Morning came once again. I mentally checked myself, noting that I felt just as distant from the deaths as I did yesterday. Whatever had happened to my emotions, it seemed as if it may have been permanent. I sat in bed for a few minutes trying to piece together the few clues I had to go on - an unknown traitor, emotional manipulation bordering on the impossible, this terrifying and bizarre killing game... but no matter how I looked at it, I could not find an answer.

Sighing, I got up from bed and went to the cafeteria. I grimaced as I looked over my breakfast choices; while plentiful, perfectly innocuous and edible, being trapped here had sapped much of the flavor from the food. Finally choosing some oatmeal with a tiny jar's worth of strawberry jam lumped on top, I sat down and ate. Soon the others joined me, and the cafeteria became abuzz with light conversation.

Breakfast ended without incident, and many of the other ponies gradually left to entertain themselves for the day. However, as I sipped my coffee, I saw that Discord and Pinkie were still close by, huddled together as they planned their surprise.

"There's a delightful-looking tea in the third cabinet, the Juniper Green? Use that, it's one of her favorites," he winked.

"Okie doke!" Pinkie nodded. "First, though, I'm gonna take a nice after-breakfast nap, then I'll go pick some fresh fruits and veggies to use from the back!" She patted her belly full of pastries for added emphasis.

"Fine with me. Just remember - three o'clock, Third Floor classroom!" Pinkie nodded again before getting up and bouncing away, presumably to her room. Discord smiled and left as well. I myself couldn't help but grin... while my friends and I weren't surprised that Fluttershy was the first to truly befriend Discord, nopony could have ever known he would come to cherish her as much as he did. And as far as I could tell, the feelings were mutual. It was a small, but bright glimmer of hope in this otherwise dreadful prison.

Wondering how I should spend my day, I wandered the grounds. Eventually I found myself in the Wood Shop, of all places. Flam was busy cutting some pieces of wood into thin gear shapes, apple-green magic enveloping each one to make them as sturdy as metal. At his table sat more wooden bits and pieces, presumably for a machine he was building.

"Ah, Twilight!" he grinned. "Capital, I was just thinking of asking for your assistance."

"Behold, my latest creation!" he pointed to the assortment of wooden mechanical parts. "...Alright, I'll admit it's hardly a creation in its current form, but soon it shall be a device that creates a hayburger out of any inorganic material you put into it!"

"Really? But that's... that would actually be very useful," I replied, wide-eyed. "Alteration spells can only do the same with organic materials, and Transmutation only works with inorganic materials, after all... it would be a breakthrough in magic theory! But something like that would require all kinds of enchantments - matter reorganization on an atomic level being one of the most difficult."

"Ah, but that is where you come in, my dear!" Flam smiled. "Usually, I have my brother to help me out with the spellwork part, but seeing how I have a true magical genius in my company..."

Oh, Flam... usually flattery will get you nowhere with me, but if you're actually willing and able to explore Archmage-level magic...

~~~

Flam and I had a long, magically-complex conversation about his plans. What he was attempting to accomplish was a feat of magic even Starswirl the Bearded had been incapable of!

...Come to think of it, such magic has been theorized, but impossible up until now... this isn't another hoax of his, right...?

~~~

"Oh, did I tell you?" During a lull in our conversation while cutting more wooden machine parts, Flam wiggled his eyebrows. "I gave miss Applejack that little present the other day."

"And? What was her reaction?" I asked. Flam's grin morphed into a more pensive expression.

"Well, she seemed pleased enough, thanked me when she took it... but that was all. She just... walked away right afterwards."

"I see," I hummed in thought. "...To be honest, Flam, she's never really been one for... romance."

"No, not like that..." I put a hoof to my chin as I thought back on Applejack and I's friendship. "...It's more... I don't think I've ever actually seen or heard her express an interest in a stallion. Any stallion, for that matter."

"...None at all?" Flam seemed flabbergasted. "But a mare as lovely as herself, surely she's had many a suitor try their luck!"

"Ah... a couple, maybe? I do remember somepony named Trenderhoof following her around like a lost puppy during that one Ponyville Days festival... boy, was Rarity jealous," I chuckled. "...But AJ was very clearly not interested in him at all."

"Uh... mostly he just followed her around and thought everything about farming was sexy. Why?"

"Is that all? Egads, no wonder he got nowhere with her," he recoiled in disappointment. "Well, not that I would've done the same, but now I know what not to do around her. I have far more than that in my repertoire!"

"You... wait, you're not gonna ask her on a date or something, are you? Because-"

"Yes, I can see it now!" Flam stared off into space in determination, his eyes sparkling. "A charming little picnic by the gardens, she'll be sure to like that!"

"Ah, miss Twilight, thank you so much for your assisstance! I should start my preparations immediately!" His machine plans all but forgotten, Flam quickly stood up and trotted out of the Wood Shop, leaving me alone, bewildered, with a partially-assembled contraption sitting in front of me.

...I was trying to say... I'm not sure she's even into stallions... at all... oh, well.

Abruptly abandoned, I set Flam's wooden parts in a corner and left to wander again. At first I had the inkling that I might see if Pinkie needed any help preparing for Discord's surprise, but as I glanced at a nearby clock it read 2:51pm - she would very likely be finished by now.

Shrugging, I continued my stroll. After a while I found myself in the gardens behind the school. Coloratura was sitting under the false Zap Apple tree, enjoying the shade.

"Hi, Rara," I answered, trotting over to her. Sitting beside her on the wraparound bench was a pitcher of ice water with lemon and cucumber slices inside, and she was holding a glass of it in her hooves. "What'cha doing?"

"Just enjoying the view," she waved her foreleg vaguely around. "Care to join me?"

"Sure!" I popped a glass into existence with my magic, poured some water and sat down.

~~~

Coloratura and I talked for a while.

~~~

"...Would you look at her go," Coloratura sighed wistfully, staring out into the gardens. Wondering who she was talking about, I looked as well. In the distance, Applejack appeared to be weeding, throwing them into a big pile.

"Even when it's somepony else's garden, she can't help herself," I chuckled. "Guess she really is the Ultimate Farmer."

"I wonder... if I hadn't gotten my Cutie Mark for singing, I wonder if we would've stayed together... friends all these years...?" she hummed thoughtfully. "You know... not moving away to Manehattan and all."

"When she first heard you were coming to Ponyville for that charity concert, she talked about you like you always were," I replied.

"Aww... did she?" Coloratura smiled. "Oh, Jackie's such a sweetheart!" I nodded in agreement. "...Did I ever tell you, she attended my first ever concert?"

"Well... it wasn't anything special. Just in the Canterlot Theater... maybe a third of the seats were filled? I was so nervous... I kept thinking that maybe my singing wasn't going to be a hit, and I'd get booed off stage. But when I peeked out the curtains, I saw her... Jackie, sitting right in the front row! With her by my side, I wasn't worried anymore. So I got out there and sang... by the time it was over, the theater was maybe 75% filled, and the audience was raving! They loved it!"

"Yea... I looked down and saw Jackie applauding too, she looked so proud..." Coloratura sighed. "...I gave her tickets for my next concert, this time in the Canterlot Opera House, but she couldn't go, the Zap Apple harvest was due to begin within the week. Then the next time was when the eastern orchard needed to be harvested, and the time after that, she had to deliver a shipment of apples to Cloudsdale... she wrote to me afterwards to apologize and said that she was so busy, she'd let me know the next time she had the time to go. That was around the time I moved to Manehattan permanently, and then shortly after that, I lost her letter..."

"That sounds just like her," I shrugged, shaking my head. "AJ's always had the tendency to get carried away with work. Sometimes my friends and I have to literally drag her away from Sweet Apple Acres just to have lunch together... I'm sure she always wanted to go to your concerts."

"You think so?" Coloratura smiled hopefully. "Hmm... maybe I'll give her a private concert while we're here... I'll sing just for her. I'd... love to hear what she thinks..." I soon noticed that her eyes were half-lidded, and a blush blossomed on her cheeks. "I, uh... I even once wrote a song while thinking about her. Maybe you've heard it before? It's called 'Apple-Scented Summer'... my fans always said it reminded them of their childhoods, or of happier times."

"Ah... well, if you dedicated it to her, I'm sure she'll like it," I encouraged.

"Yea... I think she will, too." Coloratura smiled again, then stared back out into the gardens, watching Applejack heft a large rock out of the dirt and toss it aside. Looking out of the corner of my eye, I could see her blush again, a little more strongly.

As Applejack finished gardening for the day and went to her room for a quick shower, Coloratura and I parted ways. I returned to my own room for a short while, passing the time until it was time for supper. The scent of food was especially tantalizing this evening as I entered the cafeteria. Pinkie was busy cooking, tossing the contents of multiple frying pans into the air with ludicrous speed and precision while Applejack gathered platters and bowls for serving. Rarity was talking with Coloratura and Flam at the main table, Bulk was asking Nurse Redheart about an extra-extra-strength-squared protein supplement, while Lightning tried to tell Bulk that she was pretty sure that wasn't how math worked. Fleur was sitting by herself as usual, smoothing her hooves with a file and looking generally detached and displeased by everything around her. All in all, a normal dinner setting.

"You sure did pick a lotta crops out there," Applejack noted as Pinkie began carrying out the various dishes.

"I wanted to make sure Discord's secret tea party for Fluttershy was perfect!" Pinkie grinned widely. "Ah, now that it's happened already, I can finally talk about it!"

"They are a rather cute couple, huh?" agreed Coloratura. "Odd, definitely, but cute!"

"THAT DISCORD IS A LUCKY GUY!" Bulk shouted happily. Off in her corner, Fleur groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Well, hope they didn't spoil their appetites, 'cause this here's a lotta food," said Applejack. Everypony got a plate and began to serve themselves. As I ate I glanced at the clock... it was only a few minutes past six, perhaps the two lovebirds were doing... stuff.

I talked with my friends and eventually finished my plate. I happened to glance at the clock again as I went back for seconds... it was now 6:40pm.

"Hmm... I told them not to overdo it on the snacks, they should've been here by now," mused Pinkie.

"True, they usually ain't ones to miss out on supper," agreed Applejack. As soon as she finished her sentence, while everypony else was focused on their food or their conversation, Pinkie's entire body suddenly began to shiver. Her eyes widened in a combination of confusion and creeping dread.

And as I had learned and reluctantly accepted years ago... Pinkie Sense was always perfectly prophetic.

"Uh... I'm gonna go check on them. M-Maybe they fell asleep or something," Pinkie gulped, standing up.

"I'll go with you," I hastily stood up as well. "I overheard you guys talking about where they would be."

"Great! Thanks, Twilight," she smiled, seeming almost entirely unconcerned again. While the others remained behind, Pinkie and I made our way to the lone classroom on the Third Floor of the school.

We walked in silence. I had expected, even hoped to hear Discord and Fluttershy talking as we approached. As our hoofsteps drew closer to the classroom door, Pinkie's body trembled more and more severely, and she soon struggled to even walk.

"Boy, I sure am jittery..." she giggled nervously. "Maybe I didn't eat enough sugar today?" I glanced over to her, knowing that she was hiding her terror. We both hoped that our two friends were just fine, that we'd just be interrupting something between them.

At last we stood in front of the door. Pinkie knocked as gently as she could manage, but her tremors turned the knocks into loud pounding. "Guys? Guys, it's 6:45, you're missing dinner! I made it special just for you two!"

There was no answer. Hoping for the best but fearing the worst, I grabbed the doorknob.

"Wait, Twilight! Maybe they're in the middle of something, if you get my drift!" Pinkie frantically hissed.

I stood in the doorway, frozen by what I saw. The desks had all been pushed to the back and front of the room, leaving a clearing for a single table and two chairs set in front of an open window. The table was decorated with a pink and white-plaid cloth, and on top of it sat an assortment of light snacks on silver platters, a tea set and two saucers, one with the teacup sitting on it, the other shattered on the floor in a puddle. At first glance, it would've made for a cute little high tea date...

...except for the fact that Fluttershy's face was frozen in terrible agony: her lips and eyes a deathly blue, her mouth billowing with red-tinged foam, her front hooves discolored and clutching her throat. Discord sat across from her, his torso slumped over the table. His right paw lay outstretched towards Fluttershy, the skin around the claws turning an ugly purple. His wide, glazed eyes stared at her, and his blue lips dripped with bloody foam onto the table.

My vision swam and darkened. I felt drool begin to pool in my mouth, and I struggled not to vomit at the sight. Images began to flash in my mind, of my friends, of all the good times we spent together... they mostly focused on two of them.

Pinkie screamed behind me, snapping me back to reality. No matter how harsh or cruel it was, it was a reality I now had to face.

Discord and Fluttershy... Ultimate Chaos and Ultimate Animal Caretaker... both of them were dead.

Danganronpa vP: Harmony of Despair

by witegrlninja

Bloody-Pink is Not Your Color - Daily Life 3