Harmony's Wake

by HypnoticGemini

Chapter 1: Prizefighter

Harmony's Afterglow

by HypnoticGemini

Chapter 1: Prizefighter

Splinter trudged his way towards the arena, the chains on his legs slowing his progress. He had made this journey countless times, but that didn't make it any easier. The first few times, the chestnut earth pony stallion simply refused to budge. Until he was provided with motivation in the form of an electric prod. Splinter quickly learned to make things easier on himself and just keep putting one hoof in front of the other, knowing that the owners would follow him around with it.

The wood beneath Splinter's hooves felt damp, and he had been here long enough to know that it probably wasn't just water. The naked bulbs on the walls were too dim to serve as illumination, barely lighting up anything except the walls themselves. All that could be heard was the incessant drip of water and a slow, rhythmic "tap, tap, tap" as the young earth pony and his escort made their way along the dark, dank passageway.

Splinter soon found himself in front of the familiar wooden double gates separating the stables from the arena. Through the crack between the doors and their frame, he caught the familiar glare of artificial lighting. Splinter felt the chains around his hooves fall to the ground with a clack as they were removed, and heard the metallic clank of a second set of gates closing behind him. He took a deep breath to calm himself, letting it out as slowly as he could.

"Here goes nothing..."

There was no going back now.

Not with a clean conscience.

***

"Without further ado, I present..."

Yeah, yeah, Splinter thought, drowning out the voice of the over-enthusiastic announcer. I already know about my own damn achievements and my thirty-something wins and whatnot, you don't need to remind me. He was about to go into the arena. To come out alive, he needed to gather his mind, and the irritating voice of the announcer sure as hay wasn't helping. Splinter closed his eyes and bowed his head, steeling himself for what was about to happen, what he was about to do.

There would be two ponies in the arena, but only one would come out alive and conscious.

"... Trottingham Arena's very own prizefighter... Give it up for Splinter!"

At that moment, the wooden gates opened and the cheers of the crowd reached Splinter's ears. He opened his amber eyes, being careful to look slightly to the right so that he wouldn't be blinded by the brilliant array of lights facing him as he raised his head. He cantered onto the dirt ground of the arena, his hooves kicking dust into the air as he did a lap around the ring edge to warm up. The arena was easily the size of a human house, so he would be able to warm up nicely. Splinter looked up at the crowd as he ran. They were cheering enthusiastically and seemed genuinely happy to see him, if only for the brutal entertainment that he would provide them. It was a shame that Splinter did not share these sentiments.

By the time Splinter finished his lap, he was grinding his teeth and inwardly seething, as he did every time he saw these... creatures. They always stood on two legs (how they could stand for so long in such an inconvenient way was beyond him), and they always wore clothes to cover their hideous lack of fur. The only fur they had was a small tuft of mane on top of their heads, and some of them didn't even have that. Their front hooves - which they called "hands" - ended in five long, thin claws that they called "fingers" (as Splinter found out when he bit one off one of the creatures and promptly had a reunion with his old friend, the cattle prod), and their rear ones were long and flat, and apparently called "feet." They had skinny limbs, tiny eyes, a small nose, and ears that stuck out the sides of their heads at a weird angle.

To Splinter, they resembled nothing more than hairless monkeys, and that was exactly how he thought of them. Hairless monkeys that were evil enough to invade a foreign land, deprive him of their freedom, and force him to murder and maim his own kind for their entertainment just so he himself would live another day. Splinter didn't have many memories that didn't involve this hellhole, but he remembered blue skies, green leaves, grassy fields, and the scent of flowers - not at all like the world he lived in today, where skies were permanently gray, the air reeked of chemicals, and the colour green was nowhere to be found, no thanks to these creatures.

They called themselves "humans."

***

"And now the challenger to the champion's crown... Leiney Arc!"

As the gates across from him opened, Splinter mentally facehoofed. Only the humans could come up with a name so ridiculous. Then, he caught the first glance of his opponent. It was a pale turquoise mare with a pair of wings growing from her sides, which had been chained down behind her back. On the sides, her mane was white and the centre had highlights of six different colours. She seemed to be about Splinter's age, maybe even a bit younger. Her arrival was met by deafening boos from the audience. Splinter was their prizefighter, and they came to see him win. They couldn't care less about some random mare who was clearly about to get her flank handed to her.

So, I'm facing one of those winged ponies, what were they called again...? Pegasus? Yeah, a pegasus... Splinter thought. Splinter hadn't faced many mares before (although the last one he fought looked like she could eat him for breakfast) and had faced even less pegasi, so this fight wouldn't be like his usual ones.

His keen eyesight caught the pegasus rolling her eyes all the way from across the arena. Apparently, she didn't approve of the name any more than he did. And speaking of eyes, Leiney's certainly were unlike anything Splinter had ever seen. Her left eye was a bright heliotrope colour, but the right eye shone a brilliant jade green. Her mismatched eyes caught the gaze of his amber ones, and she swallowed nervously.

Splinter was an intimidating presence, and he knew it. With a body toughened from years of mortal combat, he was larger and more muscular than most earth ponies his age. His dark-red mane was unkempt and stuck up in parts, making him seem slightly taller, and there was a steely glint in his eyes.

"Combatants, get ready." said the voice of a different announcer, sounding more serious and less energetic than the previous one.

Splinter walked forwards three paces, and assumed his fighting stance: left legs forward and right legs back, with all four legs slightly bent and his weight evenly distributed on all four hooves, ready to spring into action at any moment.

On the other hand, the pegasus wasn't doing so well. This was obviously her first fight, and he could see her quivering in her coat from where he was standing. Leiney attempted to put on a brave face, but failed miserably. Splinter knew exactly how she felt. He still remembered his first fight in the arena. He was also a quivering wreck back then, and hadn't expected to make it out of the arena alive. Yet somehow, by sheer beginner's luck, he did.

He just hoped that it wouldn't turn against him. He just couldn't afford to lose to a rookie that didn’t have a single kill under her belt.

"READY... SET... FIGHT!"

Comments

[HypnoticGemini]

Inspiration for this story came from "Somewhere Only We Know" by PatchworkPoltergeist. Same premises, different characters, different storyline.
So yeah, enjoy...

[Mirth]

I wonder how the humans' arrival is going to be explained.

Also, I read the entire thing, and I didn't find a single grammar error or spelling mistake, so you're clear there.

Cheers, mate.