Conception of a Broken Mind

by SleepingBrony

Rating: mature
Tags: Tragedy, Slice of Life, Sad, Thriller, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 3589

Every day in Manehatten is drawn out and generally boring for most ponies. This isn't the case for Muzzle Break, a light-weight cage fighter in an illegal underground ring. His career takes a turn for the worse as the world comes to a chaotic end.

Muzzle Break is a quiet earth pony, though he loves the adrenaline from a good fight. He's making his way up in the underground world of illegal cage fighting. Every match makes him stronger, and with his increasing renown, bigger rings open up to the eventual downfall of everything.

Published 2016-03-15 04:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-03-15 04:00:02 UTC

Chapter One

“Get up you idiot!”

My eyes opened as wide as I could get them to. The swelling deterred that, but I could still barely see my opponent, Bitter Brew, in his corner. I used what energy I could muster and pushed myself up. My forelegs wobbled in exhaustion, but I wasn’t ready to go down just yet.

The bell dinged twice; just in time for me to get a rest and avoid being pulverized by Brew. The crowd looked worried for me as I stumbled my way into the corner where Hearty and my medic waited.

“Come on kid, I didn’t invest in you for nothing. I know you have what it takes to bring him down. You HAVE to watch out for his downward hits though! You block and dodge nearly all of his attacks, but those you just take, and he knows that!” Hearty shoved the straw into my mouth. My swollen lip made it hard to keep it from running down my chest. “But he has a weakness too. He leaves his left side open with his stance, and he doesn’t bother trying to block it. Rather, he moves away from those blows. You can win by pressing into his left!”

The medic smoothed a bandage over the superficial cut above my brow, and applied anti-inflammatory balm around my eyes.

“Good luck kid, and remember what I told you.”

I met with Bitter Brew in the middle of the cage, and the bell rung out to signal the next round has begun.

Brew made an early attempt at a downward attack. I stepped back and raised by right hoof hard. Just before it made contact with his jaw he tilted his head just out of reach. My counter was countered by his sudden clip to the side of my head, inches from my ear. I could feel the side of my head become warm quickly as blood flowed from the new open wound. But there weren’t any time-outs in underground cage fighting.

Brew kept coming, and I took the advice of Hearty to stay away from his attacks from above. I needed to end this quickly, otherwise he’ll wear me too thin.

Another hit to my shoulder dropped my leg. Brew must have thought this was the time for a breaking blow. He reared up and was ready to bring the match to an end, but I had other ideas. His belly was open during his attack, in which I took my chance to make the perfect move. I recovered and juked to his left side swiftly, and with a single hard hit I launched my hoof into his ribs. I had to of broken something, because my hoof continued after a release of resistance from his insides.

Bitter Brew plummeted to the ring’s padded floor. Blood spewed from his mouth in a coughing fit. The crowd roared as Bitter’s trainer stormed his way out of sight. I became swarmed by the medics, as was Bitter Brew.

After being made sure that I was fine, the referee raised my hoof and deemed me the winner of the match. The excitement was almost too much for me. My head throbbed with pain, and my muscles ached from holding him off for six rounds. It was a glorious victory.

“Hello, Honey,” I put my leather coat on the rack after I entered through my front door. I heard shuffling come toward me from the bedroom’s hallway.

“Break! I told you to be more careful if you’re going to continue fighting underground!” Honey Dumpling emerged from the hall and embraced me. She let go and looked at me in the eyes. “Dear, you have a child that worries about you every time you leave. He hates seeing you with all these scars and bruises.”

“I know, Honey, but I make a lot of money from this. That’s the only reason you don’t have to work, and we have a wonderful life in a real house. Would you rather go back to living in that cockroach infested apartment?” I frowned, and she pulled her ears back in sorrow. She trotted around the other side of the couch and sat down. My heart dropped with a sad feeling. “I know you worry about me, and I’m sorry about that. If I could stay home with you and Blu I would, but I don’t want our son to have to live like that anymore.”

“No, I understand. I just don’t want you to get too hurt, or anything worse…” Honey Dumpling turned her head away. I reached my hoof around her neck and up her face. I pulled her head around and leaned in. Our lips touched, and I was glad she kissed me back.

“I love you so much, and I would never be happy again if I lost you or our beautiful son. If I died in the ring, I would be gone, yes, but you and Blu Dream would be given my life insurance for the rest of your lives. That’s over three thousand bits a month,” I smiled. She didn’t smile back, but I knew she was only concerned. She didn’t care about money; she cared about me.

“I have another fight in thirteen days. So until then, we get to spend the ten thousand bits put into my bank account.”

Her eyes brightened and her mouth dropped in awe. “How did you make so much?”

“I made it into the league. From here on out I make more and more every match.”

“And your chances of getting hurt also go up,” Honey’s face drooped again.

“I know. Trust me, I will make sure not to go too far. I myself cannot stand the idea of you and Blu being alone. Let me do what I do; I know you will worry, just don’t worry TOO much.”

She smiled and nuzzled me for another kiss.

“I was thinking… What are we supposed to do with that much money?” Honey gave me a questioning grin.

Author's Note

This is just the beginning of the story. Feel free to comment any ideas or corrections. Constructive criticism is always helpful.

Chapter 2

Two days remained until my next match and I made sure I trained very hard, but I also made sure my family wasn’t neglected. Tonight we are dining at a very fancy restaurant.

“Mom, can I have dessert?” My son, Blu, asked over the table.

“Of course you can, dear,” Honey smiled, her makeup glittered in the chandelier’s light. She raised her hoof to a waiter that wasn’t ours, and they eventually made their way over to our table.

“How may I serve you, ma’am,” he held a server’s towel over one foreleg and holding his head high.

“What do you offer for dessert?” Honey Dumpling asked.

The waiter looked down at her, then gave a disapproving face.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t serve the likes of you.”

I looked up at the waiter; he only glared back.

“What did you just say to her?” I pushed my chair out too hard and knocked it over.

“We don’t serve… Earth Ponies,” He grimaced. By now the entire restaurant had stopped to look at us.

I don’t know what clicked just then; this feeling… it overwhelmed me so suddenly. My hoof slipped its way around the waiter’s head, landing on the nape of his neck. The force I used to smash his face into the table may have been too much. All of our food ascended off of the table, showering the neighboring ponies.

“Muzzle! What are you doing!” Honey Dumpling pulled Blu away from the wreckage and covered his head. Her face was composed of utter shock.

I stood there with a dizziness that I couldn’t shake. I felt like passing out, the blackness on the verge of taking over my vision. This feeling in my gut wouldn’t go away. I looked down at the waiter, who had trickles of blood dripping from his lower jaw as he looked back up at me.

“Muzzle… I’m leaving with Blu. Don’t come home until- until you feel better,” Honey escorted my son out of the restaurant while trying to hide from him the scene I had caused. My mind was so fuzzy. I barely knew what had happened.

I came to my senses enough to leave the building too. I couldn’t go home though. I had no idea what to do.

“Damn it all…” I trotted down the dark sidewalks, meandering, trying to figure out my next move. “I’ll just wait until tomorrow… yeah. Maybe she will let me back in…”

I woke up in the corner of the training room to the sound of sparring. The only other place I knew was much warmer than staying in the streets.

“Muzzle Break, are you here for early training?” Hearty’s assistant, Rich, was leaning against the door frame watching me, but his face showed concern.

“Yeah, I guess. Let me get some breakfast first,” I stretched my legs and back, then got up. Maybe blowing off some steam would help for when I go home.

I ate some pancakes down the street and came back and downed a protein shake.

After gearing up I got into the empty sparring ring in the middle of the room.

“I heard about what you did at the Blisstro, with the server and all,” Rich climbed past the ropes and got into a sparring stance. “Honey Dumpling came by to see if you were here. Seeing that you were, she told me to keep you and wear you down before you come home.”

I sighed and threw a left at him. He gracefully slid past it and clobbered me in the jaw.

“You really should clear that up. It’s clouding your mind, and you have until tomorrow night to do that.”

“I know… I just feel so damn bad. I love my wife so much, but she doesn’t like how I am. Frankly, I don’t like how I am,” I threw a combination chain at him. I nailed him a few times, but he blocked most of the hits.

“Maybe you should see a psychologist. He might be able to help you clear yourself up and control your actions.”

“I don’t need a psychologist, I’m not crazy.”

“I never said you were crazy, I just want you to make sure you’re mentally stable,” Rich threw a punch and closed the gap between my shoulder and chest.

“I am mentally stable!” My hoof hooked around and made direct contact with his neck. He stumbled back and coughed. I glanced down at my hoof wrap, which had Rich’s hair stuck to it.

“You’re really strong, Muzzle Break, but if you don’t learn how to control yourself you might hurt somepony,” Rich had stopped coughing and was holding the spot where I scraped out some of his hair.

“Maybe you are right. I don’t want to lose my wife over something so stupid.”

“I can get you a counselor for free from our boxer’s fund,” Rich adjusted his sparring helmet.

“I’d like that, but I don’t need a counselor or psychologist. I had another idea, though it will have to wait until after this next match.”

We sparred for a good few hours, and by the end I could definitely feel the burn. I said my good-byes to the other boxers and trainers and left to go home. I couldn’t wait to see my wife and apologize to her. I wanted this guilty feeling to go away.

I approached my door, and unlocked it at the handle, but the second lock above was also locked. We never locked that one.

“Honey! Are you home!” I yelled into the door, with hopes she would come.

The door jiggled and eventually opened, but only slightly. Honey peeked her head between the crack. “Muzzle, are you feeling any better?”

“I feel much better. Like you asked, I wore myself out at the gym.”

“Could you… wait? I don’t feel comfortable just yet,” She started to close the door but I put my hoof in it.

“At least let me see my son,” Ours eyes locked, however, her eyes did not look soft and welcoming like they usually do. It was the subtle expression of fear that encompassed her face.

“No.”

I raised my head in question. She never tells me no.

“I said I want to see my son…”

“And… I said no.”

Blackness enveloped my vision, and my judgement was suddenly dismissed. I could feel this dark force rip through my muscles, but I did not know what intentions they had. My head ached from the adrenaline that coursed through my body.

“Mommy!”

I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. A large dent in the door was visible, almost breaking through the metal that it was made of. Honey Dumpling was lying on the ground, her left hoof covering her right shoulder. Blu stood in the hall, just visible from the light pouring in from the outside. Tears streamed down his cheeks, but he seemed frozen in place from terror.

I realized what I had done, and I couldn’t help but to start crying.

I kneeled down and tried to help my wife. “Honey, I’m so sorry, I… I-”

“Go and never come back, Muzzle Break,” her eyes stayed closed, her body shaking in pain. I could see that blood had started to flow from under her hoof and down her shoulder. “Blu, call 911, tell them we need an amb-” she doubled over in pain and stuttered for a second. “Call an ambulance, Blu.”

“What do I do?” I tried to wipe my eyes to see.

“I never want to see you again. Never come near me or Blu again.”

My mind was swirling with confusion. I didn’t know if it was anger, fear, or sadness. Every muscle in my body jittered from the excitement and feelings.

I did the only thing I could think of. I turned around and began to run. I ran down the streets, getting far away from my wonderful wife and the only thing that truly mattered to me, my son. I stopped thinking about him. What will I do without my son? Will I ever see him again?

Author's Note

I almost can't write this. I've managed to make myself sad with what I've written.

Chapter 3

About twenty minutes remained before I made my way to the ring for my next fight. Hearty and Rich were both there with me, and they both knew what happened.

“Alright kid, this is a tough one, but now you’re in the league. I’ve seen him fight before; he doesn’t have any but one weakness: you have to fatigue him by moving to the left and right around him,” Hearty wrapped the rest of my hoof-wrap. “He won’t hit you because he isn’t sure when to strike if you keep juking around him.”

“Also, he had an injury to his left hind-leg. If you can make good contact with the muscles there you might be able to reopen his injury, voiding his fighting ability,” Rich added.

“I don’t know what I would do without you guys. You’re pretty much all I have left, except for when I win the right to see my son on the weekends,” I stood up off the box I was sitting on, and warmed up my legs.

I began to walk out to the ring, but Hearty stopped me.

“Don’t let it bother you too much. Clear your mind and weave.”

With a pat on my back, I trotted out into the aisle. All of the fans cheered around me. I must have gained quite the following once I made it into the real fighting matches. I climbed into the ring through the cage door and Hearty took his place behind my corner. This ring had the normal four corners with the surrounding cage, but the cage had an ominous coil of barbed wire around the top.

“You two know the rules, let’s see a clean but good match,” the referee stood between me and the muscular opponent that I was soon to face.

“Our upcomer, Muzzle Break, is soon to battle the fierce Mad Shatter. Will he be able to stand his ground? Let us see as the match begins now!”

The referee stepped back and Shatter was already on me. He raised hoof after hoof, hitting me in the chest and forcing me backwards. I caught my balance and took the opening to his right. My hoof barely brushed his neck and came down hard on the top of his shoulder blade. He stumbled for a second, but regained his stance before I had a chance to attack again.

Blocking his attacks was nearly pointless with how much force he was using, but my speed was enough to avoid most of his them. I thought my plan of just attacking and blocking would work, but I might have to use Hearty’s tips afterall.

Shatter lifted both of his front legs for a power attack and I slid to the side. He continued his attempt at hitting me with it, but his torso twisted and he fell forward. The referee counted to one before he was back up.

I didn’t think Shatter was going to try that again, but as soon as I got in front of him he began to raise both legs. Instead of moving this time, I used all of my force to ram directly into his front. I hit his chest with my neck and shoulder. It knocked him straight onto his back where I “accidentally” went to step over him and stomped his left hind-leg.

Shatter yelped in pain and curled around to look at his leg. The referee began to count again. Shatter seemed to be in agony.

Just as the count reached eight Shatter made his best attempt to get up. He wobbled up onto his front, then lifted his back legs. The bell clanged twice and we went to our corners.

“Keep it up, kid, and you have a good chance of winning,” Hearty reached the straw from my water container through the cage. I drank from it and looked over to the opposite side of the ring. One of the medics had climbed through the cage door and was looking at his wounded leg. All of their team looked quite upset.

“Don’t let it go to your head. Make sure you keep an eye out for him, rather than assuming he’s out for the count,” Rich perched his forelegs up on the side of the ring.

The bell stated that round two had started just as Shatter’s medic left the ring.

I really needed to end this fight, otherwise my opponent could get really hurt. He limped towards me, slightly holding his back leg up. He went for a jab at my neck, but lost his balance and nearly toppled over. The only way I could get him to go down and stay would be to go fast and hard.

I stepped forward and balanced myself on my hind quarters. I aggressively lifted my hooves to smash into the bottom of Shatter’s head. Every time he would move back to get away I would follow. Eventually he was backed up in the corner and I just kept laying into him. I continued to punch him left and right, and for a moment… this weird feeling overwhelmed me.

“Get off of him!” I opened my eyes as somepony reached around from my back and held my legs against me. Shatter’s body slumped over. There was a lot of blood pouring out of his mouth. All I could do was let my jaw hang open as they dragged me away from the dead pony.

“What were you thinking, kid!” Hearty yelled into my ear, but I wasn’t aware of anything around me except for what I had just done. I could see Shatter’s blood pooling around his body and running off the edge of the ring just before I was pulled out of the ring.

“Kid, I can’t do this anymore. You have problems, and I can’t have my name over a murderer,” Hearty stood in front of me. I noticed that we were sitting just outside of the building I fought in. The night air was cool; refreshing with every breath.

“You had better get out of here before the police come,” Hearty tilted his head in a nod, and went back into the building.

I do have to say, the way that the clouds were moving was ominous. Actually, they didn’t move at all. It was weird. They were in a pattern too. Like little squares with circles to hold them up.

I thought it was finally time to get up and leave, but for some reason I couldn’t move. I could slightly move my back legs, but my front were secured tightly to my chest, from what I could feel. I looked down in wonder, and the most terrifying thing came to me. I was in a straight jacket.

The door opened and two haughty looking ponies entered.

“I’m sorry to inform you, you’re wife passed away. You’re son would have been given to you, but seeing your current state…” The one snickered to the other. “...Blu Dream is being put into foster care.”

“I hope you enjoy your stay.”