Discord's Gameby Background_PonyChaptersPrologue[1] Of harps, wubs, cellos, and sweets[2] Rainbows and Quills and escapee thrillsPrologueOnce upon a time, as most whimsy yarns start, there was a chaotic spirit named Discord. This draconaquus ran about the land, occasionally taking shape in the form of a pony and wreaking all sorts of havoc. Many were outraged and called upon the King and Queen, Queen Galaxia and King Universen. Galaxia was expectant with a filly, one who would control the sun and half of the stars. Discord laughed with glee when he found out Galaxia would have a precious foal soon, and be completely occupied with her. So he raced through the land, slipping into shadows at the royal palace and snickering every time one of their subjects would come in and ask them to take care of Discord already. The draconaquus began to mess with the rulers, trying to get them to focus on that instead of his mischief he was making outside of Canterlot. When the palace workers would come by and polish the stained glass windows until they shone like diamonds in the sunlight, he would take a handful of sand from the jousting field outside of the castle and smear it all over the elaborate glass. When they would recieve letters from Dusk Shimmer, a holder of an element of harmony, he'd snatch the letter from the viridian burst of flame that accompanied it and burn it again with a blast of glittery maroon fire, never to be seen again. The monarchs slowly began to notice his mischeif. They thought it was some party trick, or a prank by a snarky maid. But as time bore on, they began to get suspicious. Now, the Queen and King weren't completely naive to the trickster named Discord, but they didn't know he had done all of this. In the blazing months of June on a groggy Friday, Galaxia had her first foal. She had a coat like fine alabaster and a mane as soft as a peach. Her name was Celestia. The chaotic spirit tried his very hardest to corrupt the alicorn filly, but she was loved and adored by all. This small filly was studious and kind to everypony, whether they were polite to her or not. She had many interests but she loved nothing more than to watch her mother raise the sun every morning and assist her father every night in raising the stars, rapt in awe. Three years later, Galaxia was pregnate with another filly, who would raise the moon and help raise the stars when her mother and father passed. Celestia was thrilled to be an older sister, studdying tirelessly on sleep spells and spells that made lullabies with glasses of water and a bell. After months of anxious waiting, the second filly with a mane like spun silk came on a frigid December twenty-first. Her coat was like the rich midnight color of her father's, only lighter. Her name was Luna, and she was quieter than her sister. Discord cackled and snorted and guffawed at the filly, hissing false promises of what she could do if she joined him. "Celestia will be a thing of the past," he murmured, swooping close to Luna. "We will rule the land and everypony out there will bow to us." She resisted the whispers for a couple of months, but soon succumbed to his lies. "Alright Luna," he laughed manically while looping excitedly through the air. "at the snap of my fingers, you'll become Moonlight Nightsky, the ruler of Equestria and the queen beside me!" In a hushed tone he added, "and become a pony who's mind is woven with chaos and thick with malice. AKA, Nightmare Moon." The filly nodded and placed her crown in the circle that was etched in the sand. "One, two, and-" The last thing Luna remembered was a stinging whirlwind of malicious, malevolent thoughts tearing through her head. All the strength melted out of her hooves and everything went black. She lay unconcious on the courtyard ground for quite a while, Discord twiddling his thumbs patiently. An hour later she woke up, gasping for breath in ragged, broken heaves. She tried her hardest to get up, but there wasn't any strength left in her body at all. Two strong arms lifted her up, but she promptly crumpled to her knees and continued to wheeze. Discord sighed and snapped his talons, a tall champagne glass of water levitating next to him. He plucked the glass out of the air and pushed it in front of Nightmare Moon's muzzle. She gulped down the water, and quickly relaxed as Discord tossed the empty champagne glass over his shoulder, a sharp explosion soon following it. "Nightmare Moon," Discord crooned, running the thumb of his lion paw along the dark alicorn's jawline, "just as regally vicious as I expected. Could you perhaps raise the moon?" "Certainly," she sighed, her horn glowing a pulsing cerulean and emenating a constant silvery hum. "easy as metaphorical pie." "Oh and one more thing," he called, bouncing a fuschia cloud like a basketball and then throwing it into a hoop that appeared above him. "don't lower it." Nightmare Moon nodded and haughtily beat her wings before jetting into the palace. When she got there, her sister was waiting angrily with the ponies who held the elements of harmony beside her. You all know what happened next. One thousand years passed by, no matter how slowly they went. Luna was pulled from Discord's grasp and returned to the throne. When she got to Canterlot Castle, her mother nor father was standing there with open arms and teary eyes. There was no happy 'welcome home'. Only a drowsy sepia family picture with droplets of water peppering the front. Luna's voice cracked multiple times when she asked her sister where her parents were. She almost didn't want to hear the answer. "Luna, mom and dad were killed by Discord," Celestia sighed in a soft voice, eyes moist and sympathetic. The young princess sobbed and ran to her room, and threw herself onto her bed. She didn't know how long she lay there, sniffling and hiccuping into her goose-down pillow. "It was an accident, you know." A far-too-familiar voice cut its way through the melancholy silence of Luna's room. The midnight alicorn pull her head out from under her pillow and sniffed at the draconaquus that was perched on her windowsill, one leg dangling outside. Discord was dangerously close to falling, but she didn't care. How could she feel any compassion towards her parents' assassin? "I really didn't mean to kill them," the chimera sighed, scratching behind his ear and flicking his tail in embarrasment. "I was just making a few clouds into chocolate raining cotton candy ones when this wild pink and blue pegasus rams into me and starts shouting about 'Praise Galaxia' and I go flying into your parents' throne room. My dumb horns stab them and they're dead in a second." Luna glared at Discord; although he sounded sincere and truthful, she still didn't trust him. "I guess what I'm trying to say is," the draconaquus gulped and slicked back the hairs on the top of his head. "I'm sorry, Luna." The blue mare gritted her teeth and turned her back to Discord. "We hear thou's apology and fully acknowledge it, but thou's apology isn't accepted by us. Twas a terrible lie thou hasth made." "Nice accent." Luna blushed a ripe crimson and hurled her pillow at Discord with her magic. "We art using the traditional Canterlottish tongue," she hissed. "now get out before I call the withholders of the elements." "You need to catch up, Luna." The princess plugged her ears. "The wi...elements ha... died... the... placed by... Sparkle... Dash... Appleja... Inkie Pi... Rari... Shy." Half of what Discord said was drowned out from the alicorn mare plugging her ears. "Leave, Discord. We doth not have business with a cur like thee." Luna snarled, casting a flesh-to-stone spell. He shrieked and landed with a loud clunk in the royal garden. Everypony who has a lick of knowledge knows of when Discord broke out the first time, but there are very few who survived to tell the story of the second time. When Discord broke out the second time, he made sure to stay unseen and unnoticed. He slunk into the palace and to Celestia's room. She was peacefully asleep, lightly snoring on a wide bed with a quilt wrapped snugly around her. The corners of her mouth twitched in a smile and her nose crinkled in a way that made Discord almost crumple up in a tiny ball and barf glitter and rainbows. But he had to stay focused. He chuckled as he clicked his talons together, and Celestia's once marble skin was now rough concrete. She had the same serene expression on her face as she was hauled into the throne room and clunked next to the tall chair with ornate carvings on the back board. He chuckled and magicked a marker into his paw. With a steady claw, he scribbled a curly mustache onto the statue and sauntered off. Luna put up more of a fight. By the time Discord could cast a flesh to stone spell, her bed sheets were wrapped around his horn and several of the curtains were torn to shreds and smoking from powerful blasts of magic. Her statue had a crushing leer to it, giving her ominous look a hawkish glare to it. Discord grinned snarkily as he dragged her statue off to the throne room, laughing all the way there. "Ready or not, Equestria," he growled, a glass of chocolate milk appearing in his talon. "here I come. Author's Note Huh. Well shouldn't this be fun. Anyway, this is Hunger Games esque with a ~~bunch~~ couple of changes. Wooo Hoooo. [1] Of harps, wubs, cellos, and sweetsI can't decide Whether you should live or die Oh, you'll probably go to heaven Please don't hang your head and cry No wonder why my heart feels dead inside It's cold and hard and petrified Lock the doors and close the blinds We're goin' for a ride! Discord is known for a haughtily twisted smile lined with sharp teeth almost always present on his face, but now the maniacal grin was tugged into a tight frown. The draconaquus was perched anxiously on the edge of Celestia's throne, drumming his talons impatiently against the gold. He had everything he wanted; good food, plenty of chaos to go around, a nice place to curl up and take a nap, but the god of chaos was bored out of his mind. He heaved a loud sigh and thumped his long scaly tail on the floor a couple of times, wondering how long he could put up with this. Discord mused over everything previous villains had done. Imprisonment, slavery, food sources, he counted the list off on each of his talons. When he got to the end of the list, he had used his wings, tail, and feet. "Releasing a deadly plague has been done, so has a fighting arena- wait." The draconaquus quickly rushed through the list again, and he realized that a fighting arena hadn't been done yet. He began to snicker, propping his feet up on the head of the stone Luna statue. The quiet giggles turned to rolling chuckles, and the chuckles to snorting chortles, and then to roaring guffaws that echoed through the palace and back. When Discord came to, tears were in his eyes and his sides hurt. "Oh Discord," he snarled, gripping the armrest of the throne and watching jovially as the claws to his lion paw slowly left large serrations in the fine leather. "You maniacal genius." Meanwhile, it was a peaceful day in Ponyville. A light pink mare with three balloons for a cutie mark sat strumming a ukelele beneath a peach tree and singing along in a relaxed way. "Oh, there's no where I'd rather be, than just here with you and me under a pe-a-a-ch tree," She reached over and tweaked the cyan, rainbow-maned mare's ear, scrunching her nose in a little smile. "Because peaches are sweet and so are you-ou-ou, and Dashie, oh yeah it's so-o-o-o true." It seemed to be the end of the short ditty since she ended with a livelyhood of jaunty chords. But not all was well in Ponyville. "Unhand me, you ruffians!!" A gray earth pony shrieked, bucking the guards who restrained her in the legs. "I demand an explanation!!" Her unicorn marefriend was putting up as much as a fight for the guards as she did, and maybe even a greater one. "KISS MY BASS, FOAL!!!" Vinyl Scratch bellowed, slamming an ivory hoof onto the button atop the boombox speakers. A sonorous wave of wub whipped towards the white pegasi, knocking them backwards and crashing them into a counter. They glared at her but she just smiled a devilish smile as the knife block above them came hurdling towards them. Scratch released a haughty cackle and sprinted to the commotion from the other side of the house. Octavia had put up quite the fight, with two guards unconcious in the corner and one staggering out the door with a bloody nose. The gray earth pony stood on her back legs, cello in her hooves like a sword and breathing ragged heaves. A guard began to regain conciousness in the corner and stumble to his feet, when Octavia swung the bass towards his head and across his face. He was launched into a calendar on the wall, landing with a thump. So I guess you could say he was hit into next week! BA DUM CHHHH! No? Anyway, Octavia brushed a lock of her mane away from her eyes and leaned against her cello, giggling quietly to herself. She glanced at Vinyl and smiled an all too relaxed smile. "Remind me NEVER to get on your bad side, Tavi." Vinyl Scratch ruffled the cellist's mane and winked. In the rafters, a pony with hoofalls silent as night and a coat twice as blue watched in disgust as the marefriends rejoyced. On her hip was a rope with a small leather bag tied tight. She wrapped her hind legs around the wood beams and reached back, careful not to drop it onto the ponies below. She scooped a small amount of the silken dust from the bag and let out a breath. It was just above a whisper, but the glimmering purple dust fell lightly onto Octavia and Vinyl. They sneezed groggily, Vinyl leaning sleepily on her marefriend. Octavia swayed peacefully on her back hooves, then walked over and curled up on the couch with Vinyl in tow. The cerulean pony above them snickered and jumped down, making no noise when her hooves hit the carpet. Her cutie mark gleamed in the sunlight, a moon with a wand beside it. Her horn glowed a misty pink as she levitated a rope from her waist. With a swift movement, she tied the two up and slung them over her back, then teleported to Canterlot castle without a sound. Meanwhile, in the cottage of Lyra and Bon Bon, their hooves were tied and they were plopped on a cart, glaring at anypony who stared; although there few and the sounds of distant shouting could be heard from many of the houses. "If you wanna live a day in the dungeon, you'll stay shut up," one of the guards who was pulling the cart jeered, leering at the two mares. "And what if I feel like singing all night?" Bon Bon hissed, challenging the stallion. "Oh come all ye scallywags, sing along with me, we are the royal bloods, the terrors of the sea! We pillage and plunder and we never compromise, we'll sail these raging waters till we take our glorious prize!" "I told you not to make up that bar song," the other guard grunted, shouldering the pegasus next to him. "WE RUN FROM NO ENEMY AND WE CAN FEEL NO PAIN!!!" Bon Bon bellowed, even louder than before. One of the female guards jetted towards her from the skies, grinning a pointed smile and pulling out a golden dagger. "Keep singing and we'll see how well you can carry on that little ditty of yours without a tongue!" she pressed the tip of the blade to Bon Bon's chest, making a small nick. Bon Bon's mouth snapped shut, but she continued glaring at the guards in front of her. A bead of blood formed over the cut and the pegasus wiped it away. "Watch your back." The guard turned her back to the mare and snarled in a voice that was unearthly. "Discord doesn't take kindly to fillyfooling morons like you." The cream colored mare gritted her teeth but stayed silent. She cursed the guard in her head again and again, wishing she would off herself with that puny dagger of her's. Lyra sat trembling beside her marefriend, lip quivering and tail wrapped tightly around Bon Bon's. She didn't know where she was going and what she was going to do. A tear slid from her eye, landing with a tiny splash on the wood of the cart. It sent up a puff of dust that fell just as quickly, similar to her heart. When Octavia woke up, she saw a blurred figure of a tiny cello and a greyish brown blob standing far away. She didn't feel her mane falling in gentle curves down her back, nor her tail swishing softly as she walked forward to the minute cello. Her vision cleared from it's groggy state and she saw that it wasn't a tiny cello, but a gleaming violin with a bow to match. The greyish brown blob was Discord, waiting expectantly on Celestia's throne with his chin held in a paw. "Play," he commanded, pointing at the violin. Octavia hesitantly picked up the violin and ran the bow across the strings in a smooth movement, pressing it into her shoulder. A horrible screeching noise ripped from the instrument. The gray earth pony winced and laughed nervously. "I must admit that my violin playing is a bit rusty but..." her voice trailed off as she tried again. A silky noise lifted her hopes and she began playing the song she had been practicing when she last tried playing a violin. It swooped and fell, taking Discord's breath away as the final note gently drifted through the palace. "Good job." He sighed and sat up straight. "Shoo, your marefriend Vinyl is waiting for you in the dungeon." Immediately, two night guards appeared beside her, expressions stoic and blank. "Wait- dungeon?!" Octavia was whisked off in a puff of blue smoke, violin still in hoof while the night guards still stood. "She can wait. Bring in that Frederic Horse whatever," Discord grumbled, snapping his talons and thumping his tail against the head of the Celestia statue. Octavia landed with a thump in a prison cell that had Vinyl bucking at the barred door with all her strength. When Octavia lurched to her feet, Vinyl gasped and pulled her into the most crushing hug possible. "OMIGOSHOCTYDON'TYOUEVERLEAVEMEAGAINAND Oh god what did they do to your mane." "What?? I swear to god if they cut it I'll-" Octavia's throat was seized by shock as she looked at her reflection in the small mirror on the wall. Her mane was cut short in a bob, not even close to well done. "I-I'm no b-beauty queen b-b-but," Octavia stuttered, feeling faint and wobbling on her hooves. "I can't be seen like this." She fell on the cot chained to the wall, nothing breaking her fall except for a cheap thin blanket and an equally as thin matress. "We'll get out of here," Vinyl whispered, climbing in the cot on the oposite wall, tears in her eyes. "Once I figure out where here is." Night fell, but sleep didn't come easy for any of the ponies in the cells. Weary convsation drifted from room to room, stirring the guards every once and a while. Lyra sat on the cot on the far wall, the thin blanket wrapped tightly around her thin frame for warmth. Heavy hearted sighs could be heard from every cell, and every once and a while a muffled sob broke the uneasy silence. The mint green unicorn's heart ached and she yearned to wrap her arms around Bon Bon in a tight hug, never letting go. Unfortunately as a punishment, Bon Bon had been placed in a cell far from her marefriend's. The guards had been generous enough to allow her to bring along her lyre. It was propped up on the empty cot across from her, gleaming a silvery-gold glow in the gentle moonlight from the minute window on the wall beside her. Lyra reached over and gingerly took the harp in her hooves, plucking each string to make sure it was in tune. The guards had drifted off to sleep, snoring comically and leaning against each other. She tried to remember the tune to the song Bon Bon had wailed on the way there, gently dragging the tip of her hoof along each string to get the melody right. "Oh come all ye scallywags," she murmured, voice barely above a whisper. She played through the first part, but the jaunty, rebelious song was nothing more than a breath of a melody. Bon Bon's singing was fiercer than this. She tried again and was delighted at the sound. She went through it again and again. "We pillage and plunder, cause you know we've got the nerve," a voice like the coo of a mourning dove sang, drifting into her ears. "We'll sail these roaring waters 'till we take what we deserve," a raspy voice joined in, accompanied by the silken notes of a violin. Lyra was shocked. The prisoners- ponies, just like her- were singing along with her harp. She grinned a wild grin and kept playing. The singers slowly got louder until they filled the entire dungeon up with sonourus voices. A familiar voice rang out through all of the joyful tumult. There was no mistaking it: Bon Bon was singing her heart out, throwing caution to the wind. When the sun rose, earnest and bright, they were finishing their ninth way through. "Just re-sign to your faaate," everypony sang, "soon you'll be made into Diamond Dog bait!" The doors at the top of the spiral staircase leading to the castle flew open with a slam, immediately silencing everypony in the cells and stopping Lyra and whomever was playing the violin. A VERY angry looking draconaquus stormed down the stairs, tail thumping against the stair case with loud cracks. When he got to the bottom, he looked as if he would tear somepony's head off in a matter of seconds. "What," he shouted, voice echoing through the dungeon and frightening everypony enough to make them scoot to the corner of their cell. "is the meaning of this?!" Everypony stayed dead silent, fearing for their life. After a multitude of agonizing minutes, a sharp voice spoke out. "We were singing!" it quipped, the tone having a stunning likeness to a scalpel on a feather pillow; pretty and sophisticated, but able to make everything terrible in a fraction of seconds. Everypony's head whipped towards the source. It was Quill, a weatherpony with a tongue that could leave scars in hickory bark. Her friend Echo stood behind her, glaring a wide eyed smirk. "aren't we allowed to have fun? And who do you think you are, ponynapping all of us! We aren't puppets, genius! We're living, breathing ponies who were made to have some fun in life! Not mindless pit-dogs who know nothing but anger, strife, and bloodshed!!" Discord's fists clenched, talons and claws digging into the palms of his hand. His ears fluttered angrily, eyes narrowed to vengeful slits. He snarled under his breath, cursing the insolent pegasus. Another voice broke the tension, raspy and loud. "And one more thing!" it shouted. Discord spun around to face the voice, seething with rage. "Why the buck did you bring us here, trap us in tiny cells like caged animals, and then not tell us!?" The draconaquus opened his mouth to say something, but a chorus of agreement cut him short. "Damn straight!" one shouted, accompanied by a clank of metal. "Who do you thing you buckin' are?!" another yowled. "MUFFIN!!!" "SILENCE!!!" Discord howled, voice filled with the venom and rage of a manticore. He stomped up to Quill's cell, unlatching the gate and calling the guards. "You," he jabbed a finger at the weatherpony. The guards yanked her from the cell and wrapped rope tightly around her wings, crushing her primaries and flight muscles. Discord stooped down and leered at the pegasus, staring her in the eye. Quill didn't back down though. She glared just as hard, eyes narrowed. The draconaquus grabbed her throat with his eagle claw and pressed his talons into her neck, just barely making tiny cuts. "You're fighting that Rainbow Dash fellow, whether you like it or not." He let go of her neck and stomped back up the stairs, tail slapping angrily at the ground. Author's Note Well, the first chapter was a train wreck. Constructive criticism please? [2] Rainbows and Quills and escapee thrillsWhen you're standing on the side of a hill Feeling like your day may be done Here it comes The strawberry smog Chasing away the sun Don't let those precious moments fool you Happiness is getting you down A rainbow never smiles or blinks It's just a candy-colored frown After poking and prodding and the jabbing of armor two sizes too big, Quill and Rainbow Dash were shoved into a colosseum with sand in the middle. Ponies were packed in the stands above the ring, uneasy murmurs rippling across the stadium. Why were they here? Guards perched high above surveyed the crowd, making sure nopony tried to escape or wreak havoc. That was Discord's job. Quill nervously paced around in the small areas she were trapped in, hooves clopping loudly against the stone floor. Rainbow Dash tried to search for a place to fly away, but stone walls on three sides and a metal gate in front of her forced her to stay down. A cast-iron gate blocked either exits, dashing each pony's hopes of escape. "Hellooo Equestria," an amused voice snarled over an intercom, "and welcome to the Discordian fighting arena!" The crowd gasped and several caterwauls roared from the stands. "Our first contestant is; from the dusty, dirty city of Ponyville, a smart alec with an atrocious pink mane, Quill the weatherpony!!" The crowd remained silent. "Cheer or I'll release fleas into your bunks." Uproarious applause thundered from the crowd. "And from the high-as-a-kite city of Cloudsdale, a gaunt, over-muscled lesbian freak named Rainbow Dash!!" The crowd laughed uneasy chuckles, only doing so to avoid vermin in their cots. "Wings up, weapons ready!" Discord thundered over the loundspeaker. The two ponies' wings unfurled but they refused to draw their weapons. "FIGHT!!!" The gates dropped with a brash clank and the two ponies raced at eachother. Quill flapped her wings three times then dropped them to her sides, not pulling them in and leaving them dangling like dead weight. It was a universal pegasus sign that meant 'I mean no harm' or 'Cease fire'. Pegasi in the stands whispered to eachother, while unicorns and earth ponies scratched their heads. Pegasi guards gritted their teeth, but stayed silent as the two opponents charged at each other. Rainbow Dash and Quill circled eachother, snarling like they were sizing up eachother and searching for a weak spot. "You know we aren't actually going to fight or kill, correct?" Quill hissed, keeping up her facade. Rainbow glared and flicked her tail angrily. "Yeah. How about I just slash at you a few times with my sword, make a couple of nicks, pretend to slam into you from above as a killing blow? You act all dead and the fight should be over," Rainbow murmured, stomping her hooves and blowing smoke out of her nostrils, acting like she was about to strike. "Deal." Quill released a mighty shriek and swung her bow and arrow towards Dash, putting and arrow in the hilt and releasing it, aiming just beside Rainbow's ear. It made a miniscule cut, almost too small to be seen. The cerulean pegasus shouted and kicked the sand beneath her hooves towards Quill, pretending to slash at the weatherpony's neck. Quill growled animalistically and shot into the air, armor clanking as she prepared to slam into the ground. She let out a valiant cackle as she slapped her hooves against the sand, sending up an explosion of dust. Her armor rattled and hissed as two edges ground together, squealing and shrieking. Rainbow did the same, but she flew higher and tilted downwars, jetting into a nose dive directed at her opponent. "Hit the deck," she hissed just before she came in impact with Quill. The pink-maned pegasus dropped to her stomach and pretended to get all of her breath knocked out as Rainbow squashed her beneath her hooves, acting like she was being stomped into the dirt when she was actually just burying her face in the sand. Quill held her breath for as long as she could, only inhaling when she really needed to. "Victor from Team Crash! Congratulations on winning," Discord shouted over the intercom as guards came in and dragged a limp Quill outside of the stadium and into the castle courtyard, a pile of dirt kicked over her in a pathetic grave. She beamed internally as she realized that they hadn't bothered to confiscate her armor or weapons. "Poor team Charge. They tried. Anypony else want to try?" The draconaquus laughed snarkily over the intercom. Back in the arena, Rainbow began to fake choking and wheezing, falling dramatically into the sand with a soft thump. Everypony in the stands gasped, truly believing that the winner had died. The guards, just now getting back from dragging Quill outside, rolled their eyes and slung the blue pegasus over their backs. She was dropped next to her opponent, who winked at her as she ot dirt kicked over side. "What a shame, what a shame," Discord sighed over the loud speaker, drumming his talons against the desk in front of him. Shouts and crashes tore from the stands as two other ponies were yanked into the ring. Weapons were shoved into their hooves and armor was slammed against their backs as they fell out of the crowd and onto the sandy ground. "That's more like it! No bucking idea who these ponies are, but let's say the pink and black on is on team Charge and the grayish mauve one is on team Crash!" Echo, the pink and black pegasus, stumbled to her hooves and drew her weapon, a long sword with a gleaming hilt. She fumbled with it for a moment but soon got a firm grip on it. Dhe raced towards her opponent, Dust Devil, with a wild glare on her face. She swung the sword at the gray pegasus and winced as a large gash stretched across the pegasus' shoulder. Blood seeped out slowly, dripping onto the sand with small splashes. Dust gasped and gripped her shoulder, headbutting her opponent aside. Dust raised her bow and coughed as an arrow flew from the weapon. It planted itself into Echo's shoulder, which was responded with a prompt stab from the sword. Dust Devil's strength melted out of her as she crumpled to the ground, breath stopping quickly as Echo yanked off her armor and gingerly tried to pull the arrow out of her arm. Tears spilled from her eyes as it popped out, blood trickling from the wound. "Buck you guys!!" Echo shrieked, racing off on aching wings. Three hefty guards tackled her midair, forcing her to the ground. A pegasus pony with a soft yellow coat and a long, pink mane rushed out with medical supplies. The pegasus cooed to the fuschia pony infront of her, comforting her as she dabbed cautiously at the cut. Echo winced as her arm was wrapped up and she was helped to her hooves. "A victory for team Charge! How surprising," Discord chuckled over the intercom. "I think that's enough fighting for today. There's a meal in everypony's bunks, merry freakin' hearth's warming. Anypony who sings will promptly get their tongue pulled out." The crowd let out a sigh as the groups filed out of the stadium, tired and frightened from the fight. Back outside the arena, two pegasi glanced around themselves nervously. "Nice thinking, buuuut...." Rainbow Dash grumbled, sliding her sword back in its sheath, "what do we do now?" "I have a house back in Ponyville with everything we need- or at least until you can get back to your cloud house. Who knows where it is right now." Quill brushed dirt off of her armor, pulling off her helmet and tucking it beneath her arm. "Sounds good." Rainbow took to the skies, surveying their surroundings. Quill trotted along, soon jetting into the air alongside Dash. "If we were in Canterlot a few seconds ago," Quill shouted over the roar of the wind currents tearing around them, "we should be just above Ghastly Gorge, which is about two miles from Ponville. If we fly straight for about a minute them go straight down, we should be directly above my house!" "How'd you figure that out?" Rainbow Dash yelled as she flew above a stray cloud, quirking an eyebrow. Quill shrugged and sighed as a gust of wind blew her back a little. "Weatherpony instincts." The two mares arched downwards and raced towards a small cottage near the edge of the Everfree forest. When they landed, Quill tentatively pushed open the door, finding its handle had been torn off along with a large chunk of the wall. Inside, groggy sunlight poured in through the windows, making shadows dance along the room. Two hulking figures stood there, fangs dripping with murky saliva. A choking stench drifted towards the duo, knocking them back with its potency. Before the pegasi stood two snarling creatures, eyes gleaming like diamonds and claws sharp as knives. "TIMBERWOLVES!!!" Rainbow and Quill shouted in unison, immediately drawing their weapons and stepping back. Echo, having just defeated her opponent, stood gasping ragged heaves in the middle of the stadium with her hooves slick with blood. Her arm ached and her heart throbbed, thumping faster than a hummingbird's. She didn't hear or feel or see anything. Blackness fogged her vision, screams and shouts clogged her ears, and relentless pain stabbed her hooves. The sting of antiseptic yanked her out of her chaotic lethargy, snapping her back to reality. Echo fell to her knees, panting all the while. Had her friend really just die, and had her opponent seriously die directly after her? All her senses acted at once. In a burst of flurried rage, she pushed aside the pony who was tending to her and shot up into the sky. Echo was desperate to get out of here, but six hooves forcing her downwards and twisting her wings said otherwise. Hot, angry tears ran down her face, leaving small clear trails in the dust that caked her's. The nurse was saying something to her, but she bit her lip and refused to respond. The light yellow pegasus helped her up and gently pushed her towards the door where Quill used to be. One final thought raced through her mind as she was lead down the stairs and into her bunk, watching apathetically as the door closed and locked with a curt 'clank'. Had she really just killed somepony? Author's Note Alright, I apologize for the Scissor Sister references, but I have a sweet tooth for their songs. This is seriously the only time that fighting is promised and their isn't actually any fighting the first time around. Incase you haven't picked up on it yet, Quill is actually my ponysona, the 'pink and black one on team charge' is my friend's ponysona Echo. The 'grayish mauve one on team crash' is Dust Devil. Also, do think I should change this to a mature warning? I don't think I do, since it's not gonna be more than 'Pony one cut pony two and blood spilled out. Pony two, in response, punched Pony one and laughed as a red mark shaped like a hoof glowed on Pony one's face.' But I wanna know what you guys think.
PrologueOnce upon a time, as most whimsy yarns start, there was a chaotic spirit named Discord. This draconaquus ran about the land, occasionally taking shape in the form of a pony and wreaking all sorts of havoc. Many were outraged and called upon the King and Queen, Queen Galaxia and King Universen. Galaxia was expectant with a filly, one who would control the sun and half of the stars. Discord laughed with glee when he found out Galaxia would have a precious foal soon, and be completely occupied with her. So he raced through the land, slipping into shadows at the royal palace and snickering every time one of their subjects would come in and ask them to take care of Discord already. The draconaquus began to mess with the rulers, trying to get them to focus on that instead of his mischief he was making outside of Canterlot. When the palace workers would come by and polish the stained glass windows until they shone like diamonds in the sunlight, he would take a handful of sand from the jousting field outside of the castle and smear it all over the elaborate glass. When they would recieve letters from Dusk Shimmer, a holder of an element of harmony, he'd snatch the letter from the viridian burst of flame that accompanied it and burn it again with a blast of glittery maroon fire, never to be seen again. The monarchs slowly began to notice his mischeif. They thought it was some party trick, or a prank by a snarky maid. But as time bore on, they began to get suspicious. Now, the Queen and King weren't completely naive to the trickster named Discord, but they didn't know he had done all of this. In the blazing months of June on a groggy Friday, Galaxia had her first foal. She had a coat like fine alabaster and a mane as soft as a peach. Her name was Celestia. The chaotic spirit tried his very hardest to corrupt the alicorn filly, but she was loved and adored by all. This small filly was studious and kind to everypony, whether they were polite to her or not. She had many interests but she loved nothing more than to watch her mother raise the sun every morning and assist her father every night in raising the stars, rapt in awe. Three years later, Galaxia was pregnate with another filly, who would raise the moon and help raise the stars when her mother and father passed. Celestia was thrilled to be an older sister, studdying tirelessly on sleep spells and spells that made lullabies with glasses of water and a bell. After months of anxious waiting, the second filly with a mane like spun silk came on a frigid December twenty-first. Her coat was like the rich midnight color of her father's, only lighter. Her name was Luna, and she was quieter than her sister. Discord cackled and snorted and guffawed at the filly, hissing false promises of what she could do if she joined him. "Celestia will be a thing of the past," he murmured, swooping close to Luna. "We will rule the land and everypony out there will bow to us." She resisted the whispers for a couple of months, but soon succumbed to his lies. "Alright Luna," he laughed manically while looping excitedly through the air. "at the snap of my fingers, you'll become Moonlight Nightsky, the ruler of Equestria and the queen beside me!" In a hushed tone he added, "and become a pony who's mind is woven with chaos and thick with malice. AKA, Nightmare Moon." The filly nodded and placed her crown in the circle that was etched in the sand. "One, two, and-" The last thing Luna remembered was a stinging whirlwind of malicious, malevolent thoughts tearing through her head. All the strength melted out of her hooves and everything went black. She lay unconcious on the courtyard ground for quite a while, Discord twiddling his thumbs patiently. An hour later she woke up, gasping for breath in ragged, broken heaves. She tried her hardest to get up, but there wasn't any strength left in her body at all. Two strong arms lifted her up, but she promptly crumpled to her knees and continued to wheeze. Discord sighed and snapped his talons, a tall champagne glass of water levitating next to him. He plucked the glass out of the air and pushed it in front of Nightmare Moon's muzzle. She gulped down the water, and quickly relaxed as Discord tossed the empty champagne glass over his shoulder, a sharp explosion soon following it. "Nightmare Moon," Discord crooned, running the thumb of his lion paw along the dark alicorn's jawline, "just as regally vicious as I expected. Could you perhaps raise the moon?" "Certainly," she sighed, her horn glowing a pulsing cerulean and emenating a constant silvery hum. "easy as metaphorical pie." "Oh and one more thing," he called, bouncing a fuschia cloud like a basketball and then throwing it into a hoop that appeared above him. "don't lower it." Nightmare Moon nodded and haughtily beat her wings before jetting into the palace. When she got there, her sister was waiting angrily with the ponies who held the elements of harmony beside her. You all know what happened next. One thousand years passed by, no matter how slowly they went. Luna was pulled from Discord's grasp and returned to the throne. When she got to Canterlot Castle, her mother nor father was standing there with open arms and teary eyes. There was no happy 'welcome home'. Only a drowsy sepia family picture with droplets of water peppering the front. Luna's voice cracked multiple times when she asked her sister where her parents were. She almost didn't want to hear the answer. "Luna, mom and dad were killed by Discord," Celestia sighed in a soft voice, eyes moist and sympathetic. The young princess sobbed and ran to her room, and threw herself onto her bed. She didn't know how long she lay there, sniffling and hiccuping into her goose-down pillow. "It was an accident, you know." A far-too-familiar voice cut its way through the melancholy silence of Luna's room. The midnight alicorn pull her head out from under her pillow and sniffed at the draconaquus that was perched on her windowsill, one leg dangling outside. Discord was dangerously close to falling, but she didn't care. How could she feel any compassion towards her parents' assassin? "I really didn't mean to kill them," the chimera sighed, scratching behind his ear and flicking his tail in embarrasment. "I was just making a few clouds into chocolate raining cotton candy ones when this wild pink and blue pegasus rams into me and starts shouting about 'Praise Galaxia' and I go flying into your parents' throne room. My dumb horns stab them and they're dead in a second." Luna glared at Discord; although he sounded sincere and truthful, she still didn't trust him. "I guess what I'm trying to say is," the draconaquus gulped and slicked back the hairs on the top of his head. "I'm sorry, Luna." The blue mare gritted her teeth and turned her back to Discord. "We hear thou's apology and fully acknowledge it, but thou's apology isn't accepted by us. Twas a terrible lie thou hasth made." "Nice accent." Luna blushed a ripe crimson and hurled her pillow at Discord with her magic. "We art using the traditional Canterlottish tongue," she hissed. "now get out before I call the withholders of the elements." "You need to catch up, Luna." The princess plugged her ears. "The wi...elements ha... died... the... placed by... Sparkle... Dash... Appleja... Inkie Pi... Rari... Shy." Half of what Discord said was drowned out from the alicorn mare plugging her ears. "Leave, Discord. We doth not have business with a cur like thee." Luna snarled, casting a flesh-to-stone spell. He shrieked and landed with a loud clunk in the royal garden. Everypony who has a lick of knowledge knows of when Discord broke out the first time, but there are very few who survived to tell the story of the second time. When Discord broke out the second time, he made sure to stay unseen and unnoticed. He slunk into the palace and to Celestia's room. She was peacefully asleep, lightly snoring on a wide bed with a quilt wrapped snugly around her. The corners of her mouth twitched in a smile and her nose crinkled in a way that made Discord almost crumple up in a tiny ball and barf glitter and rainbows. But he had to stay focused. He chuckled as he clicked his talons together, and Celestia's once marble skin was now rough concrete. She had the same serene expression on her face as she was hauled into the throne room and clunked next to the tall chair with ornate carvings on the back board. He chuckled and magicked a marker into his paw. With a steady claw, he scribbled a curly mustache onto the statue and sauntered off. Luna put up more of a fight. By the time Discord could cast a flesh to stone spell, her bed sheets were wrapped around his horn and several of the curtains were torn to shreds and smoking from powerful blasts of magic. Her statue had a crushing leer to it, giving her ominous look a hawkish glare to it. Discord grinned snarkily as he dragged her statue off to the throne room, laughing all the way there. "Ready or not, Equestria," he growled, a glass of chocolate milk appearing in his talon. "here I come. Author's Note Huh. Well shouldn't this be fun. Anyway, this is Hunger Games esque with a ~~bunch~~ couple of changes. Wooo Hoooo.
[1] Of harps, wubs, cellos, and sweetsI can't decide Whether you should live or die Oh, you'll probably go to heaven Please don't hang your head and cry No wonder why my heart feels dead inside It's cold and hard and petrified Lock the doors and close the blinds We're goin' for a ride! Discord is known for a haughtily twisted smile lined with sharp teeth almost always present on his face, but now the maniacal grin was tugged into a tight frown. The draconaquus was perched anxiously on the edge of Celestia's throne, drumming his talons impatiently against the gold. He had everything he wanted; good food, plenty of chaos to go around, a nice place to curl up and take a nap, but the god of chaos was bored out of his mind. He heaved a loud sigh and thumped his long scaly tail on the floor a couple of times, wondering how long he could put up with this. Discord mused over everything previous villains had done. Imprisonment, slavery, food sources, he counted the list off on each of his talons. When he got to the end of the list, he had used his wings, tail, and feet. "Releasing a deadly plague has been done, so has a fighting arena- wait." The draconaquus quickly rushed through the list again, and he realized that a fighting arena hadn't been done yet. He began to snicker, propping his feet up on the head of the stone Luna statue. The quiet giggles turned to rolling chuckles, and the chuckles to snorting chortles, and then to roaring guffaws that echoed through the palace and back. When Discord came to, tears were in his eyes and his sides hurt. "Oh Discord," he snarled, gripping the armrest of the throne and watching jovially as the claws to his lion paw slowly left large serrations in the fine leather. "You maniacal genius." Meanwhile, it was a peaceful day in Ponyville. A light pink mare with three balloons for a cutie mark sat strumming a ukelele beneath a peach tree and singing along in a relaxed way. "Oh, there's no where I'd rather be, than just here with you and me under a pe-a-a-ch tree," She reached over and tweaked the cyan, rainbow-maned mare's ear, scrunching her nose in a little smile. "Because peaches are sweet and so are you-ou-ou, and Dashie, oh yeah it's so-o-o-o true." It seemed to be the end of the short ditty since she ended with a livelyhood of jaunty chords. But not all was well in Ponyville. "Unhand me, you ruffians!!" A gray earth pony shrieked, bucking the guards who restrained her in the legs. "I demand an explanation!!" Her unicorn marefriend was putting up as much as a fight for the guards as she did, and maybe even a greater one. "KISS MY BASS, FOAL!!!" Vinyl Scratch bellowed, slamming an ivory hoof onto the button atop the boombox speakers. A sonorous wave of wub whipped towards the white pegasi, knocking them backwards and crashing them into a counter. They glared at her but she just smiled a devilish smile as the knife block above them came hurdling towards them. Scratch released a haughty cackle and sprinted to the commotion from the other side of the house. Octavia had put up quite the fight, with two guards unconcious in the corner and one staggering out the door with a bloody nose. The gray earth pony stood on her back legs, cello in her hooves like a sword and breathing ragged heaves. A guard began to regain conciousness in the corner and stumble to his feet, when Octavia swung the bass towards his head and across his face. He was launched into a calendar on the wall, landing with a thump. So I guess you could say he was hit into next week! BA DUM CHHHH! No? Anyway, Octavia brushed a lock of her mane away from her eyes and leaned against her cello, giggling quietly to herself. She glanced at Vinyl and smiled an all too relaxed smile. "Remind me NEVER to get on your bad side, Tavi." Vinyl Scratch ruffled the cellist's mane and winked. In the rafters, a pony with hoofalls silent as night and a coat twice as blue watched in disgust as the marefriends rejoyced. On her hip was a rope with a small leather bag tied tight. She wrapped her hind legs around the wood beams and reached back, careful not to drop it onto the ponies below. She scooped a small amount of the silken dust from the bag and let out a breath. It was just above a whisper, but the glimmering purple dust fell lightly onto Octavia and Vinyl. They sneezed groggily, Vinyl leaning sleepily on her marefriend. Octavia swayed peacefully on her back hooves, then walked over and curled up on the couch with Vinyl in tow. The cerulean pony above them snickered and jumped down, making no noise when her hooves hit the carpet. Her cutie mark gleamed in the sunlight, a moon with a wand beside it. Her horn glowed a misty pink as she levitated a rope from her waist. With a swift movement, she tied the two up and slung them over her back, then teleported to Canterlot castle without a sound. Meanwhile, in the cottage of Lyra and Bon Bon, their hooves were tied and they were plopped on a cart, glaring at anypony who stared; although there few and the sounds of distant shouting could be heard from many of the houses. "If you wanna live a day in the dungeon, you'll stay shut up," one of the guards who was pulling the cart jeered, leering at the two mares. "And what if I feel like singing all night?" Bon Bon hissed, challenging the stallion. "Oh come all ye scallywags, sing along with me, we are the royal bloods, the terrors of the sea! We pillage and plunder and we never compromise, we'll sail these raging waters till we take our glorious prize!" "I told you not to make up that bar song," the other guard grunted, shouldering the pegasus next to him. "WE RUN FROM NO ENEMY AND WE CAN FEEL NO PAIN!!!" Bon Bon bellowed, even louder than before. One of the female guards jetted towards her from the skies, grinning a pointed smile and pulling out a golden dagger. "Keep singing and we'll see how well you can carry on that little ditty of yours without a tongue!" she pressed the tip of the blade to Bon Bon's chest, making a small nick. Bon Bon's mouth snapped shut, but she continued glaring at the guards in front of her. A bead of blood formed over the cut and the pegasus wiped it away. "Watch your back." The guard turned her back to the mare and snarled in a voice that was unearthly. "Discord doesn't take kindly to fillyfooling morons like you." The cream colored mare gritted her teeth but stayed silent. She cursed the guard in her head again and again, wishing she would off herself with that puny dagger of her's. Lyra sat trembling beside her marefriend, lip quivering and tail wrapped tightly around Bon Bon's. She didn't know where she was going and what she was going to do. A tear slid from her eye, landing with a tiny splash on the wood of the cart. It sent up a puff of dust that fell just as quickly, similar to her heart. When Octavia woke up, she saw a blurred figure of a tiny cello and a greyish brown blob standing far away. She didn't feel her mane falling in gentle curves down her back, nor her tail swishing softly as she walked forward to the minute cello. Her vision cleared from it's groggy state and she saw that it wasn't a tiny cello, but a gleaming violin with a bow to match. The greyish brown blob was Discord, waiting expectantly on Celestia's throne with his chin held in a paw. "Play," he commanded, pointing at the violin. Octavia hesitantly picked up the violin and ran the bow across the strings in a smooth movement, pressing it into her shoulder. A horrible screeching noise ripped from the instrument. The gray earth pony winced and laughed nervously. "I must admit that my violin playing is a bit rusty but..." her voice trailed off as she tried again. A silky noise lifted her hopes and she began playing the song she had been practicing when she last tried playing a violin. It swooped and fell, taking Discord's breath away as the final note gently drifted through the palace. "Good job." He sighed and sat up straight. "Shoo, your marefriend Vinyl is waiting for you in the dungeon." Immediately, two night guards appeared beside her, expressions stoic and blank. "Wait- dungeon?!" Octavia was whisked off in a puff of blue smoke, violin still in hoof while the night guards still stood. "She can wait. Bring in that Frederic Horse whatever," Discord grumbled, snapping his talons and thumping his tail against the head of the Celestia statue. Octavia landed with a thump in a prison cell that had Vinyl bucking at the barred door with all her strength. When Octavia lurched to her feet, Vinyl gasped and pulled her into the most crushing hug possible. "OMIGOSHOCTYDON'TYOUEVERLEAVEMEAGAINAND Oh god what did they do to your mane." "What?? I swear to god if they cut it I'll-" Octavia's throat was seized by shock as she looked at her reflection in the small mirror on the wall. Her mane was cut short in a bob, not even close to well done. "I-I'm no b-beauty queen b-b-but," Octavia stuttered, feeling faint and wobbling on her hooves. "I can't be seen like this." She fell on the cot chained to the wall, nothing breaking her fall except for a cheap thin blanket and an equally as thin matress. "We'll get out of here," Vinyl whispered, climbing in the cot on the oposite wall, tears in her eyes. "Once I figure out where here is." Night fell, but sleep didn't come easy for any of the ponies in the cells. Weary convsation drifted from room to room, stirring the guards every once and a while. Lyra sat on the cot on the far wall, the thin blanket wrapped tightly around her thin frame for warmth. Heavy hearted sighs could be heard from every cell, and every once and a while a muffled sob broke the uneasy silence. The mint green unicorn's heart ached and she yearned to wrap her arms around Bon Bon in a tight hug, never letting go. Unfortunately as a punishment, Bon Bon had been placed in a cell far from her marefriend's. The guards had been generous enough to allow her to bring along her lyre. It was propped up on the empty cot across from her, gleaming a silvery-gold glow in the gentle moonlight from the minute window on the wall beside her. Lyra reached over and gingerly took the harp in her hooves, plucking each string to make sure it was in tune. The guards had drifted off to sleep, snoring comically and leaning against each other. She tried to remember the tune to the song Bon Bon had wailed on the way there, gently dragging the tip of her hoof along each string to get the melody right. "Oh come all ye scallywags," she murmured, voice barely above a whisper. She played through the first part, but the jaunty, rebelious song was nothing more than a breath of a melody. Bon Bon's singing was fiercer than this. She tried again and was delighted at the sound. She went through it again and again. "We pillage and plunder, cause you know we've got the nerve," a voice like the coo of a mourning dove sang, drifting into her ears. "We'll sail these roaring waters 'till we take what we deserve," a raspy voice joined in, accompanied by the silken notes of a violin. Lyra was shocked. The prisoners- ponies, just like her- were singing along with her harp. She grinned a wild grin and kept playing. The singers slowly got louder until they filled the entire dungeon up with sonourus voices. A familiar voice rang out through all of the joyful tumult. There was no mistaking it: Bon Bon was singing her heart out, throwing caution to the wind. When the sun rose, earnest and bright, they were finishing their ninth way through. "Just re-sign to your faaate," everypony sang, "soon you'll be made into Diamond Dog bait!" The doors at the top of the spiral staircase leading to the castle flew open with a slam, immediately silencing everypony in the cells and stopping Lyra and whomever was playing the violin. A VERY angry looking draconaquus stormed down the stairs, tail thumping against the stair case with loud cracks. When he got to the bottom, he looked as if he would tear somepony's head off in a matter of seconds. "What," he shouted, voice echoing through the dungeon and frightening everypony enough to make them scoot to the corner of their cell. "is the meaning of this?!" Everypony stayed dead silent, fearing for their life. After a multitude of agonizing minutes, a sharp voice spoke out. "We were singing!" it quipped, the tone having a stunning likeness to a scalpel on a feather pillow; pretty and sophisticated, but able to make everything terrible in a fraction of seconds. Everypony's head whipped towards the source. It was Quill, a weatherpony with a tongue that could leave scars in hickory bark. Her friend Echo stood behind her, glaring a wide eyed smirk. "aren't we allowed to have fun? And who do you think you are, ponynapping all of us! We aren't puppets, genius! We're living, breathing ponies who were made to have some fun in life! Not mindless pit-dogs who know nothing but anger, strife, and bloodshed!!" Discord's fists clenched, talons and claws digging into the palms of his hand. His ears fluttered angrily, eyes narrowed to vengeful slits. He snarled under his breath, cursing the insolent pegasus. Another voice broke the tension, raspy and loud. "And one more thing!" it shouted. Discord spun around to face the voice, seething with rage. "Why the buck did you bring us here, trap us in tiny cells like caged animals, and then not tell us!?" The draconaquus opened his mouth to say something, but a chorus of agreement cut him short. "Damn straight!" one shouted, accompanied by a clank of metal. "Who do you thing you buckin' are?!" another yowled. "MUFFIN!!!" "SILENCE!!!" Discord howled, voice filled with the venom and rage of a manticore. He stomped up to Quill's cell, unlatching the gate and calling the guards. "You," he jabbed a finger at the weatherpony. The guards yanked her from the cell and wrapped rope tightly around her wings, crushing her primaries and flight muscles. Discord stooped down and leered at the pegasus, staring her in the eye. Quill didn't back down though. She glared just as hard, eyes narrowed. The draconaquus grabbed her throat with his eagle claw and pressed his talons into her neck, just barely making tiny cuts. "You're fighting that Rainbow Dash fellow, whether you like it or not." He let go of her neck and stomped back up the stairs, tail slapping angrily at the ground. Author's Note Well, the first chapter was a train wreck. Constructive criticism please?
[2] Rainbows and Quills and escapee thrillsWhen you're standing on the side of a hill Feeling like your day may be done Here it comes The strawberry smog Chasing away the sun Don't let those precious moments fool you Happiness is getting you down A rainbow never smiles or blinks It's just a candy-colored frown After poking and prodding and the jabbing of armor two sizes too big, Quill and Rainbow Dash were shoved into a colosseum with sand in the middle. Ponies were packed in the stands above the ring, uneasy murmurs rippling across the stadium. Why were they here? Guards perched high above surveyed the crowd, making sure nopony tried to escape or wreak havoc. That was Discord's job. Quill nervously paced around in the small areas she were trapped in, hooves clopping loudly against the stone floor. Rainbow Dash tried to search for a place to fly away, but stone walls on three sides and a metal gate in front of her forced her to stay down. A cast-iron gate blocked either exits, dashing each pony's hopes of escape. "Hellooo Equestria," an amused voice snarled over an intercom, "and welcome to the Discordian fighting arena!" The crowd gasped and several caterwauls roared from the stands. "Our first contestant is; from the dusty, dirty city of Ponyville, a smart alec with an atrocious pink mane, Quill the weatherpony!!" The crowd remained silent. "Cheer or I'll release fleas into your bunks." Uproarious applause thundered from the crowd. "And from the high-as-a-kite city of Cloudsdale, a gaunt, over-muscled lesbian freak named Rainbow Dash!!" The crowd laughed uneasy chuckles, only doing so to avoid vermin in their cots. "Wings up, weapons ready!" Discord thundered over the loundspeaker. The two ponies' wings unfurled but they refused to draw their weapons. "FIGHT!!!" The gates dropped with a brash clank and the two ponies raced at eachother. Quill flapped her wings three times then dropped them to her sides, not pulling them in and leaving them dangling like dead weight. It was a universal pegasus sign that meant 'I mean no harm' or 'Cease fire'. Pegasi in the stands whispered to eachother, while unicorns and earth ponies scratched their heads. Pegasi guards gritted their teeth, but stayed silent as the two opponents charged at each other. Rainbow Dash and Quill circled eachother, snarling like they were sizing up eachother and searching for a weak spot. "You know we aren't actually going to fight or kill, correct?" Quill hissed, keeping up her facade. Rainbow glared and flicked her tail angrily. "Yeah. How about I just slash at you a few times with my sword, make a couple of nicks, pretend to slam into you from above as a killing blow? You act all dead and the fight should be over," Rainbow murmured, stomping her hooves and blowing smoke out of her nostrils, acting like she was about to strike. "Deal." Quill released a mighty shriek and swung her bow and arrow towards Dash, putting and arrow in the hilt and releasing it, aiming just beside Rainbow's ear. It made a miniscule cut, almost too small to be seen. The cerulean pegasus shouted and kicked the sand beneath her hooves towards Quill, pretending to slash at the weatherpony's neck. Quill growled animalistically and shot into the air, armor clanking as she prepared to slam into the ground. She let out a valiant cackle as she slapped her hooves against the sand, sending up an explosion of dust. Her armor rattled and hissed as two edges ground together, squealing and shrieking. Rainbow did the same, but she flew higher and tilted downwars, jetting into a nose dive directed at her opponent. "Hit the deck," she hissed just before she came in impact with Quill. The pink-maned pegasus dropped to her stomach and pretended to get all of her breath knocked out as Rainbow squashed her beneath her hooves, acting like she was being stomped into the dirt when she was actually just burying her face in the sand. Quill held her breath for as long as she could, only inhaling when she really needed to. "Victor from Team Crash! Congratulations on winning," Discord shouted over the intercom as guards came in and dragged a limp Quill outside of the stadium and into the castle courtyard, a pile of dirt kicked over her in a pathetic grave. She beamed internally as she realized that they hadn't bothered to confiscate her armor or weapons. "Poor team Charge. They tried. Anypony else want to try?" The draconaquus laughed snarkily over the intercom. Back in the arena, Rainbow began to fake choking and wheezing, falling dramatically into the sand with a soft thump. Everypony in the stands gasped, truly believing that the winner had died. The guards, just now getting back from dragging Quill outside, rolled their eyes and slung the blue pegasus over their backs. She was dropped next to her opponent, who winked at her as she ot dirt kicked over side. "What a shame, what a shame," Discord sighed over the loud speaker, drumming his talons against the desk in front of him. Shouts and crashes tore from the stands as two other ponies were yanked into the ring. Weapons were shoved into their hooves and armor was slammed against their backs as they fell out of the crowd and onto the sandy ground. "That's more like it! No bucking idea who these ponies are, but let's say the pink and black on is on team Charge and the grayish mauve one is on team Crash!" Echo, the pink and black pegasus, stumbled to her hooves and drew her weapon, a long sword with a gleaming hilt. She fumbled with it for a moment but soon got a firm grip on it. Dhe raced towards her opponent, Dust Devil, with a wild glare on her face. She swung the sword at the gray pegasus and winced as a large gash stretched across the pegasus' shoulder. Blood seeped out slowly, dripping onto the sand with small splashes. Dust gasped and gripped her shoulder, headbutting her opponent aside. Dust raised her bow and coughed as an arrow flew from the weapon. It planted itself into Echo's shoulder, which was responded with a prompt stab from the sword. Dust Devil's strength melted out of her as she crumpled to the ground, breath stopping quickly as Echo yanked off her armor and gingerly tried to pull the arrow out of her arm. Tears spilled from her eyes as it popped out, blood trickling from the wound. "Buck you guys!!" Echo shrieked, racing off on aching wings. Three hefty guards tackled her midair, forcing her to the ground. A pegasus pony with a soft yellow coat and a long, pink mane rushed out with medical supplies. The pegasus cooed to the fuschia pony infront of her, comforting her as she dabbed cautiously at the cut. Echo winced as her arm was wrapped up and she was helped to her hooves. "A victory for team Charge! How surprising," Discord chuckled over the intercom. "I think that's enough fighting for today. There's a meal in everypony's bunks, merry freakin' hearth's warming. Anypony who sings will promptly get their tongue pulled out." The crowd let out a sigh as the groups filed out of the stadium, tired and frightened from the fight. Back outside the arena, two pegasi glanced around themselves nervously. "Nice thinking, buuuut...." Rainbow Dash grumbled, sliding her sword back in its sheath, "what do we do now?" "I have a house back in Ponyville with everything we need- or at least until you can get back to your cloud house. Who knows where it is right now." Quill brushed dirt off of her armor, pulling off her helmet and tucking it beneath her arm. "Sounds good." Rainbow took to the skies, surveying their surroundings. Quill trotted along, soon jetting into the air alongside Dash. "If we were in Canterlot a few seconds ago," Quill shouted over the roar of the wind currents tearing around them, "we should be just above Ghastly Gorge, which is about two miles from Ponville. If we fly straight for about a minute them go straight down, we should be directly above my house!" "How'd you figure that out?" Rainbow Dash yelled as she flew above a stray cloud, quirking an eyebrow. Quill shrugged and sighed as a gust of wind blew her back a little. "Weatherpony instincts." The two mares arched downwards and raced towards a small cottage near the edge of the Everfree forest. When they landed, Quill tentatively pushed open the door, finding its handle had been torn off along with a large chunk of the wall. Inside, groggy sunlight poured in through the windows, making shadows dance along the room. Two hulking figures stood there, fangs dripping with murky saliva. A choking stench drifted towards the duo, knocking them back with its potency. Before the pegasi stood two snarling creatures, eyes gleaming like diamonds and claws sharp as knives. "TIMBERWOLVES!!!" Rainbow and Quill shouted in unison, immediately drawing their weapons and stepping back. Echo, having just defeated her opponent, stood gasping ragged heaves in the middle of the stadium with her hooves slick with blood. Her arm ached and her heart throbbed, thumping faster than a hummingbird's. She didn't hear or feel or see anything. Blackness fogged her vision, screams and shouts clogged her ears, and relentless pain stabbed her hooves. The sting of antiseptic yanked her out of her chaotic lethargy, snapping her back to reality. Echo fell to her knees, panting all the while. Had her friend really just die, and had her opponent seriously die directly after her? All her senses acted at once. In a burst of flurried rage, she pushed aside the pony who was tending to her and shot up into the sky. Echo was desperate to get out of here, but six hooves forcing her downwards and twisting her wings said otherwise. Hot, angry tears ran down her face, leaving small clear trails in the dust that caked her's. The nurse was saying something to her, but she bit her lip and refused to respond. The light yellow pegasus helped her up and gently pushed her towards the door where Quill used to be. One final thought raced through her mind as she was lead down the stairs and into her bunk, watching apathetically as the door closed and locked with a curt 'clank'. Had she really just killed somepony? Author's Note Alright, I apologize for the Scissor Sister references, but I have a sweet tooth for their songs. This is seriously the only time that fighting is promised and their isn't actually any fighting the first time around. Incase you haven't picked up on it yet, Quill is actually my ponysona, the 'pink and black one on team charge' is my friend's ponysona Echo. The 'grayish mauve one on team crash' is Dust Devil. Also, do think I should change this to a mature warning? I don't think I do, since it's not gonna be more than 'Pony one cut pony two and blood spilled out. Pony two, in response, punched Pony one and laughed as a red mark shaped like a hoof glowed on Pony one's face.' But I wanna know what you guys think.
