The Equestrian Hunger Games - Act I: Reigning Darkness

Due to the exponentially high score that she got, Sparkler had become more and more popular. Every time she left the safe confines of the training centre, ponies would look at her and nod. Sometimes, she would hear hushed whispers in excited tones, though occasionally she would here a snarky comment or two. The attention was overwhelming, especially since Sparkler hated any form of large social events. After all, she was usually just a lone wolf with few friends, and her social awkwardness just makes things worse.

Of course, that had slightly changed when she was cast as the twenty-fourth and final Tribute to the Equestrian Hunger Games. She has actually made more friends here than she ever had in her entire life, even from ponies she never even thought of befriending. Silently, she wondered if most of those people would cry if she were to die.

'Get a hold of yourself, Sparkler' thought the mare as she shook her head in annoyance 'You're not some weak old fart who gets sentimental. In fact, you're gonna die soon, remember?'

As she was preparing to return to the training centre, she passed by Lyra Heartstrings, the unofficial best friend to the cynical mare. More than once, the mint Unicorn would suddenly appear and follow Sparkler around. Of course, Sparkler has grown accustomed to this and pretends that the insane mare was nowhere near her, despite wanting to team up with her if possible in the upcoming Games. Still, she didn't want to suddenly grow too attached to these newfound companions, she might go insane.

Lyra, as usual, chatted on and on about whatever came to mind. It could be about games and movies, or mythological creatures called humans (her favourite subject), or maybe even on the Games. Sparkler would nod and agree to whatever she said as they continued on their trot back to their new and possibly final home.

"So, what do you think the weather's gonna be tonight?" Lyra asked when they reached the front lobby of the training centre "I mean, I could just ask one of the Pegasi, especially those who are directly connected to District 2, but I just thought it would be cooler to ask somepony who knows nothing about what she's talking about"

"Wait, what?!" Sparkler snapped back

"Well, since you keep on agreeing to everything I say, I asked if you cheated on all your tests by rolling around a pencil that you named Sigma Striker V. Hehe, kimi no baka desu…"

"I have no fucking idea what you're talking about" Sparkler grumbled "And what the hell did you say at the end?"

The original topic already forgotten, Lyra explained to Sparkler about the concept of 'humans' once more. She claimed that the planet was once ruled by hairless monkeys called humans, and some of their races and cultures were known as Chinese, European and (her all-time favourite) Japanese. She started talking about something called anime as well, but Sparkler was already lost after the word human came out. It was no secret that she detested the topic. Well, at least Lyra also said that they fought each other until complete and utter extinction. That made Sparkler feel much better as she was aware that there are others who were much more ruthless and barbaric than her.

"So anyway, what do you think the weather tonight's gonna be, Sparks?" Lyra suddenly remembered what she was originally talking about

"I dunno" Sparkler admitted, ignoring the nickname Lyra was fond of calling her since recently "Clear skies, I guess. I'm sure good ol' Nightmare Moon wouldn't want the weather Pegasi over at District Two to make it rain on such a 'special' occasion"

The two of them stifled a giggle. It was also common knowledge that out of all the Tributes, these two insulted Nightmare Moon the most. Caramel was usually too worried about his own safety, as well as his friends and family. Apple Bloom was taught by her sister to not badmouth other ponies. As for Mjolna, she has better things to take care of.

Tonight. Sparkler loathed this night for as long as she could remember. After all, it was finally turn for the final few Districts to be interviewed by Minuette. It goes on for a few days, three or four at most, after about two days of preparation. Mjolna, who came from District Four; The blacksmithing District, had gone up two days ago. She must have had the shortest interview of all time.

"So, Mjolna, how do you feel about the Games?" Minuette asked "I heard you've made some friends here, are you worried about having to kill them later?"

"I have no time for such trivial questions!" Mjolna shouted "If anypony needs me, I shall be in my room"

Mjolna stormed off the stage, leaving behind a stunned Minuette and an even more confused audience. Minuette just smiled awkwardly as she told the audience to give a big round of applause for the mare. She was the last one for the day, thankfully.

The very next day, Lyra was the second one to come up onstage. By now, everypony knew about Lyra's mental instability, but she didn't mind. In fact, she seemed to bask in the fame more and more despite being laughed at most of the time.

"Hello, Lyra" Minuette started "How do-"

"Hi!" Lyra shouted "It's real great to be up here, did you know that? I mean, I'm actually on live television! Hi mom, hi dad! Wait, my parents are dead. Or were they? I can't really remember. I think I've met these two ponies with the last name Heartstrings as well, but they always pretended they didn't know me. Some ponies said I was dropped on the head as a filly! Could you believe that?"

"Actually, yes" Minuette muttered but was cut off by Lyra

"And have you heard of these cool creature called humans? I know you think they don't exist, but I'm positive that they do! The proof is written EVERYWHERE! In fact, I'm starting to think that we're not even real ponies, but rather a sort of physical embodiment of the mind of some human. I named her Lauren Faust, 'cause it sounds cool. Do you believe me? I'm sure you do! Wait, you don't? What is it? Or are-"

"Hey! We're out of time!" Minuette piped up when she noticed a Gamemaker holding a cue card that said 'Get on with it!' "Well, I'll be seeing you around, won't I?"

She quickly covered her mouth as she realised the terrible situation she had placed herself in

"Well, of course you're gonna see me around! Of course, that won't be for long. Soon, I'm gonna go into the arena and…"

The audience grumbled in unison.

Why was she suddenly so interested in friends again?

"This totally feels like SAO!" Lyra squealed when the elevator reached the third floor

"SAO?"

"Sword Art Online. It's an anime where 10,000 players get trapped in an online game and if they die, they die in real life!" Lyra's eyes started gleaming joyfully "Oh, that anime was just the best! Sugoi!"

"That… actually sounds interesting" Sparkler said which piqued Lyra's enthusiasm "Maybe we could watch it someday at your place"

"Sure! How's about tonight, Sparks?"

"Well, I don't think we'll be murdering each other senselessly tonight, so I guess it's fine by me"

When the elevator dinged, stating that they have reached the fifth floor, Lyra got off and wished her good luck for tonight. That was one thing that she could agree to: She needed all the luck she could get. She hated socialising, why did she have to do a damn interview? Didn't ponies already know her enough?

She thought back to the events of the past week or so. In just this short period, she had suddenly gained the ability to control fire and was a natural at every weapon she held. This was sort of cheating, and Sparkler couldn't agree more. Still, it was just stupendous when she could brag about how stronger she is compared to everypony else. Berry Punch commented that she was starting to sound like Trixie, and that instantly shut her up.

At times, Sparkler would attempt to use her newfound pyrokinesis, but to no avail. After the past two days of skipping her classes with Berry Punch and Fancy Pants, she would have thought that she would become more acquainted to her ability. It didn't take long before she found out that she couldn't create the flames, but could only become impervious to it and use readily made fire.

As soon as the lift stopped on the twelfth floor, Sparkler was prepared for the worst. She was supposed to be practicing for her interview with Berry Punch and Fancy Pants just now, and she just went ahead and skipped it. Berry didn't mind, it gave her more alone time with her beloved liquor. Fancy Pants was too noble to tell Sparkler off, and he would sometimes meet her before she went to sleep to discuss on a few matters. Either way, she was prepared to lose this round.

"Where have you been?" Caramel's voice wafted through the lift

"Great, it's Lover Boy…" Sparkler grumbled

Caramel sighed at his own nickname. It was given to him by both Berry Punch and Sparkler after the latter complained that she was the only one with a 'cool' nickname. Coupled with the fact that thanks to Lyra and her ability to perform impossible feats, they found out that Caramel actually had a crush on somepony back at District Twelve. Obviously, they thought of Wind Whistler, and he was stuck with the nickname.

"Listen, we've got about eight hours until our interviews, so I suppose we should have lunch" Caramel said "The stylists want to show us our costumes for tonight after that"

"But I wanna go on buck naked!"

"Maybe next time… Maybe next time…"

The two Tributes had a nice and long lunch with everypony else on the floor, excluding the Afonos of course. Octavia looked over at Sparkler with worried eyes, though, so at least Sparkler was sure that she at least still cared for the Unicorn. Trixie was going on about how she had managed to wow the entire Canterlot elites during her own interview, until Berry Punch stated that she never was, and most possibly never will be, interviewed by anypony other than her imaginary audience of faceless ponies. When she mentioned that, Sparkler shuddered as she remembered what Apple Bloom had told her just yesterday when she met up with her and Mjolna somewhere in the park.

"Mah sis' once told me 'bout this scary ol' ghost called The Slendermane…"

The two mares agreed to never look out the window or at a boutique ever again.

Several more tantalising minutes have passed, and the clock chimed one o' clock. Seven more hours until the interview. Before Sparkler could excuse herself, Fancy Pants had asked her to follow him to the stylist's work room. Grumbling, she followed the stallion into the chaotic room filled with silk, thread and lots of other things that Sparkler couldn't name. She passed a mannequin in the middle of the room wearing a tuxedo and gave it a good buck, sending it flying into a cupboard which she quickly locked. No way was she going to be standing in a room with that thing staring at her, watching… staring…

"Miss Star" Fancy Pants snapped her back to reality as he took out a few dresses he had worked on "I do hope you're prepared for tonight"

"Not really…" she admitted

"I know, and no amount of practice and training would do you any better. That's why Berry and I have agreed to let you slide. We thought it best for you to act naturally onstage tonight. I also have a few questions on your… ah… abilities.

That made Sparkler jump up in shock. Yes, every named pony on the floor knew about her pyrokinesis, but nopony actually spoke to her about that. Not yet, that is. But for Fancy Pants to suddenly talk about it today, it must have been important. After all, she was going to war in two more days. Still, she knew this talk was coming sooner or later.

"I have decided to search up on your skills for the past few days as you were out with your friends" he started as he tried to look for the correct dress "And from what I have gathered, you are one unique mare. Elementals, as they are called, are very rare to find. In fact, most Elementals would usually have a Cutie Mark which depicted of their elemental ability. Yours, on the other hand, shows three diamonds. Care to explain what that means?"

"I don't wanna talk about my Cutie Mark story" grumbled Sparkler in protest

"I didn't think you might. Anyway, your ability compared to other Elementals is also slightly different. You have a resistance to fire, and could wield it. However, true Elementals have the ability to conjure up their specific element and strike. They have no resistance to it, so usually they fire it quickly or set it off at a distance"

"So what you're saying is…?"

"I don't know what you actually are, but I have faith in your abilities. Just keep in mind that ponies are going to want to kill you first, especially since you got a ten on judgement day. You have an unfair advantage, since you have pyrokinesis and are a weapons master. I believe some of the Canterlot elites are also considering experimenting on you"

Sparkler sighed. Great, now she was making even more enemies than before. Well, at least she has the benefit of getting to kill these people later on. She was about to ask something, when Fancy Pants exclaimed something and took out a dress, made exactly for Sparkler.

It was yellow, which complemented her magenta coat perfectly. It wasn't anything too frilly or girly, which was fine with Sparkler. It also had that look of beauty to it, though, which was strange for the mare. Usually, the dresses were supposed to show the personality of the wearer, such as Mjolna's winged helm and armour and red cape which showed her strength and hidden power, or Lyra's white and gold dress that showed her pure soul and need to make others happy.

"So, is this supposed to show how cheerful and cute I am?" she asked "Because no one's gonna buy that whole load of bull shit"

" Actually, it symbolises grace under pressure, and your ability to make do of even the simplest of things" Fancy Pants answered as he took out the accursed mannequin and draped it on the thing "You are destined for greatness, believe me"

Thanking Fancy Pants for showing her the beautiful and elegant dress, Sparkler left to go back to her own room. She wanted to get a good sleep before tonight, so she wouldn't be too worried or stressed out. As she reached the room, a pony was waiting for her.

"What's up, Hawkeye?"

"Pretty good, Dionysus" Sparkler answered to the usually drunken mare

She had crossed that name when Mjolna and Lyra were talking about the old Gods of Equestria, before Celestia and Luna and obviously before the latter murdered her sister. When she told her about the God of Wine, Sparkler had a laughing fit as she imagined Berry in a white robe sipping wine. Sadly, she looked good in it. Berry even approved of the name.

"Wanna get some shut eye, eh?"

"Sure as hell"

"Don't wanna practice?"

"Nope"

"Good, 'cause I'm gonna make sure you don't sleep "

Berry slid out a newspaper article and threw it at Sparkler, who instantly reacted and caught it with her magic. She was about to taunt the mare but Berry had already left the room and was heading to her own room. Sighing, Sparkler looked at the paper and read it thoroughly.

When she had finished the article, Sparkler read it over and over again. No, this wasn't possible. How could something like this happen? Of course, she knew it was just a matter of time before Nightmare Moon started acting out. She knew just how much of a threat Sparkler was going to become, so she must have taken necessary precautions to make sure that she would be on her best behaviour from now on.

The article was also attached with a picture taken by an extremely fuzzy camera, one which made Sparkler's blood rise as anger coursed through her veins. It depicted Rarity, injured and battered, being tended to by a depressed Pinkie Pie and the Cake twins. The news spoke of how the mayor of District Twelve had been hastily changed in the past few days, and was now under the control of somepony named Prince Blueblood. Sweetie Belle had been living with Pinkie Pie as well, since they were kicked out of their own home.

She folded the article and placed it inside a small box filled with other trinkets that she treasured. Her phoenix pin, the pouch Bon-Bon's sweets came in, even the paper with Octavia's name written on it. She was going to get back to District Twelve and show that dumb Prince just what she was made of. She no longer had the need for sleep anymore, and she didn't give a single damn. Oh, how she wished she could truly make fire appear in her hooves right now.

After hours of restless sleeping (or just lying on the bed, plotting Prince Blueblood's downfall), it was finally time for the group to move. The two Tributes were fitted with beautiful attires, the yellow dress Fancy Pants had shown her and a black suit with red linings for Caramel. Fancy Pants commented on how amazing they looked, and Fleur nodded. They trotted into the elevator and exited on the ground floor, where a small carriage was waiting to bring them to the interviewing platform.

When they reached the area, they were obviously the last ones to arrive. It has become accustomed to everypony there that District Twelve was always the last one to come, despite Fancy Pants and Caramel's advices to get ready earlier. This took the most toll on Trixie, who seemed to be getting more and more pissed off every time they were late.

The group split, leaving Sparkler and Caramel backstage with the Tributes from Districts Ten and Eleven. They were going to be the last three Districts, starting with male and then female. That meant Sparkler was going to be last… again. Sparkler grumbled about getting a transgender operation next time to get done faster.

Caramel found two empty seats right in front of the District Eleven duo. Big Macintosh, who had only spoken one word at most in an occasion, simply nodded as he watched his twelve year old sister gloomily. They wore clothes that could be a cross between fancy suits and faming clothes. Apple Bloom even wore her Stetson hat that she seemed to prize so much.

The minutes trickled by as Sparkler's nervousness caused her to be unable to talk. She wasn't afraid of much, but talking in front of many people was always her fatal flaw. That was sort of the reason why she was ALWAYS sick during Show-And-Tell at school. Well, at least everypony would be bored by the time she was up.

"Apple Bloom, you're up" a mare wearing glasses spoke to the group of three ponies that still remained after Big Macintosh's epic one-word interview with Minuette

"Wish me luck" she said with her Southern accent

"Good luck, AB" Sparkler managed an awkward smile

"And so, there were two" Caramel sighed

The two of them had the next ten minutes free. That was the maximum amount of time anypony was allowed to speak during the interview, except Lyra, and Minuette always made the best of it. It was as if she was some kind of detective who could gather any clue no matter how tiny. And so, the two of them sat there… and waited.

Ten minutes are over, and the same bespectacled mare appeared once more and announced Caramel's name. The pony nodded and trotted beside the mare, glancing back at a nervous Sparkler. He was worried about the mare, but he needed to finish off his own interview before that.

Sparkler started pacing around the room as she waited for Caramel to be done and she could probably end hers the same way Mjolna did. But then again, everypony had already seen that and was most probably anticipating Sparkler to do the same. To ease her nerves, Sparkler poked her head out the room she was in and tried to hear what Caramel and Minuette were talking about.

"I've heard some ponies call you Lover Boy before, so does that mean you have a special somepony you would like to share with us?" she heard Minuette ask with that questioning tone of hers that made ponies want to spill out their deepest and darkest secrets. It was like she was using a spell or something, but her horn wasn't glowing.

"This is rather personal, don't you think?" Caramel blushed

"Well, yes. You don't have to if you don't want to. Of course, that would make everypony in the audience start shipping you with Sparkler, so you best think of a way to get out of this mess"

"I- ah, um…" Caramel stuttered as Sparkler tried her best to listen to the conversation before he finally said "There's this one mare… back at District Twelve…"

"Okay, I think I should save you from public embarrassment" Minuette laughed as she patted Caramel on the back "At least that special somepony knows you're thinking of her, right?"

"Most of the time"

Sparkler silently slid her head back into the room and gave a low chuckle. So they were right, he did have a crush on Wind Whistler. Well, at least whatever they were going to ask her couldn't possibly be as embarrassing as whatever they asked Caramel.

"Amethyst 'Sparkler' Star, you're up" the bespectacled pony called out to her.

Sparkler looked at herself in the mirror once more as she fixed her clothing. When she was done, she trotted along behind the mare. She loved this simple yellow dress, it must be the nicest one she has ever worn. Fancy Pants was actually pretty good in transforming her simple, ruffian attitude into a beautiful dress that she was probably going to wear just the once. The moment Sparkler stepped outside, though, her joy was quickly erased as Glossophobia and Demophobia kicked in.

The deafening roar of applause that greeted Sparkler was nothing she was prepared for.

All around her, she could hear ponies clopping their hooves together as they watched the mare trot towards Minuette. The blue Unicorn mare seemed to have a sort of devilish expression, which made Sparkler question if she was replaced by a clone since she has never seen this side of Minuette on live television before. It was like the Unicorn had been anticipating her.

"Ah, Sparkler" Minuette said casually, turning back into her interviewer expression which suddenly calmed down Sparkler "How are you faring recently?"

"Meh, pretty good actually" Sparkler said without much trouble which surprised even her, she was terrified of speaking publically to this many ponies "I'm currently paranoid of mirrors, windows, darkness, crowds, loneliness, empty spaces, crowded areas, mannequins, suits and forests, especially forests, thanks to AB's sister, but I'm good"

"Lemme guess, Slendermane" Minuette sighed

Sparkler shuddered at the mention of the name again, but quickly stopped when she remembered that she was being broadcasted live. Strangely, nopony laughed. Looking around, she could see that the ponies in the audience were also shaking slightly from fear.

Wow, Slendy's a thing. Who knew?

"Well, it gets the better of us, I guess" Minuette joked as she scratched her own mane with her hoof "Anyway, I'm kind of interested in your friendship. Ponies rarely make friends in these Games, but what makes you suddenly gather up a group of ponies and make best friends of them, knowing fully well that only one of you would make it out alive?"

"I… I…" Sparkler stuttered as she was at a loss to speak once more. Maybe whatever momentum she got a minute ago was already lost "I don't know! I guess I was just… just lonely. Then I started hanging out with Berry, and I got to know Trixie better. Even Fancy Pants was nice to me, and so is his fiancée. But when I look at Caramel, Lyra, Mjolna and AB…"

Sparkler's mind was suddenly filled with pictures and memories of the group hanging around. Caramel with his overly mature personality, Lyra and her random talks about humans, Mjolna's shadowy past and stoic expression, and AB's childlike sense of wonder. It was all so heart-warming Sparkler couldn't help but smile.

"When I look at them, I feel like I could trust them. I need them, just as much as they might need me. In the arena, I would want to team up with them if it's possible. If it turns out that we're the final team that makes it out alive, and we need to kill each other, I'll let 'em do their thing. After all, they've taught me more about life than I ever knew. Next to them, I think Berry's pretty cool too. Sure, she's a total ass and I'd love to beat her to a pulp, but her heart's in the right place. She knows just what it takes to rile me up enough to actually motivate me"

Sparkler realised that the crowd was whispering with each other, and had no idea what they were talking about. Were they bored by her speech? Maybe they didn't expect something so flimsy from the tough girl she usually is. Thinking of that, Sparkler couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

"You seem to think something's funny?" Minuette asked with a confused expression

"It's just that before I came here, to the EHG in Canterlot, I never would have even dreamed of doing what I'm doing today. I'd still have at most two friends, and I'd be a narcissist bitch who curses when she can't even spell 'gorilla' correctly. Heh, but trust me, I'm gonna win these Games and fuck up ol' NMM till she's begging for mercy!"

…

…

…

The awkward silence continued on for a good five minutes, wasting the precious time Sparkler had to be interviewed. Silently she cursed to herself. Of course the ponies of Canterlot love Nightmare Moon; She was their leader. Only ponies from Districts Three and below were the ones who hate the witch with a passion. Now, it seems like all hope of getting sponsors and being voted on to survive by these ponies were as good as nil.

When Sparkler looked at Minuette, realising that her ten minutes were as good as up thanks to her slip up, she was surprised to see a look of content on the mare's face. It was like she had planned this all along, waiting for Sparkler to lash out at the Queen of The Night. That must mean that Minuette has something against Sparkler, and she didn't want to find out what.

"Well, looks like our time here is up" Minuette finally said "It's been nice talking with you"

"Yeah, nice…" Sparkler said as she trotted off the stage, her eyes in deep shock

She stepped into the backstage where she was instantly met with Berry Punch and Caramel. They both asked her what happened, and how she ruined her chances so wonderfully quick. Sparkler was too shocked by the turn of events, though, and kept deathly quiet. It was impossible for anypony to talk to her now.

"Hey, Sparks?" a voice called out to Sparkler, making the mare finally look up. Lyra was standing there on all-fours, right next to the exit "You've had a rough night. Wanna crash at my place and watch Sword Art Online, like you said this morning?"

Somehow, Sparkler smiled at the mare and nodded anyway. She wondered how come Berry Punch and Caramel were unable to reach to her, but Lyra easily made her depression disappear. Maybe she just loved having Lyra as a friend. The best friend she could have asked for.

The two friends trotted back home to the training centre, ignoring the carriage and the ponies glaring at Sparkler with eyes full of hatred. This time, Sparkler didn't feel too bad. It was like being around Lyra just made her want to smile. Sparkler looked back and blinked, thinking she was dreaming.

Minuette was talking to the Gamemaker that looked like her father. They seemed to be in a serious conversation, and she swore they looked at her with proud eyes a few minutes later. All in all, Sparkler was confused and slightly glad that she had somepony on her side other than her friends.

"You're going to love Kirito, he's just so epic and cool!" Lyra chatted on, blissfully unaware of the stares she's getting from hanging out with Sparkler "And Asuna is just so beautiful and cute and strong. If I were a guy, I'd date her. Say, I have a show called Naruto. It's about ninjas and stuff. Wanna watch it later?"

"Sure, what the heck?" Sparkler finally spoke "I'm fucked anyway"