Chapters It’s so boring being trapped in stone. It’s even more boring when there are no ponies around for you to manipulate. Unfortunately, ever since I broke free before, Celestia and Luna decided it wasn’t safe for me to live in the royal garden, so they locked me in the castle basement, heavily guarded… but there were never any ponies around. So, my once boring life became as boring as it could be after I had a day of fun in Ponyville.
Every day, I simply stood there, frozen in place, with nothing to do at all. I don’t even sleep in this state. I simply stand here, in the dark room, completely isolated. Every second of my imprisonment, I think about the ponies that once again defeated me. Every minute, I recall the smug looks on their faces as they made their formation and used their “magic of friendship” to make me suffer. I have nothing to do but count the days until… nothing. I’ve accepted the fact that I’ll be stuck here forever, forced to just stand and wait until I finally die. Can I even die in this state? Truly, this is the worst punishment one could possibly receive. Every minute feels like an hour. Every hour feels like a day. Every day feels like a week. I’ve been trapped here for a month, but it feels more like five months; hell, a year.
Or should I say she.
At first, it appeared to just be a teddy bear, perhaps under some enchantment, wandering in. But, you see, that was a very odd occurrence. Nopony had come to visit me since my imprisonment, and I was pretty sure nopony would start then. By now I had figured the room I was in was under complete lockdown.
“Good afternoon,” came a playful, childish, and almost unnerving voice.. “You must be Discord. I’ve heard much about you…”
I felt some of the stone around my face crack a little, allowing me to speak. “Who are you? How did you get here?”
“Upupupu,” the bear giggled. “I’m glad you asked! They call me Monokuma.” The left side of his mouth opened, revealing the sharpness of the teeth. “And as to how I got it… I simply walked in!” The bear cackled.
I frowned. “And why did you come here?”
The bear’s mouth closed again. “I thought it was obvious,” It cried, “I’m here to free you, of course!”
I didn’t believe my ears. “You’re saying you’d free me? Even though my plan is to bring chaos to all of Equestria?”
“That’s exactly why I need to free you!” Monokuma sighed. “I need your help!”
“What exactly do you need my help with?” I asked in disbelief. “Don’t tell me you plan to free my just to use one of my horns to open a can.”
“Didn’t you hear what I just said?!” Monokuma miffed. “Your plan is to bring chaos to all of Equestria, right?”
If I wasn’t already, I would’ve frozen in shock. “You’re saying that you also what to bring chaos to Equestria?”
Monokuma put a paw to his chin. “Sort of… What I’m looking for isn’t exactly chaos, but it does bring chaos.” The bear giggled. “My goal is something much more interesting.”
At this point, I was very interested. “What exactly is your goal?”
“My goal is…” The bear opened his mouth again. “Despair.”
I paused. “Despair?” I repeated. “What exactly do you mean?”
“I mean despair,” the creepy bear replied. “That dreadful feeling you get when things go wrong, that awful pit in your stomach when you know something bad is happening…” The bear cackled. “That beautiful feeling of despair!” Monokuma extended his paw to me. “I need your help to spread that lovely despair- and chaos, of course- all across Equestria!” He giggled. “Upupu, think about it! Ponies will turn against each other, countless ponies will be killed, and the two of us will have caused it all!”
I consider his offer for a moment. I could finally reach my ultimate goal if I agreed. On the other hoof (or claw, in my case), I had to think about the possibility of being defeated again, and this time, the punishment could be even worse. I thought for a moment.
“Sister…!” Princess Luna called, bursting into the throne room. “Sister, Discord-”
“I know, Luna,” Celestia interrupted. “I already sensed his absence, as well as a great force of evil accompanying him.
“Sister, what do we do?” Luna cried worriedly. “This is too much for Twilight and her friends to handle!”
Celestia took in a deep breath. “I’m… not sure, Luna,” She sighed. “There’s really only one option I can think of.” She stood up, and began walking toward the door. “Follow me, Luna.”
Celestia and Luna’s hoofsteps were the only sound that could be heard as they walked through the castle halls. Neither sister said a word as they approached a tall door. It was unlike the other doors in the castle.
“I’ve… never been in this room before,” Luna remarked, looking at the door with fascination. “What’s in here?”
Celestia wordlessly opened the door in answer to her sister. The room was dark, save for a few candles Celestia had lit upon entering. Aside from said candles, the room was empty. The only remarkable thing that appeared in this room was a scroll hanging on the back wall.
“Sister…” Luna whispered. “Is this some sort of spell?”
Celestia nodded. “This spell has been passed down in our family for many years,” she began. “Though I never thought we’d have to use it.”
“What kind of spell is it…?” Luna asked, walking toward the back wall.
“If I remember correctly,” Celestia said, “This is the spell to summon beings from another universe.”
Luna’s head whipped around to face her sister. “Another universe? Whatever do you mean, sister?”
“You will see in due time, Luna,” Celestia said, walking over to join her sister. “Please, write to Twilight about this.”
Before Luna left the room, she could see her sister’s horn glowing brightly.
Author's Note
Tennis Match Fan for proofreading.
I woke with a start. Why? I wasn’t sure. Perhaps I just had a nightmare I can’t remember? Either way, I woke up suddenly, in an unfamiliar place. I looked around to see a room. The walls and floors appeared to be made out of a fluffy white material, as was the furniture.
“Where am I…?” I muttered to myself, sitting up. “What happened?” I did my best to recall.
The final class trial was all a blur full of Junko’s creepy smiles and, at the last moment, blood splattered everywhere. I shuddered as I remembered her excitement as she pressed the button that ended her own life. Then, I remembered standing by the door of the school… everyone’s smiles… and Kirigiri’s words. Finally, we left that school. All I can remember after that… is darkness. Just like the darkness that had ended my happy, peaceful life.
“What… happened?” I repeated to myself.
“Oh, you’re finally awake,” a voice snorted. I turned my head to see what appeared to be a cyan pony with wings and a rainbow-colored mane, smirking at me.
I involuntarily scooted back.
“Ah, right, allow me to introduce myself,” she said. “My name’s Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria!” She announced proudly. “What’s yours?”
Still, the only reply I could give was a stutter in surprise at a talking, candy-colored pony with wings.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, tilting her head. “Cat got your tongue?”
“I… How… Where…?!”
She sighed. “I guess I should explain everything…” Then she smiled. “But explaining isn’t really my thing. So, I’ll let Twilight explain everything!” She then clapped her hooves together, as if to resemble snapping. “That reminds me! We need to go meet her and the others at the library!”
“C-could you maybe explain anything?!” I waved a hoof I realized I had in the air. “Maybe you could explain why I’m a pony?!”
“Like I said,” She said, waving her hoof dismissively. “I’ll leave the explaining up to Twilight. C’mon, the library isn’t too far.” She walked toward the door, and then turned her head toward me. “By the way, you still haven’t introduced yourself.”
“U-um…” I muttered, trying to find the right words. “My name is Makoto Naegi… but you can call me Naegi.”
Rainbow grinned again. “All right, Naegi,” she said, opening the door. “Just follow me to the library for an explanation of the situation. Twilight’s good at explaining things.”
“Um, okay…” I muttered, steadying myself on to the squishy floor. “What is this, anyway?”
“It’s cloud, duh.” Rainbow remarked, already walking outside.
I opened my mouth to argue that walking on cloud should be impossible, but I closed it when I remembered I was talking to a rainbow pegasus while being a pony myself. Instead, I decided to focus on walking with four hooves.
“Just put one hoof in front of the other,” Rainbow instructed.
Doing my best to follow her instructions, I trotted towards the door. As soon as Rainbow Dash opened it, however, I immediately stepped back.
“We’re above the ground?!” I cried, eyes widening at the view of the ground.
“Well, yeah. This is a cloud home, after all,” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. I guessed it did make sense that a cloud house would be off the ground.
“But how do we get down?” I asked.
“We fly, obviously!” Rainbow cheered. “I mean, you do have wings.”
“...Oh. I guess I do…”
“Relax; flying isn’t hard. If you can’t do anything else, you can at least glide down,” she reassured.
“...Right.” I looked nervously down at the ground below.
On the way, we talked about the town (apparently called Ponyville), and Rainbow’s friends (who we were apparently supposed to meet with for some reason).
Eventually, we came to a stop at the library, which was apparently inside a tree. Rainbow walked up to the door and knocked with her hoof.
“Twilight, it’s me! Rainbow Dash! The guy who was with me woke up!”
The door cracked open, revealing a large, violet eye. “Rainbow Dash?” The door opened wider, also revealing a lavender-colored muzzle and dark indigo mane. “Oh, thank goodness! I wa s beginning to get worried since nopony had shown up! Well, come on in!” She said, ushering us inside. “Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle! And you?” She gave a wide, worried smile.
“My name is Naegi,” I answered. “Um… where’s everybody else?”
“Like I said,” Twilight sighed. “They’re taking a while to get here. You two are the first to arrive.”
Before I could continue trying to make small talk, there came a knock on the door.
Twilight opened the door again, this time revealing an orange pony with a straw-colored mane and a brown hat. “Howdy, Twilight,” She said with a thick southern accent. “My friend Hagakure just woke up, so I figured I should come and meet y’all here.”
“Naegi, this is Applejack,” Rainbow introduced.
Applejack tipped her hat at me. “Nice to meet ya, partner.” She stepped in, allowing a burnt orange pony with a crazily sticking up brown mane inside. “And Rainbow Dash, this is Hagakure.”
“Is that you, Naegi?!” Hagakure cried, nearly tackling me with a hug. “This is crazy! I mean, we’re ponies!”
I shook my head with a smile. “It is crazy, isn’t it, Hagakure…?” I answered, trailing off.
The three mares looked at the two of us in confusion. “You two know each other?” Rainbow asked.
Before we could say “yes”, another pony, an ivory unicorn with a royal purple mane, walked through the open door.
“Forgive me for interrupting, dear,” She said. “But I came to meet up with everypony!”
Another dark green unicorn followed her inside. “Could somebody please explain why I am a colorful unicorn?” he demanded.
“Just as soon as everypony meets here,” Twilight answered, relieved that more ponies were showing.
“Everypony, this is Byakuya Togami. Togami, this is Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle.” She turned to me and Hagakure. “My name is Rarity; a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“I’m Naegi,” I replied. “And this is Hagakure.”
After introductions, we all chatted a bit while waiting for the next pony to come, which happened sooner than expected.
“Hey, everypony,” a pink pony cheered as Twilight opened the door. “Sorry we took so long; Hina and I made some donuts!”
“Hey, guys,” a red pegasus with a gravity-defying brown ponytail said in the same manner as the pink pony. “I’m Aoi Asahina, but just call me Hina!”
“A-Asahina?!” I cried in surprise. “You’re here, too?!”
Hina turned to me in surprise. “Naegi?! Is that absolutely adorable big-eyed pegasus you?!”
“Anyway, I’m Pinkie Pie, super-party-pony extraordinaire! I-,”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!” A shrill cry came from outside.
“T-that sounded like Fluttershy!” Twilight cried.
The nine of us rushed out of the door of the library. Rainbow flew up to get a bird’s-eye view. “She’s near her cottage! C’mon!”
We galloped as fast as we could in the direction Rainbow directed us, and before long, we saw butter yellow pegasus with a pink mane rush by, shrieking. “Somepony help meeee!” She cried, running as fast as her hooves would carry her.
A few seconds later, we found who she was running from. “If you don’t get back here right now, I’ll stab a thousand holes into that little pony body of yours!”
“I-is that…?” Hagakure stuttered in shock.
“Genocider Jill,” Togami called after the serial killer. “Come over here.”
“Hmm?” the dark gray pony said, stopping in front of Togami. “Who the hell is this pony?” Her eyes widened. “Byakuya-sama? ! Could that be you?!”
“Why were you chasing that pony?” Togami demanded.
Syo just shrugged. “I dunno. She just started shrieking and running as soon as I woke up.”
“Well… you do look pretty scary,” Hagakure said, stepping back.
“C’mon, Fluttershy,” I heard Rainbow Dash say. I turned my head and saw her walking back toward us with the pony that had been running. I didn’t even realize she had gone after her!
“I-I’m so sorry for worrying everypony,” She said, tears in the corners of her eyes. “I was just… so frightened when I saw her.”
“D-don’t worry about it,” I assured her. “I mean, Genocide Jill would scare anyone.” I turned to Jill. “But we would appreciate it if you’d turn back into Touko Fukawa.”
“Ugh,” Jill groaned. “Do I really have to turn back into her?”
“For introductions, at least,” I explained.
“Ah-choo!!” She sneezed before she could respond. “Huh?” She looked around at us, then suddenly squealed in horror and backed up several feet. “Wh-wh-what the-?!”
“Fukawa,” Togami said coldy. “Calm down.”
“B-B-Byakuya?!” Fukawa cried. “Is that really you?! Why are you a-?!”
“I was wondering that as well.” He glared at Twilight, who shrunk back in his gaze.
“I-I’ll explain everything as soon as that unicorn who’s staying at my house wakes up,” she answered. “Ack! That reminds me! We should probably get back!
“Hey Naegi, if there’s one more pony here…” Hagakure muttered. “Considering the ponies already here…”
“Right,” I said, before he could finish his sentence. “It has to be Kirigiri!”
Author's Note
This chapter was actually going to be even longer, but I decided that this was a good place to end the chapter. Also, a longer chapter means it's going to take a LOT longer for it to come out, especially because I have a tendency to procrastinate. Before anyone says anything, I know my pacing is terrible, especially when it comes to introductions. Unfortunately, by the time I realized this, it was too late to really change it so the chapter still ran smoothly. Also, I'm having the DR characters use the honorifics, just 'cause it kind of makes sense to me. All that aside, I hope this was an enjoyable, or at least tolerable, chapter. I'll try to write the next chapter soon!
I was the first one into the library as I slammed the door open. When I did, I found a dark purple unicorn with a lighter, silvery purple mane and gloves over her hooves looking at me, only slightly startled by how suddenly the door was opened.
“Kirigiri! Is that you?!” I cried.
“Yes, Naegi, calm down,” Kirigiri sighed in response. “You must have left a dent in the wall.”
“Uh, sorry,” I said sheepishly. “But, uh- oh god, you must be freaking out about-”
“I’m fine; the small dragon told me everything.”
“Small… dragon…?”
“Ugh, it took you guys long enough to get here!” a new voice said as the others came into the library after me. I turned towards the source of the voice to see a small purple dragon with green spines walking into the room from what must have been the kitchen, since he was holding a tray of tea. “You can’t just leave a guy alone like that! Especially not with a stranger… who is… uh…” he glanced at Kirigiri, who stared blankly back. “Well, never mind. Here, I made tea.”
“Oh, thank you very much,” I said as I reached for a cup of tea. As I did, however, I realized I had no way to pick up the teacup with hooves. I considered asking those more experienced in being ponies, but in the end, I decided to just not have any tea.
“Wait, Spike, I thought we agreed to explain everything once we got everyone together,” Twilight objected. “You already explained it all?”
“No,” Kirigiri answered in Spike’s place. “I still have many questions, but I suppose it would be best to let you give your explanation, since it may answer them.”
“Very well.” Twilight cleared her throat. “I’ll start with a bit of Equestrian history. You see, long ago, there was a very powerful draconequus named Discord who brought disharmony to all of Equestria-”
“What’s a draconequus?” Asahina interrupted.
“I-it’s a creature made up of different animal parts, you s-swimming idiot,” Fukawa huffed in an answer.
“Well jeez, it’s not as if it’s common knowledge!” Asahina said.
“Anyways ,” Twilight said before an argument could begin between the two. “Discord has already been defeated twice: once by our rulers, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and and once by the six of us.”
“Is there not a position higher than princess?” Kirigiri asked. “Kings and Queens have always been the highest positions of power, or so it is in our world.”
“That is how it used to be in our world,” Twilight explained, “until King Sombra’s reign in the Crystal Empire, after which the terms became taboo. But that’s a story for another time.”
“Of course. Continue with the story, then.”
“So anyways, despite the fact that he was encased in stone twice , it seems he’s found a way to escape again. And along with this information, I’ve been told that some other evil force has aided Discord is escaping, and they’re now working together. This evil force supposedly came from your world.”
“But our world doesn’t have magic like yours does! How would they get to this world?” Asahina asked, raising her hoof in objection.
“W-what, you’re just accepting the existence of magic t-that easily?!” Fukawa grumbled.
“We are in a different world, so it would only make sense to infer that there are different rules here. They most likely used magic to bring us here, after all,” Kirigiri pointed out.
“Yeah, exactly!” Asahina cried.
“How they got here is unfortunately unknown,” Twilight sighed. “But I trust you all are familiar with some great evil.”
“Yeah, about that....” I cut in, bringing all eyes towards me. “The thing is, we are… uh, well…” I paused. “Junko Enoshima is, uh… dead.”
Silence fell across the room for a few moments, until it was broken by a voice. “Umm, who’s Junko Enoshima?” The voice belonged to Rainbow Dash.
“Oh, right,” I said. “Uh, Junko Enoshima is, well, the most likely person to be this ‘great evil’ you guys are talking about.”
“And you’re absolutely certain she’s dead?” Rarity asked. “There’s no possibility it could have been faked in some way?”
“Realistically speaking, it would be pretty difficult to fake being crushed to death, especially with six witnesses,” Kirigiri reasoned.
Fluttershy paled more than the other five ponies at that statement, but they all seemed surprised.
“And, erm… I take it you six were the six witnesses?” Twilight said.
“You would be correct. In fact, it was just a bit before we wound up here.”
“So then, what would be the second greatest evil from your world?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Junko Enoshima supposedly had some followers who helped her in her despair.... I would say it was her sister if she wasn’t dead,” I said.
“She didn’t… k-kill her own sist-ter, did she?” Fluttershy stuttered, paling even more.
I nodded. “Not exactly directly, but… unlike the others, Ikusaba’s demise was done by the mastermind herself.”
“Others? There were others?” Rainbow’s eyes widened.
“That doesn’t matter right now,” Kirigiri said. “What matters is that we need a way to stop whoever is doing this.”
“That’s absolutely right,” Twilight said. “We ought to get to Canterlot as soon as possible.”
“Heh, Canterlot?” Fukawa muttered. “Are a-all the towns just horse p-puns?”
Twilight cocked her head to the side in confusion. “Uh, what do you mean?”
“Pay her no mind,” Togami said, adjusting his glasses.
“So, uh, where’s Canterlot? And why do we need to go there?” Asahina asked.
“It’s the capital of Equestria, of course!” Rarity said with a flourish to her voice.
“We’re going there because that’s where Celestia and Luna are,” Twilight explained. “Now that you’re here, we all need to work together to find a solution.”
“Sounds good!” I said.
“Now then, let’s head to the train station. Did everypony pack their bags?”
All the ponies confirmed that they did, in fact, pack their bags for the trip. Thus, we walked out of the library and in the direction of the train station.
Author's Note
Oh heck it's been a while. Uh. How have you all been? Excited for the English release of DRV3? Already had DRV3 spoiled and feeling depressed? I feel ya.
