I enjoyed some breakfast in the dining room – just a few pieces of fruit grabbed from the MonoMart – and sat alone, ruminating on my experiences, breathing in the peaceful quiet. It wouldn’t be long before others would join me. I took advantage of my solace.

Finding the spy. That was the task I had been given. The problem was I had no idea where to start. The most logical thing would be to strike off those who seemed least likely, but even then, it was a lost cause. Dish Panner was by far the least likely, considering she was acting in a way to deliberately trap the spy, but then she could just be acting that way so that I’d assume she wasn’t the spy.

Next was Mesmer. I couldn’t imagine, after everything he’d done and said, that he could’ve been the spy all along. One of six, he’d said. But again, I considered that he could simply be goading me into discovering him as the spy, for whatever wicked, mysterious reason he might have.

As for everyone else, all attempts fell apart. I had no idea how Mesmer could’ve possibly narrowed it down to six, all while heralding his deductions as being based entirely on logic. But if I were to assume he was simply making it up to appear intelligent, I could very well be disappointing him beyond measure.

“We could go down this rabbit hole forever and scrutinize every little action or discussion, convincing ourselves further.”

Yeah, I know, I replied. You don’t have to keep reminding me.

I wanted to give up on it. The only thing more impossible would be finding a way to escape the dome. But I couldn’t shake the idea that somewhere, somehow, I might be able to do it. Elsie’s trial had already taught me that just because I couldn’t think of anything beyond my deduction, didn’t mean that an even more hidden truth lay beyond it. But this was frustrating and humiliating and depressing. I had to know, but I couldn’t break into the world of grey between the white of absolute confidence and the black of absolute ignorance. Either it was plain as day or shrouded in darkness, nothing more than guesswork. And perhaps that made me, as Mesmer had said many times, a bad detective. I kicked at the table in frustration.

Before long I was joined by Mesmer and Reph, practically joined at the hip, each carrying something from the MonoMart. Mesmer offered a solemn nod while Reph jittered a hello, and the pair sat at the table next to mine, quietly munching away. In a way it was almost comical.

“Just to make sure,” I said, pawing at my mane, “the six still haven’t changed, right?”

“Seven,” Mesmer replied, taking a long pause as he burrowed through a nectarine. “Provided you count yourself. But yes, still the same six. Is that all?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” Mesmer continued with his meal, not even looking in my direction.

“Right, I get it,” I said, tilting my head back and sighing. “You’re angry at me for last night. I was drinking with a group of mares while you were busting your flank to get us out of here. I’m sorry, okay?”

Mesmer shrugged. “I’m not annoyed at you for that.”

“Why not?”

“It doesn’t matter. Would it make you happier if I was?”

“It’d make a little more sense.”

“I already told you that your business is your business. If I thought otherwise, I’d have made myself clear. That’s as much as you need to know.”

From then on it was just silence and Reph’s bewildered expression, as if there was nothing else to do but wait for something to happen. I’d at least managed to conclude something that I’d thought for a while – neither Elsie nor Yoko were on Mesmer’s list of suspected spies. Nothing had been narrowed down. But if I was now the seventh suspect, it gave me some pause for thought on the matter. It meant there was more reason to believe I was the spy than certain others here, and if I could figure out why, I could narrow down the list. That was much easier said than done, however.

Any mention of MonoMart weapon checks had gone out of the window. Even if the killing game wasn’t currently active, there was a chance it could return at any time. Yet crowbars and hammers had been left in the third-floor hallway, and nothing had been said about reinstating the checks. Though I imagined it would be difficult to convince the others, especially since Elsie had already managed to pull off a murder with all manner of tools despite our efforts. And of course, there was the missing knife that only Dish Panner and I knew about. If it was discovered that one was missing, I imagined a dome-wide search ruining those plans for good. Therefore, I thought it best to keep my mouth shut on the matter. So I waited, all while still drawing an absolute blank.

“Um, Greyscale?” Reph spoke up, shifting closer. He scratched anxiously at his brownish mane, which I then noticed was more unkempt and frayed than usual. “Are you, perchance, waiting for someone?”

“No-one in particular,” I replied, feeling strangely threatened by his kindly approach.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to pry. It’s n-none of my business, of course. I was just worried Mesmer and I were, w-well… intruding on something.”

Mesmer rolled his eyes. “Antonio, it’s obvious that nobody would organize a secret meeting in the most communal area of the dome. If you want to ask him a question, just come out and say it. Your lack of confidence is irritating.”

Reph bit his lower lip. “I was trying to be respectful!”

“Really? Because from where I’m sitting it looked as if all you managed was to creep him out.”

“Alright, alright.” Reph straightened himself up. “Greyscale, I was just w-wondering if you knew anything about Maribelle. Neither I nor Mesmer have seen her since yesterday’s trial and we’re starting to get worried.”

“I’m not,” Mesmer interrupted with.

“Fine,” Reph huffed. “I’m worried and Mesmer is merely c-curious. I don’t suppose you’ve seen her at all?”

“No.” The conversation was beginning to bore me. “If Button doesn’t know then why would I? She’s never even talked to me. I’m the last pony she’d have anything to do with.”

“I-it was just a question.” Reph sat dejectedly, staring a hole in the table.

Pathetic was the first word that sprang to mind. Nothing but a jabbering wreck. A paltry stallion asking worthless questions. For what? Small talk? A misguided attempt to help his fellow pony? He’d accomplished nothing and succeeded in nothing since day one. I silently cursed Mesmer for affording such a being any time or effort. Reph had nothing to offer. He was a…

Flames reared at the back of my head and I itched at it furiously. Blood drained from my face. Feigning frustration, I sighed heavily and trotted from the room, my eyes barely looking past my nose. I walked. But I didn’t know where I was going. I had no destination, no guidance besides the warm throbbing at the edge of my skull. I felt dizzy. I should’ve stopped, taken a deep breath, huddled the wall, taken a break beneath the staircase, anything, but I carried along like a fool chasing a carrot on a stick. I was taking a stroll down memory lane, ambling pointlessly along the corridor as a lifeless, grey world replaced the walls.

I was back in my old life, wandering aimlessly. I had walked these paths for so many years. I had been nothing but a mechanical beast of bone and flesh, plodding along to a tune that no-one could hear, least of all myself. A week ago, this was my reality, but to me, they were just memories of memories. They were real, but unreal. I kept walking, past the crowds and the cacophony of hooves. They all had places to be. I did not. I was staring through the lens of a life that I knew to be true, that I knew to be me, and still found myself hovering just above it, a ghost in a towering metropolis. Here I was, a nothing, a nobody, a mishmash of chemical reactions that just so happened to resemble a consciousness. I knew it to be true. I knew it was how things were and could’ve forever been, but it felt like such a lie.

Pathetic. Oh yes, I’m sure that’s how they saw me. I’m sure that’s how they all saw me, if indeed they saw me at all. And that’s how Reph was. I was above him, a being with a greater purpose, whose actions and words had made a difference. I was important. More than that, I was something beyond the rest of them, building my powers through this alien meditation. The whelp who slunk through the streets like a zombie? That wasn’t me. It didn’t feel like me. But I knew, as much as it cut through my heart and soul, that it was me and I was it. It made no sense, and the fact it made no sense made even less sense than that. Hopeless.

At some point I became vaguely aware that I had ventured upstairs. I wasn’t sure how many times I’d circled the first floor. Once? Twice? Ten times? But still I walked, sidling past the rusted iron bars and dull concrete as I scaled the apartment building of my former self. Up, up, up we go.

We?

I passed by rotting balconies and gazed upon the garish cityscape that lay beyond them. I passed door after identical door, each lined with a thin layer of dust. Down the corridor. An echo of a light breeze hung somewhere in the distance. Wooden beams groaned, lights flickered, and a spectrum of equally dull smells drifted through the air. Chains rattled and scraped against their locks. A lone insect buzzed. Somewhere, a muffled conversation took place. But that was all far too important and meaningful for someone like me. All these things I knew to be there, to not be there, I’d never even given a passing thought.

Dreams would often feel completely real at the time. As fantastical and grandiose as their contents might be, whether shooting past the stars at the edge of the galaxy or tearing down a pack of beasts (wolves), they would be tangible, host to a range of terrors and delights so detailed they could be collated and scrutinized under a microscope. And this was how the trip through the drab corridors of my memory’s memory played out.

What next?

It was the end of a long, uneventful day. Time to go home. Exit stage left. Through the door. Oh, it’s already open. Convenient.

“Greyscale?”

Once into the cramped apartment I set myself down in the corner. In a stroke of rare fortune, I felt like doing something remotely productive. I had a lot of choice this time around!

“Greyscale, is something the matter?”

Books. Books! So many of them, all lined up just for me. I rolled a hoof across their spines. The sheer number of them was intimidating. Inside each was a dreamworld waiting to be discovered. Both real, and unreal. Real, and unreal. Real…

My blood began to boil. No, I couldn’t accept it. These things, these dreams within a dream, they didn’t belong here. They weren’t mine. I wasn’t me. What could I remember of these dreamworlds? Bits and pieces, all belonging to a life that wasn’t my life. I was shaking. I reached for the shelf and pulled two of the books down. They clattered to the floor. But still more remained! Taunting me, laughing at me. “Pathetic,” they whispered. “No,” I replied. I was furious. How dare they accuse me! I swiped again and again, pulling them into the abyss below.

Suddenly, I was whisked away, my body being pulled through my apartment, along the corridors, down the stairs, through the streets. I clawed at the ground to no avail. I was being pulled deeper and deeper into an abyss of my own, unable to even scream as the world passed me by, uncaring, unflinching.

I’m not pathetic. Don’t pity me.

Don’t pity me!

“Funny. You never cared before.”

I awoke.

I was standing in the hotel library, a pile of books at my hooves. Sanscript was nearby, watching me with a pained, mournful expression. Of course, I knew what I’d been doing, somehow, in some facet of my mind. I had lapped the first floor, walked up the stairs and ventured into the library all by myself. I had known that Sanscript was there when I arrived, silently and sadly scouring the bookshelves. I had known all of these things, yet the other me either did not, or did and simply didn’t care. Twenty-three years of nothingness had passed through my consciousness and I had broken free. Through all of this, through the maelstrom of fear and fury, all I could think, in a flat, unfeeling monotone, was: That was unusual. It was as if it had never even happened.

I began placing the fallen books in their rightful place on the shelf. Back to reality, to the land without worry. Perhaps it had all been to my advantage in some way. Sanscript continued watching me wordlessly as I carried on. I felt it necessary to say something.

“Sorry about that. This place has taken its toll on me, I guess. I still can’t believe it’s real, you know? Makes me want to force my way out somehow.”

Sanscript grabbed me by the shoulder and shook me hard. “Snap out of it! My word, what has he done to you!?”

“What are you talking about?”

“He’s hypnotized you! My boy, you were traipsing around like a stallion possessed! I warned you, didn’t I!?”

I pushed Sanscript away. “You’ve got it all wrong. Mesmer didn’t do this, I was just–”

“I know what I saw! He’s got you positively brainwashed, hasn’t he? Tell me where he is!”

I didn’t answer.

“Fine!” Sanscript flew from the room, barreling downstairs. I followed, just barely able to keep up. I knew I couldn’t prevent the inevitable, but still, I had to see it happen. Sanscript marched straight into the dining room, flinging the doors asunder. “Mesmer, you cowardly fiend!”

“No need to shout. I can hear you just fine.”

Sanscript launched himself forward, getting within inches of Mesmer’s face. The maroon-colored unicorn was entirely unfazed. “Drop the act!” Sanscript blared. “You’ve hypnotized Greyscale!”

“Step away,” Mesmer growled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Sanscript began his tirade, spouting what he’d seen, practically spitting in Mesmer’s face as he did so. Reph merely cowered at his side as I stood in the doorway with no idea what I should do. Mesmer simply denied each barrage with a quip, stone-faced, though I could sense a bubbling cauldron of stress and anger about to erupt from him at any moment. This carried on for a number of minutes, Sanscript refusing to back down.

“I’ll expose you!” Sanscript yelled. “You just wait until everyone else hears about this!”

“And what will you tell them?” Mesmer retorted. “You accuse me with no evidence whatsoever.” He turned to me. “Greyscale, do you believe what Sanscript says is true? Were you in–”

Sanscript’s hoof shot into Mesmer’s jaw with a thundering crack. In what felt like slow motion, Sanscript readjusted himself, planting another blow into Mesmer’s chest. Reph cried out in horror, about to leap to Mesmer’s rescue, when Sanscript’s next strike was blocked. Mesmer pushed back with surprising strength, taking Sanscript off-guard, before hurling a hoof at Sanscript’s throat. As the light-blue stallion staggered back, Mesmer crouched down like an angry wolf about to pounce and struck with a dart-like body blow. Sanscript’s struggles died in an instant and he collapsed to the floor like a ragdoll, breathing in deep, gravely rasps, his limbs jolting in limp flails.

“What did you do!?” Reph cried.

“He’ll live,” Mesmer said, cradling his jaw. “The kick to the windpipe was just to distract him, but a direct blow to the liver will incapacitate him for a while. If the excruciating pain doesn’t deter him, the subsequent biological effects should. He’ll breathe again soon enough, don’t worry.”

Sanscript writhed and gasped weakly on the floor, clutching at his abdomen, his eyes twitching rapidly. A line of saliva dribbled down his chin. We all just watched, Reph and I in total shock, Mesmer with a tense, furious gaze. After about twenty seconds or so, Sanscript’s breathing began to solidify and he coughed violently, desperately gasping for air. Then he let out an almost inequine scream, tears streaming down his cheeks, and curled into an even tighter ball.

“Y-y-ou’ve gone too far!” Reph yelled, pushing Mesmer aside and springing to his hooves. “I’ll g-go get Doctor Scalpel. Greyscale, you stay with him. D-don’t leave the two of them alone!” Then he was gone.

“I suppose I did overreact,” Mesmer said, covering his eyes. “But when I’m doing everything I can to save us all, and someone comes barging in here, threatening me, it puts me on edge. As for you, Greyscale,” Mesmer took a deep, shaky breath. “What were you even doing to make Sanscript think you were hypnotized?”

“I was just… walking around.” Sanscript’s continued cries of agony made it hard to think. “I thought I might’ve figured something out. I guess I was so caught up in it I drifted into my own little world.”

“Good. That’s very good. I’m glad you’re making progress.”

“Thanks.” Of course, I had figured out nothing. But I couldn’t say that.

“I can understand why he thought it was hypnosis, though. Depending on how the trance is imbued upon the patient, they can feel as if they’re under some divine control while still retaining the knowledge and feelings from the experience once the trance comes to an end. In fact, that’s how a lot of mental healing is designed to work. But in such cases, the patient is always aware that they were under some kind of influence. If, on the other hoof, you had appeared in the library without a shred of knowledge as to how you got there, then that could’ve been another form of hypnosis, one that makes the mind blind. That is the distinction to be made.”

“You psychopath,” Sanscript choked, regaining a semblance of composure. “Why should I trust a single word you say?”

“That makes me wonder,” Mesmer replied thoughtfully. “Greyscale, did you actually tell Sanscript I was here, in the dining room?”

I shook my head.

“I thought so. And from the way you raced in just barely keeping up, the pattern of your hooves, and the fact you both approached from the left side, I can assume you both came straight from upstairs. Correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm.” Mesmer cocked his head, looking down on Sanscript, who was now backed up against the opposite seat, utterly seething. “You knew to come here straight away despite not being told by Greyscale, and I’ve certainly not seen you all morning. Though I suppose if you were the spy, you could’ve been given that knowledge through your earpiece and come straight here. Quite the impressive act, wouldn’t you say? Pretending to care about Greyscale just so you could pin some sort of blame on me and rile everyone up. And then you try and succeed in pissing me off so I’ll fight back and you can make it look as if I’m the bad guy. Good work, spy.”

Sanscript reeled back in horror. “I’m not the damned spy, you maniac!”

“I didn’t think you were,” Mesmer replied with a shrug. “Coming here first is actually rather logical. The doors are glass so you can peek inside, and taking the right-hand route of the floor wouldn’t cause you to lose much time in reaching my room, so you could cover the two most likely bases in one journey. I also know you have a great disdain for me. Your body language has told that story very clearly since we first got here, so I can also imagine you’d charge straight here in a blind rage. Still, if it comes to it, I can just pretend none of that makes sense and insist I’ve found evidence that you’re the spy.”

Sanscript shook his head in dismay. “What are you getting at?”

“If you go running your mouth, telling everyone I’m hypnotizing Greyscale or whomever else, then I’ll go ahead and accuse you of something heinous as well. I’m pretty sure the others will be much more interested in keeping the spy under careful watch than anyone else, wouldn’t you agree?”

Sanscript’s eyes widened. “You’re a wretched fiend,” he whispered.

“No.” Mesmer shook his head. “I’m doing what’s right.”

Lancet and Reph came rushing in, seeing to Sanscript’s injuries and helping him into the recovery position as he strained and groaned.

“Mesmer, you did this?” Lancet chided.

“He’s the one who started the fight. Don’t blame me for finishing it.”

“A shot to the liver,” Lancet fumed, looking uneasy, “is extremely dangerous. You could’ve ruptured it and killed him.”

“But I didn’t,” Mesmer replied flatly. “I made sure to h–”

“Be quiet!” Lancet scolded. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. “Look at us! We’re supposed to stay hopeful and keep our spirits up, and now we’re fighting amongst each other!”

Mesmer rolled his eyes. “Do the previous two murders not count as fighting?”

Lancet grimaced, clenching her eyelids tightly. “We are finally in a situation where the killing game is over, and you remind us all of such cruel things. I won’t have you tearing us apart.”

“Inky…”

Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked towards Sanscript’s limp frame. It became apparent that he’d been silently sobbing for the last few minutes. Tears streamed like rivers onto the floor. He was more than just wounded at this point; he was utterly broken, both physically and mentally. I knew what I had to do.

I rushed to Inky’s room and rapped on the door. Out stumbled a less-than-presentable zebra, her mane in disarray, her eyes bloodshot and the faint smell of rum wafting from her mouth. She looked almost as broken as he did. As soon as I told her Sanscript had called, her eyes grew wide. But unlike what I expected, she didn’t jump for joy or barrel down the hallway, all smiles. Instead she looked shocked, her legs buckling, and stared into nothingness for a few seconds, the gears turning in her head. She asked me if I was sure that he’d called her name, to which I answered in the affirmative. She pursed her lips together with an almost pained expression. I hadn’t told her Sanscript was injured, or even that he was bawling his eyes out. Even so, Inky seemed apprehensive, the usual spark of frivolity nowhere to be found. She accompanied me to the dining room without so much as a word.

Inky flew to Sanscript’s side, the stallion embracing her with open hooves. The two quickly took to the seats, Sanscript fighting against the pain, and Inky held him with the utmost care, softly whispering encouragement into his ear. Sanscipt buried his muzzle into her nape while Inky gently ran a hoof through his mane, stopping once to kiss his forehead. Sanscript didn’t fight it, simply allowing for his emotions to spill out.

The rest of us remained silent. Not even Mesmer was immune to this tender moment. It couldn’t have been too long before Copper joined us, followed by Dopple shortly after that, but while it lasted, time was frozen. Here it was, an eternity dwelling on our failures, on the degradation of emotional states, and the coming together of a unicorn and zebra that should have been a joyous occasion, tainted with crippling despair. Something was building inside of me, bubbling away, winding a path through my nervous system, shooting through my bloodstream. I was fit to burst, nothing but the tiniest of pressure valves siphoning away the intense emotion I felt. But I held it together. I didn’t have a choice.

Copper sighed deeply, cutting through the silence and letting out a nervous chuckle. “Anybody mind if I lose my shit and go crazy?”

“That’s not the way,” Lancet replied. “But nobody will judge you for letting out your emotions. I think we’ve all earned the right to cry.”

Copper shook her head sadly. “I’m trying.” She looked towards me expectantly for a split second before turning away.

“Look,” Mesmer said. “I’m determined to find a way out of here. We’ve managed to prove that the walls of this building hold secrets we’ve yet to find. I’m also wondering about what lies between the first and second floor. Given the dimensions, and the thickness that remains between each floor, there are probably tunnels running throughout.”

“Hello everyone,” Maribelle announced, trotting cheerily into the room, sporting her signature maid outfit, beaming from ear to ear. Button trailed behind her, his head hanging like a guilty puppy. “Oh, my. Am I interrupting something?”

“Maribelle,” Reph greeted with an air of surprise. “W-we, um… haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yes, well I had some thinking to do. It’s about time I got my priorities straight.”

Copper shuffled in her seat, involuntarily brushing the mark beside her eye that Maribelle had left behind. “Alright,” she said with a nod. “Let’s hear it then.”

“You were expecting an apology, my dear?” Maribelle replied melodramatically. “I think you should perhaps learn from your mistakes. Life provides us with lessons that enable us to better ourselves, and we should welcome those lessons gracefully.”

“You’re not sorry?” Copper said, aghast.

“I’m only sorry I failed to make an impression on you,” Maribelle replied, smiling brightly. “Now, I have a very serious request to make. Greyscale?”

It took me a moment or two to realize that my name had been called. To call it unexpected was a massive understatement. I tried to recall all the times I’d interacted with Maribelle, every word exchanged, and came up blank. The two of us had barely spoken to each other, if at all. I looked to everyone else, as if expecting the answer to become obvious, but they each looked as confused as I was.

“No need to be shy,” Maribelle said softly, fluttering her dazzling eyelashes. “I’d like you to join me for a moment.”

“Don’t do it,” Copper said, clamping a hoof on my shoulder. “She’s up to something bad, I can feel it.”

“Not in the slightest,” Maribelle said, slowly approaching us. “Though I can understand your apprehension. We never got truly acquainted, did we, Greyscale?”

I shook my head, not budging an inch. Alarm bells were ringing.

Maribelle sighed. “I was hoping to discuss this in private, but it seems I’ve misjudged my approach. Never mind. I suppose it doesn’t make too much difference if everyone else hears this.” She cleared her throat and bowed, her nose touching the floor. “Greyscale, I would be most appreciative if you would join me in my quarters. I wish for you to make love to me.”

“What!?” Button screamed, echoing everyone else’s thoughts. “Maribelle, you never said anything about this!”

“This is a joke, right!?” Copper balked. “You’re just trying to mess with us!”

Maribelle rose to her hooves. “Absolutely not. I’ve thought about this long and hard, and I’m certain this is how it should be. I’ve never felt the warmth of a stallion, you see, and given our current situation, it seems unlikely we’ll ever escape, even less likely that I’ll find my true love and settle down. I’ve cared for foals for most of my life, and I’d very much love to have a foal of my own.”

“Maribelle!” Button cried. “You know I can give you that!”

“Dear Button,” Mariblle cooed, planting a kiss just above his brow. “I would love to adopt you as my own, but that doesn’t solve my problem.”

My heart thudded inside my chest like a bass drum. The emotions that threatened to burst from my system were now at breaking point. I couldn’t believe my ears.

“I have a good reason for choosing you,” Maribelle continued, gazing longingly into my eyes. “I always knew Sanscript would be an unwise choice given Inky’s attachment to him. Mesmer and Reph are unfit for rather obvious reasons, but you, Greyscale, are the perfect specimen for the job. You’re a virgin too, are you not?”

I nodded automatically, sweat dripping down my face. The maelstrom inside me swirled faster and faster.

“As am I. Why, the most I’ve ever experienced is holding hooves. I’m far from a promiscuous mare, you understand, but I’m still equine. I’ve wondered for a long time now what it feels like to become one with a stallion, and since it would be the first time for both of us, it would guarantee that neither of us dies a virgin.

“I do hope you understand that I don’t hold any romantic feelings for you. Even so, when I think about it objectively, you’re not a bad-looking stallion by any means. We don’t need to let feelings cloud nature. I’m sure you’ve wondered what it’s like to be with a mare, and we can satisfy each other’s wonders together. We could all end up being murdered, or die after failing the next trial, and thus, miss our chance forever. Which is why I’d prefer we make love sooner rather than later. We can even go right now, if you wish.”

“That’s enough!” Button roared. “Greyscale, don’t you dare! You’re not good enough for her! Maribelle, please tell me this is all a joke.”

“Don’t trust her!” Copper cried.

“What is your answer, Greyscale?” Maribelle asked hopefully. “I promise with all my heart, I won’t judge you poorly for your lack of sexual experience, and you may kiss me and caress me however you please. This is our chance to die happy.”

“I…” Pulse racing. Mind frazzled. Legs shaking. Pressure valve on the brink of failing. All of my willpower poured into keeping it together. Maribelle’s face right in front of me. The world piling up inside my head. “I’ll have to…”

“Honestly,” Inky piped up, “I’d just go for it.”

No, stop, I said inwardly. You don’t know what you’re doing to me. I needed someone to come to my rescue, to stop me before I did something I might regret. Chest contracting. Head pounding. Sweat dripping. I needed it to stop before–

In a flash, Dopple had leapt between me and Maribelle, her wings spread like a shield. “Maribelle,” she said in a low voice. “I suggest you take a step back and reevaluate things.”

“Dopple?” Maribelle remarked. “I can’t say I’m particularly surprised. Do you regret not asking him first? I don’t mind the two of us taking turns, if it means more equines can die happy. Sharing is caring, after all.”

“Maribelle,” Dopple repeated in an even graver tone. “This isn’t who you are. You’re losing your grip on your sense of self.”

“Is that a crime?” Maribelle asked, feigning a look of introspection. “There are many equines in this world who see no moral quandary with asking for sex directly. We are all animals driven by instinct.”

Dopple clenched her two forehooves on the earth pony’s shoulders. “Maribelle, listen to me!” she commanded. “This isn’t you! Why are you giving up hope so quickly? Why are you pinning your hopes of happiness on a loveless sexual encounter? You’re a mare of dignity and pride, not a vain, desperate school-filly! Is this truly what the Maribelle of old would have done? What would she have said if she were standing here right now?”

Maribelle began to well up, her cheeks flushing a deep red. “I know that, but–”

“This isn’t who you are,” Dopple repeated, emphasizing each word. “You’re going to be okay, understand? Don’t lose yourself like this. Be the mare you know you should be. If you want to spend time with Greyscale, who am I to stop you? But propositioning him like this isn’t what you really want, is it?”

Maribelle held it together for all of five seconds before exploding in a flurry of emotions, tears streaming down her face, her breathing becoming hoarse and shallow, quickly turning into a torrent of sobs and wails. Dopple moved forward to comfort her, wrapping a wing around the mare’s midsection.

“I just…” Maribelle muttered, wiping frenziedly at her eyes. “Can’t I lose my mind? Just a little? Anything, please. Anything to make it easier.”

“You’ll regret it,” Dopple replied. “Take it from me.”

*DING DONG DONG DING*

Everyone shook with terror as Monobunny’s jingle played out. We all knew the time would come, but still, we weren’t ready for it.

“Attention, killing game participants! Everyone needs to return to their respective rooms within the next five minutes or they’ll suffer dismemberment! I, Monobunny, will be personally visiting each of you in turn to pass on a very specific message for your ears only! Be sure to listen out for me, as if you don’t allow me inside, that’s also grounds for dismemberment! And though it may be obvious, once you have reached your rooms you are not allowed to leave them until further notice. Now, hop to it! Time is counting down!”

“Not again,” Copper whispered fearfully. “He’s bringing back the killing game, I just know it.”

“If that’s the case,” Lancet said, “we all need to stick together no matter what! We need to remember who the real enemy is here.”

Through some encouragement, everyone started leaving. If the atmosphere hadn’t been thick and heavy enough, now it was electrified. The belief that we’d never have to deal with Monobunny again was just a pipedream. I crept into my room, shut the door behind me and threw myself onto the bed. I couldn’t take it much longer. I was going to let loose whether I wanted to or not. It wasn’t long before I heard my door’s lock activate, and inside stepped Monobunny.

“Yes?”

Monobunny closed the door gently, moving with care and grace that I’d never witnessed before. He turned slowly, his gaze pointed downwards, and took a few shallow steps down the mini-corridor between the wardrobe and bathroom entrance. His demeanor was bizarre, appearing reluctant, like an antsy foal shivering in the sidelines of a stage-play, trying to remember their lines. Silence hung in the air like a layer of fog. And that, against all odds, sent me over the edge.

“Heh-heh-heh.”

Just a small trickle at first.

“Heh, ha-ha-ha!”

More, more, the river’s flow growing exponentially.

”Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

I fell to the floor and roared with laughter, thumping at the ground, chest on the cusp of collapsing, struggling to breathe, everything at once, all at once, spewing through neurons as my body tried its best to keep up. I took a strained, raspy breath and laughed once again. Laughed, spluttered, tears streaming down my face, laughed, laughed like I’d never laughed before in my entire life. I looked up and Monobunny was still there, silent, stationary, in the exact same position. I burst into hearty guffaws. Oh, it was all so funny! All so joyous!

“Whatever next!?” I cried, grasping at my abdomen, my throat aching. “Ha-ha-ha! Did you see all that!? Did you see!?” Oh, Monobunny had seen. Everyone on the other side of the cameras had seen. I had seen. I spat the words out between giggles. “Everyone’s gone mad! Sanscript just fucking smacked him! And Mesmer, Mesmer, he ha-ha-ha-ha! Dropped him like a sack of bricks! A-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

Monobunny didn’t reply. He didn’t move.

“Calling out for Inky! That’s the first time he’s ever called her by her nickname! It’s like something out of a soap opera! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! And then Maribelle comes and asks me for sex! Me! She’s so damn desperate! An innocent mare like her is scared of dying a virgin? Are you kidding me? Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!” I propped myself up, flank in the air, back arched, nose to the ground, eyes like saucers directed at Monobunny. “What do you think I should do? I could go and fuck her any time I want! Or, or, I could – ha-ha-ha – convince her to blindfold herself, and then when she thinks I’m about to go down on her, I put Button in my place! Ah-ha-ha-ha! Or I could tie her to the bed and bash her skull in with my hooves! Thwack, thwack, thwack! Would you all like that!? Would it entertain you!? What would you like!? Press the red button now! If all the world’s a stage, where does the audience sit? Right here! I’m right here! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

My heart was in overdrive. So much had happened! So much fun! So much opportunity! I’d never felt such joy in my life. My family were arguing amongst themselves, getting emotional, and it was so exciting! I could feel the gaze of the thousands watching, their hearts in their throats, cheering for the next great development. And I was with them! I had a front row seat! I had done nothing, yet had produced such incredible results. In all my (non)life as a nobody, I’d never seen creatures act like that. What a sight for sore eyes! I’d only read about such things! Witnessing the horrific deaths of my (former) friends and family had been one thing, but now there was–

…

…

…

My insides buckled and twisted. A wave of horror overtook me. I tried to laugh again but my breath caught in my throat. I clenched my eyelids, my entire body tensing up, muscles spasming as a force awoke inside my soul. It was as if a creature bearing razor-sharp claws and scythe-like fangs was tearing and scratching inside me, burrowing through my flesh and spilling blood between the cracks. A vision coalesced in my mind. I was standing on a hillside, its slope adorned with a lattice of branches and thorns, the density of which grew ever fuller in its descent. Upwards was light and warmth, a veritable stairway to heaven, blossoms springing forth and a rainbow of fruit swinging gently in a summer’s breeze. But I was among the thorns, the wood dry and bony, carving their way into my very being, the light dissipating with each step downwards.

I could hear the screams, the wails, the terrible suffering below me. Familiar faces drifted in the distance, the landscape beyond the slope’s base enveloped in a swirling void of oily black vines, twisting and pulsing with demonic fervor.

“You fell down, you stupid Fool,” King said. “The view’s much better up here!”

The swirling mass stretched as far as the eye could see. Bodies drifted across the miasma, all color drained from their forms, crying out in agony as the vines wrenched their bones and broke through their flesh like worms through soil. I faltered, stumbled, my skin catching on the surrounding barbs. Despair. I gazed upon the abyss, its tendrils primed to doom any who fell in to a fate beyond comprehension. Anything but that. Anything. I scurried uphill.

“That’s it,” King said, beckoning me. “We should be having fun!”

I scaled the mass, my bloodied wounds resealing, scars healing, pain subsiding. My back to the abyss, I charged towards the light. That was what I deserved, wasn’t it? After all those grey days, the sun was finally shining, and the view really was much better up here. I sat on crunchy grass under the shade of an apple tree and took a deep breath. Much better.

I opened my eyes, the vision dissipating in an instant. I sighed with relief. “Why the long face?” I jibed, managing a quick chuckle. “Didn’t you come here for something? You’re the one who ordered us to our rooms.”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Monobunny replied flatly. His posture slackened.

“The voice!” I said with an accusatory hoof, my memory coming back to me. “The one I heard in my head. You ended the killing game over it. So, was it your doing after all?”

Monobunny emitted a faint sigh, his gaze drifting absentmindedly. “No. I know who’s responsible for that now, but at the time, I wasn’t aware.”

I frowned. “So who was it? What did they want?”

“I’m not allowed to tell you who it was, and as for their reason, I’ve not been given a straight answer,” Monobunny said with a shaking head. “All I can really say is it’s likely you’ll receive more messages like this in the future, provided you don’t die.”

“You don’t even know why?”

“I don’t know for absolute certain, though I think I’m beginning to understand. But this is…” Monobunny trailed off into a whisper of static. “It’s never happened before. I never could’ve imagined it ever would. I’m still struggling to believe it.”

I paused, trying to make sense of the mystery. “Did they hack into my earpiece?”

“No. The Messenger – if we call them that for now – did not utilize any of the equipment related to broadcasting announcements, including earpieces.”

Another roadblock to the answer, but one that allowed for a frightening possibility. “Then what is it? Subliminal messaging? Mind control?”

“No. We brought that up ourselves, and The Messenger clearly stated that they deplored mind control techniques. To them, it is the lowest form of magic. As far as I know, what you hear is simply a voice telling a story. That’s it. Nothing else.”

“But Mesmer!” I gasped. “Could he have hypnotized me like Sanscript said?”

“I can’t say with absolute, one hundred percent certainty,” Monobunny continued, shrugging, “but I sincerely doubt it.”

“Why?” I asked. “And if not him, then someone else.”

“Again, I can’t say with absolute certainty, but if you really were being mind-controlled by someone other than The Messenger, I highly doubt you’d be receiving those messages in the first place.”

Monobunny’s explanation was just words. I couldn’t make sense of any of it. “Do you know what I’ve been told through these messages?”

“Only in very vague terms.”

So many questions running through my head but no answers to speak of. “Should I be afraid of these messages?”

“No. Not in the slightest.”

I sighed and rubbed at my forehead. “Am I the only one receiving these messages?”

“Yes. Nobody else on the planet is… or has ever received those messages.”

“Aren’t you going to try and stop it?”

“No.”

“Why are you allowing it to continue?”

“I’m not authorized to give you that information.”

“Then what can you tell me?” I balked. “Otherwise this just seems pointless to even mention?”

Monobunny crossed his forearms. “Look, I put the killing game on hold because I witnessed something that I never would’ve believed could happen. I panicked. This series of meetings, with you and all of the other participants, was simply the best solution I could think of to allow me to speak to you in private without singling you out specifically, while also allowing me to reinstate the killing game from a set point. Speaking of which, I’ll be making that announcement soon after I’ve visited everyone else. It might seem pointless to you because I can only say so very little, but believe me when I say, it’s a bigger deal than you could possibly imagine.”

“And this is all because of me?”

“As far as I’m aware, yes.”

“How!?” I threw up my forelegs. “Why!? I want a straight answer!”

Monobunny’s gaze dropped a little. “I can only tell you what I’m allowed to tell you.”

“Someone else is calling the shots then?” I shook my head, chuckling sardonically. “You talk a big game, scaring us, threatening us, but you’re nothing but a measly puppet, aren’t you?”

Monobunny didn’t answer. He simply turned around, taking a moment to limber up his joints. “That’s all I have to say for now. Remember to stay in here until further notice.” With that, he left, slamming the door behind him.

I looked up at the nearest camera with a smug grin. “This has never happened before, eh?” I leapt back into bed, putting my hooves behind my head, and waited. “I see how it is.”

In the depths of my soul, I crept a little further up the hillside, beckoned by sunlight and apple trees.

Author's Note