Sunset woke up in a cold sweat. She was hyperventilating, still recovering from the terrible nightmare she had just awoken from. Her palms still sweaty and her hands shaking, she looked around the room, cyan eyes darting rapidly back and forth. Her breathing steadied as her mind came to the conclusion that it had only been a dream.
"Wow, what a dream." She thought as she grasped her head in pain."Was it just a simple dream though? It just seemed so... real." She thought as she slowly threw her legs over the side of her bed. They dangled from the bed as she cradled her head, sweat running down her forehead and into her clammy hands.They slid to her knees as she took in her surroundings. She hadn't been aware of the rain outside up until now.
Sunset wobbled her way over to the window to look at the storm. The sheer speed of the rapidly advancing tar black clouds coating the sky made her gasp. She heard a light pitter-patter, which quickly advanced into a roar. Outside, people ran for cover and umbrellas shot up as the water broke loose. Puddles began began forming as the rainfall became stronger still. Roofs of cars dancing with spray as the early morning coffee rush dispersed.
She rubbed her right eyes as she yawned. "I think I need to clear my head a little.” She started to rise, but then stopped cold in realization. “Could be the new magic be causing my nightmares?" Her train of thought was cut off by a short chime.
“Crap!" She groaned. Sunset normally kept her phone in her pocket, in case of an emergency (and for convenience), but she had thrown her jacket under her bed while changing last night. Her eyes shifted to look at her wooden floor as she looked at the darkness peering out from under her bed. She rolled her eyes at her misfortune. “Great. Out of all the possible places, I just had to pick the hardest to reach. Perfect.” She walked to the edge of her bed. A tangerine hand stretched out for balance as she bent down to grab the device. Her eyes scanned back and forth as she hunted for the phone.
The wind picked up, and what had been the steady thrum of water turned into an absolute downpour of the liquid. A wall of rain moved over the wood and the drops were striking down upon the roof. So much rain was falling that the sound didn't even sound like the plinking of rain. It all blurred into one monotonous sound, not unlike that of an airplane. Thunder shook the house down to the foundation, with lightning flashing in the distance. As the lighting flashed, so did the screen of Sunset’s phone.
“Aha! There it is!” She cried out in joy. The phone vibrated again, pushing the messages up to 66, alongside 1 missed call from Fluttershy. As Sunset struggled to reach for her phone the rain outside seemed to increase in its battering. The moment her fingers touched the glass screen, the light it emitted cut off and the raging winds began to die down. She grabbed the phone and pressed the power button.
She hopped back onto her bed as she repeatedly pressed the button. Finally, a blinking battery outline with a bit of red in it started flashing. “Huh. I guess it’s dead. I could have sworn it was at 70% last night…” She raised a brow as she examined the screen to see if anything was wrong with it. “I guess it’s just a dead battery. Stupid cheap Stablesung phones.”
She jumped off the bed and hunted for the cord. She bounced in place, waiting for the phone to light up. At last! The phone’s screen sprung to life. She saw immediately how spammed her phone message box was. She swiped to the left and punched in her passcode. She yawned again as her eyes scanned the screen. They were all messages from her friends. They ranged from “Darling, please hurry on over to Fluttershy’s place. I’m afraid there’s some simply dreadful news that just can’t be sent over the phone.” To “Plz zoom over to Flutter’s house ASAP. There’s some super-unfun news that the girls and I need to tell you.” They ranged in style, but the message was clear: Something awful had happened, and she needed to get to Fluttershy’s right away.
She was so overwhelmed by the barrage of frightening messages that she didn't even notice the one dot in the corner: MISSED CALL (1): FLUTTERSHY. She threw on her teal tank top, leather jacket, jeans, and boots and flew out the door. Sunset knew she had to hurry. Those texts were no joke. Frazzled beyond belief, she rode her motorcycle down the wet pavement. A police car in the other lane sped up, it’s bumper level with her bike.
"We have a one eighty-seven... I repeat: we have a one eighty-seven, over." The police radio blared as Sunset strained to listen to it. "Subject appears to be a young female, 15 to 20 years of age, requesting backup immediately, over.” "Copy that, I’m on my way, over.” The cop responded. “What’s the address, over?” “Address is." The broadcaster hesitated for a moment, and the crinkling of paper was heard."3445, Cotton Cottage Lane.." The words hit Sunset like a moving train. 3445 Cotton Cottage Lane was the house she was barreling towards. Fluttershy’s house.
Sunset shuddered and sped up. She was extremely worried now, and tears were blurring her vision. As she pulled up against the sidewalk, she saw the plethora of police cars in the driveway. "No, no, no, no, NO, NO!!" Sunset cried out to herself as she barreled towards the front door and hurdled the yellow tape.
She was quickly intercepted by an officer patrolling the area. "Excuse me miss, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave. This is a crime scene." The officer said. "Please leave the premises for a few hours until we can get this whole mess cleaned up." The officer laid a hand upon Sunset’s shoulder. Sunset saw quick flashes of the house and other officers before he retracted his hand." Please. This is my friend’s house. Please, what’s going on?" She begged. “I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to discuss the details with civilians. Now please, step back.” The officer firmly stated. "This is a crime scene."
He held a hand out to signal her to stay back. Sunset was getting frustrated, she had to know if Fluttershy was okay. “I hope he knows what’s going on. I’m risking so much by using my power in public.” Sunset’s eyes lit up a bright white, and the officer’s thoughts flashed before her eyes.
My car was racing in the rain as I approached the crime scene. I was the first to approach the scene of the call. This meant my threat was entirely unknown. The rain splashed against my sleek car as I approached the address. Holy shit! The door had dents in it, and the window was smashed in, a lamp with kittens on the shade sticking through the pastel drapes. "This is officer Phillips responding to a distress call on 3445 Cotton Cottage Road, signs of a struggle, may need backup.” I said as I pulled up at the humble looking cottage on the aptly-named street. I reached into my holster and loaded my gun immediately upon exiting the vehicle. I knew there had been some kind of struggle and wanted to be on guard. My hot breath visible in the cold air as the rain was now pelting my uniform, staining it a dark midnight blue. My hand shook slightly as he was approached the ajar front door. Whoever broke in, they were able to just waltz out the door. "This is the police! We are entering the building."He called out into the darkness as he crept into the smashed adobe, his shadow elongated on the wall, following him around the house. The rain cast an ominous gloom in the house."If anyone is here, show yourself.” His free hand shone a flashlight around the room, landing on a lifeless corpse. The body had pink hair and sickeningly pale yellow skin. A bullet lay near her head, blood spilling from a wound in the other side of the girl’s skull, forming a puddle around her body. Her lifeless teal eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. Her left hand clutched a phone. Shattered glass formed a pattern around her body. But the most startling thing about her was her mouth, open wide in a silent scream that no one had heard.
Sunset jerked her hand away in shock. The officer staring at her with a mixture of shock and concern for her glowing eyes. He looked like he had just seen a ghost. But Sunset didn’t register any of that. One thought echoed around her head, draining all the life out of her.
Fluttershy was dead?