The 34th Equestrian Hunger Games

Chapters

I - Just an Ordinary Day
II - The Reaping
III - The Train Ride
IV - Welcome to the Capitol
V - Costumes and Chariots
VI - Training
VII - Assessments and That Crazy Host
VIII - With the Sound of the Siren
IX - Good Morning ... Allies?
X - Isn't the Beach Just Lovely?
XI -Well that Happened
XII - In the Shadow of the Moon
XIII - Scale
XIV - All for Discord
XV - What a Glorious Feast
XVI - It's All Come Down to This
XVII - Epilogue

I - Just an Ordinary Day

It was a Saturday morning as I walked around my town's square. The chatter of the ponies around me filled my ears as every step I took rattled my hooves on the brick ground. I smiled at the beautiful quilt stand that I passed, remembering a time when I had begged the maker to teach me how to make one, just because I was so desperate to find my talent for a while. I had learned the skill, yes, but It wasn't my forte.

I heard my name come up from behind me, and I felt a kiss on the right corner of my jaw. I turned my head to see My coltfriend, Circuit.

He was a very tall pegasus, with a pale grey coat and a sharply cut red and black mane. He had a black, circular tattoo on his shoulder, one that he had gotten for his seventeenth birthday two months ago. He had been my Coltfriend for almost a year and a half now, and we were very close.

I smiled and nuzzled his nose with mine, and then I felt his tail wrap around mine.

"So, you up to anything?" He asked, with a smile on his face

"What I usually do when I come to this part of town," I said teasingly, "I buy stuff"

He laughed, which always sounded something between a scoff and a chuckle. "Well, yes, but what are you looking for?"

I gave him the 'oh really' look. I knew he was just teasing me, so I knew I knew that i could play along. We had been friends for years before we had started dating, so we knew each other as well as the back of our own hooves.

"Okay, mom my is trying to see if I can buy some new clothing for the reaping today at noon,"

His wings opened halfway and he rolled his eyes. "You don't need to get anything to dress up, Terra, you're so beautiful already."

I blushed and him, and gave him another little nuzzle. "While I happily accept your compliment, you know my mom. If she asks you to do something, you had better do it."

He cringed for a moment, sucking in air through his teeth and making a little hissing noise. "Yeah, I kinda learned that one the hard way." He shrugged, and then stopped to look at an accessory booth. "I can help you look for something if you would like."

I nodded. "Sure."

We roamed around the booth and we had picked out a beautiful, pullover purple scarf, one that Circuit said matched my eyes, as well as a matching hair clip. I slipped the into the small satchel that was hanging around my shoulder,and decided that was all I needed for later today. Just as we were about to leave, I had spotted a little gold necklace hanging off of a table. I went to levitate it with my magic, but the pegasus pony at the booth had already noticed that i was looking at it, so she had picked it up first. She beckoned me over and held the metal in the palm of her hoof, giving me a good look at it.

It was of a six pointed star, with a smaller, bronze colored star behind it. I recognized this symbol, but as far as I knew, Discord had done all he could to try and get rid of any trace of it. I looked up at the old mare who was holding it and smiled. "It's beautiful, but isn't this-"

She shushed me. "Yes, I know what it is of Dearie. It was my granddaughter's, but she was reaped last year and she had not come home to receive it. It has been passed down through my family for several years on the female side." She gave me a gentle and humbling smile. "I see bold and life changing thing a head of you, dearie, and I think you should take it."

I pushed my eyebrows together at her, and gave a little frown. "Well, thank you, but I don't think I can take this-"

She leaned towards me, and grabbed my hoof, She placed it into my hoof, and looked at me strait in the eye. "Please, I insist." She let go, and nodded.

Circuit pulled me away from the mare, and whispered, "Geeze, that was a little creepy..."

I nodded. "Yeah..." The way she talked, just how she said what she said, had given me goosebumps on the back of my neck. It felt like she knew something important was going to happen to me, though i didn't even know what could happen. Unless she some how knew that I was going to be reaped today, but we wouldn't know who was going to be reaped until it happened.

"Well, I can walk you home, and then I have to go get ready for the reaping," He said, lightening the mood a little bit.

"Thanks," I replied back to him.

And so he did. He walked me back to the little blue house that my family stayed in. It was two storied, yes, but it wasn't the nicest house in the district. District six, my district, while not the poorest, was typically a low-middle classed district. We were not at all as poor as district twelve or eleven, but still. for being the district that makes transportation, you would think that we would be a slightly wealthier district.

I stepped onto the porch of my house, and I looked at him, now that we were at eye level. "I hope neither of us a reaped today, because I would like to have a little party afterwards, to celebrate not being reaped."

I smiled and kissed him on his forehead. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be fine."

He lifted his hoof and caressed my chin. "If I was reaped though, what would you do?" He asked, looking into my eyes. His eyes were such a beautiful green, glistening with so many emotions.

In an instance, I knew that I would volunteer to take the other mare's place, and be there to protect him. I had good magical abilities, especially things that have to do with nature. This was unusual, especially for my district, to be so naturally gifted with magic. Most unicorns knew basic magic, like how to levitate things, or how to create a little light, and there were some who knew how to start a fire. But not for me, apparently. I've cracked the earth when I've gotten mad, and I once made it rain out of sadness in my friends house after her mom had died. I don't know how I did either of those things, but I knew that if I was able to do those things, then I might be able to do things like that again.

But getting back to his question, I had to answer him. "I would volunteer, and take the place of the mare. I would do what I can to protect you, and fight by your side. And so be it, if we die in the arena, then we should die together."

He smiled and kissed me. After he pulled away, he was still smiling. "Im glad to see that you would risk your life for me."

Our foreheads were touching, and I was looking at him, and I could see that his eyes were closed. He was very clearly thinking about something, and I needed to know what.

"You would do the same for me, right?" I asked him.

He opened his eyes and looked at me. There was something different in his eyes, and I didn't like it. Why did he have to look at me like that? They were always filled with emotion, but there was something in his eyes that I have never seen in his eyes before. In all my years of knowing him, I had never seen that look before. And I hated it.

"Yes, Of course I would. You know I would." He said, kissing me again. He looked behind me, and I knew that someone in my family was definitely peeping through the window. "I should probably get going. I'll see you at the Reaping." And with that, he turned and left.

I watched him walk away down the gravel road, and sighed when he turned a corner. I've known him forever and i knew that he usually kept his promises, but for once I doubted him. I shook my head gently, and turned the doornob, swinging the door open and letting it hit the wall behind it. I walked into my house, and close the door behind me. I had only taken a few steps whan I was attacked by something small and pale-yellow. "TERRRAAA!!!" was all I heard as it had jumped onto my back. My eyes were covered, and I fell onto the ground.

"WHAT IS GOING ON!?" I yelled. I levitated the small thing off of my back, and held him in front of me, a smirk on my face. "Really Flashlight? We do have the reaping later today. I don't need to get dirty for that." I scolded my brother as I sat upright.

My brother was a young, very energetic colt with a pale-yellow pelt and a pale green mane. He hadn't gotten his cutie mark at all, but that was alright. He had just turned twelve, and this would be his first reaping. He had been excited about it for the last month, and it made every pony he knew crazy. He acted like he was prepared to face his death or something, I don't know.

"TERRA, TERRA THE PLANT THAT I PLANTED LAST WEEK HAS BUDS!!! IT HAS BUDS TERRA, BUDS!!!" He yelled, I flattened my ears against my head, and carefully put my hoof over his mouth.

"Flashlight, you're screaming again. If you keep doing that, I'll be deaf by my next birthday."

I carefully removed my hoof from his mouth. "Yeah, sorry. It's just it's never happened before! NEVER! Out of the five I've planted, none of them have grown! NONE!"

I sighed, one that was mixed of both happiness and frustration. My mom walked into the room, laughing.

"He did the exact same thing when he told me." She walked over to me and gave me a hug. "Come on, Let's go get you dressed up for the reaping today," She said as she let me go out of the embrace.

I then followed her down the hallway and up the stairs, and took the first right at the top of the stairs into my room. She had gotten there before me, so I naturally laughed at her when she picked up a brush.

I sat on my bed as she weaved by blue and green mane into a braid. She did it so delicately and precisely, making sure a single strand didn't get left out. After she was done, She let it go and I felt the braid bounce against the side of my neck. She kissed my forehead, and then proceeded to rummage through my satchel. She had located the purple scarf, and she looked at it with an approving glance. With a smile, care fully slid it over my head, making sure not to disrupt my mane. When she was adjusting it, she blinked a few times when something small and gold popped out of the folds of the purple fabric.

"What's this?" She said, picking it up with her blue-hued magic. "Is this from Circuit?" She asked, a little smirk on her face.

"No, it actually came from a lady at the shops. She gave it to me," I answered.

"Well, It's a very pretty necklace. I'm just surprised to see that it's of Princess Twi-"

I shushed her, almost in the exact same way that the shopkeeper had done to me. We weren't supposed to talk about it at all, since for all we knew, there were ears everywhere, even among the walls in our own house. I nodded, and simple told her, "I know mom, I was too."

I grabbed the necklace from her, and quickly placed the trinket over my head, and let it blend into the folds of the scarf. I knew that if I was to wear this necklace, then I would have to be careful. I knew where it came from and I knew that if I was caught with it I could get it trouble, just because this necklace was of the great Princess Twilight's cutiemark.

I sighed and watched my mom pull out the little barrette from the small pocket in my bag, and then smile at it again. My mom fastened the barrette to the end of my braid, and I spotted small tears in her eyes. I knew what she she was thinking. She was thinking about how beautiful I was, since I rarely would let her, or anyone, dress me up. I was never into the showy stuff like that. She ran her hoof over the braid, and sighed.

I really wish this was just another ordinary day, and I knew she did too. It wasn't all that bad, dressing up for occasions like this, but the type of occasion wasn't one that most ponies wanted to dress up for in the first place. But there wasn't anything I, Or anyone for that matter, could do about it, no matter how much we might want to. This was the reaping, my second to last one at that, and I would have to find a way to deal with it yet again. And if I survived this reaping, then I would have a party to look forwards to. But that was next. I was ready. All that was next was to watch that same unicorn pluck a name from that giant bowl full of so many names.

II - The Reaping

My mom left me alone in my room as she went to go and tidy up my brother, I walked over to the mirror, when a bad feeling sank deep into my stomach. The feeling made me want tho through up, and I didn't like it at all. I stared at myself through that thin panel of glass, and sighed. Something important was going to happen at this reaping, and I didn't know what. I don't know if By some chance I'll end up going to the games, or that someone I know will.

I slowly grabbed the small make up bag sitting on my dresser and, pulling at my mascara, gently dabbed it onto my eye lashes. If for some reason I might be on Tv, then I deserved to look decent.

I slowly blinked at the golden mare that was staring back at me with purple eyes, and then walked out of my room and down the stairs. I could hear both my mom and my brother fussing about something farther down the hallway, and I knew that Flashlight was probably just moving around to the point where my mother wasn't able to make him look nice.

I had reached the bottom of the staircaise when my brother practically flew from the top of the stair and almost crashed into me. I had no choice but to grab him with my magic so that I could make sure he was okay. He gave me a shy smile just as I put him down, and then I looked up at my mother as she walked down the staircase.

"You both look beautiful...I just hope that-" She began in a soft and gentle tone. I shook my head.

"We won't. Our names are only in the bowl once, versus the some ponies that have their names in several times." I looked down at my brother, and smiled. "Not to mention district six is probably the biggest district. The odds are at least one in ten thousand."

She smiled. "Well, it' still a mother's job to worry about her children."

She had reached the bottom of the staircase, and I could see that she had little beads of tears in the corner of her eyes. In all honesty, she was acting like I was getting married or something. Even when my eldest brother had his final reaping last year, she never cried, and yet she cried for me. Seriously? I have two more years of this stupid reaping thing and she chooses this year out of all of them to cry.

"Well, we should get going soon. Being late for the reaping isn't a good thing," I said quickly before my mom could start pouring her eyes out onto the floor. The two nodded, and then we walked out of the house together.

The streets of our district were filled with ponies moving through the city, most of which who were rushing to get to the town square in front of the capital hall. The many heads that I saw made the street look like a flowing river of skittles, a type of candy that I remember my dad used to sneak us when we were kids. I joined the crowd quickly and silently, and made sure that my brother was right next to me and my mother hot on my tail the entire time. I would prefer not to lose them.

We had reached the long line of mares and colts in front of a very long table where they would take a blood sample. The only reason they did this was to make sure that every pony of age was there.

I pulled my brother aside and explained things to him, and told him that he needed to do what the peacekeeper told of him to do. He nodded, and I watched him as I walked into my own line for us older mare. He made a face when they pricked they inside of his hoof like that, where as I barely even flinched.

Seeing his reaction only made me sad. There were some ponies that couldn't even bear a hoof prick, and they had their lives at risk. If they couldn't handle the simplest thing like getting their hoof pricked, then they would never even get close surviving the blasted games.

I followed my line and spotted my mother standing in the section with the parents. I gave her a little reassuring smile, and the smile she gave me was a very thankful one. I spotted my older brother next to him, and we exchanged a nod, making me so thankful that he had aged out of the reaping last year.

Because I was not watching where I was going, I naturally walked into the rear end of a bright green stallion, who was stopped in the road and looking over the crowd.

"Really? You have to just stop in the middle of the Road?" I said sharply.

He frowned at me, and gave a little hair flip to push his slightly-longer-than-usual silver mane out of his face. "I apologize, I had only moved to this district a few months ago and this is my first reaping here in district six. Things are done a little differently here..." He said, sounding sincerely apologetic.

I scoffed, and scrunched my nose as I did so. "The stallion and colt group is over there," I gestured with my head to the colt section that was apposing to the mare section. "And just be careful not to get too lost," I added with what I thought was was a devious smile.

He nodded and quickly replied, "Thank you!" and then he trotted off towards his section.

I rolled my eyes at him, and then found my way into the sixteen year old mare section. I could look at all the ages in front of me, seeing the young fillies that still had to deal with four, five, even six years of being reaped. Yes, the odds of them getting reaped were next to none, but there was a chance. There always was a chance.

I directed my eyes towards a bright pink mare who walked out from the side of the stage that had been set up, and I laughed. She was wearing a black tutu thing and a white sparkling shirt that had her entire forelegs covered. Her purple hair was in such an absurd design that it actually made me wonder how much hair gel and hairspray she actually used to keep it that way. Her lashes were white this time, and her eyelids were covered in a purple shimmery eye shadow. I knew that I would have to practically be strapped down before I even wanted to wear something that fancy, if it was even considered to be fancy.

She walked daintily up to the microphone, and started speaking into it. Her first two words she spoke was far too close to the microphone, so naturally most of the audience winced. "Welcome everypony! Mares and Gentlecolts, Fillies and stallions of all ages to the district six reaping of the Twenty-fourth annual Equestrian Hunger Games!" Her voice was too high for my taste, and if I had to choose one word to describe it, it would surely be prissy. "First, we have a little presentation to watch, sent to us from the capital! If you would all please turn your heads towards the screen over here," She gestured to the only visible and large screen there was, "You shall see this video."

I of course chose not to look. I knew what the video was about because I had seen it for so many years. It talked about how the Crystal Empire, or the thirteenth district, revolted with the four princesses as their leader, they were no match for the capitol, as they say, and Discord naturally claimed that he had defeated them all. The video did not state the fact that the reason the ponies had revolted in the first place was because Discord was so chaotic and unharmonized. After the battle he promised to be 'calm and collected' as long as the Equestrian Hunger Games existed every year, though no pony knew exactly why he called them the 'Hunger Games', even though the video explained the basic rules of the games.

I looked over to the colts section, and after a few moments I was able to pinpoint Circuit. He had actually turned around and looked at me. He had mouthed something that I couldn't understand, and then he winked. I rolled my eyes as I silently laughed at him and then I saw him laughing too. However, we were disrupting with the music of the video ending.

After the video had ended, the mare on the stage had clapped her hooves on the ground beneath her hooves. Her audience partially joined her, but it was not very enthusiastic at all. She then smiled, and walked back up to the microphone.

"Such a lovely video, isn't it?" She sighed happily, and then she nodded. "Now it's time for the best part of all - let us select the tributes! Of course it is simply proper to picky that lucky lady first, so that's what we will do!"

She smiled, almost in a Sombra-like way, and then she walked over to the large bowl of mare names. She shoved her hoof into the jar, and rummaged around a good plenty of times, totally mixing the bowl around. She then used her bright orange magic to levitate a small, folded piece of paper from the bowl. She walked back over to the microphone, and slowly opened the paper. I always held my breath as she did so, and the fact that she paused for dramatic effect didn't help.

She had spoken a name, but her lips were so close to the microphone that no one was able to detect what she had said, other than the fact that there was a 't' in their name. This made me even more anxious, she I closed my eyes, and took in a deep breath as I waited for her to repeat the name. "Terra North!"

My eyes shot open, and I immediately turned to look at Circuit. But he wasn't looking at me, though I could see that his hair was standing on edge. Reluctantly and slowly, I walked forwards into the row. I could feel all of the eyes watching me as I took my steps as I was led by two peacekeepers up to the stage. While my head was high and proud looking, my pupils were probably small with fear. They led me up to the stage, but I kept looking over at Circuit the entire time, waiting for him to volunteer or something.

But he didn't. He was even trying to avoid all eye contact with me. I walked up onto the stage, and had only glanced over the crowd when my fear had turned to anger. He had lied to me. He had betrayed me. He broke his promise, and I might never see him again. My eyes were only fixed on Circuit, as the ponies around me clapped their hooves. They had more enthusiasm for me than they did for the video, which made me feel a little better.

But I was so fixated on Circuit that I didn't even notice when the male stallion had been selected. Only when that pink mare had called my name again did I snap out of it.

I had to shake hooves with the other tribute, and when we did so did I realize that it was the same stallion that I had bumped into a little earlier. I could clearly see now that he was a unicorn, and that his eyes were also blue. I held eye contact with him for a moment, before the two of us were pulled into the capital house.

They put us in separate rooms, and I was surprised to see that there wasn't a peacekeeper in the room with us. I sighed and looked around the room that had furniture that was just entirely shades of brown. This wasn't the best of places to say goodbye, but they did had a box of tissues and a couch in case there were ponies that needed it. The only thing that really bugged me, other than the colors, was the fact that this room alone held so many 'goodbyes' of fallen tributes. All I could do was just hope that I would not join them.

I stared at the door until my family had walked through that door. My mother was crying and she instantly flew towards me and rapped herself around me in a tight hug that made me feel like my eyes were going to fly out of my head. My younger brother had a blank expression, from what I saw, and my elder brother just looked sorry as he slowly shook his head.

"I won't let my baby go off into that hell-hole of an arena!" My mother cried. I gave her a thankful but also shocked expression. She had practically just sworn in front of my younger brother, something that I thought I would never see her do.

"Mom, I'll be-" I began to defend myself, but my older brother had cut me off.

"She will be fine. She has raw, natural abilities, and she knows how to protect herself. She knows how to find food, since she can't really create it, and she knows a lot about the environment. The only ones who might be more suited than her to win are the ponies in the career districts."

I smiled, because I knew that he was probably right. I was different than most of the unicorns I knew, and I could do all the things that he said. While we were limited in the arena, there were still things that I knew how to do.

I carefully let go of my mother and then quickly embraced my older brother into a very heartfelt hug. He was so much bigger than I, which made this hug a little awkward. I stretched my neck to put my muzzle next to his ear, and told him, "Take care of them. Please, they will need you even more if I don't come back." He nodded, and then backed away. I then turned to Flashlight, and smiled at him. I quickly but carefully thought out in my mind what I could say to him, and then I shifted my head down to his face level.

"Flashlight, could you do me a favor?"

He nodded proudly.

"I need you to take care of mom for me, can you do that?"

He looked at me, confused. "But, how can I do that?"

"You must be strong. Do what your mom and brother tell you what to do." I paused, and smiled. "Conceal, don't feel. Don't let any bad feelings show."

He nodded, and then jumped and hugged me. "I will, I promise you that, but you have to promise to win, too!"

I let my ears drop, and I sighed. "While I can't promise that I can win, I will promise that I will try to do everything I can to win." I gave my brother a soft smile. "Is that okay?"

He shrugged. "Well, I guess it will have to do."

Just as my mother had opened her mouth to say something else, another guard in white had walked through the door. I gave him a quick mean glance, and then hugged all of my family members in a welcoming group hug. The stallion had proceeded to take the three ponies out of the room, and then he rather rudely slammed the wooden door behind them.

I let out a soft yelp, and collapsed onto the floor. No matter how much I wanted to stay strong, it was just so difficult. So much more difficult than I had imagined it could be. I hung my head, and let the braid sweep in front of my face. My throat was closing up and I knew that I was going to start crying. I probably would have if my stupid colt friend hadn't walked in.

He stopped and stared at me, and for a moment he made eye contact with me. I closed my eyes, and stood up quickly and sharply. He was going to get a hoof in the face, I swear, depending on what he said.

"Terra, I'm sorry, I was going to volunteer, I was, really, I just-" he started. I shook my head at him.

"But why didn't you!?" I shouted, making Circuit take a few steps back and them look at the door behind him. I knew that if I got too loud then the guards would quickly take him out of the room.

"I-I got scared." He stammered. Really? That was his excuse? You can't say 'no thank you' when you're reaped just because you're scared.

"Really! You promised Circuit! Promised!" I turned away from him, I was somewhere between heartbroken and downright furious, and I didn't want him to see.

"I never said the word 'promise'. I only said yes." He said flatly. And that was it.

I had snapped just a little at that point, but it was enough for me to react. I had turned and slapped him with the back of my hoof so fast that he had absolutely no time to react. I watched as he looked up to me, his expression a mixture of sadness, confusion, and a little bit of anger. He had opened his mouth to respond, but the stallion in white had walked in the room and grabbed him.

"Goodbye Circuit. I hope I never see you again, because we're through." I said in such a cold tone that I even gave myself little goosebumps. I sighed as the door closed yet again.

I sat in that room for several more minuets, until a unicorn mare I didn't recognize walked through the door. She looked gentle, and there were marks on her cheeks that showed that she had been crying. If she didn't have a silver mane, I probably wouldn't have even guessed that she was the mother of the other tribute. She greeted me without words, and then she held my hoof for a moment.

"I need to ask you something very important, Terra, and you should not tell my son."

I looked at her with serene eyes, and swallowed hard.

"If you can, can you protect my boy?" She asked. It was so humble, and I didn't know what to say at first.

"I can try, but I cannot assure you that your son will win."

"I understand that," She smiled. "But we used to live in another district, and therefore it feels as if he is representing two districts as he competes this year."

"Yes but-" I was going to object, until I realized that I didn't really know what my objection was, so I gave an awkward gasp thing. I don't know what kind of noise I made.

She gave a little silent laugh at me, and then responded to my noise. "You have a good chance of you winning, and I don't believe my son doe-"

I quickly cut her off. "Everyone has a chance of winning, it's just that some have a greater chance than others."

She smiled yet again, but only for a moment. "Please Terra. Don't just do it for me, do it for yourself, too."

I stared into her deep eyes, and searched somewhere for a strong meaning to what she had just said. But alas, I had found only nothing as the mother was gently removed from the room. I stared after her, and held my breath. I shall not cry, not in these games. I must be strong. There is but no other option.

III - The Train Ride

After I had finished saying my goodbyes, I was rushed away with the other tribute towards the train center. I wasn't particularly fond of traveling in any form, despite the fact that my district was the one who made all of the air crafts and trains. I guessed that I would have to find a way to deal with it.

We were guided onto the train by several peace keepers and the pink mare, and placed into a lounging compartment. While the room was rather cozy, there was a lot of metallic things, maybe even too much. Everything was shiny and created in such a strange shape that they almost defied the laws of gravity. I watched the dainty pink mare walk towards a door and enter another compartment, and have the door close behind her..

I watched as the other tribute had sat down in a lounge chair, and was looking out the window as the train began to leave the station. I stared at him for a moment, admiring how he sat and how collected he had seemed. His mane was rather long for a colt, as I had recalled from earlier. He was pretty attractive of a stallion, at least from what I saw. I shook my head from that absurd thought, telling myself that I had a colt friend. Only when I had told myself that did I realize that I no longer had one, but the only reasons I shouldn't 'shoot' for him was because only one pony would be returning from the arena.

I sat down across from him, and decided I should try my best to make some kind of conversation any way. If he and I were ever going to be allies, or at least partners, then we would have to get a long, or at least understand each other and be able to cooperate with the other tribute.

"So, I'm Terra North, or Terra." I said, trying to make my voice sound at least a little bit excited.

He gave me a little sideways glance, then sighed. "Name's Jockey."

"It's nice to meet you, Jockey." I cleared my throat. I couldn't tell if he was purposefully trying to avoid me, or if he was actually just upset with the whole situation he had been put in I know that I was, so it would be natural for him to be two. Being reaped is not an easy things to cope with. I thought for a moment about what I could say next to keep the conversation going. "I remember you saying that you had moved to district six from another district recently. Would it be alright if I asked which one?"

He finally turned to look at me, and I was actually happy to see him smile, even though I could fairly see in his eyes that he was worried. "I moved offer from District Four. I used to have a radio show over there, and I was listened to by many. We even had a few celebrities on to talk with me," He said, somewhat confidently.

"Why did you guys move?" I asked, curiously. He was looking a little more comfortable, so I kind of figured that I would keep talking to him until we were interrupted by somepony or something, or until the conversation died.

"The Capitol thought that my family's - mine mostly - talent would be put to better use in a different district."

I smiled at him, "Well tha-"

I was cut off by several hoofsteps and a small amount of laughter behind me, and I had turned around to see several adults standing behind my chair. I knew almost instantly that this group of ponies was our mentors. They were a god set of ponies, from what I could see, and they looked rather proud to be assisting their district yet again. The only thing that really bothered me about the group though was that there was only one mare standing among the group of four. There were two unicorn stallions, as well as an earth pony that was also a colt. But the mare was a small, pure white pegasus with a blue mane.

"Well, well. It's good to see that you two are bonding a little bit," A tall unicorn had said almost jokingly in the back, though there was a twist of a foreign accent in his voice. "Don't get any bright ideas before you guys head off to face your possible deaths."

"Oh Silver Jet, stop teasing them! It's good for them to practice social skills. That's the first skill they will need in the arena," The mare said sharply at him. I blinked and smiled a little bit as I saw him roll his eyes

"Well anyways, us three colts are your mentor, Jockey, so you should come with us. We have a lot to talk about," Silver Jet said mockingly.

I wasn't able to see that stallion until now, and I was a little shaken when I saw him. He had half of his black mane shaved off, and the one side that wasn't was rather lazily styled. His hooves were poorly cared for, and in fact they looked as if hadn't even looked at them. But his eyes were what caught me. His eye color was a bright orange, but his eyes looked like he had gone without blinking them for days. And from what I could tell, he had a foul smell too, which made me to believe that this pony might be doing drugs. While it wasn't my business, it did make me a little nervous for Jockey. Though the other two stallions looked much more put together that Silver Jet, so I knew that he would probably be okay.

I watched Jockey Get up from his seat wand walk over to the group of stallions that had openly welcomed him. They walked back towards a door, and I watched the four of them leave the room, and the door slide closed behind them.

The white pegasus that was left smiled at me and had taken Jockey's seat. She looked eager and excited, like she hadn't looked so hopeful before with any other tribute.

"So, Terra North, tell me what you can do," she said, while her face did not move, all of the emotions in her eyes portrayed that she was excited to hear what ever I had to say.

I thought for a moment, knowing that she probably wanted to know my strengths and weaknesses.

"Well, I am very good with my magic. I'm one of those unicorns who can create fire fairly easily, mainly with magic. I'm also good at locating water by using a few spells as well. " I paused and looked at her, but she hadn't reacted at all, so I kept going. "I've been able to move and break small pieces of rocks, but none of significant size. But my greatest element would probably be plants. I know them like the back of my hoof, and I can create most of them with ease. Foods and poisonous plants are harder to create, and usually drain me of significant amounts of energy." After this was when she reacted and I was pretty glad that she had.

"Well, as far as creating foods, you are not technically allowed to create them as far as the rules go, which we will go over later. However, it sounds like you are pretty adaptable to most situations, which is something that will definitely be needed." She blinked at me with her golden eyes, and sighed. "What about weapons? Do have any experience with anything that could be used as a weapon?"

I thought for yet another moment. I remember when I was younger I used to play fight with my older brother, and for a while i told myself that I was good with close-hoof combat. But that was about seven years ago, and I didn't think that my play-skills would be good enough to survive in the games. However, I have also have been known to kick things pretty hardly, but that probably went under the skill of close-hoof combat.

I looked back up at her and flatly told her, "If anything, it would be close-hoof combat."

She shrugged, and she shifted her position in her seat. "Well, I guess that it's better than nothing. How much have you used that fighting technique?"

"Well, I used to play fight with my brother for several years when I was younger. That was a while ago, but I've been known to sometimes get a little violent with my hooves when I'm angry."

"Give an example." She said quickly.

I paused, and sighed. The only thing that quickly came to my mind was that I slapped my colt-friend today, so that's the example I gave her. "I slapped my colt, er, ex-colt-friend this morning."

She laughed at me, which I wasn't exactly intending.

"Brilliant! I think that in individual training we need to work on your fighting skills, and figuring out how broad your magical abilities are. Does that sound good?"

I nodded.

"Good. Then let's go get ourselves something to eat."

I hesitated as I watched her get up from her seat. My stomach wasn't all that hungry, even though I was a a little hungry before I had gotten onto the train. I had figured that it was probably because I was getting a little motion sick from the tiny movements of the train. I usually prefer to have my hooves planted firmly on unmoving ground.

She looked at me with concerned eyes, and I gave an awkward smile. "I've lost my appetite since I got on this train," I said mildly.

She gave me a smile, but didn't show her teeth, unlike the other smiles she had given earlier. "I used to have the same thing happen to me every time I got on this train, but after several years you get used to it." I gave her the 'oh really' look. "Well, You might not be hungry, but you should still eat something. Dinner is usually a little late when we get to the capitol, so it would be good to not try to starve yourself."

I slightly rolled my eyes, and then let out a puff of air. I had little interest to defy her right now, and after all, she was probably right. Even if I wasn't hungry, it would probably serve me best if I had a little bit of food. I got up out of my seat and followed my mentor, and then I realized something. And this something was probably more on the important side. I didn't know my mentor's name. I watched the sliding door open in front her her, and then cleared my throat to get her attention. She turned and looked at me over her shoulder.

"Yes?" She asked.

"What's your name?" I asked, almost hesitantly for a moment.

"Oh, right." She blinked her eyes, and I guessed that she was just realizing that she had forgotten to tell me. "It's Wind Pipe."

She then turned and continued walking on her previous path. I didn't know what to think of her name. I knew that a wind pipe was an organ that was located in our throat, but I also knew that one's mind could be taken towards music. Finding musical ponies was pretty rare, so I didn't think that she was at all a musical pony. And if she was named after an organ, well, then I would probably end up feeling sorry for her for a while. However, the most logical place her name came from was probably from an air tunnel that was used for air conditioning. It was the only things that made sense, but I decided that I would call her Wind.

The dining room we had walked into was much more sparkly and colorful than I could have imagined. The chairs were bright, neon green, and the tables were a weird purple glass that looked like it was moving. There was a crystal chandelier hanging over the three tables that were set up. There was a bar that I saw Silver Jet was sitting at, sipping at a blue drink. There was several dishes of foods set up on one table, and at that table I saw Jockey as well as the two other tributes.

I watched Wind walk over to the table, and take a seat next to the red earth pony. I slightly raised my eyebrow as she had given him a kiss on the cheek, and then he proceeded to smile. If they were a couple, then I wouldn't be happy at all.

I walked over and sat down next to Jockey, who had smiled when he saw me. I naturally smiled back, but I couldn't figure out if I meant it or not.

"So, how do you like little Windy?" The red earthpony asked, a small amount of some type of cake in his mouth. Wind rolled her eyes and playfully but carefully punched him in the shoulder, and he laughed.

"She seems like a good mentor, and I'm excited to see what she can teach me," I said nodding.

"You think she's good, then you gotta try these Cakes!" The red stallion said, jokingly, shoving a small round pink cake into his mouth.

I turned to look at Jockey, who was actually eating his food on the more civil side, with a knife and a fork. Actually, seeing the male mentors, it made me happy that I wasn't Jockey. You had the slob earthpony, and the druggie Silver Jet. The only male who could even be slightly decent was the yellow one sitting in the corner silently eating his food. He wasn't even looking at the others, now that I had noticed him.

I looked away from him, and had grabbed an apple from a bowl, and began to munch on it. The red stallion kept giving me weird glances, which only made me uncomfortable. I took another bite of the sweet apple, and stood up from my seat. The three of them watched as I got up, and they were a little confused. I picked up one of the little cakes, and turned and walked back towards the caboose of the train.

I walked through the first compartment, still eating my apple as I went, when I noticed a small room that was opened just a tad. I knew that I probably shouldn't look through the door, but I did anyways. There was a peace keeper lounging in a chair in front of a large screen. On this screen there were 12 screens, each one from a different district, as said in the upper right corner. The districts looked comfortable and content, though some were more so than others. The ponies in district one, two, three and looked excited and proud of their tributes. most of the other districts looked content, like this was just another day and they didn't care too much about what could happen to their tributes. Then again, those who smiled could be smiling for other reasons.

The stallion lounging in the chair stood up, and stretched his wings, filling up a good amount of space as he did so. He looked like he was going to turn around, so with a little skip I went back to the path that I was on.

I kept walking down the small hallway, and finally came to the back of the train. I stared out the back window for a moment, and held my breath, counted to ten, and then opened them back up. I could see the metal train tracks jetting out from underneath the plane as I looked through the window, but other than that, everything else was a blur. The green trees, the gray rocks, all faded together. I knew we were traveling at around one-hundred and eighty miles per hour, and at most it could have been two-hundred and twenty. It was far too fast for my liking.

I silently laughed at myself as I gazed out the window. Earlier I had done so because I was a pony from a technology district who didn't like technology, but now I was laughing at myself because I was a pony from the district of transportation who didn't like transportation at all. Most ponies said that they barely felt a bump on this train, but ponies from my district usually feel everything wrong on a transport. For example, they will notice if an aircraft isn't perfectly even, or hear the gear that's just every so slightly out of place. While I'm not entirely that detailed oriented, I will notice slightly bigger things.

I sat down on the couch and finished eating my apple, and then proceeded to eat the small cake that I was told was delicious. As I took a small bite of it, I did agree that it was of a different flavor, and the texture itself was moist and thick, which was very perfect. There was a type of filling in the middle, which only added an extra burst of flavor. The top of it was dusted with powdered sugar, though from what I could tell didn't have a big effect on the taste. It might have been the best dessert I've had.

As I looked out the window of the train yet again, I sighed. I really wished that I could go back, and change the events of what had happened. But I couldn't. All I could do was look back and go blindly forwards on the terrifying path that I was on.

IV - Welcome to the Capitol