She heard a mix of jumbled voices as everything finally began to clear. It felt like she was underwater and couldn’t see, but could hear everything going on at the surface.
I say we kill her. There was Grayfeather’s voice again. He seemed pretty sold on doing away with her.
But the Sacred Writings say to love our enemies! Eaglecloud, of course.
Silence! This voice was new. It was young, but it held power.
Eaglecloud is right. The new voice said. The Sacred Writings say to love our enemies. The filly will stay on a trial basis. Morningbird will be put in charge of her.
Who was this Morningbird? Was she anything like the prisoner’s guard back home, who would tie sharp rocks into his tail and lash the backs of the captives?
Instead, a soft, meek voice replied. I will take care of her, Rowansun.
It was the voice of an elder, of the servant kind.
Her head was buzzing. She had the vague sensation of being picked up before her mind slipped away again.
***
“Lie still, little filly. You took quite a knock to the head.”
Mapleberry’s eyes fluttered open as she tried to struggle upright. A wing held her back down. “Easy now.”
She squinted into the face of a red roan mare. The first thing that she noticed was her eyes– instead of a clear deep brown, they were gray-white. She was blind.
It must have been a recent accident for them to have kept her alive. Mapleberry thought. Any time a blind foal was born back home, the baby was executed. Weed out the weak, that was the motto.
Then the mare turned. Mapleberry saw one strong, pale pink-feathered wing with the faintest brushing of red and white speckled in the feathers. But the other wing, the wing facing her, was small and twisted.
It wasn’t an injury. It was a defect. She was a Grounded pegasus.
“Who are you?” She mumbled.
The mare turned her head slowly. “I am Morningbird, Healer of Prairie Tribe. And you are?”
“Mapleberry.” She stuttered, finding that she could only stare at the defective wing. How is she still alive?
Weren’t defective foals killed here like they were in her old herd?
Morningbird could apparently see in other ways than her eyes. Her nose reached out and touched her smaller wing. “You notice that I am one of the Grounded.”
“I don’t understand.” Mapleberry said. “I thought all defects were killed. To lessen their pain in life.”
“Our laws are different from yours. Here the so-called “defective” foals are allowed to live.” Morningbird shuffled away a bit. Mapleberry flattened her head against the mossy ground. She suddenly realized they were inside some sort of very large, hollow tree. Herbs hung by tail hair, drying out. She must be a Mansha. Mapleberry thought, remembering the equines back home that everyone went to with ailments. Yet she didn’t get the same foreboding feeling here as she did when she stepped into the Mansha’s cave.
“Now I need you to eat some of this.” Some pungent herbs were rolled over to her nose. “It will help with your cuts and pain.”
“What are you?” She asked.
“I am a pegasus, same as you.” Morningbird replied.
“No, I mean, what are the herbs for?”
“Do they not have Healers in your herd?” Morningbird asked. “I treat the sick, the injured, and help the mares with their foaling. It’s my calling from the King.”
The King. The way she said the name made Mapleberry shiver in excitement and nausea all at the same time. It felt as if there were two halves inside of her– one wanted to retch at the name, the other was strangely drawn to it, like a moth to light. It made her dizzy again.
“Who is this… King?” Mapleberry asked, almost choking on the title.
“Ah. I forget.” Morningbird said. “You Shakiran’s do not know Him.”
The mystery in her tone intrigued the curious half of Mapleberry so much that her nausea almost went away.
“He is Light.” Morningbird said. “And hope. And peace and joy and sacrifice and great, unthinkable love and power.”
“How do you know of such things?” Mapleberry asked.
“His own Writings, of course! He left them to us so that we could know how to follow Him.”
Mapleberry closed her eyes. “You can’t possibly know that it is true. Have you ever seen the King?”
Morningbird paused. “No. Have you ever seen Abaddon?”
Mapleberry shivered from head to toe. Her mind was filled with the swirling, evil blackness of the great dragon’s pupil. It pulsed evil and darkness, throbbed with power.
She’d only been down to the Innermost Chamber once. She never wanted to go again.
“The King is everything Abaddon is not.” Morningbird said. “He is safe and good.”
“What is He?” Mapleberry asked. “Is he a pegasus?”
Morningbird paused. “He changes His forms to reach us. The self that He showed to us, thousands of years ago, was a colt. A very ordinary, regular pegasus colt. But He did many great things. Then He grew up. There were three followers… I believe their names were Rockscale, Lightningstrike, and… yes, Leafcloud. They saw Him with two of the great pegasi of Old, Waterdrawn and Ravenfire, but He was not a pegasus any more! He was a lion. A great, powerful, white lion, with glowing turquoise eyes. And they thought they were dreaming, but no. They had managed to see a glimpse of the King’s True Form.”
“Does he have a name, besides “the King?” Mapleberry asked.
“He goes by many names.” Morningbird said. “But, depending on the region, He is sometimes called Adonai or Yahweh.”
The true name of the king– and the thought of a white lion with turquoise eyes burning with love, not fear– made Mapleberry’s head buzz even more. Confusion and exhaustion threatened to choke her.
“Rest now.” Morningbird said. “You are safe here. You will stay here in Prairie Tribe, with me as my apprentice. I’ve been needing someone to take on after me.”
I don’t want to stay with you. Mapleberry thought. Why on earth would they keep a defect alive? Are they even weaker than we thought?
“I want to go home.” She snapped.
Morningbird’s head shot up. For a chilling second, it felt like the blind mare was staring into her very soul. “I can see in different ways than you think.” She said. “Whether you like it or not, I believe this is what the King has called you to do… what He has brought you here for.”
And with that, the blind mare turned again and walked out of the tree.
OK, this snipit was REALLY well done! I read Broken Wings first, and it’s really neat learning more about Mapleberry. You did a nice job with everyone’s character’s!