Warning! This is not my green at all and the credit goes to YOOHOO. Since Pastebin is being a fag I'm saving some greens. I love this one so much and I hope you other anons will enjoy it.

>Pale moonlight filters through the open window, casting its rays on a familiar scene
>The humid midnight air permeates your bedroom
>Your mother cries out your name as teeth sink into her abdomen
>A sickening crunch echoes through the room as her ribs shatter, followed by the squelching of viscera
>The tall, pale figure known as a Hunger looms over the still spasming corpse of your mom as it slowly, methodically tore into her
>Your stomach churns up to the back of your throat and you fight your gag reflex
>You watch, petrified from the stairway
>Your father is already gone
>Chest torn open, exposing the half-eaten remains
>You watch from the closet, huddling under the jackets within
>The Hunger rips chunks of your mother off, shoveling them into its maw
>You’re hiding under the covers, hoping it doesn’t see you next as you hold your breath
>Its tiny glowing eyes scan the room, passing right over you and then…
>It keeps eating
>You wake up and gulp down air as you lay unmoving on the bench you had fallen asleep on
>Sunlight streams through the leaves above and the familiar flowery smell of the school’s garden fills your nose as you look around
>Wallflower is looking down at you with a deadpan stare
>”Bad dream again?”
“Nngh, this is why I don’t take naps… Why is my head in your lap?”
>”You looked uncomfortable.”
“I’m now somehow more uncomfortable knowing that you messed with me while I was asleep.”
>You sit up and rub the sleep from your eyes
“What time is it?”
>”You’re already late.”
“God d-.”
>You stop yourself
“Dang it.”
>You start formulating an excuse and quickly rush back up the path towards the school
>Lost during an impromptu hike sounds fine
>Not like Mr. Doodle would ask you to elaborate further anyway
>You end up getting to his class about 3/4ths of the way through
>The lights are out while the projector beams a slide onto the wall
>Luckily he doesn’t see you sneaking over to your desk
-
>You are Sunset Shimmer
>And something has been bothering you for a while
”Hey girls, you ever wonder why Anon is always alone?”
>You whisper conspiratorially to your surrounding friends in class and take a look over your shoulder at him
>He looks… Like he usually does
>A baggy off-white, gray, and red windbreaker jacket and jeans covering what was a tall, tired looking, average teenage boy
>”Pff, of course not. It’s ‘cuz he’s ranked dead last, that’s why.”
>While blunt, Rainbow Dash has a point
>He was ranked the absolute lowest out of the entire senior class
>Meaning that no one has any reason to interact with him in the first place, as challenging him has nothing but downsides
>And no one wants to be friends with a low-rank anyway
>Why?
>Because high school is still high school, and social stigmas will always be in place
>Even IF most of the kids in CHS were Hosts
”But don’t you think it’s a bit weird that he’s constantly by himself? If his power is THAT weak, you’d think he’d want to surround himself with strong friends, or something.“
>”Sunset Shimmer, is my lesson boring you?”
>Darn
>Mr. Doodle singled you out
>Probably because you were whispering pretty loud
>RD holds up her hand and without waiting to be called on, speaks
>”It’s boring me, teach! We already know all this stuff!”
>”Well, I suppose if you’re so confident in your abilities then you’ll do just fine on the test tomorrow, right?”
>Rainbow, who had taken exactly zero notes, slumps into her seat and goes silent
>”If no one else has any interruptions, let’s continue.”
>Mr. Doodle clicks the remote and a new slide comes up on the screen at the front of the class
>”As all of you are already aware, the X-4 Parasites are the source of what many have called ‘superpowers’.”
>Mr. Doodle makes air quotes as he says superpowers and a couple of students snicker
>He rolls his eyes
>Another click, another slide
-
>This slide shows a diagram of the human body’s nervous system, and an enlarged X-4 Parasite next to it
>”An X-4 Parasite, once introduced to a human, will take residence inside the body, turning that person into a Host. Though the location of the proper body of the organism varies, the fibrous tendrils of the parasite will always take root within the Host’s nervous system and spinal column.”
>The two diagrams animate and overlap each other after being moved across the screen before a new image appears: One of a completely integrated Host
>He was pretty good at Powerpoint transitions
>”After a period of a few days, a newly created Host will then manifest a power, the extent and limit of which has not yet been fully discovered. Shapeshifting, telekinesis, extreme speed, etcetera etcetera. “
>The sound of several No. 2 pencils writing down notes can be heard during the silence between Mr. Doodle’s lecture
>”Currently there is no known medical procedure that can be used to successfully remove an X4 Parasite from its Host without killing the Host in the process. No known antiparasitics exist that affect them.”
>The bell rings, cutting the lecture short and leaving an exasperated Mr. Doodle trying to get the attention of the students before they leave
>”For today’s homework, I’d like you to split off into groups of two and write a report on your partner and their parasite; what it is, how it’s affected their day-to-day life, and their rank. You can find more details in the syllabus. It’ll be due next Friday. I’ll see you all on Monday.”
>The bell rings and everyone begins to file out in pairs of two, already having selected their partner
>Pinkie with Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash with Twilight, Applejack and Rarity
>Which gives you the perfect excuse to finally figure out what Anon’s deal was
>And this time he couldn’t worm his way out of it
-
>You are Anonymous
>Anon for short
>And you were more than ready to leave class for today
>”Hey Anon.”
>Oh god damn it
>You just want to go back to the garden and relax
>Mr. Doodle never minds you not having a partner
>It would be fine!
>You look up from putting your notebook away to see a girl standing next to your desk
>Her again
>This is the one that always hangs out with her six friends
>Sunset Shimmer
>Rank 44
“Hi.”
>”So I was wondering if-.”
”You want me to be your partner for the assignment?”
>You raise an eyebrow before you realize that their group doesn’t exactly lend itself well to groups of two
>You doubt that there’s an ulterior motive to her doing this
>After all, being the lowest rank meant most people at CHS just ignored you, and beating you wouldn’t improve her own anyway
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
>”Great! C’mon, we can go meet the girls and introduce you to them.”
>Wait a second
“I thought this was just for the report.”
>You’re already being tugged along by the sleeve towards the brightly colored group of women
>And you get that knot in the pit of your stomach that you usually get when you find out that you’re getting into a situation that could have more ramifications than you realize
>”Well yeah, but a study group can be a good idea for just about anyone.”
>Nerd
>Not that you had any room to hurl insults as the bottom rung bitch of the school
>You should probably fix that sometime
>Soon enough you find yourself walking down the hallway, flanked on all sides by a colorful cast of Sunset’s friends
>You already knew all of their names of course, as they didn’t hesitate to introduce themselves to you
>But they were asking a lot of questions
>Why were they all so friendly?
-
>”I never see you on the bus, Anon. Do you live-”
“Yeah, I don’t live too far away. I’m in Dewdrop Circle.”
>”Ya’ll got a part-time job or anythin’? There’s a few openin’s at the farm if ya-“
>They were extremely friendly, actually
>But farmwork? No thanks
“Already have one. I work at the Try N’ Save on 5th Avenue.“
>”Oooh, whatcha do there Anon? Do you work in the bakery-Please tell me you work in the bakery.”
“Nothing like that; I just unload the stock from the trucks.”
>It keeps you well enough in shape
>”I recall seeing him there multiple times, but every time he somehow had a convenient excuse to avoid conversing with me.”
>That part was true
>Most of the time you just didn’t feel like talking to some nerd with tri-colored hair
>But you’re extremely good at finding an excuse to get out of doing something when you put your mind to it
>Of course, it’s not as if you’re averse to hard work or anything, otherwise you wouldn’t be working at all
>Sometimes there’s just things that you don’t want to do
>”Are you apart of any clubs, darling? You seem like the sort of rugged type to be in the shop club. Ooh! Or perhaps the-“
>Rugged? You? As if.
>You’re wiry as hell
>Kinda lanky too, have they SEEN your arms?
“I’m actually in the gardening club.”
>The silence that follows is almost as oppressive as the silence that followed after you tripped down the stairs of the school library with several books in tow
>Almost
>”We have a gardening club?”
>RD asks, incredulous
”I’m not exactly surprised you don’t know. There’s only two members, counting myself.”
>That doesn’t make it sound any better, but it will hopefully get them to stop pursuing this line of questioning
>You don’t particularly want to regale them with the astounding, pulse-pounding, hype sounding tales of you pulling weeds and watering flowers
>It’s relaxing, okay?
>Luckily, Rainbow Dash seems focused on other things
-
>”Enough with the small talk already! Anon! Your parasite! What is it?!”
>Somehow you knew it was going to be her to ask first
>That or maybe Sunset, seeing as how she was your partner
>Or Twilight; she looked pretty nerdy
>Okay so you didn’t KNOW it was going to be RD, but you had a good thirty-three percent chance of it
“Oh. Uh. Right. That. I guess that I’m what you could call a… Power brick. That’s what I’ve been calling it.”
>The rainbow-haired girl makes a rolling gesture with her hand, silently telling you to explain more than that
“Well, it’s like… I’m abnormally strong, abnormally durable, I’ve got a lot of endurance, that sort of thing. A big brick that can hit back. A power brick.”
>”So um… Sort of like Applejack… But better?”
>The quiet one finally speaks up, and when she does it’s specifically to burn the country one
>Nice
>Okay maybe it wasn’t JUST for that burn
>But still
>”Now wait just an apple-pickin’ second!”
>Oh boy here we go
>”IF. And this here’s a big IF! IF Anon were stronger’n me, then he’d be ranked higher than ah am! And he AIN’T.”
>That’s true
>Applejack was rank 50
>The shitter filter
“Well not that it’s hard to be stronger than I am. I try not to use my parasite too much as it is already.”
>You give full-bodied shrug and a lazy smile
>You’re not too invested in the whole situation, but AJ certainly is
>At least she’s cooling off a bit
>As the group eventually mills its way outside into the courtyard, Sunset pipes up
>”So why don’t you use it, Anon? From what you’ve told us so far it could be pretty decent. Heck you shouldn’t even be ranked last if it’s a power and durability boost. That at least belongs up in the sixties. Even higher depending on how big of a boost it is.”
“Oh that’s an easy one. Remember Mr. Doodle’s lecture last Tuesday?”
>”The… One about the Hungers?”
>You snap your fingers into one whole finger gun
“Bingo.”
-
>For the easygoing nature you cultivate on a regular basis, the one thing that can really shake you up is…
>THAT night
>The one that you keep having a recurring nightmare about
>You repressed it as far down as you could, but it still keeps coming up
>It’s the one reason that you try your damndest never to use your parasite
>There is exactly one rule that everyone is taught about these X-4 Parasites:
>The more you use the power it gives you, the stronger the desire to eat other Hosts becomes
>And when you lose it and finally tear into another Host?
>It’s like a switch gets flipped on the parasite inside you
>It starts multiplying itself, taking over more and more of your body until one finally takes control of your brain
>From that point on, you’re not human anymore
>You’re a Hunger
>One of the things that killed mom and dad
>You shudder as your gut turns over on itself remembering that night
“I just don’t wanna become one of those… Things. Y’know?”
>Twilight speaks up
>”But Anonymous-“
“Anon.”
>”Anon, the need to consume is time-based as well. The longer your time as a Host, the greater the urge to eat others is.”
“Yeah, well using your parasite expedites that process.”
>You take a seat on the ground
>There were no expectations on the ground
“Besides, I don’t really care about the school’s stupid contest anyway, so being rank 100 suits me just fine.”
>”Huh, I’m surprised. I would’ve assumed you at least somewhat interested in the top prize.”
“Just who the hell needs that much money anyway? The Top 10 can kill each other over it as much as they want. Brawly Beats bit the dust last month when he challenged Norman over the rank 1 spot. I’m not about that life.”
>Your statement gets a few uncomfortable glances, but little else
-
>”So you don’t use your parasite just because you don’t want to turn into a Hunger.”
“Yep.”
>”Despite the fact that the time factor has almost never played a part in a Hunger awakening at this school. AND that there’s never been a single Hunger awakening at CHS to date.”
>You admit that she’s right about the last part
>That’s sort of what the C.P.R. was all about
>The CHS Parasite Rumble was why the entire senior class was ranked
>1 all the way through 100
>The Top 10 at the end of the school year are given free housing
>Real fancy stuff. Condominium-style
>The Top 3, in addition to that, get a free ride through any university of their choosing, no fees, no tuition
>And the number 1 ranked student, in addition to all of THAT, gets a monetary prize
>Somewhere around the 10 million mark
>If anyone ever wonders where their tax dollars go, it’s there
>The downside?
>Ranks 1 through 10 fight each other to the death
>Why?
>Because only the strongest students are at those ranks
>Which means that, usually, they’re already in danger of becoming a Hunger by the time they get there
>[spoiler]It’s even worse getting ranked in the Top 10 right at the start, just because you’re already strong. You have to fight for your life the longest[/spoiler]
>CHS pretty much stopped being a normal high school when the X-4 Parasites became widespread
“That’s the gist of it, yeah.”
>Sunset furrows her brow as she looks at you, as if trying to search for an answer on your face
>”Well Anon, you’re a weird one but I can’t say you don’t have principles.”
“An accurate description, but you missed ‘cool’ and ‘mysterious’.”
>That nets you more than one pair of eyes rolling
>You check your phone and unseat yourself from the ground with only your legs
“I’ve got a meeting with the gardening club to get to,”
>Calling it a meeting was a stretch
“So I’ll uh, see you later I guess?”
>Is that how this usually went?
>You’ve only ever hung out with Wallflower, so making plans for later wasn’t your style
-
>You excuse yourself from the group of girls
>As you start making your way around the exterior of the school, you become acutely aware of another presence walking alongside you
>From the shorter strides and softer steps, coupled with the silence from your new companion, you already knew who it was
“You know I was already coming to club, right? You don’t have to spy on me, Wallflower.”
>Wallflower Blush
>Unranked
>[spoiler]Because CHS probably wasn’t even aware she was part of the student body[/spoiler]
>Her parasite essentially turned her into a non-entity
>A mental blindspot whenever she was involved
>You don’t know whether she controls it or not and if she just turns it off around you
>Or if it genuinely just doesn’t work on you for some reason
>And in true Wallflower fashion, she disregards half the statements posed to her
>”You were late.”
“By like 2 minutes!”
>You throw your hands up in exasperation
>”Who were those girls?”
“What, jealous or something? One of them is a partner of mine for a report and the rest are her friends. They’re weird, but nice enough I guess.”
>”As long as it doesn’t cut into your time at the club, Anon.”
“As if I’d ever miss club.”
>The two of you start making your way down the path to the school’s garden
>Hopefully the departure from your usual routine would pass as abruptly as it began when the assignment was over
>Sunset would drop contact with the rank 100 nobody and, by extension, so would her friends
>And you’d go back to being alone
>Even though you weren’t, considering you were friends(?) with Wallflower
>Does she count if nobody else acknowledges her?
>It was confusing, and you’d rather not think about it
>But you still couldn’t shake away that gut feeling you’d gotten earlier
>Some cosmic, universal bullshit was looming on the horizon, and hadn’t packed your binoculars
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ejTIgXexyg (Chrono Trigger OST Wind Scene)
>Your time at the garden was spent in relative silence, punctuated only by the occasional question from the only other member of the gardening club
>Time spent with Wallflower is always pleasant
>Time spent with Wallflower is also rarely exciting
>Then again, you never sought out much excitement in the first place
>In fact, Sunset and her friends talking with you has been the largest departure from your daily routine in several months
>And you aren’t quite sure where you fall on the matter
>A small part of you is almost looking forward to tomorrow
>You don’t know what to expect out of your interactions with this group of girls, even if it IS mostly just mundane chit-chat back and forth
>Your brain is already turning over with every possible outcome, no matter how outlandish
>It’s like experiencing the holiday season as a child
>Your parents have the chance to surprise you with whatever dumb thing you wanted that year, and you go nuts after tearing into the carefully folded wrapping paper
>As opposed to experiencing it in your later years
>You’re asked outright what you’d like, and you throw out a few suggestions of things that you really needed, maybe something that you WANT, expecting not to get much
>You’re doing the same for others, and it becomes the yearly tradition
>You grow accustomed to it, and while it doesn’t give you the same rush as it did when you were a kid, you tear into the wrapping paper, getting exactly what you expected
>And it’s a different sort of satisfaction, one born of familiarity
>That’s the kind of thing that your life is as of now
>An enjoyable, if somewhat dull, stasis
>”Anon you’re overwatering them!”
>You find the pail snatched from your hands and you jolt back into the real world
“Son of a-. My bad.”
>No cursing around Wallflower
>Or in the garden
>”You were staring off into space for a while there. What’s up?”
-
>You lie down and stretch out in the soft grass
>The sun was slowly beginning its descent, casting angled shafts of light through the trees that reflect off a small stream running off to the side of the clearing and setting it sparkling like glitter
>The distant bustling of the town, cars honking and the sound of engines on a main road could be heard faintly in the distance, muddled by the rustling of leaves as a gentle wind blew through the trees
>”You weren’t thinking about that night again, were you?”
“What? O-Oh no it wasn’t that. That only happens when I’m asleep. Heh. Heh…”
>Your sheepish chuckle trails off
>”Was it something those girls said to you?”
>Sort of, but not exactly
>More like the entire situation has sent your mind a-thinking
“Wallflower, we’re friends, right?”
>She gives you the usual deadpan stare
>”Anon we’ve known each other since sophomore year. Minus this weird talk we’re having, we do this sort of thing every day. Save for weekends, and holidays… And when you forget to come to the club…”
>You stick your hand up in the air with your index finger extended
“That happened exactly once, and I apologized for it!”
>”Yes Anon, we’re friends. You’re the only person that actually acknowledges my existence, and the fact that you care about the school’s garden is just a nice bonus.”
“Hey it’d be a shame to let these green thumbs go to waste.”
>You give two thumbs up before you sit up
“But I guess that’s enough of a break for me. Back to work.”
>You spend the few hours pulling weeds and laying stones for a new planter in the garden
>Of course, you’re missing the fertilizer, flowers, and herbs with which to put in it, but it’s important to take things one step at a time
>By the time you’re finished, you’re thoroughly dirty and ready to head home and take a shower
>You bid Wallflower farewell, making plans to return tomorrow and finish the work you started
>With that, you begin the trek back home through the forest
-
>Finally arriving at your front doorstep around the time the light starts to fade, you fish out your keys from your pocket
>You open the front door and step into the living room, closing it behind you
“Hey mom, I’m home.”
>You have an adoptive mother
>Her name is Almond Milk
>The two of you have a very simple relationship:
>You be the best damn son she could ever ask for
>And in return you get a loving and nurturing mother
>Simple
>None of that “YOU AREN’T MY REEEAAAAL MOM” bullshit
>Losing one set of parents was more than enough
>You weren’t gonna fuck it up and go double or nothing on the secondary mom front
>”Anon! You’re home later than usual, dear. Is everything alright?”
>She steps out from behind the dividing wall separating the dining room and the kitchen where she had presumably been doing dishes, judging by the sound of the faucet being turned off
>She’s dressed rather conservatively: mom jeans, a pastel yellow button-down blouse and an apron with the words “I am the Queen, and the grill is my throne.” emblazoned upon it covering her front
>Her brown hair was tied up in a bun, leaving two curly bangs framing her soft, matronly features
>Good ol’ mom
“Nah I’m fine. Just had more things to do during club than usual; can’t you see the dirt?”
>”I can see that you’re about to track it on the carpet. Shoes off, mister.”
>Damn that was close
>You nearly gave yourself extra work around the house cleaning the dirt off the carpet
>White carpet too
>It’d be a bitch to get out without smearing everywhere
>With your shoes successfully removed and resting carefully by the door you make a beeline for the bathroom at the end of the hallway
>As you’re getting undressed and ready for a shower you hear your mom call out from the next room
>”Anon dear I’m not going to be back ‘til Sunday. I cooked you food for the weekend so you don’t starve.”
>She knows you can cook on your own right?
>Whatever
>Less work for you!
-
>After exchanging goodbyes with your dear mum through the bathroom door, assuring her that you would be having no parties while she was away, she leaves for work
>You never asked what it was she did, and it never much mattered anyway
>One relaxing shower later and you’re wandering around the house in your underwear
>Because you’re a MAN damn it
>And it’s so liberating
>And free
>The only way you could be even freer is if your junk wasn’t confined within these briefs
>But you’d rather not tempt fate and have a repeat of… Last time
>You cringe on the inside and distract yourself by watering the Venus flytrap on your windowsill
>Wallflower had given you it as a gift a while ago
>Apparently, it’s named “Hans”
>He always looked like he was in various states of laughter
>A good lad Hans was
>Allegedly there’s another one at Wallflower’s house named Franz
>The rest of your day slowly winds to a close after you eat and get started on the outline for your report, eventually culminating in you slipping into bed for a restful night’s sleep
>God you hope it’s restful
>But you know it won’t be
>You don’t have any other dreams at night now
>Just that one
>Over and over
>It’s a wonder you can get any sleep whatsoever
-
>”… You’re late.”
”I’m aware. Subject Delta returned home later than normal.”
>”This “Delta” of yours hasn’t shown even a passing interest in the C.P.R., Number 9. We’re beginning to think that you might have been the wrong choice for this project.”
”You should have believed me when I told you that simply arbitrarily giving him the lowest possible rank wouldn’t work.”
>”Then what WILL work, Number 9? We’re expecting results out of both you AND him.”
”After extensive observation, I’ve come up with an idea that could force Delta to participate, that way you can get all data you need.”
>”Do tell.”
”The execution is simple enough: Engineer an “accident” to hospitalize Delta’s friend. A very specific accident. An accident involving a Hunger, to be precise.”
>”Let me get this straight, 9: You want us to provide you with a live Hunger, AND allow you to release it on school grounds?”
”Along with some string pulling to make sure Delta has no choice. With your connections, it would be trivially easy to put Wallflower under the care of Number 3’s circle of medical personnel. Even with his job he couldn’t even begin to pay off her medical costs.”
>”Out of the questi-”
”And what do you think is the quickest way for Delta to get more than enough money to secure his friend’s treatment? The one thing that’s constantly spoken about at this school?”
>”The… Top spot of the C.P.R.”
”Exactly. With your cooperation, and a bit of gentle nudging on my part, Delta will have no choice but full participation in the C.P.R.”
>”Alright Number 9, but it’ll be your head on the chopping block if this bites us in the ass. We’re taking a lot of risks on YOUR behalf. This better work.”
”Don’t worry.”

”I know it will.”
-
>You are Wallflower Blush
>And you were currently tending to the school’s garden on a fine Saturday morning
>As usual, Anon wasn’t here
>But it’s not like you minded or anything
>You weren’t about to ask him to spend his weekends here with you
>You were just glad that he spent time here at all
>He could be doing literally anything else and yet he decided to spend his free time here with you
>It shouldn’t surprise you anymore at this point
>He’s been doing it for the better part of three-ish years or so
>Ever since he asked what you did in your spare time
>You’re broken from your thoughts as you hear the distinct sound of a branch snapping deeper into the forest and the sound of rustling leaves on the ground
>You stand up and look off in the direction of the noise, but the trees quickly obscure your line of sight, preventing you from seeing too deep within
>Did Anon come to see you?
>That would be a nice surprise...
>You should probably meet him halfway though
>It’s easier than you think to get lost in these woods
>But you knew them more than Anon did
>It’s for this reason that you venture just a bit deeper in
>The foliage and underbrush swallows up everything, making it hard for you to discern the paths, and the canopy blocks the dawn light from shining through
>The morning mist obscures your vision even further
>Occasionally you would hear more snapping of branches, but the direction was less discernible
>Something however, sticks out to you
>Blood
>Splattered across several trees
>And nearby, the corpse of a dead rabbit
>Well
>More like several corpses
>All bitten in half
>Naturally there were predators in any ecosystem, sure, and these woods were no different
>But you don’t know how common it is for half of a predator’s meal to just be left behind like this
>And so many to boot...
>Another branch snaps in the distance
>You hastily start rushing back through the woods the way you came
>It was time to leave
-
>You are Anon
>And you are currently being woken up by a knocking at the front door
>On one hand, it’s woken you up early from your nightmare
>On the other hand, it’s 11AM
>On a Saturday
>You shouldn’t sleep in like this
>You usually wake up earlier to water Hans
>You roll a bit too far to turn yourself over… And fall out of your bed
>This had better be good
>One pair of jeans and a t-shirt later, you’re at the front door, looking through the peephole
>It’s those girls again
>Why are they all here?
>It’s only Sunset you’re partnered up with
>Do they always travel in a pack like this?
>They look like damned girl scouts all grouped up at your door like this
>You undo the deadbolt and open up the door
“Look unless you’ve got any Samoas, I’m closing the door and going to water my plant.”
>Calling your bluff, the pink one reaches into her giant curly hair and pulls out a box of honest to goodness girl scout Samoas
>Damn, she’s good
>It was supposed to be a joke
>You can’t really complain though
>You take it from her and eagerly tear into the box, getting through at least 1/4th of their coconut caramel goodness before you remember that you have company
“Sho what’sh up?”
>You ask, munching on a cookie
>”You said we’d meet up later, then you ditched us an-”
>You cut Sunset off
“It wasn’t ditching! I had prior obligations to attend to. I even said so.”
>”And your gardening club meeting took the entirety of the rest of the day?”
>Okay, so maybe you HAD forgotten just a little bit
>You were having some deep, introspective thoughts, alright?
>Normally you don’t have them, but a certain few girls were messing with the natural order of things
“Alright, I forgot.”
>”Don’t worry about it. Pinkie suggested that we go bowling and we were wondering if you wanted to come along.”
>Bowling?
“Bowling?”
>”Yeah,” Sunset continues “we can work on our reports while we’re there and we won’t have to work out who’s going to whose house.”
>You opt not to mention they came to your house already
-
https://youtu.be/GSZPxHppXBE?t=99
>The sound of leaves crunching underfoot
>The sound of something else making heavy footfalls somewhere behind you
>The scratching of brambles against your exposed skin
>You are running for your life
>There was something in the woods with you
>Something that didn’t belong there
>You caught a glimpse of it through the trees
>It was a Hunger
>A Hunger was here in the woods with you
>And it knew you were here
>It shouldn’t be able to track you, not with your parasite, but you’ve never been able to control yours very well in the first place
>Maybe
>Just maybe if you could make it back to the school somebody would be there
>Someone who could help you
>As you close and shield your eyes from a patch of thorns, the first face that flashes in the darkness comes is Anon’s
>If he were here, he would save you
>You just know it
>But he isn’t here
>And you’ll have to save yourself
>You pivot on one foot and quickly jam yourself into the hollow of a large, dead tree to hide and catch your breath
>You take slow, near-silent breaths as it stalks among the trees nearby
>Th-Thump
>Th-Thump
>Your heart beats so loudly in the silence that you fear it might give you away
>And then you see it
>It slowly crawls into view before standing straight up to its full height
>Easily nine feet tall, with a lanky, wiry physique that concealed the sheer amount of strength it possessed
>The kind of strength that could easily rip you into two neat halves
>Several parasites writhe just beneath the surface, making its taut skin undulate with their movement
>The arms stretch nearly to the ground, the fingertips more akin to claws now
>Its head twitches unnaturally as it looks around, searching for you with those tiny glowing eyes, its face covered in the blood of the creatures it had been feeding on
>Two rows of flat teeth fill its mouth, more suited for crushing through bone and sinew than ripping and tearing flesh
>But it can do both with ease
>And it was looking at you
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8SdWEQg6cE
>You’ve never seen a bowling alley so…
>90s
>Honestly, you can kind of dig it
>They don’t half-ass it, and all the employees are dressed in period-appropriate attire
>And the only music playing over the speakers is from the 90s and before
>After getting yourself checked in at the front counter, you find yourself sitting in a plastic chair, making sure that your snazzy bowling shoes are laced up tight
>Applejack and Rainbow Dash are using their combined brainpower to try and figure out how to set up the electronic scorecards for the lanes while Twilight does her best to walk them through it
>And they’ve already screwed it up once and had to start over
>Meanwhile, Sunset sits nearby, already mocking up an outline for her report
>Usually you at least waited a day
>It speaks to her work ethic, you suppose
>”So Anon,”
>You tune out the Sugar Ray playing over the speakers and turn to her, ready to listen to whatever she has to say
>This time you won’t even cut her off like you usually do
>”You already told me what your parasite does, but can you give me an example? I’d like something more tangible, you know?”
>Shoot, that’s not even a bad point
>Easier to quantify that way
“Sure, sure.”
>You think for just a moment, trying to recall a good example
“Okay okay so this was back in… Sophomore year I think. Before I met Wallflower I used to take an entirely different route when I walked to school. And when I was crossing the street a block from my house I ended up getting sideswiped by a truck that ran the stop sign.”
>Sunset’s eyes widen at your story
“Ha, if you’re surprised just imagine how surprised I was when I got up afterwards with nothing but a sprained ankle and a few cuts!”
>You conveniently leave out the part where you were panicking and thought you were blind because your backpack had landed on your face
>”Well, that’s certainly a plus for your durability...”
-
>You manage to scramble out through a small hole in the hollow tree just before the Hunger can grab you
>But it tore a hole in the leg of your jeans
>The calf of the leg it had bitten at pulses with a sharp pain every time you push off of that foot
>It had torn straight through the fabric and into your calf, and based on the warmth that was running down your ankle into your sock, you were bleeding quite a bit
>It knows your taste now
>And your scent
>You scream at the top of your lungs for someone to help you
>For anyone to help you
>You look over your shoulder to see it chasing you by bounding from tree branch to tree branch
>Its long, spindly limbs making it trivial to keep up with you
>You can hear it breathing, making animalistic gurgling and growling as it tastes your blood upon its tongue
>It’s forcing you to run away from the garden and the school, trying to isolate you more than you already were
>Not only that, but it’s gotten more vicious
>It leaps from the trunk of a tree behind you, arms outstretched to catch you, its prey
>With a tiny burst of speed you only narrowly escape its grasp, but its bony claws rend all the way down your back, leaving deep bleeding gouges that sting and soak your sweater
>Your lungs ache, your muscles burn, and you feel a tightness in your chest that only gets worse as you keep running away
”ANON, HELP!! PLEASE! SOMEONE! ANYONE HELP ME!!”
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UscEO2ITyug
>CRACK
>And the pins scatter against the backboard, the mechanical arm coming down to sweep them away to be replaced
>You pump your fist back towards you in triumph as you get another strike
>In your mind you’re singing along with “Don’t You Want Me” on the loudspeakers
>You do an undoubtedly sweet-looking moonwalk back and step off the raised platform onto regular floor
>Sunset has facepalmed
>Pinkie is giving you two thumbs up
>RD looks like she’s about a hair’s breadth away from throttling AJ, as the latter is currently winning
>You gracefully take a seat in the booth opposite Sunset
>Nobody told these poor girls just how much of a fucking dork you were
“So what were you saying?”
>”I was asking you about your super strength! How’d you already forget?”
>Oh
>Right
>Shit
“Sorry, I was just in the zone there. You know how it is.”
>She rolls her eyes at that
“But uh… As an example? That’s...”
>When have you ever had to use it?
>You had to at some point, right?
>Otherwise you wouldn’t know that you had it
>Oh!
“Alright so do you remember that field trip a while back?”
>”The one to Camp Everfree? How could I forget?”
>Apparently there was a whole bunch of BULLSHIT going on during that trip
>But you weren’t around for it
>Instead you were off gallivanting around with Wallflower
“Well you know those massive XBOX huge ironwoods they’ve got out there? I kinda sorta accidentally… Cut one down. With my fist. I punched a huge tree down, Sunset.”
>She give you the “are you fucking serious” look
>To which you hold your hands up with a shrug
>”Anon are you lying to me?”
“No! Hell I rarely if ever throw a punch at anything, I was just as surprised as you are now.”
>That may have been an understatement
>You had screamed pretty loud, afraid the thing was going to fall on Wallflower or you or one of the cabins
>It didn’t, it just fell over into the woods
>The sound of pins snaps you from your thoughts and you look over to see Fluttershy effortlessly sink a 7-10 split
-
>You barely have time to react before you slam headfirst into a low hanging branch
>Looking back at the Hunger had distracted you for just an instant
>And it was enough to knock you to the forest floor
>Where you start rolling
>You’re tumbling down an incline until you hit a bump that pops you into the air
>Falling…
>For just a moment
>Until your skill lands against a rock with an earsplitting CRACK
>You cry out, but no noise escapes your mouth
>Nothing but a strained croak of air trapped in your throat
>It sends a sharp, lancing pain all the way into your spine every time your head is jostled
>Which is a lot, considering you’re still rolling down a hill
>You close your eyes, hoping that it would end soon
>That the pain would end soon
>Tears sting at the edges of your eyes as you keep them shut tightly until…
>You come to a stop face up and a cold wetness envelops you
>A stream?
>The water submerges most of your body, leaving your face dry as you stare up at the canopy
>The sun shines down upon you through the trees, setting the stream alight with wavering light that dances across your body
>You’re seeing double… Triple...
>The water is washing your blood away
>And it would feel so nice right about now to just… Close your eyes
>Have a nice nap
>You could wake up and see Anon on Monday
>No
>Wait
>There was something wrong
>You’d been running from something, that’s how you ended up here in the first place
>But thinking hurts
>What was it?
>A guttural screech pierces the calm silence of the settling forest, sending birds retreating into the sky
>You turn your head and see the Hunger once more
>Slinking towards the stream as it once more zeroes in on you
>You were bleeding so profusely at this point it was almost trivial to do so
>You swallow hard, and taste salty, metallic blood in your mouth
>Gotta get away
>It takes an immense effort to simply sit up straight
>Apparently you’d been running for quite a while…
-
>No matter how fast you try to drag yourself away from the stream, it’s not nearly fast enough
>You can see it reaching out for you, almost in slow motion
>Did it know that you couldn’t escape?
>Was it just taking its time and not exerting itself now?
>You roll over to your front and grab onto a nearby root as it takes hold of your good leg
>When you aren’t immediately dragged back to it, the Hunger roughly yanks your ankle
>With the death grip you have on the root, your arm is torn out of its socket, and you find yourself instinctively letting go from the pain shock coursing through your arm
>Was this it?
>You find yourself thinking as the Hunger lifts your leg and bites into your knee, splattering itself with your blood as it spurts out
>The other hand snakes up, sitting poised above your abdomen for just a moment before it spears downward, impaling its claw into you
>The pain was excruciating, and you were on the verge of blacking out
>Your vision swims, and the entire world starts to fade
>You can feel the bony claw moving around inside your guts, searching for what was juiciest to rip out and bite into
>But then it stops moving
>The Hunger’s head shoots up, taking a chunk of your leg with it as its entire body freezes like a mantis, trying to pick up on the sound
>You’d heard it too
>Footsteps
>The water splashed with each step, and it put an immense strain on your muscles to simply turn your head to look at who was approaching
>By the time you manage to slump your head to the side, you were already passing out
>With a wet squelch you can feel the claw being removed, and the weight of the Hunger recedes from your body as it stands
>The last thing that you can hear before unconsciousness takes you is the sound of chains…
-
>”Uuughh I hate it when she gloats. I lost by TWO points. TWO!”
>You and Rainbow Dash, after she’d lost her game to Applejack (but still beat Rarity and Twilight), had decided to take a break for a bit and go grab some food from the mini-restaurant the bowling alley had
>Of course, making sure to take orders for what everyone else wanted first
“You don’t have enough force behind your throw.”
>You state simply as you take a seat with the rainbow-haired lass while waiting for the massive order of food
>8 people could really eat a lot
>Taking a glance in Rainbow’s direction, you can see her glaring a hole in your head with a defiant —if pouty— expression
>It was actually pretty cute, in a tomboyish sort of way
“What?”
“Well don’t just sit there, explain it to me so I can beat her!”
>You groan and run your hand down your face
>How are you supposed to further explain the fact that she just straight up couldn’t match Applejack’s strength?
>That just seemed apparent
>Apparent-ly not
>Heh, good one brain
“Well, every one of your throws were accurate, and you had great form,”
>You may have been watching her during your downtime
“But you didn’t have enough oomph in there.”
>You punctuate your “oomph” by clasping your fingertips together against the thumb on the same hand and popping your fingers apart
>You aren’t Italian, but you certainly feel like it doing that
>Something’s nagging at you though
“What’s your parasite, Rainbow?”
>She kicks the tip of her bowling shoe against the floor and dramatically flips some bangs out of her face
>”Rank 34, Extreme speed! There isn’t a person at CHS that can keep up with me!”
>You didn’t ask for her rank, but it was nice to know regardless
“So if speed’s your thing, why’d you try and imitate Applejack’s technique?”
>”Say what?”
>Oh god damn it
-
>Okay
>So you couldn’t exactly blame her
>It was probably just absentminded
>And you doubt that she even realized she was doing it
“Applejack roots herself in place rather than having a walk up, and she doesn’t extend her arm all the way back either. She doesn’t need to. She’s already got enough strength in her body that doing so would just be overkill.”
>A little bell dings from the kitchen in the back and out comes the server, bringing you back the veritable pile of food, leaving you two to figure out how to transport it all back
>An undoubtedly way-too-greasy pepperoni and mushroom pizza for you
>A platter of nachos for Fluttershy
>Two big bacon double cheeseburgers for Twilight and Sunset
>Some sort of… Wrap for Rarity
>Several chili cheese dogs that Rainbow Dash and Applejack were supposed to share (which would only go well)
>And a banana split sundae for Pinkie
>You do your best to balance the burgers, nachos, wrap, and sundae on top of your pizza box likes some sort of overpriced Tetris and leave the rest for Rainbow
>The two of you start on your way back and you continue your explanation
“Since your whole deal is speed you need that momentum, right? Hell, your walk up could be a run up. It’s not like you’re breaking a rule unless you step over the line.”
>Probably
>It’s not like the employees cared enough to make a big deal out of it
>”Huh, that’s… Actually a pretty good idea! I didn’t even know I was copying her until you pointed it out.”
>She giggles a bit to herself
>”Heh, it’s the same way I beat her when we spar together too. How did I not figure that out before!? Thanks Anon!”
>She gives you a way-too-hard slap on the back and takes off walking way faster, eager to challenge Applejack again
>It nearly makes you lose your balance it was so unexpected, and you have to make a concerted effort not to let everything spill and tumble to the floor
>You take a seat back at the booth with Sunset and the rest of the girls
>Today was shaping up to be a good day
-
>Rainbow Dash has already challenged Applejack to a 1v1 rematch
>Whenever it’s not your turn, you can watch her putting the advice you gave her into practice
>And she’s winning
>You feel a small amount of pride at having made a difference
>As you enjoy your food in the company of 5 pretty girls, it strikes you that, well
>You don’t actually know very much about them
>Other than the fact that they’ve saved the school several times
>You’re usually keeping to yourself or hanging out with Wallflower
>Your thoughts drift to her, imagining that she’s most likely working in the school’s garden right now
>She loved that place
>You did too, but not nearly as much as she did
>Wait shit you were supposed to be getting to know these girls, right?
>Well, were you?
>You don’t actually know
>They seem friendly enough
>Okay that’s an understatement, they’re really friendly
>But genuinely friendly, like they wanted to get to know you
>So you decide to ask with something benign
>A usual icebreaker at CHS
“So uh, I’m kinda curious; what’s YOUR parasite, Sunset?”
>You could disguise it as asking for your report too
>And then from there, continue down the line of their little group
>Delightfully devilish, Anon
>You already knew both Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s, and they were busy anyway!
>Mine? It’s telepathy, Anon. I can read minds and communicate with my thoughts from a distance. I’m ranked-”
“44, yeah. You er, told me before.”
>It’s a bit odd how second nature it was to introduce yourself alongside your rank
>It’s been like this for so many years that it’s just involuntary now
>You take note of it and turn your gaze to the one sitting beside her
“Twilight?”
>She looks up from chowing down on her burger before wiping her mouth with a napkin
>Before levitating a slice of pizza away from your hands just as you’re about to take a bite, snickering in the process
-
>”Telekinesis, Anon. I’m ranked 42nd out of our whole senior class. If you’d prefer, I can also give you a detailed explanation of how it works!”
>No thanks, nerd
>You snatch your ‘za out of the air and shake your head
“I’m good, thanks. Uhhh… YOU.”
>You level your finger at the quietest one of the bunch
>Fluttershy, if you recall
>Your voice nearly makes her jump out of her skin
>It wasn’t even that loud, but you assume she just wasn’t expecting to be called out
>”M-Me?”
>She asks, pointing at herself incredulously
>You nod
>”I um… I control nsmsmm...”
>She fidgets in her seat a bit, clearly not appreciating the attention
“What?”
>”I’m rank tnmmh...”
>Leaning closer, you try and pick up what she’s mumbling, but a strike and cheering from Rainbow Dash drowns out what Fluttershy is saying
>You look to Sunset for some sort of assistance here, giving her your best “is she for serious right now?” face 
>To which you’re met with a shrug
>And an exclamation from the girl with the fabulous purple hair sitting at the head of the table
>”If Fluttershy isn’t inclined to share the details with Anon, I’m more than happy share mine!”
>You pause for a beat, blinking once, twice
“Rarity, right?”
>”The one and only, darling. And the one and only rank 46 in CHS.”
>Well, unless someone took it that is
>Not like you would
“Well lay it on me then. What have you got up those sleeves of yours?”
>She smooths out said sleeves, holding them up and wiggling her perfectly manicured fingers
>Brilliant, diamond-like light emanates from between them like a strange spiderweb
>”Twilight called it “hard light constructs”; I call it fabulous. You might be quite surprised at just what I can manage with it.”
>You honestly probably would
>But that isn’t exactly what you’re focused on right now
>What you’re focused on is the pink one literally vibrating in her seat next to you
>She looks like she’s practically about to explode, until she finally blurts out
>”Anon! ANON! Anon ask about mine! Do it!”
-
>You sigh
>Her overenthusiasm was pretty cute, you had to admit
>But damn girl, calm down
>You crazy
“Okay okay Pinkie, tell me all about it. I’m all ears.”
>You suck the lemonade in your cup through the straw as you look at her
>”Well clearly you aren’t! Otherwise you would’ve heard me calling out to you in the hallway last Tuesday when I was trying to invite you to-”
>”Pinkie!”
>Twilight interjects, trying to get her back on track
>”Huh? Oh! Right!”
>She reaches underneath the table and pulls out a pair of aviators, donning them and snapping fingerguns at you
>”Pinkie Pie, rank 20-”
>You spit take
>You legitimately do a spit take at that
>Luckily Rarity is quick on the draw and blocks the spraying lemonade with a quickly made buckler
>How?!
>You didn’t expect her to be ranked so high
“Bu- Wha- HUH? How?”
>She pulls the sunglasses down her nose just enough to where her eyes are visible again, and she peers at you over the rim
>”What’s the matter, silly? Didn’t expect a girl like me to be so high up the ladder?”
“Well… Kind of, yeah! L-Like I didn’t mean any offense by it or-”
>She starts to snicker, before she takes her aviators off and tosses them into the air
>And as they begin to fall towards your face, you can see a bright pink light escaping through cracks webbing across the surface of them
>And then it fucking explodes
-
>A haze of sweet, cake batter and icing scented smoke surrounds your head, and the sheer brightness of the flash makes you fall out of your seat
“OH FU-!!”
>Thump
>You land on your back and groan before opening your eyes to see her leaning over your seat to look at you
>”Omigosh I didn’t mean to surprise you THAT much, Anon!”
>You’re fairly certain that she didn’t, but you can still hear her doing her best to stifle giggling
>She reaches down and helps pull you back into your chair
>”Pinkie Pie has the ability to “overcharge” any item she throws, at will. She can bestow these items will all manner of effects, depending on their composition.”
>You cough a bit as the sweet aroma fills your nostrils and you try to wave it away
“So I just got flashbanged because she threw a pair of sunglasses at me?”
>”They’re both eye related!”
>Pinkie chimes in with a smile
>Yeah
>You can see how that could be very dangerous
>Just imagining what she could do if she chucked a bowling ball at you makes you a bit afraid
>You could probably take it, but still
>This girl can turn anything into a grenade
>No wonder she’s ranked so high
>”I’m really super-duper sorry, Anon! I promise to make it up to you for making you spill your lemonade! And knocking you out of your chair!”
“Y-Yeah, thanks.”
>Going over your mental notes as you calm down, you realize that all of these girls are above average or better in the C.P.R.
>But moreso than that, well
>They seem to be really good friends
>It seems like they’ve been through quite a lot together, and if how they were treating you was any indicator, they didn’t have any qualms about petty things like rank or social status
>It was… Nice, for lack of a better word
>And they seemed to enjoy your company at least
>You’ve done quite a bit more than just meeting up to work on reports together
>Who knows, perhaps things might even continue beyond the end of the assignment
>You chuckle inwardly
>Heh
>You, having a whole group of friends
>How long had it been since you’ve had that?
-
>”H-853 really did quite the number on this one, eh Number 9?”
>The rotund, jovial doctor chuckles as he looks over Anon’s friend
“Yes, but can you FIX her, Dr. Stitch?”
>He pushes his circular glasses up his nose and nods
>”But of course! I could hardly call myself a doctor if not! She’s already been stabilized, and she’s in no danger of dying.”
>Your old friend Dr. Stitch was good at his job, and his healing parasite only helped with it
“And you’re still aware of our agreement, correct?”
>”Yes yes, no need to worry Number 9. As per your request she’ll be kept in a medically induced coma until you give us the order. Until then she’ll be treated and kept under watch by my own team.”
>You cross your arms, furrowing your brow
“And you’re confident they can be trusted?”
>”Indeed! They’re our old colleagues, don’t you know? They won’t ask questions, and they won’t say a word.”
“Good… Good. I’ve taken quite a few risks to get Ano- Subject Delta’s participation.”
>Dr. Stitch looks over Wallflower’s unconscious body, making sure that nothing was out of place
>He was nothing if not thorough
>”I remember you being ruthless during your time at CHS, Number 9. I suppose old habits die hard, eh?”
“Please Scalpel Stitch, even I don’t enjoy getting Delta’s friend involved. It was a necessary evil. Doesn’t even have a number, and the poor girl can’t even control her parasite yet.”
>You gently brush some bangs out of her face
>”I believe the kids are calling them “ranks” nowadays.”
>You sigh and shake your head
“I need to get back and let the council know the first part of the operation was successful. I leave things in your capable hands, doctor.”
>”Take care!”
-
>After a semi-productive day at the bowling alley, you find yourself parting ways with Sunset and her group of friends
>You’d gotten a few notes on Sunset’s parasite (not to mention the rest of her friends’) but you’d need to talk with her more in the future to get everything you needed for your report
>Which is why you swapped phone numbers with her
>It was weird having another contact in your phone
>Bringing the total up to 3
>[spoiler]The only other two were mom and Wallflower[/spoiler]
>Not to mention it was another girl
>Man you really do have no friends
>That slightly depressing thought thrown by the wayside, you begin the walk back to your home
>Even though the sun was shining, there was a slight chill on the breeze
>The telltale sign of Fall creeping up just around the corner
>That meant your usual garden club activities would slowly start moving towards preparing it for the Winter
>There were quite a few perennials, so they’d be fine with a bit of pruning
>Not to mention getting the pumpkins ready for October
>And doing some mulching
>But it wasn’t anything you weren’t unfamiliar with
>Besides, it was enjoyable, and you got to spend time with Wallflower
>You wonder what she could be up to around now
>Probably at home by now
>You look at the meager contact list, your thumb hovering over Wallflower’s picture
>Would it be poor form to call her just because you had nothing better to do?
>Come to think of it, you don’t actually know what she does on the weekends other than go to tend to the garden in the mornings
>Your thoughts wander a bit more, and you opt to give her a call
>If nothing else it would kill some time getting you back home
>But strangely enough she doesn’t pick up
>You pull the phone away from your ear and stare at it, confused
>Wallflower always picks up
“Er… Hey Wallflower, I was just calling to see how you were doing. It wasn’t anything important though. Just uh, give me a call back when you can. Bye.”
>Satisfied with your message, you hang up
-
>Afterwards it doesn’t take you too long to get back home, arriving at around 2PM
>Unlocking the door and turning the knob, you take off your shoes and hang your jacket by the door
>Maybe Wallflower was just busy
>You’ve never asked her what other hobbies she has, so she’s probably busy with those
>Yeah
>She’ll call you back later
>You make a beeline for your room and, once there, begin your time-honored tradition of talking to Hans
“Afternoon, buddy. Caught yourself a meal, huh?”
>You’re met with silence, as per usual
>He wasn’t the most talkative of plants
“Sorry I didn’t get a chance to water you this morning, I got an unexpected visit.”
>You take the small pitcher and carefully give Hans some nice, refreshing water
“There, nice and hydrated. What? Nah it wasn’t Wallflower, funnily enough.”
>…
“This girl from school; her name’s Sunset Shimmer. It was her and her friends. We went out bowling.”
>You take a seat on your bed, neatly folding your hands in your lap as you lean forward to speak with your Venus flytrap
>If anyone saw you, you’d have a hard time explaining yourself
>”Yeah I just talk to a plant, man. It’s no biggie. No I’m not crazy.”
“Bowling, I know right? I haven’t been bowling in almost a year but it was still just as fun as I remember.”
>…
“We were meeting up to get some work on our reports done, but it was mostly bowling. I got to know them all a bit better.”
>Getting restless already, you reposition yourself so the you were laying down, looking upside down at Hans
“I wouldn’t say that we’re friends or anything like that, but they’re nice. Really nice. I kind of… Enjoyed hanging out with them. We didn’t make any plans for next week but we exchanged numbers so, there’s that.”
>…
”Yeah whatever Hans, you’ve got all your friends in the same pot, and they’re attached to you.”
>You look away and wave your hand dismissively in the plant’s direction
>Alright Anon, that’s enough being a sperg for now
-
>You know what you could use right about now?
>A good-ass shower
>You didn’t get a chance to take one this morning when Sunset and Co. came to get you
>It would give you a chance to think on things
>Not like you had much to think on, other than the events of today
>You roll off your bed and walk to the bathroom, closing the door behind you
>It didn’t matter if mom was going to be home on Sunday or not, you weren’t gonna take any chances
>Not after last time
>You turn the knobs on the bathtub and pull the little lever to swap the water over to the showerhead
>While you wait for the water to warm up, you strip down to your briefs and do what any self-respecting, strapping young man does:
>Look at yourself in the mirror
>And naturally, you aren’t surprised by what you see
>Tall? Check
>Pale? Definitely
>Maybe you should stop wearing long sleeves…
>Strong?
>Well, those muscles don’t exactly paint the picture of a lifter, now do they?
>But if you can chop down a tree with a punch, maybe you didn’t need to lift
>Honestly, you were closer to Rainbow Dash’s build if anything
>Just instead of a cute girl, you were a confident, handsome man
>Yeah
>Confident
>Press X to doubt
>As usual you find your eyes drawn to the faintly orange, somewhat veiny lump in the middle of your chest
>It wasn’t explicitly noticeable unless you were searching for it, and you could feel it all the way on your back too
>But it was there
>Where your parasite was located
>Little bastard
>Not that it was uncomfortable, you just weren’t a fan of looking at it
>But it was an unavoidable fact of life now
>Grass grows, sun shines, and parasites give you superpowers
>The condensation fogging up the mirror alerted you to the fact that the shower was definitely warmed up by now
>You’re just getting distracted all over the place today
>You blame those girls
>Messing with the natural order of things
>How dare they extend an olive branch to you!
>You roll your eyes at yourself and step into the shower, ready to scrub yourself clean
-
>”So Sunnybuns, what’d you think of Anon, huh?”
>Pinkie asks, popping up in your peripheral vision as she skips along
>”I mean, I think he’s pretty cool. Definitely not as cool as ME, but I beat Applejack with his advice.”
>RD shoots a cocky grin at AJ
>”Ah told ya’ll this before, we’re TIED now! I won one, an’ you won one!”
>Honestly, you don’t know what to think of Anon
“He’s… Something. He seems friendly but...”
>You frown and rub her chin
“I couldn’t read him.”
>Even Rainbow Dash and Applejack stop their arguing at that
>Everyone looks at you, confused
>”What?! Like he was plugged into controller port 2 the whole time?!”
>”You… You couldn’t? Not even a little bit, Sunset?”
>You shake your head
“I was reaching out, trying to probe his thoughts but it was like hitting a wall. I knew that they were there, but I was stopped every time.”
>What kind of power brick can do that?
>”It’s possible that you may not know the extent of your own parasite yet, Sunset. Perhaps someone with a sufficient amount of willpower COULD theoretically block you out.”
>While that’s possibly true, it doesn’t leave you with a good taste in your mouth
>Something didn’t add up
>But it wasn’t as if Anon was making an effort to keep you out
>You doubt that he even knew it was happening
“Still, I don’t think that’s a reflection of his character! He reminds me a bit of myself when I first came here to CHS.
>Maybe without the whole “intent on enslaving the school” bit
>But you could tell he was lost and alone
>He may have Wallflower, but two introverts in a little bubble like that seems like a recipe for disaster
>Besides, Anon could use a group of friends like yours
>There was no downside to having more friends!
-
>It’s been a few hours since your shower, and you’re currently in your room
>You take a look at your phone, but there are no missed calls
>Wallflower didn’t call you back
>Not like she had an obligation to
>But it was still strange
>You could try again tomorrow during work
>For now you’d just try to focus on getting a good night’s sleep for once
>Even though you knew how much of a futile effort it would be
>Still, it doesn’t hurt to hope, right?
>As you lie down and pull the covers up, you close your eyes, doing your best to let the waking world just melt away
>The silence only allows you to hear the subtle ringing in your ears and amplifies it
>Until it was the only thing you heard
>And like every night, it was strangely soothing
>Like the soft chime of a bell drawn out forever until you finally sank into sleep
>For your nightmare to start again
-
>Like most mornings, you awaken in a cold sweat, leaving a damp spot where you had slept that night
>You groan and pull yourself out of your bed, shutting off your alarm and yawning
>No matter how many times you have that same nightmare, you never get used to the feelings it evokes
>The sheer terror
>The anger
>The helplessness
>Oh well
>Hans needed his morning water, and you needed breakfast
>Your morning routine is always taken care of relatively quickly
>Water Hans, do some stretching, get dressed, make something for breakfast, pack a lunch
>And you’re ready to go
>Of course, you can’t forget your Try N’ Save™ apron
>Nice and blue, and keeps your clothes at least marginally more tidy than if you don’t wear it
>Plus it was like the only piece of clothing that identified you as part of the staff
>You take a glance out the window and sigh
>It was raining
>Just as you’re putting your shoes on and getting ready to leave, you hear a key being inserted into the lock, and the door opens
“Hey mom. Didn’t expect you to be back so early.”
>You must have surprised her, because you can see her jump slightly before she regains her composure
>She walks in and closes the door behind her, heaving a sigh and setting her purse down on the stand next to the doorway
>”Oh, good morning sweetie. Getting ready to head to work I see?”
>You nod
“Yeah. How was yours?”
>She looks at you for just a moment and you see a flash of… Something behind her eyes
>An emotion you couldn’t quite place
>Mom gives you a tired smile and places her hand on your shoulder, squeezing softly
>”Rough day at the office, hun. Don’t worry about me, enjoy your day.”
>As she moves past you into the living room and you open the door to head out, she turns to you again
>”Anon… You know I love you, right?”
>What kind of question is that?
“Of course mom, I love you too.”
-
>The rest of your day is preoccupied with thoughts involving Wallflower
>You can focus on your work well enough not to get called out on it
>[spoiler]Plus you were only a part-timer anyway so they were more lax with you[/spoiler]
>But any time your mind wandered, it wandered to her
>Man you’re hopeless
>The moment that something might possibly be amiss, you’re a mess
>Well
>If “a mess” meant that you couldn’t get your mind off of someone, sure
>It didn’t help that Wallflower was cute
>Like damn
>Those freckles did something to your heart, man
>Not to mention everything else about her
>It’s because of this worried attitude of yours that you immediately call Wallflower’s phone right after you get off work
>The phone rings once
>Twice
>Three times
>You’re just about to hang up when the fourth ring is cut short and you can hear someone on the other end
“Wallflower?”
>You answer excitedly, glad to finally hear from her
>But
>The voice that comes through the receiver isn’t Wallflower’s
>”Anon? I-Is this Anon?”
>You look at your phone
>You knew that voice
>It was Passionfruit, Wallflower’s mom
>You’d been to Wallflower’s house once and met her before
>”You’re Wallflower’s friend, right? Hello?”
>You don’t even realize you’ve just been staring at your phone the entire time while you wait outside the employee exit
“Huh? Yeah! Yeah this is Anon, is Wallflower there? I tried to get ahold of her yesterday an-”
>”Wallflower is in the hospital.”
“W-What? The hospital?”
>Why?
>”They… They say that she was attacked by a Hunger.”
-
>A numbness runs up your spine and radiates across your entire body
>No
>That can’t be right
>How?
>How could one have ever gotten close to her?
>”Please, Anon you’re her friend, you have to know something! What happened?!”
>You start to book it down the sidewalk, cutting through traffic as you run towards the hospital
“I, I don’t know! I’ll be there as soon as I can, just hold on!”
>You hang up and hastily jam the phone into your pocket, ignoring someone in a pickup truck slamming on the brakes in an effort to not sideswipe you
>Not that it would have mattered
>You would have stood up and kept going anyway
>The water pooling on the sidewalk splashes underfoot with every stride
>The cold rain stings as it pelts you, matting your hair to your face as you leap a fence to take a shortcut
>Rainwater soaks deep into your jeans and socks, chilling your skin and sapping your energy
>It’s as if the world itself had conspired to turn this day into a somber affair
>You cut through alleys, through parking lots and backyards, inadvertently picking up burs, mud, leaves and twigs
>By the time you make it to the hospital you’re a soaking wet mess
>Panicked, you frantically ask where you can find Wallflower Blush
>You don’t even wait after they tell you where she is
>You had to see her NOW
-
>It doesn’t take you long to shoulder past patients and doctors alike on your way to Wallflower’s room
>Your shoes squeak on the tiled floor, leaving behind wet footprints
>Disgruntled nurses are left in your wake, and you’re just about to yank one aside and ask them to point you in the right direction before you spot Wallflower’s mom standing outside of a room
>You skid to a halt and almost slip before you catch yourself on one of the hand rails lining the wall
>You can’t bring yourself to look at Passionfruit now, even as she tries to flag you down before entering Wallflower’s room
>And then you see her
>Laying there in a hospital bed as a nurse finishes changing her IV
>All done up in casts and stitches
>Slightly bloodied bandages all over, even upon her head
>The one eye that you could still see was gently shut
>Your best friend
>Wallflower Blush
>In an instant you’re right at the side of her bed, softly grabbing her shoulder
“Wallflower! Wallflower I’m here! It’s me, Anon!”
>Your grip tightens, and you immediately wrench your hand away
>You’ve underestimated your strength before
“Wallflower come on! W-Wake up...”
>You shut your eyes tight and grit your teeth
>This had to be a cruel joke
>Why?
>Why would something like this happen to a girl like her?
>She didn’t deserve this
>Wallflower didn’t deserve any of this
>You’re fighting back a painful lump in your throat while you’re gripping the bed’s railing so hard that it starts to dent
>You feel a warm hand placed atop yours
>”Anon, please...”
>You open your eyes and turn around, looking down to meet Passionfruit’s gaze
>She’s a close second to how you look right now, and she didn’t even run several blocks through the rain
>You blink away the tears in your eyes and take a deep breath
>You’re supposed to be the strong one here
>Aren’t you?
-
>You sit by the window, doing your best to dry off with a towel graciously provided to you by the Canterlot General Hospital
>It doesn’t do much to make you feel better however
>”So you really don’t know anything, do you...”
>You shake your head sadly and your gaze is drawn to Wallflower once again
“No. I wasn’t even hanging out with Wallflower yesterday.”
>Instead you were busy bowling with Sunset and her friends
>There was no way you could have known something like this would happen
>And yet you still feel somehow responsible
“I’m sorry Passionfruit, I just wish that there was something I could do, or could have done.”
>But now you’re just sitting here
>Wet and useless
>What good are your powers if you can’t even use them to save your friend when she needs it?
>”Please, Anon don’t blame yourself for this. There was no way you could have known this would happen.”
>Your sentiments exactly
>”And I doubt even Wallflower would want you to be practically joined at the hip with her.”
>She pulls you in for a hug and you reciprocate it with a sigh
>”But they told me that she may not even wake up! T-They’re having to call in a healing specialist and everything!”
>That bad?
>You know that those with parasites that can miraculously heal others are in high demand
>Most if not all are busy helping the H.E.A.R.T. deal with the Hunger problems in more dangerous parts of the city
>”Worse yet, I… I may not be able to afford Wallflower’s treatment.”
>You perk up a bit at that, breaking free from your nervous face-rubbing
>Maybe this was what you could help with
“I can do my best to help in that department at least! Yeah… I’ve got some, uh, some money saved up. And I’m sure my boss wouldn’t mind giving me more hours.”
>Your mind is already racing with possible ways you could help Wallflower get better
>“Anon, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“Well it’s a good thing you don’t have to.”
-
>You stay as late as you possibly can
>In fact the nurses can’t physically remove you from the room, and you end up falling asleep next to Wallflower’s bed
>When you finally wake up the next morning, you feel stiff, cold, and groggy
>You’re already late for school by about an hour if the clock is correct
>You begrudgingly leave Wallflower’s room and slink your way out of the hospital, starting to walk to school in your still-dirty clothes
>Even if you WANTED to go to school today, you still wouldn’t be able to pay attention in class
>Mom must be worried sick
>Probably nothing compared to Wallflower’s mom though
>And you’re going to have to work your ass off to even put a dent in the exorbitant fucking price of the specialist
>It just isn’t fair
>Wallflower doesn’t deserve this!
>But getting angry isn’t going to help anything
>You’ll just… Go to school like normal and head straight to your job after to work out a new schedule with your boss
>Yeah
>”Like normal”
-
>”Ah nearly ran the guy over! He was runnin’ like a chicken on a treadmill with corn at the end!”
>You sip from a carton of orange juice as you listen to Applejack tell you about how she almost hit Anon yesterday
>”Oh my… Are you sure that it was him? It WAS raining pretty hard yesterday...”
>”Fluttershy has a point. In a downpour the likes of which we had yesterday, visibility can go down by almos-”
>Applejack slams her hands down on the table, making the trays clatter
>”Ah know what ah saw! ‘cause AH was drivin’!”
“Nobody is doubting what you saw, Applejack. It’s just odd is all. Why was Anon sprinting in the rain?”
>”Think it might’ve been some killer inclement weather workout routine?”
>Rainbow Dash, balancing on two legs of her chair with her feet up on the table, chimes in
>The group looks at her with varying levels of confusion
>”What? If Crossfit is a thing, why wouldn’t something like THAT be?”
>”Ah’m not seein’ it, Dash. Ain’t never seen someone runnin’ with that much purpose more’n a few times before.”
>”Well why don’t we just ask him!?”
>Pinkie points at Anon as he enters the cafeteria
>He looked so haggard, even from here
>His hair was a mess, his clothes were covered in dirt and mud that was very clearly not from gardening
>Pinkie summarily jumps onto her seat, pulling a conveniently dangling cord hanging from the ceiling to unfurl a banner with Anon’s face on it, several arrows pointing down, with the text “We saved you a seat!”
>”Hey! Hey Nonny over here!”
>...To which he takes one look at and turns away
>You can almost hear Pinkie deflate as she sits back down
>Rarity scoffs in surprise
>”Well, talk about the cold shoulder! And what IS that look he’s going for? Creepy vagrant? Stranded survivor?”
“That’s certainly an unexpected reaction. What’s wrong with Anon?”
>”I have no idea! I thought we all had a great time bowling, and he couldn’t have missed my banner!”
-
>You’re doing your best not to look at Sunset and her friends
>Part of you is angry
>This is why you never opened up to other people
>This is why you were only friends with Wallflower
>Other people just complicate things
>How very edgy of you
>But
>You aren’t kidding anyone
>This isn’t their fault
>Nor yours
>It was hopeless to try and blame someone for this
>But you wanted someone to blame
>Someone who you could just take out all of your emotions on
>Maybe you would have to talk to mom about this
>She’s a good listener…
>You could always talk to Sunset and her friends but you’ve only known them for all of three days, and only one of them was spent with them
>And not with Wallflower
>You bite your tongue, clenching your fist
>No
>It’s not their fault
>The rest of your day passes in a haze of one class to the next
>You can’t even bring yourself to tend to the garden before you zoom off to go check on Wallflower
>From there you have to pull yourself away to go the Try N’ Save
>Thankfully your boss is more than willing to give you more hours after you explain the situation
>Which begun your agonizing downward spiral
>Nothing but work until it was well past closing time
>Followed by you rushing back home to try and get some semblance of rest [spoiler]which could barely even be called that thanks to your nightmare[/spoiler]
>Before you woke up early for school the next morning to repeat the process
>School, hospital, work, home, school
>Interspersed with the most terrifying night of your life on repeat
>You barely even interact with your mother outside of the occasional greeting or goodbye
>And it’s not as if you were going to talk with anyone else at school
>You find yourself trying to get less and less sleep as time goes on
>But everything is slipping, and your frayed nerves can only take so much
-
>You watch your dad’s ribcage get pulled open and the snapping of bones wakes you from the sleep that you’d accidentally fallen into
>What day is it?
>The days were just starting to smear together like paint
>You rub the blurriness from your eyes and glance around
>Where ARE you?
>A sterile, clinical smell wafts into your nose and Wallflower’s unconscious body enters your vision as you look down
>The hospital, right
>You got here after school ended
>Or rather you left early to come here
>It takes a Herculean effort to even look at the clock on the wall, because you just know that you’re late
>And upon actually looking at it you realize that you’re 2 hours late for work
>Oh god oh fuck
>You nearly fall out of your chair as you swing your backpack on and start booking it for the door
>Only to end up tumbling over several people that were right outside the door and go headfirst into the floor
>”My word darling, where’s the fire?”
>Wait
>Rarity?
>”Anon are you okay?”
>Sunset?
>No, not here!
>Peeling your face off the tiles and rolling over, you see that the people you’d just ran over (essentially) are none other than Sunset and her friends
>Rainbow Dash offers you a hand, but you shake your head and spring to your feet before taking off without a word
>You couldn’t bear facing these girls again
>Not after how you’d been avoiding them these past weeks
>You already knew that this was just going to make matters worse, but there’s no way that these girls can help you
>You don’t have time to make friends when Wallflower needs you
>”Anon, wait!!”
>But you’ve already disappeared past the doors into the lobby
>And out the front doors
>You’re already tying your apron as you run, and with any luck, your boss will understand
>You just hope that when all of this is over that Sunset and her friends will understand too
-
>”Now what in tarnation was THAT all about?!”
>Applejack holds her hat while she gestures down the hallway that Anon had just run down
>”If that’s not avoiding us, then I don’t know what is.”
“Yeah, but why? Was it something we did?”
>”If you girls knew what he was going through, you’d know why.”
>An unfamiliar voice addressing you catches your attention and you turn around to see…
>A plainly dressed older woman in a raincoat and khakis
>She was probably in her 30s, and her deep crimson hair was cut short and tomboyish
>Several freckles ran across her cheeks and nose
>”Are you also friends with Anon?”
>She asks, tilting her head slightly to one side
>Well, it’s not really that far along yet, and-
>”Of course! But then again most friends don’t usually greet each other by running away at full speed!”
>Thanks Pinkie
“Yeah. But how do you know him?”
>The woman casts a solemn look your way before she enters the hospital room that Anon had come barreling out of
>”He’’s my daughter’s friend.”
>She leaves the door open for you to follow her, and when you do, the reason for Anon’s strange behavior becomes apparent
>There’s a collective gasp from the girls when they see Wallflower in the bed
“What… Happened?”
-
>Wallflower’s mother explains to you what had happened
>That Wallflower had been attacked by a Hunger and that Anon was working to try and help pay for the treatment she would need
>”But why not tell US about it? He’s a tough guy but he can’t shoulder all that himself!”
>”Well, in a way Anon is holding himself responsible for letting this happen. Even after I told him not to...”
>Twilight, punching away at a calculator with her pen, grimaces
>”But even taking into account the most generous estimation of Anon’s wages, there’s no possible way he could-”
>”I know!”
>Passionfruit cuts her off sharply before she regains her composure
>”And I think he does too.”
>”T-Then why work himself to exhaustion?”
>”Fluttershy dear, isn’t it obvious? It’s some odd form of atonement. Even if perhaps he doesn’t fully realize it, he’s punishing himself for not being there for his friend.”
>Rarity does her best to fix some of Wallflower’s hair without getting too involved
>Meanwhile, even Pinkie’s lost a bit of her usual energy
>”And I guess that being out bowling with us while it happened doesn’t help either...”
>”Half the time he doesn’t even go back home to sleep, he just falls asleep in here.”
>This is all painting a rather concerning picture
>And this has been going on for weeks!
>”Please, Sunset you’ve got to help him. He just can’t keep this up forever, one of these days he’s going to push himself too hard… And I don’t think that Wallflower would ever want to see him like this either.”
>You stand up from the seat next to her
>”He just needs someone to talk to; to let him know that he doesn’t have to go through all this alone.”
>Passionfruit was right
>Anon needed your help
-
>By the time you get to work, it’s already too late
>They’d called in someone else to cover your shift, and upon seeing your current state, your boss decided that it was probably best if you took the day off
>Despite your pleading, somewhere in your mind you knew that he was right
>You were basically dead on your feet at this point, and someone (or you) could get seriously hurt if you worked in the state you were in
>[spoiler]Wouldn’t want someone ELSE getting hurt because of you, right?[/spoiler]
>If the sound of your stomach growling is any indicator, you need something to eat
>When was the last time you had a meal?
>Oh
>Right
>The day before yesterday
>At lunch
>But it just feels wrong doing nothing while Wallflower is in the hospital
>Hell, even doing something for yourself felt wrong
>You don’t deserve it, horrible friend that you are
>You stuff your apron into your bag without bothering to fold it and exit the Try N Save™
>What sounded good right about now?
>Something quick, preferably
>Seeing Sunset earlier had unfortunately reminded you that you never actually did the report that Mr. Doodle assigned
>And by extension neither had she
>Fuck, now you’ve got one more thing to add in to your list of screwups
>And the garden too…
>Wallflower was going to kill you when she got better
>
>If she got better
>Your stomach growls again and breaks you out of the sadness spiral you were about to get yourself into
>You know what?
>Your buddy Deep Fry over at the Red Dragon could hook you up with some Chinese food
>Extra fortune cookies too
>Yeah
>Everyone needs a break, right?
>Even you
-
>It’s a relatively short walk to the Red Dragon
>Thankfully mom owns a place within walking distance of most things
>You’ve tried driving before, but you grip the steering wheel way too hard and had to replace it more than a few times
>The strangest memories always surface in times like this, don’t they?
>The familiar double chime of a bell on the door chimes when you enter
>”Anon, my favorite customer! Where have you been the past couple weeks? I’ve been worried about you!”
>Deep Fry throws his hands up cheerfully as he greets you
>He wasn’t too much older than you were, but he was still very much in the realm of “young adult”
>Messy, jade colored hair was pulled back into a ponytail and he was wearing some kind of graphic t-shirt that was half-covered up by the counter
>When he graduated, he took over his family’s business
“Hey Fry. I’ve just been uh… Going through some things.”
>”Yeah? How many things, because you look like shit.”
>The sounds of an angry Chinese woman echo from the kitchen, to which Deep Fry winces
>”Yeah yeah I know, mom!”
>He leans on the counter, looking up at you with a smile
>”So what’ll it be my man? The usual?”
>You nod
“Yep. And with some extra fortune cookies if you can swing it.”
>”Pffsh, ‘if I can swing it.’ Anon buddy I’m gonna put so many damn cookies in that bag you’re gonna be sick of them.”
>You let out an amused exhale through your nose before paying up and taking a seat
>Feels like it’s been forever since you could just slow down
>But it doesn’t take long for your order to be done and just as soon as you’re starting to relax, you’re already standing up and leaving
>”Don’t be a stranger, buddy!”
>Time to head home
-
>It’s such a small respite, but you’re actually looking forward to going home and eating your comfort food
>Then you’d be back at it again with renewed energy
>You put your key in and turn, opening the door
>And as you step back inside your house for the first time in days
>Your foot catches the welcome mat and you trip
>You close your eyes, letting go of your food to catch yourself instead of slamming facefirst into the floor
>When you open them, all you’re greeted with is lo mein, fried rice, and crushed fortune cookie bits all over mom’s pristine white carpet
>And something inside of you finally snaps
>All of the sadness you’ve been holding back over these past few weeks starts to bubble to the surface
>Such a tiny thing as this was all it took to send you over the edge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UboPPTZLFas
>You sit there on your hands and knees as the tears start to well up over such a trivial fucking thing as spilled lo mein
>You’re pathetic
>A pathetic excuse of a man that couldn’t even keep his only friend safe
>One that persisted to lie to himself about just how capable he was of saving her after he failed to when she really needed it
>And even then you became a wreck after only a few weeks
>It was like you weren’t even trying!
>All that effort and what do you have to show for it?
>Spilled lo mein
>You had done the math yourself, triple-checked it
>There was no way that you possibly could have even scraped the surface of the price tag on Wallflower’s treatment
>And yet you insisted on continuing your doomed spiral of working yourself into oblivion
>Your hands ball into fists and right as you’re about to start sobbing, you feel the familiar embrace of your mother
>”Anon, honey what’s wrong?”
“Fucking… Spilled it...”
>”Is that all, sweetie? It’s not a big deal, really, I can-”
>You bury your face into her shoulder and finally start to cry all of the tears that you’d been holding back over these past few days
-
>By the time you’re done your eyes sting and your throat hurts, but you can finally explain to mom what was really wrong
“She’s… She’s in the hospital, mom. Wallflower got attacked by a Hunger and… And her mom and I can’t even pay for her to be healed!”
>You clutch at her back like you did when you were small
>It has to be hurting her with how hard you’re clenching your fists, but she doesn’t seem to mind
>Instead she just pets your head in that soft, gentle manner she always did
>”So that’s why you’ve been working yourself to death, isn’t it.”
>You nod, further dampening her shoulder
>She pulls away for just a moment to lift your head up so you could speak eye to eye
>”Why didn’t you say anything, Anon? You could have talked to me.”
>She doesn’t even sound angry, just concerned
“I… I just… It was my fault, mom. I wasn’t there to protect her! So I’m the one that has to fix it.”
>Your mother simply sighs
>”Honey, it wasn’t your fault. You aren’t to blame here. But there’s no way you can help anyone if you’re like this.”
“But mom there’s no way I can help regardless. No matter how much I work it’s just...”
>You trail off, unable to finish that sentence
>She gently brushes your bangs out of your face
>”Anon, you can do anything as long as you set your mind to it, and that includes this. I think that you just didn’t have the right perspective. In fact, I seem to recall that you’ve got a way to help Wallflower that you’ve been ignoring every day, but...”
>There’s a way?
>She looks at you with concern
>”Well I would never even want to suggest putting my son in danger.”
>You sit up straight, filled with a renewed vigor
“Please mom, if there’s a way you have to tell me!”
>She gives you a look that only a mom can give
>The kind that says “I don’t want to do this, but I still can’t say no to my son”
>”The top spot of the C.P.R. has an absurdly large pool of money as it’s prize, doesn’t it?”
>And the realization slams into you like a truck
-
>”Anon...”
>”Anon!”
>You look up from the distressed pacing you’re doing in your room to see your mother standing in the doorway
>”You’re going to dig a trench in the floor if you keep pacing like that. I know you’re anxious, sweetie, but it’s not going to do you any good to go to school tomorrow like this.”
>While she has a point, your heart feels like it’s about to leap out of your chest at any minute
>This was it!
>This was the way that you could save Wallflower!
>”Listen, why don’t you take a shower? Get yourself cleaned up while I cook you up some Chinese myself. It won’t be the same as Red Dragon’s but I feel like motherly love should make it AT LEAST comparable, hm?”
>That does sound good, especially after the weeks you’ve had
>But this is the first time you’ve ever even interacted with the C.P.R. in any sort of capacity
>The first time you’ve cared about it at all, really
>”Anon?”
>You must have been deliberating for a bit too long there
>”Please?”
>Damn, she pulled out the please on you
“Alright mom, you win.”
>You march off to the bathroom and get the water running
>You really should defer to mom’s judgement more often, because damn have those dark circles around your eyes gotten worse
>But the best part about a nice hot shower was-
>Okay that’s a bit too hot
>You adjust the knobs a bit more to your liking and step inside
>The best part was that it worked wonders to clear your head
>Now you would just have to figure out what to do tomorrow…
-
>If you remember correctly, you can only challenge the rank directly above or below you
>Not that anyone ever did the latter, there was nothing to gain from it other than maybe practice against someone you’ve already beaten
>But if you’re challenged at any point, you HAVE to accept or you forfeit your rank to them by default
>The only exception to this rule being the 3 day recovery grace period
>It was supposed to stop others from piling onto the now-injured student above them and prevent them from plummeting down several ranks
>The Top 10 didn’t get that luxury
>When you fall from the top it’s a long way down
>If you weren’t already dead, that is
>You were gonna have to deal with that eventually
>You shake your head, doing your best to focus on the now instead of the later
>All you needed to worry about right now was Rank 99 and how you were going to win
>Which would be a lot easier to plan if you knew anything about them, because as of right now you don’t even have their name, let alone their power
>You’re pretty sure that you can check CHS’s website and find out though
>There’s a constantly updated list of all the ranks there
>(Not that you would find any of their parasites listed though)
>But you could look at it tomorrow on your way to school
>There was no use getting yourself more worked up than you already were
>It’s not as if knowing any of that information would stop you from doing what you had to do tomorrow
-
>”Gilda you know you’re gonna get sick if you stay out here...”
“Yeah? Then why’re you out here too, scrub?”
>The freshman sighs and crosses his arms
>”It’s… It’s Shrub. Shrub Trimmer. And it’s just a drizzle, it’s not that bad.”
>You shrug, rolling your motorcycle helmet from one hand to the next
“If it’s not that bad, then why’re you on my case about it?”
>He stammers a bit, trying to find an answer before you cut him off
“Look, I’ve been doing this since I was a sophomore, I’m not about to stop just because of a little rain.”
>He becomes exasperated at this
>”But WHY? Anon doesn’t even take this route! He cuts through the woods behind the school, so why don’t you just wait for him there?”
>Don’t hurt the freshman, Gilda
>He’s just an idiot
>You look down at him from your seated position on the edge of the CHS statue
“Look, I don’t like repeating myself, scrub.”
>”Y-You’ve never even told me WHY you wait out here in the first place!”
>You blink for a beat
“Really?”
>”NO!”
“Huh, well shit I guess you’re right. My bad, scrub.”
>You set your helmet down beside you and rest your arm on the knee that you’ve got raised up to your chest
“It’s ‘cuz that little triple digit twerp USED to come this way. Used to use the front doors like everyone else.”
>He used to hitch a ride on your motorcycle too, but you didn’t exactly give him any other choice, especially since you kept showing up at his house every morning
>It was on the way, and it just gave you more ways to torment him
>Heh
>Good times
“We’d enter school together, then we’d leave together. Simple as that. It was a fine routine and we were pretty damn tight if I do say so myself.”
>”...-f you two were so tight then why are you sitting out here alone...”
“Hey, scrub. Don’t mutter in my presence, I’ve got ears like a fuckin’ hawk and I heard that.”
>”S-Sorry Gilda.”
“Now where was I? Oh yeah.”
-
“To answer your question, it’s because Anon’s a prick and he stopped hanging out with me once he got into that rinky dink operation he calls a ‘gardening club’.”
>You don’t have air quotes big enough to put around those words
>Just thinking about it makes your blood boil
“Pretty sure he’s the only member too. Still got no clue why he’d ever just break shit off with me.”
>”Yeah, I can’t imagine why...”
“The sarcasm isn’t appreciated either, scrub.”
>”Sorry...”
>You cross your arms
“But I know that triple digit twerp like the back of my hand. And I know that he’ll come crawling back to me eventually.”
>You check your watch for dramatic effect
“And I get the feeling that he’ll come crawling back real soon.”
>You smirk
>You’ve seen the state of disrepair that little garden is in
>Anon’s been avoiding it for some reason
>You’ve got no clue why, but it’s good news for you
>Maybe today would finally be the day that you got your boyfriend back
>Technically he never agreed to it, but technically he never DISagreed either
>All he did when you announced that the two of you were dating was sprint away, but he did a lot of sprinting away when you were involved
>[spoiler]He never got far[/spoiler]
“Now get the heck outta here, scrub. You’re gonna be late for class.”
>”But you’re gonna be late too!”
“I’m a senior, I’m allowed to be late.”
>He runs off without another word, leaving you alone in the soft drizzling rain
>And not a moment too soon, judging by the silhouette you can see through the mist
>You knew he would come back
>Oh today was gonna be a GOOD day
-
>Today was gonna be a bad day
>For once you felt like you actually managed to get a modicum of sleep
>But as you check your phone you finally realize just who occupied the rank right above you
>”Well well well, if it isn’t the triple digit twerp, come crawling back.”
>Gilda
>Why
>Why couldn’t it have been ANYONE other than Gilda
>She’s sitting on the CHS statue, grinning down at you as you stuff your phone into your pocket
>”I was wondering when my boyfriend would get tired of avoiding me. But it’s alright, Big G’s a forgiving sort.”
>Oh god not the nickname
“I’m not calling you Big G.”
>”You just did, dweeb.”
>Fuck
“And I was never your boyfriend!”
>You point at her with conviction
>To which she merely chuckles and starts to toss her helmet up and catch it in one hand, over and over
>”The way you held onto me when I gave you a ride to school begs to differ.”
“Because you always went like 75 over the speed limit!!”
>Her eyes narrow at you and she cocks her head to the side
>”Alright TDT. Let’s just assume for right now that you didn’t come back to apologize. Why the fuck are you here then?”
>Either put up or shut up, Anon
>You HAVE to do this, even if it is Gilda
>For Wallflower’s sake
>But how do you even formally start a ranked fight?
>Do you just sort of…
“I’m here to challenge you for Rank 99, and I’m not gonna let you stop me from reaching Rank 1.”
>A few of the students who were passing by stop to look your way
>An amused snort escapes Gilda’s nose, and soon turns into full blown laughter at your expense
>”Oh you’re really serious about this aren’t you, TDT?”
>She glances around at the slowly forming crowd
>”Then let’s make this more interesting. If you win, I won’t even try and take 99 back from ya, it’s yours. But if I win, you’re mine again, dweeb; and this time you won’t be getting away from me. You’ll be MY triple digit twerp, forever.”
>Whatever you have to do to fix Wallflower
“Fine.”
>And before the word even fully leaves your lips, Gilda’s thrown her helmet at you
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApreCAQiZ4w
>You cry out as it slams into your nose with a crunch and immediately you feel warmth trickling down your upper lip
>You stumble back slightly, doubled over as you hold your bleeding nose
>Who just throws their helmet?!
>Glancing upwards, you only see Gilda striding towards you menacingly, cracking her knuckles
>”What, did you think I was gonna give you a chance to get ready, dweeb? If you wanna go from a TDT to a DDT so bad-”
>She hooks her arm underneath your neck, putting you into an inverted headlock
>”Then I’ll give it to ya!”
>Suddenly you feel gravity taking hold and the ground gets a lot closer unti-
>CRACK
>A throbbing pain spreads out from the top of your head as you quickly roll away to escape Gilda’s clutches
>You don’t even have the peace of mind to be angry about that stupid joke she just made
>She’s straight up doing wrestling moves on you!
>As you try to stand, you find that Gilda is actually helping you sit up...
>And then you feel her knee against your back as she starts pulling your wrists back towards her, crossing your arms over one another as she essentially gets you to choke yourself with the pressure
>”I bet you thought that you’d just waltz up to me, and have a plan nice and formulated by the time we were done having a little chat. Maybe you would’ve tried to goad out some information on my parasite, huh?”
>For as much as you don’t like admitting it, Gilda was right
>Well maybe not about the planning part…
>”Not that it would have worked anyway. I don’t have a damn clue what mine is, and those bastards calling themselves faculty-”
>She’s started to put more pressure on your spine with her knee, and it’s starting to feel like your wrists are about to pop out of their sockets
>You can hear your vertebrae starting to pop too
>”Won’t even tell me!”
>As she readjusts her grip on your wrists for more leverage, you finally make your move
-
>Your left hand, slick with rain and blood, slides free from her grip and gives you enough leeway to clamp down on hers instead
>And that moment of surprise is all you need to roll her over your shoulders and slam her back into the concrete
>You waste no time getting up this time
>And neither does Gilda
>By the time she stands you’ve already taken up your stance
>The one that dad taught you
>Open-handed and relaxed, legs slightly more than shoulder width apart, knees bent to keep you steady, with your dominant side away from your opponent, dominant hand closest to your body and your offhand slightly outstretched, ready to meet your enemy
>You take a deep breath to calm yourself down
>”Finally ready to fight back, eh dweeb? Good. I’m gonna show you and everyone else here that I don’t need some parasite to kick your ass.”
>You know just how strong you could be and you’re silently thanking dad for this fighting style
>Despite how much of a bitch she could be, you really don’t want Gilda to wind up like that tree at Camp Everfree
“I don’t suppose you’re uh, keen on giving up then?”
>”You’re a real fuckin’ jokester aren’t ya!”
>Oh fuck she’s already coming for you again
>Which limb is it
>What’s she going f-
>Right hand- no, right elbow
>Your left hand comes up from below and smacks against the underside of her wrist, diffusing the momentum of the elbow she threw
>That arm doesn’t get far as you grab her wrist and pull her in, letting go of it right as your right palm slams into her solar plexus with a concussive THWAP
>...Which sends her flying back into the solid stone cube of the statue
>Oh shit she isn’t moving
>She’s just sitting there limply
“Ah… G-Gilda you okay?”
>No response
>You quickly rush over to check if she’s okay, leaning over her and reaching your hand down to check her pulse
“Shit shit shit-”
>”How gullible ARE you, dweeb?”
>She’s grabbed your hand with a vicegrip and you can’t slip away
>SHIT SHIT SHIT
-
>You don’t have a chance to react before she’s used you as leverage to leap onto your shoulders, lock her thighs around your head and spin you around
>All you see is darkness
>You know, for being her “boyfriend,” this is the closest you’ve ever been to her crotch
>[spoiler]She smells nice and you aren’t sure how to feel about this[/spoiler]
>[spoiler]What is that, cherries and sweat?[/spoiler]
>All thoughts are forcefully emptied from your head as it’s summarily drilled into the concrete once again
>On one hand, at least you can see now
>On the other hand, all you can see now is Gilda violently stepping on your chest
>You cough as she begins to gloat over you
>”Gotta admit, TDT you actually knocked me out there for a second. To think you were hidin’ something fierce like that.”
>She leans her face in close and grins
>”Ya look like shit so I’ll stop right now and let you surrender,”
>She licks her lips clean of blood and taps her index finger against them
>”IF ya gimme a kiss, dweeb.”
>What kind of deal is that?
>You have to imagine that she’s making it an even bigger spectacle than it needs to be, mostly because of the crowd
>You sigh
>You reach up
>You gently place your hands on her cheeks
>You close your eyes
>You take a deep breath
>And headbutt her
>And god do you hope that it hurt her more than it hurt you
>You stagger to your feet and hold your forehead
>Why would anybody ever headbutt someone?
>It hurts!
>It hurts a lot!
>It’s like someone took a hammer straight to your forehead and now it won’t stop hurting
>It’s a dull pain that radiates outward, like an incredibly shitty migraine
>You open your eyes to find Gilda similarly reeling, but she’s quite a bit more furious than you are
>You managed to open a gash just above her right eye, and it’s bleeding quite a bit
>Gilda touches two of her fingers to the cut, looks at the blood coating them, and cleans them off with her mouth
>”You’re dead meat.”
-
>”Holy chocoloney! Just look at that crowd, Sunset!”
>Just what was going on here?
>Oh no
>Did someone, or something, come through the portal?
>You ask one of the students what’s going on
>”Two of the lower ranks are fighting, but it’s WAY more of a brawl than I thought it’d be!”
>Another chimes in
>”I didn’t think that the Rank 100 had it in him! He’s really giving 99 a run for it...”
>Rank 100?
>That’s Anon!
>The last time you saw him he looked dead on his feet
>And now he’s fighting someone?
>You maneuver your way through to the front of the crowd, and sure enough there he is
>Getting suplexed by a rather tough looking girl
>You wince
>You’re pretty sure that a neck isn’t supposed to make a sound like that, but he’s getting up regardless
>”Anon’s fighting Gilda? Who do you think’s winning?”
“I… Don’t know.”
>They both look bloody and tired, but you have no idea how long this fight’s been going on for
“Frankly, I’m confused. Anon himself said that he wasn’t interested in this competition. What changed?”
>Pinkie starts to put on several pieces of… Team Anon merchandise? Where did she even get that?
>”Oh that’s easy. I bet Anon had a huuuge episode with lots of crying when he found out that he couldn’t help Wallflower, and someone told him that if he got to the Rank 1 spot in the C.P.R. that he’d be the one getting all the sweet dosh that he could use for her treatment. Now he’s rip, roaring, and ready to go all fired up and fighting Gilda! But she’s way stronger than Anon thinks she is and that’s catching him off guard. Now call it a hunch, but I’ve seen Gilda, and I’ve seen Gilda fight, but she’s never been THIS into it before! I wonder if something happened between her and Anon! Ooh, do you think that it could have been a relationship gone sour? But not the good kind of sour, like a candy sour, but the bad kind of sour?”
>That’s…
>A better explanation than anything you’ve got
>Somehow you can’t imagine Anon dating Gilda though
-
>Why
>The FUCK
>Won’t this slippery little bastard
>Just stay still?!
>Every time you get close to him you get thrown aside like it’s nothing
>BUT THIS TIME IT’S LITERAL INSTEAD OF FIGURATIVE
>[spoiler]And it hurts just as much as getting ignored by him did before[/spoiler]
>He’s not even throwing out any attacks, he’s just waiting for you to do something so he can counter it
>All the while just standing there with that infuriating, confused look on his face
>It’s like he’s mocking you!
>You’ll just have to make sure that he can’t toss you aside
>You flex your fingers as you glare at Anon
>Fingers like talons, make sure to grip and never let go
>You gotta hit him from different angles at the same time, because you know for sure he doesn’t handle being caught off guard well
>You move in quick, acting as if you’re throwing a straight
>And as you predicted, you feel Anon deflect your blow with his forearm
>Which you dig your fingers into
>Before he has a chance to even be surprised you grab his other wrist and twist it around, pinning his other arm to his back
>And just for good measure you drive your foot down on top of his
“Nice and close, just how you like it, right?”
>You grin as you pull your head back and slam it into his, right in between his eyebrows
“THIS-”
>And again, right against the bridge of his nose
”IS A REAL-
>You can feel him starting to go limp against your body as your third gives him a similar cut  to yours
“HEADBUTT-”
>You shift your grip to his shoulders and pull him in as you deliver the final headbutt
>It’s like the sound of two bowling balls being slammed together 
“ANON!”
>You let go and Anon nearly crumples, only stopping himself from falling by planting his knee against the ground
>Panting heavily, you stand above him as he kneels before you
“Hah… hah, well... ain’t that a sight.”
>You plant your boot against his face and shift your weight forward like taking one big step forward
>And the sound of Anon hitting the floor underfoot is music to your ears
-
“How’s the underside of my boot taste, dweeb?”
>You ask, grinning from ear to ear as you grind it against the little twerp’s face
>Payback is a beautiful thing
>He tries to say something, but it’s too muffled to hear
“Oh you can still talk? Let me fix that.”
>You lift your foot for just a moment before gleefully stomping back down
>Wait a sec
>Something’s not right here
>You’re feeling a distinct lack of face underneath your boot
>And you’re feeling a distinct lack of balance in your body
“YOU LITTLE-”
>Your view spins sideways as that bastard sweeps your legs out from underneath you and he tosses you down
>You even feel yourself bounce off the ground as the impact knocks the wind out of you
>This is more than enough pain to send a lesser girl reeling
>Something is probably broken and you don’t know what
>Probably a rib or two
>You seethe in a mixture of pain and anger as you force yourself to your feet, using the statue behind you as leverage
>The blood oozing from your forehead is starting to get into your eye and it’s getting harder to see
>You’re kind of backed into a corner here
>You’re tired and in pain
>And apparently Anon can see that too because for the first time in this whole fight he’s actually taking the offensive
>Which is exactly what you want
>When he throws an uppercut from below you can’t help but smirk
>And then stop the punch short by thrusting your elbow down into it
>The satisfying crunch of his fist is enough to keep you distracted from the from the sheer amount of pain that’s shooting through your entire arm now
>You’d hazard a guess that most of the crunch came from your elbow, but it was enough to stop him
>You have to admit
>Anon is a lot stronger than you give him credit for
>Especially for Rank 100
>But it doesn’t matter how strong you are if you can’t take a hit
>With a triumphant yell you take hold of his hair and slam his face into your rising knee
>This little prick wasn’t going to stay down unless you knocked him out
-
>You have to admit
>Gilda is a lot stronger than you give her credit for
>Especially for Rank 99
>You only realize this as her knee is slamming straight into your jaw, making your teeth clack against each other painfully
>”I gave you, a chance, nerd! So now, now we gotta do things the hard way!”
>As she goes for another knee you stand and grab the heel of that same foot, pulling it further forward to unbalance her as you stand between her legs
“We’ve been doing this the hard way!”
>Your free hand deftly darts right under her jaw and you throw her to the ground
>She’s a lot slower now, so that helps
>The impact is louder than when she hit the statue and you’re hoping it’s enough to get her to stay down
>But you step away from her regardless
>You weren’t about to fall for another one of her tricks!
>When you hear Gilda coughing you know that she isn’t down for the count
>You watch as she slowly sits up and furiously drives her fist into the dirt
>Perhaps making her even angrier isn’t helping
>The only way Gilda is going to stop is if you knock her out
>You feel like how she looks, and this is more exertion than you’ve had in years
>Both of you are on your last legs here and your heart is pounding, your muscles aching
>Oh god she’s already coming back for more
>The least you could ask for was a chance to catch your breath!
>No such luck
>In fact the opposite, As Gilda drives her shoulder into your gut with a tackle that threatens to topple you
>It’s not long before she starts to rain blow after blow into your liver, making you weak at the knees with each one
>And it’s already taking all you’ve got not to get tackled into the dirt!
>You swing one leg back and start to fall backwards, forcefully removing Gilda with a circle throw that slams her back into the solid concrete
>You can hear a strained “Fuck you… Dweeb...”
>And she falls limp
>As you lay your head back on the cold, wet ground you really hope that Gilda isn’t faking it again
-
>You see a bright pink head of curly hair in your peripheral vision
>”Holy crackers! Anon are you okay?”
>You give a tired thumbs up and let your arm flop back to the ground
>The crowd has already started to disperse, but there are a few cheers from the students that stayed
>It’s hard to keep your eyes open in the rain, so you opt to shield them instead with your hand
>You really should go harder from now on
>But you didn’t expect Gilda to be so tenacious
>”Well Anon, that was… Something.”
“Took the words right out of my mouth.”
>You pause for a beat
“Can you help me up?”
>You groan as the two girls bring you to your feet
>Glancing over your shoulder, you confirm that Gilda is out like a light
>And you sigh
>You can’t exactly just leave her out here unconscious in the rain, so you pick her up bridal-style
>She’d kill you if she could see what you were doing
>”What are you-”
“Taking her to the nurse. She’ll just get sick if she’s out here.”
>You were still sore and bloody, but for the first time ever you could actually say “You should see the other guy”
>As the two brightly colored girls follow you, you glance over your shoulder at Sunset
“So you’re probably wondering why I decided to challenge Gilda, right?”
>You watch Pinkie take a huge breath, but Sunset covers the chatterbox’s mouth before she can start
>”You’re after the Rank 1 spot so you can pay for Wallflower’s hospital treatment.”
>You nod as they push the doors open for you
“Hit the nail on the head.”
>You get a few weird looks as you walk the halls carrying Gilda in your arms, but you look like hot garbage yourself so there are no hiccups along the way to the nurse’s office
“Nurse Redheart? Are you in?”
>”Of course, is there som- Oh my goodness what happened?!”
>You do your best to gesture with your hands even while you’re holding Gilda
“It looks worse than it actually is.”
>Hopefully
“You can take care of things from here, right?”
>”I can but that doesn’t really answer my-”
>But you’ve already left before she can finish
-
“Director, you wanted to see me?”
>You take a seat in the well-furnished office and cross one leg over the other
>“Indeed. I simply wanted to congratulate you, Number 9. It seems that this plan of yours to force Delta’s participation is working.”
>You heave a silent sigh of relief
>It’s either good or bad when the Director calls you in
>There is no in between
>”However...”
>Oh no
>”Upon reviewing the combat data, it seems that this Delta of yours doesn’t quite match up with the reports you’ve given. Based on your notes, he should have quite easily been able to defeat Subject Beta.”
”Beta… Which one was Beta again?”
>Wasn’t that Anon’s girlfriend?
>You remember him telling you about her at some point but it must have slipped your mind
>”Number 5’s little project. Beta has no limits; physical or mental. Her parasite removes them. A theoretically infinite potential that learns and adapts over time. Quite interesting to say the least.”
“I see...”
>How would she adapt to Anon? And how could that help him in the future?
>A possibly worthy sparring partner?
“If I may explain, Director. This is the first fight that Delta has ever been in. Not to mention that he’s afraid of his own strength. Anonymous certainly isn’t as ruthless as some of the other pet projects that my peers have been cultivating.”
>Subject Upsilon II certainly comes to mind…
“But I assure you that he will become more confident in his own abilities, given time. If nothing else, he’s dedicated. And now that he has a strong motivator I doubt that there’s much that could stop him from making it all the way to the top.”
>The Director gives you one of his rare smiles
>”Well let’s hope your confidence isn’t misplaced, Number 9. This senior class is the most promising bunch we’ve had in quite a few years, though I suppose we can take some credit for that.”
>Sneaky meddling from the shadows tends to do that
>”You’re dismissed. Continue to monitor Delta’s development closely. That is all.”
-
>You find yourself striding into the cafeteria with a strange mixture of emotions in your gut
>1 part relief, 1 part self-doubt, and 1 part nervousness
>You were able to beat Gilda, but only just
>The bandages wrapping your left hand were proof of that, and you can’t stop rubbing them
>Your hand underneath itches something fierce and you’re pretty sure Gilda broke something when she threw her elbow into it
>But on the bright side this was a step in the right direction
>Even if it was a painful one
>But now you had to take another step in the right direction, and it involved those 7 girls having lunch together
>And while it wouldn’t be as painful as fighting Gilda, it was filling you with the same amount of dread
>Well, no time like the present
>You look like an autist fast-walking over to them, but you weren’t about to give yourself enough time to second guess yourself
>Rainbow Dash waves you over before you have a chance to open your mouth
>”Yo Anon I saved you a seat! Pop a squat, my dude!”
>She pats the open seat next to her
>None of them seem to have any issue with this
>In fact they look as welcoming as ever
>Well you could just… Take a seat then
>RD actually turns to you and grins
“Uh, hey guys.”
>Quick, don’t make it awkward!
“Look I just wanted to say that, I’m sorry for avoiding all of you.”
>YOU IDIOT
>”Oh it ain’t no thang, Anon!”
>Pinkie chimes in happily, much to your surprise
>”Yeah, Passionfruit told us everything! You don’t need to apologize.”
>Rainbow slugs you playfully in the arm, which nets her an elbow from Applejack
“Everything?”
>”Of course, darling!”
>”You don’t have to go it alone, Anon. Take it from me: Things are a lot easier when you’ve got friends to help you out.”
>Sunset gives you a thumbs up
>It might be a bit early to start calling them “friends”, but you’re glad to have people to talk to
>You do your best not to think about the fact that you’re going to have to fight them
>And you get the feeling they’re trying not to think about it too
-
“I’M GONNA WRING YOUR NECK!”
>You sit up with a start and grab at empty air, immediately wincing as a sharp pain lances through your abdomen
>You clutch at your abs and grit your teeth
>As you look around, all you see is the concerned stare of Nurse Redheart
>Glancing down, you find that your stomach’s been bandaged and your right arm is in a sling
>You’re in the nurse’s office?
“What the-? How did I get here?”
>”Anonymous brought you here after your fight. First time I’ve ever seen anyone carry their opponent here. You two really did quite a number on each other, you know. Anon could barely stand without assistance.”
“I… Lost?”
>You lost?
>You stare dejectedly down at the bed
>That’s weird
>There’s some tiny wet spots on your jeans
>And your cheeks feel wet
>A window must be letting the rain in
>Yeah
>You wipe the wetness from your eyes before anyone sees
>”You can’t win them all. Try not to get so down about it, dear.”
>Nurse Redheart tries to comfort you, but she doesn’t understand
>It’s not the fact that you lost
>It’s the fact that the first time you talk to Anon in years, and all you are is an obstacle to him
>It hurts to stand, but you do it anyway
>You had to get out of this cramped office and go literally anywhere else
>Yeah, maybe you’re kind of a hardass
>And you aren’t the easiest to get along with
>And you do sort of bully him
>But you know for a FACT that you and Anon had good times together!
>All your pictures proved it!
>You find yourself standing in the doorway to the cafeteria, staring at Anon from afar while he chats with a bunch of other girls
>And Rainbow Dash
>You clench your fist
>If Anon forgot about all the time you spent together, you’d just have to knock the memories back into that thick skull of his
>This isn’t the last he’ll see of you
>If Anon is intent on reaching the top, then you’ll hound him every step of the way
>And by the time you’re done kicking his ass, he’ll be yours again
>You can promise that much
-
>You are Applejack
>It’s been two days since Anon took Rank 99 and even though it was a scrap between two literal whos, it still caused a stir among the rest of the students
>Rank 100 making as bold a claim as getting to Rank 1 will do that
>And currently you’re having a discussion with your friends about what this is gonna mean for all of you
>Mostly seeing as how you’re the one that’d have to fight Anon first if he makes it to 51
“...alls ah’m sayin’ Dash is that we should talk about it NOW rather than later! Ah mean, Anon’s dedicated to this! He’s GONNA get to our little chunk’a ranks eventually.”
>”Oh puh-lease. So what if he managed to beat Gilda? It’s still gonna take the guy a while before he even reaches us. We can worry about it later!”
>Almost as if on cue, everyone’s phone buzzes, vibrates, or otherwise alerts them with a notification
>And upon checking, it appears that Anon has ALREADY climbed up to Rank 95
>That’s 5 ranks within the span of two days
>You show your phone to the others to drive your point home
”Ya’ll see what ah’m talkin’ about, right? Ah’m not crazy?”
>Dash’s expression goes from cocky to one of shock and despair as she mutters
>”He beat my ranks in a day record...”
>Pinkie takes a break from texting Anon a congratulations and turns to you
>”I thought we agreed that we weren’t gonna take it easy on Anon! It’s uh… Dis- Disin…”
>”Disingenuous.”
>Twilight chimes in
>”Yeah! It’d be disingenuous to Anon if we just forfeited to him! I think it’s up to us to make sure that he’s in tippity-top shape to take on anyone higher on the totem pole than us, y’know?”
>”I think Pinkie’s got a point. Anon might be tough, but the Top 10 are on a whole other level.”
>Fluttershy nods at Sunset’s statement
>”It’s not like anyone here wants him to… Die… right?”
“’course not! Ah just didn’t want things to be awkward ‘tween him and us.”
-
>You are Anonymous
>And you are currently exiting Nurse Redheart’s office after having delivered your opponent to her
>You can’t help but feel that these past few encounters have been quite a step down from facing Gilda
>The student you JUST faced?
>Fainted before even getting into the real fight
>You don’t even know what his parasite was
>X-Ray vision or something? You can’t remember
>Regardless, it still ended with you hauling him to the nurse
>And while you definitely feel like you could claw your way up some more ranks, you remember your mom’s words as she took care of your injuries from fighting Gilda
>Most importantly, to pace yourself
>[spoiler]Your nose still hurts from when Gilda broke it[/spoiler]
>It wasn’t going to do you OR Wallflower any good if you ran yourself ragged again trying to metaphorically sprint through the ranks
>Take things slow and steady, things were only going to get more difficult
>But that’s a problem to worry about later
>You’ve got a problem to solve right now
>And that problem is getting food into your stomach
>Unfortunately you’re a bit too late to lunch to actually get anything substantial, so you’ll have to settle for a vending machine sandwich when you get there
>Which to be fair, were pretty damn tasty
>However as your mouth starts to water, you become acutely aware of something
>There’s someone RIGHT behind you
>And you feel nothing but an immense, destructive pressure upon you just from this presence alone
>We’re talking activating your fight or flight instinct here
>”Found you.”
>Ah shit
>You take a glance over your shoulder and meet the manic gaze of...
>A cute girl?
>One with peppermint green and white hair
>You’ve seen her somewhere before, you swear
>She’s grinning from ear to ear as she looks up at you
>But those fucking eyes man
>Them’s the crazy eyes
“Uh, do you need something?”
>She looks you up and down for a moment 
>”I expected someone more impressive.”
-
>You suddenly find yourself being hoisted off your feet and held aloft by only your neck
>By what looks to be a golden hand made out of hard light or something
>But that’s not important right now
>Because you just remembered who’s choking you out right now
>The girl that’s grinning maniacally before you is none other than Lyra Heartstrings
>Rank 6
>”You know when I heard somebody was clawing their way up the ranks real fast, I started to try to envision what they might look like.”
>Three more hands phase into existence and… Start to grope your body
>Bad touch
>”I tried to imagine what someone setting their sights on Rank 1 would look like. Imagine their hair-”
>One of the hands starts to run its fingers through your hair
>”Their body-”
>You feel one slip underneath your shirt while you continue to try and squirm free of the vice grip on your windpipe
>[spoiler]And another one slips down your pants and past your underwear[/spoiler]
>BAD TOUCH
>”Their voice...”
>You feel two fingers forced into your mouth, trying to grab your tongue
>”But I certainly didn’t expect youuuu~”
>She starts to giggle in a manner you can only describe as “unnerving”
>”And since you don’t seem like much, I’ll just have to test you myself!”
>Wait what
>That’s weird, Lyra’s getting farther away
>That’s weird, it feels like you just got thrown through a window
>Because you did
>You just got chucked like a ragdoll through a glass window into the cafeteria
>And everyone is looking at you
>You tumble to your feet just in time to see Lyra slam the doors open with her telekinetic hands
>”Anoooooonnnnnnn~”
>You get into your fighting stance, wary of what she could do from all the way over there
>Surely she couldn’t-
>A vicious uppercut to your stomach removes all delusions of “range” from your head
>The hand even grabs you on the way up… And starts to crush the life out of you
-
>”What?! No, screw off I wanna-”
>The sound of Lyra arguing with someone momentarily stops you from trying to break free
>Luckily it also stops her from crushing you anymore
>”I don’t care if it’s against the rules! Let me fight him, Bon Bon!”
>From where you’re uh, floating, it doesn’t look like anyone is actually arguing back at her
>”Hnnng- I’m losing my PATIENCE with you. AND I HATE LOSING.”
>The hand (luckily) NOT wrapped around you starts balling into a fist
>”Grrrr… What?!  NO!! No it was MY turn! Stop! STOP IT!!”
>No that pretty much confirms it
>Lyra is arguing with herself
>Or technically not herself considering what happens next
>You watch as she yells angrily at nothing while her own hands envelop her
>Next thing you know you’re being dropped to the floor (landing on your feet because you’re one agile motherfucker) and where once stood Lyra, there was a new girl
>One with two-tone navy blue and pink hair
>Who looks much, much calmer than Lyra did
>In fact she even helps you brush some glass off your shoulder
>”Apologies for my friend. She can get a bit obsessive.”
>That’s a word for it
>”Sweetie Drops, Rank 4. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Anon.”
>She holds out her hand which you tentatively shake
>”While Lyra may not have any respect for school rules, I do. If you’re as good as you seem, we’ll be seeing each other soon enough.”
>With that she simply turns and walks away, leaving you standing confused in the middle of the lunchroom
>”Anooooon!”
>Oh god please no more-
>Oh it’s just Pinkie
>Your muscles relax and you make your way over after grabbing the sandwich you deserve, muttering about “fuckin’ Jekyll and Hyde bullshit”
-
>And so you end up slouched over the table while Twilight yanks glass shards out of your shoulders
>After a while it stops being painful and becomes a nuisance
>”Gee whiz Anon, you must be some seriously sweet sprinkles if you got Lyra and Bon Bon’s attention already!”
“I’d like to stop being seriously sweet sprinkles.”
>Pinkie gigglesnorts, those massive pink locks bobbing as she does
>”You’re only gonna get sweeter if you keep winniiiiiiing!~”
>You groan
>Not because you’re in pain
>But because she’s right
>A familiar tomboyish voice pipes up in front of you
>”You’ve still gotta get through US first y’know. Don’t feel too bad if you need a rematch with me a few times.”
>Smug as ever, that Dash is
>Well, at least this alleviates your concerns
>Somehow you don’t think CHS would just stand by and let 7 students just conveniently forfeit their ranks to you
“I appreciate it, guys. Really. But I think I should focus on things a bit closer to me. I’ll reach you all eventually and THEN you can kick the shit outta me.”
>”Yeah well hurry it up! I haven’t been looking forward to a match like this for a while!”
>You give the rainbow-haired teen a look of exasperation
“Can’t a guy get a break? I just fought 4 people today and nearly got squished by one of the Top 10.”
>Or would it technically be 2 of the Top 10…
“Despite what the dark circles around my eyes may indicate, I still do need to sleep.”
>Maybe someday restful sleep would come to you
>But not today
>For now you can just settle for closing your eyes and letting them rest
-
“You’re gonna train me now, got it?!”
>You find it surprisingly easily to lift the giant slab of muscles known as Bulk Biceps by the collar
>He nods, your muscles flex beneath your jacket, and you drop him
>”H-Hey Gilda come on you could have just asked nicely...”
“Oh stuff it, Shrub.”
>It was already pissing you off having to ask for help, the least you could do is try and keep up your tough bitch image while doing it.
>Plus that bastard Anon is ALREADY putting more and more distance between the two of you
>But it doesn’t matter
>You’ve got the looks
>You’ve got the bike
>And soon enough you’d have the strength to make sure that scrawny little dweeb can never beat you again
>The first thing you’ll do once you win?
>Dunno, probably gloat or [spoiler]sit on his face[/spoiler] or something
>Infinite possibilities once you got your boyfriend back
“Oi Shrub,”
>You toss your jacket aside and crack your neck from side to side as you get ready to spar with Bulk
“Take notes. You won’t be a freshie forever.”