DANGAN RONPA Equestria: The Elements of Hope and Despair!

by Nyte-Blade


Ch.2 Epilogue

Once more, another one of us received capital punishment...

Once more, the atmosphere is filled with despair.

Damn it...

Once the execution ended, I heard an audible splash close by.

I turned my attention to the source to find that Pipsqueak was doubled over after vomiting...

“Oh... T-t-t-that umm... that wasn’t that bad!” Tiara... you’re not convincing anypony with that facade.

Ginger had her head turned away from the monitor. “...It’s over, right?”

“Yeah... it’s done... Twist is dead! She didn’t have to die like that!” Snails cried.

Suddenly, I heard the growl of a vicious dog preparing to attack.

The moment I turn my attention to the source of the sound, I felt a the force of ten stallions press against my face with all their might. Of course I’d fly, spinning towards the wall with all my might.

Before I knew it, I was on the ground after slamming against the wall, unable to process what was happening.

The angry stallion before me decided just who should be on the receiving end of all of his anguish.

With every left and right, each strike came at me non-stop.

“Alright fatass, that’s enough!”

Grace shoved Truffle away and helped me up. “Hey, you alright Blue Snooper?”

Ah, this must be what I get for directing suspicion onto Twist.

...This kinda hurts.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Haven’t you learned that revenge isn’t worth it?” Monobear asked after a sudden cackle. “Your monster girl committed a murder and got punished for it! You should be happy she let you live just a little while longer! She very well could’ve won this game!”

“Let me guess, you gave us the Luminol technology because Twist tried to commit suicide, right?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Ding-dong! You’re right! Without it, you bastards would be buttered up and toast!” Monobear answered.

Terrible analogies aside, and as much as I’d hate to agree, Monobear has a point...

“Hmph! Snips tried to escape his execution too. I’m not really shocked or anything.” Tiara turned her head away while twirling her hair.

“Besides, didn’t I tell you? Friendship is despair... and I just learned today that love and tolerance is despair too!” Monobear looked disappointed. “Good thing I’m a bear!”

“What the heck does that have to do with anything?!” Snails asked.

“Because there’s no such thing as love for bears! With that, I bid you all goodnight! Sweet dreams ~ !”

And there he goes...

“Wish you’d just hibernate forever...” Pip muttered, as he steadily got back on his hooves.

“You should’ve hit us instead...” Sweetie Belle meekly turned to Truffle, which got his furious attention, but Apple Bloom immediately stood in her way.

“No, hit me instead! Ah’ wanted to talk to Twist! Ah’ wanted to see if she’d still wanna join us! Ah’ wanted us to be friends again! It’s mah fault!”

Truffle growled like a bloodthirsty hound, “Oh, but she relied on Shady’s penchant for vengeance! She probably got the idea when you guys talked about it! And if Shady never wrote those articles...!”

I still don’t believe that I wrote those...

“What...?” Snails asked. “But Twist had a cutie mark! That’s kinda weird, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but... Twist was mah very first friend. Before Ah’ met Sweetie Belle n’ Scootaloo, Twist was mah very first friend. But we stopped talkin’ when she discovered’er talent back when we were lil’ fillies. Ah’... Ah’ was jealous of’er. Ah wanted mah cutie mark too, and Ah’ was happy to find friends who wanted the same thing. Even now, Ah’ don’t wanna die without knowin’ mah place in this life.” Apple Bloom confessed as the tears rolled down her cheeks. “She trusted us... and we...!”

“Should’ve thought about that before wanting a cutie mark just for that. Isn’t talent just a means for society to control our future?” Scootaloo asked, then shot a glance at Rumble.

“Is wanting a talent such a bad thing!?” Sweetie Belle intervened.

“Hm?” Scootaloo focused that hate-filled glare on Sweetie Belle.

“We want to discover what we like to do; what we’re good at, what we’re meant to do. That’s why we looked for cutie marks in the first place!” Sweetie Belle followed up. “That makes me just as guilty as Apple Bloom! That’s why you’re angry with us, isn’t it?!”

“It seems you fail to understand the bigger picture... oh well. I’ll calm down if Apple Bloom can beat some sense into me. If her ideals are stronger, then we’ll have status quo again. Otherwise...” Scootaloo pointed at Apple Bloom.

“What in tarnation’ you talkin’ about!? Beat some sense into you!?” Apple Bloom asked, thrown off by the sudden challenge.

“I mean just that. I want to fight. You’ve never been in a fight before, have you?”

Scootaloo, I wish you wouldn’t wear the grin of a murderer when challenging your friend to a fight...

“.........” Apple Bloom sighed, “Alright! You got it!” A quick reply...

“Apple Bloom?!” Sweetie Belle widened her eyes, trying to find what to say to her.

“And I thought avenging your crumbling friendship would make your bond stronger... was I wrong?” Rumble asked.

“You’re just as much at fault!” Sweetie Belle seethed.

“But I crushed their friendship for your sake... to atone for poor wording when I chose to converse with Scootaloo. But it seems she’s made her choice.” Rumble gave his usual cool smirk.

“Get out!” Sweetie Belle hissed.

“Fair enough. But before I leave, I have a question about Twist: She may have tried Murder-suicide, but how did Twist survive?” Rumble asked.

He has a good point. If Twist was really hit by the harvester just as the dynamite went off, her injury would’ve been a lot worse, logically thinking.

...

“If Dinky woke up and attacked Twist, what if she realized what she had done and threw Twist out herself?” Ginger asked.

“You mean... Dinky saved her?” Sweetie Belle asked, appalled even further at the possibility that Dinky’s efforts were in vain...

“Of course. In such conditions, you’d think saving anypony would be impossible, but aren’t the underdogs the ones to break such expectations?” Rumble asked, happily expecting an answer.

Her title... SHSL Underdog.

Guess it makes sense... a last ditch effort to save a mare, who in the end, didn’t want to be saved... and with good reason.

Rumble then proceeded to leave the room, but he suddenly stopped and turned to me. “Shady, I hope you’ll accept my apology for unleashing a hell hound on you.”

A ‘hell hound’... he means Truffle for sure.

It’s ironic too. His fury reminds me of a rabid dog, and to think, he was so against Miss Cheerilee being a dog...

I started shaking my head, hoping to ward off that dazed feeling from those hits earlier.

Hearing a fierce growl, Truffle tried to lunge at me again, but this time, it was Miss Cheerilee who held him back with all her might.

Truffle broke free from his teacher’s grasp, “GET OFF OF ME! I’M NOT DONE WITH HIM YET!”

“Yes, you are!” Ginger shouted, allowing Miss Cheerilee to hold Truffle down again. “What good will it do to kill him? We’ll be back in here again, and I won’t hesitate to put you down like the rabid dog you’re acting as!”

“Grrr!” Truffle simply forced himself away from Miss Cheerilee and walked away.

“This really is our fault, isn’t it...?” Sweetie Belle murmured.

“We really done goofed this time...” Apple Bloom put on her cowgirl hat, hiding her shameful eyes.

“That’s what you blank flanks get for getting deceived by the culprit!” Diamond Tiara chimed in, earning a quick glare from Scootaloo.

“Shut your mouth, you trash.” Scootaloo interjected. “Dinky Doo was the one who decided to be nosy, and look what happened... and you just might be next. You’ll be the main course. I think I’ll enjoy killing you for everything you’ve done! As for you, Apple Bloom...” Scootaloo turned to her friend, “We’ll fight the next time we cross paths.” And there she goes...

“Why is this happening to us...?” Sweetie Belle murmured.

“I’ll never die! Hmph!” Diamond Tiara quickly retorted.

“You know you’re tripping a death flag by saying that, right?” Snails worriedly asked.

“Shut your mouth! Just watch, I’ll prove you wrong!”

Diamond Tiara suddenly galloped out of the room just as she said that, with Silver Spoon simply walking behind.

“Alright Blue Snooper, I gotcha.” Grace put my hoof around her neck, helping me walk to the exit.

Truth be told, I’m still a little dazed from taking those punches...

What a pain... literally.

_____________________________________________________________

1:51 AM, Generosity District - Shady’s Home

After such an ordeal, everypony went to their homes to sleep.

All I could do was just toss and turn a little, swimming in a sea of thought and speculation.

It was again, a tiring, painful experience after all.

Just how does Monobear know so much about us? Is it these Super High-School Level titles?

What are they anyway? Why do I, one without a cutie mark, have one of these titles? The questions just keep piling on, and I get the feeling I haven’t even gotten close to scratching the surface yet...

The truth... I just want to know the truth. Why are we here, and who’s making us do this to each other?

Then again, would the truth even be worth knowing? So far, everypony who’s gone crazy was affected by truth.

I knew somepony that once told me that if somepony said something bad about me, it depends on me whether it’s true or not.

That same somepony is the reason I ended up having to take care of myself to begin with...

“Whatever.”

I still have this camera though.

...

Oh shit!

Upon realization, I shoot out my bed and make a quick dash for the door.

Heading outside, I immediately look to the starry sky to see if there’s any cracks... aaaaaaand there’s nothing.

Either it didn’t happen at all, or I was too late. I decide to look above with the lens, scouting for a sign or something up there... anything.

“Brr... seriously?” It really is getting cold out here!

Gotta focus on the sky though... I can handle this much.

I need to get closer. I think I’ll have a good shot if I get close to the tower.

I make a quick gallop to Rarity statue, quickly sliding to the pedestal. After a quick sidle, I peek around the corner to look for any guards.

...looks like the coast is clear.

The Monoguards are coming back... and they’re phasing through the sky, like ghosts descending from the heavens.

Let’s zoom in on them.

Now that I have a good look at these robots, I notice some large spots of blood on their wings and faces. Just who the heck did they fight? I’d hate to imagine whatever fatalities they were committing out there...

Now that’ll make a good shot. I’ll turn the flash off first, so I don’t get their attention.

Now to press the shutter, and...

*beep-beep*

Huh? Out of film already?! I just changed the roll first thing when I woke up for the tour! Why the heck am I already out of film?!

Just as I was about to open the back of my camera to check the roll, I find a tiny little sparkle on the ground, just to my left side against the pedestal.

The little twinkles of light from this spot seem to flash in an intricate pattern... reminds me of Morse Code.

Not that I can actually understand it. I’m sure Ginger might know it though since she’s a girl scout.

Now that I get a closer look, I think this might be a fragment of something. A sky fragment? It looks a little too clear though... and it’s shaped like a perfect diamond.

I hold the fragment towards the moonlight, and it’s gleaming light reminds me of the Crystal Empire’s...

“--ond! Can anyp--y he-- e?”

...is that a voice?!

“Is anypony alive? Please respond!”

Chapter 2, END

_________________________________________________________________________

NUMBER OF PONIES REMAINING

12