"Her mane is so soft!" The earth pony with the light green coat pulled a brush gently through Fluttershy's pink mane. "Just imagine what we could do with some styling gel..."
"And these wings!" another stylist exclaimed in a high pitched Canterlot accent, flipping her mane out of her eyes. "So elegant!"
"I think she's ready." said a pale cream mare. "Photo Finish will see her now."
"Photo who?" Fluttershy asked, but the stylists were already gone. She was left by herself in the large, empty styling room. She sighed and sat down on the floor, glad to have a moment to herself. Ever since she'd gotten off the train, she had been surrounded by pony after pony, all excited to see the pony that had volunteered for the tiny filly.
The door flew open, and a fabulous mare burst into the room. "Photo Finish has arrived." she said dramatically. She wore a striped black and white dress, with a pink scarf and large round pink glasses. Her white mane swished back and forth as she strode purposefully over to Fluttershy, who stood.
"H-hello." she said.
"And you are Flootershy?"
"Well, um, it's Fluttershy, but-"
"Enough talk. Ve work!" She began circling Fluttershy, examining her wings and mane. "Gold is no good." Photo Finish said to herself. "Ve must have silver!" She circled her a few more times, then left the room with a flourish, returning mere seconds later with the stylists.
A few hours later, Fluttershy was dressed in the flashiest, most attention-grabbing dress that she'd ever worn. Thousands of small silver quills covered her body, with holes for her forelegs and wings. A circlet of silver circlet crowned her head, and strings of silver feathers were braided loosely into her mane. Ever time she moved, the light shimmered and reflected off of her in all directions. She felt like a living disco ball.
"Flootershy, ze mare zat shined all over Paneighm!" Photo Finish exclaimed.
The stylists escorted Fluttershy down to the bottom level of the remake center, where the chariots were being prepared. The stallions standing ready to pull Ponyville's chariot were gray, with black manes.
Fluttershy caught sight of Caramel and trotted over to her fellow tribute. His costume consisted of a suit made entirely of a silvery material, and a matching silver hat with a quill sticking out of it.
"Wow." he said, glancing over her dress. "And I thought my outfit was over the top. Nopony will even notice me with you in that getup."
"How wonderful." Fluttershy said, a bit sarcastically. She hadn't asked for all of this attention, after all. And what was the point? She'd be one of the first to die in the arena, anyway.
Rainbow Dash trotted over from the other side of the room, stopping next to Fluttershy and Caramel. "You see the tributes from the Cloudsdale district?"
They followed her gaze to see two tributes dressed in matching white outfits. The edges of their costumes were lined with large cotton balls, probably to represent clouds.
"Be careful of those two. They're careers, so they've been training for this their whole lives. Don't associate with them."
Fluttershy nodded slowly and continued to gaze at the Cloudsdale tributes. The mare had a yellow coat and fiery orange hair that was gelled permanently into a windswept style. The stallion had a dark blue mane in a similar style, with a pale blue coat. Both ponies were pegasi, of course.
Fluttershy's attention was diverted as an official-looking unicorn with her mane in a tight bun marched to the middle of the room. "All chariots, line up by district," she announced, magically amplifying her voice so all the tributes could hear her.
The grey stallions, already hooked up to the chariot, trotted to the back of the line, Ponyville being the 12th district. As Fluttershy followed them, she noticed the Cloudsdale tributes already standing proudly in their pearly white chariot in the middle of the line.
Fluttershy flapped her wings lightly, hovering just high enough to land lightly on the chariot. Caramel stepped on beside her, being an earth pony, and she moved to the right to make room.
Rarity looked up at the pair from the ground. "Don't forget to smile!" she called. "And spread your wings out, dear. It looks better that way."
Obediently, Fluttershy opened her feathers and placed her hooves on the rim of the chariot, holding tight so as not to fall off of the back.
The doors began to open, and cheers flooded the room as the crowd caught sight of the tributes. The Crystal Empire chariot began to roll forwards, and the chaotic noise got even louder.
Fluttershy took a few deep breaths, trying not to imagine the thousands of ponies that would be watching her every move in a few mere minutes.
"Do you think they'll like us?" Caramel asked Fluttershy in a hushed tone.
"I-I sure hope so." she responded. "We won't get many sponsors if they don't." They both watched as the chariot in front of them began to move.
"Looks like we're next," Caramel said, and the chariot jolted forwards as the stallions began to walk. Fluttershy held her breath as they crossed the threshold.
Both tributes were suddenly blinded by a few dozen spotlights, and the entire audience yelled and stamped their hooves in approval. Fluttershy glanced down at her dress, amazed at how the light reflected off the silver quills in a fantastic display of shimmering splendor.
Photo Finish must have had connections, because over half of the spotlights were focused on Caramel and Fluttershy. Mostly Fluttershy.
She looked up at the crowd of ponies, all yelling her name, and felt like hiding under a rock. Of course, hiding wouldn't get her very many sponsors, and if she survived past the first day, sponsors could mean the difference between life and death. So, instead ducking down in the chariot's bed, Fluttershy lifted her wings even higher and smiled.
The chariot ride only lasted for about five minutes, but if felt like hours. Finally, when her cheeks had just begun to hurt from smiling, they reached the end of the road and slowly came to a stop.
"Tributes," Celestia stood on the castle balcony, her mane flowing behind her as she looked more imposing than ever before. "Welcome." She looked over the twelve different chariots, and Fluttershy wondered if she cared that twenty three of them would be dead within the month.
"Happy Hunger Games!" Princess Celestia exclaimed. "And may the odds," she grinned. "be ever in your favor."
She went on to give a short speech about how the games had evolved to form an integral part of the culture of Paneighm. Fluttershy couldn't help but notice how she didn't mention anything about the districts.
Celestia ended her speech and stepped back to watch as the chariots resumed their circuit around the city. Fluttershy smiled even bigger this time and even waved once or twice. The spotlights were trained on her the entire time, and the audience couldn't seem to take their eyes off of her.
Fluttershy glanced at one of the screens above her and saw a gorgeous mare in a blinding outfit. She felt a small twinge of jealousy for the mare before she realized that it was herself. The beautiful pegasus onscreen blinked in surprise before resuming her confident grin.
Finally, the chariots reached the end of their route. Fluttershy and Caramel both breathed sighs of relief as the doors of the training center closed behind them.
"VUNDERFUL!" Photo Finish walked towards Fluttershy with purposeful strides. "Ze press is going crazy over your performance. Now, for ze interview dress I am going to need four yards of seelver silk..." She wandered off to find the other stylists.
"So..." Caramel said. "The mare that shined across Paneighm, huh?"
"It's really kind of silly..." Fluttershy said softly.
"I think it's cool." He smiled encouragingly. "They'll be talking about you for years now."
She smiled back and stepped off of the chariot. It occurred to her the Caramel was being nice. Maybe a little bit too nice. After all, he'd never even acknowledged her before the reaping. Was this just a result of them being a tribute pair? Or did he have a bigger plan in mind, one that would extend to the arena? The thought shook her a little, and she watched him as he jumped down from the chariot.
Only one pony survives The Pony Games, Fluttershy thought. Once we're in the arena, the only pony I can trust is myself.
And that thought completely and utterly terrified her.