“And the Spellblade destabilized and exploded, leaving Quick Leash in bad shape,” Twilight finished her story and paused. “What’s up with you girls?”

Panning the group, a mixture of facial expressions greeted the alicorn. Starlight simply stared at her blankly. Rarity’s eyes were as wide as saucers, her jaws slack. Fluttershy was covering her ears tightly with her forehooves, frightened by her gruesome tale. Applejack was struggling to make her mouth utter something in response but to no avail. Pinkie Pie had stopped twitching for once in her entire life in utter shock. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash remained calm and stoic, her eyes shining with excitement as she listened to Twilight’s story.

After an eternity, Rarity spoke up. “You-you killed griffons?”

Twilight closed her eyes, her morals once again being called into question. “You have to understand, it was a matter of killing or being killed. Even now, there’s not a day I don’t think back and try to find a way such that it could have been settled without killing. It will forever leave a mark on my conscience, I simply cannot forgive myself.”

Hearing this, Rainbow looked indignant.

“Well, I think she did the right thing! From what Twi’ just told us, she was forced by them to kill others, and she almost died several times, too!”

“We shoulda been there for ya, Twi’. You’ve been through a rough few years, and we’re sorry for that,” Applejack murmured.

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t blame anypony, girls. Not even Celestia. One thing that the Badlands has taught me is that holding grudges will eat you from the inside out. None of you should be mad at Celestia, it was a simple mistake.” She tilted her head. “Speaking of which, how are you girls here? Did Celestia banish you too?”

“No, silly!” Pinkie Pie interjected. “She sent us to look for you! She made us whatsit called— Wardens of the Land or something like that— and she said that it would reverse the banishment spell on you!”

It was Twilight’s turn to be surprised. “She did?”

Pinkie nodded her head. “Yes! So you can come with us and no longer fight in that dreadful arena now!” Twilight turned away and sighed.

“What is it, darling? You can come back to Equestria, you should be happy!” Rarity questioned.

“I am, yes, but… I have built up a life out here, Rarity. It will be hard for me to just leave. Many ponies are counting on me for several reasons, and many look up to me. I cannot just leave them. With me here, crime has dropped drastically from what it was before, and I own several establishments, including this cafe.” Twilight gazed into the distance.

“But darling, we need you back! Without you, Ponyville just feels empty, and the Princess felt absolutely horrible about banishing you!”

Applejack nodded. “That’s right, sugarcube. The day after you were gone, the Princess was regretting her decision and was feeling mighty guilty about it.”

Starlight spoke. “And I feel guilty for making you survive out here all on your own. It was my fault that you were banished in the first place. We’ve spent the last few years looking for you, Twilight.”

Twilight smiled slightly. “You did that for me?”

“Of course, egghead!” Rainbow flew over the table and embraced her in a strong, though quick, hug. “You’re our friend, and we’d do anything for our friends!”

Fluttershy nodded energetically. “I tried to get Discord to look for you, but we couldn’t find him. I’m sorry we couldn’t find you earlier.”

Twilight waved her off. “It’s fine, Fluttershy. There is nothing to forgive. You girls did nothing wrong. It was a simple mistake, nothing more. That being said, it is getting quite late, and I think I am right in assuming that none of you has any place to stay?”

They nodded.

“Well, I can put you up at where I live for the night and you can stay for as long as you want. Brace yourself, I’ll be teleporting us there.”

Twilight and the group appeared in a dark room, and as they landed on the floor, everypony except Twilight stumbled. She lit her horn and the room’s lamps lit up.

“Come with me,” she murmured, opening the door and trotting outside. As they exited, they gasped. The interior was decked out in paintings and murals of all kinds, and they were not just beautiful...they were extravagantly lavish.

“Wonderful, aren’t they?” Twilight asked with pride in her voice. “I had time to spare, so I tracked down one of the known artists in the Badlands and asked him to teach me. It took years to draw and paint every one of these.”

Rarity found her voice. “Twilight, darling, you painted all of these?”

Twilight nodded. “I had to find something to do when I wasn’t in the arena. Books aren’t plentiful in the Badlands. Almost every night I would sit on the balcony with a canvas and some paint and draw the night. The stars shone for me, and they were beautiful.”

Applejack took off her hat. “Why, Twi’, Ah didn’t know you could paint that well!” Twilight blushed at Applejack’s praise.

“They were just a pastime, Applejack. I’ve definitely seen better works. You see that painting over there?” She pointed to one leaning against a wall. It was a sunset over the desert, with lots of bright reds and oranges, but with subtle hints of darker blues and purples signifying the imminent night. “It’s riddled with mistakes. It and every other painting in here.”

“Even so...darling,” Rarity interjected quickly, “you’ve done magnificently.”

Twilight smiled. “Thank you, Rarity.”

“So, Twilight, who lives here?” Starlight asked.

“Well, this is my home, but it’s under my alias Quick Brush. Quick Brush is a painter that sells some of her paintings for prices that are quite cheap. You can stay here as long as you like, or until you decide to leave.”

Starlight paused. “You’re not coming back with us?”

Twilight smiled sadly. “I’m considering it, Starlight. But in the case that I choose not to, I will come back with you to visit and make amends to Princess Celestia. I will also want to see my family again. After that, I will return to the Badlands. I have built a life here, and I do not wish to just leave it just like that.”

“But you have to come back with us!” Pinkie Pie protested.

“I will, Pinkie. But you have to understand, I have spent four years building things up here, and many ponies depend on me. I will come back, yes, but if I choose to go back and live in Equestria I will still go back and forth. I have responsibilities here, and I cannot just abandon them.”

Applejack nodded. “Ah understand. You don’t want your hard work to go to waste the moment you leave. But if the place is as nice as you say it is, Ah think they can live without you, Twi’. They did so for many years even before you arrived.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “Indeed, Applejack. For now, you girls can choose any room to stay in. Every bedroom is furnished with a bed and a desk, so you can sleep comfortably tonight.”

Spike pulled lightly on Twilight’s tail. “I’ve been wondering, Twilight...you avoided telling us about your first few days in that arena. What exactly happened?” Spike asked.

Twilight stiffened. “Those… were the worst days of my life, Spike. I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Why not, darling? It’s better to get things off your chest, you’ll feel better!” Rarity insisted.

Twilight closed her eyes. “Rarity, I-”

Fluttershy draped her wing over Twilight. “I know this is hard for you, but we’re all here for you, Twilight. If you don’t want to tell us, you don’t have to. But what Rarity said is correct, Twilight. You’ll feel better if you tell us.”

“Yeah, what she said!” Rainbow agreed.

Twilight closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. “I’ll tell you. It all began when I woke up in a cell, with an inhibitor ring on my horn…”

Twilight opened her eyes wearily to see the blankness of stone-paved walls. She was lying down on the floor, and she was in some kind of...cell? For some unknown reason, her throat was no longer parched and she actually wasn’t hungry for once. Somepony must have fed her and given her water to drink while she had been unconscious.

She tried to rise up on all four of her hooves, but she collapsed at the mere effort of extending her legs. Even when lying on the floor, her knees trembled and her hooves still ached, evidently still weak from her ordeals in the desert.

“Hello? Anypony... There?” Twilight called out.

Only silence greeted her.
She struggled to her hooves and stumbled again back towards the cell door. She pulled at it with her hooves and it didn’t budge one bit.
Alright, magic time.

She grasped her magic and cast a simple levitation spell to pull the door open. However, what she didn’t expect was for pain to suddenly erupt in her horn and her magic to dissipate rapidly. Twilight cried out in pain as she felt that her magic was restricted by some unknown barrier.

Twilight looked up towards her horn and realised that there was an inhibitor ring imbued with runic symbols restricting her magic.

Who...who would do such a cruel thing?

“Awake, are you?” A voice rang from the cell door. Twilight turned around and saw a white coloured unicorn standing there, staring at her impassively. He lit his horn and a key inserted itself into the keyhole of the cell door. He beckoned for her to follow him. “Come, the boss wishes to see you.”Twilight stumbled across to the cell door and followed the stallion.

“Where are we?” Twilight asked. “Why do I have an inhibitor ring on my horn?” He kept quiet and led her through a labyrinth of doors and corridors and finally after ten arduous minutes, they arrived at a brown coloured door. The stallion opened the door and she trotted in. Instantly, a few things stood out to Twilight at the moment she entered.

There was a chair facing away from her directly across her and four griffons with swords by their sides hanging there. There were also another three unicorns standing next to the door staring at her emotionlessly. As Twilight trotted in the room, the door closed behind her as the unicorn who had led her here entered and took his place beside the other unicorns.

“Hello?” Twilight said nervously. The chair slowly spun around and there was a white coloured pegasus sitting there.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” he stated. “So nice of you to join us in the land of the living, princess. It was touch and go for a while, wasn’t it? The rumours that alicorns are immortal aren’t true, I take it?” Twilight slowly nodded.

“Forgive me if I don’t show the proper respect you deserve. After all, my father was banished by your precious Princess of the Sun, and I have no love for any of the Equestrian Princesses.” Twilight swallowed. This wasn’t looking to be in her favour.

“If you could take off the inhibitor ring and allow me to send a letter back to Equestria, I’m sure I could do something about your situation-” Twilight began.

“No,” the pegasus interrupted. “I quite enjoy what I’ve built for my life in the Badlands, thank you very much.” He smiled. “I just realised I haven’t given you my name yet, have I? It’s Quick Leash.”

Twilight pawed at the ground nervously with her hooves. “What do you want from me?” she asked.

“Straight to the point, Sparkle. I like it.” Quick Leash smirked. “As for what I want from you… I saved your life. I’d like something in return, and you’re going to give it to me no matter what you say. I’d like your life.” Twilight stumbled backwards in shock.

“My-my life? But you just-”

“No, Sparkle. Not that way. You belong to me now, and you will do as I say. I don’t care that you used to be a princess, that does not matter in the Badlands. You will work for me, and if you behave, I will consider letting you go once you’ve earned me enough.”

Twilight swallowed. “What do you want me to do?”

Quick Leash grinned. “I own an arena, Sparkle. I guess you can connect the dots from there.”

“No! I won’t fight for your sick games, Quick Leash!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Now, now, Sparkle. You can either come quietly and fight for us of your free will, or you can be forced. Choose now, Sparkle.” Quick Leash smirked. As far as he was concerned, the debate was over.

“I will not fight,” Twilight stated. Quick Leash sighed.

“So be it. Guards, take her to her first match and do not give her any proper weapon. A knife will do for her defiance. This could have gone better, Sparkle. I could have given you partial use of your magic back, but you didn’t want to co-operate with me.”

“Match? What do you me-” The unicorns lit their horns and lifted her up in their magic. Twilight struggled fruitlessly as they levitated her outside the room.

“Learn or die, Sparkle! That’s the only rule of the Badlands!” Quick Leash called out as the door to the office was closed.

The unicorns threw her into the arena, before shutting the gates behind her. A knife was left on the ground, and Twilight picked it up hesitantly. She didn’t want to fight, but what choice did she have?

Once the audience realised that an alicorn had just entered, they all went silent, murmuring among themselves. An earth pony on the podium walked up to the front and cleared his throat. A unicorn beside him lit his horn and the earth pony began to speak, his voice magically amplified.

“Today, folks, we have a special treat for you all! We have an alicorn fighting in the arena! I promise you nothing less than a day full of excitement here! She’s still fresh, but I’m sure she’ll prove herself magnificently in the fight today!” The earth pony yelled to the crowd. “And now, for her first opponent, a desert wolf, freshly captured from the desert!”

The gates on the other side of the arena opened, and a desert wolf was thrown into the arena. It got up almost immediately and snarled at Twilight.

“Will she survive this? All I know is that it will definitely be interesting!” the announcer yelled. “As for every fight here, it is a fight to the death, and there are no rules!”

A fight to the death? Twilight stumbled backwards in shock. She didn’t want to die! The desert wolf snarled at her one final time, before leaping towards, fangs bared ready to sink into her. Twilight flapped her wings hard and flew upwards, dropping the knife in the process.

“And she dodges!” the announcer happily told the audience.

Twilight landed down on the opposite side of where the desert wolf was and looked towards the wolf. It was stalking her, legs crouched, preparing to lunge at her again. She looked up for a second towards the top of the arena, considering her options to escape. She could fly out, but she realised that there were griffon guards flying above the arena, ready to stop her from doing what she had been planning to do.

While distracted, the desert wolf leapt towards her and sank its jaws into her shoulder. Twilight cried out in pain and lifted her hind hooves to buck the desert wolf. Her hooves connected with the wolf and sent it flying. The audience gasped as one.

Twilight looked down at her shoulder. Twilight's shoulder sported a gnarly gash, the teeth marks showing all around her upper shoulder and down to her upper leg; the wound itself could be identified by the oozing red liquid, congealing and boiling down her side. Twilight's blood. Twilight winced as she tried to move her shoulder; it was useless now. Suddenly, the wolf leapt at her again. Twilight stumbled backwards in surprise and tried to fly away. The wolf barely missed her hooves as she flew upwards. She couldn’t stay in the air forever, her shoulder was causing her too much pain.

Twilight landed down on the floor of the arena again, and this time, the wolf was circling her, wary of her flying away again. It bared its teeth at her, blood evident on its fangs from when it had bitten her. She needed to do something, or else she was dead. She picked up the knife and pointed it towards the wolf, her hoof trembling to hold it straight.

The wolf growled at her. As it circled her, she realised something. The wolf was limping, with one of its hind legs weak from where she had bucked it. Twilight could use that to her advantage.

The wolf snarled once again and lunged. Twilight dodged nimbly aside, wincing as her shoulder hurt. Lifting her forehooves, she brought them down onto the wolf’s weak leg. The wolf howled in pain as the bones in the leg crunched and broke. She then spun around and bucked it in the face, sending it flying.

Thank you Applejack, for all those times you taught me to buck, Twilight thought as she steadied herself. She looked towards the wolf. It was struggling, unable to get up with a broken leg. It howled once and fell silent. It stared at her with eyes that seemed to say, finish it.

Twilight stared back. Even if the wolf wanted her to kill it, she couldn’t. It was a living thing, and it didn’t deserve to be forced into the arena like her. Then she remembered something Fluttershy taught her.
If somecreature is dying, it is merciful to put them down, Twilight. Fluttershy had said. It’s better to give them the release than just let them suffer from the pain.

Twilight approached the wolf warily, the knife in her hoof. The wolf gazed back at her, its eyes defiant. As she approached, the wolf struggled to its legs and lifted its head up. It howled its final howl, its voice full of pain and defiance. It then turned to meet her and closed its eyes. It had chosen to die proud and unbroken. Twilight closed her eyes and brought the knife down.

The wolf went limp and collapsed, the knife sticking out of its neck. Twilight had chosen that area so as to give the wolf a death as painless as possible.

Twilight sat down, her shoulder hurting as the blood streamed down slowly. Twilight concentrated and pulled on her earth pony magic. As she watched, the wound slowly closed. Princess Celestia had taught her this- an ancient earth pony method. Before this, she had thought it useless, but now she was grateful for it.

She turned towards the announcer. Up till now, she had ignored him, choosing to concentrate on the fight as much as possible.

“The alicorn has defeated her first opponent, but will she defeat her next one?” The announcer happily asked the audience. Twilight stiffened. There was another one for her to fight?

“Her first opponent was weak, and she defeated it easily! But her next opponent has proved himself in battle twice, ending the fight swiftly with his axe! Mares, gentlecolts, dragons, kirins and other creatures, give it up for Bruto the Minotaur!” the announcer roared to the crowd.

The crowd roared in excitement as the gates on the other side of the arena opened, letting a minotaur step out, twirling an axe in his hands. Twilight backed up away from the wolf’s corpse as he straightened up to his full height.

He was taller than the average minotaur, and his horns were longer than Iron Will’s. His eyes showed no emotion as he looked at Twilight. She couldn’t do this, she was almost spent on her strength just healing her shoulder.

“I am Bruto. And you will die.” The minotaur rumbled in a deep voice.

“And… begin!” The announcer yelled. As the crowd cheered, the minotaur rushed towards her, axe lifted up to end Twilight’s life swiftly. Well, she was having none of that. Twilight spread her wings and flapped them, hard.

As the minotaur swung his axe, it sliced below her hooves as she struggled to gain altitude. “I don’t want to fight!” she cried out. Bruto looked up towards her and smiled sadly.

“You will fight. If captors see we are not fighting, they will kill us themselves.” He pointed up. “You see those griffons with crossbows?” Twilight looked up.

“So either I kill you, or you kill me. There can only be one survivor, pony.” Bruto declared. “And you flying doesn’t help you.” As he said this, he pulled back the axe and tossed it towards Twilight. Her eyes widened as she barely dodged aside. As the axe fell towards the ground, he caught it.

Twilight landed down on the ground and eyed Bruto warily. He was twirling his axe and was considering her. As she looked at him, Bruto lowered his head and charged. Eyes widening, she dived aside, Bruto’s horns grazing her hind hooves.

As she spun around, the axe glinted as it swung towards her. Twilight dodged and galloped full pelt for the corpse of the wolf. She would need the knife if she wanted a chance to survive. Reaching the wolf's corpse, she tugged the knife out of the body and spun around, just in time to use the knife to parry the axe headed for her neck.

Twilight grunted as the strength of the swing pushed her back. The knife wasn’t enough to counter such strength and an axe. She needed more.

Twilight flapped her wings as Bruto swung the axe again, this time for her hooves. Narrowly dodging the axe, she threw the knife towards Bruto, the sharp edge first. Bruto easily knocked the knife aside with his axe and lunged for her.

Twilight banked towards the left as Bruto tried to grab her hooves. A glint in the corner of her vision. A griffon guard stood near the gates with a sword on his side. She needed that sword. Putting on speed, she collided into the griffon, the griffon crying out in surprise. She kicked the griffon in the head, knocking him unconscious. The audience gasped at this. This was the first time one of the fighters attacked a guard.

Twilight quickly grabbed the sword. As she did so, she heard snippets of the announcer’s voice.

“The alicorn has taken the initiative and gotten a better weapon! What will she do with it, I wonder?” Twilight grimaced. She didn’t want to use the sword, but the minotaur gave her no choice. That pegasus, Quick Leash was to blame for all this. Hate bubbled to the surface as she dodged the axe swing yet again.

“Hold… still!” Bruto grunted.

“No!” she replied. This time, Twilight was the one to swing her weapon. Bruto parried it easily and knocked her sword aside.

“Nowhere to run now, pony,” Bruto stated. He lifted the axe and brought it down. In her desperation, Twilight did the only thing she could. She created a barrier with her magic instinctively, and the axe slammed into it. Twilight opened her eyes. She… could feel her magic! As the realisation hit her, she looked up to see the inhibitor ring smoking from the amount of raw magic she was forcing through it.

Bruto backed up warily as she got to her hooves. As Twilight looked towards Bruto, she discovered what had happened. Her raw magic had been too much for the rudimentary inhibitor ring to handle, and she had forced through enough magic for simple spells. Twilight tested her boundaries. She couldn’t cast a teleportation spell, not yet.

Bruto lifted his axe and swung. “Even with magic, you cannot hope to beat me!” he roared as his axe connected with Twilight’s sword, lifted up just in time to block the axe. Twilight concentrated and pulled on her earth pony strength.

“Yes..I…can!” she screamed as she pushed the axe back. Twilight spun and swung the sword towards Bruto. This time, Bruto was too slow and the sword sliced into his side. He roared in pain and lunged towards her, hands outstretched to grab her.

Twilight dived aside and got up quickly. Her eyes widened as the axe bit deep into the floor beside her, barely missing her neck. Panicking, Twilight shoved Bruto away with her magic. Bruto stumbled and fell down, hitting the floor face first.

“Please don’t do this,” she begged. “I don’t want to kill anypony!”

Bruto pushed himself off the floor. “Well, I do!” Lifting his axe, he swung it with all his might. Twilight brought the sword up to meet it. As the sword hit the axe, it resisted for a moment, before breaking into pieces. Bruto grinned. “You’re done for, pony!”

Dropping the broken sword, Twilight scrambled back on her back as Bruto swung, again and again, the axe barely missing her. “Don’t!” she pleaded. Bruto ignored her pleas and swung again. Twilight closed her eyes. She hated what she had to do next. As Bruto lifted his axe for the final blow, his eyes widened. A knife had just been driven through his chest from the back, the barest hint of Twilight’s magic on its hilt.

Bruto met Twilight’s eyes. “Good...fight…” he whispered softly before he fell to the ground as his breaths steadily got lesser. He had made the fatal mistake of underestimating Twilight. As she looked at Bruto’s unmoving body, she collapsed on her knees, strength spent and sobbed.

“And the alicorn wins! I sure didn’t expect that, did you all?” The announcer yelled as griffons flooded in, grabbing Twilight and fixing a newer inhibitor ring on her horn. Twilight hung limp, sobbing quietly as they dragged her away to her cell.

The griffons threw her into the cell and locked the door. Once they had left, Twilight buried her face into her hooves, curled up and cried.

Princess Celestia strode out to the balcony of Canterlot Castle, where her subjects were waiting outside for her announcement. She steadied herself and stood up straight.

“Hear me, my little ponies!” She declared. “I have good news, for taxes have been lowered again!” She grinned as the ponies cheered, their love for their diarch showing even more than ever. She then trotted back into the castle. As the doors closed behind her, a laugh rang throughout the empty castle.

Author's Notes:

who said something about me being addicted to SoL?

Updates from here onwards will be very irregular and no exact timing. If I can find the time to write, I will, but updates will be very slow. But for now, I'll have to concentrate on exams so sorry bout' that guys.