Battle Royale: An Introduction
"What do you mean you've never heard of it?" The mare asked, frowning as she eyed the griffon, the other raising his claws and shrugging, an action that earned an irritated groan from his friend, "It's only... Like... The biggest thing since sliced bread! I'm pretty sure they broadcast it to other countries when it's on, how the heck haven't you heard of it before?"
Once more the griffon shrugged, leaning back in his seat and tossing a few fries into his beak, "I just don't watch too much television back home." He'd note, moving to grab his soda while the mare across from him frowned, shaking her head.
"Alright, so... You remember the stories of arena fights in old Equestria? You know, gladiators and stuff fighting in a big arena." She'd begin, leaning forward and resting her forearms on the table, "Well, it's kinda like those! But instead of gladiators, it's a bunch of asshole kids!"
The mare grinned, the griffon frowned.
"Kids?" He'd ask, lifting a clawed hand to scratch his chin, "Why kids?"
"Because they're assholes!" The mare replied matter of factly, "Ever since that recession, those little shits have been walking all over us! Robbing shops, vandalising property... Some of them even assault their parents and teachers nowadays!"
"But isn't tossing them into an arena and forcing them to fight a little... barbaric? I mean, it must sound rich coming from a griffon of all things, but still!"
The mare shook her head.
"These kids need to be taught who's in charge! Ever since the games began, crime has gone down and the little snots have started to tow the line... Not all of them of course, there are still a lot of troublemakers, but a few more years of the games and we'll weed em out!" With that the mare paused to bite into her burger, only to then wipe her lips with a napkin.
"So... Like... How do these games work?" The griffon asked, curious now.
"Well, first they pick forty kids to take part, mostly random... And once they have chosen the 'players', they're transported to the arena where they'll be given three days and a bunch of random weapons so that they can kill each other! The arena changes every game to keep things fresh! Last year, it was an underground mine in the Crystal empire that used to be run by Sombra, and the year before that they dropped them all into a desert."
The griffon frowned, "How do they keep the kids from leaving the arena?"
"Oh, right!" The mare paused, biting her lip before she grabbed a napkin and produced a pen from her pocket, quickly scribbling down a crude drawing of what looked like a necklace, "The kids are fitted with these collars! If they try to escape the arena, or there are no winners after the third day, the collars detonate and blow open their necks!"
The griffon blinked, moving to rub at his own feathery neck, "Brutal..."
"No, it's not brutal... It's what the bastards deserve! I think they should just fit every kid in Equestria with those collars until they reach adulthood, to keep them in line." The mare would snap, earning a small chuckle from her friend.
"Damn, you're really for this whole murder game thing..." He'd sigh, slurping the last of his soda, "But hey! If it works, it works... I ain't gonna judge."
The mare smirked, moving to poke at her fries, "Tell you what, why don't you watch the game at my place this weekend? We could get some beer, pizza... Make a thing out of it! Heck, after it's over we can watch the older games, I have em all on DVD!"
"Heh, what the hell, I ain't got much else planned." He'd smile, moving to gently rub his foot against the mares leg beneath the table, "And hey, it's one hell of a second date~"
The pair chuckled, leant across the table to kiss one another and soon finished their meal, leaving that small restaurant hand-in-hand.
It was going to be a fun weekend.
The room resembled a large classroom, desks pushed up against the walls, windows barred and walls plastered in posters related to various subjects, such as math and science. On the far end of the room was a teachers desk, behind which rested a blank blackboard and a TV monitor resting atop a metal trolley. The most striking thing about it, however, were the bodies laying on the floor, thirty-nine of them silently sleeping while three were sat upright, two resting on desks near the back of the room and the other in the middle, eyes wide and filled with confusion.
Alice was the mares name, she was eighteen and more than a little overweight, boasting a decent gut that betrayed her more athletic nature. She was dressed in grey sweatpants, a simple white shirt dotted with stains and a hoodie, the back of which had a weird rock bands logo plastered on it. Her fur, damp with sweat, was a soft pink in colour, while her mane was a deep orange, tied into a ponytail.
However, what worried the mare more than her sleeping classmates was what rested around her neck, a thin silver collar, everyone else in the room having identical items around their own necks, although unlike Alice neither of the other two conscious ponies seemed especially worried about them.
At first, Alice had wanted to ask them what was going on, although a brief look at the two caused her to re-think that plan.
The first of the other two ponies was a mare with a light blue coat of fur, and a silvery mane that was shoulder length. She was dressed in a strange outfit, similar to a magician, while a large wizard's hat sat atop her head, adorned with stars. What had prompted Alice to ignore her, however, was the strange look in her eyes and the smirk on her lips... Something about her was off.
The second was a stark contrast to the first, with a dark lavender coat, purple mane and a far more preppy looking outfit that looked like some sort of school-uniform. Unlike the first mare, she seemed utterly disinterested in the current situation, staring out of one of the barred windows... What caused Alice to avoid talking to her, however, was the large scar that ran down the right side of the mares face, giving her a somewhat ghoulish appearance.
Both were two years older than herself, and neither looked too friendly and so Alice simply sat quietly, confused, scared and trying to figure out what the hell had happened.
The young mare would be snapped out of her thoughts, however, by a loud bang as the door to the classroom was flung open, and after a second or two the last person Alice had expected to see walked in.
Cheerilee, a mare Alice hadn't seen in years following a rather violent incident that had resulted in the older mare retiring from teaching.
The mare was dressed head to toe in gym teacher attire, a simple grey tracksuit, while tucked under her left arm was what looked to be a wooden baton, easily a meter long. She quietly approached the desk, as if oblivious to anything else in the room. Once behind the desk, she glanced up and caught Alice's eye, letting out a sigh before she looked around at the other sleeping students, some of whom had begun to stir and awaken following that rather loud entrance.
She waited patiently, watching each of the thirty-nine students slowly come too... After a short while, the room was filled with groggy voices and confused whispers, many worried eyes glancing towards their former teacher, who simply stood silently behind her desk, looking as if she'd not slept in days.
It was as everyone woke up that Alice felt a hand upon her back, followed by a groan.
"Silth?" Alice then asked softly after she'd glanced back, turning to face the colt, who was one year her junior. Unlike her, Silth was well groomed and looked very much out of place amidst his misfit classmates, his fur a soft grey and deep black mane slicked back. He wore a grey suit, black pants and a dark blue tie, giving him a very preppy and rich-boy look, something that had certainly worked to his disadvantage ever since he had been dumped at the boarding school by his parents.
If not for the fact Alice had taken a liking to him when they'd first met, it was likely he'd be missing more than a few teeth.
"Geez Alice, what happened?" He'd yawn, scratching the back of his head as he looked around, "I remember we were all on a bus, but..." He trailed off, shaking his head, which pulsed with pain.
"Relax, I don't know what's going on either... I mean, waking up in some classroom with her of all people is kinda weird." The mare nodded to Cheerilee, and once Silth caught sight of her he blinked, just as surprised as Alice had been.
"Cheerilee? Fuck..."
The teacher was quiet for a while more, waiting until each and every student was awake and looking in her direction, the older mares ears perked as she listened to them whisper to one another, clearly confused and rather frightened, a fact that made the mares thin lips curl into a small smile.
"Good evening class, I'm sure you're all awfully confused as to how you got here, or more importantly why you're here, but rest assured that by the end of this lesson, you'll understand things perfectly!" The mare's voice was upbeat and smooth, betraying her previously emotionless appearance, "Now, any questions before I begin the lesson?"
One student, a spectacled zebra, raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"Well, uh... What's with these collars around our necks?"
Cheerliee smirked, "I'll get to that in due time, now, any more questions?"
Another student raised their hand.
"What's stopping us from just walking the fuck out of here?"
Upon hearing this, Cheerilee's smirk grew wider, and without a word, she snapped her fingers. Soon, the sounds of movement could be heard out in the hall before a tall stallion clad in military gear strode in, standing in the doorway with an assault rifle slung over his shoulder.
The sight caused the students to go silent.
"That is what's keeping you in here, him and about thirty of his friends." Cheerilee chuckled, crossing her arms over her chest.
"T-This is some kinda joke, right? I mean, c'mon... This has to be a prank or something!" The spectacled student spoke up, face a little pale while Cheerilee shook her head.
"I'm afraid not, this stallion is a real soldier, and that rifle is a real gun loaded with real bullets..." Cheerilee paused, leaning forwards and resting her hands on the desk, "Now, any more questions?"
The classroom was silent.
"Good, then let's begin!" the mare grinned, turning to the blackboard before producing some chalk from her tracksuit pocket as she began to draw something on the board, "How many of you remember what I taught you about the recession?"
Silence.
"Well, it's nice to see all my efforts to teach you something weren't wasted..." Cheerilee spat, frowning some, "Anyway, after the recession the youth of Equestria, that would be you, became unruly and began to cause the government and the adults quite a bit of trouble! Vandalism, crime... Armed assaults." She hissed that last one, an ear twitching.
"All of these things resulted in one question... What to do?" The mare turned, hands resting behind her back, "And so, Celestia and the other bigwigs in Canterlot got together and came up with this..."
The mare stepped aside, picking her baton off the desk and moving to slam the tip against the blackboard, which now had 'BR Program' drawn upon its surface, "The Battle Royale Survival Program!"
The moment those words left her lips, the classroom was thrown into a state of pandemonium.
Two of the younger mares among the students clutched each over, eyes clenched shut while the students around them either moved to slam their hands against the bars of the windows in a vain attempt to escape or charged the lone guard, Alice and Silth among them... The latter tactic ended with the soldier slinging his rifle off his shoulder and pointing it at the ceiling, pulling the trigger and filling the room with the 'ratatata' of rifle fire.
This quickly pacified the panicking crowd of students, and soon more soldiers filtered into the room to dissuade any more escape attempts, forcing the students back into the middle of the classroom, save for the two strangers who were still quietly sat near the back. Once silence had fallen back over the room, Cheerilee cleared her throat and tapped her baton against the desk.
"Now that I know you're all familiar with today's subject, I'll skip the boring stuff and get right down to the fun part... Please, pay attention to the television, and no talking~" She'd hum, turning to switch the TV on before hopping up onto her desk, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back some to get comfortable as the old looking television came to life, screen briefly flickering with static before the image of a rather perky white pegasus mare in military fatigues popped up, her face twisted into a wide smile.
"Hey guys! My name is Surprise, and I'm here to congratulate you on being chosen to participate in this years BR Program!" She paused to squeal, clapping her hands and hopping up and down enthusiastically for a few seconds, "I'm sure you're all very excited, so we'll start with the rules and then get started with the fun stuff."
The mare paused as a box popped up on the bottom of the screen, bright white text starting to scroll across it.
"Rule number one, no magic!" The mare beamed, giggling softly, "All you unicorns will find that we've attached special rings to your horns to prevent you using spells... In fact, if you try to use magic at all you'll be shocked! So, d-" What she said next was overshadowed by a scream from one of the students, a younger unicorn falling to the floor, clutching her horn as tears began trickling down their cheeks.
The sight caused many of the other unicorn students to go pale, some quietly touching at the slender black rings that were snugly attached to the base of their horns.
"Rule number two, no flying! This for all the pegasi and griffons out there... Your collars have a special sensor that will detect your altitude, and if you reach a certain height..." Surprise paused, only to then shout and wave her hands, "Boom! They'll explode, and you'll lose the game!"
This time it was the pegasi and griffon students turn to look anxious, some touching at the collars around their necks nervously.
"Rule number three, attacking staff!" Surprise's face became somewhat serious, "If you try to attack the instructor-" Cheerilee smiled, glancing to her students and waving, "-Or any of the nice soldier men who're there to supervise you, your collar will be armed and you'll lose the game! And that isn't any fun..." Surprise pouted, only for her smile to return seconds later.
"Rule number four, danger zones!" The screen flashed red, Surprise feigning worry, "Every morning, afternoon and night, sections of the arena will become danger zones! If you're in one of these zones, you'll have a limited time to get to a safe location... If you don't, your collars will explode and you'll lose!"
Suddenly there was another voice, a student standing up and pointing at Cheerilee, "This is bullshit!" The stallion shouted, eyes wide and teeth grit. Alice recognised him, he was an older student and leader of the boarding schools resident delinquents.
Frowning, Cheerilee paused the video and stood, the mare pointing her baton at the stallion.
"Come here..."
Her voice was cold and emotionless, surprising the stallion who blinked and recoiled slightly... Although after a moment he recomposed himself, adjusting his leather jacket before he strode over to the mare, being a few inches taller than her, his eyes narrowed and lips curling into a sneer... Although before he could say anything Cheerilee raised her Baton and brought it down against his head, filling the room with a sickening crack, the stallion howling and falling to his knees, hands moving to clutch his head as thin streams of blood began to trickle down over his forehead and face.
Cheerilee didn't hesitate to strike him a second time, and then a third and a fourth, the mare bringing that baton down against him repeatedly, and after a few moments the stallion was laid motionless on the floor, curled up in the fetal position, a thick puddle of blood forming around his head while small drops of that crimson liquid dripped from Cheerilee's baton.
She had beaten him to death, his head smashed open like an egg, and not once had she shown any hints of remorse.
Quietly, she glanced up from the stallions corpse and smiled at the rest of the class, "Now, does anyone else want to interrupt the lesson?" She'd ask slowly, the remaining students shaking their heads and whimpering, Alice's eyes wide and Silth speechless.
Before Cheerlee could continue, however, a soft beeping sound began to play and one of the other students let out a whimper, hands lifting to clutch their collar, the front of which now flashing a bright red. The mare was someone else Alice recognised, the class tart and head cheerleader RosePetal, who could often be found in the school's locker room after football matches giving the jocks an extra special cheer-session.
"W-What's going on?!" She'd shout, looking up at Cheerilee, "I didn't break any of the rules!"
"No, but unfortunately your partner is dead... That means you lose." The older mare stated with a shrug, waving a hand, "I'd suggest you all put a little distance between yourself and your classmate, the explosion will be rather violent."
Quickly the other students, Alice and Silth among them, scrambled to get away from the now panicking mare, who was tugging at her collar while piss began to trickle down her legs, the terrified mare wetting herself as she looked around at her classmates, trembling.
"P-Please help me! I don't wanna die!" She'd scream, stumbling towards one of the other students, who yelled in alarm and pushed her away, sending the mare sprawling to the floor, where she began to writhe and squirm, panting and squealing as she attempted to tug the collar off.
"You're all assholes!" She'd scream, clenching her eyes shut, "I hope you all fucking die, you cun-" Before she could finish her insult, the collar gave a final beep and the room was briefly filled with an ear-stinging 'boom' as it detonated, causing the mare to stiffen up as her neck was blown open, a fountain of blood pouring from her wound as she jerked and twitched, lips parting and eyes rolling up into her skull as she entered her death throes.
And then, she went still, blood still pissing from her wound and pooling on the floor beneath her, the front of her clothes soaked red.
Everyone was silent, a few mares and stallions hunching over and vomiting while the younger students huddled together and sobbed, utterly terrified.
"Alright, now let's continue!" Cheerilee smiled, jumping back up onto her desk before she un-paused the video, the remaining forty students glancing over at it as Surprise began to speak once more.
"Rule number five, teams!" The mare sang, wings fluttering behind her, "You'll all be put into teams of two, which means you'll have somebody to watch your back during the game! But be careful, if your partner dies, or you get too far away from each other, your collar will detonate and you'll lose... Which would be a real shame!"
With that, the box at the bottom of the screen vanished and Surprise leant forwards, sighing happily, "Now that the rules are over, let's get to the fun stuff!" The mare moved over to a table, upon which sat a large green bag, "When the game starts, you'll all be given a bag! Inside these bags, you'll have three days worth of water and food, a map and compass as well as feminine products for all you mares~" Surprise winked, giggling as she opened up the bag and reached in, only to then pull out a pistol.
"You'll also find a random weapon inside! Some are lucky, like this one, but others might not be so lucky..." She pointed her pistol at the screen, pulling the trigger before the gun gave a soft 'pop' and confetti shot forth from the barrel, "Aww, guess this was a dud after all!" With that, she tossed the gun over her shoulder and the image on the screen was replaced with an ariel view of an island.
"This is this years arena! It's a lovely little island just off the mainland of Equestria!" Surprise hummed, "It's mostly covered in a nice thick forest, although it also has a town and a few other structures that will provide you with a healthy balance of natural and residential areas to play in!"
The screen then cut back to Surprise, who was smearing some black war-paint across her cheeks, "Well, that's about it! Good luck, and happy hunting!" She'd cheer, giving the screen a thumbs up before it went black, the BR logo then popping up along with the Equestrian national anthem.
And then it ended, the screen dying and leaving the classroom in silence.
Alice took a moment to think about what she'd just seen and heard, ears flat against her head and face pale, the mares hands tightened into fists as she glanced from the blank TV to the two corpses of her former classmates, and then finally to Cheerilee who was now stood up once more, her bloodied baton in hand and a smile on her lips.
The sadistic bitch was loving every second of this.
"Now that you know the lesson plan, I think it's time we get started!" Cheerilee stated firmly, and almost immediately the door to the room was pushed open and a trolly was wheeled inside, its metal shelves holding the same bags that had been shown in the video.
"Twilight Sparkle and Trixie Lulamoon!" Cheerilee then shouted, bashing the desk with her baton, which prompted the two mares Alice hadn't known to hop down from their desks, the pair silent as they headed over to the trolly, both mares quickly grabbing a bag each and slinging them over their shoulders, although before either were allowed to leave Cheerilee cleared her throat.
"I forgot to introduce you both to the class..." She noted, shaking her head, "How horribly rude of me... Class, these two are going to be joining the game as hunters this year! Both of them will be working alone, to make things fair." The mare stated while the two 'hunters' glanced out at their fellow 'players', the blue mare smiling while the lavender mare remained stoic.
"Trixie looks forward to playing with you all!" The blue mare grinned, licking her lips while her fellow hunter glanced to Cheerilee, huffing some.
"Can we go now?" She'd ask, in response to which Cheerilee nodded.
"Of course, go on." The mare waved her baton, and quickly both of the older mares took their leave.
Meanwhile, Alice frowned some, glancing to Silth while Cheerilee continued to call out names.
"Hunters? Ther haven't been hunters for years..." The mare would whisper to Silth, who looked rather uneasy.
"I guess the guys who run this whole fucking thing thought they weren't screwing us over enough." Her friend huffed, scratching the back of his neck. Both him and Alice then sat quietly for a while, watching as pairs of students got up and left the classroom, the numbers slowly dwindling until finally their names were called, prompting both of them to jump to their feet.
Quickly they moved over to the trolly and grabbed a bag each, the pair giving Cheerilee the dirtiest looks they could muster.
"You are a real bitch... You know that?" Alice would hiss, an ear flicking while Cheerilee let out an amused chuckle, leaning in towards the younger mare.
"So I've been told... Now get out of here before I beat you to death." She'd hiss, moving to boop Alice's nose with the bloodied tip of her baton.
"C'mon Alice, let's go... She isn't worth it!" SIlth urged his older friend to follow him, gently taking one of her hands and tugging her along. Soon enough, both of them were hurrying down a corridor towards a set of double doors, and upon reaching them they both stopped, exchanging nervous glances.
"This is going to suck..." Silth noted, while Alice nodded and gave his hand a squeeze, smoothing the back of his hand with her thumb.
"Just stick close and we'll get through this." Alice replied softly, offering her friend an unsure smile.
The pair stood there for a moment more, before both of them took deep breaths and pushed those doors open, emerging into the cold night air.
The game had begun.
Casualty Report
Stallion One: FoulMouth - Bludgeoned to death.
Mare One: RosePetal - Collar Detonated.
Remaining Players: Forty
Author's Note
Well, that's the first real chapter squared away!
Don't forget to leave a comment or constructive criticism in the comment section below, after all, I can only improve if I get some feedback.
