//------------------------------// // Chapter 08 - Someone is Here (Edited by: Moonriseoversunset) // Story: The Mysterious Forum - Anon-a-miss // by Leo Luce //------------------------------// The day after the adventures in Equestria, it was time to go back to school. But today is not an ordinary day. Today is the day the reopened newspaper club was going to release its first newspaper. And as such, the club members came to school early to begin handing out the newspapers. Once school started, most of the day went by normally. But the main topic of the day was still the newspaper. "Your club looks like it's off to a good start." Applejack said as the girls sat down at the cafeteria. "Yeah. Everyone is talking about it. The mysteries might have helped a lot, too," Rarity said. "At least that's one good thing," Sunset said. "And Aiko is a nice addition to our band," Rainbow said. "You were pretty good with the violin." "Arigatou Rainbow-chan, I try my best," Aiko said, nodding. "Oh, just admit it. Your cutie mark explains it." Sunset said before she really looked at Aiko. "Hey, what's going on? You look a little… down." "Oh… um… it's nothing." "Are you sad because you didn't transform when we played?" Pinkie asked. Aiko didn't respond to that. "Actually, Aiko, I can feel a little bit of magic inside you," Sunset said. "Really!?" "Yeah. We might actually have affected you. The trip might have helped a bit too." "See, Aiko, you'll be flying again in no time," Rainbow said. "I felt like that too when we first got this magic and then lost it when Twilight left. Flying is so amazing." "Hai (yeah). I felt so… free. Like I could fly like that all day," Aiko said with a faraway look. "Yeah, it's the best," Rainbow agreed with the same kind of look. And an awkward silence swept over them. "Okay… now you guys are making me jealous. Five of y'all can fly," Applejack said, annoyed. "Aww, I can give you a ride if you like," Rainbow said. "No thanks, I can't afford to have any of my limbs broken," Applejack said. "What! You don't trust me?" Rainbow asked with a sarcastic voice. "You're far too reckless for my taste," Applejack said matter-of-factly as she sniffed and looked away from Rainbow. "So, Aiko, did you saw any of our dresses?" Rarity asked. "Sorry, Rarity, I didn't. Even if I did, I wouldn't have known which is whose." "Hmm, that's true, I suppose, shame. I can hardly wait to see them and to think it's by an actual boutique owner, not just an employee." "Don't worry. You'll see the dresses soon," Sunset said, patting her back. Throughout the day, the girls were confronted by many wanting to know more about the club. As well as its history that they published in the newspaper. But they were only able to tell them so much as they still didn't know what exactly happened. After school ended, Sunset and the rest of the club members gathered in the club room to discuss the next move. "The newspaper was a big success," Twilight said. "It'll be great if we can keep this up." "Yeah, now we need to find some new topics for the next week's newspaper. Any ideas?" Sunset asked, wiping down the whiteboard in the room. "How about the school trip this month?" Aiko asked. "Oh right. Luna gave me a list of places available to visit for each grade. I said we can create a poll so the students can vote where they'd like to go," Sunset said as she shifted through her memos on her phone to find the locations. "That's a good idea," Twilight said as Sunset began to write their plans on the whiteboard. "Um… I was thinking… these files have a lot of history about the school," Fluttershy said, flipping through a file in the shelves. "I didn't know most of these things. Maybe we can have a section for school history?" "That's not bad. Maybe we'll even be able to solve the mystery of the missing girl," Sunset said. And just like that, the four girls began to brainstorm on what to put on the next newspaper, and Sunset found herself getting excited about working with the girls. She couldn't help but wonder how her life turned out like this, from being a heartbroken orphan, a bully, and a she-demon, to making awesome friends, finding a family, and even becoming a princess. However, with all the happiness in the world, something has to be there to balance it. As at that moment, a notification alert sounded from the school newspaper forum. "For the love of… don't tell me it's a new rumor," Sunset said, as she leaned her head on the whiteboard. "It's not," Twilight said. "Really?!?" Sunset looked up at Twilight hopefully, only to see her deadpanning. "Ugh… what is it this time?" Sunset asked as she fell into the chair and began loading up the forum on her laptop. Ebony Glass Hi guys, Since this is a famous rumor, you all might know it, but I'll post it here anyhow since I don't see it posted by anybody else. Have you ever heard, "Someone is here"? Have you had this kind of abrupt feeling when you are alone? Like… you can feel someone is here… of course, you don't actually see them, but afterward, everyone around you says someone was actually there. Do you think it's just your imagination? If not, though, I wonder when or where they will follow you… Why do they follow you in the first place? "I think I've heard of this one," Twilight said. "You have?" Fluttershy asked, scared. "Yeah, one of my old classmates said this to me. What I heard is… once, a girl at our soccer club said she might have someone stalking. She found her uniform is in a slightly different place from where she put it, or she felt like she was being watched," Twilight began. "But it didn't go any further than that. No threats, no contacts, just a feeling. She was so stressed by it that over time she became crazy. Then one day, when she was crossing the road, she missed the stoplight and died in an accident," Twilight said. "The same thing happened to me, but I soon found out the girls that told me were just messing with me." "That sounds really scary. Being stalked by someone. It's like the first rumor. Though it isn't posted by that Anon-a-miss," Fluttershy said. "Maybe this was a well-known version of that?" Aiko said. "It could be, but we don't know for sure," Sunset said as she read the post over again, trying to find more details. "We need to keep an ear out. If we hear anyone say anything about feeling like they're being stalked, we need to be there to stop this rumor before something like what happened to that girl happens to someone else." "We should all probably head home anyways. It's already a little late, and it looks like it's about to rain soon," Twilight said, looking at her phone. Everyone else looked at their own phones on the weather. "Well then, let's go home and try to find out as much as we can about this rumor," Sunset said, gathering her belongings while everyone else did the same. "You guys go. I need to sort this out before leaving, or everything will be a mess." Aiko said, gesturing at all the references she had for one of the articles. "But what if the rain starts?" Fluttershy asked. "No worries. I think I have about," Aiko said, looking up at the sky. "An hour max or half an hour at least. My home isn't that far away anyway, and I have an umbrella." "If you are sure, make sure to lock the door before leaving and let us know when you get home," Sunset said as she left with the rest of the girls leaving Aiko. Aiko then got back to sorting out the references and plan out the article. But dark clouds gathered above the sky, and the room got darker as the light that came from a small and long rectangular window the length width of the wall got dimmed. It was becoming too dark for Aiko to read properly, so Aiko got up to turn on the lights. "Hey, Aiko I-" she heard Sunset's voice before she turned on the lights and looked at the fiery-haired girl. And for some reason, she was looking at Aiko and the table confused. "Yes? What happened?" Aiko asked. "No… I thought I saw you at the table. Maybe it's shadows playing tricks on me in the dark. Anyway, I forgot to give you the keys," Sunset said sheepishly before giving her the keys. "Oh… right. Good thing you remembered," Aiko said, taking the keys. "Yeah. Be safe, Ja Ne (see ya)!" "Ja Ne!" Aiko said as she looked at the retreating form of Sunset, looked back at the keys in her hand and the table. "Just shadows." It didn't take Aiko long to sort out all the references and keep them ready for writing. Once she placed all the things where they belonged, Aiko walked out of the room and closed the door, locking it. Putting the keys into her bag, Aiko began to walk towards the door, when suddenly. "Ahh!" Aiko screamed, clutching her heart. "Oh, you scared me!" "Hehe, my bad," The school's old janitor said as he rounded the corner and met Aiko. "You look a little jumpy." "Oh… no, it's…I wasn't expecting you… sorry," Aiko said, nodding. "No, no, it's my fault. Anyway, you should hurry. It will begin to rain soon," The elderly man said, gesturing out a window. "Oh hai, good day to you, sir," Aiko said bowing, before making her way out. Once she walked out of the school, she quickly made her way towards her home. Halfway through, she saw one of the old neighbors walking with their dog, and they were holding a bag. "Good afternoon Yarn-san, do you need any help?" Aiko asked quickly, walking up to the old woman. “Ah Aiko, no no it’s fine. I'm visiting a friend of mine. Best head home, I have a feeling it's about to rain cats and dogs," The woman said, smiling gratefully. "Oh, be safe, I-" *woof!* *woof!*… *grrr!!!* "Milo!" Aiko said, flinching at the barking dog. "Milo, what's the matter with you? You know Aiko," The woman tried to calm down the dog. But the dog kept barking. "Maybe there's a cat around here," The woman said. "Y-yeah. I'll be going now, be safe," Aiko quickly said before walking back to her house. "Well, that was strange," She said to herself. "Should I…?" Aiko asked herself as her hand drifted to her pocket where her phone was. "No, I'm just being paranoid, that's all," She looked up at the sky and saw clouds are much darker now. Without taking any chances, she quickly ran the rest of the way to her home. She quickly arrived at her home, just as she felt the light drops of rain hitting her hands. After greeting her parents and her grandma, she quickly went to her room. After a quick shower and being clothed in comfortable attire, Aiko decided to finish her homework. It took a little under an hour to finish her assignments, having finished as her mom called her for dinner. "So, how was the school today, Aiko?" Aiko's dad asked. "Oh, it was pretty great. A lot of students liked our newspaper. And I got to play with the band for the first time," Aiko said. "Ah yes, your friends. They seem like nice kids. I'd like to meet them one day. Maybe they can come over for a sleepover? You always wanted to have one," Aiko's mom said. "O-oh yeah. I'll ask them, mom. Obaasan (grandma) Sunset said she'd like to meet you too," Aiko said. "Oh, she's the one with the red hair, right?" Aiko nodded. "Speaking of, did your friend leave?" Grandma asked, taking Aiko by surprise. “Nani o itteruno obaasan? (What do you mean grandma?)” Aiko asked. "You had a friend over?" Aiko's dad asked. "No, I didn't. I stayed late and left away. They all went home from school. I walked home alone." "Oh, nan demo nai (never mind). These old eyes must be seeing things," Grandma said, waving her hand in a dismissive way. 'I was alone? Right?' That night Aiko couldn't sleep. For some reason, she felt uneasy, and she turned left and right on her bed, trying to get some sleep. "Why can't I sleep?" Aiko thought, trying to focus on the rain outside and sleep. "Why do I feel so hot? It's raining outside,"… "Maybe if I opened a window a little bit," Aiko got up from the bed and walked over to the window. Unlocking it, she opened it a little bit so cool air could flow into the room. She didn't have to worry about the rain because the roof above prevented any rain from entering the room. She walked back to her bed and looked at the bedside clock. It read 01:44. "Really? Ugh," She flopped back on the bed and closed her eyes. Aiko didn't know how long was passed since she opened the window, but just when she was about to fall asleep, she woke back up to the sound of something sliding. "What was that?" She thought. She strained her ears to hear any sound coming from the room. She then heard the sound of clothes touching themselves. "someone is here…" Aiko opened her eyes slowly to get a better look at what was happening. She couldn't see much in the pitch-black room at first. However, her eyes quickly adjusted to the dark as she was awake most of the night, and she saw what could only be the light of her alarm clock reflecting off of something metallic… something like a- Suddenly flight or fight instincts kicked in as Aiko kicked her assailant without even thinking. "AArrrgh!!!" The attacker fell back in pain and hit something hard. They lost the knife they were holding as it dropped to the ground with a clink. "PAPA!!! TASUKETE!!! (HELP ME!!!) PAPA!!!" Aiko screamed from all the strength she had. The attacker, hearing Aiko's scream, began to panic and tried to get out of there. But their attempt was in vain as the bedroom door suddenly flew open, and Aiko's dad burst into the room. "AIKO!!!" "S-so-so-soko-" Aiko stammered, pointing at the man in the room. Aiko's dad didn't wait for her to finish and pounced at the man trying to flee. Sunset came to the school the next day with her mom just like she usually does. But when she made her way to the entrance, she saw Aiko beside a car, talking to a man, presumably her dad. As she got closer, she could hear them talking. "You sure, Aiko? You can still go back home if you like," Aiko nodded. "Yes, papa… I'm sure," "If you are sure… my little kunoichi," He said before driving off. Aiko turned to walk to the school and saw Sunset. "Oh, Ohayo (good morning) Sunset-chan," Aiko said, bowing. "Ohayo Aiko… what, was that about, if you don't mind me asking?" Sunset asked. "Oh, that's my dad… well… something happened yesterday… or today technically." "What happened?" "I think it's the rumor." "WHAT!? Why didn't you tell us sooner?!" "I-I thought it was nothing at first. But I don't believe that is the case anymore." "So what happened?" "Let's go meet with the girls. I don't want to repeat this." After meeting up with the girls, Aiko told them what happened the previous day. From Sunset mistaking her to a "Shadow" to Milo barking at her like she's a complete stranger, her grandma seeing a friend come over, and finally, to the attack last night. "Oh my, you just barely got out of a…I don't want to even think about it," Rarity said. "And you still came to school?" Fluttershy asked. "If something like that happened to me, I wouldn't want to leave the house for days." "I spent the night with obaasan. She helped me to calm myself down." "Hm, so that's the one Shining was talking about," Twilight said. "Who?" Rainbow asked. "Shining Armor, my big brother. He's the captain of the CPD. He told us they caught a burglar yesterday. And a very dangerous one at that too." "Aiko? Do you… still want to help us? No one would blame you if you didn't want to anymore. Just say the wor-" "I'm sure Sunset. Didn't you hear what my papa called me? There's a reason why he calls me that. So I'm not backing away now." "Oh yeah! That's the spirit! Let's kick this rumor's butt!" Rainbow shouted. Aiko smiled at Sunset determinedly. "Okay, Aiko. So what do you think about the rumor?" Sunset asked. "I think… I think that presence you feel, or someone you feel, might actually be someone or something warning you? That something bad is about to happen to you so you can be ready." "Awww, it's a really nice ghost," Pinkie said. "That could be it. Maybe whoever that is was trying to warn you because something similar happened to them," Twilight said. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's reply to the post," Sunset said. Walking up to the club room. "You guys go. I wanna quickly go to the washroom." Aiko said quickly, making her way to the washroom. "Man talk about anti-climatic. I thought I was going to be able to fight things with magic, bummer," Rainbow could be heard complaining as Aiko left the room. Aiko was the only one in the washroom at that moment. "Phew, that rumor is actually a good one if you think about it." Aiko thought while washing her hands. "At least now that it's over, I can sleep well tonight," After finish washing her hands, Aiko looked up at the mirror. “AAAHHHH!!!” Aiko screamed when she saw a disfigured face next to her reflection. She quickly looked back to see if anyone was there, only to see nothing and the face has disappeared too. "You should have died." Aiko heard a voice talking, but she couldn't see who was talking or what that face was. But she could also say that the feeling she had since the rumor was posted was gone now. CHS Newspaper Club We are the newspaper club. Do you feel "Someone is here" with you? If so, believe me. BE MORE CAREFUL than usual for any injuries or accidents for a while. Until you no longer feel "anybody is with you". Because that "someone" beside you is the one who wants to see you die more than anybody else.