The Zalem Witchcraft Trials

“The sentence will be as follows…” Stanford said to them, “She will undergo our most traditional way of identifying witchery. She will have a rope tied to her neck and casted over a bridge. If the rope breaks and she falls to the river then she will indeed be a witch.”

“Your honor, this is completely unfair!” Firebird Wright yelled. “This sentence of yours always ends up the same! With the perpetrator ending up guilty of witchcraft. The traditional way CANNOT be the most efficient way.”

“That goes to show how much my verdicts are correct! If it proves that they are guilty every time, it further proves that my verdicts are true! This case has now ended, and will cast forth it’s punishment in 2 days at dawn.”

Bang

“This trail is now over, Elisabeth will have one day of freedom until she is arrested, then she will be taken to where she will serve her punishment” Stanford said as ponies began to leave.

“Elisabeth…” Firebird said to her as they headed to the door.

“You know you don’t have to say anything…Firebird…” she had her head down.

They came upon the door entrance. Darkness overcame them as the closed the door behind them. Elisabeth gazed at the sky. She began to wonder how life would be when she was gone. Was John going to remarry? Will the accusations ever come to a stop? All these surfaced her mind. But she pushed them all away as thought of how John will be without her…She looked at Firebird. He looked back at her, her face looked worried, but later turned to a slight smile.

“Why are you so sad Firebird?” She asked plainly. “I..I couldn’t do anything, I felt helpless. I couldn’t help you Elisabeth, I did not know about this judge, I did not believe that he would break his temper this way. I just couldn’t accomplish what I had promised you…” He had his head down as he said this. “It is not your fault. It is the fault of jealousy and vengeance, vengeance that was pent up for a while. This is the work of the disharmony that is discord. So much had been gathering up for all the neighbors and Apple Gail, that the first chance they get, they would turn against their own” She said reflecting on what she believed transpired.

They both looked at the sky, filling their souls with darkness. After a while a faint familiar voice was heard in the distance. “Elisabeth…” John said stopping next to her. He noticed Firebird and nodded his head at him. “You have done well Firebird Wright. Exceptionally better than any pony I know” He complimented. “Thank you John. I could not save your wife from the Judge, I believe I should leave now” He turned away from them, and then looked back. “Goodbye John, Elisabeth. I wish this could have all ended better” He began to leave, after a short while he disappeared into the night.

“Elisabeth” John put his head down in a sad move. “I don’t know what to say…all this time I had spent with you here in Zalem have been foolish, foolish because we had already been happy the way we were living before. I was very foolish to be fallen in the lust that is the love for Apple Gail. I knew right from that moment, that you were a magnificent mare. And no stallion could ever be the one for you, because no one could ever be at your level of loyalty and kindness…Elisabeth I-” “You don’t have anything further to say John, there is nothing you can say to change my thoughts about you. Though you are a strong at will stallion, you allow for things such as these to cloud your judgment. I have been with you for quite some time now John…how much has it been 15 years since we married and I moved away from my father? I have known you for this long. And though the incident happened with Apple Gail, I still was happy to have a husband who took care of me in my time of needs”

They both gaze at the sky that now appeared to be turning night.

Two days later, after the case of Elisabeth. Elisabeth was standing aboard what looks like a makeshift plank at the side of a bridge. To her right stood a black coated pony with a dark hooded mask that covered his entire head. The stallion went up to her moving quite stiff, carrying a thin rope made of straw. To her surprise as well, she thought it would have been thicker, but thin it was. She did not pay much attention to this because; her legs were tied in much thicker ones. “This pony…” Said hail standing on top a wooden box by the edge of the bridge “Has been trailed and proved, a witch. Because of this crime against pony kind, as well as the lives of any other” Hail looked around the crowd of ponies that had gathered at the sound of the speaker. He looked around as if he were searching for an individual. He made two quick examinations at the crowd and frowned. John stepped in front of the crowd, making himself visible to Hail. Hail smirked as he continued. “She will be punished as follows…if the rope breaks as she plummets, then she would surely be a witch. And if she is surely a witch, then she will plummet to the river rope neck” he said gesturing the rope in his neck. John looked enraged but he knew he could not do anything to stop this. He tried to draw his attention to his wife for the last time. “Is this not justice John?” Hail said forcing John’s attention. “Is it not?” John stared at him, anger in his eyes; he knew if he did anything now his life would be at risk. “No, it is not” He said under his breath. “Didn’t think you had anything to say” Hail said smirking once more, not being able to hear John. Hail gestured at the pony next to Elisabeth. He began to tie a noose around her neck.

Youtube Video

The air buzzed in suspense, the hair on Elisabeth stood up, her breathing quickened, she was at a state of shock, not visible on the outside but still present inside. Time seemed to slow down as she looked at the crowd to her left; some presented the face of shock, while others the face of anger. She looked to her right, and the same could be said, but, in the middle of it all stood Taitana. She had no hood to cover her head, and so her horn was presentable to Elisabeth. She examined the crowd to see if any would pay attention to her. All, did not, it seemed as though she was a ghost of what is Taitana, though in reality it was her. Taitana turned her back on Elisabeth, and had begun to leave the crowd. Time sped up again as Elisabeth looked ahead of her, gazing at the running river. Hail nodded to the executioner and the stallion pushed Elisabeth toward the river, at the same time Hail stood up on two saying “Justice is served…” His eyes shot open as he looked at the stallion galloping toward him. John, with all his might, talked Hail over the bridge John following him. As John fell he looked up, Elisabeth had bounced from the fall she had taken and the rope broke as he fell again. “ELISABETH!!” He yelled as he fell into the river, she following after.

Splash Splash Splash

All three bodies had fallen, almost in unison. “Elisabeth…” John said trying to yell but the water in his through didn’t allow him. He noticed the ripples in the water of her decent. He dove for her holding his breath. He noticed her body lying in the sand at the bottom. He desperately made his way to her not caring for his life but the life of her. He made contact and started grabbing the rope the was tied to her front legs to the shore. John began to run out of breath but he kept forcing himself thru. After 7 long seconds they made it to shore. John laid her down and checked for a heartbeat. He heard nothing. He checked again with disbelief; nothing again. “Elisabeth does not die today! Not because of my foolishness!” He said to the sky. He looked at her neck; tears in his eyes. It looked disjointed, why; she had broken her neck before the fall! “Elisabeth?” He moved her neck around; it seemed lifeless as he moved it, not to mention it seemed to follow no path as he did. He neck was broken; she died before she had fallen…

At the desk of Stanford, one day ago: It was a cozy room, a fire place, nice wooden walls, this room even had carpet, a luxury only for the very rich. Stanford was happy. He had accomplished his 4th case on witches, and accomplished it well. Or so he thought. He got up from his desk and headed toward the fire place, the letters had been left there just a few minutes ago by his mail servant. He sat down next to it and placed his glasses on. He looked at one; it was addressed to the house of the neighboring Zalem.

“Thank you” It said. “Thank you for putting away that evil miscreant. The mare deserved it after having lived a life so well. No one, and I mean no one, lived a life as well as hers. Only a witch could ever be so happy in a town like this. I have nothing else to say but thank you one more.

From Apple Gail”

He smiled at the letter then placed it to his right side. He picked up another one. This one was addressed from a small city not but a half day far from Zalem. Apparently this was stamped as express mail. Curious, he opened the mail and uncovered a letter.

“To the Judge who trailed Elisabeth Trocter” He was surprised on how formal the letter began. He continued. “After I had arrived from the trail, I again began to read on laws in your town. After a while of  reading carefully I uncovered a small section that states as follows ‘in no way shall a pony who carries a child that is over a week old, shall ever be trailed, imprisoned, or executed until the child is raised by the mother and father until the age of 20’. It had come to my attention because the one who I was defending was indeed pregnant by my understanding. Therefore I hereby must tell you to stop the execution from happening, as it is unjust and unlawful. If you wonder where I had received this information from, I had received it from my client before the final trial had started. I expect that you accomplish this task, otherwise you yourself may face trail.”

He stared into the paper again, and again, and again. Until finally, he started to smile, not a normal smile, this had some evil to it. “Firebird Wright is it not?” He looked at the bottom, it had his name “I thought so, if all he has the defendant to go by then I need not worry. Not like I had ever worried before” He tossed it into the fire, it slowly began to be engulfed by it, seconds before it turned to complete ash it turned blue.

“Heh”

It has been 10 long years after the trail. . Gruff went on to live in his Grandfather’s house. Sara Nurse and George Burrows died next to each other, from collapsed ribs, due to the boulders placed. Apple Gail moved to the city and wandered aimlessly, not knowing what to do after her father sent her packing after his brother was killed. Stanford was never tried and faced little blame due to his attorneys.

And John, John had stayed home weeks after his wife had died. He hardly ate. He hardly drank. Only thing he would ever do was go around his house, imagining his wife would come thru the door one day and make him dinner.

WEEKS AFTER THE TRIAL…

He left for the bed, after having stared at the door for hours. He began to have a flashback.

FLASHBACK

“John. I love you, you know I love you right?” She said by the bedside.

“Of course”

“Do you love me John?”

“Of course I do”

“Does Apple Gail love you John?”

“Yes”

“Do you John, love Apple Gail?”

He paused for a moment, there was no use hiding it his wife knew the answer already. “Yes” he answered.

“I will always love you John, don’t forget that, no matter what”

END FLASHBACK

John gridded his teeth with anger, he left for the fire place and gathered a bottle of alcohol that was lying around. He poured it around his surroundings, on the curtain, on the wooden floor, even on the walls. He went to be bed room and emptied it onto the bed. He ran to fire place and picked up a stick on his mouth. He then went the bed side and laid down. “This is where I deserve to die, where I committed that wrong” he let go of the inflamed stick as the bed immediately caught on fire; he closed his eyes, as it engulf his body.