05. Chapter One: "Lost Memories in the Desert Sands" Part 3
Chapter One:
“Lost Memories in the Desert Sands”
Part III
DING-DONG BING-BONG
“Good morning, volunteers! Rise and shine, greet the day, and let’s keep the feelings of friendship and harmony alive!”
I blinked as I sat up, glancing at the clock. I’d never heard that announcement before, but… I’d also never been up at 7:00 AM either. And it wasn’t a voice I recognized. Maybe it was a leftover from before the takeover. It sure felt like one.
I managed to get out of bed, toss on some fresh clothes--that is, yet another copy of my usual outfit--and headed out of my room, hoping that maybe I was up early enough I wouldn’t run into anyone. I kept shivering as I walked through the early morning desert sunlight towards the Mess Hall, hoping I wouldn’t run into anyone so I could grab breakfast and go. It was only as I approached the doors that I remembered the pantry rules said it would be locked till 8:00 AM, meaning unless Monohuman had already set up the breakfast meal, I was shit out of luck.
Even worse, as I opened the door, I found myself face to face with Derpy. She smiled warmly and waved, rushing over to me. “Oh there you are, Wallflower! I was worried when you disappeared yesterday.”
I dodged her attempt to take my hand, my face paling a little. After Sunset’s warning last night, I wasn’t about to let just anyone touch me, even someone as friendly looking as Derpy. “Uh, hi…yeah.”
She cocked her head to the side, her eyes briefly crossing, then shrugged. “Well anyway, you wanna join me for early breakfast? Looks like the food’s ready already.” She jabbed a finger towards the tables where the same sort of slick setup from earlier laid again, though a few things had been swapped around, as I hadn’t recalled seeing fried mackerel or natto yesterday.
“...sure, I guess,” I said after a moment, though I’d be watching her.
“Awesome!” Derpy tried to link arms with me, but after I dodged it again, she simply shrugged and kept smiling. “Sooo, Wallflower, what’s got you up so early?”
“Went to bed early,” I muttered as I approached the food bar.
“Oh. I always get up early. I like to go on early morning runs. It’s easier when there’s less chance of me running into people.” She giggled and pointed at her eyes.
I smiled a little. Even if I was scared of her right now, Derpy was too sweet. “I get it. It’s the same reason I only go to the gym when it’s night time. Fewer people, especially in the locker rooms.”
Right as I sat down, Fluttershy and Zephyr Breeze walked in, chatting amiably. “Oh, good morning, Wallflower, Derpy,” Fluttershy said, waving. “Mind if we join you?”
“Sure!” Derpy said before I could respond.
“Hey, hey, Wallflower!” Zephyr said as he scooted out a chair next to me before I could protest. “We haven’t had a chance to speak one on one yet.”
“...yeah. For good reason,” I said with a dark scowl.
His face crumpled like a two-year old who’d just had his candy stolen out of his hand. “H-hey, there’s no need to be hostile like that.”
I glared at him for a moment longer, but spotting Fluttershy giving me a slightly pleading look, I sighed and said, “Sorry. Just… tense.”
“I hear that. This whole place has me filled with the heebie jeebies!” Zephyr shuddered even as he took a bite of an egg sandwich. He continued to talk with half his mouth full. “I can’t imagine why anyone would do such a thing to us. You can’t deprive the world of Zephyr Breeze!”
I looked back at Fluttershy, raising my eyebrows as if to ask, Really?
Fluttershy patted her brother on the shoulder. “There there. No one’s going to kill you, Zephyr. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Oh, you will?” He dropped his sandwich onto his plate and grabbed both of Fluttershy’s hands. “Oh Flutter Butter, whatever did I do to deserve such a cool older sister like you?”
Thankfully, before I had to witness even more of his shenanigans, Shining Armor entered the Mess Hall and made a beeline for me. “There you are,” he said. “I went by your room and you weren’t there. I’ve been looking for you.”
I couldn’t react for a moment. He wasn’t being particularly stern or forceful, but he exuded this authority that left me feeling weak. Finally, I picked up my plate and followed him to a table in the corner, making sure Fluttershy, Zephyr, and Derpy could see and hear us clearly; just because Shining was a cop wasn’t a reason to trust him. “What do you want?”
Shining paused for a moment to chew some of his food before responding. “You noticed the, err, disagreement that Pear Butter and I had yesterday, I take it.”
I stared blankly at him. “I don’t think there’s a person within five miles that didn’t notice,” I quipped.
“...right. Anyway, I want to make amends with her. I still don’t understand what exactly her issue with the suggestion was, but I want to find some way of compromising with her.”
I took a few more bites of food. “Okay, so what’s that got to do with me?”
“Well.. she seemed to already have a good relationship with you when you first showed up after being missing,” Shining pointed out. “I thought if anyone–”
“Yeah, well, maybe then we had a ‘good relationship,’” I interrupted, venom coating my words, “but not anymore. The very next day she became a complete bitch towards me. I don’t know why.”
“Really?” Shining popped another piece of bacon in his mouth. “Maybe that’s part of why she disliked the plan, since you suggested it. It’d be damned petty on her part if it was, but… she seems like a petty person.”
“Sure seemed like it,” I agreed. I snarfed down some more food. “So I don’t know what you expect from me.”
“Well, even if she’s being petty like this, she might be willing to hear you out. Or at least give you a chance.” Shining finished off his plate and sipped his coffee. “I’ve already tried to speak to her once but she refused. I don’t think I’m going to get through to her without someone’s help.”
“Why not try Big Macintosh? Isn’t he her son?”
Shining shook his head. “If there was one thing Pear and I both agreed on, it was trying to keep our distance from people we already know well. Even if she’s spending any time with him, I don’t think he’d listen… he doesn’t say much.”
I let out a frustrated sigh as I finished off my own meal. “So I’m your only option, huh?”
“Looks that way.” He eyed me over his coffee cup. “So, you going to help me?”
I stared back for a good few moments before sighing again. “Fine. I’ll try to help mom and dad get back together.”
He stared at me blankly. “Mom and…” He realized what I meant and glowered; it was the most unplanned and genuine thing I’d ever seen him do and I instantly liked him a little bit more. “I’m much closer to your age than Pear Butter’s.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I stood up. “I really will help. But only because I want to try to see why she’s been so nasty to me.”
“Fair enough. Alright, let’s go find her.”
“Um, excuse me, Mr. Shining Armor, sir,” Derpy interrupted, “but if you’re looking for Pear Butter, I saw her and Big Mac go into the kitchen.”
“Thanks, Derpy,” Shining said as he beckoned for me to follow.
As we entered the kitchen, we found Pear Butter sitting on a stool, strumming away at her guitar while Big Macintosh messed around on the stove with some of the food from the buffet; evidently it wasn’t cooked to his liking. Both of them froze upon seeing us enter, Pear Butter in particular giving both of us a vicious look.
“So much for a bit of privacy,” she sneered as she tucked her guitar behind her back. “Can Ah help you?”
“Um, Pear Butter,” I said, raising a hand. “Shining and I wanted to try to make amends for yesterday.”
Her lips thinned. “Make amends? For what? Suggestin’ somethin’ that might get a whole heap of us killed? Ah doubt very much you care.”
I scowled. What the hell was that supposed to mean? “No, I just want to keep people safe, like Sunset was saying yesterday. That’s why we came up with that plan; we were trying to help. And so is Shining Armor.”
Her lips thinned some more as her glare turned frigid. “Really. Just tryin’ to keep people safe, huh? Ah might believe that out of Shining, but you--”
“Look, Pear, whatever your problem is with Wallflower,” Shining interrupted, “it’s not nearly as important as trying to keep things calm and collected. We made a pretty huge scene yesterday, and I know a lot of people are unsettled now. We keep doing things like that and soon we’ll be drawing lines in the sand.”
Pear opened her mouth to say something else, only to pause when her son set a hand on her shoulder, and calmly shook his head.
Shining took that as a sign to step forward. “I know we have our differences. I’m not asking you to agree with everything I have to say. But you and I are the closest we have to real authorities here, especially since you’re a therapist. You should be helping everyone cope, just like I should. Will you work with me?”
Pear stared at him for a moment, then rolled her eyes. “Fine. Ah guess you’ve got a fair point there, Shining Armor. Ah’ll help you. But lemme make somethin’ clear: Ah ain’t gonna do anythin’ that might endanger mah family, ya hear? Ah mean it. Ah don’t want to lose anyone, least of all mah son.”
Shining nodded in understanding. “Of course, of course, nor would I ask you to.” He glanced at me. “Thank you, Wallflower. Would you excuse us?”
I started to speak up, but Pear Butter’s withering glare prompted me to leave. I stepped out of the kitchen only to promptly bump into Autumn Blaze.
“Oh hi! I was just looking for you!” Autumn said, her eyes aglow with delight. “Guess who’s been assigned to clean-up duty todaaaaay! That’s right, it’s you, Sour Sweet, and me! Oooh this is gonna be good because it means we can chat and I haven’t had a chance to chat with you yet because you seem really good at hiding away from everyone which I mean I don’t blame you for it is kind of scary around here but–”
Out of desperation I slapped a hand to her mouth. “Would you slow down?! Please?” My nerves quivered; this woman’s antics sent me clinging to the proverbial edge.
Autumn’s eyes flashed briefly with irritation before they softened again. She pushed my hand away. “Sorry, I get…excited.”
“Obviously.” I sighed. “Okay, what do we need to do for this cleanup?”
“Oh, nothing yet. Get yourself some breakfast if you haven’t already; we’ll be working once everyone’s done. Just don’t leave the Mess Hall.”
I sat back down next to Sour Sweet, who’d grumpily gathered a plate and was munching on it with supreme irritation. “Ugh, I can’t believe I have to clean up after all these people,” Sour muttered. She suddenly smiled. “Oh, I’m sure I could make it totally spotless!” Her smile crumpled. “Not that I want to.”
“Sorry, Sour,” I said as I went for my second cup of coffee, letting the acrid smell and bitter heat flow through me. “I’m doing it too.”
“I know. Don’t expect me to talk to you; I hate talking while doing dishes.” Sour stared at my cup of coffee, then went and grabbed herself two, gulping one down in a single mouthful. “Aaah, that burns good.”
I stared wide-eyed at that until I heard the sound of a fork clinking against a glass. “Everyone, attention, please,” said Shining Armor. He stood with Pear Butter by his side.
“Oh this should be good,” Cranky quipped with a world-weary sigh.
“First off, y’all, sorry about any tension Ah caused yesterday,” Pear Butter said, giving everyone a soft smile, though it wavered significantly when she passed over me. “Ah know we were havin’ a discussion but Ah made a scene, and Ah apologize for that.”
“Aww, I don’t think anyone was holding it against you, Pear,” Cheese said with a thumbs up. “I know I wasn’t.”
Pear nodded to him. “Thank you kindly, Cheese. If Ah may, before Shining continues, Ah just want everyone to know Ah’m openin’ mah doors to y’all. If you need someone to talk to during this situation we’re all stuck in, just come by mah office. I’ll see you right away, s’long as Ah’m not already with someone. Ah am a therapist, and it’s high time Ah did mah job.”
A small round of applause went around the room before Pear took a seat. “Thank you, Pear. Now, she and I were discussing what was suggested yesterday, and we both ultimately agreed it could do more harm than good. But, we also agreed on a compromise.”
Shining nodded to Pear. “We’ve all been coming to meals pretty regularly. The compromise is, we take advantage of that to do a quick headcount and check in. That way, we can be sure to notice quickly if anyone’s missing. Now, we can’t enforce this, but… it would be best for everyone if we tried to stick to this. This is for everyone’s safety.”
“Trixie refuses!” screeched the expected-by-now complaining of Trixie as she exited the kitchen, carrying more goods from the pantry. “The rest of you sheeple can meet up and die for all Trixie cares, but she will be safer staying away from you.”
“You’re already showing up for meals, anyway,” Sour Sweet griped.
“Well, clearly that was a mistake! My great and powerful self is too great and powerful to be murdered like the rest of you! Trixie shows her vulnerabilities to no one!” She stomped out without another word.
“Okay, dumbass aside,” Sour Sweet said, “I like this plan better.”
“...me too,” Cranky said, shaking his head. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but me too. Least it’s better than havin’ someone in my face the whole time.”
A number of nods met Cranky’s words. “Okay, is anyone other than Trixie opposed?” Shining asked. After a moment of no answer, he smiled. “Good. Then it’s settled. Enjoy the rest of your breakfast everyone.”
As I sat back to wait for breakfast to be over, my pad bleeped at me, alongside everyone else’s. I switched it on and saw we’d been sent a survey, the first one I’d seen. This one was asking questions about, appropriately enough, the breakfast bar. Looking over the list most of them were about how much someone liked this item or that item… probably meant Monohuman was looking to pare it down.
“Don’t forget to answer the surveys, everyone,” Sunset said as she went through hers. “It’s still one of the rules; you don’t want to see how Monohuman will enforce the rule if you don’t do it.”
I noticed Rarity gave Sunset a decidedly disgusted look even as she pulled out her pad. Seems she was still holding a grudge against her.
Once breakfast and surveys were finally over, Autumn dragged Sour Sweet and me into collecting the dishes and the leftover breakfast bar food. Some of it was placed into the refrigerators for later snacking but the rest was left in a single box in the pantry. “That’s what he tells us to do,” Autumn said, pointing out the instructions on her pad.
We set up an efficient line to clean the dishes, with Autumn scraping, me washing and Sour Sweet drying, while Autumn chatted about her life. “I know I talk way too much sometimes but I can’t help it. My family were huge about staying quiet; they’d practically gag me sometimes while I was home just so I wouldn’t speak! It wasn’t till after high school and I moved out that I finally got to speak freely at home and ever since I can’t stop. I love hearing my own voice.”
“Pfft, yeah, that’s obvious,” Sour Sweet snorted.
“...I think I get it,” I said, giving Autumn an understanding nod. “Sort of. You weren’t able to be yourself, and now you are, and you’re… overcompensating.”
“Yeah, exactly!” Autumn beamed at me as she handed me the next plate. “I know it can be really annoying sometimes but I just want to keep everyone here cheerful. Besides, this is all just some big prank thing they’re doing anyway; no one’s going to actually die. That’s ridiculous. They’d never let that happen. I’m sure the ponies and humans that put this together are all somewhere giggling at how scared we are… it’s all a big test to see if we can really get along even in a dangerous or threatening situation, I’m sure of it.”
Handing a plate over to Sour Sweet, I asked, “What if you’re wrong? Sunset sure seemed convinced that–”
“Sunset Shimmer helped put all this together, didn’t she?” Autumn countered as she handed me the final plate to clean. “So of course she’s gonna act like it’s serious. She’s gotta keep us on our toes. Trust me, it’ll all blow over, we’ll all be fine and it’ll just be one huge act.”
I washed that plate and handed it to Sour to dry, then turned to leave. Before I left though, I noticed the door to the pantry was ajar, so I shut it tight, then left. In my opinion Autumn was being a naive idiot. She hadn’t seen the fear in Sunset’s eyes like I had. Hadn’t spoken to her at night about things like I had. Either this was real or Sunset was the best actor I’ve ever met.
“Hey, Wallflower.”
I turned to see Sour Sweet behind me, her arms crossed as she leaned against the doors to the Mess Hall interior. “What?”
“...just thought I’d tell you I’m gonna go see Pear Butter for one of those sessions she offered,” Sour said, her expression a match for her name.
I shrugged. “Okay, why tell me?”
“Because you heard Autumn,” Sour Sweet replied, her expression fading into one of fear. “A-And I don’t know if I can believe what she’s saying. I want to, but what if it really is real? What if we might die here?” She sneered. “I’m only twenty-five, damn it. I’m too young to die.” Her sneer faded. “So yeah, I’m gonna see Pear Butter. You should too. Fix whatever shit’s going on between you two.”
She walked off before I could respond to that, but she had a fair point. It might well be worth going to speak with her.
Though the thought of that had me shaking more than a little. I hated confrontations. Confronting Pear Butter in her office, on her turf? Part of me wanted to run away and hide under the covers of my bed.
But the rest of me knew that wouldn’t accomplish anything, so I managed, barely, to pull myself in the direction of her office. Not knowing how long one of her sessions would be, I decided to stop in the break room first.
“Oh come on, you’ve traveled the world!”
“No.”
“But you’re so knowledgeable. I could really use a mentor.”
“Then go see Shining. Or Pear Butter. Or anyone else except me, kid.”
“I’m not a kid, I’m twenty-seven.”
As I opened the door I heard the voices of Cheese Sandwich and Cranky Doodle arguing away. Cheese had his hands up in the air, gesticulating wildly, while Cranky cradled his coffee cup, trying not to snarl.
“Oh, sorry to interrupt,” I muttered, turning to leave.
“No, wait, Wallflower, perfect timing!” Cheese Sandwich said, forcing me to turn back around. “Look, you remember what we talked about yesterday? How I said I was looking for someone to help show me the ropes?”
“...yeah?”
Cranky sighed and set his mug on the table, laying back in his chair. “Look, kid,” he said, addressing me, “before you start trying to help him, didn’t I make it clear to you the other day how much I just want to be left alone? I don’t. Want. To be. Around people. It’s not a hard concept.”
I shrugged. “I wasn’t planning on encouraging him, Cranky.”
He grunted. “Good.”
Cheese Sandwich’s face fell as he looked at me with forlorn eyes. “But, Wallflower… he’s like the best person here! He’s been all over the place: Qilin, Ewerope, Zebrica, even Hosstralia! He’s been to practically every continent and seen and met all kinds of cultures and people. Who else better to help show me the way than him?”
“I’m a high school math teacher, not a world-famous explorer,” Cranky objected. “Just because I traveled when I was younger doesn’t mean I’m any good at teaching you anything you want to know. Unless you want to brush up on the quadratic formula. Or breakdance. But I do not teach my b-boy secrets so don’t even ask.”
I shook my head. “Look, this isn’t my business. You want to convince Cranky to be your mentor, Cheese, that’s on you. Don’t involve….”
“It’s time to practice your accordion, champ!” Cheese interrupted.
My train of thought very effectively broken, I stared at him in bafflement.
“C’mon buddy, get moving, it’s accordion time!” he exclaimed, somehow not moving his lips at all.
Grumbling, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his tablet. “Let’s go!” it blared as he fumbled with it.
“Yer tablet thingie sounds like you,” Cranky observed.
Cheese shrugged, fiddling with the controls. “No no no, I just made a recording and set it as my alarm. It’s more motivating if you encourage yours–”
“HEY, CHEESE!!” the pad suddenly screeched, so startlingly loud I almost fell over. “ACCORDIAN TIME! GE–” Finally, Cheese managed to turn it off.
“Holy biscuits!” Cranky groused. “Helluva set of speakers on these things. What, did you scream into it as loud as you could?”
Cheese giggled, embarrassed. “No, I just accidentally turned the volume up. Hey! But maybe I should! What if I’m a world class screamer?! Hey Cranky, do you think I could be?”
Cranky had already picked up a nearby women’s lifestyle magazine from twenty years ago and stuck his head into it. Unperturbed, Cheese grinned in my direction. “Well, looks like I gotta…”
But I had already started walking away before he could say anything else. Glancing down the hallways I could see Pear’s door was still closed. There was some sort of a small machine just outside her door, and it was emitting a droning, whirring sound, so I couldn’t hear any talking, but I assumed Sour Sweet was still in there. As such I began exploring the rest of the place, as I hadn’t had a chance before.
There were several offices similar in size and scope to Pear Butter’s, albeit they were unoccupied. I wandered about the first one for a while, poking through dusty filing cabinets and checking drawers on the desk, but other than ancient, weathered documents about mining and a few old binders containing records of daily ore loads, processing speeds, fuel consumption I saw nothing of any real interest.
The plants out in the hallway were much more interesting to me… beautiful tall ferns, grown with exquisite care. Whomever planted these knew precisely how to care for plants; I couldn’t have done a better job with all my tools at home. They were perfectly sized for their pots too, except for one; this big one looked like it needed to be planted outside in some decent soil as it was so overgrown it almost covered its pot from view. Unfortunately since we were in the desert there wasn’t much I could do about that.
Maybe I could find some shears and cut this one back without hurting it too much… ferns were sensitive, but it was doable with the right touch.
The door to Pear Butter’s office opened, scattering my thoughts as Sour Sweet emerged. She spotted me and beelined right for me, a soft smile on her face. “Hey again,” she said.
“How’d it go?”
Her smile grew a tad. “I do not go easy on therapists. Lots of yelling and swearing, the usual. But Pear Butter listens. She knew exactly what to say to make me feel better too. I’m still scared but not as scared, get me?”
“I think so. I’m glad it worked out for you.”
“Yeah… good luck if you talk to her. Hope she listens to you too.”
As she walked away, I looked down the corridor to Pear Butter’s office, where I could hear the white noise machine running still. Now was my chance, if I was going to get one at all.
Gathering up what little excuse for courage I possessed, I trudged my way into that office, each step feeling like it took a monumental amount of effort. As I approached the door and looked inside, I saw Pear glancing over a notebook. She looked up at the sound of my footsteps and scowled. “...Ah suppose Ah did say mah office was open to everyone, didn’t Ah?” she said.
“Y-yeah,” I gulped. “...may I come in?”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Take a seat. Close the door behind you.”
I did as I was instructed and took a seat. The seat felt cold, despite Sour Sweet having occupied it just a few minutes before. The white noise machine got softer after she closed the door, and it helped soothe me a little from its constant hum, but everything else possessed an oppressive air, like a place I shouldn’t be in.
Where I wasn’t wanted.
Where I didn’t belong.
So my eyes looked everywhere except her, trying to take in any details I missed. Sure enough, there were a few personal possessions on the desk I hadn’t noticed before, including a set of makeup, primarily foundation and blush, perfectly toned to her skin… I guess even someone as energetic as her needed help looking youthful. The branding on the makeup set looked out of date, just like the sodas in the machine in the break room, which meant she must’ve gotten it from somewhere in the complex. Maybe the pharmacy, given she also had a couple of bottles of aspirin and a bottle of something I didn’t recognize called chlorpromazine.
“So you gonna say somethin’, or are you here just to gawp at mah office?”
Jumping in the chair, I looked right at her and swallowed back my initial rude reply. “I.. wanted to know what the deal you have with me is. You were so nice the other day.”
“That was before Ah realized what was goin’ on around here.” She looked right at me. “Are you scared, Wallflower? Are you terrified?”
“Yes!” I shouted back. “Of course I’m scared! This friggen Monohuman guy wants us to kill each other. Why wouldn’t I be scared?”
“That’s a great question, ain’t it.” Pear Butter shook her head. “You’re really committed to this, aren’t you? This whole facade of yours. If Ah didn’t know better Ah’d believe it too. Yah sure had me goin’ at first with the whole memory thing.”
“...what?” I stared blankly at her, utterly nonplussed. “What are you talking about? I lost my memory, really. I can’t remember anything past high school.”
“And we only have your word for that,” Pear said with a shrug. “And Ah don’t believe you. Not when… well, you know what Ah mean, no matter how much you pretend you don’t.”
“Pear, please, I don’t understand–”
“Do not call me that!” Pear Butter thundered. “You will address me as Miss Butter, since you ain’t got the privilege of callin’ me Pear anymore, you hear?”
I stiffened. “...yes, ma’am.”
“Now, we can sit here all day jawin’ on about this and that, but seein’ as Ah’ve got people Ah actually want to talk to Ah need to counsel, lemme just ask you this one question Ah’ve been burnin’ to ask.”
I gulped. “What is it?”
She sat forward, placing her hands on the desk, her eyes shifting from angry to scared, almost desperate. If I didn’t know better I’d almost even say pleading. “Please tell me you’re plannin’ on sparin’ Big Mac. For god’s sake, spare him his life.”
I stared back, my jaw falling open. It took me far too long before I managed to stammer back a reply. “...Pe–I mean, Miss Butter… I’m not going to kill anyone! I wouldn’t kill you, and I wouldn’t kill someone you love! Why would you even ask me that?”
She let out a choked little gasp. Her face experienced a flurry of emotions until it twisted up in pure rage as she slammed both hands on her desk. “You smarmy little… get out! GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!”
I jumped up out of the chair and fled, and didn’t stop running until I was back outside by the stage, where I collapsed, struggling to gulp down air. I shook all over, my nerves shot.
“Hey. You alright?”
I looked up in surprise at the deep voice booming at me to see Big Macintosh standing over me, concern etched on his face. He held out a hand. “Need any help?”
I backed away from him on the ground till I managed to climb to my feet using the stage. “Ah, ah, n-n-no, no, I…”
I turned tail and ran again, this time not stopping till I’d reached my dorm room, where I fell onto the bed. Heat filled my body, boiling hot, forcing me to strip off my clothes. I stumbled, still gasping for air, into the shower and switched on the cold water, adjusting it so it was lukewarm. Even that was almost too shocking for me, but I needed the shock.
“What the hell?” I asked myself after a short while in the shower, washing away all of my gathered sweat. I switched it over to hot and went ahead and washed my hair for good measure. I planned to leave it wet so it would keep me cool as it dried in the sun. “What is her problem? She’s acting like I’m the one behind all this.”
Which made zero sense. Setting aside how impossible it would be for me to do anything against ponies and magic, and Monohuman calling me the Ultimate Nobody…why? Why would I do this? I would never do this!
…Well, maybe if I was still mad at Sunset like I had been with the Memory Stone, but that was years ago. I got over it. And if I had been mad at her, half the people gathered here wouldn’t make sense; I’d be gathering all the people closest to her, like her other friends, not people she didn’t even know like Cheese Sandwich or Autumn Blaze.
“Maybe I should ask Sunset,” I decided.
Finishing up with my shower, I dried off, then took my morning medicine; I’d forgotten to take it before breakfast. Definitely didn’t want to forget that. I double checked my face to make sure I was still presentable. Yup. Same old Wallflower. Still forgettable, still boring.
Better than being noticeably ugly, I supposed.
As I left my room, I ran right into Sunset. “Oh, there you are,” I said. “I was just coming to look for you.”
Sunset looked at me wide-eyed for a moment, then whispered, “Get inside!” and dragged me into her room, tossing me onto the bed before closing the door.
Immediately my face burned like an inferno. “Sunset!” I gasped. “What’re you doing?!”
She blinked, then slapped her face. “No, no, Wallflower, it’s not–I just needed to talk where no one else could hear.” She rolled her eyes and pointed at the camera in the corner. “Well, no one save him.”
The burn in my face lowered to a simmer rather than a boil. “O-oh. Of course. Silly… silly me.” I chuckled at myself. “What is it?”
Sunset shook her head. “Gotta think, gimme a minute.”
Shrugging, I took that minute to look around, as this was the first chance I’d had to examine her room. It was identical to mine in layout, everything in the same place, just mirrored. She did, however, have a few personal touches; a brief glance inside the fridge showed a bunch of tea drinks and other things she must’ve swiped from the pantry. She’d hung a couple of decorations around the room, including a sun symbol that matched her hair in colors.
There were several notebooks scattered about her desk, and a heap of writing utensils piled around it. The notebooks were labeled things like “suspect lists” and “evidence” and “profiles.” There was a small satchel bag sitting nearby, empty and open, ready for everything to be put inside.
“Okay, listen, Wallflower,” Sunset said, her words jittery. Her motions were jittery too, all spastic, like she’d sucked down a ton of caffeine.
“You okay, Sunset?” I interrupted.
Sunset hissed, swiping her hand dismissively. “I’m fine. I just tried to talk to Trixie, and she wouldn’t… ugh.” She shook her head. “Never mind. Please, listen to me. I figured them out.”
I blinked. “Figured who out? The ones behind this?”
“No. The Equestrians. I know who five of them are, who they must be. I, I can’t tell you who, but…”
“But wha–Gaah!”
Sunset bum rushed me, inadvertently landing on me on the bed and pushing me over so she was practically laying on me. Yet there was nothing the least bit sexual about how she held me, despite being on top of me; quite the opposite. She held me like a mother would a lost child found, or how a little girl might cling to a plushie during a thunderstorm.
And then she began to pet my head, and moisture dripped onto my shoulder. “I won’t let them do it,” she declared.
“Huh?” I tentatively hugged her back. “Won’t let who do what?”
“Don’t say anything. I won’t let anyone find out, alright? I promise. I’ll keep you safe.”
Apologies for the late posting this evening; I'm afraid there's been some complications in my personal life. My husband was injured the other day in a debilitating manner and I've been having to take care of him, which has eaten up my time.
Regarding this particular part I want to thank JCarp for really making parts of this fantastic, way better than my original draft looked. The beauty of working together with someone like JCarp is that your styles end up complimenting each other quite well.
For those who are wondering if this story is following the same general layout as the previous one, well... you'll find out next week, won't you? 
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I'm not sure I'd be willing to tell anyone that I knew who the Equestians were in this situation, but Sunset seems to be infantilizing (if that's the right word?) Wallflower pretty hard at this point, so maybe she doesn't see Wallflower as any kind of threat to her safety.
Pear is such a bitch, even if she figured Wallie is a pony but doesn't make her the mastermind.
I loved the 1st story, and I'm loving this one.
I hope your husband is ok.
Well after this chapter I have a vague idea of something that may have possibly happened: I don't believe that was Sunset that came into Wallflower's room at night back at the end of chapter 2, I believe that was some kind of trick or illusion done by Monohuman for whatever reason. And I believe a similar illusion was done to trick Pear Butter at the same time, because she started acting differently to Wallflower the following morning. Possibly Monohuman only did this to stir up drama, or it might have a larger purpose. I'm just basing this on how Sunset didn't really seem to act like "Sunset" when that happened and how Pear seems utterly convinced of Wallflower's villainy now.
Love Sour Sweet's part in the chapter.
Man, Pear Butter and Sunset are acting psychotic.
Holy Carp, that just bumped up the spooky-o-meter.
What? How? And more importantly, why? (Also she looks like a mess after that insane research work, and I hope she gets her math right even if she figured it out. That kind of info is dangerous but also very valuable.)
It seems that she found out that Wallflower is one of the Equestrians, according to her comforting Wallflower like that.
If that kind of thing is known, death will happen a lot sooner. （And I still can't figure out why Monohuman made that first motive, since it's not particularly motivating...）
No wait, did Monohuman mention that there are clues about the last game? So Sunset figured it out by finding clues, remembering her last experience and ruling out those who died last time? (I mean it can't help find all of the Equestrians, but there are some that she can definitely figure out.)
If that is the case, Trixie, Fluttershy, Wallflower are certainly Equestrians. Shining Armor is more likely to be one according to last chapter, and Rarity was present last time but she survived. (the chance of memory wipe and reuse is little but not zero since Sunset obviously is like this) That's all I have for now.
Let's see how it works out. I am eagerly waiting for the next chapter.
11491697
Husband?
You just know that Sunset's list is going to leak... Assuming she's right, of course.
Is Sunset experiencing a Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde situation? She's seems like how I expect her to act during the day but at night she seemingly flips personalities. Like Sour Sweet, but creepier.
Curious to know how Pear Putter came to her conclusion regarding Wallflower. It makes me wonder if Monohuman threaded specific information to each person through the pad, just so that the pot would be stirred quicker. Kinda how there was the "big secret" from the first game that everyone got about someone else.
Given your tease for next week, looks like we'll be finding out.
Oh boy, I am worrying about Sunset more and more. She is running herself ragged, and her claims that she has figured out who the Equestrians are puts an even bigger target on her back. Chances are that she will get killed before she can reveal anything and the secrets she knows will die with her. Or alternatively maybe she is wrong about everything due to her mental state.
It is surprising how quickly I am growing to hate Pear Butter in this.
I don’t know what should I feel worried more
The fact that Pear Butter acting the way she is
Or Sunset giving Death Flags
Why must you do this to me my friend DewDrop 😣
No one’s been killed yet, but it’s already getting insane!
I’m shocked that Pear Butter thinks Wallflower is one of the ones behind this. I think that medicine she taking-at least, I assume it’s for her-is negatively affecting her mind.
Sunset says she knows who 5 of the 6 Equestrians are. Does that include herself? Maybe this is human Sunset, but with pony Sunset’s memories?
Does Sunset think Wallflower is a pony. It would make sense, as the human WF was killed. Perhaps this one is the pony counterpart, just with the human’s memories implanted. But why?
I hope you’re husband gets better soon.
. I think that should be WHOever. But I also zeroed in in that sentence because I think whoever planted those ferns is the killer. I think I nailed it last chapter with my guess that someone used the bag of ice to do the deed, and now is “consuming” it by watering them with melted ice. Not only are the ferns right next to PB’s office, making them likely to be hers, but also she’s a farmer so she’d know how to take care of them. There was a mention of Wallflower hearing guitar music but not actually seeing PB, and now we know the significance - PB could have recorded herself playing guitar, left the pad in the room, and set an alarm for playback so that she’d have an alibi while she was on the other side of the compound doing the deed.
I think she was acting hostile because she picked a target and then got her prize, saying that Wallflower was the victim last time, which would lead her to believe that Wally must’ve been the mastermind who faked her death. And of course, the mastermind indirectly killed her daughter, so for her it’s personal.
There were a couple characters we didn’t see this time; Juniper and Valencia, and I think one of them’s already bit it; they must’ve said something in counseling that led PB to believe they were a pony.
Howdy, hi~!
Ahhh, love the tension. All the usual early-game shenanigans. Not much to say, except you're doing a great job of keeping the momentum going.
Not really sure why Pear, of all people, is acting bitchy or why she's so suspicious of Wallflower. Makes me wonder if she knows something...
Either way, I'm kind of expecting her and Sunset not to make it out of Ch.1 alive. About to read the next part, so I'll see if I'm right or not.