//------------------------------//
// The eye's of a wounded child
// Story: Hell is for children
// by dragenfire68
//------------------------------//
‘I don’t belong. I never have.’ Sunset Shimmer thought, as she lovingly caressed the book in her lap. In it was scrawled one last message, one that she hoped, wouldn't make Twilight feel guilty when she read it. She was lying to herself of course and she knew it, but she wanted it to stop and she had no other option. At least she thought, she had no other option, as she started tying the knots, crying ever so slightly as she did.
But the universe had other plans.
Father Tirek, the priest at the local church and ex-marine, was packing up his truck, as he left from the monthly food drive. He didn't know, why he was putting the utensils for cutting bread on top, he just had a feeling, that he would need them. He started up his truck and headed for his house, set in Tartarus Heights. It used to be a place overrun with criminals, but since the ex-marine had moved in and either caught or threw out the old criminals, its name was now more symbolic of its former days, than anything.
"Hmm, the moon is beautiful," Tirek sighed, as he went slowly, both to take in the night and, since no one came on this road, to make sure that no criminals were skulking around. As he eyed the horizon, he caught sight of something red and orange near the water.
Moving further down, he saw that it was just a girl, clad in a frayed old leather jacket. She was leaning against the railing, holding what looked like a book. Suddenly, she put the book in the ground and climbed over the railing, something trailing behind her. Something too thick for headphone wires, something that looked suspiciously like a...
"ROPE!" Tirek shouted, as he turned onto the curb and got out of the car. Grabbing the large butchers knife, he ran towards the railing as the girl jumped, at a speed he hadn't moved with, since his marine days. He reached the railing and slammed the knife down on the knot, with enough force to shatter the blade. He looked down, worried for a moment that he missed, but the girl dropped into the once peaceful water below. Ignoring the pain in his hand, he jumped after her.
***
Laying in the center of a warm field, Sunset Shimmer felt content. Soaking in the warmth and serenity, there was no pain, no fear, no weight on her back. Suddenly she felt a presence, something old and powerful, but also benevolent.
"Who are you?" she asked, but she knew, she knew exactly who it was and why they were here. She didn't want to go, but the being spoke anyways
"I am Nekros. And it isn't your time yet Sunset Shimmer, you have still more to do. Your capacity for good outweighs your evil." the being spoke, its name more like a whisper in her mind than actual words
"H-how do you know that, how can you be sure?" Sunset asked, sadness creeping into her voice
"Just trust in who you are and the destiny given to you and you'll see. You’re meant for so much more." Nekros said, his voice sounding more distant.
Sunset, for her part, was feeling icy cold now, but as Nekros’ presence grew further and further away, warmth began to envelop her again. Feeling incredibly tired, she closed her eyes.
***
Tirek hit the water with barely a splash. The cold water stung in his eyes, but he barely even noticed it, as he reached the young girl. The rope was still attached to her neck, but loose enough, that he could pull it off easily. Breaking the surface, he hauled the girl to the shore. Back on dry land, Tirek placed his ear over the girl’s heart and found it, thankfully, still beating.
"I can’t leave her here and I don’t know who she is, or where she lives." Tirek reasoned as he picked the girl up and brought her to his still-running car. Taking a moment, to collect her stuff and putting it next to the food drive supplies, he drove up to his house, determined to help this girl escape whatever pain she endured. After putting the girl to bed, with a few extra blankets, he decided, that he needed to make a few calls, first thing in the morning.
The Next day:
Tirek woke, as he always did, at 6:30 a.m. sharp, with today's plans tumbling in his mind. As he got up and reached for the phone, his first instinct was to call someone, who might know the identity of the girl and what she was doing all the way out in Tartarus heights. No sooner had he hit the speed dial number, that a tired, but surprised voice answered.
"Father Tirek?" the surprise voice asked.
"Indeed, is this Celestia?" Tirek asked, he knew who it was, but asked out of respect anyway.
"Yes it is, what can I help you with?” Celestia asked, with a slight yawn “I've got an urgent case to deal with right now."
"So do I, Celestia," Tirek replied solemnly
"Oh no, is it another runaway? Do they need a temporary place to sleep?"
"It’s a lot more than homelessness I’m afraid,” Tirek sighs “this one’s hurting, and she hurting badly."
"W-who is it?" Celestia asks, fearing the answer.
"I don’t know her name, but she has red and orange hair, a leather jacket and she had a rope."
Celestia's breath caught in her throat, as she put two and two together. She felt a nasty twisting in her gut, as several startling realizations came crashing down on her. The pain working its way up into her heart, she spoke.
"H-her name is Sunset Shimmer, she is one of my students and I’m afraid that she is homeless. Yesterday my sister found her bed and a stack of her homework inside the school library, as she was watching the computers, trying to catch Anon-A-Miss"
It was Tirek's turn to have his breath catch in his throat, as he put two and two together. A twisting feeling formed in his gut, as he guessed at what had brought this young girl to the bridge with a rope. A sudden buzzing noise pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Excuse me Celestia but it seems Miss Shimmer's cell is going off, even though she left it behind." as he went over to check, what the buzzing was, he found a glowing, and buzzing book. "Umm Celestia, why is her book buzzing and why is it glowing?"
"Tirek, we have a lot to discuss, but for now, just reply by writing something on the page and be prepared for what’s coming. She is not gonna be happy about what happened here." Celestia said as she hung up. With a heavy sigh, she put her face in her hands and sobbed quietly to herself. A few minutes later Luna found her and rushed over to her side.
"Tia, what is it dear sister, this is too rare for you, please tell me!" Luna begged, as she gently turned Celestia’s tear-stained face towards her
Celestia said nothing as tears continued to fall, but staring into her sister's eyes she knew, that Luna had to know. She told her, about what she learned from her call with Tirek. As she did, Luna's breathing grew heavy and her mouth thinned into a deep scowl, her eyes speaking volumes of the rage she felt, but as she looked down at her sister, they softened again and she began to console her sister.
***
Tirek put down the phone. He understood, that he and Sunset, would need to talk to Celestia later that day after school was out, but for now, he had to take care of the mysterious book, which was still a glowing and vibrating in his hand. Quickly finding a pen, he began to write.
‘Dear mysterious friend of Miss Shimmer,
my name is Tirek, and I have Sunset Shimmer here with me. She is unharmed, mostly.
I got to her before she could fatally hurt herself and she is safe and resting here at Tartarus Heights, looking forward to meeting you.
Sincerely
Father Tirek’
As he finished, he noticed, that the messages had stopped and soon one appeared underneath his.
‘Dear Father Tirek,
thank you so much! Thank you for saving her, where I failed! I shall be there in A few days. Keep her safe, keep her warm, and above all, please try to fix her damaged heart.
Sincerely
Princess Twilight Sparkle’
As he finished reading, Tirek realized that he had sat down somewhere during the process. Leaning back in his seat, he decided to look through the book, figuring that, since this Twilight Sparkle, was such a dear friend to her, he might glean just how damaged Sunset was, from their conversations. As he read the starting passage, he knew that this was going to be a long morning.