//------------------------------// // Chapter 8. Twilight // Story: As the Moon Rises // by MorbidTheBrony //------------------------------// July 6th, Canterlot Mall, Friday Evening 06:26PM Around half of an hour ago, Sunset had unexpectedly decided to leave everyone and head back to her home. Her decision was understandable though, she had just emptied her entire stomach in the bathroom of a steakhouse, the last place everyone thought they would see their dimension jumping friend. After she had left, the rest of the gang headed over to their favourite pizza shop, 'Mama Gemma's', for their dinner. While the pizza was great, the wait was absurdly long, to Rarity at least. Rarity tapped her foot impatiently in the pizza shop. "How much longer are we going to have to wait?" she asked with impatience. "Calm yerself, Rarity. Can't be too long now," Applejack reassured. "It's only been, what, twenty minutes?" Rarity let out a loud whine, "Ugh! Twenty minutes?" She moved and stood back against the giant glass window. "There's barely anyone here! Why this long?" Everyone else continued to wait for their pizza to be ready with the exception of Twilight who was deep in thought. This whole day one of her best friends was acting extremely strange. Each activity they had done, Sunset did something that was very strange. While there probably was a reasonable explanation for everything that had happened, it all just did not sit right with the spectacled girl. She would have to make a note to speak with Sunset soon. Maybe if they put their heads together they'll come up wih something. But there was something the girl was not seeing. Directly in front of her the whole time were two pink sticks rubbing against eachother, making a clicking sound. Then something boomed into her ear. "Twilight Sparkle!" came an earth shaking yet high pitched voice. Twilight shouted and jumped back, smacking her head against the large window wall. "Oh goodness me! Are you all right, Twilight?" Rarity asked coming to Twilight's aid. "You could have just tapped her on the shoulder, Pinkie!" Pinkie rubbed the back of her head guiltily. "Whoopsie...?" Rarity rolled her eyes and turned back to Twilight. "Are you okay there, Twilight?" Twilight winced and rubbed the back of her own head. "Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. What is it, Pinkie?" "I was just going to tell you that our pizza's ready now, but you were deep in a daydream..." Pinkie explained slowly. Twilight looked past Pinkie and saw Fluttershy being handed a large pizza box. She smiled past her wince for it to immediately disappear when another concern appeared. "Wait, did I break the glass?!" "Thankfully, no," said Applejack. "But are ya sure yer alright, Twilight? You did hit yer head off of the window pretty hard." "I swear I'm fine. Now, we gonna eat this thing or what?" "To Rainbow Dash's place!" Pinkie jumped in, carrying the pizza over her head out of the shop. Everyone else just stood and watched Pinkie carry their dinner away. "We should make sure she doesn't sneak out a slice along the way," Rarity said grinning. Everyone laughed and followed Pinkie out of the shop and then out of the mall, finally on their way to Rainbow Dash's house. Streets of Canterlot, Friday Evening 06:38PM While on their way to their rainbow haired friend's house, Twilight was still thinking hard about all of Sunset's acts. She feels as though the clues are right there in front of her, but something just is not clicking. A simple answer would be that 'Equestrian magic is on the loose again', but, for some reason, it does not feel that way, not this time. There is something deeper under the surface but she can't seem to dig through it. 'Is it possible that she's...?' She immediately pulled herself away from that thought. 'No! It couldn't be possible. I mean, she would at least tell us about that if she was, right?' Twilight doubted the thought that Sunset could be that thing, but it made too much sense. Everything she had today, they were all traits of a canine. But she didn't want to think about her friend, so she debunked the thought for the sake of her friend. They turned the corner into the street where Rainbow lives, but again, Twilight was not paying attention and walked forward towards the road. Applejack quickly noticed her and pulled her back onto the pavement. "Jesus! Are you absolutely sure yer feelin' alright, Twi?" Applejack asked. "You seem to keep losin' focus." "What? What did I do?" Twilight asked, unaware of what she was about to do. Fluttershy stood beside Applejack. "You almost walked right onto the road," she explained. "What's going on, Twilight? Is there something wrong?" "No, no. I assure you, I'm perfectly fine." Twilight nervously smiled, hoping everyone would believe her. Unfortunately for her, nobody bought it. Everyone either raised their eyebrow or stared at her blankly. An idea then came to the shy girl's head. "It's about Sunset, isn't it?" Twilight realised she would not win this and immediately gave a sigh of defeat. "Yeah, it is, mostly." "Mostly?" Twilight nodded. "I'm also thinking about Rainbow, how she came face to face with that thing and how she didn't feel comfortable with leaving her home today. Shouldn't we just wait until she's ready before we visit her?" Everyone did not want to admit it, but they all somewhat agreed with her. Rainbow had decided that she wanted to stay in today, and they didn't know when she would be comfortable with coming back out. It did not feel right to just leave their plan on visiting her as they were her closest friends. "Ah won't admit that you're wrong, but as her friends, we have t'uh give support, otherwise she probably ain't gonna feel as invulnerable when she's outside," Applejack explained. "Ah feel that it's only right that we visit her. And if she don't wan' us there, then Ah guess so be it." Twilight tried thinking of another way out of it, but, unfortunately, she had nothing. "Ugh! Why are you so good at being persuasive?!" Twilight groaned. Everyone, including her, then laughed. "Alright, alright, let's do it." Rainbow Dash's House, Friday Evening 06:40PM Once they finally arrived at the house, they all gathered around the front door. It took a moment of confidence building but Applejack finally volunteered to ring the doorbell. They stood there waiting for anyone to respond. The front door then opened, revealing a woman, with blue skin but orange hair and about as tall as the girls, smiling at the sight of them. "Oh! Hello there, girls!" she greeted. "We weren't expecting company tonight." "Good evening, Mrs. Whistles," Rarity responded. "We were just checking in on Rainbow Dash. She didn't want to come out with us today for some reason." Windy Whistles' smile faded. She sighed. "Yes, she has been... awfully quiet ever since she came home last night. As soon as she came in she went straight to bed and she hasn't come out since. What happened to her?" Pinkie took a deep breath but Rarity and Applejack quickly covered her mouth so she wouldn't explain what really happened. "That's what we came here to do," Applejack lied. "See if we can get 'er to tell us so we can help her snap outta whatever's happenin'." "Well, it won't be easy. Believe me, Bow and I tried everything, but she wouldn't budge. But go on ahead I guess." Windy stepped out of the way to let the girls enter. They all gathered in front of Rainbow Dash's door, which had a paper sign of a cloud with a rainbow lightning strike stuck onto it. They were all really hesitant. Maybe this wasn't a very good idea after all. Fluttershy gulped and decided she stepped forward to knock on the door. After three soft knocks they waited for answer. It came with a muffled 'What?'. "Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy called. "It's us, can we come in please?" It was silent for another moment, but then they heard slow footsteps coming to the door. It opened and from within the dark room was Rainbow Dash, slowly stepping out of the darkness. The others looked all around her face. Her hair was even more of a mess than usual; her eyes were bloodshot; her eyelids looked as though they could barely stay open and her cheeks were stained with dried tears. "God..." Rarity started, staring at the mess that was her friend. "You look... Umm..." "Terrible? Yeah, I know," Rainbow Dash finished Rarity's sentence. "Last night was... well, it was pretty damn rough. Anyway, what is it?" Fluttershy helped move a hair that was dangling in front of Rainbow's face. "We wanted to come check up on you. Twilight told us what happened last night and you didn't want to leave the house, so we all kept worrying about you," she explained. "Even your mother told us you haven't left the room today." "Of course I've left my room!" the rainbow haired girl snapped, rubbing her eyes to keep them open. "Any other times apart from goin' t'uh the bathroom?" Applejack asked, crossing her arms. Rainbow Dash then looked downwards defeated. She slowly tried inching her way back into her bedroom, only to be stopped by Rarity. "Listen, Darling, we know you're quite upset after your encounter with that beast last night, but it's no use to try and shut us out; we're here for you. Come on, let us in your room, you can tell us about what happened and you can kick us out right after, how does that sound?" Rainbow wasn't sure on what she wanted to do. She didn't know if she'd feel any better explaining when she was at her weakest ever. Then again, these guys were her best friends, and they'd try absolutely anything to ensure she's safe and happy. "We got pizza!" Pinkie lifted the box for everyone to see. If it was anything Rainbow would never refuse when offered, it was Mama Gemma's pizza. "Okay, okay, you can come in." She opened the door fully and switched on her bedroom light. Surprisingly, her room was in better condition than she was right now. Even with the empty bottles on the floor and the clothes hanging over her bed and also scattered on the floor. "My word, Rainbow Dash, would it kill you to clean this place every once in a while?" Rarity scolded, pinching her nose. "Uck! It smells like a sewer being sprayed by an air freshener." "What? I think it adds character. Really shows you it's my room." "There'd never be any doubt this was your room," Rarity muttered, luckily not heard by anyone. Rainbow Dash sat down on her bed, next to the box of pizza Pinkie had brought in. "So, where's Sunset?" she asked, taking a slice of pizza. She took a bite and immediately smiled at the taste of the melted cheese. "It's kind of a long story," Twilight started. "Basically to shorten it, she began acting a little crazy, she ate meat and threw it all up into the toilet. So, she left us so she could go home." Rainbow stared wide eyed at the spectacled girl. "Wait! Sunset, a vegetarian, decides to go nuts and eats meat? What?!" "Not the exact words I'd use, but basically yes. Sunset was acting super strange today and none of us understand why. The meat wasn't the only thing." Rainbow then readjusted herself into a more comfortable position. "Oh-ho-ho! This I gotta hear." Pinkie jumped forward and beat Twilight to explaining. "So, you know how Big Mac has totally held the high score in that strength game at the arcade for years and nobody has ever come close to beating it?" Rainbow nodded, waiting patiently for the answer. "Well, in comes Sunset, same body shape and strength and all, and then somehow completely whooped his ass by beating his score by, like, a bazillion points! And that's not all! She even broke the machine!" Pinkie explained, sending both herself and Rainbow Dash into loud fits of laughter. The rest of the girls just stood there watching as the other two's laughter continued. It seemed as though just the thought of Sunset's crazy doings made them start their laughter over again, which was most likely the case as they continued laughing for many more minutes straight. Thankfully, they finally calmed themselves down, still smiling and crying from the laughing. "Are you two done now?" Applejack asked, mentally praying for it to be over. Pinkie and Rainbow nodded in unison, still wiping their eyes. "Alright then. Now, you mind tellin' us what happened last night?" Rainbow's mood almost immediately switched from joy to guilt. She thought about the night before again and just the image of it still scared her immensely. She had hoped for them all to have forgotten about that after the many minutes of such annoying laughter. "Well... really it all happened because I was such an idiot. Twilight and Musket were arguing, then I heard a trap being set off somehow close by in the woods. I go and investigate it and I find that the wolf had actually got itself caught in one of the traps." Rainbow sighed before moving onward. "I don't really know what I was thinking after that. But just looking into its eyes, something about them felt familiar. It made me feel terribly sorry for it. So I released it and then I looked at death straight in the eye as it closed in on me. It backed me into a tree, no way of escaping. I swear, I could see myself in its eyes, it was that close." Her expression saddened. "With how close it got to me, I thought that was it. Then Twilight and Musket come at just the last second and scare it away. After that I didn't want to stay and I was taken back home. You can probably guess the rest after that." She looked up at the rest of the girls. They all shared the same sympathetic expression on their faces. Rainbow closed her eyes and hid her face, unaware that the girls came in closer for a group hug. "I was up all night thinking about what would've happened of Twilight hadn't noticed I'd gone," Rainbow finished with a tear escaping her eye. "Shh. It's okay now, Rainbow Dash, you're safe," Rarity told her, stroking her head. "I'm so sorry, Rainbow," Fluttershy whimpered. Rainbow tried shaking everyone off of her. "Don't be. It's my fault for being so stupid. Heh, you know what? I'm just happy to be alive right now. Just thinking back at it, and realising I survived... it kinda feels good." She wiped her eyes. "Well of course it would, silly! You're alive!" Pinkie announced happily. "And we're just glad to still have you here!" Rainbow's smile appeared once again. "Thanks. I love you guys!" She pulled them back in for another hug. "We love you too, Rainbow Dash," said Fluttershy. If it was one thing they achieved that night, it was making Rainbow feel better. Everyone encouraged her to go downstairs and explain what had happened again to her parents. Unsurprisingly, they were much more sorry for her than the girls were. Even her father, a big, muscular and very masculine man, his eyes were even watering. Then after that, Twilight asked if Rainbow still wanted to go out hunting for the beast. She said yes, but said it would have to be the next night, just so her parents don't have to worry for her as much. After that, they all finished the pizza and left Rainbow with her parents, heading back to their own homes. Twilight's House, Friday Night 08:32PM Twilight entered her own house, only to be immediately greeted by Spike. "Geez, Twilight! What took you so long?" he asked, standing next to her leg. "You've been gone forever!" Twilight laughed and scooped up her dog. "I did say I'd be out for the whole day, Spike," she told him while carrying him up to her bedroom. She opened the bedroom door and placed the canine onto the bed. "But I thought 'all day' would only be, like, from when you left to about dinner time. Speaking of, when's dinner, Twilight?" Spike patted his stomach with his paw. "Spikey-Wikey demands num-nums!" But his demands fell on deaf ears as Twilight sat down at her desk and began scribbling in her notes. She was mumbling things to herself, which the dog was unable to translate. "Uuh... Twilight?" Spike pressed his paw against his owner's leg, hoping that would gain her attention. Unfortunately, she was already too focused on whatever she was writing that she blocked out everything around her, even contact. "Ugh! Fine," the dog moaned. "I guess I'll go help myself." He turned round and left Twilight alone, continuing to scribble in her book. "Not only did her strength increase, but so did her other senses," Twilight silently told herself. She wrote down every strange thing Sunset had done today. She was linking it all together, hoping she'd come to a definite conclusion as to why this has all happened. "It was like she could detect whoever was coming only by listening out, even in a loud room. Her agility also seemed to have increased insanely and her sense of smell worked from across an entire mall. Not only did this just so happen during this whole werewolf fiasco, but the fact that there's now another, and the way she described what had bitten her... So, if I... Then I... Then that must mean..." She gasped and moved away from her desk. "Sunset’s the other- Gah!" Twilight then felt an intense pain fill her head. She fell from the chair and onto her knees as she gasped for air. She tried making her way towards her bed and managed to climb on top of it, but after doing so, her body became completely numb... ...and her eyes closed into sleep.