Since I started, I’ve been painting tirelessly, losing track of time.

Mint Spring told me Ice Whistle, Starry Vision, and Nature Thorn went to Baltimare for a few days. So, upon their eventual return, this was my chance to surprise them with my recent work of art. My most fabulous piece yet. No, nothing could ever top this. Not in my entire career! “Done!” I exclaimed as I put the finishing touches, realizing it was already nighttime. “Wow, I was really immersed in this one.”

I yawned and stretched, stopping for the day. Plus, the paint needed to dry and settle. I couldn’t wait to see the result in the morning. But I was even more eager to see my friends’ reactions, especially Nature Thorn’s.

I’ll knock their sockless socks off! What a thrill that’ll be!

With a leap, I landed on my bed, relishing the cool sheets wrapping around. “Splotch Wing, out.”

An easel displayed a canvas in the dorm of a sleeping, talented white pegasus artist. The setting, in a wet paint art style, showed a small peninsula and a lone tree, both coated in pristine snow, offering a scenic view of Luna Bay. Splotch Wing, Mint Spring, Serene Snowfall, Starry Vision, and Ice Whistle hugged a single pony. A slim brownish-orange stallion with an emerald-green mane doubled with yellow and fern green. The body structure of the young stallion was more akin to that of a mare than a typical, bulky stallion’s. He had black pupils encircled by scarlet and a bare flank with no cutie mark.

At least it should have been. Except, the flank had a mark drawn in, courtesy of the painter.

A blank canvas.

Back at a reflective bay named after a princess, for no reason at all, a definite spot whirled.

Nopony and nothing were present. Snow just lazed by the shoreline, static like the stars at the forefront and above.

Even so, a subdued chuckle broke out.

A world of wonder awaited in a land not familiar to the ponies of Equestria.

Dark orchid-colored hooves trotted.

“I must amend for the damage I caused.”

Stone cracked.

“Where… Where am I?”

And traveled.

“Is this remnant an artifact of pure magic?”

Wings grounded to the earth.

“I long to glide like them... With that bird’s-eye view...”

Close to a set of black antlers, ears became alert and twitched.

“That’s odd…”

Atop them, a small tongue delicately flicked across a puny, razor-sharp canine.

“What’s the matter, big bro?”

And a boat collided with a terrain of sedimentary rock.

Thud! Creeeaaakk…

The sun’s intense heat distorted the distant scene, making it look like it was seen through an oscillating hazy motion blur.

A lone earth pony stood facing the scorched terrain. The landscape had tumbleweeds, dead trees, cacti, flat elevated hills, steep canyons, clean and dirty rivers, and tall, colorful, striped rock formations.

“Sss…” Still on the creaky boat, the markless wanderer took a meaningful breath. “Haa…” Then, a grin struck across. And with a grand firm clop on the orange clay-like soil, he took his first step.

Phh!

Author's Note

I'm glad to see you've made it here—really! I'll try not to make this long. While not my first published work, this is my first fanfic (and novel). I hope it wasn't too rough a read. It was certainly an odd first attempt.

I wanted to make a story about an unusual-minded character (I wonder if I hit the mark there). Still, I had to balance that with his ordinary life. It was weird writing a MC that's not necessarily meant to have an understandable goal but an unrealistic one, too. Especially unrealistic for us.

What do I mean by that? Well, it's not like we can just pack up on a journey and leave everything behind. We could, but…our society isn't built on such a lifestyle. We form an extensive community, partaking in occupations that serve the interests of our own country and others. And that's not much different in the world of MLP, but that got me thinking. What if there was a pony with no talent who wasn't meant to partake in any occupation? A life that's not meant to be in Equestria. And what if there was a pony who had never gotten their cutie mark? The latter was originally an idea I thought back around when season 7 aired (maybe) about there being a villain who never got their cutie mark. It never happened. The closest we came was the MLP movie with Tempest.

Also, I was always bothered by how the characters in FIM never considered the outside world of Equestria. Then the show ended. Again, the closest thing we got was the movie, and even that is directly connected to the land of Equestria. So what if there was a blank flank whose purpose was linked to that concept?

I'll try putting this more simply.

I created a name for that special moment when a pony feels deeply connected to their purpose—a pony's glint. Back in 'Lost Chapter,' when Ice Whistle brought up the topic of the outside world, Nature Thorn received his first glint. However, he couldn't earn his cutie mark since it was only a thought, which got me thinking. What if a pony's purpose conflicts with their natural way of life? The life of who they are before their cutie marks. An ordinary pony with an ordinary mindset. He loves his parents, and he doesn't hate his place of birth. But ever since his first glint, his 'purpose' conflicted with his natural way of life. After chapter eight, he tried to bury his curiosity alongside his daily visitation to Luna Bay. While he cherishes his parents, he's equally enamored by the concept of exploring the great unknown… One has to give way because he's a pony of Equestria. The decision is — —

I hope that helped you understand Nature Thorn and his origin story. Personally, I thought it was a fun concept to have the MC strive to be in an adventure-tagged fimfic but is stuck as the main character in a SOL story. Not sure if that's ever been done before…

Moving on, I didn't want too many characters to distract from the focus of this volume. Nature Thorn and the ones involved in his life. I tried not to exaggerate this fic with everyday life in a boring town. Hopefully, the slice of life was at least enjoyable. I may have dragged chapter four. By creating this, I also wanted Thorn to have a solidified form of connection with Equestria since the future main volumes will primarily occur outside of it.

Finally, let's talk about the tone. I wanted this volume to feel like it's from the perspective of an ordinary (and foolish) background pony and not some chosen hero or the older version of Nature Thorn in the main volumes. This volume shows off the innocent, peaceful, fun, and loving environment that is Equestria. As for the main volumes, it's potentially the opposite (as you can see in this epilogue, I've been holding some exciting concepts. They're still vague, but I'm particularly fond of the second to last part. You can actually salvage the answer from the given content). It'll all depend on if I can deliver. Wish me luck. The more likes I get, the harder I feel I'd work to improve. Or maybe I'll get an editor to double-check? Either way, I'll try to continue writing and hopefully improve because it's fun. Too bad we can't live off of fimfic. Suppose you're worried about me dropping the series like many other fics. In that case, you can always instill some incentive by donating.

Do you have a favorite or least favorite chapter? For my least favorite… Chapter 4 or 6. For my favorites… 3,5,8,10, Lost Chapter, 14, 15, and 16. It's hard for me to choose just one.

So Nature Thorn decided to be selfish (not that that's always bad) and follow his dreams like Hollow Shack did.

And so, 'The Markless Wonderer: Origin' has reached its zenith. Like a tree, this story sprouted branches that lead to various others. Hollow Shack and his story, Nature Thorn, Ice Whistle, the current and future generation of Luna Bay, FIM characters, etc. I might attempt all of these ideas.

In a way, I used this volume as a testing ground. I went all out trying to express this volume through the eyes of Nature Thorn since I plan on changing to a third-person perspective. Evident from the prologue, he enjoys the more minor details in life. So while the descriptions can be deemed unnecessary filler, they were detrimental to his characterization. Although I got so used to the writing style, it spilled onto every character's perspective. I guess we'll see how it differs in the future.

Welp, this went on way longer than I expected. Apologies. Anyway, by taking my fingers away from the keyboard, I hope to see you again in the first volume and beyond! Starting with 'The Markless Wanderer: Outset,' currently in the works.

Nature Thorn. What awaits him in those unknown lands? And who was he talking to at the end of chapter sixteen? What's happening in the epilogue? This story proves you can't keep a pony of Equestria from following their heart.

Is it a curse? A blessing?

It depends.

~To be continued…