//------------------------------// // Together Forever, In Life and in Death - Deadly Life 1 // Story: Danganronpa vP: Harmony of Despair // by witegrlninja //------------------------------// "...got her..." "...bring her... need to find..." "...ammonium carbonate... N H four, C oh three... water..." "...Twilight... can you hear me...?" "...Twilight...?!" I smelled something incredibly harsh and acrid, immediately waking me up. In an instant I felt my head throbbing with pain and my eyes stinging from the light above. I groaned loudly and squeezed my eyes shut; Nurse Redheart sighed in relief as she set aside a bowl of smelling salts and began taking my blood pressure. "Ow... my head..." "Yes, you've got quite the concussion, I'm afraid," Redheart frowned as she reached for a bottle. "Here, drink this... it won't take the pain away completely, but it will get you up and running." I fumbled around for the bottle and eagerly gulped it down, trying not to recoil at the taste. Once I had finished it I dared to open my eyes - I was lying on one of the tables in the Chemistry/Alchemy Lab, on which a sheet had been hastily laid out. Flam was standing by my side, holding one of my hooves and gently stroking it in concern. "Up and running... shouldn't I be resting if I have a concussion?" I asked, thinking as hard as my headache would allow me to. "Usually, yes... but I'm afraid we've got a serious problem," Flam gulped. I opened my mouth to ask what it was- The memories flooded back. The darkness, the smell, the grotesque figure, the flayed body... "...The body!" I screamed, quickly sitting up, then lying back down as my head swam. "Yes... somepony's been murdered..." Flam said, slowly and grimly. "Rarity... where's Rarity?!" I panicked. "Pinkie?! The others?! Who-" "We're... not quite sure," Redheart grimaced as she mixed together some more potions. "Not... quite sure...?!" I parroted. "We haven't found either of them, as of late," said Flam. "Miss Dust is guarding the crime scene while Bulk continues to search the school for them... one look at the room where we found you, and he absolutely refused to be anywhere near it." Oh Celestia... that can only mean... one of them is...! "Wait, you found me? Where did you find me?! When?!" I demanded. "Twilight, calm down... there will be time to explain all that," Redheart chided as she set more medicine down beside me. "But... if somepony's dead, and everypony knows about it... doesn't that mean-" "Monokuma gave us the courtesy of letting you wake up before he'd announce the investigation's beginning," grumbled Flam. "You've been out for at least an hour, and missing for about twelve." ...Twelve... Twelve hours...? I've... we've been missing for twelve hours...?! My head felt light and I nearly fainted again, if not for Redheart shoving the smelling salts back beneath my muzzle. She then began administering a small parade of medicinal potions and pills to me, each one tasting awful but gradually making me feel better. Soon my headache dulled to an acceptable level, my dizziness and nausea disappeared, and I was assured that my near-future need to seriously concentrate would not affect my healing concussion. And just when I had taken the last of the pills... *boing!* "Aw, but I just redecorated the Trial Room!" Monokuma protested. I hiccuped at his sudden appearance, making my very brain pulse in pain. "Oh, but if you're ready to give a verdict now, I suppose I could save it for next time!" "What?! No! We don't even know for sure who has died yet!" Flam argued. "What are you even talking about?!" "...So you're gonna have the trial after all?" asked Monokuma. "Yippee! Oh, how wonderful! My flash of interior decorating inspiration won't go to waste!" "Just give us the bloody Files and be done with it, alright?!" snapped Flam. "Soooo, let's begin already! No whining, just begin already. Okay, I shall pass out the Monokuma File #5! ...This should start to feel familiar," Monokuma grinned as he handed out a total of six files. "Now then, do your very best to investigate! I'll see you later at the class trial!" And with that, he quickly excused himself from the room and vanished. "Alright, now we can begin our investigation proper," Flam huffed. "...Is it just me, or has he said those exact words before...?" Redheart's brow furrowed. Now that you mention it... that did sound oddly familiar... But that's not important right now! One of my remaining best friends is missing... the other is... is...! Tears began to well up in my eyes as the weight of reality dawned on me. But I shook them from my eyes and took a few deep breaths. No... I can't give up now... I can't give in to despair...! I have to find out who has died, who is still alive... and who killed one of my last best friends...! I have to do it... for their sake, and for the sake of everypony else...! I may have just almost died, myself... I can't let the others feel that kind of despair...! "I must... push through..." *Investigation Start* I opened the Monokuma File carefully, in case I would be met with the horrifying visage of that flayed body again. Thankfully, the image was of a generic pony silhouette, painted over with a hot-pink question mark. "The victim was discovered in a secret room behind the Mare's and Stallion's Restrooms on the 4th floor," I read. "The victim's skin and flesh was flayed from the body and the skull was caved in by a blunt object, thus rendering the body unidentifiable. The hooves and the left hind leg are also missing." The restrooms on the 4th floor... is that why they were so small...? "That's all, huh? I was hoping for more information..." Redheart sighed. "Yes... would have been a great boon to know which of the other two ladies were still living," Flam agreed. "You said I've been missing for twelve hours?" I asked. "What happened during that time?" "Ah, yes. You and Miss Rarity never returned from your search for Miss Pie," explained Flam. "We gave the two of you an hour before deciding we needed to join in the search. Lightning was convinced that somepony was going to wind up dead from this, so for brevity's sake, we resolved to split up individually in order to search the school as quickly as possible." "Normally this would be a terrible idea, giving a murderer free reign to act," added Redheart. "So we agreed we would meet up by the Gym on the first floor every hour, on the hour. That way, we could keep at least a little track of each other." "We searched the whole night straight for you two," Flam frowned. "Then finally, about an hour ago, I was searching the Physics Lab on the 4th floor... I discovered that one of the books on the bookshelf near the back of the room had absolutely nothing to do with physics. I pulled on it in order to look it over, but it pivoted outwards... and next thing I knew, the entire bookshelf slid to the left, revealing... well, a truly wretched sight." "I happened to be searching the 3rd floor, figuring out my own set of problems," said Redheart. "Flam came and got me as soon as he could... we found you chained to the wall in a secret room behind the bookshelf, and the... victim. I checked your vitals and found you were still alive, but unconscious... I told Flam to grab a blanket and supplies from the Infirmary and bring it to the Chem Lab, as it was imperative that you be treated for your injuries immediately." "It was really quite impressive watching her work," Flam smirked. "I've never seen a mare move so fast in my life, tending wounds, taking notes, mixing medicines, synthesizing smelling salts... it was a blur!" "Yes, well..." Redheart blushed and smiled slightly, rubbing the back of her neck. They didn't mention that creepy figure I barely saw in there... it must've left before it... could kill me... Why...? Maybe it heard Flam in the other room and it scared it off...? "I see... alright..." I breathed, taking everything in as much as I could. "You said you had your own problems, Redheart... what did you mean by that?" "It was a discovery made rather quickly into our search for you," she grimaced, her eyes betraying her usual stoicism. "On the 3rd floor, in the Biology Lab... the morgue had been opened." "Wh-What?!" I shouted, shivering violently. "Nine of the vaults were open... the bodies inside them were gone. Only some blood remained," Redheart swallowed. "I can only presume that some of them are in that secret room... or at least parts of them. There were far too many bits of flesh and bone in that room to have come from the flayed body... I even saw two skulls." "And unfortunately, since there was a Body Discovery Announcement just before Miss Redheart and I freed you from the chains... the flayed body can only be either Miss Rarity or Miss Pie," Flam mumbled queasily. I was struck speechless by this revelation... I couldn't even think of anything to say. The morgue... the bodies were removed...?! "...Well, we'd better make sure Bulk and Lightning get these," Redheart broke the silence as she held up three of the Monokuma Files. "Twilight, do you think you can walk now?" "Ah, I think so." Shoving many horrific images out of my mind, I gingerly rolled myself off of the table and stood up without much difficulty. "Let's get this to Miss Dust first... with any luck, we'll run into Bulk on the way," said Flam. ~ Redheart and Flam walked slowly by my sides, ensuring that they could lend me a hoof if I became unsteady. We made our way to the 4th floor, but as we passed by the Mare's and Stallion's Restrooms I froze. "...Did you guys hear that...?" I asked after listening for a few moments. A low groan was coming from behind one of the doors. "...I think it's coming from the Stallion's Restroom!" Flam shouted as he frantically tried the doorknob. But try as he might, the door refused to open. "Is it locked? Here, let me see that..." Redheart sighed as she gently nudged Flam out of the way, then bucked down the door with a powerful kick. "Goodness!" exclaimed Flam. I began to say that I'd seen Redheart do that before, but the noise that left my muzzle was a cross between a gasp and a yelp. Inside the Stallion's Restroom was Rarity, hanging her head over the sink. Her fur was a little dusty and messy, but other than that she seemed to be fine. Rarity! ...So... that must mean...! "Are you alright?" Redheart's usually quiet, level voice was shattered as she raced inside. Immediately, Rarity flinched and stuck her head under a stream of warm water from the sink's faucet. "Ow... please, not so loud..." she whimpered as Redheart began to take her vital signs. "I-Is... Twilight okay...?" "I'm right here," I sighed. While I was deeply relieved to see that Rarity was still alive, my heart was wrenching in agony... if Rarity was alive, that could only mean that Pinkie Pie - the Ultimate Party Planner - ...was dead. Not just dead... horrifically murdered. "We've been searching everywhere for you!" Flam gasped. "What happened?!" "Owowow... um..." Rarity paused as she tried to think. "...I was searching that Strange Room on the 5th floor... Twilight said she had seen Pinkie in there earlier, so we thought... but..." "But...?" I goaded worryingly. "...Somepony attacked me from behind... I lost consciousness almost instantly... I only just woke up a few minutes ago... where am I? What happened...?" "Somepony attacked me, too..." I gulped, my entire body trembling as I remembered my experience. "I woke up in a... a..." C'mon... I need to say it... I need to be able to say it... "...A torture dungeon." Rarity's expression changed drastically. "...A torture dungeon?!" she howled, her headache all but forgotten. "I... can't describe it any other way... there was a creepy figure inside, and a flayed body- oh, Rarity! Pinkie's dead!" My heart pounded in my chest, and I was close to hyperventilating as I rushed to her and hugged her tightly, sobbing into her chest. "Wh... What...?!" Rarity breathed in disbelief as her forelegs wrapped around me, tears threatening to leap from her eyes. "She's dead! She's been murdered!" I bawled uncontrollably. I nuzzled into her fur in a desperate attempt to soothe myself, feeling its softness and fluffiness against my cheeks, the wrinkles the folds of her skin formed and the surprisingly-taut muscles beneath her flesh. Flesh... no, don't think about it, Twilight... not until you get there... "Oh... oh, no... Pinkie...!" Her hold on me tightened, and we cried loudly together. I didn't even care that her entire head was damp with tepid water, I pressed it against my own as hard as I could. Oh, Rarity... Six of my best friends entered this school alongside me. Now only one of them was left. Only one of them was still alive. Overwhelming torrents of anger, guilt and fear washed over my trembling body... the harbingers of an unfathomably deep despair. I wanted nothing more than to give up in that moment... I felt in my very core that I would rather die than feel this way for the rest of my life... "Girls, pull yourselves together!" Redheart grunted loudly as Flam reached out with a gentle hoof on my shoulder. "I know how devastated you must feel, but if we don't get this investigation done..." "I'm afraid she's right..." Flam sighed sympathetically. "We'll all simply have to mourn later. Right now, our very lives are at stake!" "I... y-you're right..." Rarity sniffled, letting go of me. "Pinkie would want us to get to the bottom of this... she didn't deserve to die!" "R-Right... we need to keep going," I coughed, sniffling away my tears. Redheart then gave Rarity one of the three Monokuma Files, and we made our exit. "Oh, my! I was in the little colt's room?! How indecent!" Rarity paled as she saw the door on the floor behind us. Remembering that it had been locked, I checked the locks to see if it had been stuck. It wasn't so much as the door was locked, however, but that the lock was completely frozen in place by a clear, hard substance. "...Wonder what that stuff is...?" I muttered to myself. I made a mental note of it and caught up to the others. It only took a few moments to make our way to the Physics Lab next door. It was mostly the same as the last time I had seen it, except that the large bookshelf at the far left corner had been moved to the left, revealing the secret room. Lightning had moved a large machine of some sort between the bookshelf and the opposing wall so it couldn't slide back into place, and so she could keep an eye on the secret room's interior. As soon as we entered, a wave of relief washed over her face. "Oh, good, you're still alive... oh, you found Rarity, huh...?" her face fell. "...Guess that means now we know who that used to be, then," she gestured to the still-hanging body inside. "I'm afraid so," Flam sighed as he gave her one of the spare Monokuma Files. He then turned to me. "Miss Twilight... before we go inside the secret room, I feel I must warn you-" "I saw what was in there," my voice wavered as my legs began to shake. "Not a very good look, but... enough..." "You don't have to go in there," Lightning surprisingly suggested. "It's pretty fuckin' horrible... I can't say I blame Bulk for refusin' to keep watch." "...No... I have to." I trembled, but I took a deep breath and summoned all of my courage. "I need to if I want to be any help in the trial." "Well... suit yourself, then," Lightning shrugged. Ignoring my instincts, I commanded my legs to move towards the secret room, one step at a time. "If you feel like you can't handle it any longer, like a panic attack or something is coming on, just let me know," said Redheart. I nodded as I reached the edge of the bookshelf and slowly peeked around the corner. Now that it was exposed to plenty of light, I could see the full, gory extent of my temporary prison. The dried blood and bodily fluids smeared all over every surface, the chunks of meat and bone strewn about, the vast array of weapons and painful implements left around... it appeared as if one was never more than two feet from a knife, hammer or hatchet. And of course, front and center was the flayed pony - presumably poor Pinkie Pie. As if repelled by the sight, my eyes darted to the left where I had been chained to the wall, seeing the empty shackles still there, as well as a strip of leather with runes on it. Without thinking I channeled magic into my horn to levitate the leather strip towards me, not realizing the significance of the action until it was in front of my face. "...Oh! My magic came back!" I exclaimed. "When we found you in here, not only were you unconscious and chained to the wall, you also had that leather strip tied to your horn," explained Flam. "It has anti-magic runes carved into it... presumably so you couldn't use magic to escape." "I see... that makes sense," I sighed in relief. Being unable to use magic had been utterly terrifying, but it was thankfully only temporary. I examined the leather strip as it floated, turning it over in my magic, and yelping in surprise as I realized there was still fur on it... moldy, dim blue fur. "What's wrong?!" yelled Redheart. "This leather has blue fur on it...!" I shivered violently, letting the strip drop to the floor. Redheart's shoulders mostly relaxed, but remained tense. "I see... then it is as I feared. The deceased... our former companions... they were being stored in that morgue." "What?! Just what is in this-" Rarity shouted as she quickly turned the corner around the bookshelf and saw the crime scene for the first time. She didn't even finish her sentence - one look at the flayed corpse hanging from the meat hook and she instantly fainted, flopping on the floor like a rag doll. "Oh, dear... good thing I brought the smelling salts..." Redheart sighed as she took out a small bottle. Rarity had landed in an awkward position on the floor, her neck bent upwards at a grotesque angle. As Redheart bent down to pass the bottle in front of Rarity's nose, my eyes traveled unconsciously to Rarity's throat - it seemed as though she was missing a long, very thin strip of fur across it. Before I could properly focus on it, however, Rarity's nose twitched and she immediately sprang to her hooves. "Ack! Dear Celestia, was that really necessary?!" "Yes," Redheart deadpanned. Sniffling and rubbing her nose, Rarity then returned her gaze to the flayed corpse. "...So... this is Pinkie..." she moaned. "...Heavens, what did they do to her...?!" I swallowed hard as I forced myself to examine the body. The flayed corpse was less wet than the last time I had seen it, but now I could see just how desecrated it was. The frontal bone of the skull had been caved in by a large blunt object, revealing a sickly yellow interior pasted with brain matter. The eyes and ears were missing, as well as the hooves and the left hind leg. A gaping hole was ripped into the throat with what appeared to be teeth marks around it; a few of the latissimus dorsi muscles had been partially peeled from the back and obviously chewed on. A large meat hook pierced through the chest cavity from behind, suspending the corpse in midair. Despite not having eaten in twelve hours, my stomach imploded on itself. I bent over as I gagged and wheezed, tasting bitter bile in my mouth. I could hear Rarity and Flam just behind me doing the same, while Redheart's stomach remained ironclad. "In all my years, I have never seen a corpse in such a state..." she breathed instead. "...Who could have done this...?" Flam droned quietly. "I... a-are those teethmarks?! Did the killer try to eat her?!" I didn't want to consider that possibility. My brain flat-out refused to consider that possibility. We ponies... we are opportunistic carnivores, technically... but this...! Unthinkable...! Redheart bravely moved forward to examine the corpse, poking and prodding as respectfully as she could. In the meantime, Flam, Rarity and I managed to tear our eyes away from the grisly sight and began to search the room proper for evidence. It was foul, disgusting work, carefully turning over bits of spare flesh and bone in order to search thoroughly, but our diligence was soon rewarded. "Oh? What's this?" Flam asked as he motioned to a small panel of wood in the far left corner, so expertly hidden it nearly blended in perfectly with the wooden walls. His horn glowed as lime-green magic engulfed the panel, and it swung outward with a creak to reveal a dark tunnel. "A secret passage?" Rarity asked as she and I hurried over to investigate. The passage was short, but well-kept - and lying on the floor to one side was a small tube container of something. My own horn glowed as I extended a tendril of pink magic to grab the tube and bring it closer. "...It's superglue," I read. "Wonder what that's doing in here... shall we see where this passage leads?" asked Flam. Before either of us could give more of an answer than uncomfortable babbling, he crawled inside. "Ah, be careful!" Rarity gulped. "...Hm? That was quite short..." I heard another creaking noise and peeked into the secret passage - the total length of the tunnel was only maybe three feet at the very most. Flam had opened up another panel on the other side, and he was standing next to... "...A toilet?" I asked. "...Wait, that means..." "Isn't this the Mare's Restroom right next door?" Flam asked. He walked to the left, presumably out of the bathroom stall. A few moments later and he reappeared behind us back in the secret room. "It most certainly was! So there was another entrance to this room, I see." My body shivered as I recalled my brush with death. "...That thing... it must've entered through that secret passage..." "What... thing... do you mean...?" Rarity winced. I swallowed hard, almost choking on my own spit out of fear. "I was missing for twelve hours, apparently... during that time, I woke up in here, but it was pitch black and I couldn't use my magic... at some point I heard a creaking noise to my left and some... thing appeared." "The killer, I presume," said Redheart. "I... I-I'm not sure... I could only barely see it, but it didn't resemble a pony at all... it had way too many limbs, and spikes down it's back..." "Eesh... this just keeps getting more and more fucked up," Lightning commented from outside the secret room. "Ah... maybe it was... just your imagination...?" Rarity whimpered, terror in her eyes. "I don't know... but the last thing I remember before waking up in the Chem Lab is that thing standing above me and holding up a knife... I-I... I thought I was gonna..." Tears began to form in my eyes again as I relived those moments. "...No offense, but I wonder why it didn't kill you," Redheart glanced away. "You were completely helpless when we found you." That was true... I had never been more sure that those were to be my last moments alive, yet here I was. Had I been saved at the last possible moment? "Well... perhaps the culprit heard me enter the adjacent Physics Lab and decided to leave rather than risk being caught?" Flam suggested. "It would have been easy enough with this secret passage." "That was pretty fuckin' lucky, then," said Lightning. "Too bad there's no lottery tickets to buy in here." I took a few moments to regain my composure, then began searching the room again with the others. Having a hunch, Flam used his magic to try to pull at more sections of the walls, and soon discovered a panel in the near left corner. Pulling it aside, we found an identical secret passage that presumably led to the Stallion's Restroom. It appeared to be less-used than the other, still having a good amount of dust settled on the floor. Flam once again crawled inside to check where it ended, and once again found himself in the stall of the restroom. He walked to the right, and a few moments later he reappeared behind us. "...You're telling me I was that close to this horrid room?!" Rarity screeched. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, huh?" Redheart chuckled darkly. "This could have easily been a triple homicide." "Ugh..." Rarity wrapped her forelegs around herself and shivered. "Well... I'd say we've searched every bit of this room we could," said Flam. "And I've finished my autopsy," nodded Redheart. "This corpse is missing almost all of its blood." "Yea... don't think you have to look too hard to find it all," Lightning replied as she wildly gesticulated at the entire room. "Maybe... as far as the cause of death goes, however... I'm not sure," Redheart frowned. "There's no signs of rigor mortis, and I can't tell which of these injuries was the killing blow without flesh or blood to examine." "I see..." I grimaced at the thought. "We'll just have to search every other room in the school for evidence, then." "That's fine with me... I don't think I can stomach being in here any longer," whined Rarity. "We also still need to get this to Bulk," Redheart held up the remaining Monokuma File. "Hmm... seeing how you two were attacked last time you went searching together... Rarity, would you come with me to find Bulk?" "Of course, darling," Rarity nodded. "Then I guess it's you and me, Miss Twilight," said Flam. "Will you be alright by yourself again, Lightning?" asked Redheart. "Yep, I'm good," Lightning nodded once. "I probably don't have to say it at this point, but please be fuckin' careful, alright guys?" "Alright," I agreed. "...Let's go, then." ~ Flam and I carefully searched every room in the school. When we went inside the Biology Lab, I was horrified to confirm what Redheart had seen: nine of the sixteen morgue vaults had been opened, with nothing but a puddle of old blood left behind. Other than that, however, we found nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. We entered the Indoor Pool room, thinking that if Pinkie had been murdered in her new favorite place, there might be a clue left behind. I carefully studied the flagstone tiles on the floor, cast a spell on the pool water to detect blood, and searched the storage area for pool chemicals and the bathrooms thoroughly, but found nothing. "...Hey, Twilight..." Flam suddenly spoke. I turned my head to look at him, finding him in the shower area staring at the upper reaches of the walls. "What is it?" I asked, hurrying over to him. "Do you see that?" he pointed with his hoof: up on the highest reaches of the white tiles were a multitude of tiny rust-colored droplets, some connected in a spray pattern. "...It looks like it could be blood," I answered after a few moments. "Looks old, though. And why is it up there?" "It might be Miss Pie's... perhaps this was the original crime scene. Whomever killed her surely tried to rinse it all off with water from the shower, but maybe they couldn't quite reach the very top?" "Maybe, or they didn't even notice there was blood that high up-" *ding dong, bing bong* "Drat..." Flam hissed as the monitors buzzed to life, Monokuma appearing in his chair with a full wine glass as always. "The time for unparalleled hedonism... has come to an end!" he monologued. "Come! Now is the time to fight the decisive battle! The hostility of fresh blood! The insanity of a contest of wits! The class trial is finally raising its curtain!" "...You know, I think we've heard this before some time ago," Flam tilted his head. "Soooo... meet up where you know where to meet up! Once you're there, please proceed to the underground by taking the elevator. Puhuhu, I'll see you soon!" "Yea, I'm pretty sure he's repeating himself now," I furrowed my brow in thought. "Why, though...?" "Does he not have any more taunts programmed into his AI?" Flam asked as he moved to the door and held it open for me. "Seems strange to cheap out there, considering how advanced he is." ~ "TWILIGHT! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" Bulk shouted as soon as Flam and I entered the elevator room, flailing his hooves so much he almost dropped his Monokuma File. "NURSE REDHEART AND RARITY TOLD ME WHAT HAPPENED... HOW ARE YOU FEELING?!" "Surprisingly... not as bad as I thought I'd be," I mumbled through my teeth as I rubbed my ears gently. "Well, we're all here... now we gotta find out which one of us is the sick fuck who did that to Pinkie," growled Lightning. "She might've gotten on my nerves sometimes, but she definitely didn't deserve to go out like that!" "I-I still can't believe it..." Rarity shuddered, holding herself. "Nopony was as pure and sweet as Pinkie... who among us could do such a thing...?!" "Not just that, but the killer also broke into the morgue vaults and desecrated all those corpses... they may have hidden it away for this long, but somepony among us has a very dark, very disturbed mind," glared Redheart. "...I can't believe it's really one of us..." Flam sighed, disheartened. "We're all comrades in this horrible place... you're all great ponies at heart..." Flam's right... throughout all of our hardships here, every murder, every trial... we've all worked together, trusted each other... and survived. But now... one of us has not only murdered, but brutalized Pinkie Pie... "...We'll just have to talk it over in the trial," I swallowed. "I don't like the thought of finding out which of us did this any more than you guys... but we have to." Everypony sighed and stared solemnly at the floor, unable to look each other in the eyes. They were all shocked that one of us could do such a terrible deed... I was no different. Emotions churned in my wounded brain, filling it with doubt, suspicion and anger. My body felt frigid with grief and sorrow. Something besides my empty stomach felt like it was eating me from the inside, leaving nothing but a cold, hollow void in its place. "Twilight?" Redheart's voice broke me out of my trance. "If you need any more medicine or feel any pain during the trial... let me know, okay? I have it all right here." Her mouth formed the faintest of smiles before turning away towards the opening elevator doors. ...There's still so much good in each of these ponies... I must remember that... The smile on my face faded in an instant, however, as the others began boarding the elevator. My hooves felt like lead weights, and I wanted to ignore the elevator until its doors closed and it sank away. The weight of our situation was just becoming too much to bear... ...I have to do this. For Pinkie... for everypony who has died so far... and for those of us who are still innocent... ...But it's so hard... oh Celestia, it's just so, so hard... I followed the others inside the elevator, the doors closing behind me. I tried my best to push the thoughts of the body, the murder and the coming trial out of my mind as we began to descend. I wanted to pretend we were all good ponies for a little while longer.