My Little Danganronpa: Your Motive is Despair!

"Let me go! P-please! Let me go!" Shoeshine screamed, struggling against the metal claw that was uncomfortably pressing her forelegs against her body.

"Aw, quit your whining!" the headmaster quipped in a squeaky, almost cute voice. "I just have one more test you need to help me with, and then it's all done!"

"You're insane! You sadistic psycho freak!"

The headmaster just chuckled as he approached a bright red button and tapped it with a gavel. "Let the execution begin!"

***Starting Off on the Right Hoof***

The claw roughly threw Shoeshine away and she landed in a long, dark hallway. She looked around, terrified, until she saw some bright lights flip on in the distance, revealing a giant stone sculpture of a hoof. She stood in horror for a few moments as she watched it lifted into the air on a piston. It moved forward a few yards, then crashed down hard enough to shake the ground. When it rose again, Shoeshine was just barely able to regain her presence of mind and began running as fast as she could away from it.

BOOM

As adrenaline began to pump through her veins, she picked up even more speed than before.

BOOM

She saw a turn in the hallway and immediately darted around it.

BOOM

Even when she was galloping faster than she ever had before, the hoof was quickly catching up. It was only a matter of time until she was flattened... but then she saw it: a huge crack in one of the walls, just big enough for her to slip into. She poured all her energy into reaching that spot, then turned and dove in.

BOOM

She felt a slight tug as a few tail hairs were nicked under the titanic statue, but aside from that she was untouched.

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

She allowed herself to relax a little as it moved past her, her muscles going as limp as her cramped space would allow. She may not have been out of the woods, but she'd bought herself some ti-

BOOM

The hiding place compressed around her as the hoof came down on the whole wall.

BOOM

She screamed in mortal fear as it stomped again and again, her own shelter now pinning her inside.

SPLRTCH

*** *** ***

The headmaster surveyed scene and smiled at the puddle of blood leaking out from the wreckage. He crossed off one last box on his checklist and remarked "Well, that's it then; it looks like the execution button works perfectly! All that's left is to bring everypony here! Now let's get things rolling!"

My Little Dangan Ronpa: Your Motive is Despair!

Soarin's eyes fluttered open for a brief moment before closing again. It wouldn't hurt to sleep in a little longer, though the awkward positioning from sleeping in this desk was making him sore.

"Wait, what?" Suddenly realizing he wasn't back home in his bed, he leapt up in shock, banging his head on an adjacent desk, tumbling to the floor, and kicking his own desk over.

"Where the heck am I?" He muttered as he got back to his hooves. He could tell it was a classroom, that much was obvious. What made less sense was the fact that he was the only pony there, and the windows were all covered with large metal plates held in place by enormous bolts of varying sizes. Whoever attached them didn't care for aesthetics, or if they did, then they were going for 'chaotic' over 'orderly.' There was also a camera on the ceiling. Normally that in itself wouldn't be too abnormal in a school, but most security cameras were small and discreet. This one was bold and obvious, like it was intentionally trying to give off a 'watching you forever' vibe.

Creepiest of all was the blackboard at the front of the room. It was covered in doodles, all of which depicted Soarin. Some showed just his cutie mark, others showed him flying through the sky in his Wonderbolts outfit, and at least one showed him... drenched in his own blood? Okay, now things were really getting disturbing. In the middle of all the doodles was a giant red mark which looked very vaguely like a skewed M. In front of the blackboard was a teacher's desk, atop which was a small electronic device, a set of saddlebags, a key, and a letter.

Soarin looked at the letter first, hoping it would have some answers. It appeared to be written in crayon, and bore only the message "Welcome to Hope's Peak Academy. A revolutionary new world awaits within these walls! Please report to the gym by 8:00 a.m. Don't forget your e-Handbook and room key!"

"Well, that's weird..." Soarin thought aloud. He picked up the device that he figured was the e-Handbook, and turned it on. The screen then showed the words "Soarin: Ultimate Flier." Further messing around with it showed him a map of the school and a clock which showed that it was 7:50 a.m. If he decided to play along with the gym meeting, he didn't have much time to explore the place. Oh well, whatever was at the gym was bound to shed some light on the situation. He collected everything into the saddlebags and left.

The hallway was lit with bizarre purple lights, which unnerved Soarin even more. It's like they were intentionally trying to be unnatural. He pulled out his ID Card again to recheck the map. If he was going to that gym, he wasn't going to waste any time. As he did so, however, he heard someone banging around in a nearby classroom, and a weak voice calling "help!"

His Wonderbolt training kicked in, and he threw the door open almost before his mind even registered what he was doing. "Hello? What's happening in here?"

Inside the room was only a young light blue pegasus mare, feeling about the walls and whimpering in fear. Other than the fact that she was probably scared of her unfamiliar surroundings though, she didn't appear in any danger. Her mane was white with blue streaks, and her cutie mark was a flower shaped like a snowflake. When she heard Soarin enter, she turned to face him and he realized why she had made so much noise. Her eyes were clouded to the point where they almost looked pure blue; she was blind. "Hello? Helping Hoof, is that you?"

"No, I'm Soarin, and before you assume I'm the guy who brought you here, I'm just as confused as you are."

"Oh... Okay. Where are we then? Have we been kidnapped or something?" She still clearly wasn't comfortable.

"I don't know. The place we're in looks like what you'd get if a school and a prison had a baby. I found a note in my room saying that they want us to meet in the school's gym in ten minutes, so I was gonna go there for answers, if nothing else."

"Could you please take me there too? I don't like asking for help, but I don't do well in unfamiliar places."

"Of course, just stick with me. Need help finding your way to me?"

"No, thank you. I can hear you just fine."

"Also, this room has a saddlebag and some other little things, right over here," he walked to the desk. "I'd take them if I were you."

She flew up over the desks and went to him, navigating surprisingly well. "What are these for?" she asked as she felt the items on the desk.

"That thing you just touched was called an e-Handbook. It's got all sorts of little features on it, but I'm not sure if you'll be able to really use it, considering... you know. Incidentally, what's your name?"

"I'm Snowdrop. If you're deeply involved in art or weather, you might have heard of me, if that helps."

"Sorry, I'm more of an athlete. A Wonderbolt in fact."

"A Wonderwhat?"

Soarin suppressed a groan. Sure, a blind mare probably wouldn't be too invested in the Wonderbolts' visual spectacle, but he figured she'd have at least heard of them. "Never mind. I'm a celebrity stunt-flier."

"Oh, that sounds amazing! I'm a little famous myself, like I said. I'm a sculptor, best known for small ice sculptures, like my snowflakes, but I can work with anything, at any size. I think part of my fame comes from the way my sense of touch compensates for my sight."

"Huh... that's pretty interesting. I heard somewhere that there are ponies who fly blind by listening to echoes or something. Can you do that?"

"I'm afraid not. Only batponies can do that, and even they aren't blind, just nocturnal. I know a lot of them."

"Ah, I get it... wait, I just had a weird thought. Can I see your e-Handbook for a second?

She nodded and handed it to him. Just as he suspected, it identified the owner as "Snowdrop: Ultimate Sculptor."

Soarin handed it back to her. "It says you're an 'Ultimate Sculptor,' their goofy wording, not mine. I was an 'Ultimate Flier.'"

"Are you saying someone brought us here for our talents?"

"I think so, otherwise they wouldn't draw attention to it. The question is what do they want with us now?"

Just then a voice from an intercom boomed throughout the room. It was bizarrely cute and cartoony, but seemed very angry. "Attention! It is now 8:00 a.m., and it appears that some of you bastards have yet to assemble in the gym. Please come promptly, or you will be faced with harsh punishment! This is the first and last warning I will give for tardiness!"

Soarin gave the e-Handbook back to her in a hurry. "Oh horseapples! I forgot the time! Come on, Snowdrop, I don't wanna know what that punishment is. Follow me really close."

They flew out, Soarin flying as fast as he could without risking a crash or leaving Snowdrop behind. However, she kept up surprisingly well, and they reached the gym in under half a minute.

Inside were twelve other ponies of varying races, as well as a griffon and zebra.  The gym was the type that could be used as an auditorium in a pinch, with a stage and podium on the far side, but nopony was standing at it.

"Well, it's about time!" said the voice from the intercom. "Now that these two have finally joined us, I get to do this!"

Flares shot out of the stage into the air, showering the stage with sparks, and trumpets blasted a fanfare fit for a princess. Finally, something shot up, as if from a cannon, and did a flip before landing on top of the podium. Whatever it was stood tall and raised its hands up in a display of self-celebration. "Ta da! Aren't you feeling silly that you almost missed that? The glorious entrance of the great Monokuma?" The thing resembled some kind of teddy bear, but while its right half was cute and white, its left half was sinister and black, with a big, sharp-toothed grin. Notably, the M symbol that Soarin had seen on his blackboard was identical to the left side's eye.

"Is that a stuffed toy?" asked one of the ponies, a red unicorn stallion with a red and purple striped mane and a fancy black and white heart for a cutie mark.

"Are you the one who brought us all here?" asked a white unicorn mare with a blue mane and purple glasses. Her cutie mark was a pair of eighth notes.

"What? What about my entrance?" Monokuma said. "I worked so hard on it..."

"We don't care about your entrance or how hard you worked on it, we care about the fact that you kidnapped all of us!" shouted another mare, a yellow unicorn with a mane like fire. Her cutie mark was a stylized sun.

"'We, we, we! Us, us, us!' All you ponies care about is yourselves! My feelings really don't matter to you at all, do they?"

"No, they don't!" more than half of the ponies said immediately. One of the stallions, a muscular white pony with a blond crew cut and barbell cutie mark, agreed with a hearty "YEAH!" He was easily three or four times as bulky as any other pony, but he had small, dainty hooves that made him look humorously top heavy.

"Oh, this young generation can be so callous and cruel... Well, fortunately, here at Hope's Peak Academy we are committed to building character as well as knowledge. Perhaps even more so! Wait... Yup, definitely more so, on account of the lack of actual classes."

"Maybe you'd like to tell us just what you kidnapped us for?" demanded a sophisticated looking grey mare with a darker grey mane. Her cutie mark was a purple treble clef.

"Ah yes. I was about to, before I was so rudely insulted by your indifference. So without further ado, allow me to explain what you are all doing here. Even at your young ages, you ponies are each the best of the best at what you do. Academics, sports, art, miscellanea that has nothing to do with education, whatever it may be, you do it at an Ultimate level! You will be the leaders in your fields, shining beacons of hope for the world. In order to protect that hope, you will be spending the rest of your lives together in this school, living a communal lifestyle separated from the outside."

"The rest of our lives? Just who gave you the right to do that? None of us asked for this!" Demanded a skinny, cream colored pegasus stallion. He had large buck teeth, a brown mane, and his cutie mark was a white feather.

"Every decision regarding this matter was made by me and me alone, the wise Headmaster Monokuma. And don't act like you guys are being locked in some dungeon! As students of Hope's Peak Academy, you will be completely left to your own devices while you are here, and thanks to this school's unlimited budget, all your needs will be provided for you."

"Well, what if we want to leave?" The fire-maned mare from before asked.

"Leave? Why would you ever want that? After all the trouble I went through to set up this school for you... I'm so disappointed I can hardly bear it! ... Get it? Bear?" Monokuma said with a laugh, much to the annoyance of his captives. "Ah well. If you really, really want to go home, all you need to do is 'graduate' by killing another student, and I'll have you out faster than you can say hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia."

"Hippopoto-what now?" asked a brown-furred, orange-maned earth pony. Despite being almost fully grown, he was wearing a rather childish propeller hat. His cutie mark was a video game D-Pad.

Everyone else caught the important part. "'Kill another student?'" "Impossible!" "He's kidding, right?" "There's no way!" "YEAH!"

Finally Monokuma roared over the commotion. "Shut up, you bastards! Yes, I did say 'kill another student,' and I'm not joking! But nobody said that that was your only option. You could simply live in peace with the other students as well. Sure, if I were in your position I would hate to have to keep looking over my shoulder all the time in case of students who did want to leave, but hey, that's life. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some very important headmaster business to attend to. Your e-Handbooks come with a comprehensive list of rules that you can go over if you have more questions. Just remember that when the rules say 'punishment,' they ain't talking about writing sentences on the chalkboard, if you catch my drift. For now, you should all get to know each other, maybe decide for yourselves who deserves to get the axe most! Adieu, my students! Enjoy your new school life of mutual killing. I know I will!" With that, he waved goodbye and stepped behind the podium.

"Hey, I'm not finished with you!" The fire maned mare shouted, leaping up on the stage, but when she got to the podium, he was gone. There wasn't even a trap door he might have escaped through. She stomped her hoof in fury. "Damn it! He teleported or something!"

Soarin stepped forward and asked "So, what are we gonna do then?"

"Well, I guess we just have to play along and wait for now. I don't think anypony here is willing to kill innocent ponies," said the grey earth pony. "In the meantime, that 'Monokuma' was right about one thing. We may as well introduce ourselves and go over his rules. I'll go first: My name is Octavia Melody, world renowned cellist, though my e-Handbook summed it up as 'Ultimate Musician.'" Despite the situation, she did her best to put on an air of composure and class. Her cutie mark was a purple treble clef.

"And I'm her PFF Vinyl Scratch, better known as DJ Pon3! Ultimate DJ, according to my handbook thingy!" Even if it came from Monokuma, she wore the title like a badge of honor.

"Yeah, yeah, friendship, that's very nice," the fire-maned one said. "I guess you should all know that I'm Sunset Shimmer, Ultimate... High School Student?" she read from her e-Handbook. "Really, that's my title? What the-" She looked like she felt ripped off. "Ugh. Well, it fits, I suppose. Anyway, just follow my lead and I'll get us all out of here."

"Sheesh, who died and made you princess?" A mint colored unicorn mare with a harp on her flank asked. "Anyways, I'm Lyra Heartstrings, Ultimate Cryptozoologist."

"Hey, Lyra Heartstrings! I've heard of you!" said the skinny pegasus. "You're the mare who believes in humans! I'm Featherweight, Ultimate Investigative Reporter. I really admire your work, though personally I believe you're looking in all the wrong places. I think that there are known human specimens and artifacts hidden in Canterlot, but the government is covering it all up for fear of the humans spreading their ideas of representative democracy over autocratic monarchies."

"Um, can we stop using words I don't know?" asked the brown stallion in the propeller hat. "It makes things a bit hard to follow. You said your name was Featherweight, right?"

"Yes it is."

"Hey, I think I went to school with you! Remember me? I'm Button Mash! I think I remember reading about you recently too!"

"Oh yeah, that's right, you're the kid who was never seen away from his video games. You said you read one of my articles?” Featherweight asked eagerly. "Did I help open your mind to the truth? Did I help to free you from the Matrix?"

"Uh, no. Actually I read about you in my book of world records. You hold the record for the most restraining orders placed against a single pony, right?"

Featherweight looked rather annoyed. "Yeah, I guess that is true. It's all just part of a conspiracy though. The idea is to have so many ponies and buildings in Canterlot that I can't come within a hundred feet of that I can barely move around within the city. That way, I can't reveal all the horrible things going on in there!"

"The book said it was mostly for privacy violations."

"Excuses and technicalities! I broke into that room to find proof of an Illumitroti conspiracy! The fact that those nobles happened to be having sex in it was unexpected and entirely irrelevant to my investigation!"

Button blushed so much he was practically glowing. "Uh... Okay... Well, shifting gears now: Like I said, I'm Button Mash, Ultimate Gamer! That record book I mentioned? Over three fourths of the high scores in it belong to me!"

The griffon spoke up next. He was a male and, like all griffons, was half lion and half eagle. However, unlike other griffons, his fur and feathers were all completely black, save for a bit of plumage that was died red. "Escaping into a fantasy world... How I wish such coping methods worked for me. I tried once, but the entire time all I could do was empathize with the very pain that I myself was inflicting on the moblins and octorocks that fell to my blade all for the simple crime of existing in a place where their sole function was to senselessly kill and die. You may call me Rook. Though I was designated an Ultimate Poet, I assure you that my works are hardly a sufficient distraction from the sufferings of this world, let alone our current situation."

Another pony popped over, a green earth pony mare with a slightly lighter green mane done up in two fluffy pigtails. She was fully dressed in a miniskirt and a jacket which bore the word 'FUN' in bright pink letters. She wrapped a foreleg around Rook and squealed "Why you such a downer, Blackcastle? (That's my nickname for you, cuz of the chess thingy and Whitecastle hayburgers and you being black, by the way.) Didn't you hear the bear? We got this whole school to ourselves, like a lock-in! It might actually be pretty fun! Anyway, my name's Yoyo Yolo, Ultimate Fun Lover!"

"I think she's underestimating the situation a bit, but she has a point. I don't think Monokuma will hurt us directly if we abide by his rules. He at least seems like the Lawful Evil type," said the red stallion. "I'm True Heart by the way. I'm an Ultimate Stargazer, though I'm not sure what kind of talent that is."

"I hope you're right about that..." said Snowdrop.  "My name's Snowdrop, Ultimate Sculptor. I'm blind, but you don't need to worry about me too much. Once I learn the layout of this place I'll be mostly fine. If I need help I'll ask for it though. Soarin here's been absolutely wonderful so far."

"Aw, shucks..." Soarin said, blushing. "Well, I'm Soarin, of the Wonderbolts, so I'm probably pretty well deserving of being an Ultimate Flier."

"The Wonderbolts? Aw YEAH! I'm Bulk Biceps, Ultimate Bodybuilder! I'm a huge fan! I was even in the academy, if you remember me," said the muscular pegasus, grabbing Soarin's hoof and shaking it like an earthquake.

"It's a pleasure, and you know, I think I do remember seeing you fly around," Soarin replied, trying not to think about the very real possibility of his leg being shaken out of its socket.

"YEAH!" Bulk cheered in celebration over meeting his idol. "Though, unfortunately after the academy I was in a bad crash. I landed right on by back and broke practically every bone in my wings. It took so long to heal that my wings atrophied so much I can barely get off the ground." He wiggled his wings, which were so small that many of the other students had thought he was an Earth Pony at first. Landing on them certainly would be crippling.

"Oh... I'm sorry, that's just horrible."

"Yeah, but I've moved on. I still have weightlifting."

"And that is how I single hoofedly preserved the continuity of the show, even where Corey Powell failed. But apart from that, I have to say meeting a Wonderbolt makes me kinda wish I was more into sports," said a blue unicorn with glasses and a brown mane. His cutie mark was a typewriter. "I'm Click Clack, or just Click if it's easier. I'm an Ultimate Author Insert, but unless anyone here's read Wild Wasteland, that's not too important. And don't worry about me being a stupidly perfect character or anything, I just wanted to see what it's like to be a character in my own story."

A green pegasus stallion with a grey mane suddenly began to have a small coughing fit, which sounded oddly like the words "Shameless plug." His cutie mark was a skull with two wrenches crossed behind it, and the whole thing was white outlined in blue.

"Do you need a glass of water or something?" asked a grey pegasus mare with a blond mane, bubbles as a cutie mark, and offset eyes.

The stallion blushed a bit. "Er, no, sorry. But since I'm already talkin', my name's Frostbite, Ultimate Sexpert!"

The looks on everyones's faces were exactly what one would expect, except for Yoyo Yolo, whose interest was clearly piqued, and the zebra, who didn't react at all.

Button was the first to speak, looking pretty irritated. "No, what are you really?"

"Oh, you're no fun," Frostbite said. "But according to my e-Handbook, I'm an Ultimate Engineer. I'm the guy you call if you need something built or fixed, though I do have many other talents... Ladies..."

Button groaned. "Hey, uh, blond girl, weren't you gonna introduce yourself next?"

The mare in question was busy pinching her nose shut and trying to keep her wings folded. "Huh? Oh, uh, no, I was just offering him water..."

"... Or Gentlecolts, I don't discriminate," Frostbite continued.

"Are you sure you weren't gonna say anything else?" Click Clack asked her. By now he'd turned from cobalt blue to rose red. "I feel really dirty writing his dialogue!"

She snorted back her nosebleed and decided to help Click and Button change the subject. "Okay then. My name's Ditzy Doo, but most ponies call me Derpy Hooves. At first they were just teasing me for my clumsiness, but even after people stopped picking on me it kinda stuck. I even think it's cute, so you can call me either. My title is Ultimate Hope, probably because I never give up."

"That's a really wonderful trait," said Snowdrop. "That's just the kind of thing we need in a situation like this."

"Aww, you're making me blush."

"I thought I was the one doing that," said Frostbite before Button shoved a hoof over his mouth.

"So, that's all but one of us," interrupted Octavia before he could continue speaking. "So, what's your name?" she addressed the zebra mare.

The zebra turned to her with a detached expression. The entire time she'd been in the gym, the zebra hadn't interacted with anyone. She was a mare wearing a hooded black cloak and a star shaped necklace. "My name is Zihiri. I am an Ultimate Occultist. That is all you need to know, and it is all I shall say, for now at least. Since we have all been introduced, I see no need to remain here and I do not wish to stay. Goodbye." With that, she turned and began to trot away.

"Hey, what about those rules Monokuma mentioned, shouldn't we talk about those?" True Heart called after her.

"I shall do so alone. I don't need fifteen others to help me read." She didn't even slow down on her way out.

"Hey, don't you walk out on us!" Sunset Shimmer demanded, but it was too late. She sighed angrily. "Ugh. Someone read those rules."

"I got it," said Vinyl, who pulled them up on her e-Handbook and read them:

1. Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.

2. "Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.

3. Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and punished accordingly.

4. With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion.

5. Violence against Headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras.

6. Magic of all kinds is fully permitted in the school, though teleportation spells are supressed by the school's own enchantments. In addition, any unicorn must identify all of their spells if asked by a fellow student. Be warned that the headmaster already knows all of your spells, and withholding information from such a request warrants punishment.

7. Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered.

8. Additional rules may be added by the school at any time.

"So basically we can do almost anything we want here, until Monokuma starts abusing rule 8," observed Click.

Lyra nodded. "Yeah, it looks like it, but I think he really wants us to do that murder thing he was talking about. It'd be just too easy for us otherwise."

"But nopony's actually gonna do it, right? He can't force us to do that!" said Snowdrop.

Sunset Shimmer scoffed. "Are you kidding? I for one don't know anyone here. Any one of us could cave in at any time."

"Hey, don't be so negative! This is no time to assume the worst, especially of each other. We're in this together!" said Soarin.

"YEAH!" agreed Bulk.

Octavia stomped her hoof in agreement. "They're right. We need to make the best of this situation until someone comes to help us. Some of us are prominent figures, so there's a good chance that we'll be missed very soon. It's only a matter of time until somepony comes looking. For now, I say we go out and explore this place, look for possible escape routes, find out what resources we have at our disposal, and anything else at all that can help us to get through this."

"Sounds good to me, Octi!" agreed Vinyl.

"Great. We'll meet here again at... let's say 11:00, and think about our situation a little bit more."

With that, each pony began going their separate ways. A few went to examine school's various rooms. Some searched for possible escape routes. Others began wandering aimlessly, with no idea of what to check first. All of them, however, had roughly the same thoughts going through their minds. For all their optimism, would they ever see the outside again? How exactly did Monokuma manage to capture all of them? Most importantly: could they really trust their fellow captives?