The sky was green, or wait, is it green? No it’s not green, the sky is blue and I can see it through the cracks in the green. What is that green anyways?
Leaves
Oh yes of course, they’re leaves! Looking closely there are those that are lighter and darker than others, each leaf holding an almost oval shape. Each leaf connected to twigs, connected to spindly sprawling branches which were each connected to large thick trunks. At the foot of the tree before me was thick shrubbery of some kind. Looking around myself I could see myself laying in the same kind of brush, the very thorny bush that I was quickly coming to realize was bramble in nature, the thorns lining the vines stabbing and scratching into my hide.
“Yeouch!” Pulling at my forelegs showed me just how tangled up in the brambles I was. After a few moments collecting scratches and bending my body in uncomfortable ways I eventually found myself free of the bush and standing in a small patch of grass clear of debris. It was here that my body collapsed as I was hit with the pain of hundreds of pinpricks, scratches, and unexplainable aches and pains from my limbs, shoulders, and my head. My thoughts clouded by pain soon succumbed to darkness.
*****
The sky shown orange when I next woke, and despite the clear loss of time my first concern was how thirsty I was, my tongue felt like sand in my mouth and any attempts to swallow greeted me with the pain of a razor in my throat. Getting up hurt, but the pain faded under the urgency of finding a drink. Looking around the small clearing I stood in gave me no hint in which way to go as brambles and trees stood in all directions the ground flat and unending. Looking towards the sun or what little of it I could see I decided to head towards it, at least that way I would be going in a consistent direction till it was either high above me or set.
After what felt like hours of walking and watching the sun set before me I felt my mind clouding over again, I could barely breath and a high pitch ringing sounded in my ears louder than any of the birds calling in the background. Pain in my stomach and throat became demanding and soon I had collapsed again, once more falling into unconsciousness.
I woke to howling in the distance, it was pitch black with the moons light blocked by the endless trees surrounding me. After sitting and listening the to howls, my heart racing, for what seemed like a lifetime but was more likely a few minutes I contemplated my situation. I was still thirsty beyond belief, couldn’t see anything around me aside from the few beams of moonlight that managed to penetrate the foliage above, and had no idea what direction to go.
A few minutes went by and the sounds of howling in the distance quieted. As my eyes slowly adjusted to the light I could make out a large tree with a very low hanging branch no too far from where I lay. My hide protested and I could feel my scratches and various injuries reopening as I dragged myself over beneath the branch before collapsing back into sleep.
*****
The following morning I awoke sore and still impossibly thirsty. The sand in my mouth called my tongue felt like it could crack apart with each motion. My lips split into fresh cracks as I opened my mouth to yawn. With the sun rising I put it to my back and continued off in the same direction.
After an hour of trekking through thick brambles and thickets of trees finally I could smell water in the air. With a bit more energy in my hooves I began to trot through the forest until I could hear the sound of trickling water just ahead of me. It’s not much but what I find before me is still one of the most amazing sights of my life. A stream running over a large fallen branch through a small clearing and further into the forest. I don’t even stop to think as I shove my face into the narrow stream lapping up as much water as I can. The cool touch of relief flows through my body as the crystal clear waters touch my lips and rehydrate my tongue. After long sips and standing with my head down drinking like it was the last thing I’d ever do I finally realized the sounds of the forest around me had quieted. The birds that had been trickling over head were gone leaving only the sounds of bugs buzzing around the flowing water.
“What small pony dares disturb me in my home?” The growling voice was deep and piercing, reverberating off the trees throughout the clearing and leaving me shaken, fearful. I looked up at the origin of the voice to see a feline, at least three times larger than I, with fur as black as night and ethereal green eyes. Immediately the late morning light seemed to fade around me as I locked eyes with the beast. “Well tiny one, what is it you are doing here in my clearing?”.
“I.. I..” my mind raced, how would I survive this encounter, I could barely remember how I got here let alone what the way to deal with a predator like this would be. “I’m lost!” My voice cracked from how dry my throat had been.
“HA, lost, well of course you are as it has been quite some time since a mere pony came to my clearing intentionally!” The monstrous cats glistening teeth glinted in the light as it yawned before looking over my bedraggled appearance. “Now, you look like you’ve been through a spot of trouble, luckily for you I had a very big dinner last night so why don’t you tell me how you came to me, the lord of this land?” The self proclaimed lordly feline stretched before getting up and stepping off the branch into this air, descending like he was walking on an invisible staircase. At my look of utter bewilderment he raised a large brow “now now, it is merely magic of a sort, surely you would know magic little one?” He seemed to read me confusion as he shrugged before his eyes flashed with light. From the stream of water before me a small trickle of the liquid broke off and formed a flat reflective disk in front of me, I could finally see myself in full ever since waking up in the brambles. My coat, a light shade of grey was covered in matted fur and streaks of cracking scabs. My mane a pale blue was littered with bits of leaves and had a few vines tangled in with my mane. What caught my attention, above my brown eyes, was the grey white horn that stuck out of my unruly locks. “Surely a unicorn would know even the most basic of magics?” I looked back to the feline as he spoke to me. He had reached the ground at this point and was now sitting on his haunches, which still put him well above me.
“I uh can’t remember, sir” the corner of his mouth twitched upwards slightly at the use of the title.
“How formal of one so close to his potential doom” he smiled his frighteningly sharp teeth at me.
“You, said you weren’t hungry” I gulped and tried to match his smile even if I could feel my legs twitching below me as my flight reflexes tried to kick in. “as for magic, I feel.. something, but it’s like its calling me from a great distance”
His smile faded as he looked me over again after which his eyes flashed green and I froze. I could feel something picking over my thoughts, like a worm shifting it’s way through my head.
“It would seem” he began “that you hurt your head at some point in last few days, it doesn’t look bad so you should begin remembering soon” his eyes dimmed and he smirked at the look of discomfort and fear that I’m sure was plastered across my face. “Now as you’ve so far been quite successful in staving off my boredom, why don’t I help you a little?” He stood and stretched out, the size of his massive paws were made even more intimidating as claws each nearly the size of one of my hooves shot out and dug into the ground before me. “You’ve been going the wrong way” he stood and paced back into the air towards the branch I first found him upon “put the sun as it is to your left and go north, that’s the way to the pony lands” he curled up upon his branch and I could see his piercing green eyes peaking through the black fur and shadows at me. “And if you get the chance, tell the pony princess of yours that she’s owes me one” before I could respond he seemed to disappear and the darkness that was clouding over the clearing vanished. I looked down to the stream and noticed it drying away soon after.
Putting the sun to my left I quickly trotted away from the clearing, praying that perhaps it had been a mirage of some sort.
*****
It had been a few days since the encounter with the feline lord. I had been making sure to follow the directions figuring that even if it had all been a mirage one direction was as good as any other, and if it hadn’t been a mirage, well I suppose I’d better thank my lucky stars while I could.
The forest was still unending but the trees did seem to become more sparse, and the brambles had cleared away as well. Birds now seemed more frequent and occasionally I would spot a squirrel or a chipmunk hiding itself away in a tree.
Ever since that day in the clearing I had been reaching out towards what I assumed was my magic, and unfortunately still couldn’t seem to remember much of anything. In general I did seem to remember a few things about my life before the woods, not much but there were flashes now of other pony’s, a room filled with wooden blocks of all shapes and sizes, and maybe a town under a hill?
Soon while stumbling my way over a hill I came across a gorge in the earth, it was deep but there looked to be water running at the bottom of it, and though I had found a few streams along the way it had been a few hours since I’d last been able to drink. Food hadn’t been much of an issue, as even though it wasn’t very tasty the long untamed stalks of grass still held nutritional value, though as my stomach growled I couldn’t help but wonder if there was much truth to that fact. Looking back down the slope that led into the gorge I swallowed the growing hesitation and began to descend.
At the bottom of the gorge was in fact a flowing river, but luckily it left enough land at its sides that I was able to follow along the gorge drinking as I traveled. It didn’t exactly lead north but it only drifted slightly to the east so I figured there wouldn’t be much harm in following the river until I found another way out. After most of the afternoon was spent leisurely walking and drinking I heard a tumbling above and looked up to see a large rock nearly the size of my head roll over the edge directly above me. In a panic I reached towards a force closed my eyes and next thing I knew two halves of a rock were falling to either side of me. Looking around I could see yellow energy surrounding me in a pointed dome. The rock had clearly hit the tip and had been split open. Looking down I could see the rock had been a massive chunk of Tigers Eye, something must have come back to me at that moment as once of the smaller pieces of the stone was lifted up by a glow of yellow magic, my magic.
I looked at the small piece of the stone and could barely make out the distinct pattern that it was known for. Dipping it in the water confirmed for me that it was indeed Tiger Eye and the small round chunk I had was a beautiful piece, made better by the fact that because of the bolder I had regained some magic!
I decided to keep the small piece of stone as a sort of keep sake, sure it might not do anything for me but I wanted to keep it. I continued on my journey down the river and was lucky enough to find a way out of the gorge only a few minutes later. Once out I resumed following the gorge as it blocked my way north, hopefully I’d be able to find a spot where I might be able to cross to the other side.
*****
Another day of walking had passed, I did end up finding a place where I log had fallen over the gorge and I was able to cross, though the creaking of the half rotted wood nearly gave me a heart attack along the way. I had found a small collection of bushes that luckily weren’t too thorny and seemed to have a space just large enough for me to fit in. It would be my resting spot for the evening. After having my fill of the local fauna and the sun was all but set I returned to the bushes and readied myself for another nights rest.
I awoke to the sound of a breaking branch, it was dark out, very dark. The moon was covered by the leaves above and the few glimpses of the sky showed no signs of stars, it must have become cloudy during the night.
crack
I jumped and looked out from my bushy fort, even with the low light from the cloud covered sky it seemed almost unnaturally dark. I couldn’t see anything, not even my own hoof in-front of my face. I sniffed at the air hoping that I wouldn’t smell anything, that nothing would seem out of place. All I could smell was the forest and a hint of fresh water. I took one more look around and froze, there in the darkness was a set of piercing green eyes. They looked right at me.
Before I could even scream the eyes flashed and the beast was upon me, it’s eyes glowing a familiar ethereal green light. The feline that had helped only a few days before was now standing atop me, the bush that I had chosen as my resting spot torn to shreds.
“O-ho? I didn’t think to see you again pitiful one” the feline growled and somehow I could see it’s sleek black pelt shining, the giant white teeth mere inches from my face were glistening with saliva. “I let you go the other day, but I was full back then, now however I’m afraid you have no such luck, although” he looked me over “not much meat on you any more”. The feline frowned down at me before returning to his horrific grin “But I guess that just means I can continue the hunt!” He seemed to be quite glad.
“P.please!” He narrowed his eyes as I spoke and I felt him press his enormous paw covering my barrel into me a little harder. “I don’t uh sir please!”
“What’s that prey?” He frowned before a glint of amusement entered his eyes “ah yes, last words? Tell me so that I might pass them on to the next passerby that survives me, though that might be a few years away” the feline snarled out what I could only assume was suppose to be a laugh.
“I can be useful to you!” I shouted thinking desperately on what I could do to escape with my life “I can make things!”. The wooden blocks in my memories from earlier, they were materials for carving.
“Oh? And what, pray tell, could you make that would sway my hunger away from you, what could you make to impress the Lord of the Forest?” He ginned down at me, green eyes glowing, waiting, a glint of humor in his eyes but also the look of a hungry beast.
“I can make you a crown!” It was the first thing that I thought of. The feline paused before letting out a deep growl.
“You think my authority needs a crown? I rule not by trinkets but by my own power, tell me what use would a crown serve?” Desperately I thought it over.
“It’s more that just a trinket to show you rule!” The anger faded giving way to interest.
“Go on” the lord growled.
“It’s a symbol, not just of your power, but of all that swears fealty to you” I gulped as he Continued to look me in the eyes, waiting. “Uh they are also quite fashionable among royalty, rulers all over the world wear them” he looked a little more interested now, that must be the key. “The pony princess, uh Celestia! She wears a simple crown with a single stone.” The Lord of the Forest considered, and then slowly he lifted his paw away letting me take in a deep breath of air.
“Very well, I suppose you are correct in that every ruler wears a crown” he seemed to think on it while gazing at me in the darkness. “Fine, make for me a crown with a single stone matching my greatness, do so before I return and you will be free to leave these woods”. Before I could argue the time he was gone. I stood shaking, and after feeling my heart settle back into place I realized the darkness of the night seemed to fade, the lords magic having since disappeared. Now the moon shone bright above and I could clearly make out the ruins of my bush. With I sigh I lit up my horn as an improvised light and began to hunt for suitable materials to make a crown.
Hours passed in the night, but the beast didn’t return any time soon. I found long branches of oak, and with memories of my crafting career coming back to me I began to strip the wood of its bark before slicing it into long small thin planks. I was able to sniff out a stream and with the use of a few rocks left the planks to soak in the flowing water.
The sun began to rise but I didn’t stop working in fear that the feline would return to find my sleeping body before snapping my neck with his teeth. While the planks soaked I had been hard at work using a large smooth stone, grit from smashed pebbles and water, to polish the small Tiger Eye from before.
In the end I barely finished the crown before I heard a growl from behind me.
“My crown if you would be so kind”
I jumped before spinning around a seeing the cat still gnawing on what looked to be a bone of some kind in a tree not to far away from me. He looked down at me with a smirk on his lips. “Lucky for you that I just now finished eating this last bite”. I sighed before looking back at my creation. The crown that lay on the ground not to far from the stream I had been using was simple yet elegant. The long strips of oak were easier to warp after that had spent most of the night soaking and were not weaved into a complete circle, at the front of which the Tiger Eye was fitted. After hours of polishing it turned out to be a beautiful piece of stone, almost exactly matching its name sake. Nervously I enveloped the crown in yellow magic before floating it over to the lord. He plucked it out of the air with one of his claws and gave it a look over. Apparently whatever he wanted he got as he smiled and placed it upon his head, only one of his ears going through it leaving it placed at a slight angle. He then looked down at me expectantly.
“Oh ah, yes” I chuckled my nerves showing as I shakily bowed before him as deeply as I could. “Your highness?” I asked while still bowed “has this subject served you well, oh Lord of the Forest?”.
“As loathe as I am to let a meal leave, I must say you have done what I have asked” he stood upon the branch and looked down at me “go little pony, return to your lands knowing that you have done the Lord of the Forest a small favor, as such nothing shall attack you so long as you are in these woods”. With his proclamation over he promptly vanished, my fear and energy going with him. I collapsed and dozed off into much needed rest.
Author's Note
Well that’s been a couple nights in the making, just felt a bit creative and didn’t have much else to do, I know it’s a bit rough and please do critique me! I always enjoy comments regardless of there content I hope y’all enjoyed the story so far though.
”It was here in these ruins that I realized what it was I wanted, to truly lead, to become a king and lead our people to their greatness”
*****
It had been a week since I began my journey north. A week and still no sign of my goal, my home. Equestria, the name of my country, it was another piece of my life I had been able to remember. I could also see my family’s faces, or at least I think it’s my family that I was seeing. A graceful older mare with a white coat and a pale blonde mane, her eyes were similar to my own and I was fairly certain she was my mother. I couldn’t place a face to my father but I was pretty sure he was still around before I wound up out here in the middle of nowhere. Another mare danced through my thoughts, a gorgeous fiery red coat with a matching mane and deep bright blue eyes. The contrast was breathtaking, and I couldn’t help but feel warm when thinking about her.
splash
I looked around, pulled from my thoughts, and realized the land had changed around me. The tree’s once thick had begun to become sparse, the stream I had been following was now wide and deep, fish which I hadn’t noticed before were jumping in the morning light. The sky looked enormous above me without any tree’s to obscure it’s view. Birds of many colors flew overhead, singing and flying without a care in the world. With a smile, I took another step and continued my journey north.
With the change of scenery I found as well a change in diet, wild berry bushes and patches of potentially edible herbs spotted the landscape. The fresh berries, black, red, purple, all left me feeling a bit more chipper than i had previously. Hours passed with frequent breaks eating the new spread before me. That night I slept well, a full stomach and a lazy day comforting me under the glowing moon.
That night I dreamt of warm milk and honeyed treats. A mothers loving embrace and a fathers hoof pushing me forward. It ended all too soon with the light of the sun shining down blinding me as I struggled to wake and resume my journey.
About halfway through the day after that I saw a smoke column in the distance. There hadn’t been and rogue storms that I knew of, so if there was smoke, then that must mean fire, a camp or maybe even a village or a town? My walk became a trot, then a run as adrenaline flooded my system. A wild smile plastered my face as thoughts of a warm bed and cooked food filled my mind. As I ran the column of smoke grew larger and larger, until I realized that if it was a fire it was a very very big one.
Over the next hill I finally saw the source of the smoke. It was a village, but it was engulfed in fire, The thick black smoke rippling from the enormous flames that stretched high into the air. Without thinking I ran ahead, my horn lighting up as I gathered my magic prepared to help in any way I could. Perhaps with enough unicorns we could draw water from the river.
I was shocked to see that there was no pony around the inferno, in fact no one of any of the known races seemed to be present. At least none living, for as I drew near I could see the bodies in the flames, still, unmoving, very much dead. I had to turn away as I lost my lunch, the berries that had been so gloriously filling now coming up in waves of nausea and disgust. I forced myself to look back and listen, maybe someone was still alive, maybe I can still save someone, anyone! With desperation I drew my magic together and gathered as much water as I could and pulling it over my body as I ran into the flames. The water acted as a shield but even still I cold feel the heat beginning to seep through. If I wasn’t quick even with the bubble of water I’d merely be boiled alive instead of burned alive.
The village was in tatters as I ran through, clearly the small settlement had been attacked before being set to the torch, and sadly I saw no signs of anywhere someone might have been able to hide from the inferno. The water was steaming and I had to change course, getting myself free of the inferno before I stayed too long. The magic I had been channeling left me as I broke away from the village, the water surrounding me losing it’s shape and soaking me through as it splashed down. I could only wait and watch as the village burned. Here and there I would gather water and do what I could to keep the fire from spreading to far.
I spent a day and most of the following night there, doing my best to guard the fire and hoping that maybe after the fire had run it’s course that I might find someone. On the following day I judged the village to be safe enough to roam, so long as I kept some water with me to extinguish the coals and embers left still burning. There were very few structures standing, as the village seemed to have been mostly made from wood and thatch. Simple and easier materials to acquire but dangerous for situations exactly like this. The structures that still stood were typically one wall or corner of a building were rudimentary stone or clay bricks had been lain, likely for more important buildings or storerooms where protection from the elements were needed more. As I searched I lost hope that I would find anything left alive after the blaze, the corpses that had greeted me the day before had long since been turned to ash and dust, small fragments of bone being the only visible remains left. I found one house with a cellar and that that perhaps here there would be someone that had kept safe from the fire. When I opened the doors and found my way in I saw a single unmoving body slopped against the wall in the far corner. When I called out it didn’t move and my heart, weary as it was, couldn’t take it anymore. I realized, as I dragged the cold body out of the cellar, that this village had meant more to me than it should have. Not due to some need to be a hero, or some deep righteousness, nay I had been lonely. To me this village had been a chance to talk with someone again, someone who didn’t want to eat me at least. Of course as I looked down at the corpse, what seemed to be a griffin, that wasn’t guaranteed either.
Even with magic at my disposal, digging a single grave for the Griffon who’s name or origins I didn’t know, took me hours. With the fire dead and the body buried I stopped and realized that the world was silent. Any wildlife in the area had fled the blaze and wouldn’t be back till the smell of smoke had left the area, and with the fire being out not even a faint crackle could be heard in the air. I sat there and looked over the silent remains of a village burned away, and I wondered. Could I have saved the griffon? If I had found the cellar door as I ran through the blaze could I have saved it? I couldn’t even tell if it was a he or a she, I had never met a griffon before, let alone seen one. Perhaps if I had gathered more water, fought through the pain of the heat, maybe I wouldn’t have been too late.
* * * * * *
Three days had past, and I continued my journey. As I walked following the river I could see a mountain beginning to loom in the distance. If there had been other villages near by I had missed them, and there was no way to tell. Luckily there had been no other signs of fire in the distance, so if there had been other villages around then they weren’t being torched.
The river had shrunk again, the calm fish filled currents leaving me with white noise ridden rapids, skinny and seemingly unending. Along with the river changing so to did it’s previously smooth grassy shore. Now gravel, boulders, and hills blocked my way. As the river could double back and after centuries, having dug it’s self a path around the hills I had had a much more difficult time. Climbing my way up and down hills, having to avoid drops into rushing water by traveling along side steep inclines until things either smoothed enough to cross or a natural bridge of sorts popped up. Once I had to cross the river over an old Oak long since fallen and more than likely rotted through, though it’s size kept it stable enough that I was able to cross quickly. Another time I had to leap across stones one at a time, like a frog between Lilly pads. As well the berries that had been so plentiful faded with the change in terrain, and any local stalks of grass were back to being my staple.
The nights had also grown noticeably colder, with my travel. My now nightly ritual involved collecting enough wood to keep a small fire going all night. Though with the change in landscapes wood became more sparse and harder to accumulate. By morning I had more than run out of wood, the ashy remains of my campfire did nothing to comfort me through the early hours of the morning, and the sun did noticeably little to warm me in the morning. The seasons were going to be changing.
After roughly two weeks of travel, I had lost the river. It simply ran as a waterfall and disappeared into rock below. A cave had clearly been the river’s new course of action, leaving me with the choice to go back or to continue, climbing over the mountains that now lay before me. Though snow was visible at their peaks a good portion of them still seemed to be covered in a variety of vegetation, enough that I could probably survive the trip, so long as I could find water along the way. Surely there would be streams from snowmelt. So I began my climb, the hills before me becoming steeper and rockier. Without a path to help guide and with the mountains closing in around me, I had to start traveling in shorter intervals as the sun was blocked by mountain in the morning and the darkness would come earlier as the sun set behind the rock.
The wind would howl as it swept along the peaks high above me, and the tree’s grew thicker in the valleys between. Once I thought I saw a flicker of flame in the distance, a campfire on a far away ridge. By the time I reached the peak I found what might have been a camp, trampled terrain and the remains of a fire pit in a small clearing of trees. Though I could tell someone was here recently, I couldn’t tell which direction they had gone. I decided then I would try to pay attention to my surroundings even more than I had before. I would spend hours looking for signs and traces, things I remember from stories and books. Broken branches, marks on trees, a scuff or print in the dirt, I found myself quite a poor tracker though, as most times even if I found a broken branch I didn’t know how to determine which was someone was going from it, let alone how it might have broken off.
Failed attempts at tracking aside, I seemed to be making some good progress as I no longer was being forced into and uphill battle, rather I was faced with more slopes to descend. Unfortunately this also led me to find out the other side of the mountain range was face it the prevailing winds, mornings had grown cold and foggy and most afternoons I was hit with rain.
A cold front hit me one night, called forth by the wendigos of old I’m sure. The biting cold was followed by sleet which stuck to my coat, soaking me through and cutting me to the bone with chills and misery. I continued walking through that storm, even as it turned from stinging sleet, to a furious blizzard. I used my magic as best I could to shield me from the wind. Shelter, anything would do, but try as might, the snow was blinding me and I could barely see the ground just before me. Eventually I found myself huddling behind a bolder, it’s bulk blocked most of the oncoming wind and snow, and with the rest of my magic I was able to keep myself warm with a small conjured flame. My thoughts shifted back to the flaming village, and I had to wonder which death was worse, burning alive with your friends and family around you, or freezing to death all alone. My eyes drooped and my vision failed me as my magic ran out the small flame, which had been doing it’s best to warm me, vanished.
I’m not sure who helped me that day, whether they were of the mortal plain or some spirit passing my deciding to help me on a whim. The next morning I had woken up in a cave with a crackling fire nearby. There was enough wood stacked up for a few more hours keeping the flames kindled with no one else to be seen. Try as I might to detect tracks all I could find was was scrape in the dirt, which judging by the dirtied and matted side of my body would have been left by my dragged body. Whoever had saved me, I was grateful and I wished I could show it. I waited for the howling blizzard to cease while safe in the cave, the wood lasted longer than the snow storm, but even still no one appeared to claim being my savior. Warm from the fire, and feeling I had waited long enough I left the cave and continued my journey.
The snow was heavy making it much harder to make any sort of decent time. Even worse now that I was up and moving I realized how hungry I was, and that I’d have to dig through the snow to find half frozen hay grass to eat. Resigned I decided to try my luck with potentially getting out of the snow further down the mountain before looking for a meal.
