Final Draft's Rough Drafts

by Final Draft

A Fight For Life and Freedom (Teen: AU Tragedy)

Author's Note:

This was supposed to be a gladiator story where Twilight is forced to compete in an ancient Roman style Colosseum. Before her first ever match, she meets Rainbow Dash: a long time veteran to the Colosseum. She imparts such advice as, "Don't make friends and do whatever the Empress commands."

Bits of dust fell from the ceiling of the cells as the crowd above stomped their hooves. Whatever contender had gone out must have been putting on quite a show for the audience. Their cheers could be heard even through the several foot thick stone the coliseum was constructed from.

The caged ponies tried not to listen, and instead focused on remaining calm. It was easy to tell the veterans apart from the newcomers. The veterans usually sat in silence, thinking about past fights, or the ones yet to come. The rookies typically asked questions or paced nervously, not sure what to expect.

Two guards stood watch over the prisoners, wielding large spears they liked to bang against the cell bars every now and then. A large cheer went through the stadium above and the sound of hooves against stone became deafening. Minutes later, there was a knock on the large wooden door of the chamber, and one of the guards stepped forward to open it.

A severely wounded pegasus mare was carried in by two more guards and thrown into one of the empty cells. Those that knew the pegasus scoffed and looked away. The cyan pegasus with the rainbow mane had been a contender for longer than most, and she always came back with new injuries. If asked about them, she’d simply brag about her victory in the arena, and that the other pony was much worse off. Well, of course they were; if they didn’t come back, it meant they were dead.

The newest arrival, a purple unicorn mare, pushed her face against the bars to look at the wounded pegasus. “Are you alright?” she asked, looking at the mare’s clearly broken wing.

“I made it back in one piece, didn’t I?’ the mare asked. She took a large strip of cloth and began bandaging her wing. She glanced up from the task to look at the rookie. “You’re new here, aren’t you?” she asked.

The purple unicorn nodded and continued staring. “How long have you been here?”

“Long enough to get a nickname,” the pegasus replied. “Not many make it that long.”

“Have you killed a lot of ponies?”

The pegasus went quiet. She turned away from the unicorn and finished wrapping up her wing. “What did you say your name was?” she asked at last.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle,” the unicorn replied.

“Okay, listen, Twilight,” the pegasus said, turning back around. “If you want to survive here, there are only two things you need to know. One: no pony is your friend. Two: you do as the Empress commands, and you may live to fight another fight.”

Before Twilight could say anything further, a spear smashed against the bars next to her head. The guard responsible looked at the unicorn in disgust, bringing the point of his spear toward her neck. “Silence, the both of you!” the stallion shouted.

The guard stared an additional moment before returning to his post by the door. Aside from the occasional cough or shuffle, the cells were quiet. The pegasus that Twilight had been speaking with had turned her back and laid down on the cold, cobblestone floor. Twilight looked at the scars covering her body and then eventually to the cutie mark on her flank. The cloud with the rainbow lightning bolt seemed almost foreign on the battle-worn pony.

Twilight began pacing her small cell, glancing around at her fellow inmates. They were mostly stallions; either big and burly, or thin and lank. It was clear which would survive in the arena. At that moment, Twilight began thinking about if she could survive.

She’d never fought before, and she had no desire to take another life. Her magical knowledge was all she had on her side, but she could already sense powerful binding spells all around her; ones that would prevent her from casting most any spell.

The crowd above began roaring again and the hoof beats pounded against the stone. Once again, the wooden door opened and two guards trotted in. Their eyes scanned the cells, and one of them pointed in Twilight’s direction. She closed her eyes and heard the sound of a cell door being opened.

“No! Please! Not me!” a stallion’s voice shouted. Twilight opened her eyes to see the guards dragging one of the small stallions out of the cell behind hers. The poor stallion looked young enough to call a colt, and he was crying like a foal. The guards dragged him out and the wooden door slammed shut behind them.

“Five minutes,” a voice grunted from somewhere in the back.

“I think you’re overestimating him,” a hoarse voice replied.

The two stallions went back and forth, ultimately deciding on three minutes. How long was three minutes? Twilight listened carefully, trying to judge what the audience’s reaction meant. There was a faint amount of hoof beats followed by silence. Shortly after that, a deafening roar sounded from above, and the hoof beats made the whole earth shake.

“Ha! Make that two and a half minutes!” the hoarse horse cackled.

“Against The Destroyer? Ha! I give him one minute!” the other stallion laughed.

“Who’s The Destroyer? And how do you know it’s him?” Twilight asked. The two stallions stared at the unicorn, and went back to looking at the ceiling.

“Her," the cyan pegasus corrected. "The Destroyer is a mare."

Twilight looked over to see the pegasus still laying on her side with her back turned to her. “Okay, well how do you know it’s her?” she asked.

“Listen.”

The hoof beats were thunderous, but in the chaos was a distinct, repeating beat.

Boom. Boom, boom, boom. Boom.

“How long has The Destroyer been here?” Twilight asked.

“As long as me,” the pegasus replied.

“Have you two ever fought?”

“No, and I hope we never do.”

“Why? Are you afraid you’ll lose?”

The question made the pegasus stand up and put her face right up to Twilight’s. “I’m not afraid of anything. Do you got that?” She turned her back to the unicorn and sighed. "We go back before all this, okay?"

"I'm sorry," Twilight said quietly. She sat in silence and looked around into the other cells.

--------

(Twilight's first match pits her against Applejack: another rookie to the Colosseum. They fight valiantly and Twilight ultimately comes out on top. With her sword to AJ's neck, Twilight looks up to the stands. Empress Celestia (Essentially Julius Caesar) gives her the nod to kill AJ. Twilight sheaths her sword in defiance.

Both the crowd and Celestia look at Twilight in shock, for none had ever defied the Empress. AJ is taken out of the arena and Twilight is left to deal with three chimeras. With moderate difficulty, she defeats them and stands before the crowd. She allows herself to be escorted back to her chamber where she has a brief conversation with Rainbow Dash.

Celestia shows up and demands to speak with Twilight. Something about being her student, blah, blah, blah, and she allows her defiance to be overlooked. Twilight subsequently faces, defeats, and befriends each of the mane six, until her fight with Rainbow Dash. Celestia is aware that RD and Twilight are close, so she commands that only one of them leave the arena alive. Twilight comes out victorious in their duel and stands above her friend. The crowd watches in silence while Rainbow Dash begs for death. Twilight slays RD and vows Celestia's blood will flow across the arena floor before she dies.)

Comments

[Lag Incarnate]

Interesting. I'd read it. Actually, I did.