The 59th Annual Pony Games

((It's okay. I was just a little startled by it. No harm done!))

He squeaked at the proximity of the awful flames, his eyes darting around. Sprout turned, again, then again, fleeing from the heat. Slowly but surely, he made his way to the middle of the arena.

"Tell Red I love him..."

Calla blinked and no longer saw the forest. Instead, she was in a beautiful meadow, the sounds of lovely laughter around her.

Her daughter and son frolicked in the beautiful rays of the sun, dancing circles around their parents. Brawny gazed lovingly into Calla's eyes, stroking her cheek and holding her close.

"My lovely Lily Blossom...."

The little green filly and the even smaller brown colt bounded into their parents' embrace, toppling the ponies into a laughing, squirming heap. Calla held her foals close, snuggling into Brawny, happy that they were together.

"Brawny... Kid... Nikki... I love you."

Abruptly, she was pulled back into the real world, where she was almost alone, covered in dirt and sweat, the blood of many ponies on her hooves.

"Of course," she whispered, a single tear falling from her eyes and falling with an almost inaudible thud into the grass. "Of course I will."

Bithia had been silently watching the dying filly. She had her whole life ahead of her, and they took that away. She usually justified all the death, all the killing with getting back home. Starting her life. Before the games, she felt like she might have a shot of living happily. Escaping the training for the games peer pressure had made her endure, only to come to the Arena and find out that ending young, hopeful ponies lives didn't help the problem that plagued this nation, it merely added more fuel to the fire.

"Calla, we can't keep doing this," she said, barely audible.

"We have to, Bits," Calla said forcefully. "It's the only way we have any chance of getting home."

She bit her lip and frowned at the ground.

"I'll never give up, my foals," she whispered, inaudible to her partner. "I will fight until the end for you."

Sunny Days heard the flames behind her, and ran. Ran, never stopping for a breath to the cornucopia. She knew once she got there, she would die, but at least she wouldn't have to live with herself for letting a young filly die, unable to do anything about it.

She ran, knowing this was it.

"Jim, I-I love you, ma, dad, I love you so much. T-Thank you," she said to the thin air, hoping cameras would hear what she said, her words trembling to come out.

"That girl you just killed, she had a chance of getting home too. Home to her own life," Bithia said, her voice cracking.

"That mare I killed, hiding in a tree? Remember her? She probably had a family too. And friends. A life. And we took that away from them. For our own selfish purposes, I-I can't k-keep doing that anymore, Calla, I-I can't,"

"But I have two foals, Bits!" Calla nearly screeched. "I promised them I would come home! What does a filly do without her mother? Her brother has a disability! Would you have me die so a filly loses her mother? A colt? This is all a sick game, Bithia!"

She looked at the sky, tears streaming from her blazing golden eyes, and yelled at the gamekeepers.

"Iris! I was your friend! Your sister! And though you may not care about me anymore, you might be condemning a colt and a filly to life without a mother!"

Turning back to Bithia, she felt her eyes burn, a trait she had gotten from her father and one her daughter had inherited. Tiny flames danced in her eyes as her rage showed, not only at her fellow contestants, but at one she had once called her sister.

"I know it's immoral! I know we are taking lives! But this is a game of survival, Bithia, and if you won't fight by my side, than our alliance is over. That's the harshness of being chosen. You had the horrid luck of being tossed in here to kill or be killed, and you must know that I will not go down without a fight. So are you staying, or not?"

Bithia was in tears. If she just sided with Calla, she wouldn't be making a difference. The Capitol would keep on throwing mothers, and foals, and anypony into this arena long after they perished, and would keep on doing so until someone made a difference.

"My fight isn't with you, Calla, or anypony else in this Arena. Our fight is with the Capitol," she said, walking over to the Cornucopia, scrambling to stand on top of it.

"You have slayed innocent lives for 59 years. It's because of you that foals, parents, and innocent mares and stallions have died. And you expect us to just play along, keep your little games going. Well, I'm not.

I am not laying a finger on anypony in this Arena until this madness stops. And I bet you that the other tributes will join me in this endeavor," she addressed to the sky, to the Gamekeepers, to anypony in the Capitol that was watching.

She wiped away her tears, and smiled at Calla, holding her hoof out to join her.

"Are you mad?" Calla asked, incredulous. "Never mind, I will not have an alliance with one who is going to do such an idiotic, suicidal thing. You'll get yourself killed by the gamekeepers if you continue this mutiny. I'm sorry."

Before Bits could process it, Calla whipped out a knife and threw it at Bithia's head, five more at the ready in case she missed.

"Of course, Iris," Amina said, "but I think you'll want to watch this."

She pointed to the screen at Bithia's rebellious speech, then at the knife flying at her head.

"Smart mare," she muttered, looking at Calla with new respect.

(I just wanna change things up- you'd think somepony would rebel after 59 years. Oh well, I don't think Bits is going to make it for much longer XD)

Iris grinned slyly, her eyes narrowing and her face filled with glee. "Well, I must say I expected this to happen." she snickered, her hoof hovering above a button

"How many are left Amina?"

Bits: dodge: 1-20 wound: 21-39 kill: 40-100

The member 'Butterfly' has done the following action : Roll The Dice

'Pony Games Outcomes' : 2

(well, that was unexpected....)

The knife zips straight past Bits' head and falling to the ground. Will Calla throw another one?

(AWW YEAH)

Calla snarled and hurled another one.

Bithia saw the knife pass her, and realized that Calla wasn't going to join her. Nor was anyone else. She was going to die on this Cornucopia, but at least she died with purpose, at least she died with her head up high.

"I guess this is goodbye, friend. I hope you can get over how many innocent ponies you killed if you are the victor," she said, still smiling, accepting her fate.

"Of course I won't," she said suddenly, her voice calm and serene. "But this is a game of survival, and my body knows that. Goodbye, Bithia. Say hello to my parents in Heaven."

Sunny finally reached the Cornucopia, and saw one of the Careers standing on top of the Cornucopia foolishly. Suddenly, a knife was throne at the Career, but missed, and landed right at her hooves. She quickly picked it up and darted behind a nearby tree. She couldn't climb them, so hiding behind one should do for now.

She pulled out the three throwing knives from her bag, along with the one that she just found which meant she had four throwing knives for defense if she had to use them. She didn't want it to come to that though. She would much rather die knowing she hadn't harmed a soul.

(Calla just threw another one, that's what this is. kay? no confusion? I'm not wrong this time right?)

Dodge: 1-19 Wound: 20-31 Kill: 32-100

The member 'Butterfly' has done the following action : Roll The Dice

'Pony Games Outcomes' : 30

((Oh, and if you and Vinyl don't want to be the Head Gamekeepers again next time, I'd be more than happy to do it :D))

The knife hits Bithia's foreleg, lodging in her skin. Blood seeps down and around the blade, dripping onto the cornucopia and staining it red. -26 health

(I don't wanna be the head gamekeeper next time, but we'll make a fair decision in case anypony else wants to. I'll keep you on the list though)

Bithia felt a sharp pain in her foreleg, and noticed one of Calla's knives had lodged in it. She kept smiling, though, swallowing her pain, determined not to run away, or even jump down from the Cornucopia. She planned on standing her ground 'till the end. To give other ponies who felt these games are wrong and disgusting the bravery and determination that they might lack.

She kept on smiling, weaker though, developing a headache from the lost blood.

But still smiling nonetheless.

Health: 74
Hunger:100