Chapter 8
Paul sat on the bed provided for him in the guest room, looking down at his hands as the only thing that was going through his mind was his son. He internally cursed at himself for being unable to protect his boy during the storm and didn’t want to think of the potential outcome of him being badly hurt or worse, dead.
“Kyle…whatever it takes. No matter the cost. I’ll find you and make sure that you’re safe, before we find a way home.” The human promised himself before he heard a few knocks. Paul looked up to see one of the guards from earlier open the door, give a few grunted sounds and gestured his arm. He assumed that dinner was ready as he followed the guard back to the room he was in previously, when he first awoke in the strange, new world. Entering the room, the man saw a table in the center covered in a white cloth, with six chairs on both sides of the table and one at the head where The Wind King sat, eating away.
“Ah, my dear human!” The Wind King said in a pleasant tone. “Please, have a seat and help yourself! You’re just in time for the main course!”
Paul couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous at the last statement, until he saw some guards walk in with a couple serving dishes. The smell that emanated from them was more than enough to ease the human’s worry. He sat himself at one of the empty chairs and looked at the glass plate, cup, and fancy silverware before him before taking notice of the edibles. Most of the food looked completely foreign to the human but could pick out some familiar fruits and veggies. But it was when the meat was served that Paul raised an eyebrow, which The Wind King took notice of.
“What’s the matter? Do humans not partake in eating meat?”
“Yes, they do. It’s just…I’ve never seen any kind like this. If you don’t mind me asking, what type of meat is it?”
“Only the finest you’ll ever find around here, courtesy of the griffons! M’koue meat! It’s best when it’s freshly made!” The Wind King explained while cutting off a slice from some bones.
“Griffins?” Paul asked in a confused tone.
“Indeed!” Said The Wind King before taking a bite out of the meat. “I take it griffins don’t exist where you come from?”
“No, no they don’t. Except in myths and legends.” Paul answered back before stabbing what he assumed was a piece of broccoli, with his fork and eating it.
“Fascinating…”
The next minute of dinner was spent in silence as Paul looked around the room seeing all the markings and art adorning the walls. The same symbol he saw earlier once again captivated him.
“Something caught your eye?”
The Wind King’s voice broke Paul away from the wall and said, “Sorry, I was just intrigued with the art design, but yes there has. I’m very curious what that picture over there is.”
The satyr looked in the direction the human was pointing and his demeanor immediately changed.
“Oh…that.” The Wind King said in disgust.
The picture looked to be a big sun-like symbol with six gems orbiting around it. All seven looked as if they were raining down what looked to be a beam of light onto a creature that looked similar to The Wind King.
“I guess it’s something that you’d rather not discuss then?” Paul asked, going back to his dinner.
The Wind King breathed in before letting out a sigh of frustration and saying, “Well, since you already asked, I might as well be the one to tell you. My family was once rulers of a great nation beyond these waters. We co-existed with many creatures; yaks, griffins, dragons, and our most trusted allies: ponies. Together with our knowledge and their means to unite, all creatures lived together in peace, harmony and prosperity. But one dark day…without warning, the ponies invaded our home and declared war on our nation. It wasn’t just a rogue group of ponies either, they were led by none other than their own ruler…Celestia. With her influence, she convinced other tribes to fight against us and many lives were lost over the course of days. Despite our army’s numbers and my family’s best efforts, we were driven away from our home and forced to live here, in exile. The only tribe Celestia didn’t completely win over were the griffins who are still our only trusted allies. Even so, our land was now hers and was absorbed into her kingdom…Equestria.”
Paul could tell The Wind King held a lot of contempt for this “Celestia”, but remained quiet and let him continue.
“After news spread of the war, she made an effort to convince all her subjects that my family and inhabitants were the ‘real traitors’ and that she was the one who brought about a new age of peace. Of course not all creatures believed her, but most were too afraid to speak out against her because of her means to harness the power of the sun. And since Celestia’s life-span was beyond what any creature could ever dream of, being already over 1000 years old, not even her own subjects questioned her.”
The human’s eyes went wide after hearing the number and said, “1000 years old?!? How can anybody live to be that old? And how exactly does she harness the power of the sun?”
“She has the power of moving the sun and the moon on her own. She could have it to where it might be everlasting daylight or perpetual nightfall if she ever felt it was necessary to show her power to her subjects and keep them in line.”
“How is that possible?” The human asked in disbelief.
“She was infused with magical abilities at a young age and has grown powerful over the years. And knowing her, she wouldn’t hesitate to punish any-creature that defies her rule or gets in her way. She even sentenced her own sister to the moon for a long time to prove her point.”
“That almost sounds absurd. Where I’m from the sun and the moon move by themselves. If this Celestia is as powerful as you claim, I wouldn’t want to even think of her visiting Earth. But getting back on topic, who is that in the picture there? It almost looks like…you.”
The Wind King turned his head, stared at the mural for a few moments in solemn silence before standing up and walking over to it. He put his palm on the image of the satyr.
“My father…he was one of the last ones who tried to take back our home and avenge our fallen soldiers and mother. Unfortunately, his best efforts ended in vain and cost him his troops and ultimately, his life. I said earlier that Celestia has the power of the sun at her beck and call, but she used something just as powerful to finish him off as a warning to other races who would attempt such a thing again. I do not know what they are exactly, but from what I understand, they are magically infused gems with tremendous power. It was the last known time they were ever used by her. That was over 50 years ago.”
The room was silent for a few moments before the human said, “You have my condolences. I can certainly understand what it’s like to lose someone close to you. It must’ve been hard to live alone for the last 50 years.”
“No, I wasn’t alone.” The Wind King said as returned to the table. “I still had a legion of troops with me that pledged to defend me and…him.”
“Him?” Paul asked curiously.
“My brother. He and I were the last of our family’s bloodline after our father died. We both swore vengeance against the ponies who invaded us and the other tribes who abandoned us. We knew that an all-out assault on Equestria was a suicide mission, so instead the two of us spent years expanding our influence and building up our forces. Even with what we had done, both of us knew that it still wasn’t enough to challenge Celestia. That is until we heard of a powerful artifact that could bring any army, no matter how strong, to heel.”
The human’s eyebrow widened a bit at the last sentence and listened even more intently.
“It was said to be located in an isolated region far beyond the mapping borders. Both of us ventured there with some troops, only to be greeted with an unwelcome wagon of heavy resistance. Both sides suffered major losses, but fortunately our search proved fruitful and we found the artifact: The Staff of Sacanas. Little did I realize though, that my brother secretly wanted the staff for himself and wanted to rule alone. Yes, my own sibling betrayed me. We fought each other and despite my best efforts, I was overpowered and left imprisoned in stone.”
Paul simply said nothing and continued to listen to the story.
“Nothing…I felt nothing for months, except the hatred and contempt I had for the only other surviving family member I had left. It was almost as much as what I felt towards Celestia. I had swore to punish him if I ever got free, which eventually I did by some stroke of luck. But by then, I had heard that he had been slain by none other than a pupil of Celestia herself. One who recently ascended to princesshood. Twilight Sparkle…just the very name irritates me!”
The Wind King scraped his fork against the table as he mentioned the pony’s name, which garnered a worried look from Paul. The satyr noticed and as quick as his anger rose, he calmed himself just as fast.
“My apologies, Paul. Whenever I think about what’s happened within the past decades, it’s enough to bring my anger out…even among those I trust. But please, don’t hesitate to ask any questions.”
The human kept silent as he went back to eating for the remainder of dinner. After he was full, Paul needed to ask the important question lingering in his mind.
“Thank you for the dinner, Wind King. I’m sorry to ask so soon, but is there any potential news regarding my boy?”
“There is indeed. Both good and bad.”
Paul gave The Wind King his full undivided attention.
“The good news is that your son is in fact here in this world and alive.”
“And the bad…?” The human asked anxiously.
“Bad news is that he’s been captured and imprisoned.”
“WHAT?!?” Paul asked, standing up from the table. “Who’s got Kyle?!? And what are they doing to him?!?”
“Calm down!” The Wind King said with a slight hint of authority in his voice. “One of my agents informed me from an earlier report that the Hippogriffs had captured a creature with the same species name you used. And judging from the description, it must be your son.”
“Hippogriffs? As in the half eagle, half horse type of creatures?”
“Indeed. They too are on the side of the ponies of Equestria. They must think he’s a potential enemy.”
“If they hurt my boy…I will slash every last one of their feathers off.” Paul said in a dark tone as he gripped his fork tightly and stabbed a piece of meat on his plate. “Do you have the means to send an army to save him?”
“Unfortunately no. At least, not at this time. Thanks to my idiot brother’s incompetence and greed, my armies and forces have dropped down by 70%. And with my enemies on high alert, I can’t spare the numbers to commence a rescue mission.”
Paul slammed a fist on the table as he swore under his breath and clenched his teeth.
“But there might be a way.”
The human looked up with curious eyes and simply asked, “How?”
“There is something I want to show you. But it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I have other pressing matters to attend to for the rest of the evening. For now, my guards will escort you back to your room or if you like, they can take you to the library so you don’t bore yourself.”
“I’ll head back to the guest room, thank you.”
With that, Paul followed a few guards that gave low grunts until The Wind King was alone at the dinner table.
“So far, so good. Everything’s going according to plan.”
Silence. That was the best way to describe the hallways inside the prison cells. Aside from the occasional water dripping ambience, nothing made a sound, not even the only human who sat alone. As it was, Kyle just sat on his bed hugging his knees tightly and stared blankly at the floor as if he were in a state of trance.
Just then, the sound of a door unlocked nearby, but the noise didn’t seem to register in Kyle’s mind. It wasn’t long before the familiar green hippogriff, Air Burst, stopped in front of the cell door, unlocked it and entered with a bowl of food, a wooden spoon and a small glass of water.
“I’m sorry it took so long to bring this and I’m sure you’re probably starving, so here you go.”
The hippogriff put the contents down next to the boy, but he didn’t seem to pay any mind.
“I’m not sure if this is what humans even eat, but it’s the only thing I could bring.”
Kyle said nothing as he only continued to gaze at the floor.
“Well, enjoy your meal.” Air Burst said before making his way out of the cell.
“Thank you.”
The sound of the human’s voice caught the hippogriff slightly off guard and he turned around to see him looking over at the bowl’s contents. The food looked like porridge rice with some chopped up veggies and tidbits of fish all mixed together. Kyle slowly reached his hand over to the wooden utensil, scooped up some of the porridge and looked at it with a cautious eye.
“Don’t worry, it’s not poisoned. We wouldn’t do that to prisoners of any kind.” Air Burst said with assurance.
Kyle continued to stare at the contents a few more seconds before bringing it to his mouth and expecting the worst. To his surprise, it wasn’t as bad as he thought. It wasn’t the best thing he ever tasted, but it wasn’t terrible. After swallowing it, he scooped up some more and ate it. The hippogriff decided to stay and keep the boy company and stood close by. Many questions went through Air Burst’s mind, but let the human eat in peace. Kyle finished the rest of the meal in silence, while occasionally having a sip of water to help drain it down. Once done, he handed the bowl and glass back to Air Burst and gave a small burp.
“Excuse me.” The boy said timidly.
“It’s alright.” Air Burst replied and took the contents from Kyle’s hands, putting them on the nearby table. “I’m surprised you ate it that quickly. I can’t say it’s top of the line food we have around here, but truthfully, I didn’t know if it was even edible for…humans, right?”
“It was, yes.” Kyle answered, not daring to look at the hippogriff.
Wanting to make the human feel better, Air Burst decided to change the subject.
“So what’s your world like? Is it similar to this one or is it different on a major scale?”
Kyle only responded with his teeth chattering and holding his arms together.
“Are you freezing? Do humans usually get cold easily?”
The boy nodded at the hippogriff before giving off a sneeze.
“Hold on. I’ll be right back and get something for you.” Said Air Burst as he left the cell, locked the door, and quickly zoomed out of the block. Kyle had some ideas of what he was bringing back, which gave him a slight bit of optimism that he only had one time after waking up in the strange new world. It wasn’t long before Air Burst returned to the cell, with both a blanket and a pillow.
“Here you go. This should warm you up and help you sleep better. Just be sure not to let Wind Soar see any of it.”
Kyle threw the blanket around himself and soon his shivering subsided. When he felt better, the human looked up at Air Burst with an inquisitive look.
“Thank you, again. But…why?”
“Even though you’re under confinement, I still believe in treating prisoners with well deserved respect.” Air Burst replied with a small smile.
“No I mean, why do people think I’m part of some ‘Storm King’s army?’ I don’t know any Storm King or any army of his for that matter. Who even is this Storm King?”
Air Burst thought long and hard of how to answer the boy’s question before sitting down next to him.
“Many hippogriffs right now are scared because we’ve been at war for several years against the Storm King and his armies. To put him simply, he was a power-hungry, maniacal tyrant who was bent on world domination. Thankfully he’s been defeated, but his armies continue to ravage, conquer other lands, and even use other creatures to fight for them. So seeing a new creature we know nothing about raises a lot of questions as well as suspicions about where they come from. I am certain that you’re completely innocent, but…as you’ve experienced for yourself, some of the other soldiers are not so optimistic.”
“Like Wind Soar?” The boy asked.
“Yes…he was affected heavily from war.”
“Is that why he’s so angry and grouchy all the time?”
“That’s putting it lightly, but yes.”
“Why?”
“Well, it happened shortly after The Storm King’s defeat when we were given an assignment to liberate Klugetown from the Storm King’s armies. Lieutenant Beak, led a platoon of soldiers to seize one of the enemy’s strongholds. Wind Soar and I were part of the unit. We fought long and hard, but eventually we broke through their defense and overpowered them with minimal casualties. As we continued on, we came across a cage with a strange looking creature we had never seen before. Judging from the look of it, it looked like a child. Lieutenant Beak took pity on it and freed it from its confines. But little did we know, it was all a trap. Once free, the creature sprung into action, used a hidden blade and fatally stabbed one of the soldiers. Lieutenant Beak was quick to subdue and hold it in place while the rest of the team tried to care for the soldier who was stabbed. Everygriff was in shock, but none more so than Wind Soar…”
Kyle waited in anxious anticipation to hear the reason why.
“The one who was stabbed was none other than Private Peacock. She held a special place in his heart. Before our mission to Klugetown, Wind Soar was more upbeat and would even playfully brag from time to time. Most of his free time was spent with her. I had heard rumors that he even convinced higher officers to let him go on some missions Peacock went on. I could tell they were very close and with how badly she was wounded, it forever changed him. There wasn’t enough time to get her medical help and……Wind Soar has never been the same since then.”
Kyle stared back at the hippogriff with dread as he let the information sink in. He was silent for a moment before asking, “What happened to the creature that did it?”
Air Burst said nothing as he turned his head to the side, closed his eyes and let out a sigh through his nostrils. Kyle understood the gesture as his eyes widened and his heart sank.
“Now you understand why.”
The human was too afraid to say anything else at this point and Air Burst could tell.
“You have my promise that Lieutenant Beak and I will do everything we can to help you out. But until our queen returns, I need you to do something for me. I need you to be strong and make it through the next two weeks. Can you do this?”
Kyle looked over at the hippogriff and stared at him carefully before giving a nod of approval. Air Burst then stood himself up.
“I know I’m asking you to toughen it out, but when it’s over the lieutenant and I will make things right. Try and get some sleep. I’ll bring you breakfast when I can tomorrow.”
With that the hippogriff exited the cell, closed the door and locked it before leaving the cell block. Kyle sat alone, wrapped in his blanket and silently sobbed at the dark details from Air Burst’s story.
“So Silverstream.” Sky Beak said, taking a bite of some delicious stew. “Where should we visit first when we get to Ponyville?”
As Silverstream and her father were eating dinner, the former was thinking of how to make her plan work without sounding suspicious. “I was originally thinking of visiting the School of Friendship first to ask about next year’s classes, but I think it would be great to see some of the professor’s homes first and introduce you to them!”
“I’m certainly down for that.” The father hippogriff chuckled at his daughter’s enthusiasm. “Any other places you would recommend we visit while we’re there?”
“None in particular, but our professors always tell us to stay away from the Everfree Forest. In it lurks all kinds of unknown horrors that would make Professor Dash feel uneasy about and she’s not the type to scare easily.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sky Beak said before noticing his daughter looking slightly gloomy. “What is it? You were excited just a moment ago. Was it something I said?”
“No it’s just…” Silverstream stopped before looking up at her father. “I can’t stop thinking about Kyle. Why did they have to lock him up? He did nothing wrong!”
“It’s not that simple m-”
“You saw and spoke to him yourself! He was scared! He was afraid! He was harmless!”
“I know Silverstream, bu-”
“And to boot, he’s probably even more terrified being interrogated for stuff he doesn’t even know about by that mean brute!”
“SILVERSTREAM!” Sky Beak’s voice roared through the house that made his daughter freeze in fear as he asserted himself. “That ‘mean brute’ is someone I’ve known far longer than you have! And I will not hear you speak about him that way ever again! Is that understood?”
“...Yes dad…” Silverstream responded in a pipsqueak like tone.
“Now…” The elder hippogriff sat himself back down, more composed and calm as before. “I sympathize with how you feel about our young friend. I too saw how distressed he was and I want to help him out in any way I can. But I can’t. It’s out of my control until your aunt returns home from the Crystal Empire.”
Just then, a brilliant idea popped into Silverstream’s head.
“But what if it was?”
“What do you mean?” Sky Beak asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I mean, you just said that Aunt Novo is in the Crystal Empire right? So what if she received a message about Kyle and his unfair imprisonment?”
“Unfortunately, by the time any letter reaches the far north, she’ll already be on her way back to Mount Aris. So what are we even talking about?”
“I’m talking about a speedy, direct message!”
Sky Beak gave his daughter a blank look, still not knowing what she meant. Silverstream gave out a sigh before fully explaining herself.
“In Ponyville, Headmare Twilight has a baby dragon assistant who has the ability to send messages to close friends. So what if she were able to forward a letter to her sister-in-law, Princess Cadance, for her to give to the queen?”
Sky Beak thought long and hard about Silverstream’s idea. Before saying anything, he looked his daughter dead in the eye.
“Before I say anything about this plan, I want you to be honest with me. Was going to Headmare Twilight about this the REAL reason why you wanted to go back to Ponyville in the first place?”
Silverstream felt herself breathing anxiously as if trapped. Feeling like a child caught in the act, she desperately wished she could’ve taken back what she said and just kept her mouth shut. But as is, all she could do was answer back with a nervous, “Umm…yes…”
“I see.”
The father hippogriff stood up and was silent for a moment before saying, “We will go and see Headmare Twilight when we first get to Ponyville. BUT! You will let me do all the talking with her about the situation. I don’t want to make things any more complicated than they need to be.”
“So we’re going to help Kyle?” The younger hippogriff asked with a hopeful look.
With a confident nod from Sky Beak, Silverstream embraced her father tightly while throwing a pluthero of thank yous toward him. The two soon finished their dinner and as they were picking up, Sky Beak thought about the possible repercussions from the plan.
‘This will come back to bite me I’m sure. But I don’t care. That boy deserves better than this!’
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I'm so very thankful to see a new chapter from you, I do hope that Princess Twilight can help out Silverstream with getting Kyle out of this predicament that he's in. But like the old saying goes: Anything that can go wrong, WILL go wrong.
Stay strong for us, Kyle. Good to have a new chapter from you again
New chapter yyeeeaaahhhh! ) Thank you so much!
Waiting for next chapters :)
LETS GO KYLE!
I really like where this story is going. I want to read more!
11637949
Sorry I haven't been very active with this story lately. Between working full time and working out at the gym, my creative drive hasn't been what it used to be. I definitely want to write more, but I don't want to force myself either.
11638067
That's ok I'll be patient, I like your work so far.
Don't worry, Sky Beak. I'm pretty sure Karma is more interested in biting your Captain.