Forget Me Not

I bolt upright as I suddenly come to with a frightened gasp. My breathing is ragged and I can feel that I’m absolutely drenched all over in sweat. My body is trembling and every centimeter of it hurts. It feels as if my body had been thrown in an industrial sized dryer and left in there on the highest setting. My neck and eyes hurt worst of all, like they had taken the brunt of whatever had injured me. Although too dark to properly see, I had nary a doubt I was covered in a multitude of bruises. A gasp of realization escapes my throat and almost immediately- and as if on its own- my left hoof shoots up and reaches for my left ear. I feel around and am instantly overcome with an odd mixture of skepticism and relief. My ear is thankfully intact with no traces of it having been sewn back on or ripped off in the first place. Even better, my hearing in that ear is also intact. I can hear the sound of my hoof rubbing against my skin plain as day as I feel my ear over and over again, which fills me with such relief and joy.

I wipe the sweat from my face as I take in a deep breath and slowly exhale it to calm down my breathing and racing heart. I collect myself where I sit and exhale a small sigh. The joyous discovery of my ear still being intact could only mean one thing; that entire sequence of events had been nothing more than a horrible, vivid nightmare! I can’t help but to laugh a bit nervously at myself. I dreamed up something that felt so terrifyingly real to the point I somehow became convinced it was real! Whew! Just wait until I tell… uh… um… who about this? My head throbs as I try to recall the pony I assume would get a laugh out of the details of my horrible nightmare.

Who would I tell that would find something so horrible amusing? Why did I even find it somewhat amusing myself? I thought I had just died, for fuck’s sake! Something definitely isn’t right. I must’ve hit my head pretty hard or something. Maybe I have some sort of brain injury that’s making me find dreaming of my own demise ever so slightly hilarious? Of course. That’s the only reasonable explanation. Any sane, normal pony would never find that funny and that’s exactly what I am! Right? I… I’m perfectly sane, right? Perfectly normal?

The more I try to recall anything about myself or my life prior to having that nightmare and waking up, the more my head throbs and my mind draws blanks. No matter what I try to recall, it’s all incredibly fuzzy, like ink on a page that’s gotten wet and smeared into an incomprehensible mess. I can’t remember anything about myself! Not a single damn thing! Dammit, that’s not good. Clearly the injury is worse than I assumed. Where was I?? What happened to me?! I grit my teeth and grind them against themselves in frustration. Ugh! I hate this so much! My inability to recall anything other than the nightmare angers me deeply. I take in another deep breath and slowly exhale it, then repeat the process until the anger mostly subsides.

I need to keep a level head if I want to recover my memories and the first step in doing that is to leave wherever ‘here’ is. The room is incredibly dark, though, making it impossible to make out any of its features. I can hardly see my hoof as I wave it inches from my face. I reach out and cautiously feel my immediate surroundings. I’m sitting on something somewhat soft and cushiony with a bit of firmness to it when I press down. I twist my torso to face partly behind me- grunting in pain as I do so- and feel around some more. My hoof touches something even softer and cushiony with a mostly cold, smooth surface and a warm, damp center. Reaching upwards and leaning a bit more, my hoof moves onto something incredibly hard and just as cold. Despite the jolts of pain as I do so, I bounce in place and hear the sound of metal creaking and squeaking in sync with my bouncing.

I stop and grin a bit as I realize I’m sitting on a bed with a metal frame and a wall behind it. I twist back around and reach out to my left. My hoof snakes around in the air until it touches something of a similar softness and smooth surface as the pillow. I grab whatever it is and gently tug on it. There’s only a slight give and the sound of metal sliding against metal when I tug on the mystery object. There’s no doubt about it, I have a curtain in my grasp. I sigh as I let go and relax my hoof. A curtain and a relatively comfortable bed weren’t exactly helpful clues as to where I am. At least they told me I was somewhere relatively safe.

I don’t think I wandered here on my own, though. I have the distinct suspicion that somepony brought me here, but much like everything else, I can’t recall who. I also have the feeling that I don't have the luxury of sitting here and moping about my situation. I can’t quite place why, but there's a sensation of something looming nearby. Something that I’m sure isn’t good, something quite the opposite. I lean to my right and snake my other hoof in the air, feeling around in all directions. It feels a whole lot of nothing except the stale, musty air around me. Even as I lean forward more and more, I touch absolutely nothing.

Now teetering dangerously close to falling off the bed, I flail my hoof around until the tip of it just barely skims the surface of the nearby wall. I lean back to a normal position before mentally counting down from three and then I practically throw myself off the bed and against the nearby wall. Because of how dark the room is, I try to stay quiet as I push along the wall until the texture changes from cold and smooth to something wooden and a little less cold. A door maybe?

I back up and slide a hoof up the wall in an attempt to find the light switch, assuming there even is one and the place has electricity. It doesn’t take long before it slides across something with a plastic texture and a single rectangular lever. I flip the switch and in an instant, the lights flicker on with an electrical crackle. A cool fluorescent light fills the room and exposes nearly every secret the darkness hid. The light continues to flicker off and then back on every so often as it hums at a barely audible volume. I’m no electrician, but the wiring seems to be severely out of date. Ugh, for all I know, maybe I am one. A quick look around gives me a solid answer to my current whereabouts. Somehow or another, I’ve wound up in the rather small infirmary of… somewhere. I guess that brings me to the next item on my ever growing list of questions with no answers.

I look behind me and see the bed I had been laying on just a few moments prior. The frame is metal and of a very simple design. Its mattress is thin and covered in a grayish-green sheet and a single, lighter colored blanket and pillow. A dusty white curtain hangs completely drawn at the end of the bed, allowing me to see the adjacent curtain I had tugged on. I look around again, but this time take it slow and completely absorb my surroundings. There are two more curtains next to the one hanging at the end of what had been my bed, both completely drawn and hiding the beds I assume are behind them. I guess I don’t need to see them to know what they look like. No infirmary I’m aware of would have three completely different beds, so I’m more than sure that the other two beds look exactly the same as the first. A slow-growing knot of fear in my stomach told me I probably didn’t want to know what actually lie behind the curtains. Probably for the better to just leave them be.

The top half of the walls are covered in a light blue paint that’s cracked and chipping off while the bottom half is covered in a dark blue paint in the same state of disrepair. Where the paint has chipped away, I can see the gray concrete underneath it. The floors are made of a light colored hardwood that has clearly seen better days. A visible layer of dust, dirt and grime covers the floor and sends a shiver up my spine. Seeing so much gross dirt and grime made me want to dive head first into a scalding hot bath. I guess that’s one thing I’m remembering about myself; I’m a very clean pony. Right now, though, I’m feeling anything but clean. Yuck.

As I try to forget how dirty the floor is, I look up and focus on other things in the room, stuff I hadn’t looked at yet. On the other side of the room is a door with a small, rectangular window with a plaque next to it that simply reads ‘storage’, only the ‘t’ and the ‘a’ lettering is missing and nowhere to be seen. I assume it says ‘storage’, but I guess it technically reads as ‘sorge’ with those missing letters. I chuckle quietly at the thought. The inside of the ‘sorge’ closet is dark, though, so I can’t really see what’s currently inside. I guess there’s no need to know right now. Besides, it’s an infirmary! Why would such a place keep anything but medical supplies in there?

I softly roll my eyes as I move on to the rest of the room. There’s a small wooden desk with metal filing cabinets on either side. Both filing cabinets are dented up all over and have most of their gray paint chipped off, leaving the exposed metal to rust severely. The desk seems to be in a good enough shape compared to the cabinets sitting on either side. I can’t say the same for the clunky, old school monitor sitting on top, however, and the equally clunky and old looking tower directly next to it. The keyboard and mouse are missing from the computer setup and from what I can see, they’re nowhere to be found. The monitor’s screen is busted and missing much of the outer glass, leaving some of its innards exposed.

The whole thing was beaten up, including its tower, which was honestly in a much worse shape than the monitor itself. Clearly, somepony was angry that they had lost a game of minesweeper. I don’t blame them, though. Minesweeper sucks. Wait. Does it? Well, I think it probably sucks. I don’t really remember, but I get the impression I have a strong dislike for the game. Wait, is it even a game? Ugh. Not being able to remember anything SUCKS! It’s like I’m stuck with a severe case of… of… fuck, I don’t know! Something that makes me forget everything! UGH!! I groan in frustration as I roll my eyes. Level head- er- me, remember? Gotta keep a level head. Deep breath in, deep breath out.

I look directly in front of me and see a large metal cabinet with two doors with several small, square glass windows at the top and three drawers at the bottom. The cabinet itself is in the same sorry state of affairs as the filing cabinets nearby; dented, rusty and old. The glass in these little windows are surprisingly completely intact. Even with the light on, the inside of the cabinet seems unusually dark. Out of curiosity, I step closer to look at what may lie behind the cabinet doors. My stomach churns in disgust as I immediately regret my decision to examine its contents. Inside are hundreds- if not thousands- of fat, black leeches crammed inside and wriggling around. There are so many inside that I can now see that the doors are bulging outwards quite a bit, like they could literally burst open at any given moment.

I dry heave a bit as I immediately back away. Who crams a cabinet full of leeches?! Why leeches of all the creatures small enough to cram into a cabinet well over its max capacity?! Between the dirty floor and the leech-filled cabinet, I think I’m going to be very, very sick. Ugh, so gross! Now I really, really don’t want to know what’s in the storage closet! I see no point in staying here any longer. I might be in a shit ton of pain and suffering from severe memory loss, but it’s at least somewhat tolerable for the time being. I just need to find my way to the nearest exit and go home. Er, well, maybe not home. You know, no memories and all. Just… literally anywhere but here.

With yet another sigh, I turn towards the door and twist the knob to open it. When the door refuses to budge, I raise an eyebrow and try opening the door in the opposite direction. When it refuses to budge once again, I start to grow worried. Alright, okay, no need to panic. The door is clearly just locked. No matter which side the lock is on, a locked door isn’t going to open if the lock is engaged. Perfectly reasonable. I look for the lock under the knob and find there isn’t a spot for one. Okay, yeah, no, this is fine. Maybe the door is locked with a deadbolt. That’s normal, that’s reasonable. Lots of doors have them. Yet, when I look up, I find no deadbolt on this side of the door. By all appearances, this door had no locks on it whatsoever. Considering the sensitive or ‘dangerous’ items typically kept within an infirmary, having no locks at all is certainly a poor security measure.

If there was no lock, that meant two things. Option ‘A’; The door was locked from the other side and therefore I was merely just locked in the room. Based solely on the placement of the hinges, the door clearly opens outwards and presumably into a hallway or office. Introducing option ‘B’, the only other reasonable explanation; Something on the other side was pushed up against the door, therefore preventing it from opening normally. I might not have any of my memories, but I’m pretty sure that locks are placed on the inside of the room you’re trying to secure and not on the outside where anypony could easily open it. Maybe I could be very wrong about this, considering the cabinet that’s crammed full of leeches, but I’m sure the door is just blocked by a desk or chair or something on the other side.

I quietly scoff at myself for getting a little worked up over the door not opening when the answer was so simple and obvious. I’m sure the dreadful nightmare I had just has me feeling a little paranoid. Ghosts, demons and monsters don’t exist… Right? Ugh, what’s gotten ahold of me? Of course they don’t. Okay, focus. I’m getting off track. I need this door open and standing here staring off into space and debating the existence of the supernatural isn’t going to open it. If it did, I’m sure the door would be open by now.

I’m in way too much pain as it is to even consider breaking the door down enough to leave. If I was a unicorn and could see the object obstructing the door, I could probably clear the jam with some good old fashioned magic and leave easy-peasy like. Too bad I wasn’t. Wait, was I? A quick pat of my head confirms that I am, in fact, not a unicorn and an equally quick glance at my sides confirms I’m not a pegasus either. Back to the matter at hoof, how am I going to get out of here? I can’t help but wonder if the same pony who brought me here also locked me in. If they did, why? What reason could they have? To protect me… or to protect themself? How would locking me in here protect anypony besides myself? On the same note, why would I lock myself in here if I did wander in on my own? Better yet, how would I have ever accomplished that??

So many questions, yet there were zero answers to be found. I glance back at the desk, cabinets and bed inside the infirmary. This place was clearly very old, practically ancient. Maybe the door wasn’t locked or jammed per se, but just a little stuck in place. After all, I hadn’t been tugging on the door that hard. I only put in enough effort to get the door to open a little, not to throw it open or off the hinges. I try opening the door again and again, putting more force into it with each twist and shove. I keep going until I feel like I’m going to pull it off its hinges. What little bit the door does move, it loudly slams back every time I try to force it open. With a frustrated sigh, I back away from the door and wish I had a bat to beat some sense into it.

I’m not ready to just give up and call it quits, but I’m unsure of what I’m going to do now. A hurricane couldn’t knock this door down even if it tried and then called tornadoes in for back up! Maybe there’s a tool of some sort I could use to open the door? Like, perhaps something I could use as a screwdriver to take the hinges off and open it that way? I immediately reject the notion of stepping in anywhere remotely close to the leechy cabinet to check the drawers. With the way my luck seems to be, either what I need will be in one of those drawers or the cabinet will burst open while I’m checking them. Nothing good either way you slice it.

I meander over to the desk and try opening the drawers in search of something useful. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I pull, the desk drawers refuse to budge even in the slightest. It’s almost as if they’re there solely for decorational purposes instead of having any functionality. Given this is a place of ‘healing’, it seems a little odd they would put a desk with fake drawers in here. Then again, I suppose there’s been absolutely nothing exactly normal in this room thus far, so maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised. I try the filing cabinets just for the hell of it, but find identical issues with their drawers. They, too, refuse to budge at all no matter the amount of force I put into opening them. Seriously, what the fuck? I know they’re dented up, but there’s no reason they shouldn’t open! There’s not even a lock on them or the desk drawers for that matter!

Whatever. Maybe this just isn’t a real infirmary. For all I know, this could be an incredibly old set for a long abandoned movie. Hell, maybe it’s one of those haunted house places that’s not being used due to it being out of season! Both make sense and on the brighter side, those leeches could easily be fake and just look incredibly real! That… yeah, that has to be it, right? On the other hoof, that just adds even more questions to the tally. It doesn’t really explain anything. It just really only serves to comfort me a little bit. I guess I should try looking in the storage closet, assuming it’s even unlocked… or capable of opening for that matter.

I turn and walk over to the closet door and turn the handle. Much to my surprise, it actually opens and creaks eerily as I slowly pull it open. The inside of the closet is unnaturally dark, like an obsidian void ready to swallow me whole. I hesitate, the door mostly ajar and my hoof still on the handle. That knot in my stomach makes itself known once more and grows bigger the longer I stare into the darkness. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe I’m just severely overthinking it. I let go of the door handle and step forward to brave the dark void before me just long enough to find some sort of lightswitch. The moment I take a second step, I’m sent flying backwards by some invisible force.

I land on my back and fall over on my right side with a loud grunt of pain. My breath is momentarily knocked out of me as something a bit sharp jabs into my side. Before I can even move a muscle, a spine chilling groan erupts from the storage closet and gradually grows louder and louder until it feels like it’s rattling my brain around in my skull. Everything in the room begins to rattle and shake and the lights flicker off and on more aggressively. My eyes remain glued to the closet as I jump to my hooves and back even further away from it. The groaning suddenly stops and is replaced by the sounds of somepony gurgling, choking and hacking.

The rattling and shaking continue along with the sounds coming from the closet. My heart beats against my chest as I stare ahead of me in fear, completely helpless and unable to escape. What appears to be a hoof emerges from the dark void as the guttural noises continue. Much like in my nightmare, I’m rooted to the spot and completely paralyzed by fear as… it fully emerges from the closet. What looks- or, perhaps more aptly, used- to be a mare stands just outside the closet’s threshold. Her head has been split open, right down the center. Where part of her skull and bits of her orange mane used to be, the keyboard for the infirmary computer is planted in their place. Parts of her rotted brain are exposed, her horn is snapped nearly completely in half and is just barely still attached.

Dried blood trails all the way down her face and stops half way down her neck. The blood trail stops just above the old school cord attached to the clunky mouse belonging to the infirmary computer. It’s been wrapped tightly around her neck to the point that it looks as if it’s been embedded into and grown over by her pale blue skin. I… I guess that solves the mystery of the missing mouse and keyboard. I whimper in fear as she steps forward, still making those awful noises. I notice her eyes are rolled so far back into her head that all I can see is her horribly bloodshot sclera. Her head and neck twitch in a rather disturbing manner as she takes another step forward. With a wet, weird ‘squelch’, her eyes roll back forward and lock onto me. A look of intense, burning hatred is spread across her face as she takes another step forward.

“This is all your fault! I hate you! I’m dead and the pain goes on for eternity! I hate you! I hate you! This is all your fault!” The mare shouts loudly, her accusatory words laced with a potent venom.

I open my mouth to tell her she has the wrong pony, that I’ve never seen her before and I certainly had no part to play in her demise. That’s what I led myself to believe, at least. I don’t think I’m capable of murdering anypony! I try to speak again, however, all the comes out are terrified whimpers. My words are gone and all that’s left is pure fear. The angry ghost of a mare continues to shout the same thing over and over again as she steps forward slowly, bit by bit. A scream of fear escapes my throat as I bolt towards the door and desperately try to open it with every ounce of my strength I can muster. I continuously look from the door to the ghostly mare and back again as I struggle and cry out in fear. At this point, she’s halfway across the room and the door still refuses to budge. When I look back at her again, a black almost liquidy mist pours out from every orifice in her body and completely engulfs her to the point that I can hardly tell she used to be a pony at all.

It's so vaguely pony-shaped and the way it sways in a non-existent breeze is somehow more terrifying than her previous form. From the mist appears two pink glowing lights that I assume are her new form’s eyes. Her shouting turns into screaming and becomes utterly incomprehensible as I continue to struggle with the door. At this point, I’m so desperate to escape that I ignore the pain and throw my body against the door in hopes of breaking it down. The… thing coming towards me is only a yard from me when suddenly the door gives way and I’m dumped onto the floor of a hallway. A noise of fear and surprise escapes my throat as I fall.

I quickly scramble to my hooves and away from the door a bit before I buck the door shut behind me. I turn to face the door, my heart racing along with my breath at a million miles an hour. Had she been keeping me trapped in there until she made her terrifying, grand reveal?! What the fuck?! How… How could such a horrible thing exist?? I back away from the door and turn away to look down the hall. The moment of reprieve is cut short when the door violently swings open and ripped from its hinges. I scream and gallop away right as the misty demonic mare charges at me. I narrowly avoid her attack and she crashes into the wall with a loud crack. I glance back to see she’s nearly shattered a hole in the wall where she crashed.

I come to a fork at the end of this hall that splits off into three directions. I have only seconds to decide on which direction to choose, if even that. The floor of the hall directly ahead of me is almost completely missing, leaving a big gaping hole in its place. Each of these halls are lined with burgundy colored lockers, with the exception of the places where the floor simply isn’t there. Without thinking I bolt down the right hall and almost immediately screech to halt. A section of the floor is missing in this hall as well and I nearly run straight into an ominously deep-looking hole. Fuck, fuck, fuck! I immediately double back and make for the only hall that isn’t missing the majority of its flooring. I scream as I dive for the floor and slide a couple of feet forward, once again just narrowly avoiding another attack from the misty demon.

I scramble to my hooves and continue down the hall as fast as they will carry me. I get to the end of the hall and take an immediate left without stopping or slowing down, which causes me to slide a bit and nearly lose my balance as I go to continue forwards. I yelp as something wet and sticky wraps around my back left fetlock and yanks me backwards, the complete opposite direction I want to go. I scream as I fall onto the floor and am promptly dragged across it. Something somewhat sharp jabs into my side and digs in as I’m dragged. Whatever had a hold of my leg lets go right as the misty demon catches up to me. Just when I think this is the end of the line for me, a long, wet and pink colored tongue whips by me and wraps itself tightly around the demon hunting me down. It screams loudly and I’m unsure if it’s out of anger, fear or pain or if it’s a mixture of the three.

All I can do is watch from the floor as the demon is snatched forward by the tongue. I look behind me and watch as the demon is being forced into the fourth most locker in a row of five lining the dead end section of the hall. The demon wails in what clearly comes across as pain as the monstrosity dwelling within the locker tries to consume it. Despite its struggles, the misty demon ultimately ends up losing the battle and is pulled into the shadowy depths of the locker. The door slams shut as I hear what sounds like flesh ripping and being chewed up and bones crunching and snapping. The sounds echo throughout the halls for what feels almost like an eternity until it suddenly stops.

A loud burp ripples through the halls as the locker rattles. Following it is a high pitched giggle and the voice of the monster within excusing ‘herself’ for the ‘unfilly like’ burp. I stare at the locker in a mix of fear and shock as I shakily rise to my hooves. Should… Should I thank her… it... for saving me? A pair of yellow glowing eyes appear behind the vents at the top of the locker and peer down at me. The thing inside giggles again, as if amused by the look on my face.

“I-I, uh… th-thanks? F-for eating th-that… thing,” I stammer, my words shaky and unsure.

“Teehee~! You’re welcome!” The voice says rather cheerfully with yet another giggle “glad to see you’re not dead~!”

“D-Did you save me o-or are you… are y-you going to e-eat me too?” I question as I cautiously approach the locker.

She… it… is glad to see I’m not dead? I… I-I guess I should be thankful that I’m not.

“That depends, do you want me to eat you, mommy~?” The voice counters in a teaseful tone.

I’m taken aback by the voice inside the locker addressing me as ‘mommy’. The voice is high pitched and sounds young. Too young, like that of a young filly. My fear mostly subsides and is almost replaced with a mixture of confusion and… sadness?

“Er, uh… I, uh… I-I think I would rather n-n-not be eaten t-today,” I stammer as I awkwardly rub my neck.

“Okie dokie! Then, yeah! I saved ya from that scary bitch!” The voice cheerfully exclaims "teehee~ don't worry, I'm allowed to say bad words as long as they're true! I won't get in trouble for saying the b-word!"

I’m taken aback once again, not just because the voice of what I assume to be a child just cursed but mostly because of the way she says the word ‘bitch’. It comes out as a demonic growl, a stark contrast to her sweet sounding voice. Say what you will, but I find myself to be in agreeance with her little rule. As long as it's true, it doesn’t matter how harsh you say things.

“A-are you a child?” I ask, my curiosity once again getting the better of me.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, I guess so. I mean, I’ve been here for a super duper long time, but when I first got here I was a child,” The voice replies “but then something really bad happened and I don’t think… I’m alive anymore.”

“I-I’m sorry t-to hear that. Ho-How did you get here a-a-and what ha-happened to you?” I ask as I take a single step forward.

Perhaps it wasn't the wisest of ideas, all things considered, but I guess this being the supposed spirit of a young child puts me at enough ease to get closer. If anything, I should really be on a higher level of alertness and distrust. After all, she did just gobble up that demon like it was nothing. I'll admit that I am thankful she saved me, though.

“Well, I was born in a place that was like a jail or something. My mommy and daddy were there, but then some really mean ponies made us come here to this place,” The voice replies “I don’t remember much about coming here, though, so I’m sorry about that. Oh! But then me and mommy got separated from daddy after a while and then we found him dead!”

How… blunt and honest. She must've been very young when she arrived in this place. Young foals tend to overshare and never sugarcoat what they say. They just spit out their honest opinions. Well, I think so at least. I can't remember if I've ever met a child of any age, though.

“O-oh. I… I’m so sor-” My sentence is cut short as the voice inside continues.

“Somepony took his head, but we still knew it was daddy because of his cutiemark. Mommy died next after I got hurt and she took me to the nurse’s office to get better. That meanie I just ate was the one who killed her. She came out the closet and ate my mommy while I ran away. She had always been in the nurse's office and never left and I'm not able to leave this locker either, so I've been waiting a long time to eat her,” The voice explains, sounding a little bit sad “oh, but before that I was alone for a long time. I got scared and hid inside this locker, but I guess that was a mistake.”

Poor thing. Found her father dead and then watched her mother die. I'm a little surprised she isn't angry. Maybe she didn't quite understand everything that happened to her, but you think she'd sound more upset. Honestly, I figured she'd be more angry- and therefore more dangerous- than that demonic mare from the infirmary. Perhaps I’ve come to judge her too quickly?

“Wh-why? D-Did something g-get you while y-you hid?” I question, taking another step closer.

She just ate that monster chasing me, so maybe she's too full to eat anypony else. I'm going to be so mad if I'm wrong and end up dying, but I keep stepping closer under the belief that the filly inside is friendly. Maybe she'll view me as a friend and keep me on the 'no snacking on' list?

“Yup! A really scary looking mare with long pointy legs found me hiding and then when she opened the door, she said some words that I didn’t understand,” The voice explains “and then all of a sudden, everything hurt really bad and I became stuck in here. Then, I turned into a monster too! Now I’m a locker that just eats ponies. It hurts a lot and the pain never, ever goes away. I'm also always, always sooo hungry! Sometimes I accidentally eat ponies when I don't want to because I can’t control my powers. If it didn't hurt so much and I wasn't always hungry, I think I would find it super duper cool!"

Scratch that. Even if I was on the list of ponies to avoid eating, that means that there's a likely probability that she could or would still eat me. That is if she's being truthful with me, but she's been nothing but honest with me so far. Maybe a bit too much, if I'm being honest. Then again, this could be a total lie and I'm just being manipulated into trusting her so she'll eat me when I've let my guard down. I'm probably reading too much into it, but then again, maybe I'm not. Ugh. Not knowing shit is annoying.

“I-I see. W-well, th-thank you again for saving me,” I say with a nervous smile “c-can I ask why you called me ‘mommy’ earlier?”

“Oh, whoopsies! It was by accident, but you kind of look like my mommy just a little bit, so that’s probably why,” The voice says with another giggle "she had pretty hair like yours!"

“I see. What’s your name?” I ask as I take another step forward and then sit down on the ground in front of the locker.

I'll take my chances and trust her. Maybe I can get some kind of information out of her. I doubt she'll be able to tell me anything about myself, but at the very least I'll gain some information about where I am. Finding out about myself can wait. I need to know where I am and what dangers await me. Correct me if I’m wrong, but dying won't help me gain my memories back.

“My name? Oh, it’s… um…” The voice trails off and sighs sadly “I don’t remember. I know I had one, though! I remember my mommy used to call me her ‘precious sunshine’, so maybe my name is Sunshine!”

“Sunshine? Well, I… I, uh, suppose we could just call you that from now on,” I say with another nervous smile.

“Yay! I like that! What’s your name, miss? You look like you’ve been beaten up! Do you want me to eat whoever hurt you? You’ve been really nice to me, so I’ll eat anypony you want me to!” Sunshine rambles a bit excitedly “I say that 'cuz most ponies don’t talk to me! They just run away and scream!”

“Er, well, did you eat their friends? That could be why they run and scream, but, uh, well to answer your question I… Well, I don’t know what my name is either, Sunny,” I say with a small sigh.

“Oh! I know! You remind me of a pretty pink flower! How about we call you… hmm. Oh! Oh! How about ‘Begonia’ or-or ‘Dahlia’, huh? Those are both pretty flowers that are kind of pink!” Sunshine says excitedly “aw, but there are so many pretty pink flowers that we could use for your name! It’s hard to pick one, but I think I like ‘Dahlia’ the best!”

“Dahlia, huh? You know, I think I like that one the best too, Sunshine,” I say with a small smile “if I meet anypony else, I’ll be sure to use the name you’ve given me.”

“Same! Oh, I have a question for you! My mommy told me there were lots and lots of other ponies who were forced to come here, but we also found notes left behind that said some came here willingly. How did you end up here in this school, Miss Dahlia? Willingly or by force?” Sunshine questions, hey glowing eyes shifting around behind the vents.

“I wish I could answer that question myself. I seem to be suffering from severe memory loss,” I answer with a small shrug “all I know is I found myself in the infirmary, tried to escape and then I was actively pursued by that… thing you ate. Oh, and then I was saved by you.”

‘In this school’. So that’s what this place is? Well, I guess it checks out. Not sure what kind of non-school building would have numerous lockers lined up in hallways. I guess now the next question would be what school are we currently in? A college or university? A high school? A not-so-prestigious private academy? I sigh mentally. When will the questions end?

“Oh, dang. I don’t remember some stuff either, but not remembering anything at all must really suck butt,” Sunshine says sympathetically.

“Yeah, it sucks butt real hard,” I say with a small chuckle “this place seems really dangerous, Sunshine. Can you tell me what you know about it?”

“I sure can! Mommy read me a note once that said this place was called, uh… uh… Oh! ‘Sandalwood Coast Academy’ and-and apparently it was made a long, long, long time ago,” Sunshine happily explains “but mama called it ‘horseshit’ and called somepony a liar, so maybe that’s not true. Anyways, this school is super, duper haunted by ghosts and other monsters kind of like me. So that means danger is afoot everywhere in here!”

“I see. This place has certainly been dangerous thus far. Is there anything else you can tell me? What about that pointy legged mare you mentioned earlier?” I question as I tilt my head to the side.

“Some ghosts are nice, even some of the monsters, but others aren’t. They’re super mean, so I wouldn’t talk to them. I’ve even seen a few living ponies like you and the same applies to them. I’ve seen ponies who seem like friends murder each other in cold blood and a few have even sacrificed their friends to me just to escape,” Sunshine explains, still as chipper as ever.

“Oh, whoops! About that mare with long, point legs. I don’t know much about her other than she’s really scary looking and the most dangerous thing here. Even the other ghosts and monsters avoid her!” Sunshine quickly adds.

“What does she look like?” I ask with a warm smile.

“Yeesh. No offense, but you ask a lot of questions, Miss Dahlia. I wish I could tell you the answer to that, but I don’t remember other than she was scary and had those long, pointy legs,” Sunshine replies “so I guess if you see a mare with legs like those, you should just run away and pray she doesn’t catch you.”

“I get the feeling I’m going to be doing a lot of praying before I get out of here,” I say with a sigh.

“Huh? There’s a way out of here?” Sunshine asks in a very confused tone.

“Well, there has to be a way out. I mean, if you were brought here from somewhere else, that means there’s got to be an exit somewhere in here,” I reply in a hopeful tone.

“I guess that makes sense. We were told it was a one-way trip and we wouldn’t be leaving,” Sunshine says.

“Sounds like whoever it was intended on leaving you here to die,” I accidentally say aloud.

Shit. I meant to keep that to myself. It’s not like its new news or was supposed to be a secret, but still. No telling how she could or would react. I need to be more careful or I’ll wind up being dessert. I mean, it’s not my fault she was sentenced to her death along with her parents. Even so, Sunshine just admitted she can’t fully control her powers. Whether or not the anger is directed towards me, any bit of it could result in my death.

“Oh. They must be really, really evil or something to knowingly send ponies to their death,” Sunshine says a bit quietly.

A moment of silence falls between us. I fidget in place nervously. I really hope she’s not going to eat me for saying that, even if it’s not my fault that either of us are in the positions that we are.

“Miss Dahlia, will you promise to come say goodbye before you leave? I don’t want you to die, so I really hope you escape, but I am going to miss you and your pretty hair,” Sunshine says in a mixture of encouragement and sadness.

“O-Of course. I promise I’ll say goodbye before I leave. I wish I could fix you and bring you with me. I’m sorry to say, but I think your predicament is… permanent,” I say sympathetically.

“I think the only way to ‘fix’ me now would be to kill me,” Sunshine says rather matter-of-factly “er, well, I guess I should add ‘again’ to that.”

“Is that something you want?” I ask softly.

Sunshine grows quiet for a moment, then begins to hum softly as she thinks about my question. I think if I were in her shoes, I’d want somepony to put an end to my suffering.

“Will I be with my mommy and daddy if I die again?” Sunshine asks after a while.

“Of course. I’m sure they’re waiting somewhere for you in heaven,” I say with a warmer smile.

That couldn’t be further from how I actually feel. I don’t think I’m a religious mare, but right now I don’t believe there’s an afterlife; which is a bit ironic, I suppose, considering the close brush with death I’ve had. Even if there was an afterlife, though, I couldn’t say if her parents are really in heaven or if they’ve been sent down to rot eternally in the fire and brimstone. I didn't know them or rather, I couldn't recall if I did. For all I knew, they could've been horrible ponies… or completely innocent saints. I don't… wait, did I say brimstone? That sounds… oddly familiar for some reason.

I sigh softly. I don’t like lying to Sunshine, mostly because she could literally devour me if she knew I was, but I also couldn’t say for sure if she would even be able to go to heaven- if it existed. I know none of this is her fault, especially the whole ‘being turned into a monster’ part, but eating other ponies has probably damned her to hell. Assuming that, too, even exists. Regardless, she's clearly suffering and I think it would be cruel to let her continue to do so.

“Hmm. Then, yeah! Blow me up in lots and lots of chunks! That’s how I want to go!” Sunshine exclaims in a rather disturbingly cheerful tone.

“Y-you… want me to… blow you up?” I ask, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.

“Yeah, why not? It’ll be super quick and plus, it’ll be kinda funny too!” Sunshine replies with a giggle.

“I… I feel like I should be concerned that you find potentially having yourself blown up ‘kinda funny’? But yes, I will agree it would be a relatively quick death if done correctly,” I say with a nervous cough.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by this. Who knows how long she’s been trapped in here, seen what she’s seen and suffered how she has? Having died as a child and then warped into a forever-hungry locker monster, it should come at no surprise her mental health has taken a major hit and made her a bit, uh… unstable, to say the least. I need to steer this conversation back on track. It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed the time spent with Sunshine here, but quite frankly, I feel I’ve wasted way too much time. There’s just a couple of things I need to find out before I can politely excuse myself and go.

“Sorry, I know I’ve asked you several questions, but I have just a couple of more if that’s okay,” I say with an apologetic smile.

“It’s alright, Miss Dahlia, I like talking to you! Ask away!” Sunshine exclaims with a giggle.

“I’m not entirely sure if I’m right, but I have a strong suspicion that somepony brought me to the infirmary. You didn’t happen to get a good look at whoever it was, did you?” I ask as I stand up “it seems this is the only viable way to the nurse’s office, so I feel correct in assuming they had to pass by your locker. Er, you, I mean.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah! I’m not sure how long ago it was, but somepony definitely brought you to the nurse’s office. I remember ‘cuz I did try to eat you, but she wouldn’t let me,” Sunshine says in that usual cheerfully matter-of-fact tone of hers.

“Oh! Sorry, I guess that was a bit mean of me, but if it makes you feel any better, I’m really, really glad I didn’t!” She adds apologetically.

Geez, how thoughtful. I guess that’s what she meant earlier when she said she was glad I wasn’t dead. I shouldn’t get mad about her almost eating me earlier, I suppose. At that moment in time, we were total strangers. Not that that justifies me almost having been eaten, but at least I could consider her a friend now. My only friend presently, though I found myself not particularly caring if I had any friends at all. Even though she could still eat me at any given moment, with or without her desire to do so, I was alive and I suppose part of that is thanks to Sunshine. Whether that was mostly due to her not eating me to begin with or her saving me from that infirmary demon, I couldn’t really say.

“Well, I’m still breathing and my heart’s still pumping, so water under the bridge and all that. I don’t mean to be, well, mean, but I’d like to move on,” I say, forcing a big smile “you said ‘she’ wouldn’t let you eat me. Could you describe what ‘she’ looked like?”

“She was very scary looking, Miss Dahlia. My tongue almost caught your leg and she looked at me with this very scary, mean look! I don’t remember exactly what she said, but she yelled at me to leave you alone or she’d…” Sunshine trails off and hums quietly “do something awful to me, I’m sure. She was very protective, like my mommy was of me! Oh, but I guess that doesn’t really answer your question, does it?”

“Not particularly, but it’s quite alright. Do continue,” I say politely.

“You must be a very, very kind pony, Miss Dahlia, because the friend that saved you was a ghost! I say you must be really kind ‘cuz that's the only type of pony I think could be friends with a ghost and a monster like me!” Sunshine exclaims happily, but still missing the point.

“Ghosts come in all shapes, colors and sizes, Sunshine. Can you give me a bit more detail?” I ask, this time forcing my politeness just a bit.

For somepony who’s been turned into a flesh eating monster who dwells within a locker, I will admit Sunshine is a fairly sweet filly. However, her tendency to only half answer my questions or go a bit off topic was wearing my patience and politeness quite thin. I really hate to say that, even if it’s to myself. I just really want to get the hell out of this school and find a way to restore my memories.

“She was all blue and glowy and see-through. Oh, and she was missing her left eye! Hmm… oh! Also, her hair was short and had this strand of hair that was curled into a heart,” Sunshine replies, finally hitting the nail on the head “I don’t remember anything else, though. I’m sorry, Miss Dahlia.”

“It’s alright, Sunshine. Thank you for giving me what you could remember,” I say, maintaining my big smile “blue, glowing and transparent with a missing eye and a heart shaped piece of hair. All things considered, I think I’ll remember that.”

“I’m glad I can help you, Miss Dahlia. Got anymore questions? I’ll answer them as best as I can!” Sunshine says with yet another giggle.

“No, I think I’ve learned all I need to know. I’m sure more information about this school- and myself- will arise as I make my way out of here,” I say as I nod my head appreciatively.

“Okie dokie, then! Are you leaving now?” Sunshine asks.

“Yes, Sunny. It was very nice meeting you and talking with you. Thank you for everything. You’ve been very kind and helpful,” I say as I turn to leave.

“Bye, Miss Dahlia! Good luck out there!” Sunshine exclaims cheerfully.

I politely nod my head and begin to walk away from Sunshine and her locker. I didn’t need it spelled out for me, I already knew I wasn’t going to get out of here anytime soon. There were several reasons why, but I needed to focus on one thing at a time. Escaping is the end goal, but finding the ghostly mare who brought me to the infirmary is going to be my current one. I’m not entirely sure what I’ll do after I find her and get some more answers, but I’m sure I’ll figure that out along the way.

“Wait! Wait, Miss Dahlia! I have something to give you!” Sunshine calls out.

I stop and turn around to face her before making my way back over to her locker. The locker door flies open, causing me to flinch and take a step back. From the dark void inside, a very disturbing sight emerges into the dim hallway. What I believe to be her tongue is twisted and contorted into the very meaty shape of a young filly with short ‘curly hair’ and glowing yellow dots floating in the dips of her ‘face’ that I assume to be her eye sockets. I guess the look of shock and disgust was apparent on my face judging by the giggle sunshine gives me, her ‘body’ jiggling and wiggling in a very gross way as she does so.

“One of the ponies I ate recently had this bag of stuff on them. It wasn’t very tasty, so I held onto them and now I’m giving them to you,” Sunshine says cheerfully.

Getting a, uh… ‘good’ look at her now, her cheerful tone and disposition was now less cute and more disturbing. I think I liked her better when she was just a pair of glowing eyes behind the locker vents. I watch as the end of her tongue snakes into the void and then produces a very worn looking saddlebag. She plops it down right in front of me before retracting her tongue. I stare at it and watch as little drops of what I pray is saliva drip from the strap and onto the tile floor. I grimace at the thought of touching something that’s been in her mouth- or inside her in general.

“Sorry, I know it’s a little gross, but I think the stuff inside of it might help you out a little,” Sunshine says “think of it as thank you for being so nice to me and for promising to say goodbye before you go!”

“Er, you’re very welcome for… that. Thank… you for the… bag,” I say through a forced smile.

I pick up the saddlebag carefully to avoid getting saliva on my hoof. I undo the clasp and toss the lid flap open. Inside the bag is a cheap looking flashlight made of yellow and black plastic, a couple of spare batteries, a single key on a small keyring and… a very oddly shaped stone? It’s gray and small, roughly a foot in size and so very… peculiar. It’s shaped like two diamonds stacked atop one another with a half of one at the very end. I get the feeling this stone is going to end up being very important.

I close the bag and redo the clasp before quickly wiping as much of the saliva off as I can. I wipe my hoof off on the floor and fasten the saddlebag securely around my waist. Maybe it just didn’t register when I glanced at my back earlier, but I’m just now realizing that I’m wearing a pair of black slacks and apparently also a brown turtleneck sweater. I guess I was just too preoccupied earlier to really notice I was wearing anything at all.

“See you later, Miss Dahlia. Hope that stuff can be of some help,” Sunshine says as she disappears back into her locker.

“See you later,” I say simply, forcing a thankful smile.

I turn around and walk away for the second time. Up ahead is a stairwell that appears ominously dark. Ugh. Why is everything so dark and creepy?? It’s starting to get annoying. I pause at the top of the stairs and look back at Sunshine. I hope I’m able to return and say goodbye like I promised. I’m sure Sunshine would never forgive me if I broke it. I sigh softly as I look forward and make my way down the stairs. Each step creaks and groans as I descend into the darkness until I can’t see a thing. I… I really should’ve taken out the flashlight before going down instead of leaving myself to fumble around to fish it out.

I really shouldn’t be putting anything in my mouth that was inside of Sunshine’s, but I believe it would be wise to keep my hooves free for the time being… just in case. The flashlight turns on with a click before I bite down on it firmly. For something so cheap looking, it produces a fair amount of light that slices through the darkness. Well, enough standing around, I suppose. I’ve already stayed way too long in this place as it is, now it’s time to get the hell out of here… and hopefully figure out who I am in the process.