The Equestria Games: First Blood

by 8_Bit

Chapter XIV: True Feelings

The afternoon had been little more than a panicked rush, right from the moment the broadcast for the training score announcements had finished. Twilight had found herself quite literally dragged from her seat on the lounge sofa, all the way to her bedroom, where she ended up sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by stylists. Hoity Toity talked her through interview techniques as his assistants argued relentlessly over make up and clothes. In the end, it took Twilight to get dressed and undressed a dozen times before the stylists finally settled on an outfit. By this time, she’d settled on a technique with Hoity. She would go for the flattering approach, being amazed and overwhelmed by the Capitol as a city. It wasn’t that hard to do, all she needed was to keep the view of the city that she’d seen from the train firmly in her mind, and she could sweet-talk the Capitol audience to her hearts content.

The final wardrobe check left all her stylists (for the first time in hours) all nodding in agreement, before they finally put Twilight in front of a mirror. She wore minimal make up, as a natural blemish seemed to suit her best. Her mane had been styled upwards in a large bob, not entirely unlike the way Lightning Dust wore hers naturally. A silver tiara with a pure black crystal sat upon her head, exaggerating the regal look the stylists were going for. The dress she wore was relatively simple in comparison, with short upper sleeves, whilst going down to her fetlocks at the back. It was a light grey in color, with a fake fur collar that felt gorgeous against her neck. It was plain and simple, with a large gem that sat in the middle of the neckline, pure black to match the one on her tiara.

“So,” Hoity Toity said as Twilight looked herself up and down in the mirror. “What do you think?”

Twilight didn’t know what to think, let alone what to say. She had looked tough and dangerous in the coal miner’s jumpsuit, but this was something entirely different. She looked stunning. It pained her to think such shallow thoughts, but as she did a 180, she thought she could have passed herself off as a supermodel.

“I look…”

“Amazing,” Thunderlane finished for her. She turned around as he walked through her door. He didn’t look too bad himself, either. He was dressed in a similar way that she was, simple yet elegant. He wore a light gray two-piece suit, with a black undershirt, and to top it all off, a flame patterned tie.

“Doesn’t she just?” Hoity Toity answered, nodding in agreement. “Now, we have some time to kill before we need to go down, so just hang around here, chat, whatever you want to do. Oh, and if you mess up your outfits, I’ll see to it you don’t make it to the arena.” His smile betrayed the semi-serious nature of the threat.

There was no discussion needed between Twilight and Thunderlane. They both knew where they wanted to go. Leaving the roomful of chaos that was Twilight’s bedroom behind them, the pair made their way to the roof. The sun was setting in the horizon behind the cliffs surrounding the city, not cutting off the sunlight directly, but bathing the city in a gentle orange glow. This was a small detail in comparison, when Twilight reached the edge of the balcony, laying eyes on what lay below.

An elaborate stage had been assembled on the steps in front of the building, opening on to arena seating that expanded outwards in a semi-circle. From above, the seating stands looked at least 5 stories tall, and the large square that served as a social area for the Capitol ponies was now drowned out by the seating. Thousands of ponies were already there, and from above, Twilight was able to see crowds in every direction, all flocking towards the building in hopes of a good seat.

“It doesn’t feel like only three days, does it?” Thunderlane said as he reached the ledge, leaning backwards on it.

“No,” Twilight responded. “It feels like longer.”

This was her best chance. Tomorrow, they’d be in the arena, desperately fighting for survival. Twilight wasn’t going to have a better chance to talk to him.

“How long have you had… feelings… for me?” she asked, struggling to bring herself to say the word feelings. Saying it felt too much like talking about childish playground crushes.

“Not long after you got back from the war. Well, from District 13, I guess. Mom had been dead for about a year by then, so I was beginning to come to terms with it. So I saw you when they finally re-opened the school, and you looked like you’d been through hell.”

Twilight looked away nervously. Hell would have been a cinch compared to what she’d been through.

“Your mane was rough, and your eyes looked like you hadn’t seen sleep in weeks. And… you were beautiful. Like raw beauty, you know? I guess spending a lot of my life growing up in the Everfree Forest, I just learned to see so much beauty in nature. Well, there’s that, and you reminded me of Mom. She always had this “rough & tumble” look to her mane, and these eyes that were always weary looking, even when she wasn’t tired. So, you can probably see why I was quickly smitten.”

Twilight leaned her head on his shoulder again, comforted by being up close to him. “Don’t think I’m not flattered, because I am,” she said quietly, trying hard not to spoil the mood. “But only one pony walks out of that arena, and I don’t want to get too close to you. I just wish you’d told me sooner.”

Thunderlane laughed gently at this. “I’d never have plucked up the courage if it wasn’t for us being here. I just wish we had more time.”

Twilight looked up at him, muzzles almost touching. “I guess that makes the time we have left all the more precious.”

Needing no more invitation, he leaned in to kiss her. Ecstasy flew as their lips met, and all their troubles faded away to insignificance in the beauty of the moment. They stood still on the balcony, lips locked tightly together in tender embrace.

“Ahem.”

The pair backed away from each other in fright, turning to face a smartly-dressed Lightning Dust, stood at the top of the stairs with a sheepish ‘is this a bad time?’ look on her face.

“We’re ready to head downstairs now.”

Twilight and Thunderlane both nodded, and followed her at a distance, in hopes of finding some closure before the end of the night.

“Thunderlane, I…”

“Don’t need to say anything. I just hope that was as good for you as it was for me.”

Twilight resigned herself to a simple nod, holding back tears as to not spoil her make-up.

“Just promise me one thing. We don’t mention this in the arena.”

“What?” Twilight asked, bewildered as to why he would want to keep this a secret.

“Those Capitol ponies took everything dear to me. If I’m to die for them, I want to go down with one thing they’ll never know. One thing they'll never be able to take from me.”

Twilight smiled, nodding in agreement. “Nopony will know. Isn’t that right, Lightning Dust?” she added, speaking up slightly for the question.

Lightning Dust didn’t even need to turn around. She just gave a simple nod, before adding in a “nopony,” to swear herself to secrecy.

Twilight leant her head on Thunderlane’s shoulder again, an action they both seemed to like, as they approached the elevator doors. All she wanted was more time with him, but among many other things she dearly wanted, this was a luxury she could not afford.

Author's Note:

Short one tonight, just been busy with irl stuffs today. I wanted Thunderlane to open his heart on this one, so Twilight can see his real feelings for her.

If I get time, I'll be releasing the interviews chapter later tonight.

Kthnxbai!

<3

Comments

[Da_Spy]

Yay!

[MemoryLane]

o3o dem feelings

[Neonz]

It's like the opposite of Peeta and Katniss, cause with them (or Katniss at least) it was just for the show.

That makes it sadder. :(

[Namara]

Feels. Feels everywhere.

[Pyromaniac]

*Sniffles* This is... awwwwww, the love that will never be.

[Eighth Note]

awwww

[nickyboy]

The love that, thanks to the capitol, *glares at discord* will never get to grow.