Cast Out
Chapter 2: A Perfect Gift
I was born into a noble family, though my mother would rarely speak of it. She would only repeat the same words year after year.
Your father was a great stallion. He was respected and loved by all. Please, just...leave it at that.
Every year I would comply, but my curiosity grew rapidly and my patience was wearing thin. Getting my mother to repeat those words took a great deal of enticing and so it seemed pointless to pursue it further.
My mother was a beautiful mare. She was loved and respected everypony. Her golden coat would shimmer in the summer sun and her luscious, chocolate brown mane would flow freely in the breeze, cascading down to the ground like a waterfall. Her eyes would tell you she cares and her lips would always be curled into a loving, inviting smile; the kind of which would claim the hearts of many a stallion. She was beautiful on all accounts, beyond just her looks. Her voice was as majestic and fair as any other feature, gaining her renown in the field of diplomacy. She could settle any debate. By just voicing her opinion, ponies would accept it without question. She was almost a perfect mare. The only blemish she could account for was the son she bore; the foal with the mark of an outcast.
When I came to age, I was branded, as were all who had come before me, as will all who come to age in the future. It is a rite that everypony must pass. If, as a foal, you fail to endure the pain of the branding, you are cast aside without a second thought; the empire has no room for the weak. Everypony is branded with one of four Insignia: Repremendi, Nobilitas, Militaris or Imperator. The Repremendi Insignia represents the 'undesirable' ponies of the empire. Those that show no promise of military strength or simply not born into nobility are branded with this sign. These ponies are forced to squalor in the cramped, dirty streets of the sector know as 'Repremendis'. The Nobilitas Insignia is given to those of noble birth. This brand provides promise of a life of wealth and luxury. Ponies with this Insignia are given beautiful villas in the sector known as 'Nobilitasis', though many simply refer to it as the 'Noble Quarters'. Then, there is the Insignia of the Militaris. If a foal shows promise of great strength, they are branded with this Insignia. They are brought up to serve the emperor in his army, the New Canterlot Militia. They are provided with an adequate lifestyle; free housing, food and a stable job. These ponies are well respected, perhaps even more so than many noble ponies. These ponies often become great commanders or heroes of the militia. Finally, there is the Insignia of the Imperator, granted only to the emperor and his heirs. It is the most prestigious of brands and promises an almost guaranteed spot at the head of the empire upon the emperor's passing.
These brands determine everything you are and everything you will come to be. It is for this reason that a great deal of care is taken into each and every brand, for should the pony conducting the rites slip, or make one simple mistake, you are scarred. A misshapen, smudged, unclear or scarred brand, marks you as unworthy; an Illaudatus. Even the Repremendi were considered better than an Illaudatus. It is seen as a great dishonor to a noblepony to be associated with an Illaudatus and as such, they often abandon mares who bear children that are marked as such. As an Illaudatus, your family is stripped of whatever title they once owned and are forced to find refuge within the Repremendis, known to all as the Slums of New Canterlot, or elsewhere in Equestria. It is a mark of shame; a mark which a pony must carry with them to their graves
When I came of age and I was receiving my brands, the pony coordinating my rite sneezed of all things! My brand was misshapen, burning a large portion of my right flank. I was branded as an Illaudatus. My mother was divorced and lost everything. She was forced to migrate to the Slums, ponies scorning her and embellishing her once respected name as she left. She had become very loved by the Repremendi and as such was greeted with loving and sympathetic hooves. For several years she squatted in a different house every week or month. My mother eventually settled in a small bakery owned by caring stallion by the name of Panificus.
He was a very large, very gruff stallion. His coat was dark blue and his mane a shade of crimson red. Both had become encrusted with dirt and patches had started coming apart from the years of squalor he had been forced to endure. He was a well known pony in the Slums, due mainly to his abnormal strength. Many believed him to be the strongest pony in all of New Canterlot, though it could never be proven. What set him apart from the usual, brutes that could be found preying on the weak and unfortunate in the Slums, was the fact that despite his Intimidating appearance, he was a gentle pony. He never used his strength on another pony and never imagined he could do so. His intimidating stature often caused ponies to avoid him, yet they were drawn back by his gentle nature and his calm yet commanding voice.
Pan cared for my mother and me for little over a decade, my mother working in the bakery to support me. She never accepted the continuous offers that Pan put forward, refusing to accept charity. She was funny like that; stubborn as a mule sometimes. By this time, I had become self-sufficient, finding jobs to care for myself so that my mother could relax a little more. Of course she still spent more time looking after me than she did herself. Mothers never change. I helped out as often as I could in the bakery to help Pan who had become more and more of a father figure to me over the years. Of course I still longed to find my real father, but my mother still spun the same old tale whenever I approached her. I understood her hesitation, but I had to find out for myself. Call it instinct, but I knew in my heart that my perseverance would pay off one day. i just had to keep trying. I guess I could be just as stubborn as my mother sometimes. I would often dream of stealing away into the Noble Quarters and sneaking into the great library, reading book after book until I found some record of my father. I knew how absurd it was, but...a pony can dream right?
We lived happily in that bakery, with Pan for 6 more years. pan had grown attached to my mother and even asked her out one night! I felt sorry for him when she declined, but she wanted to remain faithful to the stallion she had married. Pan respected her decision. He says that he had never loved a mare like he loved my mother and he would not push her. The life we all knew changed dramatically on my 21st birthday, when I had truly come of age.
I wasn't as well built as the average stallion at my age, but it wasn't as if I didn't care about my looks. I just didn't have the time to keep up with a routine whilst juggling work with Pan and caring for my mother. I had a rather plain appearance with my grey coat and dark purple mane. My mane was cut short, as was required by all stallions. It was more of a tradition that a law, but it was seen as disrespectful to bypass such traditions. It was how we kept the memory of past empires alive. Only the emperor, his heirs and the most prestigious of the nobles could bypass these traditions without being judged, out of fear or reverence. Pan had arranged a special surprise for me, asking me to meet him in his room at dawn. Anxiously, I entered his room, but nothing could have prepare me for the surprise I was about to receive.
"Sin! You are here. I feared you would sleep in as usual and miss it!"
"What can I say? I enjoy my rest!"
"Well enjoy it while you can Sin. Before you know it, old age will creep up on you and rest will be the last thing on your mind."
"So where's this gift? Is it real or were you too cheap to get me one this year?" I chuckled. Pan always got me a gift, even after I told him numerous times that he needn't feel as if he has to. Part of me wishes to never know the truth of my real father so that the illusion I have come to accept will never fade.
"Sin" he started, his face appearing serious yet jovial at once. This wasn't the first occasion however. he loved to toy with the ponies in the Slums. It was his way of having fun, despite the creaky bones. "I've been waiting to give you this for a long time. Now that you're 21, i feel like it's finally time."
"Alright. Care to elaborate old timer?" I tease. If Pan hates anything, it's the idea of becoming so old that he is unable to care for himself. He made me swear that should it come to it, I would dump him in the nearest river and leave him. To this day I still question whether or not he was serious.
"I may be getting old, but I'm still a youth at heart. I used to dream of going on adventure you know. Never did. That doesn't mean I can't give that chance to somepony else."
"I don't understand."
"Promise me that this will never reach your mother's ears. She'd have my hide if she knew!"
"I promise..."
"It will be difficult but...i think I can sneak you into the Noble Quarters. You can finally search for the truth like you used to dream about."
I sat in stunned silence, my mouth agape, at the news that I might actually have the chance to find my father.
"I thought you'd say that" he chuckled to himself as he left me to ponder over what he had just revealed.
