//------------------------------// // The Train: Plum Rose's POV // Story: Equestria: The Hunger Games // by Shukawarioserfi //------------------------------// After the daze of the ceremony of choosing wore down I finally managed to fall asleep on the train. I'm exercising my right for beauty sleep when I am hastily wakened. "Grr... What is it?" I snap. I need to die down my nervous energy somehow, and sleep seemed like the way to go. I was wakened by a white pony with a black mane and piercing red eyes. "Are you gonna sleep through the games too? Might as well be alive while you can." He said. I was not amused. "When was the last time you slept?" I bark. Seriously, this pony could've used a shower as well. I'm surprised they even let him on this train. He looked at me angrily, maybe he can read thoughts. I cower just a little. "Sleep evades me these days. I can't explain it. I'm Crystal by the way." He extended a hoof in greeting. I did not accept. "Plum Rose." I mumble in a quiet derisive tone. I stare down at his cutie mark revealing crossed swords. "What's your 411?" Crystal coughed. "Excuse me?" "You know." I say, rolling my eyes. "Your talent." He bends over and stares at his flank, as if he didn't already know. "Melee." He grinned. "It's a shame I had to go against so many untrained fighters in the games. They had no chance." He was a victor, I guess that explains a lot. He's cocky, arrogant and smells like fish. Anypony else would've mistaken him for a wanderer. I shake my head. "Well what are you looking at me for?" I must say, he does have a lot to look at. My wings are fantastic, my pink and teal mane falls perfectly straight and my aqua coat would make anypony swoon for me. "I'm here to help you. Not that I'm too thrilled about it. Come with me to the nearest sidecar." I raise my eyebrow, not too happy about being directed. I follow anyway, huffing madly as I go along. Really the whole train is atrocious, it's old and damaged and I can hear it squeal desperately on the tracks. So much for comfort. "Now, don't be a sour pus." Crystal says, looking back as we enter a venue with a smorgasbord of entrees. My mouth waters. "I'm sure a little food will cheer you up. You surely must be starving." I didn't want to admit it, but the food was definitely hard to resist. If I knew it was poisoned, I swear I would eat it anyway. "I could eat I guess." I scoff with decency. "I mean, I hate to be reduced to such a tantalizing assortment of offerings mostly given with an emphasis of pity." Crystal raises an eyebrow. "So you don't want any then, Plum Rose?" Before he could finish his sentence I was already muzzle deep in pasta. I stick my head out of my food nervously. "On the contrary, I must oblige." I smile, with more of a collection of food on my face than my plate. "I'm glad you like it then." Crystal adds, sitting across from me. He doesn't take any food, but I'm sure he can eat whenever he wants. Despite that, he had a handsome figure with chiseled bone structure. If I wasn't drooling over the food, I would be drooling over him. We don't look to have that much of an age difference, he looks like a young full grown stallion. I'm 15 and given lengthening of days, we might have a chance. "I assure you." I add, with food in my mouth, appalled by my own insolence. "That there is a difference between gluttony and eating to appease the body's natural response to hunger." Crystal frowns. "You talk too much, eat." I attributed his response to mean that pigging out was okay. I don't even think I was consciously aware of a lot of the things I had eaten. My body was in autopilot so to speak, glad to have eaten after so long. I finish with all the food sitting uneasily in my stomach. "Was this part of the training?" I hiccup. "No. But this was necessary so your body could fuel up and stopped running on reserve energy." Crystal says. "What you want to know is how to win." I lean forward, intrigued. "Is there a shortcut?" I ask frantically. "Cheats, escapes, loopholes, outlets, technicalities?" With my body finally having energy, my ADHD seems to kick in immediately. "Calm down." Crystal snaps. "You're just listing synonyms. And no, there is no easy way out of the games." No easy way out. This will easily be either the hardest or the last thing I do in my life. I'm as afraid of death as anypony, and I have serious doubts in my ability to win. "You're not going to die if you get sponsors." He explains. "If you can make all the ponies love you, you'll win." "That's easy, everypony loves me." I retort. I'm great to look at and I'm simply better than everypony, so what's not to love? "Not if you act like a stuck-up mule." Crystal adds angrily. "I am insulted by your use of language." Okay, maybe I deserved that comment. But, hey if I don't bring myself up than nopony will. If I can reflect on my positive attributes, albeit with a little bragging, I can make everypony else feel inferior. And that makes me better than everypony else. "Still, that attitude will get you no sponsors." Crystal says. "You have to distance yourself as far from yourself as you can. Do you understand?" "I have to be somepony else?" I sneer. "As if." "Not somepony else entirely, but a protaganist." Crystal explains. "You have to give the ponies something to root for." I sigh, I need a miracle to make this happen. I must be stunning, captivating, and *gulps* nice. Okay, it won't be that hard. I just have to believe in myself that I can do this. Before everything fades into black.