The Equestria Games

Photo Finish swarmed around me with the stylists, telling them everything they were doing wrong.

"No, her mane must be zees way!" She cooed, fussing about my blond and black mane.

It really was a rat's nest in there. I hadn't brushed it since the Reaping, almost two days ago. Hopefully the chariot rides would fix that for me.

"Oh! Soon you veel meet your main stylist, she veel fix you up real nicely!'' Photo Finish fussed, still ordering around the other ponies.

"You must be camera-ready, darling!" Photo Finish said, pushing me into a different room, where a single mare was standing.

"Is this what we have to work with?" she asked in a monotone, her sweet sounding voice very high pitched. I wasn't very sure who this pony was, but she looked stylish. Her beautifully long mane swept to the floor. It was the color of pale pink roses, and her yellow coat matched it perfectly. Her wings closed and opened, as if contemplating what to do with me.

"Oh, vee have a very special guest! Thees is the King's vife, only here because I begged her to come! A very good fashion stylist, meet Qween Flootershy!"

I gasped. The Queen herself was going to be my stylist? Impossible. She always stayed with Discord, being his trophy wife.

I was very scared of her indeed. Before, in the Old Times, Fluttershy was a friend of Twilight Sparkle, the famed unicorn that died in the first Games. How could she abandon her friends for that awful Discord?

"Y...your majesty," I greeted the yellow pegasus.

"Oh, no, I am your stylist. You may call me Fluttershy," she replied. This shocked me quite a bit. I had heard evil, terrible things about Fluttershy. One pony said she poisoned a very popular singer called Sapphire Shores when she didn't listen to her. Another said that she murdered her servant simply because he told her that their wasn't a store called "Frumpy Styles Galore." But this, this was different. She seemed almost...nice.

Photo Finish waved to us and ran off, probably to go see if there were anymore "frumpy styles" to be seen. Or to yell at the ponies some more.

Fluttershy looked at me, sizing me up. "Okay, we can work with this." Suddenly she grabbed a measuring tape and started measuring me everywhere.

After a few minutes of this, I got up the courage to ask her, "Um...Que- I mean, Fluttershy, may I ask, why are you here and not with the King?"

"As a favor to Photo Finish, I took some time off to do what I really love-fashion design. My old friend, Rarity, taught me. Photo Finish let me become a fashion model back in the Old Times, and I let her down. So, as a favor, I came here."

"Oh."

"Yup. Now, hold still, I have to get some fabric that matches your teal coat and your mane."

She fussed around, snipping bits of cloth everywhere and stitching things together.

"Ooh!" she gasped as she pricked herself with a needle. "Things would be much better if I was a unicorn. All of this would be easier."

This went on for I don't know how long, but I didn't mind. It kind of fascinated me how she could do all of this within a strict time limit, and I wondered if Page Turner's stylist was the same.

Soon enough, Fluttershy stepped back, looking in awe at the creation that had come to life before her eyes. She called Photo Finish, who also stared in awe.

"Eet's...eet's beautiful!" she gasped.

"That's not even the end of it," asked Fluttershy, who's voice was full of pride. She pressed a remote that had appeared in her hoof, and the air was filled with a humming, zapping noise I could only put as lightning. I looked down at myself and gasped.

I was brimming with electricity.

Quite literally.

Electric needles pierced around the suit, which was a very fashionable black dress. The dress zapped and flitted around, looking like an electrocuted pony back in the district.

But yet I was fine.

"Ooh!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "I made sure Page Turner's matched. You'll be electric sockets! Everypony will love it!"

I was sure of it. My mane was styled so that it looked as if I was really plugged into one of those sockets; but artfully styled so that it went up like one of those old flyers in story books- Lighting Bolts, were they called? I don't know.

"Wow...Fluttershy, I look amazing!"

"Yes, you do, Raven. You will be the star for this show."

I looked at Fluttershy with pure gratitude. How could anypony not like her? She was so kind and generous, and so amazing at what she does.

Unlike her rat husband.

Photo Finish thanked Floo-Fluttershy, and led me to where the chariots were standing.

Page Turner was already there, standing in an electric suit much like mine. He smiled to me, and I returned it.

"Okay, darlings, stand here. You have ten meenutes until showtime. Don't you dare mess up your gorgeous selves!"

I smiled at her as she scampered off, to go sit with her Capitol friends, when I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Well, well, well, Raven. Don't you look gorgeous."

"Well, well, well, Ash Wither. Don't you look like you just crawled out of bed."

He chuckled, something that made my spine shiver. "You're a little ray of sunshine, you know that? I'm just here to tell you that you have an admirer."

"And who is that?"

"See for yourself." he pointed to a familiar mare, who was looking at me with envy and hatred.

Without even flinching, I walked up to her.

"Starstorm."

"Raven." Starstorm's voice was lined with evil, as if she wanted to kill me with her voice.

"Jealous of my ride, or something? You obviously can't stop staring at us."

She growled. "You are first on my kill list, you hear me? I will not have some hot-shot from District 3 beat me. Did you even hear what the Careers are saying? You scare them. How? I don't know, they've always been a bunch of pansies to me. They want you on their team. Oh, but you're not so lucky. Bioshock won't have it. Because she's scared of you too."

"What're you going to do? Lurk in the shadows and hide until it's one on one?"

Starstorm chuckled. "Oh, didn't one of your precious teammates tell you not to provoke me? I'm known back on District 9 to be the most dangerous pony there. The district was happy to see me go. Back at home, I'm the leader. And I'm coming back, as soon as I eliminate you." She smiled at me without warmth. "Oh, looks like your horse is leaving. Better go, Raven Nightwing. Better leave, or you'll get electrocuted!"

I left her laughing there like a maniac, her dark blue coat shimmering in the crisp morning air.

~~~~~~

As we watched the recap of the chariot rides back at our place, listening to the Head Gamemaker Joy Stick rant to the interview guy Hoity Toity about how "we have a great selection this year!" and "Oh, I think District 2 has a very good chance at winning, how about you?" Photo Finish delighted herself about our chariot rides.

"Vonderful job out there, children! Preeteending that ze crowd wasn't even there? Priceless!"

But we weren't listening. Oh, no. Next, we had interviews by Hoity Toity. Sure, Ash said it was going to be fine, but I wasn't so sure. He said "Be yourself! You'll be fine."

Yeah, but what approach should I take? I'm not very funny, I'm not sexy or romantic, I'm not confident, so what should I do?

"Go with the flow," Ash told me.

It was so stupid that the interviews were a day after the chariot rides. I couldn't even sleep at all, time just went by.

Even Fluttershy, when we got to the dressing part said to not worry. "Just answer the questions he asks, Raven. You'll be fine."

Fluttershy dressed me up in something nice. This time, it was a more extravagant gown, hot pink, but at the bottom, there was black lightning lacing it. I almost cried when I saw it on me for the first time.

But time just went on, and soon, we were in line, listening to the others make their interviews.

Page Turner stood behind me, with a pony I know as Coldblood in front.

We were the third district in line, obviously, so we only had to go through four interviews before it was my turn. I listened intently to the ponies, hoping to get a glimpse at what I was up with.

Medley was first. She was a cocky pony, very loud. In my opinion, she doesn't need a mike. Then Eighth Note, who was taking a more serious route. Then it was Cherrycloud, who was talking excitedly and kindly about her take on things.

Coldblood barely said anything, just grunted responses and said a few words if necessary.

Then it was my turn. Hoity Toity called my name, and slowly I stepped onto the stage, gasps sounding through the crowd.

"Raven, darling, your dress is simply spectacular!" he cooed, as the audience agreed wholeheartedly.

"Oh, thank you," I replied, a bit out of breath. "Queen Fluttershy made it for me."

Hoity Toity gasped. "The Queen herself-well, obviously it is spectacular then!"

The audience murmured in agreement, chatting about the black electricity rippling through my gown.

Hoity laughed, and gestured towards the couch. I sat daintily on it, making sure my gown wouldn't mess up at all.

"Now, Raven Nightwing, what would you say would be your biggest skill?"

I thought about this. "Well, I'm pretty smart, I guess. Clever enough to make traps and such."

"Ah, so you're a thinker, aren't you?"

"I like to think that I am."

"Well, that's what you do best, isn't it, dear Raven?" He laughed obnoxiously, and so did the crowd. I forced a smile.

"Now, anypony you're missing back in District 3, Raven?" Hoity Toity asked me.

"Oh, well, there is my mother."

"Obviously. But I mean anypony...special?" The whole crowd "ooh"-ed.

"Um, well, my best friend Stormwing."

"Ah, only your best friend? I bet, with such a beautiful young mare like you, nopony can just stay "best friends"."

I chuckled nervously. "Well, um, thank you, Hoity, but for now, it's only best friends. After all, I'm dying, am I not? Don't need to take a boyfriend down with me."

Hoity Toity's smile faded. "Oh, but we will be praying for your safe return, so you can go and tell your best friend-and your mother-that you love them. Raven Nightwing everypony!"

~~~~~~

I lay on my bed, sobbing. That interview made me see it from a different angle: I would never come home to tell Stormwing I love him.

And now, seeing me on the screens, he would think that I didn't love him.

Totally untrue.

Oh...how was I going to get out of this one?

I heard a knock at the door, and it creaked open. "Ya okay, Raven?" Came the voice of Ash Wither.

And honestly, I had enough of him. I whipped around, throwing my pillow at him. Ash yipped in surprise at the pillow missile, and looked at me in anger.

"What was that for?"

"What the hay are you trying to do, Ash?" I yelled at him. "Can you not take the hint? I don't want to be your friend. I just want to die already and get it over with. Because I'm not. Coming. Back. To. District. Three. Okay? I'm not. And I...I'm going to miss the good part of my life. I'm only sixteen, and I'm going to die here. And...and I'll never be able to tell my best friend that I really do love him, and I'm not going to get married, or raise a family, or anything!" I was in tears now.

Ash's angry face faltered, and he hugged me as I sobbed on his shoulder, sitting us down.

"Shhh..." he soothed. "It's okay."

"No, it's not okay!" I cried out in my weird sadness rage. "It will never be okay, Ash!"

He held me there, not saying anything, until I calmed down, only sniffling. Finally, he broke the silence.

"I'm trying to be your friend because I know what you're in for. I've been in this position before, I really have. I loved a nice mare and was sent here. I was so happy when I won that I would be able to see her, but when I came back, they killed her. Discord...he killed her because of some stunt I pulled in the arena. And it was all my fault."

I looked in his eyes, who were sunken and staring far off into space.

"I'm trying to make sure that doesn't happen to you, Raven. Nothing more. Don't ever use something that they don't specifically say is okay to do. Make sure you're just playing the game. That's all it is, Raven, a game. A sick, cruel game to keep us in line.

And the truth is, Raven, I see a lot of myself in you. I'm just trying to keep you from doing the same mistakes I made."

I hugged him tighter now. I was no longer scared of the mysterious Ash Wither.

Because he's right.

We are the same.

I know that now. He must have been as scared as I was. How he had lost hope. And he was trying to get us into a Career group, so we could have a better chance of surviving.

What he must have gone through, mentoring two tributes a year and watching them die in the arena, being slaughtered out there.

His friends.

"Just...remember who the real enemy is, Raven," he told me. "Because it's not the tributes."