It had been years since Discord and Queen Chrysalis had joined forces and taken over Equestria. They had worked together to overthrow the utter peace and security, and even managed to subdue the Spirits of Harmony, otherwise known as the Mane Six, and were ready to punish the entire population of “little foals”.
They chose a method known as the “Cider Games”, in which 12 random ponies, “reaped” from one of Rarity’s giant hats, would compete against each other in a fight to the death. The grand prize that the victor received was a lifetime supply of Flim-Flam Brothers’ Cider (a prize that Discord chose, much to Chrysalis’s disdain), and that no-pony wanted anyway. Twilight and the other five were standing cramped in the main square of Ponyville, shaking with anticipation. They knew that twelve ponies would be reaped, and of those twelve, eleven would perish and only one would prevail. None of them really wanted to murder. But to live, what else could one do?
So begins the Cider Games, where 11 weak ponies cease to exist!
It was the day of the reaping, and a hot and sweltering day, like that. Sapphire Shores, who had been held captive by Chrysalis, was to be the announcer of the tributes. She reached her hoof into the giant hat, and grabbed a piece of paper. As the crowd drew in a collective gasp, she examined the paper before her, and opened her mouth to speak.
“Twilight Sparkle!”
The population in the town square below began to mutter amongst themselves as they recognized the name of the leader of the Spirits of Harmony. Especially her best friends, who all had different reactions. Rarity gasped dramatically and fell into a dead faint. Fluttershy squealed out loud in horror. Applejack’s mouth dropped open. Pinkie Pie flew suspended into midair and stayed there, demonstrating her own set of physical logic for all of Equestria to observe in confusion. Rainbow Dash, who was more loyal of the other five, shouted out a phrase that no-pony expected anyone in all of Equestria to utter:
“I volunteer!”
The hubbub when Twilight was announced as tribute was nothing compared to the kerfuffle at that moment.
“I volunteer as tribute.”
Fluttershy’s head snapped up, and she began to cry.
“I volunteer too… If all of my friends die, I don’t want to live anymore…”
Pinkie Pie dropped to the ground as her unique physical logic expired for the time being.
“Heck, if all of you guys are going to be in the Games, I don’t wanna miss out on all the fun, either!” She squealed as she bounced up to the podium.
Applejack shoved her way up to the stage. “Aw, ponyfeathers, Ah’d rather die with you guys than live without y’all anyway.”
Rarity popped up from her “faint”, and declared, ”Well, I wouldn’t want to get my hooves dirty, or my mane dirty, or my beautiful conscience dirty, or my flawless coat dirty-“
Somepony from the crowd yelled, “JUST VOLUNTEER ALREADY!”
Rarity slumped her shoulders in resignation. “I was getting to that…”
Discord cleared his throat. “Five ponies volunteering at once? Why, that’s completely unheard of. But for you, we’ll make a very, very, chaotic exception. An exception that is full of very chaotic chaos. An exception that is so very, very chaotic that-
"JUST CONDEMN US TO DEATH ALREADY!" shrieked Rarity.
"Alright, alright! Quit your whining! I was getting to that," grumbled Discord. "All six of you will now have to kill each other. Congratulations. You’re screwed.”
Rainbow Dash glowered at the other four volunteers. “If you’d just let me handle it, I would be the only one to die. It’s not late to change your minds.”
“You’re not the only brave one”, said Rarity on quaking, quivering legs.
“And miss all the fun?” asked a skeptical Pinkie Pie.
“Nope, Rainbow, we’re stickin’ to you like candy on a candy apple”, said Applejack.
Then the six ponies entered the train to Canterlot to meet their fate, and, for some, their deaths.
The six mares silently stepped onto the train to Canterlot. Fluttershy was sobbing loudly, and Twilight was trying to comfort her, but to no avail. Rarity was brushing her mane to calm her nerves. Pinkie Pie was bouncing around the train car, knocking things over in her excitement. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were sitting together, trying to watch the news to find out who the other six tributes were.
Chrysalis was posing as the television announcer. "Here with us we have Dr. Whooves, a stallion whose profession is unknown (a doctor, perhaps?). He was reaped after the first six who were chosen or volunteered. We also have three young fillies with us today; these two volunteered for this young filly when she was chosen, we will have their names shortly..."
Rainbow Dash tuned out for a moment. "Doctor Whooves? Can't he, like travel through time? What chance do we stand against someone like him?" she wondered.
"Shhh!" Applejack hissed. "They're about to say their names! I must say, though, if they're little fillies, we can't have much trouble picking them off..." At this comment, Fluttershy sobbed even harder.
Rainbow tuned back in.
Chrysalis continued. "...Ah yes, their names are Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and..." Applejack drew in a sharp breath. Rarity screamed and fainted, her mane forgotten. Rainbow Dash looked on in horror. Chrysalis squinted to see better. "...Oh, here we are... A young filly named Applebloom."
Next to Rainbow, Applejack covered her face with despair.
"This next tribute is most well known for her weapon of mass destruction... the bass cannon!" Chrysalis shouted as she led Vinyl Scratch into range of the camera. "And last but not least, we have a mare who is... quite out of it at the moment. Discord!" She shouted to Discord, who was waiting offset. "Where is she?" Discord promptly shrugged, then snapped his fingers. Ditzy Doo, or "Derpy", promptly appeared next to him. "Ah, yes, here we have Derpy, whose talents are completely unknown. So there you have it, folks! Our 12 tributes." The television promptly turned off, and all eyes turned to Applejack. Her eyes were contorted in fury, and her lips were pressed tightly together. The ponies sat in silence for the rest of the train ride, not motivated to move even a muscle in despair.
