//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: "My name is Starlight Gilmmer" // Story: The Chronicles of Sunset: Crimson Promise // by VioletNightWriter //------------------------------// The next morning, Starlight awoke to find she was still at Sunburst's house. She sat up, looking for Sunburst. She found him sleeping at the table, drooling over a paper. She laughed at how silly he looked. She was amazed that her friend could sleep anywhere. She silently tip-toed away from Sunburst. She didn't want to wake him as she left. She grabbed her jacket and purse. She looked back at Sunburst, saying, "Good talk. See you later." Sunburst was startled awake by Starlight's voice. He watched as his front door slammed shut. He smiled to himself as he adjusted his glasses. Starlight got in her car, throwing her jacket and purse into the passenger seat. She sat in her car. She had this strange feeling something was off. Turning on her car, she sped over to Film and Flam's store. She parked in the empty parking lot. She was glad that Flim and Flam were the only two in the store. She walked in, greeted by the musty smell of old books. "Flim! Flam! Where are you two?" shouted Starlight. She heard rustling from behind the counter. She looked in that direction to see the two brothers rummaging through a stack of papers. "Oh, Starlight! You're here, what a surprise! I am guessing you want to see the replica, no?" asked Flam. Starlight nodded. "Yes. That is the only reason I would risk Filthy Rich seeing me here, with you two." said Starlight. Flam looked at his brother before looking back at Starlight. "You alone, Starlight?" asked Flam. Starlight sighed. "Yes, you dimwitted idiot! I wouldn't have come here if I wasn't!" replied Starlight. Flam cleared his throat, ignoring Starlight's insult. He left the room. He went to a secret hidden room where the replica was kept. He walked out and placed the replica on the counter. Starlight gasped. She didn't expect such high quality from the brothers. She picked up the replica. She examined it, noticing that every detail was accounted for. "Wow... I take that back. Maybe you two aren't such dimwits after all." said Starlight. Flim and Flam smiled. They exchanged looks of pride. "We did the best we could. Do you think it could fool him?" asked Flim. Starlight ran her finger down the length of the replica. She couldn't even tell the difference between this and the real one. "It should. At least until he tries to use it." replied Starlight. Flim and Flam nodded. "Well, we'll keep it on display so he doesn't notice a difference." said Flam. Starlight nodded. She handed the replica back, saying, "Okay. Now I have to head home." Starlight walked out of the store. As she headed to her car, she watched a blue Sudan race by. She knew that Filthy Rich owned a blue Sudan. She hopped into her car, starting it. She drove home as fast as she could. As she pulled up to her house, she saw the front door was wide open. She turned off her car as she jumped out. She ran inside to find the living room mostly neat. She found a movie that was left in the player. She also saw a half-eaten bowl of popcorn. As she examined the rest of the house, she found that nothing was really out of place. She decided to check the basement. She saw that the basement door was open. As she got closer, she smelled a familiar scent; human blood. She ran down the stairs. She was greeted by the sight of an unconscious Twilight laying on the floor, bleeding. She grabbed a towel, not caring if was bloodstained or not. She placed it over Twilight's wounds. She looked around and found the bench that was nearby. She placed Twilight's body on the bench, allowing her to treat Twilight's wounds. She went to find some cleaning alcohol and a clean cloth. She left Twilight laying on the bench. Meanwhile, Sunset was still in Filthy Rich's trunk as he drove along to wherever he was taking her. She winced in pain with each bump the car encountered on the road. She tried to figure out where she was headed. She got a clue when Filthy Rich turned onto a dusty road. She figured he was driving into the Everfree forest. She wondered what he had planned for her. She fell asleep, allowing the bumpy car ride to lull her to sleep. She dreamt of Twilight and her. Back at Starlight's house, Twilight began to stir. She groaned slightly as the pain hit her. She opened her eyes to see that she was staring at the ceiling. "W-what? Where am I?" thought Twilight. She tried to sit up. But as she made any movement her head pounded. She laid back down, not wanting to aggravate her injuries. She heard a rustling noise coming down to the basement. She sat up to see a shadowy figure standing in the door. She saw that figure appeared to be holding a bottle and a rag. "Oh...I see you're awake now." said Starlight. She cautiously walked down the steps. She had to keep her hunger in control. She set the alcohol and rag down as she approached Twilight. "My name is Starlight Glimmer," Starlight sat next to Twilight, keeping the distance between them, "But you may call me Starlight." said Starlight. Twilight looked at Starlight. She noticed that Starlight's eyes were also red, like Sunset's. She gulped. She suddenly became more aware that she was injured. "You're a v-vampire, like Sunset?" asked Twilight. She struggled to keep herself calm. She couldn't completely handle knowing that Sunset was a vampire. She played with her skirt as she waited for Starlight's answer. "Yes, I am. But I don't feed on humans. I refuse to." replied Starlight, her voice sounding less confident with each word. Twilight looked down, unable to speak. She had just found out Sunset was a vampire a few hours ago. Now, she found Starlight was one as well. Her head felt like it was going to explode. She couldn't believe that vampires were actually real and living with a few minutes away from her house. "Okay, I believe you. But what are you doing here?" asked Twilight. Starlight laughed, easing the tension. "Well, this is my house. But I figured Sunset would have told you our 'secret' while I was away." said Starlight. Twilight looked away, embarrassment making her blush. She hadn't thought to consider that Starlight was the owner. Suddenly the sting of pain hit Twilight. She realized that her head was still bleeding slightly. She placed her hand on the deep gash on her head. She winced as she felt the hot skin underneath her hair. "Now that we have gotten the introductions out of the way, may I attend to your wounds, Twilight?" asked Starlight. Twilight looked at Starlight. Her purple eyes searching for any danger. She saw that Starlight's eyes were red, but they had a kindness to them. She smiled weakly, her head pain making it hard to smile. "Sure. I..." Twilight winced at Starlight touched her head with an alcohol-soaked rag, "I-I-I trust you, Starlight." She sat there as Starlight cleaned her wounds. She tried to not wince every time she felt the alcohol touch her wounds. Eventually, she couldn't even feel the pain because her body had become so numb to it. Starlight stopped cleaning Twilight's injuries after about 2 hours. She threw the bloody cloth in the washer along with a load of laundry. She walked back down to the basement, carrying a first aid kit. She looked at Twilight. She noticed that she seemed to be lost in thought. She quietly walked in, not wanting to disturb Twilight. She wondered if Twilight was struggling to adjust to knowing Sunset's true identity. "By the way, where has Sunset disappeared to? I tried to find her but she seemed to have slipped off." asked Starlight, startling Twilight. "Oh, Starlight it's just you." exclaimed Twilight, trying to calm her racing heart. Twilight looked at Starlight. She tried to recall the events of the night before. But to her dismay, her memory seemed hazy. She stared at the floor, trying to recall something. As she thought about the events, it came back to her. "Sunset was kidnapped by Filthy Rich!" shouted Twilight, jumping up. Starlight sat Twilight down as she got lightheaded. "Take it easy. You have lost a ton of blood." said Starlight. Twilight rested her head on the towel which was still on the bench. She watched as Starlight patched her wounds. She only winced slightly each time a new bandage was applied. "Filthy Rich came by? Did he say why he kidnapped Sunset?" asked Starlight. Starlight wanted to know his motive, though she had an idea. She finished applying bandages to Twilight's injuries. She put away the first aid kit before she sat next to Twilight. "He said something about you killing his first daughter or something." replied Twilight. Surprisingly, she felt remarkably at ease around Starlight. Still, she wasn't too sure that Starlight or Sunset wouldn't hurt her. As she got up, leaning against the freezer which still had remnants of her blood. Twilight  watched as her vision darkened for a second before returning to normal. She kept the distance between her and Starlight. "I didn't think, after all the centuries that had passed, that Filthy Rich would remember what I did." said Starlight. She sighed. She couldn't believe that Filthy Rich of all people, would kidnap Sunset. She felt the anger running through her veins. She was so enraged that she hadn't realized that she shattered the bench. Starlight looked at Twilight, seeing her pointing down,as she looked she saw Twilight had a piece of the bench in her hand.Starlight was stunned that Twilight did that much damage. She slowly backed away hoping to avoid getting hurt. Twilight immediately dropped the wood, letting it hit the floor and apologized profusely for her fit of anger. "S-sorry. I sometimes do that when I am angry. So, did he happen to mention where he was headed?" asked Starlight. Twilight nodded. "If he did, I was out due to the two blows he landed. I don't remember much except Sunset's panicked eyes as she watched me pass out," replied Twilight. She remembered the fuzzy image of Sunset. She wished that Sunset wasn't in danger. She had so many questions for her, most of them vampire related. She looked at Starlight. "Well, mind if I ask for some food?" asked Twilight. She clutched her stomach as it growled. She hadn't eaten in a few hours and her body was exhausted from its physical injuries. "Yeah, of course. Let's get you something to feed you. Then we should see if we can find Sunset." replied Starlight.