Out Of The Wild

Midnight knew nothing but the wilderness for many many years. From the age of 12 to 19, she survived in nature. The hermit she lived with for those years helped her only with the basics, how to trap, how to treat wounds, how to fly, how to fish.. how to kill. The first time she had to kill an animal, she was hesitant. The hermit didn't feed her. She was starving. She was desperate. She had the animal stuck in a trap and she had a knife. She stared at it as she drew closer, seeing the innocent life in it. She didn't want to do it, but she needed to eat. She shakily room her knife and.. well it suffered longer than it should have. She cried that night. And the next few times she had to kill. Eventually it was just second nature, but it still saddened her. The hermit rarely spoke to Midnight, only speaking to instruct her on some things. He never talked about himself. He was an enigma. For many years, this lifestyle continued. Until the hermit died. She never knew how he died, just one day he went to sleep and never woke up. Of course, Midnight could have just used his home for herself but somehow it felt like a mistake to do so. She set off to look for a new home, flying mostly under the canopy of the forest, she needed to keep an eye out for food after all. A few days of flight later, she spotted a lot of smoke on the horizon after entering a clearing to drink some water. Curious, she flew up to see several pillars of smoke, the trees seeming to end near them. She flew forward, some old familiarity drawing her to them. Civilization. At long last, Midnight was free of the forest. Landing on the outskirts of the town, she started to wander in. She drew a lot of attention looking as she did. She had a longer and dirtier coat, same with her mane. Her mane used to reach her forehooves, and her tail dragged on the ground behind her. Eventually, a stallion approached her with concern. He asked her if she was alright and needed help at all. Midnight, with her 12 year old mindset nodded. "Where are we going?" She asked. "We're going to my house. We're going to get you cleaned up and your mane cut." "Oh.. why do we need to cut my mane?" "Well... You want to be able to see, don't you?" Midnight was in the middle of moving her mane from out of her eyes when he asked this and pouted a bit. "...Maybe.." He'd chuckle at this and keep walking. He asked many questions. Who was she, why did she come out of the forest, did she live in the forest? "How much do you know of society?" "So... Ci..etee?" She tilted her head. "Ah, there's my answer." He'd say with a chuckle. "Last question for right now. What's your name?" "My name? Why?" "Well, I need to get your attention somehow, and I don't want to call you 'you'. So, your name?" "Campanalunacaea." "...Do you have a shorter name?" "The stallion who helped me called me Midnight.." "I can see why." He'd say. "So, Midnight, let's get you clean." Midnight didn't know what brought on the memories tonight, but she remembered sitting down with tea, taking a sip of the hot liquid, and then snapping back to reality. Her tea was cold now. She took a sip of it still, and winced a bit. "Bleghh.." she dumped it down the sink. Maybe it was time to revisit her old home, maybe visit the stallion too. "Maybe.. But not tonight." She set her dishes in the sink and went to bed.