Brave

by Bright Keys

Chapter 3

“... This is the one who survived your Burned attack my liege. He also has a strange magic field surrounding him that we cannot identify.” The stranger’s voice seemed distant, as if far away.

“...This... equine is a threat to our supremacy.”

“Shall I execute him then?” Vaguely, I felt as if my head had been lifted, an unidentifiable cold item pressed against my neck.

"No." The other voice said, and I was dropped, which woke me up somewhat more.

"Was there any resistance in capturing this... interesting specimen?" The second voice asked.

"Yes. Two ponies rose to fight us. One was large, and swung a hammer, the other was some old fool who thought he was a unicorn." The blood in my veins turned to ice. There was only two ponies who matched that description who would defend me.

"And what of their fates?" The second asked.

"The large one has probably bled out by now, if their appearances reflect their medicine, and we took the elder's sight."

"I'll..." I forced out, trying to get up just to have something hit my back with enough force to pin me to the floor.

"You'll what puny pony? Fight through a hundred thousand highly trained soldiers who would like nothing more than to rip you apart?" The first voice said mockingly. I looked up and opened my eyes. I was lying on a red carpet that led up some stairs, where a griffon sat on a throne. The realization of where I was hit me like a cart of stone. I was in the griffon capital, far in the north. Far away from my village.

“What...” I tried to say, but my voice was weak and the thing pinning me to the ground was keeping me from breathing well enough to speak properly.

"Let our guest speak." The second voice said venomously, as if calling me his guest was difficult.

"As you wish my liege." The second voice said, and the thing pinning me down was lifted, air filling my lungs at last.

"Now that we're on more even terms, what would you like to say?" The second voice asked. I was too weak to stand, but I still was able to get a good look at the room I was in. It was large, with a marble floor, the red carpet leading up a series of steps to a throne, which a griffin sat upon, eyeing me carefully. Behind me was second gryphon, armed with a spear that I realized was the one keeping me down previously. After a few seconds of taking in my new surroundings, I spoke up.

"What do you want with me?" I asked.

"You have a very unique magical signature, even for a unicorn, which you are clearly not. We will find out what makes you unique so we can counter it and finally unite this world." I wanted to give him my own objective, seeing as it was practically the same, but I sensed a darkness. Something told me I should keep my intentions to myself.

“What do you want me to do with him my liege?” The gryphon behind me asked.

“Throw him in the prisons and add him to the list of subjects.” The griffon on the throne responded.

“It shall be done.” The other said, throwing me to my hooves and brandished his spear in my direction threateningly. He led me outside, where it was a large open area, covered in a white stone. Small groups of griffons were out training, some soaring through the sky and using weapons I’d never dreamed existed. Magical bows that fired seemingly invisible arrows that went straight through a target and stones that exploded when thrown. He continued to lead me into a building that went underground, and into a cell.

Surprisingly to me, he left the Amulet with me, and within moments I was left alone to contemplate my escape.

“Around your neck.” A voice said in a cell across from me, and a unicorn stepped out of the shadows. “Is that what I think it is?”
I remained silent.

“It’s okay. You can tell me.” She held out an amulet of her own, an orange disk with wavy spikes emanating from it. “I have my own.”

“What is that?” I asked, my curiosity captured by this mysterious emblem.

“To us it is called Cesan. It adorned the sky many years ago, and if you succeed, it will again.”

“And what have the gryphons put on your head?” I asked.

“What? You mean my horn?” She replied, to my surprise. I’d heard of ponies with horns, but I thought they were just stories. “It’s always been there.”

“You’re a unicorn?” I asked, amazed. “Can you really do magic?”

“Yes, I can, but the griffon’s machines interfere with it.” I had no clue what she was talking about. A few minutes passed, with nothing eventful happening. I had hoped I had gotten her off the subject of my quest, but eventually she piped up.

“I know about your quest.”

“Quite a bit more than I do I’d say.” I replied.

“If we can break out, I can get you to your next destination.”

“You know where I can find another gemstone?” I asked in surprise.

“My people have been guarding one for the past two hundred years.” She replied with hushed excitement.

“I don’t know if I can break us out, but if we get out of here, I will follow you.” I said. A few moments passed, the both of us thinking furiously of ways we could break out of our current predicament.

“You’re one of their “subjects” right?” She asked after a while.

“Yeah, why?” I reply

“Because if you’re an earth pony, and you’re one of their subjects, that means you’re very interesting, and that they’ll bump you up the list. Earth ponies are prized for their fabled strength, so you should easily be able to overpower the guard if you try.”

“And then what?” I asked, eager to hear more to this seemingly crazy scheme that would hopefully save our lives.

“We run like mad.”

Author's Note:

I have returned to this story!
No editing this time, so if there's any errors, I would appreciate it if you would tell me.
Yes, another cliffhanger >:)