In a Clearing
The chirruping of woodland creatures roused me from my uncomfortable slumber. Sunlight that seemed blinding beamed down upon the small clearing I found myself in. Lifting my throbbing head and gazed around at my surroundings. I was lying on the dew soaked grass. My coat damp and matted with dirt, far from the golden brown which was visible on the parts of me that weren't coated in mud.
There was a slight chill to the breeze which was only noticed as I clambered to my hooves and tried to find my bearings. Nothing seemed familiar at all, but my mind seemed hazy. I raised a hoof to my temple and rubbed small circles to try and ease the pain, which worked momentarily before the pain returned. I scanned the floor, searching for any clues to how I had wound up in a forest. I found that nothing sprang to mind; not where I lived, who my family are or even my own name.
I soon found hoof prints leading up to the spot where I had awoken, so for lack of any better ideas, I frustratedly made my way through the tree line to follow the tracks. The fresh mud made it hard to keep tracks of what I was following, but I managed to keep heading in the right direction. I absent mindedly kept an eye on the tracks while straining my brain to remember even the slightest little detail about my life. My concentration was broken when the tracks I was following were joined by others, which stopped suddenly and returned the way they had came. Sighing at the rotten luck I was experiencing so far, I continued to trudge through the mud and soon the trees began to thin.
I stepped beyond the tree line and found myself in an open field. The tracks continued into the distance, leading me to some unknown destination.
“Well, at least it's better than the forest.” I mumbled to myself, desperate for some kind of company to break up the long periods of silence. Begrudgingly, I began to walk again. The soft grass felt better under my hooves than the combination of mud and rocks from the forest. The breeze was stronger here, reminding me of my damp coat. I picked up the pace slightly, opting for a light trot to warm myself up slightly. The field seemed to expand towards the horizon endlessly towards the mountains in the distance.
I was beginning to grow weary when my eyes landed on a cottage. I let out a relieved sigh as I began to make my way towards the quaint little house. I joined the path leading up to the front door, and crossed the small humped bridge. I quickly ran a hoof across my mane, and cleared my throat before knocking firmly on the door. I waited a moment, before knocking again, and again but there was no answer. I trotted to the window and peered in, hoping to see some kind of life, but was greeted only by a small white rabbit, looking unimpressed in my direction.
Slightly put off by the stare of the rabbit, I turned away and decided to follow the path. It must lead somewhere. Cursing my luck slightly, I wandered along the path at a leisurely pace, slightly tired from my morning trek. In the distance I began to see more houses, and assumed I must be nearing a town.
I quickly found myself on a street lined with similar looking cottages and I received a few strange looks from some of the residents. I didn't really care though, I just wanted to find out where I was. I approached what seemed like a market place in a square. It was bustling with life and all around were vendors selling all kinds of wares. I trotted to the nearest stall, where I was greeted by a gruff looking pony with stubble lining his chin and a small hat.
“Morning,” I greeted casually “I don't suppose you could tell me where I am could you? I seem to have found myself a little lost.” I nervously laughed as the vendor rolled his eyes and sighed gruffly.
“Ponyville Marketplace. You plannin' on buyin' anything?” He replied, and not wanting to waste any more of his time, I thanked him and left.
“Ponyville eh,” I muttered to myself, walking through the crowds towards a quiet spot where I could think.
“Sir!” A voice called out, and I turned to see what the commotion was about.
“Sir!” The voice called out again, and I noticed a dark blue unicorn waving to me from a hotel across the street named “The Hoof's Rest Inn” I trotted over and the colt grabbed me and pulled me in front of the fire.
“Oh sir, I was worried about you. Out in that storm all by yourself last night, and look at you! You're not hurt are you?” He babbled on worriedly.
“I'm not greatly hurt, I've hit my head though.” I said motioning to the lump and graze on the side of my head. “Also I can't remember anything. I know this is Ponyville, but apart from that I know nothing.”
The colt looked at me worriedly and informed me that my name was Star Chaser and that I was a resident of the Inn for a few days. I had been staying in room 14, which I soon found my way to and took the time to inspect for any clues about anything. After finding nothing but some bits and a few apples in my saddlebags, some documents on the desk and a crumpled up photograph of some ponies, I made my way into the bathroom to wash all of the dirt off.
Water filled the tub as I inspected myself in the mirror. Apart from being covered in mud and with a small graze on my head I appeared to be fine, even my horn appeared unscathed. Sighing in relief I awkwardly turned the taps off with my mouth and sank into the soothing water. I scrubbed the mud from my coat, and tidied my mane as best I could, before drying off and leaping onto the bed. Sinking into the fresh sheets I soon found myself drifting in and out of sleep.
I awoke later in the day, as the sun was setting, and rose to find some source of nourishment. Grabbing my saddlebags I made my way from the room and into the lobby of the Inn. They offered dinner for five bits so I decided to try some of the vegetable pie and a locally made apple fritter for dessert. The vegetable pie was decent enough for for the amount I had paid, but the apple fritter blew my taste buds away. The sweet flavor of the apple was lightly seasoned with various spices that made the mouth water even thinking about it.
After finishing the delicious meal, I asked the unicorn that had greeted me earlier who the baker was that made the amazing dessert. He informed me that they were made locally at a farm named Sweet Apple Acres by one of the farm hands. I thanked him and noted to go and buy some in the future.
Sitting in my room, the worries began to play on my mind once more. I knew I was Star Chaser, and I knew I was in Ponyville, but apart from that who was I? Where was I from? All of these questions needed answering but I figured time would tell and that I should just be patient. I lay on my bed once more, the soft lighting of the room and the meal settling in my stomach made me slightly drowsy and soon enough I drifted off to sleep once more.
I was awoken in the morning by a sharp rapping on the door. I clumsily made my way over and was greeted by a Pegasus wearing a bow tie.
“Excuse me Mr Chaser, I'm just here to remind you that it is the policy of this hotel for the guests to vacate their rooms by four P.M on the departing day.” He said in an informative manner.
“Okay, I'll keep that in mind.” I replied closing the door and checking the clock on the wall. Eleven A.M was pretty late to be waking up, but after the day I had had, I wasn't going to complain about some extra rest.
I made my way down to the dining hall, and scanned the buffet for anything that caught my eye, but nothing really jumped out at me. However on the hot breakfast menu was the apple fritters I had tasted last night, so I ordered one and sat myself down at a nearby table with some orange juice. After a short wait my food arrived and I tucked in, eager to gorge myself on the delicious food once more. Every bite was as sweet as I remembered, the taste once more filling my mouth and satisfying my taste buds.
After finishing my breakfast I returned to my room. I packed up my belongings into my saddlebags and made sure I hadn't missed anything yesterday. By twelve I was all packed up, and I donned my bags and departed. I made it to the foyer, and was paying my bill when the smell of freshly baked apple fritters took my nose by surprise. I turned and laid eyes upon a mare with a green mane, tied neatly with ribbons at the end. She held a package in her mouth by the twine and as I stepped out of the way she dropped it gently onto the desk.
“Excuse me,” I said, not knowing where I got the courage to speak to her out of the blue. She turned to face me and my eyes met with hers. “I don't suppose you're delivering the apple fritters are you?”
“Ah sure am.” She replied cheerily, “Suppose you're lookin' to buy some?” She smiled, and I was stunned slightly at her thick accent.
“I was actually, not right now though, just in the future. Who would I speak to in order to buy some?” I smiled weakly, attempting to keep eye contact which was difficult when she seemed to stare straight through me.
“You'd speak to me, I bake 'em!” She smiled, “You just come up to Sweet Apple Acres and ask for Apple Fritter, that's ma name by the way, and I'll fix you up with a batch. Usually do 'em at one bit for two, or five for two bits.”
I thanked her for the information and she departed. I finished paying my bill, and headed out onto the street. Now that I was away from the hotel I had no idea where to go, or even what I would do. I figured that wandering the streets would have to do for now, so I could find my way around a little easier, and maybe find a cheap room for the night.
As the day dragged on, the streets began to grow more and more familiar. I began to notice certain shops that I used as landmarks on my inner map. It seemed that after a few hours of wandering, it had gotten later than I had planned. Taking a seat on a bench I counted the bits in my saddlebag. Eighteen altogether. I doubt anywhere would rent out a room that cheap even for one night. Looks like I'd have to rough it.
As the darkness closed in, I wandered some more, searching for a sheltered place to lay my head. Eventually I stumbled across an alleyway which seemed to be sheltered from the wind enough to make a decent rest for the night. I made myself comfortable beside some trash cans and settled down for an uncomfortable sleep. The satisfaction of a semi-comfortable position was ruined however, when shortly after falling asleep a sharp blow to my head woke me with a start.
“Hey I guess he's not dead.” A chorus of laughter told me this pony wasn't alone. After rubbing my head a little, I opened my eyes to see three earth ponies standing over me, the leader looking menacing.
“I don't want any trouble. I just want somewhere to sleep tonight.” I said, hoping they would leave me alone. I really didn't need this.
“Ha! Well you should have maybe thought about that before you decided to rest in our place of business.” One of the other ponies added, causing the leader to smile once more.
“What do you say boys? Shall we teach this filthy pony a lesson?” The others smiled and advanced on me. I curled into a ball and defended myself as best I could from the onslaught of hooves. I cringed with each blow, hoping it would be over soon so I could check myself over.
“HEY!” A familiar voice called out in the darkness. More hooves drew close and I hoped it wasn't more of them.
“Leave him alone!” The voice called out again.
“Eeyup.” Another voice said in a much deeper tone.
“Lets go guys!” The beating abruptly stopped as hoofs drew closer and further away at the same time. I opened my eyes and stopped shielding myself. I checked over myself quickly, but it would only leave a few bruises later on. I looked up towards my saviors and the first pony I saw was huge, his coat was red and he calmly watched the assailants flee while chewing on his stalk of wheat. The second was an orange mare, wearing a stetson with a fiery look in her eye, almost as if she wanted to give chase. The third was Apple Fritter, who also looked like she wanted to give chase, but the larger one was most likely the reason that they weren't.
“Y'all okay?” Orange one said, turning to face me and offering me a hoof up. I took a hold of her hoof and pulled myself up.
“I'll be fine, just a bit sore for a little while is all.” I replied, looking myself over.
“We've been having a lot of trouble with that gang right now. They see a quiet town like this and think they can exploit it. Well not while we're around they won't!” Apple Fritter added glaring at the now empty alley.
“Eeyup.” Said the stallion, his expression not changing.
“What're y'all doing in an alleyway at night anyway?” Apple Fritter asked me, and I explained my situation to them.
“Well ah suppose you could come stay at the lodge with me and the other farm hands.” Apple Fritter offered sympathetically. The red one didn't seem too happy about this but didn't vocalize his objections.
“Well I wouldn't want to be a bother at all.” I said, grateful for the offer.
“It would be mah pleasure, we got a spare bunk anyway, it may not be the best but it's a place to rest your head.” She smiled at me, and I couldn't say no to that. So I gratefully accepted the offer and departed with my new acquaintances towards my bed for the night and hopefully tomorrow would bring me better luck than the past couple of days. The walk was filled with pleasant conversation about the farm, and the line of work that involved most of the family. Applejack was friendly enough and offered some input into the conversation, but Big Mac seemed to stay quiet for the journey.
We entered the lodge shortly afterwards, and it wasn't the greatest but it was homely. There was a fire smoldering away in the corner, and some old chairs scattered around the room. A staircase led up the stairs towards the bedrooms and bathroom and there was a stove for cooking in the corner. A small table occupied the remaining space in the room.
“If ya'll will follow me, I'll show you to your room fer the night.” I followed her up the stairs, and was shown to a small room, furnished only with a bed, table and a lamp. I thanked her for the hospitality and she departed to her own room at the end of the hall. I closed the door and settled myself on the bed, being careful to avoid the tender spots on my body and I soon drifted off, hopefully to a better tomorrow.