Chapter VI: The Parade
Twilight was bewildered. Not ten minutes earlier, she was stepping off the train, Thunderlane at her side. The train had been modern, luxurious, and above all, cosy. But now, she was sat on an examining table, alone, in a small, chilly room with bland concrete walls. She had followed Lightning Dust’s instructions, following her to the car. The car had then driven swiftly through the streets, as entire roads had been closed off by Peacekeepers to allow them through, eventually arriving at the spiral shaped building she had seen from the train. Upon arrival, Thunderlane had been taken off elsewhere, whilst she was taken to the room in which she sat.
Her silent contemplation of the situation was soon interrupted as the door opened, and in stepped a very well dressed Stallion. His coat was one of a faint blue, and his light gray mane sat in a neat bob, with a single ponytail drooped over his shoulder. Twilight smiled uneasily at him, as he closed the door and sat down on a chair in front of the table, remaining in total silence the entire time. He took off his purple sunglasses, and sat in silence, just looking at Twilight.
“Errr, hi,” Twilight said quietly, hoping that the rest of the Capitol Ponies weren't this creepy. She wasn't sure how much more she could take.
“I saw the footage of you at the reaping,” he said, his upper class accent resounding aggressively in Twilight’s ears. “I’m going to assume that was your brother who took the beating.”
Twilight nodded gently, before staring down to the floor. She couldn't seem to maintain eye contact with anypony talking about Shining Armor. Then, to her surprise, he reached out, taking her hoof in his, simply holding it in support.
“My name is Hoity Toity,” he said gently. “Please don’t think that a name like this means I act in any way like those snobs out there. Those ponies are too posh to fart.”
Twilight smirked slightly. She’d always thought Capitol ponies would never stoop to talk about bodily actions in such a vulgar way.
He tilted his head slightly, looking at her with a wide smile.
“You look divine when you smile.” The compliment caught Twilight off guard, and the smile faded away instantly.
“Please,” he said, looking deep into her eyes. “Keep smiling.”
Twilight obliged. He stood up, putting his sunglasses on, and started walking around her in circles, just looking at her. Twilight kept wearing the smile, as he had asked, and every time he reached the front, she noticed he was still grinning.
“The Capitol has assigned to me the role as your stylist,” he said, continuing to walk circles around her. “My role will be not only to help you with your wardrobe, but every aspect of your public appearances over the next fed days. This role starts now, as in less than an hour, you and the other 23 tributes will be paraded around the streets, and shown to the public.”
He reached the front of her, and sat back down again.
“I met with the other stylists this morning, and we all agreed that the wardrobe each tribute will wear for the parade should reflect the primary industry of your district. In fact, we intend for this to become tradition with the tribute parades.”
He walked over to a control panel near the door, and tapped a few buttons on it. A panel on the wall behind Twilight slid away, revealing a TV as she turned to face it.
“You guys really love these hidden TV’s,” Twilight said quietly, wondering how many other walls she’d walked past in the last few days had TV’s hidden in them.
Hoity Toity smiled, as he pressed another button to start a clip rolling on the screen. Twilight cringed. It was the reaping, just as her name had been called, complete with Fancy Pants’ voice-over and the laughter of the studio audience. The cruel laughter burrowed into her head, bouncing around endlessly, seeming never to fade, never to soothe. This would have made an effective torture method, she thought to herself.
The clip cut out as Shining Armor started to push his way into the crowd, and the panel whirred back into place, hiding the TV once again. Twilight turned back around to face Hoity Toity, who had sat down on the chair again.
“I don’t blame you, you know,” he said, taking off his glasses again. “Given what you’re about to do. The enormity of everything. I can’t say I wouldn't have fainted if my name had been called. When the Capitol audience see that footage, you know what they see?”
Twilight just sat there in silence, the sounds of laughter still resonating in her head.
“They see weakness,” he said bluntly. “And if they see a Tribute display such a sign of weakness, what do you suppose the chances are of them spending their money to sponsor said Tribute?”
Again, Twilight remained silent, hanging her head. Hoity reached a hoof over, lifting her chin slightly so he could make eye contact.
“Not good,” she almost whispered.
“Correct,” was the response, as he let go of her chin. “But when I saw you smile just now, I didn't see weakness. Not even a little bit. My job is to make the Capitol ponies see what I just saw. Not to overlook you.”
“And how are you gonna do that?” Twilight asked hopefully.
To this, Hoity Toity just responded with a large grin.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Twilight and Thunderlane stood together, in a large dressing room with racks upon racks of clothes for any occasion, looking at themselves in a large mirror. To put it simply, they were dressed in coal miners jumpsuits. However, they had been 'roughed up' so to speak, being ripped and torn in multiple places, to make them look rugged. Coal dust had been rubbed onto the clothes, as well as into the coats and manes of the ponies, making them look even more rugged, as if fresh from a bountiful mining trip. Granted, this was an effect that was hard to spot on Thunderlane with his dark coat, so they had rubbed extra into his silvery mane to balance it out. Both of them had been given equally 'roughed up' mining helmets, complete with working torches, as well as some rubber pickaxes. Thunderlane’s stylist, an oddly dressed mare who introduced herself as Photo Finish, explained that the pickaxes had been covered in a chrome coating, and then rubbed with coal dust. The effect was two very realistic looking pickaxes, which both tributes adopted the stance of holding the handle with their hooves, while resting the pick end over their shoulders.
They were stunned as they looked each other up and down in the mirror. Each had reacted similarly when informed of this fashion choice, both completely unaware of what the end result would actually look like. Most of the tributes had been dressed-to-impress, dressed in the fanciest clothing imaginable, while remaining relevant to their district. By comparison, Twilight and Thunderlane looked a lot more 'devil-may-care', whilst achieving a new effect. They looked striking, and brutal. Under Hoity Toity’s instruction, they both stood up straight, while bearing strong facial expressions, with a faint smile. The two stylists backed away and admired their work, as above anything, Twilight and Thunderlane just looked intimidating.
“Worlds away from the mare who fainted yesterday,” Hoity said proudly.
“Yes,” added Photo Finish, almost distantly. “The pair of you look so striking, so daring, so dangerous! Me and Hoity, we have worked da magics indeed!”
Lightning Dust walked in, having to blink and rub her eyes, as if what she saw initially was a mere illusion that rubbing her eyes could fix.
“Wow. You guys look awesome!” she gushed, before walking circles around the pair, taking in every detail of their appearance. “Seriously, Photo, Hoity, great job to both of you”
The endless stream of compliments was soon interrupted by a series of horns sounded over various loudspeakers.
“I say,” Hoity exclaimed. “That’s the two minute warning! Quick, let’s get you to the carriages.”
The group walked swiftly out of the dressing room, down a corridor, and into a large atrium. The room was full on panicked ponies with headsets, scurrying around to attend to last moment details. Twelve chariots were lined up, each with a pair of Avoxes stood like statues at the reigns. Twilight noted several of the ponies snickering as she walked past. As she walked along, she heard a pony on one of the chariots behind her shouting.
“Hey dusty, gonna faint again?” a pony somewhere the front of the line shouted out, before most the tributes burst out in varying degrees of laughter.
Twilight ignored the snide comment and kept walking. She kept her eyes straight ahead, but her peripheral vision betrayed to her some disturbing things about the other Tributes in the Chariots. The stallion from District 3 for example, looked as skinny as a rake, not fighting material by any stretch of the imagination. The mare from District 5, a small orange Pegasus with a purple mane, was more of a filly than a mare. The stallion from District 9 was huge, his red coat and orange mane seemed to be barely holding in his muscle. And finally, the mare from District 10, the yellow Pegasus, was shaking uncontrollably, and seemed to only be still on the chariot because her fellow tribute was holding her hoof in comfort.
As soon as they reached their chariot at the back of the queue, the doors at the front of the line slowly swung open, and the Avoxes pulling the chariots began to march with almost military precision. Twilight and Thunderlane quickly adopted the stances they’d practiced, gave a wave to Photo, Hoity, and Lightning, and squinted as the darkness of the atrium they were in was replaced by bright spotlights lined in the city streets.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Good evening Equestria! Fancy Pants here, and I am speaking to you live from the bustling streets of the Capitol where we are awaiting the chariots to depart from the Training center, so we can get our first look at the lucky tributes who will be competing in our first ever Equestria Games! What’s that? Okay, I've just been informed that the chariots are now proceeding onto the streets! Let’s switch over to the cameras on scene down there, and get our first proper look at the courageous young ponies.”
The first chariot bore two unicorns, both with white coats. The stallion stood proud and tall in a hand stitched tuxedo, his blonde mane gelled and styled backwards. The mare next to him sat at his shoulder height, her long purple mane styled into a fashionable bob. She wore a magenta gown, encrusted with exquisite gems, her hooves graced with slippers made of carved diamond.
“And there are our tributes from District 1, Blueblood and Rarity. District 1 manufactures most of the luxury items we use here in the Capitol, so their elegant wardrobe choice is a perfect compliment to the role of their district.”
The next chariot bore two vastly different occupants, both being pegasi for a start. The stallion bore a black coat and a black mane too. His eyes were piercing, an icy blue that contrasted hugely with the rest of his body. He was clothed in centurion armour, a bronze chest plate and a plumed helmet that rose high above his head. The mare beside him was much more colourful, with a cyan coat and a vibrant mane traversing blue to red on the color spectrum. She stood at eye level with the stallion, and was dressed near identically, only her helmet had, instead of an actual plume, a long thin gap to let some of her mane through, giving her helmet a plume effect that showed off the technicolor mane nicely.
“There we have District 2, represented by Nighteye and Rainbow Dash. District 2 runs the masonry and weapons production for all of Equestria, as well as being the training hub for our Peacekeepers, which the centurion costumes are a nice homage to.”
Behind them came a unicorn and an earth pony. The stallion, who was only one by anatomical definition, not by size or strength, was a pale grey earth pony, with a combed brown mane. His body was thin and frail looking, and his face was tragically losing the teenage battle to acne. A thick rimmed pair of glasses sat on top of a long thin muzzle, graced at the end with buck teeth. The unicorn mare sat next to him was vastly different, being taller and better built, with a cream colored coat, and a light brown mane that matched her eyes. The pair were dressed in silver suits, decorated with wires around the outside, attaching the various parts of the suits at joints, with fake circuit boards connecting the wires together.
“And from District 3 we have Gizmo and Pyro. District 3 is the main producer of electrical items, so I’m going to guess the costumes are meant to be some kind of pony-android imitation job. The circuit boards are a nice touch there.”
Following them came a pegasus and an earth pony. The pegasus stallion was shorter than the mare, and bore a light blue coat. His mane was red with a darker shade of blue running down it in thick stripes. The mare sat next to him was taller, with a bright pink coat. Her mane was a slightly darker shade of pink and was long and frizzy, the kind of mane anypony may get after receiving an electric shock. The ponies both wore aqua blue tunics, and each stood with one hoof holding a trident.
“From District 4, we have Fire Work and Pinkie Pie. District 4, if the costumes aren't a giveaway, is the coastal district used as the main fishing hub. Those tridents are fake, fillies and gentlecolts, so don’t worry.”
Behind them came two more pegasi. The stallion was very short, with a dark red coat and a cropped black mane. The mare was, well, the filly Twilight had noticed earlier. She was at shoulder height with her fellow Tribute, her coat a bright orange, with a spiked purple mane. The two ponies, due to their vertical disadvantage, were resting their hooves on the front of the chariot, putting all their weight on the back hooves. The result of this was them both just barely being able to see the road in front. They were dressed identically, in long silver robes covered in golden flecks.
“And just peeking over the top of the chariot from District 5, we have Clockwork Dawn and Scootaloo. They may be short, but District 5 gives power to all of Equestria, so don’t underestimate them. If they’re anything like the district, they’ll be small but powerful too.”
After them came a unicorn and an earth pony. The unicorn stallion stood tall, with a plain white coat. His mane was short and black, and his eyes were a bright shade of red. The mare alongside him was quite a sight. She was an Earth Pony, but she appeared to be a half zebra. Her coat was lime green, with orange stripes at regular intervals, and her spiky mane was a pale shad of purple, becoming a dark purple at the tips. The two were dressed in oily looking mechanics overalls, and both looked a little unhappy at the wardrobe choice.
“Hailing from District 6, we have Cube Twister and Limerick. Their fashion choices are interesting to say the least, but District 6 is the base of Transportation, so if you have a car, you can thank them for it.”
The chariot behind held a pegasus and a unicorn. The pegasus stallion was tall, with a light blue coat. His mane was white and spiky, fading to black nearer the tips. The unicorn was aqua blue, with a long white mane that jumped between white and a greyscale blue. They wore dark brown tunics, and headdresses elaborately decorated with a wide variety of leaves.
“And there they are from District 7, we have Papercraft and Lyra. District 7 is the center for Lumber and Paper industries, so you can quite easily guess the inspiration for their lovely outfits.”
Then came a chariot bearing two more pegasi. The stallion was, to put it simply, not a stallion. In fact, he was most likely the same age as the Pegasus from District 5. He was small, even for his age, and stood on spindly legs that looked weak and brittle. His coat was white, and his mane was a light brown, matching his eyes. His small face ended in a pointy muzzle with buck teeth, which earned him some adoration from the Capitol audience. The mare next to him stood much taller, with a sky blue coat. Her wild mane contrasted navy and sky blue, and stood tall like a wildfire. They both wore large tunics, hanging from which a variety of materials in a mismatch of colors hung randomly, looking less of the retro effect that was intended, but more of a giant multi-hued mess.
“From District 8 we have Featherweight and Blue Streak. Don’t laugh at the wardrobe everypony, even if they did bring the whole thing with them. District 8 provides Textiles for all of Equestria, so if it wasn’t for them, none of us would even have a wardrobe.”
Following them came what looked like, judging by the strained faces of the Avoxes, the heaviest Chariot, holding two earth ponies. The source of this exhaustion was likely the stallion. He was tall and muscular, barely able to fit on the chariot with his partner. His red coat bulged with the muscles underneath, and his orange mane blew gently in the night breeze. His partner, desperately holding onto the chariot for fear of being accidentally pushed off, stood a whole head shorter. Her whole body was purple, her coat the lightest shade, mane the darkest shade, and her eyes bridged the gap between the two shades. The two ponies wore orange robes, each adorned with crystals stitched into the fabric in strict rows.
“From District 9, we have Big McIntosh and Berry Punch. District 9 provides Grain for all of us, hence the intricate rows that you can see stitched into their robes. I tell you what everypony, after seeing the big guy there, I don’t envy any of the other tributes right now, knowing they’ll soon have to face him in the arena.”
Following them was an earth pony and a pegasus. The earth pony stallion had a light amber coat, with a medium brown mane parted down the middle, and he was still holding the hoof of his fellow tribute. The pegasus mare had a yellow coat, with a long pink mane that fell down past her face, nearly reaching the floor, and she was still shaking uncontrollably, hiding her head down in the chariot.
“Well it seems one of our tributes from District 10 has stage fright. Here we have Caramel and Fluttershy, straight from the main hub of Livestock. Enjoy your eggs in the morning? Well, they were laid in one of District 10’s industrial sized chicken coops.”
The penultimate chariot held a pegasus and an earth pony. The pegasus stallion was tall and thin, with a pale red coat. His mane was long and blonde, striped with gentle shades of pink. The mare next to him had an orange coat, and a long blonde mane tied with a scrunchie at the end. The pair both wore farmers overalls, and the mare still wore the Stetson that Twilight had noticed during the recap of the reapings.
“From District 11 we have Apple Cloud and Applejack. The Apple family makes up a huge part of District 11’s population, so it’s an unfortunate coincidence that two of them have to end up in the arena together. District 11 is the hub of Agriculture, so all your favorite apple related foods, apple fritters, apple pie, apple cider, all of it comes from there.”
“And finally at the back, from District 12, we have Thunderlane and Twilight Sparkle. She’s the one who fainted at the reaping, but she looks so much more aggressive in those miners overalls its almost implausible that she’s the same pony. District 12 provides Coal for all of us, so you can thank them for the times you gather round the fireplace with your family on a cold night.”
“There we are! 12 chariots, 24 tributes, all parading through the streets of our fine city. We’ll keep the cameras rolling on them, and when they return to the Training center, we’ll be treated to a speech from the President himself.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Twilight was getting tired of the parade. They’d been going through the streets for about half an hour, and maintaining the 'Smile and Wave' act was becoming tiring, especially in the bitter cold of the night air. She was almost relieved when they turned the corner, revealing they were arriving back at the Training Center. Then she noticed a platform above the doors they had come out, and only a few figures stood there. She figured a prestigious event like this needed a VIP box.
“Nearly done,” said Thunderlane, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Thank Celestia,” Twilight added. “May she rest in peace.”
Thunderlane nodded in agreement. To their surprise, instead of going straight back in through the doors, the chariots where lining up in a formation, semi-circling around the giant doors. When they were all lined up, Twilight looked up, craning her neck as she did so, and was just able to make out a figure above the doors walking up to a microphone stand.
“Greetings, my little ponies,” boomed the speakers all around the city. “Tributes, Equestria looks to you, and thanks you for your bravery, and for your sacrifice.”
Twilight squinted, and managed to make out some of the features of the figure addressing them. The figure was disfigured to say the least. He appeared to Twilight to be the horrific result of some cross species experiment. His entire body was a confusing mishmash of random animal parts. Twilight could barely register what her eyes were telling her.
“I am President Discord. And I wish a very happy first Equestria Games to all.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.039 seconds
Total duration
959 users online
493,022 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks for putting me and my friend's OC
2203446
I suddenly understand exactly how Celestia felt in that scene.
Yes. Yes! Yes!? YES! YES!!!
GO FIREWORK!
I better not see a single scratch on my baby
At least not in the beginning. He's stronger than he looks 
Gah! Now I must draw Pyro's costume.
I want Blueblood to die first, make him suffer.
2193051 It would sound interesting.
If it wasn't the 40,000,000,000,000th story on the site to have the same premise.
Not to mention -- and I don't think I'm the only one who thinks this -- the Hunger Games isn't exactly the most unique, amazing premise in the first place. A tournament where kids have to fight? Crazy. It's as if that hasn't already been done... a lot.
Maybe the story's good, but the description just sounds like "The Hunger Games... but with ponies instead of humans", which isn't as much of a fan fic as just taking the main characters of one semi-decent story and replacing them with ponies.
thank you so much for putting my OC in your great story!
2205470
That is a fair point, I'll be honest. And there are a few other stories on this site with this exact same plot (Storyline, don't be having a dirty mind now).
However, I am making a fair effort to give my story at least some unique selling points. First and foremost, the games held in this story are the 1st "Hunger Games", which allows me to write about the characters, in and out of the arena, and how they react emotionally, given that this is the first time they are going through the event, and the war that led to District 13 being destroyed, and the peace treaty being signed, is still fresh in their memories. Also this means I get a new story at the end, without it being a complete copy of the first book, with Katniss scribbled out and Twilight written crudely in its place.
Secondly, I am trying to give the characters non-canon back stories, based on what District they come from, how the war would have effected them, etc. A good example of this is the 2nd part of Twilight's dream sequence in Chapter 4, which is meant to be a recollection of actual events that she experienced during the war.
Basically, yes it is Hunger Games with Ponies instead of Kids. But I am trying hard to write it in a way that the two Universes fit together in a way that makes sense. If you haven't read it, please just try the first chapter and see what you make of it. You may enjoy it and carry on reading. If you did read it, I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy it.
Either way, thank you for your time. Constructive criticism helps a lot.
What about Big Mac?? Isn't he part of the Apple family??
2207143
I think my thought process for this was that Big Mac is, in this story, one of Applejack's distant distant family, the kind that live in another country (or District) altogether, and you never really meet. This could make for a sweet moment in the Arena where they realize the relation, but I won't go into specifics right now.
President Discord!!!
!! Can't believe I didn't see that coming!!
Great story but shouln't the Capitol be Canterlot instead?
wait, papercraft...
that'ssssssssss meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I cant believe you didnt set them on flames or something like that... D: oh well xD
Well... That was unexpected.
I honestly expected either king sombra or queen chrysalis to take the place of president snow.
Discord 3016!
2205470 yeah but this one has the best rating, so It must be better that the rest, maybe it noit the first but i think and everyone else think it was done the best.
nooooooooo big mac wouldn't hurt a fly
I love this story!!!!! I bet on Blue Streak and Cube Twister!!!!!!!!!