//------------------------------// // Prologue: School of Despair 1 // Story: Danganronpa vP: Harmony of Despair // by witegrlninja //------------------------------// Ow... my head... I wanted to keep my eyes shut forever, or at least until this headache went away. Why did it hurt so much? Although, by the time that thought had graced my mind the pain had begun to subside. Once the throbbing had reached a minimum I slowly opened my eyes. Everything seemed normal enough; freshly-cut grass lay beneath me, the sun above was warming my body, and I could hear indistinct voices in the distance. ...Maybe... I just fell asleep? But as the haze of everything came into focus... I had to wonder if I was still sleeping. ~Earlier~ The sun was barely peeking over the horizon as my alarm clock blared, but it still reflected enough light to brighten up the crystal room exponentially... one of the few downsides to living in a magical crystal palace, I suppose. I groggily groaned at being so rudely awoken, but shrugged it off as my magic deactivated the alarm. Today was going to be busy, as always. I showered, I had some breakfast that Spike prepared for me, and I even had enough time to rearrange my collection of coffee table-worthy books before I left. I wasn't going too far, since my passion project, the School of Friendship, was just next door. I grabbed the key to the front doors in my magic, and as I unlocked them to open the School for the day, I felt that today was going to be especially wonderful. However, as soon as I crossed the threshold, I felt really woozy... and really sleepy... ~Present~ "Twilight? Twilight..." I heard Rarity's voice much more distinctly than anything else. Turning to my right, I found her sitting beside me. "Oh, good, darling, you're awake," she exhaled. "Everypony else has been wandering around for about twenty minutes now." "Everypony else...?" I blinked a couple times to focus, then blinked some more. The School of Friendship sat close by, except... it looked very different. Gone were the waterfalls and pools that surrounded it, as well as the hillside behind. It sat squarely on the ground, surrounded now by finely-manicured lawns and a pair of paved walkways leading towards the front doors, lined with ornamental trees on both sides and down the middle. In the distance, the entire place was surrounded by dense, dark forest. Even more strangely, there were large, blocky monitors with speakers festooned around the property at varying intervals, as well as numerous video cameras set up as if to record every possible movement one could make here. The cameras were decorated with spikes that resembled Unicorn horns just above the lens... an odd design choice, if I had to guess. Various ponies were scattered in a few groups. Some were at the front doors, banging on them in an attempt to go inside. Others were flying up above, and a couple more were about... five-hundred feet away? One group was closer than the other, so I picked myself up from the ground and walked towards my School's front doors. "Oh! Are you sure you should be up already?" Rarity yelled as she hurried after me. "You were unconscious, after all!" "I'm fine," I waved my hoof, paying full attention to the ponies at the doors. Applejack was busy trying to yank them open, while Pinkie Pie was readying her party cannon and Fluttershy was taking a few cautious steps back. And... hey, what are Bulk Biceps and Fleur de Lis doing here? They're not students... "Ah, Twilight," Fleur was the first to notice me. "Good, now perhaps you can explain the meaning of this?" "Meaning of what?" I asked as Applejack stepped aside from the doors. My horn and the locks lit up with magic as I tried to unlock the doors, but even though I felt the pins move, the locks just outright refused to open. "Huh... that's odd, I can't open my own doors." "WHY AM I HERE?!" Bulk shouted, which was his typical voice. It didn't suit his current body language of being curled up into a trembling, very muscular ball. "I GRADUATED FROM SCHOOL YEARS AGO, IS THIS SOME KIND OF NIGHTMARE?! ...OH NO! I FORGOT TO DO MY BOOK REPORT, TEACH! I'M SORRY!" "Shh... it's okay," Fluttershy moved to soothe Bulk, gently stroking his head. "You can do it later." BLAM Bulk and Fluttershy screamed in unison as Pinkie's party cannon exploded its contents at my school's doors, the cake, streamers and confetti having no effect other than making a mess. "It's weird, Twilight!" Pinkie said as she hurriedly scooped the mess off the doors and back into the cannon. "Applejack and Fluttershy and I each walked into the school to get our classrooms ready for the day, but then we suddenly felt sleepy, and then we woke up in the lawn! Except there shouldn't be a lawn there, that's where the pools and water features were!" "I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M HERE. I WAS STILL IN BED SLEEPING!" Bulk added. "So was I," Fleur agreed as she rubbed her right ear with her hoof. "Not to be rude, but I should be in Manehatten this very moment getting ready for a photoshoot! I don't have time to waste with grubby little children here!" ...They're not grubby... sure, a couple of them might rough house a bit, but they're not grubby... "And why in Tartarus are there cameras everywhere?! What kind of secret voyeuristic crap are you running here?! "Ah, yes, of course," I stuttered as politely as possible while completely ignoring her last outburst, feeling that it would be easily resolved with my next sentence. "Well... I mean, nothing's stopping you from just leaving now, is there?" "Are you blind?" Fleur snorted, waving her hoof in the air. "Haven't you noticed? None of us can leave!" "Eh?" "She's right," Applejack piped up as she walked toward me. "Some of us tried to look around once we realized the School's surroundings had changed, but there's a barrier of some sort keepin' us all in the general area." "It's bouncy!" Pinkie chirped, skipping over as well. "There is?" I looked upwards and all around. Sure enough, barely visible in the distance and sunlight, an iridescent glow surrounded the School in a perfect sphere, in what I estimated to be five hundred feet in radius. Behind me, I could see other ponies at the edge of the barrier, probably trying to break through. I should have a look at it. Besides, if anypony has the best chance to break through, it's probably me. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Fleur whined indignantly as I flew off towards the other group, with Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie behind me. I looked back at Fluttershy, who was still comforting Bulk the best she could. Hopefully Fleur doesn't direct her rage towards them. ~ As we approached the edge of the barrier I found more familiar faces, some more unexpected than others. Rainbow Dash was trying her hardest to break through, hurling herself at the barrier as fast as her wings could carry her, only to bounce right off and ricochet in some random direction. To my utter shock, Lightning Dust, Rainbow's self-proclaimed "rival for life" was doing the exact same thing. Below them, Trixie, Nurse Redheart and Flam of the FlimFlam Brothers sat and watched. "GAH! ...It's no use," Rainbow came to an abrupt stop in midair and panted. "This thing just won't pop!" "WHY. WON'T. YOU. FUCKING. BREAK?!" Lightning screamed angrily, punching the barrier. She then glared daggers down at the others. "Hey, you assholes could help, ya know!" Trixie lazily levitated a bucket of popcorn away from Flam and stuffed a hoofful into her mouth. "Mm... nah, the Great and Powerful Trrrixie! ...Is perfectly entertained just sitting right here." "Besides... barrier magic isn't exactly my specialty," Flam replied as he levitated the popcorn back over to him. "I'm more of a... shock and awe kind of pony!" "And I'm just here to make sure you two idiots don't hurt yourselves too much," Redheart grumbled. Rainbow was about to take another shot at the barrier when we made eye contact. "Oh! Twilight! 'Bout time you woke up! You were really out of it for a while." "This is your stupid school, isn't it?" Lightning sneered. "Is this barrier your fault, too?" "Course it's not her doing!" Rainbow snarled at Lightning, before I could even react. "Twilight wouldn't trap us all in here for no reason!" "Feh... I bet this is some bullshit attempt to 'reform' me, isn't it?" Lightning continued. "Well you can fuckin' forget it!" "...Aaactually, reformation isn't so bad," Trixie shrugged. "...You, however, need reformation in more ways than one..." "What was that, you blue bitch?!" Lightning bellowed as she flew within inches of Trixie's face. Trixie glared right back, while Flam simply commandeered the popcorn bucket for himself. Meanwhile, Rainbow flew down and hovered next to me. "Ugh... she's not really here for reformation, I take it?" she asked. "I don't even know why she's here," I muttered, shaking my head. "Or why even half these ponies are here. But I guess this barrier has something to do with it." "Oh, yea! Some of the other Unicorns here have tried to dissolve it with their magic but it didn't work. And I sure as heck can't force my way through, though the bounciness is kinda fun." "I see..." Focusing my mind on finding out the origin and strength of this barrier, I poured my magic into my horn. Pink light flared out of the tip in the shape of a cone and illuminated a small part of the iridescence. Thoughts entered my mind as magic morphed into synapses within my brain; the source of the magic was unfamiliar, matching nothing I had ever encountered in my studies. The strength of the magic was also at an intensity almost insurpassable - utterly overwhelming to most Unicorns, and possibly even a challenge for my own mentor to handle with her own. But I am not "most Unicorns". I'm not the Element of Magic for nothing, after all. "Hey, quit fuckin' around! I ain't got all day!" Lightning shouted, momentarily breaking my concentration before Trixie crammed a wad of popcorn into her mouth with her own lavender magic. Even with her mouth full she continued to growl muffled obscenities as I scanned the barrier for weak points. But whoever had cast this barrier spell had ensured the weak points were well hidden, even to a pony like me. Maybe it didn't even have any. I would just have to brute-force it, then. My eyes narrowed as I focused my magic into a tiny point, intending to pierce the barrier with my next move. Calling upon my vast mana stores, exponentially improved by my Alicorn physiology, I aimed right in front of me and fired a searing, laser-like blast. It struck the barrier with explosive force, and yet no sooner than my magic had made contact, the spot where it connected glowed for an instant before firing my own blast back into the sky at an upwards angle, dissipating into nothing after traveling about fifty feet. Everypony gasped, myself included. Lightning Dust kind of made a choking noise. ...W-Wha? My magic didn't break it? How?! In disbelief I fired three more quick shots, then took a moment to charge a fourth before firing it. All had the exact same effect, although the fourth one survived slightly longer than the rest before fizzling out. For the first time since waking up here, I was... slightly concerned. "I said quit fuckin' around! I'll thrash your entire stupid school into the ground if you don't let me go!" Lightning threatened after spitting out the popcorn. She began to fly towards me with one hoof cocked back for what would probably be a really painful punch but Rainbow quickly blocked her path, catching her punch harmlessly with her own hooves. "Don't you fucking dare," Rainbow glowered, speaking slowly. Lightning only scowled and let out a low growl in return. "I... I don't know what to tell you," I sighed. "I can't break it, either." "Th... That's impossible!" Rarity breathed. Pinkie Pie hurled herself at the barrier, bouncing forcefully but harmlessly off as if it were a bouncy castle instead of a shimmer of strange magic. "I know! Usually I'm immune to the plot and can transcend space and time, but even I can't do anything about this!" she giggled. Oftentimes, this would usually send me into an existential crisis for the rest of the day as I tried to comprehend the magic of Pinkie Sense, but this time I let it go. There were clearly more important mysteries to solve at the moment. Or, maybe I simply needed more power to break the barrier. Rainbow did mention there were other Unicorns, anyway... who else is here? "Maybe there's another way to get through," I suggested. "I haven't looked behind the school yet." "Maybe so," Applejack nodded. "You guys go on, then," Rainbow waved. "I'll keep trying... hmm, maybe if I can get enough speed for a Sonic Rainboom-" "That... will probably not end well," Nurse Redheart warned. "Heh, that'd be a great ending for me," Lightning snickered. Rainbow glared at her in response. "Even at her worst, the Great and Powerful Trrrixie did not wish death upon her foes..." Trixie muttered. "...Maybe just a little bit of maiming, but still..." she added in a barely-audible whisper. "Quite so, quite so," Flam simply nodded in agreement. ...Riiight. I hope I can find a way out of this for everypony here, if only to prevent a fight from breaking out. ~ With Rarity and Applejack beside me, I followed the barrier to the left until I reached the grounds behind my school. More forest lay beyond the barrier, while the hills that were once behind the building were replaced with three large gardens divided into even plots of land. Closest to me, taking up the third on the right side of the school were rows of countless types of vegetables, then the middle third was made up of grains, and the furthest third from me was full of different fruits. "Wow! Lookit all this food!" Applejack gasped. "Whoever put these here at least made sure we've got a good variety." Indeed, along with more conventional types of produce, there were many different kinds of rare crops mixed in: amaranths, agastaches, beans the size of snakes in both length and width, ruby-petaled buckwheats, pink dandelions and crimson clovers, delicate flax blossoms, lush heads of speckled lettuces, endless bunches of sweet and bitter herbs, purple sweet potatoes, purple peas, carrots and corn ears and tomatoes in rainbows of colors, white blackberries, black raspberries, cherries, oranges, pears, plums, figs, and...! "Well, would'ya lookit that! They even got a Zap Apple tree here!" Applejack pointed to a tree bearing rainbow-colored, apple-shaped fruit in the distance. "...Wait a minute, why is there a Zap Apple tree here? Mah family's the only ones who can grow 'em." "That is strange," I mused. We cut through a walkway between the back doors of the School and the gardens on our way to investigate the Zap Apple tree more closely, ignoring the eerily blank monitors and slowly-following cameras as best we could. As we grew near, we found that the tree was in the center of the fruit garden, surrounded by a wraparound bench. But the pony who was standing on the other side of that bench was another surprising face to see here. Coloratura was reaching up towards one of the fruits and tugging on it. "Wha... Rara? Is that you?" Applejack jogged slightly ahead of us, probably the most surprised to find her old camp friend, now a wildly-famous pop singer here. "Oh, Applejack!" Coloratura released her grip on the apple as she hopped off the bench to give her old friend a quick hug. There wasn't a hint of her usual pop star persona in her voice or mannerisms, seeming as confused and worried as everyone else had generally been. "Well, seeing you here, at least now I know I'll be alright, wherever I am." "It's good to see you again, sugarcube," Applejack grinned for a moment. "But what in the hay are you doin' here?" "I have no idea," Coloratura frowned. "Last I remember, I was headed back to my place in Las Pegasus after my show, but I fell asleep in the carriage... then I woke up here." "Just like the rest of us..." I thought out loud. My mind was already swimming with possibilities of why this was happening. Why were all of us here? What happened to my school? "The rest of us?" asked Coloratura. "Yes, darling, the others are all at the front of the building," said Rarity. "Oh! Well... this isn't like some kind of mass-foalnapping, is it? Good thing I got foalnapping insurance just a little bit ago..." "You can get that?" asked Applejack. While I focused on the dilemma at hoof, Coloratura then began to explain to her old friend the certain precautions that only the most famous of ponies would ever have to deal with. First my friends, some of the townsponies, some famous ponies and a couple of troublemakers... why? Do we all have something in common? "Ah, it's an imitation." "Huh?" Rarity was standing on the bench, examining the Zap Apple tree more closely. "Made of enchanted resins, dyes and cloth... Still, whoever made this was exceptionally talented," she continued. Well... that was one mystery solved. ~ Applejack and Coloratura caught up as we walked around the barrier back to the front of the school. Neither Rarity nor I found any sign of a weakness in the barrier, nor did we find any possible way to escape it. I could sense that the magic extended beneath the school and the surrounding grounds as well; it was a perfect, impenetrable sphere. But just as I began to lose hope that this would be resolved quickly, I noticed that the other ponies had gathered around a very welcome sight in the middle of the walkways to the front doors... well, two, actually. "Ah, there they are!" As Nurse Redheart pointed in my direction, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna turned to see us. Just seeing my mentor's warm smile made me feel so much better about the situation; I couldn't help but flap my wings and hurry over to her side. "Celestia!" I cried out as I embraced her tightly. "Twilight..." Looking up at her face, though she smiled gently at me, I could see the worry plaguing her mind just as much as it did mine. "I'm so glad you're alright." "And now maybe we can finally leave this ugly little eyesore," Fleur snorted indignantly. "Such wasted time, here... I need a good, stiff drink or three now to calm my nerves..." "Do you think you and Luna can break the barrier?" I asked hopefully. "Or maybe the three of us together? I haven't had any luck myself, nor have I been able to find any other ways out." "We've just tried, I'm afraid," Luna spoke. "Neither my sister nor I are able to break the barrier, either." "Wha..." My eyes went wide as I choked down a gasp of utter shock. Princesses Celestia and Luna were two of the most powerful beings I had ever known! If... If they couldn't break the barrier, either... ...What kind of creature... who would have magic this powerful?! "Discord, this little stunt of yours has worn exceptionally thin!" Luna suddenly shouted at the sky. "We demand that you cease this tomfoolery at once!" Her order was met with only hushed whispers from the crowd. What? Discord? But... he's our friend! We've been friends for years! Surely he wouldn't- "I, too, wish to cease this tomfoolery," a voice suddenly boomed from a nearby bench. Everypony's attention turned to the bench, soon finding a Draconequus-shaped figure sitting on it, arms crossed and perfectly blended into the scenery. However, the sulking Discord then stood up, his camouflage of wooden bench slats and grass remaining stationary on his body, breaking the illusion. Then, in a chaotic fashion as he was often wont to do, he vigorously shook his body as if the camouflage was wet paint, the colored droplets then turning into confetti as they fell. "You!" Trixie growled. "Are you the reason we are all trapped here together?!" "I knew you couldn't be trusted," Lightning readied herself for a fight. "Let us out or I'll kick your fuckin' ass!" "Lightning, no-" "Lightning, yes," Rainbow cut off Nurse Redheart with a smug grin, placing her hoof over her muzzle. "I'd love to see how this'd turn out." "Hmm... tempting," Discord mumbled as he contemplatively stroked his beard. "But, even if you did last more than an instant against me... I can't," he shrugged. "What?! Why?" Luna coughed. "This is not my magic," Discord demonstrated by snapping his claws, to no effect. "Furthermore, whatever magic is holding us here is keeping me just as put as you all are. I can't even step one foot into another universe at the moment... and honestly, I have an appointment to keep with a certain stick-in-the-mud on a starship this very moment, so whoever is doing this, stop it!" He grumbled and complained gradually louder, his frustration growing. Not being able to teleport freely wherever or whenever he wanted was clearly gnawing at his sanity, or lack thereof. Meanwhile, my own worries were growing at a dizzying pace. This magic was very clearly the work of an extremely powerful creature. My own magic, the Princesses, even Discord was powerless against it. I couldn't even get inside my own Friendship School in the case that the barest hint of how to get out of this situation lay within somewhere. And why were we all here? Why was my school moved to the middle of a forest? Why are there so many non-students here? I felt like I was in the middle of solving a jigsaw puzzle, only to realize that half of the pieces had been replaced with pieces from at least four different puzzles! What was the solution? Think, Twilight, think... ding dong bing bong I was freed from an endless loop of my own thoughts by the sound of a school bell. At first I wondered if it was just a stress-induced hallucination, but the others turned their heads in the direction of the sound as well. "Oh? Whatever could that be?" Flam was the first to ask out loud what everypony was surely thinking. Before anypony else could speak, a strange voice echoed out from every speaker in the area, though the attached monitors remained blank. "...Hello? Testing... testing... mic check, one, two... Alright, seems like everything's working! Phew." It was a voice unlike anything I had ever heard in my life. It was... robotic, unnaturally cheerful and nonchalant. I didn't realize it at the time, but something about that voice... my blood ran cold as I processed what it was saying, and my breath hitched in my throat. "Now, I'm sure you're all extremely confused about your current situation... waking up in a strange place with no way out, freaky, huh? But do not fear, just follow my instructions and I'm positive you'll feel a little less lost!" The voice continued on, way too pleasantly for my liking. Its inflections, its unseen mannerisms... its very existence just felt so... wrong. Like a venomous bite from a manticore, as you feel the poison traveling up your spine and paralyzing your nerves, or like feeling your muscles flash-freeze into burning ice after a glare from a cockatrice, or like a miscast spell turning you to ash from the inside out. So wrong. So... hopeless. "Everyone, please make your way to the school entrance! Once you're all here, I'll be more than happy to get this little party underway! Toodle-loo!" And just like that, the voice stopped. It was a few moments before I realized I needed to breathe, and I clumsily gasped in my next breath. "Uh... what was that?" Coloratura asked nervously. "Probably what's trapped us here, if I had to guess," Rainbow reasoned. "Oh... what's going on? What's gonna happen to us...?" Fluttershy shivered, trying her best to hold back her fearful sobs. "I DON'T LIKE THE SOUND OF THIS," Bulk yelled/said, visibly shaking and chattering his teeth. In unison, he and Fluttershy suddenly grabbed and held on to each other for support. "Neither do I, sugarcube, neither do I," Applejack gulped. "But they mentioned a party! We should go check it out! Nothing bad ever happens at a party!" Pinkie yelled. "Fuck the party, I just wanna know whose ass I gotta kick to get outta here," Lightning slammed her front hooves together. Fleur nodded her head in displeased agreement. "I don't see any other options, then," Celestia spoke boldly. "Let us go and meet this villain. Sister and I will ensure that no harm comes to any of you, my little ponies." Luna nodded in agreement. "Hey! What about me?" Discord coughed. "I'm... still mulling that over," replied Luna. Though he grumbled in response, I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. As we walked with trepidation towards the front doors of the school, I only needed to glimpse my companions beside me to calm myself. I mean, even in the face of danger, I knew that deep down, my friends and I could handle anything. ... ... ... ... ...If only I knew then just how wrong I was.