War certainly changes a lot of things. It changes a lot of ponies too. I had only been exposed to its indirect effects for a few days and I was already feeling changes within myself from that short time. The face of Equestria seems to have shifted entirely to a more sinister one. A face of danger, but excitement as well.

I could already tell that this fair country had many stories to tell, and I was certain to hear many as I transversed it. There was no doubt that the history of this once beautiful place would become known to me.

This entire experience was a bit of a culture shock to me. Almost half of my life was spent in SkyVale with my elder brother. I had little memories of life before the city, as I was still a little girl at the time. It's been over 8 years since we first came to the city, but for the first time in 8 years I was walking on the dirt of Equestria again.

My name is Torch Fires. I left SkyVale on a mission. Many months ago, my brother Flare left the city and went to pursue a dream of helping the Knights of Celestia, along with Rainbow Dash. I was forbidden to leave because of my age. I would have just broken out, but I was holding a secret of my own; I was with child.

It was true, I was pregnant at the time, though in early stages. I was a young 16 at the time, and I couldn't let a child be raised in this hell, but part of me knew my destiny. So the moment that child was born, I gave him a name and left him with my most trusted friend. She will be able to give him a better life than I could, because from the day that Flare left, I knew my destiny was to follow him and become the greatest knight that Equestria has ever known.

I spent every day while I was able training and practicing to become the knight I knew I would become. I wanted to fight along side my brother and that meant I had to get stronger. I focused all my magical talents on combat, and learned the way of the sword. I practiced sparring non-stop, because I knew that I was going to have to be the toughest fighter that the ruins had ever seen if I hoped to survive.

My destination; The Canterlot stronghold where I was sure my brother resided now.

I had gathered information of where the stronghold was located from a would-be couple of cannibals. Unfortunately for them, I can do quite a bit with just a rock and some ordinary spells. I squeezed the information out of them, and they ran off just shortly after.

The wasteland certainly had many surprises for any travelers like myself. One of which was waiting for me only a few days after my venture started.

Trotting over the dead soil, I felt something strange hit my back hoof. Reaching for it, I suddenly felt dizzy and exhausted. It must have been some kind of tranquilizer. It was too late to remove it as well, because by the time I had reached for it, I collapsed.

Stirring about I finally woke up probably some hours later. I could hear other ponies making a ruckus, and metal being rattled. Once my eyes adjusted I could see iron bars in front of me. I also took note of the fact that my saddle bag and cloak were still on me.

Looking through the bars I could see a bunch of other ponies also in cages.

One of them was panicking and shaking the bars, desperately trying to get free. An older mare next to me called out to him. "Calm down, wasting your energy isn't going to do any good. You're not going to just break those bars, so you may as well relax."

He growled and called back. "How can you be so calm, whoever did this is going to kill us!"

I finally spoke up. "Unlikely."

He looked over to me. "And what makes you so sure of that?"

I removed my hood. "They left us with our belongings. I have food and supplies in my bag. If they were trying to kill us, then they wouldn't have left us with anything we could use to prolong our lives. Not to mention, it looks like that guy still has a weapon." I gestured to another stallion across from me who was brandishing a blade. "If somepony was trying to kill us, they wouldn't have left us with weapons. They want us alive for whatever reason."

The mare in the cell next to me reached a hoof through the bar and offered me a flask. Seeing her orange hoof, I took it from her. "Thank you." I said.

She poked her muzzle between the bars, but I still couldn't get a good look at her. "You're pretty smart, kid. The name's Tangerine, what about you?"

I took a sip of the drink and coughed, realizing it was alcohol, and very strong alcohol at that. Offering it back, I tried to stop coughing long enough to answer. "Torch. My name is Torch."

She took the flask back. "Well, listen we should stick together. Arguing and spatting with each other isn't going to get us out of here any faster. So let's try and work together here."

I nodded, despite her not being able to see me. "I agree. We'll live longer if we work together."

A door could be heard opening. The entire room fell silent as a strange mare in an old tattered tuxedo started trotting into the room with two Neanderthals. One of which was missing half if his ear. Needless to say, they clearly weren't the brains of the operation.

The teal mare inspected every cage carefully before arriving at mine. She paused and looked at me quite puzzled. Adjusting her cuffs, she stepped closer to the cage. "You don't look like one of the savages... Too clean. Hell, you look like one of those Canterlot settlers, not a scratch on you." She commented.

"I'm from SkyVale actually." I responded.

She nodded in interest. "Ahhhhh, yes... The locked city... We don't get visitors from SkyVale too often here in the ruins... It seems my henchmen mistook you for a savage. No need to worry though, they shall be fired imediantly." She smiled and rose her hoof to one of the two goons with her. A contraption on her arm let out a bang and blasted a hole in his skull. She then did the same to the other.

The others in the cages began to panic and make noises of fear. The mare shot another round into the air. "Silence, I'm trying to talk to my friend from SkyVale here!" They all obeyed.

She turned back to me with a smile. "So sorry about this mix up, friend."

I shrugged. "Its no problem... So can I go?"

She frowned and shook her head. "Sorry, dear I'm afraid I can't do that now. Rules are rules after all. Don't worry though, you'll get a chance to get out of here. I'm actually very interested in seeing how you perform." She winked and trotted to the center of the room.

"Alright, listen up everypony!" She yelled with enthusiasm. "Welcome to the arena! My name is Lyra Heartstrings, and I will be both your ring master and audience."

"What the hell are you planning with us?" One of the stallions in a cage growled.

She pointed to him with a smile. "I'm glad you asked, good sir. You all are going to put on a little show for me. Right now there are over seventy of you, however... Only one of you will be leaving this place... You will all be facing each other... In the arena!"

The group started chattering.

"You all will be fighting each other. The winner gets freedom and a special gift from me. The loser..." She pauses for dramatic effect. "Gets death."

The chatter in the group grew, but was silenced by another shot from Lyra's weapon. "I am still talking here. I seriously do hate it when you ponies interrupt me." She composed herself and continued. "During your time here, you may roam the building if you survive your first fight. However you all may notice the collar on your necks." She gestured to her neck.

I put a hoof on my own and felt some kind of strange contraption. I hadn't noticed it until now.

"If you should leave the arena... It'll explode. The only pony that knows how to disarm it is me. And unless I punch in a code on this device every two hours, they will all explode anyways." She held out a remote as she spoke. "So if anypony has any bright ideas about escaping, I would strongly reconsider." That certainly brought the chatter in the room back. "Good luck, combatants."

Lyra started trotting away and stopped near my cage. "I am expecting great things from you, SkyVale girl. I have never seen a SkyVale resident make it down here in the ruins, let alone in the arena, I'm interested in how you'll perform."

"And if I win, then I am free?" I rose a brow.

She nodded. "I have confidence in you."

With those words she began to trot away, leaving the two fresh dead bodies on the floor.

Tangerine called me from the cell next door. "Hey, Torch."

I came to the edge of the cage so I could hear her better. "Yeah?"

"Let's work together alright? Help each other in any way we can, it’s our best chance of getting out of here." She instructed.

I nodded despite the fact she couldn't see me. "Alright, sounds good."

Several hours had passed and there we sat in our prison cells, waiting for when we were told to create bloodshed. We passed the time mostly be sitting and thinking, but I was preparing. I didn't know what kind of opponent I was going to be up against, and I wanted to be ready.

I was doing pushups, and sit ups when I got too tired to do those. I was working on a thousand sit ups when I heard the scratching on the wall next to me stop. Tangerine must have been carving something on her wall and decided now was a time to quit.

She spoke up, "Hey Torch, you curious about Heartstrings?"

I stopped my sit ups and shrugged. "Not particularly, but I wouldn't mind knowing."

She laughed. "You mean you don't care the slightest about the mare who is holding you hostage?"

"Not if it doesn't get me out of this cage faster." I replied.

"Well, I'll tell you anyways." She said.

"I'm listening." I replied as I returned to my sit ups.

"Well, I've heard stories about her through the ruins. They say she's insane, Crazy Lyra they call her. Supposedly she has run this arena for over four years now. Tons of ponies come in, few come out." Tangerine explained.

Through strained breaths I replied. "Why doesn't anypony find this place?"

"Can't. Its underground somewhere I guess. Lyra converted some old underground facility into this hell hole we're in now. Thus nopony escapes, plus the collars." She answered.

I imagined the exit to this place was probably well hidden to keep the captives from running far. Lyra clearly planned this out, or she wouldn't have been this confident.

"Guess I'll just have to win then." I said plainly.

Tangerine laughed. "You're quite determined, Torch. I haven't even seen your face yet and I'm willing to bet you look like a hardened badass."

She was far from the truth. I was quite a small girl, with a delicate figure, but the exercise I had gotten over the past few months had given me the figure of an athlete. I could run and I could jump, but combat wise I had only gotten in a few actual fights with some savages on the way here. Other than that all my experience was training.

Despite that though, I felt ready. If Lyra wanted a show, I'd give her one hell of a show.

Tangerine and I had grown somewhat close, or rather as close as two ponies could get speaking through cages and never able to see the other's face. She told me about fighting techniques she knew and how speed is better than brute strength. I had the advantage of magic, which put me a step above her in terms of abilities. She had flight though.

In terms of combat, flight is an extreme advantage. It gives an opponent the ability to move the battlefield to where you can't travel.

"I can't wait to get into that ring..." Tangerine spoke. It was almost as if she was glad we were here.

"I thought you were interested in getting out?" I questioned.

"I have my own reasons for wanting to fight. This is nothing more than a challenge to me. A challenge I intend to overcome..." She replied.

I stood up and stretched as I finished some more sit ups. "So long as you're prepared to kill your opponents."

I could hear her laugh. "I've been ready... I've been killing ponies for years now out in the ruins, this is no different. These guys are twigs compared to the brutes I've faced. I'll crush them like bugs."

One of the others in a cage across from me growled as he overheard her. "You cocky little bitch!" He shouted.

Tangerine giggled happily. "I hope I get to face you first... I want to see the look on your face before I rip it off."

The stallion took a step back in his cell and quieted down. He could see Tangerine's face, so I imagine she looked intimidating if he backed down so quickly.

"I hope you don't have to face Torch either." She commented.

I tilted my head and came to the edge to talk to her better. "Why's that?"

"I've been listening to you. You've been training in there, trying to get in top physical form. I can already tell that you're determined to win this, you're not going to let a few weaklings stand in your way to freedom. You're ready to push your body beyond its limits, I can sense it on you. You have a reason to get out of here, and that is driving you to get stronger." She explained.

I was very quiet for a moment, but then replied. "That's quite a lot to determine in a short few hours..."

She laughed. "I'm a lot more than just muscle. I'm a lot smarter than I let on."

"I'll have to remember that." I said.

"You're the same way." She remarked.

"I beg your pardon?"

She grunted before answering. "You're playing your cards close to your chest. You don't seem to trust even yourself. You don't seem to be the type to let anypony know everything you know. Smart, but not arrogant... You're a double threat, I can already tell. There must be quite a beast inside you.. I'd hate to see what your bad side looks like."

I rolled my eyes. "That's something not many see." I smirked.

"Then I may be in for a treat when I get to see you fight." She laughed.

"We'll see..." I sat down on my simple bed.