The Pony Games

by UnidentifiedFlyinPegasus

Chapter 8: A Unique Gift

"No!" Fluttershy leapt at Violet in a flash of desperation. She managed to knock her aside, but the mare kept her footing while Fluttershy fell to the ground.

Babs shook herself from her stupor. With the amulet now pointed away from her, she moved swiftly to Fluttershy's side.

Fluttershy got to her hooves in a split second, but before she and Babs could run, a piercing scream rang throughout the clearing. The filly and the pegasus both looked in the direction of the sound to see something that they had not expected.

The stallion tribute, still crumpled on the ground, was enveloped in a glowing purple light, one of his hind legs bent at a gruesome angle. Violet's amulet was glowing as well, and pointed straight at him. Her eyes wide with horror, she struggled to turn away, but something wouldn't allow her. The amulet seemed to be fixed on it's target, and it was intent on finishing the job.

The stallion screamed again, his face contorted in pain. With a sickening sound, his other back leg snapped, leaving it just as crippled as the other. His front legs were next, bending against his will until the bone could take no more. Each grisly noise struck Fluttershy to the core, as she watched this tribute suffer the fate that she had saved Babs from.

All four of his limbs broken, the stallion passed out purely from the pain. The purple brilliance around him brightened, and he was lifted into the air. Fluttershy could do nothing but watch as his head raised, and began to turn, ever so slowly. Violet closed her eyes, unwilling to witness her ally's final moments.

His neck bent farther and farther, until it reached it's limit. His entire body began to shake violently, and then, with a horrifying crack, he fell to the ground and lay, unmoving. The glow surrounding him died all at once, and a cannon sounded.

Violet opened her eyes and stared at her former partner's corpse, horrified at what she had done. A hovercraft materialized and retrieved the stallion's mutilated form. Violet couldn't seem to take her eyes of the lifeless body, as it was lifted from the arena. As the hovercraft disappeared from view, the mare blinked, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Babs nudged Fluttershy with her hoof. "We should get going," she whispered, "Before she comes to her senses."

Fluttershy nodded and they began to walk slowly backwards, trying hard not to attract Violet's attention as they made their escape.

They had just made it to the edge of the stream, when Violet looked straight at them. Her eyes were a mix of anger and grief, a combination that never can end well.

"You did this," she growled angrily, taking slow strides towards them, like a jungle cat stalking its prey.

Fluttershy stepped back into the shallow stream, a chill running up her spine as the cold water soaked her back legs. She looked down at Babs, and realized how much she cared about the filly. She was like the little sister she'd never had.

"Babs, run." Fluttershy said, in a quiet yet stern voice.

Babs looked at her, a bit surprised. "Are you crazy? What if-"

"Just go." Fluttershy interrupted. "I'll hold her off for as long as I can."

Babs blinked a few times. "But-"
"Go!"

Babs turned and ran off into the forest. Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief, before looking up to face her fellow tribute.

Violet, ignoring Babs' retreat, spat on the ground. "This is all your fault!"

"I-" Fluttershy swallowed, the mare's menacing snarl making her nervous. "I didn't-"

"I-I-I," Violet mimicked in a high voice. "I'm gonna rip your throat out!"

Fluttershy quickly went over her best options for survival. She could attack Violet first, but chances were, she wouldn't stand much of a chance against the tough earth pony. She could run, but this conflict was inevitable, and sooner or later, the Gameponies would make sure they met again. There was still one way out, a way that's almost always available to pegasus ponies: up.

Fluttershy opened her wings and took to the air.

"Coward!" Violet screamed. "Coward!"

Fluttershy ignored her and continued to fly upwards. She peaked just below the treetops, landing on a thick, leafy branch near the trunk. She looked down at the ground, where Violet waited. The angry earth pony paced around the tree a few times, searching for a way to climb up. Fluttershy wondered if her amulet worked at a distance. Hopefully she was too deluded with rage to remember it.

Now, there was still one problem to solve. How could she possibly kill Violet, with her limited resources?

Kill. When had she started to think this way? Fluttershy had never hurt a soul. At least, not intentionally. She shuddered as she remembered the stallion's mangled corpse. That hadn't been her fault.

Had it?

And now there was Violet to worry about. Fluttershy had seen the bitterness in her scowl, the wrath that was written across her face. Her partner was gone, and she wanted revenge. She would stop at nothing to take Fluttershy's life, and possibly Babs' as well.

The only way to ensure their safety... was to eradicate Violet from the arena. Permanently.

But how could Fluttershy, an innocent, weak pegasus, kill an enraged earth pony, one that probably had years of training prior to the games? She puzzled over this for a while, and remembered a very crucial fact, one that she'd nearly forgotten up until that point.

This was the Pony Games. Each and every exciting moment and bloodshed, filmed and broadcast before the entire population of Paneighm, especially in Canterlot. And in Canterlot, hopefully, a few willing sponsors watched. Sponsors meant help and resources, two things that Fluttershy felt a bit short of at the moment.

But how to ask for it?

Fluttershy examined the base of her tree, looking for any hidden cameras. One of the knots in the wood was darker than the others, and had a certain shine to it that was anything but natural.

Shuffling backwards awkwardly, Fluttershy allowed the camera to get a better view of her. She looked straight into the lens and addressed her mentor.

"Rainbow Dash," she said. "I need-"

A soft burst of light flashed for just a moment on the wooden branch in front of her, before it faded to reveal a round silver casket, just big enough to fit a few baby bunnies inside, or possibly a raccoon. Fluttershy stared at it, mesmerized, as the top slid open to reveal... a knife. A silver blade, sharp and ready for the kill, much like the one that she'd used on the Gameponies.

Maybe it was the same one. She couldn't be sure.

When Fluttershy looked down again, the silver casket was gone. That didn't bother her; she wouldn't have had much use for it, anyway. She practiced swiping at the air with the knife, but a twinge of pain in her neck told her that this method wouldn't be of much use. And besides, Violet would be able to see the knife from a mile away. How could she possibly hide it when it was clenched in her teeth?

She almost decided to hold it with the feathers of her wing, but her wings were so clumsy when it came to holding things, and she'd rather not cut herself.

To her surprise, another light flashed in front of her, this one even brighter than the one before. She almost dropped the knife, but managed to hold on to the end with her very front teeth. Setting it down carefully, she curiously examined the second silver casket in front of her.

It slid open, and Fluttershy grew anxious. In all her years of watching the Pony Games, a tribute had never received a second sponsor gift within an hour of the first. Actually, most mentors waited a day or two before giving their tribute another gift. Why in Paneighm was Fluttershy the exception? Was Rainbow Dash feeling generous today?

Unable to stifle her own inquisitive nature, she peered inside the silver gift-carrier and found... a simple black strap.

Fluttershy frowned, and took it out. It wasn't especially flashy or dangerous. In fact, the strap seemed to have no purpose at all.

The silver casket disappeared as quickly as the other one had, and in it's place, a simple white card, with a fancy silver print. A little bit of magic, to brighten your nights, it read.

What kind of message was that?

Fluttershy turned her attention back to the strap, which was supposedly magical. It was about the size of her hoof, so she assumed that was where it was supposed to go. Using her teeth, she stretched it around her right front hoof and waited for something to happen.

Nothing.

Wait, something did happen. The knife in front of her had begun to hum slightly. Was it possible that the two gifts were meant to be connected?

Fluttershy moved her hoof, along with the strap, towards the knife, and the humming intensified. Was it some sort of metal detector?

Then, all at once, the knife rose into the air. Fluttershy stared at it, unable to comprehend what was happening. It turned, so the handle was pointed towards her.

And then, it raced straight at her.

Fluttershy let out a small squeal and threw up her hooves to protect herself. When nothing struck her, she slowly uncovered herself. The knife was gone, nowhere to be found. But where had it-

Fluttershy's eyes wandered to the strap around her hoof. It was gone too.

No, not gone. She could still feel the strap. It was simply... invisible?
A little bit of magic. Of course, the strap was magical!

But why make it invisible? What was the point?

And for some reason, the strap was slightly heavier than it had been. Was that a side effect of the invisibility? Or was there something attached to it now... something that hadn't been there before.

The knife. The strap and the knife were connected somehow. When the two got close enough to each other, the strap would attract the knife, and the knife would become... attached, somehow. Fluttershy wondered if she could take the knife off, too.

"Hey!"

Fluttershy stood up quickly. Heart pumping, she gazed down at the ground, where Violet pawed the ground impatiently.

"Don't get any funny ideas," Violet yelled up at her. "I'll just follow you if you fly away."

Fluttershy ignored the earth pony and turned her attention back to her sponsor gifts. To her surprise, the strap around her hoof was visible once more, but the knife was no longer connected to it. Instead, the knife was impaled in the branch... right next to her hoof.

This was certainly strange. What could she possibly have done to make it detach itself? Fluttershy gripped the knife with her mouth once more and yanked it cleanly out of the wood. Holding it next to her hoof strap, the knife pulled itself from her teeth and affixed itself to the strap. Both instantly disappeared from view.

Fluttershy experimented with her gifts, trying to figure out what made them work. It was only when she bent her leg that she heard a tiny click! Frowning, she straightened her leg, but nothing happened. When she bent it again, however, the same click sounded. It occurred to her that when Violet had yelled at her, she'd stood up quickly. Maybe a quick movement was required to make it work. She backed up even farther on her branch, careful not to fall off. Pointing her bent leg towards the trunk of her tree, she snapped it straight.

The knife hurled itself in the direction pointed, swiftly clearing the short distance. It pierced the thick wood, quivering for a moment before falling still.

Fluttershy couldn't help but smile. Perhaps she did have a chance in the Games after all.

***

Rainbow Dash grinned, her eyes on the television screen in front of her. Fluttershy was doing surprisingly well, considering she knew nothing about her role in the Games. And she'd figured out how to use the knife all by herself. Rainbow had to admit, she was impressed. Maybe the pony wasn't such a wimp after all.

"Miss Dash?" a grey pegasus pony appeared at the door, a mail back on her back. She was slightly cross-eyed, Dash noticed.

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I'm busy."

"Letter from the princess." The pegasus mare reached into her mail bag and pulled out an envelope embossed with golden writing.

Rainbow Dash sighed, having known this was coming. Of course, any sponsor gift that included a cloaking spell must be pricey enough to attract even the attention of her royal highness.

Sure enough, the letter read:

Dear Rainbow Dash,
Congratulations on getting your tribute thus far in the games! I'm sure that none of us were expecting her to get through the first day, even when she received such a high score from my lovely Gameponies.

I have recently become aware that you sent your first sponsor gift, at exactly thirty three hours and twenty four minutes into the Games. This gift, which included a weapon, a launching spell, and a cloaking spell, was extremely expensive, as I'm sure you are aware.

Simply for my own reassurance, and the assurance of those that oversee the sponsor gifts, please send over a complete list of all of your sponsors, including name, race, and amount sponsored.

Thank you for your time.
Your compassionate leader and illustrious dignitary,
President Celestia

Rainbow Dash glanced over at the mailmare, who stood, waiting patiently for her reply. Rainbow reached under her chair and produced a list, which she'd had ready for days.

With a forced smile, she stuffed the paper into an envelope and handed it to the grey pegasus.

"Thank you!" The mare said, genuinely happy to receive something to deliver.

As the mailmare trotted out the door, Rainbow imagined the president's face when she saw the list. For, at the bottom, underneath all of the Canterlot sponsors, there was one very interesting entry. An extremely large amount of bits was donated, the only other information provided being one inexplicably complicated word:

Anonymous.

Comments

[Rainbooms]

Anonymous: Luna.
My guess.

[UnidentifiedFlyinPegasus]

3100019 Not that I don't appreciate the constructive criticism, but I'm pretty sure that forgo is the correct word there. But thanks anyway!

[Rainbooms]

3101628
As a Grammar Nazi, I can confirm that that is the correct word.

[andy112138]

This story is amazing! I hope you can continue it soon! I'm absolutely hooked!

[No more account]

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