kOuRIGINS

He rose early, some would say, to leave before light broke. In truth, he had never lain down. He sat up and waited,  packed all through the night. When it felt like dawn would be upon them, he set out, his saddlebags filled with his life savings. He stole silently through the house and out the door, completely unobserved. Nopony would be up this early, and he'd counted on that. As he trotted away, he smiled to himself, pleased that everything had worked out.

Once he'd covered a good distance, and felt he could make noise without rousing the neighborhood, he shouted to the moon, howling "I FINALLY DID IT!". The wind whipped through his mane as he broke into a full gallop, "I'M FINALLY FREE!" It had taken far too long, but he was finally off on his own. He slowed his pace, gave his wings a stretch, and took to the sky. It felt good to know he didn't have to deal with the negativity he'd been getting anymore, to be outside the range of his fathers reproach, free of his sisters taunts and teases, and far beyond the nagging complaints of his mother.

"Now that I'm finally out..." he muttered to himself, landing on a cloud, "...where should I go first?" He thought on it for a while, and finally withdrew a bit from his bags. "Heads, east. Tails, west," he said to nopony, flipping the shiny golden bit high into the air. He followed it down, all the way to the ground, and watched it as it bounced and flipped, until it came to a solid stop in the dew laden grass. "West it is!" he said with cheer, taking a single step to the west, stopping only to pick up the bit.

So began his journey, with a single, cool, confident step. Each hoofprint that was left in his wake, a marker to show how far he'd come, in life, and towards his next destination.

The sun was unforgiving in the desert, but he made do. As it had started to peak out at him, he'd taken what cloud cover he could, and dragged some along, like a makeshift umbrella.  The sand was warming beneath his hooves, and having lived his whole life in the desert, he knew it would get to a burning temperature soon. Still, until it did, it was best to save his energy. Once he had to take flight, there would be no telling if he'd be able to rest his wings before sundown.

By the time he did leave the burning sands of the desert, the sun was high in the sky. His little cloud was gone now, having lost its watery goodness to the heat inch by inch, until it was no more. So he flew, unbroken by the searing heat. There was little in the dunes of western Mareizona, the occasional cactus, some small critters... Nothing worth visiting if you weren't just passing through.

Hours later, he was began to tire. The sun was no longer overhead, but rather trying to blind him, as if to spite his journey. Even still, he continued on. Soon, he would need somewhere to stop and rest, though he'd hoped for a small town somewhere. The desert temperatures changed radically from day to night, and he had no intention of becoming a frozen treat of any kind.

He saw nothing as he went, until long after the sun was gone, and the moon lit the sky. It was full tonight, and he basked in it as he went, refusing to stop in the cold. Gotta keep the blood pumping, gotta keep goin', and he did, right until he finally found a town, late into the night. It was a small town, just inside Mareizona, not far from the Caballifornia border, called Lake Hooveasu City. He was glad to be this far, especially since it was right off Lake Hooveasu.

He landed, his wings tired and achy from a long flight. After all, he'd come a long way in his journey. He was fast, but he could stand to improve his wing stamina. I'm gonna have to work on that, he thought, as he trotted into town to look for a hotel, or some similar place to rest, though he wouldn't mind a bite to eat, either. He looked about, and saw a sign with food on it, so he headed that way. If anypony knew a place to sleep, he felt it likely somepony in a restaurant would. He trotted through the door, and up to the bar, taking a seat at the counter.

The barkeep approached, leaned on the counter, and looked him right in the eye. "What'll ye have, stranger?"

He turned to the stallion, "I'm open to suggestions on the first round, Mister," he said with a grin. "I'm also lookin' for a place to rest up for a couple hours before I get back on my way. Know of any?"

The barkeep nodded, pulled out a glass, and started to pour something into it. "Name's Larry. I got a spare room up above, if'n you can pay. It ain't purdy, but it's quiet 'n' outta the way."

"Koukatsu, but you can call me Kou. That sounds like just what I need, Larry, thanks," was all he said in reply. He downed the drink, dropped some bits for the room, and grabbed the key he was offered. He went up straight away, to secure his bags in the room.

As the door shut behind him, he pocketed the key, and slowly scanned around. Finally, he smiled, started flapping, and took to the rafters. He took off his bags, and balanced them on a rafter, behind a beam. He flew back down, and looked to where he'd just been, making sure his was satisfied with the hiding place. He nodded to his handiwork, and trotted out of the room, back down to the bar.

"One last thing, Larry. Which way to the lake?"

Larry grunted, and pointed to the northwest. Kou gave the old barkeep a nod, and headed toward the lake.

He found it just a bit outside of town, and smiled as he took it in. Before him, a big beautiful lake, almost perfectly white in the early light of the moon. He'd seen water, sure, but never like this. It's absolutely beautiful... he thought, taking it in. He grinned, and went from standing to breakneck flight, crashing into the rippling surface of the lake like cannon fire.

By the time he surfaced, the drops of water that had been sent into the sky had fallen, and rejoined the lake. He floated there on his back, staring up at the stars with a big dopy grin on his face. What a day... It took a long time, but I've made the first stop. The first chance to rest in freedom, and enjoy the rest of my life.

A short while later, he swam to shore, shook off some water, and took to the sky to finish drying out before he headed back to the town. Nopony was out after dark, or so the barren streets told him in the darkness. So he made his way back to the run-down little inn he was staying at in silence. He gave Larry a little nod, and headed straight up the stairs without a word. He pulled the key out, and with a small chik, he was in his temporary home once more.

After a quick flight to the rafters, to be assured of his cargo's safety, he sat up on the soft, albeit worn, bed, and began to preen his wings. "Just because I'm on my own, doesn't mean I should lack basic hygiene..." he muttered to nopony as he went. He listened to the wind slowly come to life in the night, and smiled as he went.

When he'd finished his preening, he decided to trot down for a bite. Larry was still behind the bar.

"What's good eats around here, Larry?" he asked casually.

"Well, I've been told I can cook up a decent hayburger," the old stallion responded.

"I'll have one then, if you'd be so kind," Koukatsu offered with a smile, placing a hooffull of bits on the bar, "And a shot of Fireball, if you have it."

Larry tossed a hayburger on a grill behind the bar, and wandered away to poor the requested drink while it cooked. He slid the drink over from the end, and Koukatsu downed it quickly.

"Whew, that is good stuff, Larry. Keep 'em coming, my friend."

And so the night went on. For hours, Larry and Koukatsu gabbed like foals, and drank all through the conversation. They talked about the drinks, and about food. They pondered the reason behind all things. They even mused over the abilities of Alicorns, and how Unicorn magic came to be. Eventually though, Koukatsu decided enough was enough.

"Well, it's been fun Larry, but it's about time I turned in."

Larry gave a nod, and Koukatsu headed up to his room. He laid out on the bed, and thought about where he was headed. This was not a place to stop in, so he'd be on the road again soon enough. He wondered what was out further west. He imagined the cities, and the ponies... and as he did, he drifted off to sleep.