> The Last Hope Of Light > by Phoenix-Flame-Feather-24 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Confused But Not Alone > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Drip. Drip. Drip. What's that sound? I opened my eyes to see where that sound was coming from. The bright sunlight blinded my eyes for a few seconds before they adjusted revealing to me a bright large room. I looked around confused, I was in a room with a large window in front of me with rain being the sound I was looking out from. 'Why am I here?' I thought to myself while sitting up on my bed using my... Arms? I was compelled to use that word but I was not sure if it was the right term to use. But why would I think it is not? Ringing. Where was that sound coming from? I turned my head looking towards a bedside table with a flat black glassy-thing on top of it. It was flashing and it was slightly vibrating. It read 'Pinkie'. That name sounded familiar for some reason but I wasn't sure where I may have seen or heard it before. There was a large green circle displayed on the left of it, saying 'answer'. I reached out my hoof... or hand... or whatever you called it, towards the green circle and tapped it. "OOOOOOH SUNSET! WE WERE SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU FOR NOT GOING TO SCHOOL FOR THE PAST TWO DAYS!" A loud and overly happy voice called out. It did make me jump at first. I didn't know what I was doing, but I decided to play along, for now, maybe I can get my memory freshened up in some way? "Oh... yeah um sorry about that" "Oh don't worry about it and wait are you okay, you sound a bit like not yourself today". Wow, what gave you that idea. "Oh yeah, I'm good... yeah absolutely fine, haha," I said trying to sound positive, but it didn't quite seem to work, it sounded super unnatural. "Oki Doki! Anyway, the girls and I are going to check up on you today after school". Oh no. What am I going to do if they show up? What was my name again, did she mention something like Sunrise or Sunset?.... Ok don't panic, you can still say something against this, and work out everything by yourself. Just breath. "So are you okay with that Sunset?" the girl said again startling me from my thoughts. "Oh yeah um, I guess yeah" Okay, I think my name IS Sunset then? "Great! We'll see you soon!". The name 'Pinkie' vanished from my weird-glassy-thingy. Did I just agree? Oh no, oh no, OH NO!!! For all, I know these people could be serial killers that are ready to kill me! Although I do suppose that girl 'Pinkie' did seem nice. Or maybe they mistook me for someone else? Oh no I have to say something! "Pinkie, are you still there... Yeah, actually I CHANGED my mind soo please-don't-come-to-my-house-I-don't-know-who-you-are!" I cried, but no response came back from the black glass that lay on the table. I sighed knowing that I will have to 'face the music' now. ~~~~~~ "Ughrrr! Why is she not picking UP???" Pinkie cried with a slightly irritated voice, while repeatedly dialing Sunset's number. "We should really check up on her" Rarity said with clear worry. "Oh, what if something happened to her?" Fluttershy whispered in an unsteady voice. "Well, duh, Sunset is fine, she literally saved us last week and helped out battle monsters like 24/7! She probs has a cold or something Flutters" said Dash confidently trying her best to comfort Fluttershy. "I'm sure Sunset is fine, but I agree with Rarity here, she would have at least texted ONE of us by now, so I think checking up on her won't do us any harm" Twilight evaluated. "Yeah Ah say we should all' go to 'er after school, I think Big Mac can give us a ride" suggested Applejack. "Guys! I think she's picking up this time!!!" yelled Pinkie in excitement. "Pinkie, you said that the last 50 times you dialed her" Rainbow said rolling her eyes. And then the phone was actually answered. "OOOOOOH SUNSET! WE WERE SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU FOR NOT GOING TO SCHOOL FOR THE PAST TWO DAYS!" Pinkie yelled into the speaker of her phone. "Pinkie, give her a break she probably has a cold, don't also make her deaf" joked Rainbow. "Oh... yeah um sorry about that," said Sunset replying to Pinkie. "Oh don't worry about it and wait are you okay, you sound a bit like not yourself today," said Pinkie through the phone, others patiently waiting for Sunset's reply. "Oh yeah, I'm good... yeah absolutely fine, haha," "Oki Doki! Anyway, the girls and I are going to check up on you today after school" Pinkie said. They waited for the reply for a few moments before Pinkie spoke up again. "So are you okay with that Sunset?" "Oh yeah um, I guess yeah" "Great! We'll see you soon!" Pinkie said happily then hanging up. Everyone sat there in silence for a few minutes, processing what just happened. "Yeah, okay something is definitely up" declared Rainbow. "Maybe, but darling let's not go into conclusion, the poor dear might have been just asleep a minute ago, maybe she was just a little bit sleepy" Rarity suggested politely. "Yeah, yeah, but I think we need to get to the bottom of things, like literally, she sounded so 'zombie' you know?" Rainbow responded. "Well okay, she did sound a bit off, I must admit, but it doesn't mean we have to be invading her personal life," Rarity said ignoring the last part of what Rainbow said. The school bell rang signalizing the end of lunch. "I'll see you girls in a bit then," Rarity told them. They all gathered their own things from the music room and packed them quickly to not be late to tutor. "I'll text all of you when my brother can get us to Sunset's" Applejack quickly added before hurrying off. ~~~~~~ 2 hours later Ding Dong "Sunset open the door it's us!" > No Place to Hide > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Who were these people this ‘Pinkie person ‘was talking about? Was it my friends … or maybe a scary gang wanting to kill me?... Sunset, or whatever I am, stop overreacting, you’re better than this. I need to figure a way of what to do if they arrive, but what? I don’t know who I am, where am I or if I even am this ‘Sunset’ person. How do I not even know my name? Grrrr, this is so frustrating! I walked cautiously down the stairs aiming to get to the kitchen; my legs wobbling as I try to balance myself by gripping on the railing. Something bad really had to happen to me if I don’t remember anything including how to walk. Oh well, not like I can do anything about it now, maybe the Pinkie person will know? Ding Dong "Sunset open the door it's us!" I froze, paralyzed with fear midway down the staircase. That was a different voice than what I heard earlier from that black glass. There were more people. They were here. They knew where I lived! … Should I open the door and let them in? Should I risk it? No, no I need to… need to work this out on my own. Maybe these people made me like this? Were they the ones that made me not remember? I clench my fist feeling a wave of betrayal flow by. Breath. Stay. Calm. You haven’t met them yet. They might help. “Sunset come on! This isn’t funny, open the door, it’s us!” a rusty but girly voice yelled through the door trying to get my attention. It almost sounded… concerned? Maybe these people were here to help her, like some kind of guardian angels of some sort. Sunset. Paranormal things and magical creatures don’t exist, don’t go ahead of yourself. “Sunset? Sunset, come on!” “Maybe call her darling, she may be sleeping that poor dear,” another slightly higher voice said to the other calmly articulating each word very clearly. “Fine” Moments later the same ringing as before was visible in the air. I didn’t dare to go upstairs and touch that black glass. I needed to find a way out of this. Without them knowing I’m here. I looked down the stairs, where it led to the closed door. Kitchen. There was a kitchen on the left. All kitchens have knives. And… if those people ARE planning to harm me, I’ll have a way to defend myself. All I need to do is walk down these stairs silently, turn left, and head towards it. ~~~~~~ "It’s not working! I tried like a billion times!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. "Anyone have a spare key to Sunset’s home?" asked Applejack. "Nope", they all said simultaneously. "‘Well, maybe we could.." "Try again Dashie! She’ll pick up eventually!" said Pinkie impatiently. "But maybe I could…" "No Pinkie, I already tried, we need a quicker way to get in, she could be hurt!" Rainbow Dash said quickly. "GIRLS, JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR ONE MINUTE!" shouted Fluttershy, silencing everyone. "Sorry about that, but I thought, well, that maybe I could just ask Ray to get Sunset’s key from the other side...?" she said starting much quieter. "Oh yeah, I forgot Ray existed! ... What?" Pinkie said bluntly, while everyone ignores the comment. "Okay, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea but one problem. How do we get Rays attention or get him out here? Like Ray is probably stuck in a lizard cage or whatever." Rainbow Dash added. "Actually, Sunset once told me that she specifically didn’t use any cage or and restrictions in the house for Ray. And to answer your previous question he’s right at that window." Fluttershy says more confidently, pointing at a window, making everyone look towards it where Ray was - the kitchen window. ~~~~~~ Okay, I made it. I mean kinda. I’m pressed against the wall of the kitchen, the same wall the window is on. The window that directly shines on the entire kitchen… I’m never going to get that knife, am I? I guess I’ll just ignore the people outside, and wait for them to leave. Tick. Tick. Tick. I looked up at the clock that was directly above me, but I couldn’t get a clear view of the time from my angle. Tick. Tick. Tick. Are they gone? Tick. Tick- -Click. Wait. Click? That wasn’t the clock at all, maybe I misheard. Did I hear footsteps? AHHHHH! DON’T PANIC!!! AH! OK, ok, think straight. You’re in the kitchen, and there is basically no space to hide. Table, table, yes! I rushed silently towards the table dragging one of the chairs out from underneath and went right under it. I then tried to drag the chair back towards me and towards the table, so that it wouldn’t look so obvious I was here under it. It made a scraping sound which in my head made me panic even more. If anything happened, I would use the chair for defense, trying to get a knife is just too risky now. ~~~~~~ 2 minutes ago "Ray come here boy come on, don’t worry", Fluttershy said calmly. Ray slid from under the open window creak and walked up to Fluttershy. After a few minutes of convincing Ray to help them open the door, Ray ran back through the creak opened window, avoiding Sunset, and attempting to get her key. Fortunately, it was in her leather jacket, but she was yet to wear it; being in PJ's. Ray didn’t need to walk far, to get to it. He exited the kitchen and quickly ran to the destination of the jacket - as silently as possible. With ease, he climbed up the plastic back of her chair, and then gently grabbed the leather, searching for the key in the right pocket. After a few moments of searching, he found it. He scattered gently across the floor, heading towards the kitchen window. Without Sunset seeing him, Ray then gently gave the key to Fluttershy. (If anyone could help me in the comments on how I can resize this picture/move it, I would be very grateful) "Oh thank you, Ray! I’ll make sure to give you some special treat for you the next time I visit"  Fluttershy said happily with a smile. "Okay girls, this is it, but remember to not be too loud, we don’t want to startle Sunset or wake her up," Fluttershy said opening the door with the given key. Click. All the girls agreed on this, walking into the house with the wooden floorboards. They all were looking around the house, and when they looked to their right (where the kitchen was), they saw Sunset looking at them. Under a table. With fear in her eyes. > A First Hint of Happiness > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Umm, Darling, not like I discourage, err, whatever you are doing, but… Why are you under a table?” Asked one of the girls in front of me with pale skin and curly purple hair, awkwardly, looking towards me. I didn’t know what to do. I had nowhere to escape. There were six of them. I can’t do anything against them. My vision started to blur as I noticed my eyes began to water. Great, now I look weak to them. “Hey sugarcube, no need to get upset,” a girl with a country accent said to me taking a step towards the table causing me to tense up. “I…” I felt my throat go dry and as if a lump has formed -not letting me speak- as I tried to back away only to feel a leg of a chair behind me. All of them were looking at me. “Ple-ase don’t…-hurt m-e” I choked out feeling weak for not being able to resist the urge to cry, not being strong enough to do so and fight back. “Why would we ever hurt you?” said another girl with black glasses and tied up purple hair. “What’s wrong Sunset?” she added sliding the chair from under the table, exposing me completely with no barrier to protect me. I would have fought to keep it in place, but I couldn’t find the strength to do so. I kept quiet and waited for what would happen next. I looked down at myself as I realized I was visibly shaking. I closed my eyes waiting for this nightmare to just pass. I heard someone kneel down in front of me, but I couldn’t bother to look at them straight in the eye. I flinched slightly as I felt the person in front of me put her arms around me; giving me a hug. “We aren’t here to hurt you, tell us what’s wrong Sunset,” she said quietly trying to calm me down. My breath became more steady and I stopped shaking as much as before. These people didn’t seem bad,  or scary after all. Should I tell them? Or should I lie? Will they find out if I do? “I-m fine” “Sunset, we clearly know that’s a lie. Tell us the truth, we won’t judge you” she said quietly, gently letting go of me and looking straight into my eyes. “...” “What if we go and sit down on the couch?” She said standing up awaiting me to do the same and follow her into the living room. I awkwardly shuffled out from underneath the table and started to stand up. But that was quickly interrupted by me getting extremely dizzy nearly falling over as one of the girls catches me. “Woah woah woah, what was that?” the rainbow-haired girl said rhetorically pulling me up back into a standing position. I averted my eyes not to make eye contact and walked with the girls into the living room, where there in front of us stood a couch of an orangy-browny color. The girl with the glasses pulled me down next to her to sit down and spoke calmly. “Now Sunset, tell us what’s going on, ” I stared across into the eyes of the other girls in the room and something told me that I could trust them, strangers, or not. “I…just… you see... who are you?” I said my voice dripping with uncertainty and anxiety as they all stared at me blankly. They exchange a few worried looks between each other, and before any of them could say anything, the rainbow girl quickly grabbed my hand and interrupted them. “Sunset, this is a joke, right? Haha… ha,” she said trying to make the situation seem better slowly letting go of my hand loosely. Why are they acting like this? Should I really remember them? “Umm… no, sorry?” “Oh, no…you really don’t know” the girl with the curly hair commented dropping down only a nearby seat. “Okay, can you at least say who you are? Please?” I said breaking the silence in the room that was getting really uncomfortable. “Sunset… we are your friends.” The girl next to me on my left said in a timid voice. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, this is Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and my dog isn’t here, but his name is Spike.” The girl on my right next to me said introducing all of them to me. “Oh… How can I trust what you say you are?” I mumbled looking down. “You can’t, at least not right now” “Actually, we have plenty of proo-” the all Pink girl - I think her name was Pinkie- started but was silenced by a glare from Twilight. “But you can let us prove that we are worth the title,” Twilight said with a smile gripping my shoulder, making me visibly flinch. "What do you say?" "...Sure?" I said looking up at her smiling brightly now after I said so making me give a small smile to her. I was still unsure of these girls, I'll still keep a distance to them, but I will give them a chance. "OMG, WE NOW NEED A SUNSET-IS-NOW-AGAIN-OUR-FRIEND-PARTY!!!" Pinkie screamed making everyone laugh and me giggle slightly. "AND SHE SMILED NOW TOO!!!" she said making me blush as the smile quickly died down after the quick attention change. I think Twilight noticed as she quickly averted the subject. "Have you had dinner yet? The girls and I can prepare something here if you want" she suggested. "Oh umm, yeah I haven't eaten yet, I guess we can have something here" I replied trying to be more friendly to the girls. "Okay it's settled, Applejack, what about you and the girls go out and buy something and Fluttershy and I will stay here" "Err sure, anything, in particular, you girls want?" Applejack said in a country accent, which, for some reason did seem familiar. "What about to 'Hellthy Fryers'? I heard it opened up in town and I am so hyped to go there!" Rainbow Dash suggested, making everyone roll their eyes and go with the idea. And with a few words said, they left, leaving me alone with the two girls. There was silence for a few moments, but it did feel calm and relaxing while it lasted. There was a bit too much unwanted drama for me for today, but life is life. "Now Sunset, what do you remember?" Twilight said suddenly wrapping her hand around my shoulder. I didn't flinch this time, because I didn't feel threatened, I didn't feel alone. I could go through this... somehow. "Well so far, all I remember is..."