July 4th, Sunset's House, Wednesday Morning
11:21AM
Sunset's eyes fluttered open. She saw that she was still laying at the top of her stairs. 'So it wasn't a dream after all,' Sunset thought as she scratched her bandaged hand.
She began to think over her encounter with that creature the previous night. It looked as though it could have been a wolf or a coyote, but it looked much larger in size and build to be either of the two. She thought either the creature was born from Equestrian magic or this was just some paranormal bull.
Sunset’s train of thought was interrupted by a buzzing sound. She followed the buzzing to her phone into her bedroom. Pinkie Pie was blowing up her inbox with messages.
hey sunny! u still up for our super duper hangout 2 day?
11:23AM
Sunset picked up her phone and began writing a reply.
ye, what time and place?
11:24AM
She waited for Pinkie to respond.
we're meeting at coinky dink diner for lunch around 12. i don't hv work 2 day so it's all good.
11:25AM
k. i'm gonna go get ready. c u there pinkie.
11:25AM
c ya sunny!
11:26AM
Sunset put her phone on her bed and began getting dressed for the day. She made a mental note to get herself checked at the doctor's for her wound. If the thing really did have a disease and gave her it when it bit her, she'd probably already be sick. Though, judging by how she wasn't, everything was probably fine. But she still planned on visiting the doctor, just in case.
To take any extra precautions, she wrapped a new bandaged around her hand, as the other one was soaked in blood. Her hand still hurt, but it wasn't going to ruin everyone's day, not if Sunset Shimmer has to say anything about it!
Coinky-Dink Diner, Wednesday Afternoon
12:02PM
Sunset arrived at, what she would say as, the best diner in all of Canterlot City, the Coinky-Dink Diner. She looked through the glass of the windows and saw all of her friends sitting in a booth to the far left of the diner.
As soon as she entered, Pinkie Pie shot up and began waving to get Sunset's attention.
"Over here, Sunset!" Pinkie called out.
Sunset rolled her eyes and smiled. Putting her hand behind her back, she approached the booth and took a seat next to the brains of the bunch, Twilight.
"Hey everyone!" Sunset greeted. She hid her bandaged hand under the table, as to not let anyone worry.
Rarity was the first to greet back. "Hello, Darling, how has your morning treated you?"
Sunset shrugged. "Eh, it was fine. Got up at little later than usual, though."
"We can't really blame you," Twilight joined. "You did tell us that you did a lot during your trip to Equestria."
"Yeah, I did." Sunset smiled as she thought back to all of the things her and Princess Twilight had done.
The table fell silent for a brief moment. The silence between everyone was broken by Rainbow Dash.
"So, what's the plan for today, if anyone has any ideas?" she asked. "'Cause I got nothing." She leaned back against the chair, putting her feet up on the table.
The table was silent once more as everyone wondered what they all should do today. Rarity was about to give a suggestion but then immediately took it back. The same went for Twilight and Sunset.
"Well, there is that fair being held in Canterlot Park today," Fluttershy suggested.
"There is?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah, I saw fliers about it all last week. It said there'd be games, snacks and even a raffle. All of the money will go towards a charity, it even said."
"Then that's it, girls, we're going to the fair!" Rainbow Dash announced.
Everyone cheers in unison.
"But first... LUNCH!!" Pinkie shouted. "Waiter!"
The waiter approached the girl's booth after Pinkie's loud call, with a pen and notepad in both hands. "What can I get'chu girls?" she asked.
Later, everyone's lunch was given to them. They continued to share some laughs and other ideas for later days while they ate.
Sunset continued to hide her hand from the group, causing her to eat her lunch with one hand. Still, they would eventually notice sooner or later, so why really bother? Who knows, but she planned on keeping it up for as long as she could.
Which wasn't that long at all as Fluttershy seemed to be the only one to have noticed that Sunset was hiding her other hand under the table. She didn't seem to think too much about it at first, but she wasn't sure she had even seen her left hand at all today. Even when Sunset entered the diner she hid her hand behind her back.
"Umm... Sunset, why are you hiding your hand under the table?" she asked.
Sunset's eyes widened. She didn't think anyone would notice this soon. Now everyone in the group was looking at her with confusion across their faces.
She tried thinking of an excuse, "Uuh... I- umm... It's because I..." She then sighed as there was no getting out of it. "Well, it wasn't going to be long until anyone saw it anyway." She put her other hand on top of the table for everyone to see.
Everyone gasped, Rarity being the loudest. "My word, Sunset, what on earth happened to you?!"
Sunset scratched the back of her head. "Well, after you guys left I went to bed and later into the night something woke me up. I went to investigate what it was and I was attacked by this large beast. I don't know what it was, I think it was, like, a large wolf or a coyote or something. Anyway, it bit me on the hand and went in to almost kill me. I make a break for my house and closed the door behind me but this thing knew how to open doors."
"So, how'd it go away?" Applejack asked.
"Another wolf had howled, the beast howled back and ran then off," Sunset finished. "If that wolf didn't howl, I'd probably be dead."
"Oh my..." Fluttershy said behind her hands.
"You described this wolf thing as 'large'," Twilight jumped in. "How big are we talking?"
Sunset began to think back to how big it was. She got out of her seat and held a hand on top of her head. "It was standing on two legs, so about this big."
Twilight's jaw fell. She had never heard of a canine like creature that large before in her life.
"That's a big dog..." Pinkie said.
"But why didn't you just tell us before?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Sunset sighed again. "I didn't want this to ruin our day, so I tried hiding it for as long as I could. How well that turned out."
"Nonsense, Darling. We would have understood completely," Rarity explained. "Though, have you been checked yet?"
Sunset shook her head. "I was going to get it checked out after our day today."
"Wouldn't be the decision Ah'd make," Applejack responded.
Rarity gestured towards her farmer friend. "I agree with Applejack. Seeing the doctor's would be my first priority if I were to have been bitten by some mad creature. Who knows what kinds of diseases it could have been laced with?"
"Listen, if I'm fine right now, then chances are I'll still be fine later," Sunset tried assuring.
"Are you absolutely sure, Darling?"
Sunset raised her wounded hand. "This happened last night, Rarity, I should have been sick when I got up out of bed."
Rarity was still a bit uneasy about how Sunset had decided to deal with this. Though, Sunset was right; if the thing had bitten her last night, then chances are that she should have caught something by the time she woke up.
"Well, okay, but make sure you get that wound looked at," ordered Rarity.
Sunset smirked. "I promise."
"So... I'm guessing that means we're ready to leave now?" asked Rainbow Dash.
A chorus of agreements were heard throughout the group, so they all got up from their seats and began to leave. Except Twilight, who was still caught up in thinking about how Sunset described the thing that attacked her.
Rainbow Dash began clicking her fingers directly in front of her face. "Yo, Twilight! We're leaving now!"
Twilight was brought back to reality. "Huh? What? Oh, okay." She followed after everyone else.
Now, their day had officially begun.
Streets of Canterlot City, Wednesday Afternoon
01:24PM
During the walk to Canterlot Park, it was mostly silent. Especially to Sunset Shimmer as she did begin to feel a little bit weird and was falling behind. She didn't understand what happened, she just began feeling very strange. Fluttershy stayed behind for her flaming haired friend.
"You don't look too well, Sunset. Are you okay?" she asked.
Sunset tried taking deep breaths. "Yeah, yeah. Just feeling a little strange is all."
"Are you sure? Because I don't-"
Sunset interrupted her. "I said I'm fine! It's probably that the sandwich I had just isn't... isn't..." Her head began to pound and she began to feel very dizzy. She felt as though she were about to pass out at any moment.
Fluttershy tried holding her still and put her hand against Sunset's forehead. "Oh my, you're burning up. Girls, I think we need to get Sunset to a doctor right away!"
Sunset's sight and hearing began to blur. She couldn't tell what exactly was happening to her but one thing was for sure, it wasn't good. She began losing her sense of balance so Twilight rushed over to help Fluttershy support her.
"Rainbow, call an ambulance! Quickly!" Applejack instructed.
Rainbow Dash scrambled to get her phone out of her pocket. She quickly began dialling for an ambulance.
Rarity tried her all by keeping Sunset awake. "Okay, Sunset, just relax and focus- Hey! Hey! Don't you close those eyes on me, missy!" She gently began patting Sunset's cheeks.
"W-What's going on?" Sunset weakly asked.
"Everything's going to be fine, Darling, we're just going to get you to a doctor right now, okay?"
"B-But what about our... our day out?" Sunset was having serious troubles keeping herself conscious now.
"You is what matters most now, Sunset. Now, try and focus on staying awake for us."
"I... I don't feel too good, Rarity..."
Rarity began to panic. "I know, I know, but you're going to be fine, Sunset. Just as long as you stay awake until we get there."
"I... don't..." Sunset’s body finally gave up and went limp.
Rarity began shaking her. "Sunset? Sunset! Wake up!"
"Hurry up, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack began to rush.
"I'm trying! I'm trying!" Rainbow continued waiting for an operator to pick up the phone. "Hello? We need an ambulance fast! Our friend just passed out!"
"Come on! Come on!" Rarity tried slapping her. "Wake up!"
Pinkie pushed Rarity out of the way. "Let me try." She knelt down next to Sunset's ear. "HEY SUNSET!!! CAN YOU WAKE UP FOR US PLEASE?!!?"
Sunset did not respond.
"Rainbow Dash! Where's that God damn ambulance?!" Applejack demanded.
"Hold on!" Rainbow continued listening to the call for another small moment before hanging up. "They said they should be a couple of minutes!"
Applejack groaned in frustration. "We don't got a couple a' minutes! We need them now!"
"We just have to wait!" Rainbow Dash retaliated. "Now c'mon." She ran towards Sunset with Applejack.
Twilight and Fluttershy rested and sat next to Sunset against a wall. No matter what they tried, she wouldn't respond to anything.
"Anything at all?" Applejack asked.
"No, she isn't answering to anything we do," Fluttershy explained.
"Not even hugs! Freakin' hugs? She loves hugs!" Pinkie Pie added.
Rainbow Dash knelt down in front of her and began shaking her again. "Sunset, wake up!"
"It's no use, Darling. I've already tried," Rarity told the athlete. "Nothing from her!"
"Has she got a pulse?" Applejack, again, asked.
"It's very faint, but it's there," said Twilight.
Applejack sighed in relief. "Good, so at least we know she ain't-"
Rarity interrupted Applejack, "I'm just going to stop you right there before you say something terrible, Applejack!"
"What the heck even happened to her?" Twilight asked. "Fluttershy, you were with her, do you know?"
Fluttershy shuffled where she sat. "No, I don't know. I just noticed that she was slowing down so I went to check on her. She then said she was feeling weird, that it was probably because of her sandwich. Then, the next thing I knew, she started to pass out," she explained.
Rarity put a finger on her chin. "It's very strange, indeed," she said. "Does anyone else think this was the work of the thing that attacked her?"
Everyone began thinking about that theory and then nodded.
"It definitely makes more sense than everything else, really. The way she described it makes it look to be almost twice the size of any average person," Twilight theorised. "Like the thing she fought against really isn't just any animal."
"What're you sayin'?" Applejack asked.
"Girls..." Twilight squinted her eyes dramatically. "I think we're dealing with something supernatural."
"Oh, that's just nonsense, Twilight. I mean, really now? Supernatural?" Rarity objected. "What, are we dealing with some sort of alien?"
Rainbow Dash put her hand on Rarity's shoulder and raised an eyebrow her way that screamed 'You're kidding, right?'
Rarity gulped and began sweating from her nervousness.
They continued watching over Sunset for another moment or so before the sounds of sirens could finally be heard. Everyone looked down the street and saw an ambulance coming their way. Two doctors lifted Sunset onto a gurney, took her on board the ambulance and drove towards the hospital.
Everyone looked at the ambulance as it drove away.
"I hope she's okay," Fluttershy said.
Twilight rested a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "We all do, and I'm sure she will be."
The group fell silent, still looking in the ambulance's, which was long gone, direction.
Rarity sighed, "We can't all just stand here and just hope for immediate news. Come on, we'll go to the boutique for a while, until we're able to visit."
Everyone else murmured agreements and all began walking down the street towards Carousel Boutique.
Carousel Boutique, Wednesday Afternoon
02:44PM
Everyone sat around a table in Rarity's own fashion store, Carousel Boutique. Nobody really talked. Rarity would now and then ask for an opinion on a dress or line she was in the middle of working on. Everyone answered with things like "It's fine," or a simple "Hmm." The mood wasn't bright, it was very dull.
Twilight, however, wasn't quiet because of Sunset's accident. Something was bothering her. She kept wondering about the beast that had attacked her friend. Was it really how Sunset described? Was it really the cause of her accident? Could such a creature really exist? It all sounded so amazing yet so scary to the speccy girl. Now she really wants to see it for herself. No, she has to see see it for herself.
An idea popped into her head, and it wasn't a very good one.
A devious smile crept across her face. "Say, Girls, what would all of you think you'd do if you happen to see the monster?" she asked.
Rainbow Dash answered first. "I'd make that furry asshole regret it ever hurt Sunset!"
"No need t' resort to violence, Rainbow," Applejack told her.
"Why not? Look at what that thing did to our friend! God knows what else it did to her!"
Applejack tried calming her down, "Look, Ah know y'er upset, we all are, but-"
"Upset? I'm furious! I swear, if I ever come across that thing I'd... I'd..." Rainbow couldn't exactly put her threat into words, so she make a snapping gesture with her hands.
"Is that so?" Twilight's smile only widened. She then sat next to her athletic friend and put an arm around her. "Then how about we do something about it?"
"What've you got?"
"I say when the moon rises once again, you and I will both try and hunt this beast. You can take your anger out on it and, who knows, I may be able to study it."
Rainbow Dash groaned. "Twilight, it's summer vacation. Put the studying down for one moment, please?"
"Sure, it may be summer, but that doesn't I don't have any projects I'm studying on." Twilight pointed a fist towards Rainbow. "So, what do you say? Wanna go on a monster hunt?"
Applejack interrupted. "No, no, no! There's no way you two are goin' out huntin' down some powerful monster! Y'er gonna get y'erselves very hurt!"
Rainbow then shared a simpler smile to Twilight's. "What's wrong, AJ? Don't think we can take it on?"
"No, Ah don't! That thing put our friend in a coma from a bite! That thing would maul the both of yous if it got its furry hands on you!"
"Applejack, I have telekinesis and she has super speed; that thing won't even be able to touch us," Twilight explained.
"Still, it's a terrible idea. Ah mean, think about it, what're the odds that both of you will even be able to find this thing and take it down?"
Rainbow saw her point. She knew the idea was stupid, but it will all be worth it when she kicks it to the ground. So, with no longer leaving Twilight hanging, she fist bumped her. "I'm in."