Day 16:
I somehow survived another night. I guess it would be hard for a shadow to find me when its brethren surround me. I woke up well before sunrise, sated me hunger and thirst by the means of my provisions Host had provided me with before I had left. Poor Host, he was truly innocent in all of this. It was not long after I had woken up before I started to move once again, and not long after that when the sun started to glow in the east. Walking into the sun, into the light. It was a strange feeling to see this thing of great beauty and light, when my world is filled with fear and shade. I suppose beauty can exist at the same time as fear, and without light there would be no shade, but how can our world and the sun even be related to each other? The sun gives us warmth and light, but our earth is naturally cold and shaded over. Celestia once again decides that it must be so, and thus it is. Before me now is her work, her legacy, and all that she is good for.
I can see the cliff now, the massive cliff to the north; I guess I went a bit farther north than I thought. I am separated from it though, so there is nothing to fear from it. It is awe-inspiring though, a sheer wall of rock, hundred of feet high. The sun’s rays catch it and it glows, casting the light into the dark forest that cowers beneath it. While it is awe-inspiring, it is also terrifying to be in its presence; the mere size of it is nearly impossible to comprehend. I am surprised I did not see it earlier, it seems impossible to an extent to have missed it. But I was already towered over by the trees, obscuring my vision and attempting to make me lose my way. But the closer I come to the cliff, the less dense the forest becomes. It is a welcome sight in that respect, but the only other problem is that it is a major obstacle. Host told me that if I travelled far enough east there was a way around the cliff, but I’ve been walking east for quite some time now, and I can’t even see the end of the cliff, it just stretches on.
The sun has risen high enough to actual start warming me after the night. I couldn’t find anything that offered much shelter. Unfortunately now the sun is right at eye level, blinding me. Walking with a lowered head and still trying to keep on course is a dangerous combination, it just begs for a broken leg. I have not heard any sounds behind me yet; perhaps my pursuer did not realize that I had moved? I suspect that the silence will be broken before the day is up; in fact I can almost guarantee it. Sometime today I will circle back and try to see if I can spot Peers. Dang it! I can’t stop calling it Peers. Peers is dead to me; this isn’t him, it’s the Windigo or whatever. I have to keep my head wrapped around the truth, or it is liable to slip.
How did I lose sight of the cliff? It was right there a moment ago, and now it has just vanished. I can’t see it at all, but then again I am in a deeper and denser part of the wood again, so chances are I’m just at a bad angle. Sure is dark in here, almost too dark to write, but a stray beam of light has penetrated the treetops, making it possible. The reflection of the light on the page, however, makes reading what I’m writing painful. But if I should close my eyes, then the words would be lost. Hmm, that looks like a clearing up ahead, I’ll move over there, find my bearings, and jot down where I am.
Oh. That’s the Eastern Field Host wanted me to stay away from. Ok, probably should have walked next to the cliff until it dropped away and I could get around it. Now that I think about it, I’m not even sure what that means, as there is a section of forest on top of the cliff. Guess I will find out when I get there. Sure it would have been dangerous if my hunter had shown up and cornered me, but that would have been preferable to this place. Yeah, Eastern Field, don’t ever come here again. Who cares if I get lost now? At least I will be lost away from this place. I think Host lied to me; this isn’t years upon years old as he claimed he has been here. But Host isn’t responsible, that much is clear to me. Oh, and look what is written about fifteen times on the one tree in the middle of all of this. Figures. Eastern Field. What is this? Is this the world beyond the comforts of home? It must be, as there is too much of it. Cross, Wymble, I will be able to walk just a little bit more peacefully knowing that you both have plenty of company. Now I have to go find my cliff, or be anywhere else. Maybe Peers will find me first, and what a blessing that would be.
The sun is just past being completely overhead, so I’m willing to judge it is about one o’field. I mean clock. One o’clock. But I found the cliff; I did go a bit too far. I am currently at the base of it, and the massive rock face is a welcoming sight for me. I was right, I will have to scramble up a hill to the upper section of the Outer Centre. That shouldn’t be a problem thought, it get me farther from the field and the tree that sits in its center.
It is close to twilight now; a heavy curtain of dark red hangs in the west as the sun is setting. I have come far today, from deep within the forest to the top of a very imposing and yet majestic cliff. The last rays of sunlight reveal to me a great landscape below: the dense forest that stretches on for miles in every direction. I can see the crevasse from here, a red gash in the middle of green, and beyond that the Briar Sanctum. Off in the distance is an area that has the appearance of having caught fire at some point, as the trees over there look burnt and dead. I wonder if that is the Inner Centre, it would be in the right place. And yes, there it is in the corner of my eye, the Eastern Field. I can feel the presence of the tree, no matter how far away it is, silently monitoring its surrounding, a watchful monolith. If a fire swept down from the sky and burned everything that we know and don’t know in this world, that tree would still stand. I can tell that it was and still is soaked. I can’t read the words upon its trunk from here, but my eyes and memory have engraved them into my mind, so the distance does not matter. I dare not look directly at it. Why did I ever choose a safer path than walk next to the cliff? It would
Why in Equestria does it smile? That is not what a smile is for! You don’t smile with intentions such as yours! A hole in the ground, crafted for me by some unknown hoof to hide me. I write, looking out at the trees, and then I see it: the smile and the eyes: always staring, always smiling. In the corner of one eye lay the tree, in the corner of the other teeth were bared, welcoming me in with smiling jaws. In front of me lay the cliff, and how easy it would have been it accept it. But if I had jumped, I would have joined the field, a fate worse than death.
Peers, please don’t look for me. I’m not that hard to find.
Cath Wintergreen Amber
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At this point in time the “Eastern Field” is still a mystery to those ponies who were working on this. It eluded the searchers and remained undiscovered when the search was called off.