Chapters Chapter One - By Royal Demand
It’s often said that, eventually, all of society will split and become nothing but a fragile alliance. Everyone will be forced to choose a side, and they must hope they choose correctly. This is a story of greed and the cost it bears in such a situation.
* * *
In the years following the banishment of Nightmare Moon, there came a time when the fair Princess Luna began to realize a trend; nothing had changed in the past thousand years that she’d been imprisoned. Yes, she was once again the co-ruler of Equestria, but Celestia clearly held more power. Luna wanted more than just to control the night.
She became power-hungry and requested rather threateningly that her sister take control of half the land - leaving to Luna the other. Once Celestia had declined, the younger sister hinted that, without the land, she’d refuse to raise the moon. Her second offer was then obliged, as Princess Celestia did not wish for another war. The thousand years without Luna were rough, and the white alicorn felt unable to handle another millennium alone.
Equestria was split into two sections soon after the pair agreed on a fair separation point; the Solar Empire and the New Lunar Republic. Celestia would rebuild the ruins of her old castle, and Luna would earn the rights to the Canterlot Castle. It didn’t take long for word to spread that the west side of Equestria would now be under the control of Princess Luna.
Many ponies immigrated across the establishing border to stay with whoever they thought was best fit for a leader. Most traveled from the west to the Solar Empire, but some did feel Luna deserved a chance to prove herself. After all, the rules of Celestia’s deal DID include an always-open border, so they could leave if things went bad.
Upon hearing the news, Princess Cadence and Princess Twilight were outraged that they had not been notified first. Now they were in the New Lunar Republic with their own citizens to look out for, and they had no choice but to ask Luna for rights to their “kingdoms” - the Crystal Empire for Cadence, and Ponyville for Twilight. The new ruler refused their requests without a second thought. How fair would it be if Celestia held more land than her? Everything would STILL be the same way it always was.
Cadence and Twilight both sought the help of Princess Celestia next, but, as she only held control over the opposite side of Equestria, there was not anything she could do. The pair was soon demanded to fight for their new princess. At this point, both Celestia and Luna had themselves a respectable squadron of loyal servants - including some of the best royal advisers, so the other two were cautious not to upset or anger the ruler of the New Lunar Republic. However, that’s not to say they gave up. No, they continued to reason with Luna through letters until, finally, she sent out two different royal advisers to deliver a verbal compromise message to each of their respective areas.
The adviser positioned herself atop a large podium with the assembly of every resident in Ponyville. Twilight stood nearby and introduced her.
“Hello, everypony. Thank you all for coming here so quickly. This is Princess Luna’s assistant royal adviser. She says that she comes to bring us an important message.” Twilight nodded to the tall mare and walked off stage with her wings spread out. Even if she wasn’t technically a ruler right now, she wanted to keep the regal look as often as possible.
The adviser spoke loudly to the crowd. “Fillies and gentlecolts! It is true that you all wish to be your own part Equestria, yes?” Several ponies nodded. “I thought so. Now... today is a day of grand importance. If you should accept the offer I’m about to issue you, Princess Twilight will gain control of Ponyville and any parts of the Everfree Forest on our princess’s side of Equestria. If you shall decline, she asks that you do exactly as she says…” she looked down - likely at a notecard, “and that is devoting your life to her wishes and personal requests if she should target you with a demand.”
One pony in the gathering groaned. Everypony already knew this, and each pony in the crowd knew that the only real reason the adviser was here was to offer a deal. Said adviser saw the looks of boredom throughout the assembly. “Awwww, I see. You want me to… ‘get on with it’ as I believe they say,” she gave a laugh of amusement, “Fine. This is what Princess Luna proposes: a sacrifice.”
The crowd’s eyes widened, and they began chatting worriedly amongst themselves until the adviser resumed her speech. “A sacrifice of ten school-age ponies is to be held once every one hundred moons. The purpose of such a thing is to ensure you are, and always will be, loyal to our princess.” She stood up tall, looked at the notecard, and raised her voice. “By the orders of Princess Luna, Twilight Sparkle will give her agreement or denial to either me or my superiors before the moon sets on this night! Utopia comes not without a cost, so I wish you all the best in Twilight’s decision.”
She picked up her notecards with a simple levitation spell and walked off the stage. Everyone in the crowd was still gawking at the offer - everyone except Twilight. She felt nothing but betrayal from the once amazing leader. The purple alicorn already made her decision. “...Yes,” she muttered as the adviser walked past.
“Excuse me?”
“I said yes. The possibility of a utopia and not being controlled by somepony like Luna outweighs the cost.”
The ponies in front heard every word, and so they spread it to the back of the group. Before the adviser even answered back, everypony knew what Twilight had done. “Excellent!” she praised the decision and walked back up onto the stage. Once again, she spoke loudly and clearly. “I’ve just been informed by Twilight herself that she will accept our ruler’s humble and generous offer. I ask now that everypony still in school takes a piece of paper and neatly prints their name on it. Tomorrow, ten names will be drawn. If you should fail to follow through with the instructions I’ve prescribed, you will be personally selected for one of the ten sacrifices. I wish you all the best of luck.”
Chapter Two - The Drawing
Grey clouds blotted out the sun on the next day. Although the sun flew high in the sky, the lighting made it look like dusk - very fitting for what was about to happen. Every little filly and colt did as they’d been told and wrote their name on a slip of paper. One at a time they were asked to drop their slip into a small, wooden crate. A gulp every now and then broke the silence of the once again full crowd. Even though it didn’t necessarily concern their lives, every citizen of Ponyville met together for this. They wanted to see who’d be giving their lives for what could be perfection, or near perfection at the very least.
A broad-shouldered stallion, likely the head of a squad, came up to the stage - box cradled in his left hoof. He set it down in the middle of the platform and cleared his throat. “Before I begin calling names, I would like to personally thank everypony for following the instructions last night and pitching in to help make this process all the more… FAIR for you. Also, if you would really wish to be a part of your kingdom’s sacrifice, feel free to volunteer.” He waited idly for ten seconds to see if anypony would accept his offer. “No? Then in that case, we’ll move on.” Without looking, he reached down into the box, shuffled the names, and called the one he first pulled out.
“Pipsqueak!” he read, “To the stage.” A very small earth pony in the crowd shuddered. Out of all the school ponies around him, the guard couldn’t actually be serious... right?
“No,” the spotted colt replied.
“Excuse me?” the guard’s voice rose. He quickly retrieved his spear from the side of the stage and pointed it threateningly at the first sacrifice. Pipsqueak and the ponies around him stared wide-eyed at the blade. “I said; get on the stage.” The spear came closer. “That wasn’t a request.”
Pip reluctantly walked through two rows of his classmates - weight building on him with each step. Reaching the far-left of the stage warranted a clap of approval from the guard. “Very good. Thank you for your cooperation.” The way he said it made it sound like Luna prepared specific lines for him to say. The stallion reached down blindly and drew another slip.
“Snips! To the stage.”
“Twist! To the stage.”
“Diamond Tiara! To the stage.”
“Snails!”
“Button Mash!”
“Silver Spoon!"
“Featherweight!”
One by one, a school pony took their position next to the previous. The chances of somepony’s name being drawn increased with every new sacrifice’s title. Down the papers dwindled as he drew another.
“Applebloom! To the stage.”
The earth filly’s heart sank. He didn’t just- no. No, she was dreaming. This was a nightmare... one that she didn’t wake up from. The momentary silence that allowed Applebloom to evaluate what was happening ended as the guard cleared his throat and drew his weapon again. “Don’t make me ask again,” he said.
“Wait.”
Applebloom turned to her immediate right to see Scootaloo looking straight at the guard.
“Can I take her place?”
The guard frowned sympathetically. “I thought you’d never ask. What’s your name, filly?”
“Scootaloo,” she murmured.
“What was that?”
“Scootaloo,” the pegasus stated clearer than before.
“Scootaloo! To the stage.”
Before she could get two feet, Applebloom tapped Scootaloo’s shoulder. “What’re ya doing?! They’ll kill ya!”
Scootaloo looked back reassuringly - a confident smile on her face. “Don’t worry,” she said, “I’ve got nopony left to lose. You do.” She turned back and proceeded to the next position.
“Very good. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Only a few name tags remained in the crate. The guard was forced to rummage through for several moments to find one. He read the final name out. “Sweetie Belle! To the stage.”
The unicorn gawked at his words. There was still a chance. Maybe, just maybe, if somepony were to volunteer now….
“Ah volunteer! Ah’ll go for her!” Applebloom shouted.
“I’m sorry, but your position has already been filled, Applebloom,” the stallion apologized. He wasn’t following orders when he said he was sorry.
Another few seconds, and the guard shot Sweetie Belle a scripted glare. She walked up slowly with small shakes of her head every now and then as she passed her classmates. Nopony said a word. Even Rarity knew she couldn’t do anything to stop it, so she just sat there with mascara starting to run down her face. Applejack and the rest of her friends crowded around her and offered physical support.
Sweetie Belle stood in the final position - to the right of her friend Scootaloo. “Behold… Ponyville’s first sacrifice!” the guard yelled. He waited for an applause or congratulations from the audience. When all he got were angry looks and tears, the squad leader cleared his throat awkwardly. “The event will take place at the edge of the Everfree Forest come midnight tonight. This will give you all time to say goodbye and prepare. As per the orders of Princess Luna, you will NOT attempt to flee the New Lunar Republic before the executions. My squad will be circling around your small town - making sure none of you try anything.”
“You can’t do that!” Sweetie Belle shouted, “We’re supposed to always be able to go to the Solar Empire!”
The squad leader turned around to face her. He shook his head. “The border is always open, but that doesn’t mean the princess can’t order an area to be detained. Armed guards will come to escort you as the moon nears its peak. The princess knows where you live,” he informed calmly. He then dismissed all the fillies and colts, who ran to their closest family members the first chance they got.
Chapter Three - A "Simple" Mistake
Come the setting of the sun, Rarity hesitantly put her sister to bed. “But Rarity, shouldn’t we talk about-”
“No,” Rarity interrupted, “Just go to bed, Sweetie. I will wake you when it’s time.” Rarity spun around and started walking in the other direction only to be stopped by the small unicorn.
“Hey, sis?”
Rarity turned her head back to the tired filly. “Yes, Sweetie Belle?”
“Will you… will you be there?”
“Whatever do you mean? Of course I will! I wouldn’t let you be alone!”
With that, the older sister turned off the lights, and the younger fell asleep with the solace that her big sister would be with her to the bitter end.
* * *
Just as with the slips of paper, everypony was escorted one at a time from their homes and brought to the edge of the Everfree Forest - out of sight from the general public. Pipsqueak, Snips, Twist, Diamond Tiara, Snails… one after another, they were brought to the designated location just to wait for the others.
Among the last few was Scootaloo - who decided to bring Rainbow Dash to her clubhouse for a long talk before the execution order was carried out. Two of Luna’s personal guards came and took her away. Rainbow followed behind them with caution. She knew that trying to stop them was pointless, but the cyan pegasus also came to understand the sense of loneliness Scootaloo had felt her whole life in only a few short hours. Losing her parents at such a young age without anypony to watch over her… it’d been both heart-wrenching and mind-boggling to experience, and Rainbow Dash acted as her only protector.
Very soon the escorts were knocking on the door of the Carousel Boutique for their last sacrifice. Rarity answered the door quickly and sighed as she eyed the “New Lunar Republic” badges they wore on their armored uniforms. “I’ll… go get her. Please excuse me,” she said with all the courage she could muster. A few footsteps and one small tap on the shoulder later, and Sweetie Belle was awake. She followed her sister to the door, who then followed her - behind the guards.
Dark green leaves marked the boundary between the Everfree Forest and Ponyville. Their ominous glimmering caused by moonlight made the entire scene look like something out of somepony’s dream, but this was no dream. Ten foals stood shoulder to shoulder taking quick breaths. Some - like Silver Spoon and Pipsqueak - were accompanied by their parents, whereas others - like Diamond Tiara and Button Mash - came with nopony but the guards as their company.
The same stallion from earlier approached the group with his spear in his right hoof. He marched to Pipsqueak with a grim frown. Pipsqueak swallowed. “Why are you doing this?” he asked weakly.
“You must understand that I do not take enjoyment out of this. However, if I were to disobey the princess’s orders, she’d have my head.”
“So you would have ours instead?!” Pipsqueak shouted. His parents always taught him not to talk back, but they let him now. It was his last chance to talk, so why interfere?
The guard pressed the spear’s tip against the colt’s neck. It pricked his skin, and a small laceration made itself known on his flesh. “Listen here, KID. Just because I don’t enjoy this doesn’t mean I can’t drag it out as long as I want, so watch your fucking tongue.”
Sweetie Belle teared up and looked at Scootaloo. “I’m… scared, Scootaloo.”
The orange filly slung her arm over Sweetie Belle’s shoulder and patted her comfortingly. “It’s okay; your sister I are here for you.”
“You won’t be here when it’s my turn,” Sweetie pointed out.
“Oh, yes I will. I won’t be going anywhere until it’s over.” Scootaloo smiled and put her hoof back in the grass. “You’re my friend, Sweetie Belle. I’ll stick with you for a long time.”
Sweetie Belle sniffed. “Pinkie promise..?”
Scootaloo giggled and nodded. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she performed the all too familiar vow.
The guard pulled the spear away from Pipsqueak’s neck and raised it as a symbol of authority. Not expecting an audience other than the escorts and the sacrifices, he had to quickly make up a little speech. “Ponies, this is a night of which you should all remember. Let this mark a new era for Equestria - the separation of the Crystal Empire and Ponyville from the New Lunar Republic.” He once again put the spear to Pip’s neck - who now stood up as tall as his short legs would allow. The colt looked rather dignified for having certain death mere moments away from him. “Any last words?” the guard asked as an obvious formality. Pipsqueak thought for a moment.
“HALT!” a voice yelled from up above. Everypony tilted their head back, and the guard brought his weapon back into an idle position. It was Princess Luna. The escorts and squad leader bowed before her. Everypony else would have too if not for this awful, sadistic show of executions that she had orchestrated, so they only glared at her with hatred in their eyes. She didn’t realize only because she was focused more on the guard.
Luna looked down at him displeased. “Ahem,” she cleared her throat and turned to the hoof-drawn sacrifices, “It has come to my attention that my head royal adviser has misinterpreted my wishes. My request was that NINE school-age ponies be sacrificed. Not ten. Although I appreciate the occasional act of generosity, this is far from it.” The princess grinned evilly. “Know that she has been dealt with.”
Some ponies scowled at her practically hissed implications. They knew what she meant. “Funny enough,” she continued, “She was able to at least give the proper instructions to the Crystal Empire. Their executions are being carried out as we speak. It would be simple enough to just simply remove the final sacrifice, but I have something more… exciting in mind.”
Princess Luna cleared her throat again. “A tournament is what I propose. Yes, a tournament of which will give you all a chance to pay a tribute to your new utopia. The last foal standing will be declared the winner.” The alicorn lit her horn. “We shall begin immediately. You will all be brought to the Everfree Forest and sealed inside. This will ensure none of you try to escape your sacrifice. Oh, and one more thing,” she said, leaning forward as she did so. Her horn shined brightly in the night.
Chapter Four - More than Cuts and Scrapes
Ten beams of light quickly shot at the young ponies. They all fell into an immediate, dreamless sleep. The monarch levitated Pipsqueak high above her head and, very efficiently, used her magic to snap one of his legs backwards. Everypony still conscious was subject to a very loud cracking noise. “What are you doing to our son?!” Pip’s parents screamed.
“Relax,” Luna assured, “I have no intention of harming your son. His fate will be decided by his own actions and how he fairs against the others in the forest.” She again revealed that sick, sadistic smirk before repeating the process with his other three legs. “You see,” she began, “I’m doing this to prevent any advantages the foals may have over one another.” Luna gently set the colt down. “Right now I’m using their pressure points to disable strength, magic, and flight.”
Before long, Twist, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Button Mash were also unknowingly deprived of their strength. Princess Luna then levitated Snails over. “Such a unique, albeit odd, physique. What a shame it is that he may not survive,” she sighed. Luna brought her horn to his and caused a flurry of alicorn magic to flow through the colt’s fragile, less effective unicorn magic. When she could no longer feel a trace of power in him, the princess set him back down. Picking up Snips, she smiled humorously. “This one, too - an interesting body type of which may aid him,” she observed. Snips lost his magic, and Sweetie Belle after him.
Complete silence surrounded Luna as she levitated both Featherweight and Scootaloo into the air. She cast a spell which took hold of their wings and brought them back with a loud SNAP. The caretakers cringed, but the foals remained fast asleep. They didn’t feel a thing.
“It’s quite admirable to see so many ponies had the courage to willingly stay with their tribute in what was going to be their final moments.” Luna chuckled and wiped away an exaggerated tear. “I do wonder who will be emerging from the forest with their life. They will be looked upon with great pride, I presume,” she guessed and picked up the ten foals. It was more than the usual quill or scroll, but she managed just fine.
* * *
While other ponies wouldn’t dare to enter the Everfree Forest at night, Princess Luna relished in it. Her moon shined down against her navy blue coat through the thick leaves. She decided to place them down at the next clearing and come back the next morning to check who was left. “I have a good feeling about this one,” she said while lowering Button Mash at the edge of a large, open area, “A strong, broad chest for such a young age can bring about that much more vigor.”
Princess Luna arranged the tributes in the form of a two by five grid and strolled away. They were left roughly two hundred yards from the forest’s edge, so Luna inferred that at least one of them would come face to face with the wall she was about to put up. The guards had shooed everypony from the area and waited for the leader to return. She did so slowly before exerting a great amount of magic into creating a specifically-shaped dome - one that only surrounded the Everfree Forest on the New Lunar Republic side of Equestria. “No need for illegally interacting with the Solar Empire,” she thought.
“Okay,” she sighed to the guard, “I will go inform Twilight of the new arrangements. You may take your men and depart for the castle.”
“Yes, princess!” he responded. The stallion gave some signals to the escorts, and they all obediently headed for Canterlot Castle as Luna walked through the grass which would eventually lead to Twilight’s castle.
A number of the ponies stirred slightly in the midst of their unconscious spell, but Featherweight was the first to his hooves. Luna deliberately shot each of the ten with a different amount of power to avoid confusion and a bloodbath at the very start. Featherweight looked around and decided it would be best to leave the area before anypony else awakened.
He travelled away from the clearing and found himself at a precipitous hill. Not ten feet away was a tree which he thought may offer a good hiding spot, so he spread his wings, jumped forward, and immediately found that he couldn’t flap. “I’m falling,” he thought, letting out a loud yelp and flailing his legs in the air before hitting the ground with a dull thump. Having such a fragile bone structure didn’t help him; his two front legs broke wide open on impact - sharp bone cutting through veins and skin before spurting blood out onto the tall grass he landed in. Featherweight lost consciousness after whimpering in pain for a long minute. He wouldn’t wake up again.
* * *
For a long while, time seemed to stand still. Only when a cricket broke the silence did more of the tributes awake. Two of them - Button Mash and Pipsqueak. Looking at each other as they climbed up from the ground, they remembered the situation they were in. They realized that they could both die tonight… but Button Mash wasn’t going to let that happen. He gave a determined slant in his eyes and charged the miniature horse. Pipsqueak started running in the opposite direction without thinking twice. The spotted foal wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight, but he could be the faster one in a race.
Across the clearing and through the same path Featherweight had taken, Button chased after Pipsqueak. The smaller of the two didn’t see the steep hill that took Featherweight’s life and tumbled down the slope. Several times he hit the ground at full force, but the only injury that affected him in the long run was one in which one of his back hoof bones shattered. Pipsqueak cried out - still being chased by Button, who was sliding down the hill. Pipsqueak hurried to get his bearings back and ran into a nearby treeline.
Button Mash lost sight of him. Even after reaching the bottom, he couldn’t find a trace of his fellow competitor. The grass was tall enough to hide the little one’s tracks, and what tracks would have been visible through the grass were too small to see anyway.
Button noticed a foal-sized, white shape about fifteen feet away. He walked closer. There, lying on the cold, damp earth, was Featherweight still frozen in his last moments. Button Mash took a long look at his legs and vomited. He’d seen this kind of thing in the games he played, but he hadn’t expected the real thing to look so horrifying, twisted, and awful. He wished he was in one of those games now, because then he wouldn’t have to come to terms with having to eliminate nine of his classmates just so he could survive. And for one of them to look like this… he shuddered to think about what he may have to do.
Chapter Five - Couple of Misfits
The next one to wake up was Snails. He shook his head before opening his eyes - hoping the magic shooting at him was only the end to a nightmare. But it wasn’t; it was the beginning of one. He got off the ground and went to his friend Snips. Snails tapped the big colt’s shoulder, but Snips didn’t budge. After exhausting every option - poking him harder, whispering into his ear, and even hitting him - Snails used his head to heave Snips onto his back. Together, they reached the wall within only minutes. That’s when Snips woke up.
“Wh- wha..? Where are we?” he asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
“Looks like the Everfree Forest,” Snails answered.
“And why exactly are you carrying me?”
“Oh right. Sorry,” Snails set his friend down, “I guess whatever the princess hit us with was really strong. You weren’t waking up, so I had to carry you on my back.”
“Any ideas on how we get this wall down?”
“Shoot at it with our magic?” Snails suggested.
“Sounds good,” Snips agreed, “Let’s try it.”
The pair focused on the see-through, light blue wall, closed their eyes, and strained their horns for magic. Nothing came, but they did receive some massive headaches. The alicorn magic had a strong hold on them. “Well, that isn’t going to work,” Snips said obviously, “Why isn’t our magic working?”
“Maybe the princess took it away to keep us from cheating.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Snips replied, turning around and searching for some kind of shelter. It wouldn’t be long before the others woke up, and he was tired. Both of them were. “Hey!” he exclaimed, “Let’s hide up in that tree!” Snips pointed to a tall tree with some low hanging branches.
“Good idea.”
Together, they climbed into the tree and stopped only when they felt hidden - about twenty feet in the air.
“Good thing neither of us are scared of heights,” Snails laughed, actually feeling very uncomfortable so high up in the air.
“Y-yeah…” Snips said with the same fake bravery.
* * *
Twist awoke with only one philosophy in her head; trust nopony. As much as she wanted to awaken any of the ponies around her, she didn’t risk the chance of them being out for blood and victory, so she fled the scene. Within minutes, she had no idea where she was or where she would go.
Through zig-zags, twists, turns, and loops, she had lost herself in the thickly vegetated forest. Losing her way led to crying; crying lead to whimpering; whimpering led to fear, and fear led to her taking shelter in a log just big enough to squeeze in.
