Betrayal of Friendship

Chapters

The Night of Tragedy
Day 1: When suspicions arise
Day 2: First Blood
Day 3: The Challenger
Day 5: Double Trouble
Day 6: The Brink of War
Day 7: The Truth
Ending: Friends Forgive, Friends Forget
Notes for the Game.
Day 4: The Quarrel

The Night of Tragedy

Author's Note

For the first time, a long story that I created with a burning passion. Possibly, one of my darkest yet best stories I’ve written- And though it was a very sudden thought, I can’t express how glad it is to share this. I had so much fun writing it.

Fair warning: There is murder, but no blood is actually mentioned in the context. No spoilers, but that kinda means it’s okay to rate it Everyone in that sense...?

Anyway, please, enjoy in my opinion, the best story I’ve written!

EDIT: Unfortunately this story is now impossible to be canon, due to the events of School Raze. Still, I hope you enjoy this!

The Night of Tragedy

December, in Equestria. Hearth's Warming was coming very soon- Everycreature at the School of Friendship felt very merry and wanted to hold a party that day, even though it's still a while until then.

But, to their surprise- Christmas came early.

Not in their favor, however.

December that year- A night no student in the school and no creature in their world would ever forget. The month of crisis, the month of tragedy, the month of distrust.

The month... That nearly caused Equestria's demise.

"Are you sure you want me to do this, master?"

A voice was spoken into a magical communication device. Their limbs were shaking vigorously- From what they were about to do. The creature had something hidden in their saddlebag.

"Yes, unless you want our world in ruins."

"Sir, you do realize: If I did this, and I get caught- I'm dead. And if I kill her- No one could predict the consequences..."

"It's best to prevent the problem before it starts- Just follow my plan, and be rewarded."

The creature nodded and continued to creep through the corridors of their own School- The School of Friendship. It was a night of fear. This creature stepped with heavy steps across the awfully quiet, eerie yet still familiar hallways, on a night where the moonlight was shunned out by the curtains before the elegant windows. This, ensured said student's plan to be secreted. They were about to deliver a scary- uncalled- And even bloody Hearth's Warming gift.

Murder.

It stopped before the headmare's office- Where she had been working non-stop and fell asleep on her couch inside after finishing her work for the day. The door creaked open, the princess in sweet dreams and wiggling in her beauty sleep.

"Alright," The master began. "I will now perform a spell to make you less recognizable. We've done this before- Don't freak out. Kill her, and cover the evidence. Again, do not ever make a reaction. They can still hear you."

Whoooooosh

Soon, the creature turned into a human, a spell nopony else knew about. The voice cut off, and it was up to the murderer. They reached into the saddlebag, pulling out a dagger. Holding it with the tip facing backward, they stepped closer to the prey- Every step becoming more heavy and hesitant. At last, getting close, the creature opened their mouth.

"Shall you be alive, Miss..." They spoke, "I wish you'll expel me- When all this is over..."

Twilight Sparkle turned, still lying, and when her eyes merely opened, she finally realized what was going on. When her vision was finally made clear, the only thing she could do in those mere seconds- Was to scream.

"Murder!!!"

Nathan Hon Presents, a story inspired by Mafia...

The Betrayal of Friendship

Yaaaaaaawn~

Silverstream just woke up from a long night’s sleep. She was working hard on her homework so she slept early. However, what she saw around her when regaining consciousness was not what she expected.

“Wh- This... This isn’t where I slept last night...” She moaned. “Did I stay up that late and not return to Mount Aris? No, that can’t be right...”

She got off her bed. The hippogriff was back in her dorm room. She did recall staying a little longer in her dorm to work with her friends Ocellus and Smoulder on planning the Hearth’s Warming party which is coming up later that month, but she remembered going back home to rest, instead of falling asleep here.

After a little stretch, Silverstream noticed something on her desk. It was a letter. Initially, she thought her family sent a letter to her, or maybe someone from her town, but it definitely wasn’t- After all, who in Equestria would use a black envelope with a skull sticker to conceal the message in it?

She opened the envelope, and read the letter in her head.

Greetings, dear player.

You may not know who I am, but I do know who you are as a student of the School of Friendship. I see you and your friends have been having much fun recently. But, I regret to tell you the fun I am going to explain will not be what you imagine.

I regret to inform you, an unknown mastermind has teleported and locked you and some other students in this school. Also, murder was committed on the headmare, Princess Twilight Sparkle, last night. As a member of the EEA, on behalf of the council, I deeply apologize for such acts committed. We do understand the safety measures were not taken seriously enough, and our council is partially to blame for this incident.

I cannot tell you more, for I am being forced to write this message at this very moment. Allow me to give you the gist of the situation.

Inside the envelope, you should also see another note and a specific item of the unknown force’s choice. For more information, refer to said note.

Thank you, and we wish you the very best of luck in this game. Again, we sincerely apologize for the terrible situation- But there is no avoiding it. All we can say is this: Let the games begin.

-The Equestrian Education Association

Silverstream took a minute to process what she just read through- She couldn't feel any pure emotions- Should she fear? Should she cry? Should she be upset about the sudden situation?

Nonetheless, she picked up the next note and read through it again.

Let’s play a game, shall we?

I’ve given you all the chance to surrender and close down this school. However, the council and you all wouldn't let me. You leave me no choice.

10 Students, 10 roles, 1 Mafia. Don’t know how to play? Fine. Let me explain.

Now, you and 9 other students, all being your friends, are trapped in this school. The only way to leave is if you kill the Mafia. There are 9 pacifist roles: The cop, detective, doctor, hunter, knight, angel, defender, witness and innocent. You all have the same target: To kill the last role- The Mafia, the one who assassinated your headmare. The catch? You are not given who your friends’ identity is.

I wish to see how much your group of friends can trust each other- I want to see how strong your ties really are. In this game of trust, the innocents may have different abilities to help the group figure out who’s the Mafia- Without knowing what roles one another has. Every day, you all will gather for a discussion. One by one, you’re commanded to express your thoughts of your suspect. And at the end of the day, you may take a vote- Whoever is suspected the most will be punished. You need not know what it is.

Every night, the Mafia kills another player. So, it’s best if you could figure them out as soon as you can, or else you might not see your jolly holiday come to life. If you can’t find them out... It means you’re all dead.

You will receive your secret item that identifies your role. To find out more, turn to the next page.

-The Godfather

Now, the curious Hippogriff had even more questions- Who is the Godfather? Why is he making this game? Why must we be trapped in our own school? I mean, it’s not like we want to leave the school forever but...

However, she dug into the envelope anyway. Inside, she found a badge- The gold and silver metal reflecting the light from the window. When she put it on, it disappeared, and soon she was given access to a few interesting weapons of choice: A gun, a baton and a taser, which could be operated by magic if she so chooses. They were put into her saddlebags, secured and invisible to anycreature but her.

She turned to the other page of the note.

Player Silverstream: The Cop.

You are playing the cop. You have the ability to kill the Mafia. You may initiate your attack anytime during the daytime session, but after when the hunter is killed. You won’t know who it is until they die. You may also only initiate your attack when enough evidence has been given and enough suspicion is targetted on the Mafia- Because if you kill the wrong person, it’s an instant game over, and everycreature dies. You could do so early- But do it at your own risk.

You should find your weapons of choice with your selected item. If you wish to keep justice served, and your friends in one piece, then make me amazed. If so, I’ll set you all free.

The Mafia is waiting. Good luck.

Day 1: When suspicions arise

Day One.

The Sun was shining proudly over Equestria and the School of Friendship. However, rather than being a happy joyful day filled with wonderful classes, due to the murder of Princess Twilight, school had been cancelled- But investigation was unable to be taken place, for the godfather has placed a magic barrier on the entire school, meaning no creature can get in, and none can get out.

Everypony- Especially the teachers, was instantly enraged by the incident- Even with no evidence to back it up, the officials of the nation were still debating on the culprit of the incident.

It was a terrible time. But the only thing they could do is to wait for the games to end.

After Silverstream did her morning routine, she was in the middle of going to class when she ran into her friends Yona and Ocellus.

“Hey girls!” She said with her usual jumpy voice. “What’s going on? You girls don’t seem very happy today...”

Yona shook her head. “Murder happened! School canceled!”

Ocellus also nodded as Silverstream showed a shocked face. “No kidding! I just received this note, telling I’m in a game and all... And we’re all trapped here!”

“Wait, that can't be real...” Silverstream said nervously.

“Yak friend not kidding!” Yona responded. “Yak receive note too- And Yak’s other friends say so too!”

Silverstream rushed to the school entrance with her friends, to find Gallus and Smoulder banging on a magic shield that covered the entire building, with no success at all. The three gasped upon seeing it- It was so magical, breathtaking, but still annoying to see.

“There’s no way out,” Gallus said as the two walked back in. “This shield would not disappear.”

Smoulder was panting. “Tell me about it! We’ve been trying to break this shield for 30 minutes!”

The students eyeballed each other, no creature breaking the silence as they were so scared. And the first to break it was Sandbar, who appeared behind them with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Guys, if any creature can tell us why this is happening to us, it will be great,” Sandbar said in disbelief. “These three are incredibly scared.”

He stepped aside to reveal the three fillies- Cuddling close together and shaking with fear.

“I don’t wanna die!!” Scootaloo cried.

Apple Bloom was on the brink of hyperventilating. “Scoots, calm down! We just need to find the Mafia!”

Upon hearing the word Mafia, the Young Six all turned to her, and then pretty everyone turned to each other.

“You all know about this game too!?”

Then silence soaked in. Everyone knew about today’s game- Which means they all know what’s coming. No one wanted to bring it up- For how sad of a truth it would be. Instead, they held back the tears. And then, finally, the last player showed up.

“Is everypony alright...?” Cozy Glow asked.

The Crusaders, overjoyed upon seeing their friend, turned and tackled her in a hug.

“Cozy Glow, please tell me you’re not who I think you are!” Sweetie Belle said. “Please leave us be!”

The filly pegasus got up and dusted herself off.

“*giggles* What are you talking about? No! Of course I’m not the Mafia!” She reassured them. “But what I do know... Is that we’re now all trapped in this game... I don’t know why exactly, though...”

Then, a loud voice boomed around the halls of the school.

“Ah, so all ten of you have gathered up.”

Everycreature gasped and started to step back until they all huddled up in a group, back-to-back.

”You’ve read the note, and you know who I am. As the godfather, I have chosen one of you to be on their dark side- Being the Mafia. One of you players will be constantly on the loose to cause mischief. Innocents, I dare you all to try and figure out my little puppet and save your school. Even if I have to decide to murder... I will not let you all go.”

Everycreature was afraid. Some of them screamed in fear.

”Gather up at the park in the middle of the school. That’s where you’ll play the game. For now... May time keep you away from the Mafia’s blade.”

The voice vanished with a sinister laughter. After shooting their friends a look, the ten all marched to their play area. What they don’t know, is that they were in for a game of absolute uncertainty, betrayal, and distrust.

A game... That will scar their friendship forever.

Day One: Daytime.

The whole group gathered up around the fountain of the school’s park. However, unlike how they always do- They weren’t there to relax, not at all. They were there, to talk about murder. As they each took a seat, be it the benches around the area or the stone walls of the fountain’s base that were commonly sat on, no creature wasn’t afraid. For one, a murder has just occurred to one of the five princesses of Equestria, four if you only count fully grown ones, and two, they’re in the crime scene- What’s worse, with the murderer.

All of them were full of suspicion towards their fellow friends. But they needed time for the nervousness to simmer and soak in. So, they tried their best not to actually pinpoint any creature as the culprit, in fear of sparking a fight so early over a subject they have no evidence to back up with.

Once they’ve settled down, the Godfather’s voice came back.

”Looks like you’re all here.”

Sandbar was the first to break the silence. “Please, just tell us who you are, why are you doing this and what we’re going to expect. At least it will help us calm down a bit from the murder last night.”

The Godfather had a sinister chuckle.

”Very well. I cannot answer your first two questions. But I may for the third, in case you’re skeptical about how this works.”

“Tell us, then!” Smoulder demanded, crossing her arms.

”Now, it is daytime. Feel free to discuss as a group on who you think is the murderer. Only one of you is my puppet. Your job? Find them out. Then I’ll set you all free. But, as I stated already, you may not reveal what your role is. I know you all are super close friends, but no cheating, unless you are the Detective. Said creature is the only one who can know about everycreature’s roles, and he can interrogate during the night, but no revealing their role in the day. When you all don’t have other things to discuss, take a vote and decide who you think is the Mafia. You are allowed to not participate in this session- And if less than half of the players voted, no one will be executed from the vote. But if most people voted, whoever has the most votes will be immediately executed, after they choose whether or not to have last words. It is then you may reveal who you really are.”

The group all nodded and gave each other suspicious and cold stares.

”I suppose you all know your roles. Now, I will temporarily deafen and blind you all except one to explain the duties and abilities of all your roles in detail, one by one.”

10 minutes later...

”Alright. Now, feel free to discuss! I await your performance.”

Poof

“So...” Sandbar said. “We couldn’t really get much evidence at this point, right? What’s the point of discussing, then?”

Silverstream thought for a bit since she’s the cop. “Actually, we could still discuss, just maybe not about the mafia and all. Well, easier said than done. All we need to do, is focus on gaining clues to the Mafia in the following few days. It might point to a number of suspects, so we really have to think very hard who to vote out.”

“True, Silver,” Ocellus replied. “It is kinda hard to calm down when you’re around a killer... You’re not it, right?”

“No, of course not!”

“Me neither,” Scootaloo spoke out. “And believe me, whoever here is the Mafia, please don’t kill me first...”

“I know,” Smoulder said. “Killing me would be even worse.”

Sweetie Belle thought that was suspicious, and noted it down in her notebook, one of her role items. As she noted his words, Gallus saw her doing so.

“What’cha doing?” Gallus asked.

Sweetie Belle turned. “Oh! Nothing! Just writing things down for our future preference. I’ve played this game before- Well, just for fun and no actual death included, but, uh... *chuckles* Just a strategy.”

The griffon made a face of curiosity.

“Okay...?” He replied with doubt. She’s totally the Mafia... “Anyway, so I suppose I wouldn't know what you all are and you won’t know what I am until... Well, never?”

Everycreature looked down.

“To be very honest... I don’t wanna point hooves at any of you,” Apple Bloom said.

Yona nodded. “Friends like Yaks! Must stick together!”

“Definitely,” Smoulder replied, flying mid-air. “None of us would want to beat each other up, right? I mean no offense, but... *gulp* Even we wouldn’t want to kill you all. Ocellus, you wouldn’t, right?”

Ocellus immediately turned her vision to the orange dragon.

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” She said.

Sandbar immediately facepalmed. “Don’t, even. This isn’t the time for-”

But Gallus snapped in before he could say anything. “Racist much! You’re making me suspicious now.”

“Wh- What!? No!”

Then even Scootaloo stepped in. “Well, you don’t have to blame others all the time, Gallus!”

“Yak thinks something fishy... You must be Mafia!”

“Hey, not cool, Yona!”

They started to take sides. In the midst of the argument, Cozy Glow, who has been staying awkwardly silent the whole time finally decided to speak, along with Sandbar.

“Everycreature!” Sandbar yelled. “Can we all please just calm the hay down!?”

They all went silent, and instantly regretted what they said.

“*sigh* Guys,” He said. “You know that fights aren’t going to take us anywhere. We’re all trapped with the same fate- And we’re all going to die if we can’t find the Mafia. Remember last time? We worked together and found the culprit. We have to stick together, just like Yona said.”

And now Everycreature felt down. Sandbar turned to his partner Cozy since she was the only neutral one.

“Oh, uh, hey!” She nervously said. “Hey, why don’t we all just forget the voting for now. No one gets voted to be executed today. Besides, it’ll be unfair to have someone die so quickly, right?”

They shot her with an intrigued look but still made a pass since they don’t think she’s the murderer.

“I don’t really see why not,” Ocellus answered. “Since... Since we’ll end up dying to the Mafia at some point in the game, we should cherish the time we have left.”

Gallus hmphed. “Very well. I guess we could use something else to loosen ourselves up from our tension we’re going to get. Anyone else?”

They all shrugged and decided to just have some peaceful chatting for the rest of the day. Nothing more. It really did loosen up their suspicions for one another and help them to bond back together, all by just having some quality time together.

But, they have yet to see the horror of this game- And the counter effect won’t last long.

Day One: Nighttime.

Everycreature went back to sleep in their dorm room at the school. This is where the real fun begins- And this was also the start of confusion and suspicion between the group. Things about to go all over the place and real messy.

Now, it was time for some of the characters to wake up and unleash their potential. As the night slowly went on, The Godfather was slowly giving commands.

”Mafia, wake up.”

They woke up in their room- And didn’t waste any time. They already turned into a human.

”Choose one person from the 9 innocents to kill.”

They nodded. “He’s been suspicious today... Gallus the Griffon.”

”You May begin when I tell you. Please wait while others make their move.”

Meanwhile, in another room, somepony else woke up to take their turn.

”Doctor, wake up. Someone just planned a murder. Will you save them by using your protection potion?”

He thought for a bit. “Who’s dying tonight?”

“It’s you, sir.”

The creature nodded. “Then yes. I’ll do it.”

”Does one also wish to use their poison potion to kill a suspect?”

“I feel bad for doing this... But I have a gut feeling that Sweetie Belle might be the Mafia. She was noting down things. I’m guessing she’s trying to analyze everycreature’s roles to figure out who to kill.”

”Very Interesting. In that case, hand over both potions to me. I’ll put the effect on you and her.

The creature did as he was told.

”Thank you. Enjoy your sleep tonight.”

”Detective, wake up.”

The creature woke up.

”You have the choice to interrogate any person in the game. Which one would you want to identify first?”

“Gallus. I think he might be the Mafia.”

”I’m sending you the letter I sent to him. On it, you’ll see what he can do, and what his role is. Once done, return it to me.”

The detective took the piece of paper that spawned on their bed. When they unwrapped it, they would’ve been surprised- But since this was the beginning of the game, it wasn’t as shocking, but still, an interesting thing to note down.

Player Gallus: The Doctor.

You are the Doctor. You will be given two potions- A protective potion and a poison potion. Every night, you will be given the choice whether to use them or not. The protective potion can be used to protect and heal someone after the murder takes place. The poison potion Kills someone before the Mafia’s murder. Each potion can only be used once, and after that, you’ll automatically become a normal innocent. Use them wisely and carefully- Because the only other way you’ll be able to bring people back is by using the angel. The angel will be able to start using their ability on the following night you become an innocent.

Good luck. You have a messy situation to save.

The detective noted Gallus down on his notebook.

“I see. So we were wrong,” they thought. “Alright. Mission is done.”

”Good, Good. Enjoy your sleep tonight.”

”Defender, wake up.”

They woke up and screamed, fearing they might be the target. The Godfather calmed them down.

”Calm down. Now, you have the ability to stop one action performed tonight. Currently, the Mafia, the Doctor, and the detective have made their move. Which one would you like to interfere with?”

The defender thought for a bit.

“To be honest...” They said. “I would stop the Mafia, but the Doctor might have saved them. The detective must have done something good. Hang on, what can the doctor do again?”

”They can heal or poison another player.”

“Hmm... I don’t think they would use the poison this early. In that case, I won’t interfere.”

The Godfather had a chuckle.

”Wrong choice. I’m sorry.”

“Huh? W-Wait!”

But he already poofed away to find the last person to wake up.

”Witness, wake up.”

The witness sprang up and was shaking. They didn’t want to be murdered.

”Why is everycreature so scared?” The Godfather chuckled. “Anyway. You are the witness. The Mafia is about to make their move on the victim. Does one wish to peek?”

They shook their head vigorously.

”No?” He asked. “I see. It’s your decision. Good night.”

Day One Over. Unsilent night.

(Killed: Sweetie Belle, by poison.)

Day 2: First Blood

Day Two.

As usual, everycreature gathered up in the same place they grouped up on the first day. However, to their horror, somepony was missing. There were only 9 creatures who came.

“Uhh... Guys?” Cozy Glow said. “W-Where’s Sweetie Belle?”

It was then they realized.

“*gasp* Uh Oh... Did... *sniff* Did She...” Apple Bloom started crying.

Scootaloo tried to calm her down, but couldn’t resist either since the three of them were so close. Silverstream came over to hug them both.

“I’m sorry it had to go that way,” she said. “Come on. We have to find the Mafia soon.”

Sandbar nodded. “No kidding. Cozy Glow, you were pretty quiet yesterday. What’s going on?”

Caught by surprise, she turned immediately and replied only a minute after he asked the question. “N-Nothing. I was watching everycreature. To see if they show signs that they’re the Mafia.”

Then, the school bell rang. Day 2 of Mafia has begun.

“Welcome back, everycreature. I regret to inform you- Last night, Sweetie Belle was killed.”

They all gasped, and the two crusaders hugged each other in fear. Ocellus felt bad and so did Yona. Suddenly, a magical aura that resembled a screen popped up.

”You should See a screen in front of you by my magic. This was what happened last night.”

The filly curled up in a ball for her sleep. She was sleeping soundly in her dorm when suddenly, she felt something strange happen to her.

“*groan* What... What in the-“

She felt a sudden blast of pain from her head. She then started to cough and roll off the bed. She felt like she was poisoned- Her body wasn’t bleeding but she felt really really sick.

“Somepony!! Help!!”

The Godfather appeared in front of her in an illusion.

”I’m very sorry, little one. You’re poisoned. It’s useless to call for help- They can’t hear you.”

And in no time, she was gone.

“This can’t be happening!” Smoulder said.

“Yeah!” Yona agreed. “Yak friend poisoned- Doctor kill wrong creature!”

The Godfather was getting a bit bored, and he was yawning.

”Go discuss for now. You’ll get the essentials later.”

Day 2: Daytime.

“Alright!” Scootaloo said in anger. “Who’s the Doctor, and why did you kill her!?”

There was silence.

“Why would anycreature realize?” Gallus said, trying to cover up his wrongdoing. “You can’t reveal your role.”

“She’s right, Scoots,” Apple Bloom insisted. “Only the detective knows who it may be- And we ain’t even sure they interrogated whoever the hay it is!”

Scootaloo pushed her away. “I don’t care! I just want my friend back!”

The others didn’t know what to do. They weren’t sure to barge into the conversation, which would hit up another quarrel, or start interrogating somepony New. They looked at each other back and forth before Sandbar broke the silence.

“H-Hey,” He said. “How about this. Let’s actually map out what we know.”

Nodding, they all agreed and sat in a circle.

Sandbar cleared his throat. “Alright. So, Sweetie Belle was killed. However, as we saw, she was killed by poison- Not by the Mafia. This meant two things- One, the Doctor must’ve saved the person the Mafia killed, and at the same time, they killed somepony else.”

“Exactly,” Cozy Glow agreed. “But why would the Doctor poison someone already, without evidence to back it up?”

“It’s simple,” Sandbar said cleverly. “They must’ve suspected something, even though they couldn’t tell if it was the Mafia. They wanted to take the chance to get rid of a potential suspect right off the bat. However, unfortunately for them, they killed an innocent. The defender did not choose to interfere with the attack either.”

Silverstream was confused. “Why wouldn’t the defender do it, then?”

“Why, because they thought Sweetie Belle was safe.”

The students all agreed with that. Sandbar was giving pretty logical explanations. This made the Mafia a bit intrigued, though they didn’t show a sign. But in the midst of the discussion, someone realized a sliver of a clue.

“Wait a minute,” Ocellus said. “Gallus, I recall you suspecting Sweetie Belle...”

Uh oh.

“So you be Doctor!” Yona proclaimed. “Why you poison Yak’s friend!?”

Gallus, feeling surprised about this, decided not to retort. He felt bad for doing it, after all. Sandbar immediately stopped them from voting him out.

“No, don’t,” He said. “If he’s the Doctor, we shouldn’t kill him- He’s not worth the trouble. No offense, Gallus.”

“None taken.”

Scootaloo wasn’t done with the situation yet- But Apple Bloom was working hard to stop her from going coo coo. Moving on, Silverstream was starting to suspect Sandbar for knowing so much.

“Are you just good at the game,” She asked, “Or are you... The Detective?”

He was confused. “What makes you say that?”

“You know too much for me to think you’re not the detective- Only they can know so well about everyone’s roles. I’m not sure, though- It’s only one night.”

“Yeah. Who knows, I might be the Mafia.”

Smoulder wasn’t really into the conversation but still tried to slip in a few words. “Hey, uh... By the way, whoever’s the detective, did you know about Sweetie Belle’s role?”

Suddenly, The Godfather came back.

”Actually, I can answer that. Sweetie Belle was the innocent.”

“Hmmm... Interesting,” She said, rubbing her chin. Then she tapped Gallus. “I’m curious- Why would you use the poison? I’ve heard of the game before and no one uses it. Ever.”

“What?” He asked. “Why is everyone suspecting me when I’m not the Mafia?”

“Really,” Sandbar told them calmly. “It’s true. We shouldn’t spend time trying to kill each other- Then the Mafia will win! We need to work together.”

“Yak find cooperation difficult,” Yona commented. “Especially when murder involved.”

Apple Bloom sighed. “I agree with Yona. It’s hard for us to trust each other when one of us is killing everyone.”

And after that, no one really had anything to say, and just sorta hung around and did nothing. So, seeing the situation has calmed down, Silverstream spoke out.

“Okay! Let’s take a vote?” She suggested.

Gallus sighed. “Come on. You’re all going to point hooves or claws or whatever at me.”

“*sigh* Alright,” Ocellus said. “We’ll give you a chance to prove you’re not worth killing. You can be the innocent in replacement of Sweetie Belle. You’re going to keep track on who’s going to be the Mafia, then.”

Yona nodded. “Then Yak no need to kill Yak friend!”

“Great idea,” Cozy Glow agreed. “You know, at this rate, how about we just forget about the voting system? It’s making the game unfair and... I-I don’t want to tear our friendship apart.”

“True...” Apple Bloom replied. “We’re good friends and all. Let’s not try to beat each other up.”

They all agreed.

Day 2: Nighttime.

”Mafia, wake up.”

Again, they woke up. And they nodded to the illusion of The Godfather.

”You know the drill. Choose.”

“Sandbar. Silverstream gave a pretty good point- A bit foolish of her to kinda give it away just like that.”

”I could agree- It must be her first time interacting with this game, then. I’m not sure, though. Alright, you know the gist. Get ready and I’ll come back to you.”

”Detective, wake up.”

They woke up.

”Interrogate someone out of the eight remaining players.”

“I’m getting suspicious of Scootaloo. She seemed very aggressive today.”

”I see. An interesting choice. The letter is on its way.”

They received the letter The Godfather sent her at the beginning of the game. Once they finished reading it, the detective was surprised.

“Ohhhh.”

”Yes?”

“This is interesting. I hope she doesn’t go rogue on him.”

”I think I can interpret what you’re saying. That’s cool to hear. Anyway, thank you.”

”Defender, wake up. First off, a bit of an apology- I messed up on the game rules. You weren’t supposed to know which role did what.”

“Oh, that’s alright.”

”In that case, would you like to interfere with a creature that has already used their ability on this very night?”

The defender thought hard about it.

“I’ll interfere with Scootaloo. I don’t like how she’s doing, even though she’s my friend. I’m not feeling comfortable. Ah, what am I saying. We’re all friends.”

The Godfather nodded and sighed with a frown.

”Sorry. She’s not a nighttime character.”

“Darn it!”

”Witness, wake- Oh.”

The Godfather saw them under their covers already with a sign saying, “No, pass.” So he shrugged and took it that the witness didn’t want to initiate their attack yet. He does understand this- And just left without saying a word.

Tomorrow will be an interesting day. Everycreature will know this the hard and miserable way.

Day Two over. Unsilent Night.

(Killed: Sandbar, by the Mafia.)

Day 3: The Challenger

Day Three.

”Last night, Sandbar was killed.”

Everycreature can do nothing but gasp at the message. He was the one who’s been leading the team for the whole game up till this point- And suddenly, gone. Without him, who’s going to solve everyone’s disputes over who’s the Mafia and who isn’t? They were getting worried.

Nonetheless, they watched the video.

*creaaaaaaaak*

The door to Sandbar’s room opened. The Mafia, who turned into a human and wore a light brown robe to cover their identity, stepped in with a pistol in their hand. Their steps were light- Making sure not to give any signs of who they are. They reloaded their pistol.

Sandbar turned in his sleep. Bad choice.

The Mafia aimed their gun right on his forehead. But of course, they wanted to do it the cold-blooded way.

“Sandbar...”

He opened his eyes and gasped.

“I’m sorry.”

BANG

Day 3: Daytime.

“So...” Silverstream asked, frowning. “The Detective was killed... The Godfather said so, at least. *sigh* I wished he would stay in the game.”

Ocellus sighed too. “Very true... He is a great friend and a great team leader, too.”

But in the midst of everyone feeling down about Sandbar’s death, somepony was beyond excited and had a trick up her sleeve.

“You know what?” Scootaloo asked.

Everycreature turned to look at her with confused faces. Even Apple Bloom didn’t know what’s going on.

“Now that the only one that doesn’t want us to kill him is gone...” She said coldly, “Let me tell you a little secret...”

She gave a loud tap of her front hooves on the turf of the park, and though she was a Pegasus, she seemingly cast a spell. The smoke from the spell cleared, and surprisingly, she became a full-grown mare, wearing the same armor as the royal guard!

“I’m the knight,” She said with a smile.

The others gasped.

“So that’s why you threatened him!” Smoulder yelled. “How could you!?”

Suddenly, The Godfather came back to answer her call.

“Did the Knight just execute their ability?”

Scootaloo nodded. “Yes, Godfather.”

”Alright. Tell me, which one do you wish to kill, right now?” The Godfather spawned a sword for Scootaloo to pick up.

As soon as the filly picked it up, everyone backed away in fear. A murder was going to take place- Right here, right now!

“Scoots! Stop!” Apple Bloom begged as Gallus already raised his claws into the air in defeat. “You’re gettin mad! Don’t kill him! We know he isn’t the Mafia!”

Scootaloo pushed her. “I don’t care! If he kills my friends, I’m going to get revenge!”

As she stepped closer with her sword in her mouth already, Gallus surrendered, as he knows this is how the game will play out. The others wanted to stop her, but she refused.

”Knight, are you sure you wish to kill player Gallus?”

She didn’t even reply.

SLASH

“*gasp* No!” Everycreature cried.

As his Griffon body dropped to the floor, he was starting to bleed and he grunted in pain. A moment later, he disappeared without a trance- Because of Magic.

“What did you do!?” Smoulder, who wanted to defend the victim, yelled at her loudly.

Scootaloo hmphed. “Crusaders must stick together. Even if it means killing others.”

The Godfather, seeing this nonsense, gave a little chuckle, which slowly transformed into a loud laugh. Everycreature looked at him in worry, confusion, and sadness.

”That’s a very nice reason, to defend your friends... But you know what? WRONG.”

With a snap of his fingers, Scootaloo dropped to the floor with a gasp and a shot of pain. Everycreature was shocked- Having no idea how to process the hell that is happening in front of their eyes right now. First, Gallus got killed by the Knight, and the Scootaloo gets killed by... The Godfather?

“What in the- Huh!?” Apple Bloom asked with big eyes.

“Yak no understand this!” Yona said in disbelief. “Explain!”

”As you all know, she revealed herself as the knight and chose to kill Gallus. Your suspicion of him as the Doctor was correct, and she killed him, meaning she killed an innocent. The punishment of said role is death.”

“What!?” Yona screamed. “Yak friend kill themselves for nothing!?”

Ocellus couldn’t agree more. “I know! Man, poor Scootaloo...”

Apple Bloom was on the brink of bursting into tears. As her close friend, Cozy Glow went over to hug her. Apple Bloom returned the hug and cried.

“Awwww... Come here,” Cozy Glow said kindly. “You still have me, right? Don’t be sad!”

Apple Bloom looked at her in the eyes and sniffed a bit. “Thanks, Cozy. I’m glad I have a friend like you.”

Silverstream smiled and sighed in relief. Now, six players remain in the game. And yet, the hunter hasn’t died yet. This made her wonder, Who is the Hunter? This was Because she couldn’t land her attack until the hunter had initiated their attack on someone else. Something else clicked into her head, too- Why is the Mafia female, now that the only two males are both dead?

Most importantly, who’s The Godfather- And why did he pick her to be the Mafia?

But, the group had to save all the suspicion for another day. They called off the discussion since a murder just happened right in front of their eyes- And they couldn’t bear to remember that scene. They wanted something else to distract themselves, to process what had happened just now.

Quite frankly, for the rest of the day, the remaining six didn’t talk much together. They just sat around and did their own things. Why? Because now, the players have their eyes all fixed on each other. They know what to expect, and every act they make can be interpreted as clues to prove they are the murderer. So, in order to not do so, they were stopping themselves from having any form of contact with each other. They didn’t want to, and every time they would meet in the hallway while being alone, they would sigh and walk away, filled with suspicion.

This wasn’t going so well. And everything is only going to get much messier.

Knight Ability activated. Killed player: Gallus.

Innocent Killed- Scootaloo (The Knight) Dies.

”Day 3: Nighttime.”

”Mafia, I must warn you about something before you make your act.”

She nodded to that. She received a newspaper, which read a very dark and scary headline and event.

Gunshots at School of Friendship- Potential act of war?”

She gasped. She knew she had been busted- It’s just that no one knows her identity.

”My plan has been foiled, fellow one. I don’t know if we can keep doing this...”

“Why? Didn’t you say we’ll be trapped in this game until someone kills me?”

”That’s true. But I can’t deactivate the shield at all. The game has to go on- And you must continue to kill and put the blame the others. This spell has been more complicated than I imagined it to be. I had an intention- And I want you to be safe from it.”

“What... What do you mean, master?”

He sighed. ”When this school was first established, I made such a terrible decision to approve it. When I found your school had been teaching students outside Equestria, I was beyond furious. Our land has been infamous for suffering attacks from forces outside the empire. I will not allow them to make the same mistake. I wanted to close the school down- To make them realize this was a bad idea. But I failed.”

The Mafia nodded. “It is reasonable, but... Why me? Why do you have to make me do this, just for a reward that I don’t even know about? And why must we beat each other up...?”

The Godfather, surprised by this, didn’t really know what to say.

”W-Well... This isn’t my first attack on this school. A while ago, I tried to detonate this place. But that failed too- And I was arrested. I escaped and hid- And that’s where I got in contact with you. You are truly, a wonderful disguise. You totally hit it off with the others- Gaining their trust and friendship.”

“You... You were using me, sir?”

”I wouldn’t call this ‘using’ you. I will give you the reward if you win my little challenge. I didn’t intend to fuel the potential of a total war- But I can’t do anything to stop. No matter what, you’ll be fine, and you have my word. Just continue the mission, understand?”

The Mafia sighed. “Fine.”

”Now, five players remain. Choose one.”

The Mafia wanted to cry. All the remaining players were very nice to her. She couldn’t just kill them. But, as the Mafia, she had to pick one.

“I feel pretty uncomfortable about Yona. She seems super tense the whole time... She must be hiding something.”

The Godfather notices her change in tone- She wasn’t as certain. ”You Okay? Something bothering you?”

“N-No, sir,” The Mafia replied.

”Hmmm... Alright. May I have a word with you on the next night, assuming you don’t get killed by anyone?”

“Okay.”

The Godfather disappeared, and the Mafia hugged her pillow on her bed and started crying.

“Please... *cries* Please don’t die...”

”Angel? Are you there?”

For the first time of the night, the angel role woke up.

”My apologies, I’m a bad host. I was supposed to wake you up yesterday as well. Because of this, I’ll let you revive two players tonight.

The angel was very glad- She finally had a chance to do something!

“Finally!” She giggled. “Hmmm... I’ll take a risk- I’m going to revive Scootaloo and- No, wait, she’s the Knight. I can’t revive her. In that case, I’ll revive Sandbar. He’s a good friend of mine. Then... I’ll get Yona as well. I don’t know why, just got a gut feeling that she might be murdered tonight.”

The Godfather chuckled. “A good friend of yours, hm? Interesting. Consider it done, thank you.”

”Defender, wake up. You got a plan this time?”

“Hmmm, not really... I don’t think Cozy is the Mafia, but I have a feeling my friends might get suspicious of her... Why is she protecting me so much? Just so she could reveal to me she was the Mafia and then kill me?”

The Godfather’s eyebrows twitched.

”Oh, Okay. Consider it done.”

Day Three over. Silent Night!

Day 5: Double Trouble

Day Five.

BANG

Everycreature woke up to the sound of a gun firing- And it only meant one thing- Murder! They all rushed out of their dorms and met up to find out what’s going on. Five students showed up- And two of them who were present the day before didn’t.

“Wait a minute,” Silverstream asked, looking around. “Where are Apple Bloom And Smoulder?”

They all looked around and found their rooms. When Ocellus checked Apple Bloom’s dorm room, she caught up just in time to find the Killed filly disappearing with a bang. Must be teleportation. A minute later, the others caught up.

“Oh no,” Sandbar sighed. “Tell me she’s not-“

“She is...” Ocellus cried, closing the door. “*sigh* And I felt sorry about what happened, too...”

When they all turned, they found Cozy Glow making a curious face.

“Waitwaitwait,” She said, flailing her right hoof in objection. “Two people died? On the same night? How come? The Doctor’s long gone from the game...”

“Hunter!” Yona said. “Hunter Kill her!”

“Oh yeah!” Silverstream said. “So... Was Smoulder the hunter or was Apple Bloom the hunter?”

Sandbar cleared his throat.

“Let’s go first. Then talk.”

Meanwhile...

Dear Starlight Glimmer,

I’m writing to you just to remind you about today’s important emergency meeting. You know this may be our last chance to save Equestria from disaster- The recent murder and blockade mystery has shocked many of our and our allies’ people. I cannot sit here and do nothing, and neither should you. This is why we took action.

I understand we’ve been talking about this and investigation was done to the best as it possibly could have been done, despite the blockade. I fear if this goes on any longer, we are putting our nation and the world in grave danger- I really cannot afford such a big war, and I truly believe it will be impossible to talk our way about the issue if it begins.

You will be alongside me for the conference this evening. Make sure you’re there- All the leaders aren’t going to be happy.

-Princess Celestia

Starlight finally poked her head out, and sighed as she collapsed on the table. She was sitting with the rest of the mane six in the throne room. The others didn’t know what to do to help- And all of them were worried sick.

“*moan* If we find out who in Equestria killed our best friend Twilight,” Rainbow proclaimed, “Then oh boy we should have him executed!”

Even Fluttershy didn’t back down. “Oh, I really don’t want to see my students in constant fear of murder...” She squeaked. “What if they get killed? Oh no...”

Starlight sighed. “Whoever it may be, they must have crazy strong magic to be able to put up that forcefield! Pinkie Pie, you can defy the laws of Physics from what I know, can you-“

She sighed and her mane deflated. “No, sorry... I don’t know why, but geez there is no way through that magic border! By the way, Starlight, can’t you just teleport in there?”

“It has anti teleportation and portal effects from the border,” Starlight replied. “I don’t think even Celestia can break the spell!”

“I’m telling y’all,” Applejack said, “There’s no point in giving up trying to figure out who the hay the mastermind really is!”

Rarity nodded. “We may not be able to find direct evidence, but I believe through past experiences we might just find who it might be...”

Starlight kept that in mind.

“Well,” she sighed. “I’m going to the meeting tonight. The leaders of the other races will be there too- *sigh* You’ve gotta be kidding me...”

Everypony gasped and looked down- It might be a declaration of war!

Day 5: Daytime.

“I think all of us here feel sorry for what happened yesterday,” Silverstream said.

Yona And Ocellus Both looked down in regret. Cozy Glow, though, since she wasn’t on the scene, only got a fragment of what’s been going on.

“Sorry if I sound foolish,” The filly chuckled, “But what exactly happened yesterday?”

They all turned to her.

“What do you mean?” Sandbar asked. “You saw us argue, come on. And why did you leave immediately when we were about to start Fighting?

“I-I just wanted the full picture,” Cozy replied. “And I needed to be excused, is that a problem?”

For the first time in the game, they started suspecting Cozy Glow. She’s been silent for the entire fourth day and tried to avoid the discussion. She also seemed calmer than the other students- Making them curious that she wouldn’t die. Moreover, she seemed to be trying to gain others’ trust a lot- So she could potentially cover herself.

They noted it down in their head and nodded to one another.

“Yak have no suspicion towards anycreature,” Yona said, covering up the fact she suspected Cozy.

“Me neither,” Sandbar followed.

Silverstream giggled. “Wow, it feels much less crowed and noisy now, not that I don’t like it... It’s just a bit more peaceful now that only 5 of us remain. By the way, Sandbar, you’re in charge- Any analysis?”

He nodded. “Okay. Only 5 of us remain- And one of us is the Mafia. Of course, I’m not it, you know I’m the detective. Also, I checked Silverstream last night. She isn’t the Mafia, I know for a fact.”

The three nodded. But in reality, he was lying. This was the actual person he checked:

Player Smoulder: The Hunter.

You’re the only other role besides the cop that can kill the Mafia without penalty, depending on how you look at it. Your ability will require a sacrifice- You can only use your ability when you die. If the Mafia decides to Target you and the defender does not interfere with the attack, before they commit their murder, you may choose one other person from the remaining players to kill. In this case, it is possible you may kill the Mafia.

Good luck, see if you can take revenge!

“So What is her role, then?” Ocellus asked. “You suspected her yesterday. Also, both of you sound much better now, what’s up?”

Sandbar blushed, but shook his head. “Hey, I can’t tell you who she is, remember?”

“And?”

He was confused- But Silverstream answered for him.

“We made up last night.”

“Okay, Good. I didn’t want you to die and he doesn’t have a chance to forgive you... Just like me.”

The hippogriff frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Well... It’s just... I was so caught up on arguing with Apple Bloom since she thinks I’m the Mafia, which I’m clearly not... And then, gone,” Ocellus sighed. “We were all being naive yesterday.”

Yona sighed. “Yak think so too. Yak friends argue no more- Must stick together, find Mafia out!”

Cozy Glow nodded. “We really should. I’m getting really bad vibes something bad is coming our way...”

The others share the same feeling, but weren’t sure.

“Then we’ll make use of the time that we still have,” Sandbar suggested. “You all wanna hang out together? Just to calm down from what happened with us recently.”

“Sure!” Everycreature agreed.

So, that day, for the first time in a while, the students are actually spending quality time together- Same place, same time. They had a stroll around the school and did some reading about friendship in the library. They played some group games too- Just not Mafia, of course! It almost made them feel that they weren’t trapped by the game- Because they realized once more that friends are truly, all they needed to cheer up. And they knew, when they’re together with their friends, they wouldn’t ask for anything more.

But of course, the games must go on, no matter if they want to, or not.

Hunter Ability Initiated. Killed: Apple Bloom.

Day 5: Nighttime.

“No! I don’t want to kill anymore!”

The Mafia threw her dagger onto the floor, and shook her head at The Godfather. He wasn’t very happy about it.

”Are you Alright, my puppet? You’re the Mafia, you’re gonna-“

“Do not ‘Puppet’ me, master!” She yelled. “I had a blast of fun with my friends today. I realized how much they mean to me. I can’t be anywhere without them. I’ve lost my filly friends, I’m trying to bond with the others. You can’t just make me kill them all, you soulless beast!”

The Godfather was stunned.

”I assigned you with a duty, and I even had control over your actions,” He reminded.”Like it or not, you will help me finish. Or else our deal is off.”

The Mafia still objected. “I only helped you to save my school. I hated your idea. And now, look what you’ve done. One, you put this school under an impenetrable forcefield. Two, you are making me kill my innocent friends for no reason. Third, you are putting us at the brink of war! HEY! Are you even listening!?”

He went silent- And he wasn’t listening to her gibberish talk.

“Blame yourselves for the mischief you’ve caused,” The Godfather said. “Your students put their lives in danger. The staff- Unqualified. I was desperate to close this school for the greater good. If other tribes came, they will know more about us. They will doom our people. I needed you to do this, to remind everycreature who thought this school was a good idea- To remind her... How her own school will cause total world war.”

“The only reason war will happen, is only because of your plans to attack our school,” The Mafia rebutted.

The godfather’s Had enough.

“If you talk back one last time, I’ll-“

She stepped in front of him, angrily.

“I’ll rather have them kill me than letting you get away with it.”

The Godfather was angry. He performed a spell on her, making her scream. Now, he’s in charge of her.

Meanwhile, the witness, after thinking desperately for some time, finally decided she would take a peek at who would the Mafia. She got up from her bed, and put her ear close to the door of her dorm room. She heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall to where the Young Six were staying. She must be really careful not to make a sound, or else she will die. She opened the door very carefully, just a tiny bit, to see the shadow of the killer.

Soon, the Mafia arrived at the door of her next target. She breathed in and out heavily as she took out her flashlight, to see the sign labelling which student is inside the room.

It was Silverstream.

The witness gasped but decided to lay low. The Mafia tip-toed into the room. Inside, the lavender-skinned hippogriff, in sweet dreams, was peacefully sleeping. But little did the cop know, she was about to get wrecked. The killer stepped closer, and closer, she reached in for her gun, and the moment came.

BANG

But that wasn’t the sound of a gun firing and killing the student.

In fact, it was a spell- Pushing her back. The Mafia and The Godfather knew why- The angel was still alive. That means the angel put a shield for her- Saving her from the assault.

“Darn it!” The Godfather moaned.

But the Mafia smiled, and had a sigh of relief.

”Phew... Whoever was the angel... Thank you...” She thought.

The witness smiled, and was about to close the door, when she slipped and fell with a loud thud. The Mafia obviously heard it, and turned around.

”It’s the witness! Kill her!”

“Wh-What? She’s been idle the whole game! And I don’t want to-“

”Ah Ah Ah! The deal will be off if you don’t kill her! You do know that is the game’s rules!”

The Mafia sighed. She went forward and tried to open the door of the witness’ dorm room. However, the door was jammed shut- By the student inside.

“Hey,” The Mafia said. “I won’t kill you just yet. Let me in.”

After hearing a sigh of worry, she finally managed to get the door open. The room was pretty dark and she couldn’t see who the student was at first, but once she closed the door and took out her flashlight, the witness retorted with a jumpscare and a scream.

“*scream* Yona!?”

The yak growled and tackled the Mafia forcefully. She could’ve forced her to give in, but The Godfather forbade surrendering- He controlled her mind, and the Mafia shot Yona, with no regrets.

The only one who could directly know who the Mafia was- Gone.

Day Five Over. Unsilent Night.

(Killed: Yona, failed attempt at witness ability.)

Creeeeeeeeeeak~

The door to the conference room opened. Celestia entered first, followed by Starlight as her advisor in place of Twilight. In the room, all the leaders of their own tribes met up in the same place, and they were seemingly already arguing before the pony leader, the main host of the discussion, arrived to her place.

Celestia sat on her seat of the table and her advisor sat beside her. This was no time for jokes at all- None of the leaders were very happy. Prince Rutherford was grinding his teeth. Dragon Lord Ember crossed her arms as her advisor held her scepter. King Thorax frowned and sighed in worry, and Queen Novo, transformed into a Hippogriff, seemed very mad and not in the mood for any negotiation. Though the griffons did not send a leader to this conference, they did agree if war is declared, they will join.

Princess Celestia cleared her throat.

“Good evening, everycreature,” Celestia said, trying to keep calm. “I understand the trouble your subjects in the School of Friendship is going through. For that, we are truly sorry about the situation. We do not wish to make war with you all- We are doing all that we can to keep everything together.”

Although the four leaders werent amused one bit, they still respected her words and nodded.

“If any of us would like to open the discussion, please feel free to, and I wish for the conference to remain calm with no conflict, Alright? Very well, I appreciate your cooperation- Let’s begin, then.”

Day 6: The Brink of War

Day Six.

There were ten students when this game started- In less than a week, it’s only down to four. Cozy Glow, Sandbar, Silverstream, and Ocellus. With everycreature getting closer and closer to losing the game, they still can’t put their finger completely on who’s the Mafia.

Although Sandbar and Silverstream knew each other’s roles, kinda secretly, the roles of Ocellus and Cozy Glow have yet to be confirmed by them- Whether they are the Mafia or the Angel is still a mystery they must solve. And quickly, too- They don’t have a lot of time remaining.

Especially... When their tribes’ trust is hanging by a thread.

Day 6:Daytime.

The four sat down at the familiar park, which they’ve gotten used to right about now. After all, things get kinda monotonous when you’ve spent the past six days in the same place.

“Girls,” Sandbar said, taking out his newspaper in his saddlebag. “I found this lying near Cozy’s room door. You might want to have a look.”

The filly was confused. “Wait, wha? Why did you steal from me?”

“This is important... Just read it!”

They all got close to read the paper- And what was written on it, gave them shock, despair, and sadness. After the meeting yesterday, the other leaders made a deal with Equestria- If this crisis goes on for 3 more days with no results, they will blame Celestia for planning the murder and planning the incident. War was coming.

And none of them liked it one bit.

“W-War!?” Ocellus was shocked. “On the pony nation!?”

Silverstream gasped. “Wh-My Queen may be declaring war? I can’t believe she’d do that! We’re all friendly tribes and we don’t want to hurt each other, right?”

Sandbar nodded, and he saw Cozy Glow being silent. He chose to ignore it. For now.

“*sigh* I already saw this coming,” Sandbar sighed. “I didn’t want us to be the reason of starting a world war. I wished that we could achieve peace and harmony with each other. I guess... That’s just not the case.”

Silverstream touched his shoulder. “Hey, Hey! Don’t say that! We’re still friends, the three of us, right?”

She winked at him. He smiled. Ocellus joined in on the hug, before realizing something.

“Wait...” The changeling said, deep in thought.

“What?” Sandbar asked.

They all turned their eyes toward Cozy. When the filly noticed, she was sweating.

“Wh-Why are you looking at me like that?” Cozy Glow asked. “I’m not the-“

Before she could finish, Ocellus finally understood everything. She stood up and cut her off.

“You’re the Mafia!”

The filly gasped. However, Sandbar and Silverstream didn’t show the same reaction, but rather standing alongside her. For the first time, everyone was on the same page, with the same target.

“Wh-What?” Cozy denied. “I-I didn’t kill anycreature! It’s not me!”

Sandbar finally connected the dots too. “Don’t lie, Cozy! It’s you, alright! You’ve been silent for quite a while in the game for what I know, and I bet you tried to avoid interacting with us during our quarrel just to cover your own role up, and not say something by mistake!”

Silverstream nodded. “I can’t believe you! Why would you have killed Yona, the witness? I’ve been watching you for a while, too- And I noticed something. You seem to be the least involved with our discussions. Whenever you do speak, you seem... A little timid and suspicious.”

Cozy Glow, who was only a filly, didn’t have the courage to stand up to the two.

“*sniff* Why are you all being like this? Why are you so serious?”

Ocellus stepped in, but with a more light-hearted tone at first despite what she had potentially done. “I haven’t been catching on so well, but recently, I’ve noticed. Yesterday, you wanted the full picture of the quarrel- Bad bluffing to try and cover your reason to leave the discussion. Also, yesterday, you’re the only one to question how two people got killed on the same night... Which makes me think you were confused how someone you didn’t kill also died. You also tried to get Apple Bloom’s trust to not blow your cover, and tried to escalate our quarrel to give you time to plot your plan!”

“You’re lying!” Cozy Glow rejected.

Silverstream shook her head. “No, we’re not. The biggest evidence of all- While I was sleeping, I knew the Mafia picked me and tried to kill me. But the angel must’ve defended me since I didn’t die. I heard a loud thud outside since the sound of you hitting my protection border jostled me awake a bit. I heard The Godfather. And I heard the voice of the Mafia as well. And the accent of her voice belonged to only one player.”

After so long, she finally pulled out her gun.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts,” She proclaimed. “The Mafia, is Cozy Glow!”

BANG

Through magic, she fired her pistol with a bang. It hit Cozy on the chest. And so, the filly dropped to the floor quickly.

However, rather than being happy that they’ve finally figured out her identity, the three were very depressed. Silverstream was especially crushed. She dropped her weapon and breathed heavily before the three rushed over to try and heal her. They immediately regretted what they had done. She wasn’t dead yet, but very soon.

“*cries* I’m sorry,” Silverstream cried, holding her. “I only wanted... *cries* I wanted to make sure my friends were safe...”

To her surprise, Cozy Glow smiled.

“Don’t be,” she said. “You three did it.”

“But...” Ocellus cried. “*sob* But you’ll die!”

“I’ll be alright,” Cozy said. “My master has told me, that bullet that I got shot with will only tranquilize me, but the effect will settle in a few minutes. Don’t worry, you didn’t do any damage to me. Save the talk later- I need to tell you all something.”

“What?” Sandbar asked.

Cozy Glow was about to close her eyes. But she tried her best to stay awake to pass on the message in secret. And The Godfather was coming. She couldn’t be seen doing this while he was watching.

“*grunts* The Godfather,” She said, “Is going to control me once I wake up from the effect. I don’t know what he’s going to do. He wouldn’t tell me. I can only say, you guys need to prepare for the storm- I can’t help you. You have to kill me once he controls me- The only way to stop him from dooming us all into total war!”

“N-No...” Silverstream cried. “*sobs* I won’t kill you! I can’t!”

Cozy shook her head. “You must! I’ll rather die than see my nation pick a fight with her friends!”

“B-But... *sniff* You’re our friend!” Ocellus said, hugging her.

“I don’t have time to bicker,” Cozy sighed. “Just remember, you have to stop me if I’m controlled...”

And with that, the filly finally passed out and the effect settled in. The three other students all stood up, after shaking her a few times to see if she could sense anything.

“Well...” Sandbar sighed. “At least, we’ve finally done it.”

The Godfather came to congratulate on their victory.

”Oho! What do we have here?” He asked, chuckling. ”Looks like you’ve finally figured it out! I’ll have to admit, she was kinda garbage at bluffing. I expected you all to figure her out sooner.”

The three looked down.

“Y-Yeah...” Ocellus sighed. “We did it. Yay.”

Silverstream brought her close with a wing and smiled.

“I suppose you know about the potential war, and I know the trouble I’ve put you through,” He said. ”Forgive me, the border would not deactivate its magic. The game lasted a lot longer than I intended, and I wished the war wouldn’t happen.”

“Okay, hang on,” Silverstream huffed. “We’ve won, But our friends are all dead! You expect us to forgive you for what you have done?”

”Hm, what do you mean?” He asked, twitching his eyebrows.

“What do we mean!?” Ocellus asked sarcastically. “We know who you are, we know you caused this, and all our friends are dead because of you!”

The Godfather didn’t understand what they’re saying.

”Don’t you all see? This was a game that I’ve planned. Of course, I would only ‘kill’ you all to frame the pony nation for supporting this school, the reason we’re here, at the brink of war. I’ll revive them in one way or another.” He said. “So that all of this will only be a distant memory... And no creature would use this to declare any battling.”

Sandbar shook his head, asking for more. “That’s not enough! At least, free us first!”

”Calm down, Calm down. I will disable the forcefield tomorrow. But you three have survived- And that’s all that matters. Now, I must return to my own plans and assist with making things right.”

And so, everything was over. The Godfather had officially, left them be. The forcefield will disappear tomorrow- And the three were beyond excited to roam free and return to their families. School will continue as normal soon- And Hearth’s Warming was right around the corner.

But most of all, they’re just happy to be alive.

The only bad news was that all their friends lost the tragic game- Time will be needed for them to be revived. So, the three can’t really do anything. Now that they don’t have to care about anything, the friends took a break from all the discussion and decided to do whatever they wanted for the rest of the day. And this time, it wasn’t because they were suspicious anymore. It was because they wanted to relax and forget about what happened.

Fun times fly like an arrow. It was sunset.

Ocellus And Sandbar looked over the view of Ponyville and Twilight’s castle next door, as the sun was slowly disappearing and made way for the night. The Changeling was very nice and she offered to help Sandbar to the roof of the building to see the view. They watched in complete silence, taking in the fresh air and the peace and quiet of dusk.

“Hey, Ocellus?”

“Yes?”

“This week has... Probably been the worst experience of my life,” Sandbar said, blushing. “I don’t think anycreature would ever forget this incident.”

Ocellus hummed in agreement. “It was mine, too. I’m willing to believe no one in our world will forget. It almost started a war!”

“I’ve been worried about it since day one,” He continued. “Hopefully we weren’t too late to stop them going rogue at us. I love this school, and I love my friends.”

He gave her a little rub on the head. She giggled.

“Aww, you’re sweet,” She chuckled. “I love my friends too, regardless of what they are. I know our tribes have been through some... Painful and hateful memories with each other. I’m glad I was still very young back then, or I would’ve come to the invasion. But ever since King Thorax rose to power... Things have been much better.”

The pony nodded. He definitely agreed with her words.

“That’s true,” He said. “The ponies and changelings were once very hostile to one another. We really hated you all after the Canterlot invasion, and to be honest... I did too at first. But, coming to this school made me realize... You’ve changed. And not just that; But I was greeted with so many new and unique opportunities to be pals with creatures other than my kind.”

Ocellus chuckled when he said he once hated them.

“You know what?” Sandbar asked. “I think I understood something from this experience, besides how terrible it was, of course. This was a test of our friendship- All of us. I know The Godfather didn’t plan this but it just seemed so fitting to think that way. Mafia, a game of trust, suspicion, and betrayal... It’s safe to say we weren’t as united as we think we were. We had quite a bit of quarreling. I’m really sorry about what you had to hear, Ocellus. My partner didn’t mean it.”

“I feel the same way, Sandbar. Silverstream went hard on you, didn’t she?”

“She did apologize to me that night.”

“Oh yeah, you told me,” Ocellus nodded. “By the way... You’re right. It really is a test of our bonds. It was putting us to our limits- How much are we willing to trust each other. We were full of suspicion for the past few days and I’m really sad it had to go this way. I hoped for a friendly solution- Like a chat or confessions. I didn’t want us to fight either, actually. And you didn’t either, right?”

He shook his head with a smile. Then they both started blushing.

“Sandbar... Can I come clean about everything I’ve been through?”

“If it’s about the game, I’m cool.”

She took a deep breath.

“You probably knew this already before today, but I was the angel the whole time. I desperately wanted to keep everyone alive but Gallus, the Doctor, sparked everything off. I would’ve protected you that night but The Godfather didn’t tell me. If I did heal you, perhaps we wouldn’t have fought. I really wanted to keep you alive, and I was so relieved when I never heard the Mafia kill you after your revival. But... *sniff* I made you so mad that day... I can’t forgive myself...”

He immediately hugged her.

“Don’t cry,” Sandbar comforted, smiling. “I’m glad you told me about it. And I’ll forgive you, always. I know seeing somepony you could’ve saved just go like that, is a terrible feeling and a real pain in the heart. But hey, you made up for it. It just didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to. I don’t blame you for not helping me come back. I’m just happy to see my friends again. You don’t have to be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

She sniffed and looked at him. He kindly helped her wipe a tear from the corner of her eye. Ocellus smiled and nuzzled him in the hug as he nuzzled her a moment later.

“Ocellus,” Sandbar said. “I know this isn’t the time, but... I... I’ve been thinking about you and dozing off in class a few times recently. You... You’re just amazing, being able to shapeshift into anything. I’m pretty shy, but I couldn’t help but always look at you.”

She caught on and gasped.

“Y-You...” Ocellus covered her mouth. “You have a crush? On me?”

Sandbar’s muzzle scrunched up in embarrassment.

“Y-Yeah... I-I do... I don’t know why, I just-“

Ocellus threw her hooves around him in pure joy.

“I do too, Sandbar!”

The pony gasped. His open mouth slowly closed and turned to a smile. His eyes closed, and they had a bittersweet hug. Sharing hums of joy, they each confessed their hidden feelings for one another. This tingled their hearts and both of them loved it.

“*chuckles* I still can’t believe it,” Sandbar laughed, squeezing his friend tighter. “I once hated your race. But... My first crush just so happens to be one of their kind.”

Ocellus laughed. “Haha, very funny. To be very honest, Sandy...” She winked and squeezed him tight. “I was never attracted to your kind, Maybe because of what happened. But you... I just have this sense that... We could be really great friends. It was fun meeting you and the rest of our buddies, and since then, I‘ve wanted to get close with you. Haven’t you noticed anything?”

“Hm?”

“Oh come on,” She giggled. “When I’m not with Yona or Silver, I always beg you to talk with me more and you have no problem with it. You and I are paired up together so often in activities. Most importantly, I seem to hang out with you the most after school. Hey, remember that time the six of us went to that amusement Park in Las Pegasus? We hung out for a long time on our own. Silverstream even thought we were dating!”

“Haha, of course, I remember,” Sandbar giggled. “That pesky, playful hippogriff.”

They looked at each other with a blush, and they’ve let go of the hug for a while. Neither one really wanted to speak- Both of them were equally shy. They did hold hooves by accident, but this only made them timider. The same goes with them sitting closer together. It was officially night at this point and under the stars, they couldn’t make their mind up about whether they should actually confess or not.

So Ocellus did the next best thing. As Sandbar started to doze off, she woke him up with the cutest way ever.

She kissed him.

“*gasp* Ocellus?” Sandbar asked.

She laughed while blushing. “Hehehe! Gotcha!”

Sandbar narrowed his eyes and faked a smile.

“Okay, my turn.”

He pressed his lips to her cheek. They both had a big laugh.

“I...” Ocellus smiled. “I love you!”

The pony had a big smile. “So do I.”

The moon shone proudly over the land- It was the perfect moment for confessions indeed. The two gave a big hug, some nuzzling, and nose-booping before they had the courage to really kiss. Ocellus wanted to change into a pony to make it more natural, but Sandbar insisted she kept her beautiful form like it was. They held a hoof, and they closed their eyes. A second later, the impact came. A few hums escaped their mouths as they gently pressed together. When the kiss broke, they sighed in bliss as they just stared at each other’s beautiful eyes.

And then, it was followed by a loud squeak.

“Awww!!!”

The two panicked and stood back-to-back and had a scream. But they didn’t need to worry- The one who did that was Silverstream. She poked her head out and flew up to join them.

“Heeeeeeeeey lovebirds~” She giggled. “Having fun, Sandbar? Ocellus, how’s the night? Hmm?”

“Silver!” They both yelled.

All three of them started to laugh.

“Sorry~” Silverstream said. “I just couldn’t help it!! You two are so cute!!”

Sandbar rolled his eyes. “If you Tell this to the others, you’re gonna regret it.”

“Well, you can’t really deny it, Sandbar,” Ocellus said, giving his right side a nuzzle. “Meanwhile, Hey Silverstream! Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?”

She shook her head. “I wanted to sleep, but I couldn’t- I went everywhere looking for you two! I thought you’re dead!”

The two looked at each other.

“Come on, it’s over!” Ocellus said.

“Yeah,” Sandbar followed, “And we can all go home tomorrow! You get to see your King, and Silver, I bet you’re super pumped to see your cousin again!”

She gasped. “Skystar! I almost forgot! Oh, how scared she must be, having me away from Mount Aris for so long!”

They all laughed and had a group hug.

“Well, this certainly has been one hellish week, girls,” Sandbar said, “But I’m glad the three of us are safe and sound- And we’ll continue to be close friends.”

Ocellus laughed, and Silverstream winked.

“We are too!”

It was midnight when they flew back down into the school and went to their dorm rooms, They were chatting along the way, but they were halted by a strange figure in one of the hallways. The figure, wearing a robe, was carrying her pistol with her, ready to kill.

It was the Mafia- She had returned!

“*sigh* Come on, Cozy Glow,” Sandbar moaned, facepalming. “We already figured out you’re the killer...”

She laughed.

”I’m not her anymore.”

“Huh? That voice...” Ocellus pointed out, “It sounds... Familiar!”

The Mafia nodded. ”You see, I’ve always been controlling her to kill all of you. I knew Cozy Glow wouldn’t kill, so I had to do this, just in case. Now... If we’re going to have war anyway... Might as well...”

She reloaded her gun. The three stepped back, and Sandbar told Silverstream to run. She hesitated, but she did so anyway. Finally, the Mafia decided to reveal the truth, even though it’s obvious now. She flipped up her hoodie to reveal her true identity.

“I’m sorry, you two,” Cozy Glow cried, before getting controlled.

BANG

Ocellus barely missed the bullet. She nodded to Sandbar. With no battle plan whatsoever, they just tried to charge at the murderer. The changeling was smart- She utilized her abilities to her advantage, to distract the Mafia, while Sandbar quickly slapped the pistol away.

”*gasp* You did not!” Cozy yelled.

She immediately punched him in the face and was swift on getting the gun back before Ocellus could. The changeling tackled her in pony form, trying to force her to give up. Cozy Glow was rapidly changing forms, screaming in pain.

“Ocellus! Stop! He’ll kill you! Just- *glitching* I dare you to try and kill my puppet! You students won’t escape war anyway!”

Ocellus didn’t know what to do. Sandbar, in the background, wanted to help her. Once again, he slapped the gun away. This sparked off a heated fight between him and Cozy- And neither of them wanted it in the first place, but they were forced to.

“*grunts* I can't hold on much longer, you know that!” Cozy cried, being squashed by the pony above her. “You must kill me! Grab the gun and just do it!”

Sandbar shook his head furiously.

“No,” He said, determined. “How can we just kill you, when you hadn’t done anything wrong? I’m not fighting with you- I’m fighting with your master.”

She glitched again. ”Then it will be a fight you’ll get!”

Cozy flipped over and slapped him hard. Sandbar gasped and slapped back. Seemingly having enough, Cozy Glow finally stomped on his body and fired the shot after retrieving her weapon.

“No!!” Ocellus cried in horror.

When she glitched again, it was too late. She had already killed him, again. Cozy Glow started crying and turned to Ocellus. The two wrapped each other in a tight embrace, crying together at what just happened.

“*sobs* I’m sorry... I’m so, so, sorry...” Cozy cried.

Ocellus nuzzled her. “It’s not your fault... *cries* Curse that Godfather!!”

In the midst of them crying- Something went absolutely wrong. Cozy Glow seemed to have changed forms again, and grabbed the gun, and shot her back!

”She Killed him. Blame her.”

Ocellus, shocked, dropped to the floor. Finally, Cozy Glow was left alone. The Godfather stopped controlling her.

“*scream* Master!” She yelled. “They’ve killed me once! And now, you want them to kill me again! That’s it! I’m done! I don’t want to carry on anymore with the plan!”

The Godfather smiled coldly from this naive filly.

“Alright,” He said. “But you’re going to have to leave, right now. I’ve allowed the passage of creatures through the forcefield. In 2 minutes, gas will fill the area and make you unconscious. The timer has started already.

“Wh-What!?”

”Save yourself- And don’t you dare try to save Silverstream. Leave her behind.”

“N-No!”

”Oh? Then I’ll shoot her.”

Cozy Glow, unable to see her friend die for nothing, sprinted across the hallways of the second floor fast and went down to the first floor. She had to take the long route- The Park was seemingly blocked by objects. Along the way, she couldn’t stop thinking about her friend- If she saves her, she’ll die. If she doesn’t, Silverstream will die. But she wanted to find another possible solution.

“Silver!?” Cozy cried as she was running around. “We gotta get out of here! Where are you!?”

Then, a voice caught her attention.

“Cozy Glow!? You there!?”

The filly gasped and went towards the sound. But she didn’t see her. She continued to run to the entrance, making sure nothing was behind to secretly attack her. Finally, it was only literally 10 seconds before the system will be initiated- But that was when everything went terribly wrong, and worse, it was right at the gate.

They weren’t paying attention to where they were looking. Cozy Glow and Silverstream crashed right into each other in fear.

“Ahhhhh!”

System Engaged. Producing neurotoxin gas...

Day 7: The Truth

Waking up in a dungeon was probably the last place you’d expect to wake up in after being knocked out by neurotoxin gas. And that just so happens to be the one place the final two players were sent to. The two sat back-to-back, still unconscious, and sat in a huge underground dungeon.

Silverstream woke up first, then Cozy Glow. Nothing special really happened- Until they saw each other behind them. They both screamed in horror, and it was then they realised both of them were tied together, and were unable to move their bodies and hooves and claws.

They both sighed.

“Silver, I’m not here to kill you,” Cozy Glow said. “You have to calm down.”

Silverstream shrugged. “It’s not like you can do anything while you’re tied up, right? But wait... If you’re the Mafia... Then who in Equestria did this?”

”Well, who else?”

The two turned, to see the true identity of The Godfather. Chancellor Neighsay.

“I should’ve known,” Silverstream said. “I knew even after you’re arrested, you’ll come back with an even more terrible scheme. You planned all of this, didn’t you?”

He nodded.

”I suppose both of you are just as confused as the other. But, I didn’t plan to take Cozy Glow originally. I would’ve saved her and leave you, Silverstream, down here alone. But instead, she wanted to betray me multiple times near the end of the game. Cozy, you might have finished your mission, but I can’t forgive you for betraying my trust.”

“I did it to save my friends!” She yelled. “But you wouldn’t let me!”

The Godfather shook his head, and stepped forward.

“You're all too blinded by friendship to see the truth,” Neighsay said. ”All of these new people, some once being hostile, coming to study here is not a good idea at all. Think about it- Changelings and Dragons, right at our front doorstep. Two beastly races that can harm us. One of them even invaded our nation. The hostility of Creatures beyond our land is unpredictable. Some creatures can never change. It’s in their blood. I had to closedown this school, to warn you of the harms this is going to bring. It already did.”

Silverstream shook her head at what he just said.

“Wow, I think I just heard the biggest lies I’ve heard in my life!”

Cozy Glow agreed, and giggled.

”I’m being serious. This school is letting you foreigners in and take what we know, just to use it for yourself and I know, soon enough, everycreature will have the right to visit and stay here. An extremely dangerous act, if you ask me. Spies could ruin everything, including your connections. What if we start a war?”

“Listen, Godfather,” Silverstream hmphed. “If you’re being so racist, why don’t you go kill everycreature that’s not a pony who enters our borders, then? Why just kill us, am I right?”

Neighsay was confused at her explanation.

“I’m a playful student at times,” She said. “But I’m serious whenever I need to be. Dealing with exposure to other races was a big step for us Hippogriff back in Mount Aris. But we did it- And so can the Ponies, and everyone else! Now, let me ask very clearly. Why are you doing this?”

”To shut down your school. Nothing more.”

“Really?” She asked. “That’s it? *laughing* Then why did you have to use this kind of excuse to do it? Your plan was destined to backfire!”

”Pardon?”

Silverstream turned it down to a more serious tone. “Your Plan Killed my friends. And they aren’t just my friends- They are special, because they are the representatives of five different tribes coming to this school to study friendship. And you killed four of them. If your sole purpose was to shut this place down, let me tell you- You didn’t do it. Instead, what you brought to us was potential declarations of war!”

She stomped the ground with her claw in rage. Cozy Glow was startled.

“If you don’t leave us be and admit your crimes in the next 2 days, everycreature will die. Tell me, are you okay with that?”

Neighsay was speechless. Her words had backed him into a corner no matter what he said. He realized- This would be a fight he wouldn’t win. All his points are plain excuses. The truth, may differ for Everypony. And in these young minds, Truth, is about different races coming together, studying together, and love each other.

The Godfather had no choice.

”Cozy Glow.”

“Y-Yes?”

”Reveal to her, why you surrendered to me. Don’t even think about escaping.”

The filly sighed. Silverstream, though tied up, smiled and gave her a nod. The seapony showed mercy upon the one who murdered all her friends, and even she was surprised. But, Cozy did what she had to do.

“*sigh* Silver, Promise me you all won’t treat me horribly after this? And... Promise me we’ll still be friends, like before?”

“Don’t worry. Let it all out. I might understand.”

“*sigh Alright... Well, a while ago, I was kidnapped by someone. He’s The Godfather. He tried to threaten me into helping him succeed on his plan to close the School of Friendship down. He gave me two, very difficult options to choose from, and I liked neither of them... I had to either sacrifice myself...”

She started crying.

“Or our friendship...” She said.

Silverstream gasped. Of course, someone wouldn’t want to die. Even so, she payed a horrible price for staying alive. Cozy Glow went on to tell the follow-up plan. The two of them have been planning the Mafia murder incident for weeks, discussing every move, every backup plan. She trained to get used to her human self. She successfully killed 7 creatures, including Twilight Sparkle herself, before her fall, and through the control of The Godfather, she killed two more.

She didn’t like the plan one bit- But denying to execute it is a one-way trip to hell.

“I didn’t want to help him,” Cozy Glow confessed. “I didn’t want my friends to argue and fight either. I should’ve told you about the impending danger, to warn all of you. Perhaps all of this would’ve been avoided. And now... Everyone’s dead, War is on the horizon, and I, as the murderer, will pay the price too...”

If she wasn’t tied, Silverstream would’ve immediately hugged her friend. Instead, she just smiled and cried silently.

“*sniff* Cozy...” She said, “Don’t say you’ll kill yourself... You’ve done nothing wrong. None of this is your fault. I understand you’re young, and you can’t afford to die. I would’ve made the same decision, to be honest. We used to say, we would never trade our friendship for anything else. And it’s still true- Just not life and death stuff. The point is, you’re not suffering the consequences alone. We all have to, no matter if we want to, or not. Don’t put the blame on yourself, it was he who was blinded, not you, not me, not any of our friends.”

Cozy Glow sniffed, and smiled.

“I just wish they’re here to hear it right now...” Cozy said. “But they aren’t here yet.”

“H-Huh? What do you mean?”

Neighsay cut them off.

”Okay, Okay, Yeah, This has been bittersweet and all, but... this incident must not be heard from anypony else.” He charged up his horn’s magic. ”Only this time... It’s for real. No more tranquilizing and all that. Stay still. This is for your own good.”

He fired the magic laser. The two were right in the line of fire, screaming. Suddenly, the loud sounds of a shield protecting was heard- And Silverstream couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Scootaloo!?”

The filly turned, smiling.

“Not just me!” She used her knight’s sword to cut the two loose. “Look behind me!”

Behind them, all of their friends, who were presumed dead, rushed into the scene quickly and got ready for intense combat. Gallus leaped into the air to distract The Godfather. So did Smoulder. Yona pounced on the opportunity, and rammed her large body straight into him like it was nothing. The crusaders laid low to make sure the two were alright. The Godfather wanted to retaliate, but he couldn’t- He was cornered by the giant Yak in the way of his path. Plus, the flying buddies already grabbed him and pummeled him down, making him dizzy.

”*yells* Unfair much! You students think- Ahh!”

As he wanted to kill Silverstream, he felt as if a giant bee had stung him. Ocellus appeared from behind.

“Sandy, go!”

He quickly tackled Neighsay and slapped him in the face for what he’s done. Fiercely defending, Sandbar was pushed back by magic a moment later. Even after this defense, The Godfather was finally surrounded by the players he killed.

“You don’t know how glad I- No, we are, to see you all come just in time,” Cozy Glow giggled, smiling.

They all smiled. The friends were reunited. But this was no time to celebrate- Becuase their main target is still standing. The group closed in on him from all sides, threatening him to surrender. But they stopped- Not in horror, however. Why? Because somepony familiar called to them.

“Fall back! Let him shoot!”

The group didn’t know why, but decided to do exactly that. They all nodded, and Silverstream came out to be the bait. She stood right in front of the big, rocky entrance to the dungeon cave. Neighsay was overjoyed.

”Good, Good. You heard them- Let me shoot.”

“I don’t think its your calling.”

”Are you sure about that?”

The other nine creatures stood with absolute certainty that she’ll be safe. The Godfather charged up his magic once more, and was about to terminate her right in front of everycreature. However, just before he fired it, Silverstream heard rapid hoofsteps from behind, and a gust of wind. Quickly, she ducked her head, and what came next was the miracle that helped everycreature escape.

They flew in swiftly, landed on the ground with a huge thud, and fired their alicorn magic straight at the killer. Neighsay wanted to resist, but he was surely no match for the two magic giants crashing down on him.

They came- Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle!

“Is everycreature Alright?” Twilight asked.

They all nodded. They turned to Neighsay, who was grunting in pain from that fight. Celestia looked angrier than she had ever been. No one in the room has ever seen her like this. She stepped closer to her prey- The one who nearly plunged Equestria into total war.

Surprisingly, a hoof halted her. In fact, it wasn’t a hoof- It was a claw. Silverstream nodded to Celestia, signalling her that violence is not needed in this situation. Twilight was confused. The hippogriff stood just a few meters away from the Chancellor, backed to a corner. She smiled.

“Do you know why we defend the magic of friendship?”

He furiously shook his head. ”You all can’t be serious... It doesn’t apply to other tribes. They are what they’re meant to be- Their behaviour will never change. You must think me mad to believe cross-race friendship can be real at all.”

Twilight was cross and wanted to say something. But Silverstream rejected it. So did the rest of her friends.

“It can happen,” Sandbar said. “Who’s to say Ocellus and I can’t be best friends, huh?”

“Yeah! Just because we harmed your home once... You took that for granted?”

Smoulder nodded. “Somewhere within everyone’s hearts... There’s always a feeling, a thought. Something you can’t buy, something that lasts forever. Friends are inseparable.”

“Indeed,” Yona agreed. “Friends stand together- Friends never fall!”

“We have our own differences,” Gallus pointed out, “That never changes. No creature is perfect- Somepony special told us that, always. But, it is because of the things that make us unique, that pull us together.”

Twilight Sparkle, standing behind, slowly cried in happiness- Her own students, standing up to non-believers of her philosophy, with the things they’ve learnt.

“Sometimes... Being different is great, right girls?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Apple Bloom couldn’t agree more. “Definitely! That’s why we become friends, to give ourselves and our friends what they’re missing!”

“And although friends argue and fight sometimes, there’s no denying they’ll find their way back together.” Scootaloo followed. “Just like we did!”

They all started giggling. Neighsay was kept pinned down by Twilight’s bubble shield spell so he couldn’t cause havoc and kills everycreature.

“Listen up, you,” Silverstream said. “Friendship, is love. And with love, comes peace and harmony. We came to study here for a reason- We want to learn about how magical it is- And it’s true. Creatures of different shapes, sizes and personalities come together, to discuss their beliefs together while learning from each other too. Friendship is for everycreature to enjoy- And it’s magic can heal any rivalary.”

Finally, Twilight found it would be an appropriate time to speak. She called everycreature to step aside.

“Thank you, everycreature,” She said, putting a hoof to her heart. “It really does mean much to me that you care about the school so much. Silverstream, what you said, can’t be any more clear. A statement of what’s right. This was my fundamental goal of establishing this school- To allow everycreature to learn and pursue their studies alongside each other, and spread the magic of friendship further and further. As they’ve said, everycreature has a missing piece inside them. Something, only the ones around them, could give.”

They all nodded to her.

“But of course...” She sighed. “I understand not everyone appreciates this. I understand some ponies do fear expansion, they fear of trying new things. Some are filled with hatred from scars between tribes in the past. They distrust one another. But this... This is why I believe friendship should be taught to not just ponies, and for everyone else too. A way for different races to get along, break down their walls of suspicion, and see the good side of each other. The start of our kind making ties with other nations.”

Twilight looked to her mentor. Shedding a single tear, Celestia wiped it off with a hoof and smiled. She felt proud. However, what Neighsay had done to Equestria, she could never forgive. He was arrested once- But he still showed no remorse. Since the day he rejected her fiercely for getting fired, she knew he would return- But never did she think it will go like this. She needed no explanation, and took a deep breath.

She turned to the Mafia first.

“Cozy Glow,” She said.

The filly gasped, and was going to cry again. She stepped out and bowed, begging for mercy.

“I know, princess,” She said. “*sigh* What I did... Following him... *sniff* It was all wrong. I have no excuse- Despite knowing the consequences, I did so to protect myself. I know, I’m selfish. I’m truly, truly, sorry. To you, and all of your tribes, my friends. Put the blame on this filly, right here.”

The Godfather was pleased- She was getting what she deserved.

But, a second later, what the princess said was an absolute disaster for him. She held up Cozy’s Head, with a charming smile. The filly was confused.

“I’m not here for you. You did nothing wrong,” Celestia kindly said. “I know you’re threatened. I know that decision must’ve been a difficult one. Nopony would want death, it’s reasonable. This plan, was not yours. So, you’re not the one to blame. Don’t fear- I’ll say it again. I didn’t come to save all of you, because I wanted to arrest you for murder.”

She turned. “I was looking for him.”

He finally surrendered, with his hooves in the air. After what happened last time, there was no way for him to stand up to the mighty princess of the sun.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve tried to commit murder, is it not?”

He shook his head. Indeed it wasn’t.

“*sigh* Just when I thought you’d change,” Celestia sighed. “I knew you would return, but I hoped it would’ve been to apologize for your cruelty. It wasn’t. Behind that forcefield, must’ve been a terrible scene that you set up. And outside the border, we’re working around the clock to solve the problem diplomatically, and you were sitting here, doing absolutely nothing but fuel the potential for war.”

She stomped the ground loudly.

“Tell me, honestly,” She demanded. “Why, are you committing such crimes?”

He stood up- But was forced to not take a single step by Twilight.

”It is for the greater good.”

“How so?”

”Having them all here will cause so many problems and I know you are favouring the school because Twilight is your student. Even if that’s not the case, you’re using this as a path to open your borders. Do you not realise, the consequences of having any creature walk around town?”

Celestia twitched her eyebrow.

“Excuse me, sir, I don’t play favourites,” She said clearly. “Even if Twilight is my student.”

”Then tell me one reason, why my second point is incorrect. Look around. Dragons scaring Everypony wherever they go. Yaks causing trouble with their strength, Griffons flying around town causing mischief... And don’t even get me started on Changelings. Not ever. I will not allow this to continue.”

Twilight stepped in. “I built this school to help creatures know each other better through cultural exchange. Friendship is not just for ponies. You must understand, Chancellor. Time is changing. And so are my students’ tribes. Through sharing our way of living in harmony, they can spread the messages back to their own lands. I don’t understand how this wonderful plan could be bad...”

”You’re saying this because you favour your own students. This school is making us more transparent Day by day. In time, they’ll use their knowledge against us. It’s in their blood, and destruction is imminent.”

“No it’s not! You’re the one-“

”And I’m closing it, to protect Equestria, princess.”

Celestia sighed and signaled to Twilight that she would handle this on her own.

“I’m giving you one more chance,” She said. “Why, are you doing this?”

”I said it.”

“No. You are lying, I can tell. Your arguments are flawed. I looked through your records and I found a possible truth you’re hiding. None of us are getting out of here until one of us says the truth.”

He gasped. He’s been busted.

“You have a grudge on the Changeling tribe,” Celestia calmly said. “Is that right?”

Hearing this, Ocellus gasped, and Sandbar, standing beside her, held her close.

”*sigh* Yes. That is right. That is only a slice of the pie, too.”

“What else bothers you?”

”*sigh* When I was little, I ventured out to different nations, to learn about them. But I was greatly unwelcomed. And I found out about some... horrible things they do. Moreover, some of my relatives were killed during the changeling invasion. I can’t sit by and watch Equestria suffer upon the stronger tribes. I had to do something to prevent our land getting exposed and collaborating with others... Only for them to betray us.”

Celestia sighed.

“I didn’t want everything to come down to this. Listen, Neighsay. Protecting our people is every official’s duty. Even so, the ways to execute it, always have a line nopony should cross. I’ve supported princess Twilight since she was a filly, and I truthfully know she will always make the right decision. And this school is no exception.”

“Like I said, I don’t want to do this to you. But, when I talked with the other leaders a few days ago, I made them a sincere and unbreakable promise through an ultimatum.” Celestia teleported a scroll to her, and read it. “I told them that I, and the officials, would track down the culprit and mastermind of the act. You may have convinced Cozy Glow to do it for you, but ultimately, you are the true culprit. We made a deal, that they will only seize fire, under one condition.”

She whispered to Cozy Glow. The filly turned into a human through thoughts and pulled out her gun- The weapon that started it all.

“I must kill you. I’m sorry. But as a leader, it is a disgrace for me to directly kill my own people. So, Cozy Glow, will you finish this task for me?”

But Neighsay didn't fight back, but rather admit to his own wrongdoings. He wanted the greater good for Equestria anyway. So, he agreed to the punishment. Celestia and Twilight both secured his position in the middle of the dungeon with a magic spell. The entire group cornered him to a wall, as Cozy Glow stood right in front of her master, pointing her pistol at his heart. The culprit lifted his hands up, accepting his defeat and the death penalty- For plunging a Equestria to the brink of war. In short, betrayal of one’s own nation.

She replaced the bullet in the gun with a real one and reloaded it. Her hand was on the trigger.

“You’ve messed with the wrong group of friends, my master. At least, you won’t die to the ones you tried to harm.”

BANG

Game Over. Innocents Win!

Ending: Friends Forgive, Friends Forget

They thought they’ll never be able to actually spend this time of year together. But thankfully, now they can.

After finally being freed from the clutches of the terrible game, the group all made up about everything they did during the game and continued to work together on prepping for the holidays. Working timelessly on decorating and prepping for games to play, none of them were dissatisfied and annoyed at all- Because they were surrounded by their helpful and caring friends.

They could obviously agree- This game seemed like just a bad dream. Either that, or they believe it was a monumental test of their friendship. They had the choice to trust, or not. With all the suspicion they’ve had throughout the game, they were determined to not have something like that happen again.

It really was a crazy week for them.

They wouldn’t forget about the experience they’ve had. But it was a reminder for them- To always stick together, and never fight. Sometimes, one creature couldn’t do it on his own. Teamwork is undeniably superior than being alone. Similarly, the six races, ponies included, remembered this experience very clearly. However, rather than it being a sad memory, it served, similarly, as a reminder for the leaders. Only if they work together, will they be able to solve the challenges that come their way.

And although they just got out of a messy situation, relations were improving and some do have intentions to be friends with the pony nation.

This, was exactly what Twilight wanted in the first place- Friendship between races. To expand its magic into the unknown and guide them to success in making friends. Other tribes had shut themselves out from each other. Now, Equestria is able to start untangling possible rivalries between them, and through time, people from the different empires will welcome each other gladly. The princess of Friendship had a huge yet thoughtful goal for everycreature in Equestria, and other places of the world.

Not only had she done it- It has now become something even bigger.

Hearth’s Warming eve was here in Equestria- And joy was in the air for everycreature at the School of Friendship. The cold of the winter season didn’t seem to affect the atmosphere at all- Everyone was overjoyed to be safe. So this party for the upcoming holidays wasn’t just for celebrating Hearth’s Warming, it was also to celebrate peace and harmony, as the other leaders decided to seize fire.

Some were stuffed from the feast they had. Others shared giggles and laughs with each other. And not to mention, they played lots of group games. And no, they didn’t play Mafia. Funny enough, after the experience, the game was banned in the school, in order to keep students from reminding themselves of the tragedy. Besides, it wasn’t doing that well for their friendship, with all the distrust and lying. And of course, the holidays wouldn’t be complete without the students sharing presents with their friends, giving a hug or two as they did so.

As Silverstream was talking with Cozy Glow in the park, Twilight approached her.

“Hey, Silverstream,” The mare smiled, sitting down next to her.

“O-Oh, hi,” She giggled. “Was... Was it a horrible experience?”

“What?”

“To die?”

Twilight, a little taken back by the question, rolled her eyes and chuckled.

“Actually... I didn’t die, Silverstream.”

“Wh-What? But...”

Cozy Glow gave a gentle tap on Twilight’s shoulder. “Well, of course I didn’t kill her. This was just a game and his trick to blame the school is bad. It just didn’t turn out the way he expected. The bullets only tranquilized the victims, but they won’t kill. However, the one I used to kill Neighsay was real.”

Twilight nodded. “You see, when I got shot by her, I thought it would be murder. But it wasn’t. I fell into a coma or some sort. And... The next thing I saw when I woke up, was the dungeon. I was trapped behind bars. Every day or two, somepony New comes into the same place. I didn’t understand what is going on until you all told me.”

“And Princess Celestia helped you out?” Silverstream asked.

She nodded with glee.

“So... What actually happened, throughout that week?”

The two didn’t say anything. It wasn’t because they couldn’t think of anything, it was because they were shy to admit they were arguing and distrusted each other. But of course, sometimes the truth is better than a well-meant lie.

“Well, Miss... W-We...” Cozy Glow took a moment to breathe. “Let’s just say, we have some tangled knots to get rid of.”

Silverstream chuckled. “Yeah. We kinda... fought, just a little bit. We made up, though!”

Twilight giggled at that. “I see. The game must’ve been really intense, is that right? Would you mind telling me another day?”

The two nodded.

“If there’s one thing we’ve learnt,” Cozy said, “It’s that we should be together as a team, and face challenges with each other. They may not have figured out I was the culprit all along if they were split apart.”

“Very good, Cozy!” Twilight said, smiling. “That is definitely something to keep in mind of. You see, Friendship has always been a gift to us all. The gift of being able to have fun, share our feelings and care about the ones around you. Of course, friendships can get dark and turn for the worse, but to you, it’s something you can’t trade anything for. Friendships are memories. It lasts forever. To break apart, is like forgetting your old memories. In my opinion, the worst thing that a friend could do, was to argue and break apart their friendship with someone they used to trust.”

Silverstream smiled and nodded. Cozy Glow did too.

“Now,” Twilight asked. “You’ll have to go soon. Wanna meet up with your friends and make up?”

“Sure!” They both said.

The two found their friends in the party room. Surprisingly, the group was alone, and they were just chilling there.

“Hey everycreature,” Cozy Glow greeted them.

They waved back and came over.

“I just wanted to apologize,” The filly said. “About everything that happened between us. I know all of you have been arguing and fighting over who’s killing everyone, and I was just sitting doing absolutely nothing. Either that, or I tried to help, but you wouldn’t let me, I understand we’re getting torn apart by differences and suspicion. I wouldn’t do anything to ever let that situation last any longer.”

To her surprise, they didn’t yell at her, but were very glad.

“Apology no need!” Yona giggled, carrying Cozy on her back. “Yaks Forgive!”

Sandbar laughed along. “Cozy, I understand your struggle. It’s not your fault. Besides, we all got out in one piece, didn’t we all?”

They all nodded happily.

“I’m willing to bet we wouldn’t go through any more difficult times than this ever,” Gallus said.

Smoulder agreed. “Tell me about it. Sure, we didn’t actually die, but being in the dungeon is actually super creepy.”

“I know!” Scootaloo said.

“Well, at least we’re all back together again, and that’s all that matters,” Ocellus said gladly. “I know for a fact all of us here wouldn’t be anywhere else without our friends.”

They all smiled.

“Awwww,” Apple Bloom cooed. “Come here, y’all.”

They all came close for a bittersweet group hug, filled with cheers and ‘Awwwws’. They giggled as they hugged one another, happy to be back together as best friends.

A minute later, they let go.

“So....” Sweetie Belle chuckled coldly. “Sandbar, I heard about something to do with you And Ocellus...”

As soon the two heard it, they gasped and blushed.

“*giggles* Come on,” Silverstream put a wing around Ocellus. “You know you want to, Ocellus!”

“Really? In front of all of you?”

Sandbar smiled nervously as Sweetie Belle levitated a mistletoe and held it above their heads. Everyone instantly went “Wooooooooo” in cheer and everyone was excited.

“Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!” They all chanted to Sandbar.

The changeling was blushing so hard, she was too nervous to even try. But the stallion, on the other hand, didn’t mind to do it, even though he was still very nervous. Their friends all cheered with screams and gasping when Sandbar pulled her close, and held her as he kissed his best friend.

“Ahhhhhh!!” Silverstream squeaked. “Sandbar and Ocellus, sitting on a tree~”

And everyone in the room finished the line for her as the two finally broke the kiss, and giggled as they shared a lovely hug. Finally, the day came to a close, so everyone packed their stuff, gave each other hugs and went back home to spend time with their family or other friends.

Sometimes... Friendship is like a flower. It endures and goes through many things. The seed sprouts, the flower blooms, it endures the wind and rain... But through time, friendship stands still through it all. The Young Six barely even met a few months ago. But now, they’ve completely hit it off and became best friends with not just each other, but slowly with the people of Equestria too.

They’ve had the rough times and arguments. They make mistakes and lie to each other. Even so, they won’t put up a grudge on one another- Because they know it won’t do anything good. They realize their friends are much more than they first thought. They’re their family- The ones they can trust and love. It makes sense, too- Family members do the same thing friends do. They fight, they love, and they help one another out.

They would agree- Upon facing challenges, the pack is always stronger. Teamwork, is what drives their success. They’re capable of doing so much when they’re together. What started as a risky idea to collaborate with students beyond the nation, has turned into something beautiful and alliances between the empires are close to being reality. But, through everything that has happened, it’s safe to say, there is an undeniable fact that, not just the ponies, but everycreature in the land, could agree on.

Friendship, is truly, magical.

Author's Note

Friends come and go, they love and they fight. But through time, they will always find their way back together.
~Nathan Hon

I hope you enjoyed this. :twilightsmile:

Notes for the Game.

Hey Guys, this is your author Nathan speaking.

Yes, I know, this isn’t a part of the story, and more of a update. No, this isn’t cancelled, but I just realized that I have never actually explained the rules and roles of Mafia very well throughout the story. I know very well this isn’t particularly very popular so it’s possible some of you may have never heard or played the game before. And to eliminate the confusion, let me explain the game’s rules and what every role does, according to the rules I established for this story. I’m saying this because there might be some differences from the rules I used and the real ones. If I mention the words “For this story”, then it likely means it’s an altered rule from the original game.

Now for those haven’t read the story, I highly recommend you to read the first two chapters to get the gist of what will happen, because the following things featured here may contain spoilers for the story itself.

Without further ado, let me explain.

Game Rules

Typically, a game of Mafia will consist of 8-10 people with one host. For this story, there will be ten players. The Young Six, and the crusaders including Cozy Glow.

The game is played through a series of ‘Days’. In each day, there is a Daytime session and a Nighttime session. During the daytime, players may discuss who they think might be the Mafia. They may also take a vote on who it is. For this story, if over half of the remaining players casted a vote, the player with the most votes will be voted out and executed. Before the execution, they may choose to have something called ‘Final words’. For the story, the victim of the execution may reveal their role or they can just emphasise more on their standpoints.

If however, less than half the players voted, no one will be executed. There will be no daytime executions in this story.

During the nighttime, some players will have the ability to drastically change the game. Each player is assigned with a random ability, and some can use them to perform certain actions during the night, which I will get to later.

The game ends under three circumstances, favouring two sides of the game.

If the Cop shoots the wrong player, the Mafia wins, everyone dies.

If the Mafia kills everyone without getting caught, the Mafia wins.

If in one way or another, the Innocents kill the Mafia, the Innocents win.

2.The Roles of the game

In this story, all ten players are assigned with a random role. They have their own unique abilities and some posses the right to perform actions during the night.

This is your last chance to leave the chapter before spoilers. Are we good? Okay.

The ten roles in this story are as follows:

1.The Cop

The Main Spotlight of the game. They are given with a gun operated by magic. At any point during the day or night, the Cop is allowed to kill someone they think are certain to be the Mafia. If they kill the Mafia, the innocents win. If however, they killed an innocent, the game ends and the Mafia wins. Then, everyone dies. The key is to find enough evidence to connect all possible dots to one suspect before making the kill.

The Doctor

They are given with two potions. One for protection and one for poisoning. During the night, the doctor can use the potions to either protect the person targeted by the Mafia or poison a suspect to kill them. For this game, the Doctor is allowed to use both potions at the same time. Once the protection potion is used, the player that was supposed to die will live. When the poison potion is used, the target, chosen by this role, will die. Both potions can only be used once.

The Detective

One of the most crucial parts of the game. They are granted the power of being able to know everyone’s roles during the night, and are the only one to have access to this power in the game. In the night, the detective can identify the role of any remaining player in the game. They can’t reveal directly what everyone’s roles are in the day, but they can push them in the right direction.

The Hunter

The power of this role would require a sacrifice. If the player playing this role dies in one way or another, that’s the only moment when they could trigger their ability. When they are targeted without any protection, their spirit would kill another person. For this game, before their death, they would choose the person who will die, and in the morning, their target will die.

The Knight

This is a risky role, placing second to the cop. It’s also similar to the cop in a way. They can reveal their role anytime in the game. Once doing so, they will pick one other player to kill. For this game, if they chose the Mafia, the game ends and the innocents win. If however, they chose an innocent, both their target and the Knight will die.

The Angel

The major healing role of the game. During the night, they are allowed to bring anyone back except the Knight. No matter if their target has died or they are trying to protect them, they are allowed to bring one person back into the game each night, or they may pass.

The Defender

One of the more complicated roles. Every night, the defender can interfere with any action performed on the same night, if they choose the right player. Under the condition that they don’t know who is which role, and under the rule that they can only call out names, they will have to either pass or choose someone’s action to interfere with. If they chose a daytime character, it counts as a pass.

The Witness

Similar to the detective but on a first-hand scale. Through the whole game, the Witness will be allowed to peek when the Mafia commits the murder. If they are caught doing so, they will die. But if not, they will live and they aren’t allowed to reveal who the Mafia is directly, but can push others in the right way.

The Innocent

This role doesn’t have a special power, but are still allowed to express their own opinions and suspicions among other players to find out who’s the Mafia.

The Mafia

Finally, the main antagonist of the game. They are given with a dagger and a pistol. Every night, they may choose someone to kill. If no one interfered, their target will die that night. If they killed the hunter, they will initiate their ability and the Mafia risks themselves in danger. If they successfully catch the witness spying on them, the witness dies as well. The Mafia will win the game if they can kill all nine other innocents. If they get killed, they lose.

3.Terms of the Game

Daytime: The period of the day where everyone is allowed to express their own suspicions and opinions on one another to find out who the Mafia is.

Nighttime: The period of the day where certain roles get to perform actions to drastically change the game, whether to kill or to protect.

Silent NightandUnsilent Night:A silent night happens when no one gets killed on that night.If someone is killed, then that night is unsilent.

That should clear any confusion. Now go enjoy the story!

Day 4: The Quarrel

Day Four.

Silverstream woke up early, and she was on her way to the usual get-together. But when she passed by the main hallway, she ran into Ocellus, who seemed surprisingly excited. She had always been feeling down for the whole game, but today seemed like a jolly day for her.

“Hey, Ocellus!” She called out to her.

The changeling exchanged a hug with her before saying anything.

“A mood swing hit you or something?” Silverstream asked as she let go. “You weren’t this happy yesterday, were you?”

Ocellus shrugged. “I don’t really know, but I just have a good feeling today.”

“Mmmm... Okay...” The hippogriff was curious. “H-Hey, how about we walk together?”

“Sure! You have something to talk about?”

“*sigh* Not much... Besides the fact we’re about to die... I really don’t want to die in this cruel real-life game... It’s so weird and dark... Oh, I just want to see my family! They must be worried sick! And Princess Skystar! And my aunt Queen Novo!”

“They must be really scared... I hope Thorax doesn’t yell at me for this before I explain... Also, I have a really bad feeling that The Godfather is a force to be reckoned with...”

Silverstream stopped dead when she heard this. She didn’t want to show a sign, but she wanted to know more.

“Go on. You can trust me, I’m not the Mafia.”

Ocellus was in doubt. “Are you sure? I know we’re friends and all, but...”

“Would I lie to you, Ocellus? I never lie. Professor Applejack always told me to be honest. And though I’m playful most of the time, I’m serious whenever I need to be serious.”

Ocellus smiled. She did have a point.

“Yeah, I guess so. Sorry for doubting you. As I was saying, the- *gasp*”

Ocellus gasped- Because she saw somepony familiar. Somepony dear to her, right in front of the park, the gathering point. The pony closed his eyes and sniffed, not noticing her existence at that moment. That is, until Ocellus broke the silence.

“S-Sandbar!?”

As she galloped over, the young pony gasped and smiled.

“Ocellus!”

They ran over to hug each other- Tight and close. Sandbar even swung his best friend around in the hug, and the two laughed in bliss. Silverstream watched from the side, with confusion but also with relief.

“Wh-Why are you here?” Ocellus asked. “I’m confused...”

Sandbar let go of her. “I don’t know... The angel must’ve revived me, in that case...”

He was going to walk beside her right into the park, before giving Silverstream a cold glance. This sent a bit of chills to her. Then, the others caught up.

“Yak friend got problem?” Yona asked.

Silverstream sighed. “Come on. We have... A bit of a hassle to deal with.”

“I heard somepony screaming about Sandbar,” Cozy Glow said, making an intrigued glance on Yona. “Did he get revived or something?”

Smoulder Tilted her head. “Excuse me, reviving him is the only reason he’d be here right now...”

“Alright, everycreature,” Apple Bloom dropped the topic. “Everyone’s being suspicious today. Let’s all argue in a minute, Okay?”

Day 4: Daytime.

“So... No one got killed last night? And apparently, Sandbar came back too?” Silverstream questioned. “Is this game getting more complicated or what...?”

Sandbar slammed his hoof on the ground, angrily looking at her.

“Speak for yourself, Silver!” He grunted.

Yona was startled. “Whoa, Yak be startled- Sandbar Okay?”

He glanced at her. “No, I’m not! Even though I just got revived!” Sandbar said, then turning back to Silverstream. “You gave my identity away!”

“Wh-What? No, I didn’t!”

“Yes, you did! You talk too much! Ugh, why?”

Ocellus got up and comforted him. “Cheer up, Sandbar! You just got revived by the angel... Shouldn’t you be thankful? Why are you being so mad?”

He sighed.

“You don’t understand, Ocellus...” He sighed. “I wanted to help you all. I don’t want to be accused of murder. Now you all know- I’m not the murderer, okay?”

Silverstream wasn’t so happy.

“You didn’t have to say it in that tone, Sandbar... I understand you’re trying to help us figure out who the Mafia is. And I’m working on trying to figure it out too.”

“That’s exactly what you’d say if you were the Mafia, and all you’re doing is undercover, suspecting everycreature!”

She gasped, and so did the rest.

“Our group needs some kind of leader. We are all dying one by one,” Sandbar suggested. “I would tell you what death is like- But I can’t, because The Godfather forbids me to. You all don’t want to die. You know I’m the detective. I can help identify the victims.”

Smoulder was puzzled.

“When did we vote for you to be the leader?”

He turned.

“I could ask you the same thing...”

Apple Bloom was worried and took Sandbar’s side. “He knows who’s doing what. I’m with him!”

Silverstream wanted to join too, but Sandbar resisted.

“Don’t, even,” Sandbar growled. “You made me die...”

“Well, I didn’t mean to!”

Silverstream shouted that out so loud everycreature went silent.

“You could’ve kept the knowledge to yourself, Silver. At least do it secretly!”

The two were getting mad at each other. Silverstream didn’t think he should hold this big of a grudge- But Sandbar blamed her for his first death. It scarred him- And he suspected Silverstream was the Mafia. All the others didn’t know what to do- Some took sides, some wanted to stop them, but they couldn’t talk it out.

Cozy Glow was getting increasingly worried.

“Uhhh... Guys?” She said. No one heard her. “I-I’m gonna go... For a minute.”

She ran off, and that caught Silverstream’s attention. But she ignored it.

“Yak friends, no fight!” Yona yelled. “Sandbar no Mafia! Yak think it’s Silverstream!”

“Wh-What? You too, Yona?”

“Yona, I don’t want us to fight either, but I don’t think they’re going to stop yelling...”

Smoulder started to growl. “Seriously? Has Silverstream been showing signs directly to prove she’s the murderer? No! I don’t think so! And Yona, you wake up every day being tired!”

“Blasphemy!” Yona yelled. “Yak not enough sleep, not planning murder!”

Ocellus nodded. “She’s right! Smoulder, why are you pointing hooves at everycreature now?”

“What do you mean!?” The dragon hmphed. “I’m not the Mafia, I swear! But if you guys want to vote me out, okay, Fine! Do it then! It’s at your own loss!”

“How do we know if y’all telling the truth?” Apple Bloom questioned. “Everypony knows how to win the game- And I’m not one to slip away from mah sister’s honesty! Ocellus, you go!”

“Why me?” Ocellus crossed her hooves and flapped her wings. “One of us here is the Angel, who must’ve revived the one who died last night and Sandbar. I know for a fact you aren’t her.”

The filly was having none of it. “Are you sayin you’re the Angel? I think you’re lying- And you’re the Mafia!”

“No, I’m not! You are!”

At this point, all six of them were involved in the big quarrel- Divided into three groups. Smoulder Defended Silverstream from Sandbar’s suspicion. Apple Bloom followed Sandbar as the group leader and suspected Ocellus; Then the latter was pointing hooves with Yona at Smoulder!

It was all a tangled mess- And the friends argued and argued over who’s to blame.

In the middle of the quarrel, Cozy Glow came back, but when she saw the action going on, she hid behind a wall so she wouldn’t get involved, since she was scared and all. Meanwhile, she was gasping at the horrible sight happening in front of her, worried for everycreature. A fight was about to break out.

And it kinda did.

“Silver, stop pretending you aren’t the murderer!” Sandbar shouted, stepping forward.

Silverstream stomped the ground with a grunt. “For the hundredth time, I’m not it!”

The two pushed heads- Grunting and getting angrier as they did so. Soon, Apple Bloom And Ocellus were doing the same thing, followed by Firey quarreling between Smoulder and Yona.

“*grunts* What role are you, Apple Bloom?” Ocellus moaned. “Tell me one reason why I should believe you’re not the killer!”

The filly pushed back. “I don’t like fights, Ocellus, but just because I’m trying to protect my other friends doesn’t mean I’m being biased! Stop trying to kill me and all of us!”

“Wh- Hey! I didn’t kill anypony!” Ocellus screamed.

Meanwhile...

“I dare you, Yona!” Smoulder hmphed. “You kill me, and you’re gonna regret it!”

“Kill you?” Yona couldn’t believe what she’s just said. “Yak ain’t no killer!”

“Likely story...”

“What? You be Mafia, huh!?” Yona rammed into her friend, making Smoulder get pushed back a little.

“Oh, If I die, I swear the Mafia will kill you next, Yona...”

Finally, Cozy Glow couldn’t handle the tension anymore. She rushed into the park of the school and yelled loudly.

“EVERYONE STOP IT!”

They all did- And reluctantly returned back with their partner, giving each other uncomfortable stares. But they weren’t done with the situation just yet.

“Cozy Glow,” Apple Bloom moaned. “We’re here in a nasty situation... You’re not the Mafia, I could tell. Can you... Uhhh... Not bother us for a bit?”

The filly, who was sad her warning didn’t do anything, just bursted into crying mode.

“What has become of you all!?” Cozy cried. “You all are too involved with this game! Emphasis on game, thankyouverymuch! All of you are destroying your friendship!”

Silverstream thought of something. But before she could start saying things, Sandbar stopped her.

“Cozy,” He said seriously. “This isn’t a game anymore... We’re talking about actual life and death stuff. You have to understand...”

Cozy didn’t agree and pushed away his hoof as he almost grabbed her.

“Hear me out! This really is just-“

“Say one more line,” Sandbar warned, “And we’ll vote you out.”

Cozy gasped. She bailed off in tears. This made Silverstream upset.

“What was that for!?” She yelled. “That would’ve been great to know!”

Sandbar snapped at her. “It’s no time for jokes! What? You want to know about it and potentially kill us?”

“Sandbar, how about you stop blaming everycreature around you, and actually protect your ally?” Smoulder suggested, pushing him.

“You think I’m the only one that needs protection?” Apple Bloom shouted, “Protection from you?”

Yona nodded. “Yak think so too!”

“Whoever here’s the hunter,” Ocellus moaned, “if you get killed, how about you kill Apple Bloom first for being so suspicious?”

“Hey! What's that supposed to mean!? Are you sayin you’re the Mafia, then!?”

The three groups didn’t agree with each other- And started to argue even more.

“Obviously it’s Smoulder!”

“No, it’s Yona!”

“No! Yak thinks Mafia’s Apple Bloom now!”

“What!? No one’s gonna blame Ocellus for her odd actions?”

“Seriously!? You’re all mad!”

“Whether killer or not- Silverstream should go for making me die!”

“Shut your grudge up!”

And that part was the last straw for everycreature- They were really angry with each other. Both members of the three groups eyeballed their enemies that didn’t agree with them. They knew- They weren’t friends anymore until either they all die or they win. But the latter wouldn’t happen, now that they couldn’t decide who to vote out. Filled with grudges and suspicion, no pair trusted the others.

And at last, one by one, they all blew up.

“That’s it!” Sandbar roared. “C’mon, Apple Bloom, I don’t want to see my friends being liars...”

Silverstream gasped. Before he could leave, she pushed her head against his.

“You’re the liar!” She yelled.

The others, taking sides, also joined in on the last blow, and came close together. It’s about to fall apart.

“We’re just trying to keep each other alive- But you all pointing hooves and lying about us is so mean!” Ocellus screamed at Apple Bloom.

“I’m not lyin! I swear!”

“Yak feel you’re fishy!” Yona said, “Hmph, Yak friend overprotect Cozy! What for?”

“True- And there isn’t even a second Mafia,” Smoulder said. “Who are you to stop us from voting her out?”

For a minute, no one said anything, not because of what she just said, but because they were all mad with each other. Sandbar continued to hold the grudge.

“Alright, Silver...” He moaned. “If this is how you think it’s going to be, making us all die, then I dare to say you’re betraying our friendship.”

The hippogriff shook her head. “You’ll know when you identify me tonight, that you’re wrong! I don’t want to see you, Sandbar!”

“And I don’t want to see you and your friend either, Ocellus!” Apple Bloom shouted.

They were worried about the situation, but their anger towards one another overshadowed what’s right. Unable to calm down, the three sighed and yelled out the unexpected response to something they’ll never say to each other.

“You challenge my ability?” Sandbar said, “Hmph, Okay, Fine! I’ll check you, to reveal you’re the Mafia! So you stay out of my way!”

Silverstream, taken back a lot by this, had her heart shattered within a second.

“*sobs* Fine!” She cried, bailing off.

Ocellus wasn’t happy either. “You think I’m the killer, Apple Bloom? Fine, don’t say I didn’t help you.”

She ran off before the filly could chase after her and fight with her. The remaining three just sighed and shook their heads at one another, then walking away with suspicion.

Things took a very dark turn for the players here- They were best friends- But all was lost in a matter of minutes. They each blamed themselves for their break up- And each other. They took quite a while to reflect on what they said, what they did, and why they were wrong. But most of them didn’t have the courage to say the words to each other.

Emphasis on most.

Just before bedtime, Sandbar heard a knock on the door. He hmphed and sighed.

“I told you to go away...”

The voice behind the door sighed. “Please, let’s talk. Just a bit.”

Sandbar moaned and opened the door to his dorm room. Behind the door, stood the playful student Silverstream. She was much calmer now and kindly stepped in with her saddlebags. She invited them onto the bed to talk and Sandbar said sitting on the edge would be alright. The two spent a few minutes thinking about what to say, and they felt very sad about what happened earlier.

Silverstream took out a chocolate cookie from her saddlebag.

“I’m sorry, Sandbar,” She said, smiling. “I stole this from the cafeteria earlier. I think you’ll like it.”

He took the cookie, and as he was eating it, he sighed.

“Sorry, Silver. I... I got ahead of myself,” Sandbar apologized. “It’s just... I’m so mad at you for blowing my cover and making the Mafia know I’m the detective. You know how important of a role I play. I didn’t want to die. How long has it been?”

“It’s the fourth day now.”

“Oh good, at least it hasn’t been long,” He sighed in relief. “Gallus And Scootaloo Died? Man, must be because of my death...”

Silverstream put a claw around him to bring him close gently.

“I didn’t judge you for protecting Gallus, and I’m not exactly mad at the Mafia killing you. I felt sad, actually,” She said kindly. “I was mad, and pretty disappointed, because of how assertive you were with what you said.”

“I was... What now?”

“You haven’t even found the Mafia yet, have you?” She asked. He shook his head. “Then why are you pointing hooves at everycreature with nothing to back you up? Bluffing is essential in the game, I know, but... You took it a step too far. That’s what I mean.”

Sandbar nodded. He did feel this way too.

“Yeah, I do notice that,” He replied. “I was only trying to accuse you of making me die and I thought you were the Mafia. Now... to be honest, I might actually be talking to the one who killed me, but I don’t care anymore. I just want to keep our friendship alive, it’s all I ask.”

They both smiled.

“This game is getting too intense now,” Silverstream giggled as Sandbar nodded in response. “I thought we won’t really last long without arguing at some point, haha. Also, save the chance to search me for somecreature else, Sandbar. I can assure you I’m not the Mafia. The godfather’s Not listening, right?”

She looked around for his spirit. The coast was clear, so she cheated.

“Listen to me,” She whispered. “I’m the cop.”

“You’re what!?”

She covered his mouth and laughed. “I told you I wasn’t the Mafia!”

Sandbar laughed along. “Haha, okay, you got me. I’m really sorry, Silver. I’m just glad that we made up, I love all my friends.”

“Me too!”

The two students hugged each other and laughed. They nuzzled in the hug, trying to express how sorry they’ve been for their quarrel. They knew- This is just a game. They shouldn’t put their valuable friendship on the line against a stupid game- Because it overpowers so much in the world. This was a test of their bond- And they recovered from it.

A minute later, they finally let go with a blissful sigh.

“Do you forgive me?” Sandbar asked.

“Sure I do!” She giggled. Then she realized the time. “Oh, it’s late. Hopefully, you don’t get killed!”

The pony chuckled. “Sweet dreams, Silver!”

Day 4: Nighttime.

”Wow. Today was harsh, huh?”

The Godfather chuckled when he visited the Mafia.

“Master,” She said. “It’s not funny. All of us are dying- Our Friendship is falling apart... And you just... Sit there and laugh? *sigh* I’m not in the mood to chat with you personally tonight.”

”Hm? Oh, I see... Anyway... Choose someone to kill, then.”

“Smoulder said if I kill her, we’re not going to be happy... No, I’ll do it. She might be lying to keep herself alive. Besides, I’ll have to kill her at some point.”

”Very well.”

”Ah, detective. Glad you could make it this time.”

“Thanks, Godfather.”

”So, Silverstream, is that who you want to search? I saw you and her arguing bitterly today.”

He sighed. “Yeah, I know... But no, I change my mind. Search Smoulder.”

The letter dropped in front of him, and once he opened it up, he gasped.

“Uh Oh...”

”Angel, are you in the mood to revive anyone?”

“Not really... I’m still trying to get over what happened today. We had a bitter quarrel. A really really harsh one.”

”The one you revived is doing fine now. What about you?”

“*sigh* I don’t know... If I revive more, they will get mixed into the quarrel too!”

”I respect your choice.”

”It took her a while to realize it...”

The creature who heard this woke up.

“Wh-What’s the matter?”

The Godfather chuckled.

“Hunter. Kill someone.”

Day Four over. Unsilent night.

Killed: Smoulder, by the Mafia.

Hunter spotted and killed, Hunter ability deployed!