The Price of Redemtion

by Black Wolf

Rating: teen
Tags: Gilda, Adventure, Shining Armor, Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Sad, Romance, Princess Luna, Original Character
Length: 2977

A unicorn stallion wakes up in Equestria with no recollection of who he is.

A young stallion finds himself awake in the middle of the Everfree forest with no recollection of who he is. He wanders aimlessly through the forest until he manages to find his way out. The stallion finds himself in an unknown place, Ponyville...and they need help. At the same time, he hunts endlessly through his memories, searching for every memory he can find, trying to discover who he is.

Published 2013-03-16 15:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-03-16 15:20:02 UTC

Chapter 1: Awoken

There was a strange ringing in my ears, so I opened my eyes. What I saw startled me immensely. This is to be expected, given that I had no idea what to expect. A lack of understanding of your surroundings allotted for ample room for surprises. Trees, withered and gnarled, stood around me, massive in stature and girth. The high canopy above me shunned the light, and forced a perpetual twilight within the lower regions. But that was not what startled me.

What startled me was the wolf that stood growling, its glowing green eyes staring hungrily upon my form. I had no idea what it was, but that didn't make me incapable of observation. It was significantly larger than the average wolf, even when compared to an alpha. The sheer bulk and immensity of this creature was astounding! It's mass was considerable, and would have dwarfed even the largest of Dire wolves, back before their collective annihilation.

The feature that was most unusual about this beast, however, was not its mass. Timbers, twigs, and vines laced through each other, in the most bizarre of ways. The dark, twisted wood that composed its body gave generous amounts of odor as it rotted on the being itself. This was definitely not a typical wolf, in any form.

I had never seen anything like it, and yet, I remained oddly calm. There's a sort of peace that comes with knowing that the only escape from death is through your enemy. I knew that I would probably die, and therefor knew that panic could not be tolerated. I had only one chance, if any, to survive. And I desired that more than anything at the moment.

The wolf began to inch forward, for some reason cautious in its approach. I didn't understand why, but decided to take the time to analyze it for any weaknesses that could be exploited. It carried itself well, for something of its kind, and carried a look of deep, knowing intelligence in its eyes. It was smart, I could grant it that. Its coordination was right side dominate, which was typical. There was a slight, almost imperceptible limp in its hind left paw, unnoticable to the untrained eye. This was compensated for by putting a little extra weight onto the other side.

I realized that I had no understanding of my own physic, as I had no memories to tell of before I had awoken. This was strange, yet not unheard of. Amnesia has happened on numerous occasions in the past, but rarely to this degree. I glanced at myself and realized that I was equine in stature, being in a body housed primarily for quadrupedal transportation. This was a weakness in combat, since there were no claws or fangs that I could notice. But that weakness was also a strength in flight.

I dashed off into the woods before the predator had time to pounce, and put a slight lead to its pursuit when it found itself clawing empty air. The surprise lasted for only a second, but that was all I really needed. The chase was on, and yet, I felt no fear. Wolves were strong, hardy hunters, and had a tenacity that most other predators lacked. I also understood that they tended to hunt in packs, so I knew the probability of this one being a loner was pretty slim.

It didn't take very long for my fears to be confirmed. Soon there were four of the brutes behind me, counting on a lack of perseverance in me to close the kill. In this, they had sorely underestimated me. While by this point, I really desired a good, long rest, and maybe a bath, I wouldn't let those desires quell my drive for survival. They would have to be patient, if they wished to outlast me. I knew that they probably would.

Wolves, even if they are made of plant matter, have been known to hunt for hundreds of miles. No creature known could outlast them if they decided to stick with it. Apparently they viewed me as worth the chase, so I knew that I was screwed. At least I would die with some dignity, making them push themselves to catch me. And once they did, I would fight back with every ounce of what strength was left in me. I was not going to die like some weak little rabbit caught outside its burrow!

The morning faded as then sun reached its apogee, and I continued to persevere. I was truly pushing myself by this point, and they followed me despite the discomfort that they were beginning to feel. Apparently even wooden animals grew tired. Physics had just made my day. If I could just push past their breaking point...

The sun started its long trek down the horizon, until it reached a place near the peaks of the distant mountains I had been using as a reference guide to my location. I knew that things would grow even more interesting once the night began. I had no recollection of what night was really like, and yet I knew. It would be darker, and in the forest around me, that was not a good sign. And yet, I lacked any sort of concern as to what might happen to me. Being on the constant edge of death can have that effect on people.

The dusk passed by, and the last vestiges of daylight departed from the world. This, of course, didn't stop the wolves from following. It did, however, cause them to waver in their decision to run incessantly. Even wolves have limits, and they had just about reached theirs. That's where their noses truly came into play! A packs of wolves often hunt over the course of several days, following the prey almost endlessly. Eventually, the prey itself cannot continue without sleep, and then the feast begins.

I had utterly no regard for such weakness. I would slow the pace down a notch, and rely on endurance instead of pure speed. This also gave me a chance to examine myself. I trotted through the woods, relieved to be granted a respite. I didn't have much longer before they would have caught me, and their own mortality was a mercy to me.

"Thank...whoever! I hope they fall off a cliff or something," I said to myself. With my stalkers off my back, there was actually time to do such mundane, pointless things such as ranting to oneself. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to rant about, since I didn't remember anything. At least the amnesia didn't involve facts, statistics, or information. Those were still entirely intact, as far as I could tell. That still didn't help with the memories.

I gave myself a good look-over, gazing at all of my features with an eye made for detail. First of all, my coloring was a very light gray, which wouldn't help for remaining inconspicuous. Then there was my gender. Definitely male, and that wasn't hard to derive. A young stallion, that was for sure! I had a somewhat ragged, long tail behind me, with a mixture of lighter at the base and darkening towards the end. The tips were almost black, and by the bit of my mane I could see, its coloring matched. I had a black bandanna hung around my neck, in a similar fashion to those cowponies.

But my most prominent feature was my horn. I new about unicorns, they were a thing of legend. To be one wasn't particularly a surprise to me, sense wooden wolves were still hunting me, if slowly. I supposed that there must be a way to use magic, and that learning how to use it would be paramount. I sighed, and gave my body a good glance before turning away. Halfway back to viewing the trees ahead of me, I froze. On my flank was something I had not predicted. A pair of dice were imprinted there, in a simple black and white. Why would anybody put a tattoo on a horse?

I didn't have long to think about it, before I heard the distant howl breaking the chill air. I somehow guessed that they were probably half a mile behind me. That wasn't good news, so I started to pick up the pace. This was going to be one long night...

Three days had passed. Three days without food or sleep, and barely enough time for a drink. I had grown utterly exhausted, and I knew that there wasn't long left. I understood that a physical confrontation would commence soon enough, and it wasn't even noon yet. I sighed, knowing how this would all probably turn out. I had traveled in the same direction of the setting sun as much as I could, and had hoped that this blighted forest would have an end within reach. It didn't it seemed. Perhaps there was no end.

Over the course of the last few days, I had learned a few things about magic. The wolves still rested at times, and that had given me the perfect opportunity to practice while I cantered. I had supposed that it would be more like a muscle stemming from the mind than a command given, or spell cast. Perhaps I was wrong, but it certainly worked on telekinesis. I had discovered that I could move objects, both inanimate and living, in a similar fashion to lifting said item with my hooves. Fortunately, my grip was tighter and more precise with my mind.

I only used it sparingly once I discovered it, realizing that there wouldn't be any energy left in me if I expended all of it on magic. I would need to save it for the upcoming battle...

I neared a stream, and noticed that there was a stretch of open area near the trees, where it meandered aimlessly down said stretch. I had already tried to mask my scent by going upriver twice, but to no avail. Those hounds had a knack for finding their prey, it seemed. I decided that the coming fight would need to be placed here. I was almost expended of all energy, and I needed what was left to make my death memorable.

"Well," I thought. "This is just great!! I'm now stuck trying to slay the butchers that have been hounding me for days! I knew that it was no good to attempt any sort of worry around this. There's no way that anyone would survive by fear in a fight. I new that courage was needed, desperately!

After a good perusal of the local scenery, I decided where my dying ground would be, and picked up a some good solid rocks. I decided to settle somewhere between heavy and light, figuring forty pounds could kill them easily, but could still be moved. Maybe I could get them all with these stones. Maybe.

After setting up, I had only to wait. They were just a few miles behind anyway, so it shouldn't be too long...

The wolves burst through the treeline sooner than I thought. I wasn't particularly upset, since I was ready for it anyway. They stopped about thirty feet from me, and proceeded to slowly advance towards me. That is, all but one.

The brash young wolf decided charge at me despite the irritated yips from his elders. He was full grown, but still very inexperienced it seemed. I decided to exploit this. My magic aura surrounded the nearest stone in a deep, dark blue, lifting it from the ground almost effortlessly. I was considerably stronger, it seemed, with magic than brute strength itself.

He charged stupidly at me, as if unconcerned about how this would play out. That was his bad.

BAAM!!

The little boulder proceeded to smash his skull into the ground with enough force to swipe the head off the shoulders of most ponies. My moment of elation was quickly lost, when his head began to reform. I knew that things had just gotten about twenty percent harder. Well, he at least needed stuff to be made out of, so that's a start...

BAAM!!BAAM!!BAAM!!BAAM!!BAAM!!BAAM!!BAAM!!

The other wolves stood back in shock as I demolished the remains of their companion. I smiled inwardly. The stupid pups idea left the odds just a little better, with only three to contend with now. That thought was short lived, when their expressions turned from surprise, to sorrow, to unbridled, untempered rage!

RRRRRAAAAAAWWWWWWWRRRRR!!!!

They charged in unison, making the task ahead of me all the more difficult. I used the boulder to strike the nearest one in the center of mass, knocking him squarely off his paws, and cleaving him in half. Not that it really mattered, all considered...The other two closed the gap quickly, but I struck first. I turned around as if to flee, but instead placed my weight firmly on my forelegs.

The closest wolf didn't even see it coming, before I struck out with the strongest hind legged kick I could muster. He was swept off his feet and planted into the ground. I then raised my front hooves, and drove them downwards with as much force as I possibly could. The neck connecting his body to his head wasn't just severed, but reduced to a squishy pulp.

My focus on the third wolf left the last one ignored. He didn't fail to put this to use. I felt a sharp, fiery pain lash across my back as his claws cleaved ridges into my near-white pelt. I cried out in pain, as he pounced on top of me. I took one good, long look into his eyes, before his maw began to descend towards my pulsing jugular. It was over.

Or so I had thought. At that moment, I had only one ounce of strength left, and decided to at least die fighting. What happened next became difficult to remember later, but the major points were still clear enough. I proceeded to strike him with a solid wall of flame, blue like the aura that surrounded anything I used my magic on, and burned him to nothing but cinders. Somehow, despite the massive heat I was dispelling, I was left untouched. The same couldn't be said for the grass around me. I stood up, and sloughed off the ash as if nothing had happened.

The wolf I had cut in half had reassembled by then, but to no avail. I had learned how to use fire, my special blue flame, and I wasn't going to waste a moment by hesitating. The last thing that had shown on the monster's face was fear. I had destroyed the entire pack, I had killed them all.

Days passed by, and still there was no sight of an end to this gigantic forest. I followed the setting sun, until one day the forest did end. There was simply a gigantic expanse of sand ahead of me, as far as the eye could see. I knew about deserts, even figured that I had probably visited one when I hadn't yet forgotten everything. But there was no real way of knowing, so I turned around. After that, it didn't take more than a week to get lost.

I wandered aimlessly around the place, following many of the trails that led to nowhere in particular. Stealth had become a friend of mine, and more than once I had to kill a predator. It had just become a part of life.

Days became weeks, weeks became months, and months finally turned into years. I had grown to understand the forest around me, to see even the smallest little aphid as it sat under a leaf, eating it's little brunch. There came peace with my life, in a strange sort of way. The small things made life go around, and kept me sane despite all the time spent without speaking to anyone.

I mastered several things, including that blue fire I had used to butcher the wolves. I learned to bend it to my will, and it became second nature to me. I spent time working on more complicated spells, such as a means to move my mass elsewhere. I could teleport myself more than a few miles, after some practice, and it suited me just fine.

I eventually grew from a cult into a stallion, and I became capable of taking care of myself. An interesting thing, being able to compete with anything that rose up before me. I even gained a mental map of much of the forest and its relative location. To revisit many of these places, I found it easier to create rips in the fabric of reality than to actually turn myself into nothing, tear myself from reality, and place myself somewhere else.

Other such spells began to make sense to me. I realized that if I could teleport by rapid non-reality, transforming myself into something ethereal wasn't actually that difficult. I decided to add some style to it, so I became an interesting transparent blue whenever I performed the transformation. For some reason, it sort of appealed to me.

The black bandanna remained intact through all the years, refitted to my sized whenever I grew. Unicorn magic definitely had its benefits! As time passed, I grew to love the forest I knew, but it still didn't feel like home. So I continued to explore, looking for the one place I could find that would allow me to leave the perpetual jungle that always surrounded me.

And one day I found it.

Author's Note

Well, here's my story to all you little bronies out there. If you enjoy, great! If not, why didn't you pay attention to the tags? Jk, not everyone will enjoy it. I understand. :D Read onward, my minions!