A flash of red. A screaming horn. A rushing wind, and then- nothing. Absolutely nothing. Then- Voices. Voices crying, voices screaming, and something pricked my arm. I hardly noticed it though, because my entire body felt like it had been shattered. My thoughts were fuzzy, and slowly, my mind blacked out.
When I awoke, everything was white. A bright, painful, excruciating white. Where was I? I tried to ask, but somebody clasped their hand over my mouth, and murmured something. I couldn't understand them though, and I didn't try to.
I felt like shit.
Then, I remembered something.
I was crossing at the stoplight. I was on my way to the shopping mall. Stephenie had called me, telling me about this adorable pair of shoes she had found on discount at the Macy's shoe department.
I dropped my purse in the street.
Another realization hit me, almost as hard as- The truck.
While my mind tried to figure out everything that had happened, I was dimly aware of a burning pain in my chest, my legs, my arms. My entire body hurt, and felt warm, a sticky, gruesome warm. Was I bleeding? Oh no. No, no, no!
I tried to yell for help, but I couldn't speak. Hell, I couldn't breath.
Okay, I should probably explain a few things before I bleed out.
My name is Sarah Johnson, and I'm seventeen. I seem like your typical airhead blonde, but I'm actually smarter than I look. I have grey eyes, and school-wise, I'm a pretty good student.
But now, all of my achievements, boyfriends and girlfriends, everything- It's simply going to vanish, because I was going to die.
I finally managed a gurgled scream, as my assailant cut open my face, creating what felt like a large gash going from just over my right eye, diagonally down my face, until the fresh pain stopped at my jawline. Blood plugged up my nose, and flowed into my mouth.
I couldn't breath at all, and my lungs felt like they were on fire.
I was bleeding to death, and my only regret, ridiculous as it was, was that I never got to beat the shit out of my ex, Jeremy, for dumping me because I, quote-on-quote, 'Did not want to fuck'.
He was an ass.
As that thought echoed in my head, I felt myself growing faint, until- I blacked out, and the memory of what put me here played through my mind one last time.
I looked down, hearing Green Day's 'Good Riddance[Time of Your Life]' play from my phone. Stephenie, my BFF, and ex-girlfriend. The fact we were still friends was a miracle, in my mind. Stephenie had quite the mean streak, as far as break-ups went, but we were on good terms when we broke up, so we had agreed to stay as friends. Being each other's ex complicated things sometimes, but we managed.
I picked up the phone, and instantly, Stephenie's chatter flooded my ear. "Hey, Sarah! You have got to come to the Macy's Shopping Mall! I just found the cutest pair of heels! You have to come see them-"
"Calm down, Stephenie! I told you, I'm studying at home, okay?" That was a complete lie. While Stephenie was trying to be honest, I was lying about my activities. In fact, I was at a music store, sitting in the wonderful Hard Rock Café, where the radio was playing some form of rock, 24/7.
I facepalmed, as Stephenie continued to keep talking. "Please, Sarah! Just come by the store, okay? I'll even watch that cartoon you love so much!"
I stiffened, and a look of death crossed my face. "It's. Anime. Huge. Fucking. Difference."
The show Stephenie was talking abut was a short anime(Episode-wise, the series seems rather long compared to an individual episode) called Hetalia: Axis Powers. I didn't watch it very often anymore, but I did still watch it.
Stephenie snorted. "Just get to the mall, okay? Don't be late!" She hung up before I even had a chance to say no.
"Damn...She is just too much sometimes..." I grumbled, packing my things away. I stood up, and stretched for a minute, before slinging my purse over my shoulder, and walking out of the café.
Hurrying, I started across the intersection's crosswalk, the light blinking with the red-orange hand. I would have sprinted, but I didn't want anybody jeering or leering. I made it to the other side of the street, and hit the crosswalk button to cross once again.
The light changed almost instantly, and the right turn lane made progression. Then the walk light changed for me, and I started walking calmly across.
I heard an air-horn scream, saw a streak of red, and felt the wind rush, as if it was fleeing the red streak. Then, nothing. I was floating in slow-motion through the air, and hit the pavement hard, my head slamming against the ground.
My memory grew hazy at that point, but I thought the vehicle had run over my legs as the driver fled.
None of it mattered.
I'm going to die here, I remembered thinking.
My eyes shot open. I gasped for breath, my chest heaving. I tried to pull my arms over myself to warm up, but they were stopped suddenly by a binding that felt very uncomfortable. I drew my legs up, and realized they were bound, too.
"Where am I? Is this what death is like?" I asked, because if death was this, if there really was life after death, I hated it.
Someone whinnied- whinnied? What was going on? "You have changed so much, Tamora. So much, yet so little. Your hair has grown longer, your body more fit, though it seems you've lost a few inches in height."
"Tam- who? Let go of me, damn it!" I struggled against my restraints, and a different voice spoke now, from behind me.
"Calm down, Tamora. You hit your head pretty badly when you fell through."
The bindings came undone, and I jumped forward, hitting the ground and executing a perfect shoulder roll. I swung my arm out, and I thought I saw my hand glow. I wanted the voices to go further away, and when the wind jumped up, two shouts of pain echoed from the far side of the dimly lit room.
Did I just-? It seemed impossible.
"Tamora, when did you develop that!?" The more feminine of the voices asked, while the other voice just groaned.
"Just give it up, Sunset...she must have amnesia..." said the other voice. Male, I assumed.
"Are you sure? She seems pretty aware of what's going on, aside from not recognizing where she is," said the feminine voice. Sunset, I realized. Her voice was the only female voice right now, so I made the conclusion.
"Sun...set?" I asked hesitantly, my arm and hand outstretched. The dust was swirling gently, almost as if it was awaiting a command.
"Yeah, Sunset Shimmer." A pony stepped from the shadows, and I had to do a double-take, yet the pony kept talking. "And this is Flash Sentry. We're the leaders of what's left of the resisting forces against the monsters that took over after you disappeared."
The other pony stepped forwards, and I finally noticed that the female had a horn, while the new one, the male, had wings. "What kind of crazy, fucked up dream is this?" I stated, curling my fingers into a fist. The swirling dust immediately condensed into a solid sphere of grime, and shot towards the horned pony- Unicorn, I think would be the applicable use of the terminology.
Her horn lit up with a reddish orange glow, so much different from the brown glow around my hand, and the orb exploded in a burst of fire.
"Well, that's new." Sunset Shimmer smiled, and nodded. "If you have more powers like that , it may give us the advantage we need to reclaim Equestria."
I sighed, and lowered my head in disappointment. "I'm not this...'Tamora' you think I am. I'm not anyone you think I am. I'm supposed to be dead, for God's sake!" I threw my hands in the air, and shouted. "This is just some crazy, fucked up, hype caused by the meds!"
The ponies jumped back at my outburst, and the winged pony cleared his throat. "I..I think you need to calm down, Tamora-"
"I'm not Tamora! I'm a different person! Different girl, different fucking life, different fucking everything!" I knelt down, slamming my fist on the ground, and the earth split, creating cracks that surged towards the two ponies. They lunged to the sides, narrowly evading the fissures. "I! Am! Not! The! Girl! You! Want!" I screamed, and a powerful gust of wind swirled around, creating gouges in the ground and walls. The chair I had been tied to was sliced to pieces, and turned into firewood.
Both of them looked at me with a worried look, and Sunset Shimmer nodded grimly. "It seems you have more than Earth Magic, then. Tamora didn't even have magic, so I suppose this confirms it."
Flash Sentry, the winged pony(Pegasus, I think), shook his head fearfully. "Maybe the energy concentration prototype external armor will be of use now?"