Amnesia: Forget Your Past

Forget Your Past
Chapter 3

How long has it been? 3 days? Maybe more? Daniel didn’t know. He had been wandering this damned forest for what felt like an eternity. He was beginning to lose hope of ever seeing the light of day again. The canopy of the forest meant no light got through to them whatsoever. He was surprised that there were even plants living down here. Speaking of the plants, he decided to stay away from them after eating a berry and becoming paralysed for several hours. Luckily for him no other animals attacked him while he was vulnerable. The small horse he had with him had to look away every time he got hungry as a result, because he had to find some small animal that didn’t look dangerous and kill it before eating it. While the small horse made some sort of gagging sound every time he ate, it didn’t shatter its trust in him. The small horse got along from eating rather common red berries.

Suddenly, the silence in the forest was disturbed by a nearby roar. Daniel knew this was coming, he had already found out what had been howling, but the source of the roaring was now coming for him. The sound of trees being smashed and crack followed in the wake of the roaring. Something big was coming. He picked up the pony and put it on his shoulder.

Scootaloo had heard the roaring. She only knew of one thing that roared in the Everfree forest. Manticores. The creature also heard the roar and picked her up. She waited for the creature to run, but it never did. Instead it hid inside a small hole at the base of a tree. She looked down at it, confused. She tried to urge it to move, but it looked up at her and protested. It wasn’t going anywhere.

Daniel knew that if this creature was big enough to smash aside trees, it was certainly too big to notice such small, insignificant things like Daniel and the pony. He peeked out from the hole and looked towards the creature. What he saw was terrifying. There, striding down towards them, was a Hydra from Greek myth.

Scootaloo had also looked towards the crashing trees, and began to dread this encounter more that she had in the first place. She had never seen a Hydra before, and she wished she didn’t have to, but now here it was. This was the last straw. She didn’t care if it was her saviour, if the biped wasn’t going to move, she was.

Daniel was horrified to see the little pony jump off of his shoulder and run away from the hiding spot and away from the Hydra. He always preferred to hide from the Gatherers in Brennenburg rather than run. He made a lot more progress that way. Unfortunately, this little filly hadn’t gone through the painful and stress experience of surviving the horror that is Brennenburg. While he usually put his own survival first, what was his life worth if he failed another child? He ran after the foolish equine.

How could she have been so foalish? She ran from the only thing keeping her alive and sane. She ran from the safe hiding spot that would have kept her safe from the Hydra. And worse? She was now running from said stampeding Hydra that probably hadn’t eaten in days. What was it doing in the Everfree anyway? She didn’t know and she didn’t care. All she did know is that she was dead meat and her saviour wasn’t even going to try and save her. At least she thought she knew that until she was scooped up by something other than the Hydra’s mouth.

Luckily for Daniel, the filly and been contemplating its actions and as a result had been running slightly less rapidly than it should have. He grabbed it quickly and put it under his arm, which was an admittedly vulgar place to be right now. Daniel immediately did a sharp turn when he saw a small opening in the forest. He hoped he could find a place to hide from the monster’s all seeing gaze. Instead, he saw an old rickety bridge that could barely hold a rabbit. It hung over a large, void-like gorge that probably went down for miles. What intrigued him most was the old, ruined castle on the other side. He knew the bridge wouldn’t be able to support him for long, but he had no choice. He ran straight towards the bridge.

Scootaloo couldn’t believe it. This thing had escaped Cockatrice’s, Timberwolves and now it was going to outrun a Hydra. She couldn’t believe her luck. What were the chances of this hero finding her? She instantly filled with fresh hope as she saw the bridge. If this creature could run across it in time, they might just survive this. Admittedly, not unlike the biped, she had her doubts about the chances of surviving the bridge alone. It was incredibly weak and wasn’t built to support one of his build. The weathering it had sustained over countless years wasn’t of any assistance.

The creature wasn’t showing any signs of slowing as it dashed across the rickety bridge at a speed so fast it hardly even touched the boards on the bridge. Adrenaline probably helped massively. Most of the boards held their own against the creature’s heavy weight and stayed put, but one stray board collapsed under its feet and he fell down only to stop as it grabbed the board in front of it. Scootaloo immediately grabbed its waist. Her wings were not yet strong enough to carry her, so she could not fly up to the cliff or bridge.

Daniel felt a rush of speed take him forwards as he charged over the bridge. He was moving faster than he ever had before. One loose board, one small crack and Daniel would fall. Unfortunately for him, a board with a crack along the middle split and collapsed under his feet. He instantly dropped but his hands instinctively reached out above him. While he was safe for now, he could hear the board he had grabbed creak under his weight. It would not be long until he fell. Looking down at where the filly had grabbed his waist and motioned for her to climb up. She looked into his eyes for a few seconds and finally clambered up his body and onto his head before jumping back onto the bridge and running off to the other side. At least the board now had a little less weight to carry.

Daniel could feel his grip slipping, he had to climb up and quick otherwise all his efforts had come to nothing. He looked behind him to find that the board behind him was still there. He used his other hand quickly to grab it and using the strength of both boards, which admittedly was not much, to push himself back up. As much as he tried, he was simply not strong enough to haul himself up. He struggle and struggled until suddenly, the board in front of him broke and Daniel fell down with it... until his hands found a pair of hooves.

While Scootaloo was only a filly, everypony, no matter what age, was somewhat stronger than humans. As a result, Scootaloo did what an ordinary human would struggle to do. This creature had helped her through the forest; it was time for her to return the favour. She leaned back and pulled as hard as she could, until she eventually pulled the biped up from the abyss. The biped used what strength it had left to lift itself onto the bridge and make a dash for it. There was no time for rest, the bridge was on the verge of collapse and was eerily creaking beneath them. It was only when they reached the other end that the bridge gave way and collapsed entirely. The two of them were close enough to the end that when it did collapse, they jumped from the bridge to the cliff and rolled onto their backs, gasping for air for the second time in this forest.

Meanwhile, the Hydra had stopped at the edge of the gap. The gap was too large for the Hydra to step over it. It had lost. Angered by the escape, the Hydra decided to wander off and went in search of other means of food.

Daniel regained his breath and sat up and observed the area. It was only when he did so that he realised that bridge was the only way on and off of this part of the forest. They were on an island surrounded by a deep canyon. The area was in fact like a castle surrounded by a protective mote, quite literally in fact. Perhaps that is why the castle that once stood tall and proud, now reduced to a ruin, was built here. It mattered not to Daniel at this point, all he wanted was to find a way off of it and help this filly escape back to civilisation or whatever was considered civilisation under the standards of these equines.

He began to formulate a plan, but halted as he almost stepped on a sleeping filly. He could find out how to get off of this prison later, for now he had to get this filly somewhere warm. He saw a collapsed pillar leaning on a wall. The space between the pillar and the floor should be warmer and more enclosed. It would have to do. Gently, he placed the filly under the pillar and placed his coat over her. He wouldn’t need it anyway.

He once again looked over the environment around him and tried to find something to make a bridge with. There were many pillars around him, but moving them could be difficult. Trees were a better option, and there were many near the edge of the island. They were perfect. Some of the trees in this forest were possibly taller than the Tower of London, so there was going to be no problem with determining which tree was long enough. The only thing that bothered him was how to get the tree down. While there were many sharp stones around, both big and small, the trees were surely too thick to cut down with primitive axes. It was his only choice, albeit not a very good one.

He searched for the biggest slate of stone he could find. It was very spherical, so he would have to chip it into the shape of an axe blade. Easier said than done. He then went about the task of finding a handle. A mere stick would break under the pressure of being swung at a tree and then coming to an abrupt stop. Daniel wasn’t a very good carpenter, but he would have to carve a rough handle out of a log. He would have to use a piece of sharp stone as a carving knife and start as soon as possible. Right now however, he needed some well deserved and very much necessary sleep. Whenever he awoke, that is when he would start his work.

He walked over to where the filly was sleeping and sat down next to it. His mind was troubled. What was he going to do when he got this filly away safely? Would he try and fit in with whatever community there was? Would he go insane? Would he end it... end it where he stood and be done with it? He did not know. As he thought over these possibilities, he silently fell asleep.