Eight: Monsters Under The Bed
That Sunday night, the group was spending the night at Pinkie Pie’s. When they arrived at the pink girl’s house, the group dropped their things off in Pinkie’s room and headed off to the living room.
Pinkie Pie hopped onto the gray couch, “My parents are not going to be home tonight and Maud’s at a friend’s house cause they’ve got a really important assignment due tomorrow. But she said that if we need anything, call her. So we’ve got the house to ourselves tonight!”
Sunset nervously examined the room, not knowing what to make of the beige room that did not seem to make the personality of the cotton candy girl. I thought her whole house would be covered in candy...
Before they left Equestria, Twilight had told her that since her friends had a week off of school, they had the week full of slumber parties planned. The red haired girl had barley gotten used to being in the Apple Farm, now she had to get used to being in a new house.
“Whatcha guys wanna do?” Pinkie Pie asked the group as she swung her legs back and forth on the couch, trying hard to contain her excitement.
Rainbow leaned back on the lazy boy chair, “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m hungry.”
Applejack shook her head, “Yer always hungry Rainbow.”
Rainbow nodded once, “Ya know it!” she shouted pridefully.
Pie Pie jumped up from the couch, “Hey! What if we make cookies!”
Rarity gasped in horror, “Cookies! Pinkie Pie we just ate ice cream and—“
“We ate ice cream like two hours ago!” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
“Well I guess that’s true. But it—“
“That settles it then!” Pinkie shouted, completely ignoring, or not hearing what Rarity had to say, “LET’S BAKE COOKIES!!!” The excited girl began bouncing over to the kitchen.
The group shrugged and followed the hyper girl.
Sunset, who was still gripping Twilight’s hand, slowly followed along, all while being cautious of the new environment she was in. She couldn’t help but tremble a little.
Twilight stopped walking when felt the girl shaking, “Sunset, what’s wrong?”
The smaller girl looked up at Twilight and shook her head. “I’m okay...”
Twilight knelt down, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
The red haired child nodded.
Twilight hesitated, analyzing the small girl’s body language before standing back up, she seemed nervous, but not on the verge of a panic attack, “Okay then...”
When they entered the kitchen, they found the rest of the girls waiting for them around the kitchen island with mixing bowls.
Rarity glanced between Twilight and the smaller girl, “Darlings is everything alright?”
Twilight looked down at Sunset, who gave her a small smile, “Yeah... yeah everything’s okay.”
Rainbow Dash was also glancing between the two Equestrians, trying to read Sunset’s body language. Surprisingly to her, she could tell the the fiery haired girl was obviously uncomfortable in a new environment. Rainbow felt like she should speak up on the matter, but she ignored her instincts, and held her tongue, “Well let’s get to it then! Pinkie Pie, what’s the first thing we gotta do?”
Pinkie Pie grabbed her recipe book, “What kind of cookies do you guys wanna make?”
Rarity raised her hand in excitement, “Ooo! I vote for snickerdoodle!”
“Mah vote’s for hazelnut!” Applejack said next.
“Ooooo! Double chocolatey fudge!” Pinkie jumped up and down, showing everyone the recipe book.
”Peanut butter fudge!” Rainbow shouted without hesitation.
“I’m fine with anything...” Fluttershy said. She turned to Twilight, “What kind would you like to make?”
Twilight shrugged, “Oatmeal raisin has always been my favorite,” she looked down at Sunset, “What would you like to make, Sunset?”
The small girl looked up at Twilight, “I’ve never made cookies before.”
The group went silent. They all looked towards where the teenager-turned-child was standing. Then they all exchanged uneasy looks. This was the third time Sunset has said she’s never tried a specific dessert before. Of course they understood why she hasn’t, but it felt awkward knowing that she probably has as she got older. Still, it saddened the group, knowing that their former bully and classmate grew up with such horrific parents that didn’t even let her have a few treats. At least they knew that she wasn’t starved to death for six years.
“But you’ve tried them before, right Sunny?” Pinkie Pie asked, a surprised expression crossing her face.
Sunset shook her head, which made the pink girl gasped.
“You’ve never had cookies before? Well we gotta fix that lickety-split! How ‘bout we make some chocolate chip cookies? They’re a classic!” Pinkie Pie opened her recipe book to a page that showed a delicious looking plate of chocolate chip cookies.
They do look delicious. The younger girl thought to herself as she stared at the image, the chocolate seemed to mesmerize her, temping her to take a bite right out of the page. Sunset looked up at Pinkie Pie and nodded, quickly making her decision right then and there that she voted for chocolate chip.
“That settles it! We’re making chocolate chip cookies!!!” Pinkie Pie skipped on over to the pantry where she pulled out a bag of chocolate chips.
Fluttershy smiled, “I think it’s a wonderful choice.”
Rarity nodded, “Yes, yes, chocolate chips are a classic. If you’re going to try cookies for the first time, those are an excellent choice.”
“Eyup!” the farm girl replied.
Rainbow Dash watched Sunset for a while. The smaller girl was staring longingly at the chocolate chips, licking her lips a little as if she could already taste the flavor of the chocolate, “Yeah... I’m fine with chocolate chip.”
The girls soon got to work. Sunset mostly watched the girls as they were instructed by Pinkie Pie on what to do.
When it came time to mix in the chocolate chips, Pinkie Pie grabbed a handful and shoved them in her mouth, which received a disgusted gasp from Rarity.
“Pinkie Pie!” the pale fashionista scorned, “You’ll get a tummy ache before you’ve even eaten the cookies!”
“Uh, I think Pinkie Pie is the only person in the world that can eat any amount of sweets she wants and not get a stomach ache,” Rainbow Dash said with a snort.
The house was filled with the aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Once the timer beeped, Pinkie Pie quickly bounced on over to the kitchen from the living room and carefully took out the cookies so that they may cool.
Pinkie Pie then came out with a plate of warm cookies, “They’re reaaaaaadddyyyyy!”
Rainbow Dash snatched a couple of cookies and rubbed her stomach, “Pinkie desh are dalishas!”
Rarity crinkled her nose up in disgust, “Rainbow Dash do not talk with you mouth full!”
Rainbow just rolled her crimson eyes in response, then bit into another cookie.
Applejack took a cookie, “Delicious!”
Pinkie beamed, “Well we all made them together! That’s what makes them so good!”
While each girl happily ate a cookie, Sunset just stared at the chocolatey dessert in her hands.
Pinkie Pie noticed the girl not taking a bite, “Try it Sunny! I promise it’s good!”
Sunset remembered all the other times Pinkie Pie promised something will be good. And she was always kept her promise.
Slowly, she took a bite of the chocolatey substance. It’s melted chocolate and crisp texture mesmerized the girl, making Sunset realize that she liked the sweet treat. In fact, she concluded that she really really liked the cookie. She took another bite of the cookie, then another, and another until it was gone.
Seeing that the girl happily consumed the cookie, Twilight smiled, “How was the cookie?”
The small girl looked up at her with cookie crumbs all over her face, and smiled widely, “Can I have another one? Please?”
Pinkie Pie excitedly nodded her head, happy that her recipe made Sunset smile, “Of course you can Sunny! You don’t need to ask!”
The group smiled as the girl grabbed another cookie from the plate of the coffee table.
Pinkie Pie walked over to the T.V. and opened a drawer from the T.V. stand, “Hey do you guys wanna watch a movie?” she asked, pulling out an armful of DVD’s and blue rays.
Rainbow Dash gasped, springing up from her chair, her eyes fixated in awe over the movies, “Pinkie you didn’t tell me you had the Daring Do collection!”
“They’re Maud’s!” the pink girl said excitedly, knowing how much her rainbow friend loves Daring Do.
The Daring Do fangirl gasped, “I DID’NT KNOW YOUR SISTER’S A FAN!”
Applejack rolled her eyes and turned to Twilight, “Is the Rainbow Dash in yer world a Darin’ Do fan?”
Twilight nodded and chuckled a little, “Actually, I’m the one who got her into the books,” Twilight told her, remembering the day well.
Rainbow gasped again and zipped over to the purple teen, “Wait you like Daring Do?!”
Twilight nodded again, opening her mouth to speak before being interrupted by Rainbow Dash’s squeal, “Okay, we have to talk!”
Meanwhile, Sunset watched all of this with plain confusion on her face, What’s Daren Do? She thought to herself, unaware that she was pronouncing the name incorrectly.
Rarity got up from her seat on the couch and looked over the movies, hoping she can find one that catches her eye. Rarity gasped as she caught sight of a kissing couple in the rain on the front cover of the DVD, “The Notebook? Oh my! We have to watch this one!”
Fluttershy put a hand on the pale girl’s shoulder, “As much as I would like to watch it, I don’t think Rainbow Dash or Applejack would like to.”
Applejack nodded at the pair, “Yeah Ahm not a big romance gal. An’ ain’t it... PG-13?” the farm girl quickly glanced at the younger girl who was clearly nowhere near the age of thirteen.
Rarity quickly put the movie back down and blushed, “Oh, right.”
Fluttershy turned to the amber child that was sitting beside Twilight as the purple girl and Rainbow Dash fangirled about Daring Do. Sunset kept glancing towards both Twilight and Rainbow, eyebrows knitted together in confusion, “Sunset,” the small girl turned her head to look at her. “Would you like to help us choose a movie?”
The red haired child cocked her head, thinking for a moment before she slowly got off the couch and went over to Fluttershy. She instantly wrapped her small arms around Fluttershy as she gazed over the selection of movies.
Fluttershy smiled as she gently stroked the girl’s hair.
Pinkie Pie knelt down beside them, “Which one would you like to watch Sunny?” Pinkie Pie pointed to the DVD’s and blue rays displayed on the table. The pink girl picked up an old DVD, “This ones about a spider and a pig who become friends,” she picked up a VCR, “Oh and this ones about a kid who reads a book about a magical world that needs his help to survive. This one’s about a orphan that gets adopted by an old bald guy. This one’s about a girl that gets transported to a magical land by a tornado. This one’s about a mermaid. And this ones about a boy who was raised by gorillas.”
Sunset observed the movies that the pink girl showed her. She’s never even watched any of these movie before. The technology in this world is so advanced and it truly fascinated her. Sunset looked over the movies once more before finally deciding on the story of the red haired orphan. Pinkie plucked it up from the coffee table and plugged it into the DVD player before putting the remaining movies back.
“Great choice Sunset! I’ll go get more cookies so we can snack on them while we watch it,” Pinkie skipped on over the the kitchen.
Sunset surveyed the room, noticing that the room had suddenly gown darker. A lot darker. There was practically no light outside. The small girl began to tremble as she realized night has fallen. Her eyes darted back and forth around the room as her breathing became more rapid.
Twilight instantly knelt beside the small child, remembering her panic attack when night had fallen last night, “Shhh... It’s okay Sunset. You’re safe here.” Twilight reassured as she held the still trembling girl. She looked up at her friends and motioned them to turn on all the lights. This barely did anything to help Sunset’s tremors. Instead, she began to cry. Twilight hugged her tighter as the smaller girl broke into tears, “Shhh... breathe sweetie. Breathe... deep breathes. Deep breathes.”
Pinkie Pie was at the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, still holding the plate of fresh cookies as her hair deflated. Fluttershy got closer to Sunset so she could run her hand through the girl’s hair. Rarity kept her forlorn gaze out the window, again feeling powerless in not knowing how to comfort the sobbing child. Applejack looked down at her feet, trying to drown out Sunset’s fearful cries. Rainbow just stared at the trembling girl, not knowing what to do.
“I’m s-sorry...” Sunset sniffled out.
Twilight shook her head, “Sunset, we’ve already told you that you don’t have to be sorry about anything.
Sunset looked up at the purple girl, her eyes full of tears, “But it’s all m-my fault! It’s all my fault... I don’t deserve anything... I-I...” the hysterical child started to cry harder, “Nopony wants me... nopony loves me... I’m not worthy of anything...”
Twilight’s heart broke at the child’s words, knowing that those words are ones that the child has been told by the ponies that she called parents, “Sunset, please don’t say that. That’s not true. Everyone here wants you. Princess Celestia wants you. You are loved. I love you. Don’t ever say that you aren’t loved,” Twilight tried to hold back her own tears as she tried her best to comfort the broken child.
Fluttershy was on the verge of tears, as was Pinkie. Applejack still kept her gaze downwards but now had her cowboy hat to her chest. Rarity had tears streaking down her cheeks, mascara running down with them. Rainbow Dash looked angry, her blue hands were clenched and seemed to be bitting the inside of her cheek.
The trembling child sniffled as she looked up at Twilight with pure hope in her cyan eyes, “Y-you l-love me?”
Twilight put a purple hand under the girl’s face, “Yes. I love you. And Princess Celestia loves you, and everyone here does too.”
“Y-you do?” Sunset said, looking a little confused.
Fluttershy gently took the girl’s hand, “Of course we do Sunset.”
Pinkie Pie, now out of her funk, went up to the small girl, “Yeah! We all love ya Sunny!” the cotton candy girl’s hair re inflated when Sunset seemed to brighten up.
Rarity was the next to knell down, “Of course we do darling!”
Applejack nodded, taking a seat next to Rarity, “Yeah Sunset. All mah friends are like mah family. You’re a part of it too sugarcube,” Applejack looked over at the rainbow girl, who has not spoken yet.
Rainbow kept her gaze downward before sighing and walking over to the group, “Yeah... Sunset, we all love ya. And don’t you ever forget it. Okay?”
The small girl blinked at Rainbow. The sporty girl looked serious, “O-okay.”
Pinkie Pie picked up the movie case that was on the coffee table, “Are you ready to watch the movie now?” Sunset nodded back at her. “Alrighty everyone get comfy! I’ll get the hot cocoa!”
Sunset hopped back on her previous spot on the couch as Twilight sat down next to her with another cookie.
Pinkie Pie handed everyone a mug of hot cocoa.
Rainbow immediately took a sip of the chocolate drink and immediately regretted it. “Agh! I burn mah touhn!”
“Careful! It’s hot!” Pinkie Pie told her.
Rainbow, who had her tongue still out of her mouth glared at the cotton candy girl, “Oh now ya te me!”
This made the red haired girl laugh. Everyone in the room turned to the sound of the child’s laughter. She was laughing. It’s the first time they’ve heard her laugh since the night of the Fall Formal. Since she was converted back into a broken child. The group couldn’t help but smile and laugh a little too.
Rainbow Dash smiled widely at the girl. She still felt really bad about mistrusting the red haired girl. And seeing her so broken and so panic-stricken ate at her guilt. She wasn’t good with emotions, and hated having her ego messed with. But tonight, she made Sunset laugh. And she was okay with her pride being shattered if it meant that she made the broken girl smile.
The group went up to Pinkie Pie’s room after the film was over. Soon, after saying their good nights, everyone was sleeping peacefully. That is, almost everyone in the room...
There was one person in the room that was not at peace. Sunset, who was in her sleeping bag on the floor, was stirring in her sleep. She was in pain. Flashbacks had plagued her dreams once more.
“Mommy? Can I please have dinner with you and daddy?” The little filly looked up at her mother with nothing but pure hope in her eyes.
The mother turned her nose up in disgust. “Absolutely not! You know you are not allowed to be present at the table. What did I tell you about using improper terms? What happens when you disobey me? What happens when you speak without being spoken to?”
The little filly’s lips quivered as she shrunk backwards. She knew what happens when she disobeyed. “I-I’m sorry mother! I p-promise I w-won’t do it again! I’ll be good!”
The mother unicorn glared down at the little unicorn as her horn lit up and tightened the magic inhibitor on the filly’s horn.
The little unicorn howled in pain. The inhibitor felt suffocating. She felt like she was drowning.
With her horn, the mother unicorn then grabbed the unicorn by the neck and slammed her into the other side of the wall, making her crash face first with the glass plates that lined up across the wall.
The filly tried to pick herself up but couldn’t. She then felt warm blood leaking across her neck, forelegs and across her right cheek. She then started to tremble as her saw her father coming closer and closer towards her.
Yes, she knew what happens when she disobeyed her parents...
Sunset screamed, making everyone in the room jump up from their sleep. Pinkie Pie turned on the room’s light. The group turned to look at the trembling girl by the purple teenager. Just like the night before, she was trembling furiously and looked absolutely terrified. The small child was drenched in her own sweat, making her messy hair stick to her face.
Twilight took a breath as she slowly put a hand on Sunset shoulder. As soon as the action was made, Twilight immediately regretted it. The girl violently flinched away from her, looking even more terrified then before.
“D-don’t hurt me p-please! I promise I’ll be good! D-don’t p-punish me!” The girl’s breathing quickened as tears stared pooling out of her wide cyan eyes. She started to mutter as she started off into nothing.
Twilight looked towards her friends, not knowing what to do. They simply started at the small girl with a melancholic expression. She turned back to the small trembling girl who was still mumbling under her breath, “Sunset... sweetie... you’re not going to be punished... you’re safe.”
This did not seem to help woebegone child. Instead, she cried into her hands as she tucked into herself.
Twilight hesitated before she slowly grabbed Sunset’s trembling hand, which made her finch once more, “Sunset... it’s me, Twilight, remember me?”
Sunset slowly lifted her head to look at the pony princess. For a moment, she did not know where she was. But then she saw the gentleness reflected in Twilight’s lavender eyes and relaxed a little. “He... he hurt me.”
Twilight’s eyes widen in worry. The girl before her was trembling, her eyes were bloodshot and full of despair, “Who hurt you Sunset?”
“Father... he h-hurt me b-bad. And... and he’s gonna c-come back for me. Don’t let him get me! Don’t let him get me! I don’t wanna go back! I’m-I’m going to b-be punished for r-running away... He’s going to hurt me bad and...” the girl began to cry hysterically, clenching on to her magenta pajama pants, “He said he’s going to lock me in-in the closet and make another punishment on me and then... a-and then he’ll kill me!”
Twilight held the sobbing child tight in her arms. What did her father do to her? What kind of a father harms their own child? What kind of a father threatens their own child with a death punishment? Twilight squeezed her eyes shut to try to calm her own emotions, “He’s not going to get to you. I won’t let him. I promise. I promise you’re safe with me.”
The small girl looked up at Twilight. Hope filled her eyes and tears still fell from them, “Really?”
Twilight wiped the child’s tears away and gave her a gently smile, “Yes. I promise.”
Sunset smiled. But then her cyan eyes widened as she suddenly paled, whimpering as began clutching Twilight’s shirt.
Twilight held on to Sunset’s from grip, “Sunset? What’s wrong?”
The girl did not answer at first. Her breathing became labored as a look of complete pain shot across her face, “B-back...”
The girls around them were quickly at the two Equestrians’ side. Twilight lifted the girl’s pajama shirt to reveal that the new bandages Fluttershy put on the previous night were bleed through again.
Twilight looked to Fluttershy for what to do. The animal lover bit the inside of her cheek as she surveyed the girl’s bleeding back. Both of her parents are doctors, and she always volunteered at the animal shelter so she knew her way around the medical field. “Pinkie get the first aid kit!” The pink girl dashed off to the bathroom. “Someone get a bowl of water and a towel.”
“Got it!” Rainbow jumped up from her spot and ran downstairs.
“Twi-Twilight.” The purple girl turned to the sound of her name. The child before her was now clutching her beloved Phoenix plush and was still clutching on to Twilight.
“Sunset?” Twilight held the girl’s hand as she continued to cry.
“H...hurts...” Sunset chocked out, looking even paler than before.
Twilight gave her a sad smile, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face, “I know, sweetie. But Fluttershy is going to help make it stop hurting, okay? Just hold on... it’s going to be okay.”
Rainbow and Pinkie came back with the supplies. She hesitated a little before taking off the old bandages. “I think we should take her into the bathroom.”
Twilight nodded and placed a hand under Sunset’s chin, “We’re going to take you into the bathroom okay?” The girl nodded. Twilight slowly began to lift her off the ground but stoped when the small girl cried out in pain. Twilight winced and looked towards her blond friend, “Applejack...”
The farm girl nodded, understanding what her purple friend wanted to do. Slowly, the both lifted the small child over to the bathroom across the hall.
The bathroom was big enough for all of them to fit comfortably but Fluttershy instead for everyone to stay out of the bathroom. Rarity, Pinkie, and Rainbow all watched as Applejack and Twilight slowly set Sunset down on the tiled floor.
Once they set her down, Fluttershy immediately began to work. She took a deep breath, “Sunset. This might hurt a little okay?”
The girl nodded and squeezed her eyes shut, remembering the sting of the disinfectants from last night. Sunset took a deep breath and gripped on to Twilight’s purple hands.
The shy girl took another breath before slowly taking off the girl’s bandages. Oh goodness I hope this doesn’t hurt her more than yesterday. Sunset cried out in pain, making Fluttershy flinch. Once she got the bandages off, the animal lover could see how much more worse the girl’s injuries have gotten. She bit her lip to hold back her gasp. She brought her gaze up to Twilight, who was blinking back tears at the sight of the small girl’s bloody back.
Fluttershy glanced back at the doorway where her oldest friend stood, “Rainbow, can you please hand me the water bowl and towel please?”
Rainbow Dash, who was also staring in silent shock at the bloody sight. She handed her the bowl and water without looking back up at her. Next to her, Applejack started wide eyed with her lips slightly parted. She looked to Twilight, who was trying her best to calm the fragile girl. Pinkie Pie’s lips quivered as her hair flattened out and quickly gripped Rarity’s arm in comfort. The pale girl also griped Pinkie girl’s arm to comfort not only her, but herself.
Fluttershy took a deep breath before she began to carefully clean the blood off of the child’s back. “This is going to sting, okay?” The girl nodded quickly, closing her eyes as she gripped Twilight’s purple hand.
Sunset gave an ear piercing screech as she tightened her grip on the pony princess.
Fluttershy closed her eyes as she tried to drown out the girl’s cries of pain. She opened her eyes again so she could get back to work. When all the blood was removed, Fluttershy gasped at what she saw. The girl’s back had two long gashes on her shoulder blades. And that was not what made the animal lover almost faint at the horrific sight, what was most concerning, was the black veins that were branching out across the girl’s back.
Stats
Page generated in 0.046 seconds
Total duration
971 users online
2,442,171 hits today, 2,707,512 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
The more I read the more I think that giving Sunset's "parents" Scaphism treatment is too inadequate. Sadly it is best one i know. Maybe isolation combined with total sensory deprivation would work better... I don't know.
I just really want to see them hurt.
Either way. Story looks good. Please, keep it up.
The only reason I think that Sunset’s uh, caretakers treated her like that would have to be because they consider Sunset as their ticket to nobility- an unwanted accident who in their eyes, was lucky to be born.
Yeah those scars on her back are defiantly a side effect of some kind of hex/curse.
missing a word again.
I don't know why, but I have this feeling Sunset is actually an alicorn. Her parents may have hated alicorns, so they cut off her wings and hexed her to try and keep them from growing back.
Applejack cries on the inside.
It's true.
Okay, at this point, Sunset’s scars are obviously magical in nature. If Twilight doesn’t immediately take Sunset back to equestria for medical/magical treatment, then she’s being a horrible person, and negligent caretaker.
The red haired girl had barley gotten used to being in the Apple Farm, [barely]
Charlotte's Web, Annie, Tarzan, Little Mermaid, Wizard of Oz, and I know the other movie but I can't remember the name of it. I really am a sucker for the classics