//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Toward Greener Pastures // Story: Banished // by Sixpence //------------------------------// “... And due to these crimes against the people of glorious France, your sentence will be...” The voice of the ‘judge’ exclaimed as he stood on the raised wooden platform, gazing over the sea of people. The crowd grew silent, still for once, holding its collective breath to hear the sentence for my alleged crimes. “Death by Guillotine!” The ‘judge’ proclaimed loudly, grinning like a madman as the crowd went wild with cheering. “Viva la revolución!” Two men were holding me fast, my hands tied behind my back with crude rope. “Why?! Why do you do this? I am nothing but a watch-maker! What have I done to deserve this!” I cried over the din and clamour. “I sold my clocks to everyone! I donated to the poor! I never...” My voice was silenced by one of the men giving me a solid punch to the jaw. “Silence. The people have spoken.” The man said with a grin. My head hung low, I could see my wife standing in the crowd, wearing some old clothes the servants had left behind. Clutching her leg was our son, little Daniel, only five years old and soon to grow up without his father. I had tried to bar the doors, to stop the crowd from looting my workshop, but they had barged in anyways, shouting something about a revolution. Heavy footsteps sounded on the wooden planks of the platform. “You are lucky, I could have thrown you to the crowd. At least it will be quick.” The ‘judge’ said and motioned for the men to follow. They began dragging my limp body towards the contraption on the other end of the platform. It was a large wooden machine of death, two poles supporting a large blade hanging over a split version of a simple pillory, allowing the blade to go all the way down while restricting the prisoner. The top half was lifted and my head shoved inside before it was clamped down hard, not choking me, but tight enough that I could not pull out. “Why? What have I done to deserve this?” I said as loud as I could, coughing as the men tightened it some more. A face came into my vision, the smirking visage of my ‘judge’, a man whom I had often seen in my shop, wearing different women on his arm every day. “Oh, nothing special.” He said in a tone low enough not to carry. “I just don’t like your face, and...” He looked out at the roaring mass of people. “It’s such a crowd pleaser, don’t lose your head now.” The man snickered and rose so I could see nothing but the soles of his feet and a wicker-basket beneath me. “What do you say?!” He yelled over the gathered crowd. “Is it time?” “YES!” The people yelled. “OFF WITH HIS HEAD!” “So be it!” The ‘judge’ responded and tugged at a rope. There was an unsettling ‘snickt’ sound, and then the world spun as my head tumbled into the bucket. I tried to curse the man, curse the crowd for their stupidity, but all I could do was move my mouth and roll my eyes as the world quickly faded. “Hey, I was wondering. Why did you pack food and not eat any of it?” Chrysalis asked and poked the small bag I had tied to the back of my staff. We had been walking for two weeks since the ‘assimilation’ incident, and she had been gathering strength, in other words sleeping, for most of them. “Do you even need to eat?” “Well.” I began, then hesitated and scratched my beard. It had grown well down to my chest by now, and was far beyond ‘dirty hobo’ and travelling into ‘dirty wizard who needs a bath’-territory by now.. “I don’t know, haven’t really thought about it.” “Why did you pack food then?” She asked as we went through the motions of loosening up the harness tying her to my back. It was getting dark, and we had settled beneath a small outcropping that shielded us from the biting wind. “By now it must have gone bad?” “Habit I guess. Though I can’t say for sure if I ever needed to eat.” I set her gently down on the dry ground and slid the bag off the staff. The bags contents were spoiled, but the cold must have kept the mold in check, in fact everything was frozen solid. “Huh, didn’t think it was that cold up here...” “Not that cold? I’ve been comp... telling you that it’s freezing for the last week!” Chrysalis said and curled up close to my legs and put her head in my lap. “If you hadn’t been so warm I’d be an ice-queen by now.” It was true, when I thought about it, the weather had deteriorated dramatically during the last two weeks. Every step I had taken ever after we had decided to follow the old road up into the mountains had been a fight against what was at times several feet of snow. The old road had wound and snaked itself around most of the peaks, and at the foot of the mountain spring was setting in. No such luck up here. By the road there had been a few ruins, old guard-outposts as far as I could tell, but the few documents we had found had either been chewed on or faded to illegibility. Not that either of us could read what they said, to me it looked like squiggles with the occasional symbol, and Chrysalis didn’t know the language. At least she could tell me that it was written in old-griff, the language of the Griffons over five hundred years ago. Something that she didn’t seem very happy with. “The griffons and the changelings have never been on good terms...” She had said while we sat in the sun outside, resting our... my weary legs. At least the places we had seen were abandoned, and we hadn’t seen any Griffons either, though I had kept an eye on the sky after that. “Well,” I said and patted her on the head “gotta stay frosty.” That earned me a good hit to the knee, and a small snort of amusement. “But seriously, even I have to eat something. Even if it’s just your emotions that keep me going” She looked up at me with a thoughtful expression. “Even Celestia eats, even if it’s mostly cake.” “Celestia?” The name sounded familiar somehow, but not... right. “Who’s that?” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow in confusion, but realization quickly dawned on her. “Right, of course you don’t know. She’s the ruling princess of Equestria. Co-ruler these days I think, if her sister has taken on her duties again.” I was confused. Princesses that ruled? “I thought a King or Queen would rule? I mean, you’re a Queen, sort of.” My companion didn’t seem to like the comment, and her face fell slightly. It worried me that she didn’t retort immediately, usually such a quip would earn me much the same in return. Instead she just shrugged and stayed silent. I frowned, this wasn’t like her. Sure, she had been less crass and easier to handle ever since the ‘little incident’ two weeks ago, though I attributed that to us being able to slightly sense each others emotions. All I felt from her now was sadness, and a strange longing, and in the background was that ember of love. I decided to let the matter drop, we would have plenty of time to converse later, unless of course she decided to sleep the entire day again. She had told me that while I was ‘away’, she had lost much of her strength. I, well, my body had been more of a vacuum than a source of nourishment, even my blood had been good for nothing. Chrysalis had attempted to change into something else, a bipedal form that would allow her to at least walk on her own. Not human, she told me that would have to wait until she got the combination right, or something of the sort. She didn’t quite understand the process herself, she would just know when the time was right. The effort had left her panting and exhausted on the ground, barely able to stay conscious long enough for me to hoist her onto my back. “Help!” Both of us jerked awake at the sudden ‘sound’. “What was that?” I jumped to my feet, inadvertently throwing the still groggy Chrysalis out of my lap. Her eyes rolled a bit as her head smacked into the stone of the floor, but she got on her hooves and hobbled over to where I stood looking into the darkness. “What was what?” She grumbled. “That wasn’t you?” I shushed her and scouted down the slope of the mountain, nothing. The night was completely silent, even the wind had calmed down to nothing but a gentle breeze stirring the snow. We were a few days travel from getting down on the other side of the mountain, and our shelter was right beneath the top of the pass. All we could see was back the way we had come, lit only by the sliver of moon high above. “Help!” Something yelled again, it was weak, as if coming from far away. With a shock I realized that I wasn’t hearing it, there was no sound, just a distinct impression in my mind of something frightened and afraid. Chrysalis’ eyes widened as well, her mouth gaping. “It’s alive! Someone is alive!” Her shocked expression changed into one of joy, and I could feel her entire being lighting up with emotion. “What? What is alive? Why am I hearing a voice in my head?” I asked, trying to somehow figure out where a voice in my head could possibly come from, I couldn’t discern any direction at all. “You’re hearing it too?” She stared up at me, her eyes still wide and a grin plastered on her face. “It’s a changeling! It’s alive!” “It doesn’t sound like it’ll stay that way. Where is it coming from?” I readied the harness, and Chrysalis practically jumped into it and onto my back. “We can discuss the how later. Do you know where it’s coming from?” “Yes! It’s coming from the other side of the mountain, and downwards.” She sounded excited, something I could understand, she just got confirmation that her race wasn’t dead. “I don’t know exactly, but it’s that way! Come on!” She pointed towards the crest of the pass, and I started pushing through the snow as fast as I could. As we pushed towards the top, the snow only became thicker. At the top I had to push through powdery snow that went all the way to my chest, impeding our progress towards the increasingly desperate cries for help. The desperation in the mental voice made me push through the snow as fast as I could, ignoring the weariness that slowly mounted. My muscles cried out in pain as I almost swam through the snow, something I hadn’t felt in a long time. We crested the top only ten minutes later, and the view became breathtaking even in the dim moonlight. On the other side of the mountain was a vast green valley dotted with clumps of trees and huge fields of green. And buildings. What seemed like a small settlement with farmsteads in a circle around it. To my surprise parts of the old road was lit, and several of the farms seemed to be lit by lanterns. I could see no activity from where I stood, but with it being night that wasn’t as surprising as the very presence of light. “Why did we stop?” Chrysalis asked, her hoof digging painfully into my shoulder. “It’s just a settlement, we’ve got to find the changeling!” I snapped out of my gawking and started scanning the hillside for any sign of life. “There!” My passenger cried and pointed a holed hoof towards a small light not too far away from us. The light was bobbing slightly, like a lantern on the end of a pole, and in the pool of light I could see several figures standing in a circle around what looked like a large pile of rubble. “Go!” The other side of the mountain had significantly less snow, and as soon as I could I broke into a sprint even though my muscles cried for me to stop. There was a brief flash of green on my back, and for a split second I felt the heat of fire upon my body. It wasn’t very hot, but it surprised me enough that I stumbled, almost falling on my face at high speeds. The surprise of fire was nothing compared to my surprise when a brown hoof tightened around my neck and the squeal of fright from someone I didn’t know. “Watch your step!” The pony on my back shouted as we nearly tumbled over the steep side of the path. “Run!” I could do nothing but quench my surprise, a part of my mind knew it had to be Chrysalis, another insisted that someone had just knocked her off and replaced her with someone else. It wasn’t until a brown stump slapped me in the head that I fully snapped out of it and sped up once more. “What the hell!” I yelled, weaving deftly around what had once been a watchtower, now fallen across the road like so much rubble. “Chrysalis?!” “I don’t want them to recognize me.” She answered, her voice sounded different, slightly deeper but still female. “We’re close, slow down.” I slowed to a jog, and then stopped fully as we came to a bend in the road. From around the bend we could see a light and several shadows crossing it. Whatever was on the other side had wings, and beaks? “Griffins...” Chrysalis hissed in a low tone. “It just had to be griffins.” “Come out. We’re not gonna hurt ya.” A low, gravelly voice said from around the bend. The owner didn’t seem to have noticed us yet, and I could hear others chuckling. Whoever had the changeling cornered was definitely not sincere in its promise of no harm. “Yeah. We just wanna ask ya some questions, yeah?” Another voice said, its voice as insincere as the first. I almost didn’t dare to breathe, it was purely a miracle that they hadn’t heard our haphazard sprint down the road. On my back I could feel Chrysalis, or whatever pony she had disguised herself as, tense. This close to the source, we could feel the fear radiating out from the trapped changeling. “What are you doing?” Chrysalis whispered harshly as I began making my way forward. “They can’t get to him, don’t do anything stupid.” “I can’t take that risk. If this is the last changeling, besides you, then we need to make sure it’s safe.” My hands were tightly wound around the staff. I wasn’t sure I would have to use it, or if it would hold in a fight, who knew what weaponry the griffins could have, or if they needed them. If my memory served, griffins had eagle talons, and from their shadows they seemed to be fairly large. It didn’t help that I couldn’t tell how many there were. I could handle myself in a fight against maybe two or three, but if there were more... Well, it was no use in wasting time thinking about it. I walked around the bend, staff at the ready. My guess was wrong. There were way more than two or three of them. Eight griffins with white and brown feathers were standing with their backs to us, facing what seemed like an... igloo? Nestled into a crook in the road was a pile of rocks fashioned into a small dome, and one of the griffins had its head stuck into a hole that had to be the only entrance, or exit. All of the griffins were wearing armor. Golden plates were fastened to their body with leather straps, and on their heads were helmets crested with red feathers. Legionnaires, or at least guards of some sort. This was most likely a guard patrol of some sort that had happened upon the unfortunate changelings domicile and decided to investigate. I cleared my throat and stomped the staff on the cobbled ground. “Excuse me?” I said as loudly as I dared. All of the griffins turned towards us in surprise. No doubt unhappy about being snuck up on. The griffin who had stuck his head into the hole eyed me warily They all did, but there was something else about this one, his feathers were tipped with black, and around his eyes there were splotches of color that I couldn’t quite make out in the dim light, he carried an air of authority, the leader I surmised. “What?” His eyes roamed over my body, confusion clear in his eyes at my appearance. They stopped briefly on Chrysalis, strapped to my back as she was it must have looked rather strange. “What are you doing here Minotaur. These lands are closed to your kind.” Minotaur? Okay? I was confused, but I could understand the misconception. Beside the lack of horns or a bulls head, I supposed that I looked close enough to one, at least in the dark. “Just passing through.” I answered, trying to keep my voice calm. “What’s going on here?” “Yeah!” Piped Chrysalis from my back. “I’d like to know that as well!” “That is none of your business. Pony or not, we must ask you to leave.” The leader said and took a step towards us, two of his guards falling in at his sides. “Leave where? We can’t go back?” Chrysalis said. “We nearly died just by going through the pass!” The griffins in the back nodded and murmured their agreement. “You can pass through the valley, just don’t get in our way.” The leader said and gestured to his squad to make room for us to pass. “I’m afraid we can’t leave yet.” I said and widened my stance slightly, not removing the staff from the ground. “We’d like to know why you’re here first.” The griffin’s eyes narrowed. “I am Decanus Aetius. This is our territory. Which makes you trespassers, unless you have papers stating differently.” While his posture remained relaxed, I could see the others tensing slightly at my change in posture. “We are merely travellers. We heard a cry for help, and decided to investigate.” I said and pointed the staff towards the piled up rocks, the griffins flinched at the movement. Chrysalis groaned and put a hoof to her face, while the Decanus only smiled. “Did you now?” He raised a talon to his chin, his smile widening slightly. “It must be my lucky day.” Now it was my turn to be confused. “How come?” The griffin chuckled and turned to his men. “Take them into custody. I believe they’re not what they seem to be.” Two of the armored griffins began walking towards us, their wings flaring slightly, casting long shadows towards us. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” One of them growled and pulled out a length of rope from beneath his armor. “Come with us, and you will not be harmed.” I gripped the staff harder in my hands and pointed it at the one who had talked. “I don’t think so.” I growled back. The two griffins grinned darkly. “As you wish.” Then they hurled themselves towards us, their wings flapping hard as they rose slightly above the ground. My staff whirled and smacked the first in the face, the harsh sound of metal meeting beak ringing through the air as he hit the ground hard. The other managed to avoid my swing, his talon raking along my arm, tearing three deep gashes that almost immediately began to close up. A green bolt of magic slammed into the second griffin’s chest just as he passed and I could hear him tumble out of the air and smack limply against the road. The six griffons that still stood gawked at us, before letting out shrill cries and launching themselves towards us. Three of them took to the air, the other two charged low. Only the Decanus held his ground. The two that charged reached us first, my swing bounced off their armored forelegs, one of them landing a vicious slash on my ribs. “Oh shit.” I swore and managed to land a blow at the base of the wing of the one still in front. “Keep an eye on the air!” A flash of green and a thump of armored flesh hitting the road was all I got in response. Four to go. The leader stood still, silently gauging the situation. Why he didn’t join in the brawl was beyond me, but I managed to thump one of the griffins on the head hard enough to take it down. One of the griffins came in low from behind and cut through the straps holding Chrysalis to my back. She fell off with a soft cry of pain but managed to stun the griffon before he could take the opportunity to hurt her The two griffins that had remained airborne were coming out of a steep climb and were approaching me with their claws ready to strike. One of them managed to grab my staff when I tried to strike him and tore it from my grip. The other slammed into me, cracking more than a few ribs as he crushed me to the ground. He immediately began tearing into my flesh with his talons, his hind legs keeping me down in a crushing grip. One swipe and my face made half my world go blank, and I screamed in pain as I felt something wet dribble down my torn up face. I barely heard the thump behind me as the griffin who had disarmed me used the staff to knock out Chrysalis. The griffin on my chest grabbed a handful of my beard and yanked my head up painfully. “Do you yield?” He roared in my face. All I could do was spit in his face. I was rewarded with my head being slammed hard into the ground, sending stars floating in my limited vision. My hands were still free, so I reached up and closed my fingers around his throat as hard as I could. My opponent let go of my beard and began clawing at my arms to no avail, I would not let go. His eyes bulged slightly as I crushed his neck with as much force as I could muster, his face starting to go blue. Something hard impacted my skull, and the world swam away in a swirl of stars and red mist. “Awaken, young Walker.” I jerked and opened my eyes, still feeling woozy. I was lying in a large open plain of grass that ran endlessly in every direction, only interrupted by what looked like a red haze on the horizon. Above me was a clear star filled sky and a moon much larger than I had ever seen. Despite this everything was illuminated as in the middle of the day. My head was still ringing, so I put a hand to the back of my head expecting it to feel wet with blood. “Relax. Thou art merely asleep.” Said a female voice coming from somewhere to my right. I turned to see a blue haired woman in a rather modest dark blue dress with a crescent moon motif on the hips. I slowly got to my feet, surprised that I didn’t fall over. “Who are you? I’m asleep? What?” I didn’t have time to be asleep, there was a fight going on. “Do not worry. Thou art not in peril. Neither are thine... companions.” The woman answered with a thin smile, dismay obvious in her voice. “Companions? Does that mean the changeling is safe?” I asked, rubbing my curiously short hair and stubble-free chin. “Who are you, and what’s with the ye olde english?” The corners of her mouth twitched upwards in amusement. “You are not harmed, neither are your companions. They are safe... for now at least.” Every trace of the old-timey speech was gone from her voice, replaced by modern english. “As for mine name...” Except a few lilts I noticed, as if she were not used to speaking like this. “You may call me Máni. It is not my name, but it is close enough. I believe thou know mine sister.” “Máni... Why does that sound familiar?” The name rung a bell, something I knew about from long ago. “And your sister? I believe I’d remember meeting the sister of such a beauty as yourself.” I smiled at her, she was indeed beautiful. Tall and slender, and there was something enticing about her modest dress. Something in the back of my head was certain that she looked somewhat familiar, as if I had indeed met someone much like her, though my mind insisted that this familiarity did not extend to their fashion choices. She rolled her eyes at my flirting, but her smile did look slightly more genuine. “I can not tell you. In fact, should you remember me when you wake or meet my sister again I implore that you do not mention our meeting.” Máni sighed and her face fell slightly. “Something about... meddling, tipping scales.” I scratched my head and shrugged. “Eh, I have no idea who you’re talking about anyway, but sure. I’ll keep your ‘meddling’ secret.” I winked at her and grinned. “So, I am asleep? What’s with the boring landscape? I assumed that my dreams would be more... exciting maybe.” Máni rolled her eyes once more and waved her hand. The landscape melted, only to be replaced by a small study. The walls were lined with large bookcases filled with books and scrolls. On the floor was a blue rug with a strange, but beautiful pattern of the night sky. One wall was occupied with a large fireplace that crackled merrily and gave off a pleasant heat. In front of it stood two high-backed chairs with red silk upholstery. Between them stood a small table with two steaming cups of tea. We stood behind the chairs, and she moved to take a seat. “Better? ‘Tis naught but a template, we are in your mind after all. You may change it to your liking, but I ask that you do not, we have much to talk about.” “This works.” I said and took a seat in the chair opposite hers, relishing the warmth flowing from the fireplace. “May I?” I gestured to the cup nearest to me. She nodded and took up her own cup, taking a sip. I mirrored her gesture, it was just tea. A rather good tea, but just tea. “This is a most wonderful blend.” The blue haired woman said with a sigh. “Before you ask, it is taken from your memories. Not mine. I find that letting the dreamers mind pick the flavour gives me a chance to taste something new.” She scrunched up her nose as if at a bad memory. “‘Tis not always wise...” I sipped the tea and put it down. It was familiar, but I couldn’t for the life of me place where I had tasted it before. “Huh. I can’t remember this tea.” She smirked. “You would not. It is from your past, it will return in time.” Her empty cup clinked slightly as she placed it back on the plate. “So...” I said and placed my legs on a footrest that hadn’t been there a second earlier. “You wanted to talk?” This had to be the most boring dream I had ever had which involved a woman. I wondered what this said about my psyche. The woman leaned forward and clasped her hands beneath her chin. “Yes. Our time is limited, but there should be time. I wish to ask of your plans now that you have reached... civilisation.” I shrugged and leaned back in my chair. It was rather comfortable, and after so many years in the wild it felt extremely good. “I don’t know. To be honest I have no idea where we are, or what’s going to happen. All I’ve done is walk towards the sunrise every day.” I sighed as I felt some of the tension in my back slacken. “I’ve just assumed that it was east, and that some day I’d probably hit some sort of settlement or something.” Máni frowned. “You do not know your purpose here?” I raised an eyebrow and peered over at the now reclining woman. “Purpose? I’ve been walking across this god-forsaken planet for what? 40 years or so? I have no bloody idea darling.” Her frown deepened and she steepled her fingers in front of her face. “That is rather unfortunate, but it is not my place to tell you.” “I’m not looking for a purpose.” I said with a shrug. “I just want to help Chryssie find her own people if there are any left. Besides the one we just found that is.” “Chryssie?” Máni snickered. “Do you mean Chrysalis? The changeling ‘Queen’?” “Yep. We found one, should be more, right?” I closed my eyes and relaxed even more. “The whole changeling thing is weird though.” I chuckled and yawned. How in the world could I feel tired in a dream? “Did you know that she tried to take over my mind? Heh. that was awkward.” “She did so indeed. Were you not warned? Should you not be furious at her?” I cracked open an eye and looked over at her, she was still relaxed, no tension in her body at all as she sipped at her tea.. “What would that accomplish? It didn’t work, and I know she’s sorry.” “How do you know that she is sincere? It could be a trick.” I chuckled. “That’s the weirdest thing. I can feel it. After the whole ordeal I can sense her emotions. It ain’t strong, but I know they’re not mine.” My mouth curled into a smirk. “Apparently she’s in love with me. Weirdest thing ever.” Máni did a spit-take, her tea going in an almost perfect arc to the floor. “What? That’s impossible!” “You sound just like her. Told you it was weird.” “It is indeed.” She said and dabbed at her mouth with a handkerchief. For a moment her form blurred into that of a blue horse with wings and a horn, but changed back so fast that I wasn’t sure it had even happened. “Changelings are incapable of feeling love. It is physically impossible.” I just shrugged. “I have no idea. We’re not even the same species. No matter what she says about being able to remedy that.” “Quite. It is strange. And yourself, do you reciprocate this infatuation of hers?” I remained silent for a minute, trying to imagine what it would be like to be in a romantic relationship with my chitinous friend. “No. I don’t think so. We’re friends, sure, but that’s as far as it goes.” I frowned. “She’s beautiful, in an exotic way, and I trust her not to violate my mind again Maybe someday I’ll feel the same, but not now.” My hands clenched. “It would just be too weird.” Máni smirked. “Love is blind.” I scoffed. “Sure, but I’m not. I’ve only known her for two and a half weeks.” My hands relaxed and I fell back into the chair. “I’m sure it’ll pass. Maybe we’ll find a nice changeling she can love instead of me. I don’t want her to love me just because I saved her back then.” “I’m sure she has her reasons. You are quite charming, in a rugged sort of way.” Máni said and placed her empty cup back on the table. “Changelings do not love, but somehow she feels love towards you. It is... strange.” The world around us began to fade, and I sat up abruptly. “What’s going on?” I asked, getting to my feet as the walls began to shimmer and become translucent.. “It seems our time is up. ‘Twas interesting to meet you, Walker.” Máni said and got up from her chair, which promptly vanished. “Sure, whatever. You sure talked a lot for being a figment of my imagination. I expected... less clothes involved, more sweat and grunts too.” I said with a resigned sigh. I wouldn’t have minded seeing what was behind that dress, it hinted at shapes in all the right places. Máni only smirked, before she too disappeared, followed shortly by the world.