A Story Told

by Lil Penpusher

Taken Away

The following day, just as the sun began to rise, a small column left the barracks of Baltimare. It was not a formation of soldiers, however, but one of convicts. The group was no bigger than ten stallions, guarded and escorted by a group of soldiers. The criminals could not only see but also feel themselves being watched at all times by their guards, as they made sure to keep a constant eye on them in case they ‘tried anything funny’.

Amongst these poor stallions was Edmond Dash, as well. His smile, his genuine, joyful smile which he used to carry with him most of the day, had disappeared completely. His mane and coat were soaked wet, the soldiers had woken him and the others with two buckets of ice cold water. The night itself had seemed incredibly long, almost eternal to Edmond. He spent the early parts of the night simply sitting silently in his temporary cell within the barracks. He sat there, thinking. At first he thought of Danglarjack and how he had just tossed away their friendship and betrayed him. Was the friendship artificial, after all? Had Danglarjack simply played a game with him all these years?

But all of that didn’t matter anymore once Edmond’s mind drifted off to what really mattered to him: Shycedes.
It pained him to imagine what would happen to her and how she would think of him in the near future. Edmond broke out into tears as he imagined Shycedes throwing away her ring, imagining her disappointment and anger towards him. Their deep, loving relationship would be forgotten and, so Edmond thought, so would he.

When it was just about midnight, Edmond, cheeks still wet from his fresh tears, attempted to finally get a bit of rest. It took him an hour to even fall asleep, the crickets of the night taunting him from the outside; laughing at him, insulting him, driving him mad.
When he did fall asleep, his slumber turned out to be one big nightmare. The very images and thoughts that had circulated his mind that night before he laid down now plagued his dreams. Only that now he was practically part of these thoughts, this world. This world that seemed just too real to him. He watched his fiancée throw her ring into the consuming water of the docks, followed up with the heartbreaking phrase “Forever gone, forever forgotten.”
Edmond, standing just behind her as she said this, dashed forward to pull his loved one into a tight, never-ending embrace. This proved impossible, however, as he simply passed right through Shycedes. As Edmond was left wondering, Shycedes turned around, not at all influenced by what had just happened, and left the docks. Edmond was left alone, left by his one, true love and unable to even touch her anymore. Edmond was no more, for Shycedes. He was dead, long forgotten.

It was at that point that Edmond finally woke up, a splash of cold water ripping his dream world apart in an instant, his eyes shooting open. He was glad for the unpleasant wake-up, however. It had at least freed his mind from all the sorrow and doubts for a few moments.

Shortly after this, following a brief ‘breakfast’ consisting of water and a small bit of lettuce, Edmond and the other so called ‘scum’ were lead out of their cells and out of the barracks. They all knew where they were headed, what was awaiting them.

The soldiers that escorted them were brutal and ruthless, even going as far as beating one of the other convicts with the butt of their guns for the simple reason of him failing to keep up with the others. These kind of incidents continued all along their march to the docks, with different stallions of the group being beaten, pushed around, insulted and laughed at. Edmond himself had already muted their voices, those soulless cackles.

As they finally entered the docks, they immediately noticed the vessel, the prisoner ship, that would take them to what was supposed to be their doom, their demise. Many within the group, even those who appeared tough when leaving the barracks, now began shivering. The mere sight of the ship frightened them, yet they were forced to keep going, with brute force if necessary.

The ship itself was fairly small for a prisoner ship, yet frightening to those which it was supposed to transport either way. As Edmond and the rest of the group were lead onto the rather small plank that lead aboard the ship, a horrible incident occurred. The stallion right in front of Edmond lost his balance as he was halfway across the plank, and he eventually slipped, falling off the plank into the cold water. Edmond froze briefly, staring at the stallion as he struggled to keep himself above water. The soldiers, equally surprised by this incident, quickly attempted to rescue him, while also ordering Edmond and the others to keep going. They couldn’t do anything but march aboard and listen to the helpless screams of the stallion. After only about 20 more seconds, his cries for help ceased. One within the group asked a soldier what had happened, and was unfortunately told that the stallion had drowned.

The ship left Baltimare shortly after. Edmond and the others had been lead below deck, where they were chained to a pole in the centre of the otherwise empty deck. All of them remained silent, laying on their backs. Nopony had the courage or will to speak up at this point. They had not even entered the prison of Hoofatraz yet, and already their spirit was as good as crushed. Edmond tilted his head over to the left a little where he could look out of an opening in the hull. He saw the city of Baltimare pass by in front of his very eyes, the city in which he had grown up in, and the city which he was surely never to see again. Shortly after, the cyan-coated pegasus’ head dropped to the ground, exhausted from a day that had only just begun.

His mind drifted off to what he now considered his ‘old’ life. He thought not of Danglarjack or even Fernand, but of his father, who was surely dying of worry at this moment, and especially Shycedes. He remembered that last night with her, how lovely she looked, how charming she talked. It was perfect. She was perfect. Edmond could only sigh and hope with all his might that Shycedes, too, would hold onto their love.

Comments

[Sollace]

8451517
Yaaaay!

Nice chapter by the way. I cen see you're improving on the things I pointed out

[Lil Penpusher]

8451677
... I am?

Oh, uh, yes! Of course! I meant to do that. Pfft, obviously. Duh.

[Sollace]

8452184