//------------------------------//
// XI -Well that Happened 
// Story: The 34th Equestrian Hunger Games 
// by Sketch-Pad 
//------------------------------//

We made our way away from the beach and headed inward, trying to find Jockey, or at least his group. Moon Breeze was also in the group, and I wouldn't mind having her join. I didn't know too much about Silver Streak or how he acted, but I just hoped that he was tolerable.  And then there the Mousha - The quiet non-equestrian mare that scared off Code Red and Aerospace Zero in one of the first few days of the arena. If she was with them, then the group would be a little rough getting together. 
We found ourselves in the valley closest to the cornucopia, and we were waiting in the wide open territory. The whole island was silent, except for the sound of our breathing and the pitter-patter of our hearts beating inside of our chest. It was far too quiet. 
There were grey clouds that hung over our head, but from what I could see, it wasn't going to rain. This was a shame, especially since we had gotten so far with minimal amounts of water. My allies looked dreary and desperate for water, and it didn't make me feel any better. I remembered passing out from dehydration earlier in the games, and I didn't want to go through the same thing again. 
I stared at the clouds. Depending on how I felt and if there were still clouds in the sky, perhaps I would make it rain if the clouds did not dump anything on us by then. I also wanted to desperately find Jockey before I started testing how much I could push the rules. 
We were near the base of the hills, looking out upon the cornucopia. Cherry Cloud was sitting on the top of it, looking out at the ocean, with her back faced to us. The was a visible wound on her back, and her jacket was not on her at all. The only reason we had kept our own jackets was that the nights were so cold. 
She flicked her ear in our direction but didn't turn her head. What was she doing? Was she waiting for herself to get caught or killed? Or perhaps did she think she was safe up there? I don't know. 
Gaelan was next to me, his muscles twitching. He grew more and more anxious as we drew closer to the two remaining careers. We hadn't made any plans to attack them or take them out, but even if we did, I would only have an interest in taking out Terrain Tactical. Cherry Cloud had a good head on her shoulders, and I kind of want to be her ally. 
"What if we took them out?" Candor suggested. "That way the two largest threats will be gone, and then we can take out the other groups little by little." 
I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. She was staring at me attentively like she was waiting for me to say something. I blinked at her, and let the others respond. 
"I could do it. Probably. We could take out the green mare on top-" Gaelan started. 
Out of reflex, I punched the side of his ankle, cutting him off. 
"What was that for!?" He asked loudly.
"Sorry. My hoof slipped on the grass," I answered flatly, slightly biting my lip.
He looked me up and down with his eyes, then started again. "We could take out the mare first, and then go after the stallion, who I think is inside. Does that sound like a good enough plan?" 
Candor nodded. Code Red agreed, willing to at least try. The three of them were looking at me. I didn't want to take out Cherry. Not yet. But I also couldn't just tell them that I wanted to save the career because she was nice. They would think that I was siding with them or something. I had to come up with something. 
"I think only one of us should go for Cherry Cloud - the green mare on the roof - while everyone else goes after Terrain Tactical. That way, we have both covered. We don't all want to be in one place, because if we are all fighting her, it leaves Terrain Tactical an opportunity to jump up behind us, leaving us at lower odds of winning." 
They were still staring at me until Candor broke the silence. "Well, that plan actually sounds a little safer. Terra, Do you think that you... could..." She was trailing off, and her gaze didn't look at me, but past me. 
I turned my head and spotted three ponies making their way across the field. I recognized them as my would-be alliance and watched Moon Breeze making her way towards the side of the cornucopia, so she could climb up and attack an unknowing Cherry. Jockey and the Chineghs mare were creeping slowly into the cornucopia, picking up weapons as they went along. 
They had come up with the exact same plan that I had. They were going to take out the careers. I looked at The blue unicorn then at Cherry Cloud. I took a deep breath in astonishment. Cherry cloud was too good of a pony to be killed, even if she was a career. At the same time, I couldn't just turn against the group I was supposed to be with. 
Without thinking, I started running. I couldn't let them do this. Not now. I knew that I couldn't beat Moon Breeze up there, so I had to find another way to get up there. 
I recalled a mode of transportation called 'flashing'. Unicorns could appear and disappear in seconds with this technique. I focused all of my energy on the area next to Cherry Cloud. I had used this skill several times before, but I was far from a master at the ability. Every now and then I would under or overshoot where I wanted to land, and I could only travel so far. Hoping for the best, I focused on appearing there with every cell in my body, and I lit my horn. With a bright purple flash, I landed messily on the roof of the cornucopia. 
I lifted my head and looked at Cherry Cloud, who was staring at me with wide eyes. 
"Terra, what are you-" She started. 
White spots were in my vision and I had lost my footing. I shook my head, but it just made feel nauseous. 
"You have to run. Moon Breeze is going to kill you-" 
As soon as the words left my mouth, the blue unicorn jumped over me and onto the green pegasus. I panicked and tried to get them to stop fighting. 
"Moon Breeze, stop! She's a friend!" I yelled at her. "Cherry don't kill her!" 
"What do you mean she's a friend!?" someone yelled as they were fighting. 
I knew that they were both very good with knives, but neither of them had grabbed any. 
I looked back and forth between the two ponies, not sure what to do. One of them would surely kill the other. 
"Stop, you guys!" I bent down, my head low. "Stop!" They didn't hear me. "STOP!" I shouted. 
I lunged forward, wrapping my forelegs around the first thing they touched. I took the pony with me as we slid away from the other mare, almost falling off of the other end of the cornucopia. 
Just as I noticed that I had grabbed Moon Breeze, she writhed out of my grip with a good kick right at the bottom of my jaw. There was a crack, but I could still feel my jaw. I bit my tongue, which in turn started to bleed a little after colliding with my newly chipped tooth. 
I punched her right back and then proceeded to pin her down. "Did you not listen to me!?" I yelled at her, my tail swishing side to side in frustration. 
"What the hell Terra!?" She shouted back. "Do you really want to save the pony who has killed so many others!?" 
"Why is killing her making you any better!?" 
There was a yelp behind me, and I looked up to see Gaelan flying up to hit a stunned Cherry Cloud in the face. 
"GAELAN, STOP!" I shouted. This was growing pointless, but I couldn't see them fight, even if this was the Hunger Games. 
Gaelan gave an angry moan as he jumped up into the air, his wings flapping furiously against his sides. He gripped a spear in between his talons, holding on to his only mean of self-defense. Cherry Cloud threw a knife at him, and I watched as it just barely scraped his cheek. This only drove him to fly higher up into the air as he dodged it. 
Cherry Cloud followed him up into the air, and I glanced down at Moon Breeze who was still pinned underneath me. She was giving me an angry glare, but I let her go, somewhat reluctantly. She shoved me out of the way, leaving me to almost fall off of the cornucopia yet again. 
I looked back up at the fighting pegasus and griffon. Gaelan was constantly trying to take her out, but Cherry was clearly a much better fighter than he was. She kept making blows to his sides and wings, causing him to stagger in the air. Even when she had used all of her knives, she started to make her blows with her hooves. 
Things were looking dull for the blue griffon. There was little chance he would survive this. 
Moon Breeze and I watch in agony as the two flew up past the curtain of clouds. We couldn't see them anymore, but we could hear the screams that they were giving as they fought. 
A little time had passed before we saw Gaelan's limp body falling from the sky, shortly followed by a smaller object that was his same color. Was it his wing? No cannon had sounded, so he was still alive. I immediately bolted from the roof, jumping off and somersaulting as I collided with the ground. I kept running, as fast as I could to try and reach the pegasus before he collided with the ground. 
I didn't think I was going to make it. I lit my horn again and was relieved to land just below his body. However, after doing so did I realize that I had no safe way to catch him. The only thing I could use was my magic. 
I hesitated, looking around for something, anything. I couldn't break the rules. I didn't know what would happen if I did. For all I knew, I could be zapped by lightning like the stallion from Seven. I concentrated and closed my eyes. 
I caught him carefully with a levitation spell, slowly lowering him to the ground. Moon Breeze and Jockey ran over, shortly followed by Code Red, Candor, and Mousha, who were giving each other dirty looks. They immediately surrounded him, trying to find out what had happened. 
I had only glanced once at his body before I realized that Gaelan had lost a wing. He lost something that made pegasai pegasai. He would probably never fly again if he left this arena alive. I released my levitation on him and turned my back away from the scene. I could still hear the others talking though. 
"He's just unconscious, we can still save him-" 
"He's lost a lot of blood and I don't know what we can do!" 
"Red, help us with wing anatomy. Are there any vital arteries in the-"
"Of course there are! Hurry up and close the wound before he bleeds to death!" 
"We need to clean it first!"
"There's not enough time! We just-"
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. We were interrupted by a small canister that was floating down by parachute in front of me. I quickly gripped it with my hooves and opened the case to find a medical string, a needle, gauze, and bandaging. My hooves shaking, I quickly handed the objects over to the first pony that was next to me, leaving them to get to work. 
I looked up at the sky to see the green pegasus slowly stagger downwards. She would descend slowly and carefully, then all of a sudden make a dramatic drop before evening out again. 
I glanced back behind me, then started to walk in the direction that Cherry Cloud had the intention of landing. 
"Wha- Terra? Where are you going?" Moon Breeze called out after me. I flicked my ear at her, not turning around. 
My pace quickened to a run as the pegasus got closer to landing. I flashed again, and I found myself In a new area of territory. I was getting better at 'blinking,' that was for sure. I still got an uneasy feeling in my stomach, but all the same, It was still a faster way of transportation. 
I turned around to see a scared Cherry Cloud with her hooves up, ready to fight me. 
"Are you going to kill me for what I did?" She asked, her voice shaking.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
"Then why are you here?" She asked, carefully lowering her hooves. 
I sighed. "I . . . I wanted to make sure you were okay." 
"Yeah, right. No pony cares about us in district one or two. They make it sound like they do, but they don't. It's why we have to fend for ourselves. We know that we are going to be alone in the arena." She dropped her ears and opened her mouth again like she was going to say something else, but she stopped herself. 
"We might have been told to be your enemies, but that doesn't mean I have to kill you," I responded. 
"What?" 
"Have you ever wondered what would happen if, for some reason, everypony in the arena just decided not to fight?"
"That would never happen. At one point or another, somepony would snap and start killing. And if that didn't happen, Discord would surely manipulate us into doing so." 
I flicked my tail and went to comment again, but the sound of a cannon echoed in my ears. My eyes widened, and I feared that Gaelan had died. I immediately started running back towards the place where the group was. I was scared. I so hoped that it wasn't him. Anyone but him.I retraced my steps, passing a weirdly twisted tree that I went by as I ran in this direction earlier. 
I came to the clearing where the group was mending Gaelan, and stared at them with wide eyes, hoping that my fear wasn't real. Moon Breeze looked up at me, breathing a sigh of relief. 
"It wasn't him. He's still breathing. We mended his wound, but the real test is if he can hold the night. If he can, I think he'll live." 
I nodded, happy that the death wasn't him. My chest was still pounding in my chest But if it wasn't, who was it then? 
Jockey came forwards from the group that was huddled around Gaelan, and gave me a tight hug. 
"I'm glad to see that you're still in one piece," He said with a smile. "For a moment, I got worried that the cannon was you." 
"Nope, I'm still here," I responded, pulling away. I looked back behind me to see a pair of blue eyes staring at me with an uncertain face, barely visible as it hid in the bushes. She was hiding in the bushes, unsure if she was able to come out. 
"Could we have another pony join us?" I asked. They all gave me weird looks like I was crazy. 
"That depends on who it is you are talking about," Code Red answered. 
"Well, She's a good fighter, and I think you all have met her."
"And?" Candor added. 
"She's a pegasus. Really good with knives." 
"Terra, you can't mean..." Moon Breeze started. 
"She's really nice, and just like us. She's only misunderstood." I craned my head to look back behind me. "Cherry? I think you can come out now." 
The green pegasus slowly walked out, her head hung low to the ground. Most of the ponies took a step back or got into battle-ready stances. She clearly had no interest in attacking any of us. And even if she did, she would find that she was greatly outnumbered. 
"You're crazy!" Code Red commented. 
"You're kidding..." Candor started. "You are kidding, right?" 
I shook my head. "No, I'm not kidding. She might have been a career, but our origins don't always define who we are or who we become. We should at least give her a chance." 
Most of the ponies looked unsure. Mousha was shifting her ears back and forth like she wasn't entirely sure what she was supposed to do. Candor was staring at Cherry, sizing her up or something. Moon Breeze had her head cocked to one side, an unamused look on her face. Jockey was trying to find words to say, but for probably once in his life, he was speechless. Code Red was the first one who spoke up. 
"Well, I wouldn't mind. She's a good fighter, which we need if we want all of us to make it to the end. There are less than half of us left, you know."
Moon Breeze flicked her ear. "Yes, but a team of nine ponies? Eight is a large enough group already. I don't think we need any more than that. It will just make the final part of the games harder. I say no." 
I looked at Mousha, who blinked at me with her slanted eyes. She nodded, I interpreted that as a yes. 
Candor sighed. "I say no. She could turn on us at any point. Gaelan would probably agree, especially since she ripped his wing off." 
Jockey shrugged. "I say yes. No matter what we say, we will probably end up fighting her at one point or another."
I flicked my tail, there was a majority. Four ponies said yes, and three ponies said no. 
Moon Breeze sighed. "Majority rules, I guess. Very well." She looked up at the darkening sky and flicked her ear again. "It's getting late. Let's find some shelter and something to eat. I can take first watch." 
We nodded in agreement. Jockey carried the unconscious Gaelan on his back, with occasional assistance from Candor. We came across a large tree, one with a little den under the roots, and many sturdy branches hanging above. Gaelan, Candor, and Jockey went inside the den, trying to make themselves comfortable. Code Red and Cherry sat up in the branches of the trees, With Mousha climbing the trees after them. She was like an acrobat, with how she flipped and twisted around the branches. 
Moon Breeze and I were left outside. 
"I'm not happy with you," Moon breeze started. "You tried to take me down just to save a pony you met once. For all you know, She could have killed Gaelan, then gone after everypony else. We got lucky that Terrain Tactical wasn't inside the cornucopia, or we would have lost several of our team." I lowered my ears. "You need to decide who's team you want to be on, Terra, because once everypony in our group are the only ponies left, you're going to have to pick a side. You can't fight for both." 
I looked up at her trying to understand where she was coming from. "I know. When it comes done to certain things, It's better to let your heart guide you." 
She scoffed. "Terra, we aren't in some children's story. This is the real world, and all but one, just one, of us, If going to die in this arena." She was turning to make her way up into the tree. "And I don't know about you, but I sure as hell don't want to die by the likes of some stupid career. I would prefer to die with at least a little of my dignity intact." 
She finished her turn and started to climb up the tree. She wasn't as good of a climber as Mousha, but she was probably a better climber than I was. 
I turned away from the tree and walked just beyond the farthest branch of the tree. I sat down and lifted my head up to the dark grey sky. If these clouds weren't going to rain on their own, then perhaps somepony needed to make them. 
I took a deep breath and focused my energy on the clouds. I let sadness fill my chest and my heart. The reason I did this was that water-related powers are connected to emotions, especially sad ones. I've found that my skill level using water magic was increased if I was upset.  A single tear fell from my eye as a glowing white orb shot up from my horn into the sky, leaving a thin white streak behind it. The orb hit the clouds surface, and exploded, sending a growing white ring over the entire blanket of clouds. 
I took another deep breath, and let another tear fall from my cheek. A single raindrop fell on the tip of my muzzle, and I smiled. The rain increased rapidly, starting off as a drizzle then escalating to fat raindrops that came down all too quickly. I let the rain cover my body, wiping off all of the dirt, sweat, and grime off of me. 
There was a break in the clouds, and Discord's anthem began to play. The first face that was shown was of the mare from District five, Golden Quill. She was probably the mystery cannon we heard earlier. Then came the ponies from Seven, Aphrodite, and Daylight Sun. Only three deaths. 
These games were going surprisingly fast, that was true. I only hoped that Discord wasn't taking most of what we said seriously though, and if he did, whoever won could be charged and punished for trying to start a revolt.