//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Mental Trigger // by Crimsonn12 //------------------------------// I don't know why I did it. Something inside of me, I... I just snapped. I couldn't control myself. My friend Mimic Trend, he was bickering with somepony; an earth pony with a dirty, charcoal-black coat and an ash grey mane. I was standing by my friend's side, keeping silent as always, afraid to intervene. The argument was a heated one, with the charcoal stallion accusing my friend of being a filthy, love-leeching bug. I tried to tell the charcoal stallion that accusing Mimic of having similar traits to that of a changeling was wrong, that his somewhat hardened black forelegs were merely birth defects and not a "sign of being one of those changeling pests", but I was promptly ignored by both Mimic and the charcoal stallion; although Mimic did cast me an appreciative glance and a nod before proceeding to shout various insults, making wild gestures to himself and asking the elder stallion if he had any proof to back up his "idiotic claim". I didn't hear the entire conversation, I was too busy casting nervous glances at the gradually building crowd of ponies surrounding us. The Ponyville Marketplace was bustling with activity, which only made matters worse. Not soon after the crowd began to build, the elder stallion began to get more violent in his gestures, prodding Mimic's chest with a forehoof and repetitively shouting rather colorful insults, all of which involved the word "changeling" in one way or another. Mimic tried to fight back, batting the charcoal stallions hoof away with his own hardened forehoof, but the stallion was just too persistent in his prodding and jabbing, and eventually took to shoving Mimic to the gravel, now screaming at Mimic to get up and show his "true colors"... I just... don't know what happened. The moment that damn earth pony laid his hoof on my friend, I just stopped thinking, and acted in defense of my friend. My vision clouded over with a blood-red hue, time slowed, the magic flowing through my horn began to crackle as I grit my teeth in anger. A solid cone of crystallized magic covered my horn, the shards growing towards the base of my horn from the tip. I lowered my horn at the stallion, shooting the cone at him. It tore through his chest and came out his right flank, embedding itself in a nearby building. Being a magical construct, it quickly dissolved, the blood that coated it splashing on the ground and down the wall... A few moments of silence passed as I stared upon the unmoving corpse of the earth pony, taking shaky breaths as I watched over his features; keeping an eye out for any signs of movement… I saw none. I didn't want to believe it, he couldn't be dead, I was quite obviously in denial… and so the realization came slow to me, but when it did, it hit me hard… I killed that thug... I killed him! I was in shock, I never meant for it to be like this; it was never my intention to hurt anypony. I knew what was coming next. I could already hear the panicked screams of the townsfolk who had witnessed this calling the local guards to restrain me. And so I sat down on my haunches next to the lifeless corpse of the earth pony, my eyes clamped shut, fighting back the tears that were beginning to emerge. I could hear my friend shouting my name, but I paid him no mind, I couldn't focus. Barely seconds after the incident, the screams and jeers of the townsfolk died down, and the faint metallic clanging of the Town Guards' armor reached my ears. From what I could hear, there were two guards, one positioned at the either side of me. I slowly stood, twisting to face the guards in silver. They had their spears aimed at me, their teal eyes fixed upon my now shaking figure. The guard off to my left spoke, but what came out was disoriented. I tried to speak, but my tongue felt heavy in my mouth, and soon it began a struggle to stay upright. My ignorance of what the guard supposedly ordered seemed to anger him, as he took a step closer to me, bringing the spear he held in his hoof closer to my face. His mouth was now moving rapidly, supposedly yelling at me, I could not tell. A peculiar ringing noise within my head muffled out any outside noise, causing me to droop slightly and stagger forwards towards the guards in hope that they would notice my condition. It seemed to work, as the guards lowered their spears and slowly made their way towards me. Not soon after they began inching near me, darkness started to creep into the corners of my already disoriented vision, I tried to stay upright, but I felt sleepy... so very... sleepy. I then fell forward, towards in the direction of the two guards. Two silver streaks rushed towards me, and that was the last glimpse of color I saw before I finally succumbed to the darkness. "I'm... sorry." I awoke to the piercing screech of rusted iron hinges and the somewhat distant echoing of hooves against stone. I took note of it, realizing that somepony was slowly making their way towards me. I didn't want to talk, I just couldn't, not that I could remember much at the time anyway. My memory was still a little hazy. So instead of turning to face the direction of the hoofsteps, I kept my eyes closed and focused on my surroundings and the surface of which I laid upon. It was a soft, rectangular object, barely larger than my average frame. 'A mattress? A dirty one at that. Not to mention a little damp...' I thought to myself, and then it clicked 'Oh Celestia, am I in prison?' A gruff voice then answered my internal questioning, instructing me to stand up, which was then followed by what sounded like a hoof striking iron bars. Considering the fact that I may not have any choice, I did so with great reluctance, wincing as I stretch my aching joints. Images of rather scary forms of interrogation flashed into my mind. I pondered why I would think of such things before dismissing the thoughts entirely. 'Note to self – Stop listening to those old tales Lyra keeps telling you about... her and her hooman nonsense.' Shaking my head, I glanced around my cell. There wasn't much to look at in this cage, the back of the cell consisted of an uneven stone-brick wall, with an occasional patch of bright green moss hanging off the odd stone brick. The floor was slightly more well managed, not a patch of moss or crack to be seen, almost as if the floor was made of polished stone, instead of the same dirty, moss-covered bricks the walls were made of. The sides of my cell contained nothing more than a view of more cells, all very much identical to my own. Call me weird, but I loved new places. I was actually somewhat enjoying my time in this cell, oddly enough, it was a new experience. That was until I found my gaze shifting towards the entrance of the cell. Stood at the entrance of the cell was none other than- "P-Princess Celestia..." I stammered. My ears flopped towards the sides of my head, my pupils shrinking to mere blue pricks. I could barely hide the surprise in my tone. Why, out of all ponies, was she here? 'If Princess Celestia herself is here... that means I'm in Canterlot... away from Ponyville...' Her magenta eyes gazed upon me, studying me, as if to see if I truly was a threat, before she spoke. "What is your name?" she questioned. I could detect just a hint of anger and disgust in her voice. "My n-name... is Hollow." I replied. Obviously scared, but at this point, I couldn't care less. The Princess of the Sun herself was here to question me. "Hollow? Such a peculiar name. Tell me, who are your parents?" She replied, the anger previously in her voice no longer apparent. My vision clouded a light shade of red at that comment. I wanted to tell her that they left me for dead in the streets of Ponyville, that I hated them for it, but that was not what came out of my mouth. "Forgive me Princess, but my family is not a subject I like to discuss," I responded, the evident fear in my shaky voice replaced with hints of anger and sadness. Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow at this, but made no comment. "Hollow, do you know why you are here?" The Princess questioned. I remained quiet. The question caught me off guard as I realized exactly how much trouble I was really in... "Well?" Princess Celestia pushed. "Y-yes." I confirmed, a single tear trickling down my cheek. The Princess hmm'd at this, before gesturing for me to continue. "..." I couldn't hold it anymore, I started sobbing, tears forming below my eyes. I began to panic yet again, unable to control my emotions. The Princess seemed shocked, if not surprised that I would break down like this. Her expression showed that she was no longer angry, but slightly concerned for my well-being. "Hollow... follow me." She said with slight hesitation, before gesturing for a guard standing off to the side to follow too. "We have much to discuss."