Day Six.
There were ten students when this game started- In less than a week, it’s only down to four. Cozy Glow, Sandbar, Silverstream, and Ocellus. With everycreature getting closer and closer to losing the game, they still can’t put their finger completely on who’s the Mafia.
Although Sandbar and Silverstream knew each other’s roles, kinda secretly, the roles of Ocellus and Cozy Glow have yet to be confirmed by them- Whether they are the Mafia or the Angel is still a mystery they must solve. And quickly, too- They don’t have a lot of time remaining.
Especially... When their tribes’ trust is hanging by a thread.
Day 6:Daytime.
The four sat down at the familiar park, which they’ve gotten used to right about now. After all, things get kinda monotonous when you’ve spent the past six days in the same place.
“Girls,” Sandbar said, taking out his newspaper in his saddlebag. “I found this lying near Cozy’s room door. You might want to have a look.”
The filly was confused. “Wait, wha? Why did you steal from me?”
“This is important... Just read it!”
They all got close to read the paper- And what was written on it, gave them shock, despair, and sadness. After the meeting yesterday, the other leaders made a deal with Equestria- If this crisis goes on for 3 more days with no results, they will blame Celestia for planning the murder and planning the incident. War was coming.
And none of them liked it one bit.
“W-War!?” Ocellus was shocked. “On the pony nation!?”
Silverstream gasped. “Wh-My Queen may be declaring war? I can’t believe she’d do that! We’re all friendly tribes and we don’t want to hurt each other, right?”
Sandbar nodded, and he saw Cozy Glow being silent. He chose to ignore it. For now.
“*sigh* I already saw this coming,” Sandbar sighed. “I didn’t want us to be the reason of starting a world war. I wished that we could achieve peace and harmony with each other. I guess... That’s just not the case.”
Silverstream touched his shoulder. “Hey, Hey! Don’t say that! We’re still friends, the three of us, right?”
She winked at him. He smiled. Ocellus joined in on the hug, before realizing something.
“Wait...” The changeling said, deep in thought.
“What?” Sandbar asked.
They all turned their eyes toward Cozy. When the filly noticed, she was sweating.
“Wh-Why are you looking at me like that?” Cozy Glow asked. “I’m not the-“
Before she could finish, Ocellus finally understood everything. She stood up and cut her off.
“You’re the Mafia!”
The filly gasped. However, Sandbar and Silverstream didn’t show the same reaction, but rather standing alongside her. For the first time, everyone was on the same page, with the same target.
“Wh-What?” Cozy denied. “I-I didn’t kill anycreature! It’s not me!”
Sandbar finally connected the dots too. “Don’t lie, Cozy! It’s you, alright! You’ve been silent for quite a while in the game for what I know, and I bet you tried to avoid interacting with us during our quarrel just to cover your own role up, and not say something by mistake!”
Silverstream nodded. “I can’t believe you! Why would you have killed Yona, the witness? I’ve been watching you for a while, too- And I noticed something. You seem to be the least involved with our discussions. Whenever you do speak, you seem... A little timid and suspicious.”
Cozy Glow, who was only a filly, didn’t have the courage to stand up to the two.
“*sniff* Why are you all being like this? Why are you so serious?”
Ocellus stepped in, but with a more light-hearted tone at first despite what she had potentially done. “I haven’t been catching on so well, but recently, I’ve noticed. Yesterday, you wanted the full picture of the quarrel- Bad bluffing to try and cover your reason to leave the discussion. Also, yesterday, you’re the only one to question how two people got killed on the same night... Which makes me think you were confused how someone you didn’t kill also died. You also tried to get Apple Bloom’s trust to not blow your cover, and tried to escalate our quarrel to give you time to plot your plan!”
“You’re lying!” Cozy Glow rejected.
Silverstream shook her head. “No, we’re not. The biggest evidence of all- While I was sleeping, I knew the Mafia picked me and tried to kill me. But the angel must’ve defended me since I didn’t die. I heard a loud thud outside since the sound of you hitting my protection border jostled me awake a bit. I heard The Godfather. And I heard the voice of the Mafia as well. And the accent of her voice belonged to only one player.”
After so long, she finally pulled out her gun.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts,” She proclaimed. “The Mafia, is Cozy Glow!”
BANG
Through magic, she fired her pistol with a bang. It hit Cozy on the chest. And so, the filly dropped to the floor quickly.
However, rather than being happy that they’ve finally figured out her identity, the three were very depressed. Silverstream was especially crushed. She dropped her weapon and breathed heavily before the three rushed over to try and heal her. They immediately regretted what they had done. She wasn’t dead yet, but very soon.
“*cries* I’m sorry,” Silverstream cried, holding her. “I only wanted... *cries* I wanted to make sure my friends were safe...”
To her surprise, Cozy Glow smiled.
“Don’t be,” she said. “You three did it.”
“But...” Ocellus cried. “*sob* But you’ll die!”
“I’ll be alright,” Cozy said. “My master has told me, that bullet that I got shot with will only tranquilize me, but the effect will settle in a few minutes. Don’t worry, you didn’t do any damage to me. Save the talk later- I need to tell you all something.”
“What?” Sandbar asked.
Cozy Glow was about to close her eyes. But she tried her best to stay awake to pass on the message in secret. And The Godfather was coming. She couldn’t be seen doing this while he was watching.
“*grunts* The Godfather,” She said, “Is going to control me once I wake up from the effect. I don’t know what he’s going to do. He wouldn’t tell me. I can only say, you guys need to prepare for the storm- I can’t help you. You have to kill me once he controls me- The only way to stop him from dooming us all into total war!”
“N-No...” Silverstream cried. “*sobs* I won’t kill you! I can’t!”
Cozy shook her head. “You must! I’ll rather die than see my nation pick a fight with her friends!”
“B-But... *sniff* You’re our friend!” Ocellus said, hugging her.
“I don’t have time to bicker,” Cozy sighed. “Just remember, you have to stop me if I’m controlled...”
And with that, the filly finally passed out and the effect settled in. The three other students all stood up, after shaking her a few times to see if she could sense anything.
“Well...” Sandbar sighed. “At least, we’ve finally done it.”
The Godfather came to congratulate on their victory.
”Oho! What do we have here?” He asked, chuckling. ”Looks like you’ve finally figured it out! I’ll have to admit, she was kinda garbage at bluffing. I expected you all to figure her out sooner.”
The three looked down.
“Y-Yeah...” Ocellus sighed. “We did it. Yay.”
Silverstream brought her close with a wing and smiled.
“I suppose you know about the potential war, and I know the trouble I’ve put you through,” He said. ”Forgive me, the border would not deactivate its magic. The game lasted a lot longer than I intended, and I wished the war wouldn’t happen.”
“Okay, hang on,” Silverstream huffed. “We’ve won, But our friends are all dead! You expect us to forgive you for what you have done?”
”Hm, what do you mean?” He asked, twitching his eyebrows.
“What do we mean!?” Ocellus asked sarcastically. “We know who you are, we know you caused this, and all our friends are dead because of you!”
The Godfather didn’t understand what they’re saying.
”Don’t you all see? This was a game that I’ve planned. Of course, I would only ‘kill’ you all to frame the pony nation for supporting this school, the reason we’re here, at the brink of war. I’ll revive them in one way or another.” He said. “So that all of this will only be a distant memory... And no creature would use this to declare any battling.”
Sandbar shook his head, asking for more. “That’s not enough! At least, free us first!”
”Calm down, Calm down. I will disable the forcefield tomorrow. But you three have survived- And that’s all that matters. Now, I must return to my own plans and assist with making things right.”
And so, everything was over. The Godfather had officially, left them be. The forcefield will disappear tomorrow- And the three were beyond excited to roam free and return to their families. School will continue as normal soon- And Hearth’s Warming was right around the corner.
But most of all, they’re just happy to be alive.
The only bad news was that all their friends lost the tragic game- Time will be needed for them to be revived. So, the three can’t really do anything. Now that they don’t have to care about anything, the friends took a break from all the discussion and decided to do whatever they wanted for the rest of the day. And this time, it wasn’t because they were suspicious anymore. It was because they wanted to relax and forget about what happened.
Fun times fly like an arrow. It was sunset.
Ocellus And Sandbar looked over the view of Ponyville and Twilight’s castle next door, as the sun was slowly disappearing and made way for the night. The Changeling was very nice and she offered to help Sandbar to the roof of the building to see the view. They watched in complete silence, taking in the fresh air and the peace and quiet of dusk.
“Hey, Ocellus?”
“Yes?”
“This week has... Probably been the worst experience of my life,” Sandbar said, blushing. “I don’t think anycreature would ever forget this incident.”
Ocellus hummed in agreement. “It was mine, too. I’m willing to believe no one in our world will forget. It almost started a war!”
“I’ve been worried about it since day one,” He continued. “Hopefully we weren’t too late to stop them going rogue at us. I love this school, and I love my friends.”
He gave her a little rub on the head. She giggled.
“Aww, you’re sweet,” She chuckled. “I love my friends too, regardless of what they are. I know our tribes have been through some... Painful and hateful memories with each other. I’m glad I was still very young back then, or I would’ve come to the invasion. But ever since King Thorax rose to power... Things have been much better.”
The pony nodded. He definitely agreed with her words.
“That’s true,” He said. “The ponies and changelings were once very hostile to one another. We really hated you all after the Canterlot invasion, and to be honest... I did too at first. But, coming to this school made me realize... You’ve changed. And not just that; But I was greeted with so many new and unique opportunities to be pals with creatures other than my kind.”
Ocellus chuckled when he said he once hated them.
“You know what?” Sandbar asked. “I think I understood something from this experience, besides how terrible it was, of course. This was a test of our friendship- All of us. I know The Godfather didn’t plan this but it just seemed so fitting to think that way. Mafia, a game of trust, suspicion, and betrayal... It’s safe to say we weren’t as united as we think we were. We had quite a bit of quarreling. I’m really sorry about what you had to hear, Ocellus. My partner didn’t mean it.”
“I feel the same way, Sandbar. Silverstream went hard on you, didn’t she?”
“She did apologize to me that night.”
“Oh yeah, you told me,” Ocellus nodded. “By the way... You’re right. It really is a test of our bonds. It was putting us to our limits- How much are we willing to trust each other. We were full of suspicion for the past few days and I’m really sad it had to go this way. I hoped for a friendly solution- Like a chat or confessions. I didn’t want us to fight either, actually. And you didn’t either, right?”
He shook his head with a smile. Then they both started blushing.
“Sandbar... Can I come clean about everything I’ve been through?”
“If it’s about the game, I’m cool.”
She took a deep breath.
“You probably knew this already before today, but I was the angel the whole time. I desperately wanted to keep everyone alive but Gallus, the Doctor, sparked everything off. I would’ve protected you that night but The Godfather didn’t tell me. If I did heal you, perhaps we wouldn’t have fought. I really wanted to keep you alive, and I was so relieved when I never heard the Mafia kill you after your revival. But... *sniff* I made you so mad that day... I can’t forgive myself...”
He immediately hugged her.
“Don’t cry,” Sandbar comforted, smiling. “I’m glad you told me about it. And I’ll forgive you, always. I know seeing somepony you could’ve saved just go like that, is a terrible feeling and a real pain in the heart. But hey, you made up for it. It just didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to. I don’t blame you for not helping me come back. I’m just happy to see my friends again. You don’t have to be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
She sniffed and looked at him. He kindly helped her wipe a tear from the corner of her eye. Ocellus smiled and nuzzled him in the hug as he nuzzled her a moment later.
“Ocellus,” Sandbar said. “I know this isn’t the time, but... I... I’ve been thinking about you and dozing off in class a few times recently. You... You’re just amazing, being able to shapeshift into anything. I’m pretty shy, but I couldn’t help but always look at you.”
She caught on and gasped.
“Y-You...” Ocellus covered her mouth. “You have a crush? On me?”
Sandbar’s muzzle scrunched up in embarrassment.
“Y-Yeah... I-I do... I don’t know why, I just-“
Ocellus threw her hooves around him in pure joy.
“I do too, Sandbar!”
The pony gasped. His open mouth slowly closed and turned to a smile. His eyes closed, and they had a bittersweet hug. Sharing hums of joy, they each confessed their hidden feelings for one another. This tingled their hearts and both of them loved it.
“*chuckles* I still can’t believe it,” Sandbar laughed, squeezing his friend tighter. “I once hated your race. But... My first crush just so happens to be one of their kind.”
Ocellus laughed. “Haha, very funny. To be very honest, Sandy...” She winked and squeezed him tight. “I was never attracted to your kind, Maybe because of what happened. But you... I just have this sense that... We could be really great friends. It was fun meeting you and the rest of our buddies, and since then, I‘ve wanted to get close with you. Haven’t you noticed anything?”
“Hm?”
“Oh come on,” She giggled. “When I’m not with Yona or Silver, I always beg you to talk with me more and you have no problem with it. You and I are paired up together so often in activities. Most importantly, I seem to hang out with you the most after school. Hey, remember that time the six of us went to that amusement Park in Las Pegasus? We hung out for a long time on our own. Silverstream even thought we were dating!”
“Haha, of course, I remember,” Sandbar giggled. “That pesky, playful hippogriff.”
They looked at each other with a blush, and they’ve let go of the hug for a while. Neither one really wanted to speak- Both of them were equally shy. They did hold hooves by accident, but this only made them timider. The same goes with them sitting closer together. It was officially night at this point and under the stars, they couldn’t make their mind up about whether they should actually confess or not.
So Ocellus did the next best thing. As Sandbar started to doze off, she woke him up with the cutest way ever.
She kissed him.
“*gasp* Ocellus?” Sandbar asked.
She laughed while blushing. “Hehehe! Gotcha!”
Sandbar narrowed his eyes and faked a smile.
“Okay, my turn.”
He pressed his lips to her cheek. They both had a big laugh.
“I...” Ocellus smiled. “I love you!”
The pony had a big smile. “So do I.”
The moon shone proudly over the land- It was the perfect moment for confessions indeed. The two gave a big hug, some nuzzling, and nose-booping before they had the courage to really kiss. Ocellus wanted to change into a pony to make it more natural, but Sandbar insisted she kept her beautiful form like it was. They held a hoof, and they closed their eyes. A second later, the impact came. A few hums escaped their mouths as they gently pressed together. When the kiss broke, they sighed in bliss as they just stared at each other’s beautiful eyes.
And then, it was followed by a loud squeak.
“Awww!!!”
The two panicked and stood back-to-back and had a scream. But they didn’t need to worry- The one who did that was Silverstream. She poked her head out and flew up to join them.
“Heeeeeeeeey lovebirds~” She giggled. “Having fun, Sandbar? Ocellus, how’s the night? Hmm?”
“Silver!” They both yelled.
All three of them started to laugh.
“Sorry~” Silverstream said. “I just couldn’t help it!! You two are so cute!!”
Sandbar rolled his eyes. “If you Tell this to the others, you’re gonna regret it.”
“Well, you can’t really deny it, Sandbar,” Ocellus said, giving his right side a nuzzle. “Meanwhile, Hey Silverstream! Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?”
She shook her head. “I wanted to sleep, but I couldn’t- I went everywhere looking for you two! I thought you’re dead!”
The two looked at each other.
“Come on, it’s over!” Ocellus said.
“Yeah,” Sandbar followed, “And we can all go home tomorrow! You get to see your King, and Silver, I bet you’re super pumped to see your cousin again!”
She gasped. “Skystar! I almost forgot! Oh, how scared she must be, having me away from Mount Aris for so long!”
They all laughed and had a group hug.
“Well, this certainly has been one hellish week, girls,” Sandbar said, “But I’m glad the three of us are safe and sound- And we’ll continue to be close friends.”
Ocellus laughed, and Silverstream winked.
“We are too!”
It was midnight when they flew back down into the school and went to their dorm rooms, They were chatting along the way, but they were halted by a strange figure in one of the hallways. The figure, wearing a robe, was carrying her pistol with her, ready to kill.
It was the Mafia- She had returned!
“*sigh* Come on, Cozy Glow,” Sandbar moaned, facepalming. “We already figured out you’re the killer...”
She laughed.
”I’m not her anymore.”
“Huh? That voice...” Ocellus pointed out, “It sounds... Familiar!”
The Mafia nodded. ”You see, I’ve always been controlling her to kill all of you. I knew Cozy Glow wouldn’t kill, so I had to do this, just in case. Now... If we’re going to have war anyway... Might as well...”
She reloaded her gun. The three stepped back, and Sandbar told Silverstream to run. She hesitated, but she did so anyway. Finally, the Mafia decided to reveal the truth, even though it’s obvious now. She flipped up her hoodie to reveal her true identity.
“I’m sorry, you two,” Cozy Glow cried, before getting controlled.
BANG
Ocellus barely missed the bullet. She nodded to Sandbar. With no battle plan whatsoever, they just tried to charge at the murderer. The changeling was smart- She utilized her abilities to her advantage, to distract the Mafia, while Sandbar quickly slapped the pistol away.
”*gasp* You did not!” Cozy yelled.
She immediately punched him in the face and was swift on getting the gun back before Ocellus could. The changeling tackled her in pony form, trying to force her to give up. Cozy Glow was rapidly changing forms, screaming in pain.
“Ocellus! Stop! He’ll kill you! Just- *glitching* I dare you to try and kill my puppet! You students won’t escape war anyway!”
Ocellus didn’t know what to do. Sandbar, in the background, wanted to help her. Once again, he slapped the gun away. This sparked off a heated fight between him and Cozy- And neither of them wanted it in the first place, but they were forced to.
“*grunts* I can't hold on much longer, you know that!” Cozy cried, being squashed by the pony above her. “You must kill me! Grab the gun and just do it!”
Sandbar shook his head furiously.
“No,” He said, determined. “How can we just kill you, when you hadn’t done anything wrong? I’m not fighting with you- I’m fighting with your master.”
She glitched again. ”Then it will be a fight you’ll get!”
Cozy flipped over and slapped him hard. Sandbar gasped and slapped back. Seemingly having enough, Cozy Glow finally stomped on his body and fired the shot after retrieving her weapon.
“No!!” Ocellus cried in horror.
When she glitched again, it was too late. She had already killed him, again. Cozy Glow started crying and turned to Ocellus. The two wrapped each other in a tight embrace, crying together at what just happened.
“*sobs* I’m sorry... I’m so, so, sorry...” Cozy cried.
Ocellus nuzzled her. “It’s not your fault... *cries* Curse that Godfather!!”
In the midst of them crying- Something went absolutely wrong. Cozy Glow seemed to have changed forms again, and grabbed the gun, and shot her back!
”She Killed him. Blame her.”
Ocellus, shocked, dropped to the floor. Finally, Cozy Glow was left alone. The Godfather stopped controlling her.
“*scream* Master!” She yelled. “They’ve killed me once! And now, you want them to kill me again! That’s it! I’m done! I don’t want to carry on anymore with the plan!”
The Godfather smiled coldly from this naive filly.
“Alright,” He said. “But you’re going to have to leave, right now. I’ve allowed the passage of creatures through the forcefield. In 2 minutes, gas will fill the area and make you unconscious. The timer has started already.
“Wh-What!?”
”Save yourself- And don’t you dare try to save Silverstream. Leave her behind.”
“N-No!”
”Oh? Then I’ll shoot her.”
Cozy Glow, unable to see her friend die for nothing, sprinted across the hallways of the second floor fast and went down to the first floor. She had to take the long route- The Park was seemingly blocked by objects. Along the way, she couldn’t stop thinking about her friend- If she saves her, she’ll die. If she doesn’t, Silverstream will die. But she wanted to find another possible solution.
“Silver!?” Cozy cried as she was running around. “We gotta get out of here! Where are you!?”
Then, a voice caught her attention.
“Cozy Glow!? You there!?”
The filly gasped and went towards the sound. But she didn’t see her. She continued to run to the entrance, making sure nothing was behind to secretly attack her. Finally, it was only literally 10 seconds before the system will be initiated- But that was when everything went terribly wrong, and worse, it was right at the gate.
They weren’t paying attention to where they were looking. Cozy Glow and Silverstream crashed right into each other in fear.
“Ahhhhh!”
System Engaged. Producing neurotoxin gas...