I wish to tell you the story of my life, and how I came to be what you see me as. Not as this mechanical freak, but as I was before I changed. Before we met. Before I ever laid eyes on you. I wish to tell you this, because I want you to understand. After all, you've had to deal with me, and you deserve to know.
I would like to start with a time that's just more than twenty years back, when I was just a colt. I had recently left the city due to a series of unfortunate events that eventually ended up with my tail being set ablaze. Just a young colt, leaving Canterlot to try to find a better life, where I wouldn't have to live in fear. The first night I slept by the roadside is where our story begins. Though I wasn't really next to the road, as there was a bush that concealed me well enough. I wasn't actually trying to use the bush to hide, merely as a shelter from the wind. It served its purpose well. Bushes don't care what I think, they just sit there. How very kind of them, I should think.
I awoke about an hour before sunrise. I yawned, stretched, examined my surroundings. I was hungry, sure, but what would that do to make this day different than most, I thought to myself. I looked back toward the city, and thought to myself, would it be worth it to go back and try again? countless attempts to live in peace with the other ponies had failedwhy would this time be any different?
Then I turned around. I saw the rest of the world before me, with different ponies, different ideas. Mayhap there was somewhere I would be free from the life of scavenging the streets for food. Besides, I thought to myself, doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results was the very definition of insanity. I made up my mind right then and there, that I would leave Canterlot, never to return.
The first day was easy. Once I got past the sound of my stomach growling loudly, there was a peacefulness to walking down a dirt road. It may not be a dirt road now, but it was then. Twenty years can change so much. I remember smiling at passers-by as they made their way up the cliffside, one even smiled back. Most of them were delivery ponies, sent to collect food from farms, and bring it to the city. I discovered that when my stomach growled rather loudly when a large cart full of cabbages rolled by. The driver asked if I was hungry, to which I nodded, and he gave me two heads of cabbage, free of charge. That was the kindest thing anypony has ever done for me, which is why I remember it so clearly.
This was close to midday, so I sat down on the grass and ate the first one. the second, I wrapped up, and placed it in my makeshift saddlebag. I didn't have much in there, just some cloth that used to be a blanket, but I had grown quite a bit since I had been cast out, and it didn't fit anymore. It was simply too small. Besides, it was old and worn, and wouldn't do much to keep me warm. I still have it, actually. It reminds me of my first home, where I spent a wonderful seven years.
Next to this were three canteens. I would have only had the one, as most ponies do, but they were small, and I didn't get the chance to refill them very often. Besides, what I could use, I would, no exceptions. There was also a picture of my family, though it was worn almost to the point where one couldn't distinguish even what they were. It was there solely to remind me of what I had, and what I might've kept, had I not been so foolish.
Two of my canteens were empty, and the last was running low. Thankfully, I was almost to the bottom of the cliff, where the stories say there was a shimmering crystal-clear lake, with the most delicious water you have ever drank. I was so enchanted by the thought, that when I was close enough to see it, I broke into a run. How very disappointed I was when I found out that the stories were completely false. The lake was brown and murky, and smelled too horrible for me to even think of drinking from it. Then I saw the waterfall, crashing down on a rocky mound near the shore. I decided to make my way over to it, slowly.
When I arrived, it was clear, as if an apology for the lake. I held out my hoof to it, which was forced down by the spray. I knew immediately that trying to hold my canteens under it would only result in sending them into the lake, which was not what I wanted in the slightest. I brought my hoof back to my mouth, and tasted the famed water. It didn't taste any better than the water I could get from a tap in Canterlot, in fact, it tasted worse. Still, it was the only fresh water I could see, so it would have to do.
It took me a few minutes to come up with a way to get the water into my canteens. First I tried moving the rocks, to provide a more gentle descent, but they refused to budge. Looking back, trying to move a boulder more than six times my size probably wasn't the smartest thing in the world. Then I tried holding the canteen with both hooves, and keeping my grip as firm as possible, using a ledge in the rocks tho help hold it up. This filled the canteen, yes, but my front hooves ached from the water crashing down on it. And that was in one of the weaker streams. Finally, an idea hit me. I'm a unicorn, I can do magic. Why was I bothering with doing the task physically, when there was an easier solution? I used my levitation spell on the falling water. my intent was to halt it in its tracks, but it didn't work as well as I would have hoped. However, the simple fact that the descent was slowed gave me the idea of slowing it down enough that I could get it into the canteen without causing my forelegs to become sore. I did this three more times. twice to fill the canteens, then I took a very long drink from one and had to refill it.
By the time I got back to the road, it was almost nightfall. I wasn't tired, though. Mayhap it was because I had stayed in one place for half of the day, or mayhap it was the water, which still covered my forelegs. Mayhap it was just too cold for sleep. No matter what the answer, though, the truth was the same: I couldn't bring myself to sleep right now, so I may as well press on.
Eventually, however, I did manage to wear myself down. Just when I was about to find a nice, soft patch of grass to lay down on, I saw a light. Up ahead, on the road, there was a fire, and a few ponies were gathered around it, laughing. I suspected that they were a caravan, travelling around and trading their wares at the many different towns. As I got closer, another round of laughter erupted. From what I could gather, they were swapping humorous stories that they were involved in. And right next to the fire was a small pot, filled with what I imagine were beans. My mouth began to water. If I could convince them to give me a warm place to sleep, and mayhap a small bowl of beans, I could be on my merry way when I woke up. I could even entertain them with a bit of magic I had learned from watching a magician.
However, this was not to be the case. As I came into view, a stallion looked right at me, his expression going from jovial to slightly annoyed. "What do you want?" he said, directing everypony else to cease their merriment and stare at me.
"Please," I asked, trying my best to sound polite. I may have lived on the street for several months, but I was not below proper manners. "Please, may I sleep here? I'm tired, and need a place to stay for the night."
"Sorry, kid," said another, "But we don't want to be bothered. There's an inn up the road."
"But I haven't any money," I said. It was completely true. Sleeping on park benches was a sure way to have your pockets picked. I learned that the hard way.
"Not our problem," he said, turning back to his friends, and engaging with them as if I had never even been there. I was hurt by the comment, and the idea that there was nopony to help me in these troubling times. Nevertheless, I took shelter in a nearby patch of grass, close enough to see and hear them, but far enough out and hidden enough that they wouldn't see me. I had devised a plan, you see. I intended to wait until they retired, then use a few skills I had picked up from my brother's friends to take a few bits off of them while they slept.
Unfortunately for me, I fell asleep. I only woke up when I heard shouting from their general direction. I looked over to see that all was dark. Only the light of the moon revealed that they were fleeing their encampment, three timber wolves at their heels. A sudden realization hit me: Them being gone was almost as good as them being asleep. In fact, the timber wolves would very likely be blamed for the missing supplies, as they have been known to search about camps for something easier to eat than a running, struggling pony.
When I arrived, it looked as if they had already been through some of it,as there were food items and broken tools lying haphazardly on the ground. Of all the tools, a few knives and a hatchet caught my eye. I decided that If I were to rob them, I may as well get something useful out of it. At best, I could sell the pieces I didn't need. I put most of them in my bag, but kept one knife out. I had seen their cart, and there were several purses attached to the side. instead of searching each one to find money, I simply cut them all down, and placed them one by one onto my saddlebags. I searched around a bit for any unspoiled food items, but found none.
I decided it best to leave the scene. If the timber wolves didn't come back soon, the owners would. I decided it best to continue on my way to the inn. When I arrived, I noticed that two of the stallions I had just stolen from were at the bar. Something told me that they wouldn't bee too happy to see me after the events that had lead up to this point, so I decided against actually entering the building.
I decided that I had taken a liking to to the feel of grass beneath my hooves. I found another place, not too far away from the inn, where I could sleep, between two bushes that had grown in such a way that it completely concealed me. There wasn't much grass, but the soil was soft.
When I awoke the next day, I was refreshed. I continued on the road, periodically looking behind me for any sign of the group I had encountered the previous night. But nothing particularly eventful happened on that day. That night, I was sleeping in the tall grass, just off the side of the road, when I woke to the sound of galloping hoofbeats and clanking metal. So I dove into the bushes on the roadside.
As it turns out, that group that I had acquired my supplies from was actually a group of royal guards, as I recognized the voice of the leader as the voice of the stallion that had turned me away. As they drew nearer, they slowed, and he spoke.
"Catch your breath. He can't be too far ahead."
"Are you sure he even came this way?" asked one of the others.
"The old mare in town said she saw him headed this way this morning," said the leader once more. "There aren't any forks in the road, and it's suicide to run off into the forest, especially at night."
"I just don't think it's right," said yet another, removing his helmet. "Chasing down a kid."
"Did you forget that he got away with our taxes!?" the leader shout at his subordinate. "When I find that boy, it will be twenty lashes for him. And if you sympathize with him, it's going to move up to twenty-five for him, and ten more for you! Got it?"
"Sir."
"Now put your helm back on."
I was terrified. Part of me wanted to apologize, and give back everything I had stolen. But that was completely drowned in fear of the punishment I was to receive upon doing so. I backed away, stepping on a twig, which startled me enough to cause me to yelp. Needless to say, they had found me. I was really afraid of those lashes, so I did the first thing that came to my mind: I ran. They gave chase into the forest, Alerting me to stop, and return to them. But there was no way I was going to do that, so I just kept running. By the time I realized that I had lost them, I came to realize that I had also lost myself. All I knew was that I was in a clearing, and the moon wasn't giving me much light to work with. Driven into this predicament with fear, I lay down, and cried to myself until the sun rose above the trees.
When I could once again see my surroundings clearly, I took note of where I was. It was a small clearing, next to a pond, in he forest I had run into. There was a tall tree nearby, so I decided to climb it, and see what was nearby. It took me some time, as there weren't any low-hanging branches. Luckily, my brain came in handy again, as I found an easier tree to climb, which would give me access to another tree, which would get me high enough to reach the branches of the tall tree I had set my heart on climbing.
I made my way up, and viewed my surroundings. I could see nothing but trees in one direction, trees and mountains in another, Canterlot in the third, and a farming town in the last. I thought briefly about making my way to the farming town. Mayhap I could make a living gathering crops. There was always a need for food, and there always would be. But the thought of those soldiers finding me there banished the idea from my head. Besides, there was a fissure between that area, and where I was, and that did not bode well for the thought of me going there.
Suddenly, the branch I was standing on snapped. I thought I would see my life flashing before my eyes, but, thankfully, I'm still around to tell this story. You see, a few of the trees beneath me were courteous enough to break my fall enough to where I would survive. Unfortunately, I broke my right foreleg in the process. That was the first indication I had that I was alive: I was in an enormous amount of pain. And to add figurative insult to literal injury, My stomach was growling.
Luckily, a broken branch makes for a decent brace for a splint, and that piece of cloth I had in my bag was good enough to hold the entire thing together. After wrapping it up, I knew I couldn't walk on it, which meant I would be restricted to three legs until it healed. I wagered that it would be about a month to a month and a half, but to be on the safe side, I decided to wait for two months, as I had no way of knowing whether or not it was healed, or healed correctly.
Now, to use the cloth, I had to unwrap the remaining cabbage. It had grown a bit mushy over the course of two days, but only on the outermost leaves. After peeling them off, the rest of the cabbage was safe to eat, and I promptly did so, before it had the chance to become any more difficult to eat. Bushes and trees, lovely and helpful plants. Cabbages, they don't want to help you very much. Prejudiced plants, I assure you.
I decided in that moment to finally check the contents of those pouches that were so desired by the guards. Taxes, he had said, but that begged the question, why were they stored separately? Tax money was supposed to be kept on record, and if these were dirty guards, then why more than two pouches? Opening them up explained the answer. They were full of seeds. All varieties of seeds. I didn't know then to which plant each belonged, but I would eventually. That farming town seemed the only option. There was food there, and mayhap somepony who would be kind enough to hide me if the guards came looking for me.
However, before that happened, I heard steps approaching. faintly at first, then louder as whatever was approaching grew ever closer. I knew I wouldn't be able to run, I was sore all over from my fall, and a broken leg didn't help much. So I dragged myself into a small bush,and hid. Just in time, too, because what was approaching me was finally there. Believe it or not, it was a dragon. A living, fire-breathing dragon. Yellow horns, blue scales, and drinking from that pond. I was frightened, yes, but what could I do? If I gave away my hiding place, there was nowhere to run, nor a capability of running. So I stayed put, praying silently for him to leave.
That's when he turned to me. A bit of water dripped from his chin, as he looked right at me. I swallowed hard, hoping he hadn't seen me, and was staring at the bush. As it turns out, he wasn't, and it was me he was watching. I knew this the moment he spoke to me. "What happened to your leg?"
There was no hiding now, so I crawled out of the bush. "I... I fell," I said, trembling as I spoke, "From that tree." I indicated the tree, which seemed to look apologetic, and in a bit of pain itself. He looked at it as well, and it held his gaze for a few moments. Then he turned back to me.
"Are you alone?"
I froze for a moment, my heart racing in fear. If I answered yes, he might see that as an opening to have me for breakfast, considering that I wouldn't put up much of a challenge. On the other hoof, if I answered no, he would probably ask me to show him where my companions were, and since I didn't know where anything was in this forest, I couldn't just show him to a place where ponies would be. I didn't even remember where the nearby town was. In the end, I decided that it would probably be best not to lie to a being this large and powerful. "Y-y-yes..." I trembled. I swear, I could feel the wrappings on my leg loosening.
He looked at me for a moment, then lowered his claw to where I stood, and picked me up. He carried me off, though I had no idea why I was still alive at this point. I chalked it up to the fact that if he killed me just before eating, I would be quite a bit more fresh, and just waited, his claws wrapped around me in such a manner that, had I opened my eyes, I could probably have seen the entire canopy of the forest. We walked for only a few minutes, though it felt like eons at the time, and eventually, we arrived at a chasm. He made his way down into it, and though the scenery was beautiful, I was still too frightened to open my eyes.
Finally, he put me down. When I managed to open my eyes, I found that I was in a chamber made primarily of stone bricks. There were a few wooden beams along the walls, and in the corner was a bookshelf, though some of the books were scattered about on the floor. I suppose that when your claws are larger than the object you're trying to pick up with them, you encounter some trouble.
"So," he asked, lying his head on the floor, the rest of his body in the ravine, "What brings you out here, all by yourself? Certainly, you should know how dangerous this forest is?"
Though I know now just how dangerous the Everfree forest can be, I had no idea back then. The most dangerous thing I had seen was asking me how dangerous the forest was. "I d-d-don't w-want to go b-back to p-p-pris-son," I stuttered, still terrified out of my mind.
After a time, We grew on each other. My entire first month in that castle, we grew close, as he took care of me, until my leg was healed. In return, I tidied the area up, and helped him with tasks that required smaller beings than he. I never asked his name, he never asked mine. We just called each other dragon, or pony.
I think that's enough for now. It's getting late. I'll tell you more tomorrow night.
