//------------------------------// // Chapter Nine – Establishing Time // Story: Reality is a Blur // by lLoveRainbowDash //------------------------------// It was around dusk when Rainbow started to feel tired. She had been walking through the grassy field all day. The sun was ever so slowly disappearing behind the mountains in the distance. From where she was walking, the mountains cast a dark shadow over her and the field, but she could still see the light coming from around the sides of the mountain. The mountains weren’t the same as the one she had been on just a couple days prior. The mountains she saw now, were much smaller. They didn’t have any snow on them, as far as she could tell, and they didn’t seem to pop up from the horizon like the other ones did. As she walked, Rainbow noticed that the grass was slowly changing to sand. The sand was hot to step on, but she pushed on. Rainbow was also sweating heavily, secretly wishing to be back in the snowy environment of the mountains. The makeshift bandage that she had made for her foreleg began slipping down from the amount sweat. She tried to fix it a couple times, but then gave up. She dropped it into the sand, continuing on her way. As the sun sunk below the horizon, letting the moon take over for the night, Rainbow felt a severe temperature change. It was hot one moment, then suddenly cooled down. As the temperature fluctuated, Rainbow saw a few dust devils roaming about in the distance. She felt tempted to run over to one of them and sit in the middle, but decided not to. I... I need to find somepony else. I’m lonely here. As far as I know, I might be the only one of my kind. M-maybe I am the only thing alive. Rainbow thought about in for a moment, then continued, No, no. I’m not the only one. I can’t be. There’s more of me out there... I think. I hope. Rainbow stopped walking; she was exhausted. She sat down in the now warm sand. Grabbing two rocks, she slammed them together, breaking them into small little chips each. She scooted the unwanted chips out of the way. She grabbed the biggest one and placed it down onto a flat rock, facing it to the direction she was headed. She then grabbed a few sticks nearby and placed them in a circle around the rocks. Once she finished, she stepped back to get a good look. That looks cool. Rainbow laughed. She walked back to the her makeshift way-point, lying down nearby it. She looked up at the sky. Without any trees around, she saw the whole sky. Nothing but a dark purple sky filled her field of view. Twilight sky. It’s even more beautiful every time I see it. Rainbow laid down on the warm sand. It cuddled her left side, allowing her an easy night of sleep. The sun in the middle of the sky beat down on her with radiating heat. Rainbow sat up, sweat dripping from her chin. She felt light-headed for a moment. Phew, I kinda wish I was back in the snow. She looked around for her arrow. Seeing it, she began walking in the direction it pointed. As she walked, she raised her wings above herself, shielding her face from the heat. Rainbow began to notice that her limp was almost completely gone. She also noticed that the sand soon turned to a mix of small bushes, sand, and rock. At some spots, she tripped over a rock or two, but caught her balance before falling over. I gotta make up something for time of day. Maybe a 0-20 range of... point...s? Rainbow thought about it for a moment. Yeah... points. I can have it so that morning is point 0, or 1, then by night it could be, like... point 10. During the night, it could go through the teens. I’m amazing at making things up! Rainbow hadn’t noticed, but she had began quickening her pace as she skipped along. Alright, so, morning is point 0, then as the day goes by, it counts up in the numbers. After point 20, it resets back to point 0. Perfect! With that, Rainbow looked up, mentally calculating the time of day with her newfound time setting. The sun is almost right above me, so I’d say about point 11... or maybe 9. Rainbow wiped her face with her foreleg. It is hot. She finished wiping the rest of the sweat off of her face. Looking back up to the direction she was headed, she saw that the ground in the distance was... wavy. It looked like the water in the creek, with all of the ripples. Rainbow laughed, It’s so hot that the ground looks like water! With a smile that wouldn’t fade, Rainbow continued on her journey. It had been 3 points of traveling when Rainbow saw something that looked quite odd. After the 3 points, Rainbow figured out it was actually point 9 when she woke up. What is that? Rainbow began galloping towards the strange formation. As she got closer, she could tell what it was. The strange formation was rocks towered on top of each other. There was a boulder at the bottom, and as it got taller, the smaller the rocks became. At the very top, was a very precisely balanced branch. At one end of the stick, was a rock; the other side had a “V” shaped stick, seemingly pointing in a certain direction. Rainbow walked around it, looking for anything else. Not finding anything, she decided to just keep to the way she was already heading. Rainbow walked ahead a little ways, but she turned back, not wanting to lose the formation in case it was useful. She perched a branch under her left wing so it would scrape the ground as she walked. Feeling content, Rainbow resumed her trek in the sandy expanse, stick making a line in the sand behind her. A strong gust of wind could easily blow away the line, so she also noted where the sun would be going down. The sun was heading to the horizon ahead of her, so she would have to make sure that the sun was behind her, when setting, if she were to came back. It is... uh... I think, point 14? No, no. That wouldn’t really work, ‘cause then it would be darker. Maybe I can change it to a 0-24 range! Alright, yeah. Point 14 it is then. Rainbow looked up to the sky. If the sun is still up, how can I still see the—? Rainbow’s thought was interrupted as she started flapping her wings to not fall down. She had almost walked right off of a cliff. Her stick had fallen. Whoa! I almost fell! Rainbow regathered her balance. She looked at the cliff, then saw another cliff across the drop-off. The drop was too far down to see the bottom, if there was one. Pfft, I could easily get over this. Rainbow started to fly across. The sudden use of her wings felt uncomfortable. Rainbow started to feel a cramp building up in her right wing, so she tried to push on to get to the end. Alright, alright. Ow, ow! Rainbow quickly turned back around and let herself drop down to the edge of the cliff. She tried to catch herself, but still landed hard. Her hoof hurt from the impact, but it wasn’t bad. Dang. How do I get across? Should I just wait? Rainbow thought for a moment. I don’t want to wait. It’s already about point 15; it’s getting dark. Rainbow started to walk along the edge, keeping the cliff to her left. I guess I’m going this way no— The ground beneath Rainbow gave out, causing her to fall. Rainbow’s wings flapped aimlessly, trying their best to balance out. She was spinning and flipping around as she fell. This can’t be how I go...