On my way back to my room, I was caught by surprise when the laundry room burst open and someone collided with me. "Aaah!" I fell flat on my butt with my book falling to the floor. I looked to see who barreled into me to find Zephyr Breeze looking somewhat disoriented as he stood up.

"Whoa...what the-" He caught sight of me and instantly his face went white. "S-S-Sunset?! Oh crap! Uh...I'm sorry! Please, please, please don't kill me!" He started putting some distance between us while bowing apologetically over and over again.

"...What?" I slowly got up, grabbing the book in the process. While I was annoyed that he ran into me and didn't even have the courtesy to offer to help me up, I was more confused at his reaction. "Hold on, why would I kill you? That seems like it'd be a bit of an overreaction for bumping into me."

"I'm not taking any chances! Oh please, Miss Ultimate Demon, I beg of thee to spare this mere mortal! For he did not mean for his studly swagger to intercept your path!" His eyes darted back and forth as he tried to find an exit path.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!" His eyes caught sight of the book and he wailed. "Predictions and Prophecies? Oh no, that's totally a demonic sounding thing to read! She is a demon! I'm screwed, I'm so screwed!"

"Zephyr. Breeze." My blood was boiling as I gritted my teeth. I really wanted to punch him, but I instead let my fist collide with the wall. Though it hurt, I was too angry to care. "Leave. Now!"

Without hesitation, Zephyr cried out in terror and ran off, most likely to his room to cower. Once he was out of sight, I marched to my own room and slammed the door behind me. If anyone was around to see me, I wasn't paying enough attention to realize it. Once I was inside, I locked the door behind me and sat down on the bed.

"GRAAAAUUGGH!!! Asshole!" I threw the book against the wall and fell backward onto the bed, tears stinging the corners of my eyes. While I knew deep inside that Zephyr was just really scared and also very likely a bit stupid, I couldn't help my anger towards him. Normally, I wouldn't let this sort of thing get to me. But the constant reminders of my past, the terror of our situation, and my memory issues made me much more sensitive to his words. Being called a demon right to my face and having someone genuinely terrified of me was a lot right now. I was ready to boil over. However, lashing out wouldn't exactly help my case, would it? Some of the others might start having similar feelings towards me as him.

'Dammit. Way to keep it together, Sunset.'

After taking a few minutes to calm down, followed by picking up the book and putting it with the others, I decided now would be a good time to shower and get cleaned up for the party.

'He'd better not pull that shit at the party tonight. I don't know if I'll be able to stop myself from hitting him next time.'

A warm shower really helped calm me down. After cleaning myself up and getting ready, I left the room. Before heading to the lounge, I went to the restaurant to get something to eat. The party started at 8, while the restaurant had a dinner buffet out from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. I didn't eat too much, though. I figured someone might have whipped up some snacks for the party.

I arrived ten minutes before 8. The lounge was set up quite nicely. The tables all had small plates likely taken from the kitchen set around them. In the middle of the tables were various hors d'oeuvres, along with pitchers of water. Lemon Zest was behind the sound booth, fiddling with records and CDs. It was no surprise that she wanted to DJ the party. Limestone was talking with Trixie on the stage, each on either side of the now moved 'Starlight Glimmer' statue. Capper was behind the bar, mixing up a cocktail for Octavia, who was currently the only one sitting there. Since the party hadn't officially started yet and there were still a few missing, I approached them.

"Is this seat taken?"

"Oh, not at all. Please, have a seat Sunset." Octavia smiled up at me while scooting over just slightly so we'd have a bit more room.

Just as I sat down, Capper finished up Octavia's drink, sliding it across the bar towards her with surprising accuracy. "There ya go, Octavia. Just the way you asked. Here's hopin' it lives up to your expectations."

Octavia looked at the drink for a moment, an unreadable expression masking her face. The drink she had definitely looked interesting. It was a frozen drink resembling a daiquiri, the bulk of which was snowy white, with the top eighth of it being a vibrant blue. Sitting on top were two cherries. They both lay on their sides with their stems bent at right angles so they were pointing up. The stems were bent an additional time, once again at right angles and towards one another, touching at the ends. With how they were manipulated, they sort of resembled a music note.

The cellist waited a moment longer before taking a sip. Her face instantly lit up when she tried it. She put it down and positively beamed at Capper. "Oh, this is perfect! It's almost exactly how she makes them! You're truly an exquisite bartender, Capper."

The makeshift bartender gave a sly grin and shrugged his shoulders as if it were nothing at all. "Hey, don't give me all the credit. You told me the recipe. All I did was mix it up for you."

"Perhaps, but you did splendidly." She took another sip, a look of satisfaction on her face that I found refreshing.

"So, who's "she" exactly? Your regular bartender back home?" I asked casually while deciding what I might want.

"Oh, not at all. I don't bar hop enough to be considered a regular anywhere." She put her drink down and sighed, staring at one of the barricaded windows. "My girlfriend, Vinyl Scratch. Once we both became old enough to legally drink, we created special little cocktails for one another to celebrate." Her smile slowly dissipated as she stared into the drink. "Since I can't be with her right now...this is perhaps the closest thing I have. This and...oh, never mind. I shouldn't be bringing the mood down. This is meant to cheer us up after all! Besides, she'd want me to make the most of my situation."

Octavia's gaze went over to Lemon Zest, who was currently looking back and forth between two records in her hands, no doubt pondering which one to play first for the party. "You know...Lemon Zest actually reminds me of her a lot. They have very similar interests, though Vinyl is decidedly less talkative." She sighed listlessly before putting on a brave smile and turning her attention to me. "Tell me, Sunset. Do you have a special someone out there? That is, if you're comfortable talking about it of course."

I frowned and thought about it. My memories weren't messed up in that department too, were they? I couldn't think of anyone, but I did feel like something was there. Did I have a crush on someone? Frustrated, I stopped thinking about it and just answered with what I could remember. "No, not right now. The last time I dated someone was in high school, but...we were in a relationship for all the wrong reasons." I thought back to Flash, one of the few people I did remember somewhat well. Of course, knowing Monokuma, the only reason I remembered him was probably because of how I used him throughout our entire relationship. That never felt great to think about. At least I remembered that we made up later and became friends. It didn't make what happened before any better, but it was nice to know we'd moved on.

"Well you know..." Capper slid up to me and gave a playful smirk. "If you give me a shot, I wouldn't be against getting to know you a bit better. Who knows? Maybe I'm the friend that you need."

Octavia scoffed and lightly chuckled. "Oh Capper, you're incorrigible."

"Hey, can't blame a guy for tryin' his luck with a pretty girl, can ya?" He reached over and started concocting a drink before sliding it over to me. "I'll even buy you a drink. Not that the drinks here cost money, but...ah, you know what I mean! Here, have a screwdriver."

"Thanks. Maybe when we get out of here, I'll let you really buy me one sometime." I gave him a little wink and sauntered off towards the tables, leaving the con-artist speechless while Octavia giggled into her drink.

Before long, everyone else made their way into the lounge. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo came in together, choosing to sit next to me. Eventually Cozy Glow showed up, causing Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to wave her down excitedly. I gave a much more casual wave as she approached, sitting between the other two and across from me. She appeared to be in a good mood, but I wasn't sure if her smile was fake or not.

Everyone else filed in, taking the remaining tables. Iron Will, Moondancer, Zephyr Breeze, and Rarity sat at the table to our right. Snips, and Trouble Shoes sat to our left, leaving two seats open there. Aria went to the bar, leaving a few seats between her and Octavia. After a quick exchange of words, Capper began making her a drink.

Once everyone had arrived and taken a seat, Limestone took hold of the microphone and poked at to make sure it was on, causing some slight reverb in the room. "Hello? Okay good it's on. Hey everyone! Thanks for coming. So, I'm not exactly good at the whole party hosting thing. That's more my sister's thing. But I've been to enough of her crazy shindigs to get the gist of it. So here's how this is gonna work. We've got Lemon Zest working the music, Capper tending bar, and we're opening the night with a magic show from Trixie! So...enjoy!" She put the mic back in its holder and stepped off the stage, sitting next to Trouble Shoes with a reddish tint to her cheeks. Despite her forceful personality, did Limestone have a hint of stage fright?

"Ahem, allow Trixie to make one teensy weensy little correction to your description. Maestro, if you please?" Trixie glanced over at Lemon Zest who gave her a thumbs up and started playing some strange music. Trixie held her cape in front of her face and waved it around. "Ladies and gentlemen! Prepare to be amazed! Prepare to be enthralled! For you are about to bear witness to a show put together by the one, the only, the Great and Powerful Trrrrrrixie!" She threw a smoke ball to the ground, seeming to suddenly reappear atop the statue's back. The crowd applauded the optical illusion. It was an obvious one, but she had to be pretty fast to successfully pull it off.

"Of course, allow me to also introduce my great and powerful (but not quite as great and powerful as Trixie) assistant, Starlight Glimmer the oddly shaped unicorn!" I almost snorted in laughter at the description. Yes I'd heard her use that incorrect descriptor before, but it was still funny that she had an actual unicorn in her audience to disprove her assessment and she didn't even know it.

"For my first trick...behold, a classic!" She held out her hat and pulled out a rabbit! Although, upon closer inspection, it was actually a stuffed rabbit, likely from the gift shop. And it had a little dress on with a magic wand? That was an interesting stuffed toy for the gift shop to have. As everyone looked on in confusion, Trixie tossed it to the side. "Yes, it is a stuffed rabbit...thing. No one has done the rabbit in a hat trick with this sort of stuffed animal before, Trixie guarantees it!" We couldn't argue with that. Besides, it was still impressive how it was able to even fit in her hat without the thing bulging or falling off her head. She got a polite applause.

"You are too kind. Trixie has one more trick for you all tonight. For this, Trixie will need a volunteer from the audience! Now who shall it be?" Most of the group began raising their hands, some overly eager like Apple Bloom and others reasonably interested like Trouble Shoes. The only ones who didn't attempt to volunteer were Aria, Moondancer, and Limestone. Eventually, Trixie made her decision. "Hmm...you! Scootaloo, come up here!"

"Yes!" Scootaloo raised a fist in the air victoriously as she ran up and hopped onto the stage, standing next to Trixie. "Alright, let's make some magic! What do you need me to do? Are you gonna saw me in half? Oh, maybe put me in a box and stab it with swords! Make me disappear? Make me escape from a tank full of piranhas?!"

Trixie put a hand over Scootaloo's mouth to shush her. "Now now, Trixie understands you're excited. However, please let her explain what will be happening!" The excitable younger girl nodded rapidly and practically vibrated in place as Trixie continued. "First, Trixie must ask. While she can assure that no serious harm will come to you during this act (Trixie is not responsible for scrapes and bruises from self-negligence), there is the possibility of getting a bit...messy. Are you fine with that?"

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow before casually shrugging. "Yeah, I guess so. I can always shower later if I need to." I stifled a chuckle as I saw Rarity widen her eyes and let out a relieved exhale that she wasn't picked after all.

"Excellent! In that case, The Great and Powerful Trixie shall offer you these!" From behind the statue, Trixie pulled out two cans of soda. One was ginger ale and the other was orange. She handed them both to Scootaloo who looked a bit confused. "Now, Trixie will need you to shake one of those up. You may choose whichever you prefer, it matters not to Trixie. Just be certain you don't shake the other up at all. And keep both cans in full view of the audience at all times!"

"Uh, okay. Sure." Scootaloo started shaking the orange soda vigorously.

As she did, Trixie raised an eyebrow and pointed at the shaking soda. "You seem to be doing it effortlessly. Are you an expert with that kind of motion?"

"What are you talking- HEY!" Scootaloo's face turned red as the crowd erupted in laughter. After a second, Scootaloo joined in on the laughter as well. "Okay okay, I guess it was a little funny."

"There, you can stop now. Don't open it! For the next step, Trixie would like you to hold it still and place the unshaken can on top of it." She did as she was told, holding them both very still with the ginger ale on top. "Now, as for the bubbles that are all ready to erupt? Trixie shall transport them from the bottom can all the way to the top one!" We all looked on eagerly as she began doing some showy motions with her hands, sliding them from the bottom to the top of the cans. "Aaaand...voila! It is done. Scootaloo, you can take them apart now. Would you care to open the orange. It will have NO bubbles! And be sure to listen for the fizzy sound so you know it wasn't tampered with! It's still perfectly sealed."

Scootaloo did as she was asked, pointing it away from herself as she did. However, the expected carbonation explosion never happened. It opened like any ordinary can of soda that hadn't been shaken up. And just as Trixie said, we all heard the telltale sound of a fresh can being opened, fizziness and all, so it hadn't been messed with and decarbonated.

"How in the world?!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "I shook that thing insanely hard!"

"Now now, we're not done yet! Now, please open the unshaken can. As you can all see, it has not been tampered with. Nor have I shaken it at all during this act. It is an ordinary can of soda. They have both been sitting behind my assistant for quite some time now, as Limestone, Lemon, Capper, and Octavia can no doubt attest to." After a brief nod from those who were here even earlier than I was to confirm her words, Trixie continued. "And now...open the can!"

"Okay, here goes nothing." Scootaloo opened it up, this one also facing away from her. And to our amazement, the unshaken can exploded with fizz all over the place! despite aiming it away from herself, some of it did end up getting all over Scootaloo's arm and sleeve. She didn't seem to mind too much though. She was just as amazed as the rest of us. "Whoa! That's amazing!" We all applauded the well executed trick. There was probably some science behind why that happened, but I sure wasn't aware of what that was.

"Thank you, thank you. You did well, Scootaloo. You may have a seat. Though perhaps you'd like to use the sink behind the bar to clean up a little." Scootaloo gave an exaggerated bow to the audience before going to do just that. "For Trixie's next trick, she will be utilizing her assistant's help. Starlight, if you please?" Suddenly, the statue's horn began...glowing? What the hell?! How was it using magic? I was about to stand up and investigate when I noticed a discrepancy. It looked weird. I peered closer and realized that Trixie had actually stealthily placed something giving off a pink glow along the length of the horn, being held on with some sort of adhesive and mostly hidden from view of the audience thanks to the angle. It was barely visible, so I wouldn't have noticed it if I weren't actively looking. No doubt if she had a proper setup, I'd never have noticed it at all. That made a lot more sense. The fact that Trixie guessed correctly where unicorn magic comes from wasn't exactly a miracle either. It was really quite obvious.

"Good, her magic is charged up! Now Starlight, let us show them the magic of...levitation!" Trixie surrounded herself in her cape in a manner which hid her feet. She then slowly began to lift up...and when her cape was pulled to the side, she was standing in midair, about six inches off the ground! The crowd let out gasps and oohs as she showed off. I couldn't see any wires, so I doubted she was really in the air. But then how did she pull this trick off? I wasn't really sure. "Behold! Isn't this fabulous? But you haven't seen anything yet! Starlight, it is time for Trixie to mount you!" Trixie suddenly did a backflip and landed on Starlight's back, having stealthily grabbed whatever was making the horn glow on the way there. "Tada!" The crowd applauded, the magician bowing while still atop the pony statue.

"That, ladies and gentlemen, is the finale of tonight's show. The Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you for your time and hopes you enjoyed yourselves. Now...to the bar!" Trixie threw down another smoke bomb and quickly appeared near the bar, sitting between Octavia and Aria.

'Where did she get those smoke bombs?'

With the magic show over, Lemon Zest put on some music and we all chatted, danced, and just had an overall good time. Someone must have suggested karaoke at some point, because Lemon Zest suddenly shouted out to the group that she was taking requests for it. I was tempted, but I chose not to sing. I didn't want to run the risk of ponying up in front of everyone. That would not help the demon allegations right now. Strangely enough, I noticed that Aria was also avoiding the stage. Considering her career and how pissed she was at being called The Ultimate Backup Singer, I'd assumed she'd jump at the chance to sing in front of us.

After a few people had sung some songs, Lemon Zest suddenly shouted out from behind her booth. "Hey Iron WIll! Do a promo for us!" A few others cheered in response to the idea. I wasn't sure what a promo was, but I assumed it was a wrestling thing.

"HA! You want Iron Will to cut an off the cuff promo for you? Now that sounds like fun!" He got up on stage and grabbed a microphone. Lemon Zest put on some appropriate background music. Iron Will did a couple of flexes and took a deep breath before half exhaling, half growling. "So...Monokuma! You think you're so clever, trapping us all in here with you? Well...the joke's on you, buddy. You're trapped in here with me. You see, you're not dealing with the average athlete here. Because you see, Iron Will is 'The Minotaur'! And you don't wanna be trapped with a Minotaur. Do you wanna know why Iron Will is called 'The Minotaur'? Because Minotaurs are tougher and meaner than a bull! And if you take this bull by the horns, he's gonna use those horns to send you flying, and then knock you back down and pin you for a three count! BECAUSE THE NAME'S IRON WILL! IT RHYMES WITH KILL! AND YOUR CHANCES OF BEATING ME...ARE NIL!" With that, he dropped the mic and walked off, exhaling threateningly like an actual bull or minotaur would.

I had no idea how to respond to any of that, so I just clapped with the rest of the group. Limestone, Lemon, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Rarity surprisingly enough were all pretty enthused by the performance. I even saw Aria crack a smile. I still didn't really get it, but I started to get the feeling that maybe I'd enjoy wrestling if I gave it a chance. Yet another reason to add to the pile of reasons to get out of here.

A short time after that, Zephyr Breeze approached me from the bar holding a pair of drinks. When I noticed him approaching, I narrowed my eyes and frowned a little as he sat down next to me. He flinched for a moment before taking a breath and sliding one of the drinks towards me. "Hey, Sunset. Can we talk?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes before deciding it couldn't hurt anything. "Fine. What is it?" My tone

Zephyr gulped and followed up with a nervous chuckle. "I can't help but feel you're not so happy to see me."

"Oh. Really? Gee, imagine that. I wonder why that could be?" While I was being a bit rude and sarcastic with my response, I kept it quiet enough where hopefully only he would hear. While I was mad at him, I didn't feel like putting him on blast in front of everyone. "Maybe because when I saw you earlier, you were shouting about me, the Ultimate Demon, eating you or something?"

He winced and looked around nervously, but it seemed nobody overheard. "Yeah...the thing about that is..." He sighed and slumped in the chair a little. "Look...I wanted to apologize, okay? You caught me at a bad time and I might have said some things I shouldn't have."

"You...huh?" That was unexpected. My anger towards him began to diminish slightly. "Okay, I'm listening." I took a sip of the drink offered to me. Rum and cola wouldn't have been my first choice, but it was an acceptable peace offering.

"Yeah, so...don't tell anybody else but...I was seriously scared and freaked out at the time, you know?" It looked like it pained him to admit that. "Then I ran into you. Knocking you down, seeing that weird book, your ultimate title, and everything else...I guess I kind of jumped the gun a little bit."

"A little bit? You know, on the off chance I was a raging she-demon, I doubt I would've eaten you. Maybe just torture and enslave you to do my bidding." I laughed jokingly as I said that last part, but a part of me cringed a bit. If it was the old me, I'd have done exactly that.

"Ha! Well it's a good thing you're just a normal human then, huh? Hahaha..." He laughed nervously before getting his usual confident demeanor back. "So, I take it this means you accept my most humble of apologies?"

While I was usually pretty put off by his attitude, I let it slide this time. With a slight grin, I nodded. "Yeah, we're cool. Just try not to pull anything like that again, okay?"

"We're cool, huh? Well then maybe after the party, you and I could-"

"Whoa there, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Absolutely not. I was willing to be friends, but romance was off the table for me when it came to Zephyr Breeze. Still, I didn't want to upset him with a harsh rejection. His uncomfortable approach to women aside, it looked to me like he was at least trying. "Let's stick with trying to be friends, alright?"

"Alright, alright. Being friends with the Breeze is a privilege in its own right, so I'll drop it. Besides, you'll come around eventually! They always do." He did some finger guns at me while making a clicking noise with his tongue and winking before standing up and walking away. It looked like he was going to talk to Cozy Glow.

At about 9:15 p.m., three of the party guests began to leave. Trouble Shoes stated that he wasn't one for too much socialization at once and wanted to go to his room. Moondancer said much the same thing and left as well. Cozy Glow was the third who decided to leave early.

"This has been such a fun and lively party! Buuut I think I should go get some beauty sleep. I'll see you all in the morning. Bye!" With what I gathered to be a fake saccharine attitude this time around, Cozy gave a few of us hugs before she left without giving anybody time to really converse with her any further.

Once Cozy was gone, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo pulled me aside to one of the tables and motioned me to sit down with them. They both looked concerned about something.

"Hey girls, what's up? Is everything okay?" Everything was obviously not okay. How could it be okay in this situation we were in? But it was such a normal thing to ask, and having things feel normal when they could was important right now.

"Well..." Apple Bloom looked toward the lounge's exit and then back to me. "I'm not sure. I was hopin' maybe you could tell us. Do ya think Cozy Glow has been actin'...weird?"

"We figured you'd be the best person to talk to about this." Scootaloo added. "You seem to know her better than anyone else does. We're a bit worried about her."

I frowned as I listened to their concerns. While I didn't have all the answers, I'd been given a pretty good idea as to why Cozy Glow seemed off. I could just tell them, but divulging too much would feel like a breech of Cozy's privacy. That was something I didn't want to do unless absolutely necessary.

"I'm not really sure what's going on with her," I lied. "Maybe she's just handling our situation poorly? She wouldn't be the only one. This is all pretty stressful."

"On that, I agree with you wholeheartedly." Rarity sat down next to me seemingly out of nowhere, a mixed cocktail of some sort in her hand. "I do beg your pardon for butting in, but I couldn't help overhearing."

"Oh! Uh, Hi Rarity." Scootloo scooted over a little bit to give the surprise fourth person a bit more room at the table. "You heard what we were talking about?"

"Yes, I did. You were speaking about Cozy Glow, correct?" She took a sip of her drink, her expression one of pensiveness. "I...have something I think I should tell you. Of everyone here, you seem the closest to her, so it's only right I let you know."

"Let us know what? What's goin' on? Is it about Cozy?" Apple Bloom leaned in closer. I did as well, but I said nothing. What could she be talking about?

Rarity blinked a few times before letting out a sad sigh. "Yes, I'm afraid it is. I must apologize in advance. I know she's your friend, so this may not be pleasant. You see, I've noticed some...strange behaviors from her." As we looked on in curiosity, she continued. "It started on our first day here. When she and Sunset approached Octavia, Capper, and myself, I couldn't help but notice. The way she looked at me, the way she avoided getting close to me but nobody else...it was unsettling. If that were it, I would think nothing of it. However..."

"I have made multiple attempts to try and speak with her. Every time, she makes some excuse and leaves. It's clear she is intentionally avoiding me. But again, I could deal with that. What I cannot abide is what I've seen her doing." Rarity suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable. She looked around stealthily to make sure nobody was listening in. Once satisfied that nobody was close enough to us to hear over the music, she continued. "I've seen it when she thinks I don't notice. She'll stare at me, her gaze lingering on me with what I can only describe as sheer malice."

The looks on the other two girls' faces were of shock, and I was certain I shared a similar expression. I recalled how Cozy had acted strangely towards Rarity on the first day, but I hadn't thought too much on why that might have been until this moment. Before any of us could say anything, Rarity kept speaking.

"Any time she knows I'm paying attention, she puts on a false smile and pretends like everything is fine. Yet for some reason I can't fathom, this girl I've never met or heard of seems to despise the sight of me."

"That's pretty rough, but what does that have to do with us? If it's you she doesn't like, shouldn't that be between you two?" Scootaloo asked, which was a fair question.

"Because...while I haven't seen anything odd involving Sunset, there is something you two in particular should know. You three have come together as a group rather naturally since we arrived." Her expression faltered before she composed herself once more. "Well...as much as I'm loathe to tell you this, I've seen her making that same hate filled expression when you aren't looking. Sometimes she'll be making fists, squeezing so tight her knuckles turn white. And when this malice isn't directed at me..." She gulped as if she didn't want to finish. "It's always towards you two." She then said something that raised even more questions. "And that's not all. Sometimes she-"

"That's enough!" Apple Bloom shouted.

Apple Bloom seemed especially irate, but all three of us were aghast. There was no way that Rarity was telling the truth, right? And yet...it did make some amount of sense. I thought back to when Cozy and I first met Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. For some reason, she immediately latched onto the two of them and sent me off on my own. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but it was a bit of an odd thing for her to do.

"None of that doesn't make any sense!" Apple Bloom continued as she stood up. "We've been hanging out together and having fun this whole time despite being kidnapped! Tryin' to make the best of a bad situation together! It wasn't until we got those videos that she started acting weird. She was normal before that!"

"Well maybe not normal..." Scootaloo said. Before Apple Bloom could reprimand her, she added to her statement. "I mean she was weird in a good way! Now she's just being...weird."

"Girls..." Rarity was sympathetic in her tone. "I understand that it's not a very nice thing to hear. And whether you believe me or not is ultimately up to you. However, remember that we're all strangers here. Cozy Glow...I don't know what her issues are, but it's clear the girl is emotionally unstable at the very least. I'm only telling you this because I want you to be careful and-"

*Ding Dong, Bing Bong!*

“Mm, ahem, this is a hotel announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Please return to your rooms and relax. The doors to the restaurant and the courtyard are now locked, and entry is strictly prohibited. Okay then…sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite…”

And with that, the nighttime announcement signaled the official end to the day as well as an end to this conversation. It looked like Rarity had a bit more she wanted to say, but Apple Bloom and Scootaloo left the table. I also noticed that Aria Blaze had left the party altogether at some point while we were talking.

Apple Bloom, and by proxy Scootaloo, were avoiding Rarity in particular. Since I didn't want her to feel too bad about trying to open up about what she'd supposedly seen, I opted to hang out with her for the remainder of the party. Despite her somewhat uppity demeanor, she was actually easy to talk to. Something about being around her made me feel content. We mostly discussed our hobbies. As it turned out, we had a lot of similar taste in music and both loved performing.

At about 11 p.m., Zephyr Breeze decided to turn in. He tried to play it off cool with the line "The Breeze has left the building," but Lemon Zest quickly pointed out that this was all just one huge building. He laughed it off as he left, leaving 11 of us. About half an hour later, both Rarity and I decided to say goodbye to everyone and leave as well. Octavia left at the same time, bidding us farewell as she headed off to her room in the west wing. Since mine and Rarity's rooms were close to one another in the east wing, we decided to walk together.

"I'm sorry, by the way." Rarity broke the silence of our walk by surprising me.

"Sorry? For what?"

"For upsetting you all. I'm not trying to start any drama, but I'm quite worried. I don't want anything to happen to anyone." She looked back towards the entrance to the lounge briefly. "Especially those two. They remind me a lot of my little sister."

"Your sister?" Suddenly I remembered what had happened when we all got our motive videos. Rarity's outburst. "Oh...that's who's in your video, isn't it?"

The other girl nodded, lip quivering as she tried her best not to break down in front of me. "That's right." Suddenly her fists clenched. "And if that bear is telling the truth, he will pay dearly after I rescue her." It looked like Rarity was ready to punch a wall, but she managed to calm herself down and take a deep breath. "Her name is Sweetie Belle. She's about their age. It's uncanny how much they remind me of her. And that's why...I want to do what I can to protect them."

"So that's why you wanted to talk to us about Cozy Glow. Because of your sister?"

"That was certainly my primary motivation, but it was also the right thing to do. I just wish they'd have let me say the rest." When I raised an eyebrow and silently bid her to continue, she did. "I can't speak for when she stares at me, but with them...sometimes I catch her expression changing in a most peculiar way. It's as if she's confused about what she's doing and then she starts looking...sad." We reached her door by this point as she went to unlock it. "I'm afraid to confront her about it though. The one time she caught me staring in this state, she looked as though she wanted to kill-" her eyes widened and she shook her head at the notion. "No, I shouldn't think about such things. Not here. Suffice to say, she was angry."

It took me a moment before I found the words to say something. By the time I did, Rarity was standing in her open doorway looking at me. "I'm not going to pretend to fully understand her. But I do know she's dealing with a lot. Something's going on with that girl, and I think she needs friends more than anything. I'm glad that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo seem to want to be those friends." I looked at Rarity in the doorway and couldn't help but smile despite the situation. Friends. I missed mine, even though I didn't remember who they were. But Rarity was nice to be around. I enjoyed her company. This place was terrible, but it might be easier to endure if we had friends to rely on. "Thanks for telling me all this. I don't know how yet, but I know we can find a way out of this if we work together. This is gonna sound cheesy as hell, but I know for a fact that friendship can make us all stronger together."

Rarity widened her eyes in surprise at what I said. Yeah, I knew that it would sound weird to someone who wasn't familiar with the literal magic of friendship. Or so I thought. She actually let out a bit of a giggle. "I couldn't agree more, darling." She let out a yawn all of a sudden. "Oh dear. I believe I'll have to cut this conversation short, or I might find myself standing in my doorway til morning. Goodnight, Sunset."

"Yeah, you make a good point. We should sleep. Goodnight, Rarity." We waved goodbye to each other and she shut her door, locking it behind her. I proceeded to do the same thing. After brushing my teeth and getting into some pajamas, I passed out in bed, easily drifting off to sleep.

*Ding Dong Bing Bong*

“Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beautiful day!”

I woke up to the announcement and got myself ready for the day. I was feeling pretty good all things considered. The situation still wasn't ideal of course, but I felt like things were really starting to turn around for the group's morale thanks to the party last night. There were a few stumbles, but overall it seemed to be a rousing success.

I made my way to the dining hall, where I saw only a handful of the group: Limestone, Scootaloo, Trouble Shoes, Snips, Zephyr Breeze, Octavia, and myself. Limestone looked particularly annoyed that there were only seven of us there. We waited and chatted a little bit to pass the time. After about 20 minutes, Lemon Zest ran in.

"Sorry! I kind of lost track of time in the shower!" She sat down as Limestone shook her head in disapproval.

We kept waiting. But nobody came. I was starting to get worried. At 8:30 a.m., Limestone stood up, looking at us all. "Okay, listen up. Clearly nobody else cared enough to get here on time like agreed. I would've hoped that the scare with Sunset yesterday would've made everyone realize to not do that!" She huffed in annoyance while I sank into my chair, a bit embarrassed. "Alright, let's get looking and make sure everyone's okay. I'll check the west wing rooms. Trouble, you take the east. The rest of you, let's get looking around everywhere else."

And so we all went looking for those who were missing. It was a party, so of course a lot of us weren't going to be bright and early to breakfast this time around. But I couldn't shake this gnawing anxiety within me that something was wrong. Everything was going well and Monokuma had been awfully quiet during the party. At the time I was grateful to have a reprieve from his nonsense, but now I was all the more scared. We all entered the lobby and broke from there. I expected to be looking for a long time. I was about to exit to the courtyard and comb it and the hedge maze when I heard it.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

That was Scootaloo. Her scream of terror pierced the air in the lobby and its surrounding areas. All of us but Trouble Shoes and Limestone, who were away in their designated areas by now, were running towards her. She was backed up against the Christmas tree, eyes wide and pointing at the elevator. The elevator that had been closed when we left the restaurant. And inside, I saw something that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

In the elevator, slumped against the back wall with blood pooling from a nasty wound on the side of his head, lay the lifeless body of Capper, the Ultimate Con Artist.

Author's Note

It's here! It's finally here! It sure took me long enough, didn't it? Sorry about that!

Me: Okay, my little hiatus is over. I think I can have this out by mid October!
Life: Guess again, bucko! Mwahahaha!

Seriously though, I didn't mean for it to take this long to finish this chapter. Life has a funny way of keeping you from doing the things you wanna do and time just loves to go by faster than it has any right to!

But here it is, finally the first death! I wonder, did anyone call who would die first correctly? Does anyone have any wild guesses about whodunnit? We'll be getting into the investigation portion of the story next time! I hopefully shouldn't take too long this time around. My motivation is back and I feel excited to get more of this out there! Thank you to all of you who have been so patient with me while waiting. I only hope I can reward that patience with a good story.