Wander.by Sire DerpingtonChaptersLost in ApplesPlanless in PonyvilleTwo travelers in the woodsLost in ApplesI couldn’t see anything, save a bright light. I tried to close my eyes but it didn’t make a difference, nothing changed. Under any other circumstance, being alone in a white abyss would have stirred some emotions in me but I didn’t feel anything. I wasn’t happy nor sad nor angry. I figured this was the closest I’d ever been to peace before. I didn’t know anything, didn’t even know my name. I was just a shapeless enigma floating in ecstasy without a care in the world. Suddenly like the wind changes, Colors wrapped around me. The colors swirled and danced for me. The former white was now a rainbow stretching for what seemed like what went on for an eternity. I couldn’t move but the colors were guiding me and I was following. I heard voices and laughs from far in the distance and with each step I was closer to reality. The sounds got clearer and were almost beckoning me towards them, the colors turned into trees and fields I was back in reality. It was a warm spring day, The one everybody loves, Where it’s a perfect 65 degrees, Not too hot but not too cold. I was laying under an apple tree in the shade. There were trees in every direction of me. They had a colorful display of leafs with apples hanging down. The sun was shining through the branches and lit the entire orchard. I couldn’t recall anything, not even my own name. I paused for a moment hoping it would all come back in some sort of an epiphany but not a single memory was there. I then realized none of this seemed familiar, not even the air I was breathing. I looked down at myself, this body wasn’t normal either. I was even sure how to walk. I stood on all four legs, trying to balance myself. My tail flopped down. Trying to move I carefully inched my front legs forward. It was kind of like walking on ice at first. I then inched my back two legs forward. I tried to follow that pattern but it was an awkward motion, I learnt quickly how to walk properly. The trees in the orchard were in a grid-like pattern, I decided I’d go straight up the grid of trees and perhaps find a way out of this maze. There wasn’t any grass, Just dirt littered with fallen rotten apples, some brown with rot and other still red but with specs of decay. If there had not been wind rustling the leaves it would have been silent, seldom the birds chirped. Nothing was really clear to me but there was no present danger around so happily I trotted in the sea of trees. After some time, slowly the apple ridden dirt turned into clean grass. The trees started thinning out and I could see an exit. Outside the orchard lay a red barn surrounded by hills protected by a white picket fence. Out in the distance, you could see corn fields to the north and to the south was carrot patches. There was a dirt path leading to the barn, above it was a gate covered in vines blooming beautiful grapes. Near the barn were a chicken coop and a well. Any farmer would be in awe with the sight of it all. It was my image of a perfect farm; Of course I had never seen a farm before or could remember one for that matter. Chickens roamed free inside the white picket fence and didn’t seem to care about anything but the seeds they ate. Outside the Barn, Just like one would except from a farm, there were a random assortment of farm tools. This place seemed safe enough but still I was unsure that I should go to the farm. When I was hidden behind the orchard of trees I felt safe, but at the barn I felt exposed, like anyone could see me out in the open. I shook the feeling of uneasiness and decided to follow the path leading to the barn. Slowly I walked, Doubts filling my mind. I wasn’t sure that this was entirely safe; still I walked until a white furred chick wandered outside the gate as if to investigate why I was wandering to her farm. Before then, I couldn’t remember seeing an animal up close before. The chick innocently trotted towards me. I tensed up; she could have been a fearsome beast for all I knew at that moment. The chick hopped on my left hoof. In an instant I shook it as fast as I could. The chick was launched a few inches away but it didn’t seem to harm her. She didn’t look like she could harm me, so I assumed she wasn’t killer and just was a stranger to me. I was in a world of unknowns; a baby chick could’ve been a beast for all I knew. I galloped inside the gates, not caring that there could be dangers inside of there. The chick reassured me enough. As I got near the red barn, I slowed my pace down to a walk. Walking was normal again and was no longer an awkward motion for me. The barn door was open and inside was full of hay. There were bales of hay everywhere. The inside wasn’t red like the outside; it was a brown wood-ish color and had clearly never been painted before. In the far corner of the barn there lie a workbench, Hanging from the workbench were random assortments of tools. Atop it were random nuts, bolts and everything screw related. Sunshine peered in from the wide open door and I was casting a shadow. “Hello, Young Filly what are you doing here?” The voice came from behind me, it was a sweet, caring voice but one full of age and not quite as good as it might have been. For that moment, I didn’t know how to speak. The voice came to me as a surprise despite how sweet it was. “Cat got your tongue, Eh?” She let out a dusty laugh. “Well, I’ve got one just like you; He’s real shy and hardly says a word. But surely you can tell me why you’ve wandered on to my property.” I turned and faced her. She was an old pony with a light green coat. Her mane was white with age just like her face. Her face once was pleasant to look at, now it was covered in wrinkles and full of age. Her orange colored eyes bagged down. Despite looking like she should be in a coffin, she seemed peppy. “Can you at least tell me your name?” I hesitated, I hardly knew anything never the less my name. “Uhh... I...” The words came out awkwardly. “I...I don’t know my name.” She raised an eyebrow. “How does somepony forget their name?” I felt my face get red; I didn’t know how I lost my memories. “I don’t remember anything, not even my name.” I attempted to think back before I woke up in the orchard but I was drawing a blank. “If you can’t tell me your name, I’ll tell you mine. Folks around here call me Granny Smith. You’ve wandered on to my land, Sweet Apple Acres we call it, yesiree!” She seemed to talk about her land with pride. “Have you run away from home? Your family must be worried about you.” I had yet to think about my family, if I had one. I barely knew myself nevertheless my family. “I’m not lying to you when I say I don’t know, ma’am. To be honest, I think I fell asleep in your apple orchard. Besides that, I can’t remember. After I woke up, I wandered here.” Granny paused as if to think. She stayed silent but was focused on me, I turned red again. I didn’t know much, but I knew I didn’t like to be stared at. “You don’t have your cutie mark yet, you must be about her age.” Out of plain curiosity I asked “What’s a cutie mark?” Granny seemed happy to answer. “Well, a cutie mark tells you your special talent; it appears on your flank when you figure out what that special talent is. Like mine is an apple pie for instance. My granddaughter Applejack left to the big city to find her cutie mark. She’s probably living the fancy life in Manehatten, Hope to Celestia she’s alright, though.” I could’ve cared less about a cutie mark; I’d find it when the time was right. “So, you’ve wandered through my land not knowing even your name. You poor thing, you can stay with us for the night, I’ll let you sleep in Applejack’s old room. But you’ll have to leave after then, I don’t like stragglers.” Nopony had ever been this nice to me from what I could remember. “I’d be happy to stay here for the night.” Granny smiled “I’ll call you to dinner when the sun sets, until then you can wander or do whatever ponies without memories do.” The sun was at its highest point in the sky, so I had plenty of time till then. “Since you can’t remember your name, I’ll have to give you one!” She paused and thought for a moment. “Well since you wandered here, I think I’ll call you Wander. It’s not quite the best name, but for a pony like you, it fits.” She smiled and seemed happy at her choice. “I’m going to go inside the house, come and introduce yourself to Big Macintosh when you get the chance. He’s the big red stallion, don’t let his figure scare you, He’s quite shy and hardly talks but he’s the most dependable pony I’ve ever met.” When Granny Smith left and I couldn’t help but feel butterflies in my stomach, never had somepony before ever been so kind to me. I hardly even knew her and she let me stay with her for the night, she even gave me a name. I couldn’t remember my name from before but I liked the new one she gave me. Wander, it seemed rather fitting for me. The farm was a great place, I never wanted to leave. When I was there hours seemed like minutes. There was always so much to do. Even though I spent only a short time there, I still recall the wonderful scenery and wonderful animals. When it finally came time for dinner, I was shocked that I already spent so much of my time; I hadn’t even had a chance to introduce myself to Big Macintosh. The sun was already setting on the hills near the farm and was slowing disappearing from view. Beautiful the sky lit up; Even though the sky was mostly dark there were still oranges and bright reds bouncing about in the horizon, it was a great end to a perfect spring day. I walked to meet Granny Smith and Big Macintosh. Big Macintosh was intimating to look at, despite not being a full grown horse yet, He was muscular as he could be. He had a dark red coat with a blonde mane. He seldom talked but when he did, you could tell he meant business. He talked with a deep voiced country accent and his vocabulary usually consisted of one-worded responses like Eeeyup or nnooope. He had a green apple for a cutie mark, so I assumed he must be a big help around the farm. “Hello Wander, Wonderful to see you again, thought you’d might have gotten lost on the way here.” Said Granny with a hint of sarcasm. I chuckled and said “I wasn’t lost, no, I was just gazing at the wonderful sunset, and I can’t say I’ve seen anything like it before.” After a bit of talking and not much in-between we finally sat down and ate dinner. Even though I saw carrot patches and grapes earlier, Most of the courses were apple related in some way shape or another. The table had trays stacked with a colored assortment of apples. Off to the side there was some pastries (Apple flavored, of course.) I was shocked to see this much food at a time, I wondered if they ate like this all the time. I sat myself down in one of Granny’s ancient looking wooden chairs. The table was silent with the exception of me mowing down on food. Finally Granny decided to break the pattern of science we created. “What do you plan to do tomorrow morning?” That question came to me as a shock, I hadn’t really planned anything. “I hadn’t thought of that in the slightest, I figure I’ll walk to the nearest town and see if any of the sights bring back my memory or something.” I said through bites of apples. “The way I figure it, you must be an Earth Pony; you haven’t got any wings like the Pegasi from up in Cloudsdale or Horns like the unicorns, so you’re like us, Earth Ponies. We are the muscles of Equestria, Those lazy unicorns use magic for everything, And those Pegasi aren’t any better with their wings! Anyways, you should try to seek out Ponyville, A lot of Earth Ponies are from there, who knows, and maybe you’re from there.” Granny explained. Everything of late hardly fazed me anymore; it was now surprise after surprise. I figured Ponyville would be at least worth a shot as I had nothing to lose. “Thanks for the advice; I’ll go there first thing in the morning.” After dinner was over, Granny had Big Macintosh show me to Applejack’s old room where I’d be staying. It was a homely room and I felt right at home, something about it just seemed calming, like it was whispering me to go to sleep. The room only had a bed and a dresser but it was by no means bland. The entire wall was decorated with drawings that looked to be made by a young pony, as I couldn’t tell what any of them were. Through a single window moonlight peered inside the room and gave a dim light to see with. You could see the entire west side of the farm through the window, The farm looked less inviting at night, I got an eerie feeling just looking outside in the dark. I plopped down on the bed; quickly sleep overcame me and was back inside that ecstasy of colors. Author's Note Please tell me what you think! Criticism actually helps me, Just let it be helpful Criticism unlike "LOL THIS FUCKING SUCKS, FAG!" Planless in PonyvilleI awoke to the sounds of daily farm life, I had slept in and the entire farm didn’t wait for me. Sunlight illuminated the room and was shining directly on me from the window. It was a good feeling, I felt relaxed after a long day yesterday, and I tried to think if I had any dreams but I was drawing a blank just like most things. The room I was in was cozy as ever, it made me not want to leave my bed. As lazy as I felt, I was still eager to see Ponyville. Granny Smith described it as a quaint lovely town that everypony loved. She said the Ponies were nice and that she had an apple stand at the market there. I got up out of the haven of comfort that I so dearly didn’t want to leave. I went downstairs to find a bright-green saddle bag and a letter left for me. The letter was from Granny Smith; her handwriting was just as nice as her in the flesh. The letter read “Dear Wander, Sorry I couldn’t see you off; the farm couldn’t wait while you slept in. I’ve left some food for in that there saddlebag, it should last you a good while. You stay good and well, don’t forget about Sweet Apple Acres when you find your family. Yours truly, Granny Smith.” It was sweet of her to leave me all these goods, I hadn’t planned anything and I sure didn’t think about my own health. The saddle bag was a bright green color and had an apple stitched on it. I quickly deduced the mystery of how to put saddlebags on. It was a nice fit and not too extremely heavy on my frail young body. I left the farm that morning with my head up and my expectations high. I followed a dirt path that was said to lead to Ponyville. To the right of me were still many miles of apple trees and to the left were many fields of assorted vegetables. The day wasn’t as perfect as yesterday was but it was still an alright day none the less. A few clouds hung in the sky, but I must’ve slept in late that day because the sky told me it was 12 o’ clock. I trotted peacefully down the path; the birds were chirping a happy tune to me. The farm was on the outskirts of Ponyville and was only a good mile away from it. Bees buzzed in the around me and I could hear the quick running of the river in the distance. Even though I wasn’t the strongest pony alive, I felt like I could walk the entire world. Over time the orchard and fields turned to houses and shops. The sounds of insects and animals turned to the sound of talking and laughter. I was finally there at Ponyville. It was so much more active than the farm, it seemed like there were ponies everywhere, and this was only a small town! The buildings stretched far above my head and had to be at least 5 ponies tall. It was lively and all, but so far nothing had seemed to help my memory problem. Nothing here seemed familiar despite how welcoming it looked. I scanned everything I could hoping at least one memory would reappear but nothing would happen. I didn’t have a backup plan, so I didn’t know what to do. I just assumed coming to Ponyville would fix everything. Not knowing what to do, I plopped down on one of the many benches Ponyville offered. On the bench next to me there was a brown Stallion. He didn’t look very friendly, but I was lonely and needed advice, so I asked him “What do you do when you’ve lost something, Mister?” He looked up from his newspaper at me “Depends on what I’m missing, if I’m missing something like my hat, I ask around if anypony has seen it. If I’m missing something like my dog, I’ll put up signs around asking if ponies recognize him and if they find him they’d return it.” He looked back at his paper and continued to read. He was right; I should ask around to see if Anypony recalls seeing me around here. Maybe before i wandered off and bumped my head in Sweet Apple Acres and that’s how I lost my memory. I asked everypony I could see, It didn’t matter who you were or what you were doing I was going to ask you. None of them seemed to recall ever seeing me before. Getting desperate, I headed to the local town library. It was strange for a library, because it was inside of a tree. It was a giant old oak tree hollowed out to make a library. There were many decks hanging off of the tree and windows too. Inside of it was a lot less strange, it was my first time I could remember seeing a library and it was no different from how I imagined it. Selves were cut from the tree and had books of all ages and colors on them. Lanterns hung from the ceiling and lit the room. A middle aged pony was tending to the books; she hardly seemed like a nice lady. She had a brown coat and a black mane with spots of gray on it. She was carrying a duster and dusting old books from the selves. “Hello there, what can I do for you? Need help finding a book or maybe something else I can do?” She seemed to have a hidden hint of dread in her voice like she only got paid to be nice to customers but could care less about them. “Yeah, I’m looking for a book about memory or something among the lines of that.” I wasn’t sure if I could read but I was sure it would come back to me in a second similar to how walking came back quickly. The librarian scoffed and pointed towards a shelve near the door. It was a rude gesture but I didn’t want to start any trouble, I just wanted answers. The shelve I was lead to had all sorts of books on psychology, I didn’t know any of the field, but I was eager to learn. I scanned through the assorted titles until I came upon one titled “Amnesia, and other phenomena of the mind” It was the only title about Memories I could find, but it would have to do. The cover was a darkish brown color and had the title printed on black text. I assumed that in libraries that you could just take books for free, I didn’t know any better, After all the librarian cared so much she didn’t even try to stop me. With my new found book, I went to another bench near a fountain to read. The fountain seemed to be in the center of town and had a stone pony atop it. This was the center of the town, where all the ponies did their shopping and worked. I started to read, but to my dismay, I realized that I could hardly read anything out of it. I could indeed read it, But it used so many words out of my vocabulary I couldn’t understand a single word besides the title and author’s name. I let out a sigh and put the book in my saddle bag. I spent most of the day trying to regain what was lost, but it seemed like I got more lost in the end. The sun was setting and now was a tiny slice of what it was earlier. The orange glow the sun set off didn’t help my situation, but it made me feel better. I sat and watched until the moon overcame the sun once again. Now it was dark and cold, the once lively village was now all indoors. I didn’t know anypony here, so I didn’t have a place to stay either. I was stuck outside in the cold out on a bench. I tried to make the most out of the un-comfortable metal frame of the bench but it felt like I was sleeping on a rock. Lights from windows gave the night a much needed light, but soon were turned off as the Ponies owning them went to sleep. So, There I was without a family, home or any memory for that matter. Sleep eventually overcame my weary body. I didn’t know how long I slept for until I was awoken by the sounds of another pony. Somepony was stealing from my saddle bag! I quickly kicked and grabbed the thief’s mane with my mouth. “ACCCK!” She screamed. “I just wanted to see if you had any food, then I saw that you had a muffin. I’m sorry! I just really love muffins and I’m really hungry and Nopony will give me food! Please don’t hurt me!” I let go of her mane. I was conflicted, She could be just as homeless maybe she even needed it more, or she could’ve been just a no good lying thief. I decided to go with my gut and let her keep the muffin. “I won’t hurt you; you can have the muffin, Sorry about grabbing your mane. I just didn’t-“ I was quickly interrupted by her “Yay! I can the muffin? I haven’t eaten in ages.” She quickly said through bites of the muffin. “My name’s Derpy Hooves! Do you want to be friends? I don’t have any of those back home and since you gave me a muffin, you must like me, right?” Derpy didn’t seem like the smartest filly around, She had a pair of yellow eyes that were always either cross-eyed or facing opposite directions of each other. Her coat was a light gray and she was sporting a blonde mane, she also had bubbles as her cutie mark. Which begs the question, what was her special talent? Blowing bubbles? “I really don’t think I have any friends either, I wouldn’t mind having one either.” I said trying to be nice to her; she seemed to get upset easy. Derpy’s face almost instantly gave life to the dark cold night with a bright smile. I started to blush at the sight of her; it felt good to make others feel good. “I always I wanted a friend, I never had one before I ran away.” She told me. “You’re trying to run away? I’m trying to find my way.” I told her. “Really, what are you trying to find? I ran away because Nopony liked me at the flight school. They’d always make fun of me because my eyes are special, but you haven’t done that, that’s why I like you, plus you gave me a muffin too.” We both chuckled. “Yeah, I lost my memory and I’m trying to find out who and what I was. I awoke yesterday without a memory in my head; I thought coming to Ponyville would help, but if anything it hasn’t really helped. I’ll I have to show for it is a book I can’t even read.” Derpy looked down without making eye contact, then perked back up and said “I could help you get it back! That’s what friends do, right?” I felt myself turn red, and said “Sure, you can help, we are friends after all.” Derpy started hugging me, I didn’t expect it at first but I gave in and started hugging too. “Oh yeah, I forgot to ask. What’s your name?” She asked. I chuckled at that fact that we were friends but she didn’t even know my name yet. “I can’t remember my old name, but ponies around here call me Wander.” Despite her attempting to steal my food, I felt like this was the beginning to something great. There wasn’t much room on the bench but I spared as much as I could for Derpy. We were both freezing cold without a blanket or any source of warmth for that matter, But with both our bodies lying next to each other we had enough body heat combined not to be entirely frozen in the cold spring night. I didn’t have a single plan but that didn’t discomfort me one bit, with my new found friend by my side, I felt like I could take on the world. Two travelers in the woodsI hardly slept the night before, I had completely forgotten about my health. I was so busy yesterday; I never even bothered to eat. The last meal I had was back at Sweet Apple Acres, I needed to eat soon, my stomach let out an approving growl. Derpy was still lying asleep peacefully; it seemed despite how uncomfortable the bench was Derpy could still sleep peacefully. The sun was coming up and intruded the bleak night. It got so cold last night, I couldn’t let myself fall asleep. I knew in my dreams I’d at least be warm, but I was so freezing at the time I couldn’t fall back into slumber. Granny Smith never bothered to pack a blanket, but I couldn’t complain, after all beggars can’t be choosers. I opened my saddle bag; I had hardly touched it since I got it, except when Derpy was attempting to steal one of my muffins. All the foods in the bag were all apple related in some way shape or form. Pies, Muffins or just plain apples, you name it, it was there. I grabbed an ordinary apple and started eating. Ponyville was finally getting up after a long night. Windows were suddenly filled with the colorful faces that Ponyville was accustomed to seeing. By the time I was finished with my apple, Derpy was stirring in her sleep. I hoped that meant she’d get up soon. I hardly even knew the mare but I trusted her completely. I knew she tried to steal from me, but she had good reason too. Derpy was just a lonely pony who ran away from home. Actually, I felt sorry for her, She didn’t have any friends and was shunned back in Cloudsdale, I wasn’t sure if I had ever been shunned before, But I assumed it didn’t feel good. If I wanted any answers, it would be best if I leave Ponyville, but where is the question. I hadn’t had the slightest idea where I was even from, Even if I left, would it be right to let Derpy come with me? She had a family waiting for her, whether she wanted to see them or not. Derpy stirred some more. It’d break my heart if anything happened to her, wherever we went. Then Derpy finally got up from what seemed like an eternal slumber. With one eye open and a face full of sleep she said “Good morning! How did you sleep? Me? Well, I slept like I was lying on a cloud. We Pegasus can make anything seem comfortable!” I chuckled; it was nice to have such a peppy friend. I was going to have to tell her that I was going to leave Ponyville soon. Whether she wanted to go or not, I was going to leave, I had too many questions that had to be answered and I wasn’t going to let Derpy stop me from answering them. “Derpy, I’m going to leave Ponyville soon, I don’t know where, but it doesn’t feel right that you should come with me, but if you want too I’m more than glad to have a companion on the road.” It seemed like Derpy didn’t even take a moment to think about it, almost instantly she replied “Yes! Yes! Yess! I’ll go with you! I don’t care where but I think we’ll have fun! I don’t have any luggage or things; I left that all back at home, so we can leave soon!” She was grinned with excitement and her joy seemed to be rubbing off on me, as I started smiling too. “I really don’t know where we’ll head in that case; I guess we’ll just go in the direction opposite of where I came. Derpy, do you know where everything is around here?” She shrugged and gave me one of those of ‘I have no clue’ type of faces. “I’m from Cloudsdale, I barely knew my way around there, and I hardly even visited down here.” She was just as clueless as I was then. “Well, like I said, I don’t have a plan; I guess we’re at the will of the wind, huh? Once you get up completely, we’ll start that way.” I pointed towards the opposite side of the town, it was a long stretch of houses, and in the distance I could see a forest. “T-that way?” Derpy stammered “I may not be from here, but even I’ve heard the stories about that forest. That’s the Everfree forest, Things aren’t normal there, not even the Pegasi can control the weather there. Are you sure we have to go there?” Derpy actually looked scared; her eyes were now wide with fear. “I didn’t know you were superstitious, Derpy.” She looked at me with the most serious but laughable face I’d ever seen anypony make and said “I-I’m not superstitious, this is fact! I once knew a guy who went to the Everfree forest once and never came back. Well… He moved away but still! I never saw him again.” I hoped Derpy wasn’t always this scared when it came to most things, which could be a problem. “Calm down, What about it makes it so scary, it’s just a forest.” Personally, I thought Derpy was over-reacting. “JUST A FOREST!? It’s not normal there! Plus it’s scary. Also….I don’t like dark things…” How petty of her, she was afraid of the dark. Oh well, I don’t blame her, we were both young; Young and naïve. “It’ll be alright there, I mean what’s the worst that could happen?” What a mistake saying that was. “DON’T! YOU’LL JINX IT!” She shouted. Derpy was obviously scared and I couldn’t ever recall anypony ever acting like this before. Derpy was the kind of pony that heard rumors and fables all the time, except she really believed the tales. After a long debate of Logic vs. Fear, I finally convinced her to come along with me. I didn’t really have to go to the Everfree forest, but without a plan it seemed like the most logical thing at the time. As we we’re walking, I had to usher Derpy around like a dog on a leash. Within minutes we were there, The Everfree forest. The rumors had got one thing right; it sure was dark and ominous. The sun was out now, but it seemed like none of the light it was producing hit the forest. It wasn’t happy and welcoming like the orchards back at sweet apple acres, it was creepy and full of doubt. The trees seemed to be alive and making faces at us. By this point, Derpy was shaking like an alarm clock. Trying to prove superstition wrong, I ponied up and was fully prepare to face my fears. Strange, Days ago I was the one cowering in fear of a chick, Now I’m the one fully prepared to face the unknown. I lifted Derpy and put her on my back, I didn’t think I was that strong, must’ve been the fact that I was an Earth pony and was naturally strong or that she was a Pegasus and was naturally light. As I walked closer to the woods, the ominous feeling got stronger. To calm my nerves, I decided it’d be best to talk to Derpy to reassure us both. “Derpy, what’s Cloudsdale like? I don’t think I’ve ever been there, well, I guess, if I did I wouldn’t really remember.” That seemed to calm us both. At least I thought it did. With Derpy it was hard to read what she was thinking sometimes and other times it was extremely easy. “It’s a city in the sky, where all the Pegasi live. We control the weather for Equestria down below. However, I don’t think a single earth pony or unicorn has ever been up there, we can walk and live on clouds, but I don’t think you guys could, you might fall straight through.” We were now both inside the forest. Moss-covered and leafless trees spired up to touch the atmosphere. Tall ferns went up to brush my hooves. Not even the grass was its own usual bright green and instead had this washed up murky dark green color. Brambles flowed out of their bush homes and seemed to have a mind of their own. Despite me constantly reassuring us both, I couldn’t help but feel scared at the sight of this all. Derpy was treading no better, as she now was covering her eyes in fear. There wasn’t really a path for me to follow in these woods, it seemed like ponies seldom go in here, so I had to trot over thorns and other awkward obstacles. Over time, the woods started to look stranger and it became apparent that we were lost. It was my mistake for assuming that this was ever a good idea. “Hey Derpy, You might have noticed, but I think we’re lost.” Derpy replied by saying “How are we lost? You didn’t know where we were going since the beginning; we’ve been lost this entire time! I told you this was a bad idea!” Derpy was now on the verge of tears, I didn’t feel good to have a young Pegasus about to cry on your back. Trying to calm her down, I told her that she could have another muffin from my saddlebag. Last time that seemed to calm her down, I hoped it’d calm her down enough for me to find our way through this forest. In hindsight, this was a bad idea; So far I had found nothing to help with my memory problem. Derpy was devouring an apple muffin; I guess she was a Pegasus who really loved her muffins. That’s when it hit me; Derpy could fly up and see if she could see the way out. “Derpy, I’m assuming you can fly, right?” She nodded her head yes. “Why don’t you fly up and she if you can see the way out of here, maybe we can get out of here that way.” Derpy proceed to finish every last crumb of her muffin before answering. “Alright, I think I could fly up, I was never a very good flyer in flight school, but I’ll try for us!” She then proceeded to flap her grayish wings quicker and quicker until she was up in the air. Now that she was flying I could see that she was a klutz, she seemed to be running into every dead or decayed branch up there. I didn’t think she was doing it to be funny either; it actually looked like it hurt most of the time. She finally hid behind the treetops that went ever so high and disappeared from my view. After a good few minutes, Derpy finally came down. She had a look of glee on her face, the happiest I’d ever seen her since we went inside this forest. “Wander, it was so pretty up there! It’s another great day outside, the sun was shining and I could see Ponyville a couple miles away, I guess everything is so thick you can’t see sunlight down here. Anyways, I could see this rock thingy over there.” She pointed towards north. Over there were the usual sights of this forest, really dark sights such as dead trees and ugly ferns. “What rock thingy, what do you mean?” I was kind of curious of what she meant by that. “Well, I don’t know what it’s called, it kind of looks like it was made out of rocks or something, and it went high in the sky, like past these trees tall. It was over there in a clearing.” I didn’t really think that’d help get my memory back at all, but I was up for anything, I mean after all, I did walk into a dark creepy forest hoping to regain something. With the grace and ease of an elephant, Derpy fell clumsily back to the forest floor. I lent her my hoof and helped her up. She was now trotting behind me, Rather than sitting on my back. I didn’t mind her doing that, she hardly felt like a feather on my back. “What’s it like to be in the air? I mean I can’t fly and I don’t think I’ll ever go up there.” Derpy’s face lit up and the sound of it. “I can’t fly well, but when I do, it’s lovely, you feel weightless and free of any boundaries. Sometimes back in Cloudsdale, when it wasn’t a windy day and we weren’t making any clouds, I could fly high and fast, It filled me with true joy, something everypony there prevented me from having. They used to call me names, make fun of me, talk bad about me behind my back and I never had a single friend, All because I’m different and my eyes aren’t normal. But, when I was in the air, I didn’t care about all of that, I was free.” It was weird to hear about her old life, I trusted that somewhere my family was waiting for me, but Derpy was trying to get away from it all. Despite how bad it was she at least could recall it all. Maybe that was it, she wanted to forget it all, every time she thought about her life it hurt, Ponies disowning you and shunning you just because of what you are. We continued down the forest not saying a word, to be honest, I was kind of shy, in times of silence or awkwardness I noticed that I would blush. Over time, we finally made it to the clearing she saw. It was strange, everywhere in the forest there were ugly misshaped plants, but this clearing didn’t have any plants, All it had was the lovely bright green grass I was accustom to seeing in Equestria. The clearing went about a mile in a perfect square shape. Instead of having a large canopy of trees blocking all the sunlight, it didn’t have a single thing blocking the sun, save the giant pyramid type thing in the center of it all. Derpy was right when she said that it was a giant rock thingy, I couldn’t tell what it was supposed to be. It had this washed up, reddish color to it. It didn’t look like it was 100% natural, but at the same time it didn’t look like it was 100% pony made either. It touched the very fabric of the sky and it was an enigma to me that Nopony noticed this before, as it looked like it hadn’t been touched by the hooves of horses before. I looked at my partner and saw her in awe too. Her eyes were wide at the very sight of it all, too. I patted Derpy on the back to get her out of the daze and beckoned her with my hoof to follow. Derpy and I were now galloping on this field of green, going ever so closer to this pyramid in the woods. To be honest, I was more curious than anything to see what was inside and what it might have been used for. I mean what was it doing there and how come Nopony ever noticed it, you probably could have seen it from 30 miles away! Within minutes our gallops slowed to a walking pace as it was nearly half a mile away and not close enough to sprint within reason to. Slowly but surely we reached it. Unlike I expected; it didn’t have a door or anything to get inside from the bottom. The wall was covered in strange markings in a writing I couldn’t read, I just barely recalled how to speak and read, I wasn’t ready to try and read another language. The wall had a soft rocky texture but was strange; I had never felt a rock texture like it before. I didn’t let it get the best of me though; it was probably for a religion or something. I wanted ever so badly to go inside it but I couldn’t see an entrance down here. There might be a way down from the top though. “Hey Derpy, I don’t think we can enter from here, but I was thinking and I figured there might be a way from the top. If you could fly up and see, that’d be fantastic.” Derpy didn’t even have a second thought about it, after going through the entire cycle of lifting off again; she was off in the air. She was headed for the very peak of the pyramid. It looked hard to land on, but what did I know, I had have never flown before. Knowing Derpy’s terrible flying skills, it was strange that she aced the landing. With the grace of a swan she landed. Before I knew it, a bright green florescent laser came up from the pyramid and went straight through Derpy towards the sky. I felt myself screaming and tears running down my cheek. I didn’t know what happened to her or if she was alright. Over the sounds of me screaming I could hear a loud buzzing sound. My only friend, who had a family waiting for her, was now probably a pile of ashes. I didn’t know how it happened or why but I wasn’t thinking about that, I started climbing the large steps on the pyramid. I didn’t care that I could get hurt or that the laser hadn’t stopped yet. The trek I made didn’t even matter, when I got there, the laser stopped, as the dust and debris cleared i tried to hold back a flood of tears, Derpy Hooves whom I just met and started to know was not even a pile of dust. There was nothing left of her. For the first second, I didn’t feel anything, I couldn’t feel anything, and I was numb! Emotions filled my young body and I was overcome with all my emotions. I stepped on the platform Derpy was on. Everything went bright, I couldn’t think and everything faded to white.
Lost in ApplesI couldn’t see anything, save a bright light. I tried to close my eyes but it didn’t make a difference, nothing changed. Under any other circumstance, being alone in a white abyss would have stirred some emotions in me but I didn’t feel anything. I wasn’t happy nor sad nor angry. I figured this was the closest I’d ever been to peace before. I didn’t know anything, didn’t even know my name. I was just a shapeless enigma floating in ecstasy without a care in the world. Suddenly like the wind changes, Colors wrapped around me. The colors swirled and danced for me. The former white was now a rainbow stretching for what seemed like what went on for an eternity. I couldn’t move but the colors were guiding me and I was following. I heard voices and laughs from far in the distance and with each step I was closer to reality. The sounds got clearer and were almost beckoning me towards them, the colors turned into trees and fields I was back in reality. It was a warm spring day, The one everybody loves, Where it’s a perfect 65 degrees, Not too hot but not too cold. I was laying under an apple tree in the shade. There were trees in every direction of me. They had a colorful display of leafs with apples hanging down. The sun was shining through the branches and lit the entire orchard. I couldn’t recall anything, not even my own name. I paused for a moment hoping it would all come back in some sort of an epiphany but not a single memory was there. I then realized none of this seemed familiar, not even the air I was breathing. I looked down at myself, this body wasn’t normal either. I was even sure how to walk. I stood on all four legs, trying to balance myself. My tail flopped down. Trying to move I carefully inched my front legs forward. It was kind of like walking on ice at first. I then inched my back two legs forward. I tried to follow that pattern but it was an awkward motion, I learnt quickly how to walk properly. The trees in the orchard were in a grid-like pattern, I decided I’d go straight up the grid of trees and perhaps find a way out of this maze. There wasn’t any grass, Just dirt littered with fallen rotten apples, some brown with rot and other still red but with specs of decay. If there had not been wind rustling the leaves it would have been silent, seldom the birds chirped. Nothing was really clear to me but there was no present danger around so happily I trotted in the sea of trees. After some time, slowly the apple ridden dirt turned into clean grass. The trees started thinning out and I could see an exit. Outside the orchard lay a red barn surrounded by hills protected by a white picket fence. Out in the distance, you could see corn fields to the north and to the south was carrot patches. There was a dirt path leading to the barn, above it was a gate covered in vines blooming beautiful grapes. Near the barn were a chicken coop and a well. Any farmer would be in awe with the sight of it all. It was my image of a perfect farm; Of course I had never seen a farm before or could remember one for that matter. Chickens roamed free inside the white picket fence and didn’t seem to care about anything but the seeds they ate. Outside the Barn, Just like one would except from a farm, there were a random assortment of farm tools. This place seemed safe enough but still I was unsure that I should go to the farm. When I was hidden behind the orchard of trees I felt safe, but at the barn I felt exposed, like anyone could see me out in the open. I shook the feeling of uneasiness and decided to follow the path leading to the barn. Slowly I walked, Doubts filling my mind. I wasn’t sure that this was entirely safe; still I walked until a white furred chick wandered outside the gate as if to investigate why I was wandering to her farm. Before then, I couldn’t remember seeing an animal up close before. The chick innocently trotted towards me. I tensed up; she could have been a fearsome beast for all I knew at that moment. The chick hopped on my left hoof. In an instant I shook it as fast as I could. The chick was launched a few inches away but it didn’t seem to harm her. She didn’t look like she could harm me, so I assumed she wasn’t killer and just was a stranger to me. I was in a world of unknowns; a baby chick could’ve been a beast for all I knew. I galloped inside the gates, not caring that there could be dangers inside of there. The chick reassured me enough. As I got near the red barn, I slowed my pace down to a walk. Walking was normal again and was no longer an awkward motion for me. The barn door was open and inside was full of hay. There were bales of hay everywhere. The inside wasn’t red like the outside; it was a brown wood-ish color and had clearly never been painted before. In the far corner of the barn there lie a workbench, Hanging from the workbench were random assortments of tools. Atop it were random nuts, bolts and everything screw related. Sunshine peered in from the wide open door and I was casting a shadow. “Hello, Young Filly what are you doing here?” The voice came from behind me, it was a sweet, caring voice but one full of age and not quite as good as it might have been. For that moment, I didn’t know how to speak. The voice came to me as a surprise despite how sweet it was. “Cat got your tongue, Eh?” She let out a dusty laugh. “Well, I’ve got one just like you; He’s real shy and hardly says a word. But surely you can tell me why you’ve wandered on to my property.” I turned and faced her. She was an old pony with a light green coat. Her mane was white with age just like her face. Her face once was pleasant to look at, now it was covered in wrinkles and full of age. Her orange colored eyes bagged down. Despite looking like she should be in a coffin, she seemed peppy. “Can you at least tell me your name?” I hesitated, I hardly knew anything never the less my name. “Uhh... I...” The words came out awkwardly. “I...I don’t know my name.” She raised an eyebrow. “How does somepony forget their name?” I felt my face get red; I didn’t know how I lost my memories. “I don’t remember anything, not even my name.” I attempted to think back before I woke up in the orchard but I was drawing a blank. “If you can’t tell me your name, I’ll tell you mine. Folks around here call me Granny Smith. You’ve wandered on to my land, Sweet Apple Acres we call it, yesiree!” She seemed to talk about her land with pride. “Have you run away from home? Your family must be worried about you.” I had yet to think about my family, if I had one. I barely knew myself nevertheless my family. “I’m not lying to you when I say I don’t know, ma’am. To be honest, I think I fell asleep in your apple orchard. Besides that, I can’t remember. After I woke up, I wandered here.” Granny paused as if to think. She stayed silent but was focused on me, I turned red again. I didn’t know much, but I knew I didn’t like to be stared at. “You don’t have your cutie mark yet, you must be about her age.” Out of plain curiosity I asked “What’s a cutie mark?” Granny seemed happy to answer. “Well, a cutie mark tells you your special talent; it appears on your flank when you figure out what that special talent is. Like mine is an apple pie for instance. My granddaughter Applejack left to the big city to find her cutie mark. She’s probably living the fancy life in Manehatten, Hope to Celestia she’s alright, though.” I could’ve cared less about a cutie mark; I’d find it when the time was right. “So, you’ve wandered through my land not knowing even your name. You poor thing, you can stay with us for the night, I’ll let you sleep in Applejack’s old room. But you’ll have to leave after then, I don’t like stragglers.” Nopony had ever been this nice to me from what I could remember. “I’d be happy to stay here for the night.” Granny smiled “I’ll call you to dinner when the sun sets, until then you can wander or do whatever ponies without memories do.” The sun was at its highest point in the sky, so I had plenty of time till then. “Since you can’t remember your name, I’ll have to give you one!” She paused and thought for a moment. “Well since you wandered here, I think I’ll call you Wander. It’s not quite the best name, but for a pony like you, it fits.” She smiled and seemed happy at her choice. “I’m going to go inside the house, come and introduce yourself to Big Macintosh when you get the chance. He’s the big red stallion, don’t let his figure scare you, He’s quite shy and hardly talks but he’s the most dependable pony I’ve ever met.” When Granny Smith left and I couldn’t help but feel butterflies in my stomach, never had somepony before ever been so kind to me. I hardly even knew her and she let me stay with her for the night, she even gave me a name. I couldn’t remember my name from before but I liked the new one she gave me. Wander, it seemed rather fitting for me. The farm was a great place, I never wanted to leave. When I was there hours seemed like minutes. There was always so much to do. Even though I spent only a short time there, I still recall the wonderful scenery and wonderful animals. When it finally came time for dinner, I was shocked that I already spent so much of my time; I hadn’t even had a chance to introduce myself to Big Macintosh. The sun was already setting on the hills near the farm and was slowing disappearing from view. Beautiful the sky lit up; Even though the sky was mostly dark there were still oranges and bright reds bouncing about in the horizon, it was a great end to a perfect spring day. I walked to meet Granny Smith and Big Macintosh. Big Macintosh was intimating to look at, despite not being a full grown horse yet, He was muscular as he could be. He had a dark red coat with a blonde mane. He seldom talked but when he did, you could tell he meant business. He talked with a deep voiced country accent and his vocabulary usually consisted of one-worded responses like Eeeyup or nnooope. He had a green apple for a cutie mark, so I assumed he must be a big help around the farm. “Hello Wander, Wonderful to see you again, thought you’d might have gotten lost on the way here.” Said Granny with a hint of sarcasm. I chuckled and said “I wasn’t lost, no, I was just gazing at the wonderful sunset, and I can’t say I’ve seen anything like it before.” After a bit of talking and not much in-between we finally sat down and ate dinner. Even though I saw carrot patches and grapes earlier, Most of the courses were apple related in some way shape or another. The table had trays stacked with a colored assortment of apples. Off to the side there was some pastries (Apple flavored, of course.) I was shocked to see this much food at a time, I wondered if they ate like this all the time. I sat myself down in one of Granny’s ancient looking wooden chairs. The table was silent with the exception of me mowing down on food. Finally Granny decided to break the pattern of science we created. “What do you plan to do tomorrow morning?” That question came to me as a shock, I hadn’t really planned anything. “I hadn’t thought of that in the slightest, I figure I’ll walk to the nearest town and see if any of the sights bring back my memory or something.” I said through bites of apples. “The way I figure it, you must be an Earth Pony; you haven’t got any wings like the Pegasi from up in Cloudsdale or Horns like the unicorns, so you’re like us, Earth Ponies. We are the muscles of Equestria, Those lazy unicorns use magic for everything, And those Pegasi aren’t any better with their wings! Anyways, you should try to seek out Ponyville, A lot of Earth Ponies are from there, who knows, and maybe you’re from there.” Granny explained. Everything of late hardly fazed me anymore; it was now surprise after surprise. I figured Ponyville would be at least worth a shot as I had nothing to lose. “Thanks for the advice; I’ll go there first thing in the morning.” After dinner was over, Granny had Big Macintosh show me to Applejack’s old room where I’d be staying. It was a homely room and I felt right at home, something about it just seemed calming, like it was whispering me to go to sleep. The room only had a bed and a dresser but it was by no means bland. The entire wall was decorated with drawings that looked to be made by a young pony, as I couldn’t tell what any of them were. Through a single window moonlight peered inside the room and gave a dim light to see with. You could see the entire west side of the farm through the window, The farm looked less inviting at night, I got an eerie feeling just looking outside in the dark. I plopped down on the bed; quickly sleep overcame me and was back inside that ecstasy of colors. Author's Note Please tell me what you think! Criticism actually helps me, Just let it be helpful Criticism unlike "LOL THIS FUCKING SUCKS, FAG!"
Planless in PonyvilleI awoke to the sounds of daily farm life, I had slept in and the entire farm didn’t wait for me. Sunlight illuminated the room and was shining directly on me from the window. It was a good feeling, I felt relaxed after a long day yesterday, and I tried to think if I had any dreams but I was drawing a blank just like most things. The room I was in was cozy as ever, it made me not want to leave my bed. As lazy as I felt, I was still eager to see Ponyville. Granny Smith described it as a quaint lovely town that everypony loved. She said the Ponies were nice and that she had an apple stand at the market there. I got up out of the haven of comfort that I so dearly didn’t want to leave. I went downstairs to find a bright-green saddle bag and a letter left for me. The letter was from Granny Smith; her handwriting was just as nice as her in the flesh. The letter read “Dear Wander, Sorry I couldn’t see you off; the farm couldn’t wait while you slept in. I’ve left some food for in that there saddlebag, it should last you a good while. You stay good and well, don’t forget about Sweet Apple Acres when you find your family. Yours truly, Granny Smith.” It was sweet of her to leave me all these goods, I hadn’t planned anything and I sure didn’t think about my own health. The saddle bag was a bright green color and had an apple stitched on it. I quickly deduced the mystery of how to put saddlebags on. It was a nice fit and not too extremely heavy on my frail young body. I left the farm that morning with my head up and my expectations high. I followed a dirt path that was said to lead to Ponyville. To the right of me were still many miles of apple trees and to the left were many fields of assorted vegetables. The day wasn’t as perfect as yesterday was but it was still an alright day none the less. A few clouds hung in the sky, but I must’ve slept in late that day because the sky told me it was 12 o’ clock. I trotted peacefully down the path; the birds were chirping a happy tune to me. The farm was on the outskirts of Ponyville and was only a good mile away from it. Bees buzzed in the around me and I could hear the quick running of the river in the distance. Even though I wasn’t the strongest pony alive, I felt like I could walk the entire world. Over time the orchard and fields turned to houses and shops. The sounds of insects and animals turned to the sound of talking and laughter. I was finally there at Ponyville. It was so much more active than the farm, it seemed like there were ponies everywhere, and this was only a small town! The buildings stretched far above my head and had to be at least 5 ponies tall. It was lively and all, but so far nothing had seemed to help my memory problem. Nothing here seemed familiar despite how welcoming it looked. I scanned everything I could hoping at least one memory would reappear but nothing would happen. I didn’t have a backup plan, so I didn’t know what to do. I just assumed coming to Ponyville would fix everything. Not knowing what to do, I plopped down on one of the many benches Ponyville offered. On the bench next to me there was a brown Stallion. He didn’t look very friendly, but I was lonely and needed advice, so I asked him “What do you do when you’ve lost something, Mister?” He looked up from his newspaper at me “Depends on what I’m missing, if I’m missing something like my hat, I ask around if anypony has seen it. If I’m missing something like my dog, I’ll put up signs around asking if ponies recognize him and if they find him they’d return it.” He looked back at his paper and continued to read. He was right; I should ask around to see if Anypony recalls seeing me around here. Maybe before i wandered off and bumped my head in Sweet Apple Acres and that’s how I lost my memory. I asked everypony I could see, It didn’t matter who you were or what you were doing I was going to ask you. None of them seemed to recall ever seeing me before. Getting desperate, I headed to the local town library. It was strange for a library, because it was inside of a tree. It was a giant old oak tree hollowed out to make a library. There were many decks hanging off of the tree and windows too. Inside of it was a lot less strange, it was my first time I could remember seeing a library and it was no different from how I imagined it. Selves were cut from the tree and had books of all ages and colors on them. Lanterns hung from the ceiling and lit the room. A middle aged pony was tending to the books; she hardly seemed like a nice lady. She had a brown coat and a black mane with spots of gray on it. She was carrying a duster and dusting old books from the selves. “Hello there, what can I do for you? Need help finding a book or maybe something else I can do?” She seemed to have a hidden hint of dread in her voice like she only got paid to be nice to customers but could care less about them. “Yeah, I’m looking for a book about memory or something among the lines of that.” I wasn’t sure if I could read but I was sure it would come back to me in a second similar to how walking came back quickly. The librarian scoffed and pointed towards a shelve near the door. It was a rude gesture but I didn’t want to start any trouble, I just wanted answers. The shelve I was lead to had all sorts of books on psychology, I didn’t know any of the field, but I was eager to learn. I scanned through the assorted titles until I came upon one titled “Amnesia, and other phenomena of the mind” It was the only title about Memories I could find, but it would have to do. The cover was a darkish brown color and had the title printed on black text. I assumed that in libraries that you could just take books for free, I didn’t know any better, After all the librarian cared so much she didn’t even try to stop me. With my new found book, I went to another bench near a fountain to read. The fountain seemed to be in the center of town and had a stone pony atop it. This was the center of the town, where all the ponies did their shopping and worked. I started to read, but to my dismay, I realized that I could hardly read anything out of it. I could indeed read it, But it used so many words out of my vocabulary I couldn’t understand a single word besides the title and author’s name. I let out a sigh and put the book in my saddle bag. I spent most of the day trying to regain what was lost, but it seemed like I got more lost in the end. The sun was setting and now was a tiny slice of what it was earlier. The orange glow the sun set off didn’t help my situation, but it made me feel better. I sat and watched until the moon overcame the sun once again. Now it was dark and cold, the once lively village was now all indoors. I didn’t know anypony here, so I didn’t have a place to stay either. I was stuck outside in the cold out on a bench. I tried to make the most out of the un-comfortable metal frame of the bench but it felt like I was sleeping on a rock. Lights from windows gave the night a much needed light, but soon were turned off as the Ponies owning them went to sleep. So, There I was without a family, home or any memory for that matter. Sleep eventually overcame my weary body. I didn’t know how long I slept for until I was awoken by the sounds of another pony. Somepony was stealing from my saddle bag! I quickly kicked and grabbed the thief’s mane with my mouth. “ACCCK!” She screamed. “I just wanted to see if you had any food, then I saw that you had a muffin. I’m sorry! I just really love muffins and I’m really hungry and Nopony will give me food! Please don’t hurt me!” I let go of her mane. I was conflicted, She could be just as homeless maybe she even needed it more, or she could’ve been just a no good lying thief. I decided to go with my gut and let her keep the muffin. “I won’t hurt you; you can have the muffin, Sorry about grabbing your mane. I just didn’t-“ I was quickly interrupted by her “Yay! I can the muffin? I haven’t eaten in ages.” She quickly said through bites of the muffin. “My name’s Derpy Hooves! Do you want to be friends? I don’t have any of those back home and since you gave me a muffin, you must like me, right?” Derpy didn’t seem like the smartest filly around, She had a pair of yellow eyes that were always either cross-eyed or facing opposite directions of each other. Her coat was a light gray and she was sporting a blonde mane, she also had bubbles as her cutie mark. Which begs the question, what was her special talent? Blowing bubbles? “I really don’t think I have any friends either, I wouldn’t mind having one either.” I said trying to be nice to her; she seemed to get upset easy. Derpy’s face almost instantly gave life to the dark cold night with a bright smile. I started to blush at the sight of her; it felt good to make others feel good. “I always I wanted a friend, I never had one before I ran away.” She told me. “You’re trying to run away? I’m trying to find my way.” I told her. “Really, what are you trying to find? I ran away because Nopony liked me at the flight school. They’d always make fun of me because my eyes are special, but you haven’t done that, that’s why I like you, plus you gave me a muffin too.” We both chuckled. “Yeah, I lost my memory and I’m trying to find out who and what I was. I awoke yesterday without a memory in my head; I thought coming to Ponyville would help, but if anything it hasn’t really helped. I’ll I have to show for it is a book I can’t even read.” Derpy looked down without making eye contact, then perked back up and said “I could help you get it back! That’s what friends do, right?” I felt myself turn red, and said “Sure, you can help, we are friends after all.” Derpy started hugging me, I didn’t expect it at first but I gave in and started hugging too. “Oh yeah, I forgot to ask. What’s your name?” She asked. I chuckled at that fact that we were friends but she didn’t even know my name yet. “I can’t remember my old name, but ponies around here call me Wander.” Despite her attempting to steal my food, I felt like this was the beginning to something great. There wasn’t much room on the bench but I spared as much as I could for Derpy. We were both freezing cold without a blanket or any source of warmth for that matter, But with both our bodies lying next to each other we had enough body heat combined not to be entirely frozen in the cold spring night. I didn’t have a single plan but that didn’t discomfort me one bit, with my new found friend by my side, I felt like I could take on the world.
Two travelers in the woodsI hardly slept the night before, I had completely forgotten about my health. I was so busy yesterday; I never even bothered to eat. The last meal I had was back at Sweet Apple Acres, I needed to eat soon, my stomach let out an approving growl. Derpy was still lying asleep peacefully; it seemed despite how uncomfortable the bench was Derpy could still sleep peacefully. The sun was coming up and intruded the bleak night. It got so cold last night, I couldn’t let myself fall asleep. I knew in my dreams I’d at least be warm, but I was so freezing at the time I couldn’t fall back into slumber. Granny Smith never bothered to pack a blanket, but I couldn’t complain, after all beggars can’t be choosers. I opened my saddle bag; I had hardly touched it since I got it, except when Derpy was attempting to steal one of my muffins. All the foods in the bag were all apple related in some way shape or form. Pies, Muffins or just plain apples, you name it, it was there. I grabbed an ordinary apple and started eating. Ponyville was finally getting up after a long night. Windows were suddenly filled with the colorful faces that Ponyville was accustomed to seeing. By the time I was finished with my apple, Derpy was stirring in her sleep. I hoped that meant she’d get up soon. I hardly even knew the mare but I trusted her completely. I knew she tried to steal from me, but she had good reason too. Derpy was just a lonely pony who ran away from home. Actually, I felt sorry for her, She didn’t have any friends and was shunned back in Cloudsdale, I wasn’t sure if I had ever been shunned before, But I assumed it didn’t feel good. If I wanted any answers, it would be best if I leave Ponyville, but where is the question. I hadn’t had the slightest idea where I was even from, Even if I left, would it be right to let Derpy come with me? She had a family waiting for her, whether she wanted to see them or not. Derpy stirred some more. It’d break my heart if anything happened to her, wherever we went. Then Derpy finally got up from what seemed like an eternal slumber. With one eye open and a face full of sleep she said “Good morning! How did you sleep? Me? Well, I slept like I was lying on a cloud. We Pegasus can make anything seem comfortable!” I chuckled; it was nice to have such a peppy friend. I was going to have to tell her that I was going to leave Ponyville soon. Whether she wanted to go or not, I was going to leave, I had too many questions that had to be answered and I wasn’t going to let Derpy stop me from answering them. “Derpy, I’m going to leave Ponyville soon, I don’t know where, but it doesn’t feel right that you should come with me, but if you want too I’m more than glad to have a companion on the road.” It seemed like Derpy didn’t even take a moment to think about it, almost instantly she replied “Yes! Yes! Yess! I’ll go with you! I don’t care where but I think we’ll have fun! I don’t have any luggage or things; I left that all back at home, so we can leave soon!” She was grinned with excitement and her joy seemed to be rubbing off on me, as I started smiling too. “I really don’t know where we’ll head in that case; I guess we’ll just go in the direction opposite of where I came. Derpy, do you know where everything is around here?” She shrugged and gave me one of those of ‘I have no clue’ type of faces. “I’m from Cloudsdale, I barely knew my way around there, and I hardly even visited down here.” She was just as clueless as I was then. “Well, like I said, I don’t have a plan; I guess we’re at the will of the wind, huh? Once you get up completely, we’ll start that way.” I pointed towards the opposite side of the town, it was a long stretch of houses, and in the distance I could see a forest. “T-that way?” Derpy stammered “I may not be from here, but even I’ve heard the stories about that forest. That’s the Everfree forest, Things aren’t normal there, not even the Pegasi can control the weather there. Are you sure we have to go there?” Derpy actually looked scared; her eyes were now wide with fear. “I didn’t know you were superstitious, Derpy.” She looked at me with the most serious but laughable face I’d ever seen anypony make and said “I-I’m not superstitious, this is fact! I once knew a guy who went to the Everfree forest once and never came back. Well… He moved away but still! I never saw him again.” I hoped Derpy wasn’t always this scared when it came to most things, which could be a problem. “Calm down, What about it makes it so scary, it’s just a forest.” Personally, I thought Derpy was over-reacting. “JUST A FOREST!? It’s not normal there! Plus it’s scary. Also….I don’t like dark things…” How petty of her, she was afraid of the dark. Oh well, I don’t blame her, we were both young; Young and naïve. “It’ll be alright there, I mean what’s the worst that could happen?” What a mistake saying that was. “DON’T! YOU’LL JINX IT!” She shouted. Derpy was obviously scared and I couldn’t ever recall anypony ever acting like this before. Derpy was the kind of pony that heard rumors and fables all the time, except she really believed the tales. After a long debate of Logic vs. Fear, I finally convinced her to come along with me. I didn’t really have to go to the Everfree forest, but without a plan it seemed like the most logical thing at the time. As we we’re walking, I had to usher Derpy around like a dog on a leash. Within minutes we were there, The Everfree forest. The rumors had got one thing right; it sure was dark and ominous. The sun was out now, but it seemed like none of the light it was producing hit the forest. It wasn’t happy and welcoming like the orchards back at sweet apple acres, it was creepy and full of doubt. The trees seemed to be alive and making faces at us. By this point, Derpy was shaking like an alarm clock. Trying to prove superstition wrong, I ponied up and was fully prepare to face my fears. Strange, Days ago I was the one cowering in fear of a chick, Now I’m the one fully prepared to face the unknown. I lifted Derpy and put her on my back, I didn’t think I was that strong, must’ve been the fact that I was an Earth pony and was naturally strong or that she was a Pegasus and was naturally light. As I walked closer to the woods, the ominous feeling got stronger. To calm my nerves, I decided it’d be best to talk to Derpy to reassure us both. “Derpy, what’s Cloudsdale like? I don’t think I’ve ever been there, well, I guess, if I did I wouldn’t really remember.” That seemed to calm us both. At least I thought it did. With Derpy it was hard to read what she was thinking sometimes and other times it was extremely easy. “It’s a city in the sky, where all the Pegasi live. We control the weather for Equestria down below. However, I don’t think a single earth pony or unicorn has ever been up there, we can walk and live on clouds, but I don’t think you guys could, you might fall straight through.” We were now both inside the forest. Moss-covered and leafless trees spired up to touch the atmosphere. Tall ferns went up to brush my hooves. Not even the grass was its own usual bright green and instead had this washed up murky dark green color. Brambles flowed out of their bush homes and seemed to have a mind of their own. Despite me constantly reassuring us both, I couldn’t help but feel scared at the sight of this all. Derpy was treading no better, as she now was covering her eyes in fear. There wasn’t really a path for me to follow in these woods, it seemed like ponies seldom go in here, so I had to trot over thorns and other awkward obstacles. Over time, the woods started to look stranger and it became apparent that we were lost. It was my mistake for assuming that this was ever a good idea. “Hey Derpy, You might have noticed, but I think we’re lost.” Derpy replied by saying “How are we lost? You didn’t know where we were going since the beginning; we’ve been lost this entire time! I told you this was a bad idea!” Derpy was now on the verge of tears, I didn’t feel good to have a young Pegasus about to cry on your back. Trying to calm her down, I told her that she could have another muffin from my saddlebag. Last time that seemed to calm her down, I hoped it’d calm her down enough for me to find our way through this forest. In hindsight, this was a bad idea; So far I had found nothing to help with my memory problem. Derpy was devouring an apple muffin; I guess she was a Pegasus who really loved her muffins. That’s when it hit me; Derpy could fly up and see if she could see the way out. “Derpy, I’m assuming you can fly, right?” She nodded her head yes. “Why don’t you fly up and she if you can see the way out of here, maybe we can get out of here that way.” Derpy proceed to finish every last crumb of her muffin before answering. “Alright, I think I could fly up, I was never a very good flyer in flight school, but I’ll try for us!” She then proceeded to flap her grayish wings quicker and quicker until she was up in the air. Now that she was flying I could see that she was a klutz, she seemed to be running into every dead or decayed branch up there. I didn’t think she was doing it to be funny either; it actually looked like it hurt most of the time. She finally hid behind the treetops that went ever so high and disappeared from my view. After a good few minutes, Derpy finally came down. She had a look of glee on her face, the happiest I’d ever seen her since we went inside this forest. “Wander, it was so pretty up there! It’s another great day outside, the sun was shining and I could see Ponyville a couple miles away, I guess everything is so thick you can’t see sunlight down here. Anyways, I could see this rock thingy over there.” She pointed towards north. Over there were the usual sights of this forest, really dark sights such as dead trees and ugly ferns. “What rock thingy, what do you mean?” I was kind of curious of what she meant by that. “Well, I don’t know what it’s called, it kind of looks like it was made out of rocks or something, and it went high in the sky, like past these trees tall. It was over there in a clearing.” I didn’t really think that’d help get my memory back at all, but I was up for anything, I mean after all, I did walk into a dark creepy forest hoping to regain something. With the grace and ease of an elephant, Derpy fell clumsily back to the forest floor. I lent her my hoof and helped her up. She was now trotting behind me, Rather than sitting on my back. I didn’t mind her doing that, she hardly felt like a feather on my back. “What’s it like to be in the air? I mean I can’t fly and I don’t think I’ll ever go up there.” Derpy’s face lit up and the sound of it. “I can’t fly well, but when I do, it’s lovely, you feel weightless and free of any boundaries. Sometimes back in Cloudsdale, when it wasn’t a windy day and we weren’t making any clouds, I could fly high and fast, It filled me with true joy, something everypony there prevented me from having. They used to call me names, make fun of me, talk bad about me behind my back and I never had a single friend, All because I’m different and my eyes aren’t normal. But, when I was in the air, I didn’t care about all of that, I was free.” It was weird to hear about her old life, I trusted that somewhere my family was waiting for me, but Derpy was trying to get away from it all. Despite how bad it was she at least could recall it all. Maybe that was it, she wanted to forget it all, every time she thought about her life it hurt, Ponies disowning you and shunning you just because of what you are. We continued down the forest not saying a word, to be honest, I was kind of shy, in times of silence or awkwardness I noticed that I would blush. Over time, we finally made it to the clearing she saw. It was strange, everywhere in the forest there were ugly misshaped plants, but this clearing didn’t have any plants, All it had was the lovely bright green grass I was accustom to seeing in Equestria. The clearing went about a mile in a perfect square shape. Instead of having a large canopy of trees blocking all the sunlight, it didn’t have a single thing blocking the sun, save the giant pyramid type thing in the center of it all. Derpy was right when she said that it was a giant rock thingy, I couldn’t tell what it was supposed to be. It had this washed up, reddish color to it. It didn’t look like it was 100% natural, but at the same time it didn’t look like it was 100% pony made either. It touched the very fabric of the sky and it was an enigma to me that Nopony noticed this before, as it looked like it hadn’t been touched by the hooves of horses before. I looked at my partner and saw her in awe too. Her eyes were wide at the very sight of it all, too. I patted Derpy on the back to get her out of the daze and beckoned her with my hoof to follow. Derpy and I were now galloping on this field of green, going ever so closer to this pyramid in the woods. To be honest, I was more curious than anything to see what was inside and what it might have been used for. I mean what was it doing there and how come Nopony ever noticed it, you probably could have seen it from 30 miles away! Within minutes our gallops slowed to a walking pace as it was nearly half a mile away and not close enough to sprint within reason to. Slowly but surely we reached it. Unlike I expected; it didn’t have a door or anything to get inside from the bottom. The wall was covered in strange markings in a writing I couldn’t read, I just barely recalled how to speak and read, I wasn’t ready to try and read another language. The wall had a soft rocky texture but was strange; I had never felt a rock texture like it before. I didn’t let it get the best of me though; it was probably for a religion or something. I wanted ever so badly to go inside it but I couldn’t see an entrance down here. There might be a way down from the top though. “Hey Derpy, I don’t think we can enter from here, but I was thinking and I figured there might be a way from the top. If you could fly up and see, that’d be fantastic.” Derpy didn’t even have a second thought about it, after going through the entire cycle of lifting off again; she was off in the air. She was headed for the very peak of the pyramid. It looked hard to land on, but what did I know, I had have never flown before. Knowing Derpy’s terrible flying skills, it was strange that she aced the landing. With the grace of a swan she landed. Before I knew it, a bright green florescent laser came up from the pyramid and went straight through Derpy towards the sky. I felt myself screaming and tears running down my cheek. I didn’t know what happened to her or if she was alright. Over the sounds of me screaming I could hear a loud buzzing sound. My only friend, who had a family waiting for her, was now probably a pile of ashes. I didn’t know how it happened or why but I wasn’t thinking about that, I started climbing the large steps on the pyramid. I didn’t care that I could get hurt or that the laser hadn’t stopped yet. The trek I made didn’t even matter, when I got there, the laser stopped, as the dust and debris cleared i tried to hold back a flood of tears, Derpy Hooves whom I just met and started to know was not even a pile of dust. There was nothing left of her. For the first second, I didn’t feel anything, I couldn’t feel anything, and I was numb! Emotions filled my young body and I was overcome with all my emotions. I stepped on the platform Derpy was on. Everything went bright, I couldn’t think and everything faded to white.
