The rusty chimes of the old city rang loudly across the deserted streets, tossing around in the wind, clinking against each other, blowing along in the stale wind that passed through the lifeless city.
Sunset Shimmer awoke to the sound of these chimes, sitting up from the dusty old table she rested upon. The girl groaned once before placing a hand to her head to stave off her dizziness. Slowly, she shifted her legs off the table, dangling them over the wooden floor, unable to reach it from her seated position.
Where am I…? she rubbed at her head.
All around her, crumpled bookshelves and other tables lined the dark room she was in. By the looks of it, no one had been here in a long time. Spider webs spanned from shelf to shelf; there seemed to be papers and books strewn all across the floor in a mess.
The girl finally pushed herself off the table, both feet landing on the wooden floor with a thud and a cloud of dust. Sunset held her breath for a moment, swatting the dust particles away from her face as she moved away from the table.
Now she was certain no one had been here for a long time, but that raised another question in her mind.
How did I get here?
The last thing Sunset remembered was that she was hanging out with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, helping the rainbow haired athlete with her English assignment. Sunset still wasn’t sure how she couldn’t understand simple poetry. After that, she had headed home and then… it was all blank. She had completely no idea how she’d gotten transported to this dark world.
Sunset Shimmer careful treaded across the floor, leaving imprints of her boots in the thin layer of dust. She still had her black jacket, blue dress and jeans, strangely uncovered in dust. There didn’t seem to be any other explanation of how she got here besides being placed here. She just didn’t fit in with the rest of the empty world.
The girl found a door, hidden in a dark corner behind a huge spider web. She pushed her way through it, keeping her head low to avoid getting it in her mouth and eyes. Now she looked like she fit in; her outfit was covered in the web.
The door itself was another challenge. The iron-banded wood was very heavy, forcing Sunset to use every muscle in her body to push the doors out, even if it was only enough room for her to squeeze through.
What is this place?
The hallway she entered was darker than the room she had awoken in, spanning all the way around a curve. Sunset couldn’t see the end, but carried on anyway, looking for something, anything, to make sense of why she was here.
Only about halfway down did she hear it. The soft grunts and squeaks of something ahead. The girl froze on the spot, sweeping her eyes around the hallway, looking for the source. Her eyes couldn’t make out anything in the shadows, but it definitely sounded close.
Sunset took a deep breath to still herself before forcing one foot ahead of the other.
It’s just the floorboards, Sunset. Just keep going. You’re fine.
Without warning, a rat almost as large as her leg rushed out of the darkness, scuttling straight for her. Sunset screamed and jumped away, shooting her arms out in front of her in hopes of keeping it away.
It didn’t work the way she wanted it to. Instead, the rat lunged at her, latching on to the side of her hand with its teeth. Sunset yelled and screamed, running forward, trying to shake the rat off.
The pain was almost unimaginable. She’d been bitten by rats before, but none of them were the size of the one attacking her right now. The girl eventually resorted to smashing the overgrown rodent against the walls, trying to free herself. After the sixth attempt, the rat squealed, open its mouth to do so, letting go of Sunset.
Her hand was running red with blood from two puncture holes in her soft flesh.
The rat fled in one direction, while Sunset Shimmer ran down the other. Tears were already running down her face as she found another heavy door at the end of the hallway.
She didn’t want to be here anymore. She wanted to be back home with her friends, not this dark nightmare. She leaned against the door and cried, confusion and fear taking over her senses.
“This… This must be a dream. But why…? Why?” she muttered into her arm.
There wasn’t an answer, but then again, she didn’t expect to hear one. It would’ve creeped her out a lot more if someone started speaking to her from the sky.
Wiping her tears away with her sleeve, Sunset got to pushing the next door open, using both hands, but keeping the bite wound well away from the wooden door.
The next room was a long spiral staircase down, the bottom unseen in the darkness that swarmed below. Sunset took a long slow gulp and slowly descended, keeping her good hand on the dusty old railing. The rest of her journey down was deathly quiet, but Sunset preferred that over giant rats any day.
“This must be a dream, this must be a dream,” the girl kept telling herself. There was no way she would’ve gone to a place like this willingly. She already missed her friends. She internally cried out, wishing she was with them instead of being in this dark and terrible place.
Sunset Shimmer coughed as she reached the bottom of the stairs. The air down here was stale and musty, and it smelt a little like smelly socks. She looked around, holding a hand to her mouth and nose, but the passage down here led to a single hallway straight ahead; it was so dark that Sunset could see mist, congealing around the walls.
She threatened to panic, but closed her eyes and breathed deeply. “I can do this… I can do this. I just need to find a way out. That’s it. Then I’ll wake up. Yes.”
The fiery haired girl scraped her hands along the floor, looking for something she could use, just in case she met another giant rat. Eventually, her fingers closed around a broken plank, thin enough for her fingers to wrap around fully, but also sturdy enough to swing.
She hoped there was nothing down the hallway. She really couldn’t see anything but herself and the lower wooden frame of the walls on her left and right. Her bright red and yellow hair stood out in the dark, like a flame in the night. If there were things down here, they’d be able to see her, while she had no chance of seeing any of them. Then again, maybe if was for the better that she couldn’t see more rats, as long as they left her alone.
Sunset proceeded carefully, trying to see through the shadowy veil; she needed to at least find the door to get out of this place. Not even ten minutes into her walk, the sounds of something squeaking near her left stopped her dead in her tracks.
Not again… she held her breath, anticipating something to leap out of the dark towards her. The girl raised her weapon, placing both hands around it, cautious to avoid her injury. You can do this, Sunset. Whatever’s out there, rats or not… You’ve got your weapon this time…
The girl shuffled herself forward, every step stopping her heartbeat for a second. The hallway seemed to go on forever, but Sunset held on, trying to remain optimistic. She was going to get out of here and she was going to see her friends again.
Just then, two shapes appeared out of the darkness, both as equally disgusting as the first one she saw, the first one that attacked her. Both rats looked like they had just survived a gruesome attack, sporting missing skin and cuts all their bodies.
Sunset felt bad doing this, but she knew she had to if she wanted to get out. The first rat lunged for her, but she swiped out with her plank, catching it in the side of the head, knocking it down to the side with a shrill squeak.
“Sorry…” Sunset grimaced. She didn’t like it anymore than the rats. If only they would leave her alone.
The first one got up and scurried away into the darkness she had come from, but the second one stood its ground, assessing Sunset. The fiery haired girl took her wooden weapon in both hands and swung forward rapidly, trying to chase the rat away, hoping to avoid a fight. Instead of running, it jumped for her arm, latching on with both front paws as it bit into her forearm, drawing blood.
“Ah!” Sunset screamed and almost dropped her plank. She controlled herself to her best ability and swapped the plank to her other hand.
She beat at the rat’s grey head, trying to dislodge it, only successful after the sixth hit. The rat let go of her flesh and slumped to the ground, unmoving.
Sunset Shimmer let out a sigh of relief and staggered forward, clutching at her new injury. The rat’s giant teeth had torn right through her jacket sleeve, digging down into her skin, cutting her arm. Tears from fear and pain began to leave the girl’s eyes again as she raced ahead. She didn’t care about what lurked in the dark anymore. She just wanted to escape, any means necessary.
Luckily enough, nothing else stood in her way to the next door, which the girl slumped against as she slowed to a stop. Sunset breathed heavily, fighting her shock and fatigue, trying to focus. Her wounds needed attention; who knows what kind of diseases those giant rats might be carrying, but first…
Sunset pushed at one side of the door with her shoulder, forcing it open inch by inch. As soon as the entryway was big enough, she squeezed herself out, glad to finally be out in the open. Sunset wiped at her damp forehead and looked up to the sky. It was of a dark orange colour, and the buildings around her looked ancient and deserted.
“Where am I…?” she breathed, dropping the plank. She brought her hand up to her wounded arm and held it there, trying to take her mind off the pain.
There were streets and carts and even benches, but there didn’t seem to be anyone else in the city but her. Sunset recognized none of the structures. This definitely wasn’t Canterlot or any city she’d been to before. Seeing no other choice, Sunset did the only thing that she could. She advanced forward.
Sunset proceeded up up sloped street, searching around for signs of life, though she didn’t want to see another rat for as long as she lived. She had the injuries to prove it.
After another turn up a small staircase, Sunset found a row of weapons, lined up against a wooden backing, just sitting by the side of the road, untouched. The girl raised an eyebrow.
Why are there weapons here, and why aren’t they being used?
There was a short sword, a regular sword, and even a spear with a blue wrapping around the shaft.
Sunset looked around. Surely the people who placed these weapons here were still around. Right? Then another thought invaded her mind. What were these weapons used against? She didn’t want to stay around to find out, but just in case, Sunset reached down and picked up the normal length sword. At least she had some practice with this thing.
Sunset clasped the handle in her right hand, but both her arms had injuries, making it harder to wield the steel weapon. Just as she brought the sword down to her side, a guttural cry arose from beyond the spiked roofs of the buildings in front of her. It made every hair on Sunset’s body stand besides startling her into stumbling back, almost falling to the gravel below.
Sunset could feel her heartbeat in her head, slowly increasing in speed. By the sound of it, there was something much bigger than rats out in the city, and she had no intention of finding out what it was.
Turning around, the girl walked back the way she came, heading back down the steps. There were a few different roads she had passed earlier; maybe one of them would lead her to a safer place.
“And where are you going, little lass?” a voice suddenly echoed behind her, raising the hair on Sunset’s neck.
The girl turned around and jumped back, coming face to face with a strange man, wielding a wooden shield in one hand, a torch in the other.
“Who are you?” she asked warily, careful not to lower her guard too much. This was the first living person she’s seen, but something about him felt off.
“No one important,” he replied. Only now did Sunset notice that the man had a low, scrappy voice, with a hint of a Trottingham accent. “You on the other hand. I could see your flame from all the way over there.” He pointed a finger up the road.
Sunset took a single step back. “My… Flame?”
“You have a flame within you, dear lass. People will kill for it. So will the beasts.”
“What so significant about this flame?” Sunset decided to ask.
“Fire isn’t just destruction. It’s life. Warmth. Most of us here…” the man pointed to his gnarly face, which was missing patches of skin. “We’re no longer living. Your flame is a prize. One we’re willing to have, no matter the cost.”
Sunset raised her blade in front of herself. “A-Are you going to try to take it from me?”
The man bent back with a small chuckle. “Oh, believe me, I would love to, but I still retain most of my senses. I can resist its call. For now, you are safe from me.”
Sunset dropped her sword a few inches, but held it strong. She had no idea what could happen at any moment.
Another cry sounded over the cityline, one more beastial than the previous one.
The man looked up and sighed. “You must go, lass. Get away from the city. Use the Thieves’ Passage. You need to head to the city outskirts and head down to the sewers. Get out of here while you can.”
“What?” Sunset stayed where she was. “But where do I go after that?”
The man shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is you leave Theiros while you can. While you’re still living.”
“Theiros?” Sunset asked before understanding. This must’ve been the name of the city. But the man wanted her to get out? Then go where? Sunset had so many questions in her mind.
“You must go,” the man shoved her, almost gently. “By now one of the others must’ve seen your flame. Keep the sword. This world is more dangerous than you know.”
Sunset was about to do as the man said, but she still had one more question. “Wait! How did I get here? Why am I here?”
The grizzled man just stared at her with widened eyes. “What are you talking about, lass? I do not know why you are here. I’m afraid you’ll have to figure that out on your own.”
With a saddened nod, Sunset turned and retreated down the stairs, away from the man, but also towards the city. To escape, she first had to enter the horrible place. Even if it was only going to be brief, a cloud of fear balled up in Sunset’s chest. This was going to be the most difficult task she would ever do.