Chapter 4: Crimson Awakening
”Honestly, Sunset, I think we make, like, the best team,” Dawnshine said.
Sunset rolled her eyes, exasperated. She had been forced to team up with the airhead for a research project. Dawnshine was a complete idiot who lacked the knowledge and discipline for anything other than gossip. Fearful at what this waste of space would do to her grade, Sunset had offered to do all the work.
And she was now regretting it, as Dawnshine was now trying to be recognized as her equal.
“Our names are even related, like, the yin-yin stuff or whatever.”
“It’s Yin-yang,” Sunset said through her teeth. “And your analogy is lacking all effects of comparison between our personalities and skills. Why, I loath wasting time like you do, and I know you’re as smart as a retarded Diamond Dog. So, no, Dawnshine, we’re not related in any way whatsoever, and we do not make any kind of team. I did everything while you just asked your mommy for a new frilly dress.”
Dawnshine gaped at that, offended. “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe you just said that! And here I was going to invite you to my birthday party!”
“Oh, please, by all means don’t,” Sunset replied as she levitated a book from her saddlebags. “I can think of better things to do, like throwing myself from the castle’s highest tower face first.”
“Ugh! You’re just unbelievable!” Dawnshine yelled before trotting away.
Sunset placed the book on the table, sitting at her favorite spot in the school’s garden. She breathed in the sweet scent of flowers and relished the warm air before opening ‘Three Dimensional Spell Casting’, volume four.
~~~~~~~~
It had been seven days since Sunset arrived to the human world, and so far, it hadn’t been that bad.
Sure, being magicless sucked a lot, but in exchange, she could experiment having hands. It wasn’t really a fair trade, Sunset thought, but this was supposed to be a test of some kind. It could not be easy in any way! And Sunset was going to excel and prove to Celestia she was rightful to the throne!
In the last week, Sunset had read half the encyclopedia. It was so interesting! These humans were so advanced in science it was almost unfair. She had yet to start reading about technology and finally learn how that cursed television worked, but so far she was impressed. It was so incredible, she was sure she could bring this knowledge back to Equestria and start a second golden age! Oh, her future was so bright!
And Sunset had thirty whole moons to gather all this information! This was going to be a breeze!
Sunset had decided not to go outside until she was completely prepared to face whatever these humans had. She was curious, sure, but she didn’t want to be seen as a hicksville idiot, her pride would not allow for such humiliation! It was also maddening that all windows in the apartment only had views to more buildings.
Dandy had promised she’d take both Sunset and Trixie to the mall on Sunday, though. Dandy had explained it could not be sooner because she had her own business to take care of, and she could only take days off every other week.
That confused Sunset. How could owning a business leave so little time to do anything? Princess Celestia always found time for recreation, and not only was she the ruler of Equestria, but also administered her own school! She’d have to ask Dandy to let her see her business some other time.
Trixie, on her part, had to go to school during the week. Sunset had been fascinated by the complex school structure humans had. Equestria's educational system only had two levels: Elementary School and University. Whilst these humans had like five different levels, and some above University! Sunset wondered if that helped with the technological development.
There were just so many things going on, Sunset had to write them down. And so, she was now sitting at the dining table, dressed in very comfortable pajamas, and writing her thoughts on the notebook Trixie had given her.
“Morning,” Trixie said as she approached from the hallway. When she took a look at Sunset, she only narrowed her eyes and cocked her head. “Uhm… are you writing with your mouth?”
Sunset looked at her. “Yeah,” she said, balancing the pen with her teeth and tongue. “I tried using my hands, but I just can’t get it right, and it ends up as horrible scribbling. And since I don’t have my magic, the next logical option is my mouth.”
Trixie blinked, frowned, then blinked again. “Logical.”
“Are you being sarcastic?”
“No, no, it’s just… You can write with your mouth?”
Sunset rolled her eyes and pushed her notebook towards Trixie. “Unicorns can learn how to write using magic, but we all learn how to mouthwrite. Take a look.”
Trixie leaned in, and her eyes widened in surprise. “Whoa! It’s so pretty!” She grabbed the notebook and began reading.
With a satisfied grin, Sunset leaned back. She felt her lower back ache, but paid it no mind. She had been feeling like this for a couple of days now; she probably had been sleeping in a weird position. Maybe she’d need to learn how to sleep as a human? She certainly hoped not. Trixie had already been too weirded out with Social Bathing, only Celestia knows how she would react if Sunset asked her to sleep with her.
“Can you show me how you do it?” Trixie asked, setting the notebook back on the table.
Sunset shrugged. “Sure, why not?” She leaned over, placed both fists at the sides of the notebook, and began writing. She needed to note Dandy’s schedule, anyway.
Trixie stifled a giggle.
“Must you laugh at everything I do?” Sunset growled, looking up at Trixie.
“I’m sorry!” Trixie said, covering her mouth as if it was any better. “It’s just… you look so cute!”
Sunset felt a cold chill run down her spine. “Cute?!” She spat the pen. “I am not cute!” She stood up, slamming her palms on the table. “I’ll let you know I-” She froze.
Trixie stepped back at the sudden outburst, then slowly leaned over. “Sunset? What’s wrong?”
Sunset began trembling. What is this?! She thought frantically. Did I just… But that’s impossible! H-How?! This couldn’t be! This had to be the most humiliating thing that could ever happen to her! And to top it all, Trixie had been a witness! Sunset’s life was ruined! Ruined!
“Sunset? You look pale.”
She had just peed herself!
But why? Was it something she had drunk or eaten? Oh, Celestia, it was getting worse!
“Sun-”
“Gottausethebathroombye!” Sunset said and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Her heart was hammering inside her chest. Why? Why?! She pulled her pants and panties down just as she sat on the toilet. How could she ever get out now?! How could the future ruler of Equestria live with such a shame as this one?!
She held her head with both hands, looking down. Before she could think more about that, she glanced at her panties, trying to gauge the damage.
Her once pink panties were now tainted an aggressive deep red.
Sunset screamed.
“What is this?!” She yelled after a while, finally being able to find her voice. “I’m bleeding! I’m bleeding! Oh, Faust Almighty, I’m bleeding!” Her breath quickened, and cold sweat ran down her face.
Why was this happening?! Was it because she wasn’t a human? Was the human world rejecting her very existence? But why allow her to cross and give her a human body just to punish her? Was this that, in fact? Was this punishment for disobeying Celestia? For aiming to claim the throne for herself?
She could feel more blood leaking.
“Oh, Faust, oh Faust,” she repeated, out of breath. Tears streaming down her face. “Oh Faust Almighty, don’t let me die! I haven’t fulfilled my destiny! I’m too young!”
“Sunset!”
Only when Trixie grabbed her by the shoulders and yelled did Sunset notice the girl had entered the bathroom. She could feel her heart beating furiously inside her chest, her lower back kept aching, tears and sweat ran down her face and her ragged breathing barely let her get any air.
“Sunset,” Trixie repeated in a much lower voice. “Calm down.”
“Ca-” Sunset choked on the word. “Calm down?! How can you ask me to calm down?! Are you stupid?! I’m bleeding from my vagina! Why are you not calling a doctor?!”
“Sunset,” Trixie said, unnervingly calm. Why was she so calm?! “What color is my barrette?”
Sunset opened her mouth to retort, then registered the question. “What?! What kind of question is that in a moment like this?! What kind of imbecile are you?!”
“What,” Trixie repeated sternly, punctuating each word insistently. “Color. Is. My. Barrette?”
Why did she insist? Sunset blinked several times. What did the barrette have to do with anything? Besides, Trixie didn’t wear any, did she? Sunset looked up to Trixie’s hair. Oh, that silver, silky hair. Sunset was going to miss brushing it. She would never have admitted it to her classmates, but one of her guilty pleasures was brushing the maids’ manes when they bathed with her. Sunset regretted never asking Celestia to let her brush her mane. That flowing misty mane had to feel wonderful.
Sunset blinked once more, trying to get rid of the tears. But where was Trixie’s barrette? Sunset could not find it anywhere. She looked down, only to find Trixie smiling knowingly.
“You witch!” Sunset yelled. “You tricked me!”
Trixie nodded. “Yes. You had to stop panicking so you can listen to me.” Trixie leaned back just a little. “This is perfectly normal. All girls go through this.”
Sunset gaped. “W-What?”
“Trust me, no one likes it one bit,” Trixie said as she stood up. “But it’s just how it is, so we gotta suck it up and learn how to live with it. Or so my mom says.” She turned to the door. “I’ll bring you another pair of panties.” Then she left, leaving the door open.
“This is normal?” Sunset whispered to herself. “This madness...?”
Only a few seconds passed, but Sunset felt like it had been longer. What was taking Trixie so long? Oh, she was calling a doctor, wasn’t she? All that barrette nonsense was a deviation!
Trixie, however, returned quickly. “When you think is ok, you can change your panties,” she said, putting the new ones on the sink’s edge. “You’ll also have to wear a pad.” She opened the cabinet above the sink and produced a small square plastic bag. “I’ll tell you how to wear them. There’s a trick to them.”
“Trixie?” Sunset asked, noticing her voice had lost all energy. She felt tired and the cold sweat was not helping. “Please tell me you can explain this to me…”
Trixie made a troubled face, looking down at the bag she had taken, then took a deep breath. And she explained everything she knew.
It was horrifying.
Sunset had thought mares had it rough back in Equestria, having to lock themselves up for one to two weeks a year in order to protect themselves and others from the terrible heat. But this? This was Tartarus! Pain and gross bodily functions, and having to put up with it for a week per month? In what plane of existence was this fair, or even remotely logical?
It was so much… It was too much…
Sunset leaned over on herself, reaching to hug her knees, and felt tears already running down her cheeks. “I wanna go home,” she admitted. “I shouldn’t have come here… I should’ve stayed… I should’ve been a better student…” She closed her eyes as the pain in her heart far surpassed that of her body. “I wanna go back home!”
Her emotions thrown into disarray, Sunset could not keep talking any longer, so she cried. She didn’t care that Trixie was still there, she couldn’t care, not anymore. She didn’t know how long she was there, weeping, but when she finally found the strength to sit up straight again, she was strangely relieved to find that Trixie was still there.
Trixie’s sole presence was enough for Sunset to regain her composure.
“So, what now?” Sunset asked, hearing the quivering of her voice.
“What do you mean?”
Sunset removed her bottoms completely. “You talk like you’ve been through this already,” she said, and Trixie only nodded. “How do you cope with it?”
“Well,” Trixie said, reaching inside the cabinet again, then taking a small box. “If you are in pain, you can take one of these.” She opened the box and took what looked like a silver sheet. She pressed on one of its bumps, then showed the white thing to Sunset.
“Is that a medicine pellet?” Sunset asked, glaring at the white cylindrical thing. “I thought you could only find those in hospitals.”
Trixie put the pill on Sunset’s hand. “This is just Ibuprofen, it’s the most basic painkiller there is. But it should be enough to help you feel better.” She took the box back to the cabinet. “I’ll bring you a glass of water to help you swallow it.”
Once again, Trixie left the bathroom. Why was she leaving so much? She should be assisting Sunset! Why the insistence on leaving her alone?
Sunset shook her head. These thoughts were coming out of nowhere, and Trixie had said emotional unbalance was normal. But Sunset was better than this, she would not let a foreign event control her! She put the pill safely on the sink’s edge, then cleaned herself. She then grabbed the panties Trixie had brought. Trixie had already shown her how to ‘hook’ the pad to the panties, and how to put them on.
It was more complicated than Sunset expected, but she managed.
When she was done putting on the pajama pants, Trixie returned. “How’s the pain?”
Sunset moved her legs this way or the other. The pad was uncomfortable. “I can tolerate it,” she said, placing a hand on her lower back. “But it’s throbbing and really annoying.”
Trixie nodded and offered the glass to Sunset. “Here, take the pill. You should feel better in twenty minutes or so.”
With a nod, Sunset took the pill and quickly gulped it down with the water. It left a nauseating taste in her mouth. “Ugh, do I have to take this every time?”
“Not really,” Trixie said, taking the now empty glass. “If you take too many, or too fast, it can be deadly. You can also choose not to take any… But I don’t know if you’d really want that.” She looked Sunset up and down and offered her a small smile. “Are you feeling better?”
Sunset huffed. “Better? I once ignited my room by accident. I burnt my mane and tail, and I caused a loss of thousands of bits in furniture, clothes, and other objects. And this is the worst I have ever felt in my life. So, no, I do not feel better.”
Trixie looked away, pouting. “I was just trying to help,” she muttered. “Well, I’ll be in my room. If you need anything you can call me.” With that, she turned to leave.
“Wait,” Sunset found herself saying.
Slowly, Trixie turned back to Sunset. “Yes?”
It had been an impulse, like cowering after hearing a loud noise. Trixie was looking at her, but Sunset hadn’t yet realized why had she called her. She thought of the situation, of the pain and the humiliation. She felt chills running down her entire body and the mere thought of going through it alone was terrifying and…
Sunset shivered as she realized… She didn’t want to be alone.
“Can I…” Sunset gulped. Never in her entire life had she asked for something so trivial. She had, in fact, insisted on being left alone, on being allowed to practice on her own, to grow without peers. But now? The sole idea of enduring a situation such as this one was already too much, and Sunset wasn’t sure she would be able to retain her sanity were she to do it all alone. So she turned her hands into tight fists and stiffened her jaw.
“Can I… Be with you?” There! She had said it! She prepared herself to be laughed at, or pitied, or-
“Sure!” Trixie replied with a broad smile.
Relief washed over Sunset as she followed Trixie to her room. Her legs were shaky and the pain seemed to be hugging her entire torso, but at least she wouldn’t be alone.
Trixie’s bed was softer than her own, if a lot messier, like the rest of her room. Clothes and magazines and a variety of other objects were scattered all around the room, and yet, Sunset found it oddly comfortable. Not that she would ever admit it.
“What’s that?” Sunset asked as Trixie reached a sort of black box beneath the television. The box began humming and a few lights turned on. Sunset gasped.
“Playing video games helps me when I’m in those days,” Trixie said as she sat down next to Sunset, holding a weird object with her hands. “Here, try it out!”
Sunset grabbed the object just as the television began showing some imagines. There were depictions of humans with strange clothes running and talking and… doing magic! Sunset leaned over. “They can do magic?”
Trixie’s smile widened. “Yeah. Look, your character is the blue haired girl. You, uhm… you can play the tutorial so you know how to play, then you just pay attention to the story.”
“Tutorial?” What a strange word. Fortunately, she soon began playing, and the instructions were clear enough. Press a certain button to do a specific action. Sunset could do that. She just had to memorize the controller -now that she knew the object’s name-, but it was no difficult task!
The difficult part was moving her fingers fast or precisely enough to hit the buttons correctly.
Her character kept dying in the very first fight, but for some strange reason, it didn’t frustrate her. This video game was so much fun! Trixie was insisting she followed the storyline, but Sunset kept exploring the first level again and again, admiring the technology that made this possible.
Interactive movies now? Just how far had humans gone in terms of technology? Sunset wondered how would ponies react if she were to bring all of this to Equestria. She would start a technological revolution far greater than any other Equestria has ever seen!
They spent the following hours playing, passing the controller to one another. And Sunset had managed to forget, at least for a while, her own physical and emotional pains.