"Rarity, wake up!"
It takes me a moment for it to sink in. The reaping. I must have overslept. I peer groggily up into my sister's face. "What time is it?"
"Uh..ten thirty," Sweetie Belle replies. Her eyes are wide with worry. Of course she thinks it's late. It's her first reaping day. She might get picked to go hack away at other ponies in a bloody arena today. No wonder.
"Relax, Sweetie Belle," I say, sitting up and ruffling her mane. "It's not 'til two."
She sniffs. I can see she's been crying. Partially for herself, since she might have to go to the Equestria Games to almost-certain doom, and partially for me, since the odds are much higher of me going. This year, I'm 16, and my tesserae mean I have extra entries. There's one tesserae for every year including and since you turned twelve every year. Plus, if you need tesserae (the tokens that give extra food), you get those added up every year two. I had two tesserae and one mandatory reaping slip the first year, since I needed to feed myself and Sweetie Belle. This year, I have 15 entries. Twilight has the same amount since her only brother's too old for tesserae.
"T-twilight said she was coming over for a visit and to help you get ready," Sweetie Belle says meekly. Good. It'll be nice to have a friend around today, even if she's my only friend.
"Okay." I hop out of bed and get downstairs to make breakfast. Sweetie Belle's cat, Opal, hisses at me before jumping off the table. We do not have a good relationship. It's a long story.
We've just finished eating when I hear a knock on the door. When I open it, Twilight and her brother, Shining Armor, are standing there.
"No offense, Shining," I begin, "but why are you here?"
"Came to get Sweetie Belle," he says.
"Why?"
"Figured we could have some fun while you guys are talking. Might as well." Sweetie Belle giggles and runs to him. He's her favorite sitter, even if now he's got a steady girlfriend. Well, if both he and Cadence made it through seven reapings, they should have a chance. Plus, they're lucky because both of them work near the top of the mines, so if there's an explosion neither of them are likely to get hit.
Twilight comes in and sits down at the table with me. "Well," she begins. "Are you nervous?"
"As nervous as I was my first reaping," I say. AKA terrified.
She nods. "I get it. I wonder what color Mayer Mare's mane will be this year." Changing the subject. Good thinking.
"Maybe she'll just go natural," I say. Twilight chuckles, because Mayer's natural hair color is a bright fuchsia. As she's gotten older, though, she prefers to dye it a more neutral color. Last year it was brown.
"What about Fancy Pants?" Twilight asks. Fancy Pants, the host of the Equestria Games on TV, dyes his mane and mustache a different color every year.
"Green?" I ask.
"Nah, he was that way last year. It looked like a caterpillar was eating his lips."
We joke this way for another half hour. Making fun of Canterlot. It's better than being scared, which is the other option. It's all too soon when Twilight looks at the clock and tells me we should probably go downtown now. We visit the stream by the edge of the woods and take turns bathing while the other keeps watch, and then we spend about five minutes at the Hub trading some wild plants we gathered there. When we get back we put on our nicest clothing and do up each other's hair. When Shining and Sweetie Belle get back, I've just affixed a bright turquoise pendant that used to belong to my mother to Twilight's neck.
I pull Twilight aside just as Shining hugs Sweetie Belle again. "Twilight, I need you to make a promise for me. If I get sent to the games, take Sweetie Belle in, OK? And don't let her sign up for tesserae. OK?" Twilight nods somberly.
Twilight smiles and leaves with her brother, and Sweetie Belle grins up at me. "Let's get you ready," I say, forcing a smile. I get her into a nice dress and brush out her hair. Then I lay matching pendants around our necks, holding silver that my late father snuck from the mines and my late mother made into pendants. They were both taken out in the same explosion that Twilight was orphaned in.
We make our way to the Hall of Justice, where a mass of ponies are gathering, and the smiles slide from our faces. Now somber, we each join our roped-off age groups. Sweetie Belle's in the back with the other twelve-year-olds. I'm third from the front. When I slide in next to Twilight, she hugs me. I shoot a glance back at Sweetie Belle. Her expression is one of absolute terror.
"Hello? Can you hear me?"
Mayer Mare, the gaudy mare who always announces the District 12 reapings, steps up to the mic onstage. She's practically dripping with wealth. Her coat is bleached pale, and her hair is dark grey this year. She wears a neon blue short dress and a small tiara, plus a huge sapphire necklace that literally hangs off her. Her glasses are covered in rhinestones.
"Welcome, welcome. The time has come to select one courageous young stallion and mare, between the ages of 12 and 18, to represent District 12 in the seventy-fourth annual Equestria Games."
I mouth the words. They're the exact same every year, except for the number.
Mayer tells us a short history of the Equestria Games, which I've heard a dozen times before. There used to be 13 districts and Canterlot, the capital, in Equestria. Then the districts rebelled. Twelve were defeated, one destroyed. Now Canterlot uses the Equestria Games as punishment. They take two ponies from each district, throw them into an arena, and force them to fight to the death on live television. The last one left standing wins.
"Ladies first!"
Mayer Mare trots over to one of the large balls full of names. This is the mares' ball. She reaches in, swishes her hoof around a moment, and snags one. Then she uses her horn to levitate it in front of her, smoothes it out, and opens her mouth.
"The female tribute for District 12 will be..."
Why is this taking so long?
"Sweetie Belle."