Drums. So many drums. Drums, beating loudly, and nonstop. There were horns, screaming there sound into the air. And there was cheering. Cheering so loud, that Bright could almost make out the individual voices. This is what woke him up. Not the drums, not the horns, but the cheering. Because he knew that the cheering would be for him to die.

"Wake up ya lazy bastard!"

Bright shot up in his cot. He had no idea where he was, or how he had gotten here. The last thing he remembered was the princess's horn lighting up, then... something about Princess Luna, but he couldn't remember anything else.

"Get the 'ell outta bed, damn you! Ya gots a show to put on!"

Bright turned to the voice and saw what looked like a royal guard, but with beat up, grayish-black armor, and without the bush of blue hair on top. But really, the pony wearing the armor looked more tore and battered than the armor itself.

"Are ya deaf, convict?" the guard pony asked him.

"No, I'm not deaf," Bright responded.

"Then get the fuck outta bed n' get geared up!" the guard screamed.

Bright looked scared, he knows he did. "Geared up for... what?"

The guard pony just flashed a twisted smile and trotted away laughing.

Bright had a moment to wonder what was going on until the metal gate the blocked him inside of his cell opened up.

"Convict 22737," a voice from some hidden intercom system said, "leave your cell immediately and select your Pit gear from the racks in the next room. If you fail to do this, you will be sent in to the arena with no gear, and you will most likely die."

Bright walked forward in to the room ahead of him and saw that it was completely empty except for two racks in the middle, and some torches placed along the walls. He walked up to the racks and saw an assortment of weapons and armor, most of it metal. He wasn't sure what he should pick, and there were a lot of choices. Maces, clubs, axes, swords, daggers, and even some small knives and other objects for throwing at a target. On the armor racks were helmets, breastplates, leg-guards, flankplates, and metal collars. Bright didn't know what he was getting into, and didn't know if he should pack heavy or light.

"You have five minutes, Convict 22737," the voice from the intercom told him.

Bright had to hurry, or he wouldn't get anything. So he put on a metal breastplate and leg-guards, then put on a helmet that wouldn't block his view. From the weapons rack he took two swords, two daggers, and just to be safe, he put five of the trowing knives on each wing. He may not be very good with a sword, but he did learn how to throw knives during summer camp a while ago, so they might be useful.

"You have one minute, Convict 22737," the voice told him.

Bright looked around him one last time. Was he ready for... whatever it was that he was about to do? He didn't know. But what he did know that he was going to do anything in his power to stay alive. He looked back at the weapons rack again. Did he have enough? He reached out and picked up a small dagger and stuffed it into his breastplate, just to be sure that he had enough defense against... what? He didn't know what it was that he was going up against. For all he knew, this could just be a huge, practical joke. But he doubted that. Strongly. So whatever it was that he was about to face, he would do it as best, and as aggressively as possible.

"Your time is up, Convict 22737. Exit the room immediately, and you will receive instructions briefly."

As the intercom voice said this, a door opened up on the side of the room. Bright wasn't sure if he really wanted to go in there, but he had to. At least, that's what he told himself as he walked through the door. But what he found on the other side, he was not expecting.

"Hello, 22737," the suited pony from the carriage said smoothly.

"You! What the hell are you doing here?!" Bright yelled at him.

"I'm your sponsor Bright, so it's my job to make sure that I do everything in my power to make sure that you stay alive."

"Well, can you help me now?"

The stallion nodded. "You're going up against a strong stallion. If you get too close, he'll kill you, but if you're quick, you might just beat him. But don't try to fly too high, or they'll take you down themselves. Do you understand?"

Bright nodded slowly. "Be quick, but down get too close, and don't fly too high. Got it."

"Then it's time for you to fight ,and it's time for me to take my leave." With that, he walked out of the door that Bright came in, and shut it behind him, closing Bright inside the small, dark room. He waited in there for a few minutes, then he didn't have to wait any longer as the ground beneath him started to rise, and the ceiling opened up to reveal the afternoon sun. As Bright rose up towards the arena, the drums and the horns became louder. It's strange, but he had almost forgotten that they were there. But he never forgot the cheering. And now that he was in the arena, it was as loud as ever.

"Welcome, fillies and colts, to the match you've been waiting for all day! Well, at least since the last match ended anyways. But enough of the past, we live in the present, and in the present, we have a brand-spankin'-new contestant! He worked on the weather team for years, that is, until he went insane and murdered his overseer in cold blood. Nopony knows why he did it, only that he did it, and now, he's here for it. So, I want you all to welcome our newest fighter, Slasher!"

Bright looked around at the cheering audience. He was confused. That never happened; he liked his boss. "Wait, you have me confused with somepony else! I never did any of that!" But he might as well have been whispering from all the noise coming from the crowd.

"Now, even though Slasher is a killer, he's no match for his opponent. You all know him as the only pony to ever rip somepony's throat out with his teeth. Yes, you know who I'm talkin' about. It's the one, it's the only, Mauler!"

Bright looked across the arena and saw an earth pony almost twice his size, and wearing a full suit of thick, leather armor, save for his head. He was missing an eye, and had scars all over his face from what Bright could tell. This pony scared him. How could he not scare someone? Just look at him!

"Okay you two handsome stallions, it's time for some murder!"

The pony instantly pulled a huge double-sided ax off of his back and charged Bright. But just like that suited pony from before said, he was slow, and Bright was able to dodge him. But he forgot that the stallion was holding a doubled-bladed weapon, and almost lost his had when the pony swung his head to the side in an attempt to kill Bright.

"Come on, Slasher, fight back! Show us some slashing!"

Bright took his cue and drew one of his swords and started to circle the large pony in front of him. There was no weaknesses in his armor, as far as Bright could tell. So that left the only plan of action for the pony's face. The only problem being him holding a giant ax.

The pony rushed Bright again, and he dodged him again, this time not staying within reach of his ax. After he did this, Bright started to form an idea.

"Hey, you big, ugly bitch! Yeah, you! I bet you couldn't even hit me if I was fucking your mother right here in front of you!"

"Oh, that's gotta burn!"

The stallion's eyes widened, and he charged Bright again, swinging his ax wildly in a vain attempt to hit him. And just like Bright had planned, he swung too wide for him. When he did this, he left himself open to an attack, and Bright took advantage of this.

"Come on, little filly, I'm waiting for you!" Bright yelled at him. And just like before, he started to charge and swung his ax too wide again. This time though, Bright ducked low and swung his sword up and hit the stallion in the neck. Unfortunately, Bright is not a strong pony, so it didn't go all the way through, and only stuck part of the way in. But this was still enough to make the pony drop the ax and yell in pain. When he did this, Bright jumped back and flapped his wings, sending six small knives sailing towards the pony, and they all struck him in the side. But the armor was thick, and it didn't go through. But it did knock the wind out of him long enough for Bright to gain some ground and start to think of a new plan.

"Way to go Slasher! Show 'im who's top dog! Well, top murderous criminal in this case."

There was no way that Bright could get through that armor, but he did seem to be able to hurt him. He could tell that much from the blood seeping out of the cuts he made in the big pony's armor. This gave Bright the beginnings of a new idea. He didn't know if it would work, but he had no other choice at the moment. "C'mon, I thought you were supposed to be tough shit. But I guess you're just too much of a little pussy to kill me, aren't you?"

"Wow, Slasher's really got a quick tongue, don't he? Why I bet he could kill Mauler with just his words alone! But that wouldn't be any fun, so just try to keep it to stabbing, would ya?"

This enraged Mauler to the point of him screaming out and stomping the ground. Then, he did what Bright knew he would do, and charged at Bright as fast as he could. When he was close enough, Bright launched the last four knives at him, and got him right in the chest. The stunned him long enough for Bright to get in close and make his move. Bright used his wings to propel himself upwards, then shot down towards the pony fighting him, and with one hard swipe of his sword, he cut off the exposed part of the stallion's face. When Bright turned around to face him, he saw that the stallion barely had a muzzle anymore. It was now cut off close to the base, and bone was showing, as well as some teeth that managed to stay inside of his mouth. Blood was pouring out so quickly, that Bright didn't think that the pony in front of him would last much longer. But Bright was merciful. He stuck his sword into the pony's bleeding face and down his neck. He could see the tip of his sword coming out of the pony where his neck connected with his back. Blood poured out of him freely, as his life left him, getting all of over Bright. He let go of the sword and the body fell to the ground with a dull thud. He stood over the corpse, staring down with wide eyes. He had done that. He had killed him. He was a killer. No, he wasn't a killer, they had made him into a killer.

"Wow! That was amazing! Let's hear it for our new favorite warrior, Slasher! Actually, that fight reminds me of this girl I dated in high school. She took my whole sword down her throat too. Only the result was a little less... murdery. But it was just as good as this fight! Yay Slasher!"

The cheering was deafening. Was this what ponies wanted? Was this what they thought was entertaining? Bright wasn't laughing or cheering. He wasn't entertained. He was sickened by this.

"It's time to come back inside, 22737," said the voice of the suited pony.

Bright didn't even look at him, he just walked through the door that opened, rode the platform down, and walked in to his cell after stripping off his weapons and armor.

"Don't be so sad, 22737," said the suited pony.

"How can I be happy?" Bright spat at him.

"You're not the dead one," he replied simply, then turned and left.

Bright wasn't sure how that helped him. He would still have to do that again, and maybe he would be the one dead then. But as Bright thought about it, he realized that the suited stallion was right, in a way. He was still alive. And if he was alive, he could still dream of his family. This brought little comfort to Bright, but little is still better than none.

Author's Note

Sorry it took so long peoples, but here it is. The gore and death you sick little monsters so desire. And just a suggestion here, but I think this chapter is best read with the announcers voice being that of Reaver's assistant from Fable 3. But that's just me.