//------------------------------// // ACT 1 START: Exploration // Story: Super Ponyronpa: Cacophonous Symphony // by TrackdNTraild //------------------------------// It's still taking a lot of effort to adjust to what just happened. Starlight still finds herself blinking as if trying to get sleep out of her eyes. This had to be a dream, right? She's still asleep somewhere else in Equestria, isn't she? That must be it, she must be back in her village fast asleep in her house. There was no way this was real. She used her magic to pinch herself, but the pinch hurt her. No, that can't be... She knew what that meant. "This is ridiculous!" Shining Armor finally broke the despair-filled silence. "There's no way that I'm going to commit murder just to be able to eat!" "I won't either!" Twilight spoke up with him. "I would much rather starve to death than have to harm another pony!" "Me too!" Applejack stomped her hooves on the ground. "Ah'll eat the grass on the campus if it means stayin' alive without gettin' somepony killed!" "We're ponies, we could do just that!" Double Diamond spoke above the crowd in agreement. "We don't need fancy foods like cakes and hayburgers, surely we can survive off of that!" The crowd gradually became louder as more ponies joined in to voice their disdain for the new rules. Starlight even felt herself agreeing with them, but as she looked through the crowd she noticed that not every pony was feeling the same. Few were still huddled in the background, their faces petrified and filled with tears. They didn't want to eat grass, but they didn't want to kill another pony either... Starlight picked up her tablet, turning it on and going to the rules page again... 'Rule #14: The killing game and class trials will continue until only two surviving students remain.' She felt nausea pool in her stomach again, and swallowed hard as bile tried to crawl up her throat. It made her throat hurt, but she didn't care. She didn't need to spoil their appetites any more than they already were. Then, she covered her ears as the sound of a microphone turning on was heard once more, and Philomena's voice echoed throughout the school. "My fellow ponies!" She cawed. "I would like to officiate that it is 6 pm! We officially have 4 hours left until it will be considered nighttime! Please use your first day on campus wisely, and make sure that you know where your dorm is before nighttime officially begins!" Her voice faded from the speakers, and the group was left in deafening silence again. "This bird is fucking crazy if she thinks we're going to adhere to these rules!" Rainbow Dash cursed as she set her tablet down and stepped on it. She didn't break it, because she knew what would happen if she broke that rule, but it truly looked like she wanted to. "We may as well listen to what she has to say though," Twilight sighed, adjusting her wings on her back. "If we're going to be stuck here just like the rules say, then we need to know our location. Let's look around this building now that we're inside, we may find new things." "Should we split up again?" Starlight asked. "That would be a good idea," Twilight answered. "We're a full group now, so let's split up evenly. We can split up in groups of 4. We can all decide our own groups." "I'm happy with our group from before, Twilight," Shining Armor nodded to his sister. "Alright." Twilight smiled to the stallion. "That'll be me, Shining Armor, Sunburst, and Trixie in one group." "I can take Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash again," Starlight spoke up before another pony could. "But, we still need a fourth member." "I'll join," Double Diamond waved his hoof and walked to stand beside Starlight. "So Starlight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Double Diamond are in the next group," Twilight nodded to the ponies. "Everypony else?" "I like my group too!" Pinkie waved her hooves in the air. "It waaaas me, AJ, Rarity, and then Cheese!" "Alright, that just leaves Party Favor, Feather Bangs, Prince Blueblood, and Doctor Whooves," Twilight pointed her wings to the ponies. "You all need to do your part too." "Whateves," Feather Bangs said dismissively as he ran his hoof through his mane. "So should we meet back here once we're done exploring?" Party Favor inquired. "Same rules apply as before," Twilight hummed. "We meet back at the starting place when we're done exploring, and share our information. We'll meet here in front of the stage and staircase when we think we've explored all that we can. Now that we're in groups, we need to decide where to go." "Twilight, there were a few things on the map that we didn't look at," Shining put his hoof on Twilight's back. "But they're outside. Should we still go look at them?" "We can, but we should be quick," Twilight said. "We should still put our focus on the inside since it's brand new." "It's just one location, we can be fast." Sunburst adjusted his glasses as he spoke. "It doesn't sound like there's going to be anything inherently 'mind-blowing' there anyways." "I'd like to explore the dorms," Starlight stepped forward to make her decision. "Like Philomena said, we need to make sure that we know where our dorms are before nighttime. We can't be caught sleeping outside because we don't know which dorm is ours." "We can check the lounge at the back," Applejack piped up. "It looks like it's connectin' to the garden, so we can see if the door's opened up." "I suppose we can check this 'trial room' then," Prince Blueblood decided to chime in. "We might as well get familiar with the location if we do end up having to conduct an investigation in a few days." "Ay, don't jinx us man," Feather Bangs bumped his elbow against the stallion's side. "We ain't gonna have to use that room. We got grass to eat and fresh dew to drink. We're gonna be just fine." "Hmph!" Prince Blueblood stepped to the side, holding his chin up. "Well, I for one hope that we do! I would much rather let the 'blackened' get away with the crime if it means I don't have to eat like a common cow." "We'll look for your clues at the crime scene then," Trixie hissed at the stallion. "You seem like just the pony who would kill another for their own gain!" "As if I would ever dirty my hooves in such a way!" The prince scoffed. "Every pony, please quit fighting!" Twilight stepped between the two ponies. "We have more important things to do than sit around and argue! I don't care what you think of eachother, we can't let Philomena think she's got the better of us! We don't need to hate eachother this early on!" "Hmph!" Trixie snorted and returned to standing with Shining Armor. "Let's get going then, the Great and Powerful Trixie does not need to deal with common pests." "Common?!" Prince Blueblood hissed. "Trixie!" Twilight glared at the unicorn. "That's enough! Let's get going!" She flapped her wings and carried herself into the air. She began flying off to the entrance of the building, and let the unicorns follow in behind her. "The audacity," Prince Blueblood quietly cursed to himself. "Shut up," Party Favor jabbed his horn against the stallion's side. "You heard what Twilight said, and she's right. We need to try and calm down and focus on the task at hoof. Let's go to the trial waiting room and see what we can find." Prince Blueblood finally fell into silence, unhappily agreeing with Party Favor's statement. He turned on his hooves and began walking to the waiting room with the other ponies following in behind him. "Let's get to that lounge," Applejack nodded to her group. "We might be able to find somethin' out about this place. There could be some books that've got some good information in em'." "Let's go!" Cheese bounced from hoof to hoof. "And even if the books don't have anything, at least we've got good reading material!" "True that!" Applejack laughed as she began walking behind the staircase. The two party ponies hopped after her, with Rarity trailing behind. Doubt and concern was still written on her face, but she tried not to let it show too much. "Let's head to the dorms." Double Diamond tapped Starlight on the back to draw her attention. "At the very least, we should explore our own dorms." "I've got an idea," Fluttershy spoke up meekly. "W-we can go into our own dorms, look around and see what there is to see... t-then we can come into the hallway a-and talk about what we found? I-it would be rude going into somepony else's dorm..." "I agree with Fluttershy," Starlight said with a smile. "My dorm might even have some clues about what my Ultimate talent is, and that would be helpful." "Let's go then, we don't have all day!" Rainbow Dash flailed her hooves impatiently, and began flying off to the dorms. Everypony else trotted after her. As they reached the dorms, the first thing they noticed was the nameplates on each door. "Each dorm is labeled," Double Diamond pointed out. "We should be able to find our dorms easily." "On the map, they're organized by stallions on one side, and mares on the other," Starlight explained as she opened the map on her tablet, and focused on the dorm layout map. "Double Diamond, your dorm is the first one on the stallions' side." "I see," Double Diamond looked behind them and noticed his dorm. "I'll start exploring, and I'll wait outside for you all to get done." He didn't wait for a reply before he walked to his dorm. There was a keypad beside each door, and a scanner. Double Diamond lifted his hoof and put it on the scanner. After a moment of scanning, the door opened up, and the stallion disappeared into his dorm room. "Rainbow Dash, your dorm is the third on this side," Starlight said as they went down the other side of the hallway. She and Fluttershy stepped out of the way when they reached the dorm. Rainbow Dash landed on the ground, and scanned her hoof on the scanner. "Oh, sweet!" Her eyes sparkled as she saw her room. She ran inside and shut the door behind her. Starlight wasn't curious enough to try looking inside. "Ours are at the end of the hallway, yours is the very last one," She said to Fluttershy. Once they got to the end of the hall, Starlight used her magic to put her tablet away. They scanned their hooves on the scanners, and entered their rooms. Starlight flinched as the door shut behind her, but she decided to focus on her room. The room reminded her of her old room in Sire's Hollow, but less... full of cringe. It looked much more comfortable, and this shade of blue was somewhat comforting. She walked to the bed, putting her hooves on it. It was felt like it fit her size perfectly, and she was pretty excited to sleep in a bed instead of on the ground. She looked around the rest of the room, taking notice of the space theme. Stars were scattered around in the shape of her cutie mark, and comets were all over the wall and ceiling. If she didn't know any better, she'd think this room was intended for Princess Luna or Twilight. The carpet was a bright white, and covered in light blue and yellow stars. She moved her hooves through the carpet, watching it make shapes under her. She noticed the nightstand, and pulled it open with her magic. Inside the drawer were some booklets with word searches, and a pair of reading glasses. She felt herself blushing at the revelation she needed reading glasses. She shut the drawer and looked in the nest. Her eyes sparkled at the contents; kites, and kite making material. Well, at least she could have some fun while she was in here. Maybe she could share some kites with the other ponies. She shut the drawer again, and sighed. She wished the dorms had windows; she would love to get fresh air at night. She didn't think there was anything else important in the room, so she decided to leave. Another scanner was inside the room, probably a security feature. She scanned herself to open the door and exit the room again. Double Diamond waved to her from across the hall, and trotted over; it seems he finished early too. "How was your room, Starlight?" He asked. "Comfortable," She hummed softly. "What about yours?" "It was cold, which I appreciate," He laughed. "It seems they've got custom air conditioning for me. It's a completely different temperature in that room than everywhere else. If anypony but me was in there, they'd be freezing I bet." "It's that cold?" Starlight snorted. "Okay, well, I'll make a note to never go into your dorm." They sat down at the entrance to Starlight's dorm, waiting patiently for the other two ponies. It didn't take long before Rainbow Dash emerged from her dorm, and flew over to the two ponies. "Oh let me tell you, my dorm is sooo totally awesome!" Rainbow Dash clapped her hooves. "It's just like my bedroom in Cloudsdale! Wonderbolts posters, awesome pictures of me, and they even have a full collection of Daring Do books!" "Huh, I never took you as the type to read, Rainbow Dash," Double Diamond teased. "I'm not an egghead, I just want to make that very clear," She countered. "The only books I really read are from Daring Do. You should totally read them sometime, I'd be more than happy to lend them to you." "Once things are more settled down, I just might take you up on that offer," The stallion laughed. "I've never read a Daring Do book." "You've never read a Daring Do book?!" Rainbow Dash covered her mouth in awe. "You're missing out! She's the most awesomeest, coolest, most amazing adventure pony in history! She kicks butt and collects treasure, and she does it all by herself! She's so cool!" "If you like her so much, why don't you marry her, Rainbow Dash?" Starlight snorted. "Hey!" Rainbow Dash pouted, crossing her hooves over her chest. "If you read the books, you'd react the same way!" "Oh, I have," Starlight nodded a few times. "And I can't blame you, she is pretty cool." "See?" Rainbow Dash landed by the ponies, and sat down. "Anyways, where's Fluttershy? Is she still in her dorm?" "I guess so. Her dorm is right next to mine." Starlight pointed to the door beside them. "She shouldn't take too much longer." As soon as Starlight said that, the door opened, and Fluttershy stepped out. "O-oh, did I keep you waiting l-long?" She rubbed her leg nervously. "No, it's alright," Starlight said as she stood up. "We weren't waiting long. We all just got done ourselves." "Since we've explored our own dorms, should we consider this place done?" Rainbow Dash tilted her head. "I think so." Starlight nodded. "Let's head back to the staircase, and we can share what we've found out with everypony else. We've still got a lot of time before night falls on us. We can keep talking while we wait for everypony else." The group nodded in silent agreement as they began walking back to the staircase to wait for the other ponies.