Sorry this chapter took so long. Between finals and getting my wisdom teeth removed, I just couldn't find time sit down and write. But, now that that's all done, expect chapters to come out slightly faster. Anyway, I don't own My Little Pony or any related characters in anyway shape or form. I do, however, own the characters Sweetmint and Grey Reaper.
Chapter 4 Let The Games Begin
Twilight moved quietly through the thick brush, not wanting to attract attention. She looked around, and seeing nopony, decided to sit and rest. She looked up the sky, trying to gauge the time. It was difficult, since the sun seemed to be stuck in place. Twilight sighed and looked towards the ground. She felt like she'd been walking for hours, when in reality, only about twenty minutes had passed.
After she had finished speaking, Grey Reapers teleported the twelve ponies out of the Preparation Room. The place they ended up in, the Playing Field, was an incredibly large expanse of forests, plains, mountains, and even a desert. Everypony ended up somewhere different. The sky stretched above them, the sun hanging high in the middle of the blue expanse.
Upon arriving here, Grey Reapers voice projected throughout the Playing Field, so that everypony could hear her. "Welcome to the Playing Field! Now that you're here, the game truly begins! Have fun!"
"Fun," Twilight muttered as she stood up, "Anypony that actually has fun here should be committed."
She trudged forward, constantly scanning her surroundings for the others. Something suddenly caught her eye. A few feet in front of her, leaning against a rock, was what appeared to be some sort of wooden pole. It was about three feet long and had a slight curve to it. The bottom two feet was solid black and shiny. A small metal disk rested at the top, between the shiny black wood and the final foot of the object, which was wrapped in strips of white cloth.
"A katana," the unicorn said as she moved towards the weapon, "Grey Reaper did say we were free to take any weapons we found." She extended a hoof towards the sword, but quickly pulled it back. "What am I doing? I can't seriously be considering playing this game."
A sudden rustling pulled Twilight attention away from the blade in front of her. "Who's there?" she called out, looking around. When no answer came Twilight realized it had just been the wind blowing through the grass. She looked back at the sword. "I may not want to play, but having something to defend myself with wouldn't be a bad idea."
Twilight quickly fastened the katana across her back with the sword belt she found on the ground, the hilt extending past her right shoulder. "Dear Celestia," she said looking at the blade, "I'm really in this now. Guess I should keep moving then."
"UGH! This is SO unladylike!" Rarity loudly complained as she trudged down the mountain path where she had appeared, "Being forced to play this barbaric game and having to walk down such a filthy pathway. It's almost too much to take."
The white unicorn moved slowly down the winding path, taking care not to step on any rocks in her way. "Nothing but dirt! Dirt and rocks! And to top it all off, I'm sweating!"
As she continued, each step she made kicked up a small amount of dust that mixed with the sweat, covering her in a thin layer of filth, turning her beautiful white coat a dirty grey. Not even her precious mane was spared from the horrors of filth.
"I can't wait to get back home and leave all this behind me. As long as I don't run into anypony I'll be just fine. And I won't even have to use this." A small kitchen knife with six-inch long blade floated in front of her. The knife had been sitting on the ground a few feet from where she had arrived. Rarity was reluctant to take the knife, but, like Twilight, decided having something to defend herself with would be a good idea. It wasn't much of a weapon, she knew, but the blade was razor sharp and could easily pierce the soft skin of anypony that may attack her.
"Honestly, a lady like myself having to fight. Who does that child think I am, Applejack? If I never see that Grey Reaper again, it'll be to soon!"
"For the love of Celestia, don't you ever shut up?" yelled a nearby voice.
Rarity turned, looking for the pony that had just spoken. "Who said that?" she called out, "Who's there?"
As if to answer her, a wooden pole slammed into the side of her head. The white unicorn let out a scream of pain as she was knocked to the ground. She tentatively touched the spot where she had been struck, immediately pulling back with a yelp as it caused her more pain. Rarity slowly opened her eyes and looked at her hoof. The tip was stained red. With some effort, she began to rise, only to be stopped by something cold and metallic pressing against her neck. She looked up and saw that it was the tip of a spear. She looked up its length and saw a turquoise unicorn standing behind it, horn glowing to hold the spear in place.
"Not the one I wanted," Trixie said, glaring at the other unicorn, "But it'll do for now."
Rainbow Dash looked down at her hooves. "I can't believe I'm really doing this," she muttered.
Dash had ended up appearing in the middle of a field. Right next to her was a crossbow and a small pack of bolts. She immediately picked them up and flew into a nearby tree, where she now sat, staring at the weapon she had found.
"I'm the Element of Loyalty. There's no way I can kill my friends. If I just stay hidden…" Grey Reapers words echoed through her mind, "If I feel that you aren't actively participating, well… Let's just say I'll be forced to intervene." The pegasus placed a hoof on her neck, still able to feel the grip of the alicorn's magic, choking the life out of her.
"I can't just hide. I have to actually try and play." The idea sickened her and she felt as though she may vomit. "I'll wait here, and if I see anypony come by, I'll shoot at them," she said to herself, "That's what I'll do. That's all I'll do. You hear me?" she called out towards the sky, "That's all I'm going to do!"
The wind blew past, rustling the leaves around her in response.
"Oh Lyra, where are you?" Bon Bon mumbled, looking around her. The earth pony had, like everypony else, ended up nowhere near anypony. She immediately set off, searching for the mint green unicorn.
Bon Bon believed that if she teamed up with somepony else, she and her partner would both make it out alive. She thought about which pony she should try to find and decided that the only acceptable ally was her filly friend Lyra. That's not to say she didn't care about the others. Everypony else here was her friend. Well, Trixie wasn't anyponys friend, and until today, she hadn't even known Sweetmint existed. But still, she wanted everypony to be able to go back home alive, well, except maybe Trixie, but the rules of this "game" wouldn't allow that. If her and Lyra were to escape alive, then four others would be leaving with them. She thought about who she would like to see come back with them, but the idea of choosing who lived and who died left a bad taste in her mouth.
With nothing else to do, she continued searching for the unicorn she loved, unsure if she would even survive long enough to see her.
Lyra stood by a small pond. The water was as flat and still as glass, allowing the unicorn to see her reflection perfectly, as if she was looking into a mirror.
"Ugh. This whole thing sucks…" she muttered, dropping a small pebble into the center of the pond, sending ripples across it, distorting her image.
She reached a hoof over and touched her side. A dagger held within a sheath made of hardened leather hung there held in place by a thin belt.
"I wish I could have found a better weapon. I'm barely gonna be able to protect myself, let alone kill somepony with this." Another pebble dropped into the pond. "Maybe I can sneak up on somepony with a better weapon and take from them."
A mischievous smile spread across her face. "Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'll slip the dagger in between their ribs from behind and take whatever weapon they have from them. Then I'll be able to survive till the end."
Lyra had quickly accepted the situation and dove head first into the game, greedily snatching up the dagger as soon as she saw it. Not once since the game began had she even thought about finding Bon Bon or trying to survive along side her. She had, however, thought that if it absolutely had to happen, she would kill the cream colored pony. The thought of Bon Bon dying saddened her, but if it meant she could survive, Lyra was willing to do anything.
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