THE IGNITION
Chapter One
‘That’s funny… how did I get here?’
The orange unicorn removed his face from the sand and coughed noisily, spitting out sand that had worked it's way into his mouth. Thoughts coursed through his head. He shook his red-and-yellow mane, spraying sand everywhere, and got to his hooves.
‘This place is strange. It feels so… peaceful.’
He took a step forward, and began walking along the beach. The sun shone brightly, with a few wispy clouds hanging around near it. He remembered a Sun shining brightly somewhere else, but he could not find out exactly where it was. He didn’t even know who HE was, save his own name.
“Eyabolt.”
The stallion stopped, and tasted the name, savoured it. Somehow it felt reassuring and comforting; knowing at least something. He continued to walk along the almost white beach, looking at the sand dunes, the ocean, the trees, the hills and the mountains in the distance. They seemed imposing, even from such a distance.
“Ow!”
He had stepped on a small, spiny plant embedded in the sand. He for some reason felt angry, and pulled out the plant, tossing in into the ocean. It stayed on the top, bobbing in the waves, mocking him. His hoof was now more scratched but he didn't care.
‘I don’t walk for long, in a sunny, exposed place and already things try to maim me. This place must be dangerous…’
The stallion saw the beach lead onto a grassy verge, which extended into a wide meadow. It was lush and a bright, almost lurid green. It stretched for quite a while, and then trees began to appear, quickly thickening into light forest. The light breeze made the trees wave in unison, almost like they were beckoning him.
‘That must be some kind of sign. I must go that way…’
He turned toward the light forest, and eased into a canter. The grass was light and springy, it felt good on his hooves.
‘Maybe I will remember something if I go in there… or find something to eat... I should eat something soon…’
“Ow!”
This time it was a tree stump, knarled and bleached. He felt angry with this tree stump, even though he knew it was pointless he still did. The rage built up inside him.
“AARGH!”
He kicked the tree stump with his front left hoof, and it exploded in a fiery mass, spraying burnt wood and dirt everywhere. He panted, eyes wide with shock.
‘What was that… wow…’
He felt powerful. He looked at his left hoof. It was on fire, but somehow not burning. A memory stirred as he looked at the hoof. The sense of power faded as his anger subsided, but he could still feel it. His hoof stopped combusting, and he gingerly placed it on the ground. He continued on his way to the forest, slightly slower than before.
"Ugh…"
His stomach rumbled. He felt slightly dizzy.
'I need to eat something.'
He looked around at various small plants, but he didn’t know which of them were edible, if any. He groaned in frustration, and scraped at the ground a little.
‘Of all the things...’
He was almost at the forest. It loomed over him; the size and shapes of the trees inside were now imposing. The wind had stopped. He sat down, and leant against a tree, relaxing slightly. The sun was starting to set, and he needed to eat, or else he would starve. His stomach rumbled again to remind him of the fact.
He saw something familiar, out of the corner of his eye, and his heart soared. He remembered something.
‘Is that…’
He turned to look at the object. It was small, light brown and sitting on the ground beside a small tree bearing red fruit.
“Hay!”
Grinning, he approached the bale sitting in the grass. He took a bite, and savoured the taste. It was basic, but it was food. He took another, and was soon busily wolfing down the hay.
'I hope there is more of this... does it... grow? I hope it does.'
He did not notice a shape moving through the forest towards him.
As he finished devouring the small bale, he looked up, and discovered an orange mare standing just a few yards away.
“Just what do yew think yer doin?!”
The orange Unicorn galloped through a tunnel, heart pounding. He knew it was close by, but he could never pinpoint it, so he ran. Debris made it difficult to move at such a pace, but he still galloped. Small rocks cut his hooves, and dust stung his eyes.
It was getting closer.
It's strangled whistle was ever increasing in pitch. He could hear it digging now. It dug fast, much faster than he could gallop. He looked to his side, and gasped.
It had got Boulder.
He yelled in fury as he galloped. His hooves began to glow, red then orange, then white and suddenly the tunnel was melting around him. It began to collapse behind him, pushing him to go ever faster. He could still hear it, now behind him. It was so close, and somehow still there. The Unicorn suddenly stopped, and kicked the air behind it. It hit the digging creature, and it's high-pitched, piercing scream rung in his ear as it fell into the half-melted rock behind. The debris became thicker, the dust almost blinding him. He cried out in pain as a small stalactite fell, slicing the top of his ear off.
He could see light at the other end. He went even faster, even though he knew it was far behind now. The light became bigger and bigger, making it ever harder to see...
And then he was blinded. He could hear the familiar birds, the sound of the breeze
As his eyes slowly adjusted to the light, a pair of familiar orange eyes stared at him, twinkling with amusement.
"Took you long enough."