adventure The Gladiators

[genessee 535]

Prologue

Once in the land of Noncannon, in the days of old, there was a pit. This pit was used by gladiators world round to show their skill against horrifying beasts from the deepest caves to the highest clouds. Originally, this pit was used to fight Gladiator versus Gladiator, but the spectators were too kindhearted to watch a pony perish for their entertainment. A new gladiator, named Copper Heart, was joining his family business of fighting great beasts for fame and fortune, as his father did, because his father was the great Golden Hooves, a warrior known country-round for his devastating golden boots. In a stunt gone wrong, Golden Hooves was severely injured, and was unable to fight anymore. The public had waited for his son to rise up, and this, Copper Heart had a hufe weight on his shoulders. Thus, we begin our tale.

 

Chapter 1

Copper Heart hacked away at the dummy with his bronze sword as if it was fruits he had prepared for supper. "Dad, how much longer?" He whined. His father, the great Golden Hooves, glanced up from his textbook and snorted, "Not until you get it right, Copper," Before Copper could complain, He added, "You are a gladiator, not a bloody changeling. You don't fight head on against these beasts, they'd take you out on the spot. You use a stance, like this." Golden struck a heroic pose, textbook as a shield, and he snatched up a nearby stick to use as a weapon. "Dad, you don't look nearly as heroic when you're sitting," Copper remarked smugly. Golden dropped the stick and shot a steely gaze at his son. "Training's over. Go to your room." "But--" Copper started. "NOW." His dad pointed his hoof at the nearby cottage. Copper clunked over to the door in his heavy armor, glared at his father, and trudged inside.

 

Chapter 2

After supper, Copper hadn't spoken with his father. He felt bad that he had made fun of his disability. After all, he was the only one taking care of him. His mother had passed when he was only a foal, and he only had stories now. He hardly remembered his mother. All he truly remembered about her, that he could be 100% sure about, was that she had a beautiful laugh. He had a vague memory of a laugh that he was sure was his mother. He couldn't place where they were, or anything of the sort. Just the laugh, like a scratched music disc. He replayed it constantly, trying to find more information within his maze of a mind, but he always found himself at the same dead end. Copper climbed the old wooden stairs, and back into his room, with his armor and sword in a corner, his notebook on his undersized bed, with many drawings in it. He flipped through his recent ones. All were pictures of his mother. Or at least, his fantasies of her, as he had no idea what she looked like. A few older ones were cartoons of him having made-up conversations with her, and some were just questions. Why do I remember her laugh? Is it even her laugh? Why can't I remember?! He was too stressed. He flopped on his bed, and blew out his candle. He lied for a minute before giving up. It's still too bright outside.

 

Chapter 3

"Morning, dad!" called Copper Heart as he pranced down the steps. He had had a nice dream, so that put him in a good mood that morning. His father looked up from his precious textbook, grumbled a greeting, and went back to his scripture. Copper walked into the kitchen and made himself some wheat flakes. "You need anything?" He called. He heard some more grumbling that sounded vaguely like 'Yes.' Wheat flakes! They make you... uh... something... Copper stumbled over the song's words in his head. At the town market, there had been two marketeers selling the wheat flakes Copper usually bought, and they were singing a tune. It had been stuck in Copper's head since then. Copper poured some milk into his cereal. he had found the carton in the back of the pantry. "Breakfast is served." Copper smiled at his handywork. He liked cooking more than fighting, but his father was counting on him to continue the family tradition. Plus, Copper was too afraid to tell his father he liked cooking. "This smells spoiled," his father critiqued. Copper stuck his snout over the bowl of what flakes and milk. Ewww. "I think you have a point, dad," Copper remarked as he grabbed his coat off the coat rack near the front door. "I'll be back soon, I'll get some more. Don't starve to death." 

 

Chapter 4

As Copper approached the town square, he heard the tune that had been stuck in his head for the past few days. Wheat flakes! They're really tasty! Eat 'em up while they're nice and craspy! "What even is a craspy? A new pastry-type thing?" Copper wondered aloud. Copper walked towards the milk stand. "Hey, Jackson! What's up?" Copper met his old friend, Jackson. He was a farmer and sometimes worked the milk stand while the milk salesman ran errands. Jackson and Copper had met at a party, and became friends. "The sky," grunted Jackson. Jackson didn't like working the milk stand. Copper placed a coin on the wooden box they used as a counter. "One gallon," Copper asked. As Jackson rustled under the counter, looking for milk, he made small talk. "Hey, have you heard that they're starting the gladiator trials early this year?" Jackson inquired. What?! The gladiator trials were a competition where many young gladiators fought for access to the higher matches, which eventually one would get a grand prize of coins. "What? Really?" Copper was dumbfounded, this was the year he was supposed to compete in the competition, and he wasn't anywhere near ready. "Yep. You should get trainin'. I can see by the look on your face you haven't been." Jackson smiled, passed the milk, took the coin, and bid Copper farewell. Copper staggered back to his cottage, unable to comprehend what truckload of news had just hit him.

 

More Coming Soon! How soon? How should I know? Ask Siri, maybe she'll know.

Update Notes: Added 2 chapters and fixed some spelling errors.

Edited October 5, 2016 by genessee

[Hazard Time 1,127]

I'm glad you enjoyed writing this!  It's always important to have fun doing what you do 

 

However, would you be looking for criticism?  I won't give it to you if you don't want it, but I like the set up and would love to see some expansion.

[genessee 535]

I'm glad you enjoyed writing this!  It's always important to have fun doing what you do 

 

However, would you be looking for criticism?  I won't give it to you if you don't want it, but I like the set up and would love to see some expansion.

I'm going to give it more! I really enjoyed writing those 2 chapters, and I think it has potential, so I'm going to update it freqently, and because I want something big to go with my name 

[Regal Shadow 825]

Cool! I love how you wrote it in chapters. Great job!