Corpse Party: A Glimmer of Chaos

Starlight slipped and fell the moment she stepped through the tear in reality, getting a faceful of dirt. As she tried to push herself upright she realized that her forelegs had been replaced with arms and hands. A quick check revealed that her entire body had been transformed from a pony to a human.

"Huh, this must be another human world." Starlight got to her feet and dusted herself off, shivering slightly. Unlike the last time she had gone through a portal to a human world, she was currently wearing a white blouse and grey skirt with a red tie.

"What the- this can't be right!" Discord spat.

Glancing around, Starlight saw that the draconequus was now in a mostly human form too; his body was tall and lanky, and he was wearing a mismatched patchwork suit. Oddly enough, he still had his horns on top of his head. "What's wrong?"

Discord inspected his clothes with an irritated air. "We should have arrived in our natural forms, or unnatural form in my case, not as these bipedal oddities." He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. After several more fruitless tries he looked up at the school rising ahead of them warily. "Something is suppressing my magic."

Starlight grimaced, suddenly forcefully reminded of the magic-suppressing throne once possessed by Queen Chrysalis. "Um, do you think maybe we should…" She glanced back at the opening in reality, only to realize that it had already closed up and vanished. "Okay, never mind. Looks like it's just the two of us." Starlight squared her shoulders and looked up at the school building ahead of them, trying to project more confidence than she felt. "Well, we've managed before without our magic, we can do it again."

"Easier said than done," Discord muttered, but he rolled his shoulders and straightened his suit before sighing heavily. "Well, since we're here we might as well take a look around." He snapped his fingers and a small light bulb popped into existence above his hand, then he waved it away in a puff of glitter. "I still have some of my powers, at least. Hopefully we can find whatever is dampening my magic quickly, so I can break it. Oh, and this probably goes without saying, but let's try not to get separated, shall we?"

"Good idea," Starlight replied fervently.

The school loomed above the two as they walked together towards it. Starlight couldn't suppress a shudder as they pushed open the front doors with a loud creak. The reception area inside was dark. Several sets of lockers, presumably for students, filled the room. Most of them were in a severe state of disrepair.

"This looks inviting," Starlight muttered sarcastically.

"I'd keep the noise to a minimum if I were you," Discord said quietly. "I don't know who's in charge in this place, but you can bet that they're no friendlier than Chrysalis. We'd best try not to get spotted."

"Er, right," Starlight replied sheepishly.

Discord rolled his eyes and walked past the lockers, gesturing for her to keep up.

The place looked like it had been abandoned for decades. The floorboards were chipped and creaky, what little paint remained on the walls was pale and flaking, and everything was coated in a thick layer of dust. Corridors led off to the left and right, and a winding set of wooden stairs led up to the next floor.

Starlight bit her lip and tapped Discord on the shoulder. "Which way?" She whispered.

The pensive expression on Discord's face didn't reassure her in the slightest. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "This school is clearly Japanese, at a guess I'd say 1950's, but we're on a spiritual plane, not a physical one, so it's hard to say."

"What do you mean? Is this place made of magic?" Starlight asked.

"Not any magic that you would recognise," Discord replied. "It's actually closer to my magic than typical Equestrian fare. The very structure of the building is in constant flux around us." He looked around, humming thoughtfully, then shrugged and pointed up the stairs. "We may as well try upstairs. I get the feeling there's something up there, at least."

Starlight bit her lip and followed after Discord, silently cursing every time a stair creaked loudly beneath one of them.

The next floor was much the same as the last, with a deteriorated corridor stretching away into the shadows. Sliding doors made out of wood and paper lined the corridor. Little signs above the doors had numbers on them, presumably class numbers. Starlight could see more of the unusual writing scrawled on one of the walls in tiny letters. "What does that say?"

"It's just graffiti," Discord replied. "Here, see for yourself."

He poked Starlight's forehead, and a wave of static made her brain feel fuzzy for a few seconds before clearing just as suddenly. "What the heck did you do to me?!" She snapped.

Discord scoffed indignantly. "I gave you a native's understanding of the local language. You're welcome."

"You… what?" Starlight looked back at the writing and realized with a jolt that she could now understand it. Her incredulity faded when she saw that the writing was indeed just a childish scrawl saying 'Mizuki smells'. "Whoa. Um, thanks."

"As I said, you're welcome," Discord replied with just a hint of irritation. He scowled as he turned his attention back to the corridor. "Now, let's see if we can figure out what we're looking for, and how to find it."

Starlight glanced around warily. "I get the feeling that's going to be easier said than done." With a sigh, she stepped over to the nearest door. "I guess we may as well start by exploring the classrooms."

"Yes, but be careful," Discord warned.

Starlight just nodded and gently slid the door open. The classroom was fairly standard; just rows of small chairs and wooden desks all facing a blackboard. It looked like no-one had been inside in decades.

Deciding that she may as well take a closer look, Starlight crept inside, looking around warily. She had barely taken a few steps when a loud swish and a thud made her whip around in shock.

The door had tried to slide shut on its own. Discord had managed to grab it with inches to spare, and was straining to haul it back open, but some invisible force was resisting his efforts.

Before Starlight could react, her stomach lurched as the floor beneath her feet suddenly gave way with a horrific crunching sound, pitching her into the yawning darkness below.