I walked through the field near my house as birds flitted to and fro and the wind swept the leaves across the ground. The air was cool, and I could smell the moisture in it from the recent rain shower... as well as something else. Sniffing a bit more I recognized it, smoke? Where?
Looking back towards my house I saw a pillar of smoke rising, and the glow of a roaring fire. Cold dread filled my gut as I ran for my house, tripping in a gopher hole and face-planting in a mass of star-thistle thorns. Ignoring the burning pain I sprinted and flung myself over the fence and into my yard. My cabin was in flames, a nearby tree was as well with branches falling down onto the roof. My stuff! I rushed for the front door, avoiding the doorhandle, instead trying to kick it open. That's when I heard the voices of my family screaming in horrible horrible pain, with their faces on just the other side melting away with bloody burning hands trying to claw out of the glass panes of the door.
I was petrified, unable to do anything as the house collapsed crushing us all beneath its charred mass.
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I woke with only half a blanket on me and a concerned Twilight sitting to my right, "What's wrong Jim? I woke up to the sound of you screaming and thrashing about, what in the name of Celestia is wrong with you?" she spoke in a shaken tone as she placed a hoof on my shoulder. Wiping a bit of sweat off my brow I shivered, which must have given Twilight the wrong message since she removed her hoof. I turned to her, "Sorry Twilight, the concern is appreciated... I just got some things that I'd rather not talk about right now. She still looked upset but bowed her head in understanding, as I turned over to the left taking a bit of covers with me, and she kept her distance, not needing a spell to know that I needed my space.
The rest of the night was spent tossing and turning as gently as possible as to not wake Twilight. When I saw the dawn approaching I silently got out of bed and got dressed. I rekindled the fire and pawed through one of the bookshelves looking for a calming book. I read for a couple of hours before grabbing my sweater for a early morning stroll.
The only ponies present on the streets were salesponies setting up their stands in the marketplace. Big Mac was among them and gave a wave, which I returned with a weak smile. My feet carried me to the edge of town in little time and around the border of a dark forest of sickly trees. Walks never seemed to help me really when I was out of sorts, it usually just gave me more time to fume or wallow in self-pity.
And become oblivious too.
I hadn't noticed the odd sensation of the hair on the back of my neck raising, and a low growl emanating from the stand of trees I was passing. That is, until I heard, "Hey, look out!" from somewhere nearby and a dark form crashed into me sending me sprawling to the ground.
It smells like pine trees and rotting meat... how odd.
My attacker had glowing green eyes and looked like a wolf made out of timber--A Timber Wolf...? Oh I see what you did there VERY clever--and it was trying its best to bite my throat out. I had an arm pinned up against its throat, and that seemed to be keeping it back for now though to be honest I was still new to the whole being mauled by a wild animal thing. Just as my arm was going to give, a cyan colored pony with a rainbow mane kicked the creature square in the face and it flew clear off me with the impact. "Give me your hoof!" my savior shouted, holding her foreleg out.
I grabbed on and she proceeded to take to the air, pulling me along with her.
Yep, I am not going to be able to hold on.
I was fairly strong, but you try hanging onto the landing gear of an airplane going at full speed and let me know how it goes. We had cleared the ground and were flying over the treetops when I shouted, "I can't hold on!" in a a slightly high-pitched voice (I don't do heights), and as the pegasus made to hold onto me with the other hoof I went into free fall.
I remember hitting a few branches on the way down and that was about it.
I seriously need to stop getting knocked unconscious, its becoming a habit and I have too few brain cells as it is.
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I woke up looking up into a dark canopy of trees with my head in a puddle of water and pain. Just pain. I strained myself sitting up, and checking to see if I had all my parts. My sweatshirt was still intact--except for on the arm that I had used to keep the wolf off me. Peeling the ragged sleeve back I found a nasty bite wound, nothing had been torn off but the gouges were deep and looking at the damage made me a little dizzy. I salvaged the sleeve and used it to wrap the bite up as best I could. Standing I felt something shift that wasn't supposed to shift, So that's what a broken rib feels like, oop, make that two. and I fell to the ground again scarcely containing a scream. I hadn't broken any bones before, I hadn't planned on it either, and damn it all to hell it hurt like a bitch.
A short while later, after considerable writhing in pain, I rose to my feet again and looked about. It was dark, a noxious smell filled the air, one that smelt of decay and mold, Its like Murkwood in the Hobbit and the trees all seemed to be spindly and tall with no branches save for high up. I could see a faint light through the gloomy trees, what I guessed was the sun but I couldn't gauge where in the sky it was. With a painful shrug I started walking towards the only source of light.
A few hours of stumbling and frayed nerves later I came to a meadow rife with wildflowers and rabbits with a stream running down its middle. The small critters scattered to other parts of the clearing at my approach, and I squinted up at the sun I could now clearly see. It looked to be midday, or just about, and I had been walking east, so north must be where Ponyville is? The meadow was surrounded on all sides except one by the forest, to the east there was a rise that ran near a gorge. Seeking the better view yet again I walked to it. On its crest I spied a deep gorge to my south, a bog to the west, and more forest--but smoke beyond it--to the north. In the far distance I could see the solitary peak with Canterlot on it Erebor-- No Jim, not now.
I figured that I should head south and move north along the outskirts of Murkwood or whatever its called, since there was less creature infested forest between me and safety that way. Holding my side and stretching as far as my damaged limbs would allow me, I trekked south towards the gorge.
All things considered having a couple of cracked ribs wasn't too bad, as long as I didn't breathe deep or try to exert myself much, I had been fortunate that I hadn't broken a leg or I would've been screwed like a tired sheep.
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The sun sank faster than I would have liked and by the time I approached the gorge the sun was setting behind the hills to the west. Sighing at the fact I had to sleep outside, I roamed about looking for a place to settle in. I steered clear of the gorge since I could hear some of its inhabitants stirring and they didn't sound like the welcoming kind. An unoccupied hollowed out tree that laid between two rocks 100 meters from the gorge looked suitable for my needs and I made myself at home.
With only my clothes to keep me warm, I curled into the fetal position and pulled my hood up.
The following morning was a cold one, and I crawled out of my warren shivering and restless. I had heard noises in the night and the same dream from before had come back with a vengeance. The sun was inching up and I had a lot of ground to cover if I wanted to get back to the nice warm library and the snuggly pony who tended it--HEY, keep it in your pants man.
I found a rickety bridge further down the gorge near the falls from the river that flowed through it, sputtering and swearing the whole way across in a panic. Why must there be heights? Somewhere in the forest I heard a wolf howl, answered by another a few seconds later, putting some steel in my spine and energy in my step as I went north. My mind wasn't letting me travel in peace of course, since I kept thinking I saw eyes looking from the shadows of the trees and the imaginary sound of footsteps following me. I put a bigger distance between myself and the forest again, paranoia more than kicking in.
The only traveling music I had was my scuffling footsteps and my uneven breathing followed by my rapid heartbeat whenever I stopped to take a breather. I was thirsty, sore, and I thought my injuries were getting worse as I picked a piece of wood out of one of the tooth marks. At that time I heard a ghastly howl echo across the valley and my body froze with my eyes jerking towards the treeline. Those glowing eyes from before were there, gazing out at me with such a malevolence that it shook my frame, soon joined by four other pairs. Run Jim, run!
I took off at a lopsided sprint in no direction in particular, just away from the bloodthirsty monsters. I heard a second howl and underbrush being smashed as they came for me, though I didn't bother to look to see how many.
I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this
Soon I was out of breath and I thought I saw a road--no train tracks up ahead--and is that a train I hear? To my left there was a colorful locomotive fast approaching with passenger cars in tow.
Que Indiana Jones theme
I ran like hell for the vehicle, the sounds of pursuit getting closer and closer with each step. Spotting an empty looking cargo car with its door open, I dove for it, my injured side bouncing off the doorway and my body landing in a heap. The wolves howled in anger at their prey escaping their grasp, and one tried to climb into the car with me, but I sent it back out with good old fashioned foot to the head.
Having exhausted myself quite expertly, I gave into sleep.
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I was falling, falling into nothing. I could hear the monsters coming for me, but I didn't know where from, I could hear the wind howling past me in my descent. Then I found the ground with a bone-shattering thud.
I jolted awake rubbing my head from the bump that had interrupted my rest. The train had stopped and I heard someone say Ponyville. Flopping out the doorway of the train car I got to my feet and meandered away from the train that had stopped at what I guessed was the Ponyville train station. I was too delirious to tell what time of day it was. Not too far away I saw the familiar shape of Twilight's library, I grinned groggily and zombie-walked towards it, hurting with each step. The door opened easily enough, the house was as warm as I remembered and the smell of old books was a appreciated alternative to the forest's scents. A frazzled looking Twilight was frantically looking through a stack of books and scrolls that were strewn about the room, she looked up with a look of fright. "Jim?! Oh sweet Celestia, are you alright?" she ran up to me with a face of pure dismay and held me up with her front hooves on my shoulders. I shook my head dumbly, "Got bit, broke a few..." my voice seemed to gurgle as my head swam and vision became patchy and I collapsed into her.
What happened next I was sort of conscious for, I was aware of being carried by a couple of ponies, having needles poked into me and scared voices whispering to and fro. I didn't sleep, I just had fluctuations in my perception of time and my environment.
I broke through the haze after who knows how long feeling almost completely numb. For the second time since I came to this place I was in bandages, They lure you in with the ponies and the magic and then they stick ya, and I was laying in Twilight's bed on the third floor of the treehouse. I could move my arms with some sluggishness, one of which had a tube running to a blood pack and some other wire attached to a heart monitor. Being hooked up to such things made me terribly uneasy, the only time I had seen these before had been when I was visiting dying relatives at a hospital, good thing I wasn't in one of those.
I heard a soft snoring and looked to my left to find a sleep-deprived Twilight sitting in a chair with her head and front legs resting on the bed next to me. I immediately was struck with a cold pang of guilt, my disappearance must have scared her pretty bad and her hyperactive mind likely blew things even farther out of proportion. I slowly moved my hand and brushed a stray hair from her face resting it on one of her hooves. She stirred for a moment before cracking an eye open and seeing that I was awake the other slammed open, looking at my hand on her hoof. I felt blood rush to my face and I quickly removed my appendage, pulling off an uneasy smile. Smiled with an equally nervous giggle, "You're okay," her face hardened, "don't do that ever again Jim."
I drooped my head in shame, "I didn't mean to scare you like that, I just had really bad luck is all--"
"You went wondering off on your own without telling anypony, even where you are from isn't that foolish?" she interrupted with a scold and a look of disappointment that was aimed square in my eye. I shrank back a little, she was angry, and that made me want to kick myself. I returned her look with my best apologetic face, "Look Twi I'm sorry, I got jumped by some wolf thing and next thing I know I am out in the woods alone, I almost got eaten twice, I had to sleep in a log, I broke a few things, and I should have told you I was going for a walk but..." I trailed off not knowing how else to explain what happened. I looked back to Twilight to see her features had softened into that of acceptance, she leaned forward, "Its okay, just let me know next time you want to go hurt yourself," and with that she planted a small kiss on my cheek before standing up and heading downstairs purposely keeping her face hidden from my view.
Her face was probably as red as mine was.