Danganronpa: Pony Nightmare

FLY ME TO THE MOON

A terrified, hopeless mare.

She was pretty. And also powerful.

But also hopeless.

Enchanted chains clamped loudly around her legs and neck.

They were strangling her.

Then she got pulled up by magic.

Higher. Higher.

She was picking up speed.

The atmosphere started burning her alive.

A rising star.

A rising, screaming, burning star.

And her ashes got scattered on the Moon.

As a black-and-white wolf howled at her grave.

Good riddance. Wha-ha-ha. Wha-ha-ha-ha! WHA-HA-HA-HA-HAAA!

Hello! My name is Twilight Sparkle. Currently I am seventeen years old, just several months away from adulthood. I was born in Canterlot, the capital of Equestria, and I’ve lived there ever since. I have always liked books and studying, especially when it came to spellcasting. My life is full of magic; it is my hobby, my subject of studies, my cutiemark. When I was a young filly, I got accepted to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and later became a protégé of the Princess herself.

I am so lucky, having her for a teacher! She leads an entire nation, heck, an entire race, and she spends what little free time she has on educating me, a simple filly. I seem to have a lot of talent, true, but I always thought that I was just one of many. And yet I became the chosen one, the personal student of Princess Celestia. Either I am incredibly lucky or she sees something in me that I myself haven’t discovered. Regardless, I’ve been cherishing every second spent with her, and my desire to impress her became my greatest motivation to study.

I am proud of what I have achieved, proud that I am a student of Princess Celestia. Some ponies might say that I just got picked at random or that Celestia owed my parents a favor, but I made sure that nopony could ever call me ungrateful or lazy. I don’t want to disappoint anypony, much less the Princess herself. I want her to know that I am grateful; that I will fully use this opportunity I was given. Seeing her pleased with my achievements is what makes me feel alive. I will reach the stars one day, for her and thanks to her.

All of what I’ve just said should make it clear why I am so excited and nervous right now.

You see, Princess Celestia entrusted me with an important task regarding her newest project. She has recently opened a new academy, claiming that it will shape the future of ponykind. It is not just any ordinary school, far from it. You cannot simply enroll, instead you have to be invited by the Princess herself. Out of all the young ponies in Equestria, only the best of the best get picked to study here. Basically, you have to master a discipline of your choice so well that nopony can match you. You have to be a natural, a prodigy in one field or another. And if you are lucky, the Princess will recognize your talent and give you an honorary title of the Ultimate, granting you the privilege to study at Princess Celestia’s Future Academy.

As for me… My stomach is so stuffed with butterflies that I wonder just how they manage to flap their wings in there. Don’t get me wrong, I was absolutely ecstatic when Princess Celestia came to me and told me that I would become the very first pony with the Ultimate title, but thinking about it makes me realize just how much responsibility comes with that title. The Ultimate students are destined to shape the world one day, change the very foundations of our society. Am I ready to assume the role of a leader? I… I hope so. I can’t disappoint my mentor, I must give it my all.

Now that I think about it, this isn’t the first time I’ve felt like this. Back when I became Celestia’s protégé, I had some very similar thoughts and I felt equally as nervous and excited. Nerv-cited? Somepony should really come up with a word for that.

Anyway, I’ve been sent to study at the Future Academy, along with other Ultimate students from all around the world. And now I’m standing here, at the front gate, looking at the imposing building in front of me. It looks very simple yet stylish, built almost entirely out of red bricks. It is divided into four wings, each housing and providing facilities for one class. From what I've heard, there is also a hidden tower in the middle connecting all the wings and floors. If a pegasus were to look at the academy from above, I imagine they would see a big cross: The tower in the middle with four wings extending from it. From my point of view I could see two of them, one at my left and one at my right, both meeting in the middle at 90 degree angle. On top of the crux there is a huge logo of the Future Academy, a sun with a weirdly shaped cloud behind it. The campus around the building itself is quite small and mostly consisting of parks, possibly because this school was meant to house only a hoofful of students.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Come on Twilight, relax. It is at least an hour until the official meeting, I still have a plenty of time. And I am Twilight Sparkle, The Ultimate Spellcaster. I have succeeded in every challenge I faced up until now, how could I fail this time?

Unexpectedly?

Easily?

Gah, stop!

I shook my head and stepped through the gates, heaving an exasperated sigh. The meeting was in wing one, right? According to the plates on the walls, it was the one on my left. Trying to keep my unruly thoughts in check, I walked to the big double doors, entered one of the wings and looked around the hall. From inside it looked almost exactly like the castle I’ve been living in, I will feel right at home. I giggled in relief.

"Seriously, what is the worst that could happen?"

Silly filly. You don’t say things like that out loud. Just as the final syllable left my mouth, the whole world around me started collapsing. I gasped and tried to regain my footing, but I had no legs to regain the footing with. Everything twisted, shook, and disappeared as I lost my consciousness.

I didn’t know it back then, but at that moment, my life ended. At least, the life I got used to. My friends, my family, my hobbies, my mentor, my goals, they were all gone. And the world that replaced them…

It wasn't anything like what I knew. It was the world of living nightmare.

"Hello? Hello, can you hear me?" said an unknown voice.

"Hnnnngh," I moaned, a dull pain filling my entire brain. I felt incredibly dizzy, but still I managed to raise my head slightly and open my eyes. I was… sitting in a classroom?

No…

Oh no! I screwed up! Was I sleeping in class?! I shrieked and jerked my head up. The pegasus that woke me up jumped away from me, bumped into a desk behind him and flared his wings.

"Ow!"

"I'm sorry, sorry!" I exclaimed as he was recollecting himself. He gave me a slightly confused look, then smiled confidently. "No no no, it's alright! Why did you scream, anyway? Do I look that scary?"

I was on the verge of panic, feeling a cold wave going down my spine. "I slept in class, didn’t I? I’m sorry, I swear this is the last time it happened!" I screamed.

"Wow, slow down a bit! You're in a classroom, but there's no class yet."

"…Really?"

"Yes, really," he assured me and emphasized his words by nodding his head. "Listen, everypony I've found so far was sleeping, so there’s no way you are getting in trouble for that! Okay? But… There is something weird going on."

"Everypony? By everypony you mean… other students?"

"Yep. Actually, why don’t we introduce ourselves? It’s probably better to get that out of the way first before we discuss this sorta… problem we’re in. I’m Blue Ray, the Ultimate Seeker. Nice to meet you."

Blue Ray… A nice name, and pretty fitting as well, considering he was a cerulean pegasus. He looked a bit younger than me, though not that much, a year at most. He had a sleek, lightweight figure, a telltale sign of a recent growth spurt. His white mane was cut short and a bit messy. His cutiemark had a shape of a magnifying glass. I calmed myself down, relieved that I was not in trouble for falling asleep, and proceeded to introduce myself.

"I’m… I’m Twilight Sparkle, the Ultimate Spellcaster."

"Wow! That sounds pretty great!"

"It’s not that much, honestly. I can just cast more advanced spells and I am not limited by my cutiemark."

"Not limited by cutiemark? Is that a unicorn thing?" he asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Yes. Most unicorns can’t cast spells outside their field of specialty, they can only learn magic defined by their cutiemark. But since my special talent is magic, I don’t have those limitations."

Explaining something always made me forget about my problems and cheer up. I think Blue Ray implicitly knew it just from looking at me and came up with a question so I would feel better.

"Wow, that’s a pretty amazing talent! Actually, why don’t we go to the cafeteria? We can talk on the way there."

"Oh, right, the meeting! Aren’t we late?"

"No, actually. It’s about eight forty am., so we still have twenty minutes left."

I sighed in relief and got up from my desk. Blue Ray let me go out first, then followed me and closed the door behind him. As it turned out, the classroom was at the very end of a hallway. We went to the meeting place, chatting along the way.

"So Blue Ray," I said, then paused for a bit, wondering how to phrase my question. "What exactly does your Ultimate title mean? What do you ‘seek’?"

"Anything. If it exists, I can find it. Lost trinkets, hidden treasures, even missing ponies. Pretty much the entire Baltimare knows me as that one guy you go to when something gets lost." He started walking a bit faster, with a spring to his step.

"So you are from Baltimare?"

"Yep. A great city, if you like fish. Docks, docks everywhere. Half the ponies in the town are sailors, fishermen, shipwrights, dock workers and so on. And where are you from? Canterlot?"

That took me off-guard. "How did you guess?"

"Most ponies are from Canterlot, and unicorns even more so. It's the capital and the largest city in Equestria, after all."

We took a turn to the right, then immediately left.

"It’s strange…" I mumbled. Blue Ray's ears perked and he turned to me.

"What?"

"The way I got here. I stepped into the building, then immediately blacked out… And then you woke me up."

"Yep, we all had it same. I myself woke up just a while ago."

"And that’s not the only thing. This whole place… It feels weird somehow, as if something was missing. I just can’t put my hoof on it."

"Missing?"

"Yeah. I don't know what though…"

"Ten bits say I'll find it anyway."

We both let out a short laugh. My anxiety was not completely gone, but was quickly melting with Blue Ray around. I felt like I've already made a friend!

"You know what? I take your bet!" I exclaimed and jumped a little.

Blue Ray stopped suddenly. I went on, lost in excitement, until I almost ran into large glass double-door. He chuckled a bit as he saw me scramble for balance.

"Heh heh… This is it, by the way. The cafeteria."

"Oh, right, we were going here…" I shook my head and smiled awkwardly. We arrived already? Through the glass, I could already see several tables surrounded by chairs, as well as my future classmates. There were quite many of them, around fifteen or so, but two ponies immediately stood out for me. There was a blue pegasus mare with a striking rainbow mane, and a small pink colt with yellow mane that looked incredibly out of place. How young was he, for crying out loud?!

I walked through the doors, mentally preparing myself for the introductions. First impressions are very important, the Princess once told me. But with so many questions lingering in my mind I found it hard to focus. Why did I black out like that? What was that thing taunting me with its absence? And what was that subtle sense of… something, that made me want to run far, far away?

It's just social anxiety. There are over dozen of ponies in here, and I am not used to crowds. Yes, that must be it.

"Ah, Tot He Tei sees! So Trixie is a blank flank too?"

"What…? How dare you, insolent little foal!"

"Please calm down, he didn't mean it like that! Let me explain…"

There was that little pink colt. And apparently he insulted "Trixie", a blue unicorn with silver mane who was wearing a magician cape and a pointy hat. They were so extravagantly decorated, a bit too much to my tastes. And there was a tall, pure white mare with a light pink mane who was trying to settle the dispute.

"Alright, ponies! This is everyone!" I got startled and jumped a bit as Blue Ray shouted right next to me. All the eyes were on him.

"Everyone? Are you sure?" asked a brown stallion with red mane and dirty overalls covering most of his body.

"Yep. I searched this entire floor, and I am the Ultimate Seeker, so there's no way I missed somepony."

"So in total, that makes fifteen of us," said somepony else I couldn't see.

"Sixteen, can't you count?" said a gray pegasus with a blocky body.

"I'm pretty sure I can see fifteen of us." By now, I gave up on trying to keep track of who was saying what.

"It's fifteen, you dipshit!"

"Don't be rude! There are foals here!"

"I'll be rude all I want. Try to stop me!"

"Tot He Tei is just a foal, but he can handle dipshit!"

"See what you've done?"

"Bite me."

"I stay by my opinion. There are sixteen of us."

"Psst. Hey, try to look in that corner." That last sentence was said by Blue Ray, and it was directed to me. I looked where he was pointing, and…

I saw a pony. At least, I thought I did. It could be just a shadow or lights playing tricks…

Blue Ray shouted yet again. "Yo, Kunai, why don't you step forward so we can settle this silly debate?"

My legs froze when I saw a pony materialize from the shadows. She… she's been there the entire time? How? How did she disappear like that?

The mare walked into the light. Her coat was… dark olive, I think. It was hard to determine, she was covered in a black cloak head to hoof. I couldn't see her mane, her cutiemark, not even her face.

"Hi. I am Kunai," she said matter-of-factly. There was a short, awkward silence, before that blocky gray pegasus broke it with a toxic remark.

"See? I am about the only pony here who can count."

Before anypony else could think of a retort, the white mare who I had already labeled in my head as "peace-talker" exclaimed loudly: "Everypony! This was indeed a silly debate, so let us forget about it now, shall we? It does not matter who was wrong and who was right, the important thing is that we are all here now! So, I would like to propose a small introduction game. We will go in front of that vending machine over there, one at a time, and we will introduce ourselves to the group. Then, after everypony has had their turn, we will devote a bit of time to free meddling and chatting. Does anypony wish to voice their concerns?"

What followed was a sound of sixteen ponies silently mumbling, debating, and making mostly accepting sounds. Somepony snorted in protest but didn't speak up openly.

"Alright then, it is settled!" said the peace-talker with a pleasant voice. "Who would like to start?"

"Me, of course!"

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