Diary of a Young Griff

by Isuvyw

XXI: Entries 64 to 67

18^th of Meadowmonth

We came back from the trial yesterday. It was very stressful, and unreasonably long. I nearly fainted from shock. Gabriel was by my side always, trying to be as helpful as possible. He said I didn’t have to go. I appreciate his efforts. I told him that I had to stand for ourselves, and for Sven. I wasn’t going to back off when my enemies were now cornered.

It was noisy and chaotic. Miss Hawkrose tried a wonderful range of techniques, including the blame-it-on-others. I think she overused the denial technique, because at one point her lawyers gave up and she had to hire new ones. So much for defense.

Our prosecution had enough evidence, and strong ones as well. You were only used for reference, not as solid evidence, but that doesn’t matter. You have done your part.

They tried four main ponies. Including miss Hawkrose’s son, Fern. And his friends. They were my abusers. I will never forget the fear in his eyes, when I testified against him. I allowed myself to enjoy it, to savor it. To feel the fear of my enemy who was now at my mercy.

Fern and his gang were charged with rape, sexual abuse, drug abuse, and violence. Miss Hawkrose was charged with abuse, ponyslaughter, negligence, and about a hundred other complicated legal words. Miss Penny and miss Syringe were also charged, though I forgot what it was. At least miss Penny was nice. They both got five years in prison. Miss Hawkrose was given fifty. Fern and his gang were given five years prison and five years released under strict surveillance.

I don’t know what to say about the whole thing. Much has been put to rest, but there is still so much to put to rest.

I need time to recover. All this is draining my strength.

***

20^th of Meadowmonth

We came back from the funeral. It was hard, to say the least. And tiring. Matilda is now resting with her son. Princess Celestia generously paid for us some accommodations – simple ones, by our request.

In truth, I am at a loss at what to do. I’m worried for Matilda more than myself, because she has a son. We have no home, no place to go. No friends or relatives.

Matilda has suffered so much heartbreak. Seeing Sven again opened up her wounds. Wounds which run deep. I wish I could help her, but I think she needs some time to herself.

As for myself, what’s there for me? No place to call home, nogriff to call friend or relative – I am basically an orphan. That’s why I said that I am at a loss. I just don’t know what to do.

I just don’t know what to do.

***

21^st of Meadowmonth

We didn’t know what to do today, so we visited Risk in the hospital – Sven’s friend; the newspapers like to call him "The sixth creature." Sven rarely mentioned him, and we saw him only once or twice during our time in the boiler room.

I don’t know why, but he also got abandoned. He got buried in another part of the boiler room. He broke both his back legs and is suffering a gangrenous hoof. Well, sadly, he said the doctors have to cut it off before it infects the rest of his body.

He tried to cope with his losses patiently. But I saw the pain in his eyes. So much hurt. He broke when I told him Sven’s last words. I tried to comfort as much as I could. I don’t know if what I did could be considered comfort.

We went for a quiet stroll around the city, for Matilda and Tristan to get some fresh air. Princess Celestia had bestowed on us a sack of bits, as restitution. I know Matilda was not impressed, but we had no money or any possessions, so we accepted her good grace. Anyway, I deposited most of it at the bank and used some of the remaining to buy ice-cream for the both of us.

We watched the sunset together. That’s hardly a significant thing.

I feel sad. I guess I’m also trying to recover from all the shock we went through. I feel so unsure of myself.

I will try. Sven’s words still ring in my mind. But I just don’t know how to go about it. I hope I will eventually.

***

22^nd of Meadowmonth

Matilda and I had a small chat. Nothing serious, just trying to get our minds off of all the pain of the previous days. I discovered that she likes bread, and she discovered that I like tomatoes. I discovered she likes hearing me speak my dialect, while she found out that I like south Griffish tunes. Not much, and we also had long awkward pauses in between.

Tristan adjusted to normal life quite fast. He now does what every baby does – cry, eat, take a dump here and there, and sleep for hours. I am losing sleep because I have to change his nappies two or three times at night. Matilda obviously makes me do it.

We brought back our book collection. I read Rown ag Meagis, and read a book on anatomy. Beautiful drawings, especially on the “Reproduction” section.

I’m just trying all I can to move on. Matilda is still coping with Sven’s death, and I am contemplating on my future.

I’m wondering if I should move to Gryphonia. Back to my homeland. Back to the source of my blood.

Comments

[NightFlame389]

We didn’t know what to do today, so we visited Risk in the hospital – Sven’s friend; the newspapers like to call him "The sixth creature."

ah, that's who that was

anyway you get a fav now

[J-90]

Wonderful chapter and tale overall. Really got some emotions up here and there.
And now to press the fave-button.

[StarzGecko]

I wonder what they did afterwards? Hopefully they find a place to call home

[Teraunce]

Yep you still get ±4 stars out of 5 for killing Sven. Good story but I'm still mad.

[Scyphi]

Beautiful drawings, especially on the “Reproduction” section.

Yeah, figured there would still be some parts of Gabriel that weren't going to change thaaaat much.

Glad we got this chapter. We needed this context of what they did/how they responded to the immediate aftermath of it all, and some indications of how they eventually moved on. Part of me wishes we learned just where exactly they ended up settling down...but at the same time, it's not really critical to the story to know. We don't necessarily need all the details on what they did past this point after all, only enough to be able to piece together the basics for ourselves, and I think, with this chapter, we got that.

Since I already commented on what's now the final chapter when it first posted, I'll just go ahead and say here this was indeed a pretty good story, with a rough spot here and there, but it accomplished what it ultimately set out to do nicely, and at the end of the day, that's all it needed to do.

My only real criticism was the rapid-fire pace of the ending. It still sticks the landing well enough, rest assured, but it was effectively dropping major meteorites of plot-upheavals on us readers without giving us any time to react, process, and respond to the impact of each before the next one hit and drew out attention away from the one previous. Part of that can be forgiven because of the medium the story was being told through, which would naturally lean in that direction, but it would've still been nice if we still had a few transitional entries in there to bridge a couple of gaps and give us readers the chance for it to sink in the full depth of what was happening, allowing for the full emotional effect you were clearly wanting to take hold.

But ultimately that can just be a tip to consider for future stories. This is one of those stories where I think it's at the point it's just better to let it stand as-is and enjoy it for what it is.

[Truthseeker]

Miss Hawkrose was given fifty. Fern and his gang were given five years prison and five years released under strict surveillance.

That's it!? Seriously? Five measly years for inflicting lifelong injuries and trauma? There really is no justice.

[ponygrad]

An excellent story all around. A lot of narrative shifts but it never felt like I had already read the good parts or like my favorite narrator was gone. I do think though this would have been stronger if it was set in the past. That would make the barbarity more believable if it was some institution Celestia had more recently inherited.