------- Chapter 2: Unfortunate Seventeen -------
Ding dong bing bong
“Attention everyone, it is now 8 am. Daytime is upon us, and I’ve torched the barbed wire blocking the stairs to the second floor. Consider it your reward for passing the trial last night. Please go take a look, I’m sure many of you will find that things upstairs to your liking. Anyways, hope you all have a beeeautiful day!”
The sound of Monokuma’s voice was no longer as irritating and worrying as it had been before. Everytime I heard it I was reminded that we had no escape, and it was possible that we would be here for the rest of our lives. However, it was no longer what I woke up to in the morning, and the aroma of tea was a welcome change to what my time here has been. Looking to Flam, Doctor Hooves and A.K., who had woken me up earlier for a chat in the living room, we all had the same look of confidence on our face. With everything bad that happened yesterday, we now had one great thing to consider.
Trixie, wherever she was right now, had somehow managed to escape her execution. The Ultimate Scientist had figured that out through more scientific means, and according to him nopony else actually believed she was still alive. We four were the only ones who had any idea about what was going on, and that the Ultimate Showpony was on her way to princess Celestia. None of us knew how long it would be till she was back, and that was exactly why A.K. had called us all together.
“So that’s how this thing is going to work?” I asked rhetorically, my mind stuck on the Monokuma’s morning announcement. “Sure it’s not enough that one of us was killed, gives us a floor for having everypony else think we killed two of them.”
“Somepony is in a mood this morning,” Flam teased, though for how long we had been talking I had learned that it was his way of lightening the mood. “As wrong as it is, Monokuma clearly doesn’t care about any of us, even if he says so. Unlocking another floor of the castle is just his way of keeping this thing interesting for himself.”
“It’ll probably be a good idea to check it once we are done here,” The doctor said, looking out the window. “So, other than the fact I’m now part of this group, what reason have you called us here for A.K.?”
“If you want to know, than I guess it is about time that I got down to business,” A.K. Yearling said in agreement as she sat down next to me on one of the two couches. “Long story short, we know Monokuma’s game and need to somehow figure out how Trixie was able to use her execution to escape. Something tells me she knew about that, and we know who it is that must have told her.”
We all nodded in agreement, not saying a word as we didn’t know if Monokuma was watching or not. I knew that Yearling was talking about Twilight, the pony who Trixie had formed this very plan with, and than sacrificed herself to put it into action. I remember how angry I was when I had originally heard that, but now that we had some way out I was excited. It felt wrong to feel empowered about someone's death, but she was the only thing we really had. No matter how redundant it is to say, I’m not going to let her death go to waste.
“So your say that-” I stopped myself, realizing that it would be a bad idea to speak about it directly. “So what's the plan than?”
“I’m not exactly sure, but we need a place where we can talk without fear of being watched,” A.K. said. “For now, I think it is best if we meet up with all the others. No doubt they are currently either in the dining room or exploring the second floor. We’ll call a hold on the meeting until we find anywhere we can discuss in private. Ditzy, you come with me for a second.”
As the others left, Doctor Hooves went to the dining room for some breakfast and Flam went to explore upstairs, A.K. took me to the garden. As we entered, we were once again greeted by the sight of Twilight’s body on the ground. The Ultimate Author had ask Monokuma for permission to bury the body when she first woke up, and I volunteered to help when I had found out. It was a foreign question to him, as it was the first time he had heard anypony actually say that before, but he didn’t deny us the right. In fact, he actually wanted to take part as well, thinking it would give him an idea of how we felt when someone died. We did our best to tell him no, but he wasn’t going to take that as an answer.
Monokuma held the shovels as the two of us carried her to the courtyard, finding a large patch of grass at the edge of the dome to bury her in. Laying her down, the three of us got to work and started to dig, Monokuma singing to himself casually. This was the first time I had seen him do something even close to sympathetic, even if it was only for ‘the experience’ as he said. I also finally got a good look at A.K.’s name, and something about it seemed to throw me off as I saw how it seemed to shift from black to white. It felt familiar, but I couldn’t quiet place where I recognized it from.
“Well, that surely was a workout,” Monokuma said as we finished up, having placed Twilight in the hole we had dug up and than buried. “Funny how doing something so simple as burying a body can make you feel terrible in ways you’ve never felt. I actually almost feel bad for the poor mare. Almost of course, but this was a bit unexpected.”
“You should’ve felt that way after you cut off her horn!” I told him, though I knew telling Monokuma as much was about as worthless as it gets. “Jeez, it’s like you don’t even know what it’s like having a friend.”
“So your saying that if I get a friend, I’ll understand what it’s like when they are killed?” The psycho bear obviously didn’t get what I was trying to tell him, but the fact that he manage to even get that close surprised me. “You know, mortality is the reason why I’ve never had any friends, being a robot and all. I won’t outlive Celestia or come close to being her age, but what’s the use of having somepony special when they’re going to just die in the end?” That question was less of a counter argument and seemed to be an epiphany to himself. “Well I guess that is a good reason to maybe make a friend. Perhaps you would-”
I give him a stern glare, or at least as serious of a look as I could. Still Monokuma seemed to get the message and disappeared like he always did. Yeah, like I would be your friend just so you know what one dying feels like. Somepony either has to be real kind, or very generous to even give you a chance. I didn’t dwell on it anymore than that as A.K. Yearling placed her hat back on her head, hiding her strangely familiar mane. She whispered a prayer of some kind to the grave Twilight was now in, and looked to me.
“Thanks Ditzy, it feels nice to have someone I can trust around here,” She told me, tipping her hat to me. “I’m going to check the second floor if your interested, but for the sake of keeping our little group under the radar don’t follow me. Last thing we want after the last trial is for ponies to be suspicious of anyone, it could raise aggression without Monokuma needing to interfere.”
“Yeah I understand,” I told her as we went our separate ways. As soon as she was inside the castle I took a sigh, having realized something a little too late as a bush rustled behind me. “Rainbow, how much of that did you hear?”
“All of it,” Rainbow poked out from a bush to the side of the courtyard, a mischievous smile on her face. I should have known that Rainbow of all ponies would have heard, considering I haven’t seen her inside at all save for breakfast and o meeting two days ago. “Don’t worry I won’t ask any questions… yet. So are you going to explore the second with me or not Dee?”
I nodded, thankful that I did not have to answer anything about what had occurred just now. Rainbow and I walked back into the castle and made our way to the second floor staircase on the left. I noticed now that an entirely different set of stairs leading down was still blocked by some of the wiring, but put it to the side as I focused on the stairs in front of me. Rainbow reached the top before me, her wings flying her up the flight and leaving me in the dust. Once again, nothing has changed about her since high school.
As I reached the top I saw a long hallway in front of me, one door at the very end where it turn right and another to my immediate right. The walls and floor seemed a lot more modern than the gothic look of the previous floor. The marble floors and wall reminded my a lot of Canterlot Castle, and it seemed to be lit a lot more than the previous floor did. It was a nice change of pace, but the sudden shift in architecture was a bit jarring and awkward.
“So… lets loop around and see what this place is last, what do you say?” Rainbow asked, putting her hoof on the door next to us.
“If that’s what you want to do I’m fine with it,” I told her with a shrug of my shoulders. “Though how do you know the two stairways connect?”
Rainbow didn’t respond, giving me a shrug of her own as she started down the hallways to the far door. I followed her to the end of the hallway, noticing the sign above the door that read ‘chemistry lab: please do not remove dangerous chemicals from this area’ on it. Looking inside, I was greeted with a large room which seemed to stretch to the very end of the back hall, half a dozen tables set up in front of me. The room was filled with dozens of different scientific tools that I did not remember the name of from school.
“Whelp, this is definitely a chemistry lab,” I started looking around. “I don’t think I’m really going to be in here at all.”
“Yeah ditto there,” Rainbow nodded in agreement. “I’m not into that egghead stuff, no matter how good I was at math and science in high school. Not surprised that you aren’t really interested as well.”
The Chemistry room was probably the one we spent the least to in, the only thing even worth our interested was the energy Doctor Hooves seemed to give off as he walked in. Obviously Monokuma made this room for ponies like him who loved these things. Both me and Rainbow left before he could see us, not wanting to take chances of being unloaded with information we couldn’t care less about. As we walked down the hallway at the far end of the castle we noticed that, indeed, another door with the same sign on it lead into the Chemistry Lab.
As we reached the midway point we found a set of stairs blocked off by yes another set of barbed wire. It quickly donned on me that he would do this after every trial that we completed, most likely so we didn’t use the same method of killing each time. The hall turned right, leading us to the other set of stairs lead up to the second floor. Halfway done this end of the hall was another door, and next to the stairs was a door probably leading to the same area the one next to the stairs on the left side of the castle did. I was rather surprised at how small the area seemed to be for being the second floor of a castle.
The first door we went through was the one halfway done the hallway, which lead to a rather dark room with a red carpet and velvet chair. A brick fireplace was lit with a couple of large logs that were located in a corner of the room, and some small tools that were too probably keep the fire maintained. Despite the lack of windows or light save for an end table and the fireplace, the room felt rather cozy and old fashioned. Kinda like a more comfortable version of the living room downstairs without the horrible stone walls. Obviously I wasn’t the only pony that seemed to think that.
“Sweet Celestia this is fantastic!” Rarity said, her eyes lit up light fireworks. “Now this is more like it. The comfort of the heat from the fireplace, the dim lighting, the victorian vibe, everything is just perfect!”
“I take it the room is to your liking?” Rainbow asked, Rarity’s response coming in the form of a cheerful whinny.
“How could I not find this to my liking?” Rarity replies, her eyes not able to get any larger than they already were. “This is what nobles live in, not some dull, boring, outdated stone relic of yesteryear. Everything looks so glamorous with the fireplace lighting it, and I absolutely adore the fabric of the chair and rug. Monokuma definitely got things right when it comes to the second floor. I could see me spend my entire time in both the library and here.”
“Library?” I tilted my head in confusion. “Is that what the room next to the stairs is?”
“You mean you haven’t checked it out yet?” Rarity asked, both Rainbow Dash and I shaking our heads. “Well, I think we should change that. Immediately. You haven’t lived until you see just how beautiful that library looks.”
Without even waiting for our argument Rarity took us in her magic and dragged us out the door with her. As she opened the door to the library she dropped us inside, our bodies free from her aura and Rainbow seeming… strangely disappointed. I decided to look away from the rather unsatisfied pegasus next to me and looked forward to the room ahead. It was definitely a library, the wall lined with bookshelves with a large chandelier akin to the one in the entrance hall above us.
“So… what’s so special about this libra-”
“Dee, please tell me you see it!” Rainbow shouted at me as she shoved a book on my face, myself completely unaware of when she even obtained it. “Don’t tell me that A.K. and Daring Do do not look exactly the same!”
Shoving the book away I decided to check and see what Rainbow Dash was talking about. The book she had picked up was a first edition of one of the very first Daring Do novel, Daring Do and the Lost City. It was the book that got me into the series, and one of my favorites as well, but that wasn’t what struck me as odd. What struck me as odd was just how right Rainbow Dash was about the authors resemblance to her character. You took away the glasses and cape, replace her hat with the one Daring Do always wore and you would get the exact same pony. That said, I had a very hard time thinking that somepony wearing glasses would do stuff like that, being what Rainbow described as an ‘egghead trait’.
“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence,” I told her, even though a large part of my brain knew that this was too much for a simple coincidence. “A.K. probably just used herself as a reference for the illustrator, besides I doubt someone like her would hide that secret from us.”
Everything I just said was to try and make myself deny it, but it was impossible. A.K. Yearling was a very secluded pony and not many ponies actually knew where she lived. For her to be as secluded as that and not have some connection to Daring Do herself was farfetched. It would explain what she said about her motive photo during the meeting two days ago, as I doubt it would be directed at her character and not herself. That must have been why her mane seemed so familiar because… A.K. must actually be-
“Hey, you there!” I heard Flash shout from the other end of the library, his focus past us and back to the door Rarity had lead us through. At first I didn’t see what he was talking about, but I suddenly made out the unfamiliar figure of a strange black pony with giant blue eyes looking through the door. “Hold it right there changeling!”
The pony, or changeling as Flash called it, suddenly bolted away as Flash started giving chase. Wondering what was going on, Rarity, Rainbow and I followed him out of the library just in time to see Flash tackle the changeling. Running up to him, we saw him holding down the poor thing with his hooves. Me and Rarity forced Flash off of their body, giving the changeling enough room to breath. None of us seemed to really understand what was going on, but it seemed like some form of bad blood was their between Flash and the changeling, or more likely the crown given his reaction.
“P-please, I’m not here to hurt you!” The changeling said as I scanned his body, my eyes resting on the strange holes that left his legs completely hollow. “I don’t even know where I am or what’s going on. Could somepony please just explain to me-”
“Don’t think you can fool me kretin!” Flash yelled in rage. “You changelings can turn into anything, which means that you must be that Monokuma thing. First you and your kind invade Canterlot and now you hold some of the most gifted ponies in Equestria into a killing game! No creature but the changelings would be so heinous but to do that. Am I right!”
“You know, most ponies greet each other with hello right?” Monokuma spoke from behind Flash, seeming to make the Ultimate Guard even angrier than he already was. “Yeah, crazy right? Fluttershy taught me that it isn’t right to act like you own the world when you greet someone, but I can’t blame some guard for getting that mixed up.”
“W-w-w-wait, what?” Flash stammered, his anger suddenly vanishing as he looks back and forth between Monokuma and the changeling. “So… this changeling isn’t the one keeping us here?”
“Well of course you idiot! He’s a substitution because I was left greatly unsatisfied by the execution! He’s a part of this just like the rest of you, and just because this is a killing game doesn’t mean you should treat him like a monster. Besides, I’m Monokuma, just Monokuma, and only Monokuma. Nothing could ever copy my oh-so lovable personality and style.”
The three next to me looked at Monokuma with a confused look on their faces, but I understood exactly what he meant. Trixie was still alive, having escaped when the execution occurred, and everypony else thought she was dead. The only ones who didn’t were me, Flam, A.K., Doctor Hooves, and Monokuma himself. My stomach dropped as I realized what that meant, knowing full well why this changeling was here. Monokuma was unsatisfied with someone escaping, so he put someone else in to replace them...
… wait a second. Did he just say Fluttershy taught him how to say hello?
“Well, now that this is done with, I need to go explain to the only nice pony here why I had to leave.” He said, leaving me the only one who truly understood everything that had just happened. Fluttershy, what in tartarus are you think!
“So, let’s make up for the rude greeting,” Rainbow said as she and Rarity turned back to the changeling. “Hey, I’m Rainbow Dash, the Ultimate Stunt Flyer and these here are Rarity, Ditzy, and Flash Sentry.”
“Oh, um, nice to meet you all,” He said. “I’m Thorax… and unlike the rest of you I’m not really all that special. I’m not an ultimate, just some infiltrator who was abducted from his hive for some reason or another.”
“Well if you are here than you must be an ultimate, everyone else is,” Rarity explained to him. “Perhaps changelings don’t have the ultimate thing like Equestria does, but you must have been special enough if Monokuma brought you here, despite how terrible that is.”
“Yeah I’ve… already been filled in by that weird bear thing,” Thorax explained as his gaze seemed fixed on Flash, who refused to look at him. “Of course none of you probably care about some weird bug thing like myself, considering how he reacted.”
“Flash is a member of the royal guard, what do you expect,” Rainbow said, shrugging as she turned to look at the Ultimate Guard. “Speaking of which, I think someone has to apologize for what they did.”
“If you think I’m going to say sorry to some creature that tried to harm the crown, your an idiot,” Flash replied, his tone seething with rage. “I won’t kill that changeling, not while I’m still a member of the royal guard. Celestia needs me alive, and so does the rest of Equestria.”
With that Flash walked off, leaving the rest of us to comfort Thorax who was feel more upset due to his words. I hadn’t expected somepony like the Ultimate Guard to act so… rude would be the nicest way to put it. Rainbow was furious at Flash for what he had said, but didn’t rush after him, instead turning to offer Thorax a tour of the castle. Rarity also left, saying that she hadn’t spent nearly enough time as she wanted to in the second floor living room. That left me alone, and with nothing else to do I turned back to the library.
As I entered the library for the second time I quickly picked up the copy of Daring Do and the Lost City that Rainbow had left on the ground. I looked to the pony on the cover, a light brown pegasus with a mane and tail that went through multiple shades of black and white. I wanted to ask A.K. Yearling about it, but it felt too personal. There was no doubt that the two were the same pony, but she didn’t want anypony to know that. Of course, the amount of enemies that Daring Do has made probably had something to do with it, as telling anypony about who she really was could make her an easy target.
“Ya noticed it too, huh?” Looking back to the door I saw Applejack looking at me. I didn’t expect her to speak to anyone after what happened during the trial, the look Flam had given her still clear in my head. “The fact that A.K. looks a lot like her own character, it’s not a hard puzzle to solve.”
“It seems everyone’s realized it, but that doesn’t make her suspicious.” I explained, remembering well how Applejack had acted during the trial. A.K., whether she was or wasn’t Daring Do, was not somepony we should be suspecting.
“Ah learned my lesson after the last trial, and that’s the real reason ah’m here,” She told me, taking off her stetson hat and bowing. “Ah wanna say sorry for how ah acted. Ah was so caught up in my own opinion that… nah. Saying that would be an excuse, and Flam was right about everything,” She hesitated, looking away as she finished her apology. “Even about why ah slept with him, though I would have rather he’d not brought it up.”
“Thanks for the apology, but I’m not the only one who's going to need apologizing to,” I reminded her as I put the book down on an end table. “Honestly, I probably would have acted the same if somepony told me I was wrong, which is probably why A.K. took control from me at the time… please don’t tell her we know about Daring Do!”
“Um, you're asking the wrong person to keep a secret, but ah’ll try if you really want me to,” Applejack said as she place her hat back on her head. “And ah’m well aware of how much I need to apologize. Flam’s the one who put me up to it, saying that it was the only way to make up for what happened. The stallion may be a Con Artist but he definitely knows what he’s doing.”
As she left I was once again left alone, and decided to spend the rest of my day exploring the library. The collection of books was pretty expensive, including everything from romance to nonfiction and plenty of other genres I’ve never really bothered to look into. It was clear that Monokuma liked his horror and mystery, those probably being the most extensive of the collections in the library. I’ve never been brave enough to touch a horror novel, and most of the time mystery novels go over my head. Still, it was clear just how much his love for those genres were, and it explained some things about how this killing game actually worked.
------- Chapter 2: Unfortunate Seventeen -------
Ding dong bing bong
“Ahem, it is now nighttime, which means that those of you outside or in the dining room better get in before I catch you. Having a great night’s rest with lovely dreams so that we can get back to business tomorrow!”
I never met back up with Flam, A.K., and Doctor Hooves, but they were all preoccupied with other things and had rescheduled are meeting for tomorrow. My thoughts went back to everything that happened, and more often than not my mind went to Thorax. The poor changeling didn’t even know why he was here, and it was all because of Trixie and Twilight’s plan succeeding that he is here. I made a note to tell him everything tomorrow, he deserved to know it after being unwillingly put into this game. That also meant that keeping him alive was essential, because Trixie would want me to, even if she had no idea he was here.