Antipodes: The Winterlands

Antipodes

The Winterlands

White Leaf swung the sword up, catching the griffon’s claw in his sweep. He didn’t have enough force to cut the creature, but at this point the unicorn just wanted to escape with his life.

The griffons weren’t even close to what Heatstroke described. They were far worse. The smallest of their kind were slightly larger than the average pony. Their talons could wrap around a pony’s head. Their claws could dig deep into a pony’s skin. The griffons were agile. They’d swoop down to strike and duck out of the way before the ponies could retaliate. To make matters worse, they could be silent when they wished. If Ruby hadn’t been watching his flank, White Leaf would have lost his head a number of times. Even then, he was still lucky.

The griffon whapped the blade away and roared. The sound vibrated through White Leaf’s body. He shrunk back from the griffon instinctively. It swept at him. White Leaf rolled to his left, narrowly avoiding the attack. He tugged with his magic, pulling the sword close to him. The griffon leapt toward him, circling around its prey. White Leaf clumsily stabbed at it with his sword, but with no effect. He missed twice and didn’t get a third strike. The griffon tackled White Leaf, sending the unicorn sprawling into one of the tents. It jumped at him again. However, it was intercepted by a dark red blur. The griffon shrieked in pain as the spikes on Heatstroke’s armor tore into it. The warrior didn’t do enough to kill it, but the pain was enough. The griffon took to the air, scarlet pouring from it as it fled.

“Unicorn!” Heatstroke shouted, “What’re you still doin’ here? I told you two to escape.”

“We were working on it until that interruption.”

“You best hurry your flank.”

Ruby opened her mouth to protest - for the third time at least - but Heatstroke stopped her.

“Miss Rubyred of the Firewings. You are the last of our line unless the Goddesses pull some miracle. Be smart and get yourself out of here.” Heatstroke’s face softened. “You’ll have time to mourn later, Lady Ruby.”

With that, Lord Heatrstroke rose, charging ahead to clear a path. Ruby bit her lip, and nodded. White Leaf was surprised. For one of her gender, she was handling her father’s death - or expected death - quite well. She simply accepted the fact and moved on. Sure, she wanted to fight by his side, but she respected her father’s wishes.

The griffons had attacked en masse. At least thirty of the creatures surrounded the camp. Alone a griffon was a threat. An entire pride of griffons meant only death, especially when their prey was half starved. Heatstroke knew this. He offered his life to protect his daughter and White Leaf.

Of course, the pair had to actually escape in order to survive. And that was proving tougher than they expected. The griffons wanted nopony to escape. Ruby and White Leaf’s attempt to stealthily leave had failed. Still, with the former’s father clearing the way, they’d at least find a way out of the camp. Only luck would help them survive the rest of the forest.

The pair made it to the edge of the woods, stopping for a moment to watch the battle unfold. Heatstroke’s crew had done better than White Leaf expected. The pegasi matched the griffons in the air, striking at the beasts’ wings to ground them. There, the few earth ponies left could finish the griffons. But they just didn’t have the strength to keep up the fight. Within half an hour, the camp would be lost.

White Leaf and Ruby fled, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the camp as possible. White Leaf sheathed the sword he’d been given and pulled his cloak over his head. Barely away from the camp, and he was already starting to freeze.

Ruby led White Leaf deeper into the woods. Luck was with the pair. The griffons either didn’t pursue them, or lost them. Either way, White Leaf considered it a blessing. He followed the pegasus for quite some time, losing track of the hours. Eventually, she stopped outside a small cave.

“We should stop here for a while. Get some sleep. Eat. I think we’re far enough away from Griffon territory.”

White Leaf nodded. Within half an hour, he was curled up next to the fire, lying opposite of Ruby. The pegasus sat back on her haunches, staring sadly into the flames. She’d taken her silver armor off, gently laying it on the ground. White Leaf had shared what little food he had with her, but she didn’t eat.

“You’re hurt,” Ruby stated flatly.

White Leaf checked himself over. Sure enough, she was right. Three long gashes ran the length of his right foreleg. Ruby grabbed him, and carefully examined his leg. The fur had come off in some places, revealing his dark skin. Ruby prodded his leg several times before gasping.

“Frostbite. You should have told us earlier.”

“Why?”

“We could have fixed it. The Firewings... We can treat it early on. My family has developed a sort of cure. But I’m afraid it’s too late.”

White Leaf nodded. “So? Other than the lack of feeling, it’s not so bad.”

Ruby shook her head gently. “Not yet. But we may have to amputate.”

“Amputate!?” White Leaf recoiled, holding his leg protectively in front of him.

“Not yet. But be careful.”

“Understood.”

With some coaxing, White Leaf let Ruby tend to his leg. She dressed it with some clean cloth, torn from the unicorn’s cloak. The pegasus was forceful in her motions, nearly injuring the unicorn in her attempts to heal him. As soon as she was done, Ruby scurried to her side of the flames, returning to her mourning.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” White Leaf offered. He had never been good at showing sympathy. But he had to try. He owed it to his nurse.

Ruby didn’t respond.

“I... Did he... Was he...” White Leaf paused, trying to find the right words. “I didn’t know your father for long, but he seemed like a good pony.”

Ruby smiled softly. “He was the best. My family’s had influence in Bridlehelm since its founding. When the old count had died, my father had just as much right to rule as the current countess. Many called her a traitor when she took the throne. But my father swore allegiance to her as he had the count.” Ruby paused. Her eyes suddenly welled with tears. “If he had taken the throne, he would have never been sent out here. He wouldn’t have died.”

White Leaf bit his lip. His attempts at sympathy seemed to make things worse. But he had to press. Information about the outside world was key to survival. And hopefully he could ease the pain for Ruby. “Tell me more about your father.”

Ruby was silent for a moment. “He was a great warrior. His skill was unmatched by any, except, perhaps, his mother. An’ that griffon.”

“Which o- oh.” She meant the white griffon, the leader of the pride. It certainly was not the largest of the group. But it made up for size with speed and cunning. White Leaf had only caught a glimpse of it before it faded into the snow and dark. It had struck one of the two guards outside the tent. White Leaf turned away before she died. He was glad he did. When he turned back, most of her was gone.

“I have no doubt that it killed him. That creature,” she spat the word, “is to blame for everything. It’s the reason we were trapped for weeks. It’s the reason none of us could escape. It laid the trap. It kept us in place until we were weak.” Ruby fell silent for a moment. “I vow I will kill that beast,” she shouted into the fire. “Or die trying,” she finished quietly.

White Leaf looked away, pretending not to notice his companions outburst. Ruby muttered to herself for a brief amount of time. White Leaf let her do so without interruption. The pegasus needed time to accept her father’s death. That she maintained herself for so long was impressive. At some point, her muttering simply became sobbing. White Leaf slid over to her, awkwardly placing a foreleg around her slumped shoulders. Ruby leaned into him sobbing.

Sometime later, White Leaf awoke. Ruby was awake, stoking the fire. Her cheeks were still wet from tears, but she appeared to be alright. Noticing the unicorn was awake, Ruby passed him the saddlebags.

“You should eat, White. We need to move quickly.”

White Leaf nodded. “Of course. What’s the plan?”

“Return to Bridlehelm, talk to the countess, find soldiers, an’ hunt down the white griffon.”

White Leaf backed away from her a few paces, afraid she may strike him in anger. He nodded and ate. If they could survive until Bridlehelm, he could stay there. He didn’t know much about the place, but it seemed a lot safer than the woods. Maybe he could start a new life in the city.

“Help me in my armor,” Ruby demanded as soon as White Leaf finished eating. He obliged the pegasus, tightening the various straps. Then he fit himself into his own gear: first his saddlebags, then the harness for his sword, and finally his cloak.

Bracing himself for more of the cold, White Leaf followed Ruby out of the cave.

“Alright, alright,” Ruby giggled. The pegasus had a sweet laugh. It was comforting to hear such a warm sound in the cold night. “I suppose it’s only fair. I never had a crush on one of my tutors, but I did have one of my father’s friend. He was ‘bout half the age of my father, though still way too old for me. I was madly in love with him though. Every time he came by, I followed him around like a little dog. Once, I-”

“Dog?” White Leaf questioned.

“Yeah, I... Wait, do they not have dogs where you’re from?”

“No.”

Ruby laughed. “They’re four legged, yapping, whiney beasts. They cause more problems than they fix. They’re annoying as anything. An’ I love them to death. Most loyal companion you’ll ever find.”

White Leaf nodded. “Okay.”

“So, where was I?” Ruby scratched her chin for a moment. Suddenly, she blushed. “Do I really have to tell you?”

“I told you about Antiquity. Fair’s fair.”

“Fine. So, I once went out to our gardens an’ picked out the prettiest flower I could find. Then I - Do they have flowers where you’re from?”

“Yes,” White Leaf said, smiling slightly. “Quit delaying.”

“Okay, okay. I went over to Thunderdust, that was his name, an’ gave him the flower. Then I,” Ruby’s blush deepened, her face nearly matching her name, “asked him to marry me.”

White Leaf stopped. He bit his tongue, trying to hold back his laughter. But he couldn’t. The blue eyed unicorn dropped to the ground laughing. He rolled in the snow, unable to express his mirth solely through sound. Ruby glared at him for a moment, before joining in.

“I felt pretty dumb,” she continued laughing, “but he said yes.”

White Leaf’s eyes widened. “He said yes?”

“Jokingly of course. But I was so excited. I started planning the wedding right away. I didn’t see him a for a few months though, an’ I eventually lost interest. He still teases me ‘bout it though.”

White Leaf chuckled. The two traveled in silence for a few minutes.

“Do you have one?” Ruby suddenly asked.

“Have one what?”

“A wife. Or mate. Somepony special.”

“No, I don’t.” White Leaf answered.

“Why not?”

“I... In my, uh, city, we don’t really have special someponies. We just reproduce with our assigned mate when the time calls for it.”

Ruby’s eyes widened. “Oh,” she said softly. After a pause, she ended, “ew.”

White Leaf nodded. “I never, um, had to. I was too young last season. And we do still have marriages in some cases. Occasionally, if one gets attached, the Council will allow them to bond together. It’s one of the few ways that females in our society can gain positions of meaning.”

Ruby stopped. “What does that mean?”

“What does what mean?”

“Position of meaning.”

“Oh,” White Leaf chewed his lip, trying to come up with a non-offensive way to explain. “It’s just that, we, um, have a form of hierarchy that tends to place our wea- I mean our female counterparts on the lower end. You know what,” White Leaf added quickly, “It’s stupid and it doesn’t apply here.”

“You’re right,” Ruby agreed. “It is stupid.”

As soon as she finished, the forest broke. The pair stood at the edge of a wide tundra. A light snow covered the ground. For the first time since the camp, White Leaf could clearly see the full moon. Off in the distance stood the tall, metallic buildings of some ancient city. But the pair didn’t get to admire the scenery for long. They were quickly surrounded by a group of ponies, clad in purple and yellow armor. They were mostly earth ponies, though a couple pegasi and a single unicorn were mixed in with the group. Lances and spears were attached to the sides of the soldiers. They circled around White Leaf and Ruby, blocking escape.

White Leaf’s horn glew slightly as the unicorn unsheathed his blade. But Ruby placed a hoof on him gently, telling him to lower the weapon.

“Who are they?” He whispered.

“Soldiers of Roam.”