My name is Derpy Hooves. I'm fourteen years old, getting ready to join Canterlot High. I'm not sure why I became a student here, this is a place for talented students. Students who get accepted have personalized invitations including an abstract picture that represents their talent, most are so proud of this that they wear that symbol on nearly all their clothing. I got one as well, but I'm not sure what these bubbles mean.
The last thing I remember, I was stepping out of my house, ready for the first day of school. And then everything went… fuzzy. Dark. All of a sudden, I was asleep at my desk. I don't make a habit of sleeping in class.
My head is killing me! With great pain I reluctantly got up, fell against the open door into the hallway. The pain in my head receded to a dull ache, I think I should still see the school nurse. There was a security camera in the corner. "I guess this place is serious about safety."
There was a screen with speakers over the desk of that classroom, I see these in most rooms now. "This place certainly wants to show off it's funding. But why in every room? It seems overkill..."
Doorways lined the hall. Pictures hung here and there, of students, the symbols of talent they received, and one of the two principals. Security cameras lined the hall, ensuring no blind spots. A couple more screens were placed here and there as well. But no staff members in sight, strange...
"Oh my! Excuse me, darling, but do you know where I could find my teacher, or any staff at all?" I turned around, finding myself face to face with a woman with purple hair and the palest skin tone possible, literally the color white. She smiled at me, as she casually flicked a hand through her hair. I looked at her, shocked I hadn't recognized her earlier. "I'm sorry if I startled you. It's just that I'm lost and I don't know how I got here."
This young lady is known as Rarity Belle, the Ultimate Fashionista. She designs new styles of clothing on the regular, thanks to her incredible gift for sewing and gemology. I let out a laugh and scratched the back of my head. "Sorry, I don't. Know, I mean." Ugh, smooth, Derpy. I suddenly had flashbacks to the last eight awkward years of school I really wish to not repeat this year. "I don't even know how I got here. My name's Derpy by the way, Derpy Hooves."
She shook my hand "Pleased to meet you miss Hooves" She dropped her hand and placed it on her hip, she then looked around the corridor. "A pity we're both lost. Did we share previous school years? Something about you seems familiar." I thought for a bit "I think I would remember that. I do know about you though, to avoid things getting awkward I learned the names of all the students. That way I don't go though the school year forgetting everyone's names"
"Ah well, I suppose I may be mistaken. Anyway, why don't we try and see if we can find someone who does work here. Surely someone has to know how we got here."
"Yeah, good idea," I agreed. I glanced both ways down the hallway. One, I saw, dead ended in a large steel barricade, like some kind of fire door or watertight bulkhead. So I pointed down the other way and said, "Let's go."
We made our way swiftly down the hall, of course, security cameras, all over the place. The designer of this school sure didn't leave any inch uncovered.
There were a pair of people chatting by the hall. One was a short, chubby pink girl with curly hair wearing a white t-shirt stamped with a trio of balloons (Two blue and one yellow), and a ruffled skirt which was surprise of all surprises pink. She was yammering away a mile a minute. This is Pinkamina Diane Pie, the Ultimate Party Planner. She's known throughout the world for her ability to throw extravagant parties that almost everyone enjoys. The other was a taller woman wearing a black leather jacket, boots that match perfectly, an orange shirt with a fire symbol on it, and a purple skirt. This is Sunset Shimmer, the Ultimate Mysterious Student. Nobody knows where she comes from, and while there is documentation of a Sunset Shimmer existing she is known to reside far away from this one. She appears to be struggling to stand on her own two legs, are these new boots or something?
With a great big gasp the pink one spotted the two of us and rushed over in a flash, grabbing and shaking our hands so fast I barely had a chance to react. "More new people! Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! So nice to meet you! Ooh, are you a student or do you work here? I'm just kidding! I learned everything I could about all of you so I could throw the bestest parties for you all!"
Of course she prefers being called Pinkie Pie. How could I have forgot? "Um, hi. I'm Derpy Hooves, this is Rarity Belle. Do you know how we got here?
Pinkie shrugged "At first I thought it was a kidnapping, but I don't think kidnappers would let us just walk around the school. Look, why don't you talk to my new friend? She's not exactly the chattiest but I'm sure you'll have something to talk about."
I attempt to introduce myself to her but she instantly snaps at me "WHAT DO YOU WANT!? CAN'T YOU TELL WHEN A MA- I mean WOMAN doesn't feel like talking to you!" Jeez, clearly not here to make friends. What was she about to say? Just another mystery I guess, she must really want to keep her title.
A little walk later me and my new friend found a swimming pool. Complete with several diving boards and lounging benches. There was also the stereotypical oversized chair for a lifeguard, but a sign hung off of it which read 'No lifeguard on duty' "This place seems to care so much about security yet there's no staff and they haven't closed off the pool. This place just gets stranger by the minute." A few sets of chairs completed the arrangement. There was also another door here, likely leading to a changing room.
Two people were talking by the pool, and waving to us as we approached. There was a tall, well muscled light orange-skinned woman, wearing a pair of jeans and a white button shirt patterned with green on the shoulders and collar, plus a massive hat atop her head. Golden hair in a ponytail bouncing behind her. "Well howdy there!" she greeted with a friendly wave and a rather thick accent. "Nice to see new folks. Why don'tcha c'mere, sit a spell with us?" This is Applejack the Ultimate Apple Farmer, I'm not sure of her last name, there are conflicting answers on that.
She patted a pair of chairs next to her, between her and a smaller woman, this one with pale yellow skin and red locks of hair falling around her face in curls. A red bow was tied atop her head, as a child she would seem out of place. She was clad similarly to the country woman, with a green button up shirt and a pair of jeans. She waved happily, and grinned. "Yeah, c'mon!" she agreed in an identical accent. This is Apple Bloom, younger sister of Applejack and Ultimate Gifted Youngster. She got into this school through academic merit alone, despite not even having gone through puberty. Quite impressive.
The older sister spoke again "We were startin' to wonder if we were the only ones here." the two then went on to confirm I got their names right, but Applejack failed to mention what her last name is, that's going to bother me all year isn't it? The younger one decides to ask "Sorry if this has been asked a lot, but do either of you two know how we got here? We just woke up sittin' in these chairs, it's kinda weird, you know?" I shook my head. "Sorry, but we don't. We've been running into other students, but so far, no one knows either." "Speaking of which, darling," Rarity said as she stood, "We should perhaps get back to that. I have this weird feeling about Applejack, like somehow we have some past relationship..." She gave Applejack and Apple Bloom a smile. "We'll talk more later, I'm sure." Applejack stood as well, stretching her arms. "Ya know that sounds like a mighty fine idea. C'mon, why don't we go explorin' ourselves?" Apple Bloom hopped out of her seat and happily ran off with her.
As Rarity and I continued walking, we encounter a woman of pink skin and purple hair. Dressed in a heavy amount of dark purple with the only thing different being a blue scarf. This is Suri Polomare the Ultimate Business Manager, she works in fashion like Rarity, but unlike Rarity is strictly in a business role. She is a rather successful woman for her age and has more money than the rest of the students can even dream of, there are rumors however that her practices are not exactly moral or legal even.
"Hey, can you help me out here or is everyone in this school useless?" she says rather rudely. "Uh, sorry?" I offered, trying to be polite to my fellow student. She scowled, stuffed her hands in her pockets and shrugged. "Whatever. No problem. Just like back home, it's everyone for themselves." Rarity appears to be staring daggers into this woman. "I don't know why. But I have some strange anger twards this woman." Suri basically gives the same look back "Same here honestly..."
Three girls are found by the gymnasium. One is pink haired, has yellow skin, and wears a knee length dress. She appears to be as tall as me first due to posture, but as she receives a pep talk and is convinced to straiten her back it becomes clear she is very tall. This is Fluttershy Breeze the Ultimate Veterinarian. While still in training, she is having such ease with training some people already trust her to act in the role.
To her right giving said pep talk was a short, lean cyan-skinned girl with short rainbow colored hair, wearing a blue sports jacket over a white shirt with a rainbow lightning bolt on it and tight black pants. This is Rainbow Dash, the Ultimate Soccer Star. She knows all there is to know about the sport, she plays whenever possible, as expected from someone who loves running and kicking so much she has quite muscular legs that she is very proud of.
To the left was a woman who's hair is as white as Rarity's skin, with some purple tips. She wears a thick brown coat and skinny jeans, her boots are clearly made for outdoor activities and her shirt is completely hidden by her coat, if she's wearing one at all. This is Gilda Stone the Ultimate Saboteur, she's able to dismantle both simple and complicated machines with great ease. She has even employed these skills in service of her friends and government.
Rainbow notices Gilda looking quite upset "You know Gilda, you really need to stop being so jealous of my friends. I have more than enough time to spend with both of you." Gilda responds by scoffing and looking away. Rainbow then notices us "Oh hey look, more people!" she said, pointing at us. "Hey you over there, c'mere! We wanna ask you something!" Fluttershy mumbled something into the shorter one's ear as we approached. "Hi there!" I greeted with a small wave. Rainbow spoke for her quiet friend "She said 'Do you have any idea how we got here? I mean this place is nice and all, but it's kinda weird. I mean, we woke up next to a shelf of sports equipment. But if you don't want to answer it's okay, I don't want to be a bother' " Rarity gave her a sympathetic smile. "Sorry darling, but we don't know either. Oh, forgive my manners. I am Rarity, and this is Derpy" She looks her head to the side, looking right at Rainbow. "Wait, haven't I seen you before?" I said with a point that cane off a bit more showoffy than I intended, "She is a superstar in soccer, winning massive games all over the nation. Of course you know who she is." "Yup, that's me!" Rainbow stood proud.
Fluttershy took the opportunity to carefully step behind her, almost ducking down as if to hide behind the shorter woman. "Um, is she okay?" I asked. "Hey, don't worry Shy, they're cool. They won't hurt you," Rainbow said soothingly, taking Fluttershy's hand in hers and squeezing it gently. "You d-don't think we were kidnapped, do you?" Fluttershy asked. "I wish we could tell you, darling. Honestly, we haven't a clue," Rarity said, matching my actions. "I'm hoping this is just some kind of surprise party or something of that nature. Though I can't imagine who would be throwing it, since we have already met Pinkie Pie and she hasn't announced it." "Oh, okay…" Fluttershy whimpered, staring down at the floor with the saddest expression I'd ever seen on any human being before. Ooof, that's simultaneously adorable and painful to watch. "Sorry about that," I said again. "Hey don't sweat it," Rainbow said. She wrapped an arm around her two friends. "Hey girls, why don't we go check out that store over there, huh? Derpy, Rarity, we'll uh, we'll catch you later." the trio head into a strange shop with a picture of a picture of a black and white bear on it.
Rarity sighed gently as she watched them. "That poor dear… I hope for her sake this really is what I suggested, and not something more sinister." I'd been trying to fight off an increasing feeling of unease since waking up. No one we'd run into yet had a clue what was going on, I was almost as nervous as Fluttershy was. "Yeah I know what you mean. C'mon."
As we walked into a cafeteria we saw a quartet of people sitting at a table, three women, one man. One of the women, with purple and pink hair held up in a little bun wearing a blue and purple stripped shirt, with a pink bow and puffy shoulders, and a purple skirt emblazoned with a pink and white six-pointed star. She was thoroughly engaged in some kind of book, completely ignoring the others. She also appeared to struggle with rather large glasses almost falling off her face. This is Twilight Sparkle the Ultimate Occultist, she studies otherworldly concepts such as magic and alternate realities, unlike a cultist she does not necessarily like all that she researches but rather wants knowledge of it for knowledge's sake.
The other two women were arguing animatedly over something, gesturing wildly with their hands. One of them had the poofiest orange hair I'd ever seen in my life, tied back with a spiked hair tie, and purple skirt. A pair of leather boots with spiked heels completed her outfit. This is Adagio Dazzle the Ultimate Negotiator, she appears to be a quite skilled at convincing people of her point of view, especially when attempting to do so though song. Some say that they feel like they're under a spell when having a discussion with her.
The other was dressed more plainly, just a dark blue hoodie and a cyan skirt decorated with a symbol of a wand and crescent moon. Her hair was white, with silver blue streaks. This is Trixie Lunamoon the Ultimate Magician, her talent for stage magic made her quite popular with boys, yet I always got the impression that she was gay.
The man had blue hair and orange skin, he wore an outfit I wish I was cool enough to pull off, with blue jeans and a leather jacket over a white shirt emblazoned with a crest of a blue shield with a yellow lightning bolt. This is Flash Sentry, the Ultimate Bodyguard, he's always willing to help someone in trouble and is trained to protect others from harm. However I don't recall much else about him, he has a reputation of being rather boring.
As we approached, the book reader slammed her book onto the table and cried out, "Ugh, would you two please be quiet? I am trying to read!" Trixie immediately blurts out "Well perhaps if she could stop insulting Trixie's manner of speaking Trixie might be able to quiet down a notch!" I let out a loud whistle. "Hey, you two, listen to them why don't you?" Trixie turned to face us, crossing her arms over her chest and huffing dramatically. "And why should Trixie listen? No one seems to be respecting Trixie's feelings!" I shake my head "The problem isn't your opinions on 3rd person speech, it's the fact your argument is annoying everyone here! If you want my opinion, you do you, girl." Trixie gave Adagio a smirk of triumph. "Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie prevails!" she cackled with glee.
Twilight held up her book. "I woke up with this book on my face and was reading through it. I thought it might have a clue as to our current situation, it didn't. I'd ask if you know how we got here, but after talking to three people on the subject I have enough pattern recognition to guess your answer." "And Trixie apologizes if Trixie made a bad impression," said Trixie, she seemed sincere. "Apology accepted," Rarity said. Flash smiled at us, "it's nice to meet you two. I'm sure we'll never forget this first day of school"
"So that's what, thirteen people now who've no idea what's going on?" I said, throwing up my arms in frustration. To which Rarity interjects immediately "Fourteen darling, don't forget yourself." "Right, yeah, okay. Listen, we're gonna go see if there's anyone else around, and if not we'll come back. There's others around the ship too. We should all meet up here." "That sounds like a good idea," Flash replied with a nod. He hopped out of his chair. "I could go gather people up if you want."
I nodded and began to head to that place I remembered but forgot to check, that bizarre store. Rarity following in tow we find the last two students. One in a white jacket, white shorts with a music note on the side of them, purple and pink pants under the shorts, purple tinted sunglasses, some headphones, and purple and blue shoes without socks. Her hair is two shades of blue and her skin is a slightly darker variant of Rarity's skin. This is Vinyl Scratch, the Ultimate DJ, never takes off her headphones and never says a word. Nobody I've asked knows why she does these things.
Next to her is a more formally dressed woman in a pink skirt with a fancier music note on it, a white undershirt, a purple vest, a pink bowtie, and black open toed shoes. Her name is Octavia Melody, the Ultimate Musician, she is almost never seen without her cello, to such a point that I'm certain she's already put in her will that she will be buried with her cello.
"Lemme guess, neither of you know why we're here?" I asked. Octavia shakes her head "Absolutely no idea. Maybe Vinyl does, but she'd never tell us" she then laughs at her own joke, Vinyl just smiles.
I groan in frustration and face palm. "This is so annoying. I don't make a habit of complaining, I'm normally patient, but there's sixteen people in this school we've found, no one knows what's going on, and I'm starting to get annoyed!"
DING-DONG BING-BONG
A loud artificial ringing, a strange new school bell, it belted out from every speaker in the school at once. All of the screens lit up with static, where a dark silhouette of a figure was barely visible and almost indistinguishable. "Ahem! Attention! Attention, if you please!" came a voice, it's high pitched and squeaky. "All students report to the gymnasium!" "Oh, finally, thank goodness," I sigh in relief "It's time we finally meet the staff here. We better get some answers! There's no way everyone overslept!"
"Oooh, I wonder what this is about?" Pinkie said as we arrived. "Maybe they're throwing us a big party?" Everyone stood together and exchanged looks "Oh wow, wait, there's sixteen of us huh?" Pinkie said. "Yeah, what about it?" Adagio grumbled, glaring with her arms crossed. "Do you know something?" Twilight asked, intrigued. "If she knows something she should tell us. Now!" Sunset stated in a threatening tone. Pinkie Pie shrugged. "Nope, I dunno anything! But this does feel like something! I mean there's sixteen of us, right? And there's security cameras everywhere. And the announcer is a squeaky guy. It feels like some kind of setup, but I dunno what!"
"WELCOME STUDENTS!" cried a squeaky voice from above us. Falling out of seemingly nowhere, a robotic teddy bear? I wonder what kind of bizarre joke this is. "Woah, what is that!?" Fluttershy cried in fear. "It's so weird looking!" Gilda said. Trixie cocked her head. "Trixie thinks it's a talking toy of some kind." "That don't look like no toy Ah'd let Apple Bloom play with," Applejack disagreed. "The proportions are all wrong. Where is Principal Celestia!?" Twilight asked, glaring at the toy. The bear puts his paws over his mouth "Puhuhu. No need to worry about that Twilight. From now on I'm all the staff you need, principal and teacher!" He casually reveals there's a bunch of him.
Pinkie gasped in horror, recoiling backwards and wriggling her limbs about. "Oh no! I was right! This is a setup! Everybody panic!" Everyone just looked at her in confusion. "Why?" Flash asked. "Now now, Pinkie, let your principal speak!" the bear interrupted "You'll spoil the surprise!" "What surprise?" Rainbow Dash growled, glaring up at him. "What the hell is going on here!? Why are we here!?" "Oh, just to play a little game with me," he said with a wink. "I'm not sure you've played THIS game before" I look at him curiously "What game is it?" "Oh, nothing too hard, really…. Just a little lying, a little stabbing! Puhuhu!" He cackles "My name is Monokuma! This is my KILLING GAME!" I heard a lot of voices squealing variations on "What!?" or "Oh no!" or "No way!"
Pinkie suddenly shouts above the others "I'VE SEEN THIS! THIS MONOKUMA GUY WAS IN A GAME I'VE PLAYED! IT WAS A KILLING GAME THEN TOO!" Monokuma replies happily "So you already know the rules then! Good, because explaining was always my least favorite part of it..." "That's not happening!" Rainbow Dash screamed, suddenly mustering the courage to run right up to Monokuma and kick him into a wall, causing him to explode. Another Monokuma pops up "I wouldn't do that again if I were you," he said in a quiet, sinister tone. "Only warning! Next person to attack your principal is to be executed!" He bares his claws and teeth "CRAP!" Rainbow squealed, falling back onto her butt, eyes saucering with panic. "E-e-e-executed? Did he say executed?" Fluttershy whispered because she was too scared to scream. "I… I want to go home now!" Apple Bloom blubbered, tears in her eyes, clinging to Applejack's arm.
"Guys! Just calm down!" I said, trying to get a grip on everyone's panic. "Listen to me! He won't hurt us if we don't break the rules!" I glared up at him. "Right? Is that how it works?" Monokuma replies at once "Of course! So long as you follow the rules, you'll be okay! What kind of barbaric display do you think this is!? Take your time, kill when you're ready, this is a civilized game! Oh, and before I forget, you'll need these!" He reveals some tablets "See you later!"
Everyone scrambled to get a tablet. I was closest, and got mine first. It was small, about the size of three smartphones laid side by side. My name was engraved in golden letters on the back, the rest of the pad decorated in black and white. I decide to keep it in my backpack. On the other side there was a simple USB charge port on one side, along with a power button and headphone jack. I turned it on. It showed my name at first as it booted up, then a home screen, like any smartphone app page. Several apps were in place, including a map, a texting app, student profiles, evidence, a camera, a voice recorder, and most importantly, rules. I decided to glance at the profiles first, just in case. And they were detailed, it showed our names, our birth dates, blood type, height, weight, chest size (ugh), and an Ultimate Talent. In my case, it simply showed "???"
We all read the rules, even Pinkie made sure the rules she knew weren't changed:
Note: All rules must be followed. Violation of any rule will result in punishment by death.
Rule #1: All students must live the rest of their lives in school, unless they win the killing game.
Rule #2: Attacking the principal is completely forbidden.
Rule #3: Any attempt to cause damage the security cameras, monitors, or other school property that is not considered evidence in a murder case is a violation of school rules. This rule is up to Monokuma's discretion.
Rule #4: Theft of another person's Monopad is strictly prohibited.
Rule #5: Anyone who causes the death of a student will be considered a blackened.
Rule #6: When a dead body is discovered, an investigation period will occur with its length as defined by Monokuma. All students may spend this time as they choose, but investigation is strongly encouraged.
Rule #7: After the investigation a class trial will occur. All surviving students must attend unless specifically given permission not to by Monokuma.
Rule #8: During a class trial, the students must debate to determine who is the blackened. When the students are certain, a vote will occur. Refusal to vote will be severely punished.
Rule #9: If the blackened is successfully identified, they alone will be executed. If, however, a majority of the students vote incorrectly, the blackened will be leave, and the remaining students will be executed.
Rule #10: Monokuma will never directly participate in a murder.
Rule #11: A body discovery announcement occurs when three surviving students discover a body. This signals the beginning of investigation.
Rule #12: A murder is defined as the causing of death of a student, regardless of intent. If you kill, it's murder, no matter what.
Rule #13: Any attempt to name the blackened prior to the class trial will be met with immediate punishment. No tattletails allowed!
Rule #14: The shop will only be available from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. After that, it will be closed. The cafeteria, however, is available at any time and cooking is automated.
Rule #15: No items with the exception of incriminating evidence in the case of a blackened may be removed from an area without first being logged via Monopad. Stealing will not be tolerated!
Rule #16: Except for attempting to open locked doors, students may freely explore to their heart's desire.
Rules may be added at any time by Monokuma. Please pay attention to any text messages Monokuma may send.
"M-m-m-murder?" Fluttershy gasped, hiding her face in her hair. "This is ridiculous!" Flash growled, shaking his head. "Why would we ever kill someone else anyway? Are you for real? No one here would do that!" Pinkie Pie whimpered softly, her hair seeming to deflate until the bouncy curls laid flat against her skull. "I won't hurt anyone. I won't. I won't!" Adagio looked around at everyone. "I see none of you are seeing this rationally. Given the right motivation, the desire to leave? Any of us might give in. Even me." She let out a deep laugh full of malice. "And if I were to do it, well, I'd target someone weak. Someone who won't put up much of a fight." She locked her eyes on Fluttershy, who yelped in fright. "Maybe you?" Rainbow immediately responds by punching Adagio in the face "You lay a single finger on her and I'll rip you to pieces!" she snarled.
Everyone's Monopads let out a shrill beep. I looked down at mine to see a new rule already added:
Rule #17: All murders must be difficult to solve. Creativity is required. Failure to create an interesting mystery will result in immediate punishment.
"Did that really need to be a rule?" Trixie scoffed. "Trixie would think this would be obvious." Monkuma sighs "You'd think that, but I've seen some pathetic murders. Anyway, tata for now. If you need me, you can simply call out my name and I shall appear. Please, have fun! Bye bye!" With that, Monokuma disappeared, leaving us, as a group to flounder in panic and misery. To suffer, for, supposedly, the rest of our lives in this miserable school. As my fellow students sobbed, cried, moaned, and withdrew into shells, I attempted to calm down, I'm not myself when I panic.
From here on out, my purpose was clear. I'd find out why and I will stop them. I may not be the strongest, I may not be the smartest, but when I want to help I WILL NOT STOP!
Remaining students:16