distracted me from this conflict, however. Something that doesn’t seem to matter at all most of the time, but seems like the biggest problem in the world when it becomes apparent.

Thirst... All at once, I was severely dehydrated. It was not a problem that became gradually more noticeable with time. I couldn’t think. I didn’t know how to react. I just frantically looked and listened, searching desperately for a water source, which I had yet to encounter. I forced myself forward, pacing myself to prevent the dryness in my mouth from becoming any worse.

My head pounded, and my body felt heavy all over again. The sound of the birds was no longer beautiful music. Rather, it was an incessant noise that served only to worsen my headache and make it difficult to listen for water. What does water even sound like? I thought. I could vividly recall the sound of rain against wood and stone, but the memory of water running through a stream or calmly lapping against an ocean shore eluded me. It was a strange feeling, knowing that I should remember something, but finding myself entirely unable.

Then I heard it: the unmistakable sound of a ferocious river pouring out into the air and slamming against the rocks and water below. A waterfall, and quite a large one at that. I wondered how I could have ever forgotten that sound.

* * * *

The following moments seemed to drag on endlessly. I chased after the sound, every sign indicating that a massive waterfall was just a stone’s throw away. But no matter how far I travelled, the sound never seemed to get any closer. Despite the burning in my throat, I found myself galloping through the forest, ducking beneath low branches and dodging tree trunks. The desire to quench my thirst had overcome rationality, and I would not be able to stop until I had reached my goal. I abandoned caution at this point, diving headfirst through a bush that obstructed my path.

Leaves and sticks rushed through my field of vision, until suddenly they were gone, and I was faced with only the sky. For a fraction of a second, everything became quiet. The sounds of wind in my ears and my hooves against the ground were no more, and the sun had once again managed to blind me, though the effect was slightly less pronounced this time. I continued to flail my legs in a vaguely-running motion before realizing that I no longer felt the ground beneath me. And then the wind noise returned.

Just before panic managed to take shape, logic and realism manifested for a brief moment to criticise my apparent affinity for falling from high places. They almost immediately gave way to fear, however, which accompanied me the rest of the way down. I frantically flapped my wings in vain, momentarily appalled that the action had literally returned no result, whatsoever. I opened my mouth to about to verbally complain about their uselessness, but no words escaped me, for my world yet again changed entirely in that moment.

Hollow sounds echoed from all around me, though I could still hear the waterfall in the distance. It was different now, though. Louder. Almost as though rather than hearing it, I could feel the sound in my entire body. I tried to move, but each movement was met with unexpected resistance. I opened my eyes (which I didn’t remember closing), but my vision was blurred. The sunlight from above was now uneven, shaking back and forth with... The waves.

There was an explosion of sound as I broke through the surface, splashing about and gasping for air. I couldn’t very well observe my surroundings at the moment, but I knew that the waterfall I’d been seeking was right next to me. I could feel the cold mist washing over me, and I could hear the thunderous roar as the falls came crashing into the pool at their base.

My ability to swim returned more readily than my ability to fly, assuming I had it to begin with. By the time I had gone half of the distance to the edge of the pool, panic had subsided and I was easily able to paddle my way there. I finally reached an area where the water was shallow enough to stand in, and the ground sloped the rest of the way to the surface from there. I waded over to dry land and immediately dropped to my side, exhausted. I had ingested enough water that I was no longer thirsty for the moment.

The waterfall was a sight to behold. Shooting out into the air hundreds of feet above, the water had cut a massive hole into the solid stone ground below. The bottom of the hole was brilliantly smooth, rounding out to create a pool that could have easily been mistaken for an artificial one. The side opposite of where I rested was where the pool spilled out over the lowest wall and created a river that continued off into the distance.

Trees reached outward from the top of the falls, and the ones growing all around were easily twice as tall as those I’d seen before. The sun only shone upon the innermost part of the circular pool, as the rest of the sunlight was heavily filtered by the leaves once again. I was beginning to notice a pattern. The darkness created by their shadows could not rightly be referred to as such, however. I had already accepted that wherever I had ended up, the entire area, or possibly even the entire world was illuminated by a soft light from some unknown source, and for that I was grateful. If there was one certainty among all of the confusion and mystery, it was that this was not a realm in which I would encounter the darkness from before.

I sighed deeply. This had been the most physically and mentally taxing day I’d had since before I could remember! I rolled my eyes at the thought, then dragged myself over to the edge of the water for another drink. It was not cold, but it was ridiculously clean. From the edge, even through the disturbance in the surface, I could see all the way to the bottom, which was illuminated by an ever-shifting web that formed beneath the single patch of sunlight on the surface.

As I rolled over onto my back, I could feel my eyes closing. Was this really the best place for a nap? With wet hair, no less? Though I figured that the air was more than warm enough to keep me from catching a cold, I really didn’t care to give it more thought than that. The smooth, stone surface was more comfortable than it had any right to be, and I was more tired than I had ever been, though there wasn’t much to compare to. Either way, this would be the first time I had voluntarily fallen asleep. I’d likely wake up in the middle of the night, but I was already too far gone by the time I considered the possibility. Within moments, the world faded out entirely.

Chapter 2

My slumber was not a peaceful one. I found myself plagued by nightmares inconsistent with experience. I explored places I had not seen and confronted ponies I had never met, and yet they all seemed so familiar. I found myself wandering amongst disconnected and distorted scenes of a life that could not possibly have been my own. Every moment was different almost entirely from the next, lacking any recognizable continuity, save for one similar aspect that seemed to remain a constant. Sometimes it was a subtle detail. Sometimes it was an overpowering nightmare. Regardless, though, of the form it embodied, it became apparent that the darkness was a clear theme, no matter what the context.

Clarity and length increased considerably with each passing dream, as though my mind was using a trial-and-error approach to deliver the visions in a format that I could understand, until finally I found myself suddenly dropped into what couldn’t be anything less than reality. An impossibly realistic city was collapsing around me. The air itself shook as fire exploded in every street and buildings shattered. Giants grappled with one another, and magical bolts whizzed by as soldiers on the ground exchanged fire. Winged silhouettes flew through the skies at impossible speeds. The world was in chaos, until everything ended in an instant.

The air flashed white, momentarily blinding me. As my vision returned, I saw the most beautiful, most magnificent, and most terrifying thing that could possibly exist, though at the time, I had no recollection of why I felt this way. A full-spectrum cloud of chromatic smoke and fire rose high into the sky, sending shockwaves in all directions that obliterated any structure that hadn’t already been destroyed by the seemingly indiscriminate combat from before. And then, I was overtaken by the blast.

* * * *

My whole body tensed as I opened my eyes to the blinding light of the sun. In that moment, I could have sworn that it had deliberately adjusted it’s journey across the sky in order to shine into my eyes through the only hole in the canopy large enough to reveal it entirely. I was irritable, still unable to shake off the “achy-all-over” feeling of awakening too quickly from a horrific nightmare. Every muscle was stiff, but not in the same way as they had been before. My first awakening had felt as though I had fallen asleep in an uncomfortable position and remained that way for at least a full night. This felt like my brain wasn’t correctly connected to my nerves.

I awkwardly managed to position myself upright on all four hooves, but I wasn’t sure I’d have the strength to remain standing for any substantial amount of time. Luckily, coordination returned faster than I had expected. I carefully paced about, stretching each leg individually and making sure my body was functioning properly before moving on to focus on other subjects.

Judging by the distance the sun had traveled, I couldn’t have been asleep for more than a few hours. Whereas it had been approximately noon when I first discovered the waterfall, now it appeared to be approaching the early evening. I still had quite a bit of time remaining until nightfall, but it occurred to me that it’d be wise to find some form of shelter sooner, rather than later. I admired the formation of the stone pool for a moment more before deciding to follow the river downstream. Common sense told me that if civilization was anywhere, it would be next to a water source. Doubly so for such a particularly clean water source as this one. At this point, I’d have settled for encountering the village I’d escaped from the previous night (or however much time had passed).

As I progressed, the forest eventually began to thin out, which was a welcome change. Despite the peculiar lack of darkness even below the trees, it was still nice to be able to look up at the sky from time to time. Maybe that was just a subconscious desire that came with being a pegasus. As the thought crossed my mind, I considered attempting flight once more, but then passed it off as something to save for when I wasn’t in a potentially life-threatening situation, despite the predominant calm feeling of the forest. I had to constantly remind myself that I had no food and no shelter.

I stopped, noticing that the flow of water seemed to be gaining momentum. It was time to be cautious for a moment. I didn’t think a third skydive would end as harmlessly as the other two. Even if it did, I didn’t have time for the nap that would follow, based on the established pattern. I carefully traveled along the edge of the river, making certain to check and recheck the blind side of any foliage that I encountered.

I heard the next waterfall long before I actually saw it. My caution seemed to have been in vain, though, as there was an extremely apparent edge where the ground abruptly ended in the distance, visible from at least fifty meters away, though it should be noted that I give no guarantee as to the accuracy of my judgement of distances. It certainly didn’t sneak up on me, though.

I was slightly on-edge (snicker) as I approached. At this height, the distance I could see was simply staggering. Consequently, if there was nothing but more forest as far as the eye could see, things could get problematic. Finally, I reached the edge of the cliff and scanned the landscape.

Directly ahead, which was in the direction of the setting sun (I assumed west. Don’t ask me how I knew that.), a magnificent mountain range spanned the entire view distance from left to right, like a giant barrier against whatever was on the other side. The forest continued across the land below, right up to the edge of the mountains, though it was significantly less dense than it had been so far. To the north, there was another series of mountains, though more varied in size and shape than those to the west. To the south, the forest eventually ended, and rolling plains stretched the rest of the way into the horizon.

I followed the river with my eyes, from the base of the falls below, carefully tracking the snaking path it took to the north, through a massive field, and back into the forest. And then, my heart skipped a beat as I saw the tiniest of clearings by the river’s edge. In the center of the clearing was a wooden structure that, while I couldn’t tell exactly what it was at such a vast distance, was unmistakably a house, or barn, or something similar. Nearby, rooftops that were nearly invisible peaked through the treetops. Oddly enough, nothing even resembling a road connected with this cluster of houses on any side, though I dismissed this as simply meaning that it was not the village where I encountered the darkness, which was a positive sign.

I grinned widely, and began searching a little too enthusiastically for a safe way down the side of the mountain I was on. Looking back, I could see the first cliff I’d fallen from, and it coincidentally seemed to be roughly the same height. I wondered if, going in the other direction, I would have came across another plateau where the entire world seemed to have simply moved up a level, and how many subsequent levels there would be. The area definitely had interesting formations of land, and I couldn’t even begin to fathom how it formed that way, unless the entire world I had so far come to know was nothing more than a staircase for some much larger form of life.

Finally, I settled on a set of “platforms”, where each was a couple of meters’ drop from the one previous, all the way down to the bottom. It was almost too convenient, but I ultimately decided that of the strange things I’d seen so far, this was of lesser interest. Before I once again descended below the treetops, I made a mental note of the exact direction of the village. Following the river all the way north and back again would be tedious and a waste of time, but I didn’t want to get lost again because of an easily avoidable error.

A hop, a skip, and a jump later, I found myself on flat ground once again, listening to the roar of the waterfall and taking comfort in the refreshing mist that resulted. I headed in the direction of the village at a brisk pace, following the river for the time being and making sure to take another quick drink while I still had the opportunity. Before long, I had to bid farewell to the peaceful and familiar sound of the river at my side. In the absence of company, I found myself feeling lonely after growing accustomed to the sound. I could already see that I was going to have to work on avoiding attachment to nonliving things, especially features of the landscape. At least for the moment, I had the excuse that there was nothing else to grow attached to.

Quiet. That’s the only word I have to describe the following hour. It was unnervingly quiet. Occasionally, a bird would chirp or a breeze would whisper past. But for the most part, the lack of ambient noise was enough to drive a pony crazy. I was plagued by a slight ring in my ears that resulted from my brain trying to make sense of the absence of sound. I finally settled for humming tunelessly to myself. I didn’t know any songs, but it was better than silence.

The silence only amplified what was to come. There was a rustling in the bushes. The slight sound of leaves being stepped on by another creature. Previously, I would have thought it was just some small animal going about it’s business. But with the silence came paranoia, and I instantly found myself on guard against the unknown source of the noise.

On guard? Could I defend myself if attacked? Did I have the ability to fight at all? I had no idea. But I stood at attention, wings flared in an instinctive attempt at intimidation and head slightly lowered in some sort of improvised fighting stance, as I searched for whatever I was to encounter. It had come from almost directly ahead, but was now dead still. I could still sense it’s presence, though. It was almost as though I could feel a difference in the air that gave away its location. My locating ability was spot on when it revealed itself from exactly where I had sensed it.

A pony. A stallion, specifically. His hair was sandy brown, and his mane and tail were more of a chocolate color. His eyes matched perfectly, landing about halfway in between the two shades of brown previously mentioned. He was slightly shorter than me, and looked to be a year or so younger. That is, younger than what I assumed to be my age, since that was also in the massive list of mysteries that was continuously increasing without any sign of slowing down.

One thing that bothered me, however, was his lack of a cutie mark. He seemed much too old. I had no idea why this seemed weird to me, nor why I had one to begin with. Maybe I was the odd-one-out. I scrutinized his appearance for slightly longer than I should have, however, as he finally broke the silence between us.

“Hello.” It was a simple word. So simple, in fact, that it caught me completely off guard. I didn’t know how to respond, so I just stared silently back, likely looking outwardly distraught, judging by the expression he reacted with. “I’ve never seen you before.”

Well, that seemed straightforward enough. I could talk, right? Of course. I’d done it before. Don’t be stupid. I’d become such good friends with the river in such a short time, I figured I’d be a social butterfly. “I... I’m not really from around here.”

“Wow. I’ve never met anyone from outside of the village before. Come to think of it, it never really occurred to me that there were other ponies outside of the village. Where are you from?” He didn’t miss a beat. I supposed that parents didn’t teach their children anything regarding talking with strangers when they didn’t expect there to be any strangers. I was taken aback by how easily he was able to converse with me, when I found it so exceedingly difficult.

“I don’t really... Well, I’m not... I don’t...” I struggled to formulate a coherent sentence. I hadn’t counted on being completely unable to carry on a discussion. I should have prepared for meeting new ponies.

“You don’t....?” he urged. He could clearly see that I was having issues, and he was being extraordinarily patient with my nonsensical stuttering.

“Do you have any food?” I blurted out, then recoiled. I could feel myself blushing, but my subconscious was clearly more worried about keeping me from starving than making a good first impression on the locals. “I’m sorry. That was a weird thing to say. It’s been awhile since I’ve talked to anypony.”

“What’s your name?” he asked, smiling slightly. I saw that one coming, though I’d hoped it wouldn’t.

“I don’t... I don’t know, actually. Nor do I know where I’m from.” While I wasn’t very articulate with my words, I managed to get them out into the open. “I’ve actually been wandering in the forest for about a day now.”

The pony frowned, then approached me and sat down on his haunches nearby. I sat down in front of him without thinking about it. “That’s a little odd. What were you doing before you were wandering in the forest?”

“Running from something in another town. Before that, I can’t recall.”

“Hmm... Well, if you’d like to come to our village, maybe the elder knows something about your memory loss. And we can scrounge up something for you to eat while we’re at it, if you’d like.” With that last statement, he winked. I wasn’t sure if it was some form of flirting, or if it was just humorous to him because of the manner in which I’d asked about food. The prospect of eating, though, sealed the deal for me before I even had time to think about it. But I had to ask something, first.

“What’s your name?” I quietly asked. It seemed rude to ask his name without giving him my own, but I had an excuse.

“Morning Dew.” He smiled again. “And don’t worry. If we can’t figure out your name right away, we’ll just have to come up with something good to call you in the meantime.”

I don’t know if it was just the feeling of being around somepony else. Maybe he was just a particularly kind and friendly pony. But I felt comfortable for the first time I could remember. Continued loneliness only brings with it a growing sense of urgency and paranoia. Combine that with severe amnesia, and the effect is compounded. I’ll never be able to adequately explain the relief I felt in that moment, just before the two of us headed off in the direction of his village. If only the feeling could have lasted. Of course I wouldn’t be that fortunate.

“Does your village have a name?”

“Nopony ever uses the name, but it’s officially named Eternal Sky.”

That was a name that would always find it’s way back to me in my adventures, no matter how far I traveled.

Chapter 3

The sun hovered carelessly above the edge of the horizon as we reached the outskirts of the village, threatening to dip below and blanket the world in shadows. For the moment, however, the setting glowed brilliantly red as dusk approached. I was concerned by the possibility of the world regaining its earlier hostility the instant night had fallen. A shiver arched up my spine as the thought crossed my mind.

Morning Dew and I hadn’t spoken frequently during the journey. I assumed that social interaction, similar to flight, was one of the skills that hadn’t “carried over” through my apparent cognitive reset. At least, that’s what I had assumed was the case. It was entirely possible that I was randomly created by some magical or scientific phenomenon and dropped indiscriminately into the world. Entirely possible, but not particularly probable. I grimaced upon reminding myself that I had a perfectly functional set of wings on my back that I didn’t know how to use.

The forest ended abruptly, suddenly meeting a large section of farmland that I’d somehow missed from my earlier vantage point. A roadway divided the two main fields, which were each then divided into two subsections of equal size. I saw that corn and wheat were the two crops nearest the edge of the forest. The others were unfamiliar to me. On the left side of the road was a short, leafy, green plant that didn’t appear to bear anything edible (at least from what I could see). The one on the right was a plant that looked like a small tree, only in place of leaves and branches were a number of what seemed to be narrow cactus arms. These “trees” bore a dark pink fruit with green leaves growing off in such a way that the fruit appeared to be on fire.

Now, I am not now, nor have I ever been an agriculturalist. Or a botanist. Or... I’m getting sidetracked. The point is, I’m no expert, but all of these plants looked out-of-place to some extent, some more than others. I wanted to ask Dew about this, but try as I might have, my questions always got lost somewhere between uncertainty and shyness. I kept telling them to go left when they got to confidence, but they never listened.

Beyond the anomalous herbs were a series of comparatively average-looking wooden huts, raised slightly off of the ground by supports and accessible by a little wooden staircase in the front of each. Each hut seemed to only consist of one small room, though a dividing curtain of some sort could have remedied that. The rooms created by this method would be uncomfortably small, however, so I didn’t assume that would be the case.

The walls of the huts were what you’d expect: medium-sized pieces of wood tethered together with handmade rope. The rooftops, however, were each crafted from three or four gigantic leaves that couldn’t have possibly come from any tree I’d encountered so far. The leaves were a vivid, glossy green that seemed more appropriate for a tropical climate, rather than the half-deciduous, half-pine forest I thought I was in. Upon realizing how stupid that sounded, I decided that the local climate couldn’t be expected to make sense, and questioning it further would only give me a headache.

A pair of young Earth fillies wrestled enthusiastically in the grass just behind the first hut on the right. One was mint-green with turquoise eyes and a sky-blue mane. The other was pastel-orange with a rose-red mane and eyes the same color. Neither had yet earned a cutie mark. As Dew and I grew closer, both froze and locked their eyes on us (mostly me), following us (me) until we passed their hut. When the hut blocked their view, I could faintly hear two sets of tiny hoofsteps moving up to spectate from behind cover. I gave them a quick glance, which caused them to recoil behind their hut for just a moment.

It was even worse as we went further into the village. Past the cluster of mostly-similar hovels, we found ourselves in what I guessed was the central area, based on the fire pit, sitting area, and the general assortment of ponies inhabiting it. Curiously, all of them were Earth ponies, and not a single one had marked flank. And of course, there was that one other thing...

“Is it just me, or is everypony staring at me?” The question was rhetorical. I didn’t doubt that everypony was staring at me. I lowered my head slightly and moved closer to Morning Dew, as though I somehow expected this stranger to protect me from his co-strangers.

“You’re the first visitor... Well, ever. It’s not surprising that your presence is causing a bit of a commotion.” Dew stated without missing a beat. “Also, there are... The things on your back. That’s not normal at all.”

Oh great. I’m weird. I thought. Also, commotion? I don’t think that’s the right word. They look like they want to rip me apart and dry my flesh to make Pegasus jerky.

The thought made me uneasy. I had intended it as a joke to myself, but my imagination shaped it into something much more terrifying. Of course, the collective glare I was receiving from the townsfolk wasn’t helping.

Dew led me toward the side of town with structures comparable in size to legitimate houses, though they retained the “branches and leaves” style of architecture, maybe if only to match the rest of the village. The larger homes suggested a hierarchy of some sort where ponies of greater political position would receive higher quality lodging. Or maybe some ponies just had better work ethic and spent more time building their homes.

Our destination seemed to be the largest one, adorned with colorful gems, small stone carvings, and painted cloth covering the windows and doorway. Smoke poured from a hole in the roof, and I was suddenly overwhelmed by the smell of... something. If this is the dining hall, I’m not hungry anymore.

Dew asked me to wait for a moment as he peeked through the hanging cloth then went inside. I looked around, noticing for the first time that the populace had formed a semicircle around the front side of the structure, leaving a generous amount of space between myself and the nearest of them. Some looked confused, others almost angry, and a few of the younger ones even looked a bit fearful. I quickly reviewed my mental checklist of things to encounter after awakening in the rain with amnesia: Living darkness? Check. Strange glowing forest? Check. Xenophobic villagers? Check.

I was doing great so far. The only two things left on the list were space aliens and fire-breathing dragons. I mused that if I didn’t waste any time, I could probably finish up by the following afternoon.

As Dew returned, I exhaled for the first time since he’d left, though the relief didn’t last long. Trailing behind him was a hideous... Trailing behind him was an elderly mare with a makeshift crutch fastened to one of her forelegs. Her tail was missing almost entirely, and one of her eyes was missing entirely. The other eye was as matte-gray as her coat, and her frazzled black mane covered her other eye, which I might have thought was also missing had she not approached and looked directly at me.

Everypony stood in silence as their elder appraised me from head to hoof. I stayed as still as a statue, following her with only my eyes. Finally, she turned and retreated a few paces, breathing in deeply then letting out a gruff sigh. I braced myself so that I wouldn’t startle when she first spoke, but I did anyway.

“This is a development, indeed.” Clearly, with a voice like that, she was breathing in too much of whatever that was billowing out of the roof of her hut. She could have sanded the paint off of furniture by reading it a story. I was convinced that if I were to return to the forest, I’d find that there was no bark left on the trees. Too much?

“Is it?” I earnestly asked. I probably should have opted to refrain from saying anything, but the silence was unbearable. The elder turned back to me, flipping the hair out of her face and giving me a one-eyed stare. She regarded me for a moment before continuing.

“Oh, but certainly.” She spoke slowly and deliberately, as if I knew little of the language. Or maybe that was just part of the image. “In such desperate times, we wouldn’t have expected one such as yourself to appear. But this is a great sign, it is.”

“Great as in good?” I grinned, sheepishly. Needless to point out, I was handling the situation poorly.

“Terrible!!” She shouted. Even Dew flinched slightly. I could feel the horrific sound turning my hair white before looking down and remembering that my hair was already white. “If you have come here, it can only mean that the legends passed down by the old Gods are more than just stories.”

That was just what I needed. I had already pieced the story together. I was the central element in some terrible prophecy that would bring destruction to... Something. For some reason. Something like “A lone mare with no past would appear on the horizon and bring with her an unspeakable dark force that would devour the world upon the setting of the sun.”

“Close!” Did I say that out loud? “But I fear the prophecies are much worse than you speak. When the sun touches the horizon on the eleventh day, the beast sealed within the Temple of the Eternal Sky will rise up once more and burn away the landscapes until nothing remains. This can only be prevented if the Sky Goddess reaches the temple and renews the seal before it is too late.”

I thought about that for a moment. On one hoof, it wasn’t the living darkness that was the problem. That could have been good or bad, depending on whether or not the darkness would be a separate problem. And all we had to do was get this Sky Goddess to go fix everything, right? Sounds simple enough.

“That doesn’t sound so bad. Who is the Sky Goddess?” As the question left my lips, I was almost knocked to the ground by the sudden feeling of realization. The villagers just stared at me in silence, though most of their emotions had shifted to a sort of awkwardness and confusion. But all of the details were right there. I was the odd one out. I was the only pony with wings. And somehow, I was the only pony with a cutie mark, which I still just couldn’t figure out. “You know, today just isn’t a good day.”

* * * *

I found myself sitting on a log by the fire pit, slowly finishing off a bowl that had contained some variant of mushroom soup. My appetite had gone away upon finding out that I was some kind of higher power in all of this, but I knew that I had to force myself to eat if I wanted to have any energy for the coming storm. Not only did I have to embark on some sort of quest the following morning, but the sun had gone down by that time, and I was keeping a close watch on the darkest of the shadows. If one of them moved unnaturally, I’d feed it the old mare. That would either satisfy its hunger or kill it.

Dew remained the only pony other than the elder who would speak to me. The rest just went about their business and attempted to ignore me, but not without the occasional passing glare. I grimaced.

“If I’m supposed to be some kind of goddess, why is everypony so rude to me? I don’t think that’s how that works...” I emptied the bowl and put it down beside me. I didn’t look toward Dew as I spoke, but I assumed he knew I was addressing him since, well, you know.

“In their defense, you do represent a lot of horrible things, apparently. It’s a little strange, though. I hadn’t heard anything about any kind of legend like this before now. How come I’m always the one who is left out of the loop?” At that moment, we were both equally whiny, and it felt good to have an ally in this cold and cruel world.

“That’s quite a loop to be left out of. Are you sure you didn’t just forget? It seems kind of important.” I responded, standing to stretch my legs. I hadn’t realized that I’d been sitting in one place for over an hour. I looked around, scanning the area for something unusually unusual, but found nothing of interest. The landscape didn’t appear to be glowing anymore, but it still wasn’t as dark as it should have been under the light of a crescent moon.

“I’m absolutely certain.” he stated, following me as I wandered aimlessly in a random direction. “Careful not to go to far. You might not be able to find your way back.”

I turned and regarded him, conflicted on whether that was a warning or an insult. I certainly hadn’t gotten lost in the forest of my own accord, if that was the implication. I was pretty sure that appearing in a place without any transition leading up to it didn’t count against me in that category. If it did, then the game was rigged and I wanted my money back.

“Whoa, I didn’t mean anything by that. It’s just that once you leave the village, it’s nearly impossible to get back if you don’t know exactly where you’re going. The forest changes depending on which way you go.” Dew backed off a step and held up one hoof.

Wait, what?

“Explain that.” I took a step closer. Dew didn’t realize it, but he was about to confirm my suspicion that this place didn’t make any sense. At all.

“Well... It’s not really... This is just something everypony knows. I’m not sure how to explain it.” With every step I took toward him, he took one back. Suddenly, he stopped. “Wait... I just realized something. You’re able to speak now. Fluently.”

“Hey... I hadn’t noticed, but you’re right!” I was excited for a moment, but it didn’t last. “Wait, don’t change the subject! Even if you have to dumb it down, just try your best.”

Morning Dew was silent for awhile. He looked up into the sky in thought, then walked slowly back to the fire pit and sat down. I followed, feeling relatively content that I would not have to be afraid of my shadow this night. The world simply wasn’t dark enough. I knew in my heart that it would find me again eventually, but for the time being, I was safe.

“Okay, so-” Dew interrupted my internal monologue, causing me to jump slightly. He shrugged, then continued. “Let’s say that you leave the village heading north, walk for an hour or so, then loop around and try to come back in from the south. Are you following me so far?”

“Big circle. Got it.” I wanted to point out that I wasn’t stupid, but I decided to let it go.

“Once you reach the spot where the village should be, it just won’t be there. Logically, it should be, but it just won’t. You can only come back into the village from exactly where you left.” Dew pantomimed every action with his hooves, even though I could pretty clearly figure it out just from his words. Long story short: the world was unstable and needed to be given medication. “But that isn’t the only thing. If you leave to the north, within a half hour, you’ll reach snow and mountains. Ponies have tried to find out what was beyond the mountains before, but none of them ever came back.”

Already, his description of the landscape didn’t match with what I had observed from atop the cliff shortly before meeting him. The mountains could only have been hours upon hours away, and there was no snow in sight, in any direction. The climate was far too warm. If I recalled correctly, there was another mountain range to the west, then plains to the south. Maybe the western mountains were closer than I had thought, but that still didn’t account for the snow.

“Tomorrow, you’ll be leaving to the west. The river leaves the village in that direction and passes through a large valley. At the end of the valley, where the mountains come together, there is the Temple of the Eternal Sky. I wasn’t even sure it existed until earlier. I’d only heard it mentioned in passing. It didn’t seem like anything of interest at the time.”

I’d just have to let that one pass as well. No use in arguing. He’d lived his whole life here, and I’d only lived here about three-quarters of mine.

“To the south, the forest soon turns to jungle, then ends abruptly with a beach about an hour out. From there on, it’s ocean. Just like the mountains, nopony who has ever tried to cross it came back.”

“And that explains where you get the leaves!” I stomped a hoof for emphasis. Dew looked at me, quizzically.

“All of this information, and that’s what was bothering you?”

“Of course not. This whole thing is completely absurd. I saw the village from a cliff in the eastern forest. There isn’t any snow, or valley, or ocean, or anything like that. It’s all just forest, then some plains to the south and mountains everywhere else. What you’re saying makes absolutely no sense.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you!” He seemed frustrated. “It’s different, depending on how you leave the village. If you look at it from one of the western mountains, it’s going to look completely different than how you saw it. I’m not claiming that it’s logical. I’m just saying that this is the way things are.”

He had begun to raise his voice at the end. For a moment, I’d thought he was leading up to some sort of elaborate joke, but there was no humor or deceit in his tone. If only because he was the only pony who had chosen to be nice to me, I chose to believe his story. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

“...” He seemed conflicted. There was definitely more, but he wasn’t sure if I should know the rest. “Well, this is where it gets a little strange.”

“I have nothing positive or constructive to say in response to that. Continue.”

“Sometimes, when you come back to the village from outside, it’s... Different.” He seemed to question what he was saying, as though he was unsure. “Like, I can explore the forest for a day, then come back and discover the season to have changed. Once, even, somepony who had disappeared in the mountains had returned, and nopony remembered him ever leaving except for me. Ever since those things began happening, I tried to stay in the village as much as possible. The only reason I found you is because I was having a particularly terrible day and decided I could clear my mind by going for a short walk.”

I hadn’t been expecting that. Although reluctantly, I could comprehend a pocket of space where different vectors of travel returned different results. I even felt as though I may have encountered a similar subject once long ago. But events undoing themselves? Seasons rapidly shifting? That was above my pay grade.

“There’s one more thing, though it’s not quite as interesting as what I’ve already told you.” Once Morning Dew began moving away from the previous subject, he seemed more at ease. I could see how such an experience could be unsettling. “There’s a fenced-off pathway that leads from behind the home of the village elder to the northwest. Nopony knows where it goes, but she’s rather adamant about keeping ponies away from there. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but it seemed related.”

As a homeless Pegasus pony afflicted with amnesia awakening alone in a forest, I had had a ridiculous amount of time to think and nothing at all to think about. Now, though, the tables had been turned. I had far too much to think about, and not nearly enough time to work through all of it. In the morning, I’d be leaving on a quest that I didn’t even know I could complete. And given the “dynamic geography” of the area, I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to find my way to any stupid temple at the end of some stupid valley that I still wasn’t sure existed. I sighed heavily, then turned to Dew.

“So am I going to have to sleep on the ground, or do I at least get a pile of hay for the night?”

Chapter 4

I wandered endlessly through burning fields beneath skies blackened by the fires of war, unable to distinguish friend from foe among the bodies of the fallen that littered the landscape. In every direction, the horizons faded into a gray fog that only served to- “SKY GODDESS!!”

“Wha-?!” I flailed blindly about, suddenly forced into wakefulness by the nearby shout. There was a momentary lapse in the feeling of gravity as I fell from the impromptu bed on which I had slept. The sleeping arrangement had consisted of a large cloth thrown over a pile of hay atop a wooden crate. It would have been ideal if not for the lack of any preemptive measures against the possibility of a panicked pony hastily plucked from a perilous potential premonition.

My vision cleared to reveal Morning Dew standing on the ceiling before me. I rolled over and brought myself to an upright position, rubbing the sore area on my head with a hoof, then yawned loudly. All the while, Dew was apologizing and explaining that he had had difficulty awakening me. I stood and lazily wandered to the doorway.

The area chosen to serve as my lodging was the storage area behind Dew’s family home. It wasn’t much, but the weather was nice and the bed was soft, so it was sufficient. In terms of quality, it was far better than any of the other places I’d slept thus far.

“I don’t like that name.” I interrupted whatever it was he was saying. Some ponies may have liked the idea of being a higher power. I wasn’t one. Dew was silent for a moment.

“Well, what am I supposed to call you, then?”

“I don’t know. Think of something.” I sat down just outside, enjoying the warmth of the sunlight against my hair. In this beautiful weather, it was hard to imagine there was snow just a half hour’s walk to the north.

“Hmm... How about Sky Crest?” He sounded hopeful, but I grimaced.

“That sounds like the name of a city. Also, lose the word ‘Sky’. I don’t like it.” Even if it was apparently where I’d come from, it bothered me: not even the idea, but the word itself. It was too sharp, or something.

“Um... Spiral... Riser?” He was struggling.

“I get dizzy just thinking about it. Forget it. I’ll just think of something on the way to the temple.”

Morning Dew approached me with a pair of saddlebags and threw them over my back, explaining that they contained a few days’ worth of food and a blanket. It wasn’t the most substantial survival kit, but it would have to suffice. And how far could it possibly be, right? All I had to do was walk to some temple and renew some seal. I’d be able to figure it out.

“I’m going with you, by the way,” Dew stated in passing. I started to respond, but somepony else beat me to it.

“Like hell you are.” The voice was strong and commanding. I quickly looked up to find the source. An older stallion was approaching from the front of the hut, and he bore a striking resemblance to Morning Dew. He gave Dew a stern look before continuing. “It’s far too dangerous for a pony as young as you to be traveling carelessly through the valley.”

“But Father, it’s even more dangerous for someone who isn’t as familiar with the area as I am! What will we do if she gets lost and can’t complete the task?” I had no idea why Dew’s concern for me contrasted so sharply with the rest of the villagers.

“Whether or not she does isn’t our problem. It’s hers.” With that, he turned to leave. He clearly wasn’t in the mood for a debate.

“But it is our problem! If some monster gets released and starts destroying everything, what then?”

“I’ll hear no more of it! Get the outsider off of my property and send her on her way. I expect you back in half an hour to help me with the harvest.” He left without another word. Dew still seemed angry, but he said nothing in response. I wanted to tell him that I’d be okay on my own, but I wasn’t completely sure, myself. I did know, though, that every moment spent in this village was giving me less incentive to try and save it from being destroyed.

We began the short walk to the westernmost outskirts of the village, where a number of villagers, including the elder, were already waiting. The actual edge of the village was marked by a stone archway. Dew followed me through the crowd, but stopped as I reached the marker, frowning slightly. The elder approached at this moment. I braced myself as she began to speak.

“There is nothing to be said here. Make haste, so that this crisis can be avoided without incident.” She might has well have hissed (though I strongly preferred the sound as opposed to her standard speaking voice). Thrown into a foreign world and forced to help a people I had no emotional connection to, I wasn’t sure how I, personally, had earned any malice. I looked toward the gathering, which collectively displayed a venomous expression in dismay at my presence. Finally, I turned and began the first steps on what would most likely turn out to be a ridiculous journey with no real objective.

What was I supposed to do even if I found this “seal”? Unless there was a handy set of step-by-step instructions etched into the wall next to it, I’d just end up looking like a damned idiot. And how was I to know that this wasn’t a fool’s errand? That elder could have made the whole thing up just to get rid of me. The villagers clearly didn’t want me there.

By the time I was no longer able to hear the angry murmurs and spiteful comments of the ponies I’d left behind, I was thoroughly agitated. So much so, in fact, that I had to stop and stomp around for a bit to relieve some of the annoyance. After a few moments of my childish tantrum, I calmed myself and let out a heavy sigh. At the very least, I had them out of my hair for the time being. Though it wouldn’t constitute forgiveness, maybe they’d be slightly more hospitable once I returned with the news that they were safe until another winged amnesiac stumbled upon their hidden paradise in however many years.

The setting looked remarkably similar to the forest on the opposite side of the village. Either I’d gone the wrong way, or the stories Dew had told me weren’t entirely based on facts. I was leaning toward the latter, due mainly to how ridiculous the concept was. A central, inhabited area that had a different climate on every side? It all seemed far too convenient, especially when adding the part about being unable to observe one “area” from within another.

“Horseapples,” I said aloud as I ambled along the beaten path. I closed my eyes and bowed my head as a preface to a dejected sigh, but I was brought to a dead halt by something that caught my attention. It was a small thing that most likely wouldn’t even notice at all. I, however, had discovered over the course of my brief existence that I possessed a keen eye for spotting the technical aspects of the world. Supplemented by my recently developed hobby for doing just that, the soft crunching of an autumn leaf beneath my hoof raised an immediate red flag.

I lifted said hoof and examined the shattered remains of the specimen. It was pretty average, as far as leaves go (orange, kind of crumbly). The source of my bewilderment was simply the context. I’d spent roughly a day and a half in this forest and explored what I hoped was a good portion of it. If the leaves had been any further saturated in green, emeralds would have dripped from the branches.

Lifting my nose to perform a visual sweep of the foliage only confirmed that statement. I could handle a world inconsistent with my expectancy of reality, but I wouldn’t stand for one inconsistent with itself. Some unseen force delivered unnatural amounts of vitality to these lands, allowing grass to grow in the dark and tropical plants to grow on mountains. I was almost certain that I could deliver a strawberry bush to the darkest depths of the deepest cave and it would still make a fine topping for shortcake. Simply put, this dried-out leaf was a sign of an approaching winter where all of these trees would purge themselves of their previous majesty, unable to stand against the chill of the air.

In this world, that could not exist. The ever-shrinking reserve of logic that I cherished dictated that it could not. And yet, it did. I had stepped on it.

A breeze whispered gently in my ear, advising me to turn around. I complied, quickly circling eastward as though my name had been called from somewhere in the distance. And even had I some expectation of what I would see upon turning around, I could never have expected what happened next.

From just beyond the distant bend of the gently curving pathway, I could sense a rapidly advancing force. Flurries of air twisted wildly as they came into view, carrying hundreds of leaves that had become radiant with the warm colors of autumn. The currents spiraled forward and doubled back, looping amongst one another in such a way that they formed a single burst of air that rushed toward me at a startling rate. The leaves of every tree overtaken by the strange force faded to a beautiful assortment of gold, orange, and everything in between. Finally, the gale rushed past me with an explosion of sound.

I raised a foreleg to shield my eyes from debris, barely able to think as I was blasted with air. As quickly as it had approached, however, the wind disappeared into the trees, and I was left standing in silence, exactly where I had been before. Except that this was nothing like where I had been before. The glossy greenery that once ruled the scenery had been replaced by the overpowering gold, brown, orange, and red hues of fall. The cool, flower-scented, mid-morning air of spring had been replaced by the pleasant warmth of a sunny day closely following the end of summer.

“Alright, everypony just calm down!” I shouted, throwing my forehooves into the air and nearly losing my balance. An awkward moment passed as I realized that I was the only one panicking, in addition to being the only one present. My heart pounded in my chest as I observed the area and its newly adopted color scheme.

I spun around several times before freezing in place, then took a few steps back toward the village. At that moment, I fully expected that the season would change back to the way it had been previously, but no such occurrence took place. But that was normal, right? The seasons don’t just suddenly shift from one to the other in a matter of seconds. At least, not twice in a row.

* * * *

The sun was directly overhead when I reached the edge of the forest proper and transitioned into the “valley” portion of my journey, which was unfortunately a much larger portion than the last. The road disappeared just beyond the apparent treeline as it became too friendly with a fifty-or-so meter drop into raging rocks and jagged water.

I would have been amazed by the scenery had I not been temporarily desensitized to amazing things, so I’ll do my best to describe what I saw as I exited what now held a closer resemblance to a tunnel in a mountainside than a pathway leading out of the woods. I briefly considered that roads similar to these were what connected the village with its surrounding areas, and that it was possible (though somewhat unlikely) that the areas were linked to each other in the same manner. It was something I’d be curious to put to the test later on, when I wasn’t on a time limit. That said, the time restraint I currently observed seemed to grow less urgent every time I thought back to it. Despite my apathy, though, I’d follow through with it. At the very least, if it was a legitimate threat, I’d be helping the one pony who was civil toward me. It wasn’t much, but in my predicament, it was all I had.

I emerged from the tunnel to find that it ended in a depression in the eastern wall of the valley, which I would have argued seemed more like a basin. The walls I could see were rounded into the ground in a near-perfect bowl shape with the exception of my area, which instead fell mercilessly onto stone that hadn’t eroded as gracefully beneath the waterfall as that which I’d previously encountered. I briefly wondered if that was part of some environmental defense mechanism designed to dispose of careless wanderers before they could even begin to do any damage. After all, it appeared to be the only way in or out.

Though the opposite wall was just beyond visible distance, I could easily estimate its location based on the curvature of the walls. That would be the approximate location of the temple, if it existed at all. Attempting to judge the distance, though I should have known better, I determined that the trip there would at least take a couple of days. Alternatively, there was an option that would reduce the time from a matter of days to a matter of minutes. I could feel a terrible idea already beginning to form in my head.

I didn’t even bother to spread my wings and take a stance. The passing thought had been far beyond reckless. In fact, anypony who went through with such a thing would be deemed mentally unstable if, by some miracle, they survived it. With a defeated sigh, I began searching for a safe way to the bottom, wondering how much more elevation I could lose before I ran out of “down”. Expecting my answer to reveal itself in the form of a perfectly-aligned series of platforms, I was surprised and somewhat disappointed to realize that not every obstacle I encountered would be as easily conquered as those I’d faced thus far.

In particular, this problem had no simple solution. The walls angled sharply upward on both sides of the cliff edge, which was about thrice as wide as the path itself, and ended as abruptly as the ground. As it appeared, that ledge might have once extended further out until somepony came along and sliced off a chunk with a rather large knife.

“Figures. The one day I leave home without my comically over-sized ladder....” I was at a loss. The only option available was barely an option at all.

I frustratedly paced back and forth by the edge of the cliff. A clever pony in my predicament would have likely cooked up a pretty decent solution with a few minutes of hard thought. An experienced pony under the same circumstances wouldn’t have had the issue with gravity that I had. A smart pony would have given up on the whole ridiculous quest and done something productive instead. I was none of those things. I momentarily considered how helpful it would be to be able to summon up a staircase through sheer force of will.

Finally, though, I had to fall back on the only solution I could come up with. It wasn’t the most efficient solution, by any means. It would take time that was in relatively short supply. I had to ask myself if I really thought that I could accomplish something like this in less than ten days. But there really was no other choice, so I just had to go for it.

It was time for a crash-course in aviation. I hoped the universe wouldn’t take that term literally.

Chapter 5

Alright, I thought. Let’s do this.

I retreated into the forest and strayed north, taking care not to lose sight of the path. The last thing I needed was to get lost and waste hours, if not days, trying to regain my bearings. Leaves obscured the path almost entirely, but there were enough unique trees and large rocks to identify the area. At least, I hoped there were. For good measure, I used my hoof to rake out a large arrow in the leaves, pointing me in the correct direction. I made sure to leave my bags on the ground nearby as well, so I would not forget where the arrow was.

Finding an almost almost perfectly circular clearing, I positioned myself in the center and flared my wings. I felt light, as though the air itself was in my favor. It seemed to swirl around the clearing, yearning to lift me above the treetops and into the clouds. A new sense of determination washed over me.

The air filled my wings as I brought them down at my sides. I could feel gravity fighting against me. With every beat of my wings, my hooves lifted from the ground for just a second before dropping back down. The feeling was completely foreign to me, like using muscles that hadn’t been used in months. I suppose that’s exactly what I was trying to do. But it was exhausting, and after just ten or twelve flaps of my wings, I found my body screaming for rest.

I panted heavily, my heart racing as fatigue worked its way throughout my body. My legs felt as though I’d just ran a substantial distance, even though I’d barely used them. I dropped to the ground, passively noticing that a circular space had cleared in the leaves below me. Had I ever been able to fly at all? Were my wings just for show? I scratched my head in frustration. Lifting such a heavy body with such tiny wings didn’t even seem plausible.

Shaking the weakness from my feathers, I stood once again and prepared for another round. I hopped into the air with all of my strength, flapping twice each time I left the ground. As time passed, I was able to continue the action for longer periods of time without tiring. Soon though, I realized an observer would probably think I was some kind of large moth having a seizure, so I decided to try a different approach. If nothing else, maybe I’d be able to figure out how to glide. At the very least, it would solve my immediate problem.

Most of the usable tree branches were too high up, so I opted to use a nearby boulder as my point of practice. Of course, that would be less dangerous as well. If I absolutely had to break my neck, it would be best to do it after saving the world.

Just go for it, I told myself. The sooner this is over, the better.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, leaping from the stone and fanning out my feathers. Air flowed past and gravity seemed to disappear altogether. The winds seemed to swirl around me, giving me the power I needed. I was a goddess of the sky, and I would never again be grounded. I would soar above the treetops and dance among the clouds.

A nosedive into the ground below claimed otherwise. Spitting out a mouthful of leaves, I growled in frustration. One would think I’d eventually learn to land on my hooves if I was already fairly certain I was going to fail. The next attempt was significantly more graceful, if only because I maintained the correct orientation the entire time.

Meanwhile, as I jumped off of a rock over and over again for no observable reason, the sun was doing a good job of creeping across the sky. Nightfall would likely arrive before I made any progress at all, but it wasn’t as though I would be going anywhere, anyway. Although, I was concerned that the night would prove to be colder than I would have previously expected. In a world where the seasons don’t make any sense, it’s best to be cautious about such things. It was time for a break anyway, so I took the opportunity to sneak a peak into my saddlebags.

In addition to some bread and a wool blanket, Dew had given me a smooth, black stone tethered by string to a small bar of metal. I immediately shoved them back into the bag with a slightly exaggerated motion. If events thus far reflected my luck in any way, I could have very easily, though accidentally, burned down the whole forest with such things. That thought briefly sparked unwanted curiosity in wondering whether or not the local environment, strange as it was, would somehow respond to such an event by making it rain or something. Fortunately, I managed to push the thought from my mind before things got ugly.

The ambient sounds of the forest had changed with the shifting of the seasons. While summer had had more birds and less wind, autumn seemed to have slightly fewer birds and just a bit more wind. Additionally, the creatures at home on the forest floor had previously been silent in their travels, but the crunchy leaves that blanketed the ground now made such a thing impossible. As I rested and snacked on small pieces of bread torn from the remainder of the loaf, I occasionally heard the tiny critters dashing between hiding places and scurrying about. Once, I even caught a glimpse of a squirrel darting up into a tree.

My mind wandered. Sky goddesses? Darkness? Hateful villagers? Dynamic geography? Amnesia? It was just one thing after another after another. At the rate things were going, I’d probably be fighting ghosts and protecting the world from spacemares by the end of the week. Or zombie ponies. That would be a nightmare.

“Meow,” squeaked a tiny voice from behind me. I jumped to my hooves and glanced around, seeking the source. I scanned the area, but nothing was immediately apparent. “Meow.”

I lowered my gaze to the ground near my hooves and saw that I had been approached by some sort of puffy, gray woodland creature. It stared up at me, tilting its head slightly to the side. Its whiskers twitched once as it took a step closer. Though it was primarily gray, its tiny paws were white, its ears black, and it’s eyes a deep shade of green.

“Meow?” I was overcome by an unfamiliar emotion. Comparable to happiness, but slightly more giddy. Excited, even. As though seeing this little animal before me inspired an explosion of positive feelings that I couldn’t seem to understand. I carefully reached toward it. The fearless animal sniffed at my hoof, then hopped forward and rubbed its head against my leg. “You... You’re absolutely adorable!!”

Well, I guess I finally made a friend, I thought with a hint of sarcasm. I’d have preferred a friend of a similar species to my own, but I supposed I was in no place to be picky. It could have easily been worse. For example--

I stopped myself. I had horrible luck. The last thing I needed to do was give nature ideas as to how it could harass me. Of course, nature was probably more creative than I. Whatever it decided to throw at me would likely be a lot worse than anything I could come up with. Of course, though, I was already on that train of thought, and it was heading for a very terrible place. A place where I would think something along the lines of “Hey, at least there isn’t some horrible beast nearby that thinks I’m a danger to this little furry thing, which is its child.”

A deep growl came from behind me. It couldn’t have possibly been anything dangerous, though. There wasn’t anything dangerous at all in that forest. Whoops, just did it again.

The monster let out a piercing screech. Given the growl, I would have expected more of a roar, but technical details were hardly in the forefront of my mind. I grabbed my bags in my teeth, slinging them onto my back, (see that? Quick thinking.) and leaped at least four pony-lengths forward, pivoting to face the beast. Yes. “beast” was definitely the proper term.

It had mangy gray fur and glowing eyes. Specifically glowing red. Its horns curved down and then out to the sides, and its fangs extended far below its chin, making me briefly wonder how it could possibly chew anything. Its claws glinted in the sunlight, suggesting they were some sort of metal. Though it wouldn’t be the strangest thing I’d seen, it was still terrifying. And it was also lumbering straight toward me.

Quick! Be quick! You’re much smaller than he is! I told myself. All I had to do was run, and there’d be no way he’d be able to catch me. I slipped on the leaves as I turned to escape, but managed to regain my balance before things got ugly. I dodged trees, jumping over rocks and ducking beneath low branches. There was no way he’d be able to keep up.

Just ahead, a group of trees exploded into splinters and shrapnel and the ground rumbled. I jumped, landing with all four hooves against a large boulder, and pushed hard, springing in the other direction. Of course it would be extremely fast. Otherwise it would have been ridiculous.

Heavy footsteps slammed into the ground behind me as the creature pursued. I had managed to find my way back to the path for the moment. The trees hadn’t been slowing it down at all, anyway. If I could get back to the village, maybe the ponies there would help me, if only for the sake of me saving them from something potentially worse later on. Or maybe the seasons would shift back and it would somehow be erased or something. Regardless, I wouldn’t be able to escape just by running from it. It was just too damned fast.

Suddenly, I found myself wondering if there was some kind of law dictating that any thing that can go wrong will. It wasn’t because of the monster, or the amnesia, or the hateful villagers, or the ridiculous quest, or anything else thus far. It was because, at that moment, I realized that the road was curving the wrong way. Before I could fully comprehend what had happened, I blew past the edge of the cliff and out into the open air.

It was a moment of pure terror. I’d fallen distances before, but this was something entirely different. There was no perfectly rounded pool of water. No darkness leading into a sky dimension leading back into darkness. No conveniently-placed hay cart. There was nothing waiting at the bottom except solid, unforgiving, merciless ground.

But it couldn’t end like that. I didn’t even know my name. I was an empty shell, falling to my demise, barely having existed at all. The world would never have any idea that this nameless pony ever spoke, ever walked, or ever even thought. I couldn’t allow my world to disappear so quickly, ending before it ever properly began. I had wings. What else could anypony possibly ask for in such a predicament?

I rolled in the air, regaining the correct rotational orientation. My wings flared out, digging into the air around me, begging to catch hold. I turned my fall into a dive, hooves first, leveling my feathers with my body and trying to pull up. Happy thoughts. That’s what... somepony said, I guess. Just think happy thoughts, the ground was coming up much faster than I’d have preferred. What happy thoughts?!

I wake up in the middle of nowhere, scared, falling all over the place, chased by all kinds of nonsense, and hated by everypony! What the hell kind of happy thoughts do I have available?! The next pony I see is getting punched RIGHT in the face. I don’t care who it is! The thought saddened me. Who could it possibly be? I was the only one out there. I wasn’t going to find anypony to punch in the face for a long time. Unless Morning Dew came after me...

He seemed like a pretty nice dude. Much nicer than all the rest. Maybe this journey wouldn’t be quite as terrible if I had somepony to share it with. That is, assuming I live through the next ten seconds or so.

My stomach turned as gravity shifted. The wind had caught in my wings, and I was beginning to level out. I hadn’t done anything differently, but somehow it was working now. The ground wasn’t rising as fast, and the wind had become soothing, rather than violent. The world turned as I found myself moving forward. I was flying.

Except that I wasn’t flying. I was gliding. Almost certainly, if I’d attempted to flap my wings, I’d have dropped out of the sky in an instant. All I could do was ride it out and hope I could figure out how to land when I got to the bottom. The danger hadn’t passed yet. I was no longer falling toward solid ground at top speed, but the trees up ahead were approaching faster and faster.

I felt a hoof skim the treetops as I attempted to gain altitude, but I’d lost too much speed. I leaned too far back, breaking the hold my wings had on the air, and tumbled through the canopy. Branches snapped as I fell, clawing at my whole body. Stinging sensations overwhelmed my senses until I felt myself hit the ground. I bounced once, then rolled the rest of the way, coughing in the dust and leaves that filled the air around me. I could feel the warmth of blood against my coat in various places across my body. I ached all over, as though I’d somehow managed to injure everything without actually breaking anything.

Something was growing within my chest. Another emotion I hadn’t experienced before. Anger? Sadness? It felt as though I was about to start crying hysterically. Every nerve screamed at me in pain. But that wasn’t it. It was something different. Something completely unexpected.

A laugh escaped me. I remained still, then found myself laughing even more. Each laugh returned an unpleasant stab of pain in my ribcage. But at that, I laughed even harder. I rolled to my hooves, ignoring every terrible sensation I was experiencing, and just laughed.

“That was awesome!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, my voice echoing in the valley. Maybe it was the excitement of gliding so fast, or maybe it was the relief of being alive. But in that moment, it was nothing short of hilarious. I dropped to my haunches. Adrenaline was still rushing through my veins. I’d cheated Death yet again.”Bastard doesn’t know who he’s dealing with.”

And then I blacked out.

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Author's note: I didn't really like writing this chapter up until the falling part. I just really couldn't figure out how to transition from the forest pathway to the valley, but I knew I wanted to include a fall. That's her thing, I guess. But if it seems a little dry to you guys, I apologize. Within the next chapter or so, this story is really going to pick up.

On another note, funny story. Awhile back, I was mentally working through how I was going to make a Robert Frost joke at some point in the story. It would have involved a fork in the road up in some snowy mountains, and the "road less taken" was going to be frosted over, and I was going to describe it in such a way that it was a pun. But then I realized that there isn't any part of this entire story where the characters go up into snowy mountains. And I'm not going to write an extra however-many chapters for that just for the sake of a dumb joke. But anyway, it seemed like an interesting thing to mention. I'm sure I can come up with plenty of other humorous literary references to make up for it.

Five points to the first person who can find every sentence that I wrote while thinking about Minecraft. There are three or four.