[Prp] I will Teach you (Glitter Rock and Bright Dusk)

[Fatal Irony]

Her travels had led her closer to the village than she'd been in a long time. She could hear the hustle and bustle of the two-leggers in the distance and it filled her with pride to know that her mother and here herd protected them. She still was not in sight distance of the village and she paused in the field to decide her course. The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon and she knew she wouldn't make the village before dark. She glanced about and noted a small outcropping of trees that would provide shelter for the night and she began making her way towards it, looking forward to being lulled to sleep by the faint noises of life coming from the two-leggers. She'd always found the sound comforting, and she hadn't realized how much she had missed it in her travels. Perhaps she was just lonely from such a long and solitary trek. In any case, it felt good to be so near home for the moment, though she doubted she would stay. There was still much for her to learn before she felt ready to stand before her mother and the herd. She reached the outcropping of trees and peered into the shadows. It was empty and cool, a relief from the summer heat. A cool breeze kicked up and she sighed, taking a snack from the grass outside, lingering in the open air.  

[Brize]

Bright trotted purposefully through the underbrush, blending into the shadows of the forest as best he could. He was too close to the two-legger settlement to let down his guard. Goodness knew what those filthy creatures would do if they thought they had the opportunity to bind him as one of their indentured servants. Flight would only have made him visible to their scouts. His plumage was too colorful to serve as camouflage even in the twilight that was his namesake.

The stallion continued on his course until his train of thought was interrupted by the sound of shuffling hooves in the distance. Another Soquili? In this place, so close to dark?

Oh, no no no. It behooved him not to allow such a thing. Bright would find his fellow equine and make things right. A happy ending could most certainly be salvaged from this alarming turn of events.

He quickened his pace to a canter until he came upon a floss-pink unicorn mare, snacking on the grass as though she hadn't a care in the world.

"Good lady!" He slowed to a halt, ruffling his feathers into a more comfortable position as he went. Flying would always feel more natural to Bright than running. On the ground, his wings only ever got in the way. "I fear that I must appear rash to you, but I implore you to hear me out. This is an ill location to loiter as the evening approaches, and it would please me very much if you would allow me to lead you to a more secure glade. A mare of your grace and poise is certain to attract ill attention if she is sighted in this place."

Bright smiled a sterling white smile.

"Ah - not that there is reason to panic, of course."  

[Fatal Irony]

She rose her head as the sound of hooves caught her attention. A most strange sight to the young and naive mare greeted her. A unicorn with wings! A pang of envy welled within her, but she dismissed it with a chuckle. Her destiny was not to fly, that much was clear. She cocked her head to the side at his warning. "Is there a predator about? I'm sure between the two of us, even the largest of coyotes shouldn't be a problem." She gave him a quizzical look, suspecting there was some other danger that he was fearing. She strained her ears, but only the sounds of the nearby village tickled her sensitive hearing. She once again scanned the small area within the copse of trees she'd intended to sleep in, finding nothing still. "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific in your warning, friend. I'll not be leaving here without good reason." There was laughter in her voice, accentuated by a carefree flick of her neck that sent her multicolored locks bouncing. She was fearless, and no threat of a predator would frighten her off. In fact, it made the hollow in the trees all the more enticing. She was an adventure seeker, and nothing short of a horrible monster would move her from her intended resting place.  

[Brize]

"A predator?"

Ah. Had he done something comical? His concern was truly quite sincere! Perhaps this mare didn't know what she was dealing with.

"In a matter of speaking," Bright said, his smile sharp and white. He tossed his head in the vague direction of the village. "Do you hail from afar? I fear you may not be aware of the atrocities that the two-legger villains in that village can visit upon innocent Soquili."

He shook his head mournfully, pink-white hair shifting above the line of his shining mask. Bright had never felt emasculated by the quirks of his coloring. Indeed, he thanked whatever spirits had watched over his birth that he'd not been born with blood-red hooves or dark, demonic eyes. Such features gave off a most unfortunate impression. They limited the manner in which one could present one's self.

"Some of our brethren - my own father included - have been set upon by those beasts and harnessed with foul contraptions, enslaved as servants and creatures of burden. I do not wish to alarm you, but I should hate to think that you might fall asleep this night and wake up tethered to a two-legger's fence."  

[Fatal Irony]

Her eyes softened at the stallion whose fears she felt were unfounded. "I've heard of such arrangements, but by my reckoning many such pairings with the two-leggers were mutually beneficial. The two-leggers feed and groom those soquili that serve them in return for the strength those soquili lend. Was your father so forcefully taken into such an arrangement?" She quirked her head to the side, looking more closely at the winged unicorn. She'd never met a soquili with such ill will towards the two-leggers who she was sworn to protect. A strange feeling rose in her and it did not sit well. Was it doubt in her cause? She shook it away. "We owe the two-leggers much, and it is fitting that some of us should aid them in their lives."  

[Brize]

"Fed and groomed... like a pet? Or an infant? Do you speak of Soquili who are disabled? Can they not feed and groom themselves?"

Bright was the very picture of puzzlement. His smile remained firmly in place, but his soft blue eyes had darkened, like shadows on the water. It was the closest he would ever come to being genuinely distraught.

"If some Soquili are so desperate as to accept such undignified treatment, then surely they could be taught to live proudly and independently as the spirits intended them to! It pains me to think that any of our kind would feel pressured to give up on their freedom so easily."

The stallion shook his head. He didn't- he couldn't quite wrap his mind around what this mare was thinking. It was true that his sire bore no hatred towards the two-legger who had been his caretaker. But he disliked having been saddled, and was very closed-lipped about the subject of being ridden.

"Good lady, I do not intend to question your judgement, but I fear I cannot follow your argument. What have two-leggers done for us that is so terribly vital?"

His mask was, of course, an artifact seized from a two-legger, but as fond as Bright was of his accessory, it wasn't anything he needed. Not really. Not enough to ever submit himself.  

[Fatal Irony]

At first she merely stared at the impassioned stallion. He was so full of energy that Glitter was taken aback by it, but she found pity creeping into her thoughts. His energy could serve a better purpose, if properly directed. After all, had the two-leggers done something terrible to him? He'd mentioned his father having some form of experience, but could it have been so terrible? "Not like a pet or infant," she said gently. "The two leggers treat their soquili partners with respect and reverence. They are sheltered from the weather in a way that trees and bushes could never do. They are fed the most succulent fruits and other types of food." She gave the winged unicorn a quizzical look as he seemed to battle with his own thoughts. "What have they done....?" She seemed honestly perplexed. "Well, they help protect us from the lingering predators and help take care of our children when they're still in their baskets. Is that not enough to merit our protection?"  

[Brize]

The stallion's pity did not show in his face. His body language did not betray one ounce of the disgust he felt at the mare's words. A gilded cage was still a cage, no matter how delicious the food or luxurious the accommodation, and any Soquili who could barter their freedom for comfort without regret was little more than a willing slave. But Bright was too practiced in hiding his emotions to let on opinions which would obviously upset this poor, deluded thing.

Ah, the world was cruel, to bring such a beauty so low! Surely it would be alright in the end. Yes, it must be. Age and experience would eventually set things right.

"Do you think our kind so weak that we cannot defend against our own predators? That we cannot care for our own children?" He said gently. "You may have had bad experiences in the past, but I assure you, dear lady, that gentleman of strength and honor would ensure the survival of their family with pride and dignity."

He glanced towards the camp in the distance. His smile remained fixed firmly in place.

"Ah, but I see that I intrude. You have your own opinion on this matter. If you are aware of the danger, that it is surely not my intention to interfere with your respite like a common brute! Do accept my most humble and sincere apologies."  

[Fatal Irony]

He may have been practiced in hiding the physical manifestation of his disgust, but she could tell by his words and ardent disagreement that he was displeased with her opinion. "I certainly do not consider the two-leggers a danger," she said firmly. She was not angry with this stallion, nor was she mocking his ideas. "I see many soquili come and go as they please from the village. The two leggers may offer them an apple or two, but do not seek to trap them or force them into labor. Many more soquili are free to come and go as they please than get captured or made "slaves" as you think." She turned and looked out over to the village. She was thoughtfully considering a possibility. Her mother was known at this village to be the alpha of the True Spirit herd, and Glitter was confident she and the stallion could go there without trouble. She glanced back at the stallion. "Be you a Gentleman of Strength and Honor?" She asked slyly.