The metal bars in front of me slide open, stopping in place with a loud bang. The two stallions on either side of my suddenly give me a push, guiding me down a long one sided balcony. I begin to walk, despite my body screaming This is wrong! I don't belong here!. To my right, aside from the first massive stallion, are several more metal bars, each a set of eight inside of their steel frames, making the cell doors of which I would have to get used to for the next eight years. Each door was at least five feet from the others, dotting the wall one by one. Inside, I could see several mares either sitting on their beds, against their beds, or simply wherever they could sit. Pegasi, as I noticed on my walk, had their wings tied down with rubber fasteners, to keep from metal burns or scratches. Unicorns had something similar, their horns coated in magic proof rubber, almost like a magic condom. Suddenly, I was stopped from walking by a heavy baton. A small alarm sounded as a cell door opened. I sighed, just before a guard shoved me into the cell, the other dropping the normal orange clothing onto the floor before me. The door slammed sideways, locking shut in its original position. The guard looked to me and spoke, his voice heavy with frustration and fatigue.
"Get changed quickly. Lunch is in 2 hours." Without any further words, he walked off, leaving me alone in the somewhat quiet prison cell. I sighed and lifted the uniform, sliding the leggings on first, then the torso. It was rather loose, but nothing possible to fall off with ease, thankfully. I looked around the small cell, spotting the bed to my right, and the toilet across from it, made of cold shiny steel. The bed had a thin mattress, a blanket, and a single pillow. I walked to the bed and sat down on its edge, placing my head into my hooves.
I can still hear the judge shouting my sentence over the jury in my mind, every single eye pointing towards me in either anger, hatred, or sympathy. At the moment he spoke, I wanted to break into tears and die, but I couldn't. The words he spoke are so clear in my head, it’s as if they were spoken yesterday. Well, they were spoken yesterday, actually.
"Trixie Lullamoon, by verdict of the jury, you are hereby found guilty of fraud and theft, and are hereby sentenced to eight years in prison!" And with that, the gavel came down onto its platform with the signature sound it made. The feeling of terror washing over me was worse than a gunshot, as the images of jails and prisons from several movies and shows came into my mind. The thoughts of serial killers, traitors, and villains, all locked up in the same building as me entering my mind like a wrecking ball crashing into a pane of glass.
Suddenly, a bell rang as my door slid open with yet another bang. I was hesitant to step out, at first, but I sighed and did so, as it seemed as if it were ordered. I looked around, to see dozens upon dozens of mares, all dressed in orange, walking down steps and across tile floors to a series of cafeteria tables. The building, as I noticed, was built very similar to the famed Alcatrot prison off the coast of Manehatten. It had several floors, at least 4, of balconies and prison cells, each balcony with a set of stairs leading to the floor below it, eventually reaching the bottom. The massive room was rectangular shaped, and had a set of stairs on my side, the longer side, as well as the side across from mine. As I walked down the set of stairs to the cool tile floor, I happen to notice a car stacked with plastic lunch trays. Several ponies were walking to it, grabbing a tray, and getting into line for their meal. I decided to follow suit, getting in line behind a taller mare with a deep blue mane. The line inched slowly, until i managed to get my portion of baked beans, a grilled hay sandwich, and small bowl of grapes. Making my way to an empty table, I set my food down and sighed, looking over it a bit, before looking around. Unlike what I had presumed before, the cafeteria was only as loud as a school lunch hall, with a very similar set up as well. Some mares were playing cards, betting with cookies. Others were writing to family, at least what I could suspect, and the rest were simply eating. I thought to myself a bit, staring at my food.
This place is strange, that is what i will admit to myself. It looks like a school cafeteria, it feels well managed, and no one has threatened me...yet. Celestia knows how long I’ll last here before I go cuckoo, let alone try to break o-
"Hey, blue." a hoof waved in front of my eyes suddenly, forcing me to look across from me in surprise. In front of me, instead of an empty chair, was an electric Pegasus mare, with a yellow and golden mane that was combed back. I must not have noticed her sit down as I was in thought. I spoke, in both surprise and concern.
"Uhh...Wh-who are you?" I spoke with a minor stutter, mainly due to my fear of a threat from this mare. She spoke again, with a bit of a chuckle.
"Lightning Dust. What about you, newbie?" She held a cocky smirk as he gazed at me.
"Trixie....Trixie Lullamoo-" I was interrupted once again by the mare, who gasped in either surprise or mockingly. I couldn’t tell.
"Oh, you're the...uhh...somethin' somethin' powerful Trixie, right?" She looked to me in either interest or, once again, mockingly. I still couldn't tell, as if this mare were displaying two emotions instead of one. I looked at her in confusion. At least I could identify my own emotions.
"The 'Great and Powerful', yes. Or, at least I used to be. Now, it’s just Trixie." I made quote marks around my "Great and Powerful" words. I sighed and looked back to my plate, which was cold by now.
"Right, right. I remember Rainbow Ass talking about you a bunch in the Wonderbolt Academy....said you were some fraud or something. I can't remember. I've got a friend who wants to chat with you." She leaned back in her chair a bit, putting it only on two legs. She waved her hoof, just as a griffon looked over. The larger female griffon stood, placing her food into the trash bin, setting her tray on top of the bin, before making her way over to my table. If Lightning Dust wasn't going to threaten me, then this griffon was. I could vaguely recognized her, however, which was strange. I didn't know any griffons, at least to my knowledge. She pulled out a chair and sat next to Lightning Dust, looking to her. She spoke, her voice rather high, like a rock singer, or a stuck up teenager.
"Hey, Dust...Who's the new gal?" He motioned to me with one of her claws, as if I wasn't even there. Lightning spoke in reply, as well.
"That's The Great and Powerful Trixie. You know, the magician from Ponyville you were talking about?" The griffon's eyes widened as she turned to look at me. She tilted her head a bit.
"You're the one who pissed off an Ursa Minor and nearly destroyed Ponyville, and used the Alicorn Amulet against the Elements of Harmony?"
"Two or three years ago, yes. Aren't you the one who made the shy one cry?"
"Like, three years ago, yeah" She chuckled and held out a claw. "I'm Gilda."
"Nice to meet you, I guess. You already know my name, correct?" I shook her claw with my hoof, hoping she wouldn't clamp down onto me and hit me. She chuckled and released as she leaned back as well, looking around. Lightning spoke suddenly.
"So, Trix, what'ya in for?" She raised an eyebrow. She could only guess for something destructive, at least from what her eyes could tell. I chuckled to myself, knowing how wrong she was.
"Fraud and Theft. Wha-"
"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH. Fraud and...Theft?" Gilda interrupted me suddenly, once again, as she looked at me in disbelief. "How In Celestia's name were you arrested, out of pissing off an Ursa Minor and stealing an Alicorn artifact, for Fraud and Theft!?"
"Well, many ways. One of them being a mom with too much time on her hands and a lawsuit fetish, which of course lead to my arrest for fraud." I gave an unamused look, shaking my head a bit.
"Hmm, alright...I'm guessing you only know slightly about prison from movies, correct?" I simply lowered my head in defeat, instead of replying. She chuckled.
"Well, I guess you need a bit of a refresher. He's the deal." She turned, facing the other tables. She pointed out one of the tables, which was filled with orderly looking, sickly mares who seemed like they had never seen anything outside of the internet. "Those are the Hackers, the business frauds, and the identity thieves."
Lightning Dust pointed out a second table, this one full of more muscular mares and two griffons, both muscular as well. "Those are the gunners, the brawlers, and the heisters. The ones who can handle a big machine gun, really."
Gilda pointed out a second table, this one filled with very few mares, but the ones that were sitting there were very fidgety and nervous looking, their eyes bloodshot and wrinkles on their faces from stress. "Those are the drug addicts, the dealers, and just the fucked up ones. Anyone who isn't down here is in a cell, either because of a recent incident with another inmate, or mentally unstable and dangerous"
"Ah, I see...well, I think I'll get used to it, eventually. I have 8 years here."
"15, here" Gilda said, followed by Lightning Dust speaking the number thirty, raising her hoof.
