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.
Equestria. A nation emerging from a brutal war. 13 Districts of the land previously stood together, hoof in hoof, and rose up against the Capitol that had ruled in tyranny for so long. On fought the Earth Ponies, the Pegasi, the Unicorns, and the Alicorns. But one District was destroyed, and the Alicorns were no more, leaving the remaining districts to mourn their losses, and face the Capitol. Then, during the darkest hour, a truce was offered, and a treaty was signed.
"The races of Equestria chose to rise against the Capitol that had cared for them. In penance for their uprising, each district shall offer up a Stallion and a Mare between the ages of 12 and 18 at a public "reaping". These tributes shall be delivered to the custody of the Capitol. And then transferred to a public arena, where they will fight to the death until a lone victor remains. Henceforth and forevermore this pageant shall be known as The Equestria Games."
The original Hunger Games trilogy takes place at the time of the 74th games. This story goes all the way back, back to the time of an Equestria fresh out of a horrific war. The peace treaty has been signed, and the games set to go ahead. The tributes involved face a daunting task: to compete in a brutal fight to the death in the very first Equestria Games.
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Cover Art done by the epic DordtChild on DeviantArt. Equestria Games logo belongs to MsSquiggle on DeviantArt Edited by the super-ultra-extreme-awesomazing Nonagon.
As Twilight woke, she wished nothing more than to remain deep in the recesses of sleep. Then she could continue her escape from reality, staying beneath the thin sheets barely keeping her warm and shut out the outside world. Sadly, this was a luxury that she could not afford.
Finally accepting defeat, she sat up in bed. Sleep had evaded her for the majority of yet another night, and to say she was tired would be the understatement of the century. Every time she fell asleep, the same images would re-enter her mind; piles of bodies, explosions left right and center, and endless, endless screaming. She opened her eyes and stood up, rubbing her aching eyes and walking out of her room. She headed towards the kitchen while desperately averting her gaze from the assortment of pictures on the hallway walls, envious of the better times they displayed. Moments of time that could never exist again. Moments of happiness that seemed impossibly far in the past. Moments which would never be paralleled again.
She walked into the kitchen, and was met with the only good thing she had left in the world: the smiling face of her brother. The situation they were in dictated that this was not a happy smile, but a supportive one. He had to care for her, in any which way he could. Given the circumstances, all he could do was support her and be strong for her. But he was safe, while she was facing the worst threat imaginable.
"Morning Twily," said Shining Armor. He spoke softly, with an upbeat attitude that Twilight envied greatly.
"Morning," she responded dryly.
Nothing else need be said between them. She was terrified of what was to come, and it showed with every iota of her body language. Shining didn't need any invitations; he walked right over to her and hugged her tightly. She hugged back, savoring every moment. In tough times, the simple embrace of her brother could make the gloomiest nights seem bright. Moments dissolved, feeling like hours. Twilight cried softly, as every single "It's okay," Shining said made her feel as if all the horrors the world could throw at her wouldn't get within a mile.
After a few minutes of the embrace, Twilight loosened her grip, and Shining Armor followed suit.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her, eyes full of concern.
"There's nothing to talk about," replied the younger sister he cared for so dearly. "It's out of our control. But we've got a few hours to kill before the reaping, so I just want to be as far away from here as possible."
Shining nodded, levitated his saddle bag onto his back as they both headed out.
For the two young unicorns, home was the area of Equestria known as District 12. History books tell of the district being in a picturesque location, nestled between the great mountains that once housed the royal palace of Canterlot and the dense woodlands of the Everfree forest. The reality was true to form, but only on occasion. Heavy overcast was typical weather in District 12, with the residents very rarely being treated to sunny days. But on these clear days, the surrounding areas of the district were indeed a sight to behold. The great mountains to the north were so clear you could easily make out the ruins of the royal palace, and to the south the forest stretched out in its infinite complexity. The only thing that spoiled the view was the town that lay between.
District 12 was found to be a location rich with coal, in the earliest days of the Capitol rule. Therefore it wasn’t long before mining became the primary industry of the district. The large town was itself nestled in a natural valley, several miles across with the coal rich hills rising up for hundreds of metres on either side. It was often joked that the town was in a location that alone said a lot about the way Equestria was ran. To the north was the ruined palace, to remind the ponies of what they’d lost. To the south was the Everfree forest, to remind them of how dangerous the world beyond the fences was. And to the east and west were the hulking hills in which lay the coal mines, to remind them that the Capitol was always a force that watched over them mercilessly.
The town nestled between the hulking hills could at best be described as little more than a shanty town. History books identified it as a town once called Ponyville, a picturesque village with stunning surroundings and friendly townsfolk. Crisp and clean cottages with thatched roofs housed a few hundred ponies, the roofs of which were made from pure golden hay grown locally on a farm a few miles out from town. The golden landscape of roofs was only broken on the odd occasion, but they were grand exceptions. Buildings like the town hall and its circular roof rising high above the houses, or the bakery which had been specially built so the roof resembled a cake topping. The only evidence of any of this were blurred black and white photographs found in family photo albums and the history books in the school. Naturally the Capitol would twist history to suit its own way at every opportunity. In this case, any reference of the old town in the history books would always finish off by saying that it was the disobedience of the ponies that caused them to lose the quaint nature of their home.
The district was waking up to a new day, but the hustle and bustle that came so naturally was a mere memory today. It would be resumed tomorrow, but today most ponies sat quietly in their houses. Families huddled together, savoring what they were aware could be some of the last precious moments they could spend with each other before the reaping. The quiet streets meant Twilight and Shining Armor went unnoticed as they headed towards the border fence that separated the small village from the dangers of the forest beyond. The two had grown up going into the forest, being up and out at the crack of dawn to spend many a long day foraging for food and returning home just after sunset, exhausted but at ease. They had quickly learnt all they needed to stay safe; where to go, where to avoid, and how to hide should they stumble upon Timberwolves or other unfriendly predators. In the Everfree Forest, Twilight and Shining Armor felt like nothing could separate them. However, today was different.
They approached the border fence which "officially" was supposed to be electrified, but District 12 was hardly the richest district in Equestria. As a result, power would never be surging through it for more than a few minutes. Shining used his magic to separate the wires and make a gap big enough for Twilight to get through, before stepping through himself. The wires twanged loudly as he let his magic release them, and he trotted off after his sister.
Most days they would spend several hours foraging for food. Some of the berries were a delicious treat, but you had to be very careful. The majority were harmful, and the effects were varied. Some caused nothing more than minor stomach cramps and nausea, but anypony eating unfamiliar berries would be lucky to get off so lightly. The effects of the worst berries went all the way up the scale, topping off with amnesia, paralysis, and even death. The two unicorns contented themselves with some apples, and headed towards their favorite spot.
The Everfree forest sat on the edge of a valley, extending outwards for miles on either side of it. The valley twisted and turned, like the sweeping river that lay in the base of it. In one spot, there was a clearing right as the valley turned sharply. Stand in the middle of the clearing and the valley extends out in front of you in a V shape. The river hundreds of feet below cascaded over a waterfall right at the corner, causing a constant mist to rise directly in front of the clearing. Even on gloomier days a rainbow shined upon this spot, gracing the viewers with one of few remaining true spots of beauty in Equestria.
Twilight and Shining Armor had stumbled upon the clearing on their very first trip into the Everfree many years previous. Twilight was just a filly, her flank still yet to boast a cutie mark. Shining had suggested they explore, despite their parents warnings to stay out of the Everfree. They had started off gathering fruits and berries, working their way into the forest when Twilight first heard the rushing water of the waterfall below. They had chosen this perfect spot to sit and enjoy the food they had foraged, and soon the exertions of the day took their toll on the young ponies. They'd drifted away into the recesses of sleep, cuddled up together in the warmth of the sun.
It was this sweet memory that entered Twilight's head as the two approached the clearing. The sun was shining brightly today, and the rainbow danced in the mist not unlike an ecstatic dog greeting its owner. Twilight and Shining sat quietly, admiring its serene beauty. The rainbow never seemed to dissipate or fade with age. It was always there to greet them. Of course it would disappear as the sun did when Luna's moon rose over the horizon, but it would always return when the land was blessed once again with Celestia's glorious sunlight.
"So..." Shining began.
"Don't!" Twilight quickly interjected. She knew what he was going to say, but she was less than keen to talk about it.
"Twily, calm down. There's hundreds of ponies' names that are eligible. The chances of you getting picked are remote."
"But what if I do get picked? What would I do? There's no way I could bring myself kill anypony."
"It's not exactly something I could ever picture you doing."
"Is everything about this a joke to you?"
"Funny things are."
Shining Armor's ability to make light of horrific situations never ceased to amaze Twilight. It truly was a skill she was yet to master, but was never quite able to get a hang of. She wanted to respond angrily, but she knew he was just being blasé to make light of the situation. Albeit an odd way to think, it was infinitely better than the alternative; living in constant fear, terror and depression. Being nonchalant about the abysmal living conditions was one of the few ways to stay sane in Equestria.
"What do you think Mom and Dad would say?" Twilight asked, leaning her head on Shining's shoulder. "I mean, if they could see me killing somepony."
"I think they'd say that its not your fault," he replied with determination in his voice. "You wouldn't jump into the arena with the taste of blood, desperate to kill the first pony you could. And you won't. Not after everything we've been through, everything we saw. I promise, I won't let them take you. No matter what happens."
The two unicorns sat in silence, staring at the rainbow with no awareness of how much time was passing. Years could have gone for all they knew. They were just happy to be together while it lasted.
It was inevitable that the silence would be broken, and they both cursed in their heads as they heard the sirens in the distance. This was not an emergency siren, but one of announcement. Twilight hugged her brother tightly, holding on to him as if anything within his abilities would prevent the sound of the sirens reaching her. She knew the message that was being conveyed by the sirens, but wanted so badly to ignore. It was a summoning of everypony in the district, and strict head counts ruled out the possibility of hiding from it.
"Twily..." Shining said.
"Don't! Please, don't..." She said, desperately trying to prolong the time they had away from the inescapable.
Mayor Mare stood alone on a stage, two glass bowls sat on pedestals either side of her. One contained the names of all the eligible stallions for the reaping, and the other was for the mares. Behind her loomed city hall, an intimidating brick slab reaching 3 stories high with a projector screen taking up the majority of the wall facing the large crowd. The mayor stood before the entire population of District 12, all ponies whose names sat in the bowls in two partitioned areas immediately in front of the stage. As was done with the names on paper slips in the glass bowls, stallions and mares were divided between the two areas.
“We have gathered here to select two brave ponies, one stallion and one mare, for the honor of representing District 12 in the 1st annual Equestria Games!”
Twilight stood among her classmates, each as terrified as the other. She desperately scanned the surrounding crowd, looking for the most caring set of eyes she could find. There were faces of concerned ponies everywhere she looked, until she finally lay her eyes upon her brother. Shining Armor returned her gaze, as he had spotted her in the corral of mares from the moment he took his place in the sidelines. This area was strictly for those fortunate enough to be above the age of reaping, fortunate enough to never have to worry about being forced into the arena. She looked into his eyes, and even from the distance she could still hear him saying “It’s okay.” The words were as crystal clear as if he were speaking them right into her ear.
“Now, we are fortunate enough to have a brief film to see, straight from the Capitol, to mark this momentous occasion,” continued the grey haired Mayor. Her attitude was cheerful enough, but her eyes betrayed her true feelings about what was to occur in the days to come.
As soon as the film began to roll on the enormous projector screen, Twilight looked back to Shining. He too returned her gaze once again. The images being displayed on the screen were brutal reminders indeed, made infinitely more powerful by the memories still fresh in the minds of the pony audience. Many more had this same reaction and desperately averted their gaze, knowing that should they be selected, the Capitol audience would revel in their teary eyed television debut. Nopony wanted to give the Capitol ponies this satisfaction. Twilight and Shining maintained this gaze for the whole film, and any sound effects or voice-overs were blurred out, nothing more than simple background noise. The film was utterly meaningless as long as they could lock each other in eye contact for this brief span.
Mayor Mare seemed to follow suit with the crowd, and with a lot less confidence in her voice, took the stage again.
“Well, wasn’t that… nice,” she said, putting a fair amount of unwilling force into the last word. The film had clearly had the desired effect on the audience. “Now," she continued. "The time has come to select our tributes. We’ll start with the stallions.”
She walked slowly over to the bowl, clearly burdened by the knowledge of what she was doing. She reached into the bowl, and fished deep down to the bottom of it. After a long time shuffling her hoof through the pile, she finally came up holding a single piece of folded paper. She returned to center stage, each step resounding loudly over the microphone and made infinitely louder by the eerie silence of the audience. Finally reaching the mic, she fiddled with the paper, finally succeeding in opening it and taking a deep breath before she uttered the name written on it.
“Thunderlane.”
The stallion crowd stood silent, each one slowly turning and looking at the stony face of the pegasus pony whose name had been called.
“Thunderlane, please come up onto the stage,” the Mayor repeated, clearly holding back tears.
The dark grey pegasus walked slowly towards the stage, as the crowd parted around him. On a normal day he would have flew to the stage, but that didn’t account for the state of shock that he was in. Twilight watched him from a distance. She had never spoken to Thunderlane before, but she was in his class in school. She often thought of him as arrogant and loud-mouthed, but she still thought of him as being a fairly good looking pony. Now she looked at him, face in shock and completely pale as though all the blood had been drained from it. It was worlds away from the classroom. He slowly took the stage, and stood next to the mayor.
“Right,” spoke the mare, “Now for the mares.”
Twilight started breathing heavily, becoming more terrified with every moment. The mayor stepped towards the glass bowl, and reached into it. Moments passed by like hours before she pulled out another slip of paper, and resumed center stage. Thunderlane had given up the shocked expression, and tried to put on an emotionless one as an act of defiance to bow to the ways of the Capitol. But none of his efforts could disguise the tears running down his face.
Twilight awoke to a gentle humming. As she woke, her blurry eyes revealed a dark figure standing over her. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She was in a bedroom, but this was the most beautifully decorated room she had ever seen; the carpet was a deep shag pile in a luxuriant purple, the bed she was lying on was a four poster bed with satin sheets, the walls were plain with what appeared to be a carbon-fiber finish. And the dark figure, who had walked out as she got up, came back in with a glass of water. Twilight grudgingly took the glass from Thunderlane.
“Thanks,” she said. “What happened?”
“We were chosen at the reaping," he explained, causing Twilight to facehoof as he recounted what she already knew. His eyes were clearly red from crying. "Basically, the Capitol just signed our death sentences. I’m sorry Twilight, for both of us.”
Twilight suddenly had a thought. “Shining Armor? Where is he? What happened?”
Without saying a word, Thunderlane picked up a remote from the table besides Twilight’s bed and aimed it at the wall. What appeared to be little more than wall started glowing as a screen appeared built within it. Twilight was greeted by an overview of the arena where the reaping had taken place. The camera focused on the Mayor with a stone faced looking Thunderlane stood next to her, as she read Twilight’s name off the paper. The camera stayed on the Mayor for a few seconds, before panning round to see an empty space where Twilight had been stood.
“You fainted,” Thunderlane pointed out. “Doctor says you were hyperventilating”.
Twilight’s eyes never left the screen as she was greeted with the images of Shining Armor pushing his way through the crowd, only to be stopped by white suited ponies who quickly restrain him. Then, to Twilight’s horror, he starts calling her name as a unicorn in a white suit levitates her limp body and carries her up to the stage and then into the town hall. Her eyes then filled with tears as Shining breaks free of the restraint and runs towards the stage. The remaining white suited ponies quickly converge on him, pinning him down before completely surrounding him and delivering what looked to be a brutal beating.
“They beat him up pretty bad,” Thunderlane said, putting his hoof on her shoulder. “But he still came to see you when you were unconscious. He’ll be fine, its just some bruising.”
Twilight pushed him away, and stood up, staring into space. Shining had made her a promise, one that ringed in her ears relentlessly: "I won't let them take you. No matter what happens."
“I didn’t even get to say goodbye…”
This was the final turn of the screw. Twilight broke down in tears. Thunderlane quickly walked over and hugged her. Twilight could hardly believe it. The Capitol had already caused her to lose her parents, and now, in the cruelest way imaginable, they had taken from her the most important thing left in her world. She was beyond words, beyond actions. She just stood there, crying beyond control as Thunderlane tried desperately to comfort her. But when somepony loses everything they love, it takes more than a hug to make anything better.
Twilight and Thunderlane stood still and silent in embrace for several minutes before Twilight finally let go. She was surprised to see this side of him, because normally in class he acted like the typical jock; arrogant, shallow, and just downright rude to the teachers. It seemed that out of class, this was a different story. Either that, or the mutual situation shared only by them gave them common ground on which to bond.
“Listen Twilight,” spoke the Pegasus, “I’m sorry about Shining Armor. I really am so, so sorry. But you can’t dwell on it. I know its hard, but if you dwell on it, you’ll wreck your only chance to get back to him.”
Twilight looked at Thunderlane through tear stained eyes. He was right, but there was only one problem.
“Twenty-four ponies go into that arena. Twenty-four. And only one comes out.”
“Just imagine it being you, walking out, and coming home to Shining Armor.”
At this point Thunderlane looked into Twilight’s eyes, and showed sincerity she had never seen from anypony. Well, she had from somepony…
“If you hold onto that thought, coming home to Shining, you can get through this. Trust me.”
Twilight had no idea why he was being so nice, but she chose to let it slide. She had more important things to worry about.
“Okay, thanks Thunder,” she said, wiping the tears away.
“Don’t mention it. Come on, I think dinner will be ready soon”
Twilight and Thunderlane stepped through the door, which opened on its own as an aura of gold appeared around it. The aura was identical to the kind caused by unicorn magic, but there was nopony around who could have caused it. They came out into a long corridor, at which point Twilight looked forward through the window in front of her and saw the sun setting over a distant hill with trees racing by rapidly in the foreground.
“We’re on a train? Holy buck, it’s like a palace in here.”
Thunderlane grinned. “Yeah, I said exactly the same thing when I carried you on”
Twilight blushed as they walked down the corridor. That particular detail was one he hadn’t mentioned before. The door to the next carriage led them to a large lounge, with two sofas facing a TV that took up half the wall. On one sofa sat an opal blue pony, with an amber mane that sat in a large bob on her head. She looked over at the pair, smiling when she saw Twilight.
“Hey sleepy head, good to see you woke up in time for dinner. Mind you, we have room service, but whatever. The name's Lightning Dust, I’m gonna be the mentor for you and Thunderhead here.”
“Thunderlane,” he corrected.
“Thunderhead, Thunderlane, whatever. Face facts, when up against Lightning, you’re gonna come last,” she replied, adding in a 'badum tss' before offering Twilight a hoof bump at her terrible pun. Awkward silence hung in the air.
“Gonna leave me hanging? Great, my first gig here and they drop the District 12 losers on me. Screw this, lets go eat.”
As she started walking to the door, Twilight winked at Thunderlane as she gestured downwards to the floor rug laid over the carpet. Thunderlane grinned knowingly and stepped off, as Twilight dug her hoof into it and pulling backwards agressively. This timed perfectly with Lightning Dust stepping off the end of the rug. As she moved forward, her body overbalanced, sending her crashing head over flank into a pile on the floor. Thunderlane collapsed onto the floor as well, clutching his sides with laughter.
Lightning stood up, furious, and flew towards Twilight in fit of fury. Twilight flinched while Thunderlane quickly span around one hundred and eighty degrees and bucked with all his might, sending Lightning Dust flying to the other end of the car. She crashed into the wall, and sunk to the floor. She looked at the pair with eyes full of rage, and stared in silence as she seethed. After a few tense moments she stood up, and the look of anger on her face began to dissolve. Soon it had become a grin, and she started chuckling to herself as something dawned on her.
“Well whadda ya know? Turns out you two aren’t as lame as I thought.”
“Not as lame as that Lightning thing,” Twilight responded, chuckling slightly.
“All right, all right. I’ll give you that one,” laughed Lightning.
"Yeah, I didn't really get that one," Thunderlane added, scratching his head.
“We’ll be on this train until tomorrow evening," Lightning Dust said, ignoring Thunderlane. "That’s when we reach the Capitol. So no sense in being enemies before we even get there, right? Now come on, I smell hay fries.”
Twilight and Thunderlane followed her as she led them towards the dining car. Whilst Thunderlane hung back, gawping and gazing at the view. In the few minutes since they'd left the bedroom, the view had changed from dense forest to a stunning coastal scene. The train was running on tracks high above sea level, giving them a spectacular view. They were still in the forest, which ran down the large hill all the way to the coast, which was littered in small villages as far as could be seen up and down the coastline.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Lightning Dust asked, not even needing to look back at Thunderlane. "Just a few hours in and we're already in District 4."
Basic geography of Equestria and the locations of each District was common knowledge among the citizens. District 4 was one of the largest, running over five hundred miles and covering the entire coast that history books refer to as the Bridle Shores. It had borders with all but three of the other Districts, making it an ideal place to set up the majority of the railway networks.
"I'll join you in a minute," Thunderlane said as they reached the door to the dining car. "I just wanna watch the view for a bit longer."
Lightning Dust smiled, having had a similar reaction when she'd first taken this train journey. "No worries, we'll see you in there."
The smell hit Twilight like a tonne of bricks as she stepped through the door, only moments before she saw the dining table and the mountain of food stacked on it.
District 12 is an outlying district, supplier of coal to the other districts. As such, work in the mines is the main job for stallions, and is exhausting to say the least. Anypony not fit for mine work dabbles in other jobs around the district. But in an outlying district, money is tight and food is a necessity on the border of becoming a luxury. While the majority of deaths in the District are down to mine accidents, the second biggest killer is starvation.
All the moments in her life where she’d been agonizingly hungry flashed across Twilight’s mind as she observed the feast set out in front of them. Cakes piled high on three decorative trays along the table, cakes of all shapes and sizes in a technicolor mindbomb that made her feel dizzy. Hay fries sat in a large bowl with a pair of tongs for serving, while plates upon plates of sandwiches with every possible ingredient one might have in a sandwich were dotted along the table. Many other delicacies were scattered around, but Twilight was so used to being famished, and wasn't prepared to wait any longer. Lightning Dust chuckled as she took a seat next to Twilight, who was helping herself to a large portion of the hay fries, scoffing down dandelion sandwiches as she went.
“Oh well,” said Lightning as Thunderlane walked in. “Makes a change from dinner with the Capitol snobs.”
This caught Thunderlane’s attention as he sat down, noting her general attitude towards the Capitol ponies was less than favorable, but before he was able to question her about it, the TV turned itself on, causing him and Twilight to jump out of their seats.
“Chill dudes,” Lightning chuckled. “It turns itself on for the Capitol broadcasts. This must be the recap of the reapings.”
Twilight and Thunderlane watched as a blue maned Unicorn, who introduced himself as Fancy Pants to the studio audience, began to show clips of the reapings while giving commentary for them. While Twilight zoned out for much of it, several of the tributes caught her eye. There was the white Unicorn with the purple mane who was chosen in District 1, who walked onto the stage like a fashion model. Then there was the cyan Pegasus with the rainbow hued mane from District 2, whose whole character screamed of arrogance as she acted like she had already won, even just at the reaping. The bright pink Earth Pony from District 4 also caught her attention, as well as that yellow Pegasus with the long pink mane from District 10. As soon as the Earth Pony with the Stetson from District 11 had been dragged into her respective town hall by the Peacekeepers, the screen cut to Thunderlane being called and his slow walk up the stage.
Twilight looked over at him sympathetically. She had seen him from a distance at the reaping, but this was something else entirely. The camera zoomed right in on his face, catching his shocked expression and spreading it across the entire screen. Then came the part Twilight was dreading. Seeing herself faint on screen again, and having to once again watch her brother desperately trying to get to her only to be met with brute force was heartbreaking. Fancy Pants made it no better, making 'get the doctor' jokes and sending the studio audience into fits of laughter over the moments that Twilight lost everything remaining that was dear to her.
"Don't let them get to you," Thunderlane said, noticing Twilight's expression.
"Those stuck up snobs wouldn't know sympathy if it bit them on the plot," Lightning Dust snorted.
"I thought you were one of them, though?" Twilight asked, clearly as taken aback about her comments as Thunderlane was.
"Pfft, as if," Lightning replied. "I'm from District 2 originally."
"How'd you end up here doing this, then?" Thunderlane asked.
"That's a long story," she replied. "One best saved for another time."
“I’m full,” Twilight announced, standing up, the laughter still resonating strongly in her ears. “I’m gonna get some sleep.”
“Breakfast is at seven,” Lightning said as Twilight walked towards the door. “We’ll have most of tomorrow to discuss tactics, and I need to brief you on how things are gonna go down when we arrive tomorrow evening.”
Twilight barely paid any attention as she walked out. She went straight to her room several cars down, and crawled under the sheets. She watched the orange-y glow the sun was sending through her windows fade to darkness as she closed her eyes and went back into her fantasy. Her fantasy of darkness and silence. This was impossible, as every time her eyes closed, her mind resonated with the sound of the laughter made by the studio audience in the Capitol. How they laughed at her fainting, and at Shining Armor being beaten mercilessly. This was simply for doing what he had to, to defend the only living relative he had left. The laughter burrowed right to the core of her. It mocked everything about her; the loss of her parents, her baby sister, and now the loss of her brother. He had been completely helpless as she was taken from him, and he was beaten, battered and bruised merely for attempting to protect her.
But what hurt the most was that the ponies that were the source of this laughter were the same ponies who, in a few days, would be watching her fight for her very life. All in the name of entertainment.
Twilight lay awake for hours, listening to the distant humming made as the train powered towards the Capitol and the faint chatter of Thunderlane and Lightning Dust. They seemed to be getting on well. From what Twilight had heard growing up, ponies from the Capitol were stuck up, greedy snobs. However Lightning Dust seemed to be an exception to this rule. She was actually friendly, and judging from the rough-and-tumble moment they’d had in the lounge, she had a good -albeit an odd- sense of humor. She had mentioned that she was originally from District 2, which may have explained why she was worlds away from what Twilight had expected of a Capitol pony. She'd have to ask her more about that tomorrow.
Twilight pondered these thoughts as the two ponies finally made their way to their respective bedrooms, and finally the inevitable happened. The sheer amount of sleepless nights behind her slowly caught up, and made their effects known. Couple this with the fact that Twilight had never been in such warm and comfortable bed in her entire life, and she was dead to the world in a matter of minutes.
And then the dreams began.
But this was no nightmare. Twilight was dreaming of better times.
Her mind flashed back to the Everfree Forest, and the clearing on the edge of the valley. The rainbow in the mist looked so close she could reach out and touch it. It looked so real as well, even down to the way it danced as the updraft from the cliffs caught the mist from the waterfall and carried it high into the air. She was sat with Shining Armor, the two of them tired from a long day of gathering food.
It had been mere days before this that Twilight had earned her cutie mark. Her family had been so proud, and even though her father had been extremely tired from working the mines all day, they had all sat round the fireplace, singing songs in its warmth until midnight. They went to bed at this time of course, as exhaustion will catch up to you eventually, but Shining had let Twilight sleep in his bed. The thin sheets barely kept in any warmth, but as the two bodies huddled together they kept each other both warm and safe. It was moments like this where Twilight felt like no horror the world could muster would come anywhere near her. Not while she had her big brother.
In the clearing, Twilight felt exactly the same. They ate the apples and berries happily, before lying down and taking in the warmth of the sun. Pegasus ponies no longer controlled the weather like the old days, so the scheduling that ponies in Equestria long ago used to enjoy was long gone. But this day was a rarity, a cloudless sky coupled with the gentlest of summer breezes. The sun beamed down on the two siblings, while the breeze kept them cool. It was a exceptionally strange moment of balance that is rarely seen in nature. Twilight looked at Shining, the dream feeling so real, and felt at peace.
But all good things must end.
Shining Armor, with no early indication whatsoever, sat up and violently vomited. Twilight squealed, jumping out of the way to avoid the messy stream of sick.
“Twily…,” Shining said weakly, before losing consciousness altogether.
Twilight ran towards Shining, but as she ran her vision began to shift. The faster she ran, the further away his limp body became. As she ran her fathers voice echoed in her head, warning her not to eat berries she didn’t recognize. She ran as fast as she could, but further and further away Shining became. The world soon grew dark, the rainbow fading from existence and the clearing disappearing altogether. Twilight was all alone in emptiness, a pitch black void of nothing. Nothing but her brother, desperately in need of her help, and nothing she could do got her any closer to him.
“Shining!” she screamed, as his weak, pitiful voice echoed in her head, the single word he had uttered saying so much more. It was a desperate cry for help.
Without any warning, his lifeless body disappeared into the void. Twilight stopped running, and broke down in tears. She’d lost him again, only this time it was her fault. He had needed her, and she’d failed him because she didn’t try hard enough.
She looked around, fighting back tears and trying to determine her surroundings. That was just it, she had no surroundings. There was nothing, just the void that had already consumed her brother. She wasn’t even acutely aware of what she was standing on. She could feel a floor beneath her hooves, but when she looked down she just saw more void.
And then in a split second, the void was gone.
In its place was a forest. Not the Everfree Forest, but one far from home. This was years later, and she was running for her life with Shining Armor back at her side. Her father led the way, with her mother just behind. Her mothers horn was glowing as she carried a young foal wrapped in a blanket, and she was desperately trying to keep it safe. Behind them was the very distinct sound of machine gun fire. Explosions tore through the forest as various ponies screamed, one-by-one getting cut off as explosions and guns ended their lives.
Then they were spotted.
Guns started aiming at them and bullets flew everywhere. Trees branches splintered and fell around the fleeing family. The sound of larger guns was heard, and moments later explosions started to erupt in the trees. Twilight’s mother lost her footing, tripping over a stump and sending her and her screaming young package falling to the ground in a pile. She tried to stand up again, but her injured leg gave way under the weight.
Twilight’s father looked back to see her failed attempt to get back up again.
“Shining Armor!” he screamed. “Get Twilight out of here! I’m going back for your mom!” With this he quickly turned around and ran back, whilst Twilight and Shining Armor kept running. Twilight however stopped, and looked back after a few minutes of silent running.
“Come on, Twily!” shouted Shining Armor.
“I’m not going until Mom and Dad catch up,” she replied determinedly.
That’s when she saw in the distance, two running shapes. One was one sky blue and the other a pale grey, the pale grey one moving with an obvious limp. She heard her father shouting to keep running, but this was said with a new level of fear to his voice. Then she heard and felt it, a boom to rival all the others, and watched in horror as a massive shockwave rushed through the trees. It swallowed the small shapes that were running towards them. As the shockwave continued towards them, it gathered all the trees and dirt on the forest floor, propelling them outwards in a tidal wave of foliage towards Twilight and Shining Armor.
Twilight sat up suddenly in bed, breathing rapidly in a state of panic. She was safe, well, for now. Back in her room on the train, she glanced at the clock on her bedside table, which read 06:54 AM.
“Great,” she said in between labored breaths. “Just in time for Breakfast”.
Twilight walked to the dining car, the memories of the nightmare, though fading to obscurity, still haunting her. She walked in to find three ponies dressed in simple red shirts setting the table for breakfast. The smell of freshly made pancakes wafted around the room, mixing with the aroma coming from a large pot of Hot Cocoa. The smells danced around Twilight’s nostrils, a more delicious odor she had never encountered before. The ponies in red briefly turned to look at her as she entered the room, before going back about their job.
“Hello,” Twilight said nervously, trying to avoid awkward silence.
Each of the ponies simple nodded, as if merely acknowledging her, and nothing else, before resuming their duties. One of them gestured their hoof to a chair, inviting Twilight to sit down. She did so.
“Ermm, should I wait for the others before I start?” she asked one of the silent ponies, who was setting a place opposite her. The pony gave a small smile, shook her head, and gestured to the pile of pancakes. The pony that had gestured Twilight to sit down placed a mug down next to Twilight, before pouring in some Cocoa from the pot. He pointed out the sugar and cream to her, before walking out. Their jobs done, the other two ponies joined him, leaving Twilight in awkward silence, still creeped out by the eerie silence of the servants. Boy, this morning had started off weird, she thought as she helped herself to a few pancakes. Meanwhile, the door to the Sleeper car opened, revealing what appeared to be a half-asleep Lightning Dust, holding a steaming mug of coffee.
“Oh, morning kid. You’re up early.”
“Yeah, I’ve always been an early riser,” Twilight lied. The nightmares she’d had weren’t ones she felt comfortable discussing. The memories were too painful.
“Hmm, fair enough,” replied the droopy eyed mentor. “Thunderlane was still snoring when I walked past his door, I’ll give him half an hour before I go and wake him.”
“Won’t this get cold?” Twilight asked, wiping maple syrup off her chin.
“So what if it does?” Laughed Lightning. “If it does, we’ll have the Avoxes make more. It’s no biggie.”
“The what?”
“Avoxes. Servants, if that’s easier to remember.”
“Those ponies in red?”
“Yeah. They creep the hell out of me though,” Lighting said, taking her seat and grabbing a pile of Pancakes.
“I thought the same. Why don’t they talk?”
The pegasus, who now had a mouthful of Pancakes and Syrup, paused to swallow before answering.
“Avoxes are traitors to the Capitol. If they get caught, they wind up with their tongues cut.” She casually said, sipping her coffee. “If they’re lucky,” she added.
Twilight almost coughed up her food. “The Capitol cuts their tongues out?”
“Not out, just cut it somehow and stops you talking. Look, ask somepony who trained as a surgeon, 'cause I don’t know the specifics,” She replied, now getting irritated, trying to eat her breakfast.
“And what did you mean by ‘If they’re lucky’?”
This made Lightning Dust sit up straight, looking at Twilight very seriously. She wiped her mouth with a napkin, before pushing the plate back.
“If they’re lucky, they’ll be earth ponies. If the Capitol catches a unicorn or a pegasus pony, and decides to punish them to be Avoxes, they’ll cut their respective organs off,” She said, going slightly green, shivering at the thought.
Twilight looked at her, confused. After a few seconds, the penny dropped. One of the ponies setting the table, the one who smiled at her, and gestured for her to start eating, she had a very noticeable scar on her head. Right where, on a Unicorn, you might find her horn. A wave of nausea hit Twilight full force.
“I’ll be right back,” she said to Lightning, before standing up and walking briskly to the door to the sleeping car.
“Take all the time you need,” the mentor nodded understandingly.
Twilight went straight to her room, thoughts racing through her head. She closed the door and walked into her small bathroom, standing front hooves on the sink, looking at herself in the mirror.
Her mind raced at a mile a minute. The Capitol, the ponies who she can thank for being an orphan, the ponies who mutilate pegasi and unicorns, and take their ability of speech on top of that, expect her to jump into an arena and kill or be killed, so they can be entertained? They’ve taken everything she has, and they expect her to sit back and go with it as they take more? She lashed out, sending a shelf of toiletries next to the mirror smashing to the floor, the small plastic bottles oozing out their contents in a colorful mess that began to soak into the soft carpet.
Twilight walked into the bedroom, and started pacing the carpet. She wasn’t sad about the situation, at least, not any more. She paced back and forth, slowly thinking things over. Images flashed through her mind, the scar on the Avoxes head, the footage of Shining Armor being beaten mercilessly, and the dream of the moment her parents died. She slowly realized her sadness at these events was a distraction, a delusion if you like, from her true feeling: Anger. The Capitol, these stuck up, snobby, murderous ponies, who tear off the limbs of ponies and turn them into slaves. These ponies had already ruled over Equestria in the same way before the war, and their response to ponies fighting just to have better lives is to force them to battle to the death on TV?
Twilight felt a sense of alleviation at this. The thoughts of her family still saddened her, but now she realized she could use them to push her forward. Keep her strong, keep her fighting. She would make it home to Shining Armor. She had to. So deep in thought, she nearly jumped out of skin when she felt a hoof gently touch her shoulder.
“Woah woah woah, take a chill pill, Sparkle,” Thunderlane said, with a faint chuckle to his voice.
“Oh, hey…,” she said quietly. She had been so focused on her thoughts about fighting to make it home, she’d forgotten one thing. Two tributes had been summoned from each district, but only one tribute could go home.
“Hey, you alright?” he said, gently lifting her chin with his hoof, allowing him to make direct eye contact with her. “Lightning Dust said you stormed off from breakfast, everything okay?”
No. To put it simply, everything was not okay. But at least Twilight had a bit more perspective on things now.
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” she responded, putting on the best fake smile she could muster. Thankfully, Thunderlane was not the stud he often made himself out to be at school, and was oblivious to the forced nature of the smile.
“Okay, well she wants us in the lounge for a briefing. She’s gonna talk us through some basic strategies we should know in the arena, then she’s gonna give us the low-down on how things are gonna run when we get to the Capitol.”
Several hours passed as the topic of strategies continued over long chats, flashcards, and even an impressive flank attack method demonstrated using salt and pepper shakers at lunch. Finally, as they set off from a quick fuel stop, the subject turned to their arrival in the Capitol. The threesome sat in the lounge, Avoxes on hand serving soft drinks.
“Right, I think you two have heard enough about what kind of plants are safe to use as toilet paper. You’ll get taught it all in Survival Training before you go into the arena, so its no biggie if you don’t grasp it all right now. We should get to the Capitol soon, just before sunset, so listen carefully, here’s how things are gonna go down.”
Twilight and Thunderlane looked at each other, then back to Lightning Dust, who was sipping a glass of Whiskey. For a Capitol pony, she was oddly in-the-know about survival techniques. Years of venturing into the Everfree Forest with Shining Armor had given Twilight good knowledge about basic wilderness survival, but Lightning Dust had this knowledge on a completely different level. She made a mental note to question her about it later.
“When we arrive, expect a large crowd at the station. Now, sponsors are important. If the Capitol ponies like you, they can pay to have items given to you during the games. These items could mean the difference between life and death, so try and impress them. As for the crowd at the station, be friendly, wave and everything, but follow me. I’ll lead you to the cars that will take us to the Training Center”
“Now, the Training Center will be your home for the next few days, while you get trained on Survival techniques. I’ve given you a head start here, so you can thank me later. Tonight is the big deal though, it’s the parade. So when we get to the Training Center, you’ll both be taken to see your stylists, who will prepare to present you to the audience. You’ll ride on the carriages around the city a bit, then back to the Training Center, where the President will do a little speech, blah blah blah, all that jazz. Any questions so far?”
“What kind of Items can sponsors send us?” Twilight asked.
“Anything from water and food, to medicines and weapons. But the larger or more expensive an item is, it costs the Sponsor more to give it to you. And the prices go up even more as the game goes on. Any more questions so far?”
Both the young ponies shook their heads.
“Good, now you get three days of training. Day three is the big one though. In the afternoon, you go and perform for the Gamemakers. These are the guys that control everything once you’re in the arena, so make a good impression. They’ll give you a score from 1 to 12, a 1 meaning you’re likely to die as soon as you step foot in the arena, and 12 meaning you’re an unstoppable killing machine, to put it all simply. That night, all the tributes will be interviewed by Fancy Pants, live to all of Equestria.”
Twilight groaned at this prospect. Fancy Pants was the one who’d sat in a studio, making jokes and creating uproarious laughter at the clip of Shining trying to save her, but getting a severe beating for his efforts.
As this happened, the view out the window turned dark.
“Ah, we’re in the tunnels through the mountains, so we’re nearly there” noted Lightning. “Anyway, the interview is your last chance to make a big splash and impress the ponies of the Capitol, so make it a good one. Then the morning after that, you’ll be taken to the arena. I guess you can figure out how the rest of it will go.”
Suddenly, the darkness outside gave way to the most magnificent sight Twilight had ever laid eyes on, with the possible exception of the first time she went to the clearing with Shining Armor. Both she and Thunderlane stood up and went to the window, in nothing but awe at what was in front of them.
The city sat on the edge of a lake, the railway tracks wrapping their way around the brim to reach it. Silver towers of all shapes and size stretched high into the clouds, sky bridges impossibly high off the ground connecting them at haphazard points. The lower parts of the city comprised of equally random but inconceivable buildings. Smooth curves interjected flawlessly with sharp bends and integers, making even the smaller buildings impressive beyond belief. On the cliffs surrounding the city, impossibly large manor houses sat on tiny cliffs, their weight seemingly suspended by some divine force that was beyond comprehension, a kind of power that seemed only possible in the hooves of some deity. In the very center of the city stood not the tallest tower, but easily the most impressive. The whole building was designed as a spiral, which decreased in sharpness along the height of it, becoming perfectly squared at the top. As the building rose, the color of it changed, starting off red at the bottom, becoming a faint magenta at the top, traversing the entire color spectrum on the way up. The scene was made perfect by the suns final rays of light peeking over the top of the cliffs behind it, not reflecting off the buildings in every which way to blind the two ponies, but instead giving a gentle orange glow to the whole city. For a place she had associated with the most brutal parts of her life, Twilight had to concede that as a city, it was stunningly beautiful.
“You should see your faces,” grinned Lightning Dust. “Welcome to the Capitol.”
Twilight was bewildered. Not ten minutes earlier, she was stepping off the train, Thunderlane at her side. The train had been modern, luxurious, and above all, cosy. But now, she was sat on an examining table, alone, in a small, chilly room with bland concrete walls. She had followed Lightning Dust’s instructions, following her to the car. The car had then driven swiftly through the streets, as entire roads had been closed off by Peacekeepers to allow them through, eventually arriving at the spiral shaped building she had seen from the train. Upon arrival, Thunderlane had been taken off elsewhere, whilst she was taken to the room in which she sat.
Her silent contemplation of the situation was soon interrupted as the door opened, and in stepped a very well dressed Stallion. His coat was one of a faint blue, and his light gray mane sat in a neat bob, with a single ponytail drooped over his shoulder. Twilight smiled uneasily at him, as he closed the door and sat down on a chair in front of the table, remaining in total silence the entire time. He took off his purple sunglasses, and sat in silence, just looking at Twilight.
“Errr, hi,” Twilight said quietly, hoping that the rest of the Capitol Ponies weren't this creepy. She wasn't sure how much more she could take.
“I saw the footage of you at the reaping,” he said, his upper class accent resounding aggressively in Twilight’s ears. “I’m going to assume that was your brother who took the beating.”
Twilight nodded gently, before staring down to the floor. She couldn't seem to maintain eye contact with anypony talking about Shining Armor. Then, to her surprise, he reached out, taking her hoof in his, simply holding it in support.
“My name is Hoity Toity,” he said gently. “Please don’t think that a name like this means I act in any way like those snobs out there. Those ponies are too posh to fart.”
Twilight smirked slightly. She’d always thought Capitol ponies would never stoop to talk about bodily actions in such a vulgar way.
He tilted his head slightly, looking at her with a wide smile.
“You look divine when you smile.” The compliment caught Twilight off guard, and the smile faded away instantly.
“Please,” he said, looking deep into her eyes. “Keep smiling.”
Twilight obliged. He stood up, putting his sunglasses on, and started walking around her in circles, just looking at her. Twilight kept wearing the smile, as he had asked, and every time he reached the front, she noticed he was still grinning.
“The Capitol has assigned to me the role as your stylist,” he said, continuing to walk circles around her. “My role will be not only to help you with your wardrobe, but every aspect of your public appearances over the next fed days. This role starts now, as in less than an hour, you and the other 23 tributes will be paraded around the streets, and shown to the public.”
He reached the front of her, and sat back down again.
“I met with the other stylists this morning, and we all agreed that the wardrobe each tribute will wear for the parade should reflect the primary industry of your district. In fact, we intend for this to become tradition with the tribute parades.”
He walked over to a control panel near the door, and tapped a few buttons on it. A panel on the wall behind Twilight slid away, revealing a TV as she turned to face it.
“You guys really love these hidden TV’s,” Twilight said quietly, wondering how many other walls she’d walked past in the last few days had TV’s hidden in them.
Hoity Toity smiled, as he pressed another button to start a clip rolling on the screen. Twilight cringed. It was the reaping, just as her name had been called, complete with Fancy Pants’ voice-over and the laughter of the studio audience. The cruel laughter burrowed into her head, bouncing around endlessly, seeming never to fade, never to soothe. This would have made an effective torture method, she thought to herself.
The clip cut out as Shining Armor started to push his way into the crowd, and the panel whirred back into place, hiding the TV once again. Twilight turned back around to face Hoity Toity, who had sat down on the chair again.
“I don’t blame you, you know,” he said, taking off his glasses again. “Given what you’re about to do. The enormity of everything. I can’t say I wouldn't have fainted if my name had been called. When the Capitol audience see that footage, you know what they see?”
Twilight just sat there in silence, the sounds of laughter still resonating in her head.
“They see weakness,” he said bluntly. “And if they see a Tribute display such a sign of weakness, what do you suppose the chances are of them spending their money to sponsor said Tribute?”
Again, Twilight remained silent, hanging her head. Hoity reached a hoof over, lifting her chin slightly so he could make eye contact.
“Not good,” she almost whispered.
“Correct,” was the response, as he let go of her chin. “But when I saw you smile just now, I didn't see weakness. Not even a little bit. My job is to make the Capitol ponies see what I just saw. Not to overlook you.”
“And how are you gonna do that?” Twilight asked hopefully.
To this, Hoity Toity just responded with a large grin.
Twilight and Thunderlane stood together, in a large dressing room with racks upon racks of clothes for any occasion, looking at themselves in a large mirror. To put it simply, they were dressed in coal miners jumpsuits. However, they had been 'roughed up' so to speak, being ripped and torn in multiple places, to make them look rugged. Coal dust had been rubbed onto the clothes, as well as into the coats and manes of the ponies, making them look even more rugged, as if fresh from a bountiful mining trip. Granted, this was an effect that was hard to spot on Thunderlane with his dark coat, so they had rubbed extra into his silvery mane to balance it out. Both of them had been given equally 'roughed up' mining helmets, complete with working torches, as well as some rubber pickaxes. Thunderlane’s stylist, an oddly dressed mare who introduced herself as Photo Finish, explained that the pickaxes had been covered in a chrome coating, and then rubbed with coal dust. The effect was two very realistic looking pickaxes, which both tributes adopted the stance of holding the handle with their hooves, while resting the pick end over their shoulders.
They were stunned as they looked each other up and down in the mirror. Each had reacted similarly when informed of this fashion choice, both completely unaware of what the end result would actually look like. Most of the tributes had been dressed-to-impress, dressed in the fanciest clothing imaginable, while remaining relevant to their district. By comparison, Twilight and Thunderlane looked a lot more 'devil-may-care', whilst achieving a new effect. They looked striking, and brutal. Under Hoity Toity’s instruction, they both stood up straight, while bearing strong facial expressions, with a faint smile. The two stylists backed away and admired their work, as above anything, Twilight and Thunderlane just looked intimidating.
“Worlds away from the mare who fainted yesterday,” Hoity said proudly.
“Yes,” added Photo Finish, almost distantly. “The pair of you look so striking, so daring, so dangerous! Me and Hoity, we have worked da magics indeed!”
Lightning Dust walked in, having to blink and rub her eyes, as if what she saw initially was a mere illusion that rubbing her eyes could fix.
“Wow. You guys look awesome!” she gushed, before walking circles around the pair, taking in every detail of their appearance. “Seriously, Photo, Hoity, great job to both of you”
The endless stream of compliments was soon interrupted by a series of horns sounded over various loudspeakers.
“I say,” Hoity exclaimed. “That’s the two minute warning! Quick, let’s get you to the carriages.”
The group walked swiftly out of the dressing room, down a corridor, and into a large atrium. The room was full on panicked ponies with headsets, scurrying around to attend to last moment details. Twelve chariots were lined up, each with a pair of Avoxes stood like statues at the reigns. Twilight noted several of the ponies snickering as she walked past. As she walked along, she heard a pony on one of the chariots behind her shouting.
“Hey dusty, gonna faint again?” a pony somewhere the front of the line shouted out, before most the tributes burst out in varying degrees of laughter.
Twilight ignored the snide comment and kept walking. She kept her eyes straight ahead, but her peripheral vision betrayed to her some disturbing things about the other Tributes in the Chariots. The stallion from District 3 for example, looked as skinny as a rake, not fighting material by any stretch of the imagination. The mare from District 5, a small orange Pegasus with a purple mane, was more of a filly than a mare. The stallion from District 9 was huge, his red coat and orange mane seemed to be barely holding in his muscle. And finally, the mare from District 10, the yellow Pegasus, was shaking uncontrollably, and seemed to only be still on the chariot because her fellow tribute was holding her hoof in comfort.
As soon as they reached their chariot at the back of the queue, the doors at the front of the line slowly swung open, and the Avoxes pulling the chariots began to march with almost military precision. Twilight and Thunderlane quickly adopted the stances they’d practiced, gave a wave to Photo, Hoity, and Lightning, and squinted as the darkness of the atrium they were in was replaced by bright spotlights lined in the city streets.
“Good evening Equestria! Fancy Pants here, and I am speaking to you live from the bustling streets of the Capitol where we are awaiting the chariots to depart from the Training center, so we can get our first look at the lucky tributes who will be competing in our first ever Equestria Games! What’s that? Okay, I've just been informed that the chariots are now proceeding onto the streets! Let’s switch over to the cameras on scene down there, and get our first proper look at the courageous young ponies.”
The first chariot bore two unicorns, both with white coats. The stallion stood proud and tall in a hand stitched tuxedo, his blonde mane gelled and styled backwards. The mare next to him sat at his shoulder height, her long purple mane styled into a fashionable bob. She wore a magenta gown, encrusted with exquisite gems, her hooves graced with slippers made of carved diamond.
“And there are our tributes from District 1, Blueblood and Rarity. District 1 manufactures most of the luxury items we use here in the Capitol, so their elegant wardrobe choice is a perfect compliment to the role of their district.”
The next chariot bore two vastly different occupants, both being pegasi for a start. The stallion bore a black coat and a black mane too. His eyes were piercing, an icy blue that contrasted hugely with the rest of his body. He was clothed in centurion armour, a bronze chest plate and a plumed helmet that rose high above his head. The mare beside him was much more colourful, with a cyan coat and a vibrant mane traversing blue to red on the color spectrum. She stood at eye level with the stallion, and was dressed near identically, only her helmet had, instead of an actual plume, a long thin gap to let some of her mane through, giving her helmet a plume effect that showed off the technicolor mane nicely.
“There we have District 2, represented by Nighteye and Rainbow Dash. District 2 runs the masonry and weapons production for all of Equestria, as well as being the training hub for our Peacekeepers, which the centurion costumes are a nice homage to.”
Behind them came a unicorn and an earth pony. The stallion, who was only one by anatomical definition, not by size or strength, was a pale grey earth pony, with a combed brown mane. His body was thin and frail looking, and his face was tragically losing the teenage battle to acne. A thick rimmed pair of glasses sat on top of a long thin muzzle, graced at the end with buck teeth. The unicorn mare sat next to him was vastly different, being taller and better built, with a cream colored coat, and a light brown mane that matched her eyes. The pair were dressed in silver suits, decorated with wires around the outside, attaching the various parts of the suits at joints, with fake circuit boards connecting the wires together.
“And from District 3 we have Gizmo and Pyro. District 3 is the main producer of electrical items, so I’m going to guess the costumes are meant to be some kind of pony-android imitation job. The circuit boards are a nice touch there.”
Following them came a pegasus and an earth pony. The pegasus stallion was shorter than the mare, and bore a light blue coat. His mane was red with a darker shade of blue running down it in thick stripes. The mare sat next to him was taller, with a bright pink coat. Her mane was a slightly darker shade of pink and was long and frizzy, the kind of mane anypony may get after receiving an electric shock. The ponies both wore aqua blue tunics, and each stood with one hoof holding a trident.
“From District 4, we have Fire Work and Pinkie Pie. District 4, if the costumes aren't a giveaway, is the coastal district used as the main fishing hub. Those tridents are fake, fillies and gentlecolts, so don’t worry.”
Behind them came two more pegasi. The stallion was very short, with a dark red coat and a cropped black mane. The mare was, well, the filly Twilight had noticed earlier. She was at shoulder height with her fellow Tribute, her coat a bright orange, with a spiked purple mane. The two ponies, due to their vertical disadvantage, were resting their hooves on the front of the chariot, putting all their weight on the back hooves. The result of this was them both just barely being able to see the road in front. They were dressed identically, in long silver robes covered in golden flecks.
“And just peeking over the top of the chariot from District 5, we have Clockwork Dawn and Scootaloo. They may be short, but District 5 gives power to all of Equestria, so don’t underestimate them. If they’re anything like the district, they’ll be small but powerful too.”
After them came a unicorn and an earth pony. The unicorn stallion stood tall, with a plain white coat. His mane was short and black, and his eyes were a bright shade of red. The mare alongside him was quite a sight. She was an Earth Pony, but she appeared to be a half zebra. Her coat was lime green, with orange stripes at regular intervals, and her spiky mane was a pale shad of purple, becoming a dark purple at the tips. The two were dressed in oily looking mechanics overalls, and both looked a little unhappy at the wardrobe choice.
“Hailing from District 6, we have Cube Twister and Limerick. Their fashion choices are interesting to say the least, but District 6 is the base of Transportation, so if you have a car, you can thank them for it.”
The chariot behind held a pegasus and a unicorn. The pegasus stallion was tall, with a light blue coat. His mane was white and spiky, fading to black nearer the tips. The unicorn was aqua blue, with a long white mane that jumped between white and a greyscale blue. They wore dark brown tunics, and headdresses elaborately decorated with a wide variety of leaves.
“And there they are from District 7, we have Papercraft and Lyra. District 7 is the center for Lumber and Paper industries, so you can quite easily guess the inspiration for their lovely outfits.”
Then came a chariot bearing two more pegasi. The stallion was, to put it simply, not a stallion. In fact, he was most likely the same age as the Pegasus from District 5. He was small, even for his age, and stood on spindly legs that looked weak and brittle. His coat was white, and his mane was a light brown, matching his eyes. His small face ended in a pointy muzzle with buck teeth, which earned him some adoration from the Capitol audience. The mare next to him stood much taller, with a sky blue coat. Her wild mane contrasted navy and sky blue, and stood tall like a wildfire. They both wore large tunics, hanging from which a variety of materials in a mismatch of colors hung randomly, looking less of the retro effect that was intended, but more of a giant multi-hued mess.
“From District 8 we have Featherweight and Blue Streak. Don’t laugh at the wardrobe everypony, even if they did bring the whole thing with them. District 8 provides Textiles for all of Equestria, so if it wasn’t for them, none of us would even have a wardrobe.”
Following them came what looked like, judging by the strained faces of the Avoxes, the heaviest Chariot, holding two earth ponies. The source of this exhaustion was likely the stallion. He was tall and muscular, barely able to fit on the chariot with his partner. His red coat bulged with the muscles underneath, and his orange mane blew gently in the night breeze. His partner, desperately holding onto the chariot for fear of being accidentally pushed off, stood a whole head shorter. Her whole body was purple, her coat the lightest shade, mane the darkest shade, and her eyes bridged the gap between the two shades. The two ponies wore orange robes, each adorned with crystals stitched into the fabric in strict rows.
“From District 9, we have Big McIntosh and Berry Punch. District 9 provides Grain for all of us, hence the intricate rows that you can see stitched into their robes. I tell you what everypony, after seeing the big guy there, I don’t envy any of the other tributes right now, knowing they’ll soon have to face him in the arena.”
Following them was an earth pony and a pegasus. The earth pony stallion had a light amber coat, with a medium brown mane parted down the middle, and he was still holding the hoof of his fellow tribute. The pegasus mare had a yellow coat, with a long pink mane that fell down past her face, nearly reaching the floor, and she was still shaking uncontrollably, hiding her head down in the chariot.
“Well it seems one of our tributes from District 10 has stage fright. Here we have Caramel and Fluttershy, straight from the main hub of Livestock. Enjoy your eggs in the morning? Well, they were laid in one of District 10’s industrial sized chicken coops.”
The penultimate chariot held a pegasus and an earth pony. The pegasus stallion was tall and thin, with a pale red coat. His mane was long and blonde, striped with gentle shades of pink. The mare next to him had an orange coat, and a long blonde mane tied with a scrunchie at the end. The pair both wore farmers overalls, and the mare still wore the Stetson that Twilight had noticed during the recap of the reapings.
“From District 11 we have Apple Cloud and Applejack. The Apple family makes up a huge part of District 11’s population, so it’s an unfortunate coincidence that two of them have to end up in the arena together. District 11 is the hub of Agriculture, so all your favorite apple related foods, apple fritters, apple pie, apple cider, all of it comes from there.”
“And finally at the back, from District 12, we have Thunderlane and Twilight Sparkle. She’s the one who fainted at the reaping, but she looks so much more aggressive in those miners overalls its almost implausible that she’s the same pony. District 12 provides Coal for all of us, so you can thank them for the times you gather round the fireplace with your family on a cold night.”
“There we are! 12 chariots, 24 tributes, all parading through the streets of our fine city. We’ll keep the cameras rolling on them, and when they return to the Training center, we’ll be treated to a speech from the President himself.”
Twilight was getting tired of the parade. They’d been going through the streets for about half an hour, and maintaining the 'Smile and Wave' act was becoming tiring, especially in the bitter cold of the night air. She was almost relieved when they turned the corner, revealing they were arriving back at the Training Center. Then she noticed a platform above the doors they had come out, and only a few figures stood there. She figured a prestigious event like this needed a VIP box.
“Nearly done,” said Thunderlane, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Thank Celestia,” Twilight added. “May she rest in peace.”
Thunderlane nodded in agreement. To their surprise, instead of going straight back in through the doors, the chariots where lining up in a formation, semi-circling around the giant doors. When they were all lined up, Twilight looked up, craning her neck as she did so, and was just able to make out a figure above the doors walking up to a microphone stand.
“Greetings, my little ponies,” boomed the speakers all around the city. “Tributes, Equestria looks to you, and thanks you for your bravery, and for your sacrifice.”
Twilight squinted, and managed to make out some of the features of the figure addressing them. The figure was disfigured to say the least. He appeared to Twilight to be the horrific result of some cross species experiment. His entire body was a confusing mishmash of random animal parts. Twilight could barely register what her eyes were telling her.
“I am President Discord. And I wish a very happy first Equestria Games to all.”
As the giant doors swung closed, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Waving and smiling to the ponies who would most likely be watching her death for light entertainment was not her idea of a good evening. And the President was, well, a monster. In the most literal sense too, she had never seen a creature anything like this one. It made sense that such a creature would be the one to spread such misery across Equestria.
All the tributes disembarked their chariots as the stylists rushed over to congratulate them. Thunderlane took off his helmet and brushed a hoof through his mane, sending the coal dust flying out in small clouds.
“Ugh, just get me to the nearest shower,” he laughed as Lightning Dust flew over.
“You did great guys, just great. I think I’ll save hugs for later, looking at the state of you,” she said, looking over her shoulder as Hoity Toity and Photo Finish stepped up, each wearing ear-to-ear grins, compliments gushing out in an incomprehensible array of gibberish. Lightning took it upon herself to hush them, before continuing.
“Lets just say if anypony in the audience reacts like these two,” she said, looking to the starry eyed stylists, “Then you have a good chance of getting sponsors. How was it then?”
Thunderlane began to talk, but Twilight phased out, looking behind him towards the front of the line of chariots. A small group of the tributes had gathered at the front, and were chatting loudly. The general demeanor of the group was one she had seen before, in the school cafeteria. The popular table, where all the coolest ponies sat, joked, laughed, praised each other, and looked down on anyone not part of the clique. This same attitude was being shown here, the six ponies of the group laughing like they owned the place, not showing a single bit of fear for the upcoming events.
Lightning noticed Twilight’s absent gaze, and followed her eye line to the group.
“I think I see an alliance forming,” she said, snapping Twilight out of the trance.
The other three ponies turned to look. Thunderlane instantly felt what Twilight felt. After all, back in District 12, he was part of that clique.
“Districts 1, 2 and 4 are Capitol favorites,” Hoity Toity explained. “They were the first to submit near the end of the war, and with them the other Districts caved in. Since then, the Capitol has been generously assisting them with post-war clean up. It’s kind of understandable that they'd form an alliance, when you think about it.”
Twilight rapidly looked away as Rainbow Dash looked up, momentarily locking them in eye contact. She then said something to her fellow tributes, after which they all turned to look at the District 12 ponies. Rarity and Blueblood, Rainbow Dash and Nighteye, and Pinkie Pie and Fire Work. They all looked over with the same smug look Thunderlane had often adopted in school, when he was arrogant in class, or picking on some of the younger ponies. A look that, without words, said “What you gonna do?”
Lightning Dust broke the awkward silence as the groups exchanged stares across the hall.
Twilight and Thunderlane stepped out of the elevator onto the top floor; the Penthouse. Both stood dumbfounded, as the room they saw made the train they had rode here in look like a run down outhouse strapped to a coal truck.
The ceiling rose three stories above them, supported by two rows of massive glass pillars. Lights hidden out of sight above and below the pillars rapidly made them glow brightly, slowly but constantly shifting colors to traverse the entire spectrum, only to come full circle and do it all again. Behind one row of pillars sat a mahogany dining table twice the size of the entire kitchen in Twilight s house. The whole thing sat as a smooth slab with a semi-circular underside, as if the tree had been cut down, carved, and placed straight there. The floor was made of marble tiles, with tiny strips of LED’s in the gaps between each tile. Behind the other row of pillars was a lounge, with futuristic looking sofas that seemed to have sunk into the floor. Covering the floor was a deep shag pile carpet of black fur, which looked like it cost more per yard than all of the food Twilight had consumed in the last year. The walls of the lounge had the same carbon fibre effect, and they held the biggest TV Twilight had ever seen in a room, rising above them and taking up at least half the height of the massive three storey wall.
Lightning Dust chuckled as she pushed past the motionless ponies, still stood still in awe of their surroundings.
“It’s something, ain’t it? Welcome to your home for the next few days.”
Still no response. Twilight and Thunderlane remained frozen on the spot, jaws wide open.
Lightning turned on the spot to face the zombies, smiling at the stunned expressions that didn’t seem to be fading.
Hoity Toity and Photo Finish stepped out of the elevator, laughing at the statues in front of them.
“Look, why don’t you both show them to their rooms?” Lightning suggested. “They can shower off before dinner. Oh feathers, make it quick as well. They’re getting dust all over the floor.”
As the stylists took the pair by the hooves, a pair of Avoxes appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and began sweeping up the mess. Lightning Dust crashed on the sofa, and switched on the TV.
Twilight stepped out of the shower into her space age bathroom, still terrified by the control panel it had. Hoity Toity had shown her how to use the touch screen to change the temperature, before handing her some toiletries and leaving. Twilight had tried some of the controls while conditioner soaked gently into her mane, but had been greeted with deafening Dubstep that vibrated the whole room mercilessly. The small puddles at her hooves had danced around in the air as the wub-wubs granted them momentary weightlessness, before she finally managed to turn it off.
“DJ Pon-3…,” Twilight had muttered to herself. “And some ponies call that music?”
After that, she had avoided the controls altogether until she was completely clean, and reasoned that a large red button on the screen that read “OFF” wasn’t going to shatter her eardrums with a painful mishmash of computer generated noises that somepony had the nerve to class as music upon discovering it. Her reasoning was sound, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the shower door behind her, ears still ringing.
“Why does anypony need a radio in the shower?” she asked herself rhetorically. “Let alone leave it on at full volume with DJ Pon-3 on?”
She wrapped a towel around her waist and walked through into her bedroom. The bathroom door was almost like a portal, as she stepped from the bathroom that was modern to the extent of a self flushing toilet (Twilight had nearly fallen down it when it flushed itself whilst she was still using it), into a Bedroom that looked like the inside of a royal palace. Her four poster bed was the size of her whole room back in District 12. This was classed, by Capitol standards, as a single bedroom, and Twilight simply could not fathom how anypony could need all this space just for themselves. As she walked over the wardrobe to get another towel to dry her mane, she heard a knock at the door, and a muffled Thunderlane calling.
“Are you decent in there?”
As she wrapped the towel around her head, she responded. “Sure, come on in.”
He opened the door slightly and leaned his head in.
“Lightning says that dinner's ready. Hey, what was all that commotion earlier?”
Twilight blushed, knowing he meant the radio in the shower. “Commotion?” she asked, feigning confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Dunno, but it came from here. Sounded like DJ Pon-3.”
“Ugh, Dubstep…,” Twilight said, walking to the door. “Can’t stand it, it just sounds like noise to me.”
“Err, what are you doing?” Thunderlane asked as Twilight reached the door.
“What do you mean?” she responded. “Going to dinner.”
Twilight sat back in her chair, holding her stomach tightly as a large bulge continued to growl ceaselessly at her, interrupted every so often by a loud belch.
Photo Finish looked shocked at each release of gas, but Lightning Dust and Hoity Toity just smiled each time.
“Looks like you may need to go easy on in the future” laughed Hoity. “It seems you’ve eaten a bit more than you can handle.”
Twilight smiled uneasily. Her stomach was giving her pain, but this was the first time in her life she had eaten enough to become overfull. It was painful, but she was enjoying it. She had taken off her head towel earlier when her mane dried off, only for an Avox to quickly come and take it. The rapid fire service they provided was both impressive and creepy, and made Twilight feel uncomfortable every time they waited on her.
“So what happens tomorrow?” Thunderlane asked, in between spoons of strawberries and cream.
“Breakfast here at 7” Lightning responded. “Then you need to be at the Training Center floor at 8. You’ll be fully briefed down there, but from what I’ve gathered you’ll be spending most of the next few days down there. Listen to what Spitfire and Soarin' tell you, they’ve been assigned to keep an eye on you during training. You’ll train from 8 til 12, then lunch will be served in the cafeteria down there. After that, more training. In the mornings you’ll do the mandatory stuff, and afternoons you get free reign of all the various stands there. You finish at 5, then come back up here to relax, and dinner will be served at 9. I’d recommend heading to bed now. It’s been a long day, and you've got longer ones coming.”
Twilight and Thunderlane nodded, and walked out of the main hall and down the corridor together. They reached Twilights room first, and to her surprise, Thunderlane hugged her. The embrace lasted a few seconds, before he loosened his grasp, and smiled at her gently.
“Goodnight Twilight” he said, before heading off to his room, not looking back once.
“Goodnight…,” she almost whispered, before pushing the door open and stepping in, closing it tightly behind her. Almost in a daze, she took off the towel still wrapped tightly around her waist, and dropped it on the floor, before climbing onto the massive bed and getting underneath the thick, silken sheets. Had he hugged her as a sign of legitimate affection, or was he putting on an act to appeal to her sensitive side, knowing if it came to the two of them in the arena, she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to kill him?
These thoughts danced around Twilight's head, relentlessly forcing her to ask “What if?” to every plausible scenario. What if he was being sincere and she killed him in the arena? What if he really was tricking her, and she fell for it? What if he just hugged her so she would stay awake and ponder the potential outcomes all night, and be exhausted at training in the morning?
Twilight’s mind eventually tired, and the thoughts faded as her world entered into one of darkness and silence as the tight hold of sleepiness finally kicked in.
Thunderlane’s modest smile made Twilight uneasy as they rode the elevator down to the basement levels. She had already spent breakfast in silence, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with him. It was such a simple action he had performed, a simple hug to say goodnight, but Twilight’s inquisitive mind that naturally questioned every aspect of situations was already blowing things way out of proportion. In the shower, she even considered that he was secretly planning to align with the Tributes from 1, 2 and 4. These thoughts inevitably brought her back to same conclusion, not to rule anything in or out until they were in the arena, most likely bludgeoning each other to death. The fact that they were having to wear matching shirts with “12” written in large numbers on the back wasn’t exactly helping the situation.
They remained in silence when the glass doors of the elevator revealed the Training Room. It was a large gymnasium, to put it simply. Various stations were scattered around the room, from simple monkey bars and elaborate jumping obstacles, to a massive climbing wall that looked at least five stories high. Fake environments were scattered around as well, a forest being in one corner, a snowy cliff face in the other. Overseeing everything, on the wall across from the climbing wall was a platform decorated similarly to their lounge in the Penthouse. Sat on various chairs and sofas were a number of ponies, each of them wearing a dark red tunic. Peacekeepers were dotted around, all against the wall, ready to step in at the first sign of trouble.
The elevator slowed to a halt, and the doors opened silently. Most of the tributes were already here, scattered around the room, looking at the obstacles set up for them. The ponies in the popular clique Twilight had spotted yesterday were all sat by the climbing wall, still chatting and laughing to each other with the “We’re better than all of you” demeanor about them.
Twilight stepped out quickly, trying to avoid further discussion with Thunderlane, only to be hit with a sudden feeling of light-headedness. It hit her with such intensity she keeled over and landed straight on her face, much to the amusement of the clique, who had looked over as her muzzle made contact with the floor.
“Still fainting?” shouted Rainbow Dash, before collapsing to the floor with laughter.
“Oh, quiet dear,” added Rarity. “I’m sure the floor was just trying to improve her facial features.”
The roars of laughter started anew as Thunderlane trotted over to lend her a hoof, which she grudgingly accepted.
“What in the hay was that?” Twilight asked as she was heaved back onto all fours. “I just felt light headed for no reason there.”
“Yeah, I felt it too,” Thunderlane responded. “But I guess seeing you react to it gave me an early warning, so thanks for that,” he added smugly.
Twilight gave one of those “don’t go there” faces, to which Thunderlane wisely decided to drop the act. The elevator doors closed as it began its journey back to the upper floors to collect more of the tributes. They didn’t have long to wait before all twenty-four ponies were gathered in the room, and dead on 8:00, in walked two pegasi in blue tracksuits, who made their way to a small stage in the center of the room.
One was a mare, slightly shorter than her colleague. Her mane was a dramatic orange which danced above her in long waves, each step bobbing and waving the hairs which danced around in a perfect imitation of actual flames. Her coat was a brilliant shade of orange which added to this illusion. The stallion had a pale blue coat and a dark blue mane, wind swept to the look of a pegasus that rarely set foot on the ground.
“Everypony,” the mare began. “Can I have your attention please, everypony.”
At this, all the tributes made their way from their various places in the room across to the small stage.
“Good morning everypony. I’m Spitfire, and this is Soarin’. We are in charge of making sure you all are as prepared as possible when you go into that arena. Now, first and foremost, did anypony get light-headed when you walked into this room? Raise a hoof if you did please.”
A lot of hooves went up. Twilight looked around at all the ponies that were holding them up. They were all unicorns or pegasi, but none were earth ponies.
“Good, the spell is working then. I’ll let Soarin’ explain.” Spitfire said, stepping back slightly to allow her colleague to take center-stage.
“The unicorns and pegasi among you are now under the effect of a repression spell. What this basically means is the motor function of your horns and wings have been cancelled out, rendering them useless.”
This news attracted a few gasps. Twilight shook her head sadly, as the Capitol ponies continued to take more and more from the tributes.
“The nerves in them are still active,” Soarin’ continued. “This means you can still feel through them, but you can’t move or use them. Feel free to try, but I'm afraid that this will just be wasted effort. The effects of this will be permanent until a releasing spell is cast. If one of the unicorns or pegasi is the winner, you will have the spell cast on you upon your return to the Capitol.”
Twilight looked around at the tributes around her. Many of them held strained expressions as they tried in vain to use their respective limbs, as if desperately trying to prove the stallion above them wrong, praying that they had been spared from the effects of the spell. None of them were this fortunate.
“Please don’t hold us responsible for this,” Spitfire said, stepping up next to Soarin’. “This wasn’t our decision, we don’t make the rules around here.”
“You enforce them!” Nighteye shouted angrily, still desperately trying to stretch his wings out, using every ounce of willpower frantically attempting to find a chink in the armor of the spell.
“If we didn’t, somepony else would,” Soarin’ answered bluntly. “We can’t change the situation, so let us help you through it. Our job over the next few days is to oversee you all as you go through the mandatory training areas, and make sure nopony causes trouble when you have free reign of the stands. We will also be on hand to help unicorns and pegasi adjust to having lesser abilities. If you need help, just shout for us.”
“Right,” Spitfire said, taking over from her partner. “This morning, everypony will go through the obstacle course a few times, with an hour of sword practice before lunch. Before we begin, I need all of you to stand in a line from smallest to tallest. Any trouble and the Peacekeepers step in to break it up, and trust me on this, you don’t want that to happen.”
Twilight sat opposite Thunderlane at a long cafeteria table, poking at her hay fries meekly with a fork. Her front legs ached so much from sword practice, and she had a nasty bruise on her right hind leg where a misjudged jump on the obstacle course had sent her falling sideways onto a balancing beam. Her leg took the full brute force of the fall, leaving it dead for an hour. She had been equally unsuited to the sword fighting, her random and uncoordinated slashing leaving the training dummy without a single scratch. Thunderlane had been more successful in his endeavors, getting the third best time on the obstacle course, losing only to Pyro and Rainbow Dash, and impressing Spitfire with a strong swipe of his sword that took his dummy’s head clean off. Now here he was, happily chewing on a dandelion sandwich, and completely unaware of the jealous motives behind the stares he was receiving from across the table.
“Um, ex-excuse me,” a timid voice behind Twilight spoke. She turned around to see the mare from District 10, holding a lunch tray with a bowl of salad. “Um, I w-was wondering, if, um, I c-could sit here? Oh, I mean, if you don’t mind, that is.”
Twilight gave a friendly smile, and gestured to the bench.
“Go for it,” she replied. Thunderlane was still happily munching on the dandelion sandwiches, so he just gave a friendly nod.
“I don’t think we've been properly introduced,” Thunderlane said, swallowing his mouthful of sandwich, before eagerly chowing down on another.
“No, we haven’t,” Twilight responded. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is Thunderlane”. Thunderlane gave another friendly nod at the mention his name. “What was your name again?” asked Twilight.
The mare responded at an almost silent whisper. “Um... I'm Fluttershy.”
“Um, my name is Fluttershy,” she repeated, this time managing to achieve at bit more volume.
“Fluttershy,” Thunderlane said, ingesting yet another sandwich. “Was that so hard to say at a normal level of speech?”
Before a response could be given, a half empty soda can found itself flying through the air, hitting Fluttershy right on the head. The contents forced itself out in the momentary collision, soaking her mane with the sweet smelling drink. The various dregs of soda splashed outwards as it fell to the table, soaking Twilight and Thunderlane too. Tears flowed from Fluttershy’s eyes as she ducked under the table, putting her out of harms way should a second wave of soda cans be thrown.
Twilight and Thunderlane angrily looked over at the likely culprits, who were only two tables over. The ponies in the clique, which now included Pyro from District 3 after her close match with Rainbow Dash on the obstacle course, were in fits of laughter. Fire Work, the stallion pegasus from District 4, was stood on the table, crouched down in mock terror. Fluttershy squealed quietly from her hiding place as she worked out that he was trying to imitate her. Fire Work jumped down as soon as he realized he had their full attention.
“If there’s anything left in there, I’ll have my drink back,” he demanded, an air of confidence about his voice that said he normally got what he wanted.
Thunderlane picked up the can, and stood up. “Why don’t you come get it?” he replied, the confidence of his voice matching that of his opponent.
Needing no more invitation, Fire Work started walking towards him. Thunderlane began to walk as well, sticking to the morals he was so used to at school, never intending to back down from a fight. By this time, they had attracted the attention of everypony in the room. This included Spitfire and Soarin’, one of whom had already spoken quietly into an earpiece at the first sign of trouble.
Thunderlane and Fire Work were barely within reach of each other when a unicorn Peacekeeper teleported himself between them, stopping them dead in their tracks. Four more unicorns teleported around them in rapid succession, each of them grabbed a front leg, effectively restraining the no-longer-advancing ponies.
Spitfire strolled over, her previously friendly demeanor now replaced with a much more serious one.
“I did warn you two,” she said with a tone to her voice that sounded of genuine disappointment. She then nodded to the Peacekeeper who had teleported between Thunderlane and Fire Work, who started walking towards the door. The tributes shouts of protest fell on deaf ears as they were dragged out after him by their captors.
“What’s gonna happen to them?” asked Lyra, who had been sitting and chatting with Papercraft and Caramel during the confrontation.
“Isolation cells for a few hours. So they’ll be out halfway though free choice,” Spitfire said nonchalantly. “First time offenders get off easy like that. Just don’t get into trouble with them again,” she added, her voice taking on a much more serious tone.
Fluttershy came out from her hiding place, the soda now effectively soaked into her mane. The tears were still dripping gently from her eyes. Twilight looked at her with pity, before standing up and taking her by the hoof.
“Come on,” she said kindly, leading the crying pegasus towards the bathroom. “I’ll help you wash that out.”
Twilight found herself without a partner for the second part of the days training, so took to wandering aimlessly throughout the various stalls, before settling on the one with the fake snowy mountain terrain. The mare from District 6 was already there, gently rubbing two sticks with a dopey grin on her face, while staring distantly at nothing in particular. The instructor seemed to have given up on her altogether. He was a middle aged looking stallion, muscular in build with a grey coat and a cropped blonde mane.
“Hey,” Twilight said, sitting down next to the mare. “What skill is this?”
“Fire building,” answered the stallion. “This one here is a bit loopy loo though. She can’t focus on anything for more than a few seconds.”
Twilight waved a hoof in front of her eyes to try and gauge a response. However, she didn’t respond, she only continued to stare into space.
“What’s her name?” she asked the instructor.
“Limerick,” he replied, looking at her with pity. “She’s the only tribute this year to volunteer. Apparently she writes song lyrics in her spare time, she volunteered because she thought the games would give her inspiration to write a hit.”
“She volunteered for song inspiration?” Twilight asked, not quite sure she could believe what she was being told. The stallion simply nodded, verifying that he had spoken the truth. “But that’s insane.”
“Yep. Doctor’s reckon the mental trauma from the war left her delusional beyond anything we’ve seen before.”
“And they still let her compete?”
“As long as she’s of age, she’s eligible. Insanity doesn’t seem to be something they considered, though.”
Twilight nodded in agreement. “So,” she began, trying to move off the subject of insanity and war. “Fire building, yes?”
“Mmhmm. We’ll start off with basic fire lighting techniques, then I’ll show you how to keep it going, and some things you should and shouldn’t use to fuel it.”
Twilight soon mastered lighting. It was a simple task when you focused on it, but Twilight was finding focus to be one thing eluding her at that moment. Seeing Limerick, and the state the war had left her in, was a real shock to the system. In the half an hour Twilight had spent being taught how to light a fire in different ways according to her environment, Limerick had been sat in the same place, still staring at nothing, rubbing the same two sticks together. The dopey expression she wore was a cold hard reminder of how lucky Twilight was. Given all the things she had seen during the war, it was nothing less than a miracle that she wasn’t in the same way.
A couple of hours passed, and it was just as the instructor was happy enough with Twilight’s fire building to recommend trying other stations that the Peacekeepers opened the main doors, and dragged in Thunderlane and Fire Work. Both looked cold and shaken, but pretty much in one piece. After shooting each other "we'll settle this later" looks, Fire Work trotted over to meet with Pinkie Pie, who was aggressively attacking dummies with javelins, whilst Thunderlane wandered his way over to Twilight.
“Still feel like a big tough pony?” Twilight asked smugly, enjoying the role-reversal. Thunderlane was clearly a little bit dazed by the rough treatment of the Peacekeepers.
“Eh, I think I’ll pay more attention to Spitfire next time,” he replied, the tough guy act now seriously damaged. “My wings are aching badly though, I’d give anything for a stretch right now.”
“Try and build a fire here, take your mind off it,” she said simply, before trotting off to find a new station. This left Thunderlane looking dumbfounded at a half asleep stallion, and a green half-zebra staring at nothing with a dopey grin on her face, rubbing two sticks together endlessly without a care in the world.
Twilight walked slowly around the stations, trying to decide which one to try. Lyra was at the archery range, stood still in wonder as a Peacekeeper desperately tried to put out one of the targets that Pyro had somehow managed to set fire to from 50 paces away. Berry Punch was at Shelter Building with Big Mac as her partner, but every time any progress was made, his bulk would lead to him clumsily knocking it down, leading them constantly back to square one. Blue Streak and Featherweight were at camouflage painting, with mixed results. Blue Streak seemed to be fairly decent at it, successfully decorating Featherweight with a fairly convincing jungle camo. On the other hand, Featherweight had taken to painting cats whiskers on Blue Streak in bright pink, something she seemed currently unaware of. Limerick had wandered away from the Fire Building, now joining Scootaloo and Clockwork Dawn on the obstacle course.
Twilight soon reached the sword fighting area, where Nighteye and Rarity were sparring with fake swords, as Blueblood and Rainbow Dash cheered from the sides.
“Well look who it is,” Blueblood said cheerfully, as they all turned to face her.
“How’s the muzzle?” Nighteye asked mockingly, as him and Rarity lowered their swords.
Twilight backed away, not wanting to risk getting in trouble with the Peacekeepers. Her retreat was rapidly halted as a pair of hooves pushed her from behind. She turned around to find herself face to face with Pinkie Pie, Fire Work and Pyro.
“What’s the matter?” asked Pinkie. “Not scared of a plastic sword, are you?”
Twilight turned towards the arena again to see Rainbow Dash stepping forward forward, pushing past Rarity and Nighteye. It was clear from her body language that she was the ‘leader’ of this clique.
“I’ll make you a deal. If you can last two minutes sparring with me, we won’t kill you straight away in the arena. If you can beat me, we might even consider letting you team up with us.”
Twilight thought this over briefly. “What if I refuse?”
This caused Rainbow Dash to grin, as Pyro stepped up from behind Twilight and whispered assertively in her ear. “Then you’ll be the first pony we kill in that arena.”
This caused Twilight to think briefly. Maybe the adrenaline of a battle with an actual pony, not just a dummy, could give her some real practice. Rainbow Dash had been fierce with the dummies earlier, reducing them to small piles of polystyrene in ten seconds flat. She’d even earned a small applause from the Gamemakers for her performance. There was no way she could beat her. Her thoughts turned to Shining Armor, and home in District 12. It was nothing special, the house was rickety, the pipes leaked, the radiators were useless, and day-to-day survival was a struggle. But nothing ever felt more like home then when she was there with Shining. Anything, any meager opportunity that could lead to her going home to him was worth fighting for. There was no point in accepting defeat without trying. She had to try.
“You’ve got a deal, Rainbow Dash.”
The pegasus grinned at this as the other ponies cleared the arena. Rarity handed Twilight her plastic sword, as did Nighteye to Rainbow Dash, as Blueblood explained the rules.
“If you last two minutes, it’s a draw. If you make her submit, you win, and vice versa.”
Twilight nodded, it seemed simple enough. By now, the other tributes around the room had noticed the commotion, and gathered around the small ring to watch. The confrontation had even gained the attention of Spitfire and Soarin’, who flew up to the Gamemakers balcony to get a good view. It was fair to say that Twilight and Rainbow Dash now had the attention of the entire room.
Twilight gulped as she faced her opponent, sword poised and ready, as Rarity began to count down to start the fight.
“3, 2, 1, Go!”
Rainbow Dash roared loudly as she charged forward, swinging the sword aggressively. Twilight instinctively backed off, holding the sword up to deflect the blow. Rainbow seemed to anticipate this, as she swept her hind legs under Twilight, knocking her off balance, before slamming her in the gut with the hilt of her sword. Though the weapon was plastic, she had put an immense amount of force into the attack. Twilight had been reduced to a pile on the floor, guts burning relentlessly from the blow, after about five seconds.
Rarity started counting to ten, after which time Twilight would be forced to submit by default. Thunderlane tried to step in to help her, but Nighteye held him back.
“If you step in, she automatically forfeits,” he explained.
Twilight’s vision blurred as she opened her eyes, her world now appearing as a multicolored jumble of splodges. Visions of home flashed through her mind as she began to make out Rainbow Dash standing above her, offering a hoof.
“If you let me help you up, I can kick your flank all over again,” she sneered.
As Rarity reached eight, Twilight pushed away her opponent, and shakily pulled herself onto all fours, earning herself a few cheers of encouragement from the crowd around her.
Rainbow cracked her neck, gleefully anticipating the humiliation she was preparing to dish out, before moving forward, rapidly charging in for a simple stabbing move. Twilight quickly deflected, using Rainbow’s forward motion to get in close, before aggressively kicking her in the thigh. The pegasus yelped in surprise and backed away quickly, much to the amusement of the fellow ponies in her clique. The laughter fueled her furor, and she charged with a roar again. Twilight blocked her clumsy swing as Rainbow attempted another foot sweep, only to be taken aback as her foe anticipated it, jumping above the motion. In mid air, Twilight had a split second opportunity, as Rainbow had put all effort to waste in the foot sweep, leaving her entire upper half vulnerable. Moments of the pain and suffering she had endured in her life flashed through Twilight’s mind, and she put all her anger at the Capitol behind her to fuel her motion, as she delivered a brutally powerful roundhouse kick to the back of Rainbow Dash’s head.
The pegasus collapsed, dead to the world as Twilight landed on all fours. The crowd around them just looked on in utter disbelief. Peacekeepers pushed through to check on Rainbow Dash, and once they had determined she was alive, carried her off to take her to the first aid room. Spitfire flew over, landing next to Twilight, who was still too stunned to talk.
“I saw the whole thing, start to finish,” Spitfire announced. “I know it was her who instigated it, and from what I could see, they didn’t give you a whole lot of choice. I think you can narrowly avoid isolation today.”
Twilight nodded gratefully as she flew away.
“Everypony, continue as you were,” Soarin’ called out from the balcony. “You can save the rest of your fighting for the actual arena. If you want to spar, you spar with the instructors.”
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as everypony went back to their assorted stations. As she was about to go and find a station that was a bit less orientated around fighting, Nighteye stepped in front of her. He didn’t speak, but he gestured to Pyro, who walked over slowly, and leaned in, once again whispering in Twilight’s ear.
“You were meant to try and beat her, not knock the daylights out of her. The Peacekeepers interrupted, so it’s a tie. But you'd best watch your back in that arena, because although you didn’t lose, you can guarantee you’ll be that somepony we focus all our attention on.”
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.”
The morning sessions were a bit hit and miss, for lack of a better term. The archery had served purely for a source of embarrassment for Twilight, as her initial attempts had been disastrous. Spitfire had needed to restrain the Peacekeeper from angrily charging towards Twilight, shouting in annoyance about the arrow sticking out the side of his helmet. Once she had gotten a feel for the bow, her aim wasn’t much better, very rarely getting any decent shots. The few shots she got that were actually within the ink outline of the pony never got anywhere other than the arm or the shoulder. It was worse when Soarin’ hit the switch to make the targets move, as the only shot that even hit the moving dummies planted itself right in the paper pony's knee.
“At least you’ll reduce them to limping before they kill you,” joked Fire Work from somewhere in the crowd.
Twilight was almost relieved when Spitfire told her to move over to the knife throwing stand. The instructor gave her a quick briefing on how to get a decent throw, where to hold the knife when throwing, and how to quickly judge the distance of your target. Twilight listened carefully, and went for her first throw. She exhaled gently as she released the knife, which flew swiftly through the air, sinking deep into the target right in the center of the skull.
“Heh,” laughed Rainbow Dash from the station next to her. “Beginner’s luck.”
Twilight felt the anger she had felt yesterday. Raw emotion from the deepest recesses of her mind was drawn up, turning to adrenaline, fuelling her rage as she threw three more knives in quick succession, one hitting each of the targets eyes, and another hitting it square in the heart.
Rainbow Dash was less cocky about this, looking on in disbelief.
Twilight decided to make her sure her point was well understood, picking up one more knife and throwing it with all her might. It struck the dummy with tremendous force, driving itself deep into the hundred point spot in the painful area between the fake pony’s legs. Every stallion in the room winced.
“How in the hay…,” was all Rainbow Dash was able to utter, much to Twilight’s amusement.
It had been years ago, not long after she and Shining Armor had first discovered the clearing in the Everfree Forest. The rainbow in the mist was there to greet them, as it had been the last few times they were there. Shining had brought his saddle bag, with something clanking around in it, but he had refused to say what it was.
“You’ll see when we get there,” he had kept saying.
So upon arrival, he sat her down and showed her. Twilight was still a filly at this point, it only being a few months earlier that she had earned her cutie mark. So it was only a natural reaction for her eyes to widen in a mixture of shock and surprise as Shining Armor spread a variety of knives out in front of her.
“I spoke to Dad a few nights ago,” he explained. “I managed to convince him to let us keep coming out here, but only on one condition. He made me promise to show you some ways to defend yourself.”
Twilight looked on in confusion as he took one of the serrated knives, and walked over to one of the larger trees at the edge of the clearing. She was only little, and not hugely strong. There was no way, no matter how hard she tried, she’d be able to thrust a knife with enough force to hurt anything or anypony.
“What do you mean?” she asked as Shining walked back over, having carved a target into the side of the tree. He smiled at her, before facing the tree, knife in hoof, and throwing it. It sailed cleanly through the air, embedding itself deep into the middle of the target. Twilight’s jaw dropped.
Hours, days, months, and even years faded away. Twilight and Shining Armor would come out to the forest most days for foraging. But to finish off every single trip, they would spend an hour practicing throwing the knives. Twilight had scared off more than a few curious woodland animals plenty of times. Shining Armor had even needed to apologize to a family of bunnies about the machete that had found its way down their burrow a few times. Twilight’s aim steadily improved over time, the large holes on the tree that marked failed attempts moving gradually closer to the center of the carved target, as years flew by.
Eventually, only months before war was to break out, Twilight had found herself with Shining Armor once again, bathing in glorious sunshine, the rainbow in the mist dancing behind them. The pair grinned as they simultaneously threw their knives, each landing next to the other, dead in the center of the target.
“I think it’s time we were heading back,” Shining noted as he tugged his knife out of the oak, noticing the sun beginning to set beneath the distant hills. “Good shot by the way.”
He gave his sister a friendly hoof bump, before they went about packing their various pieces of kit away. Each of them now instinctively carried a small knife in a holster on the side of their saddle bags, for easy reach in case of an emergency. The day had been fruitful, as they had gathered enough apples to trade for a few loaves of bread at the bakery. As soon as word had spread among the townsfolk about their ventures into the Everfree, many had come to them to express interest in trades if they ever had a surplus. Even the Peacekeepers turned a blind eye, as long as they got a share if they ever stopped one of them.
Food packed and weapons stowed, they began the journey home. Many animals lived in the Everfree Forest, so it was rare to not encounter wildlife, even on a short walk through it. Sunset was a busy time, as animals of all shapes and sizes ended their daily pursuits for food to take shelter for the night. This caught Twilight’s attention, as she enjoyed seeing the animals as she walked past. However, today no animals were in sight. The hustle and bustle of animals taking shelter from predators for the night was replaced with silence.
“Shining, I thi…”
“I know,” he quickly interrupted, clearly thinking the exact same thing. “Let’s just keep moving.”
They did so, continuing the journey home as the sun continued to set. As they progressed through the dense woods, the silence continued. Twilight was relieved as reached the fallen tree over the ditch. The border fence was only a two minute walk after they crossed.
“You go first,” Shining Armor said, looking around defensively. Twilight nodded, and began to cross. The ditch wasn’t hugely deep, but it was too wide to jump, and the tree made for a convenient crossing. Stinging nettles lay in large clusters either side of it, so there weren’t any other ways around.
Twilight paused half way across. She could have sworn she heard a twig snap.
“Did you hear that?” she asked worriedly.
“Hear what?”
She reasoned her mind must have been playing tricks on her.
“Nothing, never mind,” she answered as she continued across. “Long day.”
She reached the other side, turning to face her brother. “My mind must just be messing with me.”
Shining smiled as he started to cross. That’s when Twilight heard it again, but louder. She had no time to react as a timberwolf ran out of the trees on the other side of the ditch. It was the biggest one she’d ever seen, it must have been twice the size of her brother, whom it was currently running towards, jaws open in anticipation for the meal to come.
Twilight didn’t even think, but she didn’t need to, because she had been trained to the point where her reaction was purely instinctive. Years of practice took hold as she pulled the knife from its holster as the timberwolf made the leap over the ditch, trying to attack Shining Armor from a diagonal angle. As it gained air, Twilight released the knife, which swiftly hit the wolf in the eye. Though the knife was not enough to kill it, it was enough to throw off its forward momentum. The massive wolf yelped as it overshot Shining, who had backed off as soon as the knife made contact, clipping the log and crashing full force into the side of the ditch, sending the various pieces of its body flying in every direction.
Twilight leaned over the edge of the pit, pulling her knife from the piece of wood that had once been its head, as Shining reached the end of the log. She holstered the knife as she pulled him in for a hug. They held each other in the relieved embrace as the forest returned to life around them, the creatures safe from the predators for another night.
“Thanks,” Shining said admiringly to his sister, as he leaned back to look at her proudly. “Looks like you definitely picked up on it.”
“I learn from the best” she responded, grinning uncontrollably as the two of them put the forest to their backs and began the final leg of their journey home.
Twilight was beginning to get a love/hate relationship with her new-found fame. She had been able to combine her years of experience with the advice of the instructor on the knife throwing stand, giving her as yet unparalleled accuracy. On one hoof, she had managed to stun Rainbow Dash beyond words, and successfully prompted some of the other ponies in her clique to genuinely feel intimidated by her. Pyro and Nighteye didn’t seem to give a buck either way, but Pinkie, Rarity and Fire Work backed off as she stepped away from the knife throwing area, stony faced as they could be, but their eyes betraying their real fears. Even some of the Gamemakers had applauded her as the last knife had found its place in the hundred point region. On the other hoof, the other tributes were treating her with a sense of adoration that made her feel terrified.
Stunning Rainbow Dash twice was nice, intimidating her friends was nicer, and earning applause from the Gamemakers gave her a real sense of pride. But when lunchtime rolled around, the peace and quiet she and Thunderlane had found the day before was gone. While the clique still insisted on keeping up the “popular ponies” act, nopony seemed to care, because everypony else was gathered at Twilight’s table.
“So come on Twilight,” Thunderlane nearly shouted, barely able to be heard over the rest of the ponies at the table. “Where’d you learn to throw like that?”
The table went silent as sixteen pairs of eyes became fixated, all facing towards the mare they were suddenly idolising.
“My brother taught me,” Twilight said, mouth full of hay fries. The crowd was seriously beginning to agitate her. She’d had two more rounds on the knife throwing range since Rainbow Dash had been left in disbelieving silence, and they hadn’t let up since.
“How long did it take y’all to learn?” asked Applejack.
“I basically grew up learning how to throw knives. Me and my brother would practice, I think on average, about three times a week. I’ve been learning since I was a filly.
“So if I practice enough, I could learn to throw knives just like you?” Scootaloo asked excitedly.
This broke Twilight’s heart. The little pegasus filly looked barely older than she’d been the first time her and Shining Armor had stepped foot in the Everfree Forest. She couldn’t possibly be honest with her.
“Err, I guess you could, if you tried hard enough”, she responded, putting on the best fake smile she could possibly could. “I just need to go to the bathroom.”
Twilight walked out quickly as the various bits of chatter on the table resumed. Entering the bathroom, she quickly walked over to the sink, turning on the cold tap and splashing the icy water on her face.
Scootaloo was just a filly. An innocent filly that was being forcibly thrust into a kill-or-be-killed arena to serve as punishment for something that she’d had nothing to do with. There was a lot about this situation that was simply not fair. Oh horsefeathers, nothing about this situation was fair.
Twilight thought this over, considering the part she had played in the war. Maybe she did deserve to go through this punishment, but what about Scootaloo? And Featherweight was just as innocent, for that matter. Twilight’s memories filled with the things she had seen, and to add to her guilt, the things she had done.
As she braced herself to step back and face her admirers again, she thought over her actions during the war, and she began to consider whether or not her name being called at the reaping really was coincidence.
The rest of the day, Twilight was able to occupy herself by continuing her practice at the knife throwing range. The novelty of her abilities had soon worn off among the majority of tributes, as the crowd that had been watching her gradually dispersed. After all, there was only going to be one winner, and they weren’t doing themselves any favours in sitting there, watching Twilight nail knife after knife into the paper targets with frightening accuracy.
By the time they’d been back from lunch for an hour, only Scootaloo, Clockwork Dawn, Blue Streak, and Thunderlane were still at knife throwing. Scootaloo was at the place next to Twilight, watching her closely, before mimicking her technique. Twilight had to concede, she was doing better than she had done at that age. Next to Scootaloo, Blue Streak was doing pretty much the same thing, with mixed results. More often than not, she was hitting the target, but was rarely within the ink outline. Her best shot was when she managed to slice off the ear, a move that made Scootaloo wince as she pictured it happening for real in the arena. At the end of the line, Clockwork Dawn was ignoring Twilight’s techniques, instead referring to the instructor for help.
“Wanna try?” Twilight asked Thunderlane, who had been sat watching her the entire time.
“Nah, I’m good,” he replied, shrugging indifferently. Twilight didn’t recall seeing him doing any weapons practice outside the compulsory exercises. He’d been quite a straight shot at archery too, and his swordplay was a damn sight better than hers.
“Okay, as long as you’re sure…”
“I’m very sure.”
“Aren’t you gonna go try some other stuff? Shelter building maybe?”
“We have a compulsory survival skill course all of tomorrow morning. I’m pretty sure shelter building is covered in that.”
“Right…,” Twilight said, turning back to the range. Thunderlane was taking an unnaturally relaxed approach to the situation.
“Oh for bucks sake,” came an irritated voice from along the line. Clockwork Dawn’s accuracy was failing him, and after yet another failed shot, he stormed away.
Scootaloo and Blue Streak were starting to get some decent shots in, but they were still unable to match Twilight in the way she could identify body parts and target them specifically. In the morning session, Soarin’ had set the targets to move in the same way he had with the archery targets. Even when he cranked up the speed to maximum, Twilight had still managed to nail a few hundred-pointers, which had made every stallion in the room cringe.
Long day behind them, Twilight was relieved when the session finally drew to a close, and she and Thunderlane were able to ride the elevator back up to their floor.
The cool night air blew gently against Twilight’s face, as she sat upon the balcony ledge, observing the city below, alone with her thoughts.
Thunderlane had spent the best part of dinner praising her again, but news travelled fast, and Lightning Dust was already aware of her sharp shot. News of her abilities, supposedly, had travelled along the grapevine, to the extent where even President Discord was expressing interest in her. Never before had she felt so conflicted. She loved the way she’d shocked Rainbow Dash and her clique with her knife throwing, but the praise she’d received from ponies that she may have to kill over the coming days made her feel sick to her stomach.
She heard hoofsteps on the stairs. She glanced backwards to see Thunderlane walking up the top few steps, head hung low.
“Hey,” she said in a poor attempt to sound cheerful.
“Oh, hey,” he responded half-heartedly, not even looking up at her.
She swung her legs around, stepping back down onto the balcony as he walked over to her, sitting down on the floor next to her, leaning backwards on the wall. He looked troubled, depressed even.
“What’s up?” she asked, dropping the fake cheerfulness, replacing it with a much more concerned tone.
This made him give a small smile. “What’s up? You mean, besides everything that’s happened, and everything that’s going to happen?”
Twilight sat on the floor next to him, unsure how to react.
“A lot is up, Twilight Sparkle, as you know. I’m just thinking about home.”
“I was too, while I was sat here. Well, home among other things.”
“What other things?”
Twilight gave a small smile. “Lots of other things.”
Thunderlane edged slightly closer to her. “Pick one.”
Twilight smiled again, leaning her head on his shoulder. “The look on Rainbow Dash’s face when I threw those knives today.”
“Now that was a classic moment.”
Twilight laughed slightly at this, still leaning on Thunderlane’s shoulder.
“What else?”
“My favorite place in the world.”
“Oh?” Thunderlane said quietly, starting to hold Twilight close to him, enjoying the warmth her body gave him. “And where might that be?”
“You wouldn’t know it, it’s in the Everfree Forest back home.”
This got him laughing, much to Twilight’s surprise. “Don’t be so sure about that, I’ve been in there more than a few times.”
This was news to her. He had never made himself out to be familiar with the wilderness.
“You ever been to the clearing, right on the…”
“Edge of the valley,” he finished for her, nodding his head. “You sure chose a good place to be your favorite in the world.”
“How do you know about that place?”
Thunderlane chuckled. “I’m probably going for a stab in the dark here, but I’m going to guess the marks in the old oak tree are knife marks where you practiced throwing.”
Now that one left her speechless. How in the hay did he know all this?
“See Twilight, I’ve been going there for years as well. My Mom, she was born in District 7. This was decades ago, way before the regulations were sharpened up, before they made moving Districts illegal. Her family weren’t the richest, so she often slept rough, you know, just making do with what they had. More often than not they slept in hoof-made shelters in the woods, so she was used to surviving in the wilderness. Then her family were killed off in a cholera outbreak when she was 19, so she moved to District 12 in hopes of a better life. She literally hopped on the first train that stopped. As long as it got her out of 7, she didn’t care where it took her. A week after she moved, she met my Dad. Flash forward a year, they’re married, and Mom is around three months pregnant with me. Dad died in a mining accident two weeks before I was born, so I never met him. But to hear Mom talk about him, you’d think he was Prince Charming.”
“I’m sorry,” Twilight interjected. “I didn’t know about your Dad.”
Thunderlane just shrugged it off. “Like I said, I never met the guy. Anyway, Mom was left alone to raise me. We had almost no money, so she made do how her family made do when she was young.”
Twilight put the pieces together for herself. “You grew up in the Everfree Forest?”
“Well, sort of. We didn’t sleep there, because Dad managed to buy a small house before the accident. We stayed there at nights, but all day, every day, we were in the Everfree Forest. Well, until I started school obviously. Mom was very secretive about it too, she made me swear not to tell anypony at school. She taught me everything I know, what foods are safe to eat, how to avoid predators, how to purify water, everything. She was amazing whenever I got hurt, too. One time, I ate these poisonous berries, ones strong enough to kill a fully grown stallion in ten minutes. She just plucked some leaves from this tree, soaked them in water, and made me chew them. And here I am today, alive and well.”
“So everything in the wilderness survival course…”
“I will probably have already done twenty times over.” Thunderlane said, once again finishing Twilight’s sentence.
The pair sat in silence, Twilight feeling unusually comfortable with her head on his shoulder, him holding her tight. His thin but muscular body was beautifully warm, and she felt a familiar feeling as he held her. She felt safe.
“So, what about the clearing?” Twilight asked, wondering when he’d stumbled across the small spot that still seemed to good to be real. To her surprise, the gin that had appeared on his face as he reminisced about better times vanished, leaving a cold, emotionless expression in its place.
“You didn’t stick around District 12 during the war, did you?”
Twilight shook her head. “My whole family was summoned to District 13 during the first couple of days. The orders came from straight from Celestia and Luna.”
This caught Thunderlane’s attention, and he looked at her in disbelief. “Celestia and Luna? Your family was summoned to District 13 by Celestia and Luna? What for?”
“Dunno,” Twilight lied, knowing she could never tell him the whole truth. “Something to do with my Dad, I never got to find out. Anyway, the clearing?”
“Right, yes. You did hear what happened in District 12 though?”
Twilight nodded sadly. “The stallions went to fight, leaving the District itself as neutral ground. Then Capitol forces locked it down, making it basically a prison camp.”
“That’s the short story, yes. Anyway, the living conditions were horrific, and most of the population had no food at all. So Mom hatches this idea to make a break for it, escape into the Everfree Forest. A few ponies joined us, and we tried for it after the sunset. Me and Mom made it through the fence, and we were helping the other ponies get through when we were spotted, and they started shooting. Mom made me run while she tried to get the others through, but she was too late. So she catches up to me, and we just keep running. We would have flown, but the Capitol ponies had the same repression spell on us that they've got on us now, so nopony in the District could fly or magic themselves out. So after a few minutes of running, we think we've lost them, but we keep going just to be sure. That’s when we came to the clearing.”
Twilight sat up straight, and held Thunderlane’s hoof as she noticed tears forming in his eyes.
“So, we go over to the edge, and we can tell it’s too high to jump, and there was no way to climb down. And that’s when the Peacekeepers found us. They surrounded us, so there was no way we could escape. Mom stood next to me, holding my hoof, and she tried to reason with them. She said they could do whatever they want to her, she just asked that they don’t harm me.”
Thunderlane tightened his grip on Twilight’s hoof as the tears began to flow freely.
“Then… they shot her. I didn’t know what to do, I just stood there paralyzed. It took four of them to get me to let go of her hoof. They dragged me away kicking and screaming as they threw her body over the ledge.”
Twilight didn’t know what to say as he broke down crying. In the last year since the treaty signing, he’d given no indication that his war experience was so traumatic. He’d been quieter at school than before the war, but then again, so had everyone. It was only few months later that he was back to his arrogant jock act.
“That’s why I don’t intend to walk away from this,” Thunderlane added, the flow of tears beginning to cease. “I’ve got nothing left to live for.”
“You can’t think like that, Thunderlane. Would your mom want you to give up so easily? There’s always something worth fighting for, always a reason to keep living.”
He almost laughed at this. “Oh, the brutal, brutal irony. There’s only one thing that ever made me feel like life is still worth living.”
“There you go, that’s the spirit. What is that one thing?”
“Well, it’s not a something. It’s a somepony,” he replied, looking deep into Twilight’s eyes. “But unfortunately, she’s being forced into the same arena as me.”
Twilight was stunned. This wasn’t the act she was suspecting for the last few days, this was him being completely sincere with her. She could barely even respond.
“I…”
“You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. That’s why I can’t walk out of that arena. Because somepony came along who made me feel like life was worth living again, and I can’t let her die in there.”
Twilight jumped as she glanced upwards, seeing Lightning Dust hovering above them. She landed next to them as soon as she was spotted, looking a little bit embarrassed to be caught snooping.
“Err, hey guys,” she said in her most upbeat tone as Thunderlane quickly wiped the tears away from his eyes. He didn’t seem annoyed at the intrusion. In fact he seemed almost relieved to have been able to get the story off his back to somepony other than Twilight.
“How long have you been up there?” asked Twilight.
“Long enough, kid,” she responded, smiling gently. “Long enough.”
Breakfast was awkward to say the least. Both Twilight and Thunderlane gingerly poked at their pancakes, while Lightning Dust chewed quietly, avoiding eye contact with the pair. Hoity Toity and Photo Finish remained blissfully unaware of the situation, chatting away as their piles of pancakes slowly shrank.
Following her discovery, Lightning Dust had apologized to Twilight and Thunderlane before going to bed, whilst the pair had remained on the balcony for another hour, reminiscing about better times at home. They had even shared a quick kiss, although it hadn’t been anything on the scale of fully making out. It was a short and awkward peck on the lips, after which they had decided to head to bed. They had walked to Thunderlane’s room first, and after a brief hug, went their separate ways.
In her shower, Twilight was taken aback as she thought over what he’d said to her: “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. That’s why I can’t walk out of that arena. Because somepony came along who made me feel like life was worth living again, and I can’t let her die in there.” This shocked her beyond measure as the words went through her mind again and again on a constant loop. He intended to die in the arena, so she could live. And he’d told her this immediately after opening up to her about how he lost his mother, so there was no denying the sincerity.
“Right guys,” Lightning Dust said, snapping Twilight out of her trance state. “Today is the final day of training. You’ll be doing a compulsory survival skills course this morning, then after lunch will be the private sessions. One by one, the tributes will go and perform for the Gamemakers, showing off their abilities. Twilight, go for the knife throwing, and what about you, Thunderlane?”
“Hmm?” he replied, sounding confused. He was clearly paying even less attention than Twilight.
“What are you gonna do for the private session? What skills are you gonna show the Gamemakers?”
Thunderlane just shrugged indifferently. “Dunno, I’ll just wing it, I guess.”
Lightning Dust was more than aware why he was taking such a relaxed attitude towards it, but Hoity Toity and Photo Finish just looked at him in confusion.
“Well, whatever works for you,” Lightning continued. “Like I said, they’ll judge you on a scale from 1 to 12, and all the scores will be announced on a televised broadcast later today. Then we’ll have a few hours to get ready for the live interviews, so your stylists here will have some prep teams to dress you, while they talk you through some interview techniques. All that understood?”
Twilight and Thunderlane both nodded.
“Well, it’s nearly 8, so why don’t you two head on down to the training floor.”
“Good luck with the private sessions,” Hoity Toity added.
“Yes,” said Photo Finish. “Make sure you show them da magics!”
The elevator doors slid open, and in stepped the two tributes. The training center floors were deep in the basement, so they had a few minutes to kill before they’d actually get there. This gave Twilight a chance to bring up something she’d contemplated on overnight.
“Thunderlane?”
“Hmm?”
“Last night, when I spoke about the clearing, at first you were talking about it as the beautiful place that it is. But, considering what happened, you should really hate the place.”
“It’s my peaceful place too,” he said, immediately regretting the way the words sounded as they left his mouth. “I go there once a week, every week, at sunset. I hold a flower up in the air, letting the wind carry it away, and almost all the time, the wind carries it through the rainbow in the mist.”
Twilight had never considered Thunderlane to have such a sensitive side. Sure, when he’d opened up to her last night, which was a glimpse of it, but this was a whole new level. She moved in next to him, gently putting her hoof on his.
“I think she’d be proud of you, if she could see you now.”
This got a smile out of him, as the elevator doors slid open again, opening onto the training center floor. Twilight quickly let go of his hoof before the two of them stepped out. They were the last tributes to arrive today, as everypony else was gathered around a large station in the middle of the room. It looked like all the various stations dealing with separate survival skills had been pushed together like a giant jigsaw puzzle, creating a micro-climate in the middle of the room. Spitfire and Soarin’ were in the middle of it.
“Right, that makes everypony,” Spitfire noted as she saw Twilight and Thunderlane walking towards the group. “We can begin. Today, you will be put into pairs at random, before we circulate each station. You’ll get half an hour on each to learn what you can, and clean it up for the next pair. Listen to the instructors carefully, they’re here to help. Last time everypony, line up in height order please.”
Twilight found herself paired with Cube Twister, while Thunderlane was with Limerick. Cube Twister was fairly decent at most of the stations, having focused a lot of his attention on the survival stations during the afternoon sessions, and the pair was able to build a pretty decent shelter for their first station. Twilight looked over to Thunderlane a few times, each time unable to contain her laughter, as he was focused on keeping their fire burning, whilst Limerick was sat behind him, staring into space again, clapping her hooves together and singing a song about roasting marshmallows.
The rest of the morning ran pretty much to that tune. Twilight and Cube Twister would do a decent job at their station, only to look over and see Thunderlane focused on the task at hoof, and Limerick sat in the background, staring into space and singing a wide variety of songs. Cube Twister was a quiet pony, but seemed to think on a similar wavelength to Twilight. As a result of this, the pair was able to do their tasks with almost no communication, but did each one just right. The only communication they really needed was a celebratory hoof bump as they moved onto a new station.
Hours passed, and Twilight and Cube Twister found they could adequately do every skill needed to stay alive in the wild. The plant identification station was a breeze for Twilight, as years in the Everfree had already taught her all she needed to know. Cube Twister had very nimble hooves, so he was able to craft an effective spear from wood and stone without any issues. And as a pair, they had made a habitable sleeping shelter that blended in nicely with the terrain. The instructors were more than impressed.
Thunderlane was having a less than easy time. Sure, his skills were high above average for each station, but Limerick’s persistent singing was driving him around the bend. Needless to say, he breathed a huge sigh of relief when they finished their final station, and everypony was told to go to lunch.
“So,” Twilight said with a grin as they sat down with their trays. Her ten minutes of fame where over, and the large crowd she’d earned yesterday where back in their places, scattered around the canteen. “How was it with the walking, talking, gawking jukebox?”
“Ugh,” he responded. “I’ve got a pounding headache now. And I know that bucking song will be stuck in my head when I’m trying to do the private session.”
“Which one?” Twilight asked, her grin growing ever wider. “I’m pretty sure she was singing a lot of songs.”
“It was one, constant song.” Thunderlane said with a groan. “At least it felt like it.”
“You have to feel sorry for her, though.”
“Yeah. I don’t think she even knows what planet she’s on.”
“You saw the reapings, though. She volunteered.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Why in the hay would she volunteer?”
“Inspiration, apparently.”
“Inspiration?”
“Yep. She writes songs in her spare time, so she volunteered, hoping the games would inspire her to write a hit song.”
“But that’s…”
“Insane?”
Thunderlane just nodded in response.
“Then again,” Twilight continued, “So is everything about this situation.”
“Yeah.”
“So come on, what are you gonna do for your private session. I’m obviously going for knife throwing, but what about you.”
Thunderlane just shrugged, chewing his hay fries. It wasn’t an act he’d put on for Lightning Dust earlier, he literally had nothing planned. “I’ll think of something,” he finally said, swallowing his fries.
The private sessions ran in similarly to the reapings. The stallion from each district would go, followed by the mare. This ran in ascending order, starting with District 1, and ending with District 12. This put Twilight as being the very last pony to go. She sat with Thunderlane, listening as everypony was called forward, as the crowd in the canteen slowly shrank. Time seemed to become meaningless as everypony sat in silence, mentally preparing themselves for the task at hand. Finally, Thunderlane was called.
“Good luck,” she said as he walked out.
“You too,” he said, looking back over his shoulder to shoot her a cheeky wink.
Twilight sat in silence, wondering what Thunderlane could possibly be doing in there. After all those years in the forest, he had to be doing something survival related. Mind you, he’d been pretty good with a sword, and a fairly straight shot with the bow and arrow. He had a lot of options to impress the Gamemakers. But Twilight only had one, but she knew the Gamemakers would be anticipating it. Her performance had to be spectacular.
After what felt like an eternity, the robotic voice from the speaker above her head spoke her name. She began the walk from the canteen to the main training room. Peacekeepers stood at each set of doors, most likely to prevent prying eyes of other tributes from seeing the sessions not meant for them. Soon, she found herself walking through the double doors of the gym. A target range had already been set up front and center to the Gamemakers’ balcony, so they had clearly worked out what she would be performing.
Twilight noted the presence of Spitfire and Soarin’ on the balcony, and tried to keep her cool as she stepped onto the small stand. A small box of knives sat there, ready for her use. The Gamemakers had previously been talking to each other, not focused at all on the pony in front of them. However, Soarin’ noticed her, and cleared his throat. The sound made all the Gamemakers look forward, and as soon as it was noted that it was Twilight about to perform, a hush descended on them as they all looked to her, greatly anticipating the performance to come.
Twilight had a few ideas of what to do. Without speaking, she took two of the knives in hoof, throwing them both in quick succession. Each knife sunk deep on the paper cut-out, where you might find the eyes on a real pony. Twilight then took four knives, two in each hoof. She made two more rapid throws, releasing two knives per throw. Each knife found a comfortable place sitting into the hooves of the paper pony, one knife per hoof. That one earned applause from the Gamemakers. Twilight looked over to them, and noticed the buffet table behind them, which gave her a brain wave.
“Soarin’,” she called out. “Can you throw a piece of fruit over here?”
Soarin’ nodded with a smile, clearly knowing what she was going to do. Twilight took the largest knife she could find in hoof, as Soarin’ threw an apple into the air. He had thrown it not towards Twilight, but so it would go half way between her and the target. Twilight gently inhaled, waiting the milliseconds for the line-up she was hoping for, before exhaling and releasing the knife. It sailed through the air in a steep upwards arc, perfectly cutting the apple in half, before gravity took control and it began its descent. The two halves of the apple bounced onto the floor of the large room, exactly as the knife embedded itself right in the middle of the paper pony’s head, perfectly centered between the two knives that had found their mark in the eyes.
The Gamemakers looked on in stunned disbelief, Spitfire and Soarin’ included. Twilight nodded respectfully towards them, before excusing herself, trotting happily over to the elevator.
“Hello everypony! I am your host, Fancy Pants, here to announce the training scores given by the Gamemakers to our tributes. Now these scores have been worked out over the last few days, by carefully observing the tributes, their strengths, and their weaknesses.”
“Starting off, from District 1, we have Blueblood, with 9, and Rarity, with 8.”
“From District 2, we have Nighteye, with 7, and Rainbow Dash, with 9.”
“From District 3, we have Gizmo, with 4, and Pyro, with 8.”
“From District 4, we have Fire Work, with 8, and Pinkie Pie, with 9.”
“From District 5, we have Clockwork Dawn, with 6, and Scootaloo, with 5.”
“From District 6, we have Cube Twister, with 6, and Limerick, with 3.”
“From District 7, we have Papercraft, with 6, and Lyra, also with 6.”
“From District 8, we have Featherweight, with 4, and Blue Streak, with 8.”
“From District 9, we have Big McIntosh, with 9, and Berry Punch, with 6.”
“From District 10, we have Caramel, with 5, and Fluttershy, with 4.”
“From District 11, we have Apple Cloud, with 6, and Applejack, with 8.”
“And finally, from District 12, we have Thunderlane, with 6, and Twilight Sparkle, with 10.”
“Well there we have it! Our first set of Tributes for the Equestria Games, with a nice mix of scores. I have to say, I wasn’t expecting that 10 to be in there, especially seeing as Twilight Sparkle is the very same pony who fainted at the reaping. Anyway, that’s all we have time for right now, but stay tuned tonight, where we’ll be interviewing the tributes live in preparation for 9AM tomorrow, when they will arrive at the arena, and the 1st Annual Equestria Games will begin! So stick around, and we’ll see you then!”
The afternoon had been little more than a panicked rush, right from the moment the broadcast for the training score announcements had finished. Twilight had found herself quite literally dragged from her seat on the lounge sofa, all the way to her bedroom, where she ended up sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by stylists. Hoity Toity talked her through interview techniques as his assistants argued relentlessly over make up and clothes. In the end, it took Twilight to get dressed and undressed a dozen times before the stylists finally settled on an outfit. By this time, she’d settled on a technique with Hoity. She would go for the flattering approach, being amazed and overwhelmed by the Capitol as a city. It wasn’t that hard to do, all she needed was to keep the view of the city that she’d seen from the train firmly in her mind, and she could sweet-talk the Capitol audience to her hearts content.
The final wardrobe check left all her stylists (for the first time in hours) all nodding in agreement, before they finally put Twilight in front of a mirror. She wore minimal make up, as a natural blemish seemed to suit her best. Her mane had been styled upwards in a large bob, not entirely unlike the way Lightning Dust wore hers naturally. A silver tiara with a pure black crystal sat upon her head, exaggerating the regal look the stylists were going for. The dress she wore was relatively simple in comparison, with short upper sleeves, whilst going down to her fetlocks at the back. It was a light grey in color, with a fake fur collar that felt gorgeous against her neck. It was plain and simple, with a large gem that sat in the middle of the neckline, pure black to match the one on her tiara.
“So,” Hoity Toity said as Twilight looked herself up and down in the mirror. “What do you think?”
Twilight didn’t know what to think, let alone what to say. She had looked tough and dangerous in the coal miner’s jumpsuit, but this was something entirely different. She looked stunning. It pained her to think such shallow thoughts, but as she did a 180, she thought she could have passed herself off as a supermodel.
“I look…”
“Amazing,” Thunderlane finished for her. She turned around as he walked through her door. He didn’t look too bad himself, either. He was dressed in a similar way that she was, simple yet elegant. He wore a light gray two-piece suit, with a black undershirt, and to top it all off, a flame patterned tie.
“Doesn’t she just?” Hoity Toity answered, nodding in agreement. “Now, we have some time to kill before we need to go down, so just hang around here, chat, whatever you want to do. Oh, and if you mess up your outfits, I’ll see to it you don’t make it to the arena.” His smile betrayed the semi-serious nature of the threat.
There was no discussion needed between Twilight and Thunderlane. They both knew where they wanted to go. Leaving the roomful of chaos that was Twilight’s bedroom behind them, the pair made their way to the roof. The sun was setting in the horizon behind the cliffs surrounding the city, not cutting off the sunlight directly, but bathing the city in a gentle orange glow. This was a small detail in comparison, when Twilight reached the edge of the balcony, laying eyes on what lay below.
An elaborate stage had been assembled on the steps in front of the building, opening on to arena seating that expanded outwards in a semi-circle. From above, the seating stands looked at least 5 stories tall, and the large square that served as a social area for the Capitol ponies was now drowned out by the seating. Thousands of ponies were already there, and from above, Twilight was able to see crowds in every direction, all flocking towards the building in hopes of a good seat.
“It doesn’t feel like only three days, does it?” Thunderlane said as he reached the ledge, leaning backwards on it.
“No,” Twilight responded. “It feels like longer.”
This was her best chance. Tomorrow, they’d be in the arena, desperately fighting for survival. Twilight wasn’t going to have a better chance to talk to him.
“How long have you had… feelings… for me?” she asked, struggling to bring herself to say the word feelings. Saying it felt too much like talking about childish playground crushes.
“Not long after you got back from the war. Well, from District 13, I guess. Mom had been dead for about a year by then, so I was beginning to come to terms with it. So I saw you when they finally re-opened the school, and you looked like you’d been through hell.”
Twilight looked away nervously. Hell would have been a cinch compared to what she’d been through.
“Your mane was rough, and your eyes looked like you hadn’t seen sleep in weeks. And… you were beautiful. Like raw beauty, you know? I guess spending a lot of my life growing up in the Everfree Forest, I just learned to see so much beauty in nature. Well, there’s that, and you reminded me of Mom. She always had this “rough & tumble” look to her mane, and these eyes that were always weary looking, even when she wasn’t tired. So, you can probably see why I was quickly smitten.”
Twilight leaned her head on his shoulder again, comforted by being up close to him. “Don’t think I’m not flattered, because I am,” she said quietly, trying hard not to spoil the mood. “But only one pony walks out of that arena, and I don’t want to get too close to you. I just wish you’d told me sooner.”
Thunderlane laughed gently at this. “I’d never have plucked up the courage if it wasn’t for us being here. I just wish we had more time.”
Twilight looked up at him, muzzles almost touching. “I guess that makes the time we have left all the more precious.”
Needing no more invitation, he leaned in to kiss her. Ecstasy flew as their lips met, and all their troubles faded away to insignificance in the beauty of the moment. They stood still on the balcony, lips locked tightly together in tender embrace.
“Ahem.”
The pair backed away from each other in fright, turning to face a smartly-dressed Lightning Dust, stood at the top of the stairs with a sheepish ‘is this a bad time?’ look on her face.
“We’re ready to head downstairs now.”
Twilight and Thunderlane both nodded, and followed her at a distance, in hopes of finding some closure before the end of the night.
“Thunderlane, I…”
“Don’t need to say anything. I just hope that was as good for you as it was for me.”
Twilight resigned herself to a simple nod, holding back tears as to not spoil her make-up.
“Just promise me one thing. We don’t mention this in the arena.”
“What?” Twilight asked, bewildered as to why he would want to keep this a secret.
“Those Capitol ponies took everything dear to me. If I’m to die for them, I want to go down with one thing they’ll never know. One thing they'll never be able to take from me.”
Twilight smiled, nodding in agreement. “Nopony will know. Isn’t that right, Lightning Dust?” she added, speaking up slightly for the question.
Lightning Dust didn’t even need to turn around. She just gave a simple nod, before adding in a “nopony,” to swear herself to secrecy.
Twilight leant her head on Thunderlane’s shoulder again, an action they both seemed to like, as they approached the elevator doors. All she wanted was more time with him, but among many other things she dearly wanted, this was a luxury she could not afford.
Fancy Pants sat upon the stage, facing the cheering Capitol audience of thousands upon thousands of ponies. The live footage blared on large screens inside the foyer of the training center, where a rudimentary lounge area had been set up for the tributes. All 24 of them sat around the large room on various sofas, dressed to impress, chatting in small groups. The clique ponies had pushed together some of the larger sofas so they could face each other, shutting out everypony else, whilst the other tributes sat in various smaller groups.
Twilight and Thunderlane found themselves chatting to Fluttershy, Applejack, Scootaloo and Lyra. Fluttershy wore a green dress in a leaf pattern, whilst Applejack wore what looked like a cowgirl outfit, only with added frills. Lyra wore an elegant purple evening dress, and Scootaloo wore a light pink tutu. Twilight thought she looked simply adorable in it, but the filly wore an expression that screamed of “I’m going to kill my stylist”, so it was more than likely a subject that was best to be avoided.
Considering it was a little more than twelve hours before they’d all be killing each other, the mood was surprisingly jolly. The group looked expectantly at Applejack, who was thinking over a math joke Twilight had told to try to lighten the mood. Everyone had got the joke, but Applejack was a bit less mathematically minded than the rest of them.
“Ah’m mighty sorry Twilight. Ah’ just don’t get the joke. Yer’ fancy mathematics are wasted on a country pony like me. Ah’ just don’t see why you need 3.14 apples to make apple pie. Ah’d use 6 apples personally, but it all depends on the size of the pie.”
The rest of the ponies simultaneously facehoofed as one of the stagehands walked over to the clique, and walked away followed by Rarity and Blueblood. Rarity wore an elegant purple dress, with a tiered skirt that juxtaposed different shades of purple as it traversed through different tiers. Blueblood wore a cream colored suit, and a black undershirt. They looked at each other with confidence as they were led out the front door of the training center to the back stage.
Everypony in the atrium turned to look at the nearest screen, as Fancy Pants introduced Blueblood, who walked out onto the stage with a self-assured swagger. He sat down in his seat and the interview began. Fancy Pants was surprisingly good at the interviews. Whilst Twilight had expected him to be quite uppity, and unsympathetic to the situation, he was actually being quite friendly. Sure, Blueblood was full of himself, but Fancy Pants just seemed to roll with it. When Rarity took her turn on the stage, her confidence was washed away by the thousands of eyes observing her every move. Fancy Pants was quick to pick up on this, and spoke to her with a comforting tone that soon had her back to her boastful self.
By the time Rainbow Dash had walked off the stage from her interview, where she had assured everypony that her victory was in the bag, all the remaining tributes had lost interest in the interviews, and had gone back about their various conversations.
Twilight and Thunderlane had started off by talking about home, which caught the attention of everypony in the group. It turned out that everypony was curious about what the other Districts were like. From this sparked a ten minute Q&A regarding every tiny detail of District 12.
“So Scootaloo,” Thunderlane said, now starting to feel homesick. “What about District 5? What’s it like there?”
Scootaloo shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “It’s not exactly paradise. The power stations are massive, and the generators are steam powered. So we need a lot of coal, and that makes the air really dirty and horrible.”
Twilight and Thunderlane were used to coal dust. It was a common thing in District 12, but almost all the coal mined there was shipped away on the day of mining by the Capitol trains. It never stuck around on a large scale, and it was never burned in an industrious way.
“The whole District is just one city, with these giant factories right in the center of it. You can see the chimneys from miles away. The smoke and coal dust goes into the air, so we always have this thick black smog that sits just below cloud level. When I rode the train here, it was the first time I’ve seen the sky in years.”
“In years?” Fluttershy said with a gasp. “Oh my, that sounds terrible!”
Everypony nodded in agreement. Twilight pictured the clearing in the Everfree Forest, only with the sky clouded by ash. In such gritty darkness, there was no way the rainbow in the mist would ever be graced with an opportunity to let its beauty show.
Scootaloo just shrugged it off. “It’s dingy and dusty, but it’s still home.”
As Fire Work came back into the atrium from his interview, a stage hand approached the small group, sending Scootaloo to wait backstage. She headed towards the door, meeting up with Clockwork Dawn along the way.
“So what about you, Applejack?” inquired Fluttershy. “What’s District 11 like?”
The mood was tense between Twilight and Thunderlane as they sat backstage, waiting for Applejack to finish her interview. The conversation about their respective homes made the time fly for everypony involved. Before too long, Scootaloo, Lyra and Fluttershy had returned from their respective interviews, Fluttershy still in a nervous fit of shaking that the audience had found simply adorable.
The comments Lyra had made about the audience rang through Twilight’s ears as she began to sweat nervously. “I’ve never seen so many Ponies in one place before” she’d said. Fluttershy hadn’t made things any better, stating “There must be thousands of Ponies out there.” The screens in the atrium never turned to face the audience, focusing solely on the stage, but given the terrified expression Fluttershy had, it was extremely unlikely that she’d been exaggerating.
“Now everypony, we reach the last of the interviews by welcoming our Tributes from District 12!”
Thunderlane took a deep breath.
“You ready?” Twilight asked.
He shrugged indifferently. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Everypony put your hooves together, for Thunderlane!”
He took another deep breath, and walked out onto the stage, immediately being greeted with loud applause. He smiled and waved to the crowd, before shaking hooves with Fancy Pants, and taking his seat.
“So Thunderlane,” Fancy Pants began, as the applause dispersed into silence. “Tell us a little about District 12.”
“Well, it’s not quite as fancy as the place you’ve got here.”
Twilight was marveled at his confidence. He wasn’t even breaking a sweat, and she could already feel her mouth going dry.
“Can you give an example?”
“Hmm, Wardrobes.”
Fancy Pants looked confused. “Wardrobes?”
“Well, my wardrobe at home isn’t that big, you see. The one I’ve been using since I got here, well, let’s just say I nearly got lost in it yesterday.”
A wave of laughter erupted throughout the audience. Fancy Pants was similarly amused, sitting back with a smile, waiting for the viewers to finish laughter.
“So, how did you get out again?”
“Ah, you see I was smart about it. I left a trail of breadcrumbs.”
A fresh bout of laughter spread through the audience. Thunderlane was a delight to them, his friendliness with a touch of sarcasm being something new entirely. Even though the joke wasn’t overly funny, they absolutely loved him.
“Breadcrumbs, smart,” Fancy Pants noted as the laughter died down once more. “Now, on to the Games. How do you feel about them? Nervous?”
“Not really. After the wardrobe ordeal, I’d say I’m pretty prepared.”
“I dunno. Being lost in a wardrobe doesn’t strike me as being a sufficient preparation for going into the arena.”
Thunderlane leaned forward, adopting a slightly more serious tone. “Any stallion who gets trapped in a wardrobe, and finds himself surrounded by racks of dresses has every right to claim he’s been through a hellish experience.”
That was the final straw that left most of the audience in uncontrollable laughter. Twilight smiled at this, as her wardrobe contained dresses and suits, as did Thunderlane's. Lightning Dust had explained when they'd first arrived that both rooms were kitted out to suit both a male and a female tribute. The Capitol was swimming in money, and could afford to do this. When the Tributes arrive, they just get given a room at random. The Training Center had originally been a residential block for the most prestigious Capitol families, so every floor was essentially the equivalent of a mansion, with about ten bedrooms each.
“Now, we’re almost out of time here,” Fancy Pants said, catching his breath from expressing his amusement. “So before we make like winter and wrap it up, let’s talk about your training score. You only got a 6, but how do you feel about your chances when you actually get into the arena.”
Thunderlane gave one of his indifferent shrugs. “It’s out of my hooves. The score is low, yeah, but anypony can show a massive difference in how they act in training, and how they do when they’re actually in the arena. I’m just gonna go out there, do my very best. If I survive, then all the better, but if I die, I’m going down fighting.”
Fancy Pants nodded. “Well said, very well said. It’s been a pleasure.” He then stood up, and turned to the audience. “Everypony, from District 12, let’s have a round of applause, for Thunderlane!”
The crowd screamed their approval as he walked off the stage, waving as he went. When he had walked off, he turned around, looking back to Twilight, who was waiting for her cue at the opposite end of the stage. He gave her a friendly wink and an encouraging smile, before making his way back into the atrium, presumably to watch her interview on the screens.
“And now,” Fancy Pants began. “We come to the last interview tonight, our lovely mare from District 12. Everypony please give a big round of applause, for Twilight Sparkle!”
Twilight took a deep breath, and shakily walked onto the stage, waving to the cheering crowd. She almost panicked and fled the moment her eyes adjusted to the spotlights aimed at her. The comments Lyra and Fluttershy had made about the crowd didn’t even come close to covering it. The birds eye view she’d had of the stands had been obscured by the sheer height she was at. The stands stretched back for hundreds of rows, all semi-circled around a densely packed VIP area on the floor. Right in the front row, surrounded by guards, was President Discord himself. Her body was on autopilot as she surveyed the crowd, slowly walking towards the seats in center stage. She was relieved to see some friendly faces in the front row, catching eyes with Lightning Dust, as well as Hoity Toity and Photo Finish.
After what felt like an eternity, she came face to face with Fancy Pants, who happily shook her hoof, and gestured for her to sit down, before he took his place in the seat next to her.
“So Twilight,” he began. “We all saw how you reacted at the Reaping. I think everypony here wants to know what happened.”
Her mind flashed back to her talk with Hoity Toity as the prep team went to work on her outfit. “Flatter them,” he had told her. “Act like it’s an honor to be here.”
“I guess I was just so amazed to think I’d get to come here. I guess the excitement was a bit overwhelming.”
The crowd gave some appreciative chuckles at this.
“And has it met up to what you expected?” Fancy Pants asked.
Twilight took a moment to think. “Flatter them.”
“No. It’s been so much more amazing than I could ever have expected,” she said, forcing a schoolfilly grin onto her face.
The flattery had the desired effect. The crowd gave her a round of applause for this. She realised she had them firmly in her hoof, and began to relax.
“Well I’m very pleased to hear that,” Fancy Pants said, being a lot nicer than Twilight expected. He was very good at helping nervous ponies through interviews, as she’d seen with Fluttershy’s interview. “Now, let’s talk about your training score. I think you surprised everypony with that 10. How do you feel about your chances of winning, given a score like that?”
“Well I definitely feel a lot more confident about my chances.”
“That’s good. Hold on to that confidence, you’ll be a lot more focused in the arena if you do.”
Twilight nodded appreciatively. The interview was going well, she felt a lot more comfortable, and she had managed to flatter the Capitol ponies. Things were beginning to look up.
“Now before we finish, I have one more thing I want to ask you.” Fancy Pants said, before giving a signal to a pony off stage, and the wall behind them flashed into life as a hidden projector shone a giant picture onto it.
Twilight turned to look, stunned to see a screenshot from the Reaping footage. It was Shining Armor, right as the camera had panned to him following her fainting. He had just made it out of the crowd of spectators, and was beginning to push his way through the crowd of mares. Peacekeepers could be seen on the edge of the shot, beginning to charge towards him to restrain him.
“This pony,” Fancy Pants began. “I take it the two of you are related?”
Twilight could barely breathe. She had been starting to relax, maybe even enjoy the interview, but the wave of emotions the screenshot had sent barrelling towards her had left her in a state of near paralysis. Fancy Pants picked up on this in a matter of seconds, and leaned over, taking her hoof in his, rubbing it supportively.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I know it must be tough being here, away from everything you know and love.”
The support he was providing gave Twilight a momentary burst of confidence that allowed her to force herself to speak.
“That’s my older brother,” she said in an almost whisper. Luckily, the Capitol had extra powerful boom microphones set up above her, and her voice came through the speakers, quiet, but crystal clear.
Fancy Pants nodded understandingly. “Are the two of you close?”
Twilight managed to force herself to speak again, this time able to get a bit more volume to her words. “He’s the most important pony in the world to me.”
The whole audience awww’ed at this. Without meaning to, Twilight had managed to reach them on the deepest emotional level. Fancy Pants gave another one of his understanding nods. He was very good at this.
“I’ll tell you what. With that 10 you got, you have a good chance of winning. So you hold on to the thoughts of your brother in that arena, and I have confidence that you will go home to him, alive and well.”
“Thank you,” she responded almost silently.
Fancy Pants gave her one more nod, before standing up to address the audience. “From District 12, Twilight Sparkle!”
The audience gave their loudest applause yet, as Twilight began to walk off stage. As she walked, she once again took on the act of waving to the audience. As she reached the edge of the stage, while taking her final cursory glance of the screaming Capitol ponies, something strange caught her eye.
Thunderlane was backstage to greet her, giving her a tight hug, and repetitive bouts of “well done”, but her mind was elsewhere. She stared into space as she replayed the images in her mind over and over again. As she had surveyed the audience, her gaze had passed over the President. For that one brief moment, as if he knew exactly when she was looking at her, he had done something. Something so odd, so strange, that Twilight was chilled to the bone just thinking about it.
The pair had reached Twilight’s door. Lightning Dust had recommended they get an early night, so she could give them the best brief possible over breakfast. They’d need to be ready by 8:00am, when a car would take them to a heliport, where a hovercraft would be waiting to take them to the arena.
“I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
Thunderlane smiled at her, and nodded. As she walked through the door, he followed, closing it behind him. They didn’t even need to speak, they both climbed into Twilight’s bed, cuddling up close together. Even though a new day would bring with it untold horrors, they could at least enjoy each others company until sunrise. Twilight felt comfortable with Thunderlane holding her tightly, and as she turned out the lights, she felt a sense of peace, one that she could enjoy for the time being, as she closed her eyes, entering her world of darkness and silence.
She looked around. She was back in the void, nothing but pitch blackness in every direction. The voice was coming from all around her.
“Twilight…”
She turned to see a figure slowly emerging from the darkness.
“Shining Armor?”
Her brother faded into view. She cursed her luck, knowing this couldn’t be real.
“Yes Twily. It’s me.”
“And I’m dreaming. Great.”
“Well, you ARE dreaming. That’s how I’m able to do this.”
Twilight looked at him, confused. “Do what?”
“Subconscious projection spell. I’m beaming my thoughts into your head. I’ve been trying to do it for a few nights now, but I keep getting the times wrong. The target needs to be in a subconscious state, namely sleep, for it to work.”
Twilight thought for a few seconds. Her mind flashed back to the first time she’d been on the rooftop balcony. She’d heard a voice, certain it had sounded like Shining Armor’s. She’d passed it off as being stress when Thunderlane had arrived. But it wasn’t stress. It was her brother, reaching out to her.
“How is this possible? Can’t the Capitol trace you?”
Shining Armor smiled. “This is old magic. Ancient even, way back to the times of Clover the Clever. Mom had this ancient book of spells, a family heirloom, on her bookcase. I went through it after they took you, and I found this spell. It took a couple of days to get right, though. There is no way they can trace me, their magic isn’t strong enough.”
“Why didn’t you try again that first night?”
“It takes a phenomenal amount of energy to do this. If you can reach out and make a stable connection like this, it’s a lot less tiring. If your target isn’t in a subconscious state, the spell rejects the connection, and drains the magical energy from you equivalent to an hour long conversation. That left me exhausted for a day, and I knew this would be my last chance to talk to you before they sent you into that arena.”
Twilight stepped towards him, reaching out to touch him. He felt so real, like he was actually there.
“I can’t believe it’s actually you. You did this for me?”
Shining smiled, and pulled her into a tight hug. “Of course I did Twily. I had to talk to you before they put you in there.”
Twilight was astonished by the feeling. Never before had a dream felt so real. The warmth of his body, his gentle breathing, it was all impossibly real for a dream.
“How long have we got?” she asked hopefully.
“I still haven’t fully recovered from the first attempt. I think we’ve got a few more minutes.”
A single tear shed from her eye. “Shining, I’m scared. I’m so scared.”
“I know you are, and I want you to know how sorry I am. I promised not to let them take you, and I failed you.”
“It’s not your fault. I saw the footage, you did your best to stop them.”
“I didn’t do enough.”
“Don’t say that,” she said, leaning backwards from out of the hug. “You’re doing this right now. I think you’ve done more than enough.”
“If I’d done enough, you wouldn’t be there.”
Twilight pulled him in tight again. “You were there for me when Mom and Dad died. You’ve always been there for me. You’re the best older brother a mare could ask for, and I love you.”
Shining began to cry, soft gentle tears that ran down his face, onto Twilight’s back. She felt the tears slowly slide down her body. They held each other in silence for what felt like an eternity, before Twilight finally spoke again.
“How can this feel so real?”
“I’m actually stood in the middle of the clearing. The emotional memories you and I share here make the spell more powerful, allowing me to dive deep enough into your subconscious to trick your mind into making it feel real. A nice side result of this is the ability to remember this dream. Most dreams fade from memory as soon as you wake up, but this won’t. You’ll remember this as if it was real.”
“Good.”
The darkness around them began to turn bright, as Twilight found Shining Armor loosening his grip, before letting go completely. She still held him tight, and with great sadness, he pushed her backwards gently.
“It’s time. The spell’s beginning to wear off.”
Twilight was horrified as he began to back away from her. She tried to move towards him, but every step she took towards him sent him further away. The darkness was now turning into a light gray.
“Twilight, I love you so much. Be strong in the arena, and know that I am proud to call you my sister.”
“Shining, don’t leave me!” Twilight said, tears flowing freely down her face, desperately trying to keep up from her brother, who was moving further away, fading gently into the background, now nearly a perfect white.
“I have to Twilight, I can’t keep up the spell any longer. Stop trying to catch me, it’s no good.”
Twilight’s instinct refused to let up, as she kept running towards the distant shape, and the whiteness began to slowly cloud her vision. The tears streaming down her face assisted in this, all her vision of Shining Armor now reduced to a distant blob.
“Shining! Don’t!”
“Mom and Dad would be so proud of you. Stay safe.”
“Shining! Please!”
“I love you.”
The whiteness exploded, flooding Twilight’s vision. She clenched her eyes tightly shut as it blinded her, opening them again a few moments later to reveal the void. She was all alone again, lost in the eternal blackness. The wave of tears began anew, as she curled up into a small ball, only able to utter a few words in her distraught state.
“Right,” Lightning Dust said as Twilight and Thunderlane ate their breakfast. “This is the last chance I’ll have to give you any advice, so listen up.”
Twilight felt strange. On one hoof, she had spent a night cuddled up with Thunderlane, and her brother had driven himself to exhaustion just to so he could wish her luck in the arena. As Shining Amor had said, her memory of the dream hadn’t faded as she woke up. On the other hoof, she felt emotionally drained after watching him fade into the void. Add that to the fact that the pony she had spent the night cuddled up with would soon be joining her in the arena, and she just ended up with a painful mix of emotions that left her feeling dizzy.
“First and foremost,” Lightning Dust continued. “The Cornucopia will have supplies. Saddle packs full of equipment, food, and weapons. But, everypony will want these supplies, so chances are there will be a bloodbath in the first few moments. My advice is to stay alive, so run away as quick as you can, putting as much distance as you can between yourselves and everypony else. If you see something within reach, and you want to go for it, it’s your funeral. Oh, and don’t step off the pads until the countdown timer reaches zero. There are mines under each one, which will go off if you step off.”
Twilight looked at Thunderlane nervously, who returned her gaze with a supportive smile. It was nothing less than miraculous how much better she felt when he directed on of those smiles towards her.
“Secondly, count the cannons, and keep a count of them. They’ll fire one every time a tribute dies, so if you keep a count of the cannon fires, you’ll be keeping a count of how many tributes are dead. From that, you’ll easily be able to work out how many are still alive.”
“Finally, alliances. They won’t last forever, but they may be useful. If you ally with somepony from, say, District 11, their agricultural knowledge may prove useful in finding food. That’s a very specific example, but you get the point. If you do form alliances, try not to get too attached to the other ponies. There’s only one winner after all.”
“That’s about it really. Not much more I can say other than ‘don’t die’.”
All her advice now given, Lightning Dust had nothing more to say. Hoity Toity and Photo Finish had already left, they’d be waiting at the arena for emotional support before Twilight and Thunderlane would actually be sent in to fight. The three of them sat and ate in awkward silence, listening to the gentle ticking of the clock. It felt like forever, before Lighting Dust stood up, announcing that it was time to go.
She walked them to the elevator, hugging each one in turn.
“Thank you,” Twilight said as they hugged. “For everything.”
Lightning Dust smiled. “It was no problem. Just be strong out there. Both of you.”
“We will,” Thunderlane said confidently, as he stepped into the elevator with Twilight. They watched as Lightning Dust held back tears, and the glass doors slid closed, allowing the elevator to begin its descent.
The atmosphere in the hovercraft was thick enough to cut with a knife. All the tributes sat on opposite sides of a military style cargo hold, males on one side, females on the other, as a Peacekeeper went up to each of them, inserting some kind of needle in their flanks.
“Tracking devices,” the Peacekeeper explained. “Tell us your location, and shows us your vital signs, like pulse, breathing rate, etc. When your heart stops beating, the signal shutoff activates the cannon. Basic stuff.”
Twilight almost laughed. The Peacekeeper was talking about their deaths just as part of a system. Just a simple topple of a domino that knocked over the one next to it, all very routine.
“So, what happens if lots of us die at once?” Pinkie Pie asked with a sadistic tone to her voice.
“If the signal becomes spammed, it will cause a five minute delay. Five minutes after the last signal shutoff, the cannon will fire once for each time a signal became shut off.”
This seemed to satisfy Pinkie, who was beginning to twitch maniacally. She was clearly anticipating the hunt that awaited her.
Some of the other ponies were less excited. Fluttershy had been shivering violently, so much so that Applejack had resorted to holding her hoof to calm her down. While it eased her shivering, her terrified cries were now the only noise in the small hold.
Twilight breathed in deeply and slowly. The room with her designated entry tube was surprisingly comfortable, with marble tiled flooring, a small fridge for refreshments, and a comfortable sofa. Twilight wasn’t allowed to take any food or drink into the arena with her, so she sat on the sofa, hoof in hoof with Hoity Toity, as she gently sipped a bottle of water. She contemplated talking to him to pass the time, but she really didn’t feel up to it. After what felt like an eternity, a voice came over the PA system.
“Sixty seconds.”
Twilight began to shake, as Hoity Toity helped her up, before hugging her tightly.
“Good luck,” he said, before giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek.
She nodded appreciatively, her mouth now beginning to go dry in a state of panic. Her legs felt numb and she was sweating rapidly as she walked towards the glass tube in the corner of the room.
“Ten seconds.”
Twilight stepped into the tube, and Hoity Toity gave some final words of wisdom as the glass sealed her in: “Don’t let them underestimate y-”
The glass was sound proof, and the last word was cut off abruptly as the tube sealed itself. She put her hoof against the glass, hoping for Hoity Toity to do the same, but before he got the chance, the tube began to rise, and soon the room on the other side of the glass was replaced by gravel. Then blinding sunlight, and Twilight was in the middle of a clearing.
The arena was colossal. A perfect semi-circle, at least 10 miles across, had been cut into a coastal cliff, with a forest growing at the top. The cliffs surrounding them were impossibly smooth, and became steeper as they rose, going beyond vertical at the top. There was no way to scale them. Where the semi-circular cliffs ended, the land became sea. The base of the semi-circle was also a forest, with terrain gradually sloping downwards as it became closer to the sea. Towards the back of the semi-circle was what appeared to be a ruined town, as crumbling stone towers rose out of the tree line, building after building for a mile across. On the cliffs in the distance behind the city sat a mighty waterfall, which landed in a beautiful river that snaked its way through the city, and then back into the forest as the water made its way back to the sea. The terrain, though gradual in its descent, dropped at least two hundred feet, if not more on its way from the cornucopia to the sea, and rose even more towards the city and the cliffs behind.
Twilight was so intrigued by her surroundings, she had lost all focus, turning back to face the cornucopia to see the countdown timer reach ten. Ten! She had to think fast. There was a saddle bag right in front of her, only a few paces forward. The pads were spaced out in a circle surrounding the cornucopia, and they were at least twenty feet apart. She had plenty of time to grab it.
She exhaled deeply as the countdown hit one, and took her chance as soon as it read zero. She jumped forwards, pushing her nose under the saddle bag, then using the upward motion of her whole head to throw it up in the air enough for her to step forward, letting it land on her back. Pleased with her swift movement, she turned around and ran as fast as she could, heading into the trees and towards the sea, leaving behind her a brutal bloodbath.
As soon as the timer had reached zero, Blueblood had run to the side, heading for the next tribute over. He tackled Gizmo violently, wrapping his foreleg around the skinny pony’s neck and snapping it in one swift movement. One pony was already down in the first few seconds. Rainbow Dash had a clear shot into the mouth of the Cornucopia, which she took to her advantage, grabbing a bow and arrow, notching an arrow quickly and aiming it towards Lyra, who was fiddling with the straps of her saddle bag. The arrow flew swiftly and silently, striking Lyra right in her left eye, and the unicorn went out like a light.
Nighteye was cool and calm about how he went, eyeing up Featherweight tripping over Gizmo’s body. Blueblood had joined Rainbow Dash at the Cornucopia, so he wouldn’t be of use here. Nighteye charged over, picking up the small pegasus by the neck. Applejack looked over to see this, and hoping to do something honorable and good in the games, began to charge over to try and help the young pegasus. Rarity looked up from driving a javelin into Berry Punch’s throat just in time to see this, before pulling out the javelin and throwing it with all her might. The javelin struck Applejack in the head, knocking her limp body sideways as her blood splattered Nighteye and the still struggling Featherweight.
The small pegasus screamed as Nighteye looked at him with a blood-stained grin, before reaching his other hoof around the back of his head, and promptly snapping his neck. Nighteye chuckled as the small body fell to the ground, before he joined the other ponies at the cornucopia. Almost nopony had tried to get any equipment, leaving Rarity, Blueblood, Rainbow Dash, Nighteye, Pyro, Pinkie Pie and Fire Work to most of the food and weapons. They all looked at each other with wide grins, and began to go through the equipment.
“Well, well,” Pyro said as she wandered to the back of the Cornucopia, finding a terrified Caramel desperately trying in vain to find a weapon in the darkness. “Look what we have here. Somepony’s trying to steal our equipment.”
Rarity had found a torch, which she shone backwards. “Well now, what are we going to do with you?”
Caramel grew more and more panicked as the various clique ponies gathered around him. He had no weapons, and no way out, and his confidence was rapidly diminishing.
Pinkie Pie stepped forward. “I think I have an idea,” she said grinning like a maniac, revealing a bottle of napalm and a box of matches.
Pyro chuckled gently. “Pinkie Pie, I think you just read my mind.”
Twilight ran as fast as her legs would allow. She had to put as much distance between herself and everypony else as possible. The screams of terror fading into the distance behind her only fueled her forward, the horrified screams of dying tributes only serving as a reminder of what would happen if she stood still for long enough. The only times she slowed down were to pull the saddle pack up to stop it sliding down her back. It was only when her legs began to burn with exhaustion that she took to slowing down, theorizing that she must have put a mile between her and the cornucopia. A mile at the very least, maybe a little bit more.
As she stopped to rest, breathing deeply, the cannon fire began. This was good news, because it meant she’d been running at full pelt for more than five minutes. Her real threat, the clique ponies, would have fought to take control of the cornucopia. If they failed, some of them would be dead, and if they’d succeeded, it would take them a while to go through supplies before they began to hunt down the remaining tributes. Either way, she had a bit of time in which she could recuperate.
Twilight counted six fires of the cannon before the silence resumed. Six ponies were dead, meaning there were eighteen remaining. She’d secretly hoped for more to be killed at the Cornucopia, so it meant she’d have less to worry about. But, as was usual for her, she wasn’t going to get her way.
Beginning to catch her breath back, she remembered the saddle pack, and slid it off her back. It was a simple pack, two separate bags with strong magnetic clasp seals, connected by a middle strap that sat comfortably on her back, and a buckle at the front to stop it from going anywhere in situations that involved running. She’d have liked to grab more if she could have, but Lightning Dust had advised against it. She opened up the first of the bags, beaming with joy as the first sight that greeted her was a hunting knife. It was quite a fancy one too, with a molded rubber grip and a serrated edge. She took a practise throw at a nearby tree, sinking it deep into the center of the trunk from thirty feet away. Satisfied that it was a good knife, she trotted over to the log and pulled it out again. It was weighty, but not bulky, similar to the knives that Shining Armor had taught her to throw in the Everfree Forest. She took a few more practice shots, each time landing within centimeters of the mark she’d made on the first throw. Confident it would suffice in the situation of an attack, she lay it down next to the saddle pack, before continuing to go through its contents.
The same bag she’d found the knife in also held a long length of rope, which according to a tag attached to it, was partially woven with carbon filaments, as well as an empty flask, and iodine pills for water purification. The other bag contained a small sleeping bag, several packets of crackers, a small bag of energy bars, and box of tissues.
“Well, that’s toilet paper sorted,” Twilight said to herself jokingly, as something caught her eye in the second bag.
At the bottom of it was a small zip, presumably opening up another small pocket. She checked to see if there was one in the first bag, but that was a dead end. She reached into the second bag, and unzipped the pocket, revealing what at first looked to be a pen. She picked it up for closer examination, revealing lots of small warning labels written all up and down it. She had to squint to read some of them, but she was able to identify that it was only for emergency use. The type of pen looked familiar to her, but she was unable to put a name to it. She pulled the top off experimentally, revealing not the usual nib of a pen, but a needle instead. Then the words flooded back to her, what it was, and what it did.
“An EpiPen,” she said to herself, before she spotted a single word on one of the warning labels that brought a wide grin to her face. “Adrenaline. That may be useful.”
A distant rustling snapped her to her senses. She knew she was getting near to the sea when she stopped, but this wasn’t the sound of waves crashing. This was the sound of somepony breaking branches. She quickly packed her equipment into her saddle pack, making sure to leave the knife at the top of her right bag, and the EpiPen near the top of the left one. That gave her easy and quick access to either one in case of emergencies. All packed, and saddle pack now tightly strapped to her back, she vigilantly made her way through the forest to investigate the source of the noise.
Scootaloo ducked down instinctively as she heard somepony walking past. As soon as the timer had reached zero, she’d turned away from the cornucopia and ran towards the ruined city, hoping to find food there. What she’d found instead was desolate stone buildings that all looked on the verge of collapse, completely bare of food. She’d stopped for a quick drink from the river, but was starting to get stomach cramps. It can’t have been safe to drink, but it had quenched her thirst and cooled her down from the exhausting run. Now here she was, cowering under the windows of what had appeared to be a shop, but was as desolate as the other buildings.
The hoofsteps continued past, so Scootaloo peeked up through the window, greeted with the lime green silhouette that was Limerick. She was walking slowly through the ruined town, seemingly completely unaware of the situation she was in. Scootaloo left the cover of the shop, following Limerick from a distance. As she got closer, she could hear Limerick gently singing a nursery rhyme.
“Horsey Horsey, don't you stop,
Just let your feet go clippity clop,
Your tail goes swish and the wheels go round,
Giddy up, we're homeward bound.”
As Limerick walked past an alleyway, Scootaloo spotted shadows inside the alley. She quickly dived into the nearest house as she heard a pair of hoofsteps walk out onto the street. She dared to take a quick look through the doorway, to reveal Blueblood and Rarity stood in the middle of the street, Blueblood brandishing a sword, while Rarity held a bow, with a large quiver of arrows attached to her back.
Blueblood cleared his throat loudly, to which Limerick turned around to face the pair of them. Rarity notched an arrow in preparation.
“So,” Blueblood began. “How do you want this? Quick and painless, or slow and torturous?”
Rarity grinned at this. “We can do either.”
Limerick looked at them, the dopey grin still present on her face, before tilting her head slightly sideways, and continuing her song, only louder.
“We ain't in a hustle, we ain't in a bustle.
Don't go tearing up the road,
We ain't in a hurry, we ain't in a flurry,
And we ain't got a very heavy load.”
Blueblood smiled menacingly. “Slowly? Got it.”
What happened next was too quick for Scootaloo’s eyes to keep track of. Limerick began charging towards the two unicorns. Rarity quickly shot an arrow at her, but the half-zebra somehow deflected it with her hoof. As she got close, Blueblood swung his sword, only for Limerick to jump over the swing, kicking him brutally in the head, and sending him flying backwards. She landed next to Rarity, who was desperately trying to notch another arrow, only to be cut off as Limerick bucked her, sending her flying backwards into the wall of Scootaloo’s building. The small pegasus tried not to whimper as she heard the unicorn’s head make a dull thud against the other side of the wall.
Satisfied that Rarity was dealt with, Limerick walked over to Blueblood, who was lying on the floor in a daze. She picked up his sword and held it tightly against his throat, not tight enough to cause a fatal puncture, but enough to cut the skin of his neck. He looked at her with pleading eyes as she leaned in to whisper in his ear.
“Horsey Horsey, on your way,
We've done the journey many a day,
Your tail goes swish and the wheels go round,
Giddy up, we're homeward bound.”
She stood up again, and looked back at him. What terrified Blueblood the most was the face. She was wearing the same expression she had been wearing all this time, the distant eyes and the dopey grin, the mark of insanity. He tensed and closed his eyes as she pulled the sword back to swing, but as he did, he felt something warm splatter on his face.
He looked up again to see Limerick, same distant expression, with an arrow sticking out of her neck. It had entered from the back, the tip sticking out of her throat. She coughed gently and dropped the sword, which clanged loudly as she sent more blood splattering on the floor in front of her, before her legs buckled, and she fell to the floor completely, spluttering and convulsing gently as the blood slowly filled her lungs. She convulsed for a few more moments before the last dregs of life drained from her body, and the cannon fired.
Blueblood looked up to see Rarity limping over, blood dripping from a deep gash in her head, and her back right leg twisted awkwardly. The buck had clearly dealt her some serious damage.
“Thanks for that,” Blueblood said, before walking over to her, lifting his injured colleague onto his back. “Come on, lets get you back to camp.” He walked over to the Limerick’s corpse, yanking the arrow out of her neck, so Rarity could put it back in her quiver.
“Should be lunchtime soon,” Rarity said in forced cheerfulness as Blueblood carried her down the street.
“Good,” he responded. “I’m starving.”
Unbeknownst to the pair, the whole event had been witnessed by a small orange filly, one whom was huddled up in the corner of the building she’d dived into, crying silently, completely unable to stop herself. She’d seen something so horrific, so brutal, that when she went to leave ruined building, she didn’t expect to be so horrified by anything else the Gamemakers could throw into the arena.
She’d been wrong, as when she’d stepped out, she’d looked over towards Limerick’s lifeless body, only to see her grin, her distant eyes, aimed right at her. The mark of insanity burned into Scootaloo’s memory as the road slowly soaked in Limerick’s blood.
The bushes were beginning to get uncomfortable, but Twilight was far too fascinated by what she was seeing to move. Papercraft had been keeping himself busy since the games began. To put things simply, he’d been building a raft. At the Cornucopia, it seemed the only things he was able to grab was a large axe and a length of rope, so he’d spent the first couple of hours of the game gathering wood, before slicing the rope into useful lengths. He was from District 7, the lumber center after all, and he must have grown up doing simple tasks like this. As such, he was perfectly suited to the task he was dedicating himself to.
Twilight had spotted him from a distance shortly after she’d heard the snapping noises after going through her stuff. He had been carrying a large pile of logs, heading towards the sea. This was way more than you’d need to build a fire, so naturally that caught her attention, and twinged her curiosity. When he reached the coast, he’d had piles of even more wood, and had begun tying them together. Twilight soon hid in the bush, and watched in amazement as Papercraft expertly lashed the logs together with the lengths of rope. Less than an hour later, and he had something that vaguely looked seaworthy. It was only when her stomach began to complain that she decided to back away to get some food. The rations in her pack would best be saved for emergencies.
As she began to back out of the bush, trying hard not to make too much noise, the cannon fired. She froze on the spot as Papercraft began to look around defensively, axe in hoof. There was no way she could move without being spotted. After a few tense minutes, when Papercraft finally decided that whoever was responsible for the pony who had just died was not within an area close enough to be of immediate danger. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as he finally went back around to building his raft, and she was able to retreat into the forest.
Apple Cloud ran as fast as he possibly could, the voices of his pursuers fading slowly but surely into the background. He was adapting poorly to the inability to use his wings, and stumbled clumsily through the forest.
Having initially panicked and run from the bloodbath, he’d soon turned back, realizing the need for supplies. Sure, the clique ponies were probably holding a defensive position, but it was worth a shot. When he arrived, he held back, watching the cornucopia from a distance. He was greeted with the sight of Nighteye, dragging a moaning Caramel out of the giant horn, who was covered in bruises, looking too limp to move. He’d watched in horror as they reached the outer ring of entry pads, where Pinkie Pie had smashed a bottle of something in his face, and Pyro had thrown a lit match onto him. The guttural screams made Apple Cloud wince, as Caramel convulsed violently in hopeless attempts to put out the flames consuming his body.
The screams seemed to just go on, before fate finally took mercy on the poor stallion, eventually gracing him with death as an escape from the agony of his gradual burning. Apple Cloud hadn’t moved once from his hiding spot, and he daren’t move for fear of being seen by the clique ponies, whom all were scattered around the cornucopia, gathering up the various supplies. Time seemed to slow down, as the complete lack of movement began to take its toll on Apple Cloud’s muscles. He briefly turned away from the cornucopia to stretch his aching legs, only to panic as he turned back, to see Blueblood carrying a sword, and Rarity with a bow and arrow, both heading straight towards him.
Twilight flinched as she heard a snapping noise from the tree above her head. She quickly backed away to get a better view, instinctively taking her knife in hoof as a preparation to defend herself. The sight that greeted her, however, was significantly less threatening than she had expected.
Above her, she could make out the distinct shape of a yellow pegasus, who was leaning in to closely inspect a bird’s nest. She was pulling leaves off the tree to line the nest, and somehow, was talking to the birds in a way they understood. They chirped appreciatively as she carefully placed the leaves in the nest, being extra delicate as to not disturb the eggs waiting to hatch.
“There,” Twilight could hear her saying kindly. “That will keep your eggs nice and warm until they hatch.”
This was a marvel to behold. They had been placed into an arena to fight to the death, and seven ponies had already been killed, so they were hardly in the best of situations. Yet here she was, tending to small animals without a care in the world.
“Fluttershy,” Twilight said, hoping to get the Pegasus’s attention.
To say that got her attention would actually be an understatement. The yellow pony squealed with fear, jumping backwards onto the next branch, and nearly taking the nest with her. She then proceeded to scramble desperately up the tree, clinging on to any branch she could find. Her choice of hold was poor though, as one of the branches snapped, sending her tumbling to the forest floor. She landed with a painful thud, and Twilight quickly ran over to help.
“Don’t kill me!” she squealed pathetically. Thankfully she didn’t seem too badly injured, as the forest floor was littered with decayed foliage, which softened the landing slightly.
“It’s okay,” Twilight said gently as she leaned over the cowering pegasus. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”
Fluttershy had closed her eyes tightly as she’d fallen, and kept them closed while she had begged for her life. She gingerly opened one to look up at Twilight. “Um, w-what do you mean?”
This made Twilight smile slightly. “It means what you might expect it to mean,” she said while offering her a helping hoof. “I’m not going to kill you, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy closed her eye tightly again, not moving from her spot. “Um, t-then why are you holding that knife?”
Twilight had completely forgotten about the knife. She quickly returned it to its place in her saddle bag, before turning back to the still-cowering pegasus. “Look, I’ve put it away now. See? No knife.”
Fluttershy once again opened an eye slowly. Determining that Twilight had been truthful when she said she’d put the knife away, she opened both eyes and stood up. The fall left her with a slight limp, but there were not any visible signs of serious damage.
“Sorry about scaring you,” Twilight said sheepishly.
“Oh, um, i-its okay. You didn’t mean to.”
“What were you doing up there anyway?”
Fluttershy’s sheepish expression turned into a happy smile. “Well, see, my animal friends needed help. Somepony must have come along and pulled out a branch or something, cause I was walking past here and I heard them chirping sadly, so I look up and I can see their nest is about to fall off. So I simply had to climb up there and help, cause I’d hate for some poor birds to lose their home all because I saw them in danger and chose not to help. So then I get up there, and I can see they’ve got eggs in there, so once I put the nest somewhere safe, I showed them how to line the nest to help keep it warm, and that’s when you came along.”
Twilight’s mind raced. She’d never heard Fluttershy string together more than a few words per sentence, and whenever she had, it was almost too quiet to hear. But just ask her about animals, and she not only talks quickly, but at a volume within the range of equine hearing. This was indeed a revelation.
“In the middle of all this, and you stop to help a family of birds?”
Fluttershy nodded happily. “Mmhmm. It just makes me feel so good to help animals in need. And on top of that, the birds offered to get me some food as a way of saying thank you.”
Twilight looked at her suspiciously. “They said that, did they?”
Almost on cue, two large blue birds appeared holding large bunches of berries. They dropped them on the ground in front of Fluttershy, chirped appreciatively, and returned to their nest. Twilight’s mouth hung open in sheer disbelief.
“See.”
“I…you…birds…wha?”
“I live in District 10 see. The animals there live in horrible conditions, but I do my best to help them out. Not many ponies seem to understand if you just show a bit of kindness to an animal in need, they’ll return the favour in gratitude.”
“But you understood them. They spoke to you, in chirps and whistles, and you understood them?”
Fluttershy nodded. “Years of practice. Come on, want some berries?”
Twilight smiled as she took the berries, knowing from her years in the Everfree Forest that they were completely safe. She pushed Lightning Dust’s warnings about getting to close to other ponies to the back of her mind as she sat with her new friend, enjoying this brief moment of calm while it lasted.
Apple Cloud was regretting his decision. As soon as he’d seen Rarity and Blueblood walking towards him, he'd quickly climbed up the tree he was hiding behind. Years of working the apple orchards of District 11 had quickly adapted him to tree climbing whenever any apples were being difficult and refusing to fall, especially the summer he'd broken both of his wings trying to impress the mares at school. However, he had not considered anypony else when he climbed the tree, as when the District 1 ponies had headed out, Pinkie Pie, Fire Work and Pyro had started patrolling the perimeter, armed to the teeth to ward off would-be attackers from attempting to rob the stash they were now holding down. They were walking slowly in a circle around the cornucopia, about ten meters into the tree line. The spacing was far apart, but so were the trees in the area, meaning everypony would have a long line of sight, enough so that even with the gap between the sentries, Apple Cloud had no way of getting away without being spotted.
He’d been clutching the tree for half an hour when the sound of another cannon erupted. The sound waves pulsed aggressively in his ears, and the fright caused him to momentarily lose his grip. He quickly tried to grab at the tree branches as he fell backwards, only for it to snap off in his hoof as he fell. He tried to roll backwards as he landed, in an attempt to change the direction of the momentum to minimize the damage caused from the fall, only for his back to crunch awkwardly as his body twisted to the side, leaving him in a pile a few feet from the tree.
“Hey!” he heard Pinkie Pie call out from nearby. “I've got one over here!”
Not needing any more invitations, he got up to run, only to stumble as his spine burned with pain. He’d clearly had a serious fall, and as he turned away from the cornucopia to try and make his escape, he spotted a small cluster of rocks right where he’d fallen. He stumbled away as fast as he could as arrows whizzed past his head, striking the trees around him as the clique ponies gave chase.
Horrified, he saw Blueblood and Rarity up ahead, quickly turning left to avoid them. They looked injured, but he didn’t fancy taking his chances with them. Blueblood was quite bulky, and he looked like he could easily give chase, even with his injured colleague on his back.
Apple Cloud couldn’t think like that. He had to escape, and he couldn’t allow his agonizing back pain to slow him down. The arrows that were still flying past him were a constant reminder of this. He grinned as the voices of the clique ponies began to fade into the background. He turned his head to look back as he ran, happily seeing nopony behind him. His joy was short lived, as he turned forward to briefly see a flash of red, before he crashed into something, and went sprawling onto the forest floor. He screwed his face and moaned as he landed on his back, still throbbing from his fall, only to look up and see he hadn’t crashed into a something, but a somepony instead. His eyes widened as the bulky figure of Big McIntosh turned to face him, muscles bulging under his bright red coat.
Apple Cloud desperately shuffled backwards as Big McIntosh loomed over him, only stopping when his increasing back pain left him unable to move any further. Big Mac was enormous, and could crush him in seconds if he wanted to. However, the giant seemed to notice his fear and discomfort.
“Y’all okay there?”
Apple Cloud didn’t respond, he only looked at Big Mac with the same panic in his eyes.
“I said, y’all okay?”
He didn’t know how to respond. Here was Big Mac, a massive stallion with muscles to spare, and he was asking if he was alright. He remained in stunned silence as Big Mac continued to talk.
“Yer’ names Apple Cloud, right?”
He nodded his head.
“Y’all are Apple family?”
He nodded again.
“Then stop being so gosh darn scared. Family don’t hurt each other.”
Family. Family?!
“Y-y-y-you’re… n-n-not… g-gonna… h-hurt… m-m-me?” he asked shakily, unsure if he’d heard Big Mac correctly.
“Nope,” he responded with a chuckle. “Y’all are Apple family, which makes you a cousin. A distant cousin, I’ll give ya’ that one, but y’all are still family nonetheless.”
The two stallions looked around as they heard distant voices. The clique ponies were nearby, and armed to the teeth. The gentle giant lifted Apple Cloud onto his back, and began to trot swiftly away from the voices.
“S-so,” Apple Cloud said with a slight judder to his voice. “Y’all are Apple family too?”
“Eeeyup. My Granny Smith moved to District 9 when she was just a ‘lil filly. Apple family in 9 aint’ nowhere near as big as in 11, but there’s still a few of us around.”
This was news to Apple Cloud. He knew most of his family in District 11, but he’d never heard of anypony in his family moving Districts. Of course, that had been made illegal not long before the war, and even talking about it was punishable by torture, so it was no surprise that it was a subject left unspoken of.
“Anyways,” Big Mac continued as he slowed his trot to make his way down a steep section of hill. “Y’all know where cousin Applejack ‘n ma friend Berry Punch are?”
Apple Cloud was silent for a few moments as his mind flashed back to some of the things he’d seen from in the tree. As soon as Rarity and Blueblood had walked past, Nighteye and Rainbow Dash had sent the others to act as sentries, while they cleared the dead bodies away. He’d seen the unmistakable Stetson, and even from the tree, he’d been able to make out the purple pony with the cluster of berries for a cutie mark.
“Dead,” he said sadly, as Big Mac slowed to a walk. “They’re both dead.”
Incredibly, despite the situation they were in, Twilight was beginning to relax, and even enjoy herself. She and Fluttershy had both agreed that whatever happened to them, they would do a lot better for themselves just by keeping their minds focused. After finishing the berries the birds had brought her, Fluttershy had offered to show Twilight how to climb a tree safely. During all her years in the Everfree Forest, Twilight had kept her hooves squarely on the ground. Fluttershy meanwhile had spent many of her years tending to birds and other woodland animals in their natural homes in the trees.
“So,” Twilight said as Fluttershy began to scale a tree. “How does a pegasus get so good at climbing trees without her wings?”
“Well, its kind of second nature,” she explained, reaching the branches several meters above with almost no effort needed. “I was born with angel wing.”
“Angel wing?” Twilight inquired as she began to climb, following the route up the tree that Fluttershy had taken.
“Yeah. Basically, it's where the last joint in your wing twists outwards at an angle, even when your wings are folded away. This upsets the delicate aerodynamics a pegasus needs to fly, even to hover, so I was flightless for most of my life. But, my family still needed me to work, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to afford enough food to feed us all.”
“You worked in the free range areas of 10, right?”
Fluttershy nodded as Twilight hauled herself onto the top branch, and sat down next to her. “The free range areas are basically contained forests. My whole family worked there, but they were all able to fly. My dad helped me out a few times, but I needed a way to get up there on my own, so he spent a whole week with me, helping me climb up all the different types of trees.” Fluttershy shed a tear at the thought of her family, who were probably watching her right now.
“So, what about the angel wing? Why haven’t you got it still?”
“It was my birthday present a few years ago,” Fluttershy explained. “See, when I was diagnosed, my dad set aside this private bank account, and every time the family received income, he’d put a little bit of it away in that account. When he had enough in there, it was almost my birthday, so he waited until then to tell me we could afford the operation to fix my wings.” Her tears were beginning to flow faster now.
“He sounds like a great dad.”
“He is,” she said nodding. “There’s six of us he needs to feed and look after, and he still managed to save up to fix my wings. And then when my wings got fixed, he took the whole week off work so he could teach me to fly.”
Twilight’s head flooded with her memories of Shining Armor and his knife throwing lessons as Fluttershy looked up at the sky reminiscently. The sun was nearing the end of its day cycle, slowly reaching the horizon line beyond the cliffs. The arena was perfectly aligned east to west, meaning the sun would rise beyond the sea and set out of sight behind the cliffs.
“I remember that first proper flight. We didn’t go fast, we took things slow. The wind blew gently through my mane as we broke through the cloud levels, and we just flew around for hours. We sat on the clouds and watched the sun set, and I fell asleep right there.”
Fluttershy’s nostalgia broke Twilight’s heart. Fluttershy was sweet and gentle, and didn’t belong here. Neither did little Scootaloo, or any of them. In fact the more she thought over it, the more she came to realize that if anypony did deserve to be thrown into this arena, it was her.
Her thoughts of war and peacetime faded instantly as she heard hoofsteps below her. The two mares looked down to see Papercraft looking up at them, axe held backwards, ready to throw at the first sign of movements. Twilight cursed silently to herself as Fluttershy squealed in fear. She’d left her saddle pack on the ground, right at Papercraft’s feet.
The blue pegasus grinned up at them, his deep red eyes showing his readiness to attack if necessary. “So,” he called up casually. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you.”
Apple Cloud’s vision blurred as he forced his eyes open. He must have passed out, because the last thing he could remember was being carried by Big Mac in the early afternoon. Now he was lying down next to a camp fire, in the middle of the night. A small pile of food had been placed next to him as he slept. He turned to face the fire again, revealing Big Mac adding more sticks to it to keep it burning.
“Evenin’” he said as he noticed his companion waking up.
“Urgh, what happened?”
“You passed out. I ain’t no Doctor, but you must’a done yer’self one doozy of an injury when you fell outta that tree.”
Apple Cloud nodded. He had seen the pile of rocks he’d fallen on to. Couple that with the running he’d done immediately after, and passing out wasn’t really a surprise. He couldn’t remember when he’d passed out though, nor could he recall any conversation with Big Mac after he’d started carrying him.
“When did I lose consciousness?”
“Couple ‘o minutes after you told me ‘bout Applejack and Berry Punch,” Big Mac responded coldly.
“Big Mac, I…”
“Couldn’t do nuthin’, I understand. But ‘ah promised Berry Punch ah’d look out ‘fer her, and now she’s dead. An’ it’s mah fault too.”
“Don’t say that,” Apple Cloud said, sitting up. “You ran just like everypony else did.”
“’Ah ran when ‘ah promised Berry Punch ah’d defend her from them high class namby pamby ponies. Now she’s dead ‘cause ‘ah broke mah promise.”
The two sat in awkward silence, the only noises being the gentle crackle of the fire and crickets chirping in the cold night air, as Apple Cloud ate a few of the berries from his food pile. Big Mac seemed genuinely distraught over breaking his promise. Apple Cloud was feeling similar guilt, as he had promised Applejack the same thing. They’d mutually promised to watch each others backs, and she’d been killed after only a few minutes, while he fled for his life.
“So,” Big Mac began after what felt like an eternity of silence. “How does a member of the Apple family end up being born as a pegasus?”
Apple Cloud smiled at this. The Apple family was predominantly made up of earth ponies, so he was often asked about his heritage. “My dad’s a pegasus pony who met and married an earth pony. It’s basic pony biology, Big Mac. You know, the birds and the bees?”
“Look Papercraft, I can see where you’re coming from on this, but I’m telling you it’s a really bad idea.” Twilight was trying to convince the pegasus to stop what he was doing for the umpteenth time, but still was unable to persuade him to change his mind.
“Twilight, I appreciate your concern, but I have no intention of staying in this arena.”
After some peaceful negotiations when Papercraft had caught Twilight and Fluttershy in the tree, he had finally let them climb down without attacking. After some brief chatting, he finally revealed to them why he was building the raft. He meant to escape. Not as any form of refusal to play the games, but out of fear of death, and in the knowledge that he wouldn’t be able to kill anypony, even if his life depended on it. At least, that was the explanation he’d given, but Twilight wasn’t entirely convinced.
He’d continued his work on the raft as the Capitol projected the pictures of the fallen tributes into the sky. Gizmo, Limerick, Lyra, Featherweight, Berry Punch, Caramel, and Applejack, all were dead. Fluttershy shed a few tears at the loss of her friend, but Papercraft downright refused to answer them when questioned about Lyra.
It was only when Papercraft deemed his raft finished, and began to push it down the beach into the sea, that Twilight deemed it time to put her hoof down. She walked in front of it, crossing her forelegs to make it clear to him she wanted an answer.
“Do you mind?” he asked with slight annoyance.
“I have no objection to you trying to leave. I’ve tried to warn you that the Gamemakers won’t let you, but if you want to be ignorant to that fact, then that’s your problem. I just want to know the real reason why you want to leave.”
Papercraft stopped trying to push the raft, and fell backwards onto his haunches, tears slowly beginning to form in the corners of his eyes. Fluttershy noticed this and walked over to try and offer some emotional support. Twilight opted to keep pushing him.
“Is it about Lyra?”
The tears began to roll down his cheeks as he nodded.
“Was she your friend?” Fluttershy asked.
“She was my best friend,” he answered, putting in no effort to hide his tears. “I’ve known her since I was just a little foal. We grew up together, we played together, and her family even took me in when my parents went to fight in the war. And now… she’s…” He literally couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence, the tears choking him beyond the ability to speak.
Twilight nodded understandingly. Grief can drive some ponies to insanity, so it was understandable that Papercraft would want to find some kind of loophole that would grant him escape from this place, so she stepped aside to let him through. He nodded appreciatively as he pushed the raft into the sea, before jumping on and letting the tide pull him away from shore. The raft wasn’t massive, but it was well-built, and seemed to be able to hold him.
“Come on,” Twilight said to Fluttershy as the figure of Papercraft slowly faded into the darkness of the night. “Let’s go find somewhere to camp for the night.”
Fluttershy nodded as Twilight began to head inshore. They had barely even walked ten meters in when an almighty crash came from behind them. They turned to look, only seeing large waves churning outwards in a circle, right from where Papercraft and his raft had been a few moments ago. He hadn’t even made it fifty meters out to sea.
“Um, Twilight,” Fluttershy said timidly. “What was that?”
“I don’t know,” she responded as a cannon fired, confirming her fears. “But I think we should stay out of the sea from now on.”
It wasn't until an hour after they had witnessed the incident with Papercraft that Twilight finally managed to get Fluttershy to stop squealing. Whatever it was that had killed him, it had terrified the poor pegasus beyond measure, but for good reason, for even considering what it could have been sent a chill up Twilight’s spine.
During Fluttershy’s uncontrollable crying however, Twilight had also been juggling the task of trying to calm her down, as well as scouting the trees to find a suitable one to sleep in. Of course, sleeping on the forest floor would have been the easier method, but Twilight figured there were several advantages to making a bed in a tree instead. Protection from would-be predators, that one was certain. Whatever was in the sea, there was no way of telling if there wasn’t something equally terrifying lurking in the dark of night. At least being in a tree put them out of immediate harms way, in that scenario, however improbable. Most importantly though, the dense leaves and the darkness above would camouflage them, in the event that anypony were to walk past.
By the time Fluttershy had calmed down, Twilight had settled on a large oak tree, her eyes now adjusted to the darkness. The leaves on the tree itself were dense, and it was tightly packed in among the other oak trees, making an effective camouflage from below. What stood out about this tree was a small cluster of branches near the top. Three thick logs stuck out in a row, providing a strong support for somepony to lie down on. Fluttershy volunteered to go up and inspect the branches, and soon confirmed there was more than enough room to lie down.
The tree was in an idyllic location, being only a few minutes inland from the sea, and less than fifty meters from the river. Twilight needed to go and refill the canteen, so Fluttershy offered to set up a makeshift bed in the branches while she made the quick trip. In the short time taken to get to and from the river, Fluttershy had already carried up Twilight’s saddle pack, hiding it in a small nook where the main log of the tree split off into several branches. She had lay down several clusters of thicker sticks across the gaps between the branches, before covering it with a thick layer of leaves for comfort. Finally, she had put down the large mummy style sleeping bag on the rudimentary mattress, and lying down on it for a strain test. It was reasonably comfortable for what it was, and there was plenty of room for the two of them.
“Amazing,” Twilight said as she hauled herself onto the thick cluster of branches. “You can’t see it at all from down there. This is incredible, Fluttershy.”
“Thanks,” she responded with a blush. “I’m used to sleeping in trees. I used to do this with my dad when I was really young. He always let me help make the bed, too.”
“It’s strong enough to hold us?”
“It should be, I made it just like he taught me.”
“Wow,” Twilight said as she lay down on top of the sleeping bag. “It’s actually really comfy.”
“So, who gets the sleeping bag then?”
Twilight almost laughed at this. “It’s a big enough bag for both of us.”
“Oh,” came the timid reply. “Really?”
“Yep,” Twilight said with a nod. “I’m not going to sleep in there while you freeze to death without one, and I’m happy to bet you wouldn’t want to do the same to me.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It is pretty cold tonight, too.”
Twilight unzipped the bag, slipping her legs in. She budged over to allow Fluttershy room to slip in as well, before zipping the bag back up. It must have been made to accommodate two, because there was more than enough room for both of them in it.
“Here,” Twilight said, wrapping her forelegs around Fluttershy. “This way we can share body warmth, keep each other nice and cosy.”
“Um, okay,” she responded shyly.
“What’s the matter? Is this making you feel uncomfortable?”
“Uh, kinda.”
“Oh, sorry,” Twilight said as she let go of Fluttershy.
“Well, when I say kinda, I meant the way you had your leg under me. It was digging into my side a little bit. But it felt warm and nice.”
Twilight smiled as she wrapped her forelegs back around her new friend, being careful not to put one under her. The night air was cold, and the wind was breezy, but in the sturdy oak tree, the two ponies were warm and comfortable. The tree itself was quite sturdy too, barely moving with the wind, only the rustle of the leaves showing that there even was any wind.
“Um, Twilight?”
“Yeah?”
“Why didn’t we sleep on the ground? We could have made a fire and everything.”
“Well,” Twilight explained. “We don’t know what animals live in this forest. We saw what that thing in the sea did to Papercraft. I don’t want to take my chances of meeting any land-based kinds of animals like that.”
“And the fire?”
Twilight gave a gentle chuckle. “Do me a favor. Imagine you’re a bloodthirsty pony, hunting down other ponies in an arena. You have most of the supplies, and almost all the other ponies are relying on the most basic survival methods to keep themselves warm and alive. What do you look out for at night?”
Apple Cloud woke with a start as he felt a hoof being brought down on his mouth. Not hard enough to cause him harm, but enough to wake him up and keep anything he could say to a quiet muffle. Big Mac was stood above him, gesturing to his own mouth.
“Shh,” he mouthed as he removed his hoof from Apple Cloud’s mouth.
He sat up slowly, his back still aching, as Big Mac backed away slightly. He was clueless as to why he’d been woken so suddenly, and told to hush. The crickets chirped in the distance, and the fire crackled with the same gentle warmth as before. But Big Mac looked spooked, and there was currently no particular explanation as to why.
The quiet was interrupted by a distant twig snap from behind them. They both turned to face the snap, as Blueblood stepped into view, brandishing a menacing looking sword.
“It makes me wonder why you two buffoons ran away from us in the first place,” he said, stepping forward with a grin. “I mean, starting a fire is like shouting “I’m right here, come kill me!” as loud as you can.”
“Did you really expect us not to find you?” Rarity asked as she stepped into view behind them. She walked with a distinctive limp, and her head was heavily bandaged. Despite her injuries, she was stood with a bow, arrow notched and ready to fire at a moments notice.
“I don’t think they’re the brightest pair, guys,” Pinkie Pie said, cutting her way through a thick bush with a machete, a few feet over from Rarity, effectively surrounding Apple Cloud and Big Mac.
“What do you think ‘cuz?” asked Big Mac, leaning in to whisper.
Apple Cloud gulped. He was growing less certain of his survival chances by the second. It took him a few moments to look around at the three ponies blocking the pair in, before he grudgingly accepted the inevitable. He leaned in to whisper back in Big Mac’s ear. “Go down fighting?”
The larger stallion nodded, before replying. “T’was a mighty fine pleasure making ‘yer acquaintance, Apple Cloud.”
“And you, Big McIntosh.”
Blueblood charged in to attack Big Mac whilst Pinkie Pie went for Apple Cloud. She swung her machete wildly, looking more like an attempt to intimidate than anything. Apple Cloud was quick to duck, but he moaned as his spine took a dislike to the rapid motion. Pinkie Pie quickly noticed this, and while he was still ducked, brought the handle of the machete down hard on the center of his back. He collapsed in a pile, and before he’d even had the chance to groan at the pain, Pinkie stabbed the machete violently down on the back of his neck. The blade went straight through cleanly, the cannon sounding as she yanked it back out again, before sitting back to watch the still ongoing battle between Big Mac and Blueblood.
Big Mac was surprisingly nimble for such a large stallion, being quick to dodge most of Blueblood’s clumsy lunges, deflecting the rest. Each time he deflected, he was able to use the momentum to get in close to his opponent, and delivered several painful kicks to his upper body. They stayed in combat for several minutes, Blueblood consistently failing to get a decent stab in, with Big Mac being simply too nimble for any of the shots to hit. It was only by blind luck that the fight turned around, as Big Mac stumbled on the uneven ground as Blueblood swung, causing him to nick the earth pony's shoulder.
“Hah,” Blueblood said with swagger, overly proud over his minor accomplishment. “How do you like them apples?”
The cheap shot sparked rage within Big Mac. Berry Punch, Applejack, and now Apple Cloud were dead, and here was some arrogant unicorn from District 1, mocking that fact. This was not something he’d stand for, and so he immediately switched from the defensive to the offensive in his furor.
He charged forward as Blueblood stabbed at him. He jumped to the side, grabbing hold of the hilt of the sword, before twisting it from his opponent’s hooves and thrusting it into his stomach at full force. Blueblood groaned in agony as he fell backwards, ending up lying on his side with the blade skewering him like a kebab.
Pinkie Pie gasped in disbelief as Big Mac turned to face her. She backed away in panic as he stepped slowly forward. She dropped her machete as she fell backwards over Apple Cloud’s corpse, shuffling backwards in a terrified panic.
“Please…”
“You killed my cousin,” he said coldly. “And y’all were responsible for killing mah' other cousin, and mah' friend.”
“Please, it wasn’t me, I didn’t…”
“QUIET!” he shouted at her, tired of hearing any more. “Y’all as a group killed them. It don’t matter one ‘lil bit to me which one of you ‘ah kill.”
“Ahem,” said a voice coming from behind him.
Big Mac turned to face Rarity, having completely forgotten she was there, or that she had the bow and arrow. She released the arrow she had notched earlier, which flew silently and instantly, striking Big Mac directly in the throat. He fell backwards over Apple Cloud’s body, nearly crushing Pinkie Pie as he fell. He shuddered violently for a few moments, choking on his own blood, before eventually going limp, and the cannon finally fired.
Manners were pushed to the back of the priorities list as Pinkie and Rarity dashed over to check on Blueblood. He was alive, but he still had the sword driven deep into his abdomen, going all the way in to the hilt, the blade sticking out for several inches the other side.
Rarity began to cry, but Pinkie was surprisingly focused about the whole thing.
“Calm down,” she said reassuringly, turning to face her. “I know first aid. Just get back to base camp as fast as you can and get help.”
Rarity nodded, and began to hobble away as Pinkie moved in closer to Blueblood, not daring to remove the sword just yet. She went about a series of inspections, talking aloud as she did so.
“Pulse is good… Breathing rate is normal… No pupil dilation… Hmm. This puts me in a tough situation, Blueblood.”
Even in his broken state, he managed to whisper a “Why?”
“Well,” Pinkie explained. “I think you’re fine. The sword seems to have missed your vital organs, so you’re gonna live. But, the issue with that is, those wounds are gonna take a while to heal. And if you’re letting them heal, you won’t be able to fight.”
Blueblood was becoming increasingly scared. Though Pinkie’s voice was consistently calm, her face was taking on a more maniacal expression with every word she spoke.
“If you can’t fight, you’re not gonna be of any help. If anything, you’re just gonna become a hindrance,” she continued as she placed a hoof over his throat, beginning to press down hard. “And we can’t have you being a hindrance.”
Blueblood somehow found the strength to push her away in his fit of panic, but she responded by angrily walking back over to him, and twisting the sword aggressively in its wound. Blueblood gave a blood curdling scream as she let go of the sword, and put her hoof back over his throat.
“I’m trying to help you!” she exclaimed. “It’s either this, or days of pain as your wounds heal. We can’t protect you while you heal, so its either you die quickly now, or you die later after days of pain.”
Even with her hoof on his throat, he still managed to say just a couple of words. “You’re… crazy…”
Pinkie just smiled at him, with a look that could almost be mistaken for pity as she pressed down harder. “Many ponies have told me that before. They call me crazy because I supposedly say crazy stuff. But I don’t, see? I say truthful stuff that nopony dare else say, because it’s the truth, and the truth is crazy. And nopony wants to hear the truth, because they can’t accept crazy stuff, even if the crazy stuff is true.”
Her pitied expression turned angry as she began to shout at him.
“I accept the truth, and they call me crazy! I embrace the truth, and they call me crazy! I try and preach the truth to everypony else, and they have the nerve to call me crazy!”
She then leaned in closer as she saw Blueblood beginning to lose the battle of clinging desperately to his last dregs of life, whispering in his ear angrily.
“You know what I think? I think they can’t accept me, because they can’t accept the truth. And the truth is, life is crazy. I’m the only sane pony left, Blueblood. Everypony else is crazy.”
She stood up when she heard the distant boom of the cannon, satisfied with her work. She couldn’t save him, she’d tell them. His artery had been severed, she’d say. There was nothing anypony could do, she convinced herself.
“You see Blueblood,” she said, as she turned away to make her way back to camp. “When you’re the only sane pony left, everypony else just sees you as the only insane one.”
Blue Streak’s heart raced as the distant boom of the cannon dragged her from her slumber. The gentle snore coming from the sleeping bag across from her confirmed what he had told her previously, that he was indeed a heavy sleeper. The ability to sleep through the noise of cannon fire, though, was something else entirely. She reached over and gently shook the foot of his bag.
“Huh?” Clockwork Dawn said quietly, missing a snore as he woke.
Before Blue Streak could answer, another sound of cannon fire pulsed through the forest, signalling yet another death.
“That was two cannons,” she said quietly. “How many does that make?”
Clockwork Dawn thought for a few seconds, still lying in his sleeping bag with his eyes closed, before he gave an answer. “Eleven so far, so that means thirteen left, us included… wait a second, two cannons?”
“Yeah,” Blue Streak responded with a chuckle. “You slept through the first one.”
Her friend blushed a bit, before unzipping his sleeping bag. “I’m gonna look outside a sec, make sure there’s nopony nearby.”
She nodded in response. “Be careful.”
“I’m always careful.”
Another cannon fired as he climbed out, but he quickly leaned back in, giving her a small wave to show her he was fine. The ‘always careful’ comment made Blue Streak grin as he crawled out of the small den. When she’d encountered him earlier, he had clearly been anything but careful with how he was going about the arena.
It had all started at the cornucopia, as the games began. Blue Streak had been one of the fortunate few ponies with saddle packs in close enough proximity to grab, and quickly turn and run without ever being put in harms way. After running until she heard the cannons for the fallen ponies at the bloodbath, she had stopped and gone through her supplies. It was basic survival equipment really; a sleeping bag, a compass, a length of rope, a flint and steel, a water bottle with iodine drops, and a small bag of energy bars. It was enough to get her by.
A crashing noise had caught her attention soon after she had packed her stuff away. She was unlucky in the sense that a weapon had not been provided for her, so she approached the source of the noise with a certain amount of due care. She braced herself to flee if need be, being completely uncertain what she would find.
What she found, however, was far from dangerous.
She found herself looking at a small red pegasus with a dark red coat, trapped under a fallen tree, a sleeping bag wrapped up in its carry-bag a few feet in front of him. He’d had the good sense to jump into a small ditch as it came down on top of him, preventing him from being crushed completely. However, the ditch wasn’t as deep as he’d hoped, and instead of crushing him, the tree had him pinned down. He was small for his age, and despite the fact that he looked like he was on the last year of being an age eligible to be selected for the games, he only stood a head higher than Scootaloo. He didn’t seem too badly injured from the impact of the tree, as he was struggling to pull himself free.
“Hey!” he called out, looking up to see Blue Streak poking her head from behind a nearby tree. “Can you lend us a hoof?”
She remained still. Only one pony could walk out of the arena, and helping somepony out of a situation like this wasn’t going to do her any favors.
He groaned as the same thoughts went through his head. “Look, I haven’t got any weapons!” he called out again, becoming increasingly more desperate. “Please, just help me get out of here. I won’t hurt you, I promise!”
The desperation in his voice hit Blue Streak’s conscience hard. Groaning in defeat, she decided to lend him the hoof he desired. As she stepped forward, she made a quick judgment about the size of the log. It wasn’t that big, but his small stature was heavily restricting his ability to move it. It looked like it would budge if they both put effort in, so she took her place next to him, placing her front hooves on the side of it.
“Push upwards and I’ll push forwards. Got it?”
He nodded.
“Okay,” she said, bracing herself for the exertion. “On three. One… Two… Three!”
The two ponies pushed as hard as they could. At first it seemed fruitless, but seemingly out of nowhere, the smaller pegasus found enough strength to move the log upwards, just enough for Blue Streak’s sideways pushing to have an effect, and it rolled backwards. Blue Streak fell forward, not expecting the sudden movement, ending up flat on her stomach as her new friend stood up.
“Thanks,” he said to her gratefully. “Blue Streak, right?"
Blue Streak held her grin as she waited patiently in the small den. Clockwork Dawn had found it just before sunset, completely out of good luck. Blue Streak remembered her facehoof as she’d insisted they needed find shelter for the night, only for her companion to ask her to wait a minute while he ‘went to the little stallion’s room’.
She especially remembered her second facehoof, as she heard him yelp, followed by yet another crashing noise. Going over to investigate, she had to frantically contain herself from bursting out with laughter, as she parted some bushes to see the tips of his legs sticking out from a hole in ground, right next to the side of the tree.
“You okay down there?” she asked, wiping a tear away from her eye.
“Mmhmm,” was the muffled response. “But you should see this, there’s this whole den down here.”
“Must be a foxhole or something. Is it big enough for us both to sleep in?”
There was a slight pause, before he replied with a happy “Yep!”
“Good, now go find somewhere else to do your business. I’ll lay out the sleeping bags while you’re gone, then we can scout for a bit food for dinner when you get back.”
There was no movement from Clockwork Dawn. He legs remained motionless as he sat in perfect silence.
“Something wrong?” Blue Streak asked.
“Err, yeah, there’s something else.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t need the toilet anymore.”
Blue Streak winced at the thought of him wetting himself as she looked around the small den, her eyes long since adjusted to the darkness. The den was right underneath the tree, so branches went down on all sides of the domed walls, sticking out in random places. Clockwork Dawn was right about them being able to sleep in there, but due to his small size, he could also stand up and walk around, while Blue Streak had to duck.
She was surprised as she heard the bushes above rustling, followed by Clockwork Dawn quickly emerging into the den, hushing her as he stood still by the entrance. Luckily, the bushes above completely covered the hole, hence the reason they had stumbled upon it completely by chance. Blue Streak shuffled over to the small entrance, head down low to avoid scraping it against the roof, to see what was wrong. She soon got her answer, as she heard two sets of hoofsteps approaching, but they seemed to be coming from opposite directions. If they were aware of the small hole, this was uncertain, but they quickly got an answer as one of the voices spoke up.
“Oh, Pinkie! Thank goodness! What happened?”
“I’m sorry Rarity,” came the other voice, speaking sadly. “The sword must have punctured an artery or something. I tried to save him, I really did, but he was just too badly hurt.”
Rarity began to cry. Blue Streak looked at Clockwork Dawn, who seemed to share her relieved expression. They were safe, as the two ponies above seemed to have no idea that there was anypony else in such close proximity.
“Look, Rarity,” Pinkie began after a few minutes of her friends crying. “It’ll be okay. He lost consciousness first, so he wasn’t in pain for long. I held his hoof as he passed away as well, so just be happy that he died quickly, and he wasn’t alone.”
Rarity sniffed. “I suppose. It’s just, all this, so soon after the war. It’s just hard to take!”
“I know, I know. The war was tough on all of us. Look, lets forget about this, and get back to camp, okay?”
“Yeah, okay.”
“Good. You go ahead, I’ll catch up.” Pinkie spoke distantly, sounding a little distressed.
Rarity must have understood, as she responded with a simple “Take all the time you need, darling.”
The two ponies in the den looked relieved as one of the sets of hoofsteps faded into the distance, only to listen in confusion as the second pony began to talk to herself.
“You lied to her.”
“What was I supposed to do?
“Tell her you killed her friend, maybe?”
“Yeah, as if I’d actually admit that to her.”
“It’s the least you could have done.”
“No, the least I actually could have done is nothing. You can never do any less than not doing anything whatsoever.”
Clockwork Dawn looked at Blue Streak in terror, mouthing the words ‘she’s crazy’. She could only nod in response.
“You owe her the truth.”
“That stuck up District 1 filly faker? I don’t owe her squat. Only one pony walks out of here, and I’m not going to be that pony if I go soft on the others.”
“You told her you held his hoof. How in the hay is that not being soft?”
“If I make her think I’m a softy, she won’t expect it when I turn on her.”
“Okay, but when? You never know when she might think the same thing, which is when it’s the time to turn on you.”
“You really expect to convince me that she has a shred of tactical knowledge?”
“Point taken.”
“I’ll turn on her when her usefulness runs its course.”
“Any thoughts on how you might end her?”
“I dunno. Slit her throat probably. Easy enough, and effective too.”
“Just don’t let her get you first.”
“Heh, I’ll make sure she doesn’t get the chance.”
And with that, Pinkie walked away, blissfully unaware of the two terrified ponies she had left behind her, more than close enough to have heard every word she had spoken to herself.
“Well,” Blue Streak finally said after several minutes of awkward silence, and shared stares of disbelief. “That was interesting.”
“To say the least, yes it was.” Clockwork Dawn added.
Saying nothing more, the pair both got back into their individual sleeping bags, and tried to forget the whole one-sided conversation they had just heard, praying that the deep recesses of sleep would provide an escape from the haunting words of a truly maniacal pony.
Twilight opened her hazy eyes to be greeted by the gentle glow of morning light pushing its way through the leaves around her. The birds sang their merry songs in the distance, and the pleasant sound of the river rushing nearby merged with the distant noises of the waves crashing at the beach, creating an orchestral series of sound so beautiful that it was only conceivable that they be naturally made.
As Twilight sat up in the makeshift bed, it took her a few seconds to notice her companion, or to say it with more accurate terminology, the lack of said companion. Fluttershy had somehow slipped out of the sleeping bag earlier, without disturbing Twilight.
“Wow,” the unicorn said aloud, to nopony in particular. “I knew I was a heavy sleeper, but jeez.”
She unzipped the sleeping bag and sat up, happily noticing her saddle pack still in place in the notch where the tree split into smaller branches. A quick check confirmed all of her possessions were still present, save for the water bottle, which she soon found tucked underneath the pack, a small amount gone where Fluttershy must have drank after waking.
Twilight rolled up her sleeping bag, deciding to leave the crudely built mattress in place, should they need to stay another night. She brushed all the leaves on it that hadn’t blown off overnight, theorising that if anypony came along as some were blown away, there was a small chance they could locate it, and all they would have to do is wait for nightfall and Twilight and Fluttershy to return, and they would be able to stage an attack.
“Oh,” came a timid voice from below. “Good morning, Twilight.”
She leaned her head over the side, happily seeing Fluttershy looking up at her.
“Morning, I’m just packing up my stuff, I’ll be down in a sec.”
“Oh, um, okay. Why did you brush all the leaves away?”
“I’ll explain when I climb down there,” Twilight answered as she pushed the rolled up sleeping bag into her saddle pack. “Where did you go just now, anyway?” she asked, dropping the pack onto her back.
“Oh, um, I had to go.”
“Go? Go where?”
“Um, you know, go.”
“Yeah, but where?”
Fluttershy squeaked quietly as the penny dropped for Twilight.
“Ohhh,” she said as she began climbing down. “The little filly’s room?”
Fluttershy just nodded silently. As Twilight reached the bottom of the tree, one of the birds from the day before flew over, landing on Fluttershy’s shoulder.
“Oh, hello there!” she said happily, as the two began a short conversation of Fluttershy talking, and the bird responding with a series of tweets.
“What’s that? Oh my, congratulations! Oh yes, I’ll be sure to come by and see them later. Oh, my, that’s very generous, thank you very much!”
Twilight looked on in confusion as the bird flew away. “You mind telling me what that was all about?”
“Oh, yes!” Fluttershy responded excitedly. “That was the mother bird from yesterday, she said the eggs hatched overnight, and she was very grateful for me lining the nest for them.”
“Don’t tell me,” Twilight said. “She offered to get us more food?”
The birds seemed to have some kind of foresight, as almost perfectly on cue, the two parents appeared, one with a large bundle of berries, and the other with an apple in each claw. They dropped them on the floor in front of Fluttershy, tweeted appreciatively, and flew away to tend to their newborns.
“Yep!” Fluttershy said happily.
Twilight sighed. “You really need to show me how to do that.”
“I was, um, just wondering, um, if you could show me how to throw a knife. That is, if you don’t mind.”
Twilight paused as she swallowed her energy bar. Having finished the breakfast Fluttershy’s bird friends had brought them, and still being hungry, she had reasoned it was fair enough to begin to dig into the rations, as long as their portions weren’t too generous.
“It’s an odd time to ask, isn’t it?”
“Um, what do you mean?”
Twilight smiled. “I can show you a few techniques, but you really should have asked during training.”
Fluttershy blushed. “Oh, yeah. I guess I just didn’t want to ask in front of everypony.”
Twilight gave a slight chuckle at this. It was taking time, but she was finally beginning to get used to Fluttershy’s timid nature. She was a sweet soul in every sense, and by no stretch of the imagination was she the kind of pony that deserved to be in the arena.
“Well, I can definitely show you some techniques. Let’s finish up here, and then we can find somewhere else to practise. I don’t fancy hanging around the same place for too long.”
Fluttershy nodded appreciatively, and finished her energy bar, making sure to bury the wrapper before she went off to refill the water bottle in the river. Twilight finished hers before making sure she had everything packed up tightly in her saddle pack. The knife sat within easy reach to her right, and the EpiPen in the left, both in case of emergencies. Satisfied she was ready, she made her way over to the river.
Fluttershy was adding the iodine to the water as she arrived. “We all good to go?”
“Yep,” Twilight answered, looking around, trying to gauge her surroundings. “Let’s head upstream, see if we can find a river crossing.”
Fluttershy followed as Twilight began to hike along the river. “Why do we need to cross?”
“Well,” Twilight began to explain as they walked. “The river cuts all the way across the arena. But as far as I can see, it’s not perfectly centered. I’d its around three quarters of the way across.”
Fluttershy was able to see the logic in this. “So we’re on the big side, where everypony else is going to be.”
Twilight nodded. “Exactly. I seriously doubt anypony else will have gone to the trouble of crossing a river when there’s a lot more hiding places on the side they’re already on.”
This made a lot of sense. The area on the other side of the river made up a tiny portion of the land mass in the arena, so the chances of finding anypony else over there was relatively low. At least if there were any other ponies over there, they wouldn’t be too hard to find.
It took about an hour, but they finally found a portion of the river shallow enough to cross, on a particularly wide curve. This didn’t seem to bother the two ponies though, as the water was cool and refreshing, especially in the late morning sun. They soon found themselves across, before they sat down for a rest. The arena was massive, and despite being essentially a giant semi-circle, it must have been about ten miles from the coastline to the furthest point back of the cliff face.
“Right,” Twilight said as she sipped the water bottle, before offering it to Fluttershy, who took it gratefully. “Why don’t I talk you through some basic techniques first?”
“Um, okay. But can I ask you something? That is, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t mind” she replied with a smile. “What’s up?”
“Well, you’re a unicorn, so I expected you to only be good at anything using magic. So, um, how come you’re so good at throwing with your hooves?”
Twilight sat up straight as memories flooded back. “It’s how my brother taught me, and it’s how he taught himself. See, he always threw manually so he’d never have to rely solely on his magic to get him out of dangerous situations. He taught me the same way, and for the same reason.”
Fluttershy seemed satisfied with this explanation, and took a large swig of water. Of course, this was only half of the truth. Twilight pushed these thoughts to the back of her head as she began to explain, and pulled out her knife for demonstration.
“Okay, this knife is well balanced. That means its neither blade nor handle heavy. So, we’ll start off with how to hold it properly to get the best throw possible.”
The next few hours ran to this tune. Fluttershy was a good listener, sitting avidly and patiently, listening carefully to Twilight’s instructions. She tended to ramble every now and then, but was always quick to return to the main subject. It was a fair amount of spoken instruction for such a practical task, but Twilight wanted to be thorough. After a long and almost unbroken lecture about the physics, particularly the importance of the knife being perpendicular to the ground on release, Fluttershy was finally given a chance to actually throw the knife. She was stood up, facing a tree with a crude target carved into the center, trying practice throws, with Twilight pointing out minor flaws in her stance with every shot.
For somepony so timid and introverted, Fluttershy turned out to be a half decent thrower. More than anything, Twilight was just enjoying the company of somepony who wasn’t going to bludgeon her head in. She felt strange as she taught Fluttershy, a feeling that made her reminiscent of the times she’d spent with Shining Armor at the clearing, to the extent where she could almost see the rainbow in the mist.
It was nice to be with somepony in the arena. She’d have liked to have Thunderlane here, but for one thing, she hadn’t seen him since the games began, and she didn’t even know if he was still alive. Several more cannons had been fired during the night, and these were after the incident with Papercraft, but their pictures wouldn’t be flashed into the sky until later that evening, so there was no way of telling who had been killed.
Besides, as nice as it would have been to have Thunderlane here with her, she had promised not to mention their feelings towards each other in the arena. The capitol had taken so much from both of them, so she could see from his point of view. It was nice to hold on to one thing they can never take from her.
This must have been why Twilight enjoyed Fluttershy’s company so much. She didn’t need to share awkward family discussions with her, and there was no worry of any complications with their friendships arising due to romantic interests in each other. Twilight smiled as Fluttershy got in a decent shot, only a few inches away from the center of the target. Part of the smile was congratulatory, but for the most part, it was fueled by a surge of happiness just to have somepony nearby she could simply call a friend.
“Nighteye! Fire Work! Wake up you lazy featherheads!”
Rainbow Dash’s voice echoed in the small space of the cornucopia as the two stallions moaned inside their separate sleeping bags, stuck in the awkward stage of waking up where reality began to seep into their dreams, before finally they were finally woken completely by Pyro and Rainbow Dash pouring water on them.
“Hey!” Fire Work said, sitting up in his sleeping bag. “We were up all night on watch while you guys slept! A little gratitude would be nice!”
“Gratitude my flank,” chuckled Rainbow Dash as she walked over to the large pile of bags piled up at the back of the cramped room. “You guys must have been out for about six hours now, that’s plenty of sleep.”
“Yeah,” Pyro said as she joined Rainbow Dash at the pile of bags, before beginning to go through them. “Anyway, it’s just gone noon, so I think it’s high time we had some lunch.”
Nighteye’s stomach growled at the mention of food, making him smile slightly. “Yeah, we got any decent food?”
“I went through some of the bags yesterday,” Pinkie said as she walked in. “Energy bars, crackers, and not much more. I think they want us to find food ourselves.”
“Well, at least they scattered out some bottled water,” Pyro said as she pulled a clear plastic bottle from one of the packs. “But there’s only been some in a couple of the bags I checked last night. Plenty of empty flasks and iodine though.”
“Right,” Rainbow Dash said, pulling a map of the arena out of a bag, and laying it on the floor. “We’re right here at the cornucopia, and the nearest part of the river to us is this bend here, which is about half a mile away. Fire Work, Pinkie, you can take a saddle pack each, grab as many empty flasks as you can, and some bottles of iodine. Fill them all up, and purify them as you go.”
The pair nodded, and made their way to the back of the small room, grabbing and emptying a saddle pack each, before going through all the other bags, finding as many flasks as they could, and putting them in their own bags.
“Nighteye and Pyro, you two were best at identifying safe plants to eat, so I want you two to scavenge around the area here, get as much food as you can,” Rainbow Dash continued, gesturing in a circular motion around the area of the cornucopia. “Try and stay within a quarter mile area though.”
Pyro nodded, and walked to the back to collect a saddle pack for herself, but Nighteye stood to face Rainbow Dash. “What about you?” he asked.
She turned around, looking at the one other sleeping bag in the small room, its occupant still sleeping soundly. “I’ll hold the fort here, and I’ll try and talk some sense into Rarity. She’s still torn up over Blueblood, and we need her fighting fit. Hopefully I can get her to snap out of it.”
Nighteye nodded as Pyro handed him an empty saddle pack. Pinkie and Fire Work now had enough flasks, and made their way out of the cornucopia, followed by Nighteye and Pyro, leaving Rainbow Dash alone with Rarity. She sat down next to her with one of the pre-packed water bottles, and a few of the energy bars, before she gently shook her awake.
Rarity moaned softly as Rainbow Dash shook her. “Oh Sweetie Belle, just a few more minutes please darling…”
“Sweetie Belle?” Rainbow asked with a chuckle.
Hearing the voice next to her was not that of her younger sibling, Rarity sat up to face her companion, as the dream faded away, replaced by the memories of last night and where she was.
“Oh,” she said, almost broken heartedly. “I’m sorry, I was just…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug, handing her the water bottle. “Thinking about home?”
Rarity didn’t respond, only sipping the water and rubbing her eyes, still slightly red from crying. The events of the night before hadn’t really taken their toll until she had returned to the cornucopia, followed shortly after by Pinkie. Seeing her traumatized state was enough for her companions to let her off her watch for the night, but their benevolence wasn’t going to last long. If she stayed in her emotionally wrecked state, she’d be of no use to them, and therefore they would have no reason to keep her alive.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Rainbow Dash finally stood up, and gestured to a pile of smaller plastic bags against the wall, each one filled with various colored packets. “Me and Pyro went through some of the bags, got whatever food we could find out of them. Help yourself if you’re hungry.”
Rarity smiled appreciatively as Rainbow Dash walked to the mouth of the cornucopia, picking up a large sword she’d left against the wall. She practiced stabbing and slashing with an imaginary opponent as Rarity called out from back inside.
“So, where’s everypony else gone?”
“Pinkie Pie and Fire Work went for water, and Pyro and Nighteye went to gather food.”
“Err, but there’s water and food here.”
“Look at how much though,” Rainbow Dash laughed. “You really expect seven of us to survive on four bottles of water, a few packets of dry crackers, and some cheapo energy bars?”
“Seven?”
Rainbow Dash paused as she was about to behead her imaginary challenger. Seven? Yeah, there was seven of them. She’d taken a mental note of that fact when they’d gathered after the initial bloodbath yesterday. So why was Rarity questioning that?
And the penny dropped.
“Oh,” she said quietly. “Yeah, sorry. I guess I wasn’t thinking straight.”
Rarity picked up her bow and arrow, and made her way out of the cornucopia.
“Hey,” Rainbow called after her as she headed towards the trees. “Where are you going?”
“I need some time alone,” she called back.
Pyro had been plucking apples from a tree right on the edge to the large clearing, and had seen the whole thing. She trotted over to Rainbow Dash, who was scratching her head in disbelief.
“What’s her problem?” she asked as she approached.
“Dunno. I guess she’s still hurting from losing Blueblood. She fancied him, you know?”
“If the cameras were pointed at those two for more than a few minutes yesterday, I think all of Equestria knows. Want me to go after her?”
Rainbow thought for a few seconds. “No, she said she needs her space, so we’ll give it to her. Like I said earlier, we need her fighting fit as soon as possible.”
Pyro nodded as she turned around to make her way back to the apple tree. “What if she can’t get fighting fit any time soon?”
“Then we kill her. I’m not dragging her sorry over-emotional flank all over this arena, not for anypony. If she’s too much of a prissy to deal with death in a game like this, then that’s her problem, not ours.”
The two friends stood in silence for a few moments. Twilight assumed Fluttershy may have imagined it, as she had asked the question immediately after she had taken another throw of the knife. She was about to point this out when she heard it herself. It was hoofsteps, distant and quiet, only just audible over the gentle sound of the river. She gestured to Fluttershy to hush, before quickly retrieving the knife from the tree, and the pair of them took cover in a bush. It was an ideal hiding spot, on the edge of the clearing and only a few feet from the river, giving them a good view of the area all around. Fluttershy gave Twilight a nudge as she located the source of the noise on the other side of the river.
Scootaloo trudged along slowly, and even from across the river, it was clear that her eyes were red from crying. Her hooves gently clopped against the stones lining the river bank as she walked, creating a surprisingly loud noise for such a small pony. She eventually came to a stop, sitting down on her haunches almost perfectly across the river from the bush in which sat Twilight and Fluttershy. The pair remained silent, almost as if the small filly posed a threat, despite the fact that she appeared to be in a severely depressed state.
“What do we do?” Fluttershy whispered.
“I don’t know,” was the response. “I don’t think we can move from here without being spotted.”
“But she’s just a filly.”
“I know, and I also happen to know that neither of us would be able to bring ourselves to kill her.”
“So, let her come with us maybe?”
Twilight sighed. “I don’t think the term ‘safety in numbers’ applies to us right now. The more of us group up, the more attention we’ll attract, and I really don’t want to be there to see Scootaloo get hurt.”
Fluttershy nodded. It was heartbreaking for both of them, but Scootaloo was only going to hinder them. She was clearly in a poor emotional state, and therefore they would be spending a lot of time trying to calm her down if she was to join them. Also neither of them felt particularly eager to be there to see the death of an innocent young filly.
Scootaloo’s ears perked up as she heard a noise from in front of them. Twilight held her breath as the filly briefly looked towards the bush, only to breathe a sigh of relief as her gaze was directed upwards. Still unaware of her audience, Scootaloo looked on in confusion as a small metal cylinder hanging from a parachute drifted towards her, making a gentle pinging sound, presumably to alert ponies of its precise location in the event they fail to locate it immediately.
The small cylinder landed perfectly in front of Scootaloo with a slight clang as it came down on the rocks that lined the river. It stopped its pinging as soon as it landed.
“What’s that, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked with a strong amount of confusion.
“Sponsor gifts, by the looks of it. Looks like the Capitol ponies have souls after all.”
“You’re not going to be too popular making cracks like that.”
Twilight laughed a little at this. “What more can they do to me?”
Fluttershy gave a little shrug, as if to say ‘yeah, I guess’ before the pair of them returned their attention to the filly across the river, who had managed to open the small package. Her eyes went wide as she pulled out a knife, almost identical to Twilight’s, as well as a small note attached to the handle. She pulled it off, and read it aloud. She was either oblivious to the danger she was putting herself in, or she simply did not care, because she read it out loud enough so even Twilight and Fluttershy could hear it clearly.
“With every single passing breath, Let your strength be unconfined, You must not fear the wrath of death, For danger lies behind.”
Almost on cue, hoofsteps became audible further up the river, and getting closer. Instinctively, Scootaloo held up the knife, ready to defend herself, as Rarity came into view. The knife was large and heavy in her hoofs, but she had already seen what Rarity had done to Limerick, and wasn’t prepared to go down without putting up a struggle. The unicorn in question stopped dead in her tracks, notched an arrow, and pulled it backwards, ready to fire. She paused as she made eye contact with Scootaloo, still holding the knife defensively, and the pair remained still and silent for what felt like an eternity.
“Well?” Scootaloo demanded, a fresh wave of tears forming in the corner of her eyes. “What are you waiting for?”
“I…”
“I saw what you did to Limerick. She was strange, but she was nice. In the cafeteria she helped me reach the food on the higher shelves. I sat with her at lunch, and she told these wonderful stories, beautiful stories about how there are still good ponies left in the world. I know you thought she was crazy, but I know for a fact she was one of the nicest ponies I’ve ever met. And you and your stupid friends killed her!” By the time Scootaloo was finished, she was practically screaming at Rarity, who had lowered her bow, and was now hanging her head in disgrace.
‘Wow,’ Twilight thought to herself. ‘Well said, kid.’
“And you know what?” Scootaloo continued. “I can’t take this any more, because as brilliant as the stories were, they were exactly that. Stories. Ponies like that don’t exist any more. The world is just full of horrible ponies that take delight in watching us fight to the death. My whole family died in the war that those stupid Capitol ponies caused. For just a few moments when the war ended, I thought maybe things could get better. But no, now I have to come to this place, and I make some friends, only to have a stupid stuck up prissy District 1 pony kill them.”
“I’m sorry!” Rarity shouted back, now crying herself. “I just want to go home!”
What happened next surprised everypony watching, as Scootaloo charged at Rarity, slashing wildly with the knife. Rarity backed away, avoiding every slash as it came.
“Then defend yourself!” Scootaloo screamed, face red with rage. “Kill me and go home!”
One of Scootaloo’s wild slashes nicked Rarity’s front right leg, causing her to yelp and kick out wildly. The kick caught Scootaloo in the head, sending her tumbling backwards, blood dripping out of her muzzle where Rarity had caused her to cut her lip. She looked up at the unicorn who had dealt the blow, who was still crying.
“Please,” Rarity begged, as she threw her bow and arrow into a nearby bush. “I don’t want to kill any more. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Images of Limerick raced through Scootaloo’s mind as she stood up, picking up the knife again. The empty look in her eyes, the dull grin that had stayed in place even when an arrow had pierced her throat. The sodden fur that had became soaked with her own blood. Worst of all was knowing that for whatever reason, Rarity had done this to her friend.
“Seriously?” Scootaloo asked manically, slowly walking forward in a way that was beginning to legitimately terrify the much older unicorn. “You are seriously going to play that card right now? It’s a little too late for that.”
All this time, Rarity had been backing away from the filly, only to back into a tree. In her panicked state, she had slumped to the ground, as if every means of escape would never get her far away enough from the once-adorably pegasus that was now becoming more of a resemblance to a bloodthirsty cannibal. She didn’t know how the situation had turned out this way, and she was too terrified to do anything. She simply covered her eyes and cried more.
Scootaloo was beyond negotiation. Without another word, she took one more charge forward, screaming as she did so, and drove the knife deep into Rarity’s stomach. The blood splattered outwards, covering the small pegasus as her victim began to gasp desperately.
Almost instantaneously, the scale of her actions began to hit home, and Scootaloo looked down at her blood stained hooves with legitimate horror. How could she have done this? Panicking, she pulled the knife out, throwing it into the river, which caused Rarity to moan as she slumped down the tree further, now to the point where she was almost lying down. Scootaloo pulled some leaves from a nearby bush, rinsed them in the river, and applied them to the knife wound, putting pressure on it as she remembered from basic first aid training.
“I… I’m so sorry,” she choked through an uncontrollable torrent of tears. “I don’t know what came over me.”
Rarity coughed, flinching with pain as she reached out a hoof towards Scootaloo, reaching under her chin, lifting her head upwards and turning it to face her. She gave a weak smile as the pair of them made eye contact.
“You remind me of my sister,” Rarity said weakly, one last tear rolling down her face.
Scootaloo froze in place, still crying, still pressing down on the knife wound. She didn’t move when Rarity lowered her hoof, not when she closed her eyes, and not even when the cannon fired. She kept her gaze fixated on the unicorn, still trying to grasp the scale of her actions.
It was only when she heard the distant voices calling Rarity’s name that she managed to snap out of it. Not knowing what to do, she ran into the forest as fast as her legs would carry her.
“Well,” Twilight said awkwardly, Fluttershy frozen in a mixture of terror and disbelief. “I think she’s more than capable of defending herself.”
Fluttershy simply nodded as Rainbow Dash and Nighteye appeared up the river. Nighteye froze on the spot when he spotted Rarity, taking a few seconds to take in what he was seeing before he called the other ponies over, and soon the two of them were joined by Pyro and Fire Work.
Twilight panicked for a moment as Rainbow Dash told the group to search the area on both sides of the river, but breathed a sigh of relief as Pyro noticed a faint trail of blood leading away from Rarity.
“Looks like it’s the little brat,” chuckled Fire Work. “Stupid foal must have stepped right in it, now we can follow it right to her.”
Nighteye faced him as the others laughed, his expression being a much more serious one. “She’s just a filly, but she still killed a pony twice her size. So don’t be too quick to laugh.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged indifferently. “Rarity was a drama queen anyway. That skinny featherhead kid you killed could probably have taken her. Either way, we’ve got a trail, so let’s follow it.”
Pyro nodded. “I’d say it’s around 2PM right now, so we’ve got about six hours of daylight to kill.”
“Plenty of time,” Fire Work said happily. “Should we go back and get Pinkie Pie? She loves the thrill of a hunt.”
“No,” Rainbow Dash said firmly. “She gives me the creeps. Anyway, she takes a little too much joy in killing, so I’d rather not give her the anticipation. She’ll be just fine holding down the fort for a few hours.”
The group nodded as she began to lead the way through the trees, blissfully unaware of the pair of ponies listening close by.
“Fluttershy," Twilight whispered as soon as the coast was clear. "Please tell me you can think of something we can do that doesn’t involve weapons or killing. I think I’ve seen more than enough of my share for today.”
The pegasus paused for a few seconds as she considered this. “Oh, the eggs belonging to the birds I helped yesterday hatched last night, and they said I should come visit the newborns.”
Scootaloo ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She wasn’t even running for any particular reason. The distant voices she had heard calling for Rarity at the river weren’t forcing any form of intimidation onto Scootaloo, and despite the aggressive nature of the ponies that the voices belonged to, they were nothing that could scare her at this point. She was running in a futile attempt to escape her inner demons. The dull stare from Limerick’s corpse. The way Rarity had screamed when she charged at her. The sickening jets of blood spraying outwards when she thrust the knife into her chest. Worst of all were her final words: ‘You remind me of my sister’.
Scootaloo had left behind her a bleeding corpse, which was once the sister of somepony her own age. Horrific memories rushed back as she charged through the woods, in particular the last time she remembered seeing her own sister. The pain she’d gone through when she died, and the empty space left behind in the months that followed. She had inflicted this very same pain on somepony else, and the very thought of this was too horrible to bear.
So she ran, for there was nothing else within her power that she could do at this point. There was nothing physical to run from anymore, the distant shouts of the clique ponies had long since faded into the background. The thoughts and the images racing around her head were so horrendous, however, that she literally could not bring herself to stop running.
Fate had other ideas however, as she stumbled on an exposed root, only to overbalance and find herself crashing forwards, her head making a dull thud as it cracked full force against a tree trunk. A low moan escaped her lips as she rolled in pain, her vision blurring and her ears ringing aggressively. The cut on her lip where Rarity had lashed out, having been scabbed over, released a fresh wave of blood, filling Scootaloo’s mouth with the metallic taste of her own bodily fluids.
The last thing she was able to identify as she lay on her side, slipping out of consciousness, were two distant shapes with the unmistakable contours of other ponies, one blue and one red, making their way towards her.
“I don’t know. I mean, sleeping in the same place two nights in a row just doesn’t sound safe to me.”
“Well, nopony saw us up there. The only other ponies we saw today were by the river, and that was at least a mile upstream.”
Fluttershy’s face confirmed that she was partially convinced, but she still seemed to be thinking this over as Twilight began to climb the mighty oak tree in which they had made their crude bed. As she pushed her way through the lower level of the leaves, the bed itself came into view, still very much intact. However, it wasn’t a smart idea to sleep on it without considering what damage nature may have inflicted on it during the day. Worse though, was the idea that the Gamemakers could have damaged it in some way, which would certainly give them a rude awakening if it was damaged to the extent where the structure would be compromised, and would break overnight.
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as she reached the branch in question, as it appeared relatively intact. Judging from how it looked though, it had received little to no damage during the day, nor had there been any attempt to sabotage it. She stood on it, as she had done the day before, to test its strength, and it didn’t seem to have lost any of its integrity over the course of the day
“It’s all good up here!” she called down to Fluttershy. “Seems to still be strong enough.”
Fluttershy seemed less convinced. “Um, are you sure? Cause a whole bunch of twigs fell down when you stood on it just now.”
“I’ll fix them later. It’ll be dark soon, and I think we’d be best off getting some food before sunset.”
Fluttershy nodded, smiling at the mention of food. Other than the rations provided for them in the saddle packs, nourishment was fairly scarce in the arena, and the days exertions had left her eager and ready for another meal. They had visited the hatchlings, as Fluttershy had suggested earlier, after the ordeal with watching Scootaloo and Rarity, which really gave Twilight a necessary boost in her mood.
The rest of the day had been spent in the clearing where Twilight had carved the target into the tree, which allowed Fluttershy to become a lot more proficient with her knife throwing. With Twilight’s advice, and her physical practice, she was becoming a fairly decent throw. However, the knife belonged to Twilight, and she was the better shot, so Fluttershy had instead plucked a thick branch from a tree, and used the knife to sharpen the end to a point. The end result was a rudimentary spear, not one that would win over in a sword fight, but one that would give Fluttershy suitable means with which to defend herself. It was only when Twilight collected the wood shavings and dropped them into the river that she had looked up at the sky, noticing the sun was slowly reaching the later stages of its daily cycle, and decided they should find somewhere to sleep for the night.
Twilight climbed down to the lowest branch, before pushing off and jumping to the ground. It was only a short drop, and she landed effortlessly on all fours next to her saddle pack, which she picked up and set down on her back.
“Right, I saw some clusters of berries on some bushes about a quarter mile upstream. Should make for some nice dinner.”
Fluttershy thought for a few seconds. “Oh! I know the ones you mean. I saw some apple trees near there.”
Twilight smiled. Fluttershy had a keen eye for nature, one that was proving very useful for food gathering. There was the obvious matter of the crackers and energy bars in the saddle pack, but they only had so many of them, and it was crucial to make them last. As they reached the nearby river, and began to walk along it, Fluttershy paused.
“What is it?” Twilight asked as she stopped walking.
“How much water have we got?”
Twilight grinned as she reached into her saddle pack for the flask. A closer observation showed the water bottle was nearly empty.
“Not much, but I’m not thirsty. Why don’t you finish it off, then I’ll refill it.”
Fluttershy nodded appreciatively as she took the flask, and finished the last of the water in a single large gulp. Twilight took the flask back, before filling it from the stream, adding the iodine drops, and putting the now full flask back in her bag, and the two of them continued their stroll along the river bank.
It made Twilight feel a lot less concerned about their situation to have Fluttershy along with her. Her gentle nature was beautifully calming, her consideration for those around her was heart warming, and her ability to think tactically ahead was admirable. Twilight was used to only being focused on one thing at a time. Had she been alone, she would have made her way to the site where she’d seen the berries earlier, returned to the tree, climbed up and made herself comfortable before she’d have considered the need for water. Fluttershy was a lot more thoughtful, knowing it would be much easier to collect water while they were at the river instead of needing to come back to the river later on.
“Hey Twilight,” Fluttershy said, breaking the silence. “What do you think makes the sun and moon go round?”
This was an odd question, very much because it was apropos of nothing, but also because everypony knew the tale. Celestia used her magic to make the sun rise during the day, whilst Luna used her magic to make the moon rise at night. Of course, everypony also knew of the fate the two alicorns had met with at District 13, so when thought about, it was perfectly normal to wonder why the sun and the moon continued on their respective cycles.
“One of the stories my brother told me says that Celestia and Luna kept fighting right up until the destruction of District 13. He told me that in their final moments, they each cast a spell, in which their respective stellar bodies were set into a constant cycle. They did this so that even if they were to die then and there, we would retain our days and nights, even though they could have tried to escape. They gave their lives so we could continue ours in the way we always have.”
“That’s beautiful,” Fluttershy said, shedding a tear. “Where did your brother hear that?”
“I dunno,” Twilight lied, immediately regretting turning the conversation towards the touchy subject of District 13. “It’s just a story.”
It took every ounce of willpower for Twilight not to breathe an obvious sigh of relief as the two ponies arrived at bushes that she had described earlier, full of berries that both of them knew from survival experience were very much safe to eat. Sure enough, several of the trees dotted around nearby were in fact apple trees. Twilight took out the plastic zip bag in which sat the brightly labelled energy bars, before emptying the contents out into one of the bags on her saddle pack. The bars were vacuum sealed, so there was no danger of them picking up germs.
“Okay,” she said, taking off her saddle pack and handing it to Fluttershy. “I’ll pick berries here, you pick apples from some of these trees. Just put them into the bag on your right, its mostly empty.”
Fluttershy nodded. “I think we’ve got about thirty minutes to sundown, and we won’t need too much.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Five minutes should be enough time to get enough for tonight, so gather what you can, and then we’ll head back.”
Fluttershy headed off to the nearest tree while Twilight settled on the bush nearest her, which was one of the ones bearing strawberries. As she picked them, her mind wandered back to District 13. Celestia’s voice echoed in her mind, insisting to her that she ‘could be the source of a revolutionary turning point in the rise against the Capitol’. She remembered how she’d almost laughed at the time; the very idea that she could be a weapon was an alien concept completely. Of course, the months that followed her arrival there were a definite testimony to Celestia’s foresight.
Twilight almost jumped out of her skin as she felt a hoof touch her shoulder.
“Oh, um, sorry Twilight,” Fluttershy said as she nervously backed away.
“Oh, no, its okay,” she responded, amazed at how she’d let time pass her by as her mind wandered away to the past. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”
“Not about the size of that bag, evidently,” Fluttershy answered with a grin.
“Huh, what do you mean?”
“Look at the bag in your hoof.”
Twilight looked down, and her eyes widened as she saw the small zip bag full of strawberries. That is, to say it was full in the most literal sense possible. As her mind wandered far afield, her body had gone into autopilot, particularly in the motion of picking berries to put in the bag, as the strawberries filled up the entire bag, now forming a small pyramid rising high above the zipper, and every movement made the small pile wobble from side to side, occasionally resulting in another strawberry falling out.
“Oh,” Twilight said with a blush. “I guess I kinda went on autopilot there.”
Fluttershy laughed as she took a few of the strawberries, chomping happily on them in a single mouthful. “Mmm, these are good,” she said between chews. “Better than any I’ve ever had at home.”
Twilight took a few herself, savoring the rich flavor that danced on her own taste buds. “Oh wow,” she said, her mouth still full of the pulpy mess of half chewed berries. “These ARE good.”
The pair ate the berries happily for a few minutes, working the pile extruding the bag down to underneath the zip, at which point Twilight sealed the small pack of strawberries, placing it in the saddle pack which sat on the floor next to Fluttershy. Her eyes widened in joy as she found what might as well have been a whole bushel of bright red apples in the right bag.
“Wow,” she chuckled. “Wanna try and force any more apples in here?”
“Well, you did say to gather what I could. Anyway, its only about twenty in there. I figured I should gather a lot, just so we’ve got some left over for breakfast.”
Again, this was something Twilight hadn’t considered doing, and something that made her even more appreciative to have Fluttershy along with her. It was as she picked up the now bulky saddle pack, the sun finally set beyond the cliffs above, sending the arena into darkness as the sunlight transitioned into twilight. The pair made their way back to the tree, only to stop and watch the darkening sky as the Capitol logo appeared as the enormous projection. Twilight held her breath as the photos began to roll, half hoping that Thunderlane had been spared. She partially wanted him to survive, for reasons she decided were best not to think about. But then again, the longer he stayed alive, the greater the likelihood that she may have to be the one to kill him, and she had no idea if she’d be able to bring herself to do this.
Five ponies had been died since the broadcast in the skies above the arena the night before, which matched the counts Twilight had made of the cannons. Twelve ponies were down, leaving twelve remaining. Thunderlane’s face was yet to appear in the sky, meaning he was still alive, but this was a fact that Twilight was still trying to decide whether or not to be happy or sad about.
Awkward silence hung in the air as the two ponies trekked along the river in the slowly darkening twilight, the only sounds around them being a gentle orchestra of chirping crickets, the tender sloshing of the stream, and the occasional quiet clop as their hooves came down upon the stones littered around the river bank. The air was cool, but not a bitter cold, which blew softly against their manes as they walked.
Twilight reminisced back to the many nights she’d spent camping out at the clearing in the Everfree with Shining Armor. They quickly mastered the art of constructing a bivouac after more failed attempts than either of them would like to have admitted, but they still had fun attempting to build on every single night they spent camping. Even when they had finally managed to sharpen their shelter building skills to a half decent level, they rarely actually slept in their creations. Not after one of their failed attempts where they’d slept in the open because the hot summer air made sleeping under a shelter too stuffy anyway. They’d been woken by the sun rising, shining brightly into their eyes, only to watch in astonishment as the rays slowly became entangled in the rising spray from the waterfall below, and the rainbow in the mist literally faded into reality. After witnessing this marvel of nature, they only really slept in their shelters if the night was too cold, but they still built them every time they camped, just in case.
Fluttershy quickly picked up on the signs as they walked; signs about Twilight’s demeanor that clearly showed she was lost in thought. The slight smile. The distant look in her eyes. The small tears forming, but not flowing. It was a testament to Fluttershy’s kind hearted nature that she was able to recognize these signs, even more so that she didn’t disrupt the reminiscence. Instead, she remained in silence as the pair arrived at the tree where they would sleep for the night, allowing Twilight’s thoughts to remain fixated firmly on better times.
The pair remained in silence for the remainder of the evening. Despite this, they seemed to be on the same wavelengths when they finally returned to the tree, as they both set about gathering more sticks to strengthen the crude mattress, and plucking leaves off the nearby branches to make it more comfortable. They made eye contact a few times as they went about their work, but Fluttershy wore the same expression each time, one that without words said ‘I understand’, which gave Twilight a good sense of emotional support.
It seemed that Fluttershy was naturally a very comforting pony. Her shy character was more of a cover up for the beautiful soul within. She was truly sweet, caring, and definitely the kind of pony that deserved to walk out of the arena. Twilight had plenty of time to think on this as the two ponies ate their berries and apples, before resigning themselves to bed. As she lay in the sleeping bag, listening to the almost silent snores of the pegasus cuddled up next to her, her mind continued to drift. Her past was hardly the most joyous, and her future was looking bleak. Even if she could go home to Shining Armor, losing Thunderlane was something she didn’t know if she could cope with.
It was as Fluttershy let out a contented sigh, clearly lost in the brighter world of her dreams, that Twilight ultimately came to her verdict. She couldn’t think about home just yet, not while she was here with Fluttershy. She could only be with her for a few more days at the most, but if she was going to have any chance of getting home, they would have to split up. Twilight knew she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to kill Fluttershy, and as painful as it was for her, sometime in the next few days she would have to split from her, and hope that she died quickly and mercifully at the hoofs of the clique ponies.
Scootaloo moaned softly as she drifted gradually back into consciousness, unable to recall the events in the final moments leading to her being knocked out. As she slowly forced her eyes open, she found herself in eerie darkness. She was only able to make out a few basic shapes as she sat up, finding that she had been lying in a sleeping bag. The cut on her lip had long since scabbed over again, and the large amounts of blood on her hooves had been cleaned off, save for some of the areas where it had dried too much to be simply wiped away.
As her eyes finally began to adjust to the darkness, she came to notice more specific details about where she was. It looked to be some kind of animal den, probably somewhere near the roots of a tree, judging by the domed dirt ceiling with various roots and twigs sticking out in random places. Another sleeping bag sat just across from her, its occupant still sleeping soundly. There was a small hole in the wall behind the other sleeping pony, presumably the way in and out. Either they were deep underground, or it was night, as no light was able to make its way through the hole. Her eyes soon became adjusted enough to make out one more figure in the dark sat by the small entrance, presumably acting as a sentry.
He was still awake, but hadn’t noticed her just yet. Scootaloo didn’t dare move just yet. She didn’t know which pony he was, or if he was going to hurt her. She sat motionless for a few tense minutes as her eyes continued to adjust, before she finally came to identify the more specific features about the sentry pony. Short, dark red coat, black mane, and the unmistakable cutie mark of a cog.
“Dawny?” Scootaloo asked quietly.
Clockwork Dawn sat up straight as soon as he heard her voice, grinning at her, and dashing across the small space to give his friend a hug. On his way, he walked straight across the other sleeping bag, which didn’t go down well.
“Ow!” said the blue pegasus, who sat up quickly in surprise. “Hey, what gives?”
Her complaints went ignored, as Scootaloo and Clockwork Dawn held each other in their tight hug. The filly could have cried, just happy to see a friendly face.
“Where the hell have you been?” she asked half-jokingly, as they finally loosened their grips on each other.
“Getting his flank crushed by trees,” answered the other pony, who had now stood up out of her sleeping bag. She was unfortunate in that she was the tallest of the three of them, and had to duck in the cramped space of the den, whilst Clockwork Dawn was just short, and Scootaloo was just a filly.
“Now that I can believe,” Scootaloo chuckled as she finally put a face to the name of the other pony. “You’re Blue Streak, right?”
“Mmhmm, and you’re Scootaloo. ‘Dawny’ here told me all about you while you were out.”
“Hey,” Clockwork said aggressively, looking back over his shoulder at Blue Streak. “Only Scootaloo calls me that.”
“Why? I think it’s a sweet name. ‘Dawny’” was the half-serious response.
Scootaloo chuckled. “Don’t try and be threatening, it doesn’t suit you, Dawny.”
He sighed, gently facehoofing. “Two mares. All the ponies in this arena, and I get saddled with two mares.”
“Oh don’t be such a drama princess,” Blue Streak laughed.
“He’s always been one, I don’t see any chance of it changing,” Scootaloo added, before changing the subject for Clockwork Dawn’s sake. “So how long have I been out?”
“About six hours,” Clockwork answered, appreciating the different topic. “You were in a bad way when we found you, but we brought you back here and cleaned you up.”
“How are you feeling?” asked Blue Streak.
“Could be worse,” she answered with a shrug. “Bit of a headache, but then again, I nearly split it open on a tree, so I guess that a bit of pain is norm-”
Scootaloo was cut off mid-sentence by the sound of a twig snapping. It was loud, but distant enough to have come from outside. The three ponies sat in silence as the twig snap was followed by hoofsteps and the gentle rustling of the bushes covering the hole above. Scootaloo cursed silently as torchlight shone down the hole, accompanied by a male voice calling out from above.
“Right, I know you’re down there, why don’t you make this easier and come up now.”
None of them moved a muscle.
“I’ve got napalm and matches here, so I could kill you right now if I really wanted to. I’m giving you the chance to face me, I suggest you take it.”
Blue Streak sighed. “We’re gonna have to go up there.”
“Listen to her!” the voice from above called back. “She’s definitely thinking on the right wavelength there!”
“What about out stuff?” whispered Clockwork Dawn.
Scootaloo couldn’t believe what she’d heard. “If he’s got napalm, I don’t think we should test his patience. Let’s just go up there quickly.”
They all nodded in agreement, and one by one, clambered up the hole. As it turns out, the leaves of the bush were blocking a significant amount of light from reaching the den, as the moon shone brightly down on the arena from a cloudless sky, brightly enough that Scootaloo had to squint as she stepped out onto the forest floor.
“Well,” said the voice from somewhere in the shadows. “Blue Streak, Clockwork Dawn, and Scootaloo, am I right?”
Clockwork Dawn wasn’t intimidated. “Why don’t you show yourself?”
The voice chuckled slightly, before the pony it belonged to stepped out of the dark. The pegasus in question had a light blue coat, with a mane that alternated dark blue and red, with a large scabbard on which sat two sheathed swords, but there wasn't any sign of napalm or matches. Clockwork Dawn cursed his gullibility.
“Fire Work,” said Blue Streak. “See, we can remember names too.”
The clique pony in question began to laugh. “I see you fixed up your little friend there,” he said, gesturing to Scootaloo. “I wonder if she’s told you that she’s a killer, just yet.”
Scootaloo stared at the ground awkwardly as her friends looked at her disbelievingly.
“We found Rarity,” Fire Work continued. “Well, what was left of her. Her bow was in a bush about ten metres from her corpse, which gives us a few possibilities as to what happened to her. Either she was brutally attacked, and lost her bow. Or, and this is much more likely, she was a pansy who decided she didn’t want to fight, so she threw her bow away. Now what kind of pony kills an unarmed pony?”
“You can talk,” snarled Blue Streak. “All those ponies that died at the cornucopia. You and your ‘friends’ killed them unarmed.”
“My friends did, but I didn’t,” Fire Work corrected. “When it comes to fighting unarmed ponies, I prefer to take a back seat. You know, keep my hooves clean. By the looks of your filly friend, she doesn’t do the same. I can see you tried to clean it off, but did you honestly not wonder whose blood that was?”
None of the ponies answered. Scootaloo was becoming more and more ashamed of herself by the minute.
“Anyway, back to business,” Fire Work said, unsheathing one of his swords and throwing it on the ground in front of him, towards the small group. “Who’s gonna be the first one?”
Clockwork Dawn wasn’t convinced. “Where are your ‘friends’ then?”
“Back at the cornucopia. Any other questions?”
“Yeah,” Blue Streak said. “Why’d you leave them behind?”
“I needed to use the little stallion’s room, and I don’t think I’d have been too successful in asking one of them to come along. As I was walking back, I heard talking nearby, so I followed the voices to your little hole.”
“What’s with the swords?” asked Scootaloo.
Fire Work was becoming tired of the questions. “I’m not going anywhere in this arena unarmed. Look, I’d love to talk all night, but I really need to be getting back, and I’d prefer to kill you with dignity, not like animals.”
Blue Streak stepped forward, and picked up the sword. “Just give us a minute, okay? I’ll fight you.”
A large grin appeared on Fire Work’s face as he pulled out his other sword, anticipating the fight to come, turning away from Blue Streak and began some practice slashes on an imaginary foe.
“Right,” Blue Streak whispered to Scootaloo and Clockwork Dawn, facing away from Fire Work. “As soon as we start fighting, run. I can hold him off for a few minutes while you get away. Head straight to the sea. If I beat him, I’ll meet you there.”
Clockwork Dawn looked at her with concerned eyes. “And if you lose?”
“Then I’ll have bought you some time to escape.”
Scootaloo and Clockwork nodded appreciatively as their friend faced up to her foe, who had just dealt an fatal stab to the heart to his imaginary opponent.
“All done with your goodbye?” he asked arrogantly.
“Pretty much. But why are you giving me a chance?”
“The capitol ponies want us to fight like savages. Excuse me if I want to be a gentlecolt about the arena, I just think its only fair to give my opponents a chance.”
Blue Streak paused to think this over, as Fire Work charged forward. He swung wildly at her chest, but she was quick enough to back away in time. The blade nicked her shoulder as she did so, causing her to yelp. Fire Work saw a chance, and swung backwards towards her neck, but despite her shoulder pain, she quickly raised her sword to deflect his. He had gotten in close with his swing, so Blue Streak attempted a stab towards his chest as soon as she had deflected his swing, but he was quick to dodge out of the way, ramming the hilt of his sword into her muzzle.
Blue Streak stumbled backwards, her vision blurring slightly, as blood ran down her muzzle. A cursory glance backwards confirmed that Clockwork Dawn and Scootaloo had already made their escape, a fact which Fire Work picked up on at the same time as her.
“How noble. Sacrificing yourself so your friends can escape. You just might make a worthy opponent yet.”
Blue Streak grinned as she crouched down, wiping the blood dripping off her chin, before putting all of her strength into an upwards leap. She brought the sword over her head, before sending all of her downwards momentum into an almighty swing aimed for Fire Work’s head. He jumped out of the way in the nick of time, as Blue Streak’s blade sank deep into a tree stump, and stuck fast.
She desperately tried to pull it out, but to no avail, and she had to frantically jump back to avoid one of Fire Work’s downward swings that would have taken her forelegs off.
“Well,” he said with a chuckle to his retreating opponent. “I gave you a chance, and you blew it. End of the line, I’m afraid.”
He slashed aggressively at her chest, expecting her to go down instantly. She did go down, however it was her ducking under the slash, only to roll forwards onto her forelegs, flipping her whole body over them, and kicking outwards as her hind legs came level with Fire Work’s head. He tumbled backwards, his sword disappearing into a nettle bush. Frantically, he took his chance whilst Blue Streak was still recovering from the flip, tackling her violently, before pinning her down, and lashing out violently at her head and upper body with his forelegs.
Each time his hoof made contact was agonizing for Blue Streak, and the time he spent making his attack felt like an eternity. By the time he was finished, she could barely even move. She gave a deep groan as he stood up, and made his way over to the stump that her sword was still embedded deep into. A few sharp tugs saw it come loose, and the stump split as he twisted it away completely, before walking back over to his broken opponent.
He stood above her, sword aimed at her throat, looking down on her with mock pity. “Aww, I’m so sorry, Blue. Don’t feel too bad, I mean, you did try your best. But, then again, against me your best is only second best.”
She winced as he rested the blade against her throat, wondering why he was taking so long.
“Any last words?”
She looked up at him, terrified, only to notice the way he was stood above her. Without a moments hesitation, she summoned all the strength she could muster, and lashed out with her hind leg, aiming straight for Fire Work's hundred point region. Her hoof made a sickening squish as it made contact with his groin, the effect of which was not dissimilar to running him down with a car. He collapsed to the forest floor next to her, crossing his legs as if to prevent further damage to his delicates, writhing in agony with a moan that sounded a few octaves higher than his normal voice.
“Yeah,” Blue Streak said weakly, reaching out for the sword, which had fallen to the ground next to her head. “I’ve got some final words for you.” She used the sword as a balancing point to pull herself onto all fours, and when she was finally stood up, she drove it full force into Fire Work’s chest.
The cannon sounded as she limped away, and muttered to herself with a small smile on her face.
“Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for.”
It was the dull thud of the cannon, signifying the fall of yet another tribute, which mercilessly dragged Twilight from the depths of her slumber, bringing her conscious to the fact that her throat felt parched. She coughed slightly as she reached over to the flask sitting in one of the many nooks of the tree, carefully trying not to wake Fluttershy as she did so. The pegasus in question barely stirred, sighing contently as she remained resolutely fixated in the world of her dream, briefly being granted the luxury of clearing her mind of any thoughts about the troubled place in which she slept. This was a state of mind that Twilight envied greatly, as no matter how hard she tried, how much she wished it, sleep offered her no such remorse.
After she had carefully put the flask back in the nook, her thirst now quenched, she lay back down into the sleeping bag, looking upwards through the leaves at the moon above. It offered no indication as to the time, but judging by the fact that she’d woken up with her throat parched, it must have easily been at least six hours since they had returned from gathering their assortment of apples and berries. Other than the cannon thud moments earlier, the night was peaceful enough, and there was no reason to disturb Fluttershy’s slumber for another few hours. The night was cool without being freezing, and was mixed with a gentle breeze that sang through the valley. The crickets chirped merrily around them, and all felt well in the world. Time seemed to melt around Twilight as she lay in the sleeping bag, bathing in the warmth of the timid pegasus to her side, eyes closed and listening to the sounds of the forest around her. Her tiredness had left her, so she thought it best to lie still for the night, preserving energy for the day ahead, as well as allowing her to enjoy the more peaceful moments as they came.
The peace was unfortunately short-lived, as Twilight felt a gentle spasm from the body next to her, timed seamlessly with a quiet squeal. Fluttershy was beginning to sweat profusely, but she was also shivering aggressively. Twilight sat up as Fluttershy let out several more squeals, but she was clearly still fast asleep. Peaceful times, even in sleep, seemed to be short lived in the arena. As gently as possible, Twilight placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, only for her heart rate to triple as the squirming pegasus sat up straight in a shot, letting out a piercing scream that barrelled mercilessly into Twilight’s eardrums. It took her a few seconds to react, but as soon as the shock passed, she lunged forward and clamped her hoof hard over Fluttershy’s muzzle, rapidly silencing her. Her eyes shot open, as if she’d been asleep even while screaming, and stared at Twilight. It was rare to see anypony so terrified, even from a nightmare, so Twilight pulled her in tightly for a hug. The embrace seemed to work, she rocked Fluttershy gently back and forth, gently whispering “its okay” to try and calm her down as much as possible, to which the only reply that could be heard was a feeble whimpering.
Twilight continued the embrace for as long as she gave herself to calm down. The suddenness of the scream had legitimately frightened her, and her pulse was still racing. The cuddling was, in this case, beneficial for both of them, as Twilight could give Fluttershy the comfort she needed, whilst the calming words replied to by gentle cries allowed Twilight to calm down to a point sufficient for her to think straight. They two ponies, both still terrified, held each other tightly for what felt an eternity before Fluttershy finally broke the silence.
“I… I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Twilight said again, with a gentle chuckle. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I guess so.”
“Okay then,” Twilight said as she let go of Fluttershy, before she carefully stood up. “If anypony is nearby, they’ll have heard you. Better not risk being found, we’ll head inland. You can tell me as I pack.”
“Okay,” Fluttershy said with a sniff, wiping her tear stained eyes with her hoof as she stepped out of the sleeping bag. “I was dreaming about the day my mom died.”
Twilight looked up as she started to roll up the sleeping bag. It was important that she pack their stuff up quickly, but she made it crystal clear by her body language that Fluttershy had her complete attention.
“See, um, during the war, everypony in District 11 who hadn’t gone to fight just tried their best to go on with life as usual. So one day, I was out with my mom in the fields, when we heard this weird humming noise, and it kept getting louder and louder. The cows around us started panicking, so we had to fly up to avoid getting trampled in a stampede, when this big hovercraft just appears out of nowhere. I mean, it literally just appeared in the sky above us.”
“Attack the families, try and scare the opposition into submission,” Twilight said with a nod, remembering something she’d heard Celestia saying when she was in District 13. She paused as she considered how militaristic and insensitive this sounded, before looking up at Fluttershy. “Sorry,” she said as she put rolled up sleeping bag into its carry bag. “Keep going.”
“So, lots more hovercraft appeared in the sky, and then these bombs start dropping, some at houses, but most of them were aimed at livestock pens. See my mom, she was always very sweet and caring, especially to the animals, but she never really thought ahead. This one hovercraft that appeared over us dropped a bomb, and mom had to push me out of the way so it didn’t crush me. And, I think it’s cause I nearly got hurt, she starts screaming and flying up towards the hovercraft that dropped the bomb.”
Twilight already knew the end of the story, just from hearing this. She’d studied diagrams of the Capitol hovercrafts, and she knew there was no way an unarmed pegasus pony could have gotten close. It was too heavily armed, to the point where only the strongest weapons, or heavily concentrated unicorn magic, could cause them any kind of damage.
“Then, I didn’t even see what did it, I just heard this dull thudding noise, and….” Fluttershy tried to continue, but her tears forced her to choke up, and she simply slumped back against the side of the tree. Twilight, now finished with the packing, knew there was nothing she could say or do to console her, not with memories like this. So she did all she could, by sitting next to her, and holding her in close for a gentle hug. She didn’t expect Fluttershy to be able to continue, so she just wanted to be there for her. A feeling of guilt washed over her as she considered her earlier thoughts about abandoning the quivering wreck cuddled up to her.
“T-t-t-the… w-w-worst… b-b-bit…” Fluttershy continued as she blubbered hysterically, pausing to take a deep breath. “I… I tried to fly up after her, maybe try and stop her. The sun was in my eyes, so I couldn’t see when I heard that thudding noise, but then I felt something warm splatter over me.”
Twilight grimaced, as she realised exactly what had happened. Every single Capitol hovercraft is fitted with swivelling Sonic Disruptor Cannons on the underside. These cannons fire concentrated sonic waves at specific points with pinpoint accuracy, effective from up to half a mile away. Correctly fired, they can obliterate a pony’s body. Flesh is ripped apart, organs are pulped, and even bones are reduced to nothing more than dust. The SDC’s are laser guided, controlled by the on-board computer, so a lone pegasus flying blindly towards the underside of the craft would have been a textbook easy target. Fluttershy’s mother would have been reduced to a red mist quicker than she would have been able to blink.
“So… I stop… and I look down at myself… and I’m covered in…”
“It’s okay,” Twilight said as she pulled Fluttershy in tighter, not wanting her to keep recalling this painful memory. “I think I can guess the rest.”
Fluttershy nodded, momentarily grateful to have somepony nearby to confide in. Sadly, despite the pony desperately in need of a friend, Twilight had other things she needed to focus on. Her mind racked with guilt as she realised that while the earlier scream could have alerted anypony nearby to their general location, the time spent trying to comfort Fluttershy was all time that somepony could be using to get closer to them. The makeshift bed was hard to see, but not invisible. If anypony had the common sense to work out that they wouldn’t be sleeping on the forest floor, it wouldn’t take them long to find them. In short, they needed to move. Quickly.
“Listen,” Twilight said as soothingly as possible, letting go of Fluttershy and standing up again. “We’ve been here too long. If your scream alerted anypony to where we are, this is all time they’ll have spent looking for us, and we should have spent moving elsewhere.”
Fluttershy was still in a delicate state, but she quickly managed to bring her crying down to a controllable level as Twilight tightly strapped her saddle pack on. Then, after a quick listen, she guessed there was nopony in the immediate vicinity. If there was, then they’d most likely be waiting for her to start climbing down, as she’d be at her most vulnerable point. She decided the best way to do it was climb down quickly first, then keep guard as Fluttershy climbed down. As Twilight lowered herself down, she noticed the sky turning from black to a darker blue, causing her to breathe a sigh of relief to the fact that daylight would soon be upon them. The cool breeze, which had earlier aided her relaxation, now only served as an annoyance as the brief span of hearing Fluttershy’s story had turned it into a bitter cold that bit at her as she carefully descended through the branches. Thankfully, nopony ambushed her as she dropped through and landed on all fours on the forest floor, before quietly calling up that it was safe to come down.
It was as the leaves rustled above her, signalling that Fluttershy had begun to climb down, that Twilight’s ears twitched slightly, picking up on a familiar sound in the distance. A quick glance up showed a look of horror on the face of the yellow pegasus, confirming that she also recognised the dull thud in the distance.
There wasn’t even time for Twilight to shout up before the first wave hit. Bombs exploded all around them, landing in continuous fire. Twilight was knocked onto her stomach by the first blast barely fifty metres away, the power of which also knocked Fluttershy straight out of the tree. She squealed as she fell several metres onto her back, right next to Twilight on the ground, ears ringing violently. As it was days earlier, she was lucky to have fallen onto a soft forest floor, and she was only lightly winded as instinct kicked in, adopting the stance her father had taught her, lying on her stomach and using her hooves to shield her face. The bombs continued to explode in a wide radius around them, clearly being intended to level a wide area, not a specific target.
“What do we do?!” Fluttershy screamed out, though it was hard to hear for both of them due to their ringing ears.
Twilight couldn’t respond, not without risking looking up and taking a large piece of shrapnel to the face. Instead, she kept her head buried firmly in her hooves, and prayed to any divine spirit that Fluttershy was doing exactly the same. Moments passed by, feeling like hours, but finally the bombs began to slow down, and after a few minutes of silence, the pair finally looked up.
The forest around them was decimated. The fact that they’d survived without a scratch was nothing short of a miracle, as every tree for half a mile was reduced to a splintered stump. The most intact of the trees around them was in fact their tree, which was relatively intact up to the lowest layer of leaves. Everything above that, the thick log, the heavy branches, the bed that had been the closest thing in the arena they could have considered home, was gone. With the amount of shrapnel and wood splinters around them, it was impossible to tell what had come from which tree.
It took a few minutes for Twilight to finally snap out of the trance, gazing at the scene of destruction around them, and turn her attention to Fluttershy. She looked panicked, and her back was now dotted with bloody splinters, but she was otherwise unharmed. There weren’t that many of them, so upon checking that Fluttershy wasn’t too disorientated, Twilight set to work on removing the splinters, pulling them out one by one with her teeth. It surprised her how little Fluttershy complained about it as she was doing it, but she just put it down to shock.
“T-t-twilight?”
“I know it hurts, but it won’t take long,” she answered as she pulled out a long one.
“T-t-twilight?”
“Look, I know you must be scared right now, but the sooner I get these splinters out, the sooner we can get going.”
“T-t-twilight?”
“What?” she answered, now beginning to get irritated. “What is it?”
“Um… your flank.”
Twilight spat out the splinter and turned her head around to look at her left flank. She could only just see around the saddle pack, but she couldn’t see anything wrong.
“Um… other side.”
Twilight slowly turned her head around to look at the other side, only to nearly faint. How could she not have felt it? Maybe the intense adrenaline rush of the situation had briefly blinded her to the pain she should be feeling. Whatever the reason, Fluttershy’s splinters were now almost insignificant in comparison to the shredded piece of bloody metal, almost certainly part of a bomb casing, which had embedded itself deep in her flank, right in the center of her cutie mark.
The arena was spinning like a twister. Rapid waves of nausea threw themselves endlessly and mercilessly at Twilight, who was still completely fixated on the massive piece of metal lodged in her flank. During her time in District 13, she’d seen her fair share of bomb related injuries, but having it happen to her was almost unthinkable. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, her light headedness cost her all sense of balance, and she collapsed altogether, landing on her left side, but not before she violently retched on the floor. The smell of vomit filled her nose as she realized she had collapsed just so her face was right in the middle of the chunky puddle of partially digested fruit and energy bars. Even with her dizziness overwhelming her, and the smell of her dinner making her gag reflex work overtime, she somehow found the strength to utter a single word as she weakly called out Fluttershy’s name.
The pegasus in question barely moved. She stood perfectly still, paralyzed on the spot, every muscle tensed as if her life depended on it, and her already light colored face looking paler than ever. Her eyes were fixated on the shard of metal, and the blood gushing from the wound. Twilight was lying in a deepening pool of her own bodily fluids, and Fluttershy was the only pony who could help her. She had to be snapped out of it.
“Fluh… fluh… Fluttershy,” Twilight repeated, growing more and more desperate with every passing moment.
Fluttershy remained still, and tears began to fill Twilight’s eyes as she thought over what she was about to ask of the poor mare staring at her wound, utterly mortified.
“Please… please… you need to pull it out.”
The result of this request did fortunately have the desired effect of snapping Fluttershy out of her trance and bringing her attention back to reality. Sadly, it also overstepped the mark as she backed away in a state of sheer panic, practically screaming her head off at the idea. She starting pacing back and forth, muttering loudly and anxiously to herself for a few moments before she was able to turn her hysteria down a few notches, and made her way back over to Twilights side.
“Nonononono,” she exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hooves in a somewhat superfluous effort to disguise her fear, as she rapidly tried to talk her way out of it. “I just couldn’t, I’m no good at medical stuff this big. I mean, I’ve looked after a few injured animals at home before, but never anything this big. There must be somepony else who can help. Oh, I know! I’ll go get help!”
“NO!” Twilight literally had to grab Fluttershy by the back hooves to stop her galloping away. She pulled her aggressively back, before looking her right in the eyes and mustering her breath, then talking as clearly as she could manage. “Nopony is going to help you. They’ll probably kill you sooner than look at you. Now if you don’t help me out here, I’m as good as dead.” Her voice had begun to crack up towards the end, and she was close to bawling out loud as she looked desperately up at the mare no better suited to helping anypony than she was, and uttered an almost silent “Please.”
The look on Fluttershy’s face was almost heartbreaking, but Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as she closed her eyes and gave a small nod. She started by helping Twilight move away from the large puddle of bodily mess, which was now starting to attract flies. She helped her up by letting her wrap a hoof around her shoulder as she helped her move away from the puddle she had been lying in, as the flies had begun to swarm around, the putrid smell offering what to them would make a decent meal. The sea was about ninety meters away, and Twillight knew the salt water would be good for cleansing the wound, so the two slowly made their way over, with Fluttershy also carrying the saddle pack, which had remained remarkably intact from the bombing run, with a few scratches and slightly blackened areas where the pack had been exposed to the patches of intense heat.
“What in the hay was that, anyway?” Fluttershy asked, desperately trying to not to gag as the smell of the mess smeared over Twilight's face and mane flooded her nostrils.
“What was what?” Twilight responded, beginning to feel a bit better, minus the lump of metal in her flank. It was a momentary relief to hear Fluttershy being back in a semi-rational state.
“The bombs. Why in the name of Celestia would they fire bombs at us like that?”
“Entertainment,” Twilight said distantly, worried about how Fluttershy’s mention of that name would affect her chances of survival. The Capitol wouldn’t take kindly to it.
“Entertainment?”
“Yeah.” No longer lying down in the puddle of vomit and blood was doing Twilight wonders as she began to feel slightly better, even with the blood pouring down her leg, leaving a clear trail on the woodland floor behind them. The sun had begun to peek over the horizon while she’d been down and out, and she found herself having to squint to move forward.
“I.. I don’t understand.”
“Well, this is first and foremost a television show. Think about it, the Gamemakers can’t have the games starting to get boring. Fire a few missiles in during the quiet times and boom, the audience stays happy.”
“Hmmph,” Fluttershy said angrily. “We were targets of a bombing run because the Capitol ponies were getting bored?”
“Pretty much,” Twilight replied before she forced a grin. “Ever hear of overkill?”
Fluttershy gave a small smile as they set hooves on the beach. The sand crunched softly underneath them as Twilight returned to lying down on her left side. The adrenaline from the bombing run was quickly wearing off, and with every step she had taken to get here, the pain had became more intense. Now it felt as if her flank was on fire, and she was struggling not to cry out from the feeling. Fluttershy trotted quickly back into the woods, returning a few moments later with a thick branch of wood. She quickly snapped it into a smaller one, before dropping it on the sand next to Twilight.
“Clench it in your teeth. You could bite your tongue off if you don’t, and I don’t particularly find that possibility too appealing.”
Twilight looked around nervously as she took the wood in mouth, clenching it between her teeth as per Fluttershy’s instructions. The bombing run must have been at least ten minutes ago, and would have attracted the attention of everypony in the arena. The clique ponies in particular would likely consider the area to be of great interest, as anypony who had survived the initial bombing, but was left injured, would make for easy pickings. In this case, she was the easy pickings, and even though she had been helping Fluttershy with knife throwing, the pegasus definitely wasn’t going to be in any position to defend them both against the clique ponies.
“Right, hold still,” Fluttershy instructed as she gave the shard an investigatory wiggle.
Twilight winced as an unimaginable pain shot through her system. She found herself reflexively biting down hard on the stick, which left her feeling grateful for the fact that Fluttershy had taken the initiative to recommend it. The pain was indeed intense, but it dispersed as quickly as it had come.
“Okay,” Fluttershy said trying not to look too closely at the wound. “It feels loose, so here’s hoping it comes out on the first try.”
“You’re not exactly filling me with confidence here,” Twilight mumbled, her speech slightly impaired by the stick with deep teeth marks still held tightly in her mouth.
“Right, sorry. On three, got it?”
Twilight gulped, closed her eyes tight, and nodded. She mentally braced herself for the agony that was about to come.
“Okay. One… Two…”
There was no three. Deceptively, Fluttershy yanked as hard as she could on the metal as she finished muttering the word Two. Fortunately, the shard came out quickly, and didn’t appear to tear the flesh too much as it came. Twilight’s body spasmed violently as the pain shot through her nervous system. The previous pain was nothing in comparison to what she was feeling now. The stick in her mouth shattered under the intense force of her bite reflex, filling her mouth with shavings and splinters. A large chunk of the stick rolled back down towards her throat, causing her to gag, before she coughed and spluttered the mouthful of wood out, nearly vomiting once again as she did so. With no more stick to bite down on, she clenched her teeth tightly together, unable to stop herself from softly moaning.
Fluttershy stepped back as she held the metal shard in hoof, right as Twilight was coughing up the remains of the stick. The metal was about ten inches long, and four wide. It tapered to a sharp point at one end, and judging from the blood stains, it had embedded half of its length into Twilight’s flank.
“Heh,” Fluttershy chuckled giddily, before she swayed gently left, then right, then all the way to back her left again as she fainted, her face now pale as a ghost.
Twilight gently facehoofed as she tried to figure their situation out. Every moment they spent here was more and more time the clique ponies could be making their way towards them, so whatever she did, she had to do it fast. Her wound needed cleansing, a job for which the salt water would suffice. Also, Fluttershy needed bringing around again, and they both needed to get out of the area as quickly as possible. The simple solution came as a particularly large wave washed up onto the shore and splashed the bottom of Twilight’s legs. She was going to kill three birds with one stone.
Groaning as she stood up, she found she was able to put a small amount of weight on her injured leg. She’d be limping for a while, but it was better than nothing. Slowly, she made her way over to the saddle pack, which Fluttershy had dumped by the edge of the sand, and quickly checked all their stuff inside. The fruit they’d gathered the night before was all tightly sealed in the zip bags, and the assortment of energy bars and crackers were all vacuum sealed in the first place. The only other thing of interest was the sleeping bag, but it would dry out.
Twilight picked the pack up, placing it on Fluttershy’s back. She had to roll her around a little to get it on properly, but as soon as it was, she began to drag Fluttershy’s limp body towards the water. Even though she wasn’t too heavy, the exertion put a lot of strain on her whole body, as the gaping wound on her flank was beginning to spread into a dull ache that was making its way along the length of her leg. Every single hoofstep was painful, but she mercifully reached the waters edge, where she laid Fluttershy down to face the sea just as a foaming wave washed towards them. The water splashing in her face was more than effective at bringing her around, as she sat straight up with a gentle squeal.
“Oh my goodness!” she exclaimed, gently coughing out some salt water that had flowed into her mouth and nostrils. “What happened?”
“What happened is you probably saved my life,” Twilight answered with a smile.
Fluttershy blushed as the moments prior to her loss of consciousness began to flow back. “Yeah, I guess seeing how deep the shard went, I just went so lightheaded.”
“Well, thank you” Twilight said as she began to step towards the water.
“Um, you’re welcome, but what are you doing?”
“Well,” Twilight responded, turning to face Fluttershy when the water was up to her haunches. “Salt water is good for cleansing wounds, and any kind of water is good for cleaning vomit and blood off. That and we need to escape.”
“Escape?”
“Yeah, that bombing run will definitely have some of the stronger ponies on our tails. They’ll come here looking for injured survivors, and in case you didn’t notice, I left a lengthy trail of blood coming down here.”
Fluttershy gave a cursory glance back, to confirm what Twilight had said. The trail of blood was easily visible from far off, and to anypony scouring the area of the bombing run, it would serve as a clear indication of where to go to get an easy target.
“We swim along the shoreline, cover our tracks. My wound can get all the cleansing it needs while we swim, and we get the hay out of here leaving no indication as to where we went.”
“But… we don’t know what’s in that water.”
Twilight sighed, as a particularly nasty demise flashed in her memory. “Whatever killed Papercraft, it must have been massive. As far as I can see, the water is pretty shallow for quite a distance outwards. We’ve got to risk it I’m afraid. We’re too vulnerable to attack any other way.”
“Um, o-okay then,” Fluttershy replied, clearly not happy about the arrangement. “Won’t our stuff get wet though?”
“The food is all sealed up, and we can dry out the sleeping bag when we get back on shore.”
“Okay then, where are we going?”
“We’ll head across the river. Keep to the shallows, and be as quiet as possible.”
Fluttershy nodded, and began to step into the water. Twilight winced as she walked further out, waiting for the pain to begin as the water level rose up her body towards the hole in her flank. As she finally found herself submerged in the water, it took every ounce of her willpower not to bolt straight back out. The salt stung mercilessly at the wound, the pain of which caused her back right leg to twitch and spasm frenziedly with every movement. Twilight had intended to paddle gently through the water, but she found this impossible with the lack of control over her leg, reducing her paddle to a forced and shaky one.
As soon as they were both up to their necks, they made a turn to their left, and proceeded to hug the shoreline as they swam, keeping as quiet as possible as to avoid the attention of anypony nearby who could be searching for them, with Twilight taking the lead and Fluttershy swimming just a few meters behind. Twilight dove under the surface a couple of times, before running her hooves through her mane to clear herself of the vomit she had been lying in. Mercifully, the position of the sun was of great help to their hiding, as its early position in the morning sky shone down on the water, and the reflected glare rendered it impossible to see anything in the water from the shore. This also had the less desirable effect of forcing both Twilight and Fluttershy to squint in order to see where they were going, but neither of them complained. The sharp stinging pain in Twilight’s flank was slowly lessening as the salt went to work on the wound, and the further they went, she found her control over the leg increased as the twitching eased away.
Even though they were both squinting, they found their visibility to be at little over a few meters, but Twilight had figured they should go at least half a mile, an idea that was confirmed when after what was probably a quarter mile, a gentle current could be felt pushing towards their rights, which must have meant they were paddling across the area at the mouth of the river. The two of them pushed on in silence, the only sounds around them being the gentle lapping of the waves at their necks and the tweeting of birds from the shoreline trees that hadn’t been destroyed. The tweeting served as a good indication that they had reached the opposite side of the river, so Twilight waited a few minutes for them to get a considerable distance from the river before she turned back and gestured to Fluttershy to head inland, by which time the stinging in of the wound had completely dissolved into the dull ache running the length of her back right leg, which had also spread along most of her right side. Irritating at the most, but nowhere near as bad as the pain of earlier had been.
“Right,” Twilight said, finally breaking the silence as they stepped out of the waves onto the beach. “We need to find something to wrap my leg with.”
Fluttershy thought for a few seconds, before she trotted a few meters away towards the edge of the beach, dropping the saddle pack at the line where the sand met the grass. Twilight found that she was incapable of moving forward any faster than a limp, so she followed slowly from behind as Fluttershy pulled out the knife and the sleeping bag. Twilight grinned when she worked out what she was up to, as the yellow mare dropped the rolled up sleeping bag out of its carry case, before hanging it from a branch to dry in the sunlight. The small carry case was perfect, made of what felt like a soft polyester, so Fluttershy went at it with the knife. She expertly cut off the top and bottom parts, before slicing it down the middle, leaving them with what could make decent wrapping. She then proceeded to poke a series of small holes on either side of the slice she’d made, something Twilight was curious about, but she could see from the look of concentration on her face that she’d be better off keeping quiet for now.
“Lie down over there,” Fluttershy said, not looking up, but gesturing to a nearby tree, the leaves of which provided adequate shelter from the sun.
Twilight smiled and did as she was told. The day was already warm, and even when still soaked from their swim, she could still feel herself beginning to sweat. She walked over to the tree, but had a thought before she lay down. She emptied the contents of the saddle pack onto the ground by the tree, before hanging the pack itself on the same branch from which hung the sleeping bag. By the time she lay down, she could see what Fluttershy was doing with the case. She was busy looping the pull cord from the bag through the series of holes on each side of the cutting, similar to how one might tie a corset, or how some dresses are done up at the back. This was no doubt meant to keep it from slipping down her leg once in place. Fluttershy, now satisfied with her work, walked over and placed the makeshift wrapping on the ground by their pile of kit, before grabbing a few bunches of leaves, and heading back towards the sea.
Waiting for her companion to return, Twilight cast her eye over the pile of their equipment. Fluttershy’s wrappings, a half empty water flask, a small bottle of iodine, the two bags of fruit they’d gathered the night before, a small pile of wrapped energy bars and crackers, a length of rope, and the EpiPen. Twilight had forgotten all about that last one. Earlier it had seemed like something she may never need to use, but ultimately could prove to be useful. Now, given her current state, it may be the difference between life and death for her, if in a situation where she could be cornered by the clique ponies, and her only option was to run, the EpiPen would be the most useful tool in her arsenal.
Her attention then returned to Fluttershy, who had returned with the leaves, which she had washed thoroughly in the seawater. Expertly, she pressed a bunch of them tightly against Twilight’s wound, an action which made her flinch. Her whole body tensed as Fluttershy held the leaves tightly in place, whilst she simultaneously picked up her makeshift wrapping, sliding it up Twilights leg until it was in place above the gash. She quickly made sure the leaves weren’t obscuring the area between the flesh, and once happy that there was sufficient room for it to heal, she then proceeded to pull tightly on the cord she’d woven between the series of holes, and then tightly tying it into place. The resulting bandage was pretty well done considering their lack of proper medical supplies for this particular job, and Fluttershy had been careful to tie the knot in such a way that it could easily be untied later on, in case they need to change the leaves.
Satisfied with her work, Fluttershy leaned in to help Twilight stand up. The wrapping stayed in place as intended, which gave left them both relieved that the wound now had a chance to heal, and was no longer open to the elements. Her leg was still aching slightly, and she was a bit shaky when she put weight on it, but at least the situation they were in was now infinitely better than it had been half an hour ago. Her leg was wrapped, and was no longer covered in blood and vomit, but the exertions of getting to where they were had left her exhausted and hungry. After walking a few paces up and down their small area of beach, she was happy enough that she would still be able to move around the arena. The worst she got was the dull ache and a little shakiness, but she was fairly confident the shakes were the result of her stomach being drained of its meal from the night before. She just needed to eat something.
“Let’s go crazy here,” Twilight said as she collapsed on her haunches, next to their pile of kit, wincing slightly as the ache momentarily intensified, objecting to the sharp movement. “It’s been a hectic morning, so I think we deserve a treat.”
Fluttershy, who had been washing the blood off her hooves in the sea, looked back at the meal being prepared for her. Twilight had put all of their food onto a small pile in front of her, from which she was making two smaller piles. Each of the piles was made up of three apples, a dozen strawberries, two energy bars, and a whole packet of crackers. She didn’t need any invitation, so she finished washing the last of Twilight’s blood off her hooves, and trotted right back over and dove into her pile of food in, demolishing half of her strawberries in a matter of seconds. Twilight was just as eager, and within the same span of time, she was halfway through her second apple.
“This is great and all Twilight,” Fluttershy mumbled, all manners gone out the window as she continued wolfing down her strawberries. “But how much have we got left?”
“Plenty,” was the response, as Twilight glanced at their remaining pile of food, her mouth full of the last of her final apple. “Half a bag of strawberries, eight apples, six energy bars and three packets of crackers.”
“Oh, good. Can you pass the water please?”
Twilight handed the small flask over, from which Fluttershy took a long sip, before passing it back. Only then noticing how parched she was, Twilight also took a long sip, draining the flask as the water flooded her mouth and cooled her down from the efforts of the day so far, continuing on with such unawareness of how long she’d been drinking, that before she knew it she was sucking on an empty flask, and gasping for breath when she pulled it away from her lips.
Fluttershy chuckled as Twilight blushed, before she stood up to go refill the flask at the river, a little over a quarter mile away. She headed inland slightly, to avoid collecting the water at the mouth of the river, for fear of collecting salt water by mistake. The area of beach they’d chosen was curved inwards from the mouth of the river, with dense trees making it impossible to see from the opposite side. As Twilight approached the river, she slowed to a crawl. The bombing raid had ended not far from the line of trees across from her, and the force of the explosions had damaged all the trees around it. The result of this was evident, for even from the rivers edge, she could clearly see the ruined area of forest, slightly over a few hundred meters from where she stood, through ruined trees where the heat of the blasts had roasted the leaves.
She thought it a subject best not to dwell on, and she went about her business of filling the flask and adding the iodine drops, before turning back into the forest, towards the beach where she’d left Fluttershy eating her meal. Her leg was still aching, but she found the more she walked on it, the more bearable it became as she grew used to it. She wasn’t too happy with a constant ache, but she was hardly in a position to complain. Their main problem for the morning was now dealt with, more or less, and she needed to figure out their next move. At least, she tried to, until a more pressing thought came into her mind. She hadn’t heard anything from Thunderlane, not even once since the game started. No picture in the sky, no chance encounters, nothing. Sure, the arena was big enough for it to be conceivable that they hadn’t encountered each other just down to chance, but it would be nice to see his face right now. Her mind wandered back to the cannon that had woken her earlier, and she wondered if that had been his cannon. Or maybe he’d been nearby, and was killed in the bombing run. It was very possible that they wouldn’t have heard the cannon fire, if he had been killed during the bombing run. Either way, she couldn’t worry about him just yet, not with Fluttershy to worry about, let alone her own injury.
Sighing, she was happy to hear the lapping of waves against the beach, and pushed through a thick cluster of branches to step back out onto where she’d left Fluttershy. The pegasus in question had finished her meal, and was now lying on the ground by the tree, surrounded by apple cores and food wrappers, snoring gently, and occasionally sighing in content. Twilight, considering the events of the morning, couldn't bring herself to wake Fluttershy up just yet. Judging from where the sun sat in the sky, it must have been somewhere between seven and eight, so Twilight decided to let her sleep for a few hours. She sat down with her back to the tree, making sure her knife was close at hoof, and waited for the iodine to purify the water while she considered what their next move should be.
The broken wood crunched underhoof as Pyro stepped out onto the newly created plains where bombs had hit less than half an hour earlier. Leaves, branches, and entire trees had been reduced to thick crumbs that coated the landscape as far as she could see, a distance which was significantly lower than normal due to the imperfect angle of the morning sun shining awkwardly onto the ocean and glaring the land. Of everything that the Gamemakers could have provided but didn’t, at this moment it seemed the cruelest decision was to deny them sunglasses.
“Nopony could have survived this,” Nighteye said with a confident grin.
The fellow ponies of Pyro’s clique squinted as they stepped out of the shade provided by the intact branches and into the blinding sunlight, each shielding their faces with their forelegs and blinking rapidly, desperately encouraging their eyes to adjust.
“They’re alive until we find what’s left of them,” Rainbow Dash said matter-of-factly. “This area wouldn’t have been bombed if nopony was here, so let’s see if we can find who the Gamemakers were aiming for.”
Pinkie Pie nodded in agreement. “Split up?”
“Sounds like a plan. You and me, we’ll check the forest around the perimeter, see if anypony nearly got away but took a blast to the flank.” She turned to face Pyro. “You and Nighteye, take the middle. See if you can find anypony, either alive or dead.”
Everypony nodded in agreement, and the group split to perform their assigned jobs. There hadn’t been any debate about it, but Rainbow Dash had simply assumed the role of leader of their group. She had a natural authority about her that allowed the others to simply accept her as the one to be in charge. The arrangement of being in a group wasn’t going to be permanent, a fact which they were all only too aware of, but for the time being, they were all content to watch each other's backs. They’d already lost three members of their team, meaning that their opponents in the arena knew all too well how to defend themselves, and having each other for support was one of few shreds of comfort.
“Who do you think they were aiming for?” Pyro said as she walked alongside Nighteye, an ocean breeze blowing gently through her mane as the various chunks of wood crunched beneath her with every step.
“Hard to say,” Nighteye responded. “Both the river and the ocean nearby, it’s good to be near a water source, let alone two, so it could have been anypony with a reasonable amount of intelligence.”
“Sparkle?”
“Maybe. She’s our biggest concern, that much is certain. But the others aren’t exactly stupid either.”
“You think she’s partnered up with anypony?”
“I dunno. She got on well with her coltfriend during training, but then again she was friendly with quite a few ponies.”
“She was with Cube Twister when we did the compulsory exercises, it could be him.”
“Well there’s no point in just wondering. We could name off everypony still alive and not in our group, and she could have joined forces with them.”
“It could have been her who killed Fire Work.”
“And it’s just as likely somepony else killed him. He was stupid for wandering off alone, and in here, stupidity will leave you dead sooner or later.”
Nighteye’s apathy had a way of sending a chill down Pyro’s spine. Many ponies had seen horrific things during the war, and many ponies dealt with the trauma in a wide variety of ways. Pyro, for example, had taken to simply forcing the negative experiences to the back of her mind, and used them to drive her forward in life. Anything would be better than what she’d seen. But Nighteye seemed to block out everything, showing not even the slightest bit of remorse for anything he’d done in the arena. Pyro couldn’t even recall him smiling, at least, not a real smile. He seemed to grin at his opponents, like he’d done when he’d killed Featherweight, but it was a grin to intimidate. A grin that screamed ‘I’m going to kill you, and have fun doing it’ at his opponents. Pyro didn’t know if the war had made him this sadistic, but she assured herself that she would do her best to put herself in the most advantageous position possible to fight Nighteye when the time came that they would all turn against each other.
The pair continued to walk on in awkward silence, scanning the terrain for any sign of any survivors of the bombs. Pyro kept her sword close at hoof, held in its sheath strapped to her back, whilst Nighteye carried an oversized sheath full of razor-sharp javelins, which rattled loudly against his large saddle pack with every step. Pyro was used to this being the only noise coming from Nighteye, who was a stallion of few words, so she was surprised as she was scanning the landscape to her left when she heard a small splash come from him.
Pyro looked down, only to back away similarly as the rancid smell hit her nostrils. On one hoof, they’d discovered irrefutable evidence that somepony had survived the initial bombing. On the other hoof, Nighteye had walked straight into a puddle of what smelled like vomit, which now meant he was walking in circles, desperately scraping his hooves at the ground to wipe off the smelly mess. Pyro could see Rainbow Dash and Pinkie at the forest edge to their right only a few hundred meters away, so she whistled loudly, waving them over when they looked her way. As soon as she could see them running her way, she looked back to the puddle Nighteye had stepped in. A thick puddle of partially digested food, stained slightly red where it had mixed with blood. She could tell this immediately by the trail of blood leading away from the puddle towards the sea.
“What is it?” Rainbow Dash said, gasping for breath slightly after the short run, before she backed away from the smell, trying not to heave.
“Need I say more?” Pyro answered with a smile. “Don’t feel too bad, Dainty Hooves over here stood right in it.”
Nighteye scowled at her, still pawing the ground to wipe the mess away.
Pinkie leaned in, trying not to breath through her nose, looking back and forth between the blood trail and the thick puddle. “How do we know this wasn’t here before the bombs hit?”
“Look closer,” Nighteye said, finally rejoining the small group, giving up with wiping his hooves. “Both the puddle and the trail of blood are on top of the wrecked foliage. With the pile of wrecked forest this thick, if it had been here before, it would have been covered up completely.”
Rainbow Dash smiled. “True. The trail leads to the sea, so let’s just follow it, hope for the best, and we can work out our next move then.”
The group all nodded in agreement, and began to follow the trail. Nighteye took an extra wide path around the puddle before he caught up with the group again, walking alongside Pinkie Pie.
“So,” Pinkie said, leaning up against Nighteye. “How did you miss it until you were stood in it, ‘Dainty Hooves’?”
Nighteye scowled at her. “Look around; the terrain here isn’t perfectly flat, and the sun is shining right in our eyes. It was easy to miss.”
“And we were both looking all around us for pony remains, not for a puddle of puke,” Pyro added.
“Well when we get to the sea, you can wash your hooves,” Rainbow Dash said sternly to Nighteye. “You’ve got most of our food for today in your saddle pack, and you are not handling it when all you’ve done to try and get the puke off is scrape your hooves on the ground.”
“And the rest of the food is safe, thanks to Ms. Psycho here,” Pinkie said, nudging Pyro.
The unicorn smiled. “If there’s one thing I know, its fire. Anypony comes near our pile of equipment will be charcoal before they can count to four.”
“Well that’s encouraging,” Rainbow replied. “But what about us? You sure you can disarm that thing when we head back later?”
The sunlight had been burning for several hours now, but Blue Streak still winced as she opened her eyes, struggling to recall the events of the night before. She sat up to find herself only meters from the beach, lying in the shade of the trees facing the water. The smooth cliffs which surrounded the arena lay only about twenty meters to her right, putting her right on the edge of it. She looked around to see Scootaloo sat on the beach, also facing the water, with her face buried in her hooves.
Blue Streak began to call out to her, but immediately found her throat too dry to function properly, and erupted into a wheezy coughing fit.
Scootaloo, upon hearing the coughing, immediately turned to face her, before running over to check on her.
“Easy, easy,” she said reassuringly. “You got beat up real bad last night.”
“What happened?” Blue Steak said weakly, her voice faint from her dry throat.
“Well,” Scootaloo began, sitting down on her haunches. “Fire Work turned up and wanted to fight us fairly, so you offered to hold him up while me and Clockwork Dawn escaped. You told us to head to the beach, so we came here and waited. About ten minutes later, we heard crashing noises in the bushes, so we went for a closer look, and we found you passed out.”
The memories of the fight began to fade back into Blue Streak’s mind. She winced when she remembered her brutal kick to his hundred points, as Scootaloo continued.
“You were hurt pretty bad, you had all these bleeding cuts, so we patched you up as best as we could, and by the time we were done, the sun was coming up.”
Her body was aching all over from the bruises, and when she looked down at herself, she could see a multitude of cuts that were beginning to scab over.
“Eventually we remembered that we’d left all our supplies back at the tree, so Clockwork Dawn went to go get them back. That must have only been about twenty minutes ago now.”
“He left you alone to look after me?”
Scootaloo shrugged indifferently. “It’s bad however you twist it, whether he’d sent me alone, or if we’d both gone and left you here alone.”
“You could have waited until I’d woken up.”
“Have you looked at yourself? We didn’t know what condition you’d be in when you came to, so we figured this was the best option.”
Blue Streak still wasn’t completely happy with the idea of a filly being left to defend her unconscious body in the event of an attack, but her sore throat was making every single word painful to pronounce. She could complain about it later.
“Is she up yet?” a voice called from the forest.
The pair turned to face the direction from which the voice came in fright, only to breathe sighs of relief as Clockwork Dawn pushed through the foliage, carrying both Blue Streak’s saddle pack and the double sheath that Fire Work had been wearing, with the pair of swords in them.
“Found one sword poking out of a nettle bush,” he explained, sitting down. “The other one, well, I think you can guess.”
“Yeah yeah, thanks for reminding me. Have we got any water?”
Clockwork Dawn took the pack off and had a quick rummage through it. After a few moments he came up with the flask, a sight which relieved Blue Streak, but only until he gave it a gentle shake to reveal it to be empty. All three ponies could feel their hearts sink. Scootaloo grabbed the flask and shook it, just to be sure.
“It can’t be empty. It can’t be.”
“Well it is,” Blue Streak croaked.
Clockwork Dawn took the flask back, before standing up and walking towards the sea.
“Wait a minute, what are you doing?” Scootaloo asked.
“What? We’ve got iodine.”
“It won’t work on salt water,” Blue Streak said knowingly.
Clockwork Dawn paused. “Are you sure?”
“Certain.”
“Dammit.”
Scootaloo thought for a few seconds. “What about the river?”
“You mean the river that’s basically on the other side of the arena?” Blue Streak asked.
“Yeah.”
“I’m already dehydrated, as well as being badly cut and bruised.”
“Well what choice do we have?”
“I’m afraid she’s right,” Clockwork Dawn said. “We’re all thirsty, but that river is the only safe source of water.”
Blue Streak sighed. “Fine, what way should we go? It’d probably be safest to hug the beach.”
Scootaloo and Clockwork Dawn looked at each other, both coming simultaneously to the same conclusion, before Scootaloo explained.
“See, there were a bunch of explosions earlier. We don’t know what caused them, but when we looked around for a bit, we could see a whole bunch of smoke coming from down the beach, which is exactly where you’re proposing we go.”
“Well where else should we go?”
“I know,” said Clockwork Dawn. “How about the waterfall?”
Scootaloo and Blue Streak paused to consider this. Blue Streak in particular could remember looking around at the arena when she’d been stood on her entry plate at the cornucopia. She could just about recall the location of the waterfall, which was situated roughly on the north-western part of the cliffs. They were currently, as near as makes no difference, at the most southern point of the arena.
“It does seem the smartest place to go. Fresh supply of water, and very little chance of anypony in the arena interfering with it as a water source.”
Scootaloo seemed confused. “Interfering?”
“Yeah,” Blue Streak explained. “Say somepony got poison or something in their saddle pack. They may not be able to force it down anypony's throat, but they might not have to if they…”
“Put it in the only supply of safe water,” Scootaloo finished.
“Exactly. If they add it there, it'll wash down the river, and away from the waterfall itself very quickly.”
“So,” Clockwork Dawn said, putting the flask back in the saddle bag. “It sounds like we're agreed then. How we’re going to get there though, that’s the tricky part.”
“Straight across the arena. We’ll hit the river eventually, then we’d just have to follow it to its source,” Scootaloo suggested.
“But there’s a greater risk of running into somepony,” Blue Streak pointed out. “I say we hug the cliff walls, head inland. It may take longer, but it’s safer I think.”
Scootaloo and Clockwork Dawn nodded, before they noticed her trying to stand up. They quickly leaned in to offer a hoof, only to be shooed away.
"I'd rather try to manage this on my own," Blue Streak said determinedly, taking a few shaky steps on her weak legs. "Dawny, you got the saddle pack?"
Clockwork Dawn nodded, only allowing her to call him 'Dawny' because of her injured state.
Judging by the sun's position in the sky, Twilight guessed it was somewhere between ten and eleven, and firmly decided that it was time they got moving. As Fluttershy had slept soundly, Twilight had been considering a plan while slowly finishing what was left of her small pile of food, but hadn’t really come to a definite conclusion. She wanted to head inland, as being close to the ocean, for all its benefits, left them easy to surround by the clique ponies, as escape on one side was completely obscured by the sea. Being further inland left them with more options in case of an ambush.
She gently nudged Fluttershy, who had curled up into the fetal position as a reaction to the tender sea breeze. She groaned a couple of times, desperately trying to prolong her sleep for a few more precious moments, but Twilight’s third nudge denied her this, and she found herself back in the arena.
“Oh,” she exclaimed as she sat up. “I must have dozed off. How long was I asleep for?”
“A few hours,” Twilight replied. “It’s been a tough morning, so I figured I’d let you sleep for a while.”
“Oh, thanks.” Fluttershy answered, not wanting to relive the grim events of earlier. “How’s your leg feeling?”
“It’s not too bad. A bit achy right now, but it’s a big improvement over how it was earlier, so I can’t really complain.”
Fluttershy stood up, stretching her back as she did so, before she noticed the pile of food waste near where she was lying. Several apple cores lay in a small cluster, beginning to lose their colour in the air, as well as the small group of cracker and energy bar wrappers that she’d placed the cores on top of to stop them blowing away in the wind.
“What should I do with all this?” she asked Twilight, who was retying the cord on her wrappings, to make sure they wouldn't slip down as they walked.
“Leave it. We’re heading inland today, so we won’t be coming back here. If anypony finds it and thinks this is a regular spot for us, they might waste some time hanging around nearby, waiting for us to come back.”
“Huh, that’s clever.”
“Thank you. Now let’s make sure we’ve got everything packed up, and we’ll set off.”
“Are we going anywhere specific?”
“Not exactly, but we really ought to stay close to the river. We can find some more suitable trees to make a base in, change tree each night. We’re too exposed here close to the sea, so sticking inland gives us more escape options should we be attacked.”
“And there’ll be more options for food sources too.”
“Exactly. Sticking near the sea has done us alright so far, but we’ve probably been riding on luck there. The bombs were a good wake up call.”
“I suppose,” Fluttershy said as Twilight shakily made her way up onto all fours. “Do you want me to carry the saddle pack?”
“No, you’re alright. I’d rather get used to wearing it, what with my weak leg. Well, that, and I think I’ll feel a bit safer having my knife close at hoof.”
Fluttershy nodded understandingly. Twilight was undoubtedly the best throw of the pair of them, and it made most sense that she be the one with quick and easy access to their only weapon. She did her best to help though, making sure everything was packed up and the saddle pack was done up properly on Twilight, before the pair of them began to trek into the woods.
The sun was approaching its midday height, making the whole woods significantly hotter than it had been earlier. Both Twilight and Fluttershy were dripping with sweat less than five minutes after setting off, boiling in the humidity as they trudged across the uneasy terrain. Twilight had no way of telling what the exact humidity was, but it felt significantly higher than it had been the day before. The thought crossed her mind that the Gamemakers were ramping up the temperature inside the arena on top of launching the bombs at her that morning, but she quickly decided not to dwell on it. It was hot, and trying to figure out why exactly it was so hot wouldn’t get them anywhere.
Time seemed to melt as they walked. The scale of the arena had never really seemed to sink in to Twilight until now. It had to be at least five miles from the sea to the furthest backwards cliff face, but it was hard to tell. It could have been anywhere up to fifteen miles for all they knew, as the dense forest covering the majority of the arena made it almost impossible to judge the scale with any kind of accuracy.
They’d been walking for almost half an hour before the heat got to Twilight, and she decided they should take a quick rest. They’d been following the path of the river, while sticking far enough into the forest to make them hard to spot from the other side, so the gentle trickling noise provided a soothing soundtrack as they settled down for a quick breather and a few sips of their flask.
Twilight reached into her saddle pack, too tired to go through the process of taking it off, and pulled out the flask. She tried to limit herself, but ended up drinking several large mouthfuls before she passed it to Fluttershy. The pegasus reached out to take it, but froze half way as her eyes widened in horror.
“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked quietly, in case anypony was nearby and Fluttershy had spotted them.
“Your wound,” she responded.
Twilight looked down and gasped. The sleeping bag case was sodden wet, not from Twilight’s excessive sweating, but from massive amounts of fresh bleeding. The leaves were doing little to stop it from flowing out.
Fluttershy was quick to respond, taking a small sip of the water and rushing to Twilight’s side. She untied the sleeping bag case and slid it down and off her leg. The small collection of leaves she’d gathered earlier simply fell off, pushed away by the large amount of blood spurting upwards from below. Fluttershy placed her makeshift wrapping sharply onto the wound, an act which made Twilight yelp.
“Hold this in place,” she said sternly, to which Twilight obeyed.
Fluttershy went about repeating what she’d done earlier, plucking several clusters of leaves from the trees nearby, before rushing over to wash them in the water. She managed to get some much larger leaves this time, which she got Twilight to hold firmly in place while she pushed the wrapping back up her leg, tying it in place again, much more tightly, but not so tight as to risk cutting off the blood circulation.
“What’s happened here?” she asked Twilight, as she was tying the cord up again.
“I don’t know, the shrapnel must have caused more damage than we thought. And it’s definitely more humid than before. I’m no expert, but that may be stopping the wound from drying and clotting.”
Fluttershy stepped back when the wrapping was in place again. The blood was being mostly held back, but it still trickled out in a few places. Twilight’s upper leg was now coated with a dark red stain where the blood had started flowing again.
"Is it the blood loss or can I hear buzzing?" Twilight asked, her ears twitching slightly.
Fluttershy looked around briefly. "No, it's not you. There's a bees' nest in the trees over there."
Twilight began to stand up, but Fluttershy pushed her chest gently, forcing her to stay sat down. "But what if it's a tracker jacker nest?"
“It's not, the nest is far too small. Trust me, it looks like a honey bee nest. Besides, we need to do something about this bleeding,” Fluttershy said decisively. “We can’t just leave it like this, it won’t heal properly. And if it’s started bleeding again, it could become infected.”
“Coagulation wipes would be nice right about now,” Twilight said, remembering some of her training in District 13.
“Some what?”
Twilight looked at her, slightly confused. “I thought you were first aid qualified. When did you learn it all?”
“Years ago.”
“Before or after the war?”
“Before. At least two years before. My mum trained me herself. Working with some of the bigger livestock can be dangerous, so she thought it was important I knew how to help if she got hurt and nopony else was around.”
Twilight nodded understandingly, and explained. “Coagulation wipes were invented by the Capitol during the war, and while expensive, they became part of basic first aid kits. They have a special chemical agent that speeds up blood clotting on open wounds. They disinfect wounds too, so they became pretty standard across Equestria.”
“Oh. My family is pretty poor.”
“If you haven’t heard of them, that may explain why. They're pretty standard, but they've got a hefty pricetag, so not many ponies living in poor areas have even heard of them.. I only found out about them when I was in-” Twilight abruptly ended her sentence. She couldn't finish it, not when she was being broadcast live to a Capitol audience.
"When you were what?"
"Nothing. Don't worry."
"Oh, okay," Fluttershy responded, realizing it to be a subject best avoided. “But where are we going to get them?”
Twilight thought to herself for a minute. She needed the wipes to properly clean the wound and let it heal, there was no question about that. Without it, she ran the risk of blood infection, and maybe even gangrene. But there was only one way she could get them, and she knew where. She stood up, and faced Fluttershy. It made perfect sense when she thought about it. The Gamemakers had launched the bombing raid at them to keep the games interesting, keep the Capitol audience watching. But this was just the start of their plan, if the shrapnel had also been deliberate, and made to look like sheer bad luck for her. She thought back to where she’d seen the standard first aid kits, exactly where the Gamemakers wanted her to go.
“I’m going to the cornucopia,” she said determinedly.
“What?!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “No way, I’m not going back there.”
“It’s the only chance I have to get some wipes.”
“I hid in the bushes when the games started. I saw what happened there. And I am not going back there.”
Twilight paused and thought this over. The bloodbath was probably the most brutal part of the games so far, and Fluttershy was the most timid pony in the arena. Pulling out the shrapnel and tending to her wound had pushed her to her very limit, and there was no way she’d be able to convince her to go back. Twilight sighed, for there was only one option.
“Then I’m sorry. I need those wipes, or I could die. I have to go back there, and I’m going, with or without you.”
Fluttershy’s pupils shrank in horror, realizing what was going to happen. She knew in her head there was no way she could bring herself to go back. But the thought of being left to fend for herself was far more terrifying.
“I… I…”
“You’ve got one more chance to change your mind. Are you coming?”
“I… can’t,” she said, hanging her head sadly.
Twilight sighed, reaching into the saddle pack. Fluttershy winced when she saw that she was pulling out her knife, but was soon surprised when Twilight held it by the blade and offered it to her.
“I’m not leaving you without anything to defend yourself with. Take it.”
Fluttershy didn’t move.
“Go on, take it. I can get another weapon while I’m up there. If it all goes well, I’ll meet you back at the beach.”
Fluttershy began to reach for the knife, but was interrupted by a noise to the side of them. They both looked round to see Pyro and Nighteye stepping through the bushes, Pyro beginning to unsheathe her sword and Nighteye reaching for one of his javelins.
Twilight had less than a second to think. Her attention was drawn upwards to the bees' nest Fluttershy had spotted earlier, hanging directly above the advancing clique ponies. It was far too small to be a tracker jacker nest, as had been pointed out, but it didn’t need to be a huge one for what Twilight had in mind. Without even needing to think, she threw the knife as hard as she could. It drove itself deep into the bees' nest, knocking it backwards with the impact. It swung first back, then forwards again, when the strength of the knife impact finally took its toll and the nest lost its fragile connection to the branch from which it hung, falling to the ground and smashing open on Nighteye’s head.
“SPLIT!” Twilight shouted to Fluttershy. The timid pegasus needed no further instruction, charging downriver back towards the sea, whilst Twilight ran upriver towards the cornucopia.
Things were less planned for the clique ponies, who were desperately swatting the bees around their heads. Fortunately for them, the nest seemed to be fairly old, and there wasn’t a huge amount of bees inside it. There were still enough to cause them a fair amount of pain from the stings, and after a few moments of aimless swatting, Pyro grabbed Nighteye’s hoof and pulled him towards the river, where they both jumped in. They stayed under for what felt like an eternity, until Pyro’s lungs couldn’t hold it any longer, and she resurfaced. The bees had disappeared by that time, so she went back under and signaled to Nighteye that it was safe to come up, before swimming towards the shore. She climbed out and collapsed breathlessly onto the river bank, her whole upper body aching from the multitude of stings. Nighteye climbed out a few moments later, standing next to her and offering her a hoof up.
“Tracker jackers?” she asked.
Nighteye shook his head. “They’re a lot bigger, and you’d be in much more pain right now.”
Pyro breathed a sigh of relief as Nighteye led the way back to where they had planned to ambush Twilight and Fluttershy. The only things left behind were the shattered remains of the bees' nest and Twilight’s knife, which Nighteye picked up and examined closely.
“They split up,” he said, looking at his reflection in the polished metal. “Did you hear where Sparkle was going?”
Pyro shook her head. “I heard her say to Fluttershy to meet her back at the beach.”
“Yeah, that’s what I heard too,” Nighteye said, putting Twilight’s knife in his saddle pack.
“What are we gonna do?”
“We’ll regroup with Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. We don’t know where Twilight’s going or what she’s doing, but I’ll bet my cutie mark that her friend will know.”
As Fluttershy’s mind raced with a mass of incomprehensible thoughts, it was only these two words that she could keep hold of for more than a few seconds. One second, she’d been stood with Twilight, working out a plan of action. Now she was running, not with any conscious choice of direction, nor of the proximity of any pursuers, but she was simply running because it was all she could do. The sun was now approaching its midpoint in the sky, if it hadn’t already passed it, and was evenly spreading its intense heat over the forest like a thick blanket. The heat was becoming increasingly difficult to bear for the rapidly exhausting pegasus, but panic and terror sent her mind into overdrive and put her body on autopilot as she continued to charge aimlessly through the dense woodlands.
The woods had other plans, as after several minutes of non-stop running, Fluttershy caught her hoof on an exposed tree root. The tiny disruption of her balance turned her run into a stumble for a few meters, after which her attempts to right herself overstepped the mark and she tumbled forwards, receiving a mouthful of the dead leaves and dusty earth that coated the forest floor. She’d luckily avoided smacking into a tree when she fell, so as serious as the fall might have been, she only received a few scratches and the mouthful of soil, which she quickly coughed up.
Panting desperately from the exertion, she found her muscles utterly refusing to respond when she attempted to sit up, so she resigned herself to staying on the ground until she had recovered. As her panting began to subside, she found her fatigue slowly fading, and her thoughts began to clarify. She thought back to the final moments she’d spent with Twilight. She was reaching out to take the knife being offered to her, when some of the clique ponies appeared out of nowhere. Fluttershy knew their faces from training, but had neglected to memorize their names. Twilight had thrown the knife at the bees’ nest, which had then crashed down on the head of the black pegasus with those piercing, icy blue eyes. Despite the fact that Fluttershy owed her escape to the knife throw, she hadn't come out of it too well. Twilight had taken the equipment pack, and when she’d thrown the knife, she’d left Fluttershy not only without any weapons, but also without food or water.
This irritating fact about her situation left Fluttershy feeling uncomfortable, as although she had almost completely recovered her breath from the long run through the woods, her throat was begging for water, and the gritty taste of the dusty earth was sticking resolutely on her taste buds. She tried to ball up some spit to try and get and clear her mouth, but her arid throat utterly refused to comply.
She finally committed herself to sitting up, which was a struggle as her muscles burned relentlessly from her run, but she soon found herself on her haunches, her panting now gentle enough to be classed as normal breathing, if slightly more rapid than usual. It was only when she was in a sitting position that her ears twitched slightly, registering a familiar sound not far in front of her. Muscles still burning, she forced herself onto all fours and walked forward, pushing through several bushes and emerging onto the beach. However far Twilight had led her in the space of half an hour, she had run back, non-stop, in scorching heat. She grinned slightly at the thought of this, having put a fair bit of distance between herself and the clique ponies, before looking left and right to try and gauge her position along the coast. She was further along the beach than before, she guessed roughly halfway between the mouth of the river and the cliff face that marked the edge of the arena.
Her dry throat soon demanded her attention again as a particularly large wave crashed against the shore, the wash only stopping a few meters from her before gravity took hold and it receded back to the waterline. The water looked cool and refreshing, and the pain in her throat briefly overwhelmed her, as she took several steps forward, tongue hanging out in anticipation, before she was able to snap her senses back into action. District 11 was completely landlocked, and being in the arena was the first time Fluttershy had ever seen an ocean, or stood on a beach, but she wasn’t completely out of her depth. She’d been the butt of the salt in a glass of water prank plenty of times before, living with younger siblings, and she was put off by the taste alone. She did, however, also know the dangers of consuming large amounts of it, and it didn’t take more than a few seconds of thinking about Twilight’s blood seeping into the sea as they swam earlier in the day to put her completely off drinking any.
The sun was hot though, so she was perfectly happy to cool herself off in the salty water. She walked in until she was neck deep, allowing her body to cool down. She closed her eyes and dove under briefly, bathing lusciously as the water lapped against her, which left her feeling refreshed and revitalized after less than a few minutes. Feeling much better, she stood up and returned to shore, sitting down with her back to a tree. The water clung to her body, dripping down and cooling as it went, a feeling which Fluttershy relished. The drops on her face slid down her muzzle and ended up at her lips, causing her to taste the saltiness of the water, but the flavor was weak and managed to distract her from the dirt still clinging relentlessly to her taste buds.
A few minutes passed before her mind drifted over what to do next. She had no food, no clean water and no weapons. The river may have been of some use as a water supply, and as far as she could tell, it was the only safe place to get water in the arena, but Twilight had the iodine. Without it, she could suffer any number of ill effects from germs living in the water. None of her options were too appealing, but Twilight was the capable kind of pony. Fluttershy had stuck with her this far, and was happy to trust her for the time being. She had goodness in her heart, and Fluttershy had an element of kindness about her that told her Twilight was not the kind of pony who would turn on her. Being in the arena presented all kinds of uncertainties, and planning ahead was difficult, but Fluttershy decided her best course of action was to stay put. She was a good climber, and could easily scale a nearby tree if an unfriendly face appeared. Twilight had said to meet her at the beach, and that was exactly where Fluttershy decided she felt the safest, at least for the time being.
The world was little more than a hazy blur as Twilight collapsed in a bush, less than a hundred meters from the clearing in which sat the cornucopia. She gasped for air as her muscles racked with pain and her head span continuously. She cast a slow look down at the wrappings on her leg. The blood had continued to flow during her journey, the effects of which were beyond overwhelming to her. She had lost all awareness of time or distance, and couldn’t say for certain if she’d been walking for minutes or for days. Only major turning points stuck in her mid, such as throwing the knife at the bees’ nest, or when she’d stopped running and changed to a gentle jog, or when she’d crossed the river at a natural weir.
She swallowed hard as her mind drifted again, biting down on her tongue to try and regain some focus. She was close to her target, and couldn’t afford to snuff it within reaching distance. The woozy feeling she had wasn’t going to get better anytime soon, and she didn’t want to go on much longer without the coagulation wipes she needed. She untied her wrappings, taking the leaves away and replacing them with new ones from the bush, and tied it up again, much tighter than before. Biting her tongue again to keep herself focused, she crouched down and crept out of the bushes, watching all around her for the possibility of ambush. It was mid-afternoon, and the heat was ever present. The forest floor was more dusty than muddy, and she did her best to ignore the patches of it that clung to her sweaty hooves. She crept closer and closer to the clearing, ears perked and looking all around for any sign of other ponies, but there was nothing.
It was as she reached the edge of the clearing that she spotted the pile of backpacks and various other pieces of survival equipment, sat neatly in a pile at the mouth of the cornucopia. She was stood at a slight angle to the pile, giving her a clear view into the massive golden horn, revealing it to be empty save for some sleeping bags laid flat on its floor. She was desperate to begin raiding the pile, a feeling that was made ever more tantalizing when she could clearly see a green box with a cross on the side, which was undoubtedly a first aid kit. Capitol issue, top quality medicines inside. But she knew this was wrong. It was too easy, a pile of kit completely undefended. There had to be somepony nearby, lurking in cover. The kit was too valuable to be left alone like this.
Twilight retreated what she guessed to be about ten to fifteen meters into the trees and began to survey the area, sticking to her distance from the clearing as she circled it. She stepped slowly, barely even at a crawling pace, as she carefully observed the cornucopia, the forest around her, and the trees above her. Every single noise she heard caused her to freeze, duck down and look frantically in every direction to determine where it came from. Every rustle of the leaves above her caused her to spend several minutes looking closer, trying to determine if there was anypony hiding above her. On top of all of this, she kept looking to the cornucopia and the treasure it held, the pile of equipment she so desperately needed. Her throat was dry, her muscles ached, her wound was burning and she was caked in sweat and dirt, but she didn’t dare stop for a rest. Any delay would slow the process of getting her precious wipes, and she had to be sure the area was safe.
Her concept of time was still lost, so the only indication she had of how long she’d been circling was the shadow cast by the equipment pile, which had noticeably shifted by the time she came around and returned to her original position, looking into the cornucopia at a slight angle. In actuality, she’d spent the best part of an hour surveying the area, but she still wasn’t completely convinced about the situation, and her medical needs were far too urgent for her to simply walk away, so she slowly and hesitantly began to walk towards the pile. Something was amiss with the whole scenario, a fact which was undeniable. If something went wrong, she was a dead pony for sure, as she had lost her only means of defense. But without the medical aid she needed, she would be dead soon anyway. At least a sword or an arrow would be quicker.
The sun shone brightly, briefly blinding Twilight as she stepped out from under the shade of the leaves, still woozy but alert. The cornucopia couldn’t have been more than fifteen meters away, but at her cautious pace, it felt like a lot further. She kept a low stance, hunched with her body as low to the ground as her muscles would bear, taking slow and shaky steps forward. She was barely a few steps away when something glistened right in front of her, belligerently reflecting the sun straight into her eyes. The suddenness of it caused her to stand up straight in panic, only for it to instantly disappear. Twilight stood still, looking all around her for what could have caused it. The leaves rustled gently in the wind, and she could hear birds chirping in nearby trees. Everything was normal.
In the shock of the moment, Twilight had had a split second to identify the object that had glared her, which she had first thought to be a sword blade. Having come to the conclusion that not only was it not a sword, but also that she wasn’t under attack, she crouched down again, re-assuming the stance she had been in when she had been glared. Once again, something near invisible in front of her reflected the suns rays of light aggressively right into her eyes. Squinting, Twilight stood up slightly, just enough so she was no longer the recipient of the blinding rays, and whatever had glimmered vanished once again. Confused, she took a step back, and dug her hoof into the ground slightly, collecting some of the ashen dirt around it, which she kicked out forwards. Several specks of the dust clung to something thin, around the height Twilight had been crouching.
Closer inspection revealed what looked like piano wire, only significantly thinner. It looked state-of-the-art, being almost transparent and barely as thin as a single hair on Twilight’s mane. She could only just see it, and it was just inches from the tip of her muzzle. The Capitol had developed all sorts of devious weapons during the war, not only bombs and guns for mass obliteration, but devilish little weapons that could fit in a pocket if need be, special for when fighting got more personal, more hoof-to-hoof. Twilight had heard somepony mention something along the lines of “glass wire” while she was in District 13, as being useful for torture and quick but quiet killing, but she’d never actually seen it up close. It was clearly being used as some kind of tripwire, but was much more remarkable about it was it didn’t appear to be attached to anything, and was quite simply floating in midair, in what Twilight guessed was a perfect circle around the precious mound of equipment. In her less than conscientious state, it was nothing less than a miracle she'd chosen to duck down as she walked. Maybe the odds were starting to turn in her favor.
She carefully stepped over the wire, which barely went up to her knees, and stepped closer to the pile, a first aid kit tantalizingly situated right in front of her, which she cautiously sat herself down in front of. Twilight then felt around the pile carefully, making sure no more devilish tricks were waiting for her, before she slowly removed the small green box. She paused for a few moments, looking around her carefully to make sure nothing else was off, and only opening the box when she was at ease. She beamed with joy as she recognized the yellow packaging of the coagulation wipes. Removing a single wrapped wipe from the box, she held it up close to her face, as her vision was beginning to haze, and read the words written on the back:
Instructions for Use.
1. Remove wipe from protective film. Only use 1 wipe per affected area.
2. For open wounds, hold the wound closed before wiping.
3. Gently and evenly rub the affected area for 2-3 minutes.
4. Avoid strenuous or rapid movement for at least 1 hour after use.
Twilight grimaced slightly as she read the final step. In an open area like this, she was a sitting duck should the clique ponies return. She’d have to gather what she could before she applied it, and then hide out in a bush nearby. She could safely apply the wipes there, as well as recover, have something to eat and drink, and try and plan her next step.
The next several minutes Twilight spent pacing around the mound of kit, carefully trying to decide what to take and what to leave. She’d already stashed the wipes in her bag, which was already near full, greatly limiting what else she could take. This was also partly a blessing, as while instinct would be to take as much kit as possible, it meant Twilight would have to restrict herself, only taking what the clique could easily miss. That way, they wouldn’t be let on that she’d been able to see past their tripwire trick. She couldn’t work out what the tripwire was connected to or what it would do when crossed, but it didn't take a genius to work out that it wasn't going to be anything pleasant.
She finally contented herself with the wipes she’d already taken, a second flask for extra water, and a small sheath holding ten specialized throwing knives. Twilight strapped it to her good back leg for easy reach. The fact she’d had to restrain herself due to the limited space in her pack reflected well on the pile, which appeared completely unchanged. The first aid kit had been put back exactly where she’d found it, and she’d found the knives when she’d been searching the pockets of backpacks. She’d zipped them all back up again, just to be safe.
Relishing the thought of finally being able to apply the wipes, Twilight carefully stepped over the tripwire where a few morsels of dust still clung where she’d kicked earlier. She sighed as she walked away, glad to be putting some distance between herself and whatever painful trick the tripwire was surely meant to provide. She reached the bush she had collapsed in earlier, only to look back at how close the cornucopia was. It was within her line of sight through the trees, although she had to squint slightly to see it properly. It didn’t take her long to realise that she wasn’t keen on the idea of sitting around for an hour in such close proximity to the hot spot for the clique ponies’ movements, but she didn’t have a choice.
The large bush was sat in-between two thick oak trees a few meters apart. There was a large dip in the middle, which sat underneath the bulk of the leaves of the bush, creating a perfect hidey-hole for Twilight to recuperate. She crawled into the small space, which was refreshingly cool given the intense heat of the day, and laid her saddle pack beside her. After removing her wrappings, she eagerly dug into the bag, pulling out and ripping apart the packet containing the wipes she needed. Then she proceeded to gently push the two sides of the wound together, and gritting her teeth, began to rub it with the coagulation wipes.
As was to be expected, the alcohol used as a disinfectant in the wipes stung as Twilight rubbed, but she soon found this stinging pain dissolved into a feeling that could almost be described as pleasurable, as the complex chemicals worked away at the exposed flesh. She had no way of measuring the time she’d spent wiping with any kind of accuracy, but she estimated it had been roughly three minutes when the soothing feeling began to dissolve, and all she could feel was the cool fabric being repeatedly rubbed up and down her leg. She’d seen the effect of the wipes before, but she still felt a sense of surprise when she looked down and saw the wound had closed. Past experience meant she knew it had only healed on the surface, but the hour wait stated on the packet was crucial time that the various chemicals would need to do their job repairing interior damage under her flesh.
Twilight breathed a loud sigh of relief. The chemicals now in her system would not only repair the damage done by the shrapnel, but would rapidly boost the rate at which her red blood cells regenerated. This secondary process would be a slower one, and her blood levels wouldn’t be back to normal for a few hours, but she would be able to operate her body with a relatively clear mind after the hour wait.
It was as she reached into her pack to reach for her flask that she had a thought. She'd been so occupied with getting here and getting the medicine she so desperately needed, she hadn't spared a single thought to what situation Fluttershy may be in. Then her pupils shrank to a fraction of their former size as she came to a startling realization. If there was no sign of the clique ponies, it would have most likely meant they weren’t coming after her. If they had chosen to follow anypony, their absence meant they’d chosen Fluttershy. Although she may have escaped unharmed due to Twilight’s trick with the knife, she had also been left completely defenseless.
The blistering heat of the day was long past its most intense stage, which, when combined with the length of the shadows cast by the trees, was a good indication that the end of the daylight was getting close. The sky was yet to turn orange, meaning there was at least an hour or two to go before the sun set behind the cliff at the back of the arena, but it still meant Fluttershy had been sat in the same place for about four or five hours. In that space of time, not a shadow of doubt had entered her mind that Twilight would return. However, after a couple of hours, Fluttershy had lost the battle of will against her dry throat, and had risked a trip to the river for a drink. She’d considered the risks of drinking potentially dirty water, but in the end had decided any ill effects would, in the long run, be more tolerable than the effects of dehydration.
Fluttershy had returned from the river a few hours ago now, and wasn’t feeling too bad. Her stomach had cramped a couple of times on the return journey, but beyond that there was nothing to suggest anything abnormal about the water she’d drunk. The time passed slowly, but Fluttershy wasn’t particularly fussed about suffering from any kind of boredom. She was happy enough to sit in the shade, watching the waves wash up onto the shore one-by-one as the shadow cast by the trees slowly stretched towards the waterline. It was peaceful enough, and Fluttershy appreciated the time to relax as she considered the events of the day.
Without any warning, her ears twitched as a wave crashed against the shore. Fluttershy shot up onto all fours, turning herself to face the woods. She couldn’t be certain, but she could have sworn she'd heard a twig snap from the forest. The noise had perfectly coincided with the breaking of a wave, so she could easily have imagined it. But in the arena, this wasn’t a chance she was willing to risk.
“Hello?” she called out quietly.
The forest returned her call with the same soundtrack she’d been hearing all day: the gentle rustle of leaves colliding with the sea breeze, the occasional chirp of a bird or call of another animal, and the uniformly timed splashes as the waves washed against the sandy beach. There was nothing to suggest anything was out of the ordinary. Despite this, Fluttershy was less than convinced. She tried calling out again, only to end up receiving the exact same response: nothing.
She decided to wait a few minutes, just to be safe. She’d stepped several meters towards the sea when she’d stood up, putting a small distance between herself and the trees. If somepony were to try and attack her, they’d have to go through the dense bushes that marked the edge of the forest, a delay which would give Fluttershy several precious extra seconds during which to make her escape. This instinct, despite showing a good sense of self-preservation, was made redundant by the lack of any attackers.
The waves occasionally lapped at her back hooves, as she was stood at a proximity to the sea where only the rare and larger waves would reach out far enough to do so. As she waited, she looked left to right, over and over, carefully scanning the forest in front of her for anything that would give an indication to somepony nearby. A brief thought came to her that it could be Twilight not far away, who was being just as cautious as she was considering there was somepony else nearby. Then Fluttershy remembered that she had called out, albeit quietly, and if there was somepony nearby they should have heard it, and Twilight would have recognized the voice and showed herself.
It was five minutes before Fluttershy finally decided she’d imagined it and returned to where she’d been sat, leaning with her back to the tree, facing the water. She was still cautious, struggling with an awkward discomfort in her stomach that told her something was off. It was one of those more primeval instincts, the kind that never takes anything literal into account, and rather than keeping you alert when you need to be, just leaves you unable to settle down and relax. Fate was less than generous enough to give any time for her to consider this feeling, as something small fell out of the tree above, landing just beside Fluttershy with a small thump. A gentle chirp overlapped with the thump, a chirp which immediately rang familiar with the gentle pegasus. She leaned forward, and was surprised to recognise one of the birds she’d helped a few days earlier.
“Oh goodness,” she exclaimed. “Whatever happened to you?”
The bird began to weakly chirp its response. Fluttershy listened intently as she began to carefully inspect the bird’s frail and crippled body. As it turned out, the nest that she had fixed several days earlier had been completely obliterated by the bombing raid. The bird in front of her was the father, who had lost all his eggs and his mate to the bombs, as well as receiving some horrific injuries. His right wing was broken in several places, and the heat of the explosions had singed most of his feathers. In several spots the bare skin was visible where feathers had been completely singed off, horrifically blistered and oozing pus. The bird writhed in pain as it tweeted and chirped its tale, which became harder and harder for Fluttershy to listen to as it went on.
Eventually, the bird simply couldn’t chirp any more and just lay on the ground, panting desperately as pain consumed its tiny body. It had lost so much in the blasts; its home, its eggs, everything. Fluttershy, meanwhile, had completely welled up. Tears flowed freely from her eyes, not only out of sorrow for the poor creature laid out in front of her, but also in the knowledge that there was nothing she could do to help it. The broken wing would need time to fix, and the burns were causing the poor creature enormous amounts of pain.
At this point, Fluttershy was faced with a grim decision, one that burned her animal loving side to the very core. The bird was beyond helping. It was as simple as that, a fact she was sure of from her years of caring for the weak and injured animals in District 11. With decent medical supplies, she may have been able to keep it alive, but that was impractical. The only medical supplies were at the cornucopia, and given the variety of nasty and unpredictable things that could occur in the arena, there was no sense in wasting any of those precious medicines on a small bird. It was going to die sooner or later, a realisation that was horrific for Fluttershy. Her choice was very simple; to let it die slowly and painfully, or put it out of its misery quickly.
Still crying, she stood up and gently picked up the bird, holding it with one front hoof and clutching it close to her chest for support. She walked towards the water, only moving swiftly in the knowledge that the quicker she moved, the quicker the bird would be put out of its misery. She stepped into the water until she was at knee depth, where she sat down on her haunches, and took the bird in both her front hooves. The poor thing had completely exhausted itself by moving from tree to tree, searching for the kind one who had helped save its eggs. It was still conscious, breathing rapidly but laid out with its eyes closed. Fluttershy gave one final sob, before closing her eyes, and submerging the bird. The shock of the water instantaneously caused it to summon an impressive turn of strength given the severity of its injuries, but the grip on it was stronger than it could fight against. The struggle seemed to go on forever, but Fluttershy didn’t dare let go.
Even several minutes after the struggling stopped, and the last bubble had made their way to the surface, Fluttershy remained frozen on the spot with her eyes still clamped shut. It was the kindest thing she could have done, but that was little comfort to her. She’d always loved animals, and had dedicated much of her life to protecting and caring for them. Now, she’d killed one with her bare hooves. Even though it had been a far better option than letting it suffer for several days before it was finally graced with death, she still felt completely gutted. The catatonic state continued for what felt like an eternity, Fluttershy still holding onto the small deceased body under the surface of the lapping water. Grudgingly, she finally let go, allowing the bird to sink gently, pulled down by the water in its lungs. The current then proceeded to slowly pull it out to open sea. Utterly distraught, Fluttershy turned around and trudged back onto shore, eyes still clenched shut.
It was only when some not-so-distant sound made her ears twitch slightly that she got the first indication something was wrong. Her eyes shot open, and for a split second, she got a glance of something moving in the distant bushes. Then she became aware of the rustling sound. Not the gentler natural kind of rustling caused only by the wind, but a much louder and aggressive rustling. It wasn't just one sound either, as it was coming from multiple directions all around her.
Raw instinct took over as Fluttershy broke into a sprint, just as she saw somepony emerge from the trees in the corner of her eye. She turned away, heading down the beach, and for a brief moment she was hopeful that she had a good chance of escaping. This was short-lived, as to her right, somepony else shot out of a bush, leaping through the air and tackling her as she ran. The pair of them tumbled to the ground in a pile, and for a few seconds Fluttershy’s only view of the world was a blur, until she finally came to a stop. Her attacker was now straddling her as she lay flat on her back, holding a knife to her throat and grinning menacingly.
“Got her!” Pinkie Pie called out as the remainder of the clique ponies emerged from the trees, joining Rainbow Dash, who had been the first to step out.
Fluttershy whimpered as she looked at the small group assembling round her. Pinkie Pie was still holding a jagged knife tightly against her throat, but she was still able to look around. Rainbow Dash stood just above her, with a casual and nonchalant smile that screamed of authority. To her left was Pyro, and on Fluttershy’s right was Nighteye, whose face boasted a large shiner around his eye, and a significant amount of bee stings. His icy scowl could have frozen an inferno.
“Nice job Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said confidently. “Keep her still, we don’t want her wriggling free.”
“No problem,” Pinkie replied, still grinning sadistically.
“Now, let’s have a little chat, shall we?” Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically, as she started to walk in circles around their prisoner. “It’s not escaped our notice that you’ve chosen to partner up with… well, let’s just say one of our more troublesome opponents.”
“One we’d dearly love to get our hooves on,” Nighteye added.
“Exactly,” Rainbow replied. “Now, these arrangements in the arena are temporary, we all know this. So, here is what we’re proposing.”
“Listen closely,” Pinkie said sternly as Rainbow Dash stopped at Fluttershy’s head, looking down on her.
“Twilight Sparkle is dangerous.” Rainbow said bluntly. “You think she got that 11 in training by being nice? I know you think you’re safe with her, but she could kill you easily, and you know it.”
“She wouldn’t,” Fluttershy responded, quietly but confidently. “Trust me, I...”
Pinkie cut her off by punching her hard in the muzzle with her free hoof. “I said listen, not speak. Got it?” she said calmly, whilst applying more pressure to the knife.
Still distraught from having to put the bird down, Fluttershy still had fresh tears in the corners of her eyes. The punch had been hard, aimed straight into the middle of her muzzle. The tears started anew as blood began to trickle from her nose, and she could feel several of her teeth had been knocked loose. She nodded carefully, not wanting to risk another punch.
“Speak when we say you speak from now on,” Rainbow Dash added acidly. “Now, our proposition is very simple. All you have to do is tell us where your friend went. In exchange, we won’t kill you.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened in horror. Twilight had been nothing if not a friend to her ever since they’d encountered one another in the arena. Fluttershy wasn’t even sure if she’d still be alive were it not for her. They’d helped each other out so much in the arena, and after all they’d been through, there was no way she could tell the clique ponies where she’d gone. She could even go as far as to say that Twilight was her first true friend, and if anything was worth standing up for, it was friendship.
“Well?” Rainbow asked, getting impatient. “Now would be an excellent time to start talking.”
Fluttershy remained silent.
“Looks like she doesn’t wanna talk,” Pyro said with a smile.
“Aww, what a shame,” Pinkie said, still staring the terrified pegasus down. “On the bright side, I was hoping things would get messy here.”
“You heard the mare,” Rainbow Dash said, sitting down and leaning close to Fluttershy, whispering harshly. “If you won’t talk willingly, we have a number of ways we can get you to blurt it all out. You don’t owe any loyalty to Sparkle, so I suggest you start talking. Otherwise we’ll have to make things very unpleasant for you. You will talk, so get it out now before you start to hurt.”
Fluttershy gulped, but still remained silent.
“Have it your way,” Rainbow Dash whispered, before standing up and addressing Nighteye. “Hold her wing out.”
He nodded, stepping backwards and grabbing the tip of Fluttershy’s left wing so he could pull it out to full stretch. He then sat down at the end, holding it firmly in place.
“What was it the instructors told us?” Pyro asked rhetorically, despite being well aware of the answer herself. “About wings and horns?”
“Well, that’s an excellent question,” Rainbow Dash replied, with the same tone of sarcasm. “They told us that whilst we can’t use them, the nerves in them are still working fine, meaning we can feel through them exactly as normal.”
“That’s right,” Nighteye added. “So, just as a theoretical example, if you were to break a pegasus pony’s wing, they’d feel every single bit of pain.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle, walking a few steps to the side, and positioning herself right next to Fluttershy’s outstretched wing. “Last chance to say something, Flutters.”
All that Fluttershy could muster was a small whimper.
“Don’t say we never offered to do it the easy way,” Rainbow responded with an almost sympathetic smile. She began to prod the outstretched wing, feeling carefully to find the weakest point. She soon found it, a joint between the bones at the end of the wing. Theatrically she lifted her hoof high in the air, before bringing it down hard right in the middle of the joint. The bones audibly crunched as Rainbow Dash twisted her hoof for added pain, but Fluttershy never heard this. Her eardrums were already full of her own screams. The pain was excruciating, like somepony was trying to tear her wing apart from the middle, working their way inwards towards the rest of her body.
Her screams became muffled as Pinkie Pie reached forward, clamping her mouth shut. “You can stop this at any time”, she said in a calm voice that only made her seem all the more terrifying. “All you have to do is talk.”
“I… won’t!” Fluttershy managed to scream out through a mass of tears as Pinkie let go of her muzzle.
“Are you sure?” Rainbow Dash asked, twisting and grinding her hoof where she’d stomped down, which received further screams from Fluttershy. “Well, I guess we keep going, then.”
“Errm, actually,” Nighteye said, looking quite sheepish. “Could I take a quick break? Call of nature, see.”
This request earned him a few glares from his cohorts, but it was Pyro who stomped round to quiz him face to face. “Did you have to wait until now, of all times?”
Fluttershy was grateful for the shift of attention from her, something which must have shown on her face as Rainbow looked down at her inquisitively. She smiled, and addressed Nighteye. “Go, I’ve got this.”
“Want me to hold the wing?” Pyro asked.
Rainbow Dash shook her head, and unsheathed her sword. “I’ve got a better idea.” She theatrically lifted the sword up, and plunged it down as hard as she could. The blade pierced the flesh just below the broken joint, missing the bone by a fraction of an inch, and continued straight through into the sand below. As Fluttershy cried out again, Rainbow pushed the blade down as hard as she could, deeper and deeper into the sand until the hilt was being pushed against the yellow feathers of the wing, slightly tinged red where the blades entry had caused a splatter of blood.
Nighteye smiled, and stood up. “Looks like she’s not going anywhere, then. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
Fluttershy writhed in agony as Nighteye headed into the trees at a gentle jog. The pain was excruciating now, as if her wing was burning and being torn apart at the same time. She dared a glance to her right, and only screamed again as she saw the hilt of the sword, but nothing else below it except bloody feathers. Her wing beyond that lay limp in the sand, completely out of her control. Without warning, Pyro yanked her head to the left to face her, and stuffed a large wad of fabric in her mouth.
“Hold her mouth shut,” she instructed Pinkie, who obliged. “My head’s starting to pound from that bucking screaming.”
“Yeah, good idea,” Rainbow Dash responded with a chuckle. “Hold her mouth shut when we’re trying to get her to talk. Yeah, that’ll really get her chatting, won’t it?”
Pyro just stared at Rainbow Dash as if she was biggest ignoramus in Equestria. “Well, obviously we’ll take it out periodically. You know, give her a chance to speak. If she doesn’t talk when we ask her to, she gets to face up to another few minutes of pain.”
Rainbow felt slightly foolish, but her inflated ego didn’t let it show. “Huh, that’s not bad, Pyro. Next time, run it by me first, though.”
“Yeah, sure,” Pyro responded. She’d grown long past tired of how Rainbow Dash took everything as a threat to her authority, but she knew this wasn’t the time, nor was it the place to talk about it. “So, what’s next?”
Rainbow thought for a few seconds, and without saying a word, stamped down as hard as she could on Fluttershy’s shoulder joint where her entire wing connected to her body. The joint clicked as it dislocated, leaving the rest of the wing lying limp on the floor, dead to the world. The pain was immense, as Fluttershy bit down hard on the rag stuffed in her mouth. The three mares around her looked at each other with contented grins as the only sound around them became muffled cries. Such was the intensity of the pain that Fluttershy began to feel dizzy, unable to focus on anything as the world blurred around. Even Pinkie's hoof clamped over her mouth seemed too difficult to manage.
Rainbow Dash took a step back, as if to get a better perspective. “Ah, we have a problem here,” she announced. “See, one wing dislocated just looks uneven. What do you think, Pinkie?”
“Definitely uneven,” she replied. “Maybe there’s something you can do to fix that?”
Rainbow grinned. “You know, I think there is,” she responded, adding a lot of grandiose drama to her speech, as if they were merely performing for Fluttershy, not on her. “I'll see what I can do to get the wings looking even, and then we’ll see if she has anything she wants to tell us.”
Fluttershy winced as Pyro began to pull her wing out, exactly as Nighteye had done, and held it down as Rainbow Dash stepped up to it. The pain was already bad enough, and as bad as it was going to get, the worst part seemed to be the joy the clique ponies were performing with. The build up was horrible, and the playful way they announced to her what they were going to do her was among the most terrifying things she’d ever experienced. She gave a small sob as she felt Rainbow Dash gently prodding at her wing, trying to locate the right bone to break. She then winced as her peripheral vision showed her Rainbow’s hoof lifting high into the air, but this was little comfort as it came slamming down.
Once again, she never actually heard the bones breaking. Instead her screams reverberated around her skull, trapped and muffled by the rag blocking her mouth, but still being the only horrific thing she could hear as a new wave of pain racked her body from the left side. She had no time to think before Rainbow Dash continued, plunging her sword into the previously unscathed wing barely a few seconds after she had crunched the bones in it. By now, Fluttershy was completely blinded by her tears, which combined with her light-headedness left the world through her eyes as a blurry, rapidly moving mess. Despite everything that was happening to her, as every new step of the torture came at the hooves of her captors, she'd somehow convinced herself each time that the pain was already as bad as it was going to get. The sword proved this wrong, as her whole body spasmed and jerked violently as the blade pierced her flesh, sinking deep into the sand below and effectively pinning her to the ground.
Pyro stood up and began to laugh, pointing to a puddle near Fluttershy’s hind legs. “Look, the filthy little mare’s gone and wet herself.”
Rainbow Dash attempted to look down at their victim with mock sympathy again, but couldn’t manage it for more than a few seconds. She burst out laughing at her little accident, to the point where she physically lost her balance and fell back onto her haunches, now almost to tears with hilarity. Nighteye wasn’t sure what he was expecting to find when he stepped back onto the beach, but Rainbow rolling and laughing on the sand wasn’t an option he had considered at all.
“Hey,” he said uncertainly. “What’s… what’s going on?”
Seeing as Rainbow Dash had begun to cease her laughter, but was now almost out of breath, Pyro answered instead. “Klutzershy here only went and wet herself.”
Nighteye gave a small smile, but clearly didn’t find as hilarious as Rainbow had. “Yeah, can we get on with it then?”
Rainbow had now sat up and was just beginning to catch her breath, so she nodded to Pyro, who took her place stood next to Fluttershy’s left wing. The pegasus in question had managed to ease off her screams, and had now been reduced to a gentle whimpering, partly from the humiliation of wetting herself, but mostly for the intense pain emanating from both of her wings. Pyro gave her a cheerful and innocent smile, before stamping down on the shoulder joint of the wing. Exactly as it had done with the right wing, the bone clicked loudly as it popped out of its joint, and Fluttershy’s muffled howls started anew.
Pinkie Pie was considerate enough to pause for a few moments, to allow for Fluttershy’s cries to die down before she pulled the rag out of her mouth to give her a chance to speak. Fluttershy’s mouth began to fill with the metallic taste of blood as several of her teeth were ripped out by the rag, having been the ones knocked loose earlier where Pinkie had delivered a strong punch to her muzzle.
“Five seconds to talk,” Rainbow Dash announced coldly. “Tell us what we want to hear.”
However, Fluttershy could manage little more than a panicked sob as she spat out a mouthful of blood and teeth. She panted desperately for a few moments, fresh blood pooling and gurgling in her mouth, only for Pinkie Pie to stuff the rag back in her mouth before she had the chance to properly recuperate.
“I don’t see why you seem insistent on doing things your way,” Rainbow said, her tone mimicking one of disappointment. “But it’s not my place to argue. Nighteye, see if you can get her to talk.”
The black pegasus thought for a few seconds. “I’ve got a few ideas. Pinkie, get off her. It’s not like she’s going anywhere in a hurry.”
Pinkie shrugged and stood up as Nighteye stepped up to Fluttershy’s torso, reaching into his sheath and pulling out one of his fearsome javelins. He taunted her for a few moments, twirling it around in his hoof as he pretended to give it a closer inspection. Contented, he took a step back, and rather than use it for stabbing or prodding, he held it behind him and swung it hard down onto Fluttershy’s chest. The tip of the javelin picked up enormous momentum as it travelled through the air, the effect of which was not unlike hitting Fluttershy full force with a whip.
Rainbow Dash had to raise her voice to be heard over Fluttershy’s muffled squeals. “Give her ten more. Then we’ll give her another chance to talk.”
Fluttershy’s pupils shrank to the size of pins on hearing this. Being hit with the javelin had been beyond painful. The small tip of the javelin concentrated the pain on a small area of flesh, but that area seemed infinitely bigger than the area that had actually been struck. Nighteye had aimed carefully, bringing down the javelin right above her lungs. Fluttershy gasped desperately, gagging for air through the rag in her mouth, but only able to get any by breathing through her nose, which was still dripping blood where Pinkie had punched her. The situation was getting desperate, and she had no idea how much longer she could last.
Nighteye proceeded to deal his remaining ten lashes, striking almost exactly the same spot each time. Each strike was horrific as it burned and gnawed at Fluttershy’s flesh, but she found herself completely unable to scream as every ounce of her breath was dragged away. Every whip also caused her body to twitch and roll completely beyond her control, which made her wings tug at the swords pinning them to the ground. Her entire body was wracked with agony, and Nighteye showed no signs of letting up.
By the time the last whip had been dealt, it was easy to say it felt like an eternity had passed. The welts on Fluttershy’s chest were bright red, and beginning to bleed. The blood pooling in her nose and mouth made breathing a horrific struggle, and her wings were beginning to swell around the bone fractures, causing the flesh to rub against the blades of each sword, causing immense and frequent waves of fresh pain.
A massive sense of relief washed over Fluttershy as Pinkie pulled the rag out, which was soaked in red from the blood dripping out of the gaps created where teeth had been pulled out. She spat out the pool of blood before panting desperately, her lungs almost having been completely deprived of a good source of oxygen. Pinkie waited for a few seconds to give her a chance to speak, and was surprised when Rainbow Dash stepped forwards to stop her when she went to stuff the rag back in her mouth.
“What good will that do if she can’t breathe?” she asked. “Give her a minute, we don’t want to kill her before she can tell us anything, do we?”
“I guess,” Pinkie replied nonchalantly. “Got any bright ideas?”
“See if she talks now,” Pyro said, walking towards the trees. “I’ve got an idea, just give me a few minutes.”
Nighteye, Pinkie and Rainbow were happy enough to give Fluttershy a breather as they looked over to watch Pyro’s plan being put into action. She had taken an empty flask from her kit bag, and laid it out on the floor, next to a bunch of leaves, a box of waterproof matches, and a water bottle filled with something thick and orange in color. Pyro worked quickly, making sure the metal flask was empty, after which she dropped in the leaves and a small amount of the matches, making sure to mix them up as she went. She finished off her rudimentary cocktail by opening the bottle and pouring in the thick gooey mixture. Rainbow Dash smiled knowingly as the wind carried the smell to her.
“Napalm,” she chuckled. “It’s like catnip for you, isn’t it?”
Pyro laughed as she replaced the lid on the plastic bottle, screwing it as tight as it would go. “Never know when it may come in handy, so I bottled some up last night. It’s definitely better than carrying it around in those jars.”
“I doubt you’re planning to offer that up as a drink.” Nighteye said, partly sarcastically, but still completely unaware of what Pyro was planning to do.
“Not exactly,” Pyro replied, winking. She pointed to the rag that Pinkie had stuffed into Fluttershy’s mouth, lying on the sand. “Take that, and soak it in the sea.”
“What for?” Nighteye asked, not happy to be on the receiving end of orders whilst also being left clueless as to what they were doing.
“Just trust me, and do it,” Pyro replied, standing up and walking over to Fluttershy.
Nighteye sighed, and picked up the rag. While he was soaking it, Pyro had rested the flask on Fluttershy’s chest, right where she’d been whipped moments earlier. She tensed slightly as the wound was still sore, but Pyro didn’t seem to care. Nighteye handed her the now soaking rag, which she wrapped tightly around her left forehoof. Carefully, she lit one of the waterproof matches and dropped it in the flask, before quickly popping the cap back into place, being careful to leave a gap so the fire could get oxygen. The mixture caught fire instantly, the napalm ensuring the mix burned for a long time and attained a high temperature while doing so.
"Now hold her down tightly," Pyro instructed. "I don't want her flailing around and kicking me."
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie nodded, stepping in and grabbing Fluttershy by her forelegs, holding them down firmly by her head. Pyro meanwhile was holding the flask from the top where it bottle-necked, pressing it down hard on Fluttershy’s chest with the hoof wrapped in the dripping rag.
“This can stop any time,” she said. “All you have to do it talk.”
Initially, Fluttershy had no idea what Pyro was doing. She hadn’t watched her set up the flask, and was quite surprised when she thought all that was happening was that her wounds from Nighteye’s javelin were being pressed down on. This caused a slight sting at most, but nothing much beyond the pain she was already in. It took less than half a minute for her to realise something else was wrong, as her chest began to feel warm. In just under a minute, the heat was getting difficult to bear with. Soon, the metal was burning at her flesh, aggravating it and causing incredible pain. She could feel her flesh burning, and she let out her most piercing scream yet. The clique ponies looked at each other with smiles as they covered their ears, hoping this would be enough to make Fluttershy break. The metal was heating up immensely, and the way Pyro was holding it against her made certain that it caused as much damage as possible.
After a few minutes, something could be seen bubbling under the flask, some kind of thick liquid. At first Pyro thought the heat had burned a hole in the flask, letting the napalm leak out, but she soon realized what it really was. The heat was blistering Fluttershy’s flesh, which soon broke and released a plethora of pus. It bubbled and dribbled out of her chest, running down her body and into the sand.
Getting tired, Rainbow Dash leaned forward, clamping Fluttershy’s mouth shut again, before practically shouting at her. “Don’t be stupid, we can do this all day. You can make this stop whenever you want. Just tell us where Twilight Sparkle went!”
All Fluttershy could do in response was howl and scream, which did nothing but irritate Rainbow. Pyro was beginning to struggle, as the heat of the flask was beginning to be too much for her to hold with the damp rag wrapped around her hoof. The heat suddenly shot up within the flask, nicking her and causing her to flinch. The flask was knocked off Fluttershy, revealing the mess underneath as Pyro went to cool her hoof down in the water. The flesh was black in a perfect circle where the flask had been, the fur having burned away under the immense heat. Pieces of skin hung loose where they’d blistered and burst, and the whole wound was dripping with pus. Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief as the flask was taken away, but she was still whimpering with the pain.
“I just don’t know any more,” Rainbow Dash said, facehoofing. “We’ve done all this, but she’s said nothing. We’re gonna have to go a step further. Nighteye, cut one of her ears off.”
That was it. Fluttershy had no idea how she’d had the guts to keep herself from talking up to this point, but the threat of dismemberment sent her well and truly over the edge.
“No don’t!” she squealed, well and truly defeated. “I’ll tell you… I’ll tell you everything. Just please… please… just stop.”
She erupted into yet another fresh wave of sobs as the clique ponies grinned to each other, and gathered around her. Her voice was weak from her cries, and she was in colossal amounts of pain, but she found the strength somewhere within her to talk.
“She went to the cornucopia,” she croaked weakly.
“Damnit!” Nighteye shouted. “We’ve been wasting our time here while Sparkle’s been going after our stuff!”
Pyro was less than concerned. “Oh don’t be so stupid. Remember that trap I left? She’s either dead or on the brink of death right now.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t be so stupid,” Pinkie pointed out. “Did you hear a cannon? She’s alive, and she’s the smartest pony in here. I guarantee you she saw through it.”
“Not likely,” Pyro huffed.
“Pinkie’s right,” Rainbow Dash answered sternly. “She’s smart enough to know that a pile of stuff left out in the open like that is suspicious. She’ll be heading back here soon enough, right?”
Pyro and Nighteye nodded. “That’s what we heard them agree on,” Nighteye said.
“Then we’ll let her come back here. She’ll be busy dealing with Fluttershy, and if she can get her fighting fit, that’ll still take a few days at the very least. Sparkle will waste a lot of time trying to heal her wounds, and that's time that we could use to plan a better strategy, ‘cause we aren’t going anywhere fast right here.”
“What about her?” Pyro asked, gesturing to Fluttershy, who still panting desperately.
“She helped us, so we’ll follow up on our bargain,” Rainbow replied matter-of-factly. “No hard feelings I hope, Flutters. A couple of days rest and you'll be just fine.”
The rest of the clique laughed as they began to pack their stuff away. Pyro tentatively kicked her now red-hot flask into the sea, whilst Rainbow Dash pulled her swords out of Fluttershy’s wings and returned them to their individual sheaths. In her weakened state, the most Fluttershy could manage was a prolonged groan as the blades left her body.
“We all packed up and ready to go?” Pinkie asked.
“Yeah, but one more thing,” Rainbow answered. “Nighteye, give me Twilight’s knife.”
Nighteye hesitantly handed over the serrated knife that he’d recovered from the shattered remains of the bee’s nest. While he’d wanted to keep it, maybe even to kill Twilight with it, he’d learned that Rainbow Dash was better with tactics than he was, so he didn’t argue.
“This is a fine knife,” she said to Fluttershy, holding it by the handle and examining it closely. “I’d hate to lose it if it was mine, so do us a favour, yeah? Make sure Twilight gets it back.”
And with that, Rainbow Dash plunged the knife hard into Fluttershy’s stomach.
Through a large gap in the leaves above, Twilight could see the sky turning a faint shade of orange. Gentle plumes of smoke could still be seen rising into the air from where the bombs had hit earlier that morning, which was the only indication to the true harshness of the situation she was in. Around her, the forest played its placid symphony of bird songs and rustling leaves in the wind without a care in the world. The intense heat of the day had more or less died down, now bathing her in a rich warmth that was perfectly balanced with the tender summer breeze that cascaded over her with an almost surgically smooth precision. It was a perfect evening. Or, at least, it could have been.
The beauty and tranquility of her surroundings was little comfort to Twilight, sadly. She had only paused briefly to look to the skies as an attempt to guess the time before she continued her brisk walk through the forest. Having set off from the cornucopia at a jog, the exertion had proved to be too much for the freshly closed wound on her flank, and she had quickly realized it better to slow down and avoid becoming fatigued.
The wait in her hiding place near the cornucopia had been an agonizing one. Going so suddenly from an overwhelming situation, to having an hour to sit and wait, had given her a lot of time just to think. During that hour, one particular subject had plagued her mercilessly: What happened to Fluttershy?
The moment she had thrown the knife had played over and over again, constantly reeling mercilessly through her mind. Twilight had had a split second to act, and she had yet to convince herself that she’d made the wrong decision. Taking on two opponents with one knife was not a favorable situation by any means, especially considering the menacingly sharp javelins she’d caught a glimpse of in Nighteye’s sheath. Pyro was smaller and less of an immediate threat, as Twilight didn’t recall seeing her holding any ranged weapons. However, Pyro had the upper hoof when it came to agility, having had one of the best times on the obstacle course. In a straight fight, all it would have taken Twilight is one small mistake for her to be overpowered.
Throwing the knife had been the best tactic, a conclusion that Twilight continuously arrived at. It meant they had avoided a two on two confrontation that would have been impossible to win, and though Twilight had lost her knife, she now had a small sheath strapped to her leg, full of small and specialized throwing knives. But her time at the cornucopia had been a little bit too quiet. This could only mean that her pursuers had focused their attention on Fluttershy.
The thought made Twilight feel sick to her stomach.
How could anypony, decent or not, target somepony so fragile yet kind? Sure, they were facing each other in a deathmatch where only one pony would walk out alive, but how could anypony be so brutal? She remembered the day the war ended, when the ceasefire was called. She could remember how, even with the losses she’d suffered, there was still a glimmer of hope that things would get better in the future. That life could become worth living, and that Equestria could become a peaceful nation once more. The games stood to symbolize every dream of Twilight’s that had been crushed. But as she’d learned to use her grief to push herself forward in life, she could consider herself well equipped to deal with the situation. Fluttershy's abilities to fight and survive were, sadly, nowhere near Twilight's level. If the clique caught up with her, she wouldn’t stand a chance.
As the smell of salt water began to find its way to Twilight’s nostrils, she had a realization that instantly put her other fears to rest: the cannon hadn’t fired. If the clique ponies had killed her, the cannon would have announced her demise. But she hadn’t heard one at all today, meaning that her fears of Fluttershy suffering at the hooves of the clique ponies were completely irrational. With this knowledge, she allowed herself to grin slightly as she stepped through the trees and found herself back at the beach, the sun behind her just beginning to descend beyond the cliffs at the rear of the arena.
A glance up and down the beach confirmed that she was alone. This didn’t faze her too much, as the beach on their side of the river was at least a mile long, possibly further. She had emerged from the woods only slightly down the beach from the mouth of the river, so she wasn’t worried in the slightest. After pausing to take a sip from her flask, which she had refilled along the way, she begin to make her way down the beach. As she walked, she allowed herself to relax slightly. She drifted towards the sea as she walked, stopping just at the water's edge. Each new wave would wash up against her, barely reaching far above her hooves. The water was cool and refreshing in the evening warmth, and she found her mind drifting away. Her walk became almost nonchalant, in a way that gave no reflection to her situation. She strolled, like she was walking in a park without a care in the world. It was almost like she had on an invisible coat, which was shielding her from the harsh reality of the arena. The moment of serenity was one she appreciated dearly.
But all good things have to end eventually.
Her mind snapped instantly back to reality as she rounded a corner in the coastline, and was suddenly able to make out some shapes in the distance. She ducked down and crept into the trees. She’d only had a brief glance, but now in safe cover she was able to have a further look. She was too far away to make out specifics, but there was definitely somepony ahead of her on the beach, several hundred meters away. With the distance and the slowly diminishing light, all she could make out was a speck in the canvas of sand and forest. It could be Fluttershy, but she had to get closer to be certain.
She kept low, barely a few steps into the trees, moving swiftly but quietly. Her tread was gentle but deliberate, and she kept a pace that matched a jogging speed before she was able to identify specifics about the ponies in distance. One had a white coat, and had their back to her. The other one was hidden from her view, so but she could see them moving. The closer she got, the more she was able to identify; the black mane and tail on the pony with the white coat, the dark wings behind them that indicated the other pony was a pegasus, the horn on the pony with the white coat, the silver blue mane of the second pony, the…
Twilight froze. Silver blue mane? Dark feathers?
She kept still as she continued to observe the pair in front of her, practically within hearing distance. Sure enough, after a few moments, the white-coated pony moved his head just enough for her to get a proper glance at the second pony. Twilight gasped as the features rang familiar in her mind; the silvery mane, the dark gray coat, the soft amber eyes. Somepony familiar, somepony she cared for dearly.
“Thunderlane!” she called out loudly, unable to stop herself as she jumped out of the trees, running towards the pegasus.
Even from the distance, she could see his reaction. The way his eyes shrank in disbelief, his ears perking up as the voice ringing through them registered, and his jaw dropping in amazement before reforming into a massive grin.
“Twilight!” he called back, and mimicked her action and began running towards her.
The pair had barely spent three days apart, but it felt like so much longer. Twilight’s bad leg ached slightly as she ran, but that didn’t bother her in the slightest. She knew that Thunderlane had planned to keep his feelings about Twilight out of the arena, but he was clearly too caught up in the moment to pause and consider this. Everything about Thunderlane made Twilight feel safe as she ran towards him. Seeing his muscular body contrasting with his gentle and caring eye gave Twilight a feeling that almost felt nostalgic. There was a placid warmth about him, something that reminded her of home. She felt like she was running towards safety.
Before she knew it, Twilight found herself held in his tight embrace. Everything about the hug felt wonderful, from the gentle scratching of his disheveled mane as he nuzzled his head against her, to the warmth of his breath emanating from his powerful lungs. For a few brief moments, they held each other silently. They didn’t need to talk; they both felt the same. Thunderlane was the one to break the silence, almost inaudibly whispering in Twilight’s ear.
“I’m sorry. We've done everything we could”
“What do you mean?” she responded, completely unaware of what he was talking about.
The answer came as Twilight glanced forward, still locked in Thunderlane’s embrace. She could see clearer now that the first pony was Cube Twister, whom she had partnered with briefly during the training. He looked back over his shoulder and smiled at her, but he hadn’t moved from his spot. He may have been smiling, but it was impossible to disguise the sympathetic nature behind it. He was still sat with his back to Twilight, and it took her a few moments to realize why. It clicked in Twilight’s mind when he turned his gaze downwards. Laid out on the ground, almost blending in with the sand. The yellow coat and the bandages that would have been nearly invisible if it weren’t for the tangled mess of a bright pink mane. Fluttershy.
“No,” Twilight whispered, pushing Thunderlane away and dashing over. She utterly refused to believe what she was seeing.
She was alive, but judging from the clearly labored breathing, she was barely holding on. Thick bandages covered most of her chest, but there was little to hide the rest of her injuries. Her wings were laid out on the sand, completely limp as if they were barely even connected. They were clearly swelling around the middle, where she could see gaping wounds coated in sand. The blood was dried, and completely matted into her fur. Thunderlane and Cube Twister had clearly attempted to clean her wounds, but their supplies must have been limited. Futtershy appeared to be sedated, and so didn’t react to Twilight’s arrival. Her nostrils were blocked as blood had clotted inside, forcing her to breathe through her mouth. Twilight could clearly see she was missing several teeth. Of everything, the worst part was the smell. The stench of blood and urine hung in the air, making Twilight gag as she stepped towards her injured colleague.
She paused to consider the word. Colleague. Partner. Associate. Until now, Twilight had tried not to form an emotional bond with Fluttershy, knowing the alliance couldn’t last. But seeing her in this state, the impact it had on her, she knew she could never consider Fluttershy as anything less than a friend.
Thunderlane sat down beside her, and allowed her to cuddle up to him, releasing a torrent of sobs. She had been completely wrong. The clique was definitely behind this, but they hadn’t killed her, nor had they left her alone. She didn’t know specifically what they’d done to her, but they clearly hadn’t been out to kill her. No, killing was too quick. Too easy. Their intentions had been completely different. They’d utterly broken her.
She did her best to hold herself together as she dared to ask. “W-what h-h-happened?” she said, not managing to hide the quiver in her voice.
“Well, we don’t know exactly,” Cube Twister answered, packing away the first aid kit at his hooves and returning it to his saddle pack. “But the injuries are bad. Broken and dislocated wings, severe burns on her chest, and…”
Thunderlane finished the sentence for him as his voice trailed off, knowing he couldn’t bring himself to answer. “We found this embedded in her stomach,” he said, reaching over to the saddle pack and pulling out a large knife.
Twilight felt a knot tighten in her stomach as she looked at the knife. Her knife. Her mouth went dry as she tried to speak, but nothing came out. Her vocal chords refused to cooperate as her head began to spin.
“We did everything we could,” Cube Twister continued. “But it’s not going to be enough. Her injuries are too severe, and she’s lost too much blood.”
“We knew you’d partnered with her,” Thunderlane explained. “That’s why I insisted we try and save her.”
Somehow, the words came to her. “How did you know that?”
He gave a small smile. “She kept asking for you.”
As if on cue, Fluttershy began to stir. Twilight looked down at her injured friend, and could see very clearly what she was doing. Ever so gently, so easy to miss, but she was definitely doing it. Unable to speak a word, she was mouthing. Just one syllable too, the same one over and over again.
Twi… Twi… Twi…
Twilight instantly responded. She unstrapped her saddle pack and removed her sheath, laying it in a neat pile, before taking her place at Fluttershy’s side. She was as gentle as she could possibly be, sitting on her haunches and shuffling forward slightly, lifting Fluttershy’s head up and resting down in her lap. Closer inspection made her choke up slightly as she found herself closely examining the dried blood around Fluttershy’s nose, and she could hear a quiet whistling as each breath rushed through the gaps in her teeth.
The frail pegasus was still mouthing the same syllable over and over again, even though she appeared to be completely unconscious.
“Fluttershy,” she asked hesitantly.
It was all Twilight could do to keep herself from sobbing as the catatonic mare’s eyelids slowly flickered open, revealing her bright blue eyes. Sweet, innocent, and absolutely terrified.
“Twi…” she said weakly, as if she was unable to believe that she was really looking up at her friend.
“I’m here Fluttershy,” she said, unable to stop the tears pooling in her eyes. “I’ve got you.”
“Wa…ter…” was the response.
Twilight didn’t need to say anything. Thunderlane responded immediately, pulling a clear bottle of water from his bag, and moving into position so he could pour it slowly into Fluttershy’s mouth. She lapped hungrily at the water for a few moments, before giving Thunderlane a grateful nod. She was shivering gently, and her face was paler than normal. But even though her eyes betrayed her terror, her expression was relatively calm. But even with the effort as she was putting in to appear tranquil, it couldn’t disguise her gentle shaking.
“Did… you… get…”
Twilight hushed her, knowing what she was going to ask. “Yeah, I made it to the cornucopia. I got everything I needed.”
“G…good.”
Twilight felt the tears running down her face. She wiped them off before she continued. “Fluttershy, I’m… I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”
Fluttershy was struggling to speak, so she responded by giving Twilight an inquisitive look.
“If I hadn’t thrown the knife, they wouldn’t have caught up to you and done this.” The tears began to flow faster and faster as the guilt began to well up inside her. Thunderlane and Cube Twister backed away, respectively giving them the privacy they needed.
Fluttershy gave her head a small yet defiant shake. “No… other… way…” she said. Her breathing was becoming steadily more labored, but she somehow found the strength to keep talking. “You… you had… the best chance…”
Twilight’s eyes widened as she realized what that meant. “Don’t say that, we both had a chance at winning.”
The response came out as a wheeze, but Twilight guessed Fluttershy was attempting to laugh. “I… I was… never… going to win…” she spluttered, coughing up blood simultaneously. “The only… thing... that kept me… alive… was you…”
“Come on, we can keep going.” Twilight said desperately. “You’re stronger than you think, you can keep going. I know you can. Please. Just hold on.”
“Too… late… for me…”
Twilight grimaced at Fluttershy’s attitude. They both knew what was coming, and the inevitability of it. But Twilight was less than keen to accept it.
“Come on, don’t be like that,” Twilight begged. “You can’t give up so easily.”
“I’m… not. I held on… to say… goodbye…”
That was the nail in the coffin. Twilight lost control of her emotions as her tears began to flow freely. She pulled Fluttershy in tightly, but gently as not to aggravate her wounds.
“H-how are you doing?” Twilight asked, not sure what else to say.
“S…s….scared…”
Twilight closed her eyes, and for an odd moment, her memories caught up with her. For the briefest of instances, she was back with Shining Armor. Just after their return to District 12. The return that had been made without their parents. The first night had been the worst, but one thing had made it bearable. She had cuddled up with Shining Armor by the fireplace, still overwhelmed with grief, as he sang her a song. An old country song that had been passed down through their family for generations. It had helped dull the grief then, and Twilight felt compelled to repeat it for her companion.
She barely needed to think, as her quivering lips managed to calm down, and she sang the sweet tune to her dying friend. The song that had made her strong on so many occasions, and reminded her that there is always light in the darkest of times. How she'd always be alright if there was somepony there for her.
“It’s like a storm,
that cuts a path.
It breaks your will,
it feels like that.
You think you’re lost,
but you’re not lost, on your own.
You’re not alone.”
Fluttershy gave a contented whimper as Twilight continued into the chorus.
“I will stand by you.
I will help you through.
When you’ve done all you can do,
and you can’t cope.
I will dry your eyes.
I will fight your fight.
I will hold you tight,
and I won’t let go.”
She was fully ready to continue the song into its second verse, but Fluttershy gave a gentle hushing noise to try and gain her attention.
“Twilight?” she asked.
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
Twilight gave a supportive, tear stained grin. “What for?”
Fluttershy smiled up at her, shedding a tear of her own. “You were my first friend.”
Twilight’s resolve was utterly broken. She completely broke down in sobs as Fluttershy’s bright blue eyes went listless. Her smile melted away from her lips as the life left her body. The sun finally set behind the cliffs as Fluttershy's gentle heart gave its final beat. Twilight was barely to hear the cannon fire over her own cries.
She jumped slightly as she felt a hoof rest on her shoulder. Turning round, she found her eyes meeting Thunderlane's.
"I'm sorry Twilight," he spoke softly. "She's gone."
"That's right, she's gone!" came a familiar voice from the trees.
Twilight and Thunderlane looked round to see Cube Twister scrambling back in panic as Nighteye emerged from the woods, a razor sharp javelin held high and ready to throw. Pinkie Pie stepped out next to him, holding a bow with an arrow already notched and aimed right at Twilight. A quick look left and right confirmed that Rainbow Dash was on one side of them, whilst Pyro was stood on the other side. They both had swords held tightly in hoof, ready to attack. They were surrounded. Twilight cursed silently as the pack closed in from all sides. Her saddle pack and her sheath of knives was far out of reach, and Thunderlane had put the knife back in his saddle pack for safekeeping. They were defenseless.
"Screamed like a filly she did," Pinkie said with a chuckle. "But even so, she wasn't exactly keen to tell us where you'd swanned off to."
"We had to convince her to spill it," Pyro added, pausing menacingly when she said convince.
The words drummed at Twilight's ears as Thunderlane spoke up.
"You tortured her to find out where Twilight went?"
"Bingo," laughed Rainbow Dash. "You're not as thick as you look, Thunderhead."
"It's Thunder-lane," he replied with a scowl.
"Whatever," Pyro laughed. "It's not you we're interested in anyway."
"No, it's not," Rainbow Dash said, crouching down so she was eye level with Twilight.
Fluttershy's head still lay lifeless in her lap, and Twilight still had her hooves wrapped around her. If it was the last thing she ever did, she would protect her friend from further mockery at the hooves of the clique ponies.
"What's the matter?" Rainbow asked with mock sympathy. "Were you too late to save her? Wandering off up to the cornucopia to suit your own ends while you left your little friend to fend for herself?"
It took every ounce of willpower to keep Twilight from lashing out at Rainbow Dash. The arrow and javelin aimed at her head were a powerful and sobering reminder.
"You tortured her," Twilight said, speaking very slowly and clearly, seething with anger. "You tortured Fluttershy to get to me. Why?"
"You're the wildcard," Pinkie Pie explained. "Everypony else in this arena, we could take down easily. But you're a bit more problematic. A tougher hunt. She knew where you were, so we had to make her talk."
"Yes, thank you Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said with a scowl.
The attitude with which Rainbow snapped at Pinkie Pie caught Twilight's attention. Rainbow was clearly in charge of the group, there was no doubt about that. Pinkie had barely spoken out, but what she had said was taken as a threat to Rainbow Dash's authority. To the status quo of the clique. Team ups in the arena were temporary, a fact which was only too clear to everypony. But the clique seemed to have begun dissolving.
"What's the matter, Rainbow?" Twilight asked arrogantly, not even looking up. "Can't control your little gang?"
They were surrounded, outgunned, as good as dead already. Twilight had decided if she was going to die here, she was going to make a dent in the structure of the clique. Or at least attempt to.
As predicted, the sly remark sparked against Rainbow Dash's ego, igniting her furor. "I'm in charge here," she shouted matter-of-factly. "Anypony who doesn't like that only has to say so."
"Well," Pyro said nonchalantly after a few moments of silence. "You are a bit full of yourself sometimes."
Rainbow's jaw dropped as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing, before she scowled and pointed her sword at Pyro. "Say that again," she dared. "Go on, lets see if you've got the guts."
Pyro simply tutted and rolled her eyes indifferently. "See what I mean. You do have a bit of a tendency to overreact."
Twilight looked up at Rainbow Dash and grinned. "Are you gonna take that from her?"
Rainbow didn't know what to say. In a matter of seconds, the conversation had turned from her being ready to knock the tribute count down by three, to Twilight mocking her and Pyro insulting her. However, Pinkie Pie saw right through Twilight's plan, and stepped in to diffuse the situation.
"Look," she said bluntly. "We can argue about leadership and inflated egos later, but we had a plan here. Maybe we should stick to it?"
Rainbow Dash didn't like being talked back to, and even though she was too proud to back down from the argument, she could see Pinkie's point. She huffed slightly, waving a hoof indifferently.
"Right," Pinkie said, taking charge. "Nighteye, after the incident with the bees' nest, I think Twilight should be all yours."
Twilight clenched her eyes shut, ready for it all to end. She'd had her few seconds of fun, and she'd put up a good fight. But she'd never return home, never see Shining Armor again. It was all over.
"Nighteye?"
Twilight dared to open an eye, looking to the side to see what was going on. Nighteye was frozen on the spot, his cold and stony face clearly displaying terror. One by one, the various clique ponies followed his gaze, seeing what he was staring at.
"No way," Rainbow Dash said.
"It can't be," Pyro added.
"Oh crap," Pinkie Pie eloquently put it.
The only reactions from Thunderlane and Cube Twister were gasps, so Twilight finally opened both her eyes to try and determine what had everypony so spooked. They were all looking out to sea.
It took a few seconds to identify in the diminishing light, but Twilight finally spotted it. It was several miles out for certain, but it was still easily noticeable. In fact, it would have been almost impossible to miss the tidal wave, a perfect wall of water, towering maybe fifty feet in height. A tidal wave that was racing straight towards the group huddled on the shore.
There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation among the clique ponies. By the time Twilight had even registered what she was seeing, they had all resorted to the most basic of survival instincts. When Twilight turned back to face the land, the last of them had disappeared into the trees.
“Quick!” Thunderlane yelled, tossing Twilight her saddle pack. “We’ve gotta get out of here!”
Twilight nodded, and went about pulling the strap of her bag tightly into place. Several of the clique ponies had left their stuff behind in a blind panic when they left. Pyro’s saddle bag was still resting up against the tree, whilst Nighteye’s sheath was laid out in the sand, full of javelins. At least they’d be ill equipped, if they survived.
The clasp holding Twilight’s bag closed finally clicked into place, and she nodded to Thunderlane. Cube Twister was still with them, evidently placing enough trust in his partner to know that he should stick with him.
“Wait a sec,” Twilight said as Thunderlane turned to run into the trees.
“We don’t have time!” Cube Twister shouted, starting to panic as the roar of rushing water started to become disturbingly loud.
Twilight didn’t answer as she gently lifted Fluttershy’s head out of her lap, where it had remained since she’d passed on. Her sweet and innocent eyes were still staring up at the sky, dull and lifeless. Just as carefully, Twilight lay her head back down on the sand, before she reached up and closed her eyes with her hoof. Were it not for the blood stained fur on her muzzle, she almost looked peaceful enough to appear to be sleeping.
Thunderlane shot Cube Twister an angry look as he looked sheepishly at the ground, whilst Twilight gave Fluttershy a final goodbye with a gentle kiss on the forehead. She shed one last tear before she double-checked that her sheath of throwing knives was tightly strapped to her good leg, and then proceeded to lead the charge into the woods, Thunderlane and Cube Twister close behind.
Several miles behind them, the wave continued to bear down as it raced towards the shore. It didn’t appear to be too big at an initial glance, but it didn’t need to be. Even the smaller rogue waves carry with them a colossal amount of water, and this one was still too far out to shore to get a good estimate on height. Twilight had only looked at it for a few seconds, but that was enough to tell her everything she needed to know.
“It’s still a few miles out,” she shouted back to her companions as she ran. “But it’s a big one, and we do not want to be anywhere nearby when it makes land.”
“How long have we got?” Thunderlane shouted in reply.
“Four, maybe five minutes. That’s at the most.”
“What’s the plan?”
“Head for the town,” Cube Twister suggested, already appearing to be running out of breath. “Some of the buildings have upper floors we can take cover.”
Twilight thought for a few seconds. She hadn’t been to the town herself, but she had seen the distant outlines of the buildings when they’d first arrived in the arena.
“Have you guys been there?”
“Yeah,” Thunderlane replied. “We spent the second night hiding out there. The buildings are pretty bare, but I think I remember one that we can take cover in.”
It was barely even a stone's throw from the cornucopia, which Twilight could easily find her way to. But that didn’t account for the dim light conditions. The sun had already set and twilight wouldn’t last very long. Soon the arena would only be lit by the moon, which would still be difficult to navigate. The trek she’d made earlier in the day was a blurred memory from the delirious state she had been in, and thus she wouldn’t be able to find her way back anywhere near as easily.
Twilight shook her head hard to regain her focus. Her mind was drifting away from what she needed to concentrate on. She didn’t have the time to consider what light conditions she needed to find her way through the forest, or whether or not she’d be able to retrace her steps. She had to get them to the town before the wave caught up to them, but she literally had no time to stop and work out where to go.
All of a sudden, Twilight felt a horrendous pain erupt from her flank. Such was the intensity and suddenness that her leg shakily gave out as she took a step, collapsing from underneath her. She gasped as she found herself falling face-first into a heap on the floor. Thunderlane immediately was there at her side, lifting her back onto her hooves as she spat out the mouthful of dirt she’d received as she fell. The gritty metallic taste of blood soon took over as she examined the walls of her mouth with her tongue, confirming she’d bitten down hard and taken a large bite of her own flesh during the fall.
“Come on!” Thunderlane yelled. “We’ve got to keep moving!”
It only took one step for Twilight to realize she was going nowhere fast. The pain shot out again with equal intensity, and when she reached back with her hoof, she was immediately met with blood seeping out of the gash on her cutie mark. She cursed silently to herself. She hadn’t given it enough time to heal while she was waiting at the cornucopia earlier, and the wound had re-opened with the massive physical exertion caused by her few minutes of running.
“What in the hay?” Thunderlane gasped as he looked back and saw the wound. “What happened?”
Twilight went to answer, but was interrupted by a loud boom erupting over the sound of the rushing water. A boom louder than the cannons, which almost sounded like it had come from all around them. Two simultaneous booms. Ones that could only have been caused by a massive body of water, as the wave struck the cliffs at either side of the arena at the same time. As the wave made land.
Thunderlane gasped as the booms erupted, coming to the conclusion at the same time as Twilight, who had reached into her saddle pack and pulled out a small needle. She took a sharp breath and rammed the needle hard into her chest.
“Run!” she yelled, barely audible over the nearly deafening roar of the wave that was currently tearing up the trees right behind them, but still far away enough to remain unseen.
There was no time to question or argue as Twilight tossed the needle aside and charged away again at an impressive speed. Thunderlane and Cube Twister once again followed, but now there was no opportunity to plan where to go. All they could do was run. Run, and pray that they could outrun the millions of tonnes of water crashing through the foliage behind them. Though Twilight had her burst of energy to help her, both of her companions were naturally more athletic than her, and she soon lost her head start at they caught up, one running either side of her as their charge turned three-abreast through the trees.
Thunderlane was certain that Twilight was running at full pelt, so he was surprised when she pulled ahead of both of him and Cube Twister, before she took a slight turn to her left. Both stallions understood immediately that she knew where to go from there, and so they let her lead. After a few moments they were at the river, which Twilight leapt over without any hesitation. Luckily, there was a few seconds between her and her followers, so Thunderlane had time to react. He too leapt effortlessly over the river, landing neatly next to Twilight, who had stopped to make sure they all made it over. Cube Twister, however, had been looking back in panic. He stumbled forwards where he should have pushed off from the ground, and found himself crashing gracelessly into the water.
He didn’t even have time to consider the embarrassment as he surfaced, finding Thunderlane offering him a helping hoof out of the water. As Cube Twister was pulled out, each of the ponies took a momentary glance downstream. They were on a perfectly straight section of the river, and even in the poor light, they could see it. Crashing and writhing towards them, angrily foaming and spitting out the remains of the trees it had already engulfed. The wave was racing along the land like some horrifying predator, with no intention of slowing or faltering, only the intent to destroy and to kill. It was too late to run. It would be on them in a matter of seconds.
Cube Twister hauled himself onto the riverbank by Thunderlane’s hoof, who received a grateful nod for his help. But all three of them knew there was nothing they could do now. Twilight found herself being pulled in tight by Thunderlane, who gave her one last kiss on the forehead as a final goodbye. She pulled him tight, burying her face in his coat as she waited a few more seconds for their inevitable demise. Thunderlane and Cube Twister each clenched their eyes tightly shut in preparation.
And they waited.
“Guys…” Cube Twister said distantly, having dared to open his eyes.
Confused, both Thunderlane and Twilight let go of each other, somehow finding the courage to face what they knew would certainly kill them.
Only, it had stopped.
It hadn’t retreated, nor had it hit any kind of force field like the ones Twilight had been told surrounded the arena. It had literally stopped in place, but it still held its form. It still writhed and sloshed like water should do; only it was somehow holding itself up as a wall, barely inches from their faces. It was too good to be true.
“What’s going on?” Thunderlane asked.
“I don’t know,” Twilight said. “But I don’t like it.”
Cube Twister gave a nervous laugh. “What do you mean “I don’t like it”? It’s over. The wave's stopped.”
“Trust me, something’s wrong with this. Why even send the wave in the first place if they’re just going to stop it like this? It’s not over.”
As if on cue, the water began to ripple. At first, it just began happening in a few select spots, but soon the entire surface was shaking violently. Twilight began to step backwards as the water started rising. Slowly but surely, the water was building up, higher and higher, still shaking and foaming.
“I’ll ask again,” Thunderlane said. “I didn’t get an answer last time. What’s going on?”
All of a sudden, a single stream of water shot out of the wall. It was a short spurt, like turning a tap on and off quickly. But the stream went flying, striking a tree barely a few feet to Thunderlane’s side. The water hit with such intensity that several layers of bark came off, crumbling under the water pressure.
“There’s your answer,” Twilight said. “Run!”
All hell broke loose as the three ponies resumed their fleeing through the woods. The wall, still rippling and building in height, began to shoot out more similar streams. Each was the same, short in burst, but they had to be high-pressure. This was certain as Twilight noted the amount of crumbled bark that came raining down as well as the water whenever a tree was hit. One stream hit the forest floor barely a few feet in front of Cube Twister, punching a deep hole that looked about knee depth. He immediately decided he did not want to be hit by one.
A quick glance through a gap in the leaves confirmed that the wall of water had stopped rising when it was level with the surrounding cliffs, but the rate of fire of the high-pressure streams was now climbing instead. From every height up the wall, and it looked like they were being fired down the full length of it too. The soundtrack had changed dramatically in the last minute, having gone from the deafening roar as the water crashed through the forest in a brutal wave, to the curious whistling noise that came as each stream traveled through the air. The forest was now engulfed in the constant sound of the whistles as each stream flew, and Twilight was having a hard time deciding if the wave was better or worse than the ducking and weaving from the streams, praying that she didn’t get hit.
Several minutes passed, and the streams were constantly flying through the air. The noise was now just as loud as the roar of the wave had been, and Twilight couldn’t help but notice whenever they passed a tree that had clearly taken multiple hits. Some of them looked like they’d taken hits from grenades instead, going by the damage done. It wasn’t hard to imagine the damage that streams could do to flesh.
It was almost a relief when they emerged at the cornucopia. The wall of water hadn’t moved since they left it, but it had climbed high enough to still be getting shots around them. The booby trapped pile of equipment was still there, completely untouched as Twilight had left it.
She had a quick realization. Soon enough, the pile would take a hit, which would set off whatever trap had been left. If she acted quickly, she could get her hooves on some more wipes, as the adrenaline from the EpiPen would soon wear off.
“Keep to the edge of the clearing,” she instructed Thunderlane and Cube Twister. “It’s been rigged.”
Thunderlane nodded, and began to make his way towards the now-visible town. He paused when he noticed Twilight heading straight for the mound in the middle of the clearing.
“What are you doing?”
“No time to explain,” she answered firmly.
It took all of Thunderlane’s willpower to hold back and let Twilight continue towards the middle of the clearing. Deep holes littered the clearing as streams had come down multiple times in the same spots, making Twilight’s task of navigating to the middle a lot tougher. It was especially hard to ignore the large dents made in the solid gold skin of the cornucopia.
Twilight did her best to remain unfazed. All she had to do was find a first aid kit, and regroup with her friends. She paused when she finally reached the pile, bending down to try and locate the tripwire. When she finally found a glint from the moonlight, she slowly stood up and carefully stepped over, her heart racing slightly as a stream struck the cornucopia, causing it to clang loudly.
“Look out!” she barely managed to hear Thunderlane yell.
“For wh-“ she half-responded as something crashed into her back, sending her tumbling forward into the pile of equipment.
Yelping in panic, Twilight rolled over, pulling out one of her throwing knives and lashing out randomly. She was shocked to see Pyro tumbling backwards, clutching her ear. Or rather, clutching where her ear used to be, as Twilight was repulsed to see it land at her hooves, oozing blood rapidly.
“You’ll pay for that, you bitch!” Pyro screamed, grabbing a sword from the pile as blood gushed down the side of her head.
There was barely time to react as Pyro charged. Twilight grabbed for the nearest thing in the pile, which unfortunately was another saddle pack. She cursed to herself as Pyro jumped in the air, swinging the sword down towards Twilight’s head. She lifted up the saddle pack just in time to take the majority of the energy from the swing, but found herself taking the whole weight of Pyro herself. Twilight went down, Pyro on top of her, but Twilight’s reactions were quicker. She rolled herself backwards, using Pyro’s momentum to overbalance her and kick her off.
“Don’t!” Twilight yelled as she looked to her left to see Thunderlane charging towards them. “It’s booby trapped! Stay back!”
Thunderlane stamped the ground, cursing loudly as he was forced to stand back and watch.
As Pyro clambered to all fours, Twilight was already up, and she threw two of her knives in quick succession. The first harmlessly skimmed Pyro’s mane, but the second found its mark near the stomach, sinking deep into the flesh. Pyro screamed loudly, but was also quick to respond. As Twilight threw a third knife, Pyro adopted the same technique of self defense by pulling a saddle pack from the pile and using it as a shield. True to her intent, the knife sunk harmlessly into the bag, giving her precious moments in which she could pull out the first knife stuck in her torso.
Twilight charged forward, another knife in hoof. She threw it hard as Pyro began to step backwards, deflecting the knife again by blocking it with the saddle bag. Twilight, unwilling to let Pyro gain the upper hoof, grabbed a large spear from the pile, swinging it hard towards her opponent. The spear knocked the bag out of Pyro’s grasp, after which Twilight went in for another swing. Pyro jumped backwards, losing balance as she tripped over her own hooves, and falling on her left side. Twilight heard a metallic chink come from the pile of equipment as she noticed that Pyro was desperately scrambling to her hooves in a panicked state as a stream hit a few feet to her side.
From the top of the pile flew another stream, only this one came as a thick orange liquid. It splattered Pyro, who screamed out as a spark came from the tripwire at her hooves. In a split second, she was ablaze.
Twilight recoiled backwards as Pyro convulsed in the flames, screaming gutturally. She continued to burn for a few moments before, much to Twilight's surprise, one of the streams from the wall of water hit her square in the side of the head. It turned Twilight's stomach when Pyro fell to the ground, her body limp, as her head rolled to the side to reveal the damage the stream had caused. When it had hit, it took a large chunk of flesh with it, leaving half of her skull exposed. Much of the bone beneath had shattered, and Twilight couldn't bear to look any longer when she caught a glance of what looked like brain.
The cannon boomed as Twilight finally found the first aid kit she had come for. Even though the tripwire had been set off already, there was no way of telling whether or not it had been rigged to go off multiple times. So, Twilight carefully stepped over where she knew the tripwire was, and trotted over to meet Thunderlane, who received her with a tight hug.
"You alright?" he asked.
"A bit queasy, but otherwise I'm just about alive," she answered, hugging him back. "Let's just get to the town already."
Almost on cue, the wall of water ceased firing the streams of water, and began to collapse. Twilight almost breathed a sigh of relief, before she realized that the wall was collapsing and reforming the tidal wave, back towards them.
Acrid salt water burned Blue Streak’s throat as she drifted back into consciousness. She steadily became more and more aware of the ruined scene around her as her vision improved, rapidly blinking her burning eyes to try and clear out anything that could be irritating them. She dared to try and stand up, only to instantly be overcome with dizziness. She retched violently, but nothing came up.
It took a few minutes, but she finally managed to compose herself enough to take a few shaky steps. After crawling over a fallen tree, she spotted the waterfall just meters in front of her. The pool was full of splinters and leaves, but she needed to clear the salt from her throat. As most of the foliage was on the surface, she swept a small area clear with her forelegs before she stuck her whole face in the water and gulped down several mouthfuls. By the time she came up, she was gasping for air.
With her thirst quenched, Blue Streak began to take in her surroundings. The moonlight was just bright enough for her to see the area around her in ruins. At least half the trees around her had been violently uprooted, and many lay shattered and splintered where they’d collided with each other.
Images flashed through her mind as she recalled the final moments prior to being knocked unconscious. It had taken the best part of two hours, but she, Scootaloo and Clockwork Dawn had made it to the waterfall. The rest of the day they’d spent tending to her wounds, before foraging some nearby apple trees for food. Just after night fell, they’d heard a roaring sound in the distance which grew louder and louder, before a colossal wall of water broke through the trees in front of them. That was the last thing Blue Streak could remember.
Her eyes widened in shock. Scootaloo. Clockwork Dawn. Where were they?
She went to start calling out their names, but was halted in place by her last few ounces of rational thought. The wave would have forced all the tributes to retreat the back of the arena, and those who didn’t would have been washed there anyway. This meant that everypony who was still alive would be nearby. The best she could hope for was that they were less quick to recover than she was.
Having had a few minutes respite, Blue Streak decided the best course of action would be to try and find Clockwork Dawn’s saddle pack. While she couldn’t recall exactly where they’d left it, she could say for certain that nopony was wearing it when the wave struck. She frowned as she realized that it could be nearby, but there was just as much chance that it was miles away. It had been her idea to stow everything away in the pack preemptively, just in case they needed to make a quick getaway. Now she felt like an idiot; her decision had left her without food, clean water, or any basic survival equipment.
She instead decided to focus on her more immediate problems. She wasn’t overly thirsty or hungry at the moment, but there could be an attack at any second from a nearby tribute. The swords she’d taken from Fire Work were nowhere to be seen, so she pulled a bulky branch from a fallen tree. It was thick and sturdy, and about the length of her foreleg. In no way would it cut it during lengthy combat, but it would give her a fighting chance. Anything was better than going unarmed, even if it was no better than bringing a knife to a gun fight. She made a mental note to find some way to sharpen the tip whenever she could.
Satisfied that she was no longer without any means of defense, she tucked the stick under her wing. She’d learned that although the Gamemakers spell meant that she physically couldn’t move it, the muscle tension was just enough to hold it and something light in place under it. While this could be considered trivial, it seemed suddenly useful in lieu of the saddle pack. With her most pressing issue dealt with, she decided the next step was to attempt to locate Clockwork Dawn and Scootaloo.
She grinned in satisfaction barely more than a minute after setting off, recognizing the dark brown coat covering a leg sticking out from behind a stump. It had taken a few glances to spot in the darkness, but the leg was giving the slight twitch that Clockwork Dawn always did as he slept.
“Dawny, wake up,” she said with a chuckle as she got close, only to baulk when she got a proper look at her friend.
It was in fact Clockwork Dawn, that part she had assumed correctly. However, her assumption that the twitchy leg was just part of his sleeping habit was less accurate. Even in the darkness it was hard to miss the fact that his neck was twisted sickeningly around to the point where the spine was visible poking under the flesh, even though he was laid out on his back. Blue Streak dared lean in for a closer look, only to recoil again when she saw that although he was laid on his back, he was also face down in the dirt. The twitching had simply been random impulses from his dying nerves.
She took several steps backwards before she heaved again, but it was still only dry retching. She gasped loudly, struggling to cope with the shock. She’d seen a dead body before, as she had killed Fire Work in self defense. But this was a new and more horrific feeling, the death of somepony close to her. In the arena there was no room for friendships, but Clockwork Dawn had, up to this point, been the closest thing she’d had. At home in District 8, she considered herself to have lived a sheltered life. Her family wasn’t particularly well off, but at the same time they weren’t exactly living rough. As a result of this, she was young enough to have never experienced the death of a friend or loved one. The Capitol seemed to relish in providing her with new life experiences.
The sudden remembrance of this, that she was potentially the center of attention for the cameras right now, snapped her into focus. She wouldn’t give the upper crust Capitol snobs the satisfaction of reducing her into an emotional wreck. She had lived through tough times at home, but they had been infrequent. She thought back to a simple chant her father had taught her as a mental coping strategy. She hadn’t thought about it in years, but she hadn’t needed to. It had even seemed ridiculous to her sometimes, but it had helped her cope with difficult parts of her life.
“This is tough, but I am tougher,” she whispered.
After a few deep breaths, she readied herself. She was slightly shaky on her hooves, but she had to move on, silently repeating the chant in her head. The arena spared no sympathy, nor would the other tributes in it. Whilst the fate of one of her companions had been made clear, there was still the absence of Scootaloo to worry about. She didn’t recall hearing a cannon fire for Clockwork Dawn, so she had no way of telling who was still alive. Half a dozen cannons could have gone off during the wave and she would have been no wiser. It was best not to dwell on the subject for too long. She was still alive, so there was a good chance that several ponies must have survived.
She took one last glance back at her fallen friend, giving a silent farewell in her head, before she moved on towards the sea. If she’d been out for a few hours, the water should have long since retreated. Given that the wave should have ensured that everypony in the arena had ended up near the back of it, she theorized that by heading toward the sea she would be moving away from most of the tributes. There was just as much chance that everypony else had already had the same idea and retreated towards the sea as well, but there were so many ‘what if’s’ flying round her head that she had to mentally shut them all out. She elected to simply go with her gut instinct.
She hugged the river as she walked, though it was now hard to distinguish from the forest floor as it carried masses of broken foliage that had all been picked up and deposited by the wave. The heap that flowed slowly on the surface was soon so dense that she continually frightened herself by accidentally stepping hoof on it as she mistook it for ground. In next to no time her forelegs were coated in mud and various other tree remains, which didn’t take long to drive her mad with itchiness.
Her ears twitched as she approached a curve in the river. She dove into a bush to her right for cover as hoofsteps became gradually more audible. Tense seconds passed before she realized that the noise was coming from just behind her, and her heart was in her mouth when she looked through a gap in the leaves to see somepony step out of the trees facing the river. Her eyes widened as she recognized Scootaloo, sprawled out on the back of a unicorn stallion with a white coat.
Instantly, she leaped out of the bush and landed in a crouch as she grabbed her stick, ready to attack if necessary. The stallion staggered backward a few steps in surprise as Blue Streak heard Scootaloo moan slightly. As the stallion turned, she was surprised to see a second stallion with him, this one a pegasus with a dark grey coat and a shaky foreleg wrapped around the unicorns shoulders. The pegasus was clearly in a bad way, with a harsh looking gash in his forehead. With the distant and glazed look in his eyes that were rapidly darting around in confusion, it was clear that he was conscious but dazed, possibly with a concussion.
“Put her down,” Blue Streak ordered, speaking slowly but clearly.
The white stallion just stood still, looking her up and down. He didn’t look scared, but instead he looked to be simply observing her. Taking her in, assessing her. He looked scarily methodical as he did so.
“Blue Streak, right?” he asked finally.
She wasn’t sure what to say. She hadn’t bothered with committing the names of most of the tributes to memory. It seemed a redundant practice given the circumstances.
“If I was going to kill her, do you think I would have carried her out of the forest?” he asked, also gesturing to the injured stallion. “Especially since I’m helping out this great lummox as well.”
Blue Streak mulled this over for a few seconds. He had a point. He clearly meant no harm to her.
“If she’s partnered up with you, I’ll expect a ‘thank you for finding her’ whenever you’re ready,” he said semi-seriously.
“What makes you think she’s my partner?”
“The fact that you’re concerned for somepony other than yourself, maybe?” he replied with a shrug. “You’re clearly worried about her.”
“Then why are you helping her?”
“I found a filly in the woods, injured and alone. I’m not a monster, I couldn’t just leave her there. Especially not somepony as young as she is.”
Those final words resonated strongly with Blue Streak. Scootaloo really was far too young for all these horrors, and she wasn’t looking forward to the moment where she’d have to tell her about Clockwork Dawn.
“Is that all the weaponry you’ve got?” the stallion asked.
Blue Streak looked down at the stick still clenched tightly in her grasp. She blushed and stood up when she realized she’d been an attack position for the whole time they’d been talking.
“If it is, I’d say you’re about as well defended as I am.”
“Want me to carry her?” Blue Streak asked, not wanting to dwell on how well off they’d be in the event of an attack.
The unicorn smiled appreciatively, and allowed her to pick up Scootaloo and lay her on her back. He made sure she was in a comfortable position before they set off.
“I lost all my supplies in the wave,” he explained as he led the way down the river. He gestured to a nasty looking bruise near his hip where his saddle pack had been ripped off by the sheer force of the water. “I was gonna chance a trip to the cornucopia. Wanna tag along?”
Blue Streak was skeptical. “I dunno. If anypony else lost all their kit, they’d be doing the exact same thing right now. And wouldn’t the wave have scattered it all anyway?”
The unicorn shrugged as the pegasus moaned distantly. “It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s all I’ve got.”
He had a point. If Blue Streak had lost all her equipment as well, it was only a matter of time before she began to succumb to exposure.
“I guess this makes us partners,” the unicorn said with a confident smile.
“I can’t for the life of me remember your names,” Blue Streak responded with a chuckle.
“Cube Twister,” he said, before gesturing to the pegasus. “And this is Thunderlane.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“And you too. Does this mean you’re in?”
“I don’t have a better plan myself,” she said with a shrug. “So I guess you can call us partners.”
Blue Streak wanted to add ‘for now’, but she thought better of it. Before they could walk another few steps, they were interrupted by a fanfare as the Capitol symbol lit up the sky of the arena. They stopped and braced themselves for the upcoming list of the dead.
Pyro. Fire Work. Clockwork Dawn. Fluttershy.
Four more tributes were gone, which, if Blue Streak had counted correctly, meant there were eight remaining. Awkward silence hung in the air as they walked, and Cube Twister kept his eyes fixed resolutely on the path ahead, leading her to assume that one of the fallen tributes was somepony he knew, but she could only speculate. Coincidentally, she was doing the exact same thing without realizing, leading him to assume the same about her. This didn’t exactly bode well for the conversation, and the barely conscious Thunderlane and fully unconscious Scootaloo only heightened the awkwardness.
The only moment of interest came as they passed the abandoned town, which had held together surprisingly well considering the impact the wave had had on the rest of the arena. Cube Twister seemed to know where he was going, as he cut away from the river and headed straight through the town. There were a great deal of twists and turns through its winding and eerily quiet streets, but he managed to keep a bearing on the general direction they were heading in.
Then, at the edge of the town, came the shocker. There was the ocean. The waves were lapping at their hooves, several miles inland from the beach.
“How the hay is this possible?” Blue Streak asked. “I thought that tsunamis were supposed to recede.”
“They are," Cube Twister replied. "Which means that the wave that hit us couldn’t have been a tsunami.”
“Then what was it?”
“A flood.”
“So the cornucopia is…”
“Yep. Underwater.”
Blue Streak lashed out in frustration, kicking a wall to her left with one of her hind legs. Scootaloo moaned slightly as the exertion shifted her a few inches down Blue Streak’s back.
“Did that help?” Cube Twister asked with a smirk.
“Yep.”
“Did it hurt?”
“A little.”
Blue Streak sighed as Cube Twister snickered, before they both looked up and down what was now a beach. The water now engulfed most of the arena, leaving a lot less space between them and enemies. But it was a mixed blessing, as the tidal effect of the water had slowly pushed submerged kit from the cornucopia to the edge of the water. Cube Twister beamed with delight as he spotted a first aid kit in the distance.
They spent the next ten minutes scouring the water's edge for supplies, before retreating into the town. They took several twists and turns to make sure they weren’t being followed, and they finally settled on a second floor apartment in a building less than a quarter of a mile from the edge of the town. Whilst the exteriors of the buildings were detailed, the interiors were completely bare of furniture, plumbing, or anything useful. Their apartment building was little more than an elaborate five-storey shack.
Whilst Cube Twister tended to Thunderlane’s head wound with a sterilized needle and thread he’d found in the first aid kit, Blue Streak went through what they’d found. She’d been lucky to retrieve a sodden saddle pack, which she hung from a chandelier that seemed to only be for show, as it lacked light bulbs, and there wasn’t even a light switch. Cube Twister had to sit Thunderlane by the window and work by moonlight, while Blue Streak had to just deal with the darkness.
They’d found a pack of energy bars, some iodine, a pair of butterfly knives, a javelin, and Cube Twister’s first aid kit. It wasn’t exactly the haul of the century, but it was better than nothing. However, sod's law dictated that while a small vial of iodine had survived a massive wave, nothing capable of holding water had washed up with it.
After checking on Scootaloo, who had regained consciousness on arrival and huddled in the corner to sleep, Blue Streak passed the time by sharpening her stick into a spear with one of the knives. Sure, they had a javelin now, but she figured that arming themselves with more weapons wouldn’t hurt. Plus, it only took a quick count to realize that there weren’t enough weapons to go around the four of them.
Cube Twister took his time carefully stitching up Thunderlane, going slowly in the poor light conditions to make sure he didn’t slip and spear him in the eye. Blue Streak kept quiet for his convenience, so the only breaks in the silence were the occasional moan from Thunderlane. It was a good ten minutes before Cube Twister sighed contently and snipped off the excess thread with the other knife. Just to be safe, he decided to put a simple bandage over the wound.
“Why are you bothering with that?” Blue Streak asked bluntly.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s less than ten tributes left now. Saving one means that you’re just putting yourself in more danger.”
“I told you earlier, I’m not a monster,” he replied matter-of-factly. “No matter how much the Capitol wants me to be, I’m not a killer.”
“Killing could save your life.”
“But that’s not who I am. What’s worse: death, or living the rest of your life as something you’re not?”
“Death,” Blue Streak said without a moment’s hesitation.
“Maybe for you, but I don’t think I could bring myself to kill.”
“Alright, fair enough. But that’s only half an answer. I asked you why you’re helping another tribute who may have to kill you later on.”
“If I’m gonna die, I’d rather die having done what’s right.”
Blue Streak mulled this over as Cube Twister discovered a small compartment in the first aid kit, and nearly kicked himself when he found it had sedatives in it. All it would have taken was a closer inspection, and he could have spared Thunderlane from additional suffering under the pain of the stitches on top of his giddy state. He knew from his first aid experience that the sedative in the needle would make him sleep for a few hours, and was safe to use on a victim suffering from head injuries. He quickly pulled the cap off the needle and sunk it into Thunderlane’s foreleg.
Cube Twister was surprised as Thunderlane opened his eyes and looked right at him, all signs of confusion and dizziness gone in an instant.
“It’s alright buddy,” he said soothingly. “You’re just gonna sleep for a while, then we can see how your heads feeling in the morning.”
Thunderlane felt extremely light-headed, but he was suddenly determined as his situational awareness kicked in too little too late.
“Where’s Twilight?” he asked through his slurred speech, before he slumped down on the floor into a deep sleep.
