The Equestria Games

The Equestria Games, by Prismatics. Chapter 3

"There it is! Look! It's the Capitol!" Snowy was shouting, his normal depressed state overcome with astonishment for the beauty of the Capitol.

Azure rushed to a window to catch a glimpse of the Capitol before the train went into a tunnel. But the brief glimpse was enough to see the absolute magnificence of the Capitol city. It was called 'The Shining City' for a reason. No wonder District 12 rarely got power! This place is brighter than anything I've ever seen!

The train exits the tunnel, and the two tributes get a better look at the Capitol and its shining magnificence. Both stand in awe as they gaze upon the city that ironically, will be hosting the brutal deathmatch that Snowy and Azure are currently on their way to participate in.

They pass through another tunnel, and emerge in a grand train station, with hundreds, thousands of cheering Capitol citizens lining the platforms. Tribute trains have a unique look, designed to be immedietly recognized by the residents of the Capitol. Another tribute train has boarded on the far side of the station, and Azure only manages to catch a quick look at the pair of tributes being escorted from the train. From the colours of their coat and mane, she guesses they are the pair from 4. Nothing really stood out to her about those two, so she pays little attention to them. Just an interesting distraction.

The Peacekeepers escort Snowy and Azure past the large crowd, and into a large limo. They ride in the limo for about 15 minutes, the driver giving up his attempts at small talk after the first 5. Azure spends most of the time staring out the window at the cheering throngs. So eager to watch me die... She thinks. What kind of sick place is this? Snowy, on the other hoof, is pressing his hooves up against the window and smiling into the crowd. What has come over him? He seemed so depressed on the train. Shrugging, Azure returns to staring out the window somberly.

Time passes by quickly, and the next thing Azure knows she's being led to a small room with only a simple table in the center of the room, and a framed picture on the wall.

"You are to lie on the table and wait for your prep teams." The Peacekeeper instructs. "They will get you cleaned and groomed so your stylist can create your outfit. Do not resist." The Peacekeeper turns around swiftly, and slams the door behind him, leaving Azure all alone in her room.

Minutes seem like hours to her as she awaits her prep team. I wonder what they'll be like? She snorts. Probably like last years team, snooty, arrogant, apathetic, and shallow. And with that annoying voice as well.

Whilst waiting for the late prep team, she decides to examine the simple furnishings of her room. It's a bare, blueish grey room, with the walls and floors a smooth stony texture. The painting on the wall has the Capitol logo surrounded in flames. Whatever that's supposed to represent, Azure doesn't know. But oddly enough, it makes her want to buck that picture into Oblivion.

Sighing, Azure makes her way back to the table. "This is so boring!" She says, slamming her hooves down on the table. At that moment, the door slides open and three VERY colourful ponies shuffle in with a cart filled with various devices and a surprising amount of combs.

"HelloooOOOoo." One of them says, the one with a coat so yellow it glows almost radioactively. With the amount of chemicals probably used in that coat... I wouldn't be surprised if she was radioactive.

"You must be Azure! Please, please, lie down on the table and let us do our job." A blue one says, the only male in the group. He doesn't sound and look as... 'modified' as the others. But he's certainly far from normal.

Azure lies flat on the table and watches with mildly nervous eyes as they pull out various machines from that cart of theirs. Everytime they pull a new one out, it looks odder than the rest, and Azure feels obligated to ask what they're for. They answer each one politely as possible, but Azure can easily see that they're growing annoyed.

Finally, Azure decides to just stop asking questions, close her eyes, and lie limp on the table while she waits for them to finish cleaning her up. But they don't just stop at cleaning, they literally polish her entire body to perfection, or near perfection based on the snooty remarks of the yellow prepper pony.

The entire time they are having a conversation around her, as if she's not even there. They talk about odd things, Capitol things, stuff that Azure is unable to process.These Capitol ponies are really messed up... Azure thinks, as she's being scrubbed down with a rough comb. What happened to them to make them so twisted?

"So, who do you think will win the games this year?" The blue one asks, whose name Azure learns is Bubbles. Who names their foal Bubbles? Really. Azure thinks.

"That stallion from 2 looks pretty strong." The yellow responds. Azure is forced to repress her anger. They're pretty much talking about her death like it's just something fun to watch and discuss.

"I don't know. That filly from 10 looks deadly enough. I wouldn't want to be at the other end of her hooves." The third one, an orange pegasus with a wavy manecut, says. The other two laugh happily at the statement.

After a short silence as they shampoo Azure's mane with some citrus-smelling foam, the blue one speaks again. "What about that colt from 3, the one who laughed the entire reaping? Somethings wrong with that pony." Azure grits her teeth as they begin combing her tangled, scruffy tail.

"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if he went insane and killed himself. Besides, what was that cube thing he was playing with? It makes no sense. Why wasn't it confiscated?"

Yank! "Beats me." Oh I'd beat you alright. Azure thinks, glaring at the oblivious yellow pony.

"Are you guys almost done?" Azure asks, unable to keep her irritation from leaking into the sentence. The trio, however, remains happily clueless to her annoyance. Either that or they just don't care.

"Almost done sweetheart!" Bubbles replies. Yank!

"Just a quick scrubdown to remove any dirt and... ugh... grime, that may still be hiding in your coat." The orange one pulls out a small device with a hose attached and begins to wash down Azure's coat for the twelth time in the last few hours.

A few short, yet very very relaxing seconds later, Azure is wrapped in a bathrobe and left alone yet again to wait for her stylist. Azure begins to daydream about her home, her brother, and the grey mare that couldn't bring herself to kill that colt. These daydreams calm her, and she loses track of time as she's wrapped into the magical world of her own mind. Memories and feeelings flash by her as she stands numb, oblivious to the outer world, and incidentally, the impatient unicorn trying to get her attention.

"Excuse me! Oh, goodness, what's your name again... Azure, was it? Yes, Azure! Wake up, darling!" Rarity exclaims, yet still projecting an aura of dignation despite her tone. She starts waving her hoof in front of the non-responsive ponies face, breaking her out of her entranced state.

Azure snaps back, a confused and surprised expression upon her face. "Wha... what? Oh! You must be my stylist." Azure says, immedietly remembering her location and situation.

Rarity gives an elegant shrug. "I don't know if I must be, but yes. Remove your robe." Azure does this, and the stylist then begins looking over every inch of Azure's body, studying, measuring, already forming an image in her mind.

Azure doesn't talk, her voice unable to work as she feels slightly violated by the cloud white unicorn that is scrutinizing her body. Pony nudity is accepted in all of society, as most ponies spend their time without clothes, because that is considered an unneeded luxury, the only exception being the long winter months, where the cold seeps through all but the thickest of coats, and some form of protection is required. But staring at a naked pony extensively is usually bound to raise some questions, even if it is of the same gender.

Azure understands that Rarity is actually trying to help, in her own Capitol way. But that doesn't mean she can't feel even a tiny bit wronged.

"Now, last year the other stylist somehow managed to convince me that those drab miner's outfits were a good idea. I've never seen a reaction, or rather, lack of a reaction to my creations since, well, I can't even remember. This year I'm going with something new. Something exciting. I asked Twilight for some ideas, as she knows about pretty much everything that's ever been written. She suggested that I do something with electricity. I, of course, inquired as to how electricity could come from coal."

"She said that the coal from 12 goes to 5, where it is burned in massive buildings called 'plants'. Don't ask me why, seems like such a silly name for a buidling that creates such a black smoke. Anyways, what I've designed for you and that other colt to wear is a simple garment, yet will reflect the dozens of lights that will be trained on you. The light reflected will come off as a red glow, giving you the appearence of a lightbulb!" She smiled brightly, as she pulled a deep red gown out of a plastic bag.

Putting it on turns out to be a nightmare, as Azure has no experience in putting on dresses, and her stylist feels there is an exact method of putting the dress on.

"No, your left leg, then your right!"

"No, darling, the torso has to be right here. Take it off and try again, and try not to let the cuffs touch the ground again."

"Almost, almost, almost... *Facehoof*"

"There we go! No... wait."

Finally, after several tense minutes of trying to get into a freaking dress, Azure stands in front of Rarity, a scowl on her face as the unicorn ties several things, and loosens others. Is putting on a dress really this difficult? I would hate to be a Capitol pony...

"Now come, Azure. Let's go see how smashing Snowy looks in that jacket I designed for him."

Azure doesn't really want to see Snowy in her dress, for reasons she doesn't even understand. But it's not like she can do anything.

They make their way through the corridor, Rarity nodding to several ponies as they walk past. They come out into some giant room, almost like a hanger, where Snowy and some other pony are already waiting.

The older one is tapping is hoof impatiently on the ground. "You're late."

Rarity smiles sheepishly, nodding towards Azure. "I'm sorry, but this one here has no idea how to put on a dress.

"Whatever. Now, you two are going to be put on carriages to be shown to the Capitol in your outfits. This may not be your chance first impressions, that time was at the reaping. So you guys are going to have to look your best for the Capitol crowd, and that means smiling, and waving." He raises a hoof, silencing the two tribute's protests. "No exceptions. You guys want to get sponsers so you can survive? This is one of the few ways you can. The others getting a good score in training, and proving yourself in the arena. Now follow me."

He begins walking towards a large, ornate carriage with black gems studded all over the sides. The carriage is very open, to give the audience the best views of the tributes inside. A good idea, except that the tributes have nothing to keep them from falling out other than a rail right at the front of the chariot. There have been a few years where tributes have fallen out of their seat.

"Now, fillies on the right, colts on the left, got it? Good. Just remember, smile and wave. Hold onto the rail, or even eachother if you feel like you're gonna fall out, ok?" Rarity steps back from the carriage, nodding in approval.

"Good luck, we'll see you after the Parade." The other stylist steps back and begins talking to another pony in a full Royal Guard attire. He nods, and begins hooking himself and another pegasus with similar armour.

"Alright." The pegasus smiles. "Let's rock."

Azure hears and feels nothing for the next few moments, the shouts of the crowd and the lights dazzling around are lost to her as she gazes numbly around. She catches sight of a familiar, yet at the same time unknown pony in the crowds, his eye fixed on hers. They watch eachother for a few moments, before the pony mouths a few words, that Azure automatically understands, despite all the distractions.

"Welcome to the Capitol."

* * *

"Ah, it is a wonderful evening today, is it not? Perfect weather for tonight's parade."

"It is indeed, Spotlight. So, wanna give the viewers your thoughts on this years batch of tributes? I certainly want to!"

"Well, it is hard to form a reasonable opinion based on just the reapings. But this year... this is gonna be something. I can feel it already. Something about the way all these tributes feel... Yes, definitely, this year is gonna be a good one. An unusual batch of tributes, a brand new arena the Gamemakers have been teasing for weeks, all of this gonna come down to be one of the best Games yet! Wouldn't you agree, Matrix?"

"I certainly do, Spot. By the way, what do you think all those clues the Gamemakers have leaked mean?"

"I have no idea, GM. But hey, what do you say we give our viewers a chance to guess. Maybe one of them will understand those clues better than us."

"What a simply smashing idea, I say. Shall we begin?"

"Where'd you get... monocle... Well, the first of three clues was in my opinion the trickiest! The snake's first is the first letter. That's all they said."

"A tricky one indeed. The second was an interesting one as well. An unifinished 6 is the second letter."

"The last one is almost as hard as the first one! It was a picture of the Head Gamemaker wearing an eyepatch with a caption reading 'Aye, Aye.'"

"Well it's obvious isn't it?"

"Not really, I'd say. Why, do you think you have it?"

"No. But it is obvious, am I right?"

"I have... no idea... Matrix, you're being pretty odd."

"Why would you say that? I'm as normal as anypony is gonna get. Now, another question, who do you think is most likely to win this years games?"

"I honestly can't tell. Many ponies look like they have what it takes to win this years games. Besides, anything can happen. Remember that one year when the helpless colt won because the two careers ended up killing eachother?"

"Ah yes. That was a fun year. Perhaps this year will- oh, look! The first carriage has appeared!"