To Sleep, to Die, Perchance to Despair - 2
I'm not sure how much time had passed until I felt a familiar presence growing near. My tears had evaporated into a thin layer of salt on my face, and my face and body ached from being curled into a ball for so long.
"There you are..." Flam sighed in relief. "At least we're all together again."
"We... are...?" I sleepily asked. As I raised my head I saw Flam and the others, entirely back to normal. They were solid and tangible again.
"Somehow we were all separated once we entered those doors," said Nurse Redheart. "I found myself back in the Ponyville General Hospital, of all places... but of course, it would appear it was all an illusion."
"Yea... I wound up back in my room," added Lightning Dust, "...then I was suddenly back on my Washout's secret stunt development grounds. It seemed so real... and now here we fuckin' are again."
I blinked in confusion. The others had had a completely different experience from me? What did they see? So far it sounded like they'd returned to their old lives, however briefly.
"Well... I'm quite certain that over there is a new feature," Flam pointed. I followed his hoof into the darkness... in the distance, illuminated by harsh light was a ring of seventeen stone podiums, one being much larger and more ornate than the rest.
"A trial ground...?" I asked slowly. "What is that doing here?"
*boing!*
"The real question is... what the heck are you doing in my private area?!" Monokuma suddenly shouted from directly behind me. Everypony jumped in shock, whereas I nearly vomited my heart out of my throat. He smirked as he flashed his claws. "Ah, but you've finally arrived... congratulations! You guys are the first ones to ever beat this game! ...Is what I would've said, but then I'd just be repeating myself," he shrugged, rubbing the back of his head.
"Beat the game...?" Redheart asked warily.
"After stopping by your old stomping grounds, you've finally come back to this place," he grinned. "Now let's see if you bastards got what it takes to graduate from my school!"
"WAIT, DID YOU SAY GRADUATE?!" Bulk Biceps shrieked with joy. "DOES THAT MEAN WE CAN FINALLY LEAVE?!"
"Of course!" Monokuma's red eye gleamed. "...If that's what you guys decide."
"Decide? Why would we decide any differently?" Flam grumbled indignantly.
"Something's not right..." winced Redheart. "There's no way he's going to make it that easy."
"If you would all take a look at the touch screens built into your seats...!" Monokuma gestured to the podiums. Full of suspicion and disdain we made our way to the podiums, finding the aforementioned screen embedded into the stone plinths. There were two panels to choose from: Graduate... and Repeat.
Repeat...? What could that possibly mean...?!
"Well, this seems like an easy choice," Flam remarked.
"Compared to the other trials, the rules are much simpler this time," explained Monokuma. "There are two options: Graduate and Repeat, right? You just have to choose one of them, and press it. All of you will cast your vote, and whichever one has the majority will be considered your final decision! And if you don't press either of them, then it will be treated as an absence and will not be counted... which means that everyone who has died up 'til now will have their votes treated as absences!"
"Well, shit... I'm ready to vote right now," growled Lightning, already poised to press the Graduate panel on her screen.
"No, no, no!" Monokuma stamped his foot. "You can't do that yet!"
"And why the fuck not?!" she retorted.
"I mean... your resolve hasn't firmed yet, right? Your will to be swept away by society's harsh current," he continued with a smirk. "Besides... you'll need my final say as your teacher if you wanna graduate."
"Aw, come ON!" Lightning snarled. "We might as well not even press the fucking button, then..."
"After the vote, I'm going to judge every single one of you to see if it's okay for you to graduate or not," Monokuma grinned. "But you don't have to worry... there's no way I won't acknowledge your graduations."
"Right..." Flam bristled.
"Anyway, even if you don't want to do it, you guys still need to do it to solve the mystery," he smirked once more. "Afterward, you cast your majority votes, and from there... well, we'll just have to wait and see!"
I stared at Monokuma in fearful disbelief. Here we were, just inches away from freedom! And yet... now that he had acknowledged that we could graduate and escape, something felt so very wrong. If despair was Monokuma's entire game, then hitting "Graduate" may just as well condemn us all to a gruesome execution instead. Was he trying to trick us? Or was it alright to feel a genuine hope for escape? It was so hard to take anypony for their word anymore...
"Why do we even have to do this?! This is fuckin' stupid!" Lightning roared. "Of-fucking-course we're all gonna pick 'Graduate', why the fuck are you even asking?!"
"Hold on," Redheart threw out her hoof. "It might be a trick."
"I agree... this whole graduation situation doesn't sit well with me, either," nodded Flam. "We should hold off on pressing anything until we've considered our options."
"BUT I WANNA LEAAAAAAVE!" Bulk whined.
"Let us out, Celestia-damnit," snarled Lightning, pointing squarely at Monokuma. "This is the stupidest fucking shit I've ever heard, and I've had enough!"
"Puhuhu... you're actually arguing with me?" Monokuma giggled. "I'm basically a god. I created everything here! Just how promising can you guys be? Ah... I guess this is just the nature of life."
So, this is it... we may be finally allowed to leave this place, but he wants us to seriously consider whether we want to or not... But why...? What does he have planned for us now...?!
We were all backed into a corner, now. Monokuma had made that very clear. It was finally time to make our final choice in the killing game... would it be the right choice? Or... the dreadfully wrong one...?
What do we even have to discuss...? What do we even have to help us decide...?!
"Now, then! Let's begin the Graduation Exam!" Monokuma roared gleefully, plonking down on the throne behind the grand seventeenth podium.
*Class Trial! All Rise!*
To my surprise, Monokuma did not recite his usual speech about the rules of the trial. Instead, he simply sat there on his stone throne, whipped out a glass of red wine, relaxed his cheek on one paw... and listened. Eerie silence deafened my ears for many moments, nopony daring to speak... but finally, one did.
"...Well, we're not going to accomplish anything like this," Redheart chided.
"What is there to even talk about?!" Flam sputtered incredulously. "There wasn't a murder to investigate, only what happened to us after we all entered the Teacher's Lounge!"
"Well, maybe that's what we should talk about, then," said Redheart.
"UH... WELL, I JUST WOKE UP IN MY OWN BED, THEN I WORKED MY SHIFT AT THE DAY SPA," Bulk began counting on his hoof. "THEN I WENT TO THE MARKET TO BUY CINNAMON NUT STUFF, THEN I SPENT A WHILE MAKING CINNAMON NUTS AND BOXING THEM UP FOR LATER-"
"That's not important at all!" Lightning groaned.
"What did you experience then, Miss Dust?" asked Flam.
"Er... well, I woke up all hungover as fuck in my room... then when I left to get something to eat, I was in my boy Blasting Cap's garage. We spent a while fuckin' around with all his pyrotechnics bullshit... then I went out and found myself in our secret training and development grounds. I practiced some stunts with the others, then practiced with some rockets, they exploded, we all got drunk and-" Lightning then noticed that everypony was glaring at her, entirely uninterested. "...Alright, fine, so I ain't got nothin'... shit," she huffed.
"I'm afraid I haven't any leads myself," Flam admitted. "I found myself back in my brother and I's fabulous resort. I went through all the usual motions... shaking hooves, greeting VIPs, doing quality controls, making progress charts, racing over to deliver a check to the nearby shelter, arguing with Flim over who next to donate to the following day..."
"Donate? Well, it'd be nice if you could donate to the Ponyville General Hospital once we've escaped," Redheart chimed in. "I found myself in the main entrance lobby... it was one of the busiest days I'd ever seen in there! I had to triage pony after pony, all afflicted with bright blue skin contusions and various other ailments... looked like somepony had way too much fun with Poison Joke-infused water balloons."
"AGH, I HATE POISON JOKE," Bulk cringed. "LAST TIME I TOUCHED IT, I LOST ALL MY MUSCLES FOR A WEEK."
"It would seem that neither of us have experienced anything of note, then..." Flam sighed before glancing my way. One by one the others began staring at me, waiting for me to talk about my own experience. I groaned inwardly, wishing my experience had been as plain and carefree as theirs.
"Well... my experience wasn't like you guys," I shivered unconsciously. "I wasn't exactly back to living my normal life."
"Oh? What did you see?" asked Redheart.
"First... I found myself back in my room, in my home," I continued slowly with a nervous gulp. "I found a letter from Princess Celestia on my desk... it was about my future coronation-"
"Wait... your coronation?!" Lightning interrupted. "Don't tell me you're gonna be the fuckin' ruler of Equestria?!"
"More than that... our Princesses were planning on abdicating?!" added Flam.
"Yea... they first sprung the idea on me maybe a year ago... I turned them down, of course, I didn't feel ready at all... I still don't," I admitted. "So we all agreed to give me some time to think it over and prepare... I didn't feel all that confident in myself until the last Summer Sun Festival, and after our victory of the War of the Bell, they thought I was ready."
"WHY, THOUGH?! PRINCESS CELESTIA'S BEEN LEADING US JUST FINE FOR OVER A THOUSAND YEARS!" said Bulk. "AND WHAT ABOUT PRINCESS LUNA?! IF CELESTIA WANTED TO ABDICATE AFTER RULING FOR THAT LONG, LUNA COULD DO IT NEXT!"
"I... you know? I was never quite sure of that myself," I pursed my lips. "Sure, Princess Luna wasn't quite as... genial as Celestia, but I never doubted her ability to rule. Maybe she just didn't want to... they did want to spend time together as sisters, not monarchs."
"I suppose that makes sense," Flam rubbed his chin. "Although surely, Celestia could simply take on a smaller role in the castle while Luna leads... er, not that I don't think you'll be an exceptional leader yourself, Miss Twilight."
"Don't worry... I had the same thought as you when they first broke the news to me," I sighed. "But thanks... I hope I will be."
"I think so, too," Redheart briefly smiled, "but we're getting off-topic. What else was in the letter?"
"Right... well, all it said was something about her 'other responsibility'. She had an idea, but... the text was cut off after that."
"Other responsibility...?" hummed Redheart. "...Ah, she must mean raising the Sun."
"I don't think that's what she meant," I frowned. "She mentioned creating a spell that would allow me to raise both the Sun and the Moon earlier in the letter."
"Ah."
"Was that all you saw?" asked Lightning.
"After that, I was suddenly inside my Headmare's Office in my School of Friendship. All of my papers and stuff were back," I continued. "But... there were a bunch of glowing files for some reason, and... uh..." It now fully dawned on me how creepy and suspicious this next revelation was going to sound, and I cringed heavily in anticipation.
"And...?" asked Flam.
"Um... they were about you guys," I grimaced.
"Us? Why us?" Lightning asked brusquely.
"And Trixie, Fleur and Coloratura, too. They seemed to describe your personalities and mannerisms... some of them also had hypotheses, although I couldn't really understand why they were hypotheses."
"Hypotheses would lead me to think... we were involved in some sort of experiment," Redheart bristled. "What were they?"
I relayed the details and hypotheses I had seen to the others - Bulk nodded and smiled as he heard his own, while Flam frowned and stared solemnly at the ground at his.
"Well, I guess Trixie's fits," mumbled Lightning. "They didn't think I'd show up for it, though?"
"Who knows? Maybe you had more sense than the rest of us did," Redheart spoke ominously, her eyes dark. "Perhaps this 'experiment' was... less than ethical."
"Do you think we were all misled?" asked Flam. "We and everypony else mentioned in the files was present at the beginning of this horrid ordeal."
"It seems likely," she replied. "Combined with the fact that none of us remember how we got here in the first place, it would lead me to believe that we were all either misled, or outright taken against our will."
"...But I don't remember how I got here," I spoke quietly. "And my name wasn't mentioned in the files-"
"If the files were in your office, then this does kinda sound like the experiment was your idea..." Lightning narrowed her eyes dangerously.
"I..." I gasped slightly. "...I do feel like I've seen those files before... but I never would have sanctioned an experiment like this! I never would have put living, breathing ponies in a situation where they could possibly die! Especially... especially not my friends..." Tears welled up in my eyes as I remember each and every single pony who had died in this wretched place... the torturous agony and anguish inflicted on each of them before their lives were so callously snuffed out.
But as I glanced around the room, I could see doubt in everypony's eyes, and my blood froze in my veins. Lightning was glaring daggers at me, while Redheart's gaze was cool but calm. Bulk's lower lip was quivering. Only Flam seemed to be fighting back against the unsettling silence.
"Now, now, folks..." he coughed, "...Let's not jump to conclusions... we've all been deceived more than once before, right? It wouldn't be fair to label Miss Twilight as the... possible traitor among us so soon... right?" My eyes widened with dread. My heart pounded in my chest so loudly I could hear it in my ears.
No, I'm not the traitor! I... I don't think I am...
Redheart studied my face for a few moments before sighing. "...No, you're right. There must be another explanation."
"Are you sure?" Lightning winced.
"I'm... willing to give Twilight the benefit of the doubt for now. Despite a few... admittedly suspicious happenings, she's been nothing but helpful to us this entire time," she opened her eyes and stared directly into mine. "What else did you see?"
I shivered and gulped before speaking. "After that, I was suddenly inside a room full of machinery. Not like the room with the Power Crystals, though... this place was different. And I... I heard my own voice speaking with somepony else."
"Who?" Lightning glared.
"I'm not sure... but it sounded like we were talking about the experiment. My voice... I sounded excited about it, but the other voice told me about all the things I might see, and that the honoring the privacy of the subjects was important."
"And what did that voice tell you you might see?" asked Redheart.
"Hopes, dreams... secrets... bad things they shouldn't be doing... trauma..." I droned. "Various emotions... mostly negative. Pain, darkness, hopelessness, despair... and death." The last word in particular sent a jolt of pure terror down my spine.
"WELL, THAT DOESN'T SOUND SUSPICIOUS AT ALL!" Bulk shrank away.
"But that's not all," I quickly added, hoping that the next bit of information would exonerate me, at least a little. "Apparently, I knew my friends were going to be involved in the experiment. I asked why, and the other voice said it was because they would be able to help me with something in the future. And then... it said that it and its Sister would join us for the first experiment... to ensure nothing went wrong."
"I see..." Flam stared at the floor. "That would explain the presence of the other Elements of Harmony... perhaps Discord, too."
"It would also appear to shift the blame away from Twilight," added Redheart. "This other voice... whoever's behind it may have been the one who influenced the experiment into becoming this killing game."
"Hold on... it said it and its sister would come with?" Lightning stood up straight. "Who's its sister?" I blinked rapidly in disbelief as I thought back to the voice's words.
Sister... who always referred to their sibling as Sister rather than their given name...?
...
...Oh! That must be it!
"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna always called each other 'Sister' rather than their own names..." I trembled. There was a palpable silence as the others mulled the thought around in their minds.
"...I hardly think our own Princesses would be responsible for such a terrible experiment," Redheart's voice quivered. "But the mastermind of this experiment's true nature... they've said 'sister' too many times to ignore..."
"Why wouldn't they be responsible?!" growled Lightning. "They're the fuckin' Princesses, they can do whatever the fuck they want! Sure, they're all nice on the outside, but royalty and rich ponies always have dark shit to hide!"
"Miss Fleur definitely comes to mind," Flam sighed under his breath.
"BUT WAIT A MINUTE," yelled Bulk. "PRINCESSES CELESTIA AND LUNA WERE THE FIRST ONES TO DIE! DOESN'T THAT SEEM WEIRD TO YOU GUYS?"
"...You're right," I breathed. "If their intent really was to create a killing game out of the experiment... why would they even put themselves in the position where they could become victims too? It doesn't make sense!"
"They certainly seemed surprised to hear their immortality was stolen from them," Flam nodded.
"That part could have been an act," reasoned Redheart. "And yet... the way in which Princess Celestia died makes me think that she couldn't possibly have been behind the killing game."
The way in which Princess Celestia died...?
...Oh! Right!
"I concur!" I exclaimed after a moment. "Princess Luna never meant to kill her own sister, it was a freak accident! She was trying to find a way for all of us to escape!"
"It also could have been an act," Redheart suggested.
"How?! You saw Celestia's body!" Lightning yelled. "And we all saw Luna fuckin' explode! I might not know much about magic, but I'm pretty damn sure there are easier ways to fake your own death!"
"Definitely, but such dramatic deaths would also be hard to deny having happened," said Flam. "It was all simply too... real."
"Indeed..." Redheart hummed before stomping a hoof in frustration. "...Ugh! We're so close, I can feel it... The answers must lie within one of our three Princesses. I'm sure of it!"
Monokuma yawned loudly, drawing our attention towards him. "...Ya know, you guys could just bypass all this silly arguing and simply press the Graduate button, right?"
What...? You're... letting us go...?
"Yea... why aren't we just doing that?!" Lightning added grumpily.
"Well, you did tell us there was a mystery to be solved first," Flam pointed out. "I assumed it would have something to do with your allowing us to graduate, or to find out the truth behind our entire ghastly stay here."
"Precisely!" Monokuma grinned excitedly before quickly slumping back down. "The truth is... I'm really just kinda bored of the whole thing now... I always lose my gumption on the last act."
"You're... bored?" Redheart shrank away suspiciously.
"Yea... so just go ahead and press Graduate, will ya?" the bear gestured. "I'll happily vouch for all of you, so there's nothing to worry about. I'll even tell you guys everything after you've done it!"
"Finally," Lightning sighed, raising her hoof.
"Wait! Don't touch anything!" Redheart suddenly shouted.
"Oh, what now?!" the Pegasus glared, setting her hoof back down.
"This is all too sudden!" said Flam. "He's thoroughly enjoyed watching us murder each other while struggling to escape, so why on Celestia's green Equestria is he letting us go so easily?"
"YEA... SOMETHING'S WEIRD, HERE," agreed Bulk. Redheart and I both nodded... something was definitely wrong.
Why is he making it so easy to leave...? After all of the torment he's put us through... it's just too suspicious...!
Monokuma stood up from his throne to speak, but suddenly paused. "...Hold that thought. It would seem our guest is juuust about to arrive!"
G-Guest...? Do I even want to know...?
"STOP THIS! I DEMAND YOU STOP THIS IMMEDIATELY!" a voice suddenly commanded, booming all around us. It thundered and echoed inside my head, rattling my bones inside my body. A cold chill rippled down my spine as I realized that not only did this voice belong to somepony I knew... it was somepony I had watched die with my own eyes.
What...?! How...?!
We all frantically looked around for the origin of the voice, but Monokuma simply sat back down on his throne with a smug smirk. And then, in an instant... she appeared. In a flash of dark blue light, a tall, shapely mare with both wings and a horn materialized in the center of the podiums. The light gradually faded away, losing its brightness but gaining opacity. A long, rippling mane and tail resembling the night sky glittered gently in an invisible breeze. Silver light glowed like a beacon of hope from her scowling eyes and the tip of her horn.
Against all odds... despite the fact that she should've been a pile of lifeless limbs... Princess Luna had reappeared, standing before Monokuma in all her furious glory.
"What the fuck?!" Lightning shrank back.
"P-Princess Luna...?!" Flam stuttered.
"AAAAAGH! SHE'S COME BACK AS A ZOMBIE!" Bulk panicked. "DON'T LET HER BITE YOU!"
"...I am most certainly not undead," Luna drawled. "I am alive in every sense of the word."
"What are you doing here...?" Redheart breathed.
"To help you all realize the truth, of course," she replied. "I am afraid we have all been deceived... myself, most of all."
"No, really?!" Lightning shouted sarcastically.
"Deceived? How so?!" stammered Flam.
"It is a long story... But I am afraid that time is of the essence," Luna continued sadly. "I am afraid that Equestria- ...no, the entire world is in grave danger."
"The entire world...? What happened...?" I trembled, my heart nearly stopping from dread.
"It has to do with this killing game...," said Luna, glaring vengefully at our ursine captor. "Monokuma is behind everything... the danger to Equestria and the world... and this entire dream."
"D-Dream...?!" Redheart recoiled violently.
"This... this was all a dream?!" Flam gasped.
"Explain. Now," Lightning shivered with anger.
"First of all... everypony is alive," Luna nodded, sighing with relief. "My dearest Sister, the other participants in the experiment... everypony is unharmed."
My friends... they're alive...?!
"Alive... how?!" I shouted desperately.
"As I felt my body being torn apart during my execution, fiber by individual fiber, I felt my consciousness slipping away..." Luna breathed, shaking as she recounted that horrifying memory. "...But once it had all faded away and turned to black, I... I woke up."
"What...?" blinked Redheart.
"Whaddya mean 'woke up'?" demanded Lightning.
"Well... simply that," Luna shrugged. "I woke up in a simple bed, with a tangle of wires and electrodes attached to my body. Sister was the... first to wake up, of course... According to her and some School of Friendship researchers, we had been unrousable for nearly three entire days."
"I... what...?" My voice was weak. My brain was nearly cooking itself as countless neuron pathways devoted to grief and mourning were suddenly severed away, while another part of me desperately grasped at the fraying strands to keep them attached. My heart screamed in agony... could I really hold on to that hope? Was this just an illusion? Another one of Monokuma's cruel tricks?!
It can't be true... I watched them...! I watched them all die...!
"We tried desperately to stop the Dream Machine, tried everything we could think of to disconnect the rest of you from this dreadful nightmare, or contact you, or even rejoin you so we could reassure you all that we were still alive... but we were ultimately powerless. And, one by one, your friends and companions woke up over the next two weeks, until I was finally able to reenter the dream."
"My goddesses..." Redheart whispered in shock. "Then that means... poor Pinkie... she was right. She was right all along...!"
"H-Hold on," Flam shook his head. "Dream Machine? What is that?"
Luna took a deep breath. "In short, the Dream Machine is an unprecedented feat of magical engineering. It allows up to sixteen ponies to share the same dream with each other, as if within a separate universe where their every whim can become reality... Thankfully, while the machine is linked directly with your minds, to your senses and your bodily functions, death in reality is not possible - if a pony dies in their dream, they tend to wake up screaming, after all," she smirked slightly in amusement, almost imperceptibly. "This is almost certainly the experiment Princess Twilight has been referring to... we've been able to listen in from the machine's monitors all this time, and this machine is most definitely experimental itself. This experiment was meant to get Twilight accustomed to another responsibility that comes with being the sole Ruler of Equestria. My other responsibility..."
The other responsibility...!
"You mean... dreamwalking?" I asked.
"Indeed," Luna nodded. "Your friends were included so that in the event you came across a dream containing a Friendship problem, you would all have the ability, tools and knowledge to solve them. Princess Celestia and I were your chaperones; it was our duty to teach you about the dream world and how to interact with other ponies. The rest of you... you were all selected to participate for the general content of your dreams. It was imperative that Twilight experience a healthy variety of dreams in order to offer effective counsel to the dreamer, and guide them through whatever troubles there might be."
"I see... so that was the meaning of the hypotheses!" Redheart's eyes widened. "They must have been Twilight's predictions of what kind of dreams we had!"
"That does make sense," Flam replied, glancing sadly in my direction. I could only imagine it was because of what I had predicted he often dreamed about... that was at least one hypothesis I had been wrong about.
"Hey... I must've formulated these hypotheses before I got to know you better," I frowned. "I'd definitely change it, now." Flam gave me the smallest of smiles in response.
"You didn't think I'd agree to this experiment, though," Lightning pointed out.
"We were aware of your... relationship with one of Twilight's friends in particular," Luna pressed her lips thin. "Concessions were made in some cases, in order to convince some of you to participate... a handsome sum of Bits donated to charity for Coloratura, and the ability to boast about how you had much 'cooler' dreams than Rainbow Dash, in your case."
"Oh..." Lightning rubbed the back of her head as she glanced sheepishly away.
"Wait," I interrupted, noticing that somepony had been left out. "What about Discord? Why was he involved?"
"When we were just about to begin the experiment, he appeared," said Luna. "He commented that he'd never been to the dream realm, so he materialized himself into a bed, stuck a tangled ball of electrodes to himself and then... simply asked to join us. We all consented to it, and so he came along, and that was that."
"Seems like something he'd do," I nodded in acceptance.
"Wait just a minute..." Redheart gasped lightly. "Princess Luna, you're supposed to safeguard our dreams, right?" Luna simply nodded. "Then what about Fleur de Lis?" she asked, a glare forming on her face. "It seems to me that you should have been fully aware of the trauma and anguish she faced daily."
"I was," Luna replied calmly.
"Then why didn't you help her?!" she demanded angrily, showcasing far more emotions towards any other pony than I'd ever seen before. "Her past was bad enough, but you must've known about Fancy Pants' treatment of her for years!"
Luna sighed long and deep before replying. "...I've tried. Believe me, I've tried... but she always shut herself away and refused to discuss her dreams with me. I cannot act if she doesn't want my assistance... otherwise if I acted without consent in the waking world, the citizens would surely think I'm overstepping my authority. Even now, alive and free from this dream, she refuses to leave her recovery room and aid us in our struggle. She's... fearful of what will happen to her once she leaves the safety of the School of Friendship."
While Redheart, still fuming, seemed more or less placated from her explanation, something about those last couple sentences made my fur stand on end.
"...Struggle?" Flam seemed to have picked up on it, too.
"What do you mean... the safety of my School of Friendship?" I asked cautiously. At once Luna's composure shook, threatening to shatter completely.
"...Quite simply put," she hesitated, "...everypony has witnessed your experiences here. Everypony in Equestria."
"They've... what?!" Flam paled.
"You see the legion of surveillance cameras Monokuma has set up?" Luna gestured with her head. "He has somehow been overriding the dreams of everypony with everything that has been happening here. Everypony has seen everything: your every day spent in this place, every murder, every investigation and trial... every execution."
"Oh... oh, man..." Lightning gaped.
"Seeing each of us fall... my accidental murder of my own sister, the Elements of Harmony succumbing to the killing game one by one... needless to say, the entire country is in a state of hysteria. Ponies everywhere are panicking at the swift and sudden loss of their rulers and the Elements. They are growing fearful of each other, even their own loved ones, paranoid that they will be betrayed and murdered. Anarchy is rampant, with angry mobs clashing and arguing with each other constantly. Mass chaos has taken root everywhere, not like the lighthearted chaos of Discord, but violent and hateful. There have been numerous reports of assault, battery, even attempted murder all over the country. Myself, Princess Celestia, your friends and the others have all been trying our best to mitigate the damage, trying to prove that we are all safe and alive and it's all in their minds... but no matter what we say, what we do, none will listen. It is as if they are all trapped within an unending waking nightmare. And I am afraid that they... are all quickly falling into a despair so deep they may never recover."
A pit of darkness formed in my stomach. My mind fizzed with guilt and pain as I imagined everypony in Equestria being exposed to the horrors we'd endured, everypony slowly losing their sanity along with us. Watching helplessly as their benevolent monarchs were so easily killed. Watching as the Elements of Harmony tore themselves apart. Watching as their favorite famous figures tried in vain to save themselves. Who wouldn't fall into despair after they watched so many powerful ponies - sworn to protect them - kill each other in desperation?
Suddenly a terrifying thought blossomed in my mind. "...Spike!" I stammered. "Starlight... are they okay?!"
"They are safe," Luna reassured. "And they are aware of the situation... they've been with us the entire time, supervising the experiment. Canterlot Castle and many of our other fortresses have been overrun, but The School of Friendship is heavily fortified and has proven to be an impenetrable bastion. I must say... you truly outdid yourself with all your protective spells and runes," she grinned. For a brief moment I felt relieved, but another horrible thought barged its way to the forefront.
"...Shiny! Princess Cadance! My parents! ...Flurry Heart... What about them?!"
"Your brother managed to rescue your parents when the riots became unmanageable in Canterlot," Luna answered. "But last we have heard, he, Princess Cadance, your niece and your parents were forced to flee the Crystal Empire and take refuge in a safehouse within the Crystal Mountains... she fought well, but her powers over love were no match for the hysterical throngs."
No... no...!
"Oh, dear..." Flam gulped. "The entire Crystal Empire has already fallen...?"
"Hmm... based on what I know about the Princesses' magic, I would imagine that if everypony's rioting, there simply isn't any love left within them," Redheart frowned thoughtfully.
"Now hold on!" Monokuma finally spoke, slamming down his half-empty wine glass. "What happened to you bastards being all suspicious of me just a second ago?! Why are you trusting a zombie's words over mine?!"
"Again, I am most certainly not undead..." Luna grumbled.
"Don't misunderstand my willingness to listen for belief," chided Redheart. "Given the things we've all experienced here, the Princess Luna in front of us could almost certainly be an illusion."
"Absolutely," Flam nodded. "I cannot possibly believe that the citizens of Equestria have all gone mad in less than a month's time!"
"Yea... yea, I'm gonna need some proof first," Lightning scowled. "And it better be pretty fuckin' good proof, too!"
Luna opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. After a few moments she closed it into a grimace. "I would show you the state of Equestria, your friends safe and alive, the Dream Machine and your own bodies still connected to it... but in truth, this is Monokuma's dream. He can manipulate my visions into his own, as far from the truth as he desires."
"You... you can't show us proof...?" my lips quivered, my hope shattering into pieces before my eyes.
"No," she sighed mournfully. "...I cannot."
"Exactly!" Monokuma sneered. "About time you were put in your place!"
"So this Princess Luna is just another illusion...?" Flam sighed sadly. "Along with everything she's said?"
"Yep! It was all a lie!" the bear laughed. "Now... don't you guys want to get away from me as fast as you can? You know what to doooo if you wanna...!"
My body felt both totally numb and full of pins and needles at the same time. I was utterly crushed to see that hope stolen away from me yet again. Princess Luna wasn't real... she was dead, she was never coming back... and neither were my friends. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, I wanted to tear everything I laid eyes on apart with my bare hooves. I wanted to bite and tear at my own forelegs until they bled, I wanted to bang my head against the stone podium until I couldn't form a single thought anymore.
But I wanted nothing more than to escape this place... this place worse than Tartarus itself. This villain worse than everypony I had ever faced. This villain... who had won.
"WHY ARE YOU SO MEEEEEAN?!" whined Bulk.
"I am so. Fucking. Tired. Of this bullshit!" Lightning howled. "C'mon, can we press the fucking Graduate button now?!"
"I... see no reason to dally any longer," Flam groaned. "I fear I will snap if I hear one more cruel sentence uttered from that ursine's foul mouth." With bated breath, everypony looked over to Redheart, the staunchest proporter of patience and caution all this time.
But even she had grown weary. "...Very well. Some mysteries, after all, are best left unsolved," she sighed, hanging her head.
"Then it's settled," I gulped nervously. "...Let's leave this place. Let's graduate."
"NO!" Luna shrieked as loudly as she could. But just as my hoof hovered over the panel, a terrifying memory suddenly forced itself to the front of my mind.
Soon they will all fall to despair...
Those wretched, filthy ponies...
After she is gone... after they watch her finally fall...
...There will be no hope left...
After she is gone... who was it talking about...? Was it... talking about me...?!
I blinked multiple times, my heart racing in my chest. It echoed and reverberated within my mind, over and over, growing louder each time. Suddenly I wasn't sure whether I wanted to press the panel after all.
Soon they will all fall to despair... does... d-does that mean...?
Quickly glancing around at the others, they were staring wide-eyed at Luna, stiff as a statue, each locked in their own personal limbo... unable to decide whether to Graduate or not.
"Eh? Why not?" Lightning's eyebrow raised, her voice shaking.
"If we Graduate, then we can escape this place and that dreadful bear once and for all!" argued Redheart.
"Wait," I spoke quickly, my voice creaking and unsteady. "...T-There's one more thing that I experienced before we all met up here again."
"Well spit it out, Miss Twilight!" Flam quivered, the panic mounting on his face. "What was it?!"
I took a breath, which did little to aid my composure. "The last thing I heard before I saw you all again... I thought I was just hallucinating it at first, but... now I'm not sure. It was a low, howling, empty voice... it said 'soon they will all fall to despair'... and 'after she is gone, after they finally watch her fall... there will be no hope left'."
Everypony, Luna included, shivered violently, their fur standing on end. Bulk's teeth began chattering.
"'After she is gone'..." echoed Redheart. "Who does it mean?"
"It is a most chilling prophecy, indeed," Luna swallowed. I whimpered as I imagined the various implications, unsure of who was being spoken about myself.
...But I need to try to figure it out...! Until I know for certain, I can't touch that panel...!
...Who is watching us? ...The citizens of Equestria, right... Which one of us still definitely alive is the most influential pony to the citizens? ...M-Me, I think... And what will happen if... I die? ...The citizens will lose all hope and succumb to despair...!
"...It's me..." I barely croaked. "...It has to be me..."
"You...?!" Lightning gasped.
"I'm the Princess of Friendship... the Element of Magic... due to be crowned as the next Ruler of Equestria... if I die... the Elements of Harmony will be totally gone! Countless friendships... the very concept of Friendship will be destroyed! And Equestria-"
"Will fall into complete and utter anarchy and chaos," Luna finished solemnly. "The ponies still seem to believe that Sister and I are still dead, despite appearing to them in the flesh when attempting to quell the worst of their violent acts."
"He wants us to Graduate," I pointed squarely at Monokuma. "He's giving us one last bit of hope... to finally leave this terrible place. But if we choose to graduate, there will be no ceremony, no promised freedom... only our own executions! My execution!"
"You mean... if we pick Graduate... we'll all die anyway...?!" Lightning trembled, her voice a high-pitched squeak.
"B-But... what will h-happen if we select Repeat?" gulped Flam.
"Then the dream will simply start aaaaall over again," Monokuma broke in gleefully. "But this time, you can try to save your friends! ...Of course, the key word here is 'try'. You'll all be subjected to my Killing Game over and over and over and over and over again, until each and every last one of you has died!"
"No..." Luna breathed, glowing, silver tears dripping from her shining eyes. "It cannot end like this... I will not let it end like this! I am the Princess of the Night! You are MY creation!" she screamed.
Wh... her creation...?!
"C-Creation...?!" Flam echoed.
"A royal secret, I am afraid..." Luna barely whispered as she bowed her head, closing her eyes in shame. "But it would seem that I have no choice but to force the reveal of Monokuma's true identity to the world."
"True... identity...?" Lightning repeated.
"Oh, no no no..." Monokuma smirked at the disheartened Princess. "There's no way this can end before I've even transformed."
"YOU MEAN... THIS ISN'T EVEN HIS FINAL FORM?!" Bulk shrieked.
"Then... what manner of creature is he...?" Redheart swallowed.
"The mastermind can only be one creature," Luna's face darkened. "Somepony... something that has the power to override dreams. Something I thought was long since destroyed, and banished from the realm of dreams."
Something that has the power to override dreams...?
...
...
...!
It hit me so hard I slammed my hooves into the sides of my head as I gasped and screamed in realization. Fear as cold as ice sloshed through my veins and burned my chest.
No... no... we destroyed you... she destroyed you...!
But it made perfect sense. It could manipulate and override dreams... it was born to do just that. It was always meant to do just that.
It could only do that.
You... All along... it was actually you...!
"So... that's your true identity," I swallowed hard, equal parts terror and anger burning through my heart. "Somehow, some way, you've survived all this time... You, Tantabus, you are the true mastermind!"
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CALLED IT!
Okay... THAT I didn't see coming at all.
I hope there's like an epilogue chapter or something of Equestria finding peace again once the others manage to escape.
Hold It!
If this is all a dream and the Mastermind is The Tantabus Then how the hell does Monokuma know about the Danganronpa franchise series events?!
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It'll be explained, don't worry.
Welp, inow i feel dumb and owe Redheart an apology.
True choice, choose not to vote. Cue friendship and hope speeche where the dead literally comes back to support Twilight and the survivors.
Cue massive "I still have hope, I still have my friends. With friendship by my side; HOPE LIVES ON!"
1.
Wait ,weren't there 17 ponies in total?
2.
There is still a traitor but who?
This Luna is an illusion, then?
Twilight doesn't really count as a traitor
3.
By what exactly?
It can't be just riots
4.
Yeah ,this from the previous chapter and now it is suspicious
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Sunset Shimmer brought to Equestria Danganronpa games, manga, and anime to Eqeustrra from the human world XD .......or someone from Equestria came to Sunset to spend time with her.
Then Tantabus either got it from Sunset's memories,dreams when visiting Equestria or someone else , who after leaning lore,watching anime,etc had nightmares
Wait ........who else traveled to the human world and knows Sunset besides Twilight ,Starlight ?
.....oh that fits
That would also explain why Tantabus behaves like she is a real Monokuma, she just plays the role,because all of this is just a show.
Did NOT see that one coming.. but if the Tantabus the mastermind... who is the traitor? There still somethings that need to be answer
I am betting the final twist is that the Tantabus is not of Luna's making, but Twilight's.
Anyhow, it seems we are reaching the finale. I am surprised that Bulk didn't really get Free Time Events to establish himself more. He needed it badly. I feel like I barely know the guy at this point.
That thing never died, fuck
So my assumption regarding Pinkie was correct, she hadn't gone batsh*t crazy, she knew that "death" was the key to ending the Killing Game, while Pinkie may spout what may seem like nonsense at first, at times her ramblings end up being true. Not only that, my last-minute assumption about it all being a dream, also ended up being true, but I'm completely clueless as t how it's all going to pan out from here, Monokuma/Tantabus clearly wants the Surviving Members to press 'Graduate', but why? My only guess is that the Tantabus will cling to the Survivors as they leave in order to escape to the real world, much like Alter Ego Junko's plan in Danganronpa 2.
"YOU MEAN... THIS ISN'T EVEN HIS FINAL FORM?!" Bulk shrieked.
I dunno why but I love that this line comes out of Bulk of all ponies, but it still works surprisingly well.
So will they pick 'Graduate'?... or will they pick 'Repeat'? Will they make the right choice? OR THE DREADFULLY WRONG ONE?
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Maybe the Tantabus somehow came into contact with Junko Enoshima?... honestly I have no idea anymore
So I'm not the only one whose stories are plagued by the occasional bit of s t r e t ch e d wording. After never seeing anyone else say anything I assumed it was a bug on my Chromebook and desktop.
As for the Tantabus the funny thing is I actually considered them as a mastermind at one point, and then summarily rejected it. I shouldn't have, as it turns out.
Assuming we can take anything Luna says as legit then the idea that this was all about Twilight learning how to dreamwalk is pretty neat. Canon didn't touch that subject and if you're going to handle it, might as well do a shared dreamscape. And all of the allusions to SDR2 become intentional as a result, presuming the Tantabus somehow learned of Danganronpa and used that knowledge.
But that's assuming, and frankly, after everything else this story has done, I feel like I'd be an ass if I did that. And I remember SDR2's ending very well. It might be my least favorite game of the series, but I still remember fake Mokoto very well. I'm not going to buy this just yet. I'm going to remain hesitant.
Well, for that, and to be honest--and this is a personal thing of mine--as much as I love the idea of everyone getting to live after all... such endings often feel cheap unless they're executed very well. Which, if what Luna says is true, it has been, because there's still consequences, and long lasting ones at that. But I still hesitate whenever I see the concept in a story. Danganronpa stories in particular, when it's not an AU of a canon game where the whole point is to go against what happened.
So I won't believe they're alive until it's made clear. And I wouldn't put it past you, witegrlninja, to do something like make the story end, everything seem find, and then only in the last line or two is there a sudden stinger horror of "no it actually isn't they're all dead after all."
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To be honest, I wanted to do at least one FTE with him, but... I just couldn't think of anything for him to talk about. He seems like he's already totally happy with his life and doesn't have any internal problems to stew on.
...okay...let's keep our breath in and hope that Tantabus is the mastermind and that Junko doesn't find a way to appear
Because I would scream bloody murder if She appears one way or another and not in a v3 way
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Tantabus IS the mastermind , the nightmare entity will probably use Junko or someone as evil's appearance to mess with them
Should've been Bulk Biceps :c
Tantabus is The Mastermind my question is how does it know what Monokuma looks like
Aw, it was the Tantabus that was the traitor and this whole killing game is a dream? I am...a little disappointed. So all those characters, did they actually died for nothing?
Is it weird that I want to imagine everyone's reaction when they woke up after death?
After reading this chapter, I finally understand what Pinkie meant by death their only escape. If they die, then they will be forced out of the nightmare.