It took Fluttershy nearly an hour to carefully carry/drag Babs to the nearest stream, and another half an hour to clean and bandage her wound, using a similar leaf to the one wrapped around her own ankle. Finally, satisfied that her ally was going to be all right, she dipped her long mane in the stream, then slowly and surely wrung it out over Babs' face.
The filly sputtered, her eyes fluttering open. "What the- where am I?"
"Oh, thank Celestia!" Fluttershy couldn't help herself; she was so overcome with relief that she leaned down and enveloped Babs in a loose hug.
"Hey, hey! Mind the-" she stopped short and stared down at her own chest, where a carefully wrapped bandage covered any sign of the injury. "Did you do this?"
Fluttershy nodded. "Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?"
"You wouldn't have wanted an alliance. Heck, if it had been anypony else, I'da been dead by now." Babs sighed.
Fluttershy looked at the filly, her eyes full of worry. "Who did that to you?"
Babs looked down. "It was my fault. I was stupid. I thought I could nab a pack fulla stuff from the Corna- the Corna-"
"The Cornucopia?"
"Yeah, that thing. Anyways, it weighed me down a bunch, and I was cornered by this big angry-lookin unicorn stallion. He cut me pretty good, and I had to leave my pack and run away. I'd just found a place ta hide when those wolf things showed up."
Fluttershy remembered something from the day before. "That was you calling for help, wasn't it?"
"So what if it was?" Babs said quickly, suddenly on the defensive. "I coulda handled it by myself. I just- I just got a little scared, is all."
Fluttershy smiled sympathetically. "Everypony gets scared. It's not-"
Babs slapped a hoof over her mouth suddenly, and Fluttershy fell silent, startled by the filly's abruptness. She looked at her, hoping for an explanation, but her eyes were fixed on the sky.
Fluttershy followed her gaze to see two flying shapes, merely silouettes against the bright sun. The Cloudsdale tributes didn't pause or look down as they flew directly overhead the two allies.
All of the sudden, the blast of a cannon reverberated throughout the forest. The two pegasi stopped swiftly, their wings flapping to keep them aloft. One of them said something to the other, and, with only the briefest hesitation, both ponies shot off in opposite directions.
After waiting to ascertain that they were truly gone, Fluttershy let herself breathe once more.
"That was too close," Babs whispered.
Fluttershy nodded. "We got lucky. They didn't see us."
"Who do you think..." Babs trailed off.
"I- I try not to think about it."
"Okay." Babs looked at the forest floor for a second. "I'm hungry."
"There's plenty of grass." Fluttershy replied.
"Yeah... But..." Babs sighed. "I'm allergic."
"To grass?" Fluttershy had to suppress a giggle.
"I'll just go get some dandelions." Babs said, struggling to get to her hooves. "I saw some back by my tree." She grunted with pain and effort, and her legs began to shake as the pain of her injury spread throughout her tiny body. With a groan, Babs collapsed to the ground.
Fluttershy immediately rushed to her side, helping the filly into a more comfortable position and adjusting her bandage. "I'll get them for you." she assured her.
"But what if somepony comes? How'm I gonna defend myself?"
Fluttershy thought for a moment. She trotted back to the stream bed and picked up a few large stones, rolling them over to where Babs lay. "You can still throw from where you're sitting, can't you?"
Babs nodded. "Don't take too long," she said.
Fluttershy smiled and turned, remembering the direction of the hollow tree.
The walk was surprisingly easy, without the task of dragging Babs over roots and branches on the forest floor. Fluttershy found herself squinting up at the brilliant sun overhead, enjoying the warmth it gave her. After a moment of peaceful stillness, she blinked away the spots in her eyes and turned her gaze to the tree in front of her.
The smell reached her nostrils before her vision had fully cleared. The acrid smell of smoke made her nose wrinkle, and soon the taste of ash filled her mouth.
The tree... the tree was blackened and burnt, still smoldering from the fire that had consumed it. Surrounding it, in a perfect circle, was blackened earth and charred branches, each and every twig and leaf reduced to ash.
This had been no natural fire. Around the scarred area, leafy green and brilliant flowers covered the tall, unscorched trees. The Gameponies were behind it, Fluttershy knew. But why would they-
It was then that she spotted them. Hidden among the soot and smoke, they now stood out like a sore thumb. Carcasses. Tiny, blackened squirrels, with tails smoking. Charred birds, their outstretched wings looking so tiny without their feathers. The animals had returned to the tree, hoping that Fluttershy would come back. This was her fault. All her fault.
Fluttershy shut her eyes before she could take in any more. Those animals, so delicate and innocent, all dead. The message from the Gameponies was clear: no animal friends allowed.
Without warning, the death toll of another tribute boomed throughout the entire arena. Even now, the number of dead rose. Nine tributes were dead, not to mention the number of animals that had lost their lives.
She couldn't take it anymore. Fluttershy looked down on the charred earth, and her eyes burned with both anger and sorrow. She gritted her teeth, feeling her own rage begin to boil inside of her. All of this death. When would it stop? After somepony had been declared the victor? No. It would keep going, for years and years. Death after death. Game after game.
Without another thought, Fluttershy threw her head back and screamed. She screamed for the tributes, for the animals, and for herself. Her high-pitched voice carried through the trees, and even after she stopped, echoes of it still rang throughout the arena.
Eyes widening, Fluttershy realized what she'd done. She'd practically thrown up a flare, alerting every tribute within a few miles that she was there. Without hesitation, she grabbed a few dandelions in her mouth and dove into a large bush, wincing as a few sharp branches dug into her belly. She parted a small section of leaves and peered through, waiting for the inevitable tributes to arrive.
It was only moments later that a light blue stallion dived into the clearing, opening his wings at the last minute to land. Fluttershy recognized him as Soarin, one of the Cloudsdale tributes. He had a huge sword gripped in his teeth, and a steely look in his eyes.
It wasn't long before Spitfire landed next to him. She glanced around with hatred in her eyes, and Fluttershy froze, not daring to move for fear the sound of rustling leaves would alert them to her presence.
"Do the Baltimare tributes still have the Cornucopia?" Spitfire asked her partner.
Soarin set the sword on the ground. "Yeah," he replied. "But I couldn't find the mare anywhere."
"She's probably hiding in a comfy cave somewhere." She scoffed. "Those two think they're so much better than us, just because they have magic."
Soarin smirked. "It'll be satisfying to watch them die."
Spitfire rolled her eyes and opened her wings. "Come on, there's no one here. Let's circle a few times and get going."
He picked up his sword and nodded. Both pegasi took off into the sky and disappeared from view.
Fluttershy relaxed her muscles, the dandelions still clenched in her teeth. She checked the skies one more time, then the surrounding forest. Nopony else had materialized. Turning, she jumped out of the bush and galloped in the direction of the stream.
Babs was waiting for her when she arrived.
"What happened?" The filly demanded. "I heard a scream and then I saw that mare tribute from Cloudsdale fly over and I was worried about you and I didn't know if you were alive or dead and-"
"Relax." Fluttershy said coolly, after dropping her dandelions on the ground in front of Babs. "I'm fine."
"Oh." She looked down at the dandelions. "That's all you found?"
"It was... all I had time for." Fluttershy realized that she was hungry as well, and she bent down to tear a few blades of grass from the ground.
"What happened?"
Fluttershy chewed her grass slowly before swallowing. "There was a fire. The Gameponies- they burned the tree that I hid in."
"Why would they do that?" Babs asked.
Fluttershy sighed and looked at her friend. "Before you came- before the timberwolves showed up, I made some friends."
"Other tributes?" She looked concerned. "Who were they, and which-"
"They weren't tributes." Fluttershy interrupted. "They were animals."
"Animals? I don't understand."
"I... I can talk to animals. It's a... special talent of mine." She looked down at her cutie mark, three pink butterflies.
"Some talent." Babs acknowledged. "But what does that have to do with the fire?"
"The animals that I befriended... they're all... all..." Fluttershy felt tears in her eyes.
"Go on." Babs coaxed. "You can tell me."
"They're all dead." Fluttershy said, her voice barely a whisper. And with those three words, her mental resolve broke down.Warm salty liquid ran down the sides of her face, and she sobbed for all she was worth.
Babs sat there, not sure how to respond to this. After a moment, she reached over with her hoof and patted Fluttershy on the back. "It's okay." She said. "It's all going to be okay."
"Looky what I found. Two little fillies, crying for mommy."
Fluttershy whipped around to face a purple-coated mare with a turquoise mane. She had a jeweled piercing through her muzzle and a haughty look in her eyes. A blue amulet encircled her throat, probably taken from the Cornucopia.
"Nice job, Violet. Looks like this one just got her cutie mark last week." A stallion stepped out of the trees behind the mare, his spiked yellow mane a stark contrast to his dark brown coat. He gazed at Fluttershy for a moment.
"Any weapons?" Violet circled the pair in a wide circle.
"Not that I can see." The stallion glanced over at Fluttershy again. "Is she with the other pegasi?"
The mare scoffed. "This wimp? I've never even seen her fly. There's no way they'd want her as an ally."
The stallion nodded, still eying Fluttershy's wings nervously. Something told her that he'd had a bad experience with a different pegasus pony. "I'll take the filly." He said.
Violet sighed. "Fine. Make it quick, though. We don't want her to scream for long."
The stallion turned his attention towards Babs, taking a few menacing steps towards the seemingly defenseless earth pony. "C'mere, little one. Don't worry, I'm not gonna-"
"Gonna what? Hurt me?" Babs leapt to her hooves, her injury suddenly forgotten. The stallion stepped forward, but she raced around him, kicking him between the hind legs, right where it counts. He let out a squeak and fell to the ground. "You'll pay for that," he croaked at Babs.
"Doubt it." She said bluntly.
The other tribute, Violet, flipped her hair out of her eyes and growled in anger. "Now you're gonna get it." She closed her eyes and the amulet around her neck began to glow a deep purple.
Babs' eyes widened, and she stared in fascination at the amulet. It was probably the first time she'd ever seen an earth pony perform magic. Fluttershy was more familiar with it, having watched countless Pony Games on television. The Gameponies usually left one or more magical artifacts in the Cornucopia, to give the earth ponies a better chance against the unicorns and pegasi. As a result, only earth ponies are able to use the magic. And usually, that magic did terrible things to whoever it was focused on.
And now it was focused on Babs.