------- Free Time Start -------
I opened the door to the castle’s courtyard, looking up to the bright morning sun… or at least as much to the point I wouldn’t blind myself. As I walked down to the southernmost point I looked to see Twilight inspecting the dome. As I watched, I could see sparks coming off of her horn, something that I quickly noticed hadn’t stopped since it was cut by Monokuma. Was it normal for cut horns to do that? Though maybe it isn’t exactly the best topic to ask.
Ever since she mentioned being the student of Princess Celestia I had been interested in talking about her. However, with everything that she had gone through it didn’t feel right to approach her with the topic of the princess. She lost her horn, and everything Redheart told me about their importance to unicorns was visible at breakfast yesterday. Taking a deep breath and reminding myself of what topics were off limits, I greeted Twilight with a smile.
“Hey Twilight, what are you doing?” I asked her as she turned to me, a smile on her face.
“Ah Ditzy, it’s nice to see you again,” She greeted me before turning back to the dome in front of her. “I was checking for anything resembling an exit or entrance point in the wall. If we can’t teleport inside of this place like Trixie said, than it should mean that Monokuma used another method to get us inside. A secret entrance is the one I felt makes the most sense.”
“I… think I understand that,” I told her. It must have made a lot of sense to her, but I didn’t really know much about the specifics of teleportation or magic. “Perhaps you could elaborate further on that?”
It was at the moment that I realized I had made probably the biggest mistake I could have possibly made. Twilight didn’t just go into the basics like I had expected, but had gone into what I could only describe as “egghead mode”. Most of the vocab and laws she stated about teleportation and magic passed over my head, and I soon learned that asking what those were about made her even more incomprehensible. I didn’t know how long I had sat there listening to her lecture, but seeing her so excited about something made me happy.
“Um, Twilight,” After a point I put my hoof on her muzzle, which caused her to stop talking for long enough for me to ask my question. “Off topic, but when we first met you seemed really interested in that statue in the garden.”
“Well of course I was! Anyone who knows about Discord would be intrigued by his statue being here,” Twilight explained, but one look at my face told her that I had no idea who that was. “You… don’t know who Discord is?”
“I’ve heard the name, but I don’t see why it’s such a big deal that his statue is here.” I looked off in the distance, rather embarrassed at the fact I hadn’t realized who that belonged to.
I don’t think there is a single pony, griffon, or zebra that doesn’t know about Discord or his short reign. The spirit of chaos had long ago ruled of Equestria and had left it in disarray and madness. It said he could bend the existence of the multiverse at his discretion without any consequence, and had taken control of the country without much effort. However, he was quickly defeated by Celestia and Luna with the elements of harmony, turning him to… stone. The moment that part of the legend came to my mind I realized exactly why Twilight had been so curious.
“Wait… isn’t Discord’s statue in-”
“Canterlot? Yes it is,” Twilight both finished my question and answered it at the same time. “I don’t think it’s the same statue - the pose is a bit different and a few small details like both of his horns being the same show that - but it’s still strange. Monokuma must have sort of respect for him.”
“So we don’t have to worry about waking a sleeping spirit, that’s good,” I took a deep breath. “Do think this castle might be related to Discord as well? What if he is the one who built it?”
“Maybe, but without historical record or Monokuma’s confirmation we can’t say for sure. I doubt he would have named it Castle Despair though, given that isn’t his area.” Twilight explained.
After a few minutes we said goodbye, Twilight wanting to get back to her search before night is called. The lecture had definitely been long, as I could see the sun was going to set in… probably an hour or two at most. After a small snack I decided to relax in the living room, only to see two familiar faces. Flam and Flash were also in the room, though by the way the Ultimate Guard was looking at him I was guess he was keeping an eye on him. I guess, no matter how much trust one obtains, it can be hard for some to believe you.
“Ah, Ditzy, it’s nice to see you again,” The Ultimate Con Artist greeted as sat on the couch comfortably. “I want to thank you for backing up A.K. this morning. I was worried I would be the only one who actually believed she was in the right.”
“Well, I was actually going to tell everypony anyway, so I could completely understand where she was coming from.” I responded, smiling awkwardly at his… praise? I think that was praise.
“Come on, we’re on the same side here,” Flam tapped a spot on the couch next to him. Knowing what he was hinting at, I decided to sit next to him. “I think it would be good to get to know each other. Allies should know more than just each others names, right?”
From there the conversation diverged into various different topics, some stranger and more unusual than expected. He obviously didn’t care how personal some of the topics got, although he expertly dodged many of the questions I tried to ask him. He seemed more focus on knowing about me than he did about telling me about himself. While some questions were more natural, such as asking about hobbies or my job, others like how I act in situations or how I would go about planning an event made me raise in eyebrow. After some time, I found myself needing to ask.
“Flam, why do you need to know all of this?” I asked him before he could ask me another question. That smile on his face grew as he heard me say that, making me feel a little worried. “Um… Flam?”
“I just said I wanted to know you, what’s the problem with that?” Flam said, or at least that’s what I believe as I heard him mimic my voice to a tee. I leaned back away from him blinking a few times as if a strand of hair in my mane was in my vision. “What, did am I getting something wrong?”
“No, that’s not it,” I told him, still trying to get over how accurate the imitation was. The tone, pitch, even the ‘Manehattan accent’ that Rainbow always said I had was there. “How… you copied it perfectly. That’s exactly how I sound! Did you want me to talk… so you could mimic me?!”
“Yes and no my good friend,” He said in his own voice, making me feel a little bit more relaxed. “Surely an ultimate like yourself would know that Celestia wouldn’t give that title to someone bad. Well, what you just saw is one of the many parts of my job. A con artist doesn’t merely copy art, he copies the very artist himself.”
“So the reason that you asked about all that stuff was so you could copy me?” I know I should have felt worried, even scared at the fact he was able to do that, but I couldn’t help but be intrigued. “That’s pretty cool, but how does that relate to becoming the Ultimate Con Artist?”
“Ever heard the expression ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’?” I nodded in reply, finally realizing I was going to learn about Flam. “Well, this one time a hotel in Vanhoover found itself in a hostage situation, a hotel my brother and I was staying at no less. If I remember correctly it was a gang who the owner’s son had managed to tick off, and as a price wanted all the bits they had. Situation was rather rough, though as it turns out the my brother had met the leader yesterday in the city before. The boss wasn’t there, in fact he wasn’t the one who had been ticked off. Apparently it was some new member who had too much of an ego for his own good.”
“So, you copy the leaders voice and managed to stop it somehow?” Flam chuckled slightly as he heard that.
“Right track, but it wasn’t just the voice,” He told me. “With my brothers help I disguised myself as the boss and, with only the info my brother gave me about the way he acts, walks, talks and so on, stopped it. The poor fella was so scared he apparently ran out of the city in fear that I or the boss would target him. That got me and my brother on Celestia’s list.”
“But there’s more to it I assume?”
“Of course, that wouldn’t have been enough to get us both the title of ultimate or recognized as con artists,” Flam answered with a nod before getting off the couch. “However, let's leave it till some other time. If I talk too much he might start getting suspicious.”
I saw him quickly glance at Flash Sentry before heading off, the Ultimate Guard follow him out the door a few minutes later. As I looked out the window behind me, I saw the sun’s last rays behind distant mountains. I yawn, not realizing I felt tired until than. After laying on the couch for a few more minutes (mostly because my body didn’t want to move) I decided to head back to my room. I didn’t know what time it was at that point, or if anyone else felt the same, but I collapsed onto the bed with one though in my mind. It was a thought that I tried to suppress out of fear, but it wouldn’t go away. It was the thought of one of these ponies that I knew, no matter how long it takes, could kill.
------- Chapter 1: Despair Begins Again -------
Bang bang bang
This time it wasn’t the sound of Monokuma’s childish voice that woke me, but rather the sound of someone knocking loudly on my door. Trying to ignore it, I turned my body away from the door, hoping whoever it was would get the idea.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang
They didn’t go away, and I realized just how rapid they seem to be. It worried me, hearing how uneven and fast pace the pony on the other side of the door was knocking. That uneasiness clicked as I remember exactly where I was, and everything that had happened the past two days came rushing back. It a matter of seconds I was fully awake, shoving the covers off of me and running to the door. They continued to knock even as I started to open the door. I had expected to see Fluttershy or Twilight at the door, but who I saw instead was Rainbow, who didn’t give me a moment to speak.
“Ditzy, get to the garden now! Fluttershy is going to need someone!” She said in a single, long breath before flying to the other door.
I was going to ask her what was wrong, but it was at that moment I saw what was between the stairs on the ground area of the castle entrance. A streak, or rather a long line of blood was between the curving stairs and the garden’s entrance. I wanted to run away, but I quickly realized what Rainbow had said. Praying to Celestia that Fluttershy was alright, I hopped over the railing and glided to the ground floor. As my hooves touched the ground I quickly made my way to the door, hesitated in fear, and then opened it.
I don’t think I will ever forget the scene that I saw, or the cries of the pegasus who had first discovered it. I saw Fluttershy, weeping on the ground next to the statue, a pool of blood in front of her. Rushing to her side, I tried to ask her what happened, but my question was answered before my eyes. Before me was a pony, body cold and covered in blood, eyes lifeless as they stared in horror at the door, sparks still flying from her horn. I didn’t want to believe it but it was true, and I screamed as I realized who it was.
Before me was Twilight Sparkle, the Ultimate Magic Researcher, personal student of Princess Celestia, dead on the ground right in front of me.