//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Attempt in Yard-Out // Story: Prison Talks // by M_H_S //------------------------------// One Week Later ‘No time’ was the biggest lie Sunset had ever thought of… “Arghh!!” The noise was muffled once Sunset buried her head into her arm. Silent Dusk glanced at her before turning back to her book. Twilight scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously when Sunset glared at the offending book. It had been one long week and Silent Dusk was as close to talking as Pinkie getting tired to parties. “I reckon you ain’t having the best of time?” Applejack sat across from Sunset and frowned at Silent Dusk, “She STILL has her nose in those books? No offense.” Twilight waved it off with a giggle. “It’s like talking to an actual wall!” Sunset gritted her teeth, the past week had been the ultimate test of patience. After the first day, Silent Dusk didn’t talk the next day…. or any day after that. She hadn’t even insulted any of them. Day in and day out, Silent Dusk would barely interact with anyone. She wouldn’t even ACKNOWLEDGE them when it came to the simplest things! Food was nearly impossible. She would just take whatever she wanted, even if it wasn’t hers! Not only that, but Sunset had to make sure she didn’t steal anything; books, food, wallets, and even pets! She had to apologize to Fluttershy and Twilight more times than she wanted to count. It was only a week and she already felt like it’s been months. It’s not like they weren’t trying either. Twilight was trying to connect through books. Silent Dusk was a big reader after all. Well…there was a lack of things to do for her, but they were taking whatever they could. Twilight would bring three different books, usually different genre, and Silent Dusk would simply pick one to read. For the most part, she would finish the book within the day and Twilight would try to talk about the book. After a while, Silent Dusk would nod for comments she agreed on and raise an eyebrow for more explanation. Fluttershy was…interesting. She would try to talk about the animals at the shelter, but Silent Dusk wouldn’t really reply. But at least she looked at Fluttershy while she talked…sometimes anyways. Applejack would try to bride her with apple cider. Surprisingly, that did something. Silent Dusk has a liking to the drink and would put her book down to savor the taste. Applejack had been using the trick to talk a bit about her farm and how they were the ones who supply the cider. Rarity would nitpick Silent Dusk’s outfit and talk about different clothing styles. It was all one sided, but at least it gave Rarity freedom to suggest outfit after outfit. Pinkie Pie… Sunset cringed as she saw Pinkie Pie rushing around the cafeteria. She was finishing up ANOTHER party for Silent Dusk. Luckily, she was keeping it small after the first two attempts. Rainbow Dash’s approach was as direct as always. Slam A soccer ball slammed in front of Silent Dusk. Sunset groaned as another headache started up. At least Silent Dusk raised an eyebrow at the multicolored distraction. “You and me. Soccer field. Now.” The two locked eyes for the first time in a while. While Rainbow Dash’s eyes were filled with fire, Silent Dusk’s eyes were filled with ice. For a moment, Sunset believed Silent Dusk would speak. But as quickly as the tension appear, it was broken by Silent Dusk turning back to her book. Rainbow Dash slammed the ball again against the table. “Hey! I’m talking to you!” Sunset sighed. She should have known… “Rainbow Dash, she’s not going to play a game with you.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and sat down next to Applejack, who took a bite of her apple before commenting. “Our little guest could use a few laps though.” Applejack pointed out, “I would have reckoned she was rearing to go.” “Not all of us are willing to run for fun.” Rarity scrunched her nose at the thought. Twilight nodded, “I wouldn’t do any physical activity if it wasn’t with friends or for school either…” “Yeah, but we got nothing else! She won’t do anything!” Rainbow Dash pointed a finger at Silent Dusk. “If she thinks she’s so hot, then let’s settle this outside!” Sunset rested her head against her hand and replied, “Right…and how do you expect to move her outside?” “Oh, that’s easy.” Rainbow Dash moved her finger from Silent Dusk to…Sunset? The former she-demon was taken aback. “Me?What can…” Sunset stopped herself when she realized what Rainbow Dash wanted. The magic chains between herself and Silent Dusk. They haven't used them yet since Silent Dusk wasn’t trying to harm them. Sunset didn’t even WANT to use them yet… “Whoa whoa. I know she’s being difficult, but that doesn’t mean-“ Rainbow Dash cut her off, “What do you expect us to do?! She doesn’t want anything to do with us. If we don’t make her do something with us, then she won’t ever change.” Sunset bit her lip as she turned to the others. They were either nodding or shrugged at the reasoning. Finally, she relented. “Maybe group activities would be a promising idea…” “I don’t like having to pull Silent Dusk out, but if that’s how we have to do it…” Applejack stood up. Fluttershy stood up as well, not comfortable, but not going to argue. “As much as I abhor soccer, I’m willing to participate.” Rarity stood alongside Applejack. Twilight looked at all of them, her eyes uneasy as she followed suit. Sunset nodded and took a deep breath. Silent Dusk had placed the book down, her body had stiffened when Sunset stood up. “Silent Dusk, I really don’t want to use the chains…Please go outside with us?” Sunset attempted. She dreaded the answer…Silent Dusk was going to fight, wasn’t she? Silent Dusk looked at Sunset in the eyes. For a moment, no one said anything. As Sunset prepared to raise her hands, there was movement. A nod. A simple and small nod. Sunset smiled as Silent Dusk stood up and followed Rainbow Dash to the exit. Maybe this won’t be so bad…? Sunset groaned. She might have just jinxed herself… “Alright!” Rainbow Dash shouted in the soccer field. “We’ll play up to 5 points! No goalies! Unless you want to hang near the goal!” There were 12 players in total. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Sunset, Silent Dusk, and Bulk Biceps were on the left side. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Twilight, Lyra, Bonbon, and Flash on the right side. Fluttershy and Rarity had decided to stay near the goal. Better chance to not be hit or dirty. Surprisingly, Silent Dusk was already in position on the left field. Sunset still stayed close in midfield, just in case. The game went smoothly for the most part. To her surprise, Silent Dusk was playing and working alongside the team. Sure, she was still aggressive, but then again, so was Rainbow Dash. Sunset smiled when Silent Dusk made another pass to her. They were in sync as they passed Lyra and Bonbon. Maybe Rainbow Dash was right? Oh, she wouldn’t let them live this down for a long while… As they ran closer to the goal, Silent Dusk dribbled the ball around Flash. Instead of going straight for the goal, she ran closer to Sunset for some reason. ‘Maybe she wants me to score?’ Sunset shrugged as she came closer. That’s when things went wrong. The soccer ball slammed against her face, the force and shock sent Sunset to the ground. She heard her friends yelling her name, but could barely understand what was happening. Looking to the side, she realized what had happened. Silent Dusk had made her move. A short distance away, Silent Dusk was running towards…the portal! She was going to get her powers back! Rainbow Dash activated her geode and sprinted to Silent Dusk. She didn’t get to do much as Silent Dusk suddenly turned and clothes-lined her. Rainbow Dash gasped as she clutched her chest. Silent Dusk didn’t look back as she kept running, the others already too far behind to catch up. Sunset’s eyes snapped open as Silent Dusk was getting closer to the portal. She did the only thing she could think of…she pulled. Silent Dusk’s hands suddenly jerked behind her, a faint yellow glow surrounded her wrists, and caused her to fall onto her back. Sunset didn’t let up and pulled the air again. She couldn’t see the chains, but she could feel them. She concentrated on Silent Dusk’s wrists, pulling her farther away from the portal. Silent Dusk growled and pulled back, but Sunset couldn’t even feel the attempt. She kept pulling and dragged Silent Dusk through the ground before Applejack activated her own geode and carried her back to the soccer field. “What in tarnishen was that!?” Applejack scolded Silent Dusk. Silent Dusk didn’t speak. She only glared at Sunset and stayed on the ground. Sunset had used the chains to tie her legs and hands together in front of her. It’s a good thing since Silent Dusk threw herself at Sunset, only to be held back by Applejack. Rainbow Dash stood between them as they yelled at the (almost) escapee. “Hey! I know you aren’t liking this, but that doesn’t mean you get to hurt anyone!” Silent Dusk snarled at Rainbow Dash before looking down. There wasn’t much she could do in her position, but Sunset figured the most she’ll do is not answer again… “Sunset, your nose!” Rarity’s voice reminded Sunset of the small injury. Touching her nose, she found blood dripping and Fluttershy cleaning it up with a tissue. There wasn’t much, but it still hurt…a lot! Sunset gently held her nose and held back her tears as Fluttershy began to take care of it. “Rainbow Dash, Applejack. Let’s calm down a bit…” Sunset cringed as she continued, “It was partly my fault for not talking to her clearly before we went outside.” “Oh, come on, Sunset!” Rainbow Dash groaned, “Don’t make excuses!” “I agree, Darling. We’re just lucky that you have those chains. Otherwise, who knows what could have happened?” Rarity frowned at their prisoner on the ground. “Listen, I know how it looks. But we have to think about what she’s been through too!” Sunset defended, “Like all of you have said, she’s in a tough situation. It’s not exactly a strange thing to try to escape.” The rest of the girls frowned. Pinkie Pie was the first to break the silence. “Sunshim,” She placed a hand on Sunset’s shoulder and gave a glance at Silent Dusk, “That’s…great!” The rest groaned as she continued, “Sure, she’s still a little meanie…but! We can get those pesky mean vibes out of her eventually!” “Pinkie Pie, as much as I love you,” Rarity cut in, “this isn’t something you can just laugh away.” “Psh!” Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes with a smile. “Laughing is the best medicine, other than actual medicine!” “I’m all up for having fun together, but this ain’t no time for that.” Applejack narrowed her eyes at Silent Dusk, “This little critter hurt Sunset AND tried to get back to Equestria. We gotta do SOMETHING to punish her, otherwise what’s stopping her from doing it again?” “We ought to keep her in a room along for a while.” Rainbow Dash pondered, “…Chained up would probably be best.” Sunset flinched as she tried her best to calm the group, excluding Fluttershy. “Whoa whoa, let’s not get overboard here…” “I don’t think we should either…” “Then what do we DO? We can’t just let her off with barely a slap on the hand.” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “I know. I do have an idea, but…” Sunset laughed nervously as the others eyed her.