• Published 28th Feb 2013
  • 3,185 Views, 348 Comments

The Equestria Games: First Blood - 8_Bit



A crossover with The Hunger Games. While the original book/movie focus on the 74th Games, this takes us all the way back to where it started, where the first blood was spilled to entertain the masses. The story of the 1st Equestria Games.

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Chapter X: A Whisper in the Dark

Dinner was less than pleasant for Twilight. She slumped deeper and deeper into her chair as Thunderlane dramatically recounted the fight with Rainbow Dash to Lightning Dust and the two stylists, not even stopping to eat. Rainbow had only been knocked unconscious for a few minutes, but when she had returned from first aid, there was no way of disguising the bruise on the back of her head.

“It was incredible,” said Thunderlane, reaching the conclusion of his recount. “Everypony just stood there in silence. Even the Gamemakers looked like they couldn’t believe it.”

“And Rainbow Dash?” asked Lightning.

“She was fine,” replied Thunderlane. “She walked back in about five minutes later. But you should have seen the way she looked at Twilight, though. I thought she was gonna explode.”

“It looks like our star has some real fight in her,” beamed Hoity Toity.

“Look, it was nothing really,” Twilight interjected, wanting to get off the subject.

“Actually, it wasn’t ‘nothing’,” Lightning Dust responded, wiping ketchup off her mouth. “In fact, it was quite the opposite from what I’ve heard. The Gamemakers were very impressed with you. Apparently, even some of the Peacekeepers in that room were amazed at that roundhouse kick.”

“I don’t think they expected anypony to impress them like that on the first day,” added Photo Finish.

“I couldn’t do it again if I wanted to,” Twilight said anxiously. “It was a one time thing.”

“If you did it in training, there’s no reason you won’t be able to do it in the arena,” Thunderlane noted, much to the agreement of the other ponies at the table.

“I… I just…,” she responded, clearly getting very agitated. “I need some time to think,” she finally finished, before getting up and walking out, barely having eaten half of her meal.

The whole event kept on flashing through her mind as she walked. Her hoof making contact with Rainbow Dash’s skull, the vicious thudding noise as she knocked her unconscious, the ghostly silence of the crowd as she stood over her downed opponent, wondering how in the hay she managed that. The images flashed so vividly she barely kept track of where she was going, only just stopping herself from walking face-first into the glass door in front of her.

She had long-since walked past her door, but as she looked through the glass, she saw stairs leading up. Up? But she was on the top floor. The visions faded as curiosity got the better of her, and she pushed through the glass door and made her way up the stairs, completely unprepared for the sight that awaited her.

The stairs led up to a balcony that made up the entire roof level. After taking a moment to recover from the sudden rush of cold night air, she gasped as the entire Capitol sat around her in a complete panorama of exquisite beauty. The silver towers she had seen from the train rose above her, reaching into the night sky like mighty beacons. The rest of the buildings stretched beneath her, each as beautiful from above as they had been from the streets. The cliffs surrounding the mighty city served, in terms of height, almost a half-way point between the Training Center and the tallest skyscrapers. The stunning array of estates dotted along the cliff face looked even more impossible than before, perched on tiny rock faces jutting out of the cliff that served as pathways back down to the mighty city. Twilight’s troubles faded slightly as she took in the sight before her eyes.

“Twilight…,” she heard in an almost whisper. It was only just loud enough to hear over the wind and the city noise.

“Twilight…,” the voice said again. But that was impossible, it sounded exactly like…

“Shining Armor?” Twilight asked, her voice full of hope.

“Nope, Thunderlane,” said a clear voice behind her, causing her to jump in a moment of terror.

“Oh,” she said quietly, heart still racing. She had sworn the voice had sounded like her brother. “I… I…”

“I understand,” Thunderlane said supportively. “You miss him, don’t you?”

Twilight turned around to face the city again, leaning on the balcony wall.

“More than anything. Even going into the arena might be bearable if he was here with me. It’s just, I didn’t get to say goodbye, you know?”

Thunderlane nodded understandingly. “We were an hour out of District 12 when you woke up. I tried to convince the Peacekeepers to let us stay until you came to, but they told me we couldn’t mess with the tight schedule.”

Twilight just stood there in silence. Thunderlane walked over and stood next to her, leaning on the balcony. The pair remained in silence for a few minutes.

“Can I ask you something?” Thunderlane asked quietly, watching the various ponies in the city below going about their business, seething with envy.

“Sure.”

“Soarin’ said that pegasi can’t fly anymore, and that unicorns can’t use their magic either. But I’ve never seen you use magic, not for anything. Well, anything except that thing on the train with Lightning Dust. Why?”

Twilight winced as the war memories flooded back in a millisecond. The shooting, the executions, the screaming, and the look of terror on her parents’ faces as they were swallowed by the explosion.

“No reason,” she replied, in a tone that screamed of “seriously, don’t go there”, which thankfully was a tone that Thunderlane picked up on. This left the pair stood in awkward silence as the city noises continued around them.

“I’m gonna head to bed then” Twilight said, finally breaking the silence. She turned and walked towards the stairs.

“Twilight?” Thunderlane said, stopping her in her tracks. She turned to look at him.

“Yeah?”

Thunderlane glanced back over his shoulder, looking at her with sincerity.

“Sorry.”

Twilight nodded appreciatively, and without another word, walked back inside. Thunderlane returned his gaze to the city, his own memories of harder times forcing their way relentlessly back into his mind.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Twilight and Thunderlane found themselves once again riding the elevator down to the Training Center, only to step out and find themselves alone in the room. Well, almost alone. None of the Gamemakers had arrived yet, but Spitfire and Soarin’ were setting up the various targets for the knife throwing and archery areas.

“Hey kids,” Spitfire called out. “You’re a bit early, training doesn't start for another twenty minutes or so.”

“Fancy lending us a hoof?” Soarin’ asked.

Twilight and Thunderlane shot each other “oh, what the hay” looks, before walking over to help out. Each target was a paper outline of a pony, with various smaller outlines inside it, and numbers to mark out what regions equaled a certain number of points. Each leg was ten points, stomach was twenty-five points, and places like the head were fifty points. Thunderlane looked uncomfortable as he noticed the hundred point region located between the hind legs. These paper markers were then attached to heavy metal struts that hung down from metal rails that allowed the targets to move. The front of the struts was a thick sponge, to allow the arrows and knives to sink in and stay put.

It took all four ponies, and a lot of effort, to lift all eight struts onto the hooks hanging from the rails. That meant four for archery and four for knife throwing. The final task was to attach the paper target sheets to the struts, which needless to say was a lot quicker and easier to do. As they finished, and gave each other celebratory hoof bumps, the elevator returned, carrying Rainbow Dash and Nighteye. As the pair stepped out the doors, they both gave Twilight and Thunderlane icy stares that could have frozen a volcano.

“Don’t worry about them,” Soarin’ said encouragingly. “If you can deal with them in the arena like you dealt with Rainbow Dash yesterday, I don’t see them being a big problem.”

Twilight didn’t appreciate the reminder of her roundhouse kick, despite the fact that Soarin’ was only attempting to give moral support. She and Thunderlane sat down at the fire making station, waiting for the rest of the tributes to arrive. Spitfire thanked them for helping out, as she and Soarin’ split up to make sure the rest of the stations were prepped. It was only a short wait, as ten minutes later all of the tributes were dotted around the room. Spitfire stepped up to the archery area, and called them all over.

“Good morning everypony,” she announced. “This morning we will be focusing on ranged weaponry. This means you will each have a try at archery and knife throwing. You know the drill, line up in height order, and just to warn you, anypony caught fighting will be subject to severe punishment from the Peacekeepers.”

Author's Note:

Has Twilight gone mad? Was she really hearing Shining Armor, or have her feelings for Thunderlane developed against her will, to the extent where she feels for him in the same way that she feels for her brother?

I know the OC's don't really show up in this one, but that's because I'm starting to explore the emotions between Twilight and Thunderlane, as well as the effect left on both of them by the war. I'm starting the next chapter soon, hopefully I'll have it out later tonight, so if you're fretting over the lack of any OC's, don't worry. You'll see them soon.

Thanks for reading, catch ya later! x