Tick...tick...tick...
A body lay spread on the ground, still as a rock. Not a sound, nor movement emanated from the form. The body was equine, that much was certain. Laying on its back, a small silver equine rested near a slim river. The equine had a long, black piece of mane that surrounded its cranium, with two small spikes of hair protruding from the top and left side of its head. The equine had a relatively long, slender and delicate body; the silver hair forming the coat giving the impression of a tool rather than a live being. Evident by the form, this being was a female grown pony. On her flank was a strange depiction of a pocket watch, its case opened with the hour and minute hands mimicking the spikes in her mane. A ticking sound reverberated, loud and great as though it was from a clock tower. But instead, laying pathetically by the silver pony, was a beautifully ornamented, silver pocketwatch, its case indeed opened; the ticking sound evidently originating from within the tool.
Tick...tick...
The pony stirred, the noise finally breaking through her blissful rest.
Tick...
She stirred once more.
Again... and with a violent jerk, her eyes at last snapped open.
Her eyes were a light, pleasant silvery color, completing the illusion of her machine-like appearance. She groaned audibly, her limbs feeling like if they were unused for decades. With a cry of pain, the pony staggered to her four legs unsteadily, shaking.
Tick...tick...tick...
In a slight confused manner, she turned around to locate the ticking noise, finding the tool in question. The pony carefully picked up the pocketwatch, its chain magically attaching itself under her hoof.
Tick...tick...tick...
Regarding it closely, she instantly knew that this object was something important. The pony shifted her gaze around her current location, noticing a small river in the middle of a forest of some kind. It was very dark, the trees surrounding the area rendering her unable to see what lay beyond.
Opening her mouth, the pony tested out her voice, surprised at the rasping and painfully cracked voice as she uttered the single most apt sentence to her situation.
"Where am I?"
Her voice sounded as though she had traveled through a desert with no water supply to days end, and her still unsteady legs made it no better.
Upon speaking that one sentence, another question suddenly came to mind. It dawned upon her something was greatly amiss.
She could not remember who she was.
Who... am I?
Her gaze was automatically directed towards the pocketwatch in her hoof, its second hand moving around happily.
Happily...?
Somehow, she knew this.
The watch gave her a strange sense of reassurance, but at the same time, she suddenly felt like crying. She felt a despair as vast as if her parents had abandoned her to die. Not that she knew any parents. With no evident reason, her eyes watered and a few drops fell to the hard, grassy earth, wetting the dry and harsh surface.
Why am I...crying...? This is scary...
Closing the case, the pony suddenly noticed the river by her. "Perhaps I could learn something if I take a good look at myself..." It wasn't a question; she didn't dare hope it would have any sort of positive effect. Nervously peering over the clear water, she attempted to recall something, something of importance. And indeed, she could remember one mere thing, as her eyes grew moist again. In the reflective, crystal clear waters, she saw for just one moment, herself, in a form she instantly knew was her true self.
A silver pocketwatch.
This could not be true.
The instant she regarded her reflection, she remembered, she knew, something final, something that she did not enjoy witnessing. She wasn't a living creature. The tool in her hooves was no tool. It was her. The pony opened the case, regarding it once again, hoping that it would reveal more, only to be disappointed. Though, as if the watch was alive, the gentle ticking suddenly sounded...sad.
"Why..." The silver mare slumped to her haunches, her mental gears grinding painfully as she strived to grasp the situation. "Okay... Calm down...whoever I am... I can't panic..."
She drew a painful breath. Whatever she was, she could feel pain, the heaving chest, the fur on her neck standing up. Was she not alive then? Still, the ache of uncertainty wrapped her tight. She needed something to hold on to.
Yes, a root. Or a new memory.
Another minute passed. The only sound of the light movement of leaves, and the distant shuffling of woodland life.
Sadness coursed through her. She realised— she would need a name. Well, she was what she was, this oddly significant object it seems she was born from. Silver, pleasantly feminine and appropriate for her person. That would do.
She stumbled up, her legs still not grown accustomed to her apparent change of existence. Buckling a bit, she at last regained her stature, carefully balancing herself until she could tell she was standing straight. She appeared to be in some kind of forest. The forests was in all honesty quite ominous, the trees too close to each their own for comfort. Sniffing in the air, she almost reeled back at the surprising first impression of her sense of smell, should her memories prove accurate. She could smell the thick, delicate air that usually circulated the world at night, combined with the only slightly foul scent of rot. Otherwise it was not a particularly unpleasant scent. What did however put her on the edge, was the feeling that she was being observed.
True to her hunch, a humongous beast jumped out of the thick vegetation, its yellow eyes sizing her up hungrily. The mare's pupils shrunk as a sudden, wild roar erupted from her throat. A haze gripped the mare's mind as she violently stomped the ground and charged at the creature. Surprised, the beast swatted at the mare with its tail. Silver simply dodged it, bringing a hoof down on the manticore's head.
It growled.
How could some prey fight back in such a fashion?
The simple-minded predator payed the thought no heed as it struck swiftly at the rapidly moving pony. The attack made contact, sending her into the trunk of a tree, emitting a fearsome growl which made the much bigger opponent flinch in surprise. Suddenly, the whole world turned black.
The pony lifted its head slowly, like a snake standing up to scout for its prey—a very fitting comparison. Charging at a ludicrous speed, it bit down hard on the large creature's foreleg, drawing blood and sending the would-be-predator hybrid into frantic trashing and cries of anguish.
With another growl, the pony lifted a hoof.
...And thrust it through the beast's vast girth.
The creature let out a wail of agony as it trashed violently. The pony landed on its hooves, sizing the larger beast up, as if mocking it.
The manticore stumbled.
Blood trickled down from the beast's abdomen; a hoof-size hole apparent through its body. It stumbled again, roaring pathetically. The mare sped towards it, a manic grin on its face; its eyes widening as the beast in front of her mewled out in fear. The poor creature could do nothing as the crazed mare ripped out its throat in a wild splatter of red, munching on the flesh. The former predator would only whimper pitifully as it bled out, blood soaking its majestic, bright yellow fur. Eventually, the wounded, dying creature's eyes glazed over, death at last taking its prize.
Silver was struck with a sense of evrtigo, and in her stupor, threw the fallen beast. Swiftly, turning away, Silver avoided witnessing the resukt of the act she had just committed as her pupils returned to their normal size, the haze having lifted from her mind. She couldn't turn around. Silver decided to search for an exit, and instead pressed on.
Author's Note
Oh my goodness. I'm going to re-write this a tad at some point.
