The dinghy sailed across the water, which was as smooth as a sheet of glass. Sitting up front was Spitfire and Jasper, in the middle was Sue, who held Zoe and Minka securely in her arms, and sitting behind her was Youngmee and Shadow Blazer.
"Where exactly are you taking us, Ms. Spitfire?" asked an anxious Sue.
Spitfire smirked. "If I told you, it wouldn't be very fascinating."
Sue blushed. "Well, sorry for asking. I just don't do too well on boats, that's all."
Shadow Blazer gave Sue a reassuring hug. "No need to worry. We'll be there in a minute. What did you say your name was again?"
"It's Sue, Sue Patterson."
Shadow Blazer nodded as the dinghy passed through a tunnel and into what appeared to be a large, dim cavern. The only sound echoing around the area was the sound of water dripping every ten seconds. It was enough to fuel Sue's anxiety to the point where she began to feel slightly nauseous, as though she were feeling seasick.
Everyone on board was silent, staring up ahead at a crooked, wooden cabin amidst a sand-covered surface, surrounded by nothing more than water. Youngmee was impressed at how well it was structured, but Zoe was almost as nervous as Sue.
"I don't know about this," said Zoe. "This place doesn't seem all that safe to me."
Sue gently stroked the purple dog's back. "You and me both."
As the dinghy reached a small harbour next to the cabin, Shadow Blazer lifted Zoe and Minka from the middle row with her left wing and took Sue's hand, helping her off the boat along with Youngmee and Jasper. Spitfire stayed put to see them off.
"Aren't you going with us, Ms. Spitfire?" said Jasper.
Spitfire shook her head. "No thanks. Shadow Blazer wants me to take care of her friend Blythe while she stays here with you." She turned the dinghy around and sailed her way back to the forest. "See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!"
Youngmee was put off by Spitfire's comment, but responded with a friendly wave. "See you soon!"
Standing in front of the cabin was Shadow Blazer's sister—a reddish brown mare with a black mane and tail, both with pink and red highlights, and a cutie mark featuring that of a rose—Wilted Rose.
Shadow Blazer approached Wilted Rose and greeted her with a hug. "Wilted Rose! It's good to see you!"
"It's good to see you too, sis," said Wilted Rose, in a welcoming tone of voice, before turning attention to the group standing behind her sister. "I see you've brought some friends."
"I've brought them over to stay at your cabin," said Shadow Blazer, letting go of Wilted Rose. "Things are a little hectic outdoors at the moment."
Wilted Rose nodded. "Sure thing, sis. Make yourselves right at home. It's not exactly the Ritz, but it'll do just fine."
Wilted Rose led the group into the cabin and switched on the light, and the group were delighted to find that it looked better than they had anticipated. Inside the somewhat decrepit-looking cabin were three individual beds, all perfectly-made. On each side sat two smaller beds—one specially-prepared dog bed for Zoe, and the other for Shadow Blazer.
In front of them was a table, with a television set sitting on top of it next to a stack of videotapes. This made Youngmee quite curious—why would there be a stack of videotapes and a TV sitting right in front of them? She quickly shook off the feeling and sat herself on one of the beds.
"Wow, Rose!" she exclaimed. "This room looks fantastic!"
Wilted Rose smirked at Youngmee. "Well, I do what I can."
Zoe made herself comfortable on her dog bed. "Oh, Wilted Rose! This bed you've prepared for me is divine! I guess I don't have to worry too much after all."
"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Minka, leaping up to Wilted Rose's face. "Wilted, this is amazing and all, but where am I gonna sleep?"
Wilted Rose took Minka into her hooves. "I've already got that covered. You can sleep with the orange-haired one." She placed Minka onto Sue's bed, where the energetic spider-monkey leapt onto Sue and gave her a warm hug.
"This is so thoughtful of you, Wilted!" said Minka, as Sue hugged her back. "Thanks!"
"Any time," said Wilted Rose.
Jasper groaned pleasurably as he climbed into bed. "So comfy... how do you manage to do it?"
Wilted Rose smiled. "I aim to please!"
Shadow Blazer settled into her own bed. "Home, sweet home." She looked up at Youngmee. "See, Youngmee? That's what sisters are for. Wilted Rose has been taking care of me in this cabin since I found my way into your world."
"She sounds like a nice sibling of yours," said Youngmee.
The look on Shadow Blazer's face quickly changed. "Indeed, but know this: she may seem nice now, but she can be rough around the edges. Be sure to keep that in mind."
Youngmee stayed silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "That's understandable."
Wilted Rose stood at the doorstep and switched off the light before leaving the cabin, giving the group a moment to settle into their new environment.
At the LPS day camp, Pepper remained in the hydrant hangout, laying on the front as Sugar Sprinkles gently brushed her tail. She began to feel all the more lonely without Zoe and Minka, as they knew for a solid fact that Pepper meant well in finding her happiest scent.
"Gee," said Sugar Sprinkles, "it must be tough dealing with all this grief, huh?"
Pepper sighed. "Tell me about it. Somehow, I still feel responsible for Penny Ling's death. We haven't had the best friendship, because she was so sensitive. And just when we were ready to hit it off, I went and ruined it all." She began to cry softly. "I blew it! And now I may never get a second chance!"
Sugar Sprinkles quietly shushed her. "No, no, Pepper. It ain't like that. You and Penny Ling were still pretty good friends, I just know it. I promise, this'll only get better from here." She pulled Pepper in for a hug.
Pepper smiled as she hugged Sugar Sprinkles back. "Thanks, Sugar Sprinkles. You're just as good of a friend as Zoe and Minka." She let go of the snowshoe cat and sat back down. "Speaking of whom, how long do you suppose they'll be gone?"
Sugar Sprinkles shrugged. "I dunno. But I know they'll be in good hands."
Youngmee, Sue and Jasper laid in the beds, already changed into their pyjamas, with Zoe and Minka having already fell asleep. Youngmee was about to fall asleep herself when she was startled by a prolonged groan. She quickly turned around and saw that it was coming from Shadow Blazer, whose stomach began to feel strange.
"Ms. Blazer, what on earth is going on?" asked Youngmee.
"Sorry I startled you," said Shadow Blazer, who kept one hoof on her belly. "I'm not feeling too good right now. My stomach's tied up in knots!"
Suddenly, Shadow Blazer began to feel nauseous as sweat poured down her face. She pressed two of her hooves against her belly, letting out another prolonged groan, forcing Jasper, Sue and Minka awake.
"What's going on?" groaned Minka as she shook herself awake.
Youngmee leapt out of bed and kneeled down in front of Shadow Blazer. "Ms. Blazer, are you okay?"
"Yes," said Shadow Blazer, trying hard to fight back her nausea. "Just a little queasy, that's all."
Shadow Blazer felt her nausea rank up to eleven as her face slowly turned a sickly shade of green. This worried Youngmee, who didn't know what was going on with her second closest friend. Shadow Blazer began to feel an onslaught of phlegm rise up her throat and she immediately slammed a hoof on her mouth, her cheeks swelling up like balloons.
Youngmee whimpered. "Ms. Blazer?"
With a surge of high energy, Shadow Blazer got up and ran from the door, using her wings to keep the contents of her stomach from spilling onto the floor. As she raced through the door, looking for a good spot to let loose, Wilted Rose walked into the cabin, pleasantly confused.
"What's going on here?" asked Wilted Rose.
Youngmee couldn't help but blush. "Oh, nothing special. Your sister's just feeling a little nauseous, that's all."
Wilted Rose was caught off-guard by the loud retching coming from her sister at the other side of the cavern. "You don't say."
Minka leapt up to Wilted Rose's face. "Wilted, why's your sister feeling nauseous? Is she sick?"
"I shouldn't think so," said Youngmee. "She hasn't been sick since the day I first met her."
Wilted Rose stepped forward towards Youngmee. "How long have you known my sister?"
"For almost a year," said Youngmee. "We get along really well, and she's a good mother figure for my friend Blythe Baxter."
"Who's Blythe Baxter?" asked Wilted Rose.
"A friend of mine who lives above Littlest Pet Shop," said Youngmee. "We used to hang out a lot at school and she even sometimes helped out with the treats at my…" She stuttered, then began to tear up. "…Aunt Christie's sweet shop Sweet Delights. We've grown so close to each other since she moved to Downtown City." She sighed. "But now that her panda friend's gone, we barely talk to each other anymore, if at all. I'm starting to get worried about her."
Without warning, Wilted Rose slumped over Youngmee's bed and burst into tears.
"What's wrong?" asked Youngmee.
Wilted Rose wiped the tears from her eyes. "Oh, nothing. You just remind me of my human friends."
Youngmee became curious. "You have human friends?"
Wilted Rose sniffled. "Well, let's replace have with had. Me and my human friends really had it going...until they passed away."
Youngmee got up and held Wilted Rose in her arms. "I'm so sorry to hear that."
Wilted Rose sobbed in Youngmee's arms. "Oh, it's no biggie. I'm doing just fine with my sister, because she too had a human friend who died."
Youngmee shushed the weeping mare. "It's okay. You don't need to worry about that anymore. Your sister has me by her side, and if anything, you're no different."
Wilted Rose let go of Youngmee and headed back to the door. Before leaving the cabin, she turned to Youngmee and gave her a faint smile. "Thanks for the support there. The only other memory I have of my human friends is a diamond necklace with one of our group photos, and it's sitting at the bottom of the river in this very cavern."
As Wilted Rose left the cabin and Youngmee sat back down, Shadow Blazer returned after her bout of vomiting and slumped over on her bed, keeping a firm hoof on her belly. Youngmee got back up and gently stroked her back.
"How are you feeling now, Ms. Blazer?" asked Youngmee.
Shadow Blazer panted as she wiped a trickle of phlegm from her mouth. "Better."
Russell, Sunil and Vinnie remained huddled together in the corner of the LPS day camp. They were unwilling look Pepper in the eye due to how much they became scared of her. From the moment they were informed of Penny Ling's death, they immediately came to the conclusion that Pepper outright murdered one of their own. And they had a feeling they would be next.
"How long do we have to stay huddled together?" asked Vinnie.
Sunil whimpered. "Perhaps for the rest of our lives."
Russell, who was still curled up into a ball, was so terrified that he was unable to come out of his trance. The only sounds he could make were high-pitched whimpers. He felt that all of his lectures weren't enough to set Pepper straight, even if he knew Penny Ling's death was a freak accident.
In the hydrant hangout, Pepper was showing Sugar Sprinkles what was going on outside. "You see what I mean?"
Sugar Sprinkles nodded. "So they think you're a murderer?"
Pepper nodded. "Yep. They haven't been able to sleep since the funeral. To be fair, how they've managed to survive six restless months is pretty damn impressive."
"They must be losing their minds over there," said Sugar Sprinkles, showing concern for the boys.
"And then some," said Pepper. "I know for a fact that I'm no murderer. Though no matter how many times I keep telling myself that, the guilt keeps flooding back to me."
"So strange," said Sugar Sprinkles, placing a paw on Pepper's shoulder. "Do you suppose there's something deep down inside you that's trying to reaffirm that belief?"
"I don't wanna believe it," said Pepper, "but it sounds likely."
Sugar Sprinkles hugged Pepper close. "Well, whatever it is, we're gonna do whatever we can to find out exactly what's causing it."
"Thanks," said Pepper, smirking. "You're a good friend, Sugar Sprinkles."
Sugar Sprinkles blushed and purred. "Oh, stop!"
Pepper chuckled, but her smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "Wait... I've just realised something."
Sugar Sprinkles listened in. "Shoot."
"If you're here, then where's Buttercream?"
Zoe, Minka, Sue and Jasper slept soundly in their beds, all the while Youngmee stared blindly at the ceiling, contemplating her conversation with Wilted Rose from earlier. She couldn't believe for one second that she and Shadow Blazer had human friends of their own until their eventual deaths. But that did not concern her as much as what she was really thinking.
"I still don't get it," she thought to herself. "What would a diamond necklace containing a group photo be doing at the bottom of the lake? This doesn't add up."
She lifted her head and directed her attention to her duffle bag, which was sitting in front of her bed. "Hmm… I've never really defined myself as one to take risks on a daily basis, but…" She sighed. "…you know what they say, the risk is better than the alternative."
She got up from her bed and picked up her duffle bag before making her way towards the door. As she pushed the door open, she took one last look at the rest of the group and walked outside the cabin, keeping herself tranquilled as she was about to undertake drastic action.
"The things I do for them…"
