’Ugh…my aching head. What happened?’

“Hey…can you hear me…?”

Whose voice is that? They didn’t sound familiar. I slowly opened my eyes, blinking as my vision adjusted to the light. I groaned as I looked up at the speaker. She was a girl who appeared to be a bit younger than me. Her skin was pale pink, and her baby blue hair was done up in complex curls and tied with pale yellow ribbons. She wore a sky-blue dress with a red rook on its skirt, a red-orange sash, a light green vest, and yellow sneakers. Cute freckles dotted her face while a pair of wide reddish eyes with long lashes stared down at me with concern.

“Are you okay? You seem pretty out of it.” The mystery girl frowned as she spoke with a tinge of worry. “To be honest, me too. I’m sure everyone else feels the same. Since we suddenly…got put in this weird situation.”

Weird situation? What was she talking about? I tried to think back to how I might have ended up with this strange girl looming over me.

’Let’s see…I’d better go over this from the beginning.’

My name is Sunset Shimmer. I live in Canterlot and am currently attending Canterlot University. I took a couple of years to figure myself out after high school, but now I’m studying computer science and planning to minor in education. I work part time at a sushi place in the mall. My hobbies include playing guitar, singing, video games, and hanging out with my friends. All in all, a pretty average human doing average human things. Well, there is also the fact that I’m actually a unicorn from another world who turned into a demon and tried to enslave the whole high school as a zombie invasion force until I had some sense knocked into me by a big rainbow laser. Yeah, that’s a whole thing. It’s fine though, I became a much better person afterwards. With the help of my magical geode that lets me read minds and transform into a magical girl (yes, seriously) I do my best to keep Canterlot safe from stray magic leaking in from my home dimension of Equestria. My friends and I are pretty good at it too. The details are all admittedly extremely fuzzy though.

The last thing I remember happening is leaving a big get together with my friends. We were at one of their houses for a party of some kind. Was it a birthday party? If so, then whose was it? For some reason, I couldn’t remember. Even more concerning, I couldn’t seem to recall the faces or names of anybody that was there save for myself. That couldn’t be right. As I thought more, I discovered putting names and faces to most people in my life post-Equestria wasn’t working.

’Who were my friends again? That’s concerning. Ugh, I’ll get back to that problem later.’

I remember going home, locking up, feeding my pet gecko Ray, and then…nothing. Everything just fades to black. Looking down at my clothes, it seemed I was still wearing the same thing. I was clothed in a purple tank top with my cutie mark on the front, an orange skirt with a purple and yellow stripe on it, one of my leather jackets, and a pair of black and purple boots. Thankfully, I didn’t seem to smell bad. I must have at least had a chance to shower.

“…Hey, are you listening?”

I snapped back to the present. Uh oh. She sounded like she was getting a little annoyed at being ignored. Giving a small nod, I began to slowly get up. She offered a hand which I gladly took. Now that I was able to get a better look around, I realized that I had no idea where we were. Currently, we stood in a hallway with multiple doors on either side. Aside from one that looked different from the others, each door had a blank plaque next to it on the wall. One end was a dead end with an ice machine, and the other ended in another closed door. I noticed a few security cameras and for some reason a monitor screen.

“It’s some kind of hotel, I think. Not sure why we’re here though!” She responded as if reading my mind. I raised a quizzical eyebrow at her. “I figured that’s what you were wondering. I’ve already been looking around for a little bit and run into some other people. Don’t worry, it’s not like I’m a psychic that can read your mind or anything.” I chuckled a little bit at me of all people being told that. The irony wasn’t lost on me. “Oh, my name’s Cozy Glow by the way! It’s so nice to meet you. I know this is a pretty unusual circumstance, but I hope we can be great friends!” She held out her hand with a big, adorable smile that almost made my heart melt.

“I’m Sunset Shimmer. It’s very nice to meet you, Cozy Glow.” I gave her a quick, friendly handshake. Despite the myriad of questions running through my mind, Cozy’s attitude was doing a good job of putting me at ease. “I’m sure we’ll be great…friends…” I trailed off as I realized something. Letting go of her hand, I grasped at my neck. My geode was missing! I couldn’t see it with a glance around the area. Did Cozy Glow take it while I was asleep? No, she had no reason to suspect it was anything more than a simple necklace.

“Sunset…are you okay?” Cozy Glow was giving me a worried look. The panic must be showing on my face. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself.

“Sorry. I just noticed that my necklace is gone. Have you seen it? It’s an orange chain with a round red stone hanging from it. There’s a sun symbol on it too.”

“Hmm…sorry, I haven’t seen anything like that.” Cozy suddenly hugged me out of nowhere. She spoke in a sweet, gentle tone. “It sounds like this necklace is very important to you. Don’t worry, Sunset. I’ll help you find it. And um…don’t freak out, but your phone is probably gone too. Me and the other two I spoke with don’t have ours either.”

With a grimace, I checked my jacket pocket. Sure enough, my phone wasn’t there. I simply let out a heavy sigh. After a few moments, I broke off the hug and crossed my arms. I appreciated Cozy’s friendliness, but we wouldn’t get anywhere just standing around. Maybe there was somebody around here who could help us figure out what was going on. “Cozy, you said you ran into some other people, right?”

Cozy Glow beamed at that and nodded, bouncing her curls as she did. “Yep, yep, yep! I met two people already and suggested that we should split up and look for anyone else. Oh! We should go look for them together! I’d sure hate to be stuck in a place like this all alone, wouldn’t you? Come on Sunset, you can lead the way!” She grabbed me by the hand and pointed ahead, as if the two of us were about to go on some grand adventure together.

If only I knew how terrifyingly correct that was.

It turned out every single door except the one Cozy entered the hallway through was locked. With nowhere else to go, we ventured forth. The door led to a short hall with two doors on the left and opened into a larger area. Before I could get a good look, two people suddenly exited one of the doors. The first was a pink girl wearing a maroon jacket with its sleeves rolled up and lightning bolts emblazoned on the pale blue pockets. She wore a dark blue bowtie with long socks to match, plaid skirt, and dark shoes with crystal-like buckles. After a moment, I recognized it as a variation of the Crystal Prep Academy school uniform. That was odd, considering she looked to be about my age. Her long hair was varying shades of green and she wore a pair of pink headphones. Walking next to her was a large man wearing a ridge top style cowboy hat. He had black shaggy hair, a tan complexion, and a bit of stubble on his chin. He wore jeans, cowboy boots, a plain white shirt, and an open brown coat.

Cozy Glow was the first to make a move. Without missing a beat, she approached the two and gave a friendly wave. “Hi there! I’m Cozy glow and this is my friend Sunset Shimmer. It’s so good to meet you two! It’s so good to know we won’t have to go through this alone.”

’Wow, she sure is friendly and outgoing. She kind of reminds me of a more subdued…a more subdued who? Dammit, I just had it! Ugh, I don’t have time for this. I’ll try to think of it later.’

I approached and gave a small but friendly wave. “Hey, it’s nice to meet you. You wouldn’t happen to know where we are or why we’re here, would you?”

The girl, who had been smiling up until this point, let her expression fall a bit. “No, we were kind of hoping you might have some sort of idea. We just woke up in there a few minutes ago. Not much in there by the way. It’s some sort of clinic or something. Oh yeah, the name’s Lemon Zest by the way! Go on big guy, introduce yourself!” She elbowed him and he let out a sigh.

“The name’s Trouble Shoes. Not that it really matters. If none of us know nothin’, we should all mosey along our own way.” His tone of voice, while not unfriendly, was tired and no-nonsense. It seemed like he wasn’t much of a talker. Still, he had a point.

“Alright, we won’t keep you. It makes sense to cover more ground separately anyway. It was nice to meet you two.” I gave them both a friendly smile, though I couldn’t help but notice Cozy Glow seemed to have a troubled look on her face. It lasted only for a moment, but I saw that slight frown. However, the second I looked at her, she put on that big grinning expression again as if nothing had happened.

“You too! Maybe later we can all hang out or something! C’mon you big grump!” Lemon Zest began to go into the other door, dragging a reluctant Trouble Shoes behind her. With the way forward clear, we continued onward.

Exiting the hallway, we came into a large open room that was unmistakably a hotel lobby. Cozy was right, we were in a hotel. The first thing that caught my eye was an enormous Hearth’s Warming- no, Christmas Tree in the center. I still get that holiday name confused sometimes. It turns out that Equestria and the human world have a lot of similar holidays to one another. As I wondered why one of those would be here, it suddenly hit me. A lot of hotels tend to put those up in the winter for the holidays. Right, that made sense. Was it the holiday season though? For some reason, I couldn’t quite remember. It must be, right? I decided to put those thoughts out of my head once again and examine the room.

The room was open with a visible second floor balcony. It was well lit with multiple chandeliers and wall mounted lights. On one wall was an enormous grandfather clock, showing the time to be just after 10 in the morning. The stairs were blocked off by a gate though, so we probably wouldn’t be getting up there any time soon. An old-fashioned elevator sat between the stairs and a gift shop. The front door was huge and flanked by two winged statues and large windows. Well…what I assumed to be windows. Strangely, they were covered in thick metal sheets and fastened to the wall with oversized bolts. Before I could think of investigating, I heard a commotion to the left of us at the front desk where three more people were talking.

“Honestly, what kind of a hotel leaves the front desk completely unattended? There isn’t even a bell to ring! The least they could do is put up a ‘Back in 15’ sign. Ugh, no landline either. As if my phone and purse missing wasn’t bad enough.” The girl who spoke first had gray skin, long black hair, and purple eyes. She wore a white collared shirt with a pink bowtie and a purple vest buttoned up. Her skirt matched her bowtie and had a treble clef design on it. She wore long white socks and a pair of black Mary Janes.

“Oh, I know darling. My things having gone missing is quite concerning. Still, it is quite peculiar. I can tell it’s been cleaned recently so it’s clearly not abandoned. It’s such a shame too. I’m quite impressed with the vintage aesthetic of this place. Why, it looks like it came right out of the 1920’s. Well…the unfortunate decisions with the windows and indoor gargoyles notwithstanding.” This girl had alabaster white skin and bright blue eyes framed by an expertly styled mane of purple hair with a sparkling blue barrette shaped like three diamonds in it. She wore a pale blue shirt, a blue skirt with three light blue diamonds on it, a purple belt with a buckle shaped like two crescent moons of the same light blue color. Her boots were long and the same color as her belt, except for the top which matched her skirt and yet another light blue diamond shape near each knee. She completed her ensemble with a gold bracelet on each wrist and makeup so expertly done that her face seemed to almost glow. This girl was gorgeous. On top of that, there was something about her that felt…comforting. Almost familiar. I was sure I’d never seen her before though, so where was that weird feeling coming from?

“Ladies, ladies. Let’s not get ourselves wound up about this. Maybe they’re in a meeting or something and lost track of time. As for our stuff…I’m sure it’ll turn up. Well, whatever the case, we don’t have a say in the matter so why worry? Let’s just kick back and relax for a while til someone can give us the rundown on this whole situation.” The last to speak was a gamboge-skinned man with green eyes leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. His dark hair was done up in a greaser cut and he had a wily grin on his face. His most distinguishing article of clothing was a burgundy duster he wore over a dark shirt. His blue jeans were tucked into a pair of black boots with tan toes and soles. As we approached, he stood up and gave the other two a tap on the shoulder. “Well, well, what do we have here? Good morning, ladies. You wouldn’t happen to work here by any chance, would you?” The other two followed his gaze, sizing us up.

“Sorry, we don’t. We’re just as confused as you are to be honest. I only woke up about 15 minutes ago. I don’t remember a thing about where we are or how we got here. My name’s Sunset Shimmer by the way.” I held out a hand to the other group as Cozy piped up.

“And my name’s Cozy Glow! It’s sooo nice to meet you all!” Cozy made sure to stay a few feet behind me, seemingly wanting me to take the lead. She held her hands behind her back and was rocking back and forth on her feet like an excited child. Weirdly though, while she was good at glancing at the others to not seem too conspicuous, almost all her focus was squarely on the purple-haired girl.

’Is Cozy getting a weird feeling from her too? I’ll have to ask about it later.’

“I figured as much, but it didn’t hurt to ask. I ain’t too disappointed though. The name’s Capper.” He reached for my extended hand and bent down to kiss it before rising back up with a flourish of his coat. I could feel myself blushing. “Sunset Shimmer and Cozy Glow, eh? Two visions of loveliness with equally lovely names.” Now Cozy was blushing in tandem with me. The line was cheesy as hell, but Capper somehow made it seem genuine. The man seemed to radiate natural charisma. I found myself thinking I wouldn’t mind getting some drinks with him under better circumstances.

“Oh Capper, you’re simply incorrigible. Are you going to speak this way to every girl you meet here? Keep that up and you’re bound to break a few hearts.” The purple-haired girl had a look of amusement on her face as she stared right at me. That cute smirk, the raised eyebrow, those lidded blue eyes…my face turned even redder under her gaze. She took my hand in a gentle handshake and gave me a friendly smile. “My name is Rarity. It’s a pleasure to meet you two. Despite the unusual circumstances, I do hope we can all become friends.” Rarity seemed to have picked up on what was going through my head. She gave me a playful grin and a flirtatious wink. When she turned to look at Cozy Glow, her hair swished beautifully, barely touching me with its gentle curls. I swear she did that on purpose. I stared at Rarity in dumbfounded silence for a moment before shaking it off. She didn’t approach Cozy Glow out of respect for her clear desire for distance but gave her a friendly smile as well. For her part, Cozy seemed amused at my current flustered state.

’Gah! Down, girl! This is not the time to get all hot and bothered. There are far more important things to do right now.’

“Are you two done teasing the poor girl? If so, we should probably stop dilly dallying.” The other girl stepped forward giving a stern look to both Capper and Rarity. Capper simply shrugged while Rarity gave a sheepish grin. With a curt nod, the girl turned to me. “My name is Octavia Melody. I’m sorry if they made you uncomfortable.”

“Ah…no, it’s fine. I don’t mind, really.” Now able to fully get ahold of myself, I shook Octavia’s hand and then crossed my arms. “Though if none of us know anything about what’s going on, I guess we should keep looking around. We’ll cover more ground if we split up. What do you say we meet back here later with anyone else we find?”

“I agree. That seems to be the best course of action. In fact, Capper here already tried to get into that door behind the front desk. Locked, unfortunately.” I looked to where Octavia was referring, seeing a door labeled ‘Records’.

“I coulda got in if you gave me a little more time. The lock isn’t particularly complicated. If I had the right tools, I’d have had it open in a jiffy.” I took a mental note of that. If Capper was decent with lockpicking, that could come in handy later. I wasn’t too shabby myself, but I was rusty. I hadn’t really had the need to do it much since my days as a delinquent.

“Capper dear, I told you. We don’t know who this hotel belongs to or what they might have us here for. For all we know, breaking into a private room could invite retaliation. Until we know more, I feel it’s best to hold off on that sort of thing.” I suddenly felt extremely grateful that I hadn’t tried to pick any of the locked doors in the hallway I woke up in. Rarity might just be right.

“Well, if that’s all then I think Sunset and I should get going! It was very nice to meet you all! Let’s all meet back up later and tell each other about what we found! Come on Sunset, this way!” Cozy grabbed my hand and rushed us toward a door just south of the hall we entered the lobby from. I turned around and waved goodbye to the trio as we left.

After bidding farewell to Rarity, Capper, and Octavia, Cozy Glow and I found ourselves in a large two-story library. Rows of bookshelves lined the walls and floor with a few tables set aside for reading. As I looked up, I noticed movement on the second-floor balcony. “Hey Cozy, I think somebody’s up there.”

Once we reached the second floor, I got a better look at who I’d seen. She wore a black turtleneck sweater, a purple skirt with a crescent moon on it, and black tights. She had her red and purple hair tied both in an upward ponytail on top as well as cascading down her back. It was a unique hairstyle to say the least. Her pale-yellow skin and purple eyes were framed by a pair of glasses. She was pacing the edge of the room, examining the metal sheets bolted over where windows should have been.

Cozy Glow was just about to give a friendly greeting as we approached, but the girl held up a hand and cut us off. “My name is Moondancer. I don’t know where we are. I don’t know why we’re here. I don’t know how I got here. I don’t care who you are. If you want to talk to somebody, there are plenty of others. Now if you’d be so kind, please leave me alone.” Without giving us so much as another glance, she walked down to the first floor.

I stood there agape for a moment, completely caught off guard with how rude and dismissive that girl had been. “Well. She seems fun.” Cozy didn’t respond to my display of sarcasm. I turned to her, seeing that she was frowning again, visibly deflated. I couldn’t really blame her. Moondancer’s attitude was completely uncalled for. I placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a warm smile. “Hey, don’t let her get to you. She’s probably just bad at coping with stressful situations or something.”

Cozy’s expression softened a little before going right back to her usual sugary sweet self. “Oh, don’t you worry about me, Sunset. I’m totally fine, promise! She just took me by surprise, that’s all. Golly, she’s probably super freaked out and won’t let herself trust anybody. Poor thing would feel so much better if she just let somebody be a friend to her. It’s just so sad!”

“I…guess so?” I was a little shocked at how quickly Cozy bounced back. Either this girl had some killer mood swings, or she was really good at hiding her feelings. I decided not to push the issue for now. After all, I only just met her, and we had more pressing matters to attend to.

There was a door on the second floor of the library, but it was locked so we had to return to the lobby. We made certain to avoid Moondancer on the way out. As we exited, I got a better look at the two stone statues by what I presumed to be the front door. The one closest to us gave me pause. This was no ordinary gargoyle. It was a girl in a dress with feathered wings spread wide. Her long hair was standing on end and a crooked horn extended from her forehead. The look on the creature’s face was manic. This thing…it was familiar. The plaque on the statue’s base was partially weathered away, but I could read the first word: Midnight. Why was this so familiar? Where had I seen this statue before and why was it making me so uncomfortable? Yet more questions for later. I shook my head and went to try the front door. As I expected, it was locked. So I then looked toward the other statue.

The moment I laid eyes on it, my blood ran cold. ’No. No no no no no no no no no no no no no.’ My heart began to beat so fast that it felt like it was threatening to burst out of my chest. I began breathing rapidly, hands gripping my arms so hard I was making marks with my fingers. I didn’t know how; I didn’t know why. But standing before me was the perfectly captured stone image of a demon. Not just any demon. It was me. The bat wings, the fiery hair and tail, the pointed ears, that cruel smile…and worst of all those eyes. Staring into my soul and filled with nothing but sheer malice.

’Why is this here? Where did it come from? Why now?’

As I was shaking in place trying to make sense of it, I felt someone embrace me. I didn’t even see her get in front of me. A sweet and soothing voice whispered in my ear as Cozy Glow gently rubbed my back. “Shh…it’s okay. Just breathe. Deep breaths. You’re okay. You’re alright. I’m here.” We stayed like that for a few minutes. Slowly, my breathing began to steady. My heart rate went back down to a more acceptable rate. I relaxed and simply stayed there in her embrace. I turned to face away from the statue before breaking off the embrace.

“Cozy Glow…I…thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. I know an anxiety attack when I see one. I won’t pry, but if you want to talk about it later, please. Talk to me.” She smiled at me. Not that cutesy grin she gave almost everyone we came across. No, this one was different. It felt warm. Caring. I saw concern and understanding behind those eyes. It didn’t last long, however. Her expression was soon back to that saccharine sweet look she always wore, and her tone was back to overly cutesy. “I’m only doing what a friend should do! Now come on, let’s find something else to get our minds off this, okay?” She began strolling across the lobby towards the elevator. I followed her, but it was my turn to stare with concern.

’Cozy Glow…what is your deal? I can tell you’re putting on a mask. Why are you wearing it?’

As the two of us approached the entrance to the east hallway, our attention was caught by the elevator grate opening and two people stepping out. The first was a tall, thin man with teal skin, purple eyes, a few hairs on his chin, and blonde hair done up in a manbun. He wore brown loafers, dark blue pants, and a dark orange vest with purple teardrop shapes on it. Around his neck, he wore a gold pendant and gold beads around each wrist. The other was a woman with bluish gray skin, light green eyes, and short cropped light gray hair. She wore a green tank top, jean shorts, black boots, and a pair of black fingerless gloves. Based on her expression, I guessed she must be irritated.

“Maaan, why’d we have to go down there? That was like, so uncool. It’s way too hot down there! Can’t we go somewhere nicer, Limey?” The man was a whiny one, that was for sure. The girl rounded on him as they exited the elevator.

“First of all, you don’t get to call me that. Only family and close friends call me Limey. We’re nowhere near close enough for you to even consider it. You call me Limestone, Ms. Pie, or don’t address me at all. Secondly, you’re the one that said we should see where the elevator leads and pressed all the buttons, dumbass!” Oh yeah, she was irritated alright.

“Well how was I supposed to know everywhere but the boiler room and lobby was locked off? What kind of sicko just dangles two floors at you that you can’t even go to? Not cool, man. Not cool.” The man used his hand to fan himself.

“Probably the same kind of sicko who kidnaps a bunch of people and locks them in an empty hotel! Now quit your whining. Hot as balls down there, cold as tits outside, you’ve got a shitty track record dude. I’m deciding where we go next.” She crossed her arms and started to walk off.

“Excuse me, but did you say you’ve been outside? Is there a way out?” I stepped up to them before they went off on their own way again. The duo stopped and turned to look at me. “Sorry to interrupt, but I couldn’t help but overhear.”

The man immediately changed his demeanor and got a big grin on his face. He stroked his chin and leaned in close. “Oho, I see. Seems like you’re in need of assistance. Well lucky for you, Zephyr Breeze is here to answer all your questions, mademoiselle.” I instantly felt uncomfortable. Whereas Capper and Rarity seemed to simply be flirting with and teasing me, I felt like this guy was sizing me up. And he liked what he saw. I looked back to Cozy for help, only to find that she’d made herself scarce. Thankfully, Limestone stepped in.

“Okay, back it up. Personal space, buddy.” She put her hand in front of his face and forced him back a few feet. “So, it’s not just me. You’re just gonna do that to every single woman you see here, aren’t you?”

With a nonchalant shrug, Zephyr kept his wry grin as he looked back and forth between the two of us. “Well, I can’t help it if the ladies flock to moi. I’m especially a magnet for you cool types. Why there’s this sporty girl back home who’s just crazy about me. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of Zephyr Breeze to go around. So don’t go getting jealous, Limey.”

“Limestone. Pie.” She practically growled at him as she said that.

I did my best to ignore him and turned to Limestone. “Limestone, huh? It’s good to meet you. I’m Sunset Shimmer. So…what was this about finding a way outside?”

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up. There’s a courtyard you can get to through a small hallway behind the stairs. It’s walled in on every side and the doors out there are all locked. Nothing but a giant topiary maze and a shed blocked off by a big iron gate. There are some weird stone statues around the maze, but I didn’t feel like looking too long at them. There’s snow everywhere and I’m not exactly dressed for cold weather.”

“I see.” I made a mental note to check those statues out later. If they were anything like the other two I just saw, they may be important. “Well, thanks anyway. I’m going to keep looking around. I’ll see you later.”

“Stay safe, my shimmering angel.” Zephyr did finger guns at me, winked, and clicked tongue. I couldn’t help but shudder at that. And with that, he began walking off in the direction of the library. Uh-oh.

“Please don’t call me that.” I deadpanned with half-lidded eyes, fists clenched in annoyance.

“Ugh. I’d better follow him. The whole reason I’m even sticking around him is to try and mitigate that nonsense. At this rate, he’s gonna get himself punched. He’s annoying as hell and might even deserve it, but this isn’t exactly the best time to be petty.”

“That’s probably a good idea. If you don’t stop him, then I can basically guarantee that’ll happen. There’s a girl in the library and she is not in a good mood right now.”

“Ah. Noted. Nice meeting you, Sunset. Hey, Zephyr! Don’t go running off on your own like that! I said I was deciding where we go next!” Limestone ran after him, entering the library and closing the door behind her. Once she was gone, I started looking around for Cozy. It wasn’t long before I saw some blue curls peeking from behind the Christmas Tree.

“Cozy, there you are. Are you alright?” I stepped forward to see her stepping out from behind it with a relieved look on her face.

“I’m sorry if I worried you. Buuuuut, remember when I said I met two people already? Well…Zephyr Breeze was one of them. Sorry for…leaving you to him and not warning you.” She rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, looking down at her toes like a child who was caught doing something bad.

’Oh. Okay yeah, that makes sense.’

“It’s alright, Cozy. Believe me, I understand. He’s definitely a little…much.” I placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her chin up to look me in the eyes. “But you listen to me. If he or anyone else makes you uncomfortable in that way, you come tell me right away. I’ll make sure they leave you alone.”

“You will? How do you plan on doing that? He didn’t seem too dissuaded by Limestone telling him off.” She looked at me with genuine curiosity, as if she couldn’t fathom how someone friendly like me could keep creeps from messing with her. Oh, if only she knew.

It may have been a few years, but you don’t exactly forget how to be a master manipulator. I’d simply find a way to get him under my thumb. And while it was never my first resort, violence was always an option. I could be very creative. Ugh, it almost sickened me how easy it was for me to put myself back in this mindset. I put on a wide smile. “Oh…don’t you worry about that. Let’s just say that anyone who crosses the line with you will wish they never met Sunset Shimmer.”

My tone and the look on my face must have said it all. Cozy Glow went through a myriad of emotions very quickly as she stared at me. The first I picked up was amazement, followed by gratefulness, followed by…approval? It was just for a split second, but she looked genuinely impressed. That was quickly replaced by a twinge of fear which she quickly covered up with wide and innocent looking eyes. “G-Golly…”

I stepped back and gave her a pat on the back. “Hey, nobody messes with my friends. You helped me back at that statue earlier and I genuinely appreciate it. So, if you need my help, I’ve got your back.”

Cozy Glow stood in silence for a minute, her expression completely unreadable. Finally, after giving me a grateful nod, she turned and went towards the hallway. “Thanks a bunch, Sunset! You’re a really nice person, you know that?”

’I don’t know if I’d go that far. But I’ve definitely come a long way. I’m not that demon anymore. I don’t know who put that statue here, but it’s here for a reason. Whoever’s behind this knows me well enough to taunt me with it and to take away my geode to disarm me. That sucks, but I don’t necessarily need it to use magic. I’ll have to find out later if I can still pony up. Hmm, I wonder if there’s a guitar somewhere in this place?’

We noticed a pair of open double doors and stepped in to find a large hotel restaurant where a woman and a very large man were arguing. The room was laid out with plenty of tables and cushioned chairs. There was a serving window into a kitchen and a pair of swinging doors right next to it. As with most rooms, the windows were blocked off with metal sheets.

“All Iron Will is saying is that he thinks we should check the kitchen out. There’s no telling how long we’ll be here, and this impressive physique requires a lot of protein. If this place isn’t up to snuff, then Iron Will is going to have to completely rework his workout regimen to compensate.” This man was tall, at least seven feet, and heavily muscled. He wore black shoes and dark blue jeans with a black belt and silver buckle with the design of a bull’s face carved into it. He wore an open blue collared shirt with the sleeves torn off and a black tie, showing off his bronzed chest and abs to everyone. I had to admit, it was pretty nice to look at. His square jaw was framed by a black mustache and goatee. His hair was a combination of spiked in a fauxhawk up front with the rest styled into a shoulder-length mullet. Finally, he had a small silver nose ring piercing his septum.

“And I’m saying that doesn’t matter right now! We should be more concerned with getting information and getting out of here. And would you stop referring to yourself in the third person? It’s seriously annoying.” The other girl had light fuchsia skin, purple eyes, and purple hair with aqua streaks in it done in twin ponytails. They were held in place by silver star-shaped pins, identical to the one on her belt buckle. She wore purple pants, more vibrant than her hair and with some sparkles on her thighs. Her high heeled boots were dark violet, her sleeveless shirt pale off-white, and her jacket green with its sleeves torn off.

“Iron Will is only allotted a small amount of first-person referendum, and only when it makes contextual sense. Doing anything more than that would break character! And that is something that Iron Will simply cannot abide! Surely you must agree that a certain degree of showmanship is necessary for performers!”

“Yeah, when we’re performing! If I’m not on stage or interacting with fans, I can’t be bothered to give a shit.”

“If that’s the case, then Iron Will thinks it must be very sad to be an Aria Blaze fan.”

“Do you wanna fucking go, man? I’m stronger than I look, I can take you.”

Deciding that it was best not to get involved, Cozy and I stepped back and slowly made our way to a different door. I was grateful that she followed my lead on this. While she didn’t look too bothered by the display, I couldn’t help but get an uneasy feeling looking at that girl.

Aria Blaze. I’m sure I don’t know her. So what’s with this feeling?

We entered a different door and closed it behind us so as not to hear any more of the argument. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to blows. We ended up in a laundry room. Washers and dryers lined the walls as empty baskets sat on the benches and tables. I noticed a magazine rack in the corner, though nothing in it really caught my eye. It seemed to mostly just be modeling magazines and tabloids. Just then, two more people entered the room. The first was a girl with pale yellow skin, orange eyes, and long red hair with a large pink bow in it. She wore a green shirt, rolled up blue jeans, a brown belt with a square golden buckle, and orange boots with red soles and a flower design on both sides of the top of each boot. The second was an orange skinned girl with short purple hair and dark purple eyes. She wore a black hoodie over an aqua shirt, black boots over aqua socks, and dull green cargo shorts.

The redhead was the first to spot us. “Oh, howdy there, y’all! My name’s Apple Bloom. This here is Scootaloo. You wouldn’t happen to know where we are or nothin’, would ya?” She was clearly a friendly sort, and her southern drawl added a charm to her speech.

Cozy Glow stepped up without giving me the chance to say anything. She had that trademark sugary sweet smile on her face. “Oh gee, I’m sorry but we don’t know anything either. But it’s so nice to meet you two! My name is Cozy Glow. That’s Sunset Shimmer. We’re ever so happy to see you two! In a scary place like this, it’s good to have friends, you know?” What was she doing? She was being a lot more forceful with these two than anybody else.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow but went along with it. “Yeah, uh you too.”

“Well ain’t you a friendly sort!” Apple Bloom on the other hand seemed to be completely unfazed. “It’s great ta meet ya, Cozy Glow. If y’all wanna be friends, then Ah’m happy to oblige! Once we figure out what’s going on, maybe we can all hang out together! The more the merrier, I say!”

“Oh golly, I’d love that so much! Gee, who’d have thought that I’d make fast friends in such a strange place like this. Oh, Sunset? You can go ahead without me! I wanna talk to these two a bit more and there’s still more to explore! I still haven’t seen that other person I met when I woke up after all. Maybe you can find them for me?”

“Uh…okay. Sure. We’ll meet up in the lobby later. Stay safe, Cozy.” She bid me the same well-wishes and went back to her conversation. After bidding the newly formed trio farewell, I left the room. I looked back at the laundry room door one more time and sighed. Cozy Glow was just a walking enigma to me. She seemed nice enough and I meant what I said when I promised to protect her if need be. Still, there was something under the surface that gave me pause. Her reactions to everyone have been wildly inconsistent. I get wanting to avoid Zephyr and ignoring Limestone by proxy, but I get the feeling she wants to do the same to whoever this other person is. Surely if they were just as bad, she’d have warned me, right?

She seemed alright with Lemon Zest but got visibly upset when Trouble Shoes ignored her. When we met Rarity, Capper, and Octavia, she got shy and kept her distance. She couldn’t keep her eyes off Rarity. And I was pretty sure it wasn’t for the same reason as me. She was troubled about something. When Moondancer told us off, she looked like her heart was going to break before putting on her mask. Combining that with Trouble Shoes’ dismissiveness, she must not deal well with rejection or hostility. Her willingness to avoid Iron Will and Aria Blaze with me helps with that theory. Her reaction to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo was what puzzled me the most. She tried bonding tightly to them immediately. Yeah, they all looked a little younger than anyone else I'd seen, but not by much. They couldn’t be more than 3 or 4 years younger than me at most. Then there was the statue. Her concern seemed truly genuine.

’Puzzling over this is getting me nowhere. I’ll just have to keep an eye on her. I hope she's feeling okay.’

I took a walk around the places Cozy and I hadn’t visited. My first stop was the door Lemon Zest and Trouble Shoes had entered, which turned out to be a well-stocked pharmacy. They had everything, even some heavy-duty prescription stuff. There was also a security camera and a monitor in here. I wouldn't be surprised if those were in every room. I wondered if someone was watching us through them right now. Just the thought of it was creeping me out.

There was another stone statue here as well. It was a tall, slender unicorn-shaped statue with no face, just smooth stone. There was a plaque that gave its name.

’The Tantabus, huh? Never heard of it, but damn that’s kind of creepy.’

My next stop was the gift shop near the front desk, but it was locked. So instead, I proceeded to the courtyard outside. If it weren’t for the two statues at the front door, I probably wouldn’t have bothered. But I needed to see what statues Limestone was talking about. I started moving counterclockwise around the enormous hedge maze. Seriously, it had to be at least 20 feet tall. Talk about excessive.

’It’s pretty cold. I shouldn’t spend too much time out here.’

The first three statues were completely unfamiliar to me. A timid-looking human girl named Wallflower Blush, an angry woman dressed in leaf-like clothing called Gloriosa Daisy, and a rotund toad-like woman with a hooked nose named Hydia. The fourth statue was the first to give me pause. For one thing, its base was broken, as if there used to be more to it. It also had no plaque to label it. It looked like a unicorn, except there were holes throughout its body and insectoid wings on its back. It was baring its fangs, snarling with hate. I then realized what I was looking at. A changeling. I’d read about them in the forbidden wing of the Canterlot Royal Library before, but Princess Celestia assured me that they weren’t a threat to ponies and hadn’t been for generations. Still, they had plagued my nightmares for some time after learning about them. I was still a filly back then after all. I shook my head.

’Get ahold of yourself, Sunset. It’s just a statue.’

I placed my hand on its muzzle to ground myself and instantly regretted my choice. My mind was flooded with the feeling of someone watching and listening. The sheer malice that radiated from this statue…it was overbearing. This statue…no, this thing was alive! I quickly retracted my hand and retreated towards the next statue, shuddering.

’That’s a hell of a way to find out my mind reading magic is still there…sort of. It hadn’t activated when I touched anyone else and just now it was too weak to get anything more than a base emotional connection. I guess that’s better than nothing considering my geode’s missing.’

The next one, I recognized all too well. I’d seen depictions of him in storybooks about the Crystal Empire. King Sombra, the Umbral Lord who took the entire Crystal Empire with him when he was banished to another dimension. Not chancing touching this one, I moved on to the final statue. I didn’t recognize this one either, but I at least knew the species. It was a centaur. He was scrawny and looked pitiful, as if he was cowering away from something. Much like the changeling, there was no plaque identifying it. Also like the changeling statue, the base was broken. Were they once part of the same display? The breaks in the stone seemed to match up. In that case, who was he? The only centaur I was passingly familiar with was Lord Tirek, but he had been imprisoned in Tartarus for centuries. Not to mention, stories depicted him as far more impressive than this guy. Whoever he was, his identity would have to remain a mystery for now. Having had enough of the outdoors, I went back in to warm up.

I returned to the hall where the laundry room and restaurant were. Further down, there was a pair of public restrooms. Seeing another fancy door just past them, I entered and found myself in a lounge of some kind. Couches, small tables with chairs set around them, a good-sized bar, and a small stage furnished the room. Near the stage was a smaller Christmas Tree, the kind you’d see in your average home. In the corner was another statue, this one simply of a unicorn pony. I couldn’t tell much from here, but her cutie mark seemed to be a star with what I imagined to be strands of magic aura coming off it. That wasn’t my main concern right now. There were two more people here. The first was a stout young man wearing a black t-shirt with a pair of scissors on it, blue jeans, and green sneakers. His skin was light blue, and he had an orange mullet. He’s not who had my attention, however.

Riding atop the pony statue was a woman with light blue skin, long whitish gray and blue hair, and purple eyes. She wore a purple star shaped pin in her hair. Her shoes were blue and purple with yellow stars on them covering up dark blue socks. Her dress was purple and light blue with a magic wand emblazoned on the side. She wore a dark blue hoodie with yellow cuffs and banded waist.

“Hmm, Trixie supposes it’s comfortable enough, though the proportions are all wrong for a real horse. Still, unicorns are magical and perfect match for The Great and Powerful Trixie! You! What was the name on that plaque again?” She was certainly bombastic. Bossy too. Also totally wrong, that was an entirely anatomically correct unicorn mare as far as I could tell. Not that she’d believe me.

“Uh, it says Starlight Glimmer, oh Great and Powerful Trixie.” Great, the short one was buying into her act. Oh well, it was probably all harmless.

“Excellent! The Great and Powerful Trixie shall ride Starlight Glimmer, her new faithful great and powerful (though not as great and powerful as Trixie), magical unicorn assistant! As soon as Trixie figures out how to properly incorporate this pony into her show.” She suddenly stood up and pointed toward the stage. “To the stage, noble steed! Uh…AAAHH!” Thump. Aaaand she fell. Yeah, that was to be expected. That wasn’t exactly a smart thing to do. I managed to stifle a laugh. I’d feel bad if she actually got hurt after all. I stepped further in as the boy rushed towards her.

“Trixie! A-are you okay?” The boy helped her up and sat her down in a chair as she regained her composure. She stood back up and dusted herself off with a harumph.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is more than okay! Pratfalls are but child’s play to a master of the stage such as herself! And lo, it seems her performance has brought an audience. Trixie doesn’t usually give free shows, you know.”

’I’ve gotta give it to her. She sure recovers fast.’

“Sorry to just eavesdrop like that. I didn’t want to interrupt. My name’s Sunset Shimmer. Do you two have any idea where we are? Oh, and you wouldn’t happen to know a girl named Cozy Glow, would you?” She’d mentioned the other person she met should be around here. Maybe it was one of these two.

“C-Cozy Glow? Y-yeah, I know Cozy Glow” The boy was suddenly nervous and blushing. Bingo, this was the one. “My name’s Snips. I met her and this weirdo Zephyr Breeze a while ago. She said we should split up to cover more ground. Did she…say anything about me?”

Okay, clearly Snips had himself a little crush. I had a sneaking suspicion that the feeling wasn’t mutual. Better to stay out of this one. “She just said she had met some others before she woke me up, that’s all.”

“Oh…gotcha.” He seemed a little disappointed. I felt bad for him, but it wasn’t exactly my business.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie knows no such person. However, she is pleased to make your acquaintance, Sunset Shimmer. Hmm…you look strong. Perhaps you can assist Trixie in moving Starlight Glimmer to the stage later. She is…quite heavy.” I had to imagine that if this statue was based on a real pony like some of the others seemed to be, the real Starlight would likely take exception to that.

“Uh…yeah, I guess I could try later.”

’Oh god, this one isn’t alive too, is it? Surely it isn’t.’

The idea of a pony being encased in stone like that was simply sickening. That was something you did to unstable chaos lords (and evil changelings apparently), not innocent ponies. No, just because one of them was possibly alive didn’t mean the others were. Sure, maybe there was more than one living presence in these statues, but my statue’s existence meant it was impossible for all of them to be living. I chose to believe the changeling statue was an anomaly until proven otherwise. Before I could go further down that train of thought, a sound rang loudly throughout the building.

*Ding Dong Bing Bong*

The monitor in the lounge lit up, static obscuring a figure sitting behind a desk. A voice spoke up, high-pitched and urgent sounding. “Ahem. Excuse me? Is this thing on? Can you hear me? Will all guests please convene in the lobby by the front desk. Hurry up, there’s an urgent announcement! Don’t be laaaaate~”

“Oh good, perhaps now Trixie can finally get some answers about what the hell is going on here.”

“I hope so.” The three of us left the lounge for the lobby. Little did I know that that ringing bell and high-pitched voice would soon come to be the bane of my existence. The monster behind that voice would drag us down into the pits of hell itself.

One by one, we all filed into the lobby. Trixie, Snips, and I were the last to make it. Cozy Glow turned and smiled at me, but stayed where she was with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Lemon Zest let out a low whistle as she looked around. “Man, sure are a lot more of us than I thought.”

“Seems exactly the right amount to me.” Moondancer replied without even looking at Lemon Zest.

“And just what is that supposed to mean? If you know something, then The Great and Powerful Trixie demands you tell her!” Trixie got in her face, staring daggers at her. Moondancer wasn’t intimidated, however. She simply narrowed her eyes.

“It’s obvious. This is a hotel. Of all the available areas, there are two groups of eight locked doors with ice makers near them. Sixteen in total for those of you who might be a little slow. It’s safe to assume those are guest rooms. The intercom referred to us as guests. Therefore, sixteen seems to be the correct number. Maybe you’d have realized that if you properly examined your surroundings instead of fooling around and stopping to talk with everyone.” Wow she was condescending. But before anybody could retort, that same voice from the intercom spoke.

“Hey there, howdy hello! Is everyone here? Good! Then let’s get things rolling! Here we go again!” From behind the front desk, something popped up into the air and landed on it in a sitting position. It was…a teddy bear? The bear was about two and a half feet tall. Its body was split down the middle, white on its right side, black on the left. Its right eye was a standard black button you’d expect to see on a teddy bear. Its left eye resembled a stylized bloody gash. On its left side, its mouth was formed into a wide grin showing off its teeth. Its belly was completely white with a bulbous bellybutton sticking out. Finally, a strange tune started to play from the intercoms to accompany this bear’s entrance.

“…Is that a fucking teddy bear?” Aria Blaze spoke up with a mix of confusion and disdain.

“And what’s with the weird music?” Scootaloo piped up.

“I am NOT a teddy bear! Seriously, I’m getting real sick of people making that assumption. And don’t diss the theme song, little missy!” He stood up and held out one paw, angrily shaking it as claws appeared. After a moment he retracted them. “Ahem. I am Monokuma! And I am this Hotel’s owner and operator! And as the manager of this fine establishment, I’m here to give you guests the greatest experience of your lives!”

All of us just stood there, dumbfounded. I felt my skin begin to crawl. This Monokuma…everything about him felt wrong. There was definitely magic at play here, and whatever was behind it was sinister. I was already on edge, but now I was beginning to become genuinely afraid.

“Allow me to explain! I have taken the liberty of putting together a fantastic vacation for you all! This mountain resort will have all you ever wanted! All the great food you could ever want, loads of entertainment, good company, the works! Ah, it’s truly an excellent place to spend the holidays. The best part is, it’s completely free for all of you!”

“Whaaaat? Heck yeah, that sounds hella awesome, dude! Woo, vacation partaaaay!” Zephyr pumped his fist into the air in excitement.

“Now hold on there, Mr. Excitement! You didn’t let me finish! It’s free, but don’t expect it to all be fun and games. After all, what kind of host would I be if I didn’t keep you all on your toes?”

“Yep, there it is. Kidnapping notwithstanding, there’s always a catch with these sorts of things.” Capper was nonchalantly examining his fingernails and acting bored by everything.

“That’s right, there is indeed a catch! You can have all the fun you want on this vacation of yours. In fact, you’ll have so much fun that you’ll never want to leave! Which is good, because you’ll all be spending the rest of your lives here in this hotel.” His voice got a lot more sinister as he spoke that last sentence. There was a brief moment of silence before the entire room erupted in protest.

“What the hell?! You can’t just keep us here against our will! That’s like, super illegal, dude!” Lemon Zest held onto her hair with both hands, looking back and forth franticly.

“Great. Things are just getting’ worse and worse.” Trouble Shoes huffed.

“There’s no way! You’ve gotta be screwing with us!” Scootaloo didn’t seem convinced.

“I am not screwing with you! I am no liar; of that you can be 100% sure!” Monokuma raised his arms, incensed at the idea of being called a liar. “And just so you know, you’re completely cut off from the outside world. So no need to worry about anything but what happens here in this hotel!”

“Cut off? So those metal plates are here to keep us from getting out.” Moondancer had her arms crossed and glared daggers at the bear. “And just how do you expect to get away with keeping us here? With this many missing people, the authorities are going to be on high alert.”

“Puhuhuhuhu.” I instantly hated that laugh of his. It was so condescending. “Don’t get your hopes up. I’m sure by now, they know you’re missing and are running around like chickens with their heads cut off! The police, the military, those useless schmucks can’t help you! So, you’re better off just accepting that you’re stuck here!” Most everyone stared at him, aghast as his claims. But he had a point. With magic clearly being at play, the normal authorities didn’t stand a chance. A simple concealment spell on the area alone would be more than adequate to keep them away. I could only hope that somehow, my friends could contact the Princess through the portal. I was once again frustrated at how I couldn’t remember any of their faces or names. Surely that was this Monokuma freak’s work as well.

“Come on, man! You don’t know who you’re messing with! There’s a lot of people who’ll be real upset that Zephyr Breeze is missing!” Zephyr tried to be boisterous, but the panic was clear in his voice.

“Missing? Yes, you are missing. Missing the point, that is! Nobody can help you, so deal with it! Everyone will live a harmonious communal lifestyle in this hotel, abiding by all its rules and regulations. And don’t worry about food or common conveniences. With our extensive resources, that won’t ever be a problem! I’ll get to those particular details later. There’s a more important matter to discuss first. You see…there is one way for you to leave the hotel…” I already didn’t like where this was going.

“S-seriously?!” Snips spoke up, sounding somewhat hopeful.

“Absolutely! You see, as the hotel manager, I’ve put a special little clause in just for you. I call it the check-out clause! As I mentioned, we want this communal lifestyle to be one of ’harmony’. But if someone were to say, disrupt that harmony, they alone would be permitted to leave the hotel. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the check-out clause!”

“And just what do you mean by disrupting harmony?” Octavia was understandably skeptical, as were we all. In addition, I really didn’t like how he emphasized disrupting harmony. The others wouldn’t get it, but I was sure the use of the word ‘harmony’ was no coincidence. It was a deliberate choice. Before I had time to think any further about what sort of implications that held, the bear responded.

“Puhuhu…Well, you know…” Monkuma put his paws to his mouth, giggling as the next few words left his mouth. “By disrupt the harmony, I mean…you’d get to leave…if one of you were to murder someone.” We were all too stunned to speak. “Stabbing, bludgeoning, crushing, poisoning, boiling, hacking, strangling, drowning, blowing up, how you do it doesn’t matter. You must kill someone if you want to leave. It’s as simple as that.” He pointed at all of us. “The rest is up to you. Give it your all. Be creative!”

“You young’uns all represent hope for the future. Up and comers in the world, all of you! Some are already finding great success in your respective fields, some still on their way to it. Ultimates with ultimate talent if you will. It’s just so…sickening. Taking that hope and seeing it get murdered creates a darkened shadow of despair.” Monokuma placed his paws on his belly and opened his mouth wide, revealing sharpened teeth. “And I just find that so…darn…exciting! I call it…the Killing Resort Life at the Hotel Despair!”

“K-kill each other?! There’s no way we can do that!” Apple Bloom stepped forward, hands on her hips as she stared Monokuma down without fear.

“You…you want us to kill each other? That’s…no! C-can’t you just let us go? If you do, we promise we won’t tell anyone. Please?” Cozy Glow was hiding behind Apple Bloom, peeking from behind her shoulder with tears starting to form in her eyes. I stepped over and placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping to comfort her a little. However, my eyes never left Monokuma. I stared at him, a mix of rage and fear steadily building within me.

“Waaaah waaaah waaaah. Keep crying about it, it’s not gonna do you any good! Listen. From this moment on, this hotel is your home. If you wanna do something about it, then you’d better kill kill kill! You could also just go die. After all, if you die then you can leave too! …In a body bag! Aaaaahahaha!” Monokuma laughed loudly as Cozy sniffled, tears starting to run freely down her cheeks. I couldn’t blame her. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo joined me in trying to calm her down as we all stared at the despicable bear with hatred.

“How dare you, you awful bear! Why I ought to come over there and give you a piece of my mind!” Rarity seemed just as angry as me. She clenched her fists and started heading towards Monokuma. As much as I wanted to do the same thing, I got a sinking feeling that that wasn’t a good idea.

“Wait, don’t- “ Nobody was listening to me.

“Yeah! He can’t take us all on. Let’s beat him to a pulp until he lets us out of here. Come on big guy, let’s go!” Limestone nudged Iron Will as she also approached.

“Iron Will agrees with this course of action! Prepare to get bodied, teddy bear!”

“Before they could get too close to him, Monokuma started laughing. “Puhuhuhuhu…AAAHAHAHAHA!” Suddenly appearing from hidden compartments in the walls and ceiling, large machine guns began pointing at all of us. Everyone approaching was brought to a sudden halt. Rarity actually fainted, though Capper thankfully caught her. “You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?”

Limestone crossed her arms and stared at the bear with a smirk. “You know, for a second there, I kinda did.” I had to hand it to her. Most people wouldn’t be able to keep their cool and give a snarky reply like that. This girl was tough. Though looking closely, she did have a nervous look in her eyes that she hid quite well.

“Then you’re a lot stupider than you look! Sheesh, look at all you ruffians! Trying to attack your host like that? And here I am taking valuable time out of my day to explain how things work to you! Talk about childish. But don’t you worry. I’ll let you off with a warning this time. But any further violence against me will be met with appropriate punishment! Is that clear?”

“Crystal.” Aria Blaze spoke with so much vitriol in her voice that I honestly found it a bit scary. She had her fists clenched as if she were ready to fight, yet she didn’t make a move with the others. Based on her interaction with Iron Will earlier, I pegged her for a hothead who wouldn’t hesitate to throw hands. Despite that, it seems like she also figured out that fighting Monokuma was probably a bad idea. The rest of us nodded in agreement with her as Rarity came to.

“Good! Be good boys and girls, or else! You’ve seen all these security cameras around, right? Rest assured that if you break a rule, I’ll know about it! So don’t try and get cute with me! Now, to commemorate the beginning of your stay with me, I have two things for you! First, if you’re going to be living together, I should introduce you all properly! So, without further ado, allow me to introduce in no particular order, the sixteen Ultimates who will be staying with us!” Monokuma snapped his fingers (I’m not entirely sure how that even works for a teddy bear), and a spotlight appeared from the balcony above us. It shined on Octavia first.

“Here we have Octavia Melody, the Ultimate Cellist! Age: 24.”

“Next, say hello to Apple Bloom, the Ultimate Carpenter! Age: 21. Not as good at farming as her older siblings, but at least she’s got something going on!” Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes but chose not to dignify him with a response.

“This lovely lady is Rarity, the Ultimate Fashionista! Age: 24”

“This strapping lad is Trouble Shoes, the Ultimate Rodeo Clown! Age: 26.” There were a few surprised faces in the crowd, mine included. ’Huh. Didn’t peg the guy for an entertainer.’

“Say hello to Scootaloo, the Ultimate Skater! Age: 21.”

“This is Snips, the Ultimate Sycophant! Age: 21.”

“The ultimate what? Uh, what does that mean?” Snips looked around, genuinely confused.

“A person who acts in deference toward someone important in order to gain advantage. In other words, a toady, a minion, a flunkey.” Moondancer adjusted her glasses as she spouted off the definition.

“What?! That’s so not cool!” Snips looked quite offended, and I felt pretty bad for him. Then again, what I saw of him with Trixie did line up with Monokuma’s assessment of him.

“Well, aren’t you such an egghead! Fine, next we have Moondancer, the Ultimate Librarian! A true fount of knowledge, that one. Age: 24.”

“That girl over there is Lemon Zest, the Ultimate Rocker! Age: 24…um, hang on. Why are you wearing those headphones? You do realize you have nothing to listen to, right?” Monokuma put a paw to his chin, pondering.

“Um…well you see…these were kind of expensive so…” Lemon Zest kicked her shoe to the ground, hands behind her back.

“Oh whatever. Not like I actually care. This is Iron Will, the ultimate Wrestler! Age: 25. He also doubles as his own Hype-Man!”

“I AM THE HYPE!” Iron Will shouted at Monokuma, apparently using one of his allotted uses of the first person.

“Oh my god, someone kill him.” Aria Blaze huffed, staring at the big man in annoyance.

“Now hold on there, little lady! You’ve got the right attitude, but we’re not done here! Looks like you’re next though! Aria Blaze, the Ultimate Backup Singer! Age: Older than she says she is!” His tone was extra condescending towards her. She simply stared wide-eyed and with her mouth agape. I wasn’t sure what made her angrier, the jab at her talent or her age.

“This ‘specimen of manliness’ is Zephyr Breeze, the Ultimate Slacker! Age: 23.”

“What the hell, man? Slacker? I’ve had tons of jobs! Call me a professional job sampler. Or hey, why not Ultimate Ladies Man?” I rolled my eyes at Zephyr’s protests. Monokuma simply ignored him completely.

“This lovable rogue is Capper, the Ultimate Con-Artist! Be careful with your purses around him, ladies! Age: 25.”

“Hey! I ain’t no petty purse snatcher. I’ve got far more class than that.” Capper seemed genuinely offended. However, he wasn’t denying being a con-artist.

“That over there is Limestone Pie, the Ultimate Landscaper! Age: 26.”

“Give a warm welcome to Trixie Lulamoon, the Ultimate Magician! Age: 24.”

“What?! The Great and Powerful Trixie is placed in the tail end of things but not saved as the best for last? Is Trixie but an afterthought to you?” The magician crossed her arms and harumphed loudly, her cheeks puffed up a little bit in anger.

“Uh-huh. Anyway…next up is Cozy Glow, the Ultimate Crybaby! Oh sorry, I mean Ultimate Chessmaster! Age: 21.” Looking over to her, I saw a dark look on Cozy’s face as she stared at Monokuma. It was honestly a little scary.

“And last but not least, it’s Sunset Shimmer! Age: 24! What’s her ultimate talent, you ask? Why she’s none other than the Ultimate Demon.” Monokuma’s voice lowered when he mentioned my title. My face fell, eyes wide. I began trembling. I don’t know what I was expecting. Waitress, Gamer, Magical Girl, even Bully considering some of these titles seemed meant to taunt their holders. I wasn’t prepared for being called the Ultimate Demon in front of everyone. In hindsight, it should have been obvious something like this would happen. After all, why stop at taunting me with a statue? Everyone was staring at me now, wondering just what that title could mean.

’I can’t tell them. Not right now. They wouldn’t understand.’

“Hmm…wait a minute. Some of these are sounding a little too familiar! Magician, classical music, rock n’ roll, wrestler, especially a fashionista of all things…” Monokuma pondered for a moment while Rarity crossed her arms and started pouting at the perceived insult toward her profession. “Hmm…I guess there are only so many different talents out there. Listen, if one of you turns out to be a secret serial killer again, I’m gonna be a little bit annoyed!” We all gasped at the implications. This monster had done this before. He then looked at me again. “Hmm…I wonder if an Ultimate Demon qualifies as a potential serial killer? Eh, we’ll just have to wait and see!”

“Uhhh Sunset, you know I’m chill with you, right?” Zephyr Breeze moved to where there was a fair bit of people between him and me. “No need to set me in your sights hahaha…” My expression darkened further.

“Don’t be so gullible, dumbass. He’s just trying to pit us against each other.” Aria Blaze of all people was the one who stood up for me there. I appreciated it, but it didn’t exactly do much to alleviate my current mood. I was positively steaming. The only thing keeping me in check was the threat of getting pumped full of lead.

Cozy Glow must have noticed my expression and taken pity because she stepped forward in front of Apple Bloom and me to face Monokuma. Her tone of voice was cold and angry, but also quivering with fear. The poor girl was on the verge of crying again. “You shouldn’t treat people like this. All your silly Ultimate titles are doing is making us upset. Why are you doing this? What do you want?”

“What do I want?” Monokuma stood straight with his arms at his side. The music finally stopped. He spoke in a monotone voice. “Despair. That’s all.”

Cozy’s trembling began to get a bit more violent. “You want…despair? Golly, is that it? That’s all you’re after? There’s really nothing more to it than that?”

“Hmm…nope! Not a single thing more! Dis bear’s all about despair! Puhuhuhuhu!” He put his paws to his mouth as he giggled at his own bad pun.

“That’s all? Despair? Just despair? But…there’s got to be more to it. You have to want something else...” Cozy Glow trailed off and began looking down. The poor girl was barely holding herself together.

“Cozy Glow?” Apple Bloom spoke with concern, putting a hand on her shoulder. I placed a hand on her back and gently rubbed it but stayed silent. Cozy crossed her arms and was trying her best to keep herself from breaking down. At this point, everyone was looking at her with varying levels of concern.

“Aww aren’t you just socute? I can hardly bear it! What, do you think you’ll melt my heart with that helpless little girl act? Sorry toots, that ain’t happening! So, you might as well suck it up and listen to the rest of my spiel. Here, catch!” Suddenly, Monokuma reached behind the desk and pulled out a box filled with electronic tablets. He then started tossing one at each of us.

Most of us were able to catch them without much issue despite the brief window of warning. Snips got smacked in the forehead with his, Octavia fumbled hers for a moment before recovering, and Lemon’s clattered to the floor. Scootaloo caught not only hers, but stepped in front of Cozy and caught hers before it could collide with the distraught girl’s face. Scootaloo gently handed it over with a reassuring smile, and Cozy managed a thankful grin between sniffles.

“Allow me to explain what you have in your hands there! This is the Monopad! Inside is listed all the school regulations as well as a slew of other information you can look at whenever you want! There’s a map of the hotel’s facilities that are available to you. Information about all of you Ultimates is available too! Name, talent, age, height, weight, blood type, bust size, likes and dislikes, that sort of thing!” As Monokuma explained the device, I turned mine on. As it booted up, it displayed my full name before the home screen showed up.

“Bust size?! Why does that have to be listed?” Octavia looked positively scandalized.

“…Nice.” Zephyr raised an eyebrow and started looking through his pad.

“Seriously dude?” Limestone facepalmed at the sheer audacity of this man.

“There’s more to it than that! These things are all personalized so that there’s no chance of a mix-up. They’ve got a camera and a notepad app installed. They’re incredibly durable and completely waterproof. Drop it, step on it, leave it out in the cold, submerge it, these babies just won’t stop ticking! Just try taking a hammer to it and smashing it to pieces, it won’t work! High temperatures are a bit of an issue, buuut I’m sure that won’t come up again!” The bear laughed to himself about something that the rest of us weren’t privy to.

“Again?” Capper raised a suspicious eyebrow. However, he was completely ignored.

“With all that out of the way, it’s time for me to skedaddle! I can only take so much of you sad sacks at once you know! But if you do need me, simply call out and I’ll be at your beck and call! I am in the business of hospitality after all. Oh, and here are your room keys.” He set a box down on the desk with sixteen keys in it, each one with a room number and a name printed on a tag. “See ya later!” Monokuma bid us farewell and leaped up to the balcony.

For a few minutes, we all just stood there trying to comprehend what just happened. After some time, I decided to look over the rules. I’d rather not accidentally give Monokuma a reason to punish me. ’Let’s see what nonsense rules he came up with.’

1. Guests must live at the Hotel Despair for the foreseeable future.
2. “Nighttime” is from 10 pm to 7 am. The restaurant, kitchen, and courtyard are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.
3. Violence against Hotel Manager Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance equipment.
4. Attempting to break into a locked room is strictly prohibited.
5. With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore the Hotel Despair at your discretion.
6. Anyone who kills a fellow guest and becomes “blackened” will check out, unless they are discovered.
7. Littering will not be tolerated! All trash must be disposed of in the proper trash receptacles. Don’t trash the hotel! (Murder scenes don’t count as littering)
8. Mealtimes are from 7 am to 8 am and 5 pm to 6 pm. The kitchen will be off limits during mealtimes in order for our eclectic staff to do their jobs. Attending mealtimes is not mandatory but is highly recommended if you want the best food the Hotel Despair has to offer!
9. Additional hotel regulations may be added if necessary.

The rules seemed simple enough, but I was worried about the last one. Who knows what kind of sick rules Monokuma might add later just to mess with us? I turned my Monopad off and looked to the others. They were all wearing similar expressions to me. We were trapped. As far as we knew, there was no way out. No way out except…to kill someone.

I had lived through some dark times in my life. I’d seen some nasty things. But nothing could have prepared me for what was to come. My stay at the Hotel Despair was without a doubt the worst time in my life. Despair…what a fitting word for everything Monokuma stood for.

Author's Note

If you’ve made it this far, welcome to my take on a Danganronpa/Equestria Girls crossover! Thank you so much for giving it a chance. There are a few things I would like to mention, so please bear with me!

I won’t be having a strict upload schedule. If I try to do that, I’ll burn myself out and nobody wants that. I’ll try to be somewhat consistent in releasing new chapters, but a strict schedule is just asking for trouble.

Let me tell you about Free Time Events! For the uninitiated, these are one-on-one conversations in the Danganronpa games between the protagonist and a character of their choice. I’m taking a page out of witegrlninja’s book and asking who you, the readers, would like Sunset to spend time with. Just leave a comment! It won’t be a strict voting process or anything, but I’ll consider what people are feeling and try to lean into it. That said, the first two are already chosen and written. I wanted at least a couple already done so I could have some finished chapters as a release buffer. In the spirit of what I’m going for though, I was not the one who chose who got these first slots!

Finally, the cast. Seems like a strange assortment of characters, huh? Well, I have good reasons for my choices. Perhaps I’ll expand on that a little bit in a blog post?

Anyway, thanks for bearing with me! I hope you look forward to how the story develops! If you have any healthy criticisms or pointers, feel free to send them my way. I'm new to the world of writing fanfic, so I'll take all the help I can get!