*DING DING DING DING*

This isn't good. It's been a full hour, and Cozy Glow hasn't woken up yet.

"Hey, Rain?"

We all turn towards Yona.

"Where did glass shards come from?"

Rain sighs. "It was a glass orb. I thought it looked out of place, so I touched it. When I did, a ton of memories flooded my mind."

Ocellus' ears perk up. "Memories?"

Sandbar laughs. "Looks like you were right after all."

"Assuming she's telling the truth." Where would we be without skeptical Gallus?

"What I remembered was... interesting. First, I remembered Professor Fluttershy and Professor Applejack arriving in our village and teaching us how to speak without upsetting each other. How we can't throw away our good times just because of some bad times."

"Professor?" Does that mean that she's...

"The next thing that was important was enrolling in the school of friendship. It was the same day Bramble enrolled, even."

"We were both students there?"

Rain is bobbing her head.

Ocellus is tapping her chin. "That makes it more likely that we were targeted because we were students at the school!"

"The only other important thing I remember was seeing the teachers going through a grate that led under the school. I got curious, followed them, and that's where my memories ended."

"That's where my memories ended too."

!! That was... I look at the bed Cozy Glow is on. She's sitting up!

"You're alright!" Sandbar's face is glowing.

"Yeah. I guess I am." Huh? Something feels off about her, but differently from before.

"So that orb does return memories." Ocellus suddenly bites her lip. "Or, would have."

Smolder is growling. "Why did you smash it? We could have used that!"

"Smashed?" Cozy Glow isn't looking at us. "... I guess I forgot why, between my memories coming back and getting knocked out."

"And who did that? You better not say Rain." I may not trust Cozy Glow, but Smolder needs to respect her personal space.

Though... Cozy seems unfazed. "I should be asking you something; Which door is each of us going through?"

Oh, yeah! "We can ask her questions once we're out of here. We should focus on getting out of here first."

"Right." Gallus is pointing at Smolder. "Smolder, you're the one deciding."

"Ugh. Fine, we'll move on with it. But I want answers once we're out of here!"

Cozy Glow shrugs. "That's fair."

"Right. I'm taking Rain and Yona through door 1."

There's a soft chuckle to my left. "I figured you'd take me."

Alright. So that's three of us. What does she want the rest of us-

"Come on!"

Huh?

*Beep Beep Beep*

HUH?

*Squeeeeak*

"Wait, Smolder, aren't you-"

*SLAM!*

... They're gone. "I thought she was going to decide what the rest of us would do."

Sandbar is blinking. "So did I."

Gallus is writing something down. "It's Smolder. What did you expect? As long as she got what she wanted, she doesn't care what the rest of us do. Although it does narrow down what the rest of us can do." He puts down the pen and holds up the note. "Ocellus has to go through room 3, I have to go through room 5, Sandbar and Silver have to go together, and Bramble and Cozy have to go together."

Bramble's eye is twitching. I don't think he wants to be stuck with Cozy Glow. "What if we don't want to do that?"

"You're free to stay behind if Cozy agrees to that, but this is the situation we've been forced into. Similar to last time, we have two groups adding up to a specific number, 8 in this case, and they have to add to someone else to create the number we need. I ran through the other possibilities, and none of them work."

Someone coughed right next to me! "I won't blame you if you forgot, but I didn't get to choose last round either." Right. Ocellus was forced to go through door 7 without getting a say in it. She was just more quiet about it than Smolder was. "So if you five don't mind, I'd like to go with Bramble and Cozy. I want to look out for them."

Gallus turns towards the rest of us. "Is that fine with you guys?"

That expression... Ocellus isn't looking out for both of them. She wants to make sure Cozy doesn't do anything to Bramble. "Yeah, that's fine." That also means I get to spend more time with Gallus. Woo!

WAH! Bramble nearly knocked me over! *Wump* Scratch that. He knocked me over. Where did he go? Oh, he's standing over the paper Gallus was writing on.

"The only way to separate you and Cozy Glow is for one of you two to stay behind. Then someone else would also have to stay behind, and some of us would have to go through the other room regardless. It's better to suck it up and tough out working with her rather than forcing some of us to go through more rooms pointlessly."

Have I heard a deer growl before? Of course not. Bramble's the first deer I've met.

Ocellus has her hoof over his back. "It's alright. We just have to get through this room, then you can go through a different one from her from here on."

He's biting his lip. "... Fine. Let's get this over with."

Cozy watches him walk to the door. "Not even gonna hide it, are you?"

We all head to the appropriate door, scan our bracelets, and head through. As soon as we're through, the DEAD is right in front of us. We scan our bracelets again and pull the lever, deactivating the bracelets.

"I still don't get what you and Bramble have against Cozy Glow." And Sandbar immediately chews me out for some reason.

Gallus is scratching his head. "And you don't have an issue with her? She insulted you too."

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't justify the way Silver and Bramble are treating her."

Why is Gallus smirking? "To be honest, I find her cutie mark suspicious."

... What? "Her... cutie mark?"

Did Gallus have to boop me? "Tell me, what does the term "rook" mean?"

"It's a chess piece." Sandbar said what I'm thinking.

"As a noun, yes."

"As a... noun?" Okay, I am thoroughly confused.

"The word "rook" can also be a verb, meaning to cheat or defraud someone."

... Does he mean...

"So... you're saying Cozy Glow's talent is..."

"Deception. I think her talent is deception. Since the other use of rook isn't as well known, it's a lot easier to convince others that it isn't her talent."

"If that is her talent. It could just be a bad coincidence." Why am I defending her?

"It could be, but you've seen how she treats others."

... He has a point. I look at Sandbar, who's looking at me.

"Anyway, come on. We don't even know what room we're in."

TIME TO SEARCH!

I look into the room and immediately see glass-covered shelves lined with bottles and jars full of liquids of different colors. "Guys, I'm no chemist, but I think this is a chemistry lab."

"You sure? I thought it was a cafeteria."

Sandbar does that... thing with his mouth. You know, where you blow out air while your mouth is closed. "I doubt there's a way to make a cafeteria into a death trap."

"There's plenty of stuff in the back they can use."

"But then it would be the kitchen, not the cafeteria."

Nice tangent, boys. "What's the puzzle? I see the locked door we have to get out through."

"It probably has something to do with the chemicals lining the walls." Gallus. Stater of the obvious.

"Actually, it may have something to do with that." I watch Sandbar approach a panel of some kind. "Look at these glass tubes. It reminds me of one of those pipe puzzles."

"Oh! Where you take the pipe pieces and rotate them so they connect from one end to the other? I love those!"

"You two might want to take another look." Gallus is tapping on the glass. I'm tempted to tell him he's scaring the fishies, but I don't think he'd appreciate that. "The lines are already connected."

"Yeah, I know." I put my talons through the holes at the top. "See up here? We need to put some chemicals in these holes. They'll mix in the bulbs, and then pour into the pipes."

"Don't stick your claws in those!" Eeee! He's holding my claw!

"Actually, it looks like..." Sandbar pulls at one of the bulbs, pulling it out. "Yeah, these can switch around. And it looks like we're supposed to stick the bottles in at the top."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's stick some chemicals in and see what happens!" Let's see. Are any of these-

"Hey, Silver? Could you calm down?"

I hear a sigh that is distinctly Gallus. "You know how she is. She got excited by something, and now she's excited for no reason."

"What's wrong with being excited?" Come on, guys. Let me be excited.

"Before you start digging through the chemicals, look at this." Gallus is motioning towards something on the panel. "It says to check the bulbs for the acidity they need. The lines on the bulbs should also change color depending on the acidity."

"Huh?" I look at one of the bulbs. It says 'pH ~11.3 Blue'. There are white lines on the sides of the bulb as well. "What does any of this mean?"

Gallus holds up another bulb next to my face. "pH is what they use to measure the acidity in chemicals. The number is what we need to make, though the squiggly line indicates that it's only an approximate. The color is what those white lines should turn into when mixed."

Okay. I guess. "But how do we do that?"

"What we need to do is find two chemicals that-" Sandbar is talking, but all I hear is words words math words.

"Hey, Silver?" I turn towards Gallus. "Do you need us to do this one for you?"

I can't think of anything to say, so I just nod my head.

Sandbar sighs and looks at Gallus. "You better pull your weight better than the others did."

Gallus nods. "You take the bulbs at the top, I'll take the ones on the side."

I watch them walk around the room, reading the labels and pulling out the chemicals. As they do, I notice something off to the side. A doorway. The boys aren't paying attention, so I approach the door. Maybe I can be useful.

The room beyond is surprisingly clean. The only thing of note is the small pedestal in the middle. I make sure the boys aren't looking and head inside. Hey, what's that smell? Anyway, I approach the pedestal. There's a key on top of it. Maybe they'll need it to open something? I pick it up.

*CLANG!*

Wah!

"Silver?"

The door slammed shut on me! I run over to it. There's a small window, just enough that I can see out of it. The boys are right there. "Guys! I'm stuck!"

Sandbar places his hoof on his head. "Silver, what did you do?"

"I saw this door, but it was open, so I went inside and picked up this key, and-"

"You couldn't sit still for one freaking second?"

"Not the time, Sandbar." Why is Gallus sweating? "Do either of you know what this room is?"

I stare at Sandbar, and he stares back at me.

"It's a hazardous chemical room. You use this room if you're messing with chemicals that could kill you."

...

Oh.

Oh, no.

"Guys? Can you get me out?"

"Is there anything in there?"

"J-just the key."

Gallus runs his claw along the glass. "Ah. See this slit here?"

His claw is poking through it. I put the key through. Gallus is able to grab it.

"There are some cabinets that are locked over there. Someone had to go in this room at some point."

I bang on the door a bit. "Hey! Open the door!"

"We can't. There's no handle. There's no button. I think we need to solve the puzzle to open the door."

I whimper. I don't want to be stuck here.

"Try to find a way to distract yourself. We'll get you out."

Distract myself? But there's nothing in here but me! Wait! Where did the boys go? What's going on? I have to sit down. I'm... I don't know if I can handle this...

...

Bees.

The bees needed a way to protect their honey. So one of them went to Jupiter and asked for a way to defend the honey. Jupiter briefly misunderstood the bee, but Juno agreed that bees needed a way to defend themselves. So Jupiter-

*Ding!*

Buh?

"All bulbs filled. You have five attempts before the hazard room is filled with Hydrochloric acid."

...

FUCK! GET ME OUT OF HERE! "HEEEELP!"

"Silver!" Gallus! "Silver! Calm down!"

"Let me out! Let me out!"

"Silver, calm down!" ... I put my claw... to his claw... on the glass... "Stay calm. I just need a bit of time. The puzzle is simple, I just need to get it right. Think you can wait another minute?" ... I nod. "Good. I'll have you out of there soon."

He leaves... I hold my head...

So Jupiter... gave the bees... stingers... But if... if they ever used... used them... they would... would... Th-they agreed, hoping... hoping that someday they... My beak hurts... They wouldn't... they could use their... their stingers... without... consequence... But that day... that day hasn't-

*BZZZT!*

"AAH!" So loud!

"Damn it, Sandbar! Stop distracting me!"

... What? I put my ear to the glass.

"But you haven't answered my question."

"Because it's a stupid question! Why would you even think that?"

What are they talking about? I got so wrapped up in distracting myself, I didn't hear them say anything.

"It's not a stupid question, and you still haven't answered it!"

"I'm trying to save Silver! Save your-"

"You're the one that put her in danger in the first place!"

...!!!

"No, I didn't! What the fuck are you going on about?"

Did... did Sandbar accuse Gallus of being... Zero? Why would he think-

*Ding* "Please stand clear of the door."

! I step back. The door slides open, and I dive through it.

Rrrrrrright into Gallus. "Silver! Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I look at Sandbar. He looks angrier than I've ever seen him. "What were you two talking about."

"Uh, it was nothing. Sandbar accused me of shoving you in the room. That's all."

Wait... Was that all it was? "No, I went in there myself. Why would you shove me in there."

"Well, that's relieving." ... Then why do you still look tense?

Gallus helps me to my hooves. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

He walks towards the exit, but I walk towards Sandbar. "Did you accuse him of being Zero?"

"It's just a hunch, but I-"

"Hey, guys?" I look over at Gallus. "This door is still locked. Was there another key in that room, Silver?"

"I don't know. I was too scared to really look around."

"Alright. I'll check." Gallus walks past us and into the room I was trapped in.

I shoot a glare at Sandbar. "Still think he's Zero?"

He's sweating. "Um... well."

"There's literally nothing in here!" Gallus walks back up to us. "So how do we get out?"

We sit there in silence.

I can only think of one thing. "We do have a key."

Sandbar raises his eyebrow. "We used that to open the cabinets to get some of the liquids for the puzzle."

"But that doesn't mean that was its only use. Where did you guys put it?"

Gallus walks over to one of the cabinets. "It's right here."

Sandbar watches Gallus hold up the key. "Well, it's as good a shot as any."

Gallus heads over to the door, puts the key into the slot, and opens the- What?

"Uh, where did that come from?"

It didn't open the door, but a panel in the wall next to the door.

"Didn't see that one coming." Gallus walks over to the panel and pulls out the thing inside. And the door just opened.

"Hey, Silver, you see the symbol on that key, right?"

"Yeah. I do."

Gallus looks at us. "Do you guys recognize this?"

I scratch the back of my head. No hiding it now. "Yona and Bramble found a door with three symbols on it. The symbol on the key looks like one of them."

Gallus is looking at the key. "Why didn't you tell me about that earlier?"

"Ask her." Thanks for throwing me under the bus, Sandbar.

"Well, you tried to ditch the others, Smolder tried to ditch the others, we still don't really know who Rain is, and Cozy Glow is Cozy Glow."

"So I'm not the only one in the dark on this, huh?" Please don't be mad at me. "Well, I'm headed back to the front. The door should be open now that we opened this door. You two can go on ahead." And he's headed back to the infirmary.

Sandbar and I look at each other. "Well, Silver. Let's get going."

We head through the exit. It's a hallway with three doors on the same wall, one of which we came through. To the left is a dead end, and to the right is a corner that I can't see past.

I scratch my head. "Have the others come through yet?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't. We got through that pretty fast."

... Did we? I was so scared that I lost track of time.

"You go on ahead. I'll wait for the others."

"Alright." I float over to the corner. It's just an empty hallway. What's at the end... A door? It's blocked off with a wooden bar. I lift it, drop it on the ground, and open the door.

"Fancy meeting you here."

!?!? "Gallus?" Wait, this is the infirmary.

Gallus is chuckling. "Was there anything else back there?"

I shake my head. "Just the exit doors and this door."

"Where's Sandbar?"

"Waiting for the others."

Bup? Oh, he's soft. "SANDBAR! GET OVER HERE!" And loud. Ow.

I turn around in time to see Sandbar skid to a stop. "Gallus? How did you get on this side of the door?"

"It loops around." I motion to the beds behind us. "It never split off, so we might as well wait here for the others."

"Oh. Alright."

I look at the REDs next to the doors. Busy. Busy. Cleared. "I think we can watch the REDs to tell when the others are done."

"You two do that. I'm going to find this weird door you two mentioned."

I watch Gallus leave. "Go right."

"Thanks!"

I look at Sandbar. "Why did you accuse him of being Zero?"

He's staring at door 3. "I'm not sure. I guess it's because of what he did earlier."

"Earlier?"

"Thinking about it, I guess it made sense for the context of the situation."

"What are you talking about?"

He's being quiet.

"Sandbar?"

He suddenly gets up and rushes through the door to the back.

"Hey! Where are you-"... He's gone. I look back at door 3. The RED says "Cleared." I guess he just wants to see Ocellus that badly. I wish they would just kiss already.

I look at door 1. It's the only one that doesn't say "Cleared" at this point. Which is a bit odd, considering that they had a head start on the rest of us. They aren't dead, are they?

"Hey, Silver."

I look at the two children. "Hey, Bramble. Hey, Cozy Glow." Wait. Bramble seems calmer than before.

"So where's this door Bramble mentioned?"

I open my beak to respond.

"Through these doors and to the right." Gallus is back.

"Thanks." And Cozy Glow left.

Gallus is moving his head left to right. "I'm guessing Sandbar wanted to be with his love bug."

I nod. "Ran back as soon as the RED said "Cleared"."

"They really love each other, don't they?" I look at Bramble. "I wonder how that feels. To have someone you care about so deeply."

"Silver." I look at Gallus. His eye is twitching. "Did you look at the RED for door 1?"

"Yeah. It says..." I look at it again. "... Assist."

How did I miss that? It said it earlier. Right after Sandbar left.

"5+6+8 is 19, 1+9 is 10, 1+0 is 1."

I look at Gallus for a moment before rushing over. Bramble somehow beat me to the RED. Not that it matters. We scan our bracelets into the RED, pull the lever, and rush into the door.

We find the DEAD quickly and scan our bracelets. It looks like we're in some kind of Exam room.

*Bang bang bang*

"Yipe!" Bramble jumps behind me.

"Where did that come from?"

"This thing." Gallus puts his claw on a long metal tube. At the base are nine latches, though only one has a lock on it.

"LET YAK OUT!"

"Yona?" Bramble rushes over to the tube. "Yona, are you okay?"

"Yak entered tube after entering room, and can't leave now! Wait, where Smolder and Rain?"

I look around. "I don't know. I can't see them anywhere."

"Maybe they're in there." I look at where Gallus is pointing. There's a closed door. It looks like it's designed to hold back a grown dragon. I look at the panel next to it.

Bramble walks up to the panel and presses a button.

"Please wait while the room ventilates."

Ventilates? Doesn't that mean... "Is that room full of poison?"

I can't take my eyes off the door. I walk over to it.

Rain. Smolder. They aren't dead, are they? They have to be alive, right?

"Unlocking door."

Yeah, they're fine. They had a way to breathe in there. They had to. They... They had to.

*Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

They're fine... they... they...

...

Ah.

"AAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"Silver!"

"AAAHHHHHHHHH!" I have to get out! I have to get out!

"Miss Silver!"

"AAAHHHHHHHHH!" I have to get out! I have to get out!

*Bang bang*

"AAAHHHHHHHHH!" I have to get out!

"Silver! Calm down!"

"AAAHHHHHHHHH!" WHO'S SCREAMING?

"SILVER!"

"AAAHHHHHHHHH!" LET ME OUT!

"Silver! Calm down!"

!!! LET ME GO!

"Calm down! Calm down!"

LET ME GO! LET ME... Let me...

"It's okay, Silver. It's okay."

Let me... I need...

I...

...

I...

...

.

.

.

Author's Note

The good thing about having panic attacks is that it means you know how to write them.