>You wake up feeling like shit, an activity you seem to be engaging in a lot these days
>You sit up and instantly Honey Mug hugs you and starts to sob against your coat
>You quickly look around and find yourself in a messy room that has a trunk against the door as if to barricade it
>It also seems to be night-time now, since it’s so dark outside and feels a bit chilly
>If it was not for the moonlight shining into the room from the broken window you probably could not see much of anything
>a chilly room, with bits of glass on the floor...you must have knocked yourself out cold as you dove trough the window
>A bad idea now in hindsight as your whole body aches, but most noticeably your right hind hoof
>You try to move it but a sharp pain makes you think otherwise
>And you need to assess the situation at hand, so you pull the filly off of you and sit her down on the floor while she stares at you with her puffy eyes
>”Is this room safe?”
>Honey Mug quickly nods
“When the monsters came Ms. Soothing told me to lock the door and wait here. B-but there’s been scary sounds and-“
>Honey Mug starts to cry again
“I-I was s-so scaaaareed”
>There’s a thud coming from outside the room and Honey Mug quickly latches onto you again in fright, making you twitch in pain from the various small cuts that you have, most likely from throwing yourself trough a window
>You push the filly away again and get up while groaning
>Your leg is toast, you can’t put a lot of weight on it as you quickly come to notice as you bite your teeths together
>”Son of a bitch...I hope it’s not broken”
>You glance out of the broken window, but just see empty streets
>Luckily the window is so high up you won’t have to worry about anything trying to get in trough it, especially if nothing can fly around that white rot
>Honey Mug eyes you with worry and starts talking in her familiar timid manner
“You had pieces of glass on you... I got them off...”
>You look at the filly in surprise, you would not have believed she’d be able to do something like that, she does seem to be pretty helpless
>”You did?”
>Honey Mug looks away from you and nods
“Yeah...”
>”...Thanks”
>Honey Mug looks at you with surprise as you limp to the large wooden trunk that’s against the door
“I did that too...didn’t want the monsters to get in...”
>”You did it all by yourself?”
>Honey Mug nods
>Wow, you’re actually a little impressed
>Honey Mug shudders a bit as a cold wind blows into the room
>There’s no point in getting out during this hour, you have no idea what’s waiting for you behind that door and you’re in no state to run
>thankfully the room seems to be some sort of a storage space, and unlike the fashionable thin doors this one looks like it can take a beating
>You’re shaken out from your thoughts by Honey Mug’s sobbing, she’s started to cry again, how peachy
>You limp to the filly but then pause as you realize you have no clue in hell on how to console this sobbing little thing
>Do you hug her, or pat her on the head?
>Thankfully Honey Mug herself quiets down and looks at you again
“A-are we going to die here?”
>Good for you, you have the answer for her question and it will also make her stop crying, hopefully
>”No, we are going to go to the library tomorrow where everypony is waiting”
“T-they are? They have not been eaten by the m-monsters?”
>You nod
>”They were the ones who asked me to come and get you back”
>Who cares if it’s a lie or not, it’ll keep her quiet and you have one less thing to worry about
>Honey Mug smiles, and then starts to sob while grinning
>You give up with a sigh and start looking for something to help you two
>other than the trunk the room has a cupboard, one bed and mattress without a pillow, not to mention a blanket, and a few wooden barrels that are most likely empty
>”Hey, have you tried looking for anything useful in this room?”
>Honey Mug stops drying her eyes, seems like her happy crying must have stopped when you were not paying attention to her
“The cupboard is locked, and I was too afraid to go near the door...”
>You decide to check out the trunk first and hobble to it while Honey Mug nervously watches from as far from it as she can
>You open it and find...absolutely nothing, it’s empty
>With mild disappointment you close it and just silently hobble to the cupboard
>the dull pain in your hoof seems to be growing stronger, you need to see to it soon
>You punch the cupboard as hard as you can a few with your hoof and the wood splits enough for you to pry it open
>There’s not much in it, but just enough for you
>a few small rags, a few candles and some matches
>You light the candles for some light and the room suddenly looks much homier and warmer
>if only it would feel that way too, thankfully it’s pretty quiet out, no groans of the monsters can really be heard, and there’s not much sounds of anything moving around outside the door either
>You start to wonder if these things require sleep as well
“I’m cold”
>this stops your train of thought as you glance at the shivering filly
>The rags you found are not good enough to be used for any warming up, and you can’t make a fire on the floor and risk burning the whole house down
>But instead your attention turns to a few small items lying on the floor at a corner that you can now see thanks to the light
>You hobble over to them and poke the pile of trash, but find nothing that’d help
>Honey Mug lets out a sneeze
>if the filly gets sick it’d be even more problematic for you, and there’s only one option, but...
>You glance at the bare bed while feeling a rather powerful emotion of embarrassment
>You hobble to the bed and climb on it
>”Get over here”
>Honey Mug does as she’s told and then stands in front of the bed
>You pat the spot next to you and Honey Mug climbs onto the mattress, and then rests on it next to you
>You prepare mentally as your brain screams at you how stupidly awkward this feels and then you spread out your wing and cover her with it like it was a little blanket
>Honey Mug looks at you shyly with surprise as you do your best to not look at her while performing this very out of character act of kindness on her
>Honey Mug does not say anything, maybe out of feeling embarrassed as well, or sensing you do not want to hear her comment on it in any way
>none the less, she scoops up closer to you and then rests against you while warming up under the little protection your wing offers
>Ugh, this feels so awkward, you can’t understand any stallion who acts like a doting father around their kid out in the public, or anywhere for that matter
>You’d think they’d get crushed by this soul-crushing shame of doing something so...
>You’re starting to make your own self feel embarrassed more with your thinking, to distract yourself you glance at Honey Mug if it’s helping at all
>She’s pulled up into a little bun of fur, but she seems to be feeling much cozier now
>”I don’t get it”
>Honey Mug looks at you with some surprise on her face, and as she finds you staring at her she looks away quick
>”At other times you act like a very shy filly, but then you show surprising amounts of trust in a stranger like me”
>Honey Mug keeps avoiding your look, glancing at you every now and then to see if you’re still looking at her, only to squeak weakly and looking away again
“I am shy...but...”
>You stay silent and wait for Honey Mug to continue as she seems to struggle to find the correct words
“It’s weird, sometimes I don’t feel so shy around you...but I’m weird about other stuff too”
>”Like what?”
>Honey Mug lowers her head and rests it flat against the mattress
“My parents, when I heard they were dead I got really sad, but then every now and then I feel...not so sad...”
>You raise an eyebrow
>”You hated them?”
>Honey Mug quickly lifts her head up
“N-no! They were the best parents ever...”
>She suddenly looks depressed again
“But I...just feel weird about it, I should cry a lot more and feel sadder, but I just...feel ok...”
>Honey Mug lowers her head again and lies on the bed
>But what she’s talking about does feel familiar, you’ve been feeling very weird ever since you woke up
>You can’t put your hoof on it, but somehow it feels like you are putting up an act, even if you are just acting like you always are, or were
>You’ve been...much more emotional on the inside, and somehow being you just feels...strange
>There is a thought that you have been thinking about
>memories...the flower destroys memories, but does it leave anything else behind?
>Things like emotions for instance, Barnacle told you that you and this filly were very close, and as much as you hate to admit, you do not feel like she’s as annoying as all other kids
>Not to mention Barnacle, when he got done in, you did feel something
>He was just some random pony who you did not remember, but you did feel worse about seeing him go than you would have felt for just some pony you just met
>You shake your head while smiling a little
>Or maybe it’s all in your head, and waking into this weird situation is just making you confused
>You feel Honey Mug nuzzle more tightly against your side
>She’s fast asleep now so you return to thinking
>One thing is for certain
>You need to decide what you will do now, you can’t just sit around
>Barnacle did mention something about other ponies that were here with you, maybe if you could track one of them down...
>Honey Mug mumbles something in her sleep and grasps at your coat and you almost instantly spread your wing out even more to cover her up
>You feel conflicted on the inside, one part of you is scoffing at this out of character way you act, and the other feels like it needs to look out for this kid
>You rest your head against the mattress and sigh
>loosing your memories is much more confusing than you expected it to ever be
>Tomorrow you need to consult the surviving ponies and ask if they are thinking of waiting for a rescue that might or might not be on its way, or thinking of escaping from the village by themselves somehow
>You for one do not think sitting put and waiting would be the best decision
>You lie in there for a while, just silently thinking while keeping the filly warm, and before you know it you slip into slumber