Off the Rails - Daily Life 2
Not even throwing a towel over the TV could drown out the grating morning greeting of the Monokubs. I groaned as I squeezed my eyes shut, but to no avail. Reluctantly, I got up, got dressed and made my way to the Dining Hall.
Everyone was there, already getting their breakfasts and sitting down. I did the same and sat down beside Flash and Sunset as usual. Amidst the din of quiet conversation, however, I could barely hear the sounds of someone trying to hide the fact they were crying.
Glancing around the room led my eyes to Mountain, still sitting as far away from the rest of us as she could, all alone. She was holding herself, trying not to shake as tears dripped from her open eyes into a mug of coffee. She sniffled quietly, breathing through her teeth.
Poor thing...
"Oh my god, will you shut up already...?" I heard Sugarcoat mutter angrily from a few tables over. I sighed as I took a bite of my oatmeal, shaking my head. Flash sucked his lips into his mouth, as if unsure whether he should say something or not. Meanwhile, Sunset had mostly finished her meal. She got up and made her way over to her, about at the same time Memento walked over to her with a bundle of napkins.
"Hey... you okay?" she asked as Memento set the napkins down in front of Mountain and took a seat next to her.
"Y-Yes..." Mountain took a moment to grab a napkin and blow her nose as daintily as she could manage... which still turned out to be so loud it startled me. "Just... c-can't stop thinking about my b-brother..." Memento hummed sympathetically. "I... I-I'm sorry..."
"It's gonna be okay," Sunset placed her hand on Mountain's back. "We're gonna get out of here... all of us. No one is going to kill anyone else... not anymore."
"And how are you so sure about that?!" Indigo slammed her fork to the table and shot up. "Remember who you're speaking to... a fuckin' murderer!"
"She didn't mean to do it!" Sunset yelled back as Mountain's shoulders heaved with a particularly loud sob. "It only happened because of Monokuma and his motive!"
"I'm s-sorry...!" Mountain gasped out.
"Yea? Well 'sorry' isn't gonna bring anyone back, now is it?" Sugarcoat jumped in. "It's too bad your stupid hick brother was the one who died instead of you!" At her words Mountain's forehead made rough contact with the table, another sob wracking her body.
"That's enough," Memento stood up, glaring darkly. "She clearly feels horrible about what's happened, saying things like that is just being cruel!"
"It's also the truth," argued Sugarcoat. "Idiot went and got himself turned into hamburger, and for what? His murderous sister who also turned out to be guilty of multiple crimes?! If he had any inkling of sense in that podunk brain of his, he would've let justice play itself out."
"Wow...!" Flash mouthed to me in astonishment. "Now that's just mean."
"...He wasn't that stupid," Indigo growled, glaring at Sugarcoat. "He did it because he still loved his sister, obviously. Just because you're an only child-"
*boing!*
*Rise and Shine, Ursine!*
My heart leapt into my throat as Monokuma and the Monokubs suddenly fell out of the ceiling, landing in fancy poses right on the main dining table.
"Aah! ...Oh, it's you guys again..." grumbled Soarin'.
"LIKE THIS MORNING COULD NOT GET ANY WORSE," Kotenage rumbled in agreement.
"Good morning, my lovely captive campers!" Monokuma sing-songed.
"Thanks for bearing with us!" the Kubs cried out in unison, even as Monotaro lost his balance and fell on his face. Again, while he, Monokuma and the two other Kubs were as gleefully menacing as ever, Monophanie seemed neutral, almost timid, standing back from the others by a few feet.
"Ooh, are yous guys fightin'?" grinned Monosuke.
"Eh, just them," Sonata nudged her head in Indigo, Memento, Sugarcoat and Sunset's direction.
"What do you guys want, anyway?" Flash glared.
"C'mon... what is it?! Why'd you call us out all of a sudden?!" Monotaro yelled, much to the other Kubs' confusion.
"Oi, we're the ones who called them out!" Monokid groaned. "Did'ja forget that, too?!"
"Eh, let's worry about Monotaro later," Monosuke waved a paw. "It's motive time now!"
What?! Already?!
"Oh, no... again?" I whimpered.
"Already...?!" Mountain hissed.
"No... not again," Sunset glowered adamantly. "We're not gonna fall for it... not again!"
"But it's no ordinary motive! This motive will inspire fear like never before!" Monotaro puffed himself up.
"Fear... like never before...?" Silver gulped.
"Why, yes... and if you face a fear like never before, you'll have no choice but to unite!" Monokuma rubbed his paws together, his eye glowing with anticipation.
"Unite...?" Sonata tilted her head.
"I'm... not sure I like the sound of that," Sunburst shivered.
"Now, for the motive that will cast you down into the depths of terror-"
"We'll present it together!" the Kubs shouted in unison again, interrupting Monokuma.
"Like hell you will!" Monokuma threatened as he launched into the group with his fist, sending Monotaro, Monosuke and Monokid flying. Monophanie had been standing back far enough to escape his wrath. "This motive is so terrifying, only your bravest, dearest father may utter its words!"
"...I admit, it's a pretty t-terrifying one..." Monophanie nodded timidly.
"Now, then... we've gotten quite a bit of feedback on this little show you're putting on for the world," Monokuma smirked. "Fan mail has been pouring in from all over, and many of them have lately been asking the same thing... how did these magical miscreants go so wrong in life?! Where are their parents, to set them on the straight and narrow?! Their friends, to guide them down that path?! Their loved ones, whom they care so... deeply... about. And heck! All those other people that you guys see and work with everyday. Shouldn't they have helped out a little, too?"
A deep chill rocked my spine. For a moment it felt like the floor dropped out from under me. It wasn't hard to figure out what he was getting at.
"YOU... YOU WOULDN'T...!" Kotenage bent his knees and sank low to the ground, as if he were about to rush Monokuma.
"No... don't you dare! Don't you fucking dare!" Indigo snarled.
"If you ask me, all those guys are just as responsible for the horrible things you've done as you are," the bear smiled, speaking slowly and maliciously. "They're all just as bad as you."
"You're seriously threatening our families now?" Sugarcoat glared back at Monokuma. "Our friends?"
"Our c-colleagues?" Silver shivered. "T-Teammates...?!"
"That's so many people for you to threaten..." Memento looked away, worried.
"Yea... You can't possibly..." Soarin' trailed off in horror.
"Oh, but I can," Monokuma's eye flashed. "Sure, perhaps I can't go all black-ops and kill 'em all at the same time... but I have gained quite a few, shall I say... devoted fans? It would only take a quick message or two, and BAM! Suddenly a semi truck goes plowing right into a family's living room! CRASH! A plane stalls in the sky and falls right on top of Crystal University! KABLOOEY! Bombs are set all over Canterlot Stadium during the big game, and the whole building comes tumbling down!" He finished his threat with a peal of maniacal laughter... I almost expected lightning and thunder to suddenly appear behind him.
"That... that's ridiculous," Sunburst shook his head frantically. "Y-You cannot possibly have that much power!"
"Oh? Would you like to test that theory?" Monokuma replied smugly. "Because if no one gets to killing soon, I just might have to get my thrills... elsewhere."
"That's enough..." Mountain rasped, fighting back her fear. "No more... please... we've already suffered enough!"
"Our friends and families are innocent!" yelled Flash. "You can't hurt them, too!"
"Oh, yes I can..." Monokuma sneered, holding up a paw with his claws extended. "After all, they never put you bastards in your place, did they? They allowed you to acquire your magic and wreak havoc everywhere... So your actions here are also their fault, get it? It's all a part of my grand master plan... to erase magic from the world! ...Can't have any sympathizers to get in my way, you know?"
"Wow! ...I've suffered too many blows to the head to remember a plan name that long!" Monotaro said nonchalantly.
"That... wasn't even a plan name at all..." sighed Monosuke.
"Maybe one more'll snap him back into it!" Monokid grinned, sticking his tongue out like a hungry predator.
"Everyone... let's forgive Monotaro," Monophanie spoke up. "Forgiving is what friends do, y'know."
"Aww, my dearest Monophanie... you're so cute, and so nice!" Monokuma pressed his paws to his cheeks and squirmed. It seemed he was again enthralled with how cute his "children" were, but within seconds his expression darkened. "...But there is more to friendship than being nice."
"Oh, and what would you know about friendship?!" Sunset groused, echoing my exact thoughts.
"Friends also punish each other when they do something wrong," Monokuma grinned. "So that's why... I'll have you punish Monotaro!"
"What?! Me?" Monophanie jumped at the suggestion, clearly reluctant.
"Please, no! Not Monophanie!" begged Monotaro. "I'm always mocking her when she's not looking, I don't wanna be punished by her!" A sadistic gleam suddenly appeared in the pink bear's eyes.
"...Fine. I'll do it."
"Nooooooooooo!" Monotaro wailed as Monophanie suddenly pulled out a cast iron frying pan from somewhere behind her and began chasing him, right out of the dining hall. Monokuma laughed as he and the other Kubs followed after them.
*So long, bear well!*
The bears left us dumbfounded. Dumbfounded... and absolutely appalled.
This motive was a big step up from the previous ones. If one of us didn't kill another soon... would he really...?
My friends back in Equestria are safe, at least... but what about their parallel universe selves here...? And Sunset...
"H-He can't do that..." Silver shivered. "...R-Right? He can't! That's just not p-possible!"
"No... I simply cannot believe Monokuma and his Kubs are capable of carrying out such a motive," Sunburst shook his head. "Not only are there far too many targets for it to be a feasible plan, there's no way he could carry it out in secret. It would only serve to alert the authorities to us and our plight... Unless..." his glasses shimmered as he lowered his head in thought.
"UNLESS...?"
"...U-Unless... he doesn't care about doing it in secret," Soarin' ominously finished.
"Why wouldn't he care?" asked Sonata.
"Of course he would care! You can't just threaten to kill a bunch of people like that!" Sugarcoat rolled her eyes.
"This is all being televised, remember?" said Soarin'. "Who knows how he's messed with the footage... if he's right, and there's people out there who actually will help him, I... I dunno," Soarin' shuddered. "I just got a bad feeling about this."
Silver began taking some deep breaths to calm herself. "No, no... my team, my fellow drivers, all their teams... we're from all over the world. He can't possibly hurt them all!"
"...Hey, when you guys raced in Saddle Arabia last year, didn't a missile hit like 5 miles away from the track? While you were all driving there?" Indigo pointed out. Silver's face immediately dropped.
"Y-Yea... and we still had to race, or else it was implied we'd all have... 'difficulties' leaving the country..." she swallowed. "Oh, god... it really is p-possible..."
"Well, if he really did that, he'd undoubtedly start a third world war in the process. I don't think he's that unhinged," offered Memento.
"Indeed. Like I said, there's no possible way Monokuma or his Kubs could carry out this motive," affirmed Sunburst. "The attention it would draw is far too great."
"SOU SOU. SO NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT SUCH EMPTY THREATS," Kotenage smiled softly as he gently grabbed onto Silver's shivering arms. She looked up at him, feeling a little better.
"And because it's just an empty threat... nobody is going to kill anyone," said Sunset.
"Riiight... because that totally worked before," muttered Sugarcoat.
"Do you have any ideas?"
"Well, I'm definitely not going to hold some stupid party," Sugarcoat glared right back at Sunset's remark. Sunset opened her mouth to reply, but closed it and shook her head as she sat back down beside me.
"You enjoyed it, you know..." she muttered under her breath.
"Don't worry about her," I sighed, patting her back. "And at any rate, I don't think we have much to worry about this time. This motive is just too extreme to be realistic."
"I sure hope so..." said Memento. "I'd hate to see DMORT being utilized."
~
Everyone eventually calmed down, put their dishes away and went their separate ways. I was no different.
A part of me was still worried about Mountain, seeing her so distraught earlier. I had a hunch I knew where to find her - I walked with purpose to the lake, finding her sitting on a log by the lake's tranquil shore.
"Hey," I spoke softly. Mountain blinked.
"Oh, hello... uh..."
"You doing okay?" I sat down beside her. Her cheeks were red, and the knee area on her good leg was damp. "I mean... well, you know."
"Hmm..." was her only reply.
~~~
Mountain and I sat in silence for a while, watching the wind make ripples on the lake's surface.
~~~
"...You know?" I finally spoke after a while, Mountain turning her head towards me. "I haven't really gotten to know you all that well... I'd like to change that."
"O-Oh? Really," mumbled Mountain, uncertainty plain in her voice.
"Yea, really. How'd you get into, er... hunting?"
"Well..." Mountain took a deep breath and sighed it out to compose herself. "...My brother and I grew up in a very small town, in the middle of a forest on a mountain range. The sign said the population was 50, although it really seemed more like half that."
"Wow... that's tiny." Our Town had more residents than that...
"Mhm. It was a half-hour trip down steep mountain roads to the nearest grocery store, and two hours until the closest mall. Two feet of snow from the end of October up until the end of March. Only businesses in town were a gas station, a tavern, and an inn run by a crazy guy with two mountain lions for pets. Seriously, he used to let them wander around freely until one got hit by a car. Then the other was kept on a leash."
Good grief.
"But it was still one of the most serene, most beautiful places I've ever seen. The sky at night was almost like day with all the stars you could see. The untamed wilderness was our backyard. September was the month the meadows came alive with butterflies and grasshoppers among the golden grasses..." A faint smile spread on Mountain's lips. "...But yea. Not much else to do in a place like that."
"It does sound very lovely, though, especially how you described it," I grinned.
"Anyway... sometimes for fun, my dad would take the two of us out driving in the cattle rancher's fields. We had some .22 rifles, and we'd pass the time hunting prairie dogs... they were a nuisance animal to ranchers, cows would step in their holes and break their legs, then have to be put down. Ocean was never very good at it, but even from a young age I could hit a prairie dog every time. First one I ever shot, actually, I got him right in the head."
...I regret this decision.
"Then when I was a bit older, Dad would let me come hunting with him. There were all kinds of game in the forest - deer, elk, grouse, pheasants, ducks, geese... since we lived so far from civilization, we hunted every chance we got for food. Sometimes even without the tags," she added with a wistful smirk. "He always said I was his good luck charm... while he was a pretty good shot, he still missed time to time. Anything I aimed at, it got shot, and we had dinner. I could even shoot a chipmunk dead-on from 100 feet away."
"I s-see..." I forced a smile and nod, hoping Mountain didn't notice the pale shade of green I was surely turning. "And I'm guessing Ocean wasn't nearly as good as you, huh?"
"No..." she sighed, stifling a shuddering breath. "Most of the time he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Instead he took up fishing with Mom... now that was something he could do that I couldn't - every time I try, I wind up getting the hook snagged on something, or the fish gets away, or I catch weeds."
I nodded wordlessly, my throat not threatening to burp up acid quite so much. Fishing was easier to talk about than hunting.
"Well, the school in town was also very small... it went up to 8th grade, but Ocean and I were the only ones in our class. We moved to the town down the mountain for high school. I have to admit, it was much nicer actually having civilization around... but our grandparents still lived in that tiny village, so we went back to visit them all the time. And Mom and Ocean would go off to fish while Dad and I would see if there was any game in the woods."
I had to admit, that kind of lifestyle seemed almost romantic, in a way. Living within the heart of nature, witness to endless displays of beauty, in a sleepy village where you knew and were friends with everybody... It reminded me of Our Town, but in a good way. The way I had always meant it to be...
...Except for the hunting. Fishing, I could tolerate, but the thought of hunting made me shudder every time the word entered my mind.
"Well, that's my childhood. What about you, Starlight?" asked Mountain. The generalized gruesome thoughts about hunting quickly vanished as I told Mountain about my own life... humanizing the pony parts as I went.
~
Mountain and I eventually parted ways. I wandered back to the Campgrounds, pondering what to do for the rest of the day. My clothes were feeling kind of gross again, but the thought of doing laundry again so soon made me groan.
Ugh... Monokuma was nice enough to give us all underwear, why couldn't we have been given extra clothes? Even just copies of the same outfit would do...
I remembered the Gift Shop had clothes inside it - we'd all gotten our swimsuits from there, and I had seen clothes available... tasteless and gauche, but clothes nonetheless. Having nothing else to do, I made my way there.
Once inside, I found Indigo digging around in one of the clothes racks. Perhaps she'd had the same idea.
"Aw, fuck... you're telling me there isn't even a single T-shirt in this godforsaken place without that stupid fuckin' bear's mug on it?!" she grumbled as she flung a black, long-sleeved shirt over her shoulder. It would've been okay, except for the aforementioned face that took up almost the entire front of the shirt.
"I was hoping that wasn't the case here..." I sighed. Indigo poked her head out of the clothing rack.
"Oh! Hey, Starlight. You lookin' for some new threads, too?" she asked. "Even I gotta admit, I'm startin' to feel pretty fuckin' nasty in just these every day."
"Have you checked all of the clothing racks?"
"Nah, just this one so far... wanna keep looking with me? There has to be something we can wear."
~~~
Indigo and I dug through the clothes racks together. Everything had Monokuma's face on it... I guess it won't show if it's used like long underwear...
~~~
"You know, I always meant to ask," I spoke after we'd been searching in silence for a while. "You're the Ultimate Street Artist, right?"
"Guess so," Indigo replied.
"So, uh... what do you do, then?"
"Duh... I make art on the streets!" Indigo jabbed her thumb into her chest. "I look around for places in cities that need some... sprucing up. Then I get some spray paint, sneak on in and draw whatever I feel like."
"Uh... sneak on in?"
"Well, yea... lots of people out there think what I paint is just graffiti. So the cops get called on me a lot."
It, uh... sounds a lot like graffiti...
"But it's not! I put a lot of thought into my art!" Indigo yelled. "Satirical dark humor, subtle and clever allegories of all the shit that's wrong in the world... or, something... I dunno, that's what my fans online say, anyway."
"Oh? You've got fans?"
"Lots of 'em! Whenever I paint a new masterpiece, people flock to it once the word gets out! They can't stop staring! And then the city workers used to come by and paint over it... but then some fucker decided to just knock out that piece of wall or whatever and sell it. And it sold for millions! My shit's worth millions, yo!"
"That's pretty cool!" I nodded.
"Fuck yea! So then I made a couple of other pieces and sold them anonymously through a third-party... I gotta get me a piece of that, after all!"
It took a moment before I noticed that one specific word. "...Wait, anonymously? So no one knows you made it?"
"Nah... well, they know I made it. But it's under a false name, ya see. I mean... I'd probably get arrested immediately if people knew who I really was," Indigo shrugged.
That's a good point.
"Yea, people know it's me 'cause of my signature. It's like a dollar sign, but with a Z and and I! So, the world knows me as 'Izzy'", she pointed proudly to herself.
"Huh..." I mulled the nickname over for a moment. "...And no one's made the connection to you?"
"Nah... they'd have to catch me first to prove it," Indigo smirked. "Besides my mad art, I've also got mad parkour skills... the cops lose sight of me within ten seconds of a chase... Impressed, aint'cha?"
I could only nod in agreement. So Indigo was like a rogue artist... not really what I'd expected when I first saw her. Just like ponies, people were always full of surprises.
~
Eventually I found a few items of clothing I could wear under my usual clothes. Indigo stayed behind to look around further and spend her Monocoins on the MonoMonoMachine while I took them to the Laundry Room for a quick wash and dry. By the time they were dry and I had put them away for tomorrow, it was already time for dinner.
It was business as usual in the dining hall. Kotenage had made yet another steaming pot of chankonabe and rice with some quick-pickled vegetables as a side - despite being the same dish every night it always tasted differently every time. It was really quite impressive.
"Yoooo!" Indigo shouted as she entered the room, plopping down beside Sugarcoat.
"Oh my god, my ears..." Sugarcoat groused as she dug her pinkie into one. "I assume you're happy about something?"
"Fuck yea! I finally won these to use with that Funplane I got ages ago!" Indigo puffed up proudly as she jutted out her chest, displaying a set of black headphones hanging around her neck. They were wired; a black cord snaked down from one side of the headphones and into her backpack. "They're 2.5D Headphones... super good! These are hella psychopop!"
"Ah... headphones. Now I don't have to listen to you play that stupid thing." Sugarcoat tried to smile, but with her half-open eyes and lack of movement in her cheeks her smile came off as terrifying. "Do you even have anything to listen to?"
"Well... I did also get some mixtape called 'Desperation'... not really my jam, but it's better than nothing."
"What an apt description," Sugarcoat snarked. "For both our current situation, and the situation I'll be in when you inevitably make me listen to it."
"Ay, c'mon... it's somethin' to distract from all the shit sprayin' around us now. Innit that somethin' you teach? Find the good in bad situations?" Indigo stared pointedly at her friend. Sugarcoat sighed heavily.
"...If you want to ignore reality and get killed next, maybe," she muttered. Groaning, Indigo shook her head and turned her attention to her food.
"She would be a little less on edge if she took that advice," Sunset grumbled to me between spoonfuls of soup. I was inclined to agree... as a former guidance counselor I had always seen looking on the bright side of bad situations to be helpful.
But, she definitely didn't strike me as that kind of person.
After dinner was finished, I returned to my cottage, undressed and took a nice, long shower. At one point I laid down in the tub on my back, just letting the water trickle over my stomach like hot jungle rain. I stared up at the ceiling, the lighting a dim gray due to being partially obscured by the shower curtain.
The memory of the motive floated through my mind. Threatening the lives of tens, perhaps hundreds of people... and for what? Why did Monokuma think magic was so bad? Why was it so awful that some of the humans here had gained access to it? True, there would always be some people who might use their magic for selfish, maybe even evil purposes... but most would use it for good... wouldn't they?
Perhaps not. Humans were definitely not ponies. All I had studied about them had made that very clear. And Monokuma, whoever he was... absorbing the magical essence of those who had been executed, yet teleporting us to and from the execution sites... why? Just what was he doing with that magic? And if this was all being televised as anti-magic propaganda...
...Suddenly I felt very uncomfortable. I sat up, letting the water softly patter my face for a few minutes. Once the feeling had mostly passed I finished up and dried myself off, putting on my pajamas for bed. I slid down under the heavy blankets and held my eyes shut, intent on not opening them again for the rest of the night.
And yet, that uncomfortable feeling lingered.
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Man. This motive is really something and I can see why it will cause fear
As for any FTE I say Starlight could have another talk with Sonata
Next chapter… is when I feel like will get the body discovered. And, if you follow the Danganronpa trend it will be a double one
And, if what happens next is what I think it is I’ll be so very sad and upset
Ah, threatening their families. A classic! And yet oh so effective, upupupu.
Also I like this interpretation of INdigo as a street artist. It's pretty sweet, and feels like it mixed in a slight G5 reference because who doesn't love Izzy?
So, will we see a dead body next? Maybe. *sniff* Maybe. But who?
...or will it be two?
I'm gonna say I want Starlight to spend time with Sunburst. Also, I have one theory on a potential Mastermind suspect, but there isn't much to go on with it.
It's technically possible, but unlikely IMO, that it's Principal Abacus Cinch. Not much reason besides that she would definitely hate magic after Friendship Games. To be fair, even if she was this unhinged back then, she probably wouldn't have killed anyone since that would get the Games called off, meaning Crystal Prep couldn't win. HOWEVER, even if she's willing to KILL people in order to get rid of magic, she doesn't have any reason (that's obvious to me) to draw it out like this, and force people to kill each other, instead of just gunning everyone down first chance she gets. So, I'm putting her in the "unlikely" pile, if not the "very unlikely" pile, even if she's the only real suspect I have so far.
I'm just catching up now, so when I make predictions I'm going in blind. That sawblade looks pretty dangerous, and I know you're no stranger to exceptionally gruesome deaths.
Heh. I see what you did there. Both times.