Band of Five Attributes (Re-Written)

Yuuki groaned in annoyance before deciding to trot back downstairs, passing Rekka as he made his way up on the ramp part. She found Kaguya and 01 looking at her as if they had expected her to show up for quite a while, and her hooves instantly froze on the spot, gluing her to the stairs before she could reach the final step. A lump lodged itself in her throat, and her pupils shrank to tiny dots in a second.

Kaguya sighed, closing her eyes and turning to 01. She opened her mouth to speak, but quickly closed it.

01 cleared his throat, looking at Yuuki without a discernable emotion taking precedence on his face. “You...still haven’t told Kaguya everything.” He said, trying to hide a lingering undertone of anxiety in his voice. “Come...to the kitchen so we can talk.”

Yuuki shuddered, her tail shifting between her hind legs as she struggled to move one of her front hooves. It felt as if it were an eternity since she last moved any of her limbs, and she felt panic spurring to life as her heartbeat increased.

The air hung heavy, not once easing as the shaky hoof touched the final step, followed by an even shakier back hoof touching the step behind it. Yuuki felt her whole body tense up, gasping shallow breaths for air as what felt like an invisible hand squeezed her chest as if a reticulated python powered by a hunger for flesh.

The world began to spin for the teen, starting off slow before picking up speed. She moved her ever-shaking legs to propel herself towards the elder ponies who were now looking at her with worry. She couldn’t see their faces clearly; everything was a rapidly spinning blur at this point. When the last hoof got off the stairs, she collapsed onto her side with a thud.

“YUUKI!” 01 and Kaguya cried in unison, at both sides of the now-unconscious mare in an instant, their own eyes wide from pure shock.

Those who were upstairs had stopped whatever it was they had been doing and immediately rushed down the stairs to see what the commotion was all about, all with concern dotting their faces. They saw the elder ponies carefully move Yuuki onto the couch, making sure to avoid laying her on her side or back.

Kaguya instantly shot a look at the others who were still on the stairs. “Just go back upstairs and claim rooms. I think she’s fine.” The mare said, the panic still lingering on her face telling the group otherwise.

The teens nodded and trotted back upstairs, immediately doing as they were told to.

01 shook his head and sighed. He just removed his hooves from the mare’s forehead and chin. “She’s not overheating.” He said, a frown on his face.

“Do you think…?” Kaguya started, only to stop as her ears fell flat.

“I can’t be too sure what it is myself. Could you stay here with her while I check on the other hooligans upstairs?” 01 asked, now noticing that the house had fallen eerily silent. Even the roughhousing above ceased to be; instead replaced with a complacent, solemn silence.

Kaguya nodded, eyes widening further as the same feeling of crushing constriction that Yuuki felt now latched itself onto her. She stood there with flattened ears as 01 rushed past her and ascended the stairs.

The mare turned to the door that led outside, seeing an envelope slide in from underneath and land on the wood floor. With a quaking body and equally hesitant movements, she moved towards the envelope that had been deposited at her door. It felt like a painstaking eternity had passed by her without so much as an afterthought as she slowly picked up the envelope and turned it over.

For a moment, she was petrified as she stared at the one thing the envelope had inscribed on it rectangular, flimsy frame. Her breathing was shallow, and her chest tightened as she stood there still as a rock just staring at the sole thing the envelope bore.

‘Frontier Quartet.’

Kaguya snapped out of her stupor, dropped the envelope, and immediately tried the knob on the door, causing it to swing open obediently. Outside, the world was dark and the sky obscured by clouds. From what she could tell, no other houses had their lights on. She shut the door quick as a whip, then ran to the table where she placed her saddlebag. She dug for a bit before pulling out the key and running back to the door, thrusting in the thin silver frame into the lock and turning it with hasty movements.

A click signaled that the lock was successful, and Kaguya removed the key instantly before letting it clatter to the floor. She was breathing in and out as if she had just hidden from a monster that was still prowling for her after she ran for ten straight minutes. Other than her breathing and the beating of her heart, the house was silent.

She looked to the envelope she had dropped, the words ‘Frontier Quartet’ still on it plain as day as if to mock her. She grabbed it with a swift hoof and quickly tore it open, pulling out the letter within to read it.

Her pupils shrank to tiny dots as her gaze went over each and every word of the first paragraph.

“Kaguya, you look like you’ve seen a ghost!” 01 cried, causing the elder mare to shriek in surprise as she turned around to see him standing behind her with flattened ears. “Are you alright?!”

The mare gulped hard, a golf ball lodged in her throat. Her breathing slowed a little bit, and her body relaxed. Slowly, she shook her head.

01 turned to the piece of paper in the mare’s hoof. “What is that?” He inquired, eyebrow raised.

Kaguya glanced at it again before reading it, finding that it was a mere blank sheet of paper. The first paragraph she thought she’d seen was also nonexistent. The envelope the paper came in had disappeared without a trace.

“I must be hallucinating.” She murmured, shaking her head as though excess water were on it.

01 picked up the key the mare dropped before trotting over to the table and placing it in her saddlebag. “We all do that sometimes, but you genuinely had me worried for a moment. Please, woman, keep your episodes of seeing or hearing whatever you’ve seen or heard under control next time.” He scolded as he trotted back to the mare.

“I’ll try. How are the others?” Kaguya asked, ears slowly rising up. She could still feel faint traces of her previous panic fleeting, slowly being replaced with complacency.

“They’re all in bed, snoozing away.” 01 answered, scratching one side of his head with a hoof.

Kaguya turned to Yuuki, who was still passed out on the couch. “Should we take her to her new room?” She inquired.

“Yeah. After that, we’re both going to sleep too. I’m…” 01 yawned mid sentence, still scratching his head with a hoof, “tired as hell.”