//------------------------------// // 0 : - Guilty // Story: The Symphony of Combat // by BackroundVoice //------------------------------// The Canterlot guards wasted no time bringing me in. They found me, locked me in some hoof-cuffs, and marched me to the prison. Tugging me along, they didn't care that I couldn't keep up with them, they just wanted me out of the way. Throwing me into the nearest cell, I hit the floor and remained there, motionless. I heard one of the guards order the other to watch me as he went back out into the chaos. The guard agreed, and the other one galloped away. Fast hoof-steps on stone echoed throughout the walls of my cell. Time passed and I decided to at least sit up against the back wall of the cell. There was a bed, but I didn't feel like sleeping. And how could I? I looked down to my hooves, which were just not stained with blood, but drenched in it. I felt like I was in a bad dream. And I wanted someone to pinch me to wake up. But somepony died at my hooves today. And there was no waking up from that reality. I stared at the guard who was facing out to the hall, glancing back at me. Our eyes met and he quickly looked away. Now shutting my eyes, I tried to think. Was Dash okay? Was anyone okay? Was my family? Riots were most likely starting up all over Canterlot, and I'm not out there to stop it. It was Manehatten all over again. Except for this time, it would affect the entire world. I hit my head against the wall behind me. Remembering that I fled the Crystal Empire in a similar state before the military arrived. Leaving Soarin and Fiona behind in the process. "Vinyl," I muttered. "I'm sorry..." I couldn't bear to hold back the hurt inside me anymore. My body was aching, sore from the hundreds of fights in just this last night alone, I also wept for the friends I lied too. The tricks I pulled, and the decisions I made in order to climb that tower alone. To fight that monster who had caused me so much pain. The King. In the end, I didn't win, I lost. And the King still lives on. Seeking out the next combatant for his private tournament of blood. My quiet sobbing turned into whaling as the night continued. The last of my energy spent hitting the ground as I lamented. Eventually, my frustration faded as I slept until the morning. The sound of my cell opening being the first thing I heard. "Up and at'em, inmate," a guard ordered me. I didn't want to be the prisoner to make things harder. So I complied and left my cell, four guards surrounding me as we walked. When we passed the other cells, they were packed with four ponies each. Some were changelings, others were fighters from Ponyville, who had followed me to Canterlot in the hopes of stopping the King. Some of them bowed to me, calling me 'champ', as Vinyl once had. I was respected in their eyes. But I felt no such pride in what I had done last night. Not one bit. Ahead of us was the cafeteria, which was down a floor from where I walked with the guards. A mass of shackled ponies was being pushed in a line to eat slop called food. And ponies there too, looked up at me and bowed. Although, there were just as many who glared, and were either calling me down to fight them or just threatening to bash my skull in. The guards started to move me along at a quicker pace as if I might start a riot from just being in their sight. But from the sounds of it, a fight or two had broken out before I heard jittered cries of pain. Must've been tazzed quickly. The next place I came to was an iron door. Two of the ponies escorting me had to pry the door open to let me through. And I could already tell before I even entered what it was. An interrogation room. Mirrored walls on all four sides of the room left me almost entranced at the infinite amount of reflections. The guards left me hoof-cuffed to the table, not bothering to let me know why I was even in here. Ponies everywhere must already know what I've done. The princess herself was even a witness to it. Why bring me here? Needless to say, I ended up glaring at each of the mirroring windows around me, trying to guess who I should stare at, or even if there was anypony there. I also saw myself, again, hooves stained with someone else's blood, my damaged black hoodie ripped and cut in multiple places. My eyes were swollen and baggy, and not to mention, my pallet had been completely drained of color. I've been 'Discorded'. A common condition for ponies in denial of their talent. I couldn't even use mine. So to me, I felt no change. But other's would see things differently. Especially, those with judging eyes. "Look, if you're going to do the whole good cop, bad cop routine on me, fine. But I've got nothing to hide, I'll tell you everything you already know. So stop staring at me and get in here!" I shouted. Then, a microphone clicked on. "Wonderful..." said a stallion's voice. The echoing tone reminded me of the round announcements back in Ponyville, at Knuckle Brick Corner. My home. But this time I wasn't being amplified by a handsome voice, and there wasn't any music to keep me entertained. I heard the metal door behind me screech open, and a gray colored crystal pony in a black and white suit entered. "'Ello, 'Ello!" sounded the posh crystal pony. The same one from the speaker. "Crystal Hoof at your service, love!" He held out his hoof as he took the seat across from me. Alicorns, I hated that accent. "Not too friendly, are we?" Mr. Hoof deduced. But I was currently too anchored to the table to offer any form of welcome. That, and I wanted to serve my twenty plus years in my dark cell. Not this headache of a room. "My name is Twilight Sparkle," I said with a sigh. Predicting that this was how it was going to go. "Straight to the point, are we?" "Yes, we are." He laughed at that. "But the world knows you by a different name, don't they?" Hoof interjected. Why do I even bother? "Phoenix," I snapped. Hoof only grinned. "You were, a participant in the 'Diamond Brawl' this past week, were you not, Phoenix?" Hoof continued to ask, looking over notes in a folder next to him. "Yes," I answered. "And you were here last night, no doubt plundering like the rest of these ingrates?" "That's a lie," I refuted. "I was here to stop that." "Well, you certainly added to the effort, I'll give you that." Hoof was teasing me. Acting friendly and making witty remarks when I was trying to be helpful to some end. He kept asking questions, and I kept giving him the silent treatment he deserved. He caught on quick, figuring that I wasn't in a trying mood after the third joke he made to get me to smile. Hoof sighed, clearly, he was tired from working, and I doubt there would be any nights of rest because of the riots. I leaned back in my chair, looking to my right at my reflection again. I felt just as bad as I looked. I missed the color that once portrayed my intellect. Cause being a hornless unicorn meant I had to find other ways to let my skill shine. Now, the only color I had left was that faint red glow in my eyes that wouldn't leave. I imagined Vinyl, cheering me on like she had when she was alive. But my trick to subside the Alicorn blood didn't work anymore. The Rage was permanent now. Just like it had been for Vinyl, for Nightmare, Fiona... Even Sombra. "What is it like," I heard Hoof speak up again, "to be a fighter?" That question had more answers than one, and I wasn't about to list them. I ended up looking at Hoof using the mirror. Our eyes met, and then we turned to each other. "What do you want from me?" I asked. That was probably the most sincere thing I've said in the past twenty-four hours, and I hoped to get an honest response from Hoof. But I first saw his eyes flash a different color from the greenish blue I thought they were, to a flat white, as he shifted into a black, hole-riddled, demon of a changeling. "I want to know what it's like to be a fighter," 'Crystal Hoof' answered. "And, how to become one, in order to meet others, maybe even become friends with them." If I wasn't chained to this table I'd be running for the exit. Changelings were not to be trusted, they're all a bunch of power hungry succubi. "Why reveal yourself? Somepony's watching us," I said. "Who?" the changeling asked. I felt at a loss. This place was probably crawling with changelings. And I'm trapped with them. Next, the changeling reached over to me, I tried to pull away, but the table was bolted to the floor. I desperately wanted to avoid having my love eaten. A process I didn't want to go through again. But then, I felt a release around my wrists instead. He unhooked my hoof-cuffs. "I won't lie to you," he said, his accent gone. "Past that door is a group of Wonderbolt soldiers. I'm sure you're familiar with them. So I'll let you leave, you just have to get past them and the other hired forces in this facility." "Why so much security?" I dared to ask. "You," he said. "Phoenix, you are not like most ponies. Instead of learning when to quit, you keep fighting against fate. Pushing the world around you to your liking. I can relate, sometimes I wish I could change how ponies feel about my race, but we're not going to blossom into butterflies overnight. We need to be tested. Which brings us to now, and why I released you. On one hoof, you could probably punch your way out of here and forget about talking to a changeling who can't even make a girl laugh. Or, you could make this a lot easier for the both of us and tell me what really happened out there." This irregular changeling was being way too convincing. I didn't like that. "And what could I possibly get out of talking to a natural born liar?" I asked. The discording was affecting my tone negatively. I wasn't being kind, and that wasn't going to help with my prison sentence. "Because I'm your best chance at getting out of here next week instead of on your fortieth birthday." I stand corrected. Being discorded made me feel selfish, and I didn't know how to stop that. But the desire to benefit myself could work to getting me out of here sooner if I cooperated. I leaned forward on the table, not really caring anymore that I was talking to a crazy hive-mind pony. All I know now was that I was on my own, and I needed help. "What do I have to tell you?" I asked. The changeling smiled with his razor-sharp teeth. Saber teeth reaching over his bottom jaw. "Just tell me the story of how you got here." He said simply. But simple to him was going to be complicated for me. I groaned, resting my head on the table. The last time I told a story like that I ended up in a fight with an Alicorn and got my horn destroyed. What was going to happen if I told another one? The changeling waited eagerly for me to start, and I was already beginning to have second thoughts about this. "Thorax," he suddenly said, extending a hoof filled with holes to me, introducing himself. I took it despite my best judgment, deciding to start over with him. "It's very nice to meet you." "Likewise, I'm Twilight." "I have this feeling I'm going to like you a lot," Thorax the changeling said, shifting back into his crystal pony cover. "So, you want to know everything?" I asked, just to be sure. Thorax nodded. I better not skip important details this time. I don't want end up in another fight for lying. I recalled that time Fiona knocked me into next week because I chose not to give her certain things. So with a deep breath and a tired mind, I began to tell the story of how I came to be found guilty of murder, and responsible, for the Canterlot riots breaking out. "It all started in Ponyville before the wrap-up of winter was supposed to start. I was taking a walk from my day job to knuckle brick corner, when my brother, the captain of the Canterlot guard called me. Asking for advice regarding my twelve-year-old niece... Flury Heart, and her recent outbursts at school."