In the Everfree Forest, where the plants grow without aid and the clouds move without pegsasi lies a young unicorn.
The heavy smell of rain with the humidity of the forest woke him, his face smeared with wet mud and his body ridden with small cuts. A ray of sunshine shone on the young colt's face. The pounding of his head made it difficult stand up and his legs felt like jelly. He leaned on the nearest tree for support as he kicked himself back up, the rough bark scraped against his coat as he pushed himself upright.
“Where am I?” he saw rows and rows of trees. It appeared that he was in some sort of forest.
He walked beside of the trees, carefully planting his hooves on the slick mud. As he walked he began to ponder.
How did I get here? His memory struggled to find an answer, but it was difficult, perhaps even painful to try to remember with his drilling headache.
But the most important question hit him as he slipped yet again on the mud and fell on his back.
“Who am I?”
Tears came to his eyes as he tried to remember who he was; he sat down and began to sob.
After what seemed like hours, he wiped the remaining tears from his puffy eyes and stood up.
“No point in crying, I need to find shelter before dark.”
He started to walk through the grass, as the last rays of sunshine disappeared, dark had begun to fall on the forest. The trees of the forest seemingly stretched to infinity, it dampened his hopes as he realized that he would probably never walk out of the forest.
A cave appeared at the foot of a mountain, and that was where the young unicorn had decided to rest for the night. He was cold, tired and hungry but he decided that he would have to endure it until the next day. He dropped a pile of grass and leaves onto the rocky ground and divided the pile into two.
One for the bed and one for the fire, but how am I supposed to make fire? He scrambled around for some stones, using his teeth he held one in his mouth and struck the other stone with it. But to his disappointment there wasn’t a spark.
He sat down, depressed and hopeless. The mouth of the cave now brought in some cool night air.
Suddenly a yellow glow illuminated the insides of the cave, it wasn’t long before he realized that it came from his horn.
“What do I do with this?”
An idea appeared in his head. He concentrated and pointed his horn at the pile of leaves; his face was scrunched up from the effort.
At first nothing happened, but then his horn fired a beam of sparks into the leaves and they began to catch fire. His felt a great relief and excitement as he learned of his newfound abilities.
His mind dulled as he fell into his bed of leaves, his fatigue took over as he drifted into his dreams.
The colt seemed to be falling, but at a very slow speed. He fell into a patch of forest, amazed that he was unscathed he tried to get up, but realized that thick brown branches restrained his legs. The trees laughed at his helplessness as he begged them to release him.
“You’ll never leave the forest!” shouted one tree.
“Maybe you can, in pieces!” laughed another.
The trees parted and the scene dissolved as a voice echoed in his dream.
“Remember who you are.”
“You are Wildwood”
The voice starts to fade.
“Wait, tell me more!” the colt shouted.
The dream dissipates and he wakes with a start. Rays of sunshine pierce the canopy and light to mouth of the cave. The smell of burnt leaves and morning dew combine as he looks at the pile of ash that remained of his fire.
Wildwood doubled in pain as the wave of hunger hit him. He needed to find food and water. Stumbling out of his cave, the unicorn spots a path that he hasn’t noticed before, the grass had been flattened which meant that somepony had recently walked there.
He trailed down the path and noticed a clump of trees. They looked very different from the surrounding trees; the leaves were plentiful and grew in clumps. The trunk was a different color, a lighter shade of brown than the rest. But the key difference was that the trees contained grey fruit that dangled from the tips of the branches. A sharp current ran through Wildwood as he tried to pick some of the apples, he cried out in pain as he was thrown back onto the ground.
“Ow.” Moaned Wildwood.
He tried using a stick to whack the apples of their branches, but they were as sturdy as the tree itself and remain glued to the branches.
The hunger pains were becoming unbearable as he sank down on his knees.
“Please, give me something to eat.” begged Wildwood as his strength saps away from his body.
Suddenly the sky darkened as lightning struck the trees in front of him. And he watched in awe as a rainbow-like pattern formed above the trees and the apples underwent a dramatic transformation. The dull grey apples had been changed into rainbow coloured ones.
An apple fell off a branch and rolled into one of Wildwood’s hooves.
He felt rejuvenated as he took a bite of the apple; the euphoria of the miracle had brightened up his spirits and he got up to his feet.
With his hopes restored and newfound confidence, Wildwood had decided to venture on the path. He constructed a makeshift sack out of some ferns and leaves to hold the apples then continued down the cleared path.
A few hours had passed before he noticed any dramatic changes to his surroundings. The trees on this side were brighter and friendlier that the ones that he had seen a while before.
The constant walking had worn him down, he was now sweating profusely and his cuts were beginning to sting. The last drink he had was down at a river that he’d passed a few hours ago. The sack of rainbow coloured apples was getting increasingly lighter as he stopped to eat more often.
Wildwood had reached the edge of the forest by noon, tired and sweaty, he was blinded by the sunlight for a few seconds when he parted the leaves. They reveal a small town or village that wasn’t too far away, a small dirt path trailed from the forest to there.
The dirt from the road clung to his sweaty hooves as he walked out of the forest. It was a very sunny day; the strong rays of sunlight burned his back as he journeyed on. It wasn’t before long before dehydration plagued him, his every step was a struggle and his mind was dull. Wildwood couldn’t focus on the road and he slumped. He looked at the sky as some vultures circled over, he realized that he was losing consciousness.
Just before he blacked-out, a pink outline trotted into his field of vision. He heard a gasp and some words were blurted out.
It didn’t matter to him as the words made no sense and he slowly succumbed to the darkness.
Wildwood slowly opened his eyes, the smell of alcohol overwhelmed his nose and the white of the wall suggested that he was in a hospital. A window on his side told him that it was nearing sunset, the rays of the orange sun created large shadows over the hills.
His eyes began to focus and he could make out blurred outlines of ponies. As his vision improved he could make out three ponies in the same room as him.
There was a purple unicorn that had a straight hairstyle; she was talking to the nurse while a pink pony with crazy hair stood next to them.
He couldn't remember meeting them before, but thought that he shouldn't come to conclusions due to his amnesia.
“Hello?” his voice was coarse and hard to understand, but it caught the attention of the three ponies. They all stared at him for a few seconds before the pink one decided to break the silence.
“Oh hi there, you must be new here! And welcome to Ponyville! I found you lying on the road and you didn’t look like you were taking a nap so I called for help. Anyway, time for the Welcome So-“
“Pinkie, he needs some rest.” Said the purple one.
“Oh, okay.” smiled the one called Pinkie.
The nurse hurried over to the bed. “Now you just tuck in for some more rest, you’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
“Well, we’ll be back to visit again tomorrow.” Whispered the purple pony.
It was then that Wildwood looked at himself, his body was covered in small bandages. It hurt to move his body, so he settled into the bed and closed his eyes.
When he woke again it was morning, the bright sunlight shone into the room. His bed was small but comfortable; the room was nearly bare except for some unused medical equipment in the corner and a vase of flowers on his side table.
The door in front of his bed opened and the nurse from last night entered, she carried a tray of food and set it down on his lap.
“There, now eat up! You’ll need all the energy you can get!” she smiled at him and exited the room.
Wildwood picked up a piece of bread and took a bite out of it. It was near tasteless but it was still better than what he’d expected, he gobbled down the whole meal and put the tray to rest on the side table.
The one called Pinkie and the purple unicorn entered the room.
“Are you well?” asked the purple one.
Wildwood nodded.
“I’m Twilight Sparkle” the purple one said. “And this is Pinkie Pie.” She pointed her hoof at the pink one. “What’s your name?”
“My name is…Wildwood.” He smiled weakly.
“So…Wildwood, can you tell us what happened? Pinkie said that she found you lying on the road.” asked Twilight.
“Well I just walked out of the forest-“
He stopped talking when he saw the looks of surprise coming from Pinkie and Twilight.
“You mean the Everfree forest?” said Twilight and Pinkie at the same time.
“Yeah…I guess so.” Mumbled Wildwood.
“How did you get there, were you with your parents? Was anyone else with you?” asked Twilight.
“I was alone for as much as I can remember, I can’t remember anything about my past.” Mumbled Wildwood as his eyes became moist.
“Aww, don’t cry. I’m sure you’ll remember sometime later!” cheered Pinkie.
Pinkie and Twilight decided not to pry into his past for the moment.
The conversation was cut short as the nurse entered the room.
"So, I heard that you were the orpha---" A quick look from Twilight shut the nurse up. She hastily changed the subject.
“Time to get those bandages off, you’re all fixed up.”
Wildwood watched anxiously as the nurse removed the bandages with magic; to his relief nothing remained of the cuts and bruises from before. He slid off the bed and trotted around the room to see if his legs were healed.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s show you around Ponyville!” squealed Pinkie.
At the sound of the idea Wildwood was delighted, he walked beside Twilight and Pinkie as they exited the hospital.
The morning sunlight glinted off their hair as they strolled through Ponyville.
They showed Wildwood the town square, where he was greeted by the mayor.
Twilight explained the Schoolhouse was were fillies his age went to learn new things and make friends. He was slightly nervous as they nudged him into the classroom. It appeared that class had ended and Cherilee was cleaning the blackboard.
“Oh, are you a new student?” asked Cherilee.
Twilight and Pinkie proceeded to introduce Wildwood.
Twilight explained “Since you’re still a filly you’ll need to attend school while you stay at Ponyville.”
“But don’t worry, you’ll have lots of fun!” Cherilee agreed with Pinkie.
It was noon by the time they had left the schoolhouse, so they decided to have lunch at Sugarcube Corner.
Wildwood prodded his cupcake, unsure of how to eat the treat.
“That’s not how you eat it, you silly filly!” Pinkie smiled as she devoured a whole cupcake inside her mouth.
He immediately liked the treat as he took a small bite out of his cupcake; it wasn’t long before the whole tray was empty.
For the rest of the afternoon he met Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Spike, it wasn’t before evening that he wondered where he would be staying for the night. Twilight answered his question as if she read his mind.
“Don’t you worry, you can stay at the small house by the town square with Dandelion who's offered to take care of you.”
They arrived at the house. It wasn’t exactly luxurious, but it was more than enough compared to what Wildwood had to deal with in the Everfree forest.
“Oh, you’ll be going to school tomorrow! Isn’t that exciting?” squealed Pinkie.
The idea didn’t exactly appeal to him, but Wildwood forced a smile to show that it was fine.
“Your school stuff is next to your study table in your bedroom, I guess that’s about it. Have a nice stay!”
Wildwood watched as Twilight walked back to the library and Pinkie to Sugarcube Corner. It was a while before he looked at his own door; he opened the front door and entered the house.
The living room was bare; it contained a green sofa, two wooden chairs and a wooden table. Wildwood walked into the kitchen where a bright yellow mare stood chopping carrots, she turned around and saw him.
Her face wore a genuine smile. “Oh, you must be the young unicorn I was told about!” She ushered him to the living room.
“Can you wait just a teensy little bit? Dinner’s almost ready!” she quickly dumped the chopped carrots into a frothy stew. It made Wildwood’s mouth water when a pleasant aroma came from the pot.
It wasn’t long before the stew was ready; the two ponies sat in the living room and enjoyed their dinner. Wildwood decided that he would thank Twilight and Pinkie for all their trouble.
It was a while before Wildwood noticed the mare staring at him.
"I heard that you were the young colt who was found alone, can you tell me what happened?" He found it hard to look into those kind eyes.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me, I'm just curious."
"Um, I can't really remember anything. I just woke up in the middle of the forest."
"Why were you alone? Do you remember your parents or anyone?
It was then that his dream came back to him.
"Well...I do remember hearing a voice in my dream. It told me that my name was Wildwood before it disappeared."
"Wildwood...what a unique name!" Dandelion smiled at him.
"Can you tell me something about yourself, Dandelion?"
"Oh, um; it's late! Maybe tomorrow. You must be exhausted after such a long day! You're also starting school tomorrow so sleeping late won't help." He was indeed feeling tired.
Dandelion brought him to his bedroom. There was a single bed, a desk with a lamp and a bookshelf with no books. A bag with his school materials lay next to the desk.
“Well there you go now, goodnight.” The mare switched the lights off and left the room.
Wildwood’s head sunk into the pillow, the blankets were soft and comfortable. He couldn’t help but think about going to school tomorrow. But sleep overwhelmed him as he closed his tired eyes.
Tomorrow was going to be a big day indeed.
