Hopeful Despair. Dangan Rompaby DerpymuffinAuthorChaptersC1: Living Fear: Part 1C1: Living Fear: Part 2C1 Living Fear: Part 3C1: Living Fear: Part 4C1: Living Fear: Part 5C1: Living Fears: Part 6C1: Living Fears: Part 7C2: Terrible Days: Part 1C1: Living Fear: IntroductionC1: Living Fear: Part 1"W-We have to kill each other!?" Derpy screamed. Ace stood there, attempting to develop what happened. "I-Its a lie! It has to be a lie!" Lightning Sky stammered in a frail attempt to calm the chaos. "EVERYONE CALM DOWN!!" Someone shouted and everyone turned to Twilight Sparkle, looking at her like lost puppies. "I...I understand you are all very shocked and surprised. I am as shocked as you all. But we mustn't panic. Panic is a terrible way to start." "S-So....is this some cruel joke?" Lightning asked but Twilight shook her head. "I am afraid to confirm your fears. All 18 of us are trapped here with no way out. At the current moment at least." everyone stared at each other. "B-But...what about...the...killing thing?" Lyra asked, tapping her hooves together quietly but her eyes darted around nervously. The room grew tense as everyone looked at each other. Ace understood the feeling. He barely knew anyone here beside Cloud. Anyone of them could be plotting to kill another right now. "W-Well let's just...go to our rooms...when you've all gotten a grip of yourselves. I will see you in the cafeteria." and Twilight strode away. Ace stared at her before turning to everyone else. "Y-Yeah...see you at the cafeteria." Noteworthy responded and he looked at everyone. "Does anyone have a map or something?" Ace remembered the papers and such Storm had gave him. Ace pulled the articles from his bag and holding it out in front of everyone so they could see. "The dorms are that way." Noteworthy commented. "Twilight must've gone to the cafeteria." everyone nodded and followed Ace to the dorm rooms. Ace opened the door to his dorm room. A picture of his cutie mark and his name were labeled on the door to signify it. Ace's room was purple, his bed was silver, along with the furniture. There was a pale white door which Ace assumed led to the bathroom. He saw a note taped to the wall and a monitor above it. Ace plucked the note off the wall and read it. An important message from your principal MonoColt Room locks are equipped with an anti-picking mechanism. The keys are a bit a pain to make, so don't lose them. Every room comes with a bathroom but the water is turned off during the "nighttime" I have also prepared a gift for you. A sewing kit for the girls and a tool set for the boys. Have a killer time everyone! Ace frowned. "Just to kill each other." and he threw the paper away before plopping down on his bed as he attempted to understand everything that had happened to him that day. After what felt like hours of thinking, he remembered the meeting everyone had settled on. Getting up, Ace left his room, being sure to lock the door behind him. As Ace followed his map, he found himself in front of two glass doors before opening them to find everyone else there. "S-Sorry if I took a while.." he muttered, walking over tot he table everyone sat at, Twilight being at the head of the table. "Its fine. You probably had quite a bit to wrap your mind around. Isn't that right everyone?" and everyone nodded their heads. "Yes. I had quite a bit. After all. I am not used to being stuck inside a building with imbeciles for longer than a 30 minute period." Trixxie stated with a smirk, catching everyone's attention. "W-What does that mean?!" Lyra snapped, clenching her hooves into fists and glaring at Trixxie. "Yeah?! Is that some sort of insult!?" Noteworthy did the exact same thing. "If it weren't for the situation we were in. I would strangle you to death right now!" Cloud snapped across the table "Shut up!" Ace screamed much to his own surprise and everyone turned to him. "If we are going to survive under these conditions. We'll have to get along. At least. Try to. Threatening each other is not a good way to start!" Ace stared down the ponies who had just broke in a slight argument. Cloud brushed his hoof through his mane thoughtfully. "Well Well. Nice speech there. Very well. I will try to get along with you. Even if I have a higher intelligence then you all." Flame let out a slight growl, his teeth clenched. "Trixxie. If you keep talking like that. You might become a bloody corpse some were." Cloud spoke up and Trixxie's face turned pale. "I-Is that a threat?" Cloud's eyes widened "N-No No No! It isn't a threat. Its just what would happen if you keep acting high and mighty and insulting everyone!" Trixxie frowned at him. "Well....What do we do? You started this meeting for a reason right Twilight?" Ace asked and she nodded. "We need to figure out a plan. To..avoid conflict..or murder.." she answered. "H-How about. We come to the cafeteria every morning for a headcount! and-And we...um.." Derpy cut short. "We could go every were in pairs." Snowflake finished. "No. That will make it all the easier for a murder to occur." Blossom answered "Explain how, Blossom." Twilight answered. "Well. Let's say Trixxie wanted to murder someone." "WHAT!? WHY me!?" Trixxie snapped at Blossom. "No reason. Anyway. And she was paired up with...Ace per say." Ace grinded his teeth to contain his protest. "So let's say Trixxie got a knife from some were and she said she wanted to go..to her dorm. Someone would have to go with her. So once they were at her dorm. Trixxie would pull out the knife and before anyone would know. Ace is dead and we have no clue were he is." Ace felt uneasy. "Why do I feel like I'm gonna die after this?" he muttered and everyone shrugged. "Then we can fix that by sending threes?" Twilight asked "That is correct." Blossom gave an acknowledging nod. "Alright. So it is decided. See you in the morning at the cafeteria. Please...don't be late." Twilight answered and everyone headed to the dorms in a large group. "Goodnight everyone!" Ace said kindly before going back into his room and making sure to lock it. Ding Dong Ding Dong "It is now "nighttime" the cafeteria is now off limits. Goodnight everyone! Monocolt's voice echoed throughout the school as Ace fell into a deep sleep ~Next Day~ Ace opened his eyes to find himself in his bedroom. He felt the memories flood his brain and he groaned. Guess it wasn't a dream. he thought to himself, slipping out of bed and getting ready for the day, taking a shower, changing his clothes, the basics. After getting ready, Ace left, heading to the cafeteria. Author's Note Short as heck but LMAO ! C1: Living Fear: Part 2"Good morning Ace!" Black Cloud greeted as Ace walked into the cafeteria. "Hey Black Cloud." Ace greeted in return, settling down beside his friend on the colorful bench which was vertical of the matching table. "Looks like no one listened to that Mono guy." Noteworthy spoke up from across the table, absently nudging his eggs with a fork. "Is everyone here?" Twilight asked from the edge of the table, causing everyone else to turn their heads. "Yup!" Derpy called from the far end of the table, over a small tower of blueberry muffins. Blossom looked up from the book she was currently reading. Ace absently wondered were she found it but settled on asking her later. ` Despite Derpy's reassuring "yup", Twilight scanned over the group of ponies before her before settling down in her seat and beginning to eat her breakfast. "U-Um...guys?" Flame asked from his seat, the attention shifting to the flame-haired colt who shifted slightly. "Has anyone checked these?" and Flame held up a device which had the appearance miniature monitor, everyone instinctively shied away from the device as if it were to explode. Ace understood. They were in a building were trust was scarce. "Can I see that?" Ace asked and Flame handed it across the table and Ace picked it up, turning it around and such when it flickered on. Ace flinched slightly but looked at the screen. It had a image of Flame and some side info. "Its a ID...." Ace muttered, handing it back to Flame. "I saw one in my room but I didn't really acknowledge it." Cloud said as he swallowed a mouthful of eggs ignoring the stares and glances he earned from what he said. "I think we all have one some were in our rooms." Blossom answered in her matter-of-fact tone. "So...what are we going to do today...exactly?" Storm asked, prodding his food around with a fork, seemingly uninterested in the meal. "Well.....yeah...What should we do?" Snowflake asked and she looked around, yet the pegasus got no answer. Ace pondered for a moment. It did seem like this place was rather boring. Filled with many absent halls and classrooms..... He was stirred by Twilight's authoritative and calm voice. "We are going to explore in one big group. Alright? Its better than nothing and its always good to know your surroundings." "I thought Shining Armor was the Ultimate Leader not the Ultimate...." Lightning Sky said and everyone suddenly realized that Twilight Sparkle never told them her talent. "She's a good leader." Shining said quickly, trying to hide his embarrassment of his sister taking over his talent. "Well Were do we go first then?" Brandon asked, his soft voice seeming like a sort of low music in the cafeteria. Thunderlane shrugged and looked at Twilight, expecting her answer. "Well. We can check all the classrooms to start. Maybe there's an escape route." Twilight got up from the table and walked towards the door before turning to the others. "Are you coming or not?" She asked jokingly and everyone got up to follow their new leader. Author's Note "I love mysteries! That's the only time when everyone else doesn't know whats going on!" Logan C1 Living Fear: Part 3Ace let out a defeated sigh as he finished checking what felt like the millionth classroom. They had been searching for a exit but non were found. As Ace walked out of the classroom to rejoin the group and they were all silent. "So. No exits or anything?" Shining Armor asked and everyone shook their heads. "Well then that means this hallway is useless." Twilight muttered and lead them back to the hallway with the gym. "Okay did we perhaps miss anyone?" she asked and everyone looked around only to reveal one of them was missing. Brandon Puppetstrings. "Okay. Who last saw him?" Everyone looked around and they all shrugged. They had only seen him until the divided into smaller groups to search the classrooms. "Brandon?" Ace called and everyone else did the same but only five minutes after they had begun their search, Brandon came running down the hallway, his reddish brown mane bouncing from running. He stopped in front of the group, panting for breath. "Brandon! Where the hay were you!? Its very stupid to run off in this place!" Applejack scolded though the scolds went unheard as Brandon immediately began to speak once he caught his breath. "Rooms.....Not classrooms.....rooms full of stuff." He straightened up after finishing his sentence and smiled proudly. "Well. Lead the way!" Ace said enthusiastically when no one else would speak. Though Ace didn't admit it, the young earth pony was growing on him. Everyone followed the suddenly happy Puppeteer, most having to speed walk or jog to keep up with him. After passing many open and empty classes the teenagers all came across a door which unlike the classrooms which had a number and letter plastered on the front it read Music Room Brandon jumped up and down happily before opening the door. Everyone entered the room, looking around at the instruments happily. "Yes! They have a DJ booth!" and Ace watched as the pastel white DJ jumped into the booth. "I do wish they had a puppet booth or something." Brandon muttered before running out of the room, not even waiting for the rest of the group. Ace ignored his groaning peers and followed him, as they continued walking Ace saw a staircase but it was blocked off by sturdy wood boards. "Oh yeah that's a staircase to the next level. Not sure why they blocked it off but I bet there is more helpful things up there.." Ace looked at the boards before attempting to pry the plank away and he could hear the gathering of the others in the hallway as they headed towards them. As Ace felt the board begin loosen something went poof beside him and Ace leaped and slipped, falling onto his back. There stood MonoColt in his suit with a stupid look on his monochrome face. "I wouldn't do that if I were you!" he said and the others had gathered by them. "And Why not? Its not like there's anything special up there right?" Cloud walked over to the enclosed stairwell and pulled a foot back to break through one of the wood boards. "Hey, cloud boy? Do you want to be crushed to a pulp? Cause that can happen." Cloud stopped and turned to MonoColt. "Alright. I don't want to die today so I'll let you have your way." Cloud snapped at him before walking back to the group. "Now. I shall be off to watch your boring explorations of this floor." He emphasized the 'boring' before vanishing like always. Ace glared at the space where Monocolt had stood seconds before. "Hey is anyone else feeling hungry?" Brandon asked, his timid behavior returning. "Yeah its been a few hours, why not?" Shining asked and everyone liked the idea and they all headed to the cafeteria. Author's Note I do good? :3 C1: Living Fear: Part 4Ace took a bite out of his sandwich. He looked at the others who were also eating. Cloud looked at Trixxie who had been shooting him glances since they sat down. Ace could feel Cloud's anger and tension boiling up. Trixxie was the most annoying pony here so who wouldn't? Ace picked up his plate and carried it to the kitchen to put it in the sink. As he turned to leave he saw a knife rack. A strong urge to take one of those blades and hide it. Ace knew he wouldn't kill with it, and no one else was there to see him take one. Ace swallowed and glanced around the kitchen. Everyone was in the adjoining cafeteria. With that he quickly grabbed a knife before he could reconsider. It was a small one, small enough to fit in his pocket, but big enough to deal damage to an attacker. "Hey Ace." Ace nearly screamed before he turned around. "Don't do that you gave me a heart attack!" Ace snapped as the pony entered the kitchen. It was Vinyl. "Sorry about that. I guess. So. What'cha doing?" she asked after putting the dishes in the sink. "Same thing you just did...and thinking. I'm worried....someone...someone may kill.." he finally said and Vinyl looked at him before pulling him into a hug, which Ace did not expect. After a few awkward minutes Vinyl backed away from the surprised unicorn. "Sorry.....Guess i've gotten used to hugging people when they're since my friend Pinkie does it all the time...." Vinyl trailed off as her smile fell. Ace immediately understood and patted the Ultimate DJ on the shoulder, giving her a sympathetic smile. "Sorry. I just guess I temporarily forgot about my friends back in Ponyville.....I miss them...." Ace sighed as he remembered all his friends from Las Pegasus. Although he did remember visiting a "Ponyville" but it was only vague blurs of ponies and such. Although he did remember a Pinkie Pie. Ace shook his head to bring him back to the present. When he had brought his head out of the past, Ace immediately noticed Vinyl had moved from beside the sink where he stood and he turned around and was shocked to see Vinyl reaching for the carving knife on the knife rack. Vinyl suddenly seemed to notice Ace was staring at her and stared at him. Ace stepped backwards, his heart starting to speed up its beating til it felt like a drum was in his chest. Was Vinyl about to murder him while he got lost in thought!? Vinyl's immediately grasped the knife and set it down on the kitchen's island. Ace's mind drew a blank and he did the only thing he could think of, scream. Of course, before he could gain enough breath to scream, Vinyl slammed a hoof over Ace's mouth. Ace stared at her, his entire body screeching to run away or fight back against the Ultimate DJ. "Shh! Calm down!" Vinyl hissed, using her magic to confirm the two way door to the kitchen had been shut completely. Once a few moments had passed, Vinyl removed her hoof from Ace's mouth. "I was just taking a knife for protection! You looked kinda lost in thought so I thought I'd grab one.....Sorry to scare you. I swear I won't kill with it! Just don't tell the others!" Vinyl pleaded and Ace felt his heart begin to steady its beating. "I won't tell. In fact." Ace paused to hold up his smaller knife that he had stolen from the kitchen as well. "Alright! So we don't tell anyone we stole knives from the kitchen. Simple right?" Vinyl asked, her happy demeanor returning as she hid the carving knife in her jacket. Ace tucked his smaller knife in his pocket. The two unicorns smiled before leaving the kitchen. Returning to the cafeteria, they sat down in their respective seats. Afterwards everyone began to leave slowly, in groups, but still. As Ace and Vinyl began walking towards the hallway to their dorms in which everyone seemed to be heading, someone screamed at the top of their lungs. "Someone stole a knife!" Ace's blood ran cold and he felt Vinyl grip his hand as everyone ran to the kitchen. Lyra was staring at the knife rack, pointing at it with a shaky hand. Ace glanced at the knife rack and this time his heart nearly stopped beating. Not only was the two knives that were now hidden in the pockets of Vinyl and Ace had vanished, but a third one as well. Twilight was staring at the knife rack with wide eyes. When she had managed to calm herself she turned to the group gathered in the kitchen. "Who has the knives? Please, if you have them please hand them over." Twilight said, her voice calm and steady, yet full of authority. Ace bit his lip while Vinyl just stood stock still behind him. Ace didn't realize she was still holding his hand until it began to burn. He ignored it in order to keep from revealing he and Vinyl had stolen the two knives. "Who stole the knives!? Hand them over now before Trixxie-" Trixxie was abruptly shut up by Cloud hissing a curse at her. Ace groaned. Cloud had begun cursing at particularly annoying ponies, and Ace had begun noticing this when they met every once and a while during his tours. "Everyone calm down. I'm sure we'll figure this "Alright.....We just wait til someone pulls out a knife to kill us and then tell everyone that in our dying message." Lightning Sky said sarcastically. "I....I don't wanna get killed...." Brandon muttered, hiding behind Octavia who didn't appear to have a rejection to becoming the young colt's new hiding spot. "No. Also I would love it if we all stick together til the knives are fou-" Twilight was cut off as Vinyl suddenly jerked her hand from Ace's pulling out her knife and holding it up. "I took one of the knives....." Vinyl quickly set down the knife on the counter by Twilight before edging back to Ace. "I was thinking you were a killing type..." Noteworthy began only for Vinyl to explode at him. "I was taking it for self defense you ass! At least Ace understands why too!" Ace shot Vinyl a look as all eyes went to the two. "Were you gonna do a double murder or something?" Flame Strike asked coolly. Now it was Ace's turn to be shocked. "No! I would never commit murder! I'd rather be killed than kill!" Ace's piercing glare shut the pegasus up, as well as everyone else. Agitated and done with dealing with the now suddenly annoying ponies around him, Ace turned around and stormed out of the kitchen, the angry thump of his hooves as he headed to his room, slamming his door behind him. Author's Note Sooo long. At least its done. now. ENOUGH WITH THE FILLER! Is it spoilerific to tell you murder is happening next chapter? C1: Living Fear: Part 5Ace stormed around angrily in his room. How long had it been? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? An hour? The enraged unicorn hadn't begun dwell on the thought before bursting into another outburst of his unfocused anger. As Ace tried to think of curses in his head, (not that he'd ever say them aloud) only to find he couldn't remember what he had even stormed from the kitchen about. He stopped storming around and fell onto the end of his bed. Suddenly finding himself drained of energy to continue raging, he looked around his room, trying to find something to occupy his mind before he went mad. His violet eyes fell on the E-Handbook on his nightstand. Suddenly finding it very interesting, Ace reached over and picked it up, running his hand over the cold surface. Then the screen lit up. Ace jumped and stared at it in shock. Ace Amethyst Ultimate Level Luckster How did this know my name? Ace curiously tapped on the screen and it switched to a picture of Ace's face, along with a side of information such as his age, height, and weight. He was a rather tall unicorn as he was actually a head taller than his best friend. He continued to flick through the information to find a map of the school and small dots covered the map, most of them in the kitchen. Ace noticed the purple one was in the dorms....alone. Ace suddenly remembered the threat of murder hanging in the air. As long as anyone was trapped inside this prison they had the constant threat of kill or be killed hanging in the air. As Ace began scrolling through the screens he saw the IDs of his fellow peers. Ace suddenly found himself reading through a collection of rules for the school. "MonoColt is allowed to add rules to this list." Ace dully read the rule out loud. This wouldn't end well. Right then a message popped up on his E-Handbook. I'm going to practice my music in the music room with Lyra, Noteworthy, Octacvia, and Thunderlane. I'll be there early if you wanna hear some.~Vinyl Ace thought for a moment before deciding to go to the Music room. Once out of his room he shut it and scurried to the music room, passing the blocked off stairway. That was when the fear and worry began to set in. Instead of taking a full out sprint, Ace began to walk slower, biding his time. "What if no one's there...What if someone kills me....What if-" Ace was cut off as he felt himself slip before his face slammed into the hallway floor. He let out a loud groan and used his hands to prop himself up in order to see what had tripped him. It was Snowflake's headband. What was Snowflake's headband doing in the hallway to the music room? Ace suddenly felt his stomach twist into a knot as he instantly began thinking the horribly possibilities of meeting Vinyl alone in the music room. Ace shook it off as he brushed himself off despite the floors were rather clean as was his clothes and walked towards the music room again. What if Vinyl got her knife back? What if she kills me!? Ace swallowed before planting a hoof on the doorknob. Before the thoughts of fear and worry could scare him back to his room, Ace twisted the knob and flung the door open. Only to immediately regret that decision. There, on the DJ stand, lay Vinyl Scratch, head set sideways on one of the records, her hooves sprawled out, a headset dangling from one of them. Ace would have assumed she was asleep. If it weren't for the pool of pink blood dripping down the front of the stand and forming a puddle around her face, coating her cheek in a hot pink. Ace felt paralyzed to the floor. He felt his stomach churn and did the only sensible thing one would do if they were to find a dead person. He screamed at the top of his lungs and the world turned into a sea of churning blackness. Author's Note I regret bonding Vinyl and Ace. I forgot I was going to kill Vinyl first when I bonded them. Now. WHO KILLED VINYL!?I know. And you won't expect it :D Also ITS TIME I KILLED SOMEBODY! C1: Living Fears: Part 6Ace felt like he was floating in an abyss. He glanced around, not sure why as everything was the same shade of black. Suddenly everything began fading. Ace felt rather confused although not sure why. But as quickly as the abyss changed, it vanished. Leaving Ace to a sudden strike of pain. Ace felt his body jolt forward as the pain had awoken him. He glanced around to see a blurred group of ponies. Then pain flooded through his head and Ace pressed a hoof to the side of his head, only to feel sticky liquid. "You okay, Ace?" Ace's vision began to straighten out and he looked up. He saw the worried face of his best friend and Ace struggled into a sitting position. Ace then noticed the other ponies had been gathered in the room. Then everything came flooding back, causing Ace to double forward. Vinyl..... "V-Vinyl..." Ace looked among the faces in the room, hoping that what he had seen was just a nightmare and that the unicorn was perfectly fine. She wasn't there. "Ace.....Vinyl's dead..." the words sounded so blunt to Ace. After a few moments it sank in and Ace felt his eyes well up with tears. "No.....No no!" Ace repeated the words as if they would change the fact Vinyl had been killed. Ace got up, despite his wooziness, and ran. He honestly didn't care what the other ponies did, He just wanted to make sure that the death of his new friend hadn't truly occurred and that she was just perfectly fine. His hopes were immediately shattered as he came across the music room. Vinyl lay there. Her lifeless body slumped over the DJ booth. Ace steadied himself against the door frame. The reality of everything washed over him and he took a deep breath. He turned to the gathered group of ponies behind him. "I.....I don't believe....I don't believe she's dead...." Ace said, not caring that nearly no one heard him. With that, he turned and walked into the room. He ignored the sirens going off in his head and he placed a hand on Vinyl's shoulder. Her shoulder was so cold it was numbing. Ace stared at Vinyl before turning to the ponies behind him. Wait for it.....Wait for it.... As if on cue, a puff of smoke symbolized that MonoColt had entered. MonoColt looked at the corpse of Vinyl for a moment before breaking out into laughter. "Wow! You guys sure do wanna get out! Killing someone on the second day!" He jumped around like a happy child, Ace could see the annoyed faces of the others and he knew some were trying to keep from throwing themselves at MonoColt. "Now! Its time to get investigating!" He said happily. "I'll see you guys in a little bit at the Class Trial!" And as quickly as he appeared, MonoColt vanished. Ace felt the tension of the atmosphere. It was painful. "I-I can't believe....That...Someone would kill Vinyl...." Cloud murmured and he approached the dead body. "I can." Trixxie said in a loud voice. "Obviously someone wants to get out and doesn't want to wait for us to get them out." Twilight nodded to the unicorn and walked over to observe Vinyl's body. "It appears she took severe blows to the head." She muttered thoughtfully. Ace scanned over the rest of Vinyl's body but found no other wounds. "I guess that was the only cause of death." he replied to Twilight. "Yeah. And it appears the DJ booth is what her head was bashed against." Cloud was now helping while the others wandered around the music room to find anything else that may be of use. Ace observed Vinyl's stature."It appears she was about to put on some music when the killer attacked her..." Ace said to himself. Then he thought of her facial expression, hidden by here large shades. Ace gingerly reached out and pulled off the glasses. They were surprisingly clean, except for the side were it had been in the blood. He looked at Vinyl to see her eyes were wide, filled with fear and horror. "She definitely died in pain." Twilight murmured after looking at Vinyl's pain twisted face. "Hey, Twilight...?" Ace asked as a thought came to mind. "Yes, Ace? Is something wrong?" Ace looked at the calm and collected unicorn. "Since I....Since I was the first one at Vinyl's body.....Am I a suspect?" Twilight thought for a moment before she answered his question. "Yeah....I guess so." she replied and Ace swallowed around the growing lump in his throat. "Okay." He said in a shaky voice before getting up and walking around the booth some more. As if the evidence would just pop out if he waited long enough. To distract himself from Vinyl's horrified face, Ace thought through the schedules of every pony. I had gone to my room to rage at around 12:30....I left at 1:05 and found Vinyl at 1:10.....But I didn't see anyone near the rooms. Let alone the music room. There was no way this murder occurred in 5 minutes. But Vinyl was alive at 12:30....So when did the murder occur? "Twilight....Where was everyone during 12:30 to 1:05?" I asked her and she thought about that. "We can discuss that at the trial." she said and went back to investigating. Ace sighed and shoved his hands into his pocket, leaving the murder scene and wandering down the hall. He remembered Snowflake's headband and picked it up. It was clean, not a speck of blood. He shrugged and walked back to the investigation. He walked over to Snowflake and tapped on her shoulder. She spun around and stared at Ace. "I...I tripped over this on the way over here....when I first found the body..." Ace muttered as he held out Snowflake's headband. Snowflake looked surprised to find her headband and she snatched it up. "I was wondering where this went!" she said happily as she fixed it upon her head. "Glad I could find it for you." Ace said politely and shuffled away. After examining the crime scene from top to bottom they still had no idea who the killer was. Ace sighed as he looked around. Then he noticed something in the plant pot. Ace reached in and pulled it off the branch of the small tree. It was a pair of white gloves, splattered in blood. Ace spun around to go confront Twilight about the new evidence when a loud bell erupted through the school. Ding Dong! Please head to the gym where an elevator will bring you to the courtroom. Ace sighed and headed towards the gym. This will be the end of us all if I can't figure out who this killer is. Author's Note So lonnnggg and yeah I'm new to investigation stuff i just love murdering people :D C1: Living Fears: Part 7Ace looked at everyone in the elevator. They all seemed to wear different emotions. Octavia and Lightning Sky just glanced at the others for a few seconds before returning their gaze to the floor. Brandon was pressed into the corner, his small shape shuddering with fear. Applejack was leaning against the wall, casting glares at pretty much everyone. Rarity stood by her, trying to look at anything but the other ponies. Black Storm and Snowflake were together, Snowflake tightly hugging him. Blossom stood beside Flame Strike, her face devoid of motion while Flame seemed to be trying to tell who may be the murderer by a look of guilt. Shining Armor had his arms folded as he glanced around the room, Twilight standing beside him. Thunderlane stood beside Noteworthy, His face full of worry. Noteworthy on the other hand looked at everyone with disdain. Lyra and Derpy Hooves were standing in the other corner, Derpy was petrified as well as Lyra. After what felt like forever for Ace but was only a few stretched out minutes, the doors to the elevator opened and everyone filed out, all their movements seemed laden with some heavy weight. "Helloooo Everyone!" MonoColt chirped from his seat on a stand. One of many which were in a circular formation. His legs thumped against the side as he dangled them over the side of the stand. "I hate you. I hope you know that." Octavia said with her dead pan voice. MonoColt just laughed and jumped off the stand. His laugh was eerie and there was no hiding the insanity that seemed to drip from it. "Oh I know that! That just makes me all the merrier!" He said before laughing once more. Once he had managed to calm his laughter, he vanished and appeared on the single stand that wasn't in the circle. It was much larger and was golden. When nobody attempted to make any movements MonoColt let out a groan before pointing at the stands. "Go already!" he shouted and everyone scurried to the stands with their names. Screens were above every stand, including one that was empty. And its screen was just static. Odd..... Once everyone reached their spots, a magic shield shot up behind every stand, trapping the ponies between them and the chest level banisters in front of each of them. In the center of the circle was a large circular screen on the floor. "Now! Welcome to the Trial of Vinyl Scratch! The rules are simple! Figure out the killer and vote for them! If you vote right, everyone except the killer lives, vote wrong and the killer is freed while you all get executed! Sound good?" MonoColt said happily while everyone looked at him with horror. "That sounds horrible!" Brandon squeaked in terror. "Well I don't care! Now! Begin!" MonoColt shouted the last part and leaned back. Twilight was the first to take charge. "Okay. So lets discuss the murder scene." She said calmly. "Vinyl Scratch was killed in the Music Room at the DJ booth. It appears her head was bashed against the booth multiple times and from the look on her face, the death was almost instant." " So the murder weapon was the booth itself?" Octavia asked and Twilight gave a curt nod. "Yes. We discovered the body after Ace had screamed and fainted. The time was 1:12." Cloud said, looking at the image of Vinyl's body which was no portrayed on the large screen in the center of the stands. "Yeah....By the way...What did I hit my head on? It obviously wasn't the floor....right?" Ace asked, feeling slightly awkward for asking the question while they discussed the body. "Trixxie deduced you hit your head on this which had been on the floor beneath you." Trixxie stated as she held up a small ring. It had sharp edges and was covered in what Ace assumed was his blood. "Speaking of which. Trixxie thinks you should get that treated." she directed to the side of Ace's head and Ace realized that he had been walking around with a small cut on his head, the side of his head coated in a thin layer of dried blood. It disturbed him to think about. "Alright. Now to the position Vinyl died in." Twilight said, attempting to keep the conversation on the murder directly, for now. "Vinyl died leaned over the stand. So I assume she was attacked from behind." "Well. If we need to figure out any suspects...I found Snowflake's headband in the hallway on my way to the music room, Well. More like tripped over it." Ace said awkwardly, he felt terrible for putting Snowflake on the suspects' list but if it helped figure out Vinyl's killer.... "Well. I woke up without it this morning. And lets not forget you, Ace. You were the first at the crime scene." Ace nodded. "I know. Twilight told me while we looked over the body. But I know for a fact that I didn't kill her. You don't believe me though. I understand." he found his voice surprisingly calm though. "So...Let us go over all our findings in the Music Room." Twilight said, moving on to the next subject. The courtroom went silent. "I found a scrap of fabric behind a guitar." Derpy said, holding up a white piece of fabric. "It looked like it got ripped on the sharp thing on the stand." Twilight reached out her hand and Derpy handed her the fabric. "Well. That's all we got? A ring, A piece of fabric, and Ace being the first person to see the body...Kinda sad..." Ace let out a groan as he looked at everyone. "W-We can't give up!" Brandon shouted only to receive a glare from Noteworthy. "Unless you have any other proof. We're all giving up." Noteworthy's sentence made Ace's mind do a back flip as he remembered the gloves. "Wait! I Found something in the plant pot in the hallway!" Ace shouted, catching everyone's attention, he held out the pair of blood splattered white gloves. "Hmm..." Twilight murmured before looking at Octavia. "May I see those?" Octavia asked and Twilight handed them to her. Octavia stared at the for a few moments before rubbing her hand on the fabric. "Hmm....Its interesting.....Its a high quality fabric. Something like Canterlot ponies would wear." When everyone looked at her she quickly added "But I don't wear gloves." "Hmm... Who here has been to Canterlot and is likely to wear gloves?" Twilight asked and everyone looked at each other. "I have a pair of gloves. They're a aqua color but I have worn gloves." Lyra said calmly. "So now we assume its a female, right?" Lightning Sky asked. "Yes. These gloves appear to only be a fit for smaller hands." "Wait...I'm female!" Derpy shouted and looked at her hands. Or at least Ace assumed so. He couldn't really tell that well because of her eye going the opposite direction. "Ah' don't wear any gloves." Applejack said, crossing her arms. "Wait.....Does anyone else wear gloves?" Ace asked, fear creeping into his voice. "Rarity...You wear gloves, right?" Shining Armor asked, leaning over his stand to see Rarity. "Yes. But they aren't made of that lovely velvet fabric. I wish though." Wait a minute..... "Rarity.....Octavia never said those gloves were velvet...." Ace pointed out and he noticed beads of sweat beginning to form on her head. "I-I just assumed-" Rarity began but Ace was onto her. "No. Rarity, you've been to Canterlot, I know because I saw you at the gala at one point a year or two ago. And you wore those exact kind of gloves!" Rarity seemed stunned before her face turned red. "A-Are you accusing me!? Cause last time I checked, you were the one to storm off all angry!" she snarled back. "Yes." Ace said bluntly "Now it makes sense. Your the Ultimate Designer! Figuring out a material to make clothing wouldn't be to hard for you at all! Especially if you wore them!" Everyone had gone silent, even Twilight. All eyes trained on Rarity and Ace. "So what!? A pair of identical gloves to one you may have seen me wearing end up splattered in blood in a plant pot!? That doesn't prove sufficient evidence!" Ace then managed to connect the dots between the ring and the murder. "You know...On our first day here... I saw you wearing a green gem ring....And now I see its gone.. I wonder. Could it be that you dropped it when you fled from Vinyl's dead body!?" Ace snapped at her and Rarity's face paled. "And that fabric. If you turn it inside out, you'll find it to be covered in sequins. Just like your dress!" "B-But what about the murder itself! I am no were near strong enough to have slammed Vinyl to the point of death into a DJ Booth!" Rarity screamed back. "Maybe you aren't." Ace muttered "But really...That is hard to believe. And plus, Vinyl's glasses. You probably used your magic to make them fall off. So Vinyl would lean over to grab them. You could then jump at her from behind, smashing her skull into the booth. Then you would put them back on her. Then as you ran away, you dropped your ring and disposed of the gloves in a pot. Using Vinyl's invite to me as a way to turn me into your scapegoat!" The room went quiet. MonoColt watching in interest. Rarity staring at Ace with horror and anger. Everyone else terrified. Ace stared at her, unflinching. When he had attended a few court cases, it had been over theft mostly but one had been about murder. He still remembered how the accuser would glare at the defendant. Until they gave up. It was harder than he thought. Beads of sweat dripping down his face. Finally Rarity looked down. Her eyes dull and full of defeat. Ace continued glaring. "Well! That was interesting! Now! Time to vote. Turn your dial on the front of your stand to who you think is the killer! Simple!" MonoColt shouted, breaking the silence. Everyone looked at each other. Ace swallowed around the lump in his throat as he stared at the dial. It seemed so simple to turn a simple dial. But he couldn't find it in himself. Taking a deep breath, he turned his dial to Rarity. The screen above him flickered and portrayed Rarity's face. Although Rarity wasn't at all like the image that portrayed her. Her face was devoid of color and emotion and tears were beginning to form in her eyes. Slowly everyone else began turning their dials to Rarity. Rarity looked at them all with horror. Brandon and Derpy just stared at everyone else in terror. "Guys...Do you want us to get killed?" Octavia asked and the two violently shook their heads before timidly turning the dial to Rarity. Rarity looked at everyone before turning her dial. Ace sighed as his face flickered onto Rarity's screen. The screen in the center of the stands flickered to life. It appeared to be a slot machine. The slots began spinning, flicking over faces at a fast pace. Soon the slots began slowing over faces and then they slowly stopped at Rarity. Everyone bit their lip. That single moment, when the world seemed to stop, Ace could tell that Rarity was horrified, everyone was nervous. Then a loud fanfare began to play and fireworks shot into the air. The word "GUILTY" flashed above the slot machine and everyone gasped, Rarity screamed. "Well done! You figured it out! Rarity, The Ultimate Designer killed Vinyl Scratch, The Ultimate DJ!" MonoColt shouted as the image faded Everyone stared at Rarity. Horrified. "Rarity.....Rarity Why?" Twilight asked, staring at her best friend. "I....I couldn't take it......And...I-I thought I could make it...I didn't...I didn't know it would kill everyone else in the process.... But...But I had to see Sweetie Belle again....I had to take care of her..." Rarity stated, her eyes staring into her stand. "Well. Since you all voted, Its Punishment time!" Rarity's eyes widened. "N-No! Please no! I beg you! Don't kill me please!" Rarity wailed and Ace had to look away to avoid crying like everyone else was ready to do. "Too bad! You Killed Vinyl! You pay the price!" and the ground beneath Rarity vanished, plummeting her into darkness. As everyone stared at where Rarity had vanished, all the screens flickered before going to a different image. Every screen had a bold white text over a black background. Rarity, Ultimate Designer, Has been found guilty Commencing Execution......... Everyone looked at each other in pure horror. None of them able to speak. The only audible sound was Brandon's sobs. Then the words on the screens changed to something else. Punishment: Over Worked. The words faded to a boutique. Rarity was sitting at a chair. When she realized where she was she began looking around. Then bolts of fabric fell onto the desk in front of her, smashing the sewing machine that had sat there moments earlier. Rarity screamed, or at least that was what Ace believed she was doing, as he could not hear her. More bolts of fabric, along with some over sized spools of thread fell down next to her chair. Rarity jumped out of the chair out of shock, only for the chair to be crushed by a pack of what Ace assumed were dress patterns. Splintered wood went everywhere and Rarity jumped back to avoid it. Everyone's eyes went to the door which is where Rarity ran to first. She opened it only to see what appeared to be shouting, angry fake ponies. Rarity backed away from them in fear and more items fell to the ground. Rarity spun around and bolted to the windows, shaking and pounding on them, her eyes wide with fear. The fake ponies started moving towards her. Ace could now see their sharp teeth. Rarity began screaming, though Ace couldn't hear, and she began ramming her hooves into every possible exit. Soon she was enclosed by fabric and sewing supplies. No where to run from the fake ponies. Though Rarity was only focused on destroying a window to escape. It was only when the fake ponies where a few feet away did she give up, only to turn around and let out a terrified screech. "Wanna hear!?" MonoColt shouted before pressing a nearby button. The room was quickly filled with wails and screams of terror. "Help me! Someone please help me!" Rarity began to sob as she pounded, again and again on the window. Every motion getting weaker and weaker. Soon the fake ponies were upon her. Rarity slid to the ground screaming in horror as the ponies all crowded around her. Everyone couldn't help but listen as Rarity let out the most terrified and painful wails they had ever heard. Brandon had become transfixed to the screen, as had many others, including Ace. Ace suddenly realized what was about to happen and let out a small outcry. Right as he did so, pink splattered over one of the fake ponies. Ace watched on in stomach-churning horror as more and more blood splattered across the wall and the fake ponies faces and hooves. He clamped his hooves over his ears, although it did no good, as Rarity's screams became louder and more full of horror and pain. He saw her hold a hoof in the air, waving it as more blood splattered across it, soon enough, the hoof dropped, as did Rarity's wails and the fake ponies, now covered in Rarity's blood, refused to stop until all the items that had stocked up around them, had fallen on top of them, crushing everyone and everything remaining. Then the screen faded to black. Everyone's mouths were open. Ace heard the force fields fade away but no one moved. Ace heard the sound of gagging and something soft and fluid-like hitting the floor. He bit his lip as the putrid smell of vomit hit his nostrils. He looked at everyone. All of them horrified at what they had seen, others a mix of angry and mournful. Black Cloud was the first to break the silence. "What....What the hell....." He glared at MonoColt. "How could you........ do such a thing?" he asked, MonoColt looked passive as though nothing had happened. "Hmm? How? Well its rather simple, drop a bunch of items in there, watch as a unicorn is mutilated by fake ponies....rather simple isn't it?" MonoColt asked, only for Applejack to start screaming. "What is ta' matter with you!? You sick, twisted pony! How could ya just watch, not even feel a little remorse for mutilating a poor mare who just wanted to get home ta' her little sister!?" Applejack had tears streaming down her face. "Hey! She's the one who killed Vinyl Scratch! Not me!" MonoColt snapped back. "Now back to the elevator! I have to clean up the stupid mess your little friend just made!" Ace looked over to see Brandon shrinking away from MonoColt's furious eyes. Ace looked at everyone before walking over to Twilight. Her eyes were still transfixed to the blank screen, tears still pouring from her violet eyes. "C'mon, Twilight." Ace whispered, helping Twilight towards the elevator. Soon everyone began to follow suit. Once everyone got inside the elevator, and the doors shut. Ace thought of something. I successfully avenged my friend's murder, and saved thirteen lives....So why do I feel like I just lost everything? C2: Terrible Days: Part 1Don't leave me here to die! Please! Ace tried to ignore the voice but it only grew with every familiar wail. Please! Please don't let them kill me! Ace clamped his hooves over his ears as the wails grew louder. Ace shook his head and turned around, only to see Vinyl. Her eyes dead and empty and the right side of her head bashed in and bloody. "Don't....Leave me....." Vinyl begged, her voice hoarse. Ace turned heel to run only to run into a mutilated Rarity. Ace let out a shrill scream at the bloody mess before him. It was barely recognizable as well. "Why...Why did you sentence me.....To my death?" She begged, her voice no more than a croak. Then the two dead mares grabbed Ace and he felt the blood drip down his shoulders. "Why...?" Ace jerked awake in a cold sweat. When he found himself safe in his bed he let out a sigh of relief. He sat up slowly and looked around. No dead mares here. Slowly, Ace slipped out of the soft confines of his bed and walked over to the mirror. He rubbed at the dark circles under his eyes. He looked, and slightly felt, like he didn't get any sleep. He grabbed a brush and dragged it through his disheveled mane. Once he had taken a shower and changed clothes he walked over to the door and slowly opened it and then shut the door behind him, locking it and slipping the key in his pocket. The halls were quiet and gave Ace the chills. He looked down both ways to confirm no one else was there before walking down the hallway. Ace shuffled past the doors to the cafeteria, only to see everyone else staring him down. "Your late." Trixxie said dully, taking a sip from her tea cup. "I'm sorry." Ace muttered as he sat down next to Cloud. Cloud gave him a comforting smile and Ace gave the best one he could muster at the time. "Guys...Where is Brandon?" Ace realized that Brandon had not been in the cafeteria. "I-I'm gonna go see if he's in his room." Ace muttered quickly before running from the cafeteria and heading to the room with Brandon's cutiemark on it. On his way there he came across the room with the three diamonds in a triangle formation sign. He stopped and looked at the room. Much like Vinyl's portrait at the trial, the cutie mark had a thick bloody X through it. Ace sighed and continued walking, trying to focus on what he had come there to do. He walked over to Brandon's door and knocked on it. He was met by a loud thud from the other side of the door. "Brandon?" Ace asked as he rapped his fist on the door. "You alright?" Ace's questions were met by a small voice. "Yes! Yes everything is fine!" Ace instantly knew that was a lie. "Brandon..Its Ace...I came to check on you. The others wanted to know if you were all right. " Ace said, hoping Brandon could hear him. "Okay...Well....I'm staying in here...." Brandon replied and Ace sighed before walking back to the cafeteria. "He didn't come?" Twilight asked as Ace shuffled through the doors to his seat. "No. I think yesterday kinda traumatized him." Ace couldn't hold back a shudder as the image of Vinyl's dead body and Rarity's flailing, blood covered hoof flashed through his mind. "I think he speaks for all of us." Lyra stated while staring intently at her coffee. "Well! You all are such Debby downers today!" Ace groaned and turned his head to see MonoColt hovering in the air. Brandon reluctantly standing behind him. "What do you want MonoColt?" Cloud growled, forcing himself to face away from the obnoxious colt. "What do I want? I want some happy faces! C'mon! I know what will make you turn those frowns upside down!" Everyone let out a groan and Ace frowned. "Sounds like a evil Pinkie Pie." Vinyl muttered quietly "Yeah we don't care." Noteworthy said with a snort before turning back to his food. "Don't come and your guts will be spattered on the floor." MonoColt said darkly. Everyone stiffened before reluctantly getting up and walking slowly after MonoColt. "You brought us here to see a staircase?" Storm asked as he folded his arms. "How is that supposed to make us feel better about the deaths of our peers?" MonoColt smirked before flicking his wrist. With a flash of red, the boards over the staircase vanished and MonoColt gestured to it with a stupid looking grin plastered on his face. Everyone reluctantly walked up the staircase. MonoColt at the back. Cloud tried to stay as close to Ace as he could without tripping up anyone else. The second floor was identical to the first. Unlike the first floor though it had a library on one half of the floor, and an inside pool on the other side, all surrounded by classrooms and hallways. "Its nice to have a library in here." Blossom murmured as she traced a bookshelf with her hoof "I agree. Maybe there is somethin' helpful here." Applejack muttered as she scrolled her hoof over the books. "We'd probably have to check every book here. And then there still may be nothing here." Octavia said dully, pulling a scarlet book from the shelves and opening it. Twilight sighed and walked around the other book cases and scanning over the few scattered desks. "Look what I found!" Derpy shouted and every pony headed towards the sound of her voice which led them to a desk hidden behind the largest book case in the middle of the room. Derpy stood in front of a strange metal device, similar to the E-Handbooks and monitors. Except it had a board with a bunch of lettered buttons all lined up in several rows. "What is that?" Twilight asked, poking a button out of curiosity. The monitor lit up and turned a light blue, lighting up the room with a blue glow. "Well. Doesn't look too helpful." Lyra muttered, nudging the device with her hoof. "Yes. And I doubt we'll find anything useful in the pool room." Octavia stated nonchalantly before flipping to the next page of the book. Cloud shot her a look. "Well maybe not. But we may as well enjoy ourselves as much as possible while we're here..right?" he looked at the others who seemed to agree. "Well then. Trixxie sees no harm in exploring the pool room. We must search every nook and cranny of this school, You said so yourself Twilight." Trixxie said in her obnoxious voice before exiting the library. Every pony else looked at each other before gradually following the air-head unicorn. Ace looked at the large pool before him. It looked rather nice if he wanted to take a swim, but he knew it would be rather stupid to jump in with his clothes on. Flame seemed to be doing his best to avoid the water while Snowflake down at it. Ace walked over to the two doors on the left hand side of the pool area. One was pink and had a female symbol on it while the other was blue and had a male symbol on it. Ace noticed something that looked like retina scanners from one of those spy movies by each door. Ace walked over and looked at it. He assumed these would be what unlocked the doors. Then Ace got an idea and held his E-Handbook over the device by the blue door. It let out a small beep and Ace looked at it, confused. Then he heard whirring above him and looked up to see a large mechanical machine gun lowering itself from the ceiling and aiming at Ace. Ace felt stiff and he stared at the deadly piece of machinery before him. Only when the device that had scanned his E-Handbook flashed a green light and let out another beep did the machine stop whirring. Ace let out a sigh and turned to see the rest of the group had stopped their admiration of the room to stare at Ace and the giant gun above him. "Are you....Are you mad!?" Blossom shouted and Ace flinched back and noticed the blue door had opened. Ignoring the shocked group behind him, Ace entered the room. It appeared to be a male changing room. "I think these are changing rooms." Ace said as he left the room, the door closing and locking behind him. "I guess the handbook has your gender in it so you can't sneak into an opposite gender room." Brandon suggested from the very back of the room. "Trixxie agrees with Brandon." Trixxie stated, looking at Brandon who smiled slightly. "Told you we wouldn't find anything helpful here." Octavia muttered quietly before heading towards the exit. Ace let out a sigh. It was true though. The pool room seemed rather pointless other than swimming. Or drowning an unsuspecting peer..... Ace suddenly felt disgusted and shocked that he would even consider murdering someone. "Ace?" The calling of his name pulled him from his thoughts. Ace looked up to see everyone had already headed out the double doors at the front of the pool room and Cloud was standing there, looking at him. "Huh?" Ace asked in confusion "Are you alright, Ace?" Cloud asked, a look of concern on his face. "Y-Yeah, Yeah i'm fine." Ace stiffened when Cloud pressed his hoof against the side of his head. "You still have that cut on your head from Rarity's ring......" Ace awkwardly pushed Cloud's hoof away and followed the others out of the room. Author's Note SHIPPING! YES I SHIP IT :D I was inactive due to the thing called grounding. Why do I sound like a 7 year old when I say that!? I made Cloudthyst Two Days after I made Cloud and Ace about.... two years ago -.- Yup, First Pony OCS and Ship. K, done Ranting. C1: Living Fear: IntroductionAce stared at the giant building before him. It was a several story building, the windows seemed dark for some reason but the blue unicorn didn't acknowledge it. There was a 9 foot tall fence surrounding the school, a gravel path leading from the gate to the school doors which were white frames with glass in the center. The building seemed to be made of solid concrete, surrounded in gravel paths to other parts of the structure. The entrance through the fence was a set of tall black metal gates, opening into the well-tended yard. Ace was still shocked he was going to be going here. A school for the best of the best, he had of course won a lottery to get in here. Cloud of course was an excellent at guitar. He had practically blown up when Ace called and told him the good news. Cloud had mailed him plenty of things, a map, a brochure, unusual for a boarding school,and all the activities planned. Ace walked over to the gates, adjusting his thin-rimmed silver glasses on his nose before walking forward, the gates opening automatically, that was one of the many technical things in the boarding school. But after a few steps across the campus his vision began to blur and he began to stagger, his head getting lighter with every step until his legs buckled and his mind was enveloped in a state of unconsciousness. "Hello? Hey! You awake?" Ace blinked open his eyes. His whole body ached. There was a pony in front of him, staring at him with kind green eyes, Ace was able to see she wore a stetson, she had an orange coat, decorated with freckles on her cheeks. Her hair was a bright blonde as well. Ace opened his mouth and a small groan came out. "I'll take that as a yes." She also had a thick western accent. Ace struggled up with the westerner's help, taking in his surroundings. It appeared he was in a giant space, what looked like a gym, about fifteen other students beside Ace were in there, including the blonde western girl. "Well that looks like the sixteenth student." a boy in a fire design shirt and black hoodie. "Wait. Ace?" Ace instantly recognized the voice. "Cloud!?" Ace stammered and spun around right as he was tackled in a large hug by a pegasus in dark grey hoodie and white sleeves, his hair was black with white highlights, two black, white tipped wings flared out in joy. "Your here!" Ace forgot all the world for a moment, all that mattered was his friend was with him after a near year of his friend being off on tours as he advanced his career in music, cutting off their personal meetings and such. "Um. Sorry to interrupt your little reunion but. Your Ace Amethyst right? Ultimate Level Luckster?" Ace turned. The one addressing him was a mare with a long dark grey mane around her shoulder blades. She wore a pink bow tie and a knee length silver dress with a pink musical note on the center. Octavia~ Ultimate Level Violinist "Well. We may as well introduce ourselves since we all just suddenly woke up together." the violinist suggested and the westerner nodded. "Well...Mah name is Apple Jack. You can call me AJ too though." Apple Jack~ Ultimate Level Farmer A colt with coal black hair who also wore a white hoodie with black feather designs. "Name's Black Storm. These are my friends Flame Strike, Snowflake, And Blossom." he stated, directing to the three other people surrounding him. Flame strike had a shirt designed like a fire on coals with a black leather jacket. He also had an orange and yellow mane smoothed to look like a flame. Black Storm~ Ultimate Level Athlete Flame Strike~ Ultimate Level Racer Blossom had a sandy pinkish mane which was held up in a bun with a hairband, a white blossom glued to it. Her outfit was a spiffy little school uniform design with assortments of flower designs on the brim of the short skirt. She wore dark pink glasses that seemed to show off her eyes. She looked a bit like a teen aged librarian. Blossom~ Ultimate Level Scientist Snowflake had a whitish colored mane and wore a white shirt with a knee length pale blue skirt and a headband with a snowflake design on it. Snowflake~ Ultimate Level Ice Skater "Alright. Now that they have introduced themselves. I may as well do the same. My name is Rarity." A mare in a sequin style dress around shin-length. She wore a large assortment of jewelry as well. Her purple mane was curled. Rarity~ Ultimate Level Designer "Well. My name's Shining Armor. Nice to meet you all." a unicorn with a blue mane mentioned Shining Armor~ Ultimate Level Leader A lavender unicorn was close to Shining Armor, her mane was a darker color with a pink highlight and she wore a sweater with jeans and held a book to her side. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. This is my brother." she directed to the Ultimate Leader beside her. "Hello. My name is Lightning Sky...." a colt with dark blue hair spoke up. He wore a blue sweatshirt and had lightning blue tips. Lightning Sky~ Ultimate Level Astronomer "Alright!" someone cheered from the back and a mare with large glasses and a set of headphones ran up to Ace. She wore a white shirt with a different music note from Octavia's, along with a grey jacket. "Name's DJPon3! Or Vinyl Scratch!" Vinyl Scratch~ Ultimate Level DJ Quickly afterwards, a colt with a strange shirt. which was ripped at certain parts, ran up. His mane was shoulder-length and a reddish brown. His cheeks seemed to have a faint reddish circle tinged to them. Brandon Puppetstrings~ Ultimate Level Puppeteer "Your the puppeteer guy correct?" Someone asked and Brandon turned to see a colt with a silver mohawk and a tattered leather jacket on a white shirt. "Well. Name's Thunderlane. Anyway what exactly do you do?" Thunderlane~ Ultimate Drummer "W-Well...I-I...um.." Brandon stammered and to his luck, another pony ran over. She had a blonde mane and wore a red jacket over a white shirt and one of her eyes seemed to have a mind of its own. "Hello! Name's Derpy Hooves!" Derpy Hooves~ Ultimate Baker "Nice to meet you." Ace greeted kindly. "Hello! My name's Lyra Heartstrings!" Lyra Heartstrings~ Ultimate Level Harpist "Awesome! We got a small band goin' on here!" Vinyl cheered, enthusiastically pumping her fists in the air. "Who's the other three?!" Ace rose his hand. "I'm Ace Amethyst. i won the lottery thing. Guess that makes me the Ultimate Level Luckster" "Well. Guess we got a band after all. Name's Noteworthy. I sing." a colt with blue mane and a gray sweatshirt. Noteworthy~ Ultimate Level Singer "So I guess I'm last." someone muttered and everyone turned to see a unicorn in a faded blue colored jacket and a pale silver mane, held from her face by a headband with a star. She also wore a star seamed skirt about to her knees." I am THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXXIE!" the mare shouted so loud that even the Ultimate DJ slammed her hooves over her headphones which didn't seem to block the entire sound from the unicorn's ears. "Well! It looks like you've all gotten to know each other!" a loud, distorted, high-pitched voice sounded through the gym, causing everyone to jump and even Brandon to scream. Everyone's attention turned to a stage which was set up on the far right side of the gym. On the stage stood a unidentified pony. It seemed to be split down the middle, causing its body to be half black and half white. Its right eye was a gleaming red, a ragged shape as well. it seemed to represent a scar. "W-Who are you!?" Lightning Sky stammered, his cool demeanor seeming to shatter slightly. "Thank you. I am Principal MonoColt!" everyone stared at the over-enthusiastic...colt? "So. As you all know this is School! And of course your all trapped here." the gym burst into chaos before MonoColt barely finished his sentence. "We're trapped!?" "WHAT!? "IS THIS SOME CRUEL JOKE!?" Ace watched as the people surrounding him blurred into a state of panic. Lightning Sky was shaking yet silent, Octavia was screaming, like almost every other mare in the room, and the colts were yelling. Brandon was curled up on the floor. Ace felt his brain overwhelm with his peers' panicking before a loud distorted screech like nails on chalkboard resounded through the gym. "SILENCE!" Everyone stared at MonoColt who was glaring down at them with an angry gleam set to his eyes. "Now. I get to explain. So your trapped and there are only two ways to escape!" the clamor began to start up and MonoColt cleared his throat, silencing the students whom didn't fancy getting MonoColt screeching in their ears again. "Of course. Way one is to kill a fellow peer and get away with it!" this time the clamor could not be contained as everyone was thrown into a fit of insecurity. Twilight rose her voice over the clamor. "What is the Other way?" "Glad you ask! The other way is to survive till the end! Only one peer will survive!" MonoColt cheered and everyone just stared at him with shocked and horrified eyes. "The rules and your E-Handbooks are in your dorm rooms! Have Fun!" and MonoColt vanished. Author's Note SOOOOO LOOOONG! Also. I am trying to come up with my own executions and murders so don't try and figure out the plot ahead using the game or anime :)
C1: Living Fear: Part 1"W-We have to kill each other!?" Derpy screamed. Ace stood there, attempting to develop what happened. "I-Its a lie! It has to be a lie!" Lightning Sky stammered in a frail attempt to calm the chaos. "EVERYONE CALM DOWN!!" Someone shouted and everyone turned to Twilight Sparkle, looking at her like lost puppies. "I...I understand you are all very shocked and surprised. I am as shocked as you all. But we mustn't panic. Panic is a terrible way to start." "S-So....is this some cruel joke?" Lightning asked but Twilight shook her head. "I am afraid to confirm your fears. All 18 of us are trapped here with no way out. At the current moment at least." everyone stared at each other. "B-But...what about...the...killing thing?" Lyra asked, tapping her hooves together quietly but her eyes darted around nervously. The room grew tense as everyone looked at each other. Ace understood the feeling. He barely knew anyone here beside Cloud. Anyone of them could be plotting to kill another right now. "W-Well let's just...go to our rooms...when you've all gotten a grip of yourselves. I will see you in the cafeteria." and Twilight strode away. Ace stared at her before turning to everyone else. "Y-Yeah...see you at the cafeteria." Noteworthy responded and he looked at everyone. "Does anyone have a map or something?" Ace remembered the papers and such Storm had gave him. Ace pulled the articles from his bag and holding it out in front of everyone so they could see. "The dorms are that way." Noteworthy commented. "Twilight must've gone to the cafeteria." everyone nodded and followed Ace to the dorm rooms. Ace opened the door to his dorm room. A picture of his cutie mark and his name were labeled on the door to signify it. Ace's room was purple, his bed was silver, along with the furniture. There was a pale white door which Ace assumed led to the bathroom. He saw a note taped to the wall and a monitor above it. Ace plucked the note off the wall and read it. An important message from your principal MonoColt Room locks are equipped with an anti-picking mechanism. The keys are a bit a pain to make, so don't lose them. Every room comes with a bathroom but the water is turned off during the "nighttime" I have also prepared a gift for you. A sewing kit for the girls and a tool set for the boys. Have a killer time everyone! Ace frowned. "Just to kill each other." and he threw the paper away before plopping down on his bed as he attempted to understand everything that had happened to him that day. After what felt like hours of thinking, he remembered the meeting everyone had settled on. Getting up, Ace left his room, being sure to lock the door behind him. As Ace followed his map, he found himself in front of two glass doors before opening them to find everyone else there. "S-Sorry if I took a while.." he muttered, walking over tot he table everyone sat at, Twilight being at the head of the table. "Its fine. You probably had quite a bit to wrap your mind around. Isn't that right everyone?" and everyone nodded their heads. "Yes. I had quite a bit. After all. I am not used to being stuck inside a building with imbeciles for longer than a 30 minute period." Trixxie stated with a smirk, catching everyone's attention. "W-What does that mean?!" Lyra snapped, clenching her hooves into fists and glaring at Trixxie. "Yeah?! Is that some sort of insult!?" Noteworthy did the exact same thing. "If it weren't for the situation we were in. I would strangle you to death right now!" Cloud snapped across the table "Shut up!" Ace screamed much to his own surprise and everyone turned to him. "If we are going to survive under these conditions. We'll have to get along. At least. Try to. Threatening each other is not a good way to start!" Ace stared down the ponies who had just broke in a slight argument. Cloud brushed his hoof through his mane thoughtfully. "Well Well. Nice speech there. Very well. I will try to get along with you. Even if I have a higher intelligence then you all." Flame let out a slight growl, his teeth clenched. "Trixxie. If you keep talking like that. You might become a bloody corpse some were." Cloud spoke up and Trixxie's face turned pale. "I-Is that a threat?" Cloud's eyes widened "N-No No No! It isn't a threat. Its just what would happen if you keep acting high and mighty and insulting everyone!" Trixxie frowned at him. "Well....What do we do? You started this meeting for a reason right Twilight?" Ace asked and she nodded. "We need to figure out a plan. To..avoid conflict..or murder.." she answered. "H-How about. We come to the cafeteria every morning for a headcount! and-And we...um.." Derpy cut short. "We could go every were in pairs." Snowflake finished. "No. That will make it all the easier for a murder to occur." Blossom answered "Explain how, Blossom." Twilight answered. "Well. Let's say Trixxie wanted to murder someone." "WHAT!? WHY me!?" Trixxie snapped at Blossom. "No reason. Anyway. And she was paired up with...Ace per say." Ace grinded his teeth to contain his protest. "So let's say Trixxie got a knife from some were and she said she wanted to go..to her dorm. Someone would have to go with her. So once they were at her dorm. Trixxie would pull out the knife and before anyone would know. Ace is dead and we have no clue were he is." Ace felt uneasy. "Why do I feel like I'm gonna die after this?" he muttered and everyone shrugged. "Then we can fix that by sending threes?" Twilight asked "That is correct." Blossom gave an acknowledging nod. "Alright. So it is decided. See you in the morning at the cafeteria. Please...don't be late." Twilight answered and everyone headed to the dorms in a large group. "Goodnight everyone!" Ace said kindly before going back into his room and making sure to lock it. Ding Dong Ding Dong "It is now "nighttime" the cafeteria is now off limits. Goodnight everyone! Monocolt's voice echoed throughout the school as Ace fell into a deep sleep ~Next Day~ Ace opened his eyes to find himself in his bedroom. He felt the memories flood his brain and he groaned. Guess it wasn't a dream. he thought to himself, slipping out of bed and getting ready for the day, taking a shower, changing his clothes, the basics. After getting ready, Ace left, heading to the cafeteria. Author's Note Short as heck but LMAO !
C1: Living Fear: Part 2"Good morning Ace!" Black Cloud greeted as Ace walked into the cafeteria. "Hey Black Cloud." Ace greeted in return, settling down beside his friend on the colorful bench which was vertical of the matching table. "Looks like no one listened to that Mono guy." Noteworthy spoke up from across the table, absently nudging his eggs with a fork. "Is everyone here?" Twilight asked from the edge of the table, causing everyone else to turn their heads. "Yup!" Derpy called from the far end of the table, over a small tower of blueberry muffins. Blossom looked up from the book she was currently reading. Ace absently wondered were she found it but settled on asking her later. ` Despite Derpy's reassuring "yup", Twilight scanned over the group of ponies before her before settling down in her seat and beginning to eat her breakfast. "U-Um...guys?" Flame asked from his seat, the attention shifting to the flame-haired colt who shifted slightly. "Has anyone checked these?" and Flame held up a device which had the appearance miniature monitor, everyone instinctively shied away from the device as if it were to explode. Ace understood. They were in a building were trust was scarce. "Can I see that?" Ace asked and Flame handed it across the table and Ace picked it up, turning it around and such when it flickered on. Ace flinched slightly but looked at the screen. It had a image of Flame and some side info. "Its a ID...." Ace muttered, handing it back to Flame. "I saw one in my room but I didn't really acknowledge it." Cloud said as he swallowed a mouthful of eggs ignoring the stares and glances he earned from what he said. "I think we all have one some were in our rooms." Blossom answered in her matter-of-fact tone. "So...what are we going to do today...exactly?" Storm asked, prodding his food around with a fork, seemingly uninterested in the meal. "Well.....yeah...What should we do?" Snowflake asked and she looked around, yet the pegasus got no answer. Ace pondered for a moment. It did seem like this place was rather boring. Filled with many absent halls and classrooms..... He was stirred by Twilight's authoritative and calm voice. "We are going to explore in one big group. Alright? Its better than nothing and its always good to know your surroundings." "I thought Shining Armor was the Ultimate Leader not the Ultimate...." Lightning Sky said and everyone suddenly realized that Twilight Sparkle never told them her talent. "She's a good leader." Shining said quickly, trying to hide his embarrassment of his sister taking over his talent. "Well Were do we go first then?" Brandon asked, his soft voice seeming like a sort of low music in the cafeteria. Thunderlane shrugged and looked at Twilight, expecting her answer. "Well. We can check all the classrooms to start. Maybe there's an escape route." Twilight got up from the table and walked towards the door before turning to the others. "Are you coming or not?" She asked jokingly and everyone got up to follow their new leader. Author's Note "I love mysteries! That's the only time when everyone else doesn't know whats going on!" Logan
C1 Living Fear: Part 3Ace let out a defeated sigh as he finished checking what felt like the millionth classroom. They had been searching for a exit but non were found. As Ace walked out of the classroom to rejoin the group and they were all silent. "So. No exits or anything?" Shining Armor asked and everyone shook their heads. "Well then that means this hallway is useless." Twilight muttered and lead them back to the hallway with the gym. "Okay did we perhaps miss anyone?" she asked and everyone looked around only to reveal one of them was missing. Brandon Puppetstrings. "Okay. Who last saw him?" Everyone looked around and they all shrugged. They had only seen him until the divided into smaller groups to search the classrooms. "Brandon?" Ace called and everyone else did the same but only five minutes after they had begun their search, Brandon came running down the hallway, his reddish brown mane bouncing from running. He stopped in front of the group, panting for breath. "Brandon! Where the hay were you!? Its very stupid to run off in this place!" Applejack scolded though the scolds went unheard as Brandon immediately began to speak once he caught his breath. "Rooms.....Not classrooms.....rooms full of stuff." He straightened up after finishing his sentence and smiled proudly. "Well. Lead the way!" Ace said enthusiastically when no one else would speak. Though Ace didn't admit it, the young earth pony was growing on him. Everyone followed the suddenly happy Puppeteer, most having to speed walk or jog to keep up with him. After passing many open and empty classes the teenagers all came across a door which unlike the classrooms which had a number and letter plastered on the front it read Music Room Brandon jumped up and down happily before opening the door. Everyone entered the room, looking around at the instruments happily. "Yes! They have a DJ booth!" and Ace watched as the pastel white DJ jumped into the booth. "I do wish they had a puppet booth or something." Brandon muttered before running out of the room, not even waiting for the rest of the group. Ace ignored his groaning peers and followed him, as they continued walking Ace saw a staircase but it was blocked off by sturdy wood boards. "Oh yeah that's a staircase to the next level. Not sure why they blocked it off but I bet there is more helpful things up there.." Ace looked at the boards before attempting to pry the plank away and he could hear the gathering of the others in the hallway as they headed towards them. As Ace felt the board begin loosen something went poof beside him and Ace leaped and slipped, falling onto his back. There stood MonoColt in his suit with a stupid look on his monochrome face. "I wouldn't do that if I were you!" he said and the others had gathered by them. "And Why not? Its not like there's anything special up there right?" Cloud walked over to the enclosed stairwell and pulled a foot back to break through one of the wood boards. "Hey, cloud boy? Do you want to be crushed to a pulp? Cause that can happen." Cloud stopped and turned to MonoColt. "Alright. I don't want to die today so I'll let you have your way." Cloud snapped at him before walking back to the group. "Now. I shall be off to watch your boring explorations of this floor." He emphasized the 'boring' before vanishing like always. Ace glared at the space where Monocolt had stood seconds before. "Hey is anyone else feeling hungry?" Brandon asked, his timid behavior returning. "Yeah its been a few hours, why not?" Shining asked and everyone liked the idea and they all headed to the cafeteria. Author's Note I do good? :3
C1: Living Fear: Part 4Ace took a bite out of his sandwich. He looked at the others who were also eating. Cloud looked at Trixxie who had been shooting him glances since they sat down. Ace could feel Cloud's anger and tension boiling up. Trixxie was the most annoying pony here so who wouldn't? Ace picked up his plate and carried it to the kitchen to put it in the sink. As he turned to leave he saw a knife rack. A strong urge to take one of those blades and hide it. Ace knew he wouldn't kill with it, and no one else was there to see him take one. Ace swallowed and glanced around the kitchen. Everyone was in the adjoining cafeteria. With that he quickly grabbed a knife before he could reconsider. It was a small one, small enough to fit in his pocket, but big enough to deal damage to an attacker. "Hey Ace." Ace nearly screamed before he turned around. "Don't do that you gave me a heart attack!" Ace snapped as the pony entered the kitchen. It was Vinyl. "Sorry about that. I guess. So. What'cha doing?" she asked after putting the dishes in the sink. "Same thing you just did...and thinking. I'm worried....someone...someone may kill.." he finally said and Vinyl looked at him before pulling him into a hug, which Ace did not expect. After a few awkward minutes Vinyl backed away from the surprised unicorn. "Sorry.....Guess i've gotten used to hugging people when they're since my friend Pinkie does it all the time...." Vinyl trailed off as her smile fell. Ace immediately understood and patted the Ultimate DJ on the shoulder, giving her a sympathetic smile. "Sorry. I just guess I temporarily forgot about my friends back in Ponyville.....I miss them...." Ace sighed as he remembered all his friends from Las Pegasus. Although he did remember visiting a "Ponyville" but it was only vague blurs of ponies and such. Although he did remember a Pinkie Pie. Ace shook his head to bring him back to the present. When he had brought his head out of the past, Ace immediately noticed Vinyl had moved from beside the sink where he stood and he turned around and was shocked to see Vinyl reaching for the carving knife on the knife rack. Vinyl suddenly seemed to notice Ace was staring at her and stared at him. Ace stepped backwards, his heart starting to speed up its beating til it felt like a drum was in his chest. Was Vinyl about to murder him while he got lost in thought!? Vinyl's immediately grasped the knife and set it down on the kitchen's island. Ace's mind drew a blank and he did the only thing he could think of, scream. Of course, before he could gain enough breath to scream, Vinyl slammed a hoof over Ace's mouth. Ace stared at her, his entire body screeching to run away or fight back against the Ultimate DJ. "Shh! Calm down!" Vinyl hissed, using her magic to confirm the two way door to the kitchen had been shut completely. Once a few moments had passed, Vinyl removed her hoof from Ace's mouth. "I was just taking a knife for protection! You looked kinda lost in thought so I thought I'd grab one.....Sorry to scare you. I swear I won't kill with it! Just don't tell the others!" Vinyl pleaded and Ace felt his heart begin to steady its beating. "I won't tell. In fact." Ace paused to hold up his smaller knife that he had stolen from the kitchen as well. "Alright! So we don't tell anyone we stole knives from the kitchen. Simple right?" Vinyl asked, her happy demeanor returning as she hid the carving knife in her jacket. Ace tucked his smaller knife in his pocket. The two unicorns smiled before leaving the kitchen. Returning to the cafeteria, they sat down in their respective seats. Afterwards everyone began to leave slowly, in groups, but still. As Ace and Vinyl began walking towards the hallway to their dorms in which everyone seemed to be heading, someone screamed at the top of their lungs. "Someone stole a knife!" Ace's blood ran cold and he felt Vinyl grip his hand as everyone ran to the kitchen. Lyra was staring at the knife rack, pointing at it with a shaky hand. Ace glanced at the knife rack and this time his heart nearly stopped beating. Not only was the two knives that were now hidden in the pockets of Vinyl and Ace had vanished, but a third one as well. Twilight was staring at the knife rack with wide eyes. When she had managed to calm herself she turned to the group gathered in the kitchen. "Who has the knives? Please, if you have them please hand them over." Twilight said, her voice calm and steady, yet full of authority. Ace bit his lip while Vinyl just stood stock still behind him. Ace didn't realize she was still holding his hand until it began to burn. He ignored it in order to keep from revealing he and Vinyl had stolen the two knives. "Who stole the knives!? Hand them over now before Trixxie-" Trixxie was abruptly shut up by Cloud hissing a curse at her. Ace groaned. Cloud had begun cursing at particularly annoying ponies, and Ace had begun noticing this when they met every once and a while during his tours. "Everyone calm down. I'm sure we'll figure this "Alright.....We just wait til someone pulls out a knife to kill us and then tell everyone that in our dying message." Lightning Sky said sarcastically. "I....I don't wanna get killed...." Brandon muttered, hiding behind Octavia who didn't appear to have a rejection to becoming the young colt's new hiding spot. "No. Also I would love it if we all stick together til the knives are fou-" Twilight was cut off as Vinyl suddenly jerked her hand from Ace's pulling out her knife and holding it up. "I took one of the knives....." Vinyl quickly set down the knife on the counter by Twilight before edging back to Ace. "I was thinking you were a killing type..." Noteworthy began only for Vinyl to explode at him. "I was taking it for self defense you ass! At least Ace understands why too!" Ace shot Vinyl a look as all eyes went to the two. "Were you gonna do a double murder or something?" Flame Strike asked coolly. Now it was Ace's turn to be shocked. "No! I would never commit murder! I'd rather be killed than kill!" Ace's piercing glare shut the pegasus up, as well as everyone else. Agitated and done with dealing with the now suddenly annoying ponies around him, Ace turned around and stormed out of the kitchen, the angry thump of his hooves as he headed to his room, slamming his door behind him. Author's Note Sooo long. At least its done. now. ENOUGH WITH THE FILLER! Is it spoilerific to tell you murder is happening next chapter?
C1: Living Fear: Part 5Ace stormed around angrily in his room. How long had it been? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? An hour? The enraged unicorn hadn't begun dwell on the thought before bursting into another outburst of his unfocused anger. As Ace tried to think of curses in his head, (not that he'd ever say them aloud) only to find he couldn't remember what he had even stormed from the kitchen about. He stopped storming around and fell onto the end of his bed. Suddenly finding himself drained of energy to continue raging, he looked around his room, trying to find something to occupy his mind before he went mad. His violet eyes fell on the E-Handbook on his nightstand. Suddenly finding it very interesting, Ace reached over and picked it up, running his hand over the cold surface. Then the screen lit up. Ace jumped and stared at it in shock. Ace Amethyst Ultimate Level Luckster How did this know my name? Ace curiously tapped on the screen and it switched to a picture of Ace's face, along with a side of information such as his age, height, and weight. He was a rather tall unicorn as he was actually a head taller than his best friend. He continued to flick through the information to find a map of the school and small dots covered the map, most of them in the kitchen. Ace noticed the purple one was in the dorms....alone. Ace suddenly remembered the threat of murder hanging in the air. As long as anyone was trapped inside this prison they had the constant threat of kill or be killed hanging in the air. As Ace began scrolling through the screens he saw the IDs of his fellow peers. Ace suddenly found himself reading through a collection of rules for the school. "MonoColt is allowed to add rules to this list." Ace dully read the rule out loud. This wouldn't end well. Right then a message popped up on his E-Handbook. I'm going to practice my music in the music room with Lyra, Noteworthy, Octacvia, and Thunderlane. I'll be there early if you wanna hear some.~Vinyl Ace thought for a moment before deciding to go to the Music room. Once out of his room he shut it and scurried to the music room, passing the blocked off stairway. That was when the fear and worry began to set in. Instead of taking a full out sprint, Ace began to walk slower, biding his time. "What if no one's there...What if someone kills me....What if-" Ace was cut off as he felt himself slip before his face slammed into the hallway floor. He let out a loud groan and used his hands to prop himself up in order to see what had tripped him. It was Snowflake's headband. What was Snowflake's headband doing in the hallway to the music room? Ace suddenly felt his stomach twist into a knot as he instantly began thinking the horribly possibilities of meeting Vinyl alone in the music room. Ace shook it off as he brushed himself off despite the floors were rather clean as was his clothes and walked towards the music room again. What if Vinyl got her knife back? What if she kills me!? Ace swallowed before planting a hoof on the doorknob. Before the thoughts of fear and worry could scare him back to his room, Ace twisted the knob and flung the door open. Only to immediately regret that decision. There, on the DJ stand, lay Vinyl Scratch, head set sideways on one of the records, her hooves sprawled out, a headset dangling from one of them. Ace would have assumed she was asleep. If it weren't for the pool of pink blood dripping down the front of the stand and forming a puddle around her face, coating her cheek in a hot pink. Ace felt paralyzed to the floor. He felt his stomach churn and did the only sensible thing one would do if they were to find a dead person. He screamed at the top of his lungs and the world turned into a sea of churning blackness. Author's Note I regret bonding Vinyl and Ace. I forgot I was going to kill Vinyl first when I bonded them. Now. WHO KILLED VINYL!?I know. And you won't expect it :D Also ITS TIME I KILLED SOMEBODY!
C1: Living Fears: Part 6Ace felt like he was floating in an abyss. He glanced around, not sure why as everything was the same shade of black. Suddenly everything began fading. Ace felt rather confused although not sure why. But as quickly as the abyss changed, it vanished. Leaving Ace to a sudden strike of pain. Ace felt his body jolt forward as the pain had awoken him. He glanced around to see a blurred group of ponies. Then pain flooded through his head and Ace pressed a hoof to the side of his head, only to feel sticky liquid. "You okay, Ace?" Ace's vision began to straighten out and he looked up. He saw the worried face of his best friend and Ace struggled into a sitting position. Ace then noticed the other ponies had been gathered in the room. Then everything came flooding back, causing Ace to double forward. Vinyl..... "V-Vinyl..." Ace looked among the faces in the room, hoping that what he had seen was just a nightmare and that the unicorn was perfectly fine. She wasn't there. "Ace.....Vinyl's dead..." the words sounded so blunt to Ace. After a few moments it sank in and Ace felt his eyes well up with tears. "No.....No no!" Ace repeated the words as if they would change the fact Vinyl had been killed. Ace got up, despite his wooziness, and ran. He honestly didn't care what the other ponies did, He just wanted to make sure that the death of his new friend hadn't truly occurred and that she was just perfectly fine. His hopes were immediately shattered as he came across the music room. Vinyl lay there. Her lifeless body slumped over the DJ booth. Ace steadied himself against the door frame. The reality of everything washed over him and he took a deep breath. He turned to the gathered group of ponies behind him. "I.....I don't believe....I don't believe she's dead...." Ace said, not caring that nearly no one heard him. With that, he turned and walked into the room. He ignored the sirens going off in his head and he placed a hand on Vinyl's shoulder. Her shoulder was so cold it was numbing. Ace stared at Vinyl before turning to the ponies behind him. Wait for it.....Wait for it.... As if on cue, a puff of smoke symbolized that MonoColt had entered. MonoColt looked at the corpse of Vinyl for a moment before breaking out into laughter. "Wow! You guys sure do wanna get out! Killing someone on the second day!" He jumped around like a happy child, Ace could see the annoyed faces of the others and he knew some were trying to keep from throwing themselves at MonoColt. "Now! Its time to get investigating!" He said happily. "I'll see you guys in a little bit at the Class Trial!" And as quickly as he appeared, MonoColt vanished. Ace felt the tension of the atmosphere. It was painful. "I-I can't believe....That...Someone would kill Vinyl...." Cloud murmured and he approached the dead body. "I can." Trixxie said in a loud voice. "Obviously someone wants to get out and doesn't want to wait for us to get them out." Twilight nodded to the unicorn and walked over to observe Vinyl's body. "It appears she took severe blows to the head." She muttered thoughtfully. Ace scanned over the rest of Vinyl's body but found no other wounds. "I guess that was the only cause of death." he replied to Twilight. "Yeah. And it appears the DJ booth is what her head was bashed against." Cloud was now helping while the others wandered around the music room to find anything else that may be of use. Ace observed Vinyl's stature."It appears she was about to put on some music when the killer attacked her..." Ace said to himself. Then he thought of her facial expression, hidden by here large shades. Ace gingerly reached out and pulled off the glasses. They were surprisingly clean, except for the side were it had been in the blood. He looked at Vinyl to see her eyes were wide, filled with fear and horror. "She definitely died in pain." Twilight murmured after looking at Vinyl's pain twisted face. "Hey, Twilight...?" Ace asked as a thought came to mind. "Yes, Ace? Is something wrong?" Ace looked at the calm and collected unicorn. "Since I....Since I was the first one at Vinyl's body.....Am I a suspect?" Twilight thought for a moment before she answered his question. "Yeah....I guess so." she replied and Ace swallowed around the growing lump in his throat. "Okay." He said in a shaky voice before getting up and walking around the booth some more. As if the evidence would just pop out if he waited long enough. To distract himself from Vinyl's horrified face, Ace thought through the schedules of every pony. I had gone to my room to rage at around 12:30....I left at 1:05 and found Vinyl at 1:10.....But I didn't see anyone near the rooms. Let alone the music room. There was no way this murder occurred in 5 minutes. But Vinyl was alive at 12:30....So when did the murder occur? "Twilight....Where was everyone during 12:30 to 1:05?" I asked her and she thought about that. "We can discuss that at the trial." she said and went back to investigating. Ace sighed and shoved his hands into his pocket, leaving the murder scene and wandering down the hall. He remembered Snowflake's headband and picked it up. It was clean, not a speck of blood. He shrugged and walked back to the investigation. He walked over to Snowflake and tapped on her shoulder. She spun around and stared at Ace. "I...I tripped over this on the way over here....when I first found the body..." Ace muttered as he held out Snowflake's headband. Snowflake looked surprised to find her headband and she snatched it up. "I was wondering where this went!" she said happily as she fixed it upon her head. "Glad I could find it for you." Ace said politely and shuffled away. After examining the crime scene from top to bottom they still had no idea who the killer was. Ace sighed as he looked around. Then he noticed something in the plant pot. Ace reached in and pulled it off the branch of the small tree. It was a pair of white gloves, splattered in blood. Ace spun around to go confront Twilight about the new evidence when a loud bell erupted through the school. Ding Dong! Please head to the gym where an elevator will bring you to the courtroom. Ace sighed and headed towards the gym. This will be the end of us all if I can't figure out who this killer is. Author's Note So lonnnggg and yeah I'm new to investigation stuff i just love murdering people :D
C1: Living Fears: Part 7Ace looked at everyone in the elevator. They all seemed to wear different emotions. Octavia and Lightning Sky just glanced at the others for a few seconds before returning their gaze to the floor. Brandon was pressed into the corner, his small shape shuddering with fear. Applejack was leaning against the wall, casting glares at pretty much everyone. Rarity stood by her, trying to look at anything but the other ponies. Black Storm and Snowflake were together, Snowflake tightly hugging him. Blossom stood beside Flame Strike, her face devoid of motion while Flame seemed to be trying to tell who may be the murderer by a look of guilt. Shining Armor had his arms folded as he glanced around the room, Twilight standing beside him. Thunderlane stood beside Noteworthy, His face full of worry. Noteworthy on the other hand looked at everyone with disdain. Lyra and Derpy Hooves were standing in the other corner, Derpy was petrified as well as Lyra. After what felt like forever for Ace but was only a few stretched out minutes, the doors to the elevator opened and everyone filed out, all their movements seemed laden with some heavy weight. "Helloooo Everyone!" MonoColt chirped from his seat on a stand. One of many which were in a circular formation. His legs thumped against the side as he dangled them over the side of the stand. "I hate you. I hope you know that." Octavia said with her dead pan voice. MonoColt just laughed and jumped off the stand. His laugh was eerie and there was no hiding the insanity that seemed to drip from it. "Oh I know that! That just makes me all the merrier!" He said before laughing once more. Once he had managed to calm his laughter, he vanished and appeared on the single stand that wasn't in the circle. It was much larger and was golden. When nobody attempted to make any movements MonoColt let out a groan before pointing at the stands. "Go already!" he shouted and everyone scurried to the stands with their names. Screens were above every stand, including one that was empty. And its screen was just static. Odd..... Once everyone reached their spots, a magic shield shot up behind every stand, trapping the ponies between them and the chest level banisters in front of each of them. In the center of the circle was a large circular screen on the floor. "Now! Welcome to the Trial of Vinyl Scratch! The rules are simple! Figure out the killer and vote for them! If you vote right, everyone except the killer lives, vote wrong and the killer is freed while you all get executed! Sound good?" MonoColt said happily while everyone looked at him with horror. "That sounds horrible!" Brandon squeaked in terror. "Well I don't care! Now! Begin!" MonoColt shouted the last part and leaned back. Twilight was the first to take charge. "Okay. So lets discuss the murder scene." She said calmly. "Vinyl Scratch was killed in the Music Room at the DJ booth. It appears her head was bashed against the booth multiple times and from the look on her face, the death was almost instant." " So the murder weapon was the booth itself?" Octavia asked and Twilight gave a curt nod. "Yes. We discovered the body after Ace had screamed and fainted. The time was 1:12." Cloud said, looking at the image of Vinyl's body which was no portrayed on the large screen in the center of the stands. "Yeah....By the way...What did I hit my head on? It obviously wasn't the floor....right?" Ace asked, feeling slightly awkward for asking the question while they discussed the body. "Trixxie deduced you hit your head on this which had been on the floor beneath you." Trixxie stated as she held up a small ring. It had sharp edges and was covered in what Ace assumed was his blood. "Speaking of which. Trixxie thinks you should get that treated." she directed to the side of Ace's head and Ace realized that he had been walking around with a small cut on his head, the side of his head coated in a thin layer of dried blood. It disturbed him to think about. "Alright. Now to the position Vinyl died in." Twilight said, attempting to keep the conversation on the murder directly, for now. "Vinyl died leaned over the stand. So I assume she was attacked from behind." "Well. If we need to figure out any suspects...I found Snowflake's headband in the hallway on my way to the music room, Well. More like tripped over it." Ace said awkwardly, he felt terrible for putting Snowflake on the suspects' list but if it helped figure out Vinyl's killer.... "Well. I woke up without it this morning. And lets not forget you, Ace. You were the first at the crime scene." Ace nodded. "I know. Twilight told me while we looked over the body. But I know for a fact that I didn't kill her. You don't believe me though. I understand." he found his voice surprisingly calm though. "So...Let us go over all our findings in the Music Room." Twilight said, moving on to the next subject. The courtroom went silent. "I found a scrap of fabric behind a guitar." Derpy said, holding up a white piece of fabric. "It looked like it got ripped on the sharp thing on the stand." Twilight reached out her hand and Derpy handed her the fabric. "Well. That's all we got? A ring, A piece of fabric, and Ace being the first person to see the body...Kinda sad..." Ace let out a groan as he looked at everyone. "W-We can't give up!" Brandon shouted only to receive a glare from Noteworthy. "Unless you have any other proof. We're all giving up." Noteworthy's sentence made Ace's mind do a back flip as he remembered the gloves. "Wait! I Found something in the plant pot in the hallway!" Ace shouted, catching everyone's attention, he held out the pair of blood splattered white gloves. "Hmm..." Twilight murmured before looking at Octavia. "May I see those?" Octavia asked and Twilight handed them to her. Octavia stared at the for a few moments before rubbing her hand on the fabric. "Hmm....Its interesting.....Its a high quality fabric. Something like Canterlot ponies would wear." When everyone looked at her she quickly added "But I don't wear gloves." "Hmm... Who here has been to Canterlot and is likely to wear gloves?" Twilight asked and everyone looked at each other. "I have a pair of gloves. They're a aqua color but I have worn gloves." Lyra said calmly. "So now we assume its a female, right?" Lightning Sky asked. "Yes. These gloves appear to only be a fit for smaller hands." "Wait...I'm female!" Derpy shouted and looked at her hands. Or at least Ace assumed so. He couldn't really tell that well because of her eye going the opposite direction. "Ah' don't wear any gloves." Applejack said, crossing her arms. "Wait.....Does anyone else wear gloves?" Ace asked, fear creeping into his voice. "Rarity...You wear gloves, right?" Shining Armor asked, leaning over his stand to see Rarity. "Yes. But they aren't made of that lovely velvet fabric. I wish though." Wait a minute..... "Rarity.....Octavia never said those gloves were velvet...." Ace pointed out and he noticed beads of sweat beginning to form on her head. "I-I just assumed-" Rarity began but Ace was onto her. "No. Rarity, you've been to Canterlot, I know because I saw you at the gala at one point a year or two ago. And you wore those exact kind of gloves!" Rarity seemed stunned before her face turned red. "A-Are you accusing me!? Cause last time I checked, you were the one to storm off all angry!" she snarled back. "Yes." Ace said bluntly "Now it makes sense. Your the Ultimate Designer! Figuring out a material to make clothing wouldn't be to hard for you at all! Especially if you wore them!" Everyone had gone silent, even Twilight. All eyes trained on Rarity and Ace. "So what!? A pair of identical gloves to one you may have seen me wearing end up splattered in blood in a plant pot!? That doesn't prove sufficient evidence!" Ace then managed to connect the dots between the ring and the murder. "You know...On our first day here... I saw you wearing a green gem ring....And now I see its gone.. I wonder. Could it be that you dropped it when you fled from Vinyl's dead body!?" Ace snapped at her and Rarity's face paled. "And that fabric. If you turn it inside out, you'll find it to be covered in sequins. Just like your dress!" "B-But what about the murder itself! I am no were near strong enough to have slammed Vinyl to the point of death into a DJ Booth!" Rarity screamed back. "Maybe you aren't." Ace muttered "But really...That is hard to believe. And plus, Vinyl's glasses. You probably used your magic to make them fall off. So Vinyl would lean over to grab them. You could then jump at her from behind, smashing her skull into the booth. Then you would put them back on her. Then as you ran away, you dropped your ring and disposed of the gloves in a pot. Using Vinyl's invite to me as a way to turn me into your scapegoat!" The room went quiet. MonoColt watching in interest. Rarity staring at Ace with horror and anger. Everyone else terrified. Ace stared at her, unflinching. When he had attended a few court cases, it had been over theft mostly but one had been about murder. He still remembered how the accuser would glare at the defendant. Until they gave up. It was harder than he thought. Beads of sweat dripping down his face. Finally Rarity looked down. Her eyes dull and full of defeat. Ace continued glaring. "Well! That was interesting! Now! Time to vote. Turn your dial on the front of your stand to who you think is the killer! Simple!" MonoColt shouted, breaking the silence. Everyone looked at each other. Ace swallowed around the lump in his throat as he stared at the dial. It seemed so simple to turn a simple dial. But he couldn't find it in himself. Taking a deep breath, he turned his dial to Rarity. The screen above him flickered and portrayed Rarity's face. Although Rarity wasn't at all like the image that portrayed her. Her face was devoid of color and emotion and tears were beginning to form in her eyes. Slowly everyone else began turning their dials to Rarity. Rarity looked at them all with horror. Brandon and Derpy just stared at everyone else in terror. "Guys...Do you want us to get killed?" Octavia asked and the two violently shook their heads before timidly turning the dial to Rarity. Rarity looked at everyone before turning her dial. Ace sighed as his face flickered onto Rarity's screen. The screen in the center of the stands flickered to life. It appeared to be a slot machine. The slots began spinning, flicking over faces at a fast pace. Soon the slots began slowing over faces and then they slowly stopped at Rarity. Everyone bit their lip. That single moment, when the world seemed to stop, Ace could tell that Rarity was horrified, everyone was nervous. Then a loud fanfare began to play and fireworks shot into the air. The word "GUILTY" flashed above the slot machine and everyone gasped, Rarity screamed. "Well done! You figured it out! Rarity, The Ultimate Designer killed Vinyl Scratch, The Ultimate DJ!" MonoColt shouted as the image faded Everyone stared at Rarity. Horrified. "Rarity.....Rarity Why?" Twilight asked, staring at her best friend. "I....I couldn't take it......And...I-I thought I could make it...I didn't...I didn't know it would kill everyone else in the process.... But...But I had to see Sweetie Belle again....I had to take care of her..." Rarity stated, her eyes staring into her stand. "Well. Since you all voted, Its Punishment time!" Rarity's eyes widened. "N-No! Please no! I beg you! Don't kill me please!" Rarity wailed and Ace had to look away to avoid crying like everyone else was ready to do. "Too bad! You Killed Vinyl! You pay the price!" and the ground beneath Rarity vanished, plummeting her into darkness. As everyone stared at where Rarity had vanished, all the screens flickered before going to a different image. Every screen had a bold white text over a black background. Rarity, Ultimate Designer, Has been found guilty Commencing Execution......... Everyone looked at each other in pure horror. None of them able to speak. The only audible sound was Brandon's sobs. Then the words on the screens changed to something else. Punishment: Over Worked. The words faded to a boutique. Rarity was sitting at a chair. When she realized where she was she began looking around. Then bolts of fabric fell onto the desk in front of her, smashing the sewing machine that had sat there moments earlier. Rarity screamed, or at least that was what Ace believed she was doing, as he could not hear her. More bolts of fabric, along with some over sized spools of thread fell down next to her chair. Rarity jumped out of the chair out of shock, only for the chair to be crushed by a pack of what Ace assumed were dress patterns. Splintered wood went everywhere and Rarity jumped back to avoid it. Everyone's eyes went to the door which is where Rarity ran to first. She opened it only to see what appeared to be shouting, angry fake ponies. Rarity backed away from them in fear and more items fell to the ground. Rarity spun around and bolted to the windows, shaking and pounding on them, her eyes wide with fear. The fake ponies started moving towards her. Ace could now see their sharp teeth. Rarity began screaming, though Ace couldn't hear, and she began ramming her hooves into every possible exit. Soon she was enclosed by fabric and sewing supplies. No where to run from the fake ponies. Though Rarity was only focused on destroying a window to escape. It was only when the fake ponies where a few feet away did she give up, only to turn around and let out a terrified screech. "Wanna hear!?" MonoColt shouted before pressing a nearby button. The room was quickly filled with wails and screams of terror. "Help me! Someone please help me!" Rarity began to sob as she pounded, again and again on the window. Every motion getting weaker and weaker. Soon the fake ponies were upon her. Rarity slid to the ground screaming in horror as the ponies all crowded around her. Everyone couldn't help but listen as Rarity let out the most terrified and painful wails they had ever heard. Brandon had become transfixed to the screen, as had many others, including Ace. Ace suddenly realized what was about to happen and let out a small outcry. Right as he did so, pink splattered over one of the fake ponies. Ace watched on in stomach-churning horror as more and more blood splattered across the wall and the fake ponies faces and hooves. He clamped his hooves over his ears, although it did no good, as Rarity's screams became louder and more full of horror and pain. He saw her hold a hoof in the air, waving it as more blood splattered across it, soon enough, the hoof dropped, as did Rarity's wails and the fake ponies, now covered in Rarity's blood, refused to stop until all the items that had stocked up around them, had fallen on top of them, crushing everyone and everything remaining. Then the screen faded to black. Everyone's mouths were open. Ace heard the force fields fade away but no one moved. Ace heard the sound of gagging and something soft and fluid-like hitting the floor. He bit his lip as the putrid smell of vomit hit his nostrils. He looked at everyone. All of them horrified at what they had seen, others a mix of angry and mournful. Black Cloud was the first to break the silence. "What....What the hell....." He glared at MonoColt. "How could you........ do such a thing?" he asked, MonoColt looked passive as though nothing had happened. "Hmm? How? Well its rather simple, drop a bunch of items in there, watch as a unicorn is mutilated by fake ponies....rather simple isn't it?" MonoColt asked, only for Applejack to start screaming. "What is ta' matter with you!? You sick, twisted pony! How could ya just watch, not even feel a little remorse for mutilating a poor mare who just wanted to get home ta' her little sister!?" Applejack had tears streaming down her face. "Hey! She's the one who killed Vinyl Scratch! Not me!" MonoColt snapped back. "Now back to the elevator! I have to clean up the stupid mess your little friend just made!" Ace looked over to see Brandon shrinking away from MonoColt's furious eyes. Ace looked at everyone before walking over to Twilight. Her eyes were still transfixed to the blank screen, tears still pouring from her violet eyes. "C'mon, Twilight." Ace whispered, helping Twilight towards the elevator. Soon everyone began to follow suit. Once everyone got inside the elevator, and the doors shut. Ace thought of something. I successfully avenged my friend's murder, and saved thirteen lives....So why do I feel like I just lost everything?
C2: Terrible Days: Part 1Don't leave me here to die! Please! Ace tried to ignore the voice but it only grew with every familiar wail. Please! Please don't let them kill me! Ace clamped his hooves over his ears as the wails grew louder. Ace shook his head and turned around, only to see Vinyl. Her eyes dead and empty and the right side of her head bashed in and bloody. "Don't....Leave me....." Vinyl begged, her voice hoarse. Ace turned heel to run only to run into a mutilated Rarity. Ace let out a shrill scream at the bloody mess before him. It was barely recognizable as well. "Why...Why did you sentence me.....To my death?" She begged, her voice no more than a croak. Then the two dead mares grabbed Ace and he felt the blood drip down his shoulders. "Why...?" Ace jerked awake in a cold sweat. When he found himself safe in his bed he let out a sigh of relief. He sat up slowly and looked around. No dead mares here. Slowly, Ace slipped out of the soft confines of his bed and walked over to the mirror. He rubbed at the dark circles under his eyes. He looked, and slightly felt, like he didn't get any sleep. He grabbed a brush and dragged it through his disheveled mane. Once he had taken a shower and changed clothes he walked over to the door and slowly opened it and then shut the door behind him, locking it and slipping the key in his pocket. The halls were quiet and gave Ace the chills. He looked down both ways to confirm no one else was there before walking down the hallway. Ace shuffled past the doors to the cafeteria, only to see everyone else staring him down. "Your late." Trixxie said dully, taking a sip from her tea cup. "I'm sorry." Ace muttered as he sat down next to Cloud. Cloud gave him a comforting smile and Ace gave the best one he could muster at the time. "Guys...Where is Brandon?" Ace realized that Brandon had not been in the cafeteria. "I-I'm gonna go see if he's in his room." Ace muttered quickly before running from the cafeteria and heading to the room with Brandon's cutiemark on it. On his way there he came across the room with the three diamonds in a triangle formation sign. He stopped and looked at the room. Much like Vinyl's portrait at the trial, the cutie mark had a thick bloody X through it. Ace sighed and continued walking, trying to focus on what he had come there to do. He walked over to Brandon's door and knocked on it. He was met by a loud thud from the other side of the door. "Brandon?" Ace asked as he rapped his fist on the door. "You alright?" Ace's questions were met by a small voice. "Yes! Yes everything is fine!" Ace instantly knew that was a lie. "Brandon..Its Ace...I came to check on you. The others wanted to know if you were all right. " Ace said, hoping Brandon could hear him. "Okay...Well....I'm staying in here...." Brandon replied and Ace sighed before walking back to the cafeteria. "He didn't come?" Twilight asked as Ace shuffled through the doors to his seat. "No. I think yesterday kinda traumatized him." Ace couldn't hold back a shudder as the image of Vinyl's dead body and Rarity's flailing, blood covered hoof flashed through his mind. "I think he speaks for all of us." Lyra stated while staring intently at her coffee. "Well! You all are such Debby downers today!" Ace groaned and turned his head to see MonoColt hovering in the air. Brandon reluctantly standing behind him. "What do you want MonoColt?" Cloud growled, forcing himself to face away from the obnoxious colt. "What do I want? I want some happy faces! C'mon! I know what will make you turn those frowns upside down!" Everyone let out a groan and Ace frowned. "Sounds like a evil Pinkie Pie." Vinyl muttered quietly "Yeah we don't care." Noteworthy said with a snort before turning back to his food. "Don't come and your guts will be spattered on the floor." MonoColt said darkly. Everyone stiffened before reluctantly getting up and walking slowly after MonoColt. "You brought us here to see a staircase?" Storm asked as he folded his arms. "How is that supposed to make us feel better about the deaths of our peers?" MonoColt smirked before flicking his wrist. With a flash of red, the boards over the staircase vanished and MonoColt gestured to it with a stupid looking grin plastered on his face. Everyone reluctantly walked up the staircase. MonoColt at the back. Cloud tried to stay as close to Ace as he could without tripping up anyone else. The second floor was identical to the first. Unlike the first floor though it had a library on one half of the floor, and an inside pool on the other side, all surrounded by classrooms and hallways. "Its nice to have a library in here." Blossom murmured as she traced a bookshelf with her hoof "I agree. Maybe there is somethin' helpful here." Applejack muttered as she scrolled her hoof over the books. "We'd probably have to check every book here. And then there still may be nothing here." Octavia said dully, pulling a scarlet book from the shelves and opening it. Twilight sighed and walked around the other book cases and scanning over the few scattered desks. "Look what I found!" Derpy shouted and every pony headed towards the sound of her voice which led them to a desk hidden behind the largest book case in the middle of the room. Derpy stood in front of a strange metal device, similar to the E-Handbooks and monitors. Except it had a board with a bunch of lettered buttons all lined up in several rows. "What is that?" Twilight asked, poking a button out of curiosity. The monitor lit up and turned a light blue, lighting up the room with a blue glow. "Well. Doesn't look too helpful." Lyra muttered, nudging the device with her hoof. "Yes. And I doubt we'll find anything useful in the pool room." Octavia stated nonchalantly before flipping to the next page of the book. Cloud shot her a look. "Well maybe not. But we may as well enjoy ourselves as much as possible while we're here..right?" he looked at the others who seemed to agree. "Well then. Trixxie sees no harm in exploring the pool room. We must search every nook and cranny of this school, You said so yourself Twilight." Trixxie said in her obnoxious voice before exiting the library. Every pony else looked at each other before gradually following the air-head unicorn. Ace looked at the large pool before him. It looked rather nice if he wanted to take a swim, but he knew it would be rather stupid to jump in with his clothes on. Flame seemed to be doing his best to avoid the water while Snowflake down at it. Ace walked over to the two doors on the left hand side of the pool area. One was pink and had a female symbol on it while the other was blue and had a male symbol on it. Ace noticed something that looked like retina scanners from one of those spy movies by each door. Ace walked over and looked at it. He assumed these would be what unlocked the doors. Then Ace got an idea and held his E-Handbook over the device by the blue door. It let out a small beep and Ace looked at it, confused. Then he heard whirring above him and looked up to see a large mechanical machine gun lowering itself from the ceiling and aiming at Ace. Ace felt stiff and he stared at the deadly piece of machinery before him. Only when the device that had scanned his E-Handbook flashed a green light and let out another beep did the machine stop whirring. Ace let out a sigh and turned to see the rest of the group had stopped their admiration of the room to stare at Ace and the giant gun above him. "Are you....Are you mad!?" Blossom shouted and Ace flinched back and noticed the blue door had opened. Ignoring the shocked group behind him, Ace entered the room. It appeared to be a male changing room. "I think these are changing rooms." Ace said as he left the room, the door closing and locking behind him. "I guess the handbook has your gender in it so you can't sneak into an opposite gender room." Brandon suggested from the very back of the room. "Trixxie agrees with Brandon." Trixxie stated, looking at Brandon who smiled slightly. "Told you we wouldn't find anything helpful here." Octavia muttered quietly before heading towards the exit. Ace let out a sigh. It was true though. The pool room seemed rather pointless other than swimming. Or drowning an unsuspecting peer..... Ace suddenly felt disgusted and shocked that he would even consider murdering someone. "Ace?" The calling of his name pulled him from his thoughts. Ace looked up to see everyone had already headed out the double doors at the front of the pool room and Cloud was standing there, looking at him. "Huh?" Ace asked in confusion "Are you alright, Ace?" Cloud asked, a look of concern on his face. "Y-Yeah, Yeah i'm fine." Ace stiffened when Cloud pressed his hoof against the side of his head. "You still have that cut on your head from Rarity's ring......" Ace awkwardly pushed Cloud's hoof away and followed the others out of the room. Author's Note SHIPPING! YES I SHIP IT :D I was inactive due to the thing called grounding. Why do I sound like a 7 year old when I say that!? I made Cloudthyst Two Days after I made Cloud and Ace about.... two years ago -.- Yup, First Pony OCS and Ship. K, done Ranting.
C1: Living Fear: IntroductionAce stared at the giant building before him. It was a several story building, the windows seemed dark for some reason but the blue unicorn didn't acknowledge it. There was a 9 foot tall fence surrounding the school, a gravel path leading from the gate to the school doors which were white frames with glass in the center. The building seemed to be made of solid concrete, surrounded in gravel paths to other parts of the structure. The entrance through the fence was a set of tall black metal gates, opening into the well-tended yard. Ace was still shocked he was going to be going here. A school for the best of the best, he had of course won a lottery to get in here. Cloud of course was an excellent at guitar. He had practically blown up when Ace called and told him the good news. Cloud had mailed him plenty of things, a map, a brochure, unusual for a boarding school,and all the activities planned. Ace walked over to the gates, adjusting his thin-rimmed silver glasses on his nose before walking forward, the gates opening automatically, that was one of the many technical things in the boarding school. But after a few steps across the campus his vision began to blur and he began to stagger, his head getting lighter with every step until his legs buckled and his mind was enveloped in a state of unconsciousness. "Hello? Hey! You awake?" Ace blinked open his eyes. His whole body ached. There was a pony in front of him, staring at him with kind green eyes, Ace was able to see she wore a stetson, she had an orange coat, decorated with freckles on her cheeks. Her hair was a bright blonde as well. Ace opened his mouth and a small groan came out. "I'll take that as a yes." She also had a thick western accent. Ace struggled up with the westerner's help, taking in his surroundings. It appeared he was in a giant space, what looked like a gym, about fifteen other students beside Ace were in there, including the blonde western girl. "Well that looks like the sixteenth student." a boy in a fire design shirt and black hoodie. "Wait. Ace?" Ace instantly recognized the voice. "Cloud!?" Ace stammered and spun around right as he was tackled in a large hug by a pegasus in dark grey hoodie and white sleeves, his hair was black with white highlights, two black, white tipped wings flared out in joy. "Your here!" Ace forgot all the world for a moment, all that mattered was his friend was with him after a near year of his friend being off on tours as he advanced his career in music, cutting off their personal meetings and such. "Um. Sorry to interrupt your little reunion but. Your Ace Amethyst right? Ultimate Level Luckster?" Ace turned. The one addressing him was a mare with a long dark grey mane around her shoulder blades. She wore a pink bow tie and a knee length silver dress with a pink musical note on the center. Octavia~ Ultimate Level Violinist "Well. We may as well introduce ourselves since we all just suddenly woke up together." the violinist suggested and the westerner nodded. "Well...Mah name is Apple Jack. You can call me AJ too though." Apple Jack~ Ultimate Level Farmer A colt with coal black hair who also wore a white hoodie with black feather designs. "Name's Black Storm. These are my friends Flame Strike, Snowflake, And Blossom." he stated, directing to the three other people surrounding him. Flame strike had a shirt designed like a fire on coals with a black leather jacket. He also had an orange and yellow mane smoothed to look like a flame. Black Storm~ Ultimate Level Athlete Flame Strike~ Ultimate Level Racer Blossom had a sandy pinkish mane which was held up in a bun with a hairband, a white blossom glued to it. Her outfit was a spiffy little school uniform design with assortments of flower designs on the brim of the short skirt. She wore dark pink glasses that seemed to show off her eyes. She looked a bit like a teen aged librarian. Blossom~ Ultimate Level Scientist Snowflake had a whitish colored mane and wore a white shirt with a knee length pale blue skirt and a headband with a snowflake design on it. Snowflake~ Ultimate Level Ice Skater "Alright. Now that they have introduced themselves. I may as well do the same. My name is Rarity." A mare in a sequin style dress around shin-length. She wore a large assortment of jewelry as well. Her purple mane was curled. Rarity~ Ultimate Level Designer "Well. My name's Shining Armor. Nice to meet you all." a unicorn with a blue mane mentioned Shining Armor~ Ultimate Level Leader A lavender unicorn was close to Shining Armor, her mane was a darker color with a pink highlight and she wore a sweater with jeans and held a book to her side. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. This is my brother." she directed to the Ultimate Leader beside her. "Hello. My name is Lightning Sky...." a colt with dark blue hair spoke up. He wore a blue sweatshirt and had lightning blue tips. Lightning Sky~ Ultimate Level Astronomer "Alright!" someone cheered from the back and a mare with large glasses and a set of headphones ran up to Ace. She wore a white shirt with a different music note from Octavia's, along with a grey jacket. "Name's DJPon3! Or Vinyl Scratch!" Vinyl Scratch~ Ultimate Level DJ Quickly afterwards, a colt with a strange shirt. which was ripped at certain parts, ran up. His mane was shoulder-length and a reddish brown. His cheeks seemed to have a faint reddish circle tinged to them. Brandon Puppetstrings~ Ultimate Level Puppeteer "Your the puppeteer guy correct?" Someone asked and Brandon turned to see a colt with a silver mohawk and a tattered leather jacket on a white shirt. "Well. Name's Thunderlane. Anyway what exactly do you do?" Thunderlane~ Ultimate Drummer "W-Well...I-I...um.." Brandon stammered and to his luck, another pony ran over. She had a blonde mane and wore a red jacket over a white shirt and one of her eyes seemed to have a mind of its own. "Hello! Name's Derpy Hooves!" Derpy Hooves~ Ultimate Baker "Nice to meet you." Ace greeted kindly. "Hello! My name's Lyra Heartstrings!" Lyra Heartstrings~ Ultimate Level Harpist "Awesome! We got a small band goin' on here!" Vinyl cheered, enthusiastically pumping her fists in the air. "Who's the other three?!" Ace rose his hand. "I'm Ace Amethyst. i won the lottery thing. Guess that makes me the Ultimate Level Luckster" "Well. Guess we got a band after all. Name's Noteworthy. I sing." a colt with blue mane and a gray sweatshirt. Noteworthy~ Ultimate Level Singer "So I guess I'm last." someone muttered and everyone turned to see a unicorn in a faded blue colored jacket and a pale silver mane, held from her face by a headband with a star. She also wore a star seamed skirt about to her knees." I am THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXXIE!" the mare shouted so loud that even the Ultimate DJ slammed her hooves over her headphones which didn't seem to block the entire sound from the unicorn's ears. "Well! It looks like you've all gotten to know each other!" a loud, distorted, high-pitched voice sounded through the gym, causing everyone to jump and even Brandon to scream. Everyone's attention turned to a stage which was set up on the far right side of the gym. On the stage stood a unidentified pony. It seemed to be split down the middle, causing its body to be half black and half white. Its right eye was a gleaming red, a ragged shape as well. it seemed to represent a scar. "W-Who are you!?" Lightning Sky stammered, his cool demeanor seeming to shatter slightly. "Thank you. I am Principal MonoColt!" everyone stared at the over-enthusiastic...colt? "So. As you all know this is School! And of course your all trapped here." the gym burst into chaos before MonoColt barely finished his sentence. "We're trapped!?" "WHAT!? "IS THIS SOME CRUEL JOKE!?" Ace watched as the people surrounding him blurred into a state of panic. Lightning Sky was shaking yet silent, Octavia was screaming, like almost every other mare in the room, and the colts were yelling. Brandon was curled up on the floor. Ace felt his brain overwhelm with his peers' panicking before a loud distorted screech like nails on chalkboard resounded through the gym. "SILENCE!" Everyone stared at MonoColt who was glaring down at them with an angry gleam set to his eyes. "Now. I get to explain. So your trapped and there are only two ways to escape!" the clamor began to start up and MonoColt cleared his throat, silencing the students whom didn't fancy getting MonoColt screeching in their ears again. "Of course. Way one is to kill a fellow peer and get away with it!" this time the clamor could not be contained as everyone was thrown into a fit of insecurity. Twilight rose her voice over the clamor. "What is the Other way?" "Glad you ask! The other way is to survive till the end! Only one peer will survive!" MonoColt cheered and everyone just stared at him with shocked and horrified eyes. "The rules and your E-Handbooks are in your dorm rooms! Have Fun!" and MonoColt vanished. Author's Note SOOOOO LOOOONG! Also. I am trying to come up with my own executions and murders so don't try and figure out the plot ahead using the game or anime :)
