[2] The Capital.
Fluttershy! How could it be Fluttershy? She’s a merchant. She had one entry. ONE! One in thousands! How the small timid Pegasus I have known for years could, be headed for her death! “I Volunteer!” I scream before I can stop the words from leaving my mouth. “Don’t take her!” I say unable to stop shouting. “Well um….” Giselle seems excited with the turn of events. “This certainly is a fun day for all!”
“No!” I hear from the crowd. “No don’t take my big sister!” Lily. How could I forget the fact that my little sister has to watch me die now? Peace Ponies start to push me up to the stage. “Hooves off!” I say. They seemed startled by the intensity in my voice and let go immediately. I mount the stage not letting any pony know how terrified I am. Nopony gets that satisfaction from me. I spot rose in the crowed, stock still. “I…I…I volente…”
“No! Rose!” I scream. “Lily” and that’s all I need to say to get her to shut up. “So dear, what’s your name?” I see Lily struggling with a couple of Peace ponies as I manage to get out “Daisy.”
“Well Daisy, who have you stole the spotlight off hmmm?”
“My friend, Fluttershy.”
“Well then, are you excited?” It’s comments like this that make me want to scream. And this time I have nothing to lose. I’m a contender in their games. I’m going to die for their entertainment. I have nothing to lose! “Excited, about dyeing so you ponies can cheer on my murderer!?! I don’t think so!” I slap Giselle across the face so hard she falls of the stage. “Hmp.” I say turning away from the sight of the pony lying on the ground. I find my older sister in the crowd. She gives me a look and uses a hoof to point to Lily, who is still crying and hanging onto Rose. At first I’m confused. Then I realise, the game ponies will probably punish me in the arena. They could do anything from setting the area I’m in on fire to releasing a band of mutts onto me. The word mutt is short for mutations. Animals and plants genetically modified by the Capital used to harm ponies on the rebel side in the dark days. They were all sent off to die but some managed to adapt into the wild. And I love how it’s a slap in the Face to the Capital. “Well I never!” She manages through a few choking sobs. “Serves you right!” I mutter. She manages to clamber back up the wooden stairs to the temporary stage and wipers into the microphone. “And now f-for the colts.” You can see a black eye beginning to form but with the amount of makeup the capital has to offer, you won’t be able to notice. Her magic digs around in the glass ball until it claps a small white piece of paper. And on the inside could still be Golden’s Name. “I swear, if you say Golden Delicious, you can consider yourself dead!” I snap. She gulps as she nervously looks at the name and almost sighs with relief. “Caramel.” The *Insert bad word her* can consider herself dead. Of course it has to be the pony I shared my first kiss with. It was the last day of the harvest and it was as hot as I can remember. We were about to head home when he pulled me behind an apple tree and kissed me strait on the lips. We were pretty good friends then but after that, we just sort of… drifted…apart. He looks shocked but still climbs the stairs to stand firmly next to me. “Well then, mares and gentalcolts, may I present to you, the rather brash.” When she says this she looks at me. It’s all I can do not to slap her again. “Contestants of the 73rd Pony Games!” She waits for applause but none is forth coming so instead she whispers to us “Well shake hooves you to. Try not to break him too.” Then she leads us into the Justice building. I manage to look over Giselle’s shoulder to see a last glimpse of the district I will probably never see again after today. I try to make my brain absorb everything about the square but I don’t have enough time, so instead I get a massive headache. A couple of Peace Ponies take over Giselle’s job of leading me through he Justice Building ten pushes me into a room and shuts the door before I can do him any damage. “Hmp” I moan as I flop onto a red velvet couch. I find myself rubbing my hoof back and forth over the fabric, it’s nothing like I’ve touched before. Soft and inviting, but a harsh knock at the wooden door interrupts my thoughts as Lily burst through followed by Rose Then Fluttershy. “Daisy!” Cries Lily as she latches forward onto me. “I’m sorry.” I mumble. “I’m sorry but I had to do it!” Fluttershy’s in on the hug now. Silent tears streaming down her face as she tries not to make the horrible chocking sounds she makes when she cries. I have to supers my tears because if I come out of this room all red eyed and puffy faced, the other tributes will see me as a weakling. Not only that but I won’t get sponsors. Sponsors are anonymous ponies from the districts and the Capital who can pay an extravagant amount of money to send a small gift to a tribute. Even small gifts can mean the difference between life and death but you really want a gift from a Capital sponsor. Somepony that can afford to spend a little extra. But they won’t sponsor a pony that’s snivelling and crying. No. You will be rewarded for brashness and bravery. While I was pretty brash at the reaping, if I leave this room crying it will do nothing to support my actions in the square. Soon Rose surrounds us all. But I know we only have 10 minutes for our goodbyes. So I mange to break away from the ponies that have entwined me in their arms*. “We don’t have much time.” I whisper to them quietly. “Golden will bring you game and fruit you can both eat and sell. Don’t take any tesserae from them ok. You won’t need to.” Fluttershy’s mouth is moving but no sound is coming out. She clears her throat, sniffs away more tears and says “I’m quite close to Pinkie, you know, the one at the bakery, I can probably get her to give me a discount on bread I can give to you. If you want.”
“We do want. Please” Says Rose remembering her manners right at the last minute. “Ok” moths Fluttershy. We all fall back into embrace right before a Peace Pony comes in to tell us “Times up. Get Out!”
“No!” screams Lily. I hate him for putting her through this. I hate Celestia, for when her student Twilight Sparkle died and she lost it. I hate the Capital for just sitting by and watching the districts starve as they wait for a new batch of Ponies to come and die for them. “No!” I scream breaking away from the choking hug. “I want more time!” I scream closing in on the Peace Pony Who is retracing his steps out the door. “Well I’d like to give you more time but I…”
“No! You wouldn’t like to give us more time! If you did You Would!” I scream right up in his face. Then I kick him right where it hurts and he falls to the floor at my hooves. I turn around to see every pony standing up. Lily is sobbing on Roses back as they head towards me, the door and the Peace Pony clutching himself in the doorway. “I love you.” Says Rose placing our fathers gold chain with my mother diamond ring on it around my neck and kisses me on the nose. “I love you to!” Screams Lily, demanding her voice be heard her hind legs hang of Rose as the rest of her is around my neck. Fluttershy puts her back onto before she steps over the Peace Pony. Fluttershy hangs back to give me a hug and to say “Thank you.” And then she’s gone. Gone. Gone. It seems to be the only word ratting around in my mind. Then I hear my name being called. I look out the still open door and down the hallway to see Golden looking around franticly. He sees me and my guard and puts two and two together but not before running to me. He embraces me and I don’t hesitate before I return the gesture. There has never been anything more than our very close friendship between us. Despite what other ponies in our district might think. “I will bring them food.” Says Golden.
“I know.” I reply.
“I love you.” This is just annoying. One minute I have to deal with the fact that I’m headed to my death, and next I’m supposed to deal with this. “I know.” I say. And trust me, I know that this is the worst response possible but then he kisses me in full, caresses my face and runs of down the hall. I sigh and plonk down on the hard wooden floor. After what seems like forever. Giselle enters through the door that’s still opens and tells me it’s time to get on the train. Caramel waits awkwardly behind her. I can’t stop the flow of red the reaches my cheek as we look each other in the eye for the first time in 3 years. Our eyes flit away in unison. When we’re back out in the square, the Camera Ponies descend on us and the bright flashes blind us from all angles. But through the flashes I make out something brighter, shiner, and I immediately know what it is. The Tribute Train. Capable of 250 km per hour, or something like that. I don’t really listen in class. Once the Camera Ponies are done gobbling up our faces we are allowed to take refuge in the train. The first thing I see is the food. Oh the delicacies! This of course fills me with rage considering we starve while these selfish ponies fill up on this spread. I run to the nearest window, open it, and begin to throw the food out the window. I see ponies of all different colours, ages and races catching the food, giving it to the younger ponies, eating it. It makes me happy to make the ponies of my district that I will never see again smile. Then Giselle tries to stop me but my hoof ends up in her face again sending her flying. She sits in the corner of the train, her hoof protectively cupping her nose were the blood has begun to flow. The train starts to move and I’m startled by the speed at first. I look around expecting to see everything flying of the tables but it remands glued to the table. I pick up a china vase, just to make sure it’s not glued down. I know there was no glue when it shatters to the floor and cuts my front left hoof. I swear under my breath. “Let me help you.” Says Caramel as he starts to pick up the razor shards of the vase. “No, I’m ok.” I say pushing him away and picking up everything to take it to the bin. “Ok, are sur…?”
“I’m sure” I say brushing off his offer. A kind Caramel will make things more complicated. And this is already much to complicate for me. So before he can say anything further, I leave the room and enter one of the slumber train cars. The train ride will be over night, so each slumber car is complete with, a bathroom, bed and wardrobe, with any selection of fine garments at my disposal. I realise I’m tracking Blood everywhere from the vase incident, so I head into my bathroom and wash away the blood and wait for the wound to set. It sucks that they will chuck you into the arena no matter what condition you’re in. After I’m done with my hoof, I pace around my room for hours until somepony calls me for dinner. I trot trough 2 more cars until I reach the dining car were Caramel, Giselle and the pony who I realise will be my mentor for the troubling weeks to come. Apple Fritter. She is the last pony from our district who won the games. Come to think of it, I can’t even remember how she did it. All I know is that she won. “Hi.” She says causally. “Hello.” Says Caramel. I say nothing. I just sit as far away from Giselle as I can. I look around the car. All the expensive things they have when we live in filth and grime. “As you probably will have figured out, I will be your mentor for the games.” As she says this, a group of ponies bring out a small dish of pea green broth dotted with small pieces if corn. We dig in as she keeps talking. I’m not really listing but I’ve only just finished my broth when out comes another dish. A dandelion, apple and carrot salad on a bed of white rice with a thick brown sauce running down the side of it. I can’t slow down this time and the whole thing is gone in 7 minutes flat! “Slow down!” Says Apple Fritter. “If you eat too fast, It will be making it’s reappearance in no time.” But I certainly don’t listen when the last dish comes out. Pure white ice cream with frozen fruity sauces ringing the outside of the desert. After I’ve inhaled that, I make an effort to listen to what’s being said at the dinner table. “So when you’re in training, don’t show of your special skills. Save them for the private sessions with the game makers at the end of the week.” Special skills. I don’t have many of those. “And when you’re in the presence of cameras, which will be a lot of the time, don’t do anything to stupid.” She looks at me when she says the last part and I hear Giselle mumble in agreement. This sets me off again. “I’ll do what I like thank you I say getting up from the table and leaving. “I’ll get her.” I hear Caramel say. I don’t what him to come get me, I thought I made it very clear I wanted to be left alone. We were both 8 when we had our little moment but I haven’t forgotten it. Nor will I ever. “Apple Fritter was just trying to keep you safe.” This rubs me the wrong way. “You need to let ponies help you and stop taking your anger out them physically. Where here and it’s not their fault. There sincerely try to help us but if you treat them like that. The sincerity will go away.” He says. “But I don’t want help! I just want this to all be over. And will be when I’m dead soon!” And with that I storm of into my room and release what I’ve been holding in all day. Tears.

Author's Note

* Do ponies have arms???