Chapters I sat by the river, waiting for one of the fish to swim close enough. Fishing was one of my favourite activities, it was so relaxing. And if you were patient enough, there would aways be a reward. A trout was swimming close to the shore. C’mon, just a little closer... I looked down at the reflection in the water to see myself staring back. I had a dark grey feathered head, with the tips of my feathers being black, with some minor white specks embedded. My wings were completely black, while the rest of my body was a very dark brown.
The fish I was hunting suddenly broke my mirror image. I swiped down in the water, catching the fish in my talon. “Gotcha!” I shouted. I pierced the fish on a big stick and started to roast it over the fire. Taking a look at my map and compass, I sat down and tried to orient myself.
“So this is the ‘scary Everfree Forest’ huh? Doesn’t seem that scary to me. And here’s the river I’m at, meaning I’m about... wow only two miles from Ponyville, nice.” I looked at the roasted fish. Best enjoy it while I can, I don’t want to start eating meat immediately once I’m in Ponyville, I want to leave a good first impression.
Just as I wanted to take it off the fire, I heard a shriek. “Can’t I just enjoy my last fish in a while?” I groaned and flew up, trying to see where the shriek came from. Not being able to scout the surroundings because of the high amount of trees, I started flying around in a wide circle around my starting position, scouring the ground. I heard a second shriek in the direction of Ponyville and flew my way over. When I flew over a clearing, I saw a pink-maned pegasus mare with a yellow coat who was lying on the ground. She had red splatters on her coat and a manticore running to where she laid.
I dove straight down and struck the manticore with my talons. It staggered backwards, allowing me to stand in its path between it and the mare. It roared and charged straight for me. Blast! I can’t move out of its way because it will just go for the mare. I’m heavy enough for the charge to not throw me off my paws. I successfully blocked his charge, but only barely. I managed to dodge the swipe it threw at me, and tried to swipe it. Apart from giving it some minor scratches, I did nothing to it, apart from making it more angry, roaring furiously now.
It threw swipe after swipe at me now, but they were easy to read and easy to dodge. Okay, plan. I can’t keep dodging forever. Suddenly the manticore thrust its tail at me. A plan immediately formed in my head. I saw the tail coming, sidestepped it and brought down my talons, cleaving the tail off. The manticore roared in pain, and I embraced the opportunity, and thrust the poisoned tail into its jaw from the bottom. The tail went all the way up its skull, killing him immediately. Even better than expected, I was just hoping to poison him, but this works too.
I heard a faint whimper behind me. I turned my head and saw the mare, completely covered in blood. “Miss, are you alright?” I called out as I rushed to her. I saw that she was going to black out, so I slapped her in the face. “Miss, don’t go out yet! Tell me, did it hit you with its tail?” I heard a faint “No...”
“Good, I’ll take you to Ponyville immediately. Now, this is going to hurt, but I’m going to have to pick you up with my talons, else I won’t be able to fly fast enough.” I did as I said, but I heard no reaction. Blast, she blacked out. Better hurry. I flew up and went straight east, towards Ponyville. I reached the edge of town in about a minute, to hear “Fluttershy!” I looked around my shoulder to see a pegasus charging towards me. “Do you know who-” I got hit in the head, and felt myself crashing towards to ground. Just before crashing, I managed to turn myself around so that the yellow pegasus would have a soft landing. This meant however, that I would take the blunt of the crash, and I blacked out immediately as my head touched the ground.
I woke up in a cell. “Is anyone there? Where am I?” I called out.
“Shut up, griffon. You’re a prisoner in Princess Celestia’s dungeon,” a guard stated.
I was still groggy from waking up. “What?” I blurted out. Then I remembered the pegasus. “Look, I know it might have looked wrong, but I can assure you that I didn’t harm her.”
“The court of nobles will decide that. They will see you in an hour. They are reasonable ponies, and they will surely listen to what you have to say,” the guard said, a little softened. “I’m sorry about my outburst, that was a little unprofessional.
“Thank you,” I replied. I tried to get up and spread my wings, but a sharp pain caused me to let out a shriek, much like a bird in pain. The guard picked up on this.
“Are you okay?” The guard asked as he opened up the door. He looked at my wing. “That doesn’t look too good, allow me to fetch a doctor.”
“No, it’s fine, I’ll wait until after the court session. If nobles here are anything like they are back home, they don’t want to be kept waiting. I just need to not move my wing.”
“Oh, are you new in Equestria?” The guard seemed genuinely interested in me now, way better than the guards back at the Greyfeather clan.
“Yes, I was just about ready to enter Ponyville from the Everfree forest when I heard a scream. I found the mare under attack by a manticore, and flew in and kicked its ass. Then I flew the mare to Ponyville... and I forgot the rest. How is she? Is she going to be okay?”
“I don’t know,” the guard replied. “I do hope she’s fine. Her name is Fluttershy, she’s one of the wielders of the Elements of Harmony.”
The tales of the Elements of Harmony had spread far beyond the borders of Equestria. Though griffons had always brushed off the tale as, well just a tale, I knew that they existed.
“Oh, an Element of Harmony. That explains the panic when I flew her into Ponyville.”
“I heard you flew her in by holding her in your talons.” The guard replied. When I nodded, he was shocked. “Why? You could have just laid her on your back.”
“Yes, I could have, but flying wouldn’t have been as fast. Besides, just because my talons are sharp, it doesn’t mean I can’t pick up anything without piercing it. Just like a manticore picks up its cub with its teeth. Thinking about it now, I would probably freak out too if I saw a griffon fly with a bloodied pegasus in his talons.” I laughed nervously. “Would you mind telling me your name?”
“I will only tell you my name, if you promise to both tell you yours, and don’t laugh at mine.” I nodded. “My name is Silver Bits. My father is a businessman and he hoped that by giving me that name, I would succeed in his hoofsteps. However, that didn’t happen. So now, considering my rank, everypony is calling me Private Bits.”
“Nice to meet you Silver. My name is Talon Sharpbeak.” After those words there was an awkward silence, which lasted for about a minute. “I’m sorry about not saying more, but I’m still working out how to say who I am best.”
“No problem. You are the first pony... I mean you are the first one ever to not make fun of my name. As for your history, it can’t be that bad, right?”
“I’ll tell you if you don’t change your opinion on me.” He nodded and I sighed. “Well, it began-”
“Private Bits! You are supposed to be guarding the prisoner, not having a conversation!”
“Lieutenant Greenhoof, sir! I was checking on the prisoner’s wounds, sir! It appears his wing is broken, but he doesn’t ask for medical help, sir.”
“Very well, private, at ease! Griffon, I will now accompany you to the court of nobles. You will not speak unless spoken to and you will stay by my side. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied.
“We will have to bind your wings so you won’t be able to escape,” the lieutenant continued.
“Sir, my wing is broken. I won’t be able to fly away. If this does not suffice, allow me to bind myself so there is no extra damage.”
“I will have to decline that. Rules and regulations. I’m sorry.” He used his magic to wrap a rope around my wings, strapping them to my sides. The pain burned through my body and I couldn’t help but scream. “Let’s go,” Greenhoof stated, and he pushed me out of my cell.
After a painful walk, we arrived at the court of nobles. The hall was giant, decorated by many glass windows, as well as banners and noble family shields. I had never seen anything so beautiful.
I was interrupted from looking at the scenery by a snobby voice. “Griffon, is your name Talon Sharpbeak?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I am Prince Blueblood, and you will address me as ‘your liege’.”
“Sir, I am no citizen of Equestria, and therefore you are not my liege.” I hated when nobles thought they were allowed everything, I loved being able to correct one.
Enough, you insolent fool! You may be no citizen of Equestria, but you will show respect. You were banished from your clan, and the first action you take, is harming one of Equestria’s citizens.”
“How do you know I was banished?” This is bad, there’s no way I’m getting out of this now.
“Ambassador Whiteclaw told me all about your situation. You were found guilty of desertion, assault and rape. The punishment for these crimes was banishment, which was very lenient considering the facts. Do you deny these facts?”
Ambassador Whiteclaw, of course. He, of all griffons had to be involved here. “I do not deny that I was banished for those reasons. I do however, claim that I was innocent for the accusations of rape and assault.”
“You are hereby tried for the attempt at murder on an Element of Harmony. We will go over the facts. You were seen holding a bloodied pegasus mare in your talons, flying over Ponyville. She was covered in her own blood, how utterly gruesome. Upon closer inspection there were a number of cuts made by talon-like objects. When we detained the accused, there was blood on his talons. Surely there can be no misinterpretation of these facts. I declare you guilty on the attempt at murder on an Element of Harmony. I sentence you to-”
“Wait! Am I not allowed to share my side of the story.” I sighed. “You know what, forget it. This is a charade and I will not play part in it. Do whatever ambassador Whiteclaw asked you to do.”
“Very well. I hereby sentence you to death by decapitation. Your punishment is due at sunset, in one hour. Guards! Take him away!”
I was transported to a small cell outside of the main dungeon. Through the barred window I could see the executioner prepare everything. The guardsman asked what I would like as a last meal. “Fish,” was my reply. The cooks were trying to be funny, I guess, so I got what I asked for, a fish. It was, however, still raw. Even I wasn’t hungry enough to eat a raw fish, so I just left it there.
“Oy, griffon, you have a visitor,” the guard said, opening the cell door.
“Well, well, Talon. How are you doing on this fine evening.”
“Shut it, Whiteclaw. Tell me, what did you promise Blueblood to get him to execute me?”
“Nothing, actually,” Whiteclaw responded with a grin. “Apparently he’s one of those griffon haters. He almost paid me when I said I knew who you were and what your criminal record was. That way he could have an execution.” He didn’t even bother to hold back his laughter anymore.
“Just you wait, Whiteclaw. You know I didn’t do anything. You know why I deserted in the army. You know I’m innocent. I was happy to leave you alone about all this. You won, I lost. I was going to start a new life in Equestria, away from everything, but apparently even that wasn’t enough for you. You had to ruin every chance for me to ever have a life again. Well, I’m not going to give you that pleasure. Guard! My visitor is done with me, take him away please.”
“I will see you later, ambassador. I hope you will enjoy the show,” I called after him. In truth, I had nothing, but at least the bastard would be worrying his head about everything that could go wrong.
The guard entered the cell. “It’s time,” he said, having a sincere look on his face. I nodded and we both went to the Palace Gardens, where the execution would take place. I noticed an old tree planted very close to the edge of Canterlot, looming over the cliff.
“How old is that tree?” I asked, at least wanting to know more about the surroundings where I would die.
“They say it was planted when Canterlot was built, so over a thousand years old. It was planted right under Princess Luna’s balcony.
“Do you know just how high this place is? I’ve heard stories about the drop being over a mile high.” I tried to play on the guard’s ego a bit, to have him tell me as much as possible
“Two miles, actually.”
“Wow... and with the sunset... it’s quite a pretty sight.” We arrived at the place of execution. “Can I get a last wish?” I asked the guard.
“Yes, they will give you that opportunity. You seem like a nice guy, I don’t know why you did what you did.” He gave me a slap on my shoulder.
“I don’t know either, but apparently I did. Thanks for the talk, it helped take my mind of this for a while.”
“No problem. I wish everypony would take it as well as you do.”
“I’m no pony,” I said with a smile, as I walked to the executioner.
“It’s been a while since I last had to do this, but let’s get this over with, shall we?” The executioner asked.
“Can I have a last request?” The executioner nodded. “Can you please untie my wings. One of my wings is broken, you can ask the guards. So I can’t fly away. I’d like to stretch my wing in the sunset one last time,” I said with tears in my eyes. The executioner went up to the guards and asked. I saw the guards nod, and the executioner cut loose my wings. I went up to the edge to feel the winds in my face as I stretched my one wing. It was the best feeling in the world, it almost felt like actual flying, while the sunset was beautiful. Then, I jumped.
Author's Note: This a partial rewrite of chapter one. I found that I had hurried the ending a bit, so I decided to split it up in two parts.
Then, I jumped.
I heard screams of terror as I grabbed one of the roots from the tree which had exited the ground and pulled myself up. Using my good eyesight, I looked for other roots that were farther away from the edge. I saw a big one and I jumped across, only barely managing to reach it with one talon. Climbing on to that root, I used my good wing to shield as much of the lighter parts of my body I could. Now I had to wait for it to become night, which wouldn’t take long. And indeed, because of all the commotion beneath Luna’s window, it seemed Princess Celestia had sped up the sunset and Princess Luna had sped up the rise of the moon, to check out what all the commotion was about.
When all the commotion had died down, I let myself fall to the ground. When I had gained enough speed, I opened my wing and let myself float downwards. Because I had only one wing, I had to focus all my attention in keeping myself balanced, so I didn’t notice that I was flying in circles. I panicked when I came face to face with the cliffside. I let myself dive down with a sharp turn, causing me to speed up. I noticed that the ground was closing in fast, and I realised I wouldn’t have the time to balance myself for a comfortable landing. I crashed into an open meadow. It had rained not too long ago, and the ground was still wet, which softened my landing immensely.
I knew there was a river flowing under Canterlot, because I had studied some maps before coming to Equestria. I knew it flowed through Ponyville and straight into the Everfree forest which would be a safe place to be. That was the only thing that mattered for now, being safe. The only problem was that I was on the other side of the castle from the river. There would be patrols looking for either me or my body, so I needed to get out of the open. I saw a small forest away from the cliff, so I made my way over.
I had been on that root for hours, not moving a muscle. I was completely exhausted, and there was no way that I would be getting to the river this night. Besides, the sun was bound to come up soon, and so there was no way for me to make it to the river unnoticed during the day. I also knew that this forest would likely be searched during the day, but I had nowhere else to go, for the small forest was surrounded by open fields on one side, and mountains on the other.
So, I had no choice to find shelter for the day. I slowly walked through the forest, hoping to find some kind of shelter. What surprised me was that I hadn’t seen a single animal while I was there. I was starting to get really hungry now, and I had hoped to maybe catch a rabbit or even a squirrel, but there was nothing at all.
The sun was real close to rising now, and I still hadn’t found a place to hide and sleep. If anypony found me, I was dead. I came close to the mountainside and noticed a cave, so I went straight for it. I hated caves, they scared the hell outta me, but it was the best chance I had. There’s something about caves that made me feel like I was trapped inside. But this was not the time to have a panic attack, so I calmed myself and went in.
After a couple of minutes of walking in the cave, I felt a crunch underneath my talons. I looked down and saw that the ground was covered in bones. They were only animal bones, but there were a lot of them. It explained why there were no animals in the forest. I started to have my doubts about this cave, thinking just what kind of creature lived here. It was too small for a dragon, but it could easily belong to something huge, and apparently it ate meat. I felt trapped again, and started to make my way back to the entrance, when I heard something... Hoofsteps, or rather, echoes of them.
Blast! I’m trapped, either go to the ponies and die, or explore the cave further and hope that whatever it was that killed all these animals, doesn’t live here any more. Guess I really don’t have a choice.
I kept going further in the caves, avoiding to step on bones, because the echo could maybe wake the creature living here, or alert the ponies to my presence. I heard a shout behind me, and then a yell “Only animal bones!” They were catching up to me, so I needed somewhere to hide, and fast. I hurried along and stopped when a vile stench reached my nostrils. I kept walking on, trying to take small breath to not be overwhelmed by the stench, which was getting stronger every step I took.
The cave became wider and wider and I felt more relaxed. I wasn’t really claustrophobic, but from what I had heard, griffons always had a hard time staying calm in tight areas. They were aerial creatures after all, where everything was open. I took in a deep breath to calm myself and then I retched. The smell was so strong now, and I recognized it immediately. It was death.
I looked around to see a mass in the middle of this widened chamber. closing in on it, I saw that it was some sort of animal since it had a fur. It was about five times my size and when I reached it I saw that it was a bear. A huge bear, the likes of which I had never seen before. Looking even more closely, I noticed two little cubs lying next to her. All three had been dead for some time now, it seemed.
I glanced back to see a light coming from the entrance of the chamber. I had hoped to be able to hide myself in the dark using my dark plumage, but if they brought a light, that wouldn’t work. So, seeing no other option, I lifted the bear’s skin and lied under it, holding my breath for as long as possible. It had probably died of starvation after all the animals in the forest were gone, so the stench could have been way worse. It was, however, still very unpleasant.
I heard hoofsteps and held my breath. “Ugh, what’s that smell?” One pony said. “Ugh, a dead bear. Really? Private, check the chamber for the griffon. I’ll be waiting outside of this stinkhole.”
“Sir, if I remember correctly, griffons have an inherent phobia of caves. It will be unlikely that the griffon will be here.” The other pony said.
“And why didn’t you say that in the first place? We’ve been going in the cave for minutes and you only decide to say this now? Don’t waste any more of my time, you idiot. Let’s go.” They both walked off. I squeezed myself from under the bear and made my way out of the main chamber.
I was famished, exhausted and hurt. I had a look at my wing. It was swollen at the base, but through a lot of pain and effort, I could still move it. It wasn’t actually broken, probably, but rather cracked, which hurts just as much, but it is only minor. It would be best to keep it bandaged. Wishing I had my saddlepack with me, I walked through the cave. I found a small passageway which lead into a minor chamber, where I fell asleep.
I woke up with a throbbing pain in my wing. It turned out that my wing was in worse shape than I had previously thought, yet I couldn’t treat it myself without having access to my supplies. Hospitals were completely out of the question, of course. I made my way to entrance of the cave to see that night had fallen. I had no idea how long it had been night, but tonight was going to be my only chance of escape. I didn’t know if I’d be able to hide for another day with this hunger and my medical condition.
I was going to be easy to spot though. Griffons don’t walk, they fly. The guards knew that I had a broken wing, so they know I won’t be flying. And that was another matter. At my walking pace, there is no way I’d reach Ponyville before sunrise, especially if I had to follow the river. But maybe if the current was fast enough, I could swim. Every griffon who had served in the army had learned how to swim. I wasn’t a great swimmer, but I could manage. The only problem with swimming was that you couldn’t fly with wet feathers, but I wasn’t going to fly any time soon anyway.
But I did have dark feathers and a dark fur, so hiding in the darkness would be pretty easy. I snuck back to my landing place and ran all the way to the cliff on which Canterlot was built. Even in the complete darkness and from way down below, I could see how beautiful it was. It was an architectural masterpiece, and had no doubt taken ages to build. But I didn’t have to time sightsee, and then it hit me that I probably never would.
I was an outlaw from the nobles. That meant that any noble which I encountered had the duty of reporting me to the authorities. And every noble would do that, because it meant they would increase in standing. And that was all nobles ever cared about, standing and of course, money.
Luck was on my side for once, for it seemed that the Royal Army wasn’t involved in this yet. They served the Princesses and not the nobles, so that had no duty of capturing and imprisoning me. Some might be swayed by promises of becoming nobles themselves, but most were loyal to the Princesses.
I reached the river without any problem. I assumed everypony thought I had died, which meant there were no patrols anywhere. The walking had tired me out, but I didn’t have time to rest up. I immediately jumped into the water and let the current take me for a couple of minutes. When I had rested up, I started swimming, when I got tired, I let myself float for a while. This way I made it into Ponyville faster than I normally would.
It was getting morning by the time I passed through Ponyville. Luckily, nopony was out on the streets yet. Nonetheless, I dove under for as long as possible so I could keep myself completely out of sight for as long as possible. The swim had drained me though, I wasn’t able to stay under for long, but that short time sufficed for me to make it to the Everfree Forest.
I managed to reach the spot where my saddlebags were. I saw the now completely black fish that was still suspended over the now extinguished fire, which gave me a chuckle. Grabbing a bandage roll out from my bags, I started bandaging my wing to keep it locked against my body. I looked around for some wood, rekindled the fire and went to lie down next to it, hoping that it would last for a while and that there were no wild animals nearby I was tired and needed rest.
Just as I was falling asleep, I felt a drop on my face. “Are you serious!” I shouted out. I really needed to get dry, else I could be getting a cold or worse. I tried to get up, but I immediately collapsed. I was just too tired after the swimming. So, I just laid down as I saw the increasing amount of raindrops slowly but surely extinguish the fire.
So, this is it huh? After getting banished from my clan, escaping my own execution for stuff I didn’t do by hanging on a root for hours on end, after gliding down two miles and landing in a river, as well as swimming I don’t know how many miles, I’m going to die by not being able to get out of the rain. Life sucks. I blacked out not long after.
Tonight, I was finally going to see Amber, my griffon girl, again. She had light-brown feathers on both her face and wings. Her lion part was a darker brown. She was absolutely beautiful, but the thing I loved about her the most were her eyes. They were green like the purest emeralds.
It had taken me weeks to figure out an escape plan from the regiment camps, but now it had finally come to fruition. Amber would probably be sleeping by now, but I could always interest her in stargazing with me. She seemed to love it as much as I do. I often took the opportunity when she looked to the skies to have a look at her eyes.
Firstly however, I had to make it out of camp. Leaving the regiment camps unauthorized would be considered desertion, and the punishment for that usually was physical. I had seen many griffons getting whipped for it, but I could understand why they had risked it. After all, I was going to attempt the same.
I, however, had had the patience to scout the guards. I had volunteered for guard duty a couple of weeks in a row, claiming that I had lost a bet. I became friends with the other guards and figured out their routines and patrol routes. I couldn’t attempt the escape while I was a guard however, because there was a control guard who would check the guard places. If a guard went missing, the entire camp was alerted, which would lead to far greater punishment than just a whipping. That was something I didn’t want to risk, not even for Amber.
I let my buddy in on what I was doing, and he told me he would volunteer for guard duty and look the other way. That was one less guard to look out for. Also, I knew which guards were easily distracted, so I snapped a branch in between them and then immediately ducked for cover behind one of the tents. My plan had worked, as the guards found themselves having a chat with each other. This allowed me to sneak out of the camp but I’d have to sneak at least a mile away before I could take off flying. There was a flying night patrol in the skies at all times, and they only had to see you to know there had been a deserter.
But now, I was free for an entire night. I could spend time with Amber on the clouds, stargazing, embracing and kissing each other. Maybe even move further... But that was her choice. Amber was a kind soul, not like many of the other griffons. She would look for a peaceful solution, rather than fight. She had been picked on for that, but I had stepped up and been her protector. A simple love grew between us and two years ago I finally had had the guts to ask her to be my ‘special griffon girl’ as I called her.
I was in the army for four years now, since I had to have at least five years of military service in order to claim the title of chieftain of our clan. I had been too young when my parents passed away, so the title was now in the temporary hands of Whiteclaw, ambassador of the Greyfeather clan for Her Majesties Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria. Each year, the camp would be moved to another territory. This year it was in Swordbeak territory, close to Greyfeather lands, so I took my chance to escape this year.
I arrived at Amber’s place. I took a look at the skies and saw that the stars were very bright tonight. If I ever met Princess Luna, I’d thank her for that, because tonight would be special. I walked up to the front door and picked the lock with one of my talons. It had been one of my tricks when plundering the kitchens back in boarding school. The lock opened with a click, and I pushed the door in. Hardly able to contain myself, I flew up the stairs and quietly opened her bedroom door.
I found Amber there, with another griffon, on top of her. She was enjoying it so much that she hadn’t heard me enter. The other griffon however, had seen me and he flew up to me, pushed me down the stairs and beat me down to a pulp. “What did you ever see in that idiot, Amber?” the griffon asked. Those were the last words I heard before blacking out.
“Ugh...” I found myself in a wooden bed, in some sort of hut. “Where am I?” I wheezed.
“I am glad you are awake, for your life was at stake,” A deep female voice called out to me. “I found you in the rain, which is not very sane.” She opened the curtains I was behind and I saw that she was a zebra.
“Who... are... you?” I managed to speak in between coughs. The coughing however caused my broken wing to move which caused me to flinch.
“Zecora is my name; may I ask you the same?”
“I’m Talon... Sharpbeak. Nice to... meet you. I think... Need... doctor.”
“Your sickness I can treat. So please, drink and eat.” Zecora pointed at the ground in front of me. I looked down to see an actual cooked fish. I only then noticed how hungry I was, I hadn’t eaten in...
“How long was I out?” I managed to ask in between eating and coughing.
“I found you two days ago by the river, the sight of you made me shiver.” After I finished eating, I had a look at the drink she offered. It looked a weird purple. Zecora picked up on my nervousness. “The potion will heal your wing, it will not even sting.”
Her rhyming made me feel comfortable, so I chugged the potion in one go. “Thank you,” I said to her as I tried to make myself comfy in bed.
“I need to go to Ponyville, to see if somepony needs me, still.” Zecora said as she grabbed her cloak.
At the name Ponyville, I jolted upright. “Please don’t mention me there. It was just some sort of misunderstanding...” I suddenly felt drowsy. Probably the potion... “I didn’t... hurt...her...” I felt myself fall back into the bed.
Immediately after being released from the hospital, I was escorted to court. The courthouse was a majestic building, entirely built out of marble. It was decorated with several statues and carvings depicting the great moments of our clan. Among them were the carving of our first laws in stone, the building of the courthouse itself, the first trial and the trial of Shadowscale, the dragon, which was considered to be the absolute height of justice.
Shadowscale had caused massive damage to the Greyfeather clan and he was sentenced to help with the rebuilding. Dragons had great respect for laws, even those of other creatures. So, he was obliged by his own to help rebuild, until he had paid for his damage. This in turn, had helped better the relations between dragons and the Greyfeather gryphons, which had been very sour up to that point.
The Greyfeather clan was the first of the southern griffon clans to have written laws. Since we border Equestria, we pretty much absorbed the Equestrian laws into our society. Because we take pride in that, ideas like justice and responsibilities were drilled into our minds from the day we were born. Our eastern neighbours, the Yellowbeaks, were much like us in that regard. To the three other southern clans, the Swordbeaks, the Blackpaws and the Eaglewings, we were often considered to be weak, pony-loving idealists, but we knew how to fight when we had to.
The Swordbeaks lied the most central of the southern griffon clans, south from the Greyfeathers. Because of that position, they were a community of mostly traders. They would trade between the griffon clans, as well as the Zebras from further south and the ponies from the north. They had a huge bazaar, which was always crammed full of all kinds of exotic things and foods.
To the south and east of the Swordbeaks lied the Blackpaw territory. They were the largest of the southern griffon clans, since they had gained most of their lands from the zebras through many conquests and wars. Needless to say, they were mostly military griffons. At all time, about half of the army were Blackpaw griffons.
To our west were the Eaglewings. They were a simple folk of mostly fishers and farmers. If you ate a fish anywhere on this continent, chances were it was fished by an Eaglewing. Despite being only fishers and farmers, they had a monopoly on their hands, so they were probably the richest of the southern clans. They were also the only griffons to have a railroad built to them.
Finally, to our east lived the Yellowbeak clan. They had split up pretty recently from the Greyfeathers, wanting to colonize new lands. Because of their close location to the mountains, they try to build actual cities out of stone, whereas all the other clans usually build their houses out of wood. They are very ambitious and adventurous.
My musing was rudely interrupted by one of the guards escorting me. He pushed me along, clearly not wanting to waste any time. It was going to be just another amount of whips anyway, just like any other military court for desertion. When we arrived at the court hall, I waited for my name to be called before I entered.
Something was wrong. Instead of a judge and jury consisting of senior officers in the army, I was greeted by a civilian judge and jury. And not just any judge, no it was ambassador Whiteclaw himself. I remained calm however, I had been to many a court session as a cub, so I knew what was expected of me. I sat down in silence.
“Talon Sharpbeak, you are being tried for desertion, assault of Baldwin Whiteclaw and rape of Amber Goldfeather. How do you plead?” ambassador Whiteclaw spoke.
I remained calm, I hadn’t done anything of the sorts, so I was innocent and I had faith in the system that my father had lead all those years ago. “I plead guilty to the accusations of desertion. I plead not guilty to the accusations of assault and rape,” I replied as calm as I could be.
I looked over to my left to see Baldwin covered in bandages. I had done nothing to him. He was the one that had beat up me. He was the one who had sex with Amber… I sighed. So, Amber had chosen him over me. Maybe I should have pushed her a bit more… No, I couldn’t do that. She had made a choice, and I would have to live with it.
“Very well. We will now hear Baldwin tell his side of the story.” Ambassador Whiteclaw motioned for Baldwin to stand up and speak.
“Well, I was spending the night with Amber. We were engaged in… certain activities when I heard the door of our room open. I saw a gryphon standing in doorway, but I couldn’t make out who it was, but to protect Amber I flew at him and threw him to the ground. Amber then recognized him and stopped me.” Baldwin spoke.
“Do you confirm or deny this story, Talon?” ambassador Whiteclaw asked and turned to me.
“All of those things happened. After I was thrown to the ground, I was knocked out. I woke up in the hospital only today.” I told the ambassador.
“How did you gain access to the Goldfeather household?”
“I picked the lock using my talons. Amber and I were good friends, even though I thought we were more. We had gone stargazing together on numerous occasions. The sole reason I went out of the military camp was to visit her. Even though I was interested in her, I would never force myself on her.”
“Liar!” Baldwin shouted. “When I had brought you down, you stood up. Your eyes had turned completely red. You beat me senseless! After that you went up to Amber. She begged you to stop, but you threw her on the bed and then forced yourself on her. You made me watch the whole thing.”
“No…” I whispered. “Not like that. I can control myself. Why didn’t I control myself?” I turned to the ambassador. “I am what is known as a berserker. When my emotions become too strong, I lose control over my body. My body gains a huge increase in strength, but I pay the cost for that later. When my emotions fade, I usually black out for a couple of hours or days. I thought I had learned to control it, but I failed. I never remember what I do during the berserk.”
“I see,” the ambassador said with a look of fear and contempt in his eyes. “Talon Sharpbeak, you are a danger to the Greyfeather society. I hereby banish you from our lands. You have three days to prepare your departure.”
“Your judgment is merciful. I deserve death,” I spoke with disgust for myself.
“No, your condition cannot be helped. Once you can prove you can control yourself, you are allowed access to our lands again. May justice look up to you,” the ambassador finished.
“And up to us all,” I finished the hearing with the words of tradition. My punishment was now accepted and set in stone; it could no longer be altered. I left the courthouse in shame.
I jolted upright, sweating. Blast, I hate nightmares. I looked around to see that I was alone in the hut. Preening my feathers, I remembered that Zecora had told me my wing should heal during my sleep. I stood out of bed, and extended my wings slowly. There was no pain at all, and so I extended my wings to their full span. Wow, those potions are great. I started preening the underside of my wing, because it was itching so much it felt my wing was on fire. I usually preened my wing after every sleep, so not preening them for a couple days in a row could do that for you.
“Do you need a hand? Itches I cannot stand.” Surprised by the sudden words, I jumped back, knocking a bottle off one of the shelves. Before it reached the ground, I managed to grab it with my tail and put it back in its place. “I’m sorry I scared you, I’m feeling pretty blue,” Zecora said.
“No problem, what’s the matter? Anything I can do to help?” I tried to comfort her.
“Fluttershy is in a coma, still. All is up to her own will.”
“She’s in a coma!? How?”
“I think you were too late. Manticore poison sealed her fate.” Zecora was on the brink of tears.
“I think I know what’s going on, I hope I can help. I need you to tell me where you found me and you need to figure out a way for me to into the town unseen.” We both hurried outside where Zecora pointed a hoof at where the river was. I grabbed my saddlebags and flew off.
It felt great being able to fly. My wing was still a little stiff, but that would soon wear off on its own. For now I had to focus. I quickly found my camping spot near the river and I flew to the open area where I saw Fluttershy. The manticore’s corpse was still there, but the smell of decomposition was intense. I yanked the manticore tail out of its skull and gave it a little pinch. A small droplet of green poison formed on the tip. I put the tail in my bag and flew back to Zecora’s hut. She was awaiting me there with a cloak in her hooves.
“I hope you can act old and wise, for you’ll be my mentor in disguise.” She handed me the cloak. “This cloak is magical as you can see, may it serve you well, as it once did for me.” I put on the cloak and had a look in her mirror. My talons and paws would prove that I was a griffon, but there was no telling it was actually me.
“Let’s go, Zecora, time is running short.” We both ran towards Ponyville. I hated running, it was really uncomfortable with both talons and paws. Each set required a different balance and I had to alternate between it for every step. I didn’t walk enough to ever get used to it, since flying was both faster and more comfortable. But I couldn’t fly with the cloak, so I didn’t really have another choice. On the way we talked about how we should act to remain convincing
We arrived in Ponyville a couple of minutes later. I quieted down my run to a hasty walk, trying to get into the role of old mentor. It would be unheard of to have an old griffon being able to keep up with a young zebra mare while running. I took the opportunity to have a look around Ponyville.
Everything was completely different from my old clan. Our houses had been functional, without many decorations. Even though we had our beauty in unity, there was far greater beauty in difference. There were so many different colours, so many different styles, yet it all came together in harmony. I wish things would have gone differently for me; this would have been a very interesting place to live in.
We arrived at the Ponyville hospital. Zecora quickly showed me to Fluttershy’s room. In there I was greeted by five other ponies, all having worried looks on their faces. One of them I knew, the rainbow-maned cyan Pegasus was the one that had knocked me out of the sky. When she saw that I entered, she flew up to me, eyeing me up. “Who the hay are you?” she asked, causing all the other ponies to look my way.
I turned to Zecora. “I appreciate you held your promise of keeping me a secret, Zecora.” Ignoring the Pegasus, I walked up to Fluttershy until I was stopped by a magic field. “It would be far easier to inspect the patient if there wasn’t a magic barrier surrounding her,” I said, not turning around.
“I’m sorry, sir, but I cannot allow letting you come closer to her until you explain who you are.” I turned around to see a lavender unicorn facing me with her horn glowing.
“All you need to know is that I am a doctor.” I said, then I turned back around to go up to Fluttershy, but the barrier still blocked my path. “Fine, so be it.”
“Twilight, he’s my old mentor,” Zecora said. “He saved my life when I first came to the Everfree. He basically taught me everything.”
“Zecora! Uhm... why didn’t you rhyme?”
I snorted. “Do you still rhyme all your sentences, Zecora? I thought you would have grown out of that by now.” This was all part of a little act that we had planned, an so far it worked flawlessly.
“I only stopped doing that out of respect for you, master,” Zecora said. “I still enjoy the theme of the mysterious potion brewer, I confess.”
“There’s no need to call me master, Zecora. Your potion brewing skills have far surpassed my own. In my eyes, you are an equal.” I turned to the other ponies. “I am Greywing. I live in the Everfree forest. I like being on my own, so please don’t go looking for me. If there is an emergency, notify Zecora, she knows where I live. I am a doctor. Now will you please let me examine the patient?” The barrier dissipated in front of my eyes. “Thank you.”
I had a look at Fluttershy, she looked so peaceful. “Could you please elaborate on what happened?” I asked the ponies.
“Well, this griffon was carrying Fluttershy by his talons. So I knocked him out of the skies. They captured him and Twilight over there sent a message to the Princess. She immediately sent an escort to arrest him. I never heard what happened to him,” the rainbow-maned pegasus said to me.
I snorted. “You do realise that griffons have to carry stuff with their talons to be able to fly fast right? A griffon’s back isn’t as stable as a pegasus’. In order to fly safely with something on their back, they would have to fly slower. Anyway, that’s not important. What happened with her?” I nodded at Fluttershy.”
“Well, the doctors saw that those dreadful cuts were made by a lion-like creature, most likely a manticore,” a white unicorn with a purple mane said.
“Yes, but cuts alone usually don’t make a pony slip into a coma. I need to know what did.” I responded.
“Frankly, we don’t have a clue,” the orange pony with a Stetson hat said. “We were hoping you would know.”
“How did she slip into a coma? Was it painful, was it during sleep? Please provide as many details as possible.”
“Well, it was painful. She woke up for the first time and she screamed, yelling that everything burned. We thought the antidote worked, but apparently it didn’t,” Twilight said.
“An antidote for manticore poison, I presume?” Twilight nodded. “Could you show me the entry wound of the stinger?”
“It has been healed up by magic, there’s nothing visible,” she said. “It was on her back, however, and it wasn’t very deep.
“That’s impossible. Manticore poison contains a substance that causes necrosis. It kills the flesh surrounding the wound, and magic can’t restore dead flesh. Further, I think she knew what she was doing when going in the Everfree, am I correct?”
“Yes, she went in regularly, to help sick animals,” the white unicorn said. “Even though she’s a very timid pegasus, if there was an animal in danger, she would go to the end of the world and back for it.”
“Then she probably would have been careful not to threaten manticores. It’s more likely that the manticore hunted her. Yet a manticore will only use its stinger as a defensive mechanism, because why would it want to kill the meat it wants to eat? So my conclusion is that she probably wasn’t poisoned, and that the puncture wound was from something else.”
“That makes even less sense. Why is she in a coma then?” the rainbow-maned pegasus asked.
“Manticore poison is a neurotoxin, it paralyses and causes nerve damage. Zecora, what is the antidote made from?”
“It’s made from nightshade, master Greywing,” she responded. I motioned for her to continue. “Nightshade extract is a poison as well. It is actually the opposite of a neurotoxin; it causes the nerves to become extra sensitive.”
“Exactly. When she woke up, she felt everything burning, because of the nightshade extract. It gave her a sensory overload, which caused her to slip into a coma. You’re lucky the dosage was small; else it could have easily killed her. Luckily, I brought the antidote, because I figured this would be the case.” I pulled the manticore stinger out of her saddlebags. Before anypony could stop me, I plunged the manticore stinger into one of her veins and squeezed it a little, releasing the poison.
“Cover her eyes and plug her ears. Lift her onto the sheets, so that she doesn’t touch too many things. She will still be very sensitive when she wakes up, so be careful,” I said as I walked to the door. I was stopped from exiting by a pink pony.
“You’re him, right? The griffon that brought Fluttershy here?” she asked.
I sighed and took off my cloak. “Yes, I am. Now, I have to leave, will you please let me pass? I hoped to avoid this confrontation,” I stated, not showing any emotions.
“No, you saved Fluttershy’s life twice. We have to have a Welcome Fluttershy’s saviour party! Yay!” the pink pony shouted. “Do you love cake? Of course you do. Who doesn’t love cake? I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like cake. Well there was this one pony who liked muffins more than cake, but she still liked cake. That doesn’t count, does it?”
“How did you get out of Celestia’s dungeon?” the rainbow-maned pegasus asked. “You didn’t escape the dungeon, right?”
“Not exactly, no. It’s worse, but you shouldn’t concern yourselves with matters like that. Trust me.” I tried to leave, but the pink pony kept stepping in my way..
“How can we not be concerned with matters like that?” the white unicorn asked. “You’re a hero! You deserve the recognition.”
I sighed. “Yes, but I’m also a wanted man. The Court of Nobles found me guilty on the charges of attempt at murder. I was to be executed, but I escaped.”
“What?!” the five ponies and the zebra exclaimed. “I’ll write a letter to the Princess, she’ll annul the Court’s decision,” Twilight said, grabbing a quill and a scroll.”
“I studied the laws before coming to Equestria. There’s nothing that Princess Celestia can do. The Court of Nobles rules over all cases involving a non-citizen of Equestria. And since I’m not a citizen, they have authority over my case. Yes, Princess Celestia might persuade them to annul my case, but I doubt she will. The situation between the nobles and the princess is pretty tense as it is, and I don’t think she can afford a noble uprising.”
“Where will ya be livin’, then?” the country-pony asked. “And what’s yer real name? Because Ah know it’s not Greywing.”
“I’m Talon Sharpbeak. Zecora knows where I’ll be living; it’s where she found me. If you need me, ask her for directions.” I opened the doors, ran to a window, opened it and flew off in the direction of the Everfree Forest.
