I squinted my eyes, tilting my head to the side, trying to figure out how I was supposed to know this woman, but regardless, I reached out and shook her hand. Once my hand was free, though, I reflexively rubbed it against my skirt, trying to get the germs off of my hand as quickly as I could while silently hoping she wouldn’t notice. She seemed nice enough, maybe even trustworthy, but I still had my own reservations about putting my trust into one of Night Seam’s friends, especially one who knew more about my past than I did.

“Nice to meet you, Dazzling Gleam,” I said, nodding my head politely. “So, sorry if Trixie is being blunt, but why are you here, exactly?”

The woman chuckled, turning her face towards Night Seam. “Leave us.”

Night Seam clicked her tongue and folded her arms. “Don’t let us down. I doubt Marrow would be very happy if Trixie’s problem became our problem.”

“You think I’m scared of her? Trixie was the one who killed me the first time, after all.”

Suddenly, my eyes snapped back towards Dazzling Gleam, who was still giving Night Seam a snarky smile. The girl in the black dress, though, clicked her tongue again and vanished into the darkness, leaving me alone with the mysterious girl whom I’d apparently killed once already. Was it someone that Discord didn’t tell me about? I already knew both Marrow and Night Seam’s real identities, which meant that the only other options--supposing that Discord had told me everything--were Mind Games or…

I lifted my head curiously. “Storm Rose?”

The woman smiled, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief. It was actually a relief seeing a Platinum City magical girl who didn’t hate me right now, but then again, I still didn’t know that for sure. After all, I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure what she was doing at CHS in the first place.

“I’m impressed, Trixie. How did you figure out it was me so easily?”

I shrugged my shoulders with a sheepish look on my face. “Discord told me half of the details. Trixie just guessed the rest.”

“Ah. I should have figured that Discord wouldn’t keep your history a total secret from you after everything that’s going on right now. Come. Let’s go for a walk.”

Before I even had the chance to nod my head, Storm Rose had started making her way down the sidewalk, leaving me to fast-walk to catch up with her. She probably had no idea where any of these roads took her, but it wasn’t like either of us had any specific destination anyway. It was just relaxing to feel the fresh air around us as we walked down the streets of Canterlot, knowing that after the long, crazy day that I’d had so far, I could almost take a break from it all.

“What has Discord told you, Trixie?”

“Not a lot. Basically he just said that we were part of two different death games, and the only ones to survive both of them were me and Palette. Although… that does bring up something Trixie wanted to talk about…” I then looked up at Dazzling Gleam’s face, whose eyes just barely turned to where she could look both at me and the sidewalk in front of her. “...Was there a third girl that survived to the end with us?”

Suddenly, the smile that Dazzling Gleam had on her face vanished, now looking straight in front of her, pretending like I didn’t exist as a long silence took over. “What do you know about the death game?”

“...The first one or the second one?”

“The first one. The second one was more of a hunt than a game.”

“All Trixie knows is that Discord made us fight each other… and that I won.”

The other girl snickered, placing her hands into her pants pockets. “You did a lot more than just win. You single-handedly beat the three most-experienced girls in Platinum City after only having your powers for one day. I still can’t figure out how you did it, but then again, I was one of the first girls eliminated. Figures. I was the one who started it, after all.”

I snapped my neck towards her, but she didn’t even flinch. “What?! But I thought Discord--”

“Discord was the manipulator. I was the tool. That’s how it always has been, that’s how it will always be, either until humanity ends or he’s somehow turned to stone. Now, what about the hunt? What do you know about that?”

“That’s why Autumn Blaze and Last Gambit are so angry, right? We killed all of the magical girls from Everfree City to bring back all the girls who died in the death game?”

As we turned the corner to a new street, Dazzling Gleam pulled a hand out of her pocket, rubbing her chin quizzically. “Yes, but that’s only half the story, I suppose.”

“Oh. Fun. Even more details Trixie doesn’t know about.”

The girl beside me chuckled softly, leaning her head back to view the stars above us in the dark evening sky. “I don’t have all the details myself. On top of being one of the first girls killed in the death game, I was the last one resurrected from the hunt. I do know, however, that Autumn Blaze and Divinity wanted us dead, and they would have done literally anything in their power to make that happen.”

“You… remember Divinity?”

Silence descended for the next several moments before she finally spoke again. “Oh, how I wish I’d never have to remember that name again. You know, you were lucky to have your memories wiped. I still get terrors every night thinking back on the fight we had with that girl. I still have no idea how we managed to survive.”

“Was… Was she really as powerful as everyone is making her out to be?”

Finally, Dazzling Gleam stopped walking, and slowly turning her neck to face me, I saw eyes of complete terror, like she was experiencing post-traumatic stress just thinking about it. “She was worse than you could possibly even imagine.” My mouth trembled, trying to think of what I could possibly even respond with, but before I had the chance to speak, she turned her face forward and started walking again.

“And Marrow was the one who killed her, wasn’t she?”

“Yes. Divinity was about to go back in time and kill us before we got our powers, but Marrow courageously stopped her at the last moment. Platinum City is lucky to have a girl like her, otherwise we would all be dead right now.”

I was about to scoff at the excessive praise for the girl who had made me want to commit suicide for years, at least until a question suddenly came to my mind. “Wait! You were there during the fight with Divinity?!” Dazzling Gleam solemnly nodded her head, her face as stoic as ever. “But Trixie thought you were the last one to be resurrected! Does that mean we didn’t revive anyone after we killed her?”

The girl beside me suddenly stopped, and with my eyebrow raised, I found myself practically shaking from the tension that came out of nowhere. I could tell that there was something she was holding back, something she wasn’t telling me, but I needed answers about my past, especially with everything that was on the line here.

Finally, with a sigh, Dazzling Gleam turned towards me and softly said, “There’s a reason Marrow asked Discord to wipe our memories, and it wasn’t just because of Divinity.”

“Then what was it?” Dazzling Gleam’s eyebrows pinched together like she was getting ready to make an excuse, but grabbing onto her hands, I quietly begged, “Please. Trixie needs to know what happened.”

Another few moments passed before she sighed defeatedly, pinching the bridge of her nose while rubbing her eyes. “Marrow’s skeleton.”

I tilted my head. “OK…? What about it?”

“Do you know what she named it?”

I folded my arms with a question mark practically hovering over my head. “Yeah, she named it Summer Breeze. What does that have to do with Divinity, though?”

“Summer Breeze was the last girl that Divinity killed, but the girls of Platinum City knew her better by the name Dreamdrop.”

‘Nice to meet ya, little girl! My name’s Dreamdrop! I’m a magical girl!’

“AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!”

I immediately fell to my knees, ignoring the pain of my knees hitting the pavement as my brain suddenly felt like it was being torn apart from its center. My heart jumped in circles, clenching up like it would burst at any second, and the blood in my body started building up behind my eyes, creating an agony so severe that I couldn’t keep my voice inside anymore. I was probably waking up half of Canterlot from how loudly I was screaming, but there was no way I could physically hold it in based on how much I was suffering.

With a concerned look on her face, Dazzling Gleam fell to her knees beside me, grabbing onto my wrists while I continued writhing on the ground. “Trixie! Trixie, get ahold of yourself!”

“Aaaahhh!! It hurts! Make it stop!! AAAAHHHHHH!!”

The pain was only getting worse. It went from a tearing sensation in my chest and brain to the point where I felt like I was experiencing an actual heart attack and brain hemorrhage at once. Even with Dazzling Gleam holding onto my wrists to try and hold me back from flailing on the ground, I couldn’t keep my back from spasming on the pavement, hitting the ground with enough force to break my bones if things continued the way they were going.

“Forgive me, Trixie.”

“What...ungh… what are--YAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!”

Suddenly, the pain was completely different, and when I looked up to face Dazzling Gleam, giving her the most terrified eyes I had, I noticed a different girl standing in her place. Meanwhile, the agony in my veins was replaced with a static shock, one that stiffened my muscles completely, making my whole body immobile. The only thing that worked was my voice, and it was screaming as loud as it would go. Finally, I felt a vocal cord snap, and in the next moment, the shock subsided, as well as the pain in my body.

The woman beside me rose up to her feet again, allowing me a few moments to catch my breath now that my heart was gradually finding a steady rhythm again. A small tear fell down my electrified body, giving me another shock as it travelled down my nose.

“I’m sorry I had to do that,” she continued. “I hope you understand now why Marrow erased your memories.”

I didn’t understand at all! What was the point of Marrow making me forget about Divinity? What was the point of making me forget about Dreamdrop? What did Marrow’s skeleton have to do with this? Everything she told me just made me more and more confused!

“Storm Rose…” I mumbled, doing my best to at least lift my crippled torso off of the ground. “Why did Marrow erase that memory? What does Dreamdrop have to do with me?!”

“I’m sorry, Trixie, but I can’t answer that.”

“LIKE HELL YOU CAN’T! IF WE KILLED DIVINITY, WHY DIDN’T WE REVIVE DREAMDROP?! WAS IT JUST SO THAT BITCH COULD KEEP HER SKELETON?!”

Storm Rose sighed, placing her hand over her face and shaking her head. “You know I can’t tell you things that Marrow wants you to forget.”

By this point, I was so angry that the adrenaline alone helped push past the pain enough for me to at least get onto one knee. “Oh, yeah?! Well, you’ve done an awful lot of talking for someone who doesn’t want me to find out what’s going on! Why did you come here in the first place?”

Storm Rose met my glare with that of her own, the only movement in the next few seconds being that of the evening Canterlot wind brushing through our hair. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she opened her mouth, speaking in a low, stern voice that made my heart clench in my chest.

“To say goodbye.”

My eyebrows rose slightly before coming back together in a fierce scowl. “And just what is that supposed to mean?!”

“Exactly what you think it means. The girls and I don’t have any confidence in you to survive this battle, so while you’re playing your little game in Everfree City, the rest of us are getting ready for the real fight, the one where our own lives will be at stake.”

I quickly rose back up to my feet, transforming into my own magical girl form and grabbing Storm Rose by the lapels of her dress, my teeth seething with fury. As I glared with all the indignation in my body, however, she continued to stare back with the same, unphased expression, waiting for my tirade to end. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do; I wasn’t going to do anything to hurt her, but I still needed to show her somehow that she was wrong not to trust the prowess of the Great and Powerful Trixie.

“...Are you finished?”

Her words made me click my tongue in anger, but with nothing else to contribute, I slowly released her from my grip, looking away and trying not to blush from humiliation.

“Trixie, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

“Oh, sure. ‘Everybody thinks you’re going to lose.’ How could I possibly misinterpret that?”

“...I’ve missed you.” My heated face suddenly began to soften, but I continued to keep my eyebrows furrowed, still hesitant to let my emotional guard down so easily. “I’m not the only one, either. Paradox, Iron Maiden and Cupid Symphony still talk about you.”

“Ugh… Stop changing the subject! If you really just came to tell Trixie goodbye, then at least answer one question.”

Storm Rose nodded. “I can’t promise that I’ll be able to answer, but I will tell you anything I can.”

“It’s obvious that Dreamdrop and I share a connection somehow. I’m guessing Marrow decided not to revive her just to spite me, but if we didn’t revive her, who did we bring back?”

As soon as I asked the question, Storm Rose regretfully ran her hand through her black and blue hair, sighing while she dropped her eye contact. “Please, Great and Powerful Trixie… I know that you and Marrow haven’t always gotten along, but try not to judge her for her actions. She’s always done what she thought was best for Platinum City, even if it didn’t always work in everyone’s favor.”

“Yeah, and she has a special way of making sure that Platinum City’s interests never align with mine. Will you just tell me already?”

With a frown, Storm Rose solemnly nodded her head and said very, very clearly, “Graveyard Girl,” and suddenly my anger ascended to a new level.

“No…! Le Blanc?! She chose not to bring back Dreamdrop so she could bring back that bitch?!”

“Listen, Trixie--”

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!”

Storm Rose probably tried consoling me at this point, but I couldn’t see her anymore. I couldn’t see, hear or feel anything other than the magic leaving my body, being projected on anything I could touch. I knew I was screaming, but in my total rage blackout, the only thing that entered my ears were the words Storm Rose just said. Just when I thought Lulu Lemon couldn’t make my life any worse, I realized that she always found new ways to make my life a struggle, and all I could think about was how much I wanted her to die.

“TRIXIE!”

Finally, I came to, and when I looked around at all my surroundings, I saw that mailboxes had been crushed, trees had been pulled out of the ground, light poles had toppled onto houses, and every car in the neighborhood was flashing while blaring their loud alarms, toppled over sideways and crunched. Then I felt someone grabbing onto my wrist, and lifting up my head, I noticed that Storm Rose had turned back into Dazzling Gleam, looking urgently into my eyes.

“Trixie, change back! Quick!”

With a hesitant nod, I followed her instructions just before everyone in the neighborhood rushed out of their homes, seeing all the damage that seemingly came out of nowhere. They all looked so scared, confused and angry, like I was looking into a mirror and seeing the same expression I was making projected onto every face in the cul de sac. None of us had any idea what could have caused a mess like that, but after looking down at my hands and seeing how violently they were shaking, the pieces began to slowly come together.

“Did…” I began, my lip trembling. “Did I do that?”

“...We need to leave.”

“But…” I turned towards the people again, seeing them beginning to shout profanities, some breaking down and crying, and all I could think about was how I could even manage to create an absolute devastation like this. I could barely move, but there was no way I could stay there any longer. Finally, I turned towards Dazzling Gleam and nodded my head. “R-right.”

I checked my phone. I barely had any battery left, but all I needed to do was to check the time. Two-thirty in the morning, which meant that if I did manage to get any sleep, it would be brief before I had to wake up for school the next morning. Part of me wanted to just skip classes and try to get whatever rest I could, especially since it wasn’t like there was anyone back home waiting for me anymore, but I needed to spend every waking moment I could figuring out a plan for day two of Cozy Glow’s game.

“You made a real mess back there.”

I looked to my side towards Dazzling Gleam, who was crouched against the same wall as me, bringing a cigarette to her lips as the flames slowly approached her mouth. Then, after blowing out a stream of smoke, she lightly flicked the remains to the side, lowering herself to a sitting position while I remained squatting, looking between my knees in remorse.

“Did Trixie really do all that?”

“Oh, you should have seen the look on your face. I thought you were going to kill me for sure.”

Hearing Dazzling Gleam reaffirming my fears, I slid myself down to my butt, sighing heavily as my shoulders slumped. “Those poor people. Can you imagine how hard they must have worked for those homes, just for Trixie to destroy them in one rage blackout?”

“I wouldn’t beat yourself up over it.” I opened my mouth to interject, but once I turned my face towards hers, I noticed a surprising smile on her face. “I think we may have just found your secret weapon.”

“...My secret what?”

“While it’s true that those people have probably had their most prized possessions damaged beyond repair, it would be even worse if they lost their lives, don’t you think?”

“You’re not helping, you know.”

Dazzling Gleam chuckled, leaning her head back on the brick wall behind us as she gazed up at the stars. “I don’t think either of us really know how much magic Discord decided to store in that body of yours, but I think we both realize by now that it’s more than just great and powerful.” I tilted my eyebrow in curiosity, but she continued looking up at the sky with a smile. “I hope the girls and I are wrong about you, Trixie. If Marrow was the one you were supposed to kill, I’d have no doubt that you would win.”

“So you still have no faith in the Great and Powerful Trixie, huh?”

“Maybe… But just in case I’m right, I wanted to make sure that I wished you luck one last time. If you don’t make it out alive, just know that there are girls in Platinum City who will always miss you from the bottom of their hearts.”

Neither of us spoke for several minutes after that. Maybe I was just so tired that I couldn’t think of a way to respond, or maybe I was just mad knowing that there were still going to be girls in Platinum City who would be happy if they found out I’d died. It was a peaceful silence, though. It was nice knowing that I didn’t have to respond, that I could just sit there and think about everything going on.

Finally, though, Dazzling Gleam lifted herself up with a sigh, patting her pants to somehow make them less dirty than they already were. As much as I wanted that moment to last forever, time would progress whether I wanted it to or not, and sooner or later, I would be back in Everfree City, competing for my life and possibly even the fate of the world. I wished that I could just take a break from it all, to spend one day with my friends, just in case I didn’t make it out alive, but I was old enough to know by now that things don’t happen just because you want it bad enough.

“Where are you going to be sleeping tonight?”

“...Doesn’t matter.”

“Come now, Trixie. You’re not homeless.”

I brought my knees up to my chest, folding my arms around my legs and glaring to my side. “Trixie might as well be at this point.”

The girl beside me ran her hand through her hair with a groan. “You know, Dreamdrop would be perfect right now. Her magic was to put people to sleep.”

“Then maybe we should have revived her.”

“Yes… I know. If only it were my decision to make.”

Another silence followed until I finally looked up to meet Dazzling Gleam’s gaze, my eyes now softened and humbled practically to the point of tears. If this was really the last time I’d get to see the one girl who knew about my past, I just needed to know one thing.

“Can… Can you tell Trixie why I keep getting these flashbacks?”

“Hm?”

Dazzling Gleam tilted her head to the side while I looked back down at the floor. “Discord restored some of my memories, but only a little bit. All I remember is someone saying, ‘Nice to meet you. My name is Dreamdrop. I’m a magical girl.’ Every time that memory comes up, though, Trixie feels something special. I can’t explain it…”

Dazzling Gleam took a moment to think, leaving me in suspenseful silence until she finally said, “Of course Discord would show you that memory. It’s when you first became a magical girl.” I quickly shot my face up towards hers, just to see her looking off into the distance again, this time with a large smile on her face. “You were so weak and fragile back then, but I was so happy when Dreamdrop brought you to Platinum City for the first time. You should have seen Night Seam’s face when Dreamdrop brought up the idea of you becoming a magical girl, but even though she was against the idea at first, not even Night Seam could argue with Dreamdrop for long. If it weren’t for Discord’s game, there’s no doubt that we would have been the best of friends.”

I didn’t speak for a long time after that. I was too preoccupied trying to keep myself from crying to think of what I could say back. That was it, the reason why I didn’t remember how I became a magical girl, the reason why those memories kept flashing in my mind. I still had no idea who Dreamdrop was or what she might have meant to me, but at least I had some answers.

The only answers I would get before the end of the game.

Finally, pulling myself up to my feet with a sigh, I stretched my shoulders and turned to my side, looking down the street with my head held a little higher. “Thanks, Dazzling Gleam. Trixie feels a little bit better now.”

“Of course. I don’t want this to be the end, but just in case it is…”

“Yeah… I know…”

“...Goodbye, Great and Powerful Trixie.”

I didn’t look behind me to see what happened next, but somehow, I felt alone again. At this point, though, that no longer mattered. The only thing that mattered anymore was killing Cozy Glow, stopping Autumn Blaze, and maybe once that was taken care of, I could finally get my memories back.

Then, taking one step forward, I slowly began making my way back home, now with a newfound determination to end this game once and for all. I’d need my rest for later when the second day began, and if I did what I needed to do, hopefully there wouldn’t be a day three.

“Ugggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh………”

“Trixie, what happened to you?”

“You look like a total mess.”

“Are you alright, Mädchen?”

I hadn’t looked in a mirror since I had woken up, but to be fair, I had barely woken up fifteen minutes before walking to school. My hair was probably a mess, and I probably had bags under my eyes, thanks mostly to the fact that I’d only ended up getting three hours of sleep altogether.

“Trixie is… *yawn* Trixie’s good. Has anyone come up with any plans since last night?”

“Actually, I think I may have an idea of how to win,” Sunset said. I tried appearing as excited as I could, but I probably just looked like a zombie turning towards its prey. “The first part is the same as yesterday: we try to separate Mother Time from the others and eliminate her as fast as possible. After that, if Daisy Quake and I can use our magic to create a barrier around Last Gambit, then you, Midnight and Miss Monster can fight against her three to one! It’s so simple, but if we can keep the rest of her team from getting in, we should be able to win!”

I blinked lazily, which in my mind meant, ‘That’s a great idea!’ but in her mind probably meant, ‘That’s so stupid. Why would you ever think that would work? I’m not going to take advice from someone who tried to turn an entire school into zombies after Flash Sentry broke up with her.’

“I… uh… I’ve run the scenario through a couple of different times,” Twilight quickly intervened, “and from my calculations, the plan will work so long as time doesn’t become an issue. If we take too long, the wall will be breached, or in a worse case scenario, time will run out for the day. Based on Last Gambit’s magic, though, we should have no problem eliminating her quickly and easily if it’s three versus one.”

“Supposing zat nobody’s magic is taken away,” Photo Finish added. “Zis plan only works if both Daydream and Daisy survive with zeir magic intact. I’m sorry zat I von’t be able to join you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sunset chimed in again. “So? What do you think, Trixie?”

“...Ngh… Who’s the president, again?”

Photo Finish slapped her hand to her face while Sunset sympathetically placed her hands on my shoulders, turning me towards the direction of my first class. “Maaaaybe we should let you take some time to think it over.”

“Think what over?”

Sunset froze. Those words hadn’t come out of my mouth, nor had they come out of Photo Finish or Twilight’s. Finally, my eyes began to open again as I saw a blue-haired girl standing in front of us, her hands on her hips as she smirked her cocky grin.

“What do you want, Cozy Glow?” Sunset chided.

“I wanna see what you girls are planning. Duh.”

Suddenly, everyone flinched in surprise. “Did you hear--?”

“Fortunately for you ladies, I missed it. I’m sure I’ll figure it out sooner or later anyway, though. It’s not like I won’t be there when you try it out, after all.”

“Did you come to mock us?” Photo Finish asked with a bite in her voice.

“Actually, I came for her.” Cozy Glow then pointed towards me, and with my eyebrows beginning to furrow in anger, I shrugged Sunset’s hands from my shoulders and took a step forward. “Autumn Blaze wanted to talk to you. Is it cool if we head over to Everfree City real quick?”

“You’re insane if you think Trixie’s just going to--”

Before Sunset could finish her sentence, though, I held up my hand to silence her, my eyes never leaving Cozy Glow’s.

“What does she want?” I asked.

“She wants to add an addendum to the rules. I thought it’d be fair to ask before today’s match started, just in case you thought that Autumn Blaze showing up mid-game would be an unfair advantage for some reason.”

“What addendum?”

“How the crap should I know? Are you coming or not?”

I looked back at my teammates, all of whom were shaking their heads in disapproval. If Autumn Blaze wanted to add or change any of the rules, it was obvious that she believed that her team would have the upperhand, but at the same time, if she were open to discussing it, that meant she also believed that I would find it advantageous too somehow. I hated doing something that my teammates obviously didn’t want me to do, but I had to at least hear what she wanted. I could always say no, and maybe even change my mind later if I wanted to.

Finally, looking back at Cozy Glow with a lump in my throat, I calmly said, “Trixie agrees, but I’m not going to make any promises.”

“Meh. Works for me.”

“Hang on one second!” Twilight intervened, taking the forefront. “If Trixie’s going, we’re going too!”

“Sorry. Team leaders only. You smelly loser girls will have to wait here.”

Twilight flinched, raising her arm and sniffing awkwardly as Sunset took over the conversation for her. “Trixie, you’d be insane to go along with this. You know that, right?”

My eyes continued to stare straight forward, never deviating from Cozy Glow’s gaze. I could tell they were worried, and honestly, I didn’t blame them. This was something that I had to do, though, whether or not I had their support, and if I decided to go through with the negotiations, hopefully they would understand and support me when the game continued later.

“Let’s go.”

The girls around me gasped and grunted, but Cozy Glow smiled. I just hoped that this wouldn’t be something I would regret later once it became too late to turn back...