I was now the only survivor. Out of all the girls who had ever received her powers from Discord and Platinum City, I was the only one who had yet to die, and that fact was slowly beginning to kill me.

“Are you sure you’ll be OK?”

“...Ja, I vill be fine.”

Photo Finish sighed deeply, tilting her glasses back up her face to try and portray the normal, composed expression that she always had. She was still alive, technically, but so were the other girls from Platinum City. They all knew at one point or another what it was like to fail, to lose their life fighting a game that they didn’t want to be a part of, yet somehow, I had escaped that pain again and again. Why me? It felt like everyone always had a target on my back, so out of all the talented girls that Platinum City had, why was I the only one who was spared that pain?

Sunset Shimmer nodded at Photo Finish’s reply, but none of us were very convinced about her answer. She was obviously taking this much harder than any of us thought she would, and if I was being honest with myself, part of me wondered whether or not she wished she had died in real life too.

“You know, you can always stay over at my house if you need to--”

“Zat vill not be necessary,” she replied, cutting off Sunset Shimmer while she still had composure. “Although I do appreciate your concern. Zank you again, Mädchen. However, I do not think zat I vill be ze one who needs a place to sleep tonight.”

Suddenly, everyone’s eyes fell back onto me, making me flinch backwards. “Th-that’s alright! Trixie can just sleep in Platinum City tonight!”

Their faces all said the same thing. They were just as concerned about me as they were about Photo Finish, but I couldn’t continue to let myself continue to be a problem anymore. I could tell that they wanted to help me out, but… they just didn’t understand… None of them did.

Sunset scoffed, putting her hands onto her hips. “Oh, come on, Trixie. You know it’s not a problem if you stay over for a while. When I first came here from my own world, I didn’t have anyone to take care of me, so believe me when I say that I know how hard it can be trying to survive on your own.”

No, she didn’t. She didn’t know anything about me. She didn’t know what it was like growing up in my shoes. She didn’t know what it was like dealing with the constant fear of coming home every day, just to have the everliving shit beaten out of her, and thanks to Lulu Lemon’s little memory intervention, neither did I!

I then shook my head, trying my best to ward off the inner demons bringing up the only thoughts I was actually trying to forget. I couldn’t figure out what I was getting so worked up about, but I couldn’t bring them down with me if I was just going to have a mental breakdown anyway. “No, thanks,” I said as calmly as I could, rubbing my elbow as I tried to force a smile. “Trixie has had a long day. I kinda just want to go back to Platinum City, if that’s OK.”

Sunset looked to the others for their own thoughts, but after they all shrugged in reply, Sunset let out a sigh and gave me a sympathetic smile. “OK. Well… just message us if you need anything.”

“...Thanks…”

My eyes travelled back down to my shoes. I knew that I was only making their concern grow worse, but the last thing I wanted to do was look into their eyes, especially if it meant they would just take longer to leave. I could hear their footsteps walking away, becoming dimmer and dimmer as they stepped further and further off into the distance. I then waited until the sounds were completely gone, standing there for another minute or so to make sure they wouldn’t come back, and once I was sure I was alone, I fell to my knees, bawling into my hands.

All I could think was “why?” Why did this have to be my life? Why did I have to be the one to save Equestria? I was one of the least qualified girls in the entire world, so why was it that the most powerful, vindictive magical girl in the world was dedicating her every waking moment to make sure that I died?

I must have been on the floor for a good five minutes, sobbing like a baby, but I knew that at least this way, nobody would hear me. Nobody would make fun of me or get annoyed by me. I would have cried longer, in fact, if I hadn’t realized how little time I had before I needed to wake up again. School started in a little over 7 hours, and if I wanted to have any shot at competing against Last Gambit’s team, I needed to get as much rest as I could, no matter how impossible.

If only there were a magical girl whose power was to put people to sle--

“AAAGGHHH!!”

“Pipe down, will you? Otherwise the whole neighborhood will know we’re here!”

I must have triggered some memory that Discord had erased, but the sudden pain in my skull wasn’t even a concern anymore. I had completely forgotten that the four of us weren’t the only ones transported here directly from Everfree City. Sunset, Twilight, Photo Finish and I were all sent back to the exact same places where we had originally come from before we ended up in Everfree City, but I could think of at least one girl who went to Canterlot High who had made the exact same journey from the exact same place.

The moment I pulled my aching head from out of my hands, I looked up to see a girl much shorter than me, looking down into my eyes with a sadistic smile on her face. “How did you like day one? Was it exciting enough for you?”

The tears were threatening to come back, but I couldn’t lose my composure here. If the rest of her team secretly went to this school, they could all be in the same room, waiting to kill me with nobody around to stop them.

“What do you want?” I asked, more in a grumble than an actual voice.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You know, not every encounter we have is just me trying to kill you. You should at least give me a little credit.”

“OK,” I said much more confidently this time, rising back up to my feet and making her look up at me. “Then why exactly are you here? Come to poke fun at Trixie’s miserable first day?”

“...Yeah, pretty much.” I growled again, but that just made her laugh, grabbing onto her waist for dramatic effect. “I sure hope my team isn’t being too mean to you. Maybe we should give you girls a head start next time. After all, we all know what happens when you try running away.”

*Clang!*

I didn’t even know what I was doing anymore. One second I was standing above her, and the next second, my hands were gripping the collar of her shirt, lifting her up and slamming her into a nearby locker, yet despite the sudden power shift, she never once stopped smiling. She knew something I didn’t, and I was pretty sure that something involved her magical girls being somewhere close by.

Finally, after taking a deep breath, I allowed the girl back down to the floor, where she fixed her shirt and arrogantly folded her arms. “Smart move, Trixie. I think we both know what would have happened if you tried anything here.”

“Then why don’t you do it and get it over already?”

“And turn this place into a war zone?! Golly, Trixie! We’re in the middle of school for crying out loud! Show some class!” The girl then snickered at her own joke, but if this was really all she came to do, there was no point in me being there anymore.

“I’m going home.”

Finally, however, right when I turned around to walk away, Cozy Glow stopped laughing. “You don’t have a home.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that…”

Suddenly, both Cozy Glow and I took a step back in surprise, looking around for wherever the voice had come from. I knew who it belonged to, but that somehow only terrified me just as much as it was terrifying her. Fog was beginning to set around our ankles, shadows jumping out at every corner, slithering from one side of the school to the other. Then, with all the smoke piling up into one large billow, a creature emerged from the smoke, cackling demonically, making Cozy Glow yelp in uncharacteristic fear.

“What the shit?! What is he doing here?!”

The creature in front of us, however, just smiled at her with his signature snaggletooth grin. “It’s an honor to officially meet you, Cozy Glow. My name is Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony.” As the draconequus took a bow, the girl beside me took another hesitant step backwards.

“Yeah. Cool. Thanks. Again, what the shit?!”

“Oh, calm down. I am on your side, after all.”

““YOU ARE?!”” the two of us exclaimed, looking back at each other as if our faces could somehow explain what was going on. As I should have expected, though, Discord just cackled loudly at our expense, making me wonder if this was some kind of twisted joke.

I knew Discord, though, and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, this was no joke.

“Of course!” he shouted with total jubilee. “You and I share the same goal, after all. Don’t we?”

Cozy Glow, however, just scratched her head. “Uhh… I guess so? Do I need to ask again?”

The god of chaos rolled his eyes. “Alright, I can see that you’re not one for roundabout discussion, so I’ll cut to the chase. You’re not allowed to kill Trixie outside of the game, so whatever plan you had going on here will have to wait until tomorrow. Oh, and Trixie, you really should be more careful. One of her magical girls is standing right beside you.”

I furrowed my eyebrows, confused as to how he could see someone that I didn’t, but as soon as I looked to my side, I jumped back with a yelp, holding my hands up like a shield. Surely enough, there really was a magical girl there, and it was the exact same one that I had tried killing just a few minutes earlier. Once I saw her, though, I shot Cozy Glow a furious look, to which she replied with a casual shrug.

“Hey, she’s been here this whole time. Not my fault you never noticed her.”

“So you’re Discord,” the icy girl beside me said, her hands balling up into a fist and shaking at her side. “You’re the one who sealed away Autumn Blaze into Everfree City!”

“Me?!” the draconequus said, holding his paw defensively to his chest. “I’m sorry, erm… Spooky Girl--”

“Frost Lass.”

“Gesundheit. Anyway, what I was saying is, you’re sorely mistaken! I want Autumn Blaze free as much as the both of you! Trixie here is the one keeping her locked up in Everfree City!”

Frost Lass’s icy gaze then shifted from Discord to me, creating a white mist from her sleeves that she probably didn’t even know she was creating. Like her, however, I was equally as upset, just towards someone else, who was coincidentally holding a heater next to me, shielding me from her unconscious blizzard.

Finally, with a sigh, I pinched the bridge of my nose and said, “Trixie has had a long day, and I would like it very much if everyone could just let me go back to Platinum City.”

“YOU THINK WE’LL LET YOU ESCAPE NOW, YOU HEARTLESS BITCH?!”

Just as Frost Lass was about to jump in and turn me into an icecube, however, Cozy Glow quickly held up her arm, holding her back before she could start a fight in the middle of school. “Sorry, Frost Lass. Change of plans.”

“What?! What are you saying?! She’s right here! Let’s just kill her and get it over--”

“You’d be wise to listen to your friend here.”

The hooded magical girl then looked up at Discord’s wily grin, and before she knew what was going on, she gasped in a sudden huff of air, looking down at her hands as quickly as she could. Instead of the beautiful white dress she was wearing earlier, she now wore baggy jeans and a striped sweater over her light green skin. Once she realized that she was now looking at her normal form, she took a few steps backwards, nearly hyperventilating as she bumped into the locker behind her. The strangest part, though, was that I felt like I knew her… somehow…

“W-w-w-what did you do to me?!”

“Let me make myself clear.” Suddenly, Discord was eye level with the girl in front of us, making her shriek as his face came closer. “I like games just as much as anyone else, but I only like them when they’re played fair. Trixie is playing your game by your rules in Everfree City, but you are playing by my rules here. Don’t forget, just because we share the same goal doesn’t mean that I want you alive. You are one of Autumn Blaze’s lackeys, after all.”

Then, with the snap of his claw, the girl’s magical girl costume returned, allowing her to hug onto the fabric as she weakly fell to the floor. As Discord turned away, however, I couldn’t help but look down at the once confident magical girl shivering in fear, clutching onto her sleeve like she was freezing to death.

“You didn’t do anything to her… right?”

Discord rolled his eyes at Cozy Glow’s question. “She’ll be fine. She’s just suffering from how beautiful I am. Anyway, let’s go, Trixie. I have someone here to take you home.”

I tilted my head, looking over his shoulder to see nothing but a black hallway for as far as the eye could see. “You do?”

“Tch. Why did I have to be the one to babysit tonight?”

I knew that voice, even without the uptight attitude that came along with it, and as Discord slithered his body out of the way, I noticed a magical girl standing behind him, arms folded with throwing knives in her hand. I instinctively flinched once she made eye contact, backing up to the other girls who all wore the same concerned expression as me. They probably just thought that since there was another Platinum City girl here that they needed to be on the defensive, but they had no idea how scary she could be without fighting.

“N-Night Seam!” I said as amicably as I could. “What are you doing here?”

Again, the girl in black clicked her tongue, ignoring me as she turned towards the draconequus. “I think I should be able to take it from here, Discord. Is you-know-who waiting for us outside?”

“As requested! And you’ll be happy to note that she did a phenomenal job of making sure nobody tried attacking the other girls as they made their way out of the school, although you should have seen that poor girl’s face when she found out that there was somebody waiting for her.”

I then quickly turned my head towards Cozy Glow, who took another step back and grit her teeth. “Damn it! So Panicity didn’t do anything?!”

“She peed herself a little.”

Cozy Glow then bent forward with one arm around her waist and one hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide as she made exaggerated gagging sounds. “Gross! You didn’t need to tell me that much!” As soon as the words escaped her lips, however, Discord once again slithered his face in front of hers, making her shriek in surprise.

“It would be a good idea if you followed her back to Everfree City now.”

It looked like she couldn’t figure out where to be scared or angry, her face switching between the two emotions wildly until she finally lowered her head, still looking up at Discord with a bitter glare. “This. Isn’t. Over.”

“Oh, I would hope not. You girls are just too much fun. Toodaloo!”

With her eyes never deviating from Discord’s smug expression, Cozy Glow grabbed hold of Frost Lass’s arm with one hand, pulling out her teleport gem with the other, and in the next instant, the two of them were gone once again. Finally, I could fall to my haunches, rubbing my forehead while breathing a sigh of relief, but before I even got a moment to relax, Night Seam grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me back up to my feet.

“H-hey! Can’t Trixie just have a moment to breathe?!”

“You gave that up when you decided to be a magical girl. Discord, you can leave now.”

The god of chaos made an offended noise, putting his hands on his hips while he portrayed an insulted persona. After a few seconds of Night Seam’s less-than-welcoming stare, however, Discord drooped his arms and breathed out a defeated sigh. “Fiiiine. Have it your way. Good luck, Trixie. You’ll need it.”

Then, with the snap of his claw, he disappeared instantaneously, but Night Seam was already tugging at my arm, pulling me towards the entrance of the school. “Seriously?! Can’t you at least trust Trixie enough to walk herself--”

Before I even finished my sentence, the black-themed magical girl turned around and shoved me into a locker, much like I had experienced so many times back in Manehattan. The surprising thing, though, was that even though she was always around when I was bullied in middle school, she never once laid her hands on me. My eyebrows pinched in confusion, her eyes obviously filled with rage, but not looking directly into mine.

“I had plans to go shopping today.”

“OK…? What does that have to do with me?”

One of her hands fell off of my shoulder, balling into a fist before punching the locker at my side, making me flinch involuntarily. “Did you think I had planned on going alone?”

“Soooo did your boyfriend dump you or something?” Again, she punched the locker at my side, this time with so much force that she broke it off its hinges. “OK! OK! Who did you plan on going shopping with?”

“The same ones I always go shopping with: Lulu Lemon, Le Blanc, Suri Polomare, Upper Crust…”

“...Ohhhhhh. Trixie sees why you might be mad now.”

“Trixie, you IDIOT!!” In what could only be described as a rage blackout, Night Seam immediately grabbed the broken locker door and tossed it to the other side of the hallway, shattering a wall so deep that it revealed the classroom behind it. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!”

This time, it was my turn to click my tongue. “Taking action where you fell short, or did you forget when Palette and I went to Crystal Prep just to recruit you specifically?”

Finally, Night Seam’s glare met my own. “Is this some kind of game to you?!”

“What else would you call it?! How else was I supposed to keep Discord from releasing Autumn Blaze into Equestria?! You should be thankful that Trixie was able to come up with a game in the first place!”

“MY FRIEND’S LIFE IS IN DANGER BECAUSE OF YOU!”

For the next few moments, I didn’t speak. I just let her scowl at me while she attempted to catch her breath, calming down no matter how temporarily. Finally, once she would be able to hear my voice over the sounds of her panting breath, I said, “If I lose, then all of Equestria will be in danger.”

I knew that Night Seam wanted to shoot back at me, to hit me, to cut me down to my core, but we both knew that nothing was going to change by doing that. As much as we hated each other, we were teammates, and she knew just as well as I did that if I won, it would be saving her from a headache she would end up dealing with further down the line. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Night Seam pulled herself away from me and turned towards the entrance of the school once again.

“Now who was this mysterious person you were talking to Discord about earlier?” I asked with my hands on my hips. “Let me guess. Marrow decided to stop by to give me a lecture too?”

“If Marrow were here, you’d be dead.” I scoffed at the comment, but Night Seam thankfully ignored me. “Come on. She’s waiting to make sure we make it out OK.”

I gave her a dull stare, unenthused by her lackluster response, but she didn’t bother looking back to see it. The rest of our walk to the front entrance was done in silence, both of our pulses probably still racing from our altercation from earlier, though neither one of us was exactly looking to start another argument. I could only imagine how much cajoling it took to keep Marrow from coming down here and starting a fight herself, but I was sure that Night Seam was more than happy to fill that role for her.

Once the two of us made it outside, Night Seam placed her hand to the floor, causing half of the shadows around the schoolyard to disappear, simultaneously revealing a woman with one foot placed against the side of the Canterlot High School statue, her arms folded as she smoked a cigarette. Finally, once she turned to see us, a small smile broke her lips.

“There you girls are.” She looked familiar, but at the same time, I couldn’t remember (or even think of) a time where I would have seen her before. Her clothes were tattered and dirty, like she hadn’t washed them in years, and her hair was long and dishevelled, portraying the visage of someone who probably came straight from B Street. “I take it things went well on your end?”

Night Seam flicked her hair behind her shoulder. “It was just like we thought. There were two of them waiting for her.”

“Only one waiting over here, but she wasn’t much of a problem.” The woman then took in a long puff of her cigarette, the red flames sizzling the ends away until she breathed out a long wind of smoke, blowing out small circles before coughing out the rest. “Rookies will be rookies. She took one look at me and scurried off with her tail between her legs.”

“Yes, Discord told us about the erm… vivid imagery.” I shook my head, trying not to think about it too much. “Sorry to sound rude, but should Trixie know who you are?”

The woman giggled before inhaling another breath of smoke, blowing it out much more smoothly than before. Then, dropping it onto the pavement and stomping the flames dry, she blew out one last breath of nicotine and folded her arms, a small grin growing on her face. “I suppose you wouldn’t remember me. Not after what Discord did to you girls.”

Suddenly, my eyes went wide. “You know what happened?!”

The woman chuckled quietly, reaching behind her back and pulling out some kind of translucent ball, making me squint my eyes and tilt my head. “I guess I have this to thank for that.” I still had no idea what she was talking about, but taking into consideration that Discord had wiped my memories, it made sense that I wouldn’t. “I didn’t exactly know what these things were supposed to do at the time, but apparently I had one in my hand the moment Discord wiped all of our memories. Turns out, thanks to this little orb, I was the only one lucky enough to not have their memories erased.”

My eyes went wide again. “Who… Who are you?”

“Will you stop messing with her already?” Night Seam asked with an obvious bite in her tone. “As much as Marrow wants her dead right now, it would be in our best interest to help her until she’s taken care of that Canterlot problem.”

“Then I guess I should stop wasting your time.” Finally, with a large smile, the woman held out her dirty hand and said, “Pleased to meet you again, Great and Powerful Trixie. You can call me Dazzling Gleam.”