//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10: Strange Allies 
// Story: The Pony Games 
// by UnidentifiedFlyinPegasus 
//------------------------------//

	Waking up that morning was a difficult experience for Fluttershy. She opened her eyes, took in the bright sunlight, and then shut them again, falling asleep for another few minutes before repeating the process. The branch she lay across was rough, and the coarse wood scratched her legs and made her belly itch. Still, she felt very comfortable there, almost as comfortable as she would feel in her own bed, at home in Ponyville.  
The sound of leaves crunching underhoof made her sit up. Somepony was down below her, on the ground. 
Fluttershy parted a few branches and peered downwards at the forest floor. It was a mare, slightly younger than herself, with a dark grey coat and a pale blue mane. The earth pony bent down and drank greedily from the stream. She looked as if she hadn't had a proper bath in weeks, even though the Games had only gone on for two days so far. A black saddle bag hung from her back, swinging loosely. Her thirst sated, she stood up, water still dripping from the sides of her mouth. Her eyes darted around cautiously, but her gaze never traveled upwards, where Fluttershy was hiding. 
The mare reached into her saddle bag, pulling out a thick brown stick with something attached to the end. It had a slight shine to it... like metal. 
An image flashed through Fluttershy's mind: a pegasus stallion, one of his wings being violently hacked off... by an axe. She had looked away before- before the deed was finished, but then, she'd seen his face played across the giant skyscreen that night. Had this mare been the pony to kill him?
Fluttershy shuddered and continued to watch the earth pony mare. She was bent down, examining the strands of grass before her, the axe still clutched tightly in her teeth. 
Without warning, the mare swung her weapon around, alerted by some sound in the forest. A small shriek sounded, but the voice didn't belong to Fluttershy. The mare sighed with relief and dropped her axe on the ground as a yellow-coated earth pony emerged from the foliage. 
The new arrival sighed and shook her bright green pigtails. "Now what do ya think yer doin? Gave me a fright, ya did, swingin' that axe 'round like that." 
The grey mare rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Fritter. Didn't realize it was you." 
"Prudence, you're more jumpy than a barrel full 'o rabbits. Who else would it be? By mah calc-ya-lations, the only ponies 'round this area are us, Braeburn, and that lil' brown filly." 
Fluttershy's ears perked up. Braeburn was there! And a little brown filly... that had to be Babs!
"You can never be too careful." Prudence said, peering around at the surrounding trees. "I don't want to underestimate the other tributes."
"Darlin', there's a chance you migh' overestimate 'em, if you keep worryin' so much." Fritter smiled good-naturedly. 
"I'm not worried." Prudence declared. "I'm heedful of my enemies." 
This time it was Fritter's turn to roll her eyes. "C'mon now, we'd best be going if we wanna make it to the cave 'fore nightfall. Did ya fill the canteen?"
"Not yet." Prudence said. "Could you grab it out of my saddlebag?" 
Fritter complied and reached into her bag, retrieving a large metal flask. It seemed that these two had gotten a small share of Cornucopia supplies. 
After the canteen was filled in the river, the two mares packed the saddlebag and began their walk back through the forest. Without the slightest hesitation, Fluttershy followed them, flying quietly under the trees as she listened to them converse. 
"-not so sure if I trust Braeburn..." 
"Braeburn? Why, he's only the sweetest stallion this side of Canterlot! Why wouldn't ya trust him?" 
"I dunno." Prudence's voice grew soft, and Fluttershy strained to hear. "Something about him seems off. He's a bit... too nice, if you know what I mean."
"Now, come on. If you can't trust Braeburn, you can't trust anypony! Why, back in Appleloosa, he-"
"Fine, fine." Prudence interrupted. "If you trust him, I trust him, too." Something about her voice was hesitant, and Fluttershy wasn't entirely convinced that she believed Fritter. 
"But what about that filly? What was her name?" 
"Babby, Brandy, Barley..." Fritter rattled off a few names. "Somethin' startin' with a B." 
"Right. Tell me again why you wouldn't let me kill her?" 
"Because," Fritter said, with a hint of annoyance. "I will not let any ally o' mine kill off a poor, innocent, injured filly!" 
"How do you know she's so innocent? There's eleven dead already; she could have killed any one of them." 
"No." Fritter said in a soft tone. "I could tell. She ain't no killer. I would'a seen it in her eyes." 
"Right." Prudence said sarcastically. Fluttershy found herself wondering how these complete opposites could have become allies. 
Fluttershy waited for one of them to say something, but neither did. She realized that the hoofsteps below had stopped. She managed to wheel around in a tight circle, searching the forest floor for the two mares. Once she'd spotted them, standing close together in a small clearing, she landed on a branch above them, bending her legs to absorb the impact and make minimal noise.
"What is it?" Fritter asked Prudence. Fluttershy watched curiously as Prudence took out her axe once more, her ears twitching as she strained to listen. 
"Girls!" 
Fritter instantly relaxed, but the axe remained clenched in Prudence's teeth. Fluttershy caught herself smiling when she recognized the voice: it was Braeburn!
"I've been lookin' all over for you two!" he said with a grin. 
"And we've been lookin' fer you!" Fritter exclaimed. "Where you been, cousin?" 
Cousin? Fluttershy thought. I've never heard of cousins participating together before. 
"Here and there." Braeburn replied. "Haven't caught wind o' those pegasus ponies, though. Seems they've dropped off the map for a while."
Prudence grunted and dropped her axe on the ground. "They won't be gone for long." 
Braeburn looked at her for a moment. "And why not, miss Prudence?" 
"Because," Prudence said haughtily. "I know their kind. It's not like them to go into hiding. They won't rest until every single one of us is dead." 
"You seem to know a whole lot 'bout your enemies." 
"And you seem to know a lot about your so-called friends!" 
"Now, what exactly are you implying?"
"Hey!" Fritter interrupted. "If y'all would quit arguing and just look around, you'd see we've got a visitor." 
Fluttershy looked around, searching the surrounding forest for another tribute. It took a moment or two to realize that Fritter was pointing upwards with her hoof... straight at her. 
"Fluttershy?" Braeburn asked, peering upwards. "That you up there?" 
Fluttershy tried to respond, but her voice came out as a squeak that never reached his ears. 
"A pegasus! She's been spying on us!" Prudence said angrily. She picked her axe up off the ground, arching her neck back to get a good throwing angle. 
Fluttershy yelped and took off, shooting towards the sky. She had just cleared the treetops when she heard Fritter's faint voice behind her. "No use, darlin'. She's way outta range already."
Fluttershy looked around, searching for a good tree to take shelter in. She wasn't sure if Prudence would accept the futility of following a pegasus pony, but she certainly wasn't going to wait to find out. Spitfire and Soarin were up there on the clouds somewhere, perhaps watching the trees below, and if they spotted another pegasus-
Making up her mind, Fluttershy flew back beneath the tree cover, but just enough to hide her from any arial surveillance. She beat her wings, enjoying the wind as it weaved through her coat, drying the nervous sweat she'd managed to work up. The pegasus weaved in and out of trees, for a moment forgetting herself, forgetting the Games, and just enjoying her own freedom.
She didn't want to stop. She wanted to keep flying forever, out of the arena, into the wilderness, to a place where no pony could tell her she couldn't have animal friends. A place she could stay, not worrying about tributes or Gameponies or people watching her or-
Cold, hard reality hit her in the form of a tree branch, and she lost control of her wings. The ground grew closer, and Fluttershy managed one more feeble flap before the dirt greeted her. Hard. 
She shook her head and tried to get the gritty taste of earth off of her tongue. Her back hooves and hindquarters had taken the blunt of the impact, but at least her injured front hoof wasn't hurt. At least, more than it already was.  She checked herself, prodding her limbs to check if she could still feel them. Everything seemed fine, if not a little bruised.
Fluttershy got to her hooves and shook her head at her own foolish ideas. Fly out of the arena? There would be a force field to prevent that. And besides, if it were possible to get out, then-
All of the sudden, the familiar sound of a cannon erupted from the forest behind her.
Fluttershy's mind immediately flew to the threesome she'd left. Prudence, Fritter, and Braeburn... was that cannon sounding in honor of one of those three? 
Prudence had an axe. She'd nearly gone after Fluttershy with it, and Fritter had stopped her. With a weapon that deadly, how hard would it have been to turn on Fritter, or even Braeburn, and slice them in two? Fluttershy didn't want to envision that sort of gruesome death, and she certainly didn't want to see one, but a mixture of curiosity and dread burned within her. 
If either Fritter or Braeburn had been killed by Prudence, the other would surely be next. These were good ponies- kind, honest folk that would think nothing of helping another pony. If Fluttershy didn't try to save them- at least, the one that still lived- then why should she be any better than the other tributes? Of all twenty four tributes, many of which lied, and killed, what set her apart? 
Fluttershy made up her mind. She couldn't stand by, not if there was a chance of saving a life. Digging her hind legs into the soft soil, she coiled slyly, and then sprung from the ground, flapping erratically at first and then gaining speed as her wings synced their motion. 
She reached the glade faster than she had anticipated, and she pulled her wings back at just the last moment, stopping with a burst of wind at the edge of the trees. Braeburn and Fritter were nowhere to be seen, but Prudence was in the middle of the clearing, grappling with a light-blue coated stallion. 
It was him- the unicorn that had cut Babs. 
Fluttershy watched, wide eyed, as Prudence fought relentlessly, kicking her hooves as hard as she could, while he resisted, his horn sparking every few seconds as he threw up a weak shield, a futile attempt to fend off her violent attack. The stallion wore a dark tattered jacket, and his black mane was a disheveled mess.  
Where were the other two? Had Prudence killed them both before taking on this new challenge? No, there had only been one cannon blast. Had one of the escaped? Perhaps the unicorn was-
Fluttershy's eyes widened, as she noticed something laying on the ground, behind the brawling ponies. A body. No, two bodies. A larger stallion; one she didn't recognize. And a smaller one, a mare with two bright green pigtails splayed out next to her, slowly drowning in a growing pool of blood. 
It was Fritter. She was dead. 
It didn't take Fluttershy long to asses the situation. The unknown stallion's body was covered with deep, bloody wounds, cut cleanly from Prudence's axe. But Fritter had none of these wounds. In fact, if it weren't for the deep red puddle around her, Fluttershy could imagine she was sleeping. 
Prudence hadn't killed Fritter. 
Prudence hadn't killed Fritter. 
Fluttershy's attention was pulled from the bodies as the stallion's horn glowed with a bright magical aura, and a large wall of energy rose up between him and Prudence. The mare stepped back, breathing heavily, but the angry fire in her eyes still burned. 
The unicorn's eyes flickered over Fluttershy for just a moment, registering the presence of another tribute before he reared at Prudence, blocking her attempt to get closer to him. He didn't consider the newcomer a threat, just a minor inconvenience to be dealt with later. He didn't know about her sponsor gift. He didn't know that she had a weapon, didn't know about the invisible blade strapped to her hoof. 
Fluttershy took a slow breath. If she didn't do something now, the stallion would kill Prudence, and then he'd come for her. She focused her gaze on the unicorn, and bent her foreleg. With as much speed as she could muster, she pointed her hoof at his torso. 
The mechanism made the faintest clicking noise as it engaged, but the sound reached the unicorn's ears still. He quickly turned his head  and threw up a weak shield of magic, dropping the one between him and Prudence. The glowing wall deflected the knife at an angle, but was unable to stop it from slicing the flesh near the base of his leg. He winced, his eyes showing his pain. 
Prudence took her chance. With the shield down, she tackled him to the ground, managing to grapple him into a tight headlock, one leg wrapped around his neck. 
"Doesn't feel too great, does it?" she hissed at him. "Sharp blade cutting you open? The blood flowing freely?" The fierce mare kicked him in the leg, causing the cut to open even more, and he grimaced in pain, making no sound.  
The stallion's horn began to glow once more, a faint light surrounding it. The knife, impaled on the ground, began to glow as well. 	
"Prudence!" Fluttershy warned, surprised as her voice cracked. "The knife!"
Prudence tightened her headlock, squeezing his neck all the more tightly. "Don't... you... dare!" she said menacingly. 
A small gurgling sound escaped his throat, and the glow died. Prudence lifted her free leg and placed the flat of her hoof against his horn. 
"N-no..." he choked.
Prudence ignored him. She pushed hard against it, her entire body beginning to shake with effort. 
She couldn't be- She wouldn't- Could she? Was such a thing even possible?Fluttershy was about to find out.
Prudence pushed still, and- she may have imagined it- a tiny crack had appeared at the base of his horn. 
Her other foreleg loosened it's grip, just a enough to allow him to breathe. 
"No!" he cried. "Please, I'll do anything just-"
It snapped.
The stallion yelled in rage and pain as sparking lines of magic left his body, dying out in the air around him. The jagged remains of his horn fell into the thick grass below, the pieces clinking together like the final performance of a great instrument. 
Prudence released him, and dropped to all fours, unsure whether to be triumphant or dumbfounded at what she had accomplished.  
The stallion struggled to stay on his four hooves, stumbling forwards as his legs wobbled like a newborn foal's. With a thick mane covering what was left of his horn, he resembled an earth pony. He glanced at Prudence, the fear evident in his eyes. Without his magic, he was powerless, with no way of defending himself. 
Prudence turned away from him and dipped her head low to the ground. The stallion's eyes filled with a slight hope, hope that she would leave him alone, that she would let him live. 
Sadly, it was short lived. 
Prudence lifted her head again, but she had something clenched in her teeth. A long, brown stick, with a sharp silver piece at the end. She focused her gaze on the stallion and trudged towards him slowly, menacingly, the axe's sharp end pointed towards the ground. She was going to finish him, once and for all.
"Please..." the stallion begged, looking straight into her eyes. "I- I can't hurt anypony anymore. Not... not without..." he trailed off. 
Prudence raised her axe, the violent gleam still shining in her eyes. Fluttershy turned away, just before it fell. A cannon sounded to finalize the deed, seemingly louder than all the ones before. 
Fluttershy turned back to face Prudence, but the mare had already started to walk away. The axe lay on the ground, it's silver tip gleaming red. 
"Prudence," Fluttershy said, the name carrying more meaning to her than it had just minutes before.
The mare hesitated, for just a moment, before continuing her walk. She approached the two bodies lying before her, giving a slight nod to the stallion. It was almost as if she were a soldier, commending a fellow comrade for his service. 
And then she reached the body of Fritter. 
"I know you're not dead." Prudence said softly, looking down into the face of her ally. "There would have been a cannon for you by now." 
Fluttershy stood behind Prudence, a silent onlooker, as the mare both spoke and mourned over her friend.
"Look, I don't know if you can even hear me. Heck, if you could, you'd probably be telling me off for killing off two 'innocent' stallions." 
A slight chuckle escaped her lips, but her expression quickly grew somber once more. 
"I guess... I guess I just want to say thanks. You showed me that there are a few good ponies in this screwed-up world of ours. Even if you have to dig pretty hard to find them."
Fritter's eyelids twitched upwards for just a moment, but her eyes remained closed. She wasn't dead; at least, not yet, and maybe, just maybe, she could hear Prudence's words. 
Prudence blinked a few times and scoffed at herself, eyes glistening. "Screw this." She shook her head. "Goodbye, Apple Fritter. Thanks for being my friend." 
And then, as a final mercy, Prudence pressed a hoof down on Fritter's throat,  cutting off her oxygen, ending her pain, ending her life, and the Gamepony's cannon finalized the deed. 
Prudence turned around, the fur around her eyes slightly wet. Fluttershy couldn't imagine it was sweat. They looked at each other, earth pony and pegasus, supposed enemies in this forest arena. 
"You shot the knife at Neon?" Prudence asked, no hint of emotion in her voice. 
"Neon?" Fluttershy questioned. 
"The unicorn." The answer was blunt. 
"Oh, uh- yeah." Fluttershy attempted a smile, but it lasted for only a moment.
"Well, you're either a terrible shot, or you weren't aiming for me." Prudence regarded her for a moment. "And you didn't try to kill me after I- after the stallion was dead."
Fluttershy chose not to point out that she only had one knife. 
Prudence's ears twitched, once, twice. 
"Pick up your knife." She said quickly.
"What?" 
"Pick. Up. Your knife." Prudence's eyes bore daggers into the surrounding scenery. 
Fluttershy complied, walking over to where her blade had been impaled in the grass. It bore a streak of blood now, much like the redness she'd seen on Prudence's axe. The knife slid back into her hoof contraption, disappearing just like it had before. 
If Prudence noticed, she made no mention of the occurrence. 
"Now," The mare said, picking up the axe in her teeth. She handled its weight with ease, keeping the bladed end level and angled to throw.
"Done moof." she ordered, with the wooden handle in her mouth, glaring in Fluttershy's direction. 
"Prudence?" Fluttershy couldn't believe it. 
The earth pony arched her neck, and threw the axe. Right at Fluttershy.