//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Lost in the woods // Story: Getting a Clue // by Skyller //------------------------------// Large bright gold eyes stared back at me as I leaned further into the lake. Blink one eye and the young horse – foal? – does the same. I shook my head lightly; the little foal soon followed after, its curly (did horses ever have curly hair?) mess of orange and pink swayed with it. There were even little tufts in the ears. No way. I leaned closer to the lake. Despite the slight darkness, the lake clearly reflects… me? A horse? That just felt wrong. I leaned closer not believing it until I saw something in… my reflection. A pair of slightly raised wings were attached to what should be my body. Wings. “Wha-?” in my disbelief, I turned too quickly and fell into the lake. Water surrounded me as I frantically move my arms and legs. Somehow I managed to push myself above the waters; I coughed as my teary eyes frantically looked for land which was thankfully near. My hooves awkwardly fumbled on the ledge but I manage to hoist myself up and collapsed on the nice, very nice grass – well away from the lake – and took well-needed breaths. The water might have been slightly warm but it did nothing to soothe the fear of drowning nor did it warm me enough from the cool winds that soon swept the area. After a minute or two, I got up and shook myself dry. I then look down on my sides. The wings I saw in the lake were still there though closed this time. I closed my eyes and tried feeling for them. I felt a twitch on my back and held on to that. The feeling got stronger and when I opened my eyes, the wings were open. I experimentally tried tugging something and then my wings began to move slightly. A stronger tug and then they slowly flapped like a bird’s. It was strange. This felt all so new yet at the same time familiar. I really wish I remembered something. Anything at all. “What the hell’s goin’ on?” a high pitched squeaky voice greeted my ears. My voice. I groaned. Every second I was awake in this forest was another second of questions and no answer. My eyes slowly wandered to the forest around me and I felt my ears flopped on my head. The trees were twisted and gnarled, with grooves on the bark forming twisted smiles as if they were alive for so long they went insane. Their branches were equally skewed, raised high, waiting for some unfortunate thing to walk into their embrace before they were never seen again. Even the wind carried the wails of unknown from within the woods. The darkness of the night made it even more terrifying. I felt the corner of eyes moisten before taking a large breath. “I needed to find someone and I have a feeling staying here won’t,” I said aloud, the sound of my voice was both weird and a bit comforting amidst the woodland critters chatter. The soft crunch of grass beneath my hooves was another reminder that this really happening. I lowered my head and sighed, “Here I go.” I took another step into the shadows of the forest. I gulped as I slowly moved and weaved around trees of the creepy forest. Somehow, the forest began to change in a matter of moments: the chatter of wildlife soon died down and now it was eerily quiet save for the faint ‘swoosh’ of the wind and trees. I felt my legs move faster. ‘I definitely hope I meet someone soon’ I thought, my eyes still darting from side to side, wary. If I’ve ever been hiking before, I sure hope it wasn’t in places like this. I keep going forward. It was too late to go back. “eek!” A pair of black wings then fluttered over me. “Ah!” I squeak before relaxing. “Hehehe” I laughed a bit in relief. My eyes caught sight of bats flying over the dark sky before settling on the bright full moon. It was relaxing, seeing the moonlight shining my path a bit. Definitely better than wondering in complete darkness. Though, it was nice that I could see well in the darkness. “Wait, what?” I squint my eyes as I tried to clearly see the strange pattern on the moon. I felt my eyes widen at the image: a pony-shaped shadow was plastered on the moon’s surface. Were the stars moving? I shook my head, “Focus. Out first, night gazing later.” Find a nice warm and safe place. Then I can wonder about the moon. “OOOOOOOOWWWWWWW” ‘That was definitely not a bat,’ I ran as fast as my little legs can go. In no way was that a bat. As I began to take wild twists and turns an image of a ferocious beast popped into my head. More like a, my eyes shrank at the thought, ‘Wolf!’ One was definitely enough to finish me off but I can probably escape. More than that? I’m definitely dog food. I took a risk and looked back and gasped at the sight of a large monstrous shadow gaining on me. I looked forward and tried to run faster. The wings on my sides began to flap furiously in my panic, but I began to move faster and lighter than ever. ‘Come on, come on. Faster! Run faster!” I swerved around a particularly large tree, ignoring the witch-like face that just struck fear into me moments before. As I ran through the forest, my hooves soon left the grass and hit something more solid. I looked down. I was now running along a dusty old trail. I glanced at my back and sighed in relief. The shadow was gone. ‘But who knows for how long?’ My paranoid thoughts fed my fear and I continued running, not slowing down a bit. I kept my eyes peeled, wary of anything that can trip me when I saw a possible hideout. I turned to my left and pounced into the sweet safety of a bush – “OW” Thorns pricked my sides and, I winced, my wings as I plummet into their painful embrace. I quickly covered my mouth – snout? – with my hooves as I tried to calm my wheezes and gasps and dug deeper into the leaves and thorns. I endured the pain as quietly as I could. I’m not sure how long I stayed in that bush but after a while, I peeked out from the bush. Enough to stay hidden and to look for possible danger. I checked the area, my eyes scanned for anything that could possibly be the shadow that followed me. Nothing was out of place; Trees as gigantic as the last, some rocks and boulder, and an old bridge cross bridge to my left were all that I can see. My ears stood at attention, hearing nothing but the wind and eerie silence from before. Not even the howl from before could be heard anymore. “Whew,” I let out a quiet sound of relief. Wolves or shadows, nothing was following me anymore. I managed to throw them off my trail. I started to move out of the bush when “Ooowww,” I whined. Right. Thorns. Thornbush. Those hurt really bad. I peeled myself slowly, flinching at each prick and nick of each thorn on my coat. ‘Okay, half of me out. Just a bit more aaaannndd’ I let out an “oopff” as I managed to snag my tail from the thorns and crashed onto the ground in front of me. I gingerly got up. I winced. Yup, still painful. I took a moment to examine myself: there were a few cuts on my legs and body, I think I lost a few feathers to the bush, and my tail – and I’m guessing my mane – is messier than ever. ‘Not that bad,” I thought, a few scratches here and there aren’t too bad but I should get them clean soon. I then to take a closer look at my surroundings, particularly on the two paths before me. The dusty old trail and the equally dusty old rope bridge. The trail leads back to the forest and – I gulped – to whatever scared me before. But, the trail might lead me back to someone who can really help me out. Better yet, a village or town. My eyes then trailed to the bridge as I stepped closer to it. The bridge was old and swayed with the wind but – I stepped a hoof on the first plank with a couple of taps – still sturdy. A quick check on the following boards told me that they look good as the first. Old but strong as when it was built which I’m hoping isn’t too long ago. I stubbornly refused to acknowledge the possible drop and instead focused my gaze to the end of the bridge. ‘Oh? What’s that?’ Just over the side was… a tower? I can’t see it clearly here but it looks a bit old – a few cracks can be seen – with a tattered flag raised. It looked like it could be a part of a castle. “Old trail into the forest where it can lead to nowhere or bridge to an equally empty castle?” Saying that out loud didn’t really help either of the choices more appealing. I let out for what seemed like the hundredth sigh for the day before eyeing the bridge and stepping on. “Uuh, nice bridge, easy bridge,” I gently coaxed the bridge, acting as if talking nicely to it can stop it swaying from side to side. I felt my ears flatten and eyes closed as I stood still when a particularly strong gust of wind came and caused the bridge to swing a bit more wildly. “Stupid wings. I wish you could have flown me over instead,” I quietly muttered, continuing my slow pace as soon as the swaying stopped. As much as I tried flapping my wings, I only managed to fly for a few seconds before meeting the ground in another crash. After trying again and again only to crash once again, I bitterly accept the fact that I couldn’t fly all that well. For now. I was almost on the middle when I noticed the castle again. It was a lot clearer here than way back at the start and I can make out a few large cracks on the tower and what I think are the castle walls. I began to worry a bit. What if it’s a really old castle – like centuries old – and there won’t be anyone in it? I mean, it looks a bit ruin-y so there could be some explorers, right? Or archaeologists that are studying and preserving what could be important pieces of history. ‘Just someone who can help me out,’ I pleaded, ‘Someone who can point me to civilization.’ Halfway there and I stopped for a bit. I was still stubbornly not looking down – doing that would only make things much worse – and kept my gaze up on the castle, sky – anything that kept my interest, when I noticed something strange; the pony shadow on the moon was gone. I felt my pony-brows crinkle in confusion. Wasn’t there…? Didn’t. I shook my doubt from my mind. I was probably imagining it. Instead I focused my eyes on the stars walking all the while. I felt a smile grace my face; they were beautiful, even if the moonlight was outshining them. The stars didn’t care at all, they kept doing their thing and just twinkle on, filling the sky with gently shimmering lights. I felt myself relax and the tension released. Feeling a lot better, I focused back on my trek and let out a whoop as I saw I was just a few trots away from the end of the bridge. I threw caution to the wind that just passed by and ran to the other side laughing all the while, not caring once as it swayed again from my galloping. ‘A few more aaannnddd’ “WOOHOO, I MADE IT!” I cheered as my hooves left the boards and smacked the ground in a loud clop. In my happiness, I hugged the ground. I may be a pegasus but the ground is where I feel safe. Not even wings can change that. After basking in the moment a bit more and calming down, I brought my gaze back to the castle and ‘Oh’ Seeing the castle closer than ever, old was stretching it. It wasn’t ruin-y; it’s a true ancient ruin. The tower, apart from its large cracks, had some sort of plant growing on the side. Same with the castle wall. There were also dark spots all around like it was set on fire long ago. The stones also really worn down. The flag on top didn’t look any better either. Its dark blue colours now faded to a greyish blue and the fabric had holes in it – eaten by insects is my bet. Even the once beautiful insignia – A crescent moon overlapping the sun – looked ugly and faded due to the passage of time. Despite the obvious signs, I tried holding on to hope. Ruins are history. History has been recorded with not just the myths and written account but with physical evidence of its existence. Somebody has to be there studying this obvious subject of history. Excavating, digging – all those things. I sat on my bum with my ears alert as ever, hoping to hear any signs of anyone, and my eyes focused, determined not miss a single glance especially in the dark. … A few moments passed before I gave up. No one was currently here. Or at least out here. Hope was still alight in my chest as I made my way to the castle. It’s still night time, so maybe they’re in that castle sleeping? I paused. I shook my head once again and continued on. “Time is really slow when you’re lost. If I didn’t know any better, I thought things would have been a lot lighter now.”