Beads of sweat droppers down Celestia's forehead. She licked her lips in anticipation. She leaned closer to the television screen as her sparkly mane danced in the empty, humid room. A filly, no older than 12 trudged through a forest area, her eyes widened in terror. The scoffs and laughs of the ponies she once called peers followed her. A few moments ago, they had tried to murder her. And they were enjoying every moment of it. So was Celestia. Adrenaline pumped through her royal veins. She truly felt alive. The filly cried out as she tripped over brambles and stones. Her hooves were bleeding, her face was covered with cuts. She looked up at the monitor above her, locking eyes with the camera. With Celestia. Tears streamed down her face. She got on her knees and pleaded, hoping that the sun goddess, that ANYPONY would see her.
"Please..." the filly choked, "Please help. Oh Celestia's holy mane, Luna's sacred moon, HELP! They're going to kill me! The big one is going to snap my neck in front of my own mother! Oh merciful citizens of Canterlot, Celestia above please, I beg of you! Let me out of this Tartarus forsaken place, please, please won't you listen to me?!" Celestia paused. She stared at the pleading filly. She finally looked into her eyes. And she laughed. She laughed harder then she ever did in her long, long life. The filly took her eyes away from the camera and towards the rustling of bushes. She could hear the snickers of her future assassins. And she was the victim. Celestia's small ears perked up. Oh, she couldn't miss this! This was the best part! The rustling grew louder, and the filly tried to run, really she did. She tripped over a root protruding from the ground. She tried to get up, but a sharp pain in her hoof made her yelp and fall to the ground. In horror she realized her hoof was sprained.
"Alright, my little ponies...let's see how much damage you can really do..." murmured Celestia. The little filly tried to scramble away, only to find her tail pinned down by a heavy claw. She looked up to see a very large adolescent griffon towering over her. Griffon. A citizen from District 4. A fat, pimple faced teenage dragon stood next to him. Dragon. District 11. And finally, a large heavyset stallion, around four years older than the filly. Pony. District 12. Her own district. The griffon, who was the largest of the group smirked.
"I never expected a tiny little filly like you to make it this far into the Games." said the griffon. The little filly growled. She spit directly into the griffon's eye. The filly cringed, prepared to be killed. But the griffon merely laughed.
"You've got spunk, kid. I like it. Just the kind of pony the winners want on their side. You're awfully scratched up. Come back with us and we'll take care of that." said the griffon, with genuine kindness in his eyes. Celestia sat up in alarm. No. This wasn't supposed to happen! Back in the forest area, the griffon released his grip on the filly's tail. The pimple faced dragon grunted.
"He wants you to be in an alliance with us, pony." said the dragon. The griffon slugged him over the head.
"She knows that, blockhead! She's not a retard like you!" said the griffon. The stallion just shook his head.
"Well, filly? Are you in?" asked the stallion. The filly glared and stood up, ignoring the pain.
"What? You...you expect me to HELP you monsters?! You murdered my friend!" the filly sputtered. The griffon frowned.
"The breezie deserved to die! She was small and weak." the griffon snarled. The dragon and the stallion nodded their approval. Celestia rubbed her hooves together in anticipation. The filly stamped her hoof.
"That BREEZIE was my FRIEND!" the filly shouted. The stallion spoke up.
"Your precious little breezie friend would have never made it to the end of the Games. We did her a favor. She had to die." said the bulky earth pony. The griffon and dragon nodded in unison. The filly shook her head.
"No! Nopony deserves to die! No breezie, no griffon, no dragon, no zebra, nopony! No! I WON'T join you bullies!" the filly shouted. Celestia let out a sigh of relief, and slunk back into her seat, smiling eagerly. Yes. This was more like it. The dragon sighed.
"Permission to kill her, boss?" the dragon nudged the griffon, who was clearly the leader.
"Denied." said the griffon. The filly cocked her head. Were they being...merciful? The griffon smirked.
"I'll do it myself!" the griffon lunged at the filly, her eyes wide with terror. T
