The salty taste of my tears that day won’t leave my memories. That taste alone, added with the harsh voices, and the aching of my limbs as I ran, will forever haunt me.

Why was I running, you ask? To get away... very, very far away from the one place I once thought, through all my young years as a filly, that I could call home.

Chapter 1: The Escape

“Get out! And don’t come back! I’m done with you! You’re both a disgrace to this family and this village! Go!” My father took a strong step through the door frame, blocking any possible way back inside.

I clenched my jaw tight in anger as tears began to build behind my eyes. I practically hissed in anger through my teeth at him, quickly barking back. “Fine! You’ll regret disowning me! Because the day I become known, other ponies will know what you’ve done to me! Every single bit of it! My story will be heard and if you think you’re going to get away with it all you’re sadly mistaken! I’ll gladly leave; being kicked out has given me a hell of a good reason to finally be rid of this place!”

He narrowed his eyes in anger. “Get the fuck out of here!” He took off towards me in aggression, and I scoffed towards him, spitting at the ground before turning my back to him and taking off towards the mountains bordering the village from the rest of the world.

---

I came to a stop at the top of a hill, which happened to be the first of three lines of mountains to get away from the village. I exhaled deeply, inhaling quickly and nearly burning my throat. All I could taste was the bitter saltiness of my tears, and all I could feel was the throbbing ache of my legs. I’ve been running for about two hours straight, though I’m not entirely sure.

I nearly collapsed as I finally came to a stop in a small clearing, the aching nearly becoming too much. I exhaled shakily and laid down, my legs instantly throbbing in relief. My tongue hung from my mouth in a desperate attempt to cool off. I practically had enough energy to keep from drooling all over myself and the ground as I could feel myself slowly blacking out, escaping from this painful reality.

After Celestia-knows-how-long of me laying here, my eyes open but me not really seeing, I was slowly drifting off. Each breath pained me, burning in my chest and all the way up my throat. Every nerve and vein in my body seemed to throb in exhaustion considering I had ran quite a few miles making my way up here. With a last long exhale, consciousness finally let go and I fell asleep, if you can even call “going completely numb” that.

---

I screamed for mercy, but no sound escaped my lungs. I could feel my hoofs pounding against the ground, each blow shaking my entire frame as I kept pushing further, feeling the force behind me working its way closer with each step. I don’t know what was following me, but it kept chanting in a voice-less sound, “Get out! Go away! You’re a disgrace! Get out! Go away! You’re a disgrace!”

Each round of this saying stabbed me in the heart and brought me down harder, but I continued to press forward against the pressure. It was quickly becoming more and more difficult to breath, as if some strong force was slowly crushing my lungs and throat. Everything burned, and I could feel tears falling from my eyes, though they seemed dry to me.

My world was suddenly getting dark, and I had to gasp for air each time a hoof hit the ground. I could feel the force catching up to me, but I couldn’t go any faster than I was. Something happened suddenly, and I hit the ground, sliding literally a few feet from the point of impact. I screamed in pain, fur and skin scrapped off and I swear I saw my ankle twisted the wrong way.

Not even a few seconds after I hit the ground, I was suddenly engulfed in darkness. My world spun around me and the darkness changed to a swirl of dark blues and purples. The ground seemed to disappear from beneath me, but I couldn’t move and I couldn’t breathe.

Everything felt real... too real. From the burning of every cell in my body due to the lack of oxygen, to the feeling of being alone, vulnerable and weak. I don’t know how long I was there, floating, as I bled and died slowly. It could have been seconds, it could have been years. Hell, in my state it felt like eternity.

Something suddenly swirled into my dark vision, and I had attempted to cringe away but my frame refused to listen. In fact, it felt like I was getting closer. The figure grinned at me, and here’s the thing, I couldn’t make out any features. I couldn’t tell what it looked like, but I knew it was there. And I could tell what it was doing.

It reached out to me and swiped at me, resulting in three large gashes in my side that lead to a loud, dry scream escaping my lips. It laughed harshly, the very same laugh that haunted me my entire childhood.

It spent what seemed like forever toying with my weakening body. Scratching me, hitting me, doing whatever it could do to cause me pain. And each time I would whine or scream out, it would simply laugh and only increase my own pain.

After some time, I could finally move and speak. I was kicking, screaming, and thrashing about, “Go away! Get off me! Stop!” Suddenly I could breathe, and I did deeply, nearly burning every cell in my body once again. I gasped for breath constantly, still managing to scream and thrash about. Suddenly, things seemed to vanish, and something seemed to jump on me, pinning me down. I could hear a different voice, an unfamiliar voice speaking to me in a firm, yet gentle tone. And suddenly, the color returned to my world as I jolted awake.

---

“Shhh, shhh, it’s okay. Relax, relax, you’re safe now.”

I looked around, my eyes wide with fear. My body felt like it was on fire, and I could tell that I had been sweating in my sleep. All of my muscles ache, and I assume this is because I was thrashing about so hard.

While gasping, I looked up. Big blue, worried eyes looked down at me. I looked to my shoulders, where this pony’s hooves lay. I gulped, still breathing heavily, as I looked back up. My voice was surprisingly hoarse when I spoke, and I had to clear my throat in order to speak at all. “Wh... Who are you?” I coughed after speaking, my throat so sensitive from all my crying and screaming in my sleep.

“John... Are... Are you okay?” His voice practically poured worry, and he slowly stepped off from above me and to my side, offering his hoof to help me up. I looked at it before grabbing it and standing up, shaking to fix my mane and matted fur.

“Uhm... No. Probably not.” I looked at him with a sigh, feeling bad that somepony had to witness something that’s happened to me for years. When our eyes met, his fell. I could tell simply from his posture alone how worried he was about me. I looked down and exhaled audibly. “I’m sorry... That you had to see that. It tends to happen, though that’s honestly my worse nightmare yet.”

“Oh, it’s fine... I heard somepony screaming, loudly, and I had to come make sure whoever it was was okay.” He looked up, meeting my eyes again. When he did, I noticed him push his glasses up his nose with his hoof before continuing. “But when I saw you were asleep I tried to wake you up, but in order to even get close I had to pin your legs down. You wouldn’t stop kicking and screaming.”

“Sounds about right...” I sighed.

“What are you even doing all the way out here by yourself? This is pretty far from any village.” He tilted his head in curiosity, his glasses falling slightly from the movement.

“Well, let’s just say... I’m searching for a new home.” I sighed once again, noticing how miserable I probably looked right now.

“May I ask why...?” He suddenly cringed and took a step back, pushing his glasses up. “I mean, if you’re okay with telling me. I wouldn’t want to make you anymore uncomfortable than you already se-”

“Stop. It’s okay, really.” I lowered my hoof, which I had put up to stop him from rambling. I smiled softly. “I was pretty much pushed from my own home. So I left, and don’t plan on returning. So I had run up here, and pretty much collapsed from exhaustion. This is the first time I’ve been consciously aware. And to be honest, I don’t even know how long I was out.”

He looked down again. “I’m sor-”

“No. Don’t say it again.” I laughed softly. “It’s okay, you don’t need to say sorry. You have nothing to do with my past, and I guess the only thing you can do is help me get on with my future.”

For some reason, he suddenly blushed. He gulped and looked away, pushing up his glasses again. I tilted my own head, but shrugged and straightened my frame.

“Well... There is always Ponyville...” He coughed, trying to hide the nervous edge in his voice. “That’s where I live, and I’m sure I can help you get comfortable there. There are a lot of people, and all of them are really nice to new comers. But, of course, if you don’t want to go you don’t have to. It’s just a suggestion, really...”

I laughed. “You aren’t very sure of yourself, are you?” He shook his head slowly, offering a nervous, goofy smile. “I don’t really get out of my lab at home much... I’m not very socially... Experienced...” I raised an eyebrow to the mention of a lab. He nodded to my expression. “I study a lot, and I’m always messing with new mixes. It’s a hobby, really...” He trailed off, probably worried about appearing too nerdy.

I smiled and nodded, taking a step towards him. “Alright. That sounds wonderful. Ponyville, that is. I need a new place to start over, and with a friend I’m sure it’d be easier.” He coughed and blushed again, and I couldn’t help but laugh softly. He turned around and trailed his eyes along the mountain.

“Well, it’s a rather far trip... I was out looking for a few resources for a new experiment I have planned.” He turned to me again, our eyes meeting. “But I was on my way back when I ran into you. If you’re ready, we can go ahead and start our journey.” I nodded with a smile, trotting up next to him.

“Sounds good to me.”

He smiled and turned towards the mountain, waiting for me to turn too before he started his way along the trail. I grinned and followed him trustingly.

I wasn’t sure why, but I liked him already. He was goofy, but very caring. And something inside told me I could trust him.

Let’s just hope the other ponies in... Ponyville, was it?... Are as trust-able as John, here.