//------------------------------// // Avoiding Sunset // Story: Sonata Dusk and the House of Wackos // by Tekket //------------------------------// Sonata Dusk woke with a start, shivering a bit on the bare mattress. Looking around, she pushed herself up into a sitting position before looking around the room she found herself in. The walls were bare and colored a pale orange, and although the dark purple curtains on the window were drawn back, the sky outside was dark, the small lights of stars twinkling in the distance over a mirror of shining city lights. The room itself was cheery and bright, the single lightbulb on the ceiling casting enough illumination to make the nearly empty space feel comfortable. Shaking her head, Sonata remembered the day’s earlier events, which had culminated with her finding a literal skeleton in a closet. Eyes snapping open, the siren froze while her gaze slowly traveled along the walls to rest on the closet door, which still lay open and held the grisly reminder of someone else having been there at one point. Teeth chattering as a cold worm of dread wrapped around her heart, Sonata grabbed the lamp from the ground beside the mattress she had passed out on and steadily moved towards the grinning image of death. Eyeing the wall socket next to the closet door, Sonata warily bent down to plug in the lamp and straightened up, staring at the skull grimly. Lifting the lamp close to the skull, she winced and muttered, “This is seriously not cool…” before flicking the switch on and lighting up the skeleton brightly with the closer light source. Cringing away as she could clearly see the features of the skeleton, no longer clouded by the gloom that seemed to coalesce inside the small closet, the ex-Dazzling almost dropped the lamp and ran out then and there, and she would have if not for one detail that leapt out at her in the light. Attached to the thing’s collarbone via a small plastic string hung a tag, which Sonata grabbed and furrowed her brow as she read. “Jinx’s Joke Shop, Halloween Skeleton, nineteen ninety-nine.” Looking back up at the skull of the skeleton she was practically manhandling now, Sonata’s eyes widened in realization and she nearly passed out again from just the sheer relief that washed over her. “Oh, thank god, it’s just a prop! I was scared for no reason!” Pressing a hand to her forehead, she placed the desk lamp on the ground and stumbled back, her heart still beating rapidly as her brain tried to tell it everything was okay. “Still, really weird place to keep a fake skeleton. Why is it even here? Does it count as part of the furniture I get? But that doesn’t make sense, skeletons aren’t furniture, not even fake ones… Urgh! My brain hurts!” Scrunching her face up and pressing her hands to her temples Sonata tried her best to come up with a logical explanation as to why there would be a Halloween prop in the apartment in the first place, but eventually just chalked it up to some other eccentricity of the building. After all, they had vanishing doors and the owner was a short fuzzy creature that could speak. Thinking about it in that light, Sonata came to the conclusion that maybe it wasn’t so strange after all. “Speaking of Minnie…” Sonata thought back to what the strange thing had said. “I can stay the night and see if I want to rent the place tomorrow morning?” Looking around at the bare walls as she walked back into the main room, the thick carpet squishing softly under her shoes, her meager belongings still sitting forlornly where she had placed them, she shrugged and glanced at the kitchen. “Well… if I can stay the night for free, then I guess that means I can use the stove and stuff too? But I don’t have any food…” Marching over to the set of curtains in the main room, the siren threw them open and gave herself another good look down at the street below. A frown crossed her face as she looked out at the dark street once more, the lights from street lamps doing little to chase away the shadows that hung around the nearby buildings. Sighing, Sonata went back to her bag and pulled out her slightly-battered laptop and flicked the power switch. After a rather lengthy boot-up process, she was greeted with the login screen, but really only looked at the numbers in the corner. “Past nine… I hope too many stores aren’t closed…” Slapping her laptop shut again, she stuffed it unceremoniously back into her bag and placed it on the carpet next to her boxes, pulling out her wallet again and counting all her money once more, hoping against hope that a few more dollars had miraculously appeared in the time she had last checked. Alas, no such change had taken hold of her cash, despite the fact that she was pretty sure by now that the building she was in was some sort of supernatural hotel. Pulling the room key out of her pocket once more, Sonata strode toward the door and unlocked it, bracing herself for the inevitable disappearing act that the door pulled. After the threshold had cleared itself of door, she stepped out into the hall, checking back to make sure the door reappeared behind her. She didn’t own much, but all that was left of her belongings remained in the room behind that door, and she was a little reluctant to leave it alone. “Come on Sonata, it’s just some food! You can do this! I can even pop into that café next door!” A small smile graced the siren’s lips as she stopped in front of one of the elevators and pressed the button, waiting for the car to reach her floor, before remembering that Sunset and her friends had been at the establishment earlier, and that meant someone else that might recognize her would be there too. The soft chime of the elevator reaching her floor shook Sonata out of her thoughts but as she was about to step into the lift, her eyes fell on the other occupant within and her foot froze, half-extended in a step. Inside the elevator was what could only be described as a miniature flying saucer, complete with a green glass canopy and flashing blue lights along the underside. If hovered gently at head height and emitted a soft whirring sound, giving no indication that it noticed her. Sweat gathering on her brow, Sonata didn’t know what to do, until the decision was made for her. With a ding, the elevator doors began to close once more, causing the ex-Dazzling to panic. Moving swiftly, she stuck her foot in between the closing doors and yelped as they squeezed her ankle a bit, before reversing and opening again. As soon as there was enough room for her to squeeze through, Sonata threw herself forward into the elevator car, straightening up fast enough to see the doors close. Quickly delegating herself to the corner farthest from the small floating alien craft, she watched as it completely disregarded her presence, simply turning slowly in place until the ground floor was reached, and Sonata, in her desperate attempt to get away from the strange thing, nearly ran out of the building, only stopping once she neared the rickety wooden fence that separated the property from the sidewalk. Glancing furtively back at the large building, which was still completely dark and had no lights showing from any of the windows, Sonata shivered in the cold night air and pulled her hood up over her head, struggling a bit with her giant mass of messy hair as she tried to stuff it into her sweater. Turning back to the street, the siren took a deep breath and brought her mind back to her current task. “Gotta get food, right. I just need to go out and hope no one recognizes me so that I don’t starve to death. Easy, I’ve been doing it this long, after all.” Nodding her head after her motivational talk to herself, she stepped out onto the sidewalk and turned back in the direction she had originally come from on her way to Minnie’s. Carefully eyeing the still cheerfully bright interior of the café as she passed it, Sonata stuck her hands in her pockets, one hand wrapping tightly around her wallet as she started looking for a corner store or some sort of mini-mart nearby. Now that she was outside, the smell of fresh rain and ozone permeated the air, while the slight chill was enough for her to almost see her breath while she walked. Despite the fact that it was dark and the apartment seemed to be in a more run-down area of town, the music drifting from nearby bars and pubs, as well as the high amount of traffic running down the street beside her gave her enough comfort to continue walking down the street, humming a small tune to herself. After crossing another few streets, Sonata was finally confronted with the bright neon lights of a gas station corner store. She had left the merriment and sound of the busy streets behind and her temporary place of residence could just be barely seen peeking over rooftops behind her. In the absence of sound besides the evening breeze and the occasional car puttering by, the buzz from the station’s neon lights sounded painfully loud to Sonata’s ears. Stepping into the tiny shop was no easier, as the door set off an electronic chime, alerting the single other occupant of the gas station. The cashier, a middle-aged man with thinning hair, briefly glanced her way, giving her a silent nod, before he leaned back behind the counter once more and his eyes took on a rather glazed look. Shuffling her feet and trying to seem as insignificant as possible, the siren reached the tiny aisles crammed with assorted snack foods and cleaning supplies, grabbing a few cheap packs of instant noodles before stepping back into view of the cashier. Letting the man scan the barely-passable foodstuffs, Sonata contemplated all the other times she had bought food, and with a sigh as she realized for the hundredth time, noted they all tended to act out exactly like this. Her paranoia never seemed to bother people more than usual and they simply went about their day rendering whatever goods or service she was purchasing at the time. But this time, something new happened, and though Sonata wanted to say her fear and paranoia had taught her how to recognize this type of situation, the reality was that she had no idea how to handle herself or the challenges that suddenly presented itself. The door chimed once more, signalling someone else entering the tiny storefront, and though Sonata absentmindedly tugged her hood a little farther over her face, the sound of the voice that emanated from the newcomer was unmistakable. Besides that, the otherwise expressionless cashier that had taken her precious three dollars was now looking with honest interest on his face, and initiated a greeting. “Hey! How’ve you been? Haven’t seen you around in a few weeks, huh? You used to come by all the time!” “Oh, I’ve been alright, thanks. I haven’t been stopping by all that much because my friends have been getting me to buy healthier foods, but tonight I just needed to get some chips.” Replied Sunset Shimmer’s voice from behind the hooded siren. Instantly, the ex-Dazzling felt a cold sweat break out across her skin and her body locked up, joints going rigid and refusing to obey her commands to exit the store immediately. If the gas station cashier noticed any signs of distress from Sonata, he didn’t show it, as he went back to counting coins and dishing out change to the girl standing in front of him. Handing over a plastic bag with Sonata’s instant noodle packets, like a man holding out a lifeline to a drowning woman, it took the siren a few moments to gain control of her body once more and shakily reach out to grab the bag from the man, giving him an unpleasant smile all the while. Brain going a million miles an hour, the siren managed to play off a fake sneeze as she turned, allowing her to cover her face and step away from the counter without being recognized by the red- and gold-haired young woman within two feet of her, quickly bolting out of the store while doing her best to look as if she wasn’t actually bolting out of the store. Breathing heavily, Sonata forced herself to walk slowly while still in sight of the giant glass window, but as soon as she had made it to the sidewalk and started on her way back towards the, her feet hit the cement running, and she didn’t stop sprinting until she had made it safely several blocks away. Panting with exertion and still hopped up on adrenaline, she bent double, trying to catch her breath, the pounding of her heart in her ears the only sound in the universe. Suddenly the entire world had shrunk to her, the room she had left her things in, and the diminishing distance in between. Marching back to the condo with a single-mindedness that wouldn’t have been out of place in a killer robot, but with a shaking of knees that betrayed her fear, Sonata Dusk finally reached the fence in front of the apartment building, having been slowed down somewhat by all the time she spent looking back for any sign of Sunset Shimmer following her. Seeing no one there, she finally Let out a deep breath she didn’t know she had been holding and allowed herself to relax as she stepped into the same dark-paneled foyer and took the elevator up to her suite. Barely jumping at the disappearing door trick, Sonata carefully placed her bag of packaged food on the floor before kicking off her worn-down shoes and laying face-down in the soft, fluffy carpet, where a loud groan escaped her muffled mouth. “Well that could have gone better… although I guess it could have gone worse too. What was she doing there though?! I thought Sunset left with her stupid friends already! And that guy, he sounded like he knew her! Why would he talk like that unless he knew her? Is she really that popular now? It’s only been a few months since the battle of the bands… hasn’t it? There’s no way everyone likes her that much already.” Rolling over onto her back, Sonata frowned as question after question popped into existence inside her mind, each one as unanswerable as the last, until she balled her fists and pressed them against her eyes. “Ugh, brain… stop thinking of stuff! You’re making me confused! I’m already confused as to how to I got away without that she-demon noticing me!” Glancing over forlornly at the dropped packages of instant noodles and sighing, her appetite now gone, the siren grumbled to herself and picked herself off the floor. “Forget about Sunset. That magic-thief isn’t important right now. What’s important is getting some fake food in my stomach, or at least getting a good night’s sleep.” Steeling herself, Sonata shoved her bag of food packs into her shoulder bag and dragged everything into the bedroom, where she piled it all next to the bed and pulled out her thin blanket, draping it over the bare mattress. Frowning at the sight for a moment, the blue-haired girl turned back to her boxes and shuffled around inside them for a few moments, trying to find something that would help the situation. Eventually she settled for her only other sweater, which was folded neatly, even if it was a bit wrinkled, and placed it at the head of the bed for a makeshift pillow. Looking glumly back at the cheerfully bright package of instant noodles poking out of the plastic bag, Sonata sighed went to turn off the light in the room, before crawling under the covers and doing her best to drift off to sleep. After her encounter at the gas station she didn’t particularly feel like eating, but she was determined to get a good night’s sleep for once. At least this apartment is warm.