Chapter 9

Twilight lay there, wrecked and abandoned next to the smashed dead body of Trixie. She felt as though the life had been drained out of her. Everything she'd ever known had just been obliterated. And would she go to? Her friends were dead. Princess Celestia was the once who sent her here. Even Caramel had left her for dead.

The thought suddenly occurred to Twilight that she'd just won the game. It certainly wasn't impossible that everypony else had just finished killing each other. A fascinating idea, no? That Twilight would finally be done with this horror show. That the worst of the pain was over, and the only thing left to deal with was the memories of what happened. That sounded like a cake walk now. No, of course not. Of course she wasn't the winner. If she was, they would have come and gotten her, right?

Twilight sat up and was once again confronted by the horrific reminder of what had just transpired. Trixie's lower torso and hind legs had been completely crushed by the boulder. Her face had already been mangled, but now the side of her head had a massive bleeding crater in it. At the center, Twilight could see bits of Trixie's brain. Trixie's horn was still dripping wet. Twilight scrambled and squirmed her way away from the body for a second time.

When she finally stood, Twilight noticed that she was bleeding badly, and not from just her shoulder. She did her best to limp over to the creek. She had trouble moving both her hind legs as well as having zero mobility in her left shoulder. The water was very shallow and reddened quickly as she stepped in. Stretching out, she completely submerged herself. She watched a the stars and the moon turned into a rippling canvas as the water rushed over her. But this water could not clean the stain left by what Trixie had done to her.

What if I died right here? Twilight thought, I could just let myself drown. Then it would be over. But unfortunately her broken body and her broken mind had taken its toll, and there was no more courage left for such an act.

She wanted to stay there forever, letting the cool mountain water dissolve her away. But instead she crawled out. For one thing, she just wanted to go somewhere. She wanted to forget about every thing, and set her mind to a simple task. Also, she just wanted to be farther away from the Trixie monstrosity. So Twilight left the creek, and slowly made her way up the opposite side of the ravine.

Twilight saw the light beginning fade from Caramel’s eyes as she rushed over to him. He was bleeding. She'd found him next to a bloodied rock and the grotesque remains of Fluttershy. She chose not to ask about Fluttershy.

“Twilight,” Caramel gasped, spitting up blood, “You’re still alive.” He was suffering from at least one critical bullet wound.

“I’m here,” Twilight said, “I’m here to save you.” Her tears were falling on his face, washing away a layer of blood.

“You’ve already saved me,” he said, coughing.

”No I haven’t!” She screamed, “We need to stop the bleeding.”

“Listen to me, Twilight.”

“Please don’t die. You’re all I have left. If you knew what I've been through you would ask me to leave you like this.” Twilight was sobbing. She couldn't control herself. She threw herself onto Caramel, and wept. She could feel the beating of his heart.

“The time I spent with you,” Caramel coughed, “was the best time of my life. From the moment I first saw you, I’ve never wanted to take my eyes off you. Right now, there’s no place I’d rather be than here with you. There’s nopony else in the world I’d rather die for. This is the best moment of my life, because my battle is won, and you look beautiful.”

Twilight was shaking. How could this be happening? “I can’t do this anymore,” she moaned through the tears, “I can’t let one more pony die that I love.”

There was a thunder clap overhead. Rain began to pour down onto their backs. Water spattered over Caramel’s face, washing away all the blood and dirt. And for the first time since the game began, Twilight saw him smile.

“One last thing,” Twilight leaned in closer, “don’t forget me, and please forgive me. Just remember me from the time we spent together. I can’t just fade to nothing. I want somepony to remember me for what I did, and who I was.”

"Of course," Twilight said. She was terrified of looking into his eyes. They bore holes into her already broken heart. But she stayed with him until his eyes stared unblinking up at Twilight. She stayed even longer, until the rain came to a stop.

And then, after what must have been hours but felt like minutes, Twilight saw a glint of bright light on the horizon over the ocean. As the glint grew bigger, it drew lines of yellow and orange across the rippling waves of the ocean. Less than a minute later, the sun was fully up in all its brilliance. Twilight had finally seen the sunrise over the ocean. After going though what was most certainly hell, she'd finally lived to see it. Only now she didn't want to. She no longer mindlessly worshiped the idol behind its power. Celestia had betrayed her in the worst way possible, and Twilight would not rest until she answered for the crimes she committed.

Suddenly, Twilight heard a voice from behind. "Hold still, sweetheart," a stallion voice said. She felt a pricking sensation in her neck, and soon after lost consciousness.

1 pony remaining.
Winner: mare #3, Twilight Sparkle

Author's Note

I'll be uploading an epilogue in a bit.