//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 - Panic 
// Story: Death by Ear 
// by ExoticEon 
//------------------------------//

"Hey, Chase?" Lily asked.

"Hmm?" I answered, my voice muffled by a waffle in my mouth.

"Sorry I have to leave so soon? I mean, I haven't seen my parents in like... forever." Lily groaned, placing her head on the table. "I miss my parents."

I swallowed and shrugged. "It's alright, when I get out, I'll see you, right?"

"I guess, " Her voice muffled by the table. "But you're still here for a long time."

I looked around the cafeteria. Wearing the same orange jumpsuit, teens eating and chatting, my headphone suppressing most of it. 

I didn't see any of the adults serving earlier. Must've taken a break or something. Pretty sure they were supposed to be watching us, but what do I know. This is juvenile. I don't know anything about it—just a kid spending a few years in this place.

It was breakfast, my favorite out of the three. Though the food wasn't any good, it bested them by a mile.

I looked back to Lily, seeing her pick at her food. I questioned, "Are you gonna finish that?" I pointed to her waffles.

She looked up at me, "Umm... No. Not hungry."

"Can I have it?" If she said no...

"Sure." she slid his tray in front of me.

I drooled at the sight. Lily always gave me her leftovers if I asked. 

I don't know how old she is, but she looks one or two years older than me. Everyone else looked 16 to 18 to me.

We've known each other for about five months now. Lily was the nicest person and my only friend at this horrible place.

I remember her face when I introduced myself. She was so excited and asked to be her friend. Who was I to say no?

She never made fun of my hearing disorder. In fact, she accepted it! No one did that before. My grandparents just didn't care. They never did anything to help.

I hated the first few days here. Everyone made fun of my hearing. I don't know why the adults gave me earmuffs just recently, so I would have to cover my ears half the time, but my ears were too sensitive and didn't help much. 

Then Lily came. She protected me from many of the kids. If they started making fun of me, she was there.

I don't know what she did or how long she was sentenced, but I never bothered to ask.

Too bad she's getting out in a few weeks. While I have years left.

Lily isn't perfect, though. She was more into lunch food. Don't know how anyone can enjoy that stuff. 

I don't know how, but she seemed to enjoy it more than my passion for waffles. 

I was about to dig in until I heard someone walking behind me.

I turned around and saw Mason, an eighteen-year-old bully. 

I hate him. I absolutely hate him.

"Well, if it isn't dog ears." He mocked, shoving my shoulder. "Are your ears working? I couldn't tell with that thing on your head."

Ever since the adults gave me earmuffs, he recently made me his target. He would call me names or take off my headphones. Thankfully, I would always snatch them back before he could say anything else.

I looked around for adults, of course, I didn't see any. He never got in trouble either. He was never caught, or the adults didn't care. Either way, I don't know how this place kept running.

My thinking was interrupted by Lily speaking.

"Leave him alone, Mason! You-"

"SHUT UP!" 

Her mouth closed.

I winced at the volume but kept quiet.

The bully looked back at me, waiting for an answer. After a second or two, he scowled. "Are you deaf or something?"

All that answered was the silent whispers in the room. I shrank back when I noticed the other kids watching us, my face feeling red with the new attention.

I suddenly feel my headphones lift off my head, Mason holding it in front of him.

"What are these even for?" He questioned, inspecting it.

I stood to grab it, but it was quickly out of reach, as he was much taller than me.

"Give them back," I requested, though it was muffled out by the escalating voices of the others.

"What are these for?" He repeated, tauntingly swinging them above me. 

"For my ears," I replied, covering them. The talking grew louder and louder, and this situation wasn't helping.

Mason shoved me back, making me fall to the ground. I grunted on impact, my hands staying put.

"I know that! Why!"

I didn't answer. My hands didn't help anymore, the kids yelling incoherently.

Noises, noises everywhere.

I started to hyperventilate; sound was everywhere. I laid there, trembling for my life.

"Give those back!" Someone demanded.

Despite my pain, I looked up. Lily was glaring at the bully. Mason just looked at her and laughed.

"Or what?"

That set her off.

She ran towards him, slamming into his body. As they tumbled, my headphones dropped to the ground unharmed.

Both of them were throwing punches left and right, some blood started to show.

I tried to find an adult but couldn't. I just watched, petrified at the sight.

I clenched my eyes plugged my ears hard, trying to get rid of the pain.

This was my fault. If I never came here, this would've never happened. This was my fault. Why is it my fault? Why is it always my fault?!

I felt someone drop right beside me. I look over to the unconscious body.

Lily.

I started to tear up at the sight. If I wasn't here, this would've never happened to her.

Sound started fading as I started to feel lightheaded. Everything went numb, then...





"Ugh..." I groaned, my senses slowly returning. "Wha...What happened?" My voice was answered with a head-splitting headache. I winced at the pain but continued.

"Hello?" I tried to say, but I wheezed instead. My lungs weren't getting much air.

I quietly tested my voice, humming to whispering, low to high. Nothing seemed different, but I noticed the pressure on top of me.

I lifted my head, groggily opening my eyes. I noticed I was sprawled on the floor. It felt hard and cold. I slowly looked around, only seeing blackness but a faint glow in the distance.

My body felt weird, and something warm was on my back. I slowly pushed it off right beside me, my lungs suddenly lifted with relief.

I tried to get up on my knees, but my legs couldn't bend like I wanted to. I tried again, only straining my legs. So, I rolled on my back to lift myself. I tried to sit up but wasn't able to. 

I think I'm disabled...

I grunted in frustration, trying to haul myself up to my feet but to no avail.

Slightly panicked, I rolled back on my stomach and lifted myself on all fours. Which made a few clops echoing through the space.

I sighed in relief.

This seemed to work fairly well and surprisingly comfortable. It didn't seem like I could go on my legs in this position, so I opted for this for now.

I took my first step and-



"Ugh..." I groaned. As I gained consciousness, the first thing I felt was like a brick thrown at my face. As I ignored the pain, I saw I was lying on the floor...again.

I slowly got up on all fours, my head swaying.

In the dark, I looked where I placed the heavy item. What I didn't expect was an outline of a figure. 

I froze. I was somewhere I couldn't see, with someone I didn't know.

I was about to run away until something caught my attention. It was shivering, silently crying.

"Hello?" I called.

The figure shot up, startled from the sudden noise. "Who's there?" It shivered. 

That voice... it sounded familiar, a girl, I think.

I focused on her question, trying to find my name, but it was surprisingly hard. My memories were a blur, only knowing the simple things in my life. After a few seconds, it came to me.

"Chase," I recalled.

She just looked at me, wiping her eyes. I don't know why, but she seemed skeptical.

"Chase?" 

I nodded but quickly answered. It was probably too dark for her to see either. "How do you know me?"

"I'm... Lily. Don't you remember me?"

That name sounded familiar too. I searched my memories again until I remembered.

"Juvenile?" I questioned. Her face instantly lit up, getting up. Only to fall right back down, with a little ‘oof.’

"Ow..." She groaned.

"You alright?" I asked. The last thing I want is to get her hurt again.

Again...

Something tugged at my brain. I tried to remember what happened, but nothing came up. The last memory I could recall was us eating lunch, then it all just... faded out.

"Mhm." Lily hummed. I could hear her grunting in frustration, struggling to get back up.

"Go on all fours," I suggested.

I can tell she was looking at me, questioning my sanity.

"What?"

"Just... roll on your stomach."

I heard her do just that. "This feels weird. How are we here again? I... can't remember."

"I have no idea. I just woke up like this." 

She paused, "Where are we?"

I looked around, darkness was everywhere, but a shine of light glowed nearby. I could hardly see Lily's outline.

"Chase! Where are we!"

"Ow!" I grimaced. I tried covering them, but instead, I hit myself, increasing my pain and making me fall.

Lily recoiled back. Her voice returning to normal. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to."

I just laid there, calming myself.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it." I reassured. I got up. "Let's just get out of here."

"How?"

I pointed to the light in the distance, only for me to lose my balance and fall. Thankfully, I didn't blackout. "I'm okay," I said, quickly getting up.

I looked over to Lily, her figure getting up on her fours.

"I can only imagine what this looks like." She giggled, and I joined in. The image of us crawling filled my mind.

We soon dropped to the ground and burst out laughing. Until my ears started to sting.

"Okay! Okay! Stop!" I yelled, holding in a chuckle. "My ears are hurting!"

After a few snickers, we were sprawled on the ground in pure silence.

We were there for a while before I got up. I tested each limb one by one, some bending where they shouldn't. 

I heard Lily do the same.

I slowly moved forward, limb by limb, accompanied by a trip or fall every so often. 





We staggered for about an hour now, our bodies as sore as ever. We were close to the light, and I noticed rock stone around us.

When we got out, it was pure night. I looked to the clear sky. It was dark, illuminated by a full moon. Below it, a forest of trees covered everywhere I looked. I could hear faint sounds of crickets, making me realize how silent it was.

I turned to Lily, only to see a horse inspecting itself. 



"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"





I just sat there, screaming my head off. Staring at a horse. It was unlike anything I've seen.

Pink fur covered its body, stained with blood and dirt. Its hair was light green and purple swirls tangled together, strands stinking everywhere. Finished with grime that covered its hair.

The horse noticed me staring and stared back, speaking in a familiar voice. "Uhh... Chase?"

"Lily!?" I yelled. "Look at you! You're a horse! You're even the same height as me!"

To my surprise, her face beamed. "I know, right! Isn't it awesome? I always wondered what it'd feel like if we were animals."

We?

I looked at myself, an equine body covered in blue fur. I focused on my hair. It was cyan with darker tips—both my fur and hair in the same state as Lily's.

"What- how- HUH!?" A pain shot through my ears when I as a result. "Ow! What the heck! Ow!" 

I kept on going, not even noticing Lily trying to calm me down.

After a few seconds, my yells were stopped short when I felt something stuffed in my mouth. I looked down.

A hoof...

I tried to spit it out, even trying to pull it, which wasn't very useful, as I didn't even know how to grab with these stubs. 

"Chase." I looked to her, her blue eyes looking in mine. "Calm down," She slowly pleaded above my muffled shrieks. "Promise me you'll calm down."

After realizing I wasn't going anywhere, my struggling stopped, and I reluctantly nodded.

She pulled her hoof out of my mouth and wiped it on the grass below her. I instantly started spitting on the ground, trying to get out the filth in my mouth.

"You need to learn not to scream so much, especially because of your... you know." She waved her hoof, not wanting to finish. "You don't even have those earmuffs anymore." 

"You didn't have to put a horse’s arm in my mouth," I grumbled, feeling my oddly placed ears. It felt weird.

"It's called a hoof, and we look more like ponies, not horses," Lily explained.

"Yeah, yeah." I naturally tilted my head, "How do you even know that stuff?"

"There's a lot you can read in the library if you have the time, though none of them told me about had these in them."

"How are you so calm about this?" I asked in a whisper. I rubbed my forehead with the stub, feeling a migraine coming up.

"Because I think this is a dream."

...

"Why?"

She looked at me, confidently. "Because there is no logical explanation for this, so it must be a dream."

I gawked at her in disbelief before turning into a malicious grin. "So..." I stretched out. "If you feel pain, you'll wake up, right?"

Lily seemed confused before answering. "I think so. Why?"

I trotted up to her, luckily not tripping. "So I can show you this isn't a dream," I said before punching her shoulder, causing her to stumble back.

"Ow..." She whined. "What was that for?"

I smiled smugly. "To prove my point."

"It still hurts." She rubbed her sore shoulder.

"Yeah..." I chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

"Well, at least I know this isn't a dream." 

I rolled my eyes at the obvious answer. In doing so, I caught a glimpse at her body.

Wings, I saw wings.

Lily followed my gaze, pink wings clamped against her sides.

I pointed at it with a hoof. "Is there an explanation for that?"

She just huffed and wobbled below a tree. "I'm too tired for any more of this weirdness."

I looked to my back and saw wings of my own. I tried to move them but proved ineffective.

I scanned the area for any clear paths we could take. To my disappointment, it was all grass.

In defeat, I unsteadily followed, laying right beside her.

She watched me curiously. "You do know other trees are around, right?"

I looked back at her, "I know, but it's cold."

Lily seemed to realize this, as she started shivering. I snuggled right up to Lily's chest, feeling the warmth that came with it. It seemed to stop her quivering, and I found myself being hugged back.

We stared at the night sky, stars dotted around, and the moonlighting everything below it. 

I listened to the silent crickets and feeling the wind blow softly in the leaves. 

I breathed out. For the first time since I got here, I felt comfortable. We both rested on the grass, reveling in each other's embrace.

Even though we were colorful, talking ponies that had wings. That was okay.

As long as I have Lily.



Something rustled in the bushes.