Diary entry number 29

  Committing suicide is a lot harder than I thought apparently. Even when I'm in a dark hole in the ground with the weight of an entire River on my shoulders.

  In the end the shovel gave way before I did

  And instinct and the adrenaline forced me to attempt to find new purchase

  Diary entry number 30

  And now I've woken up in a hospital bed with only the feeling of the passage of time telling me it wasn't all just a dream

  Okay so I'm going to tell you that being unconscious and being asleep are two different things

  You see when you're asleep you're still at least semi-conscious

  like if someone rummages around in your room long enough while you're sleeping you're going to wake up

  But when you're unconscious someone can cut into your chest cavity like your a corpse at the morgue and you still wouldn't notice

  And you would wake up with only feeling the passage of time. and depending if the doctor uses painkillers or not you probably wake up in a lot of pain

  But back on subject I am actually wondering if the whole thing was a dream

  Because my current surroundings are of that of a modern hospital

  One that is poorly funded due to the lack of equipment that I see but still a modern hospital

  I can't say I liked it very much the last time I woke up from a sleep like this I had a window nearby

  After inspecting myself I find myself clear of any injuries

  Injuries on my hand and leg and whatever skull fracture I likely would have had falling down that underground waterfall are non-existent

  Confirming that I just had the most vivid dream ever

  As for why I'm in the hospital I have no visible injuries so I assume I was in some sort of coma and my grandfather found me laying on top of that Hill

  After I didn't come home for dinner

  And immediately brought me to the nearest hospital

  Which bugs me a little bit because I remember him saying that it was a good hospital. But he didn't go into detail

  So I don't know if good ment well-funded

  or just doctors that actually fix you instead of spend a half an hour getting to you tell you you're sick and then slap $1,000 debt on you

  I'm going with skill doctors with little funds seeing the only piece of equipment that is in my visibility range other than the IV is the heart rate monitor or as otherwise known as that machine that goes beep

  Diary entry number 31

  I was alone for awhile I spent the time trying to remember my dream remember Sundrop, coleus, all of it, even though every second of it was pain for me I still had fun I was fascinated by the story

  And then when an elderly white earth pony with a red cross cutie mark walk through the door

  I realized it may not have been a dream it was either that or I'm hallucinating

  Assuming I'm hallucinating I say. Excuse me I think I'm hallucinating, a white horse just walked into the room

  To which the horse replied

  You're not hallucinating and I'm dr redheart

  Oh sorry about that. I say apologetically

  After doing a few things like check the IV and my pulse in writing a few things on her clipboard

  She says you gave us quite a scare there there's a moment where we thought you weren't going to make it do you mind telling me what happened

  What do you know. I ask

  a fisherman saw you floating down the river unconscious in a hollowed out log with a death grip on a broken shovel

  Downstream I think I remember him saying and I quote looked like a wet rat holding onto the last piece of cheese

  So that's what I hit my head on

  Briefly remembering that I hit something that wasn't a rock guessing that I hit the boat after it got jammed halfway down the waterfall or something

  Continuing I ask dr redheart

  Do you want to know the entire story or just why I was floating downstream in a boat

  I would like to hear from the beginning please. said dr redheart

  So I start telling her the story but I'm not going to be like the other authors and say oh I told her the story and then cut to the part where the story ended I'm going to tell you what I told her

  Okay so I woke up in a bag grass field at night time fell back asleep to wait for daytime woke up at daytime look for anything at all song mountain range went that way got hunted by a fledgling dragon later befriended the fledgling dragon after it fainted due to exhaustion and malnutrition continue towards the mountain range found a town at the base of it helped the town resolve a big problem they had more than likely did the wrong way still got a bag of coins out of it

  Started traveling south down the river

  Got attacked by wolves covered in plant life my dragon friend got scared even though she wasn't injured and flew away bought them off the best I could still injured my left leg pretty badly didn't find out till later that it planted seeds in my leg doing so continued making my way South down the river till I found a cellar to hide in right after tornado started touching down in the field found my dragon friend hiding in a cellar as well spent roughly half a week there building a boat so I didn't have to walk as well as pulling out the grass that was sprouting out of my leg thin I found the shovelhead out in the field stuck it on of my walking stick intending to use it as a paddle finished the boat spent a couple more days traveling south downstream dragon friend went to out to go look for food for herself saw the river going into a cave

  And didn't think twice about going inside of it found the waterfall hiding in the depths then I hung precariously underneath the weight of the river for a minute or two pondering the value of my life before the weight of the river pushed my shovel out of whatever crack it found and I assume I fell into the boat that wedged itself further down the waterfall knocking it loose and into free fall into the lower River where the fisherman found me

  Dr redheart just stood there and stared at me for a moment before saying

  Wow.I haven't had someone put that much information, in that short amount of time, in over 20 years

  Sensing opportunity to learn more about what happened to Equestria I ask

  Yeah how is pinkie pie nowadays

  Being startled by my question she quickly looks up at me from her clipboard with so many emotions in her face I could barely keep up

  What questions I could see on her face were

  What?! Dr red heart asked

  How do you know that name?

  And then her face got sad for a moment

  Before switching to a neutral well practiced mask

  As she tries to gather her thoughts to come up with some sort of answer

  I interrupt that thought by sincerely saying

  I'm sorry I didn't mean to touch a nerve

  Before letting everything go quiet

  And then the medical doctor missed his cue to break the silence

  So I had to break it by asking

  How long was I out

  Whatever injuries I had have all but disappeared.

  Noticing I did have scars on my leg meaning the injury was real

  And then I continued by saying

  I don't feel like I was out all that long and yet when I look at my leg it looked like it finished healing weeks ago

  After a brief silence nurse redheart answered my question

  You we're out for… she stopped and looked at the clock on the wall and did some math before continuing.

  37 hours after you arrived at the hospital

  As for your injuries we use healing magic

  It normally takes longer but the other species around here don't usually have as much stored fat as you did not to mention that the wounds where healing quite well on there own

  and if the wound is as old as you said it was it normally would have had an infection by the time we got to it

  To which I respond

  That's probably because the people around here don't really try to keep their injuries clean

  She looks at me quizzically before saying

  Yeeeess

  That combined with the excess fat

  We were able to heal up the wounds quite nicely

  I stopped for a moment and look at her with a confused look then turn on look at my stomach

  And prodded with my finger a couple of times

  I then asked

  What? did you use then the nutritional value

  Of my fat to make me heal faster or something

  That is the simple way of putting it she responded

  I never knew I had muscles hiding underneath this

  I say poking my stomach again

  Always thought it was just skin fat and then organs

  Well now you know she said

  After a brief silence dr redheart said

  Well normally I'd have you stay in the hospital for a few more days before checking out

  But seeing as you know basic medical practices

  I think you'll be fine

  You can check out whenever you want, your stuff is in the closet

  Diary entry number 32

  After resting for a short while more

  I check out of the hospital and pay my bill

  It took the majority of what I know are bits

  But unlike America's hospitals

  It didn't cost a small fortune

  And I'm pretty sure I was treated in America to this degree I would have had to pay well over $10,000

  But seeing this size of these golden coins in America each one of these probably cost $100

  Seriously they look more like short cylinders then coins

  No really these things are like half an inch thick if not more

  And if you don't think that is a thick coin grab any coin anywhere in the world and measure it with a ruler and tell me that it's even a quarter of an inch thick and still be telling the truth

  As for my stuff unfortunately the only things of mine the doctor stored in the closet what's the stuff I had on me

  Which included my sword, my sidearm, my surprisingly still functioning phone,

  My wallet, my pocket knife, and my snake skin pack

  As well as my shredded clothes

  It was still enough to cover myself but

  My t-shirt was stretched out

  And if I didn't cut my jeans off at the knees I would definitely look like a hobo

  The brim of my hat was coming off and I had to search a little bit to find their other lens to my sunglasses

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  So now that I was out of the hospital

  I thought of the things that I have to do

  1 find a map

  2 find someone that can fix or replace my clothes

  And 3 find Sundrop and leave town before whatever bad luck catches up with me

  everyone knows adding more people to my problems only makes things more complicated

  Maybe I can get my hands on a train ticket

  Diary entry number 33

  THIS, is why, I hate, the city.

  So I found a clothing store

  And the owner of the establishment fainted as soon as he saw me

  His assistant directed me to a place halfway across the city and in a dark alley after she found out I couldn't afford anything.

  I just think their clothes are too expensive

  I mean seriously why do clothes have a bigger price tag than my hospital bill.

  And my hospital receipt said I had multiple broken bones a fractured skull and a concussion on top of my leg and hand wounds

  but I got to the place paid the person they cast a spell with some enchanted object restoring my clothes to normal

  Left after asking for directions to the train station

  Had my coin pouch stolen

  Got sucked into a song and dance number trying to chase a thief down (I don't know someone seeking adventure I guess)

  Lost track of the thief

  Eventually found the train station

  And hid amongst the wheels and the lower mechanical part of the train until it started moving and left the station to which I climb to the roof

  And don't even ask how Sundrop found me

  And yes she did talk about it and yes I was listening but I was so stressed out I didn't bother trying to remember it

  What I can tell you is, that her last couple of days were fairly bland compared to my only day in the city. And the day wasn't even over yet.

  after sundrop told her story we both just layed there on the top of the train and relaxed.

  I spent my time thinking about the underground river the waterfall and that pit of darkness and adding another tally for me, for that was the 14th time the universe tried to kill me

  The other 13 times were small and common things, like rough housing in the kitchen and getting knocked into the open dishwasher which had sharp knives pointing up out of it.

  Or going to forward out on a limb in a tree, or stepping on a dead branch that was still in the tree expecting it to support my weight, a few times.

  Or the many near-death experiences with vehicles.

  Like the first time I drove out of state myself, at night, during a heavy thunderstorm, and a tornado warning, with my low beams on, (I didn't know how to turn the high beams on)

  Periodically looking at my cell phone's gps because my cousin was too incompetent to tell me which way to turn.

  You know common things.

  Diary entry number 34

  So what have you been doing for the last two days Sundrop asked

  Sleeping. I answered

  Anyting else she asked

  I woke up in the hospital, got my clothes fixed lost whatever bits I had remaining because of some parade,and hitched a ride on this train,

  After that I was going to come up with a plan on how to find out where you were at.

  I finished hopefully dodging the potential bullet

  So why'd you disappear in the first place. Sundrop asked smashing my hopes

  You say it like I did it on purpose.

  I responded

  And before you ask I road down the river into a cave fell down a waterfall bash my head open and then woke up in a hospital a day or two later

  I said cutting off Sundrop before she could interrupt

  So what are we going to do now are Sundrop asked

  Get some sleep, ride this train into the next town, find a cartogipher, obtain a map off of him, And probably get back on the train before it leaves.

  So how did you get to the hospital if you fell into a deep pit full of water

  Sundrop inquired

  First off I didn't say I fall into an underground lake. Second off even if I did fall into an underground lake I wasn't conscious to remember doing so.

  As for how I got out of the underground river. some fishermen found me floating down the river flowing through town so I am assuming it came out of the mountainside at some point.

  And being the upstanding citizen that he was took whatever he thought was useful off of me and let me keep whatever he didn't want.

  And then took me to the hospital

  So what is a hospital

  Back where I come from, it is a place you go when your physical body ceases to function properly.

  Now if you don't mind I am a bit tired.

  Tired? How can you be tired after sleeping for two days straight? Sundrop demanded

  I ignored her and rolled on my side

  She protested for another half a minute before finally huffing and giving up well mumbling to herself.

  Diary entry number 35

  We rested there bathing in the sunlight for a few hours.

  I awoke as the sun immersed the world in an orange light

  Sundrop was still resting looking like she could shower in the sun's rays for eternity.

  I think she looked a bit like smolder with the orange lighting. If smolders horns weren't a semicircle on the top of her head.

  No sundrops horns were more stubby and laid acrossed the sides of her head pointing behind her.

  Nothing like smolder who had horns that were a foot and a half long as you measured with the curve instead of a straight line, and pointed up with a slight curve toward each other with enough precision that makes me think that if left unattended they will collide with one another and either, push against each other until one falls off or start curling around the other like a unicorn's horn that was unwound at the base

  After pausing for two seconds to let that thought run through my head I take a look at my surroundings to remind myself where I'm at.

  We are still on the train.

  The train worker's hasn't found this pair of Stowaways.

  The world is orange.

  And the train is going a lot faster than I think it should.

  Diary entry number 36

  Sundrop wake up, something's wrong. I say in a serious tone of voice.

  What is it. Sundrop asked sluggishly

  The train is moving too fast. I want you to take me to the engine to find out what's going on. I answered

  She must have heard the urgency in my voice cuz she got up and flew me to the engine without another word.

  What we saw was the train conductor hiding on the side of the engine while a massive glowing red ooze was coming out of the furnace and was consuming the coal from the cold car

  Sundrop put me down there. I yelled over the sound of the engine and the wind while pointing at the joint connecting the coal car to the rest of the train

  And then get the driver and bring him to me so he can help me separate the engine from the train. I lamented, motioning to the driver.

  I'm assuming she nodded before she closed in and dropped me off where I wanted to go.

  And I instantly focused on what I needed to do.

  And no it wasn't as simple as pulling a pen.

  It was the most complicated connector… thing that I have ever seen

  And no I'm not making stuff up to make it seem like it was impossible

  It wasn't like a steam train or even a modern train

  There were wheels and cogs, possibly even hydraulics.

  Seriously I've seen the insides of robots that were more simple than this

  Getting back on track. As I'm standing here trying to figure this out for a solid 5 seconds Sundrop has grabbed the person hanging off the side of the engine and brought them back to me they. shouted something in a language I didn't understand. Thus I had a bad feeling.

  And my heart in my chest went from a calm steady beat to something more akin to a Gatling gun

  If I were to visualize how I felt it was as if the piece of meat that pumps blood through my body turned into a ball of nuclear fusion pushing energy

  Through my body

  And I turned and I ran off the side of the train plowing into Sundrop as she was trying to land

  And as we were rolling I got the opportunity of having one picture perfect frame of the engine exploding

  Now the picture may have been upside down. But I now have a perfect picture of a steam engine explosion embedded in my brain forever

  now I was really focused on the pain that I was receiving from jumping off a train going only The Dead train driver knows how fast

  But I could still hear the Carnage of the train derailing

  As well as the screams of the people inside of the train

  Get louder and then quieter as they passed my current position before being drowned out by... Well a train wreck

  Look I don't know what you want me to say a train derailing it's a very unique experience

  Now before this conversation turns into a train wreck. I'm just going to continue on with the story

  Diary entry number 37

  Okay so where was I at…

  Oh yes I was laying face down in the dirt with a 200 lb dragon on top of me

  And I would have asked Sundrop to get off of me but I had a rock in my mouth

  Squeezing out from underneath her and spitting out the quarter sized rock

  I surveyed the damage and pondered on what I'm supposed to do after surviving a train derailing and pile up

  When my conscious brain was notified that Sundrop I've been moving around for 5 seconds and now there was something that needed my immediate attention

  Turn around saw the look in her face

  And knew that she was panicking and freaking out over the realization that she could have just died

  Didn't know why at the time seeing as less than a month ago she was welcoming death

  Sundrop calm down I said

  Being a complete idiot and forgetting that she is in shock and the only thing that will come her down is a bit of time to let the adrenaline wear off

  Calm down? She said

  CALM DOWN?!

  THE TRAIN JUST EXPLODED!

  Yeah yeah I know I know I realized my mistake as soon as I said it. I interrupted

  Sandrop looked at me for a few moments

  Before going on in a more reasonable outraged tone of voice.

  How in Tartarus are You so calm!

  Like seriously how are we even alive!

  You jumped off that train taking me with you like you knew what was about to happen! she finished looking at me expectantly

  I worked quietly to come up with some sort of answer.

  Well?

  I remained silent.

  Answer me! Sandrop asked raising her voice back to her previous volume.

  I took another second to form the words in my mind before saying

  Steam trains run off of pressure.

  Pressure made from boiling water.

  The hotter it gets the more pressure there is.

  And it just keeps building up until it can't take it anymore.

  And that is why the train exploded.

  as of the derailing. the resulting explosion must have shoved the front of the engine into the ground causing the back of the engine to lift off the rails.

  And that big pile of box cars over there is what happens when the train can no longer stay on the track

  And talking about boxcars we should check to see if there is anyone left alive

  I then turned away and started walking toward the train right before Sundrop could make any more interruptions

  I did not hear sundrop follow me so I assume she need a bit of time alone to vent her frustrations

  Diary entry number 38

  The only thing left of the engine was the contorted frame the weels and the bits of scrap metal still falling from the sky

  The box cars were mostly intact

  As for the passenger cars… well…

  They look like someone squeezed a soda can flat

  And I'm guessing that's why you don't put heavy cargo cars behind the passenger cars

  And despite the improbability of somebody living through that I did check

  And the site was grizzly

  Had to turn around and tell sundrop to search the cargo less she find out how desensitize to all this I really am

  And let me tell you it is a lot different when you see guts organs and gray matter in person.. or out of person

  I crawled through the passenger car checking anyone who looked alive

  In the end I can only find one person. After getting them outside into the light they were an earth pony mare with a brown coat that grew blonde towards the tips and a maine with multiple shades of Orange in it

  I didn't know I don't mean she had highlights like twilight did. no it did not go from dark to light from one side to the other

  It's more like they randomly assorted the hairs on her head in such a way that I'm pretty sure if there was a strong wind it would look like her fairly short hair was on fire

  As for her cutie mark it looked like someone set a chunk of tree sap aflame

  Daughter entry number 39

  looking around to make sure there was no more fire ooze and scrap metal falling out of the sky

  I thought it was safe to leave the currently nameless mare alone and find out what Sundrop was doing

  Sundrop did you find anything interesting

  I asked as I approached the cargo cars remembering the one I saw her approaching was the one laying on its side

  Yet I received no answer though I was sure I spoke loud enough for her to hear me

  movie reference warning flashing in my head I climbed a top to the side of the car and peered into a gap on the cargo door

  wondering if I'm going to have a dangerous weapon pointed at my face or at one of the personnel doors that go in between cars

  Just to find Sundrop muttering quietly to herself

  I push the door open and jump down before I could make out anything she was saying

  She got startled tripped and fell as well as shot a gout of flame at the ceiling which still had boxes roped to it

  I reach down grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to the feet as well as pulling her out of the way of the boxes that would've fallen on top of her

  The boxes themselves broke open releasing a white sand substance

  Will you quit doing that. sundrop drop shouted

  Quit doing what. I asked

  You know what I'm talking about some drops said while crossing your arms and making what I'm pretty sure is a pout face

  I thought for a moment and asked.

  Quit seeing a immediate and dangerous future?

  Sundrop looked me in the eyes.

  I'm not sure if I can but I'll definitely try. I responded

  Little bit of testing later I figured out all the boxes in this car were salt

  Next car on the line was filled with wooden tool handles and Canon frames. To go with the cannon barrels the frontmost cargo car which was shoved halfway through the rear passenger car.

  Don't know what's going on there but I think I got a few questions to ask to flame head over there

  So what now. Sundrop asked seeming to be over the frustration that she was dealing with earlier.

  I took several moments to consider all the possibilities before answering.

  We take one of the smaller boxes of salt and the one survivor of the wreck

  Head a little ways away from the track

  Make camp for the night. If anyone comes by and Asks. we were traveling to the next town on foot when we saw the train come flying by, with a massive orange gelatin protruding from the engine when it blew up and derailed.

  And we only search the passenger cars for survivors. And we did NOT search the cargo cars.

  Not just to make sure we both understand.

  we don't even mention the cargo cars unless they specifically ask.

  And if they ask about the salt. We bought it from town a few days ago and are doing a little bit of side trading to make sure we have enough money to continue traveling

  And what if they run away the moment they see an alien and a dragon. Sundrop asked

  Good point. I answered and proceeded to take another few moments to think.

  And halfway through my thought process the pony started to wake up

  Diary entry number 40

  I tried coming up with some sort of plan but I didn't have enough time.

  The Mare got up ran towards me attempted to Buck me toward Sundrop

  I stepped out of the way mostly because I knew if I got hit I'd be dead before I hit sundrop.

  When I turned around and saw her running off into the field

  Sundrop take me up and fly me above her

  I commanded

  Comet I can't see in the dark remember. Sundrop explained looking towards the sun that had set a little while ago thus making the time of day dusk

  No I don't remember but take me up anyway. I said urgently

  Now please. I said interrupting Sundrop as she opened her mouth to say something.

  I'll tell you if you're about to run into something okay?

  Okay. Sundrop obliged begrudgingly doing as I asked

  Okay take us up high and when we get above her take me down and then drop me on top of her back. I explained as I pulled out my sword and plunged the tip of it into the ground well briefly remembering how it almost took my arm off when it came out of the sheath when I jumped off the train.

  as sundrop took position behind me and wrapped her arms around my torso.

  Sundrop pull me up in the sky above the mare and drop me on top of her just as planned.

  I wrap my arms around her neck and my legs around her barrel as she tried to Buck me off

  AAAAAH SOMEONE HELP IT'S ON ME! The mare screeched.

  Miss please calm down! I'm not going to hurt you! I yelled.

  EEEEK GET IT OFF GET IT OFF

  GET IT OFF! She responding apparently not hearing what I just said.

  So I resigned myself to holding on until she gets tired.

  That's when sun dropped decided to drop down right in front of the already terrified mare landing with a thud.

  Of course the mare instinctually reared up

  But forgot to take in the fact there's extra weight in her back and she fell backwards laying me flat on the ground and her on top of me

  And in that moment I estimated she weighed roughly 300 lb despite being smaller than I was

  Look what you did Sundrop you killed her. I accused knowing full well the mare wasn't actually dead. I could still feel her heart pounding through her back

  What. No I. How? Sundrop stammered.

  She had a heart attack and you caused it. I blamed squeezing out from underneath the mare and deliberately placing one of my feet on her tail. Not quite stepping on it but enough weight to know if she tried to sneak away. Putting the majority of the weight on my other foot

  But. But. she still breathing. Sundrop faltered.

  Yes she is but her heart's beating too fast for that to matter.

  In 30 seconds she will die because her heart's beating too fast for her to be able to breathe. I lied feeling the girl trying to pull away as I put more weight on to my left foot to keep her from escaping

  I'm sorry. Sundrop sigh

  That's not good enough. I demanded.

  Get on your knees and beg for forgiveness.

  Sundrop stared at me for a moment before getting on her knees and saying. I'm sorry I didn't mean to kill that person, I didn't even want to hurt them. is there anything I could do to make it up to you. Sundrop finished bowing her head looking toward the ground dejectively

  I looked back to check on the mare to see if she was watching and saw her emotion had switched from terrified panic to confusion.

  And I answered. Nope that was all I needed.

  I then turned around removing my foot from the mare's tail. kneeling

  And offering a hand up asking.And what's your name. With a friendly smile

  A… Amber fire. She answered with the timid voice of a young woman. Taking my hand with her hoof

  nice to meet you Amber fire my name is comet coldstar. and my misunderstood companion back there is Sundrop. I greeted turning around and seeing the sundrop flinch before putting on a big toothy smile.

  Sundrop too many teeth. And compared to myself ponies are very emotional. So be careful how you act. Which means closed mouth smiles be aware of your pointy bits at all times and try not to openly frustrated.

  Until Amber herself knows that you're not going to eat her.

  I turn back to Amber to see that she was upset at me. and when our eyes met she pulled her hoof out of my hand saying. I am Not emotional

  To which I answered. Compared to me you are

  Am not! she retracted

  at that point me and Sundrop were both thinking the same thing

  Amber fire was as emotional as a child

  I really hope the few of you that make it this far are actually enjoying the story. thank you for reading.