The Lottery

by Matthew Penn

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Other, Spike
Length: 2772

Twilight Sparkle and Spike take part in a Ponyville tradition that will determine the fate of their lives. Inspired by the short story by Shirley Jackson.

Inspired by the short story by Shirley Jackson, Twilight Sparkle and Spike unwillingly take part in the annual Ponyville tradition called "The Lottery," an event which will determine the fate of their very lives, as well as the lives of their friends and neighbors.

Published 2016-02-21 20:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-02-21 20:20:01 UTC

The Lottery

On the morning of the twenty-third day of June, the citizens of Ponyville gathered at the square, around town hall. The Summer Sun Celebration had already taken place two days prior, and now something of the utmost importance was about to take place. As more ponies gathered outside they spoke among themselves, murmuring in low voices about the following events. Most of the children were still drowsy and tired, having staying up during late hours of the night since the school year has ended. They didn’t know they had to wake up very early on June 23.

The colts and the fillies separated themselves when they found each other. The colts played games that involved running and roughhousing while the fillies conversed in small circles, about things young fillies their age usually talked about. The neighborhood colts scattered across the square and collected rocks. They brought the rocks together and formed a large pile, almost the size of a great pyramid. They played tag and used the rockpile as homebase.

Ponies from every direction of the town assembled at the square. It was also during that time that Twilight Sparkle and Spike joined the large crowd. Twilight had moved to Ponyville on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, and found herself, along with five other young mares, saving the world from eternal darkness, and forming new friendships in the process. For the last two days she had gotten along very well with the ponies. The same couldn’t be more or less said for Spike - her friend, “little brother,” and her personal assistant. The ponies of Ponyville were very nervous about a dragon walking among them, but felt slightly relieved when they learned a unicorn was holding his leash.

What was happening on this particular morning was very strange to Twilight and Spike. Why was everypony gathering here? she asked herself. She wanted answers, but hardly anypony spoke, and the ones who did spoke in low voices, whispering, as though they were hiding some kind of dark secret.

“What’s going on?” Spike asked.

“I’m not sure,” said Twilight. “It might be some kind of holiday exclusive to Ponyville.”

“Whatever it is, it’s giving me the creeps.”

Twilight raised her head and looked around. There were hundreds of ponies surrounding her, standing still, waiting for whatever was supposed to happen. Then she saw a familiar orange body with the back of her yellow head obscured by a large brown hat. Twilight tapped Spike on his shoulder, pointed to the pony. The two of them maneuvered their way through the ponies until they caught up with the one they were looking for.

“Applejack, what’s going on?” she asked.

Applejack turned around once she heard that familiar voice. “Oh, hey Twilight,” she said, but it wasn’t the pleasant greeting she expected from her. She sounded distressed, almost inwardly terrified. There were three other ponies with her; a green elderly mare with white hair tied at the end on a bun, a large red stallion with orange hair, and a small yellow filly with a pink bow on her head.

“Applejack, do you know what’s going on?” Twilight asked. “Almost everypony in town is here.”

Twilight looked at Applejack’s face; her bottom lip twitched as she tried to form words, she couldn’t make eye contact. Twilight also caught the attention of her family, as three other ponies were staring at her.

“Well… it’s June 23, which means they’re about to bring out… the lottery .”

Twilight tilted her head. “What’s the lottery?”

“There’s no way I can explain it. You just have to see it for yourself.” She then turned away to face the empty grounds of town hall.

Applejack was one of the five ponies who helped Twilight search for the Elements of Harmony, who in turned formed a close bond that can never be broken. On that night she showed a great amount of bravery, and a great deal of honesty. What could be happening on this day that made a headstrong pony like Applejack incredibly nervous? she thought.

Time passed and more ponies gathered at the square. The colts grew tired of their games and rejoined their families, while the fillies stayed in their circles until their parents called them. Twilight saw the rest of her friends appear in the crowd one by one, all landing at different sections of the town square. Twilight saw that Rarity came with a little white filly who appeared to be her younger sister, who was probably the same age as Applejack’s sister. She never seen her before. From the distance she saw Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy descend from the blue sky, together, along with a few other pegasi.

Twilight realized that one more was missing.

The doors of town hall opened, and the mayor stepped out. The murmuring voices shushed, but she didn’t make an announcement. She just stood there, gazing at the large assembly of ponies. Her eyes scanned the crowd in search for a certain pony.

To Twilight’s disbelief, the pony she was looking for arrived.

A familiar pink mare trotted out of the crowd. Pinkie Pie, the one who welcomed Twilight to her new home with a party. She, as well as the rest of the town, was not smiling. Pinkie was accompanied by two other stallions, and met the mare at the entrance of the building, and the four stepped inside, but the door remained ajar.

“Twilight, what’s up with Pinkie?” Spike asked. There was a tremor in his voice.

“... I don’t know,” she said in bewilderment.

A moment later the door opened, and the mayor and Pinkie carried two objects with them. Pinkie held a three-legged stool and placed it at the center of the square, and the mayor carried a black box and set it on top of the stool, then the two went back into the building. The dead silence from the crowd sent a chill in Twilight’s veins. Spike noticed how she was feeling, and couldn’t help but shake under his purple scales. A few minutes later, the mayor, Pinkie and the two stallions returned outside, carrying with them a giant caged ball. They set it on the ground next to the stool. Pinkie turned the handle, and the ball rolled, testing it to make sure it wouldn’t fall apart. The metal squeaked and squealed, it was apparent it needed to be oiled, but it was no matter to them. The mayor and Pinkie nodded to each other, and Pinkie stepped away. Twilight heard somepony else making their way to the crowd. She looked ahead and saw that a gray pegasus with yellow hair descended to the assembly, carrying a similarly looking filly in her arms. The filly had no wings, but there was a horn on her forehead.

All was very quiet now. Not a soul moved, not even sneezed, coughed, or blinked. The mayor stood in the middle of the town square, letting her mind process the large amount of ponies who gathered on this morning. It’s at least a hundred more than last time, she thought to herself. She cleared her throat and began to speak in a loud voice.

“Good morning, Ponyville,” she announced. Her voice was loud, but it wasn’t of the affable tone Twilight had heard her speak. She sounded rather distraught, but remained focused on what needed to be done. “As you know, today is the twenty-third of June, and as tradition, we shall begin the annual town lottery.” The ponies murmured at once, but the mayor raised her hoof to silence them. “For those of you who don’t know about the lottery,” she said as she spotted Twilight and Spike among the crowd. Twilight shifted nervously. She continued, her eyes remained fixed on them, “it is our way to ensure that our little town has enough room for everyone, and that means letting some ponies go as a result,” she said apologetically.

The crowd spoke at once in low voices. An air of fear was present under the blue sky and yellow sun. Spike stood close to Twilight for protection, and she wrapped her arm around his small body. “Does everyone have their folded slips of paper ready?” the mayor asked.

Twilight and Spike witnessed the surrounding ponies raised their slips of folded white paper. They were the only two who stood out from the crowd. The mayor saw them, and nodded her head toward Pinkie Pie. Pinkie emerged from her side of the assemblage, and the mayor gave her two slips of paper and a pencil to give to them. She obeyed, and trotted to the individuals whom she had just met only a couple of days ago. She met them, and forced herself to make eye contact with them. They were still her friends, no matter what happened.

“Pinkie, what’s going on?” Twilight whispered. “Why are you doing this?”

She opened her mouth, but she didn’t make a sound. Finally she sighed, brought her head down and closed her eyes. “Write your names,” she said in a small, sad voice. Then she dragged herself away from them.

Twilight and Spike cast uncertain looks at each other, then complied with Pinkie’s orders and wrote their names on their slips of paper, then folded them.

The mayor saw that the deed was done, and finished her instructions. She nodded to the two stallions. “All of you will cast your pieces of paper inside of this black box,” she said, pointing at the stool, “at least fifty ponies in total for each line formed. Afterward, we will dump the names in this ball, and will spin it for one minute, and whosoever name is drawn will be this year’s winner.”

The mayor and the two stallions were the first to cast their names inside the black box. Then they trotted to the crowd and counted fifty ponies to form a single-filed line. Twilight and Spike watched while the ponies drop their names in the box. It was going to an excruciating long day, she thought to herself. She wondered if Princess Celestia knew anything about this. Then she wondered if Canterlot ever held lotteries. If her hometown did, then how come she hadn’t known about it? This troubled her greatly. After the first group of fifty cast their names, a second group of fifty formed a line, and afterwards another group formed, and so on. Twilight heard whimpering. She looked down and saw Spike clutching his piece of paper, tears forming in his eyes. She rubbed his back to ease the tension. She never liked to see Spike cry. Over the years Twilight went through great lengths to be the best older sister to him, despite being different species. The day where she hatched him out of his egg was one of the greatest moments of her life. She was started walking the path to her destiny, and at the same time gained a lifelong companion.

“Don’t cry, Spike,” she whispered in a soothing voice. “It will be over soon.”

After a long time, the group that contained Twilight and Spike were next. Among the fifty were Applejack and her family. Applejack gave a passing glance at Twilight, and nodded. They lined up silently and one after another drop their names in the box. The two stallions were up front, along with the mayor, watching each pony step forward. Twilight could hear her own heart pump rapidly against her chest, perspiration was trickling down from the top of her head. It took nearly ten minutes for her to walk up to the box. Applejack and her family had already cast their names without fuss.

Now it was Twilight’s turn. She hesitated. She tried not to make eye contact with the two stallions, but she dropped her folded paper into the box. Then it was Spike’s turn. When he glanced at the stallion he caught a glimpse of their faces. He knew they, just like everypony else present, were surprised to see a dragon take part in the lottery. He clutched his paper. His legs barely moved, frozen beyond all reason. Spike moved his arm, but the paper slipped from his hand, so he knelt down to pick it up. He looked up at Twilight, who sent facial expressions to encourage him to get it over with. Slowly, he dropped his name on the box and moved on.

An hour and a half passed when the rest of the town cast their names. Twilight and Spike witness stallions, mares, even foals approach the black box. Even their friends were not exempt. One group contain both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, in which the latter looked very frightened by the whole ordeal. Rarity and her young sister cast their names together. At last, the lottery ended with the group which Pinkie was in, who was the last pony to cast their name.

“The final phase of the lottery will proceed,” the mayor announced.

One of the two stallions grabbed a ladder and opened the giant caged ball from the top. The mayor removed the box from the stool, climbed the ladder, and dumped the pieces of paper inside the ball. She climbed down and lay her hoof on the handle. She waited for a moment before doing anything. One mistake could make them start the lottery over.

Her hoof moved, the handle turned, and the giant ball spinned for a full minute. It was the longest minute in everypony’s lives.

There was a little door on the side of the ball. The mayor opened it, and, quickly and instantly, took out the first folded piece of paper she touched. Everypony held their breaths until their faces turned purple.

“And the winner of this year’s lottery is… “ She unfolded the paper slowly. The mayor read the name silently to herself, then looked up and saw that everyone was anxious to hear the name. She released a quiet sigh.

“... Derpy Hooves.”

The ponies spoke up once more. One side of the enormous crowd singled out the mare named Derpy Hooves. Twilight looked up, and saw that it was the gray pegasus with yellow hair. She looked around, confused and shocked. The filly with her attached herself to the mare, burying her face under her wing. The two stallions approached her; one held her while the other tied her wings behind her back with rope. Derpy continued to embrace the filly for as long as she could. She spoke to her in a soothing and low voice, and the filly began to cry. Another mare gently pulled the filly away from Derpy, but she reached her little arms toward her. Everyone close to them could hear her whimper “Mommy. Mommy.”

The stallions brought Derpy to the center of the square. The mayor turned back to the assembly. “It is time,” she announced. A mass of ponies trotted toward the large rockpile the colts created early this morning, and swiped each individual stone for themselves. Then they formed a circle around Derpy.

Twilight was sick to her stomach. She that two of her best friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, had also collected rocks for themselves. She gazed at Derpy, who lay herself on the ground, helpless and alone. Twilight furiously shook her head. She rushed forward and planted herself between the mob and Derpy.

“What are you doing?” she yelled. “This is madness! This isn’t right!”

“Move out the way, Twilight,” Applejack said softly. “We’ve been doing this for years… it has to be done.”

“No, no it doesn’t! This is sick and cruel, and you know it!”

“We all have to pay the price,” Applejack said. There was sadness in her voice, and fell silent for a moment. “It’s just the way things are.”

“I will not move! I will stand here for the rest of my life if I have to! I will not let you get to her!”

There was no movement for awhile. A small voice called for Twilight from behind. She turned around, realizing that Derpy was speaking to her.

“Twilight… please. It must be done,” she said weakly.

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She looked up and saw that all eyes were on her. The soft cries of Derpy’s daughter filled the air. Twilight refused to move, but a simple nod from Derpy told her to move out of the way, so she surrendered. When she returned to Spike the mob resumed. Spike turned his tearful eyes away from the scene, while Twilight watched in absolute horror as the rocks were upon Derpy.