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// XIV - All for Discord 
// Story: The 34th Equestrian Hunger Games 
// by Sketch-Pad 
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After Silver Streak's death, the group was awkwardly quiet. Our brains were rattled and we didn't exactly know just what to think about the whole situation. Each of us had something different that was bothering us, depending on where we were when it happened.
Cherry was trying to adjust to the fact that she almost just died, and yet she was the one who was saved by him. Not only had she gotten closer to death than any of us did, but she had somepony else die for her. 
From what it looked like, Jockey and Code Red were upset that they hadn't done anything more to take down Scale. However, Scale wasn't just any regular pony. He was the changeling who had received an 11 on his score, and he clearly had the skill to show why. Even if they did bring him down, they probably would have gotten very injured or at worse, killed, if they tried. 
There were two things that were sitting on my mind; The first being Silver Streak's facial expression as he was wounded. I knew for a very clear fact that I would surely have nightmares about his face for a very long time, and for all I knew I might even get Post-traumatic Stress Disorder from those moments. As I watched him, I just felt all of the air escape my lungs and for a moment my whole body went numb. It was almost like I was the one who had been stabbed. 
Scale's kiss was also on my mind. Why did he do that? Did he have feelings for me? Or what he just trying to share his love, like changelings were known for. I didn't understand anything, and I was even more confused about the warmth that filled my body when he did it. Why did that happen? Still, I found myself picturing about what could have happened if I had killed him. I knew that I was going to end up killing at least one pony in these games, but I didn't want it to be him. Perhaps I would have killed him if he hadn't said what he had just moments before. And even then I was so close to doing it. I could picture it in my mind; what it would have looked like. It was horrific. I couldn't stand it. 
We had decided to lay Silver Streak to rest, placing him on his back and folding his fore-hooves over their chest. He lay peacefully, or at least as peacefully as he could. We laid stones around Silver Streak, trying to let his deaths be as treated as right as we could. They deserved a funeral at least, but they would never get one. It was all we could do.
After the airships took their bodies away, we sat there, trying to figure out what to do next. Code Red was laying on his back, staring up at the sky. Cherry was curled up next to the fence, and I was sitting and staring at the firepit that had yet to be lit. Jockey was sitting to my left as well, doing the exact same thing I was. I don't really know how long we actually sat there for - if it was an hour or several, but the sun had stretched a decent length across the sky. Nopony had yet asked me about Scale.
Jockey was the first one to speak, and it made me jump. "I'm going to see if I can find something to eat. we didn't really get anything earlier."
I looked up at him as he rose, replying to his remark. "Would you like for me to go with you?"
He shrugged. "I think I will be alright, actually. With Scale gone I don't think there are too many other ponies around, He ran and I doubt he will be back for a while." 
I blinked at him. "Alright. Just be careful, alright?" I added. 
He blushed, though I don't really know why. "I-I will." He turned and walked back the way we came, his head turning from side to side as he looked around him. 
Turning my head back to the unlit firepit, I sighed. I knew there were only about 10 other ponies left, and we had come across most of them so far anyway. In fact, that group knows pretty well what our strengths and weaknesses are. Well except maybe Mousha, since she clearly didn't speak much ponish. Gaelan was probably too injured to move right now anyway, and I actually felt bad leaving him there for the other ponies. Part of me was hoping that the group would wait to kill him off or something, though Candor would probably hold her own and stand up for him.
Glaring at the stacked wood, I lit my horn and with a quick burst of anger, lightly lit the logs on the fire. I wanted to smile as the smoke began to rise and the fire began to spread across the other logs, but I didn't. I let a scoff escape my lips and then proceeded to itch my right foreleg. 
I didn't want to sit and just wait for something to happen. I wanted something to happen now - just something interesting. Whether it was Jockey to come back with food, or for an announcement or heck, even for us to get attacked again. I don't like waiting like this. Even walking was better than sitting around and waiting. 
It seemed as though Discord heard my thoughts because there was a bell or something that rang throughout the arena. His voice followed, in a tone that was so cheerful that I half expected it to start raining confetti. "Hello everypony! I just wanted to congratulate you all for making it to the top 10! Hooray!" He paused for a moment, and then he cleared his throat, calming down his tone. "As a little reward I have prepared a feast for you all down at the cornucopia ~ Isn't that exciting?" His voice picked up again. 
Feeling up to responding, I nodded my head, knowing he was watching. "Well, it does sound a little interesting..." I commented. 
He obviously heard me. "Well, I'm glad to see that at least Terra is getting into it! Everypony else should too!" He paused again, then cleared his through again. "Anyways, as I was saying, There is a feast in the cornucopia, and I've prepared something for every district. You all need something, I'm sure. However, The gifts to you all will only arrive once everypony is in the cornucopia. I know that might take a while since some of you are quite a ways away from it and some of you can't exactly move too fast. But I'm sure most of you who get there early will be willing to wait, right?" 
I flicked my ear, not sure what to think about that. 
"Well, I hope you all have fun at the little feast! That is all for now. Bye-Bye!" There was a faint click, and his speaking ended. 
I looked at Cherry Cloud who was looking back at me, and Code Red was getting up to stand on his feet. 
"Well, it looks like they really want to speed things along, huh?" The grey and red stallion commented. 
Cherry Cloud shrugged. "I guess so," She looked at the sky, with its now painted colors and hues that told us it was getting closer to sunset. 
I scratched my right foreleg again, then spoke. "It will be weird, seeing them again." 
Code Red nodded in reply. "Yeah, especially since we left them like that." 
Cherry spoke up. "Well, not only that, but we were all a part of the same group at one point. We sort of know each other enough where it's going to not be comfortable if we have to fight them."
"What makes you say that we have to fight them?" The male pegasus asked. 
"It's why they have the feasts," The green mare responded. "They have them to bring up action, hoping that the ponies left will have no choice to fight each other at that point."
I flicked my ear. "I'm more worried about having to meet Terrain Tactical, to be honest." 
Cherry nodded. "Yes, especially since Silver mentioned something about him losing his mind." 
"Do you think we should go?" The red maned stallion asked. 
"I think we should," Said Jockey's voice, coming from somewhere behind me. 
Turning my head I spotted Jockey, levitating a bunch of mountain Blueberries with his magic. "Oh, welcome back." 
He nodded, and separated the berries fairly equally, and placed them down in front of us. I began to pick them up with my magic and began to eat a few. Code Red did the same. 
"So, you really think we should?" asked Cherry Cloud.
Code Red nodded. "Yes. It's what Discord asked of us. And after seeing him electrocute that one pony, I think It would be best not to aggravate him too much."
Cherry swallowed her food, and then spoke. "Not only that but if we don't go, we could potentially make the other groups mad at us for not showing up. Which Isn't exactly better."
I nodded. "Yeah, making them wait and getting them angry isn't exactly a good idea either. Especially if one of them is sick or injured."
Jockey added his thoughts as I scratched my right foreleg yet again. What was with me today? Why am I so itchy all of a sudden? Did a bug bite me or something? "In that case, I think It's a good idea that we should go then. It will probably take us a day or two to get there, especially since we have to climb back down this mountain and over the hills."
"Well, we can always go through the valley," Cherry recommended. 
"Yeah, she's right, it would be faster if we went that way," Jockey agreed. 
"But what about water? Most of the puddles are probably dried up by now and our water cases won't stay full that long." The red maned pegasus added. "And it's not like Discord had the decency to put a river in the valley."
"Yeah, eating too many solids and not having a lot of water is bad for digestion," I added sort of randomly. 
Cherry gave me an odd look in response, but it was fine. "Okay. . . So when should we leave?" 
"Sunset is probably a good time. I know we all need our sleep, but I don't think we can sleep after today," Jockey answered.
Cherry dropped her ears, though nodded as well. Code Red spoke for her. "Yes, sunset sounds like a good idea."
I nodded in response, and scratched my foreleg yet again. It was really bothering me, and it was just in that one spot. I was waiting for somepony to notice it. 
"Then sunset it is," Jockey confirmed. He smiled, and sat down, and started eating his blueberries. 
Cherry looked at me just I had stopped itching my foreleg. "What's with you? You've been itching there a lot lately." 
I tilted my head slightly. "I'm not sure, it's just been itchy lately. But only on my foreleg." 
"Let me see." Code Red was suddenly on his hooves and leaning over my shoulder to look at my foreleg. Him being so close made my cheeks flush a light shade of pink. 
He backed away, and then he adjusted the glasses on his nose all smart-like. "Yeah, you have a rash." 
My eyes widened, and his answer didn't help my blushing. It was a little embarrassing. "A rash!? From what!?" 
"Probably an allergic reaction. But from what?" Cherry said.
"Hmm. . . well, from the location on the, it might be near the tracker," Code Red explained.
"You think she's allergic to the tracker?" the green pegasus asked, a little dumbly.
He shook his head, and it seemed like he was trying not to laugh. "No, but more likely a metal in the tracker."
"Oh," Cherry and I said simultaneously. 
"Is it lethal at all?" Jockey asked. 
"I'm not sure. It's only been a couple of days so if it was lethal she might already be dead by now.  But if it's in her system for too long, she might have a worse reaction and eventually die," He continued to explain. The thought of dying from an allergic reaction made me shudder. "So we either need to end the games quickly, or find something that can postpone the effects of it." 
"What if we took it out?" Cherry asked, sort of out of the blue.
"You mean, by ourselves?" I asked, getting a little nervous. 
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure that it would be more interesting of a show to watch to see you fight to your death instead of suffocating from an allergy," Cherry said. It was sort of like a back-sided compliment, I guess. It was like her telling me that I'm going to die, but at least it won't be as soon as it would be if it were from an allergy. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. 
"I think it's breaking the rules to take out a pony's tracker though," Jockey replied, defending me. Was it actually defending? I'm not quite sure. 
"Yes, after breaking the 'no levitating others' rule and stretching the 'growing plants' rule, I'd prefer not to test my limits any further," I added. It was true. 
"But don't you think that they would have punished you by now after everything you did?" Cherry asked. 
I shrugged. "Well I don't know, I'm not Discord."
Jockey smiled. "Well, she has a point though. Why hasn't he done anything to punish you?"
Cherry gave me a playful smile. "Maybe Discord has a thing for ponies who like to break the rules..."
"Stop it!" I yelled, my cheeks filling with heat yet again. 
The three of them laughed. Not only at me, but at the situation. I didn't mind. It was nice to know that we were close enough to each other that we could laugh at ourselves and make jokes like that. 
"Well, I think it would be best to take it out, just in case," Jockey continued. 
"But how do you suppose we will do that?" I asked. "Just stick a knife if my foreleg and dig it out?"
Cherry sighed. "If you want to take it out, that might be what you have to do."
I flattened my ears against my head. Somepony was going to be digging into my arm to take out the tracker. I didn't like the idea at all, just stabbing me like that. I couldn't do it myself, and I didn't really want somepony else doing it. Even if it was just so I didn't have a fatal allergic reaction. I moaned to myself in slight anger. 
"Fine! But I can't do it on myself," I shouted. 
"I'll do it then," Jockey volunteered himself. I shifted my ears back and forth, not exactly sure how I felt about that. 
"Are you sure? I will gladly do it as well. I am pretty crafty with knives, you know," Cherry added. This situation still felt very... odd to me. 
"No, I can do it," The green unicorn said strongly.
I watched his face as he levitated a knife and a water pouch over to him, as well as a bandage. I actually didn't know that we had any bandages, but apparently, we had claimed some from our old group. I figured that they were just left over from the sponsor gift that had floated down from Gaelan's injury. He walked over to me and sat down next to me perpendicularly. I reluctantly put my foreleg out in front of him, preparing for the upcoming pain. I tried to get myself to relax, but it was just difficult. 
I craned my neck to look away, and Cherry walked over to sit next to me and wrapped a foreleg around my shoulder in comfort. I was scared for my life, actually. I was putting my life into the hooves of others, and it was very unsettling to me. I trusted them, but we were in the final ten now. It would be so easy for them to just turn on me and kill me right now, and I would be utterly defenseless. I closed my eyes tightly, and sighed, my voice shaking. 
A sharp pain in my foreleg told me that it had started. The pain shot up my whole leg and was sort of a tingling sensation. It was such a weird feeling, but it still hurt. I turned my face towards Cherry Cloud, my eyes still closed. I leaned my muzzle towards her neck, only to be met with a face full of her mane. She only proceeded to hug me tighter, reassuring me that she was there for me.
How much longer would this last? Was it almost over? The pain turned to more of a pinching feeling, and then it changed into a feeling that something was squeezing it. My heart was pounding loudly in my chest, and it mixed with the rhythm of our breathing. The crackling from the fire blended it together in an interesting sort of melody, and it was quite interesting to listen to.
"It's out," suddenly came to my ears. 
I lifted my head away from Cherry's mane and looked to see Jockey's face with a slight smile that read pride. It was almost like he just offered to take it out to prove that he could do it. I glanced down to see my foreleg now bandaged together almost perfectly. Code Red was actually sitting next to him, and it made me wonder if he had helped. The knife lay on the ground, the blade coated in blood, and the small metal tracker sitting on the tip. It gave a little flash, showing it was still on.
I gave a relieved smile, my eyelids fluttering a little awkwardly. "Thank you," was all I could think to say. 
He levitated me the water pouch, telling me to drink. As I was taking a sip, the boys stood up. 
"Well, let's get everything packed up and start heading down to the cornucopia," Code Red said. "We don't want to be late," He added with a little playful wink. 
I went to start getting up, and Cherry beckoned me to stay seated. "We can pack everything. You should save your strength for the trip."
I flicked my ear in slight annoyance. "Really? Do I need to tell you yet again that this is the Hunger Games? The games don't care how weak you are at any given time. I'll be fine." 
She lowered her head a little bit, and I realized that I had made her a little upset. 
"But I'm thankful for your concern," I added with a smile and a little nudge from my left elbow. 
She smiled back and helped me to my feet. I flicked my tail and helped them pack up the rest of the belongings. I was actually looking forward to some sleep tonight, especially since we had all had gotten limited sleep the night before. However, I think that if we all got tired along the way, we might just agree to sleep somewhere. I also knew that after today, most of us would probably have a difficult time sleeping anyway. I was sad to leave my beautiful fence behind as well, especially since it took a good amount of energy. But as the games are, there isn't really anything I can do about it. 
After we had everything packed, we loaded things onto on our back and began to make our way towards the cornucopia and down the mountain, getting closer to the surprise that awaited all of us.