Way of the Comet - Chapter Three
"The sunsets here are so beautiful," said Shadow Wing
thoughtfully. "They remind me so much of home. All the
different colors.... they remind me so much of my family and
friends when I young before my exile. It's not easy having to
find food enough not only to feed yourself but the rest of the
exiles I was with. It seemed like one of us would die everyday. I'm
sorry, you didn't need to know about that."
"It's ok Shadow Wing," I then ventured to say, "Why
were you and others like you exiled. What happened that they did
this. It doesn't seem very fair to me. Who did this?"
"If you really want to know," she began, "it was
one of my own ancesters that caused this exile of all black or
very darkly colored unicorns."
"You mean someone who's not even alive anymore caused this
and you and a few others who were unlucky enough to be born dark
are to be punished for whatever was done who knows how long ago?
This is totally rediculus?"
"That is true. It is wrong to punish those who are innocent
of crimes made long ago. Many of us outlaws agree with you. Its
just getting the emporer to listen to us. We need someone to talk
to him from our group and no one wants to face him."
"I see. You better tell me the whole story. It might help if
I knew what not to say when I get there. Maybe I could talk to
the emporer on behalf of all of you."
"Alright I'll tell you. You could be the one whe could lift
this exile from us. It all started a long time ago before our
Great Exodus before the destruction of the cities of Sodam and
Gomorah. Timorhan, my ancestor, was emporer. He was a black
unicorn except for a single silver stripe on his horn. The first
decades of his rule were done with wisdom and kindness, a golden
age of sorts. Each year he would go out and do an inspection of
all the herds. One year after he returned he had changed. He was
no longer the wise and kind ruler we knew. He became a hard and
unfeeling tyrant. The innocent were punished for all types of
misdeeds and the guilty could do no wrong. Mares became nothing
but breeding stock and stalions were all that could lead the
herds. We were in chaos. The herd leaders didn't do nothing to
him until after he crossed the line. First he put all dark
colored unicorns above the others no matter how well or how badly
they led their herds. Then after that he started to create his
own master race. He would bring in several young, never been bred
fillies into a large room and proceeded to breed with them in
front of all those present against their will and if that didn't
satisfy him he would summon one of the workers and finish on them.
He horded all the best grazing lands for himself and his
followers. The rest were forced to survive on what they could
find. Which was little at best. This went on for years until a
mare named Hopewell couln't take any more. She gathered all the
unicorns she could and rallied them against Timorhan. She failed
in her first attmept to dethrone him and was captured. Timorhan
publicly announced what would be done to her. That is when his
followers realized that his rule was no longer what they wanted.
So they plotted against him and set Hopewell free. With help from
the inside she and the others attacked once again and Timorhan
was captured and imprisoned while Hopewell and the herd leaders,
both mare and stallion once again, put together the coulcil of
elders. The first task the coulnsil had to do was to administer a
suitable punishment to Timorhan. They chose exile and the same
was to happen to his followers. To make sure nothing like this
would happen again they had every dark colored unicorn join him
in exile. The counsil then proclaimed that none of dark colors
like the exiled emporer were never to rule in any way or be
allowed to be with their herds. All those like me were to be in
exile for the rest of our lives. Only as long as we remained in
our school herds were we to stay. I finished my schooling just
before I was sent to find you and your mother."
"Whatever happened to Timorhan?"
"We don't know. He disappeared soon after his exile and was
never seen again."
"How strange that happened. Did anyone.....? "
Shadow Wing had moved a short distance away. She seemed sad. I
think I would feel the same way if I was being punished for what
my ancestor did before I was even thought of. There had to be
someting that I culd do to get her back with her friends and
family where could be happy again. When your only sixteen, there
isn't much you can do to make others listen. At least that is
what I had thought.
"Come. Its getting late," Shadow Wing said. "We
have a long flight in the morning. We need to rest."
"Alright, I'll see you in the morning, Goodnight." I
told her as I left. She seemed so lonely to then. I felt it had
to be up to me to get her place back in the herd and to be the
best friend possible to her. I had to change the way I thought
about her. For so long I thought horses were animals for
companionship. Now I know they are much more. Shadow Wing taught
me that.
"Help me! Somebody please help me! I'm falling, heeeelp!"
Falling, falling faster and faster the ground rushing up then......."I'm
coming, I won't let anything hurt you." Oomph! "Thank
you dear friend, thank you." Air whooshing by my face then
all of a sudden..nothing. No light, no sound, no feeling, just
nothing. A flash, what is it, another flash, green this time. A
sound, more flashes of color, birdsong sounds and flashes
starting to blend together. Woods! all around me. A soft breeze
caresses my body, I'm all alone in these strange woods. I call
out, "Shadow Wing, where are you. Shadow Wing!" Silence
then a soft echo comes then silence again. Walking around I
decide to explore a little. I hear water falling and tripping
over rock, i move to see. The birds begin singing again. I come
to a stream with a little waterfall, a deer is drinking from a
calm pool nearby. *SNAP* A twig breaks and the deer bolts. The
stream is clear, small fish play in its depths. The birds stop
singing, a squirrel chatters, then quiet. A sense of foreboding
overcomes me. I turn around and look, nothing is there."Shadow
Wing, is that you? I'm here by the stream. Shadow Wing?"
"I don't know who this Shadow Wing is," a deep growling
voice says from the bushes, "but I am Arton and you are my
dinner." He roars loudly and springs from the bushes. A
large panther like creaature pounces me. I scream and nothing
comes out.....
"Larana, wake up honey," my father says. "Wake up.
You're having a nightmare."
"Oh, daddy, it was terrible. Something was going to eat me
and no one was there to stop it," I told him. I was holding
on to him shaking and shivering in fear.
"It's ok. It was only a dream, honey. Just a dream."
"I know it was only a dream, but it seemed to real. I'm too
scared to sleep."
"Don't worry about it. Repeat to yourself, it's only a dream.
Now it's 2:30 in the morning. Try to get some sleep, you have a
long ride in the morning."
"Yes, daddy, I'll try."
"Good night then, sweet dreams." and he kissed me on
the forehead.
After that it seemed I had just laid my head down when my alarm
went off. 6:30 in the morning. When I finally got myself dressed
and down stairs, dad had breakfast waiting. He had waffles, eggs,
bacon, and muffins waiting on me. It looked like he was going to
feed an army after I left.
"I didn't know what you wanted, so I made all of this. What
you don't eat I'll keep for my breakfasts while you're gone."
He set my plate down in front of me and rubbed my head. My father
was so sweet, he always seemed to know what I needed to cheer me
up.
"Thank you dad, this is way too much for me here on this
plate. I will miss you while I'm gone and Sunny too," I told
him. A tear came fell down my cheek and I sniffed.
"I'll miss you too, now eat. You're going to need it,"
he said. "It's going to be a while till you get to eat again.
Now stop picking at your food. We need to get going soon."
"Ok, daddy, I have all my stuff ready to go in my room. And,
daddy, thank you for letting me go."
"Anything for my little girl, now come on. I'll load up the
truck and we can go as soon as you are ready." He left the
kitchen and got the truck loaded. I did as he told me and ate as
much as I could.
When I finished, I got the sink ready for him so that he didn't
have so much to do when he got back.
