Rainbow Dash opened her eyes in the pearly dawn. She looked to the side, ready to stroke her adopted sister's mane. Her hoof met rough, potato sack-like covers instead of a soft pink and purple mane. Her mind flashed with a blind, cold-sweat panic. A flashback roared through her thoughts:

Sweetie Belle, running through the streets. Her lavender and coral pink mane was streaked with mud and bright red blood. She was bleeding from numerous wounds, hysterically sobbing. She risked a quick glance behind her, her teary eyes blurring what she saw. Through the blur she could make out a pack of vicious Diamond Dogs. "Little filly! Little filly! Come back, won't you? We just want to talk!" one of them sneered mockingly.

"NO!" Sweetie Belle shrieked, and ran faster. She ran up the sagging steps of the nearest hovel, pounding on the door with her hooves. "Let me in!" she screamed. "Let me in! Please! Oh, God! Please!"

The door was wrenched open, and Sweetie Belle was pulled in by a bright blue hoof. The door was then slammed shut. The Diamond Dogs slammed and pounded on the door, roaring and snarling. Sweetie Belle shook in the forelegs of the unknown pony.

"What happened?" the blue pony asked. "You're Sweetie Belle, right?"

"Y-y-yeah," Sweetie Belle stammered. "My sister. Rarity. Dress shop. She owned the dress shop. The Dogs. The Diamond Dogs." She gave a shuddering sob as the Dogs screamed curses and roared threats outside the door.

"What happened, kid?" the blue pony asked again. "What really happened?"

"They… kicked down the door. Rarity told me to hide. I hid behind a rack of musty old dresses. They… killed my sister." All was quiet except the pounding and snarling of the Diamond Dogs. "I ran away. You saved my life but- … They killed my sister! THEY KILLED MY SISTER! THEY KILLED RARITY! THEY KILLED RARITY!" Sweetie Belle began to get hysterical. "THEY KILLED HER!"

The blue savior shook Sweetie by the shoulders. "Hey. Calm down, kid. I'm Rainbow Dash. I'll take care of you from now on, alright? Alright?"

Sweetie just whimpered something about blood and dresses.

"Not good enough!" Rainbow Dash announced. "I'm killin' those Diamond Dogs – and you're helping me!" She wrenched the heavy door open and kicked a Diamond Dog in the face. He tumbled down the steps, screeching, "KILL HER!"

Rainbow Dash just grinned, and reached calmly for the bow she had made herself only a day before. Not as good as her hunting bow that was left in the forest, but good enough for the task at hoof.

XXX

And here she was, freaking out because the adopted sister she had come to love was missing. She was only twelve years old, much too young to fend for herself. "Sweetie Belle?" Dash whispered hoarsely in the darkness of the house. Suddenly she looked over and saw her sleeping with their – Rainbow Dash's – mother. Sometimes she forgot that Sweetie wasn't her real sister. Dash rose softly, put on her Diamond Dog-hide hunting jacket, and trotted out of the house. Birds chirped as if nothing was wrong.

But it was Reaping Day. So really, everything was wrong.

She was alone, the uneven, jutting cobblestones that made up the streets stabbed into the bottoms of her hooves, which, luckily, were like leather. It didn't hurt anymore. Usually the ugly little streets were packed with dogged miners, but not on Reaping Day. Where Dash lived was called the Seam, where everypony was covered with a layer of ash and soot. She squeezed underneath the giant "electric" fence and trotted into the woods. She retrieved her bow and arrows, and hunting bag from their hiding places.

Suddenly, a pair of strong hooves clapped on her shoulders. If she had been Sweetie's age, Rainbow Dash would've screamed. Now, though, she kicked out her back legs and bucked her attacker in the stomach, not too hard, though.

"Oof!" the twang-y voice grunted. "Yeh got a strong buck, there girlie." It was Applejack, Rainbow Dash's best friend and hunting partner.

Dash just smirked. "You know better than to sneak up on me, AJ," she teased, snatching the pony's dusty cowboy hat.

"Gimme that hat!" AJ roared, and tackled Rainbow Dash. They spent a good twenty minutes wrestling good-naturedly.

"We just scared off all the game," Rainbow Dash muttered when they were done beating each other up.

Applejack giggled. "Well we don't need game. Look what I've got, darlin'." She produced a steaming, crumbly loaf of bread and ripped it in half.

Rainbow Dash squealed and chomped into a half.

XXX

After she got home, loaded down with stupider game, Rainbow found her mother – Firefly – dressing her sister up in her Reaping outfit. It was a plain white blouse with a long skirt that she tripped over when she walked. "Hey, little duck," Rainbow smirked. "Tuck your shirt tail in so you don't have a feathery bottom!"

Sweetie offered a nervous giggle. "Dashie? Mother?" she whimpered. "What if… what if I get reaped?"

"You won't," Firefly answered, running a pink hoof through her adopted daughter's mane. "I promise."

"It's your first year, Belle," Rainbow assured her sister. "Your name is in there once. Now me, on the other hoof, my name is in there a bunch of times. So my chances are-" She stopped talking when Sweetie looked panicked. "Don't worry," Rainbow chuckled. "I won't get picked. Here, c'mere, little duck. Let me do your mane." She combed and combed while her mother drew her mane into braids.

They trotted to square, Sweetie Belle the duck, Firefly the fretting mother, and Rainbow Dash in a white dress. They were herded into their age groups. Rainbow Dash cried, "Don't worry, Belle!"

Suddenly, a happy-looking pink mare bounced on to the stage in front of the stone-faced mares and stallions. "Fillies and gentlecolts!" she squealed. "Welcome, welcome!" '

The crowd was silent.

"I'm Pinkie Pie!"

Silence.

"Tough crowd… as usual."

Silence.

"Fine then! Let's pull out the tributes and get this over with," Pinkie grumbled. "Mares first!" she added with a wink at the silent crowd. She reached a candy-pink hoof into the mares bowl and read out clearly, "Sweetie Belle!"

Rainbow Dash surged forward. "SWEETIE! SWEETIE!"

"DASHIE!" Sweetie screamed, running towards her sister. She was barred by several guards.

"I VOLENTEER!"