Battle Royale: Survival Program

"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.