The Exiled

Sil opened his eyes, around him was a vast, beautiful field filled with flowers of every color, a pleasant breeze whisked through his hair carrying with it the smell of spring, and the sun warmed his skin. He smiled and closed his eyes, taking a moment to soak in the atmosphere.

His vision shifted. The ground grew dark and torn, the air now carried the scent of ash and smoke and a deep-seated fatigue ached throughout his body as he felt himself topple to the ground.

A cold, black sky loomed silent and unmoving above him as tears flowed down his face mixing with the blood and sweat that stained his form.

Sil felt regret, sorrow, loss, and the stinging wisps of a cold rage. He was keenly aware of several other people around him, each watching him silently with their own emotions racing through their minds.

The tears continued to flow silently as the ruined sky passed by.

Why was he here? Where was he even?

He couldn’t remember.

Who were those that watched him with such sad eyes?

No names; not even their faces came to mind. The only thing Sil could name was his guilt, and even then. He couldn’t. Remember… Why?

Sils eyes shot open scanning the unfamiliar night sky that rested above him, his throat was patched and an ache came from his head.

“W-what?” His voice came, it was dry and cracked.

He stood up and took in the surrounding landscape, not that there was much to take in aside from the dry, cracked ground and occasional shrub.

His eyes came upon a large gathering of tents in the distance lit up by a large fire coming from the center. Sil frowned at the sight of the flames and began to walk toward the display.

As he got closer he was able to recognize the source of the flame was an impressively large bonfire, deep voices and cheers could be heard as he made his way through the camp. When he got close to the large fire he found himself peeking around the side of a tent.

He was caught off guard by the large figures celebrating around the fire, heads of bulls, bodies similar to his own, and animalistic legs. ‘Minotaurs’ the name came to his mind as he ducked back into cover. Suddenly, he wasn't feeling so safe walking into this camp.

Sil began to think about how he was meant to get back out when a thundering roar of a horn bellowed in the distance, the Minotaur that were celebrating previously began to scramble around the camp at once. Sil did his best to hide in the shadow of the tent and by some incredible luck he went unseen as a large group ran past him shouting something about cats and an ambush.

As Sil cowered in the shade of his tent the sound of fighting grew closer. Slowly shaking himself out of his panic at the sudden events Sil stood up and began to make his way back the way he had entered, only to be stopped by the scene of a group of three Minotaurs engaged in a fight with a small group of what could only be described as cat people.

All but a single cat had some sort of light-metal armor covering their body as they weaved weightlessly around the three beasts, the Minotaur on the other hand had only pelts of animals hung over their bodies as they used their mass to rip their weapons through the air in brutal arcs.

The single cat in the back wore what looked to be a lab coat and was writing something down with a wicked smile as she watched the fight. Slowly the Minotaur began to fall to their wounds and her eyes traveled around for a new enemy, only to find Sil instead.

Her eyes took on a look of shock which was immediately suppressed by an unhinged curiosity and glee, Sil took a step back as she shouted orders to the other cats who all locked onto him at once. He only managed to run a few feet before he was tackled to the ground by one of the cats.

Sil managed to throw the cat off and he scrambled to his feet, he spared a glance at his assailant, and a shock shot through him. The cat, or cats for that matter weren't wearing armor, it looked more like metal plates had replaced sections of their skin, he took a step back as he met its eyes which held a tortured but dull consciousness, It held a jagged blade and a small chuckle came from behind it as the rest of them caught up.

“Oh don't be scared~ he isn't going to kill you, yet” the calm voice came from the cat in a lab coat who held a much more natural appearance than her allies, “after all I haven't seen anything like you before…” she trailed off as she scanned his body and an excited smile came to her lips.

“Tay!” A booming voice shouted from behind Sil and he wheeled around to see a giant Minotaur clad in heavy armor and wielding a giant axe heading a group of several others. His eyes scanned over Sil and he shot Tay a look, “Have you finally lost yourself? I do not remember you cats ridding one another of fur”

Tay tsked and her gaze turned venomous, “that is no cat, Sekera. And I'll have you know I have better things to do than shave my drones” She shot Sil an innocent smile, “now why don't you just stay right there while I deal with this filth” she directed the insult towards the Minotaur who simply smiled at the challenge and readied his axe.

At once the ‘drones’ as Tay called them shot past Sil with an unnatural speed and charged at Sekera’s group, the large Minotaur let out a roar and charged forward to meet them with a smile on his face.

Sil once again turned to run only to be stopped by a cold gloved paw gripping his arm, he looked to see Tay shooting him an annoyed look, “I’m not about to let you go” she glanced back at the fight as one of the drones met a grisly end, “especially when it's costing me good subjects”

“L-let go!” Sill shouted and shoved her away with his free hand, she gave him a surprised look which once again grew into a giddy smile.

“Sapient, and stronger than steel!” her sleeve shifted and a slight glint of metal caught Sills's eye, she giggled “oh you’re definitely worth the cost” Sil watched her carefully as she pulled out a small vial.

“Just… let me go” he said in a shaky tone, he flinched as a loud roar came from behind him.

Sil turned to see Sekera standing over the final drone with several wounds along his toned body, his allies had fallen to their own leaving the giant alone with a bloody smile on his face, he didn't say a word as he began to walk towards them, his axe leaving a heavy trail in the ground behind him.

His attention turned back to Tay as a spurt of pink mist caught him in the face, he took a step back as a heavy wave of nausea hit him rendering him unable to resist as Tay, with surprising strength for her size, threw him under her arm and took off with a speed similar to the drones before.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sil woke up looking at a white ceiling, the room was well lit and there was a faint smell in the air that caused his stomach to turn. He tried to sit up only to be stopped by straps holding his arms and legs to the table.

His rapidly growing panic was broken when he heard the door open, he turned his head to see Tay looking at him with the same excited grin she had before.

“Oh good, you’re awake! I was starting to worry that the pheromones had caused some form of brain damage” she chuckled to herself and walked over to his body, which he began to realize was completely exposed.

She let out a curious hum and tapped his chin with a paw, “open up”

Sil grunted his refusal and gave her a suspicious glare instead.

“Oh don’t be a little kit”- she placed her paw over his nose and pushed up while also grabbing his jaw and prying down he relented and opened his mouth.

“not so hard now, is it?” She asked with a satisfied smile, he kept his mouth open as she retrieved a swab and swiped the inside of his mouth, “there, just a simple sample see?”

He worked his jaw, “then will you let me go?”

She snorted as she made her way to a table, she swiped the swab on something and began interacting with a machine, “of course not! Once I find out what you are, and get you to tell me where you came from, I’ll have you replace one of the drones that I lost to that filth” she spoke casually.

Sil swallowed, “w-why?”

“Well it’s not every day you come across a never-before-seen species, especially one in a Minotaur camp”- she spared a glance at him -“I’m still not sure how you managed to go without being killed or turned into some toy by the beasts”

Sil didn’t respond, instead, he tested the restraints, which much to his dismay held him down secure.

She seemed to notice as she walked back over to him and flicked his nose, “now now, I’ve still got you under the influence of the pheromones. while they may not render you susceptible they do seem to keep you down well enough”

Tay smiled when he met her eyes, “interested, are you?”

‘Not in the slightest’

She took his silence as an affirmative and pulled out a small vial similar to what she used on him before, “this here is a homogeneous mixture of cat and changeling pheromones, from a queen nonetheless” he gave her a clueless look and she sighed, “essentially they render any cat who comes into sustained contact completely subservient to myself~”

“I’m not… a cat?,” he said looking at what he could see of his own body questioningly

Tay rolled her eyes, “you don’t say” she tapped him on the head, “you are no cat, but your body is certainly similar. And not only are you stronger, but you also seem to be built for dexterity and durability unlike us, who are built for speed and grace”

She let out a hum and her eyes went down his body, “you also have some other differences, which seem to be… more than what our males are given”

He gave her a confused look and she waved him away, “I’ve spent enough time talking for today, I still have to set up more drones for our next raid after that filth despatched my last troop”

Tay didn’t elaborate on whatever these ‘raids’ were, instead taking her leave and letting Sil sit in silence.

“Shit”

Sil spoke to himself as he stared at the ceiling.

‘I’ve been wherever this place is for a single day, and I’ve managed to get captured by a crazy cat-thing that likes mind control’

A part of him was just slightly amused by the chaos, but mostly he was just annoyed, angry, and pretty scared.

‘I haven’t even started trying to find my way back…’ he thought back to the strange dream. The tears, the blood, and the surrounding land had felt so real. And the people who had surrounded him… he felt as if he should know who they were, maybe even apologize, and at the very least figure out why he had been in that place.

‘Who even am I?’

His thoughts ended when he once again heard the door open, instead of seeing the doctor and her familiar green eyes he listened to the sound of… hooves tapping against the tile floor.

He tried to see what was approaching him but it was apparently just under his line of sight as it stopped beside his bed.

“Canth youh hearth me?” A voice that sounded like it was talking with something in its mouth spoke up quietly beside him.

“Yes?” He whispered back, he swore he heard whatever it was prancing its hooves in excitement before it began to fiddle with his straps from under the table.

“What are you-“ he stopped talking when the strap holding his arm suddenly loosened and he freed it from its position, he smiled as the others came soon after and sat up letting him get a look at his apparent savior.

For the third time that day, Sil was surprised by what he saw. Simply put, it was a pony. She had a dark blue coat that was nearing the point of black and a dark purple mane, what stood out the most was the pair of bat-like wings on her sides, the two small fangs peeking out from her mouth, and her scarlet-red eyes.

She watched him with a nervous smile, “h-hello, you aren't going to try and eat me… right?”

Sil stared at her for a moment, “...you- you let me go before asking that?”

The pony frowned, “that would’ve been rude!”

He continued to stare at her until she started to fidget under his gaze, “I’m not going to eat you”

She smiled and bounced on her hooves in excitement, “Thank you!” she looked towards the door, “now we just need to…” she looked to Sill, “escape… by…”

“You don't have a plan do you?”

She opened her mouth, then closed it and gave him another smile.

Sil sighed, “of course, you don't” he ignored her frown, “what's your name horse?”

“Moon Dust, and I’m a thestral, not a horse!”

Sil nodded and pointed to the door, “can you open the door again?”

She nodded and walked over to the door, she opened her wing and a small card fell to the ground. She then picked up the card with her hoof somehow and pressed it against the door, after a moment it swung open.

Sil stood up and walked toward her, he felt sluggish but whatever was causing it felt like it was wearing off quickly, “Now do you think you could point out the direction of the exit while I run?”

“sure!” She gave him a confused look, “…run?”

“LEFT, GO LEFT!” Moon shouted into Sil’s ear as they darted through the complex.

“I HEARD YOU” He shouted back as he took a sharp left into another long corridor. The sound of several guards making chase was audible from behind them.

Moon giggled as she shifted around on his back, “THIS IS JUST LIKE MY BOOKS!”

Sil ignored his companion’s excitement and continued down the long hall, as they neared the end a set of steel doors came into view.

“That’s the exit!” Her hoof pointed over his shoulder towards the doors.

Sil nodded in confirmation and continued to charge towards their exit.

As they got close Sil shouted, “Hold on!” with a grunt he slammed through the doors narrowly avoiding running into a small group of cats that had been walking along the street outside.

The group didn’t hesitate to start running when they got a clear look at Sil’s completely nude form, he felt Moon hop off his back and he turned to her as she started to wave him forward, “Sil! Follow me”

Sil glanced back and saw one of the guards make their way out of the building as he and Moon disappeared into an alleyway.