Wasteland Encounter: Sunchild (postponed)

I'm going to be honest here. This fic was a bad idea. The result is probably okay, but it was written entirely without a plan or a plot, which ended up in me locking myself in and not knowing where to go. It was also a mistake to do AiE, when I don't actually care that much for Anon. It's honestly not likely that I'll finish the story, even if I have notes on a certain ending for it.
But if you want to read it, I guess you can.

>There are those who think that being woken up by the sunrise is romantic
>That it is nature's finest display of almost unfathomable beauty
>They will have a desire to rise to gaze into the same sun-birthing horizon that their ancestors gazed into
>And through their own little ritual, they continue the practice that their sun-worshipping forefathers did before them
>These people have never been woken up by the merciless wasteland sun
>They have never felt the sun's light piercing their eyelids and waking them from comfortable unconsciousness and slumber
>But you have
>You've also felt the pain of a battered body, an empty stomach and a throat as dry as the barren ground beneath your hooves
>More importantly, you've felt the confusion and uncertainty that arises in you once you realize that you don't know where you are, or how you got here
>You've felt confusion turn to panic, desperation and fear once you realize that not only do you not know where you are, but you have no idea who you are, or how you're getting away from here
>You've felt all of this because it happened to you just this morning
>And since then, things haven't really improved
>Your body had gotten better in the sense that you had gotten more used to the pain, but the sun was now hanging high in the sky, and the heat had risen considerably
>Concerning your identity, you had only managed to find out a few things:
>Firstly, you were a full-grown mare
>Secondly, the absence of magic and flight meant that you were an earth pony
>Thirdly, your coat was pale brown, with a dark brown mane and tail to go with it
>Finally, you apparently had no cutiemark
>So not only were you a lost mare with nothing but certain death in her near future, but you were by all accounts a talentless fuckup
>Great
>You started walking away from the sunset, to keep Celestia's star out of your eyes
>Celestia… that was a name you remembered in connection with the sun
>Was it yours? Probably not, as you had nothing to do with any astrological objects
>Truth be told, you weren't quite sure what you were looking for, except for something that would somehow stop you from dyeing
>After walking for what must have been hours, you see a particularly high and easily climbable rock, a welcome sight in the otherwise barren landscape
>The rock was sand-blown and featureless, but high enough that you manage to get a good view of your surroundings
>They are, as you had already guessed, almost identical in every direction
>But among the crippled rocks and sandy flats you make out something different
>Something green
>It looks like it's quite a long walk, but at least it's a destination
>As you come closer, it becomes undeniable that the vibrant, life-giving green you had seen in this sea of brown was vegetation
>Bushes, maybe even some trees
>It didn't seem to be a lot, but anything that gave even the faintest promise of water was good enough for you
>Had you had the strength, you would have run the last stretch, but you found yourself unable
>Maybe there wouldn't be water, or maybe the water wouldn't be enough, but at least there would be shade
>If nothing else, it was a better place to die than out here, as a featureless brown body in an unending brown landscape
>But what if there are wild animals there?
>You approach as quietly as you can, fearing the worst, but finding:
>Blue
>Beneath the living green is the unmistakable colour of water
>But on the sandy shore there is something else
>Something large, black and chitinous
>And it looks like the only way to the water is past that giant bug
>You're not really sure how to proceed from here
>Leaving this small oasis in search of something else isn't exactly an option
>You guess you could try to scare it off
>You could kick some rocks at it and make a lot of sound
>The worst thing that could happen was that the creature attacked you, but you would just have to fight
>If you lost, it only meant that you would die a bit faster than if you fled
>You approach the oasis, moving towards the shore opposite of the black guardian
>But as you were readying your hind legs to kick some sizeable stones in your enemy's general direction, you are halted by what you see
>Now that you're closer, you can clearly see that while the figure is large and clad in nature's own plate armour, its shape is unmistakably equine
>Not only is there a horn, though it is crooked, upon its head, but you can also see tattered, insectile wings
>You cancel your barrage in pure wonder, and the enigmatic entity on the far shore gets up on all four legs, looking straight at you with eyes as vibrant and alive as the vegetation that brought you here
>Whatever this being is, you're convinced that it seems intelligent, though you don't know if that brings you any comfort
>Looking at it though, you're sure of one thing
>Whatever that pony-like thing is, it's much larger than you, and is likely capable of both flight and magic
>Scaring it away seems impossible, as does combat
>You'll just have to hope that it can be reasoned with
>It looks like the surprise is mutual, because the chitin-clad equine is as unable to take the initiative as you are
>Finally you open your mouth, afraid that your possible adversary will take the silence as a threat
"I…"
>You halt for a bit, taken aback by the sound of a voice
>Your voice
>This is the first time you can remember to have heard it
>It's somewhat hoarse, but light, clearly feminine and somewhat trembling with ill-disguised uncertainty, it not unpleasant, but not remarkable either
>Snapping out of your brief moment of fascination with yourself, you remember what you were really trying to do
"I… Could I… Could I have some water?"
>The creature looked at you for another moment, and you were almost beginning to believe that you had mistakenly assumed intelligence when it finally answered
>"Help yourself."
>Her, for it was indeed a female, voice was also clearly feminine, though it sounded otherwise little like yours
>You almost don't want to bend your head down to the edge of the water, out of fear of what your newfound wasteland companion might do if you let your eyes off her, but your thirst was overwhelming, and it almost felt like the flesh in your throat had dried up and cracked
>The water was delicious and painful as it flowed into your mouth and down your throat, making non-existent cracks close and flesh that felt dead come alive again
>When you were finally finished, your eyes found your neighbour, the only other living being you knew of, in the same spot she had been before, in the cool and desirable shadow of a small tree
"Can I come to your side? There is no shade here."
>"You're free to lie in any shade."
>With newfound strength you hastily made your way around to the other side
>As you came even closer, even more details of your benefactor in black and green became visible
>Her eyes were not only green, but… wrong, at least given what your memory told you about what eyes should look like
>Green like an aspect of nature itself, and of a kind no pony should sport
>Different yet captivating
>Alien yet, for the lack of a better word to express your emotions, beautiful
>Not counting her horn she was at least one and a half times as tall as you, maybe even a bit more
>Adding her long, slender legs and lithe frame, you were only able to describe the whole of her with one word:
>Alicorn
>Yet you knew that whatever kind of alicorn stood before you, alicorns weren't supposed to look that way
>You lie down in a shade, eager to get some rest, but make sure to leave a comfortable distance between the two of you
>You feel like you should speak, but you decide not to, out of fear of angering your host
>And honestly, you might just be a bit too tired to want to have a real discussion with anyone
>The ground was hard, warm and uninviting, but seen in the context of what you've been through, and your warmer, shade-less options, you find it surprisingly comfortable
>You melted down into the warm sand, and felt waves of fatigue and relief wash over you
>In the distance, the sun must have been falling towards its western death, as everything inside you and around you seemed to drift into a cold, dark, death-like slumber

>You're wearing a mask
>Someone familiar talks to you, telling you that he loves you
>You find a note that you cannot read, but that you know brings great news
>Children sing all around you
>Their song becomes light, and turns into rain
>The rain falls into the sea, with you among it

>You wake up, and realize that you've missed the sun's rebirth
>It's climbing now, as you force the morning haze out of your mind
>You're alone in the oasis, or at least it seems that way
>Your companion is nowhere to be found, and for a moment you wonder if she was ever truly here at all
>You satisfy your thirst and hunger before exploring the rest of your hopefully temporarily home
>The oasis, while large enough to support small groups of ponies and some vegetation, is too small for there to be any permanent settlement built near it
>And why would there even be a reason to settle in this forsaken wasteland?
>You walk around for what must be the better part of two hours, occasionally climbing rocks to make sure that you don't get lost
>You can't seem to find anything besides the endless brown
>No hint of living green, deep blue or armoured black
>You've been on the lookout for tracks, hoof prints and wagon trails, anything that might show you the way to other ponies, but the only prints you find are your own
>Finally you give up and head back to the oasis, only to find that you're no longer alone
>She's back
>Lying in the shade where you had seen her yesterday, she now lay with what seemed like a pair of poorly butchered rodent corpses
>You feel sick
>"I've been hunting."
"I can see that."
>"Would you like one? There's still flesh left."
>You find a spot in the shade and try to hide any sign of your disgust
"I'd rather not."
>Silence reigns again as she devours the edible… things… that are still left on the corpses
>You can clearly see that she's fanged
>The tell-tale sign of a predator
"Do you live here?"
>She didn’t answer at first, but finished what little was left of her meal
>"No. I'm just travelling by. What about you?"
"I guess I'm just trying to not die."
>"A noble cause."
>You couldn't truly tell if she was making fun of you or not, but you were glad that she seemingly did want to talk to you
"But if you're a traveller, that means you have a destination?"
>She hesitated again, as if she expected somepony else to answer for her
>"West. To the ocean."
"What are you going to do there?"
>"Hopefully watch the sun die, with the moon and the stars tumbling down after her."
>"What about you? Do you plan to flee death in any particular direction?"
"Wherever I can, really. But right now I don't see a way out of this endless expanse."
>"And that is all? To avoid death? Is there no family you can live with, no loved one that fills your heart?"
>The temperature was rising, and you doubted you'd take another reconnaissance round before dusk, not that you expected to find anything then either
>You tried to search your mind of any lead that might tell you if you even had family and loved ones, but you found nothing
>Some things hadn't changed
"I don't know. I don't remember anything really, besides waking up in this wasteland, thirsty and battered. Maybe I got lost from some caravan, or were left out here to die. It doesn't matter now."
>"You don't remember anything?"
>More than a bit of scepticism was present in her voice
"Nothing at all."
>"Not the name of the town you grew up in? Not your mother's voice or the smell of home? Not the name of your best friend and warm embrace of your lover?"
"I can't even recall my own name. All I know is what I can see and feel about myself."
>"So what should I call you then?"
>You think for a moment, and a dozen names you've thought about since you woke up yesterday all flash before you
"You… can call me Anonymous. Or Anon for short. Until… until I get my memory back."
>She seemed humoured by the idea, and a smile, the first you'd ever seen, formed on her lips
>You couldn't help but stare at the fangs
>"So you can't recall a single thing, not at all, about your past, or the world around you?"
"Not at all. What should I call you?"
>Again the silence of thought, of hesitation
>"Chrysalis."
>She rose back onto her towering legs
>"I'm going to search our surroundings again. Do not expect to see me before dusk."
>Another smile
>More fangs
>"Try to get some rest. There is a new oasis west of here. I'll be travelling after the sun has set. If that sounds like a good place to escape death, you're welcome to join me. Anon."

>You'll likely never cease to be amazed at how much longer time itself becomes once you have nothing to occupy yourself with
>And this was just one such occasion
>You ate, though what was available in the oasis was unsatisfying
>You drank, though in the sun it did not help for long
>You rested, but were unable to fall asleep
>So in the hours of wait before the sunset's sweet and cool embrace, you tried to strain your memory
>To plunge into the murky depths of your own mind in the vague hope that maybe, just maybe, you might find out something about yourself
>Bits of essential but non-profound information was stretched think and turned over for answers
>You were a mare
>You were brown
>You had no talent
>You had neither wings nor magic, which meant you were neither a pegasus nor a unicorn, and definitely not a alicorn
>Or whatever form of creature Chrysalis might be
>The same simple, shallow and infinitely un-satisfying pieces of information that you already knew
>You had no interests that you remembered, no skills or traits that was characteristic of you
>No relationships of any kind
>Well, except for with Chrysalis, who was the only other being you knew about
>None of the bits and pieces of information that makes up a personality was yours
>You were as much a person as the grains of sand around you were mountains
>It was futile
>You came no closer
>Ponies only have what they remember, and you have nothing
>In a sense, you were truly born yesterday, born by the light of the sunrise
>But it was nightfall that was now racing towards you now, after a day spent dangerously idle
>Chrysalis rejoined you sometime after the light had fallen off the horizon, ready to move on
"Where have you been all day?"
>"Scouting, Anon. I thought I said so earlier today. Are you ready to leave this love-forsaken place?"
>The harshness in her voice took you by surprise, but you nodded a positive response
>It was probably just fatigue
>The two of you began to move, leaving the sanctuary with a steady pace
>Despite being able to fly, Chrysalis walked besides you, and whenever it was time to change directions, she was the one that lead on, clearly knowing the route to your destination
"Chrysalis?"
>"Yes."
"May I ask you a question of a more personal nature?"
>"You might as well."
"You see, I was thinking about all the different kinds of ponies I could remember. There are mares and stallions, and earth ponies like me. There's winged pegasi and horned unicorns, and even alicorns. And I was just wondering where… where you fit into all of this?"
>"I'm not quite sure I know what you mean."
"You have the shape of a pony, and the features of an alicorn, but you look nothing like any alicorn I can remember."
>"And how many alicorns do you remember?"
>You stop to think for a moment, but you already know the answer
"None."
>"Precisely."
>You ponder her response as your hooves claim more miles
>The two of you talk, but it is empty talk, the sort of talk that occurs between one that does not want to talk about herself, and one which barely has any self to talk about
>The crookedness of a rock
>The lack of hoofprints or wagontrails
>The night temperature
>The topics are too mundane to truly remember
"Hey, look over there!"
>The first real words spoken in quite a while pierces through
>It was something as mundane as a mound of sandy dirt that had attracted your attention
>In any other landscape, it would have seemed like nothing but a natural formation, but in this windswept wasteland, it reeked of unnaturalness
>You quickly closed in on it
>"No, stop!"
>Chrysalis' voice was loud, firm and commanding
>As close as you now stood, you could clearly see that whatever this mound was, it had been purposefully made by somepony
>Scattered hoofprints were all around, though it was impossible to say how many ponies had created them
>A partially vanished trail of hoofprints was barely visible, leading way from the mound and into the unknown
"What? There has clearly been somepony here. Maybe we can track them down?"
>"If you wish to try your luck in that direction, you're welcome to do so. Just know that come morning, I'll be in a tree's shade, while you might be birdfood. There's no room for uncertainty out here."
"I guess that's true."
>You take a step closer to the unnatural bump in the level landscape, where only strong stone dared press upwards, grasping for the sky
>"Come with me. Do not disturb that source of sorrows. Neither one of us wants to see what's buried there."
>She started walking in the same tempo you had kept earlier
>A seemingly tireless titan of obsidian will
>And you had little choice but to follow
>But before you rejoined her, you made sure that you for a moment were outside her line of sight
>This could be your first secret
>You pressed your hoof lightly against the mound, pushing the sand away
>The wasteland brown gave way
>Revealing chitinous black

>By the time you had reached the oasis, your legs were already getting unstable under you
>The life-giving water felt like liquid fire as it trickled down your throat, but you still drank until you felt beyond full
>More falling that laying down, you placed yourself under the surprisingly full and fertile vegetation that lived off the hidden watering hole
>Chrysalis was besides you, and despite her natural grace and beauty, you could see that this wandering had taken its toll on her as well
>It was hard to tell if she was supposed to look this… tattered, or if she had taken a beating by some unknown force before the two of you met
>Either way, you had no high hopes of finding out by asking her
>Maybe if you waited until the two of you became closer
>You wanted to ask about what you found back in the wasteland
>The black buried chitinous form that only reminded you of her
>But you had decided against asking her, at least for now
>She had told you not to disturb the makeshift grave, and you didn't want her to know that you had disobeyed her
>In the end, you did really care for her, and you were convinced that without her guiding you, your life in the wastes would have been a short one
"What is the plan for tomorrow?"
>"I don't know. I suppose it would be finding a route away from here."
>Stupid question
>"Though I have a vague idea."
"West?"
>"West."
>You were just trying to get a conversation going
"So you think there are sources of food and water all the way there?"
>"There should be. At least enough to get us to the nearest town."
"How can you be so sure?"
>"I've crossed this land once before."
"So you know the way?"
>"Don't get your hopes up. I was young at the time. I was led through here by somepony in my family."
>Silence again
"I've been meaning to ask you something. Several things."
>"Are they about me?"
"Mostly."
>"Then we can save those for later. What else did you want to ask about?"
>Your mind raced to find a good question, and ended on one of the ones closest to you
"How did I get here?"
>"How am I supposed to know the answer to that?"
"I don't know. But at least you have a functioning memory. I thought you might know enough to at least make a guess."
>She stopped for a moment, thinking
>"You could have gotten lost from a caravan."
"Are there really caravans in these parts of the wastes?"
>"Sometimes. If something profitable enough to risk the journey is being transported. You could also have been left behind."
"Why would anypony do something like that?"
>"Maybe they were pressed by necessity. Maybe you were slowing them down. Maybe you were taken out here to die."
"I wouldn't have done anything to make somepony try to kill me!"
>"Maybe not. But we don't know anything for sure, do we?"
"But there were no hoof prints near me. No wagon-tracks."
>"Pegasi then. But that suggests that they left you there on purpose."
>You didn't want to think about this
"I guess it doesn't matter. Whoever they left behind isn't around anymore. If there's no memories left, there's no person left."
>"Whoever might have left you out to die might feel otherwise."
>You didn't want to continue this line of thought
>Maybe it was for the best that you didn't know how you ended up here
>"If you could remember where you were from, that might at least help."
"… Equestria… I think I'm from Equestria."
>"Hah."
>A hint of laughter
>A smile
>The fangs
>"That doesn't exactly make things easier. If I were you, I would take care the next time I met some regular ponies. You never know who might recognise you."
"That might not be a bad thing though. They could be friends."
>"But you wouldn't know."
>The sun made its first partial emergence over the horizon
"So you're telling me that I can't trust anypony?"
>"You can trust me."
>Her lofty words filled both the air and your mind
>Maybe she liked you better than you had thought
>Maybe they were just more empty words
>But it felt natural for you to follow her
>It felt right
>And it had done so since the two of you first met, even if you hadn't been fully aware of it at the time
>No matter how genuine her words were, you felt warmth spreading through your body
>Wasn't it too early for the sun to warm this much?
"In that case. If I can trust you, shouldn't I also know more about you?"
>Another fanged smile, but you were getting used to it by now
>The sun's first rays lit up her face
>Her distinctively alien yet unmistakably equine features seemed to glow, as breeze made the shadows of the leaves dance around the two of you
>You wondered if stallions found her attractive
>"Yes, I think you're ready to know more."
"Are you a pony?"
>"I'm not quite sure what you mean Anon. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you're nothing like I feel ponies should look like."
>"There's more to being a pony than looks."
"You eat meat."
>"Only when I have the chance."
>You decided not ask about these "chances"
"Are there more ponies like you?"
>"Exactly like me? Only a few."
"What about ponies with chitin instead of fur?"
>"Quite a lot more."
>You were no closer to finding out anything significant about the corpse
>"Where do you live?"
>"With my family. We more around."
"Is that why you've crossed this endless expanse before?"
>"It's far from endless. And yes, in a sense that's why I've crossed before. To move to greener pastures."
>Right there and then, you had trouble believing this wandering would ever end
"What do you do for a living?"
>"I provide for my family, however I can."
>You were growing tired, not only from the fruitless conversation, but truly fatigued from hard walking and long hours awake
>How long had it been since you slept?
"So you're a traveller and, if memory serves me right, a hunter. Not exactly what I had imagined."
>"That's because it's not exactly true either. But it's close enough for now. What did you imagine?"
"Something a bit more… official… high-ranking."
>"You flatter me."
"I suppose I do."
>A mighty yawn escaped your lips
>"Do you want to rest? We have more time to talk later."
>You nodded
>You had hardly made much progress, as she hadn't sown seeds of knowledge in you, but rather seeds of doubt and uncertainty
>Did you even want to know who you were?
>Was whoever had been left in the wastes days ago even you?
>Maybe daytime would bring something new
>After all, none of you were going anywhere
>Not without one following the other
"How long until we're out of here?"
>"Not long."
>You didn't know what was the most comforting right there and then, her words or her presence
>The ground was hard, uncomfortable yet strangely welcoming
>You could sleep safely now
>You had somepony to trust

>A black river flowed up a mountain
>Somepony touched your back
>Hugged you
>Dragged you out
>You felt like you were in free fall, embraced by white
>Before it all crumbled away into rain