>You are Speck.
>And you have just woken up.
>Anon is curled up beside you.
>He's holding you close to him.
>He feels so warm.
>You both lay on something soft.
>Your eyes adjust to the darkness after a few minutes.
>You're on the sofa.
>That must mean you're in the living room.
>Anon must have found you sleeping on the floor of the closet.
>Your mother's words ring in your ears.
>"Angels take care of p0nies, little one."
>You smile and press yourself closer to him.

>Your tummy grumbles at you.
>You whisper to it, telling it to shut up.
>It grumbles again, slightly louder.
>You sigh.
>Conceding to such a worthy opponent is not dishonorable.
>You wiggle out of Anon's embrace and tumble over the arm of the sofa.
>Anon stirs a little as you head left into the foyer, and then into the kitchen.
>You flip the dimmer switch to where you can see, but not to where it's so bright that you go blind.
>You climb up to the kitchen table, ready to partake in some of that delicious pineapple upside down cake.
>Aaaand.
>It's not there.
>You panic.
>Your cake is not where you left it.
>Anon wouldn't hide it from you.
>He isn't mean like that.
>You climb up on the table and look around the kitchen.
>A low whine begins to sound in your throat.
>You leap off the table, across the room, and onto the counter top.
>You throw the cupboards open, one by one.
>You search through them, throwing things all over the room.
>Your whine increases in pitch and volume as you stomp around.
>After a couple minutes of your tantrum, you curl up in the middle of the kitchen.
>That delicious cake is gone.
>What cruelty is this, that you have been given such an amazing treat, only for it to be taken away from you.
>You sob into your hooves.

>You are now Anon.
>A crashing noise has just woken you up.
>And Speck is no longer in your arms.
>You hope she isn't destroying anything.
>You sit up, rub your eyes, and groan to yourself.
>Your bones crack as you rise from the sofa and head into the foyer.
>The light in the kitchen is on.
>There are plates and cups scattered everywhere.
>You are so glad you exchanged your glassware for plastic-ware when Speck moved in.
>You aren't even surprised to find her in the middle of the kitchen crying.
"What are you doing, Speck?"
>Your voice is flat.
>There is nothing she could say right now that would surprise you.
>She speaks up through her sobs.
>"My cake is gone. I left it on the table and now it isn't there!"
>She looks up at you.
>You squint at her.
>She gets up and gallops at you.
>You continue squinting.
>Don't you dare.
>She tackles you to the ground.
>Her face is less than three inches from yours.
>She screams at you.
>"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY CAKE!"
>You close your eyes and sigh.
>God, she's cute.
"I put it in the fridge. Where a cake like that belongs."
>You feel her get off of you.
>She trots into the kitchen.
>You get up and follow her.
>She opens the fridge, pulls the cake-box out, and places it on the table.
>You sit at the table and stare at her.
"Are you going to clean this mess up?"
>She shakes her head, eyes closed.
>She looks pleased with herself.
"And why not?"
>"Because you hid my cake from me, and now I'm upset with you."
>She takes a bite of the cake.
>She tries her best not to open her eyes as she begins to tear up.
>She must really love that cake.
>You notice that she seems to cry a lot.
>Mostly over food.
>Did she never get to eat things like this while she lived in that tree?

>You stand up and start to pick her mess up.
>Why bother arguing with her?
>You look up at the clock hanging over the table.
>Speck said it was stupid that you only had two clocks in the entire house.
>She insisted that there be one in every room.
>You guess it saved you the trouble of having to walk around to find the time.
>The clock reads 11PM.
>You were asleep for five hours.
>She left Sugarcube Corner an hour before you did.
>You shake your head.
>You're going to be up all night now.
>Which sucks, because it's night time.
>And it's Friday.
>And there's never anything to do at night.
>Especially since it's Friday and you have no friends.
>Old habits die hard, don't they?
>Your gaze slowly travels to Speck as you raise an eyebrow.
>She stops eating her cake, a small piece in each hoof and her mouth full.
>Her gaze slowly meets yours.
>She swallows the piece of cake she was chewing.
"Hey Speck..."
>"Hey Anon..."
>You smirk.
>She smirks.
"Are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"
>She looks down at her cake and furrows her brow.
>She starts to speak.
>You cut her off real fast.
"No. I am not thinking about your cake."
>She shrugs.
>"Then what are you thinking, Anon?"
"I'm thinking we go out and have some fun."
>She adopts a very grumpy look.
>"I'd rather stay here and eat my cake. I can go another day without scaring the daylights out of anyp0ny."
>You step over to her side.
>She sighs.
>She knows exactly what's about to happen.

>You are now Speck.
>Anon has kidnapped you from his house.
>You weren't done with your cake, and he decided to just pick you up and carry you out of the house.
>He is now carrying you off to the other side of town.
>You have no idea where he's taking you.
>You don't care what he wants to do.
>You want your cake.
>You open your mouth to speak.
>"No I will not put you down."
>Rude.
>He won't hear you out at all.
>You flail your hooves, but to no avail.
>He holds fast.
>You grumble and give up.
>He stops walking and holds you up in front of him.
>There's a large sign above a set of double wooden doors.
"I'm not going in there.
>"You're going in there."
"No. I'm not."
>"Who's carrying whom?"
>You sigh.
>You bring your front hooves to your face as he carries you inside, to your doom.
>Your doom, of course, being the popular foal's play-place and pizzeria: "Lipizzan."
>It sounds more like a fancy restaurant, in your opinion.

>You are now Anon.
>And you are having the time of your life.
>Sure, the games are kiddie and the pizza tastes like cardboard.
>But you're absolutely tearing up the inflatable obstacle courses.
>Speck, on the other hand, has been sitting at your table for the past half hour.
>She's still upset over the cake.
>You already told her it would be there when you got back.
>You finish slaughtering a few foals at the obstacle course.
>You flex on dismount and cheer for yourself.
>The foals' mothers glare at you in disgust.
>Whatever, let them step to you.
>Nothing can break your stride.
>You start walking over to Speck.
>She looks up at you and sighs.
>"Can we go now?"
"No. You haven't even played any games or done anything."
>She beats her hooves on the table.
>"But I want my cake!"
>You shake your head and sit beside her.
"You can have your cake after you start having fun here."
>"Anon, I'm not a filly anymore. I don't find stuff like this fun."
>You sigh and roll your eyes.
>So much for having fun on a Friday night.
>You have the worst friend.
"Why are you being so lame? Get up, go play some games, get into it. You'll start having fun in no time."
>She stares at you, clearly trying to bore into your soul with her eyes.
"Start having fun or I'll eat the rest of the cake without you."
>She darts off and disappears into a ball-pit, not even willing to risk your bluff.
>Sometimes, you just know exactly what to say.
>You leave the table, ready to play some P0ny P0ny Revolution.

>You are Speck.
>Anon can be such a jerk sometimes.
>Dragging you to this boring place.
>He knows none of the p0nies in this town like you.
>Except Mrs. Cake.
>But still!
>Does he really expect children to be nice to you?
>You've opted to hide on the top of a slide.
>It's dark up here.
>Nop0ny can see you.
>You look around and see Anon.
>He's flailing around like a dying fish.
>It actually looks like fun.
>You shake your head and furrow your brow.
>You're supposed to be upset right now.
>But he's having fun.
>You slam your hooves down on the slide in front of you.
>He doesn't even care that you're miserable right now.
>You'll show him.
>You'll show him that you don't need him to have fun.
>You can be fun!

>You fly down beside him and scoff.
"Having... fun?"
>You roll your eyes, trying as hard as you can to play it cool and act disinterested.
>He stops rolling around on the floor.
>"Yes. Are you?"
>You stand on the panel next to him.
"Oh yes, loads of fun. More fun than I know what to do with."
>You smirk.
>It's time.
"I've never played this game before."
>You look over at him and smile, batting your eyes at him.
>He starts to speak, obviously getting ready to explain it.
>You shush him.
"No, nevermind. I don't need an explanation. I'll just... wing it."
>He cringes.
>He stands up and brushes himself off.
>The look he's giving you right now.
>It could kill lesser p0nies.
>"You know what Speck. Fine. We'll leave."
>You frown and give a long and drawn out "awww."
"But I was just starting to have fun!"
>Puns are fun.
>Especially when they upset Anon so much.
>You learned earlier in the week that he absolutely despises them, so now you use them as a tool to get your way.
>"Then I'll just leave without you. You ruined the mood."
>You shrug and follow him as he starts to leave.
"That's fine by me."
>The two of you leave the building.
>Anon starts walking in the direction of his house.
>You follow him, hovering by his side.
>He looks upset.
>Really upset.
>And it's making you feel a little upset too.
>You reach a hoof to his shoulder.
>He jerks it away and starts sprinting off.
>This catches you by surprise and prevents you from chasing after him as he turns a corner.

>You are Anon.
>And you really don't want Speck to see you cry right now.
>That pizza place reminded you so much of when you were a child.
>Your mom would take you to Chuck E. Cheese's or Discovery Zone.
>And you'd be entertained for hours on end.
>You thought Speck might have liked it.
>She didn't.
>And you know she didn't.
>You find yourself approaching the library.
>All of the lights are cut off.
>You sit at its back and place your head in your hands.
>And you cry.
>You cry to yourself because everything's gone.
>Five years here, in this almost-too-perfect land.
>And it finally gets to you that you can't go home.
>You did a really good job of ignoring those feelings.
>Even when you first arrived.
>You thought it was a dream.
>You thought maybe you died.
>You never really transitioned into the grieving stage of it all.
>Life was always very "get up and go" for you.
>Never stop.
>Never look back.
>You had one speed.
>You had one gear.
>Go.
>But everything just crumbled down all at once.
>And it hurts.

>You feel two arms wrap around your neck.
>A perfectly soothing voice whispers into your ear.
>"Everything's going to be okay, Anon. I'm sorry."
>You look up, but everything's blurred from your tears.
>All you see is a gray blob with orange in the middle.
>You try to blink it away, but give up.
>You bury your face in Speck's shoulder.
>You wrap your arms around her torso.
>And you cry on her.
>She doesn't seem to mind.
>She just rubs your back and coo's to you.
>She gives you little reassurances that everything will be okay.
>She holds you like you held her that morning.
>You feel her press her nose to into your hair.
>You feel her lips press to your forehead.
>You pull away from her and shake your head.
"Thanks Speck."
>Her embrace tightens around your neck.
>"It's no problem, Anon. You did the same for me."
>You stand up and rub your eyes.
>She hovers beside you.
>She takes your hand up in her hoof and leads you towards your home.