//------------------------------// // Prolouge // Story: Cut Strings // by 0XIxIX0 //------------------------------// A chill went up my spine. The cold air was the least of my worries, though. No, what truly was worrisome was what I was about to do. The lights of the nightlife of manehattan shone brightly below, even through the sunglasses I was wearing. A small glint caught the corner of my eye. I looked to my left to see the reflection of myself off of a large, metal, segregated cylinder of sort. The cylinder itself was around the width of a pony's torso, and in had claw like extensions near the bottom. Taking a deep breath at seeing that it was a false alarm, I took a better look at myself in the little light that existed at this altitude. My dark gray mane, pristine as always, had a few loose hairs drifting in the wind. There was more of a lighter gray showing run before. My eyes were hidden behind a veil of shaded glass, although the deep depressions below my eyes showed how severe my insomnia had progressed. I was slightly thinner than I remembered being, although that could be contributed to a lack of food the past few days. A bow tie adorned my neck. The bow tie was probably the only thing keeping me anchored to reality, and not becoming a monster the ponies below think I am. The only thing that makes me remember... Another chill blew through me, reminding me why I was up on top of a Manehattan skyscraper in the first place. I got into a ready position. Four identical metal cylinders, similar to the first one that I had noticed, moved. These cylinders were attached to a single cord that went parallel to my actual spine. The metal cord had been fused to my back due to my own mistake, and I was reminded of it every single day due to seeing those metal appendages. Music, which had been playing softly in the back of my mind, had started to crescendo into existence. The music was a classical piece. It was always a classical piece. Always evolving to play something new. Always there, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it. The music scared me, but I knew I would most likely have to live with it for the rest of my life. Using the metal limbs as legs, I ran straight off the building, and into the night below. Wind and mist brushed passed me as I descended into the busy streets. I saw my reflection falling as I did in the glass of the building in front of me. The ground appeared to rise to meet me, and I got ready to brace for impact. Pavement shattered underneath the cold steel of the arms. A loud crash echoed through the streets, and the screams of ponies could be heard. The impact was mostly absorbed by the arms, but I could still feel my bones creak. I looked around to make sure nopony was hurt too badly. I couldn't forgive myself if I let another pony die by my hooves. I looked around, and saw a few were rattled by the sudden explosion of pavement underneath their hooves, while others were running or passed out. Seeing that nopony was in a severely injured state, I went on with my plan. I rushed forward, not bothering with any collateral damage I may have done to the street below. In front of me was a bank, one which had closed an hour ago. The bank itself was a large structure made out of marble, and structured in a way to emulate the an ancient civilization which name escapes my grasp at the moment. It was a rather symmetrical building, with pillars to support it and a large domed roof. I knew I did not have much time to do what I needed to do, so I pulled myself out of my thoughts and moved on. I pulled the doors to the establishment of its hinges using the power of the arms, and rushed in, ignoring the alarms. "Halt! You are breaking and entering and that is a-" A pony in a police uniform had showed up, to my surprise. I had hoped that they would not show up this early, but my luck had not been the best of late. I picked him up using the arms and slammed him into the wall, knocking him out. I quickened my pace once more, hoping to outrun any further intrusions on my break-in. The alarms blared in the background, but the music once again steadily grew louder, blocking out the annoying ringing, and allowing me to concentrate on the task I had set for myself. I managed to reach the vault door. The door was a large, steel, circular one with a number pad and a large valve. Seeing as the general public already knew I was here due to my rather flashy entrance, I simply pried the door off its hinges and waltz in instead of trying to hack my way inside. The room was piled high with brown bags of bits. Most were on shelves, while others were simply sitting on the floor, waiting to be plucked from their protectors. I grabbed as many as I could, not caring if I spilled any bits out of the bags, and then left the vault. On my way out, I found myself surrounded by an assembly of guards. Luna's personal guard, if the clothing was anything to go by. "Halt in the name of Princess Luna or we will be forced to use-" I didn't let the guard who had spoken finish, because I launched myself in the air, straight over the guards. "Unicorns, take position!" I turned around in mid air to watch the ponies below try and stop me. A row of unicorn guards had taken aim at me and had fired off a few shots in my direction. I simply blocked them with the arms, which, for one reason or another, seems to instantly vaporize any magic that comes in their vicinity. Of course, that is, if I am able to touch any with them. I landed a few yards from where I had jumped, still towering over my foes due to the length of the arms. I decided to try and outrun them, and make a hasty getaway. "Barriers, now!" The apparent commander of the group ordered his soldiers into placing a barrier around the perimeter of the street. "Don't let that murderer get away!" I stopped for a second. That word... Murderer... I was not one of those. I never meant to kill anypony. I never wanted any of that to happen. I never... My lapse in attention allowed the unicorns to erect a barrier. Realizing what had happened, I quickly refocused my attention on the crowd of ponies behind me. Nopony was attempting to keep the barrier stable. That was good. I rushed the barrier, breaking a hole in it with the might of the arms attached to my back, and hurried through. On my way out though, I did notice a few of the unicorns had managed to teleport most of the bags of gold which I had been carrying in the claw end of the metal appendages to safety. I was left with one bag of bits left, which was enough to support me for a while, but still not enough for what I needed... I quickly escaped my crawling up a building like a spider on a web, the metal claws keeping me hooked to the building and preventing me from plummeting below. I stopped once I was high enough on the side of the building. I gazed down, only to see darkness. The music which had been playing had slowly started to tune itself out, and I breathed a sigh of relief as the ordeal had been overcome. I continued to climb up the building, and headed east, towards the docks. As I jumped from roof to roof with the bag of bits jingling behind me, I felt a small amount of guilt. I quickly squashed the feeling, as I knew that this was necessary to survive. I eventually arrived at my destination, an old wooden broken-down warehouse right beside the docks. The smell of burnt coal and the sea assaulted me as I landed. I made sure no one was nearby, and then went up to the large door. The door itself was inconspicuous as the rest of the building, being large and worn down, made to open by sliding it. I used the arms to open it, and it slowly revealed a very barren interior. There was a single bed at the end of the room. a lamp flickered on and off that hung from the ceiling. A single desk with papers sat in a corner. Another desk occupied the opposite corner, this one covered in different mechanical parts. Along a wall, different instruments made their home. The floor made a hollow clacking sound as I walked across it without the aid of the arms. I turned around to close the door. The inside of the door had large metal gutters running along its length. I remember putting them there in order to prevent normal ponies from opening the door and finding the hideout because it made the door extremely heavy. Tired, I set the bag by the desk with the papers and slowly cobbled myself over to the bed. I laid down on my side, due to it being extremely uncomfortable with the metallic arms attached to my back. The sunglasses I wore fell to the floor, creating a small clatter and revealing tears in my eyes. I cried. I sobbed quietly; knowing nopony could possibly feel my pain. Nopony could possibly know how I felt at this moment. What had I become? A monster? A murderer of hundreds? I don't know anymore... I knew I would never be able to go to sleep. I knew that. Yet I still stayed in bed, with perhaps an inkling of hope that I could. I simply laid there, crying, and thinking about why. Sleep never came. Only memories. Memories I wish I could change. Memories I wish I could throw away. They never would. They never will.