R'tas The Cruel's Blood-explosion gore-pit Rakdos-style Circus of Slaughter!!!

Twilight Sparkle's eyes fluttered open as she awoke, unsure of where she was, or how she got here. It was dark in here, and stone... like a dungeon. But why was she here? What had she done wrong? Oh, the questions spiraled in her head, but none made sense, or fit. She never did wrong actions, so Celestia would never lock her up. Could she have been kidnapped, or captured? This dungeon certainly did not look equestrian.

"No... that's absurd! I'm a princess! How could I be kidnapped? Such a feat is impossible. I'll bet this is just a bad dream, and I'll wake up any second now!" Twilight said, testing the chains that now bound her to the cold, stone floor. As she looked around, she saw many more chains, many of them bearing shackles, hooks, and various other unpleasant restraints. The air also bore a strange, metallic scent: blood, and lots of it, running through the gutters.

"Oh... definitely a bad dream..." Twilight muttered,  feeling sick to her stomach. However, a new sound snapped her out of her thoughts: The gate leading to her cell opened wide, and a tall, armored figure stepped in. But it wasn't a pony: the warrior that now stood before her stood on two legs, was far taller than her, smelled of blood and rot, and made the room go freezing cold. It had no flesh, no skin, muscles, or eyes; just bones, armor, and two blue lights in its eye sockets that stared at her, unblinking, with no pity, no remorse... no emotion.

"Okay... a REALLY bad dream, then..." Twilight finally said, cringing at the thing. Then, without a sound, it grabbed her by her mane, and began dragging her, despite her protests.

"Ow, ow, stop, let go! Okay, this isn't a dream!" Twilight finally realized as the creature dragged her through the dungeon, and struggle as she might, it was too strong for her, and she could not stop the undead warrior as it dragged her out of the torch-lit dungeon, and threw her into the dust, into the harsh sunlight. She had to close her eyes for a bit, and she sneezed from the dust that rose from beneath her, and after a while, she squinted, and finally opened her eyes to the sound of... cheering?

"What in Equestria...?" Twilight asked, and she realized something: there were walls, and creatures, races of beings she'd never seen before, in stands far above her, jeering and shouting at her, speaking words she'd never heard before, and raising their fists and other appendages into the air. She was in an arena, about to fight for the amusement of these depraved, violent creatures!

"What..? What is this?!" Twilight asked, terrified, but no answer came, until a good few minutes after, once an odd tune rang out among the spectators, causing them to fall silent, and an amplified voice echoed across the arena, a voice that was deep, condescending, and oddly alluring:

"Greetings, spectators, and welcome to the one and only, super-violent, ultra-gory, blood-explosion extravaganza, R'tas's Circus of Slaughter, hosted by me, R'tas the Cruel himself!" The voice echoed, and a giant, rectangular construct raised from a structure in the back of the arena as it spoke, and upon finishing, an image appeared instantly upon it; a hooded, helmeted figure, it's mask covering most of his face, save two small, green, reptilian eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness of its elongated helmet. In short, the ensemble made him look like a reptile of some kind, but there was too little evidence of his face to prove it. Before Twilight could finish her thoughts, however, the voice, who was obviously the creature in the picture, R'tas the Cruel, spoke again, his deep, booming voice ringing throughout the arena:

"Now, as you are all aware, my loyal spectators of blood and death, we have recently acquired some new... players, as it were, for our little game here. This creature you see before you just happens to be one of the many we have found: a pony... an alicorn, to be exact." R'tas the Cruel thunders, his face raising, his green eyes brightening, and Twilight's heart sinks at the thought of what kind of 'game' this was going to turn out to be.

"... And, as with ALL newcomers, be they spectator or gladiator, it is both fair and custom that we read them their rights... er, rules, my bad. Anyway, on with the introduction: Welcome, newcomers, to R'tas's Circus of Slaughter! Now, for those that were here before, you know the game, and you know the rules. As for those who are new here, here are the rules! In this, my most illustrious, inescapable arena, gladiators will fight for their lives against beasts, abominations, and even other gladiators from across the multiverse! As I said, there is no escape from my arena, and those who become gladiators, remain gladiators until either I or the crowd get bored of you. However, living here IS possible: those who win get significant upgrades in accomodations during their eternal stay here, and will recieve three square meals a day, all based upon the diet of said gladiators. See? I'm not THAT cruel. However, there's a nasty catch: If you are slain, you will be reconstituted, and you will receive a significant downgrade in your living conditions, and that's IF I decide to bring you back: you will be judged by the spectators, and they will decide whether you go on... or not." R'tas explains, and Twilight shivers as the weight of her situation bears down on her, crushing her. Soon, R'tas continues:

"Now, the rules of the pit are simple: Kill, or be killed. You can use any trick, weapon, or advantage at your disposal, but be warned that your enemy can and will do the same. Attempting to escape the arena or harm me or the spectators will result in a rather... messy... permanent disqualification. If you do not want to fight your opponent, just remember: It's your fault if they gore you, and no one wants to see a hippy fight more than once. Now, the Spectators: You will cast your votes to see who fights next, who they fight, what they fight with, and bet who you think will win. You have the real power here, and your every vote counts! Now, without further ado, let our first match with our new playthings..." R'tas boomed, but Twilight called out, interrupting him:

"WAIT!!!!!" cried Twilight, catching everyone's attention. "What am I doing here?! How did I get here? Why are you doing this?" Twilight asked, and murmurs erupted through the crowd, and R'tas sighed, and facepalmed, as seen on the massive screen he was displayed on. Finally, after some incoherent grumbling, he answered Twilight:

"To answer your questions, gladiator, you have been selected by ME PERSONALLY to test the ultimate power of your race's fighting ability. You are the ultimate of your species, and therefor the perfect test. You will fight here, and you will entertain us until we tire of you. Then, if you're lucky, you can go home. However, if you die at that point... well... let's just say your remains will be put to good use." R'tas the Cruel says, and Twilight gulps, but her resolve remains strong. Now, she faces the ultimate test of her power, with the ultimate stakes at risk: Fight, or die, and she outright refuses to die... not this time.

"Now, without further interruption, let the first fight of the pony species... begin! First fight: Twilight, versus an arborax!" R'tas booms, and the screen lowers, and the crowd cheers once more, as another gate opens. The first creature Twilight must face then crawls out of the shadows of the caged entrance opposite her own, and it is... a rock. Yes, a giant, plant-covered boulder now sits there, a giant bud growing outward in Twilight's direction.

"This... this is it? This is my enemy?" Twilight asks, approaching the boulder. As she does, the boulder twitches, but does nothing too remarkable. "Is... is this a joke? what kind of a fight is this?" Twilight asks, now three feet away from the odd rock. Then, to rove her point, she kicks it, and it turns over.

"See? This won't be hard at... all?" Twilight trails off, as a loud, deep growl bursts from behind her. Then, she turns around, to see the boulder raise into the air, supported by several thorny vines, which then come together to form a rudimentary trunk, and then it splits off into two basic, trunk-like legs. Then, from the boulder, more vines come out of another hole on its left side, forming a long, clawed appendage with five tendrils for fingers, and the other side yields a long, thick vine, with a giant, spiked pod at the end. Finally, the bud extends, and splits into five petals, revealing a large, toothy maw, with a long, honey-coated tongue that smelled alluring, even to Twilight, who was appalled by this abomination of nature. No one else was disturbed, though, and the crowd continued to cheer as the arboreal beast stalked toward Twilight, hungrily drooling sweet-smelling honey from its horrible, flower-like maw. Twilight backed away from the monster, unable to speak on account of her fear, but still able to run, which she promptly did, after the arborax snapped its jaws at her, missing her by mere inches.

Twilight ran from the beast, and ran in circles to try and tire it, but to no avail: she was going to tire herself out at his rate, and this thing was just going to eat her. So, seeing no other way out, she turned, ready to fight the arborax, which stopped when she did. The beast, though, did not stop forever, and continued its advance on Twilight Sparkle, growling and drooling hungrily, as its long tongue waved in the air like some kind of antennae.

"This... this isn't right! This has to be a nightmare!" Twilight says as the arborax approaches, and she finally wracks up the nerve to charge a spell of fire. Upon finishing it, Twilight casts the spell, hoping that the plant-like monster will burn up, but the creature instead puts its stone 'shell' in the way of the fireball, leaving a scorch mark upon the boulder that is its 'torso', but ultimately leaving the arborax undamaged. Before she can charge another spell, the beast opens its mouth, makes a loud gurgling sound, and spits a massive ball of sweet sap and honey at her, cancelling her spell, immobilizing her, and, apparently, numbing her senses. Twilight soon realizes this loss of mental and motor function within her, and cries out in dismay as she realizes her dire situation:

"W-what the..? The honey... it's... it's an anesthetic! I... I can't... move... or think..." Twilight cries in dismay, and the beast then reaches for her with it's long arm-tendrils, wrapping them around her sticky, sap-and-honey-coated body like a mollusk of some kind, like an octopus, or a squid. Then, once it has it's grip, it lifts her up, and it moves it's tendrils over her, tasting her without devouring her, to see if her nutrients are sufficient. And though it looks wrong, it is in no way sexual: the arborax is hungry, nothing more. Twilight, however, in her inebriated state, doesn't see this like that:

"Uh..? Hey, stop!... That... that tickles... let me... let... me... go..." Twilight mutters as the tendrils evaluate her, and the arborax decides that she is worthy to become its meal. The beast then lifts her up, wraps its tongue around Twilight like a snake, and pulls her into its maw whole, and begins swallowing her, head-first. Twilight kicks and screams, and struggles to get out, but she is too drugged, and slowly but surely, the arborax forces her down its vine-like throat, and she vanishes within the behemoth's shell, eaten whole. Soon, the match is over, and Twilight, within minutes, is digested by the monster's powerful gastric acids, and the crowd cheers at the display.

"Well, that was quite... a disappointing match, actually. From all I heard about these ponies, I thought a simple arborax would have been enough, but it seems this is not so. But, remember, folks, this was just a test! So, for the sake of good showmanship, I'll bring Twilight back, and we'll see how she does next time. Until next we meet, faithful, blood-thirsty spectators!" R'tas booms, and the show is over for the day. But meanwhile, deep within the dungeons, a blue light shines in Twilight's cell, and it begins to condense, forming a pony-like shape. Finally, the light burst outward, and there stands Twilight, tired and shaken. She looks around, bewildered, and sees her cell. Then, her memories return, and she remembers the whole ordeal, from her waking up here to getting groped and eaten by a plant monster. She barely can speak, for there's nothing to say, but one thing is quickly realized by her: If she doesn't want this to happen again, she better not lose the next round...