Cloven Hooves

The sun sets. Another windless dusk. Waves crashes against the rough rocky wall. Torches light up the sandy shore as hooded figures make their way over to a wooden casket nestled in the sands. The ocean trickles its waters higher up the shore, easing the casket back into the blue void. Hooves quickly clasp onto the wooden bed, pulling it out from the waters and back onto land further up.

The musty casket was nailed shut, albeit horribly, as if whoever wanted to get rid of it, they did so hurriedly. In the same manner, one of the three hooded figures struck a metal shaft in between the casket and the lid prying it open. Eventually, the wood gave in releasing the lid from the nail’s clutches.

Inside is a young mare, an earth pony. Unconscious. Fur wet from the voyage. The hooded figures reach in and pull the mare out from the casket. The other two figures lays the mare on the back of the third large figure and they made their way inland.

~ ~ ~

Warmth surrounds the body. The scent of dried sage permeated the air. The sound of fire snapping and hissing soon filled the room. The eyelids became less heavy and light shined through.

A mature doe with an eye patch sits beside the mare occupying herself with a book. She hears the mare moan silently. She looks at the mare, making sure she heard the moan from her. Instead the mare slowly moves her hoof from underneath the covers. This brought the doe to her legs. She levitates the book on the table as she quickly makes her way out the door and closes it behind her.

The mare slowly moves her head, her eyes making out every detail in the room. A cabinet where various liquids are kept in glass jars. A wooden table, where a tub of water and gauzes lay. A chair where a folded blanket sat. And a wardrobe, presumably where a doctor’s robes are in. This is a patient's room, a shoddy one at that.

The door opens and a stocky deer comes in, followed by the same doe from earlier. The mare looks over to the door and sees another deer, with a raggedy robe, walking in making it three visitors in the room. The mare tries to sit up only to find herself tied down.

“Easy now,” The robed deer says. The mare lowers her head back onto the pillow. “You’ve just woken up.”

The stocky deer walks by the table and stops abruptly. His horns glow and the book levitates. He then turns to face the doe. “Do not be leaving anything like this in here!” He says with a stern, gruff voice. It wasn’t until now that the mare realizes what the book was. A grimoire.

The robed deer walks closer to the mare. “Do you feel nauseous? Any signs of dizziness?” The mare stares quietly at the, doctor. “What about numbness? Any discomfort anywhere in the body?”

“She's fine, doc.” The stocky deer says. “She's only been here for two days. I’m sure she's recovered enough.”

“We can’t be too sure.” The, doctor says.

“For all we know this, mute, could be a mule-” The stocky deer stops for a moment before leaning in. “Do you think they may have sealed her throat?” The mare shudders at the thought and looks to the doctor.

“If they did, she wouldn’t have made any noise.” The doctor walks over to the cabinet. He opens the glass door and levitates a glass jar with a yellow substance inside. The cork pops loose and the doctor walks back to the mare with the jar. “Drink this.” The mare turns her head away, her eyes staring at the doctor. “This isn’t going to kill you.”

The mare looks at the yellow liquid in the jar. It looks thin and slightly clear. She turns her head back towards the doctor and lifts her head. The doctor brings the jar to the mare's mouth and tilts the jar, slowly, pouring the liquid into her mouth.

The mare takes one gulp and quickly gags. She begins to cough, almost kecking each time. “What is that?!” The mare finally says under her coughs.

“A mixture of fermented berries, my friend.” The doctor says. “You looked parched.” The cork pops back into the jar. "Now, may I ask a few questions?" The doctor says as he brings himself closer to the mare, who tilts herself away from the doctor. "Who are you?"

The mare, puzzled, looks pass the doctor, failing to memorize any sense of what she is.

"Alright, let's start simple. What is your name?" The mare, confused at the idea of not memorizing any thought of her own name, eyes darting around the room. "Aberrant." The doctor says. The mare meets her eyes back at the doctor's, "I shall name you aberrant".

The mare realizes the doe past the stocky deer, writing on a smaller book. Her eyes looking up from the book to look directly at her before writing some more.

"Next question." The doctor continues. "What are you?"

The mare looks at the doctor before uttering, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," the doctor says, "I'm only saying what everyone has been thinking for the past two days you've spent here."

The mare looks at the stocky deer, who is intensely staring at her, memorizing briefly, before looking back at the doctor. "Are I not a pony?" She pauses before looking at the stocky deer, "An earth pony?"

The stocky deer walks over to the bed side. "You may have the body of an earth pony." His horns glow pulling the covers from the bed revealing the mare's body. "But would an earth pony have hooves like you?"

The mare's body was that of a normal pony, only the hooves were that of a unicorn. A cloven hoof. The doe gasp at the sight of the hooves nearly dropping the little book from her concentration.

The stocky deer places a hoof near the mare's head bringing his head closer. "Are you not an abomination that the earth ponies have created?!" He huffs. "Are you not a walking disease sent to contaminate us?!" He begins to yell louder. "Are you only sent here to cause chaos for us again?!" The mare stares on at the stocky deer as a moment passes. "What are you!?!"

"I don't know what I am!" The mare yells back, her chest rising up and down in anxiety. "I am just an earth pony born with hooves just like you!" She begins to breath heavily. "I don't know what all this could mean. I am just as confused as you are."

The stocky deer gazes past her. "Your parents..." he murmurs under his voice.

"What?" The mare says.

The stocky deer looks directly at her. "Your parents. What are your parents!?" Before the mare could say anything the stocky deer glows and is pulled away by the doe, who's little antlers are glowing intensely than before.

"That's quite enough, Adler." The doctor says. "She does not need to go deep into her lineage for you whilst presenting yourself fearful." The stocky deer is placed away from the bed and the glow dissipates. "She may not even open up to you."

The doe sits down on the floor after the magic she had just casted, rubbing her temples with her hooves.

"I am truly sorry for our friend, Adler, here." The doctor says as he begins to reach down and pulls on a lever. The top part of the bed is then raised to have the mare sit upright. "He is just on edge."

"We are all on edge, doc." Adler says.

"We are all wanting answers from you." The doctor brings a stool over and sits down. "You see, you are the only visitor from the capital in the last eighteen years."

The mare stares onward past the doctor. "How long have you all been here?"

"We've been here for twenty-three years now." The doctor pausing before continuing. "No ponies. Just those with cloven hooves."

"How many?" The mare asks.

The doctor pauses before continuing. "We are now at ninety-one hooves. ninety-one hooves living strong."

The young doe places a conch shell back into her bag and walks toward the doctor. “Four Bane is wanting to see her now.”

“Very well.” The doctor says. His horns glow and a drawer opens, levitating a scissor.

The mare sees the scissor floating towards her and squirms in her bindings before, Adler, blocks the scissor’s path.

“What are you doing?" Adler asks. "She is not to be trusted.”

“Do you see any horns on her?” The doctor says. “I do not”.

It takes a while before, Adler, moves away allowing the scissor to cut the bindings tying the mare down. The mare slowly sits up, her cloven hooves clasping at her wrists.

“Come, aberrant,” The doctor says. “The elders await us”.