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// Alone (Chapter One Rewrite) 
// Story: Red Lightning Ready to Bolt 
// by The Critical Wizard 
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Alone


I awake to the worst pain my head has ever experienced. I looked around and saw sun light glowing through the canopy of the tree that had close contact with my head. In the distance I could hear a brook flowing and birds chirping. I then looked to my left and saw the tree trunk. To the right I saw a small clearing which had a layer of fog, giving everything a nice glow, I then sat up to get a better look around. Big mistake. As my vision went black I moved to lean on the tree's trunk until my head hurt less. My first thought is concussion and that I may have been bleeding all night. I reach up to where my head hurt the most and bump my hoof on my horn. I must have hit it on a branch on my fall down to earth. I pause for a moment and think, it was increasingly difficult seeing as how my head hurt, then it hit me like like a sack of bricks. I have never had a horn and I also have never had hooves. It had to have been a mistake, so I reached up again and, nope still there and still hooves. As hard as it was I had to concentrate on what the last thing I could remember doing before I... fell... from the sky? This was really not making any sense at all. Whatever I could worry about details later I had to make sure I wasn't bleeding out. Could I even stand? I tried to do so and immediately fell on my face. I had great balance. Was it my aching head. I looked down, yep that would do it, horse legs and body and everything. I tried to stand again with a wider base and on all fours, I was a pony after all, it was good and I was stable. Then I took a step, or at least tried to, (slam) oh hello ground did you miss me? This had to be some kind of side effect from my head trauma. I finally get over to the brook and, by accident, fell directly into it.

The water rushed up to meet me and I sank. The brook was deep enough for me to be fully submerged if I was laying down. I laid there for what felt like hours as I let the cool soothing water wash over me. The water had a strange feel to it. It felt like it was washing not only around me but through me, easing my throbbing head, clearing my mind, and calming my body. Eventually I had to breath so I reemerged. I stood as fast as I could with out losing my footing on the loose gravel on the brook's floor. I shook my head fast to remove the water particles from my face and head. I opened my eyes and saw two large violet eyes staring back at me. My eyes had always had a purple ring around them but all the brown was gone. I looked elsewhere on my reflection to see that yes I was still a pony. I had crimson fur and long brown hair that I proceeded to comb back behind my head. I had a horn the same color as my fur and saw that it and I had suffered no damage from the fall miraculously. I looked and saw that I had a long brown tail and did not yet have my cutie mark. The water had done me well apparently as my head no longer hurt and I could think clearly. I looked around to get a more accurate view of my surroundings. The morning mist had past and the sun hung warmly in the sky. I looked at the tree I had hit and could see no broken branches. I made a small circle and surveyed the area further. Mountains were on all sides of me and I knew not of where they would lead. I also did not know what was safe for me to eat, or for that matter what tasted good to me, but I couldn't last any longer. My excitement got the best of me and I had to cheer loudly with joy. I was in Equestria! Something I had wanted for a long time now and I could still hardly believe it! Then I tripped and fell over again. My celebration would have to wait as I was reminded that I was in a foreign land with no idea where I was. Not to mention being in a body that I had never been in before and not knowing what to eat. I moved as best as I could out of the brook and sat on my haunches on shore to dry off as I thought about what to do next.

The best place to start is to figure out how I had gotten there. After much thought and consideration I came to the conclusion that it must have happened when I had touched the tree of harmony. Its over whelming magical energy must have been sent into my astral body and made me a body for this world. Why it did that I have no idea. That then made me wonder what happened to my body back on the earth with the humans. A sudden horrible realization came over me just then that I would never be able to tell my friends and family what had happened to me, and I'd never see them again, or worse I could have died and this is my personal afterlife. All these negative thoughts made me just want to curl up in a ball and give up. No, no, no I can't go down that path I had to keep positive thoughts and stay alive. I could deal with my emotions later. I started to walk around in circles. At first it was clumsy and I kept having to stop and catch myself, but then I started to get better at it, I practiced turning and other maneuvers that might come in handy like stopping quick. I then tried to run and fell on my face. I'll work on that later. Another thought came to mind and I then tired to pick up a rock. My hoof just kept scraping the top of it and not getting anywhere. Frustrated I then remembered my horn and tried lifting it with magic. I concentrated really hard and had to stop a few times and breath. Nothing. Another thought entered my mind and I calmly just imagined the stone floating in my mind's eye. After a few deep breaths and some envisioning I opened my eyes to see the stone floating with a light red aura. I then tried to move it around but felt mentally exhausted. The stone dropped as I released the spell. Enough messing around I had to move on before night fall but which way should I go? An idea then struck me and I looked up at where I had fallen. I had been flying away from Ponyville when I had started to fall so all I had to do was walk back in that direction away from the tree. Which meant I would have to climb a mountain, cross the Everfree Forest on foot, avoid danger, and get to Ponyville before I died of starvation. I would also have to do this with no supplies, no provisions, no weapons, and in a body I had only gotten a maximum of twelve hours ago. Well I'd never get anywhere if I didn't try and my other options were worse so it was time to get moving.

The sun was setting by the time I had gotten to the mountain and I was in no way ready to climb. I was defiantly not learning how to climb in the dark so I decided to gather wood for a fire. I had no idea what season it was so I didn't want to freeze. The gathering process was slow and challenging, not having hands and not being able to use my hooves, I had to use magic. I had to carry each piece one at a time, and it took a long time to recharge my strength. I felt that it would have been easier if I had a full belly. Still I managed and then I used my magic to light the fire. Similarly I imagined the sticks on fire and when I had opened my eyes the fire had started. I would have to get some training to truly harness my magic, but that would probably cost money, money which I didn't have. I would also need a place to stay and food to buy, I would also need to earn my cutie mark so I knew what I was to be doing the rest of my life. As the fire burned it caused shadows to dance all around. Fire. Since man had been alive we had been fascinated with it. Fire has the power to destroy and burn, yet also has the power to warm and promote life, fire is a basic survival tool and shows intelligence at it's basic level. I watched as the fire started to die and I curled up next to it, it didn't seem to cold so it must be summer or early fall here. As I lied on the ground I could see the last of the embers going dark and I felt really tired. Despite the ground being uncomfortable I didn't find it hard to fall asleep.

The next morning I rolled over and found myself looking into the open sky the sun had just started to rise giving everything a golden glow and casting strange shadows that aren't normally there. In a moment of panic it took me a second to remember how I had gotten there. I sat up and groggily looked around. My belly rumbled impatiently wanting food, sadly I had none for it. I stood up and stretched my legs, I then walked over to a small pond, the water was still and stagnant, I had no way of cleaning the it as I had nothing to put it in to boil it, I couldn't risk getting sick so I had to move along hoping for a river on the mountain or something. I went over to the mountain and started to climb, it was just as hard as I expected. The climb was slow and tricky. I barely looked away from the mountain, but when I did, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The sun at midday had revealed the entire valley that I had just crossed and it was magnificent. All the trees shown with deep shades of green. The other mountains hung all around the valley sealing it off from the world and I could see the glimmer of many rivers that all collected in a single pond in the center. I could see many clearings no doubt with animals running free. A group of birds flew past my face, and I think I see a bear or something harvesting honey from a tree down below. A gust of wind blew and I felt so free and I found myself just yelling out over the canyon. I was free, free from the shackles of reality and I was free to go anywhere I wanted to go. I continued my climb making good head way with new found vigor, I was alive. Later as the sun was just starting its decent I thought about where it would be safe to sleep. I could see a cave entrance a little higher up I could sleep there for to night. Before I entered the cave I turned and looked over the valley once more, it had now been covered mostly by the shadow of the mountain and the other parts shown with a nice redish orange color. I really wish I had a camera, or a least that I could show my friends this view. I stood in the caves mouth solemnly for a moment or two until I turned to enter the cave where I was met by the blade of a sword pointed at my head. Concerned I backed up the swords wielder in the shadows of the cave. A gruff female voice came and out and said:

"You think you can sneak up on me and steel my stuff? Not without a fight."