//------------------------------// // A Promise Made // Story: A Place Where The Sun Might Shine Upon Me // by Eggtaro //------------------------------// The storm outside had finally calmed down a little. The heavy rain that was pouring an hour ago was now just mere drops, silent, and soft. Thunder can still be heard, but distant, and far. The sound of fast scribbling filled my apartment, as I gaze at Sunset Shimmer, who was currently busy writing away in her book. She had a smile on her face, one that filled my heart with a certain, I don't know. Longing? She was dressed in one of my old white t-shirts. It was pretty big for her, given her small frame, as the shirt covered all the way down to her knees. If it wasn't for the grey sweatpants, I would've believed she wasn't wearing anything beneath the shirt. Her once wet clothes were now hanging inside my bathroom, damp. Since I did not own a washing machine, the only washing that can be done was by hand. And no, I did not help her wash her clothes. She wouldn't allowed it. For obvious reasons. Sunset Shimmer giggled softly, no doubt happy with finally being able to write to her important friend. She was sitting on my bed, the book on her lap. Smiling and giggling every now and then, enjoying her 'chat' with Twilight. I couldn't help but smile myself. Having Sunset Shimmer here, seated on my bed, with that sweet smile on her face, was somehow... peaceful in a way. From her fiery hair, that seem to shine even the dark, to her cyan coloured eyes. She was absolutely stunning. Even in my dreams, this was not something that I thought would've been possible. And yet, here she is, writing on her book. She brushed a strand of her hair away with her hand, tucking it away nicely behind her ear. Her lips looked soft like marshmallows an--- Oh god, I sound like some crazed psycho. Better snap out of it before I go ga-ga. Sunset Shimmer shut her book, and placed it on the tiny, wooden bedside table. I never knew I had one of those either. She's only been here for like an hour or so and yet, seem to know my place better than me. I really gotta get to know my place better...man. I returned my gaze to Sunset Shimmer, only to find that she was staring back at me. Our eyes met, and my cheeks were suddenly filled with a warm and steamy sensation. I darted my eyes away in another direction, finding whatever it is I could lay my eyes on to seem distracted. She laughed, causing me to look at her. "Do I scare you?" she asked. "W-w-what? No! You don't scare me! W-wait I mean, erm-- is jus-- well you see--" I took a deep breath. "Ahem... now what makes you say that?" "Because you've been avoiding eye contact with me every time I look at you." She was looking at me? I feel a balloon filling up with air inside me. Calm down, man. Breath. Breath deeply. She's right though. I had been avoiding eye contact with her ever since she got out of the shower. But why? Is it because there is a girl at my place, seated on my bed, and dressed in my clothes? Or is the reason because the girl is Sunset Shimmer? I never had any trouble talking to her, or making eye contact before. So why is it so hard now? Did I lose a pair on the way back? Why do I feel so nervous? "Erm.." What if she starts to think I'm weird? Oh no, not her. I've gotta come up with something to say! Something like a...a story! Or maybe a funny joke! "Hey.." But what if she hated jokes? Besides from being my co-worker, I know next to nothing about her! Oh man, I'm starting to freak out. "Hey!' I looked up. She was looking at me with a concerned look on her face. "Are you all right? You seem troubled." "W-what? Yes! I'm fine. My mind just wandered off for a minute there." A sudden, loud growling noise filled the room. That's new. This is the first time I actually heard something else in my apartment beside squeak! Crack! and Crap! "Heh, you have to forgive my place, it usually makes all sorts of weird noises. But this is a fir--" I did not finish my sentence. Sunset Shimmer was red in the face. She seems to be embarrassed about something, and was hugging her stomach for some reason. One of my eyebrows began to rise up slowly. "Hey, are you okay Suns--" The growling noise returned again, this time, muffled. Sunset Shimmer tighten her arms. It didn't took me long to put two and two together. "Want something to eat?" I asked, with a grin on my face as I stood up. She replied only with an awkward laugh. * * * * * * "So let me get this straight." I swallowed down the last of my noddles before continuing. "You're saying that your friend, Twilight Sparkle, is actually a pony? A real four-legged pony?" Sunset Shimmer nodded at me, drinking the soup from her cup noodles that I handed her a few minutes ago. "And that she is a princess, a real actual princess, in a different world, at a place called Ponyville?" "Of Equestria." Sunset Shimmer blew gently on the noodles dangling from her plastic fork, before shovelling it into her mouth, letting out a satisfied sigh as she chewed and swallowed the nutrition-less noodles. She must've been really hungry. I set my empty cup of noodles down on the table. "And that there is also a magical portal at your school which directly allows her to visit you at any given time?" "Ohnly wen sis nut bwsy." Damn, woman. Didn't your mom taught you to never speak with your mouth full? Still, the way she was gobbling down on her noodles was adorable. "Right," I could feel a headache coming on. I pinched the bridge of my nose. "lets just say for a moment that I actually believe you. Why are you telling me this? Do you normally go about telling everyone about your pony friend?" "Well...no, of course not." She pointed at the magic book on my bedside table. "She asked me to." "Twilight asked you to?" Sunset Shimmer nodded. "She wants to know what your reaction will be in situations like these. To give her a better understanding on how the human mind works. Such as how a test subject will do or react with the given information about a certain species which turns out to be able to talk, dance and sing. While on the contrary, the subject had always believed in--" What? I let her continue, not wanting to interrupt her. No, actually I was just too scared to say anything. "Twilight has been very interested in humans ever since she first set hoo-- foot here, and she have always been bombarding me with all sorts of questions about daily human lives, or human anatomy whenever she gets the chance." What, what, HWAT? Sunset Shimmer giggled at me. "Don't worry, that's who she is. Though I admit, things can get out of control sometimes." Okay, steady your breathing man! The girl that you might have feelings for turns out to be friends with a pony! A talking pony! In a different world! Does that mean that there are actually aliens out there? That we are not alone in this universe? Wait, you don't actually believe her now, do you? I mean, come on, maybe she just have a really imaginative brain. Quite incredible really, thinking about all this stuff about talking ponies, and crowns and kingdoms. Yeah. She's probably just pulling my leg. Just. Pulling. My leg...right? "Look... I know this is all very sudden. But Twilight believes that you will be able to handle this. I believe you can too." No! She's giving me that look. The look that says 'I believe in you' look. What do I say? What do I do? I was starting to hyperventilate. Like I said before, I have seen some weird crap in my time. But tonight? Tonight, my friend, takes the cake. I tried calming down. "So do I need to swear an oath of secrecy?" My previous thoughts of cults had began reconstructing in my brain. "Well, I suppose you do. Twilight ask me to ask you to promise to never tell this to anyone else." Then why tell me in the first place?! "D-d-d-do I need to cut off a finger or something?" She gave me a confused look, and laughed. "What? No! What makes you think that?" She pulled her chair closer towards me. "I'll teach you something better than cutting off fingers." Now I was getting nervous. I may be 20 years old, but I still get scared of stuff like the occult. I've once read a quote from a horror author. 'The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.' Oh, he have no idea how right he is. Sunset Shimmer sat facing towards me, our knees barely scraping each other. Having her so near to me, in my now, quiet apartment, caused my fear to vanish instantly. My heartbeat started to accelerate though. "Er..Sunset Shimmer?" "You know, you can just call me Sunset." she pouted at me, "Calling me by my full name feels so formal." "Er...okay...Sunset? What are you doing?" She smiled mischievously at me. "I am going to teach you the Pinkie promise." She lifted her hand up. "Here, just do what I do." Cross my heart, she crossed her heart with a finger, And hope to fly, she made some flapping gestures with both her hands, Stick a cupcake in my eye! she held something invisible in her hand, and bought it close to her eye. Once she was finished, she urged me to do the same, her eyes filled with hope and expectations. I repeated the actions and words, feeling like a little kid. She giggled when I was done. I felt a little embarrassed. "There! Now that you've made a Pinkie promise, make sure to never ever break it." she said to me, her voice playful. I smiled at her. Despite all that had happened tonight, having her here was comforting, soothing even. I won't say it's the perfect way to get closer to someone. But at least, at this moment, things were going smoot--- My apartment suddenly went dark. That stupid single lightbulb probably died. Both me and Sunset were completely shrouded in darkness. I can't even make heads or tails of my surroundings. I can probably try to reach the bathroom and see if the light there still works. I hope it does. I pray it does. "Sunset?" I called out. I knew she was just in front of me, but I wanted to make sure. "Sunset? I'm going to get up and hea---" Something soft, something warm, suddenly came up and hugged me. In my panic, I yelled out in surprise. I tried to push the hugging monster away from me, but its grip on me only grew tighter and stronger. It was only until I felt two soft lumps pressing against my chest that I started to realize that the hugging monster, was in fact Sunset. Two soft lumps...two soft lumps... TWO SOFT LUMPS?! She wasn't wearing any underwear underneath my clothes?! What am I saying, of course not, they're wet and hanging in the bathroom. I could properly feel the texture of those lumps pressing onto my chest. It felt strangely goo-- Stop, stop, stop! Focus man, focus! If you don't keep your cool, your heat is going to be the last thing to rise. I lifted a hand and gently petted on what I hope was Sunset's head. "Sunset? Is everything all right?" I wanted to shift my seat, but it was impossible to move. Two soft lumps. FOCUS! "I'm scared." came a quiet voice from underneath my chin. This is going to be a loooong night.