//------------------------------// // Chapter Six – First Aliment // Story: Reality is a Blur // by lLoveRainbowDash //------------------------------// Rainbow woke to the numbing pain of coldness. She jumped out of the snow, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. She brushed the snow off of her, trying to ignore the feeling for the time being. As she walked, Rainbow used trees to help keep her on her hooves. I-I need food. Now. Her legs were freezing. She felt the sting of the cold. She remembered her wings and tried to fly, but her wings were covered in snow. Rainbow shook the snow off, but her wings were in no shape to fly. She looked back at where she had fallen asleep, and at the spot where five lumps of snow sat. It’s just snow, nothing important. She looked back ahead of her. She focused on something in the distance. There was an opening in the trees where it overlooked a valley. In the valley, there seemed to be quite a few caves, one sticking out the most. There was at least four, from what she could make out, and one of them was bigger. It looked as tall as the trees that were around her! Rainbow’s stomach hurt even more, and she felt more exhausted than normal. Before I go to that cave, I need to find food. She looked around for anything that resembled food. Nothing but snow and trees. She moved along, keeping an eye out for anything to eat. As she walked, she thought about how she would get her food. Soon, something came to mind... Trap. Why would a tra—Oh! A trap! She ran up to a tree and snapped one of the low hanging branches off. She ripped off the pine needles and extra pieces of the stick. She placed it under her wing to carry it. As she walked along, she moved the snow to look for a rock. Finally, she found one. It was a nice size as well, she had a hard time carrying it, so she began rolling it. Just then, she realized that she had no idea what she was doing. How do I make a trap? She stopped rolling the rock, and sat down next to it. She looked at the rock, mere inches away from her face as she lay next to it. Rainbow watched as each breath of hers gradually melted the ice on the rock’s surface. What gave me the idea to get a rock? What is that going to help me with? Eating it? Rainbow looked at the rock... and laughed. It felt awfully strange to be laughing in her situation, but she liked it. She laid there for a while, smile still on her face. Maybe... this isn’t so bad, after all. The pain soon came back and her smile quickly faded. She stood up, dropping the stick from under her wing. Rainbow looked down at her side, the burn looked to be healing. Feeling proud to be so tough, Rainbow marched on, looking for food. As she walked through the snow, she noted the details around her. The snow glistening in the sunlight, the trees swaying in the wind, and the bushes to her right. The bushes had little blue things among the leaves. With the blue against the white, they were quite easy to spot, and they caught her attention. She walked closer to the bushes. When she got to the bushes, she pulled one of the blue things off an held it in her hoof, staring at it. So tiny. She raised another hoof up to touch it, but she pressed too hard and squished it. She wiped her hooves in the snow and grabbed another. For some odd reason, she was tempted to eat it, so she threw it into her mouth, heedless of what could happen to her from eating random things. It was bitter, and right after the first bite, the flavour exploded throughout her mouth. Rainbow grabbed more and ate them. These are so good! Rainbow kept eating them, one by one. They soon ran out, leaving Rainbow craving more. She walked around the bush, ruffling the leaves to check for anymore. Was that it? Well, at least I had something. Rainbow was content, mostly, with what she got, so she began walking towards the caves that she saw, glancing back at the bushes occasionally. Rainbow scooped some snow into a hoof, taking small bites out of it as she walked. After a few moments of traveling, she felt... normal, no hunger, no pain, and no exhaustion, just... normal. Is this what it’s like to really live? If so, I... I really like it, it’s nice. Rainbow trudged through the snow, making her way down to the cave. She walked around trees and mounds of snow that were too steep to go over. Rainbow looked back at the large mound she surpassed. She laughed, I have an idea. Rainbow ran back to the mound, feeling bold. She ran up, sliding back now and then. Once she got to the top, she jumped down the other side. While in the air, she braced herself for impact with the ground, using her wings to lessen the blow. Rainbow landed, and started sliding down the hill. The soft, smooth snow acted as... ...a slide. I love slides! I remember them from... f-from... when I was... just a little foal... Rainbow couldn’t have had a better time while sliding down the hill. The slope of the hill lessened along the way, causing her to slow down, until she came to a stop. Rainbow stood up, her smile quickly fading. She froze, staring ahead, something staring right back at her. Rainbow didn’t want to move, she could only stay and watch, the other thing doing the same. What is that? She kept staring at it, taking in everything. It was a big brown... animal. It was easily twice the size of Rainbow. It was also covered in a fur coat, its being thicker than hers. Rainbow then looked at its hooves, no, paws. The paws had huge claws, cutting through the snow with ease. Rainbow then realized it was walking towards her. She didn’t know what to do. Run, or stay put? Rainbow quickly made a decision, it being to run. Her legs pushed to the opposite direction, running as fast as she could. Rainbow looked behind her, the animal was now chasing her, seemingly faster than her. Before Rainbow could run any faster, she faced back forward, only to be met with a tree. She ran face first into the tree, falling straight into the snow. Rainbow got up, only to be pushed back down by the animal that now caught up. Rainbow began kicking, with all of her strength. Her hooves met with the animal quite a few times, but the animal’s claws cut into her just as much. The pain caused Rainbow to fight harder. She kicked it square in the jaw, making it back up a little bit. She jumped up to her hooves, despite the pain, and began running towards it. The animal backed up even more before quickly running off. Rainbow fell to her knees, the snow around her being dotted with red. T-the... pain... it hurts. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get up. The snow around her was now a deep maroon, all around. She started to feel light headed, her whole body becoming numb. I-it... hurts...